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halovx-x · 1 year

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[Press start]

yan! Otome game harem x gn reader

Warnings: none

[This is my first time writing a full fic(?) so sorry if it’s bad!! (＞人＜;) ]

You only played this game once in your life and it wasn’t that far, considering that you dropped the game because of its cliché and annoying characters. So why are you in the game as a background character?

The character you are only had a few seconds of screen time and that was only to introduce the female lead to the school in which the game takes place. Well atleast you weren’t one of the capture targets or the female lead or even worse the male lead.

When you first started you only watch from afar and then you made friends with the capture targets along with the villain and her friend who were apart of the student council, later they convinced you to also join the student council. Slowly you had realized that they were getting a bit possessive and touchy with you but that was because you were also a member of the student council, right?

➳————————˖ ࣪⭑ 𓆩♡𓆪⭑ ࣪ ˖————————♡

You were quietly stacking books in the student councils room, as you were to busy putting books in one of the bookshelves, you then felt arms slowly snake around your waist and you sigh, agitated you crane your neck to the direction of a familiar blue haired person.

“Suna I told you not to do that when I’m busy, especially in public”

You told him, he grinned uncaring of your remark and hugged you tighter, he rests his chin on your head. He doesn’t let you move away so you were stuck there between Suna and the bookshelf you were previously stocking up with books.

“Why would I let you go? Your so cute when you’re focused, too bad you weren’t focused on me”

He nuzzled his face in the crook of your neck greedily smelling the shampoo and soap you used while showering. You although annoyed were used to this, sighing you tug his arms off your waist.

“Cheating on me darling! We aren’t even married yet”

You turn your head to the door here you hear another familiar voice, there stood a tall tan man with blonde hair -on his head there stood a piece of hair that refused to go down no matter how much you did to brush it down- and next to him stood a girl significantly shorter than him with white hair the spiked up at the ends.

“Luka we aren’t even dating..Sun help me!”

You called out to the girl as she only giggles at you while grabbing Luka by the ear and dragging him to you and Suna.

“Ow! What did I do for this type of treatment!”

Luka cried out pulling away from Sun when she let go of him.

“That’s for saying you and my love are dating, also Suna aren’t you supposed to leave like right now”

“I have extr-“

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as he gets dragged away by sun and then pushed out the door. The whole time you see Sun and Suna glaring at each other before you view is blocked by Luka as he goes in front of you with a smile on his face.

“Cya!”

Luka called out as Sun walks up to you holds your hands purposely pushing her breasts against your arms, -but you didn’t need to know that- Luka then puts an arm around your waist and they both lead you to a couch that was in the room and sit you between them, you could only sigh as you were squeezed in between them.

You know that the other members wouldn’t be pleased at this but any attempts to get up were shot down by the both of them.

Oh well, you’d just have to hope none of the others members saw this

[3/5 character unlocked!]

#bottom male reader #dom male reader #gn reader #yandere harem #yandere x reader #male reader #yandere x darling #halovx.ficx #sub male reader #top male reader #oc x reader

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ga-yuu · 7 months

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It's finally here guys.....

And it had to be on Valentines Day!!! Of all days...

Man I'm actually sad. I wanna cry right now. I knew all along that one day this might happen, but I didn't want it to happen.

*sighs* Ikegen is finally going to end service after Sep 2024. After my birthday! I thought 2024 was going to be a wholesome year but now this....*sighs*

I'm just sad. I'm too sad to even talk right now. I don't think I can concentrate on anything today. My 14 husbands....they're leaving me forever now. My fav game is going to die. I might go back to depression....God, I'm so sad....

For me, there has never been an amazing game like Ikegen, and probably never will. The beautiful memories that this game gave me really changed my life. But too bad, I couldn't motivate too many people to go support this game. Maybe I was late too. I should have got into this game earlier before the covid started. I still remember that day, when I stumbled upon this game and I was like "Let's not download this right now, I'm sure the english ver. will be released sooner or later" and I didn't install it. Maybe if I did back then, I would have encouraged people to play this game....*sighs*

Honestly, this game was everything I wanted. A romance otome game with demons and supernatural stuff. But now....it's coming to an end. Yes, the game is still there but what's the use if there's going to be no updates?

Probably because Ibuki and Kurama's sequel must not be profitable as they expected. Some people in the Jp fandom are coping. They're trying to convince themselves that this is just a 'hiatus' and if Akihito and Yasuchika's sequel is profitable, then maybe they will continue? But who knows? I don't think it's going to change anything. I feel like I must accept it.

ARRGHHH, this day is already depressing. God, I miss my 14 husbands and Yoshino. Yoshino, the best MC ever made!!! EVER!! No one's going to replace her! She's always the BEST!!!

And my 14 male leads!! They're the best! Best characters! Best voice actors! Best everything!!!

*cries*

#ikemen series #ikemen genjiden #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #cybird #ikegen #ikemen mc #ikemen sengoku #ikemen revolution #ikemen prince #ikemen vampire #ikemen villains

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harajuku-cookie · 29 days

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It is a bittersweet moment. One hour left until the clock strikes 12 for Midnight Cinderella (a.k.a shut down).

It was my first Cybird game and otome game in general. I started playing back in February 2015 during my Sophomore year in university when the art caught my attention in the app store. It got me through some very tough times in university, when my health got really bad, when I lost my abuelita, and when I felt alone. I made so many precious memories and wonderful friends because of this game.

I remember squeezing as much as I could in the limited character box for daily greetings to talk to others, dressing up our avatars, getting excited for events and route releases, laughing at the special princess lessons and ballroom, and the joy these suitors brought to me.

Byron wasn't my first route, Alyn was, and while he and Louis are some of my top favorite suitors, there was something about Byron that stole my heart and he's had it for so many years since.

Coincidentally, I ended up getting this during my last princess lesson and almost cried on VC with my friends. I'm happy I was able to read his main story and ever after/sequel one last time. He was the (fictional) man of my dreams and I'll always love him. I love him and the other suitors such as Alyn, Louis, Nico, Rayvis, Albert, Sid, Leo, Giles, and Robert as well.

This game will be gone soon, but it'll remain in my heart, always. Thank you, for everything.❤

#Midnight Cinderella #Cybird #avatar dress up fun

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maleyanderecafe · 1 year

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Please Don't Hate Christmas (Visual Novel)

Created by: rice love coffee

Genre: Otome/Horror

This one is actually something that was translated from Chinese so the translations might be a bit wonky at times. Still, the concept itself is pretty interesting and the characters are all very pretty, especially the MC herself and Albert. It is very Christmas themed, so it would be the best game to play around that time. There is a full version that will be released with voice acting and extra content coming soon, so keep an eye on that as well.

The story begins with Molly, a girl who seems to be a workaholic. She gets a text from her childhood friend, Albert Claus, inviting her to come visit him on Snowflake Island. She goes to her boss, who begs her to stay, citing that she hasn't taken off in three years. Frustrated, she ends up quitting and going to meet Albert on Snowflake Island. She happily texts him and while on the train there, reads about the traditions there, namely about a Christmas butcher that appeared years ago and terrorized everyone on the night of Christmas. She also mentions that she was adopted after her parents got into an accident, and unfortunately after her adoptive parents got into another accident, she left the island in search of a job.

Upon reaching the island, she's greeted by a very happy Albert, who tells her how much he missed her. We find out that Albert became the leader/mayor of Snowflake Island and is in charge of everything. He leads Molly to an old cafe where her adopted parents used to work, and asks if Molly would want to work there instead. We get a flashback about how the two met, how Albert hated Christmas and tried to take it out on Molly. She ended up pushing him over and giving him chocolate milk as an apology. Albert seems sad that Molly reserved a space at the hotel without telling him and coincidentally on the same day, it turns out the hotel is out of space. Albert ends up inviting Molly to stay at his place. At night, Molly sees a Christmas hat outside, and starts to think of the rumor of the butcher that appeared on Christmas night. Albert comes in and hangs out with Molly, drinking chocolate milk like they did when they were kids. Albert talks about how he wanted to keep Snowflake Island nice for Molly so she wouldn't be afraid of coming back.

The next day, Molly goes to a bunch of different places to visit: first a graveyard to pay respects to her adoptive parents. She gets a flashback to how she lost her adoptive parents, while trying to pick up a doll, they ended up in a car accident. At the funeral, Albert defends Molly as the gossip continues. As she cries, Albert comes to comfort her at the graveyard. She ends up going to the shopping street next and asks the people there about her aunt and uncle. They answer a bit awkwardly and Molly suspects something is going on. Finally, she visits the school where she meets Sharon, a classmate who ended up being a teacher on Snowflake Island and talks about hanging out and her ex, Paul.

When Molly returns to tell Albert about hanging out with Shanon, he gets possessive, though he allows her to go and hang out with Shanon. There, she gets drugged and dragged into the basement and encountered with a very angry Shanon. As it turns out Paul was banished from Snowflake Island after bullying Molly, and reveals that anyone who tries to hurt Molly gets attacked and that it's all caused by Albert. Molly steps up and tells her that she deserved it and that whatever Albert did seems to be justified. As they attempt to harass Molly, Albert comes in to bash them in the head with a bat. Albert revealed that he cleaned up everyone's bullying attempt, thus why Molly doesn't remember a thing. Albert gets stabbed and in response, Molly seemingly destroys them and killing Shannon . Albert drugs Molly to calm her down and brings her back into the house. Albert and Molly confess to each other, and the two end up dating. She ends up bumping into Albert's older brother Liam in the house, whom has recently been married to one of the maids, Aethra. Aethra mentions a peculiar scent that Molly has. While Albert is out and about, Molly decides to go and find a gift for Albert, She goes to the library to find out more about the island. She is handed a book by a high school student about a legend of Snowflake Island. Originally, the island was called Mami island and it was filled with mermaids. A business man who was on the island was rescued by the mermaid and fell in love with her, leading to them having a child. The businessman rebuilt the island, but eventually someone came to attack the mermaids on it, leading to the business man losing his life. The mermaid vowed to take revenge soon after. She goes to visit the school and then to find a gift for Albert.

Upon going back, Molly is able to find a secret room in Albert's room, leading to a weird facility location. She is able to view the video of her killing Shanon, learning that she is actually the Christmas Butcher. Albert drugs her to prevent her from going on another killing spree, but after waking up, Molly is still able to remember and freaks out. Albert promises to protect her and essentially locks her in the house to prevent her from leaving/hurting others. While crying in Albert's room, she comes across a diary that she reads.

The diary accounts from when Molly and Albert were high schoolers. While going home, she overhears her foster parents talking about how annoying she is and their plan to get insurance money. She finds out they killed her parents and burned down their cafe, which leads to Molly killing them. Albert comes in to calm her down (realizing that she's from the mermaid family) and having his blood licked calms her down. We learn that decedents of Mermaids will go berserk if they see their beloved ones hurt or killed, unless they consume the blood of the Claus's family which helps them calm down. We also learn that The Claus family cannot leave the island until they become adults or they will be killed. Albert ends up sending her out to learn design so she won't hurt others on the island, but constantly tracks her so she doesn't go berserk.

Molly cries after finding out just how much Albert loves her and fights her inner mermaid berserker rage. She attempts to kill herself, but Albert stops her. The two of them confess to each other and apparently to break the curse the two have to have sex with each other while madly in love, they have sex. The two continue to be lovey dovey, and in the epilogue, we find out the high school student seems to be a god who has been trying to lift the curses.

In the good ending, Molly doesn't read the diary and doesn't learn about her bloodline. The two continue to date, with Molly slowly losing her memory and becoming foggy while Albert becomes anemic because of all of the blood that he's been giving her.

There are two bad endings, one where Molly continues to work and never goes to Snowflake Island and another where she follows the footsteps and gets killed.

I actually played the demo of this game before the full game came out, so I was pretty surprised at where the story ended up going. The entire game seems to be Christmas themed, so I was really surprised when they started adding things like mermaid bloodline to everything. It's not really bad, I just didn't expect it, I suppose. The story itself is pretty interesting though, with Molly going berserk and Albert tracking her throughout her life so that she won't cause too many problems all because he loves her. I didn't expect to find out that her parents were killed by some doochey foster parents that tried to take their parent's insurance money and thought it was actually Albert who killed them (because yandere shenanigan's). Overall their relationship is very sweet, with Molly being unknowingly taken care of by Albert, with him not only taking care of all those that bully her, but also preventing her from killing (well, mostly at least) by drugging her with his own blood, even at the expense of his own health and even sending her out discover the world. All because Molly gave her hot chocolate when he was sad that one time when he was a kid. Very much a yandere story. It sort of loses (?) it's Christmas theming after the beginning section, since then it focuses a lot more on the lore with Mami island and the mermaids, but I don't think it's too distracting.

Molly as a character is pretty interesting, because in the demo, when she first suddenly starting killing Shanon, I was totally confused what was going on, since that was not the turn that I was expecting. It does make sense in retrospect that she is the Christmas Butcher considering she does seem to actually kill people, but no one is able to prove it as Albert is the one who runs the entire island and that she herself doesn't remember killing them thanks to Albert's drugging. Her design is also pretty cute, all things considering, and I like her relationship with Albert as it's mostly a childhood friend story yandere, all with Albert attempting to protect her from the world and herself. I still think it's funny that the solution to the curse is to literally have sex with someone you love from the Claus family (like this is an ACTUAL important part in the plot, and this isn't even an r18 game), though I'm glad it worked out for both of them.

Albert as a yandere is surprisingly not as villainous as I initially thought. In the demo, it comes across as him being really suspicious considering he basically runs the entire island, bought her a new cafe after her old one burned down and was oddly possessive of her. He doesn't lose this possessiveness, but it did feel like he was constantly keeping secrets from Molly, preventing her from going places, or making sure that she didn't talk to people. We find out that he does have good intentions for doing so, since she does end up getting kidnapped by Shannon and going berserk, but it's hard to feel not villainous when you're restricting someone's freedom like that. As a yandere, I'd say he's mostly very overprotective, getting rid of people who might hurt her, drugging her to keep her from going berserk and just constantly monitoring her. He's also very possessive over her, which we see multiple times, both before and after she finds out that she's a mermaid descendent. Of course, it's not as if he hasn't caused his fair share of problems, making Shannon and whoever get angry enough to try to kidnap and kill Molly for all the things he did for her.

Still, that being said, there are still a lot of mysteries to this island, like the butcher ending when Molly is killed by what seems to be another person or creature, and possibly what's going on with Liam and Aethra. The creator indicates there will be other stories on this island, and new content on the steam version, which is pretty exciting. The artwork and UI are extremely pretty and it's very well made. I'm happy to play a full length type yandere game as well, and it's pretty exciting to see more content from yandere creators.

Overall, it's a fun game. I get to say SNOWFLAKE ISLAND like a bajillion times, and the story itself is pretty nice with a very interesting concept. If you enjoy it, please play it.

#Please Don't Hate Christmas #male yandere #yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #asks #completed #visual novel

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the-otome-freak · 10 months

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Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly Review!!

This is my first ever official, extensive otome review!! I hope y'all enjoy, I went through so many ups and downs with this game. I hope this review inspires more people to get the game, or maybe even helps people realize it might not be for them! I also attempted to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but there are parts that might dive into spoiler territory. I made sure to mention it, if so! Enjoy~ . . . .

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly is a visual novel developed by Otomate and published by Idea Factory in 2015, available on the PS Vita and Steam. It’s an extremely dark, gothic story with very heavy themes and romance akin to Shakespearian tragedy. When I first picked up this game, I had been previously warned about the angst it contained but nothing prepared me for what I was about to experience. This game contains themes of death, guilt, regret, grief, trauma, isolation, and more. The last time I cried so much consuming a piece of media was when I watched Les Misérables for the first time when I was 15, so that says a lot. POTBB has an iffy system, but this is easily overshadowed by the incredible storyline, jaw dropping art, compelling cast, and beautiful soundtrack.

Before we get into plot points and character routes, I’d like to talk about POTBB’s system. It’s a typical visual novel at first glance, which means mostly just clicking in order to read the text and watching the events unfold. The features that set it apart however were quite interesting- and frankly quite frustrating as well. This includes its combat system and its flowchart.

POTBB has a combat system that pops up a couple times throughout the story while you’re fighting monsters. The instructions for the combat system were very vague and confusing, especially since I played on PC where the button configurations aren’t clarified in the “Options” menu, so it was a lot of trial and error. It instructs you to shoot your gun, but not how (on PC). I had to figure out on my own that I had to use the left and right click of my mouse to shoot/lock onto targets, so the first couple of plays I was very confused and frustrated. The object of the game is to shoot as many butterflies as possible in the allotted time while also getting a good score, which is achieved by getting combos. Playing the game earns you points. Another problem is that it’s quite glitchy and hard to lock onto the butterflies properly to shoot them, but with practice you can improve (with the sacrifice of a couple of hand cramps).

The other unique thing about POTBB’s system is its flowchart, which is useful because it allows you to jump to any point in the story you’ve already unlocked, but it can be very frustrating sometimes. You’re required to use the flowchart in order to access the “Side Stories,” aka extra content you slowly unlock as you play. To access the flowchart, you have to go to the menu. The game doesn’t notify you when you’ve unlocked a Side Story, so you just have to remember to check the flowchart every once in a while to see if any have unlocked. And even if a Side Story is “unlocked”, you still have to spend your points you earned in the minigame to actually view the content. Certain character routes, endings, and choices can’t be unlocked unless you’ve viewed these Side Stories. I actually got stuck a few times during my playthrough because I didn’t realize some of the Side Stories were unlocked, and you need to read them to progress. I found that the process of scrolling through the flowchart in the middle of the story often took away from the immersion, but it wasn’t awful.

On a positive note, I have to talk about POTBB’s art, which was created by Satoru Yuiga. Yuiga has an expressive, sort of water-color art style that adds to the spiritual and mystic elements of the game. I actually didn’t like the style at first; I thought some of the character sprites looked strange, but I quickly got used to it and was soon blown away. The CGs were gorgeous and added so much life to the characters. The facial expressions were so vivid, they displayed perfect depictions of terror, shock, love… I felt every emotion through the art. I’m looking forward to playing more of Yuiga’s games just because of her art. (Images below are promotional CGs)

Now, let's talk plot! (I summarize the Common Route in this section, so feel free to skip if you consider that spoilers!) The story and characters are the best thing about this game, in my opinion. You play as a girl named Beniyuri who has just woken up in a strange mansion with no memory of her past or even herself. You see the world through Beni’s eyes as she traverses the mansion and tries to figure out what’s going on and why she’s there. The mansion is dark, gothic, and scary. Its halls seem endless, every window and door is locked, and mysterious butterflies can be seen practically everywhere. And just when things seem their darkest, Beni hears the loud roar of a beast. Two large lion-like creatures appear and attempt to attack her. Imagine if a Minotaur had a lion’s head; that’s what they look like. She thinks she’s a goner, but suddenly she’s saved by a mysterious man with dark hair and purple eyes. They hide from the monsters together, and Beni learns that this man also doesn’t have any memories. They team up and explore, eventually coming across 3 other men in the mansion who also have amnesia. The four of them find a large hall within the mansion to make their ‘base’ where they’ll be safe from the monsters. They realize that they all have phones on them, and though there isn’t any service, each of them has received one message. “Collect the shards. Complete the kaleidoscope.” They’re in this mansion for a reason, and clearly someone is pulling the strings.

I can’t go into too much detail about the individual routes because the amount of plot twists and spoilers in this game are insane. I will describe each guy and a summary of what their route meant for me and how it made me feel. Some of the routes were phenomenal in their story writing and character development, others not so much.

The first route recommended is a man named Kagiha, the 2nd person that Beni meets in the mansion, and I have complex feelings about his route. He’s a tall, soft spoken, polite man with light brown hair and green eyes. He’s very kindhearted and treats Beni with a lot of care, cheering her up when she’s depressed about their situation. Kagiha was my favorite in the beginning simply due to how kind he was. All of them were in a very depressing situation with no memories and barely any hope, so his kindness was a sort of light in that darkness. I was very excited for his route and to learn his backstory. It turns out, his route is a branch of the “Best Ending” of the game, so you get to learn the truth about almost everything as you play through his route. I certainly wasn’t expecting this. I had been warned in the past about POTBB’s bittersweet endings, but I really wasn’t prepared like I thought I was. Due to Kagiha’s circumstances (that I can’t go into detail about), his route has two endings, and neither of them are “happy” in regard to his relationship with Beni. The “Best Ending” of the game does indeed end on a happy note, but they don’t end up happy together (again due to circumstances I can’t talk about without spoiling). The “Kagiha Ending” of the game does have them end up together romantically, but with very bittersweet conditions that’s more depressing than the alternative, in my opinion. I was very upset and I cried at both endings, regretting that I loved Kagiha so much because neither ending let him and Beni be truly happy together. But even though I was upset, I have to admit that the “Best Ending” was written phenomenally and deals with the concept of death, grieving, acceptance, and change in a beautiful way. The themes in this game are very heavy but discuss them in a beautiful, important way that really gets your brain going. I sat in silence for a while after the “Best Ending” just… thinking.

After that emotional wreck, I was ready for a happy ending or at least some more closure. Hikage’s route is recommended after Kagiha, which surprised me a bit. Based off of the cover art and his introduction, he seemed to be the “poster boy.” Hikage is the first man Beni meets in the mansion, the man who saved her from the monsters. I can barely describe his route without getting into spoilers, but it was intense. I didn’t like Hikage at first because he had this misogynistic mindset and constantly scolded Beni for being “weak, just like all women” and yelled at her for “slowing them down.” I wasn’t excited for his route because obviously it meant Beni would get more of this treatment, but I was honestly surprised at what his route had in store. There’s a major plot twist within the route and you come to understand why Hikage has this mindset, and that it doesn’t come from a place of misogyny, but rather trauma. The ending to his route shocked me so much and I bawled my eyes out. It definitely ends on a bittersweet note as well, but the very last scene offers some sort of closure (though not enough, in my opinion.) I overall liked his route plot-wise and thought it was also very thought provoking, tackling themes of abuse, death, mental instability, and despair. Romantically it was okay, but I felt like it took a side-seat to the plot which can either be good or bad, depending on how much you value romance and/or get attached to the characters. Without spoiling, I can tell you that Hikage is written in a way where it makes sense that romance isn’t the focus. Thankfully I wasn’t attached to Hikage as much as Kagiha, but I still cried a river anyway…

You’d think after two routes with horrifically bittersweet endings that the whole game will probably be this way, but surprisingly, the third route in POTBB filled my heart with joy. This route centered around Yamato, who’s a short-tempered, sporty guy with ice-blue hair. He has a bit of a foul mouth, often yelling or getting angry at their situation, but never in an irrational way. Yamato actually ended up being my favorite character overall. He has an unexpected soft side and his romance with Beni was the most realistic among the cast. I also felt his route was quite tragic, despite having the happiest romantic ending in the game. Yamato and Beni’s relationship is really complex, and they actually bond over grief and guilt. Both of them harbor so much guilt in their hearts and it shackles the both of them to their pasts, but by grieving together and finding strength in one another, they’re able to push each other to move on and grow. I really enjoyed this route in a moral sense. It teaches you that it’s okay to grieve and that people grieve at different paces, and sometimes it’s okay to bond over said grief. Healing and forgiveness take time, and having someone else there to heal with you can make you both stronger. The themes in his route were so beautiful and even watching his bonds with other members of the cast grow were incredible too. He has the happiest romantic ending in the game as well, which just added to how good it was. Interestingly enough, Yamato’s route also helped me come to terms with the bittersweetness of the previous routes. I was finally able to accept the circumstances and reasonings behind the depressing endings, allowing me to appreciate the game more as a whole.

After Yamato’s romantic end, I was excited to finish the rest of the game. I prayed that this next route had a happy ending as well, and that Yamato wasn’t just an exception. I began to pursue Monshiro, who’s a mysterious man who wears a fox mask that Beni has spotted wandering the mansion sometimes. I didn’t know what to expect from him during the first bit of the game because he’s sort of absent until the end of the common route. I was pleasantly surprised, though! I learned more and more about him as I played, even in the other routes, and he’s wonderful. He’s adorable, loving, and incredibly sweet. His route tackles themes of isolation and loneliness, with Monshiro being severely traumatized due to being alone in the mansion for several years. He’s very clingy with Beni and values their relationship more than anything, his main fear being him getting left alone again. His ending was quite happy as well, but their romantic development and deep connection never really got the ending it deserved. Their bond was almost as strong as her bond with Yamato, but I feel like in the end they didn’t get to express that to each other properly. It also felt quite short to me, I wish I could have gotten more content with them that wasn’t plot-related and just focused on their bond and how much they care for each other. Overall, I enjoyed it because Monshiro is so loveable, but the ending just left me unsatisfied and begging for more.

Now, the last route was a doozy. I’d like to clarify before I begin that this is all, of course, my opinion and perspective, so don’t let this discourage you from trying the game or loving this character! I will get into minor spoilers as well here, just because it’s hard to explain my feelings without talking about what happened. The last route I played was Karasuba, who is… not the best. I can confidently say I hate him, and his route didn’t really change that for me. He has bright yellow hair and yellow eyes, so his design was already creepy to me from the start, but his personality is much worse. At first glance he seems like a funny, happy-go-lucky class clown type, but his real personality is much more twisted. He flirts with Beni so intensely to the point of sexual harassment, but then backs off and laughs, pretending it was “just a joke.” Now this is already bad enough, but he’s just incredibly rude to everyone around him as well. He demeans Beni constantly for being “naive” and “cowardly,” all with a smile on his face as he pretends he’s saying it “for her own good.” He also constantly insults the other characters, starting fights with them whenever he can and giggling about it when it’s over. The whole “reason” behind why he acts like this is because he was bullied when he was a child. He projects his insecurities onto others and thus becomes the bully he hated so much when he was younger. He does later apologize for this at the end of his route, but I felt like one sorry just wasn’t enough to atone for the way he treated everyone? He sexually harasses Beni until she starts crying at one point, then backs away and claims it was “just a joke to teach her a lesson at how dangerous men can be.” He’s just awful and I don’t think he develops very much, even in his good ending despite his apology. His bad ending was even worse, which involved him brainwashing and manipulating Beni to be with him. I know some people who enjoyed his route and while I do respect that, it’s just hard for me to understand how someone would enjoy a character like him. I do think he’s interesting because he has deep flaws and trauma and instead of growing from it, he let them taint him and he ended up becoming the very thing he hated. So, he is interesting, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good love interest for Beni or even a good character in general. If I’d have to state one major flaw about this game, it’s Karasuba’s existence and his lack of character development or redemption.

After the 5 character routes are over, you’d assume that’s the end. The game actually continues after this, though, with the “Summer Camp” ending that unlocks last. This was my favorite part of the game. It’s a “What-If” scenario where every single character gets their happy ending, and offers a lot of closure after the despair you experience in the character routes. It healed me and freshened my mind after the tragedy. It’s a wonderful inclusion and I actually cried tears of joy while playing it, due to how emotional it made me.

Overall, Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly was an emotional rollercoaster that I will never forget. While yes it has its flaws, I don’t regret playing it. The topics covered, such as isolation, death, and guilt, were so heavy and intense; but they were also so meaningful and I feel like everyone should experience them. I feel my favorite theme was the deep dive into Survivor’s Guilt and how people process and deal with it differently. The mystery surrounding the mansion and their circumstances was also very interesting and the plot twists were well executed. The whole cast is so full of life and each of their bonds are extremely complex. Beniyuri is a wonderful main character and I found myself rooting for her and her happiness the entire time. I definitely recommend this game to anyone who loves tragedy and complex plots, but I probably wouldn’t recommend this game to someone who’d be uncomfortable with really dark themes like graphic death. This game definitely took a toll on my mental health for a few days, but also offered life lessons that I’ll no doubt remember and value for a very long time.

Rating: 7/10!

#otome #otome game #otome fandom #otomate #english otome #psychedelica of the black butterfly #potbb #idea factory #otome review #otome reviews #otoge review #otoge reviews #otome games #otoge #visual novel #visual novels #visual novel review #otomes

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friends-to-lovers-tournament · 1 year

Text

Friends to Lovers Tournament: Round 1, Side A, Match 7

propaganda under the cut!

Sasuke/Mai:

THE MOST FRIENDS TO LOVERS EVER. Mai is the MC of Ikesen which is a dating sim/otome game. Originally from the 21st century, she's accidentally time travelled to the Sengoku Era where she unknowingly rescues Oda Nobunaga from his historical death thus changing the course of history forever. She reunites with a fellow 21st century dweller Sasuke whom she'd briefly met right before the accidental time travel, who is now a ninja. Though they're on opposing sides, they're friends in all the routes as Sasuke promises to protect her and bring her back to the 21st century safely. Regardless of which route you're playing, Sasuke will always be your friend and he's the same smart yet silly goofy guy, making references to 21st century events and slang and memes which have the other warlords scratching their heads in confusion. Sasuke's route is the ultimate friends-to-lovers + slow burn + mutual pining combination, as they both gradually develop feelings for each other, yet it's also kinda frustrating (in a good way) bc Sasuke is SO clueless to her feelings and his own for a good majority of the route while Mai was down horrendous for him. The pay-off in the end is really sweet (i legit cried when sasuke finally confessed to mai lol) and spicy (ikesen is uhh a bit of a mature game), which makes the achingly slow burn really worth it. Also Sasuke's just a really nice fucking guy, like real boyfriend material, no red flags, the perfect golden retriever boyfriend frfr

Fuyupoly:

Submission 1:

they're from the winter troupe of the mankai company, and unlike the other troupes they're all adults. that said, they all have varying degrees of trauma and emotional stuntedness. it takes them some time to fully open up to each other bc they're all very cautious of each other's boundaries and don't want to cross any lines which initially led to some issues in the group's formation. over time they've learned to bridge the gap while still being mindful of hard boundaries. at one point they have a discussion about what exactly their relationship is (gay) cuz they were talking about how the other troupes have clearly defined dynamics (spring=family, summer=besties, autumn=rivals & teammates) but they don't,, and homare deadass says they're "people bound by a common destiny" which in and of itself sounds very Gay (like why are you as a man bound to other men by a common destiny), but it goes even further because homare starts spouting WEDDING VOWS: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" THIS IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE GAME AND THE MC EVEN REMARKS "i can already hear wedding bells in the distance..."

gradually they become closer, in individual sub-units based on who's paired up as co-leads for a play, and as a troupe overall. also two of its members are childhood friends who had a messy 'divorce' in their young adulthood and it took the game breaking its genre to introduce a timeloop for them to finally make up if that means anything to you. one of their troupe songs "precious to us ~bokura no kisetsu" has some pretty beautiful and fruity lines: "The many kindnesses born in me here / Never fail to breathe life into my chest / Even all the pain and bitterness / Have now become dear to me (Ah…Stay with me)", "No matter how many times our season passes / Let us keep living together / Holding our hands, without ever letting go / Let us open up the curtain of tomorrow", "There is no need for words, because once our gazes meet / Joy sparks a light in your eyes", "Our journey, may it be a brilliant one / As our breaths overlap as one"

a lot of their plays has a LOT of homoerotic tension between the two leads too. their first play has tsumugi and tasuku play angels, and it's heavily implied that tasuku's character has an unrequited crush on tsumugi's character. their third play has azuma play a vampire and tasuku play Just Some Guy and it's generally agreed in the fandom to be one of the gayest, if not THE gayest, play A3 has ever written. obviously the vampire thing is very fruity, but there's also how the vampire was longing to bite the human but was holding himself back, and when the vampire left the human in the end, the human was absolutely HEARTBROKEN over it and was swearing they would reunite one day. the stage play of this takes it even further by having the vampire embrace the human from behind and BITE his neck. the fourth play is a watered-down adaptation of Phantom of the Opera where they genderbend Christine into Chris among other things and change the relationship between Chris and the Phantom to one of friendship.... ostensibly so, because there's still a lot of homoerotic undertones in their interactions. i could go on but this should be enough of a sampling taste

Submission 2:

the writers rlly said "let's take 2 normal guys who are childhood friends and have been into theatre since their school days and have them go through a pre-canon messy divorce, an eccentric poet with a potentially controversial haircut, an amnesiac sleepyhead who can only be awoken with marshmallows but is also somehow extremely athletic despite doing nothing but sleeping and eating marshmallows all day, a man who is so beautiful and mysterious he breaks gender, and a supposed android from a fictional south asian country, and throw them into a blender, oh and for good measure let's throw in some theatre and angst and gay and angst and gay" and the end result was marriage. i mean it took them a lot of awkward fumbling around and conflicts to get there but they got there and thats what matters. ok *technically* in-text they're all rlly good friends and kinda found family BUT they are found family via marriage papers i do not make the rules chief

Submission 3:

The reason why they are so friends-to-lovers to me is because their relationship is founded on quiet and unconditional acceptance of each other—regardless of how flawed they may be or how heavy their burdens and trauma may be. When the troupe first formed (sans Guy who was in another country at the time), they didn’t have any major clashing personalities at the very beginning and generally they were mindful of each other’s boundaries, unlike the other troupes that came before them. However, it’s BECAUSE they were too mindful of said boundaries that it was difficult for them to break down their walls and bond as a team—and there were a LOT of walls to break down, as all of them had varying degrees of emotional baggage and trauma.

In fact, it’s only three plays in that they finally truly start opening up to each other, with Azuma getting the ball rolling by opening up about the deep loneliness that haunted him ever since his childhood. It’s during this conversation that they also discuss what their relationship as a troupe is, because the other troupes have defined their relationship as a team (Spring is family, Summer is best friends, Autumn is rivals & teammates), and Homare goes on to declare that they’re “people bound by a common destiny” and goes on to spew wedding vows: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" I mean… it can’t get any more obvious than this, really. They are married.

But anyway, Tsumugi says he wants their relationship to be one where while they respect each other’s need for space, they’ll also be there for each other and share their pains and burdens—or in his words: “supporting each other when our burdens become too heavy to bear on our own”—which I think is really sweet because it carries this idea of quiet, unconditional acceptance; they don’t push each other to share more than they’re comfortable with sharing, but with whatever they ARE comfortable with sharing everyone carries the load and pain because pain is easier to bear when you’re not bearing it alone <3

A later part of the story focuses on Hisoka, a mysterious amnesiac, being terrified of regaining his memories and facing some “sin” from his past that has led to another character, Chikage, trying to take revenge on him. When he confesses this to the rest of the Winter troupe, Homare asks, “How heavy is this sin you bear?” and Azuma suggests, “Perhaps it’s just heavy enough for the five of us to carry together.” (at this point Guy hasn’t joined yet). The stage play adapts this scene into a song called Key to Memory. The key (pun unintended) part is 1:27 where there’s a back-and-forth between Hisoka and the other Winter troupe members (sans Tasuku because he wasn’t in that particular play)

Hisoka: “I’m scared…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s okay.”

Hisoka: “My unforgivable sin…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “Let’s carry it together.”

Hisoka: “I might not be me anymore.”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s all right. We understand and we accept you, so let’s go together.”

And it ends with Hisoka singing: “I was afraid to open the door of my locked memories. But if everyone is here, I believe I can do it.” In both the game and stage play, Hisoka fully regains his memories and reconciles with Chikage (long story). He tells Fuyupoly he can’t go into detail about his past with Chikage because it’s dangerous but he’ll tell them when the time is right, and they accept this saying that no matter what his past is, they know and love him as their Hisoka which obviously is a very sweet thing for friends to say, but it’s also very Marriage-coded to me.

Later, Guy is introduced as an android from Zahra (a fictional South Asian country) and joins the Winter troupe as a temporary member—because he’s stuck in Japan for the foreseeable future—until they find a permanent member to replace him. The other Winter members have a conversation among themselves and agree that regardless of whether he’s really an android or a human they’ll accept Guy for who he is and help him improve his acting, which again harkens back to the idea of ‘unconditional acceptance’. Eventually it’s revealed that Guy is in fact a human who has forgotten his memories of the past and his emotions. He recovers his memories all at once which shocks his system and causes him to pass out. When he wakes up in his room, he finds the rest of the Winter Troupe asleep around the room—which I believe is symbolic of their whole theme of “quiet acceptance”: they don’t want to push Guy to share beyond what he’s comfortable with, but they’re always there to listen to him and share his load if that’s what he wants. He opens up about the memories he recovered, and they don’t treat him with pity like he’s a lost child, but still extend gentle empathy and understanding. They also emphasise that it genuinely doesn’t matter to them whether he’s human or android because he’s Guy first and foremost. It’s at this point that Guy truly lets himself become part of the Winter troupe/Fuyupoly and not just as a temporary stand-in member, because he’s found a place where he’s found himself again and people who will accept who this “himself” is, whether that be an android devoid of emotions or a human brimming with vivid beautiful emotions.

[Mod note: There’s a LOT more but we’re afraid of crashing the post. I (Deli) summarised it the best I can since I’m familiar with A3, but if you want to read the full thing you can check it out on this google doc)

#friends to lovers tournament #ikemen sengoku #ikesen #a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#fuyupoly #ikesen sasuke #ikesen mai #tsumugi tsukioka #tasuku takato #hisoka mikage #homare arisugawa #azuma yukishiro #guy nishiki #polls #tournament polls #mod deli note: when i say the 3rd fuyupoly propaganda is long #i mean it is THREE THOUSAND WORDS LONG #i thought receiving the entire tok/yo ghoul plot as propaganda was long but that was on another level akjdnajka

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