#rc rant

[ratanslily]

A little complaint, I guess, from my side.

I love rc, but let's face it, I think they need to curb some of their ambitions. There's no need to include new feature every update, and if you really want to, push it to the tech update! Keep the main update for your stories/books update only! It would take so much burden off the developers, tbh

And I love that they always keep us fed, but again, I feel like there's no need to push out new stories every update. There are stories being extended, and the ongoing stories are already big in number! New book every update doesn't really give us time to comprehend and digest them, as a result some of the books just dont make it big. Also more books means more pressure on the art team, who already have to handle bgs, sprites and cut scenes. Let's give the exhausted artists some breather, can't we?

I just put this out because I have a feeling that updates are being irregular lately.

You're already perfect, rc. You do not need to overstress yourself on every aspect.

[zaddyshen]

I’m convinced that the people who beg for a pregnancy story have never been pregnant. That shit isn’t fun. I love my child with my entire heart and I’m thankful to have created him but you couldn’t catch me using my diamonds to keep my MC from peeing on herself and wobbling around with swollen feet.

[ostentia]

just a little ranty rant

i'm sick to death of seeing people complaining about wanting achievements, but thinking it's unfair that they have to replay to earn them or thinking they should be able to just "check off what they've already done" and get the achievement that way.

y'all! think! this feature literally exists to SELL TEACUPS. romance club is a business that needs to MAKE MONEY. it makes NO sense from a business perspective to just give people achievements without requiring replaying the story. what on earth would the advantage for them be if that was how it worked?

it's not just like the romance club devs just sat down and were like "hey, you know what would be fun to spend a ton of time and resources on? creating a whole new panel of the profile feature, going back into the code of all of our stories, doing a ton of QA and testing, and designing 100+ icons! our users will be so happy to have pretty icons on their profiles, and that's enough for us!"

no, they sat down and were like "it's going to make us a LOT of money if users have to replay everything multiple times to get these achievements."

romance club has a great social media game and they do a fantastic job of listening to the community + appearing generous (see also: diamond rushes. these are NOT done because RC is "generous"--it's all about selling teacups). however, at the end of the day, they are a business that exists to make money. the achievements feature was created to make money, not give you cute little icons on your profile because you played Heaven's Secret one time three years ago.

[miss-revy-1412]

Romance Club: We only care where money talks

Today, we saw the real face of Romance Club

They only care about selective outrage and fans as a whole. They don't care about all cultures.

We all know that Kali, one of Indian Gods was depicted as a bloodthirsty psycho by Remy who tried to have a shitty explainations and teach Indians their own history, an offensive take on a real Goddess and even got a villain card deck with her and RC was just ignorant, they just didn't feel that they were disrespecting the culture to make an apology post ? Are you for real? What about the Egyptian culture? What about the bad depictions of Christianity and Italians done by WTC ???

The fact it took some toxic Turkish players fighting with Russian fandom who (toxic ones) , went to harass Veronica when they got the dirt that she's writing a new story speaks volumes.

My question goes to them where were you all when the dog kissing Mehmed was done? The fact it was 6 months ago, they just went to pick fight with Veronica after the book ended, knowing it will not longer be revised or changed.

Veronica, countless amount of time said and even put up a disclaimer that the Mehmed and Vlad you see do not reflect the real Mehmed and Vlad and also the fact, it was in very first episode. She took the setting. It's just And Haze will Take us where Alice, said she took Slavic inspiration and not the fact she was representing the real culture, etc .

The White Volot stuff happened when Ru fans got mad at historical inaccuracy. RC did that because Russians demanded

The recent post was made when the Russian fans were getting attacked by Turks. They don't care as long as the Russians aren't targetted or their money making region aren't expressing discontentment. This just shows RC will only respond if you the main stakeholders of their Capitalism that's it!?

Veronica was cyberbullied by bigots who took the Turkish issues and made it a drama. Look not all Turks in DLS are made evil or outright r*pist. You have Hasan, Murad, Aisha, Huma, etc who were good people and genuinely cares and were progressive for the time when half of the world was ruled by bigoted men and worse offenses were the norm.

Trust, me the genuine Turkish fans I spoke were also saddened by poor representation! But they did said they won't go to Telegram nor Veronica's socials to harass her !! They just don't read that book or avoid it in general. So whoever thought it was a good idea to go harass Veronica and some Ru Telegram channels you were idiots to begin with. You could have gone to RC through messenger app or even posts instead of outright insulting and harassing a person

So, since RC now is gonna care about history I just hope from now on:

If , they pick Chinese culture keep all the roster 100% Chinese, No Euro, no Latino, no out of Chinese ethnicities should be added. Same goes to African culture and European culture respectively.

Keep , the culture as intact and don't expect out of historical things to happen. Do the non European culture with some great research and LASTLY

Base the LI Not on European beauties and call them Indian, Latino, Arabs . Take the pain and effort to base them on real ethinic features DUH

Also, screw you RC !! You just care when your money making babies are offended!!

[missbloodstone]

a whole year yay congrats to me and my obsession

[heavens-secret]

HSR man… enough has been said, but I still need to say my piece. The train has been derailing for a while now, so it’s something we’ve seen coming, but that still doesn’t make the aftermath any easier to process. I’m absolutely gutted because the potential of what Dmitry and Lane could have been in the hands of a less bigoted and hateful writer... that’s really what I’m mourning now at this point (and what Anna & Greg romancers have been mourning for a while now).

I’ve seen people say “well Lane was always supposed to be like this, she was never supposed to be a good person.” Then what was the point of establishing the Voice of God and Whisper of the Devil paths? What was the point of branching routes where she is either aligned with the squad or out for herself? What was the point of any of it if, when it comes down to the most rudimentary choices and the most crucial moments, Lane can ultimately never be redeemed? If she can never grow? Even if she is like Audrey, and it’s all designed for her to ultimately end up as a sacrificial lamb, where is your accountability as an author for your main character’s lack of development? There is a way to write flawed/complex/traumatized characters navigating a dystopian world WITHOUT disillusioning your entire audience in the process. An audience who have not only invested resources like time and money, but also grown emotionally attached to the characters you’ve developed.

I used to lose sleep in the beginning updates of this story because I was genuinely excited by the possibilities. I was excited about the idea of expanding the HS universe that has held a special place in my heart since I first started playing RC at the peak of my depression in 2021. And Sasha has repeatedly disrespected and perverted that world. Suffice to say, I’m completely done with HSR and strapped the hell in for HS3. Sasha better have NOTHING to do with that project. Like I don’t even want her pinky toe to be within a 30 mile radius of it. She can’t sit with us.

[lovedisiac]

Just read SL and Vyxaria's backstory really disturbed me. I've been seeing people justifying it by saying that it fits the narrative, but I think we would've been completely fine without the SA. It's extremely weird and frustrating how writers, including female authors, unfortunately, use coercion as the only fundamental aspect of their female character's backstory/arc. I'm not saying that these issues should not be represented, but why is it that women have to undergo some unsettling traumatic experience—which is mostly some form of SA—to have character development? It's frequently treated as the default catalyst for a woman's growth or strength.

There are literally so many other situations and circumstances that can be used as a female character's backstory and define her progress, but no, it has to sexual abuse every single time. Why do writers look down upon women and think the only way a female character can be considered "resilient" is if she's endured some form of violence?

It only sends a troubling message: that a woman must suffer deeply, often through something as horrific as SA, to be seen as complex or strong. And I think it's about fucking time that authors reflect on why they keep coming back to this trope—and what it really says about how they view women.

[bouquetstatue]

people comparing amen to vincent sends me off the rails.

vincent's whole goal is to use his power to make the world a better place, even if it's through darker methods (literally said in the rc wiki, word for word!).

amen is literally a cop in ancient egypt and his main motivation of hunting down dark magicians (besides to appease the pharaoh) is revenge for his parents.

and it's even dumber because his parents were dark magicians too! instead of hunting down a specific person, he takes up hunting down them all.

i have to say, it definitely shows the flaw in the legal system and the government but with remy being the author it does not go deeper into that.

also... it's something how in this fandom, people who are vile human beings are excused but a black man (who is morally gray at best) has to be used as the scapegoat when defending your white colonizer or a cruel abusive man... like I think that explains itself!

[artthemasquerade]

The Devil is a Woman

So a few weeks ago I was playing a lot of Heaven's Secret Requiem on my second slot on whisper of devils and no humanity(I named my MC, Lucy as a little nod to you know who lol) and romanced Anna and I really enjoyed the toxic yuri elements of that path despite its many problems, but I hadn't cared because I was enjoying playing a character who could control abominations and do fun fucked up things. I enjoyed Anna as a character and wished her route allowed her to have more complexity and we were getting it, but it could've been way better done honestly.

But yeah a couple of weeks ago I was riding that high of enjoying this ship and Lucy as a character, though there were a lot of things I would've changed i.e make Anna's grayness clearer a lot sooner, and dial down on the self-homophobia on her end and make her relationship with Lane/Lucy a little fucky like keep in the confliction but not make it so it could be mistaken for dubcon/noncon! I made a playlist for this ship and art to go with it!

I was that in love with this book but there were little niggling problems I had with it, the favoritism the author had for the other Love interests, and sadly Anna and Greg weren't any of the favorites, the unsolved plot threads that were still hanging, the way the was ignoring the differences in the humanity and no humanity paths and how it felt like the late part of season two and now season three made more sense if you were on the no humanity path since that's how Lane acted like in the plot a lot of the time no matter what!

But well the leaks for the May update happened and I have to say while at least Anna seems to be having a nice scene in her route and Yan is confirmed to be bisexual(yay!) the fact that there are some screwy scenes for Dmitry and Abel made me feel so upset with this book and really fueled my disappointment of HSR, which is a huge shame since this was one of my fave books on the app, and despite the series' flaws I really enjoy the Heaven's Secret series, I love angels and demons so much and while it could be real messy at times I still had fun and HSR was my fave HSU book for a long while! But unless things somehow magically improve with the next few updates and the final is good I don't feel good about making HSR fanart again.

As for this piece, I used the same kind of colouring style I did for my Amon OVA wedding pieces but came up with my own colour palette and I'm really proud of how this came out and it was nice to draw fanart of a different series and stretch my semi realistic style muscles a bit, I should try to do that more often really lol XD

[magicturtle]

Latest old man gripe:

my phone switches back & forth in text convos between SMS and RCS. Sometimes I open my messages 2 hrs after I send something & a message's like "your message didn't send, would you like to send it over SMS instead?"

And I'm like "BITCH, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

[heavenly-requiem]

Playing The Haze makes me feel like I’m just flailing around while my MC gets tossed around like a glorified punching bag. Either she’s being used like a tool by her so-called allies, or she’s getting verbally and physically harassed by her neighbors for no reason other than being a dirty shepherdess with no friends. Don't even get me started on how she was accused of slaughtering those poor animals and got "caught in the act" by everyone and their mother when she legit has no memory of doing such a thing because she was having a horrific nightmare.

Like, Lada is literally just trying to uncover the mystery of her sister’s death, and everyone around her is patting her on the head like, "Shhh, don’t worry your pretty little head over this! Move on! You don’t need to know what’s going on." And I’m sitting here like—HELLO?? It’s already confirmed that she’s being prepped for sacrifice but for what?? Why kill her? What’s the endgame here?? At this point, I just want my Lada to flee with Sirin and live together as married hermits.

[zaddyshen]

Ya know, I get why some people don’t want male MCs, I really do. But I hate the excuse “men have their own games and it’s porn” because I feel like it makes it so we want men to continue only finding enjoyment in gross forms of media. I feel like the world would be a slightly safer place if men did play games like Romance Club. Imagine if they played games that’s purely plot and romance driven, and it was the norm. Imagine a world where men could woo and get wooed instead of playing call of duty and sex kitten 3000 (made that up but I bet it’s real) But instead we attack them for trying to set foot on our turf.

[ostentia]

i'm probably never going to play seven brothers because i'm not comfortable with reading about teenagers having hardcore sex. but, i just have to say, it's an actual crime that the male LIs in this book are a sickly Victorian child with flashlight eyes and hideous shorts, and the most boring, generic man to ever be boring:

to be fair, i don't actually have much of a problem with Grant. i don't really feel much of anything at all about Grant. but what the FUCK is going on with Tristan? why does he look like a corpse, why doesn't he have an eye color, and WHY IS HE WEARING THOSE HORRIBLE SHORTS?!

and most importantly, why on earth did langley pick these two--the walking corpse and mr. boring--as LIs and decide to relegate these guys to side characters?

these guys are attractive! they have unique appearances! they look interesting! why can't THEY be LIs?

i just...really don't understand langley's decisions when it comes to this story, at all. the characters are way too young and the male LIs suck. i'm really disappointed, tbh. i was really looking forward to langley's new story, but not only do i not *want* to read about teenagers doing BDSM, i'm not even *comfortable* reading about teenagers doing BDSM. ugh.

[thisghosts-obsessions-again]

My favourite quartet <333

[missbloodstone]

hate that ill have to restart vfv season 2 again to become a duchess but FINE it's just that i find the first episode so magnificently boring.. but it's okay everythings gonna be fine at least ill get to replay that alexandre scene

[heavens-secret]

🌹 IN DEFENSE OF TAI: A NOVEL🍷

So listen I get it, there’s the writing style to consider and the repetition of the detached, seemingly lifeless man in power being recycled that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I fully understand the people saying they want more passion from him, and I hope to see it fully awakened as we go further along. He’s seemingly got the same stoic facecard no matter what context, which can get frustrating because we want a certain degree of vulnerability from our LIs.

But to play devil’s advocate on the subject that is Tai, let me paint this portrait of how I hope to see his character being developed. Because I can’t help but think about the glimpse into that psychotic family we’ve been given in Episode 9 & feel that up to this point, Tai’s mannerisms and general demeanor actually make so much fucking sense.

Like Tiss, he’s essentially been primed for war from an early age. He was primed to rule, to make difficult decisions, to represent his house with pride, and to never show weakness. And yes, he’s undoubtedly enjoyed a certain degree of privilege due to his status. But while his sisters get to explore their interests and amuse themselves in court playing with people like their puppets, he’s tasked with the ultimate responsibility of a society’s future as the family heir. A task I don’t think he takes lightly, given how well read he is and how involved he is in political affairs. And unless there’s some mentor we haven’t learned about yet, Foelh seems to have been his only role model to imitate when it comes to being a man and being a leader. Imagine having that dude as a father figure. Whatever we’ve seen of Foelh so far, I assure you he’s a thousandfold worse. It sort of reminds me of learning about Lucifer’s background & how Satan raised him. There are more parallels to him and Satan than you’d originally think. Both are self-serving, sadistic narcissists with little empathy for others’ suffering. They make decisions not based on what’s best for the people or what is just, but based on what strengthens their authority or feeds their ego. Not to mention both would be willing give up their only son to a win a political chess match if it came down to it. When Tai was briefing him on the murder of the princess and told him he was prioritizing minimizing bloodshed over interrogating everyone, Foelh literally said that he would have executed him were it not for the fact that he was his only son. With a parental figure like that, it often feels like you’re walking on eggshells & consistently made to feel like you’re never good enough. It doesn’t necessarily justify the problematic aspects of their personality down the line, but it humanizes them and puts a lot of their actions in context. It’s also fertile ground for solid character development. Because imagine the sort of coping mechanisms you’d have to adapt to be molded by a sadist while enduring life-lasting fractures to your body and/or soul. Repression would be chief among them. And then imagine meeting someone who challenges everything you’ve ever known and done, who forces you to start feeling again.

It’s honestly nothing short of a miracle that compared to Foelh, Tai has been nothing but respectful towards Tiss up to this point. He doesn’t have an interest in blind subservience or abusing his power for an ego trip like his father does. His calm and reserved nature makes him a lot more open minded & reasonable. On the Falcon path, he likes her challenging him on matters others wouldn’t speak up about & even respects her more for it. These are all qualities that will help him create impactful change when the time comes for him to reign. It feels like she’s awakening sides to him that have long remained dormant, like she’s a literal breath of fresh air after he’s gotten so used to holding his breath entirely. At the same time, however, he knows how dangerous a personality like that is and worries for her. She was always under threat of death but I think he feels guilt and anger at himself that he’s put her in actual tangible danger, like he slipped up somewhere leading to Foelh using her as a manipulation tactic. Maybe he is remaining reserved because that is the best way to keep her safe, because showing passion will only prove that she is a point of vulnerability for Tai. And the more their feelings grow, the truer that becomes. And that will certainly lead to her death, unless Foelh is killed first. Tiss is feeling like a pawn right now, but I’m telling ya’ll she’s gonna checkmate the King.