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...I see I need to get Astrological soon... oh boy... It's gonna be a lot.
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Dec 23, 2019 05:03
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I'm betting that room contains something actually nice and beneficial, but she keeps it hidden because of some weird hangup and the main character spends their time getting Arie to open up about it
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Dec 23, 2019 13:22
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Odd question regarding Ruka's mind-reading powers: Are her powers always 'on?' Is she unable to not use her powers to know another person's thoughts?
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Dec 23, 2019 18:48
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AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Odd question regarding Ruka's mind-reading powers: Are her powers always 'on?' Is she unable to not use her powers to know another person's thoughts? She can supposedly only do it by touching the person's forehead. It's also supposedly sensitive enough that having their bangs in the way can interfere with accuracy or something like that. Keep in mind that the only proof we have that she can actually do any of this is from her own mouth. She failed when she tried to read Itsuki’s mind because he doesn't have Star Energy since he isn't a native of that world (or his Star Energy is different, the game hasn't been especially clear about how Itsuki and Mahiru’s God’s Gift powers work). The writers really fumbled that aspect of her character because they wanted to get drama from her having a power that sounds cool but is actually incredibly alienating and not all that useful when you really think about it. The problem is that they put a bunch of conditions on the power that would make it easy to block and remove all the negative aspects of it. As I noted, a pair of gloves seem like it would totally solve the problem. It's like Rogue from the X-Men, except Rogue's power is still worse because she can't make ANY skin contact with someone, whereas Ruka just has to not touch their forehead. Her ability to tell if someone is lying also seems to be a part of her power, and that one seems to be always active and works at a range, but I feel like she really overblows that. There are body language experts that can do the same thing pretty reliably without the use of powers (many people have some kind of tell when they lie).
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Dec 23, 2019 20:24
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For whatever reason, my first thought is that that room is where they sweep all the cockroach corpses after they squish 'em. "Sealed evil" indeed. Also, that Femiruna scene sounds almost decent by the end. Like maybe she might actually become a good person once someone that tells her what she's doing / how she's doing it is wrong, as opposed to apparently her father spoiling the poo poo out of her.
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Dec 23, 2019 21:01
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Raitzeno posted:For whatever reason, my first thought is that that room is where they sweep all the cockroach corpses after they squish 'em. "Sealed evil" indeed. That would be funny if that's all it was. Like Arie really hates cockroaches and has just been sweeping them all into the same room for years so she doesn't have to deal with it. I admit, Femiruna gained quite a few points from me for that event. She legitimately feels bad when Itsuki confronts her. It's not just a wounded gazelle gambit to try and turn sympathy back to her. If her route continues like this then I may consider putting in a vote for her despite my dislike of her character type. We can also see that she wants genuine connections with other people, but her family name gets in the way of that and leaves her isolated. I definitely see potential for Femiruna after this event. I just hope that it keeps up and her route doesn't decide to go in a different direction.
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Dec 23, 2019 21:30
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Psycho Knight posted:Personally, I see one person in a yukata reaching out to something on a wooden table. The hair is short, but it still looks like it might be red. So the picture to me seems to be of a young Reone. Usually young women wear the kind of bright patterned yukata we see in the picture while men typically wear solid colours, but I guess it technically could be a slightly effeminate boy. Either way I do not see two people there. Maybe it's another translation error. Or laziness, it could be laziness. Probably "we never expected anyone to have such a clear view of this photo on their PSP", which is a form of laziness I guess.
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Dec 23, 2019 23:09
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Polsy posted:Probably "we never expected anyone to have such a clear view of this photo on their PSP", which is a form of laziness I guess. That's also a possibility. Could also be a case of somebody drawing up backgrounds with little or no writer consultation (or just no communication between the art team and writing team in general). That's the fun part about Spike Chunsoft, you have no sweet clue what the reason is, only a bucket of theories.
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Dec 24, 2019 03:52
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Psycho Knight posted:That would be funny if that's all it was. Like Arie really hates cockroaches and has just been sweeping them all into the same room for years so she doesn't have to deal with it. My bet's definitely on Arie's secret being really mundane. Based on what I've seen of the series, it's probably trying to make the player think it's a lot more...mature than it actually is. I thought I picked up traces of Femiruna changing in the events we saw, I just didn't vote for her based on the dreaded laugh of the nobility. If it turns out that way, I might be inclined to vote for her. For some reason, jerk nobility becoming not-jerk nobility seems to be a bit rare in what anime stuff I've seen. Also, do the ears move during animation? I've been wondering based on the weird lace stuff around them if they're not just some weird headband. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Dec 24, 2019 |
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Dec 24, 2019 04:17
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Considering Farun seems to have elf ears, Femiruna having animal ears isn't that odd. C2 didn't seem to have non-humans, IIRC, but we already know C1 works on different logic.
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Dec 24, 2019 04:24
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I don't actually know for sure about Femiruna. Her ears don't move in her scenes like you would expect, as in perking up or flattening if she's happy or sad. No characters have questioned it at all, including Official Itsuki, and Femiruna hasn't said anything about being something other than human. She wears a full length ballroom style dress, so I can't tell if she has a tail or not. I could turn on the swimsuit DLC, but this game surprisingly does not have a model viewer for costumes (there is a 3D viewer for the Star Children, Impurities, and I think the Star Maidens in their default outfits), so it's doubtful I'd be able to get a full body shot of her to check since bonding events are seen through Itsuki’s "eyes", meaning that the Star Maidens always face the screen. But like Comander Keene said, we already know that there are other races in this world, because Farun has ears that are clearly different from a human's. The shopkeeper is also definitely an elf or something, because on top of pointy ears like Farun, he also has hair growing off the tips of his. So it's heavily likely that Femiruna is indeed a cat lady or lion lady or some kind of beast-person. It would be pretty funny if she just revealed the ears were a headband, but I doubt it. The lace is probably just a decorative touch. If anything, this game's world makes CII's seem weird. Some of the Star Children have animal ears and tails and stuff, which would make sense in Granvania with half-human races being common. CII's world doesn't have those races, which makes it weird that Star Children pop out with ears and tails and poo poo. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 05:57 on Dec 24, 2019 |
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Dec 24, 2019 05:54
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There's a vague greenish splotch behind the person in the red robe that could conceivably be a second person.
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Dec 25, 2019 00:23
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malkav11 posted:There's a vague greenish splotch behind the person in the red robe that could conceivably be a second person. That could be. Looks more like grass or some kind of plant to me because I can't really make out the shape of a head or any other features.
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Dec 25, 2019 22:29
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Bonding Update VI – Aries, Libra, and Scorpio - Summary of Sagittarius, Pisces, and Leo Alternate Title: The update where Psycho Knight gets angry and complains a lot We continue our slog through Bonding Updates, although I’d imagine that at least some of you reading this are more interested in these than the actual plot of the game. Not really a whole lot going on in Plot Town at the moment after all.  We’re going back to regular poll order from now on, so Arie will start us off. You might notice in her list of events up there that there’s a little camera icon next to one of them. A couple of the Bond Level 2 Events have started coughing up CGs, so that should liven things up a little bit. Granted, a lot of the CGs that popped up this time are for Maidens in the Bottom 6. Either way, we’ll get to see some unique images for the next few Bonding Updates. I also have a handful of new Star Children classes to show off. One of them we have technically already seen (Ranger), but the other two are new (unless you read the CII LP). I’ll have to wait and see how the Second Seal turns out, but currently my intention is to change up the Star Child Teams every 3 seals. By the time that happens, I’ll hopefully have at least 3 more new classes to show. But anyway, enough rambling. Let’s get cracking on these. ~Church Spirit Chamber~  Hey, Arie. Do you mind me asking you to go again? Before we can start checking the Bond Level 2 events, we need to Classmate with the Star Maidens and view a new Classmating scene. Oh, uh, sure thing. Take your time. My Lord, have mercy on me… …Thank you for waiting. I’ve finally calmed down. Arie, you know you don’t have to do this if it makes you this nervous. I don’t want anyone to force themselves. Thank you… You’re too kind, Itsuki. I’m sorry. But I’m fine now. I get nervous during the ritual, so I needed a little time to calm down. Lose? To what? It’s nothing. Itsuki, you’re… Itsuki, may I have some more time to calm down? Um… sure. My Lord, have mercy on me… …Phew. I’m all right now. Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s begin.*And then Phew… Whew… Are you okay, Arie? It is… over? Yeah, it’s over. You did great. I see… I hope I was helpful to you in some way. I feel a little bad about this though. Why are you so cooperative with this if it’s so nerve-wracking? Is it because it’s one of your duties? Yes. It is my duty as one who has been chosen as a Star Maiden. This is a trial the Star God has given unto me. …Wait, what was that about seduction? Oh, erm… It’s nothing. Anyway, it’s by my own will that I want to cooperate with you. There’s no need to hold back, okay? Okay… well, if you say so. But if you come at me too aggressively, I’ll get surprised. I don’t anticipate that, so it makes me nervous. So, um… I would appreciate it if you were gentle. I kind of thought that I was being gentle and careful. But I promise to keep that in mind anyway.The hell is going on with this woman? The answer has to be in the room. What’s in the room, Arie?! Tell us!  ~Star God Academy Church~ Hell, Itsuki. Something good has happened today. Really? What was it? Oh, really? Haha, maybe I should propose too then. What?! B-But that’s so sudden! I-I’m not ready for this… H-Hold on! I was just joking around, Arie. I didn’t mean to get you so flustered. You seemed kind of casual about it, so I thought you were messing with me. Were you really proposed to? I was proposed to by a child of the class I teach at the church.Little dude’s got game. Oh, so that’s what it was. Well, I mean… he would definitely be a lucky guy if you accepted. It’s just something a child says, so I wasn’t taking him seriously. B-But… thank you for your kind words. I know now how you feel about me… W-Wait, what? I’ve already dedicated my life to the Star God. I can’t think about marriage. I see. Are members of the church not allowed to get married in this world? No, it’s not forbidden, but… So you’re giving yourself completely to the church? Hot drat, Arie. If you were any more evasive, you’d be a ninja........ Are you a ninja? A church ninja? Because that would be sweet. …You’re being really cagey again. Well, if you don’t want to talk about that, then can I ask why you joined the church in the first place? Oh, it’s nothing interesting to talk about… I was abandoned as a child. A kindhearted person adopted and raised me until I could become independent. When I was young, I had no idea who I was. I wondered if I was ever truly happy… I see. Well, for what it’s worth, you seem really happy now. Huh? You’ve always got happy children around you and everyone seems to love you. Everyone does treat me well. Even if I don’t have parents, this town has raised me quite well. You’re a strong person, Arie. Do you really think so? Definitely. I think everyone loves you so much because you’re like a pillar to them. When you put it that way, it’s rather embarrassing… A-Anyway… This town is like my family. It’s natural to want to do something for your family. And the most I can do is clean.  Classmating is one of the many duties of a Star Maiden. While I don’t want you to overexert yourself, I hope we’ll both work hard.drat… we didn’t find out anything about “The Room.” Just some character building crap. Oh well. ~Church Spirit Chamber~  Itsuki, we’re about to conduct the Classmating ritual now… But before that, can you pick up those data materials and read through them? What are all of these? There’s so many papers here… I’ve compiled all the Classmating ritual data up to now in them. They show “how Itsuki reacted in the middle of the ritual.” Such are the reactions I have observed. Though they are not proven facts. If you really felt as such, I need you to confirm it. Wait, you were recording all of this during the rituals? Of course. It’s part of my research. The Classmating ritual is an extremely peculiar experience. Your reactions interest me of course. If I know your reactions, there are further actions to take according to which you exhibit. The data on my own reactions is also listed here. How my body reacts to certain stimuli, and… (Great, studying… That’s something I was missing about my life on Earth…) I see… You’re a really diligent person, Mirei. Of course. That’s a given. If I take in the data properly, it will increase the efficiency of the ritual. That’s why you should remember my reactions. If you’re interested, you can ask me how I felt those times. It would serve to increase the efficiency of future rituals. Now let’s begin. Show me your reactions so I may memorize them. Let’s go.*Classmat—Wait, Mirei actually feels something when she does this? Human things?*  We’ll take this opportunity to introduce one of the new Star Children classes that seems to be reliably available now. Paladins are the first real Tank class that we can make. Their unique skill gives an additional boost to DEF and their skills are focused on protection. They have high DEF, good TEC, and high ATK. Their SPD isn’t too bad considering the fact that they’ve got those big shields. Their drawbacks are LUC and MAT/MDF. A good use for them is to stick them on a Magic team in order to balance out the squishiness of mages. They’re also the first class we have to use Spears. …Hm. This is interesting. I was able to gather some exceptional data this time. I was also able to see a new reaction from you. That was quite interesting… Is seeing my reaction really going to help with your research? Of course it will. Your various reactions helps [sic] me accumulate more data. I will come to understand you better through all of that. To research you, an unknown being, and gain a vast array of knowledge… Nothing else currently brings me such joy. Heheheh… So then it’s basically because I’m a God’s Gift? Correct. I’m thankful that I was chosen as a Star Maiden. Thanks to that, I am able to interact with you. I require your continued cooperation so I may see other reactions you have. I’ll do what I can. Heheheh. How wonderful, Itsuki. Someone cooperative who understands my research is priceless. But this is a matter of give and take. I will thank you for this in kind. You can assume that I will not refuse you.Unless it has to do with stopping the mad scientist experiments or not strapping Itsuki to a table. You don’t have to do that. I’m cooperating because I want to help this world. Heheh. I’m saying that I’m thankful for you. I want you to understand just how important this research is to me. I will thank you eventually for cooperating. I’ll think about what to do once we’ve made progress with the research. I will take my leave now. I have a class I must attend. See you later.~Star God Academy Field~  [Old Man]: Please don’t say that. Can’t anything be done? This is a waste of everyone’s time. I don’t have much free time. And you should use yours more efficiently.[Old Man]: Mirei, you’re so coldhearted… Everyone tells me the same thing. What of it? Excuse me, but I can’t concentrate on my book because of you.[Old Man]: All right. Then I won’t ask you anymore. Yes, goodbye. Uh… hey, Mirei. Oh, Itsuki, you’re here. I’d like to investigate your body today. H-Hold on! Could I ask what the deal was with that old guy you were arguing with? He’s a user of the magic transmission device I invented.Oh, so I guess that must be the thing that the Maidens use to send messages. Strange that it looks identical to a smart phone. So you were the one that built that? I’m the leading developer, yes. Unfortunately, they’re making me manage the systems too. So why did that man look so disappointed? He wanted me to modify the device, but I refused. Why? It would take too long to explain… Do you really want to hear? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. Very well… I’ll explain. He wants to communicate with his grandchild living far from here. The current magic transmission device cannot output enough power to reach there. Pfff, can’t even make international calls. Point: Sora. That’s why he wanted me to modify it to improve the output of the communication. However, to make that a reality… It will require more Star Energy from its users.  Children and the elderly would be most susceptible to those effects. Considering that, modifications cannot be done on it without proper planning. That sounds reasonable. So then if you have a legitimate reason, then why was he so upset? The answer is simple: I didn’t explain to him the reason why I won’t modify it. At first I did, but there were too many people requesting the modifications. It takes far too long to explain to them each time.I really really hate this goddamn excuse. “I tried, but then I got tired of doing it, so instead I just act vague and dismissive.” There was this 3DS game called Stella Glow where the antagonists do this for like half the game and then have the loving balls later on to go “See? You were wrong about this the whole time. We knew, but we didn’t try and explain anything to you because, well, we tried that with others in the past and people didn’t immediately believe us so we gave up. And now the world is screwed because you've been foiling us this entire time while we've been being suspicious and untrustworthy. You’re clearly the assholes/morons here.” God, it’s such masturbatory bullshit on the part of the character doing it. I am going to miss that developer, though. Oh my god, I should LP Arc Rise Fantasia some day. Has that been done yet? The English dub is so terrible, but the game itself has some redeeming aspects. Not to mention there are also some who don’t accept my explanation. I’d rather conduct my research if I’m going to waste my time on them.Sorry, getting off track again. We’re talking about why Mirei won’t kill an old man or something… I think. I guess. I still feel for the old man that wanted to talk to his grandchild though. Are you saying I should make a machine that shortens people’s lives? Well, no. I’m not saying that. See? These types of conversations are inherently a waste of time. I’d much rather use my time to research. Researching is everything to me. I will use all of my time and knowledge to find new discoveries. That will lead to my next piece of research.  I live only for that. Heheh. I suppose people wouldn’t understand though… No, I get it. Oh? I didn’t expect that response. I can tell that research is very important to you, Mirei. That much is obvious just by looking. Heheh, it makes me happy that someone understands me. You may very well be the first person to say that to me. But that Magic Transmission thing is pretty amazing for this world. Why not do research on making it better for people? Ah, look at that, it seems we’re out of time due to this idle chit-chat. Looks like I’ll have to save my research on you for next time. See you later.I really wish we had an option to push Mirei more on this. The most obvious problem here is that her refusing to explain her reasoning to people and then arguing with them about it winds up using just as much time as if she had just explained the drat reason and then said “That’s it. Take it or leave it.” Same thing with Lillie. Official Itsuki is way too capitulating to some of these women and their lovely behaviour. ~Church Spirit Chamber~ We’re going with Reone next, because her and Farun tied for third place. I’ll just switch back and forth between them for these updates. Reone, will you do the ritual with me today?I really wish that the game would stop using that opening so much to these Classmating scenes. They are already here in the Church, which means Itsuki had to have already asked them to Classmate (or Mana did it, but then if the Star Maidens didn’t want to then why walk all the way to the Church just to say no?)  Sure, I don’t mind. I am the Star Maiden you chose to do the ritual with after all. You always seem a bit more enthusiastic about this compared to the others. Do you not want to do this today? Hmm… Well, it’s not that I don’t, but…  Rituals with blood-relatives is taboo, you know.Uh, why? This isn’t sex. The game constantly reminds us of that. You can’t pull that poo poo, game. You can’t go “The not-sex ritual between blood relatives is seen as taboo” but then go “Mahiru and Itsuki are cousins, but whatever, the player can totally have them build a romantic relationship.” Actually, now that I think about it, this doesn't even make sense. Classmating is between a God's Gift who comes from Sora and a Star Maiden from Granvania. Up until Mahiru and Itsuki arrived, there was no possible way for blood relatives to do the Classmating ritual. So how can there be a taboo associated with it? …But we’re not related, though. I’m not even from the same world as you. It’s a matter of feeling. When I think about how my brother is watching me do the ritual… Oh, I just get so embarrassed…And yet you are completely fine with stripping Itsuki and admiring his clavicles and coming on to him. That’s not going to stop now that Reone’s brother has been established by the way.  See? I like to think that I’m giving it my best. I know. But I won’t be satisfied if you Classmate like last time.I’m sorry, are we trying to save the world here or are we just trying to get you off? Spiritually off, I mean. Say, how about we delve deeper into the ritual today? If you promise that you’ll satisfy me, I’ll play along with you. You got it. Haha… You are quite bold when it comes time for the ritual. I’ve got a system in place now that really helps with this. But don’t overwork yourself and end it before we really get started. You have to take your time during the ritual so we can make strong Star Children. But you do seem to be rather motivated, so maybe I can expect great things today. Haha… Right. I’ll take my time with it. Keep my mind off my brother, okay? Keep me focused on the ritual so I don’t have time to think about him. Kind of helps if you don’t bring him up like that right before we start. Haha… Now then, let’s begin. Never mind if your technique is good or bad. Just… take it slow.*♪Classmating! It’s the thing that’s not sex and also Reone has never done it before Itsuki came along and also she’s a virgin so she doesn’t know jack poo poo about actual sex so everything she says is just her talking out of her aaaasssssss!♪* Huff… Huff… Phew… You’re getting better. I’m surprised how much you’ve improved so far. As expected of the God’s Gift with the 12 Star Brands. Good to hear. Haha… It’s fine to relax, but don’t get too comfortable. A little bit of tension goes a long way.  Aim to do even better next time. Well, that’s sort of the idea. I’ll keep it in mind the next time I ask you, though. Anytime, for you~ Now, shall we return? I’m sure you’re tired, so go home and rest for today.~Star God Academy Clinic~ Oh, Itsuki. The office is closed for the day. But if you’re feeling sick, I can still take a look at you. No, that’s not why I stopped by. Is it a slow day or something? I ended a little early, so I was thinking of getting a drink on the way home. How about you come with me? My treat. Jesus Christ, game. WE. GET. IT. The loving drinking age in Japan is 20! You don’t need to constantly and unrelentingly shove that in our face at every possible opportunity. You’re really pissing me off with this, now. You do realize that the minimum drinking age is about 18 or lower for like 70-80% of the world, right? That makes it even weirder for this magical fantasy world to be following Japanese guidelines, so stop drawing attention to that stupid fact! You know I can’t do that. Oh, right. Then let’s go somewhere even a little kid like you can drink at. I know a place that serves some nice baked apples. I didn’t serve you any last time, so let me make it up to you. What do you say? I don’t really mind, but are you sure? I’m don’t want to get in the way of your evening. It’s fine. The place also serves alcohol for us grownups. So if that’s set, let’s hurry on. I could really use a drink right now.I know drinking is a storied part of Japanese culture and all that, but it still surprises me how much Japan likes to glorify drinking to people who are underage while simultaneously having one of the higher minimum drinking ages in the world. Where’s the scene where Mirei and the other Maidens dragged Reone’s drunk rear end back to her office and had to spend a few hours keeping an eye on her so that she didn’t choke on her own vomit while she was passed out? Or the one where Mirei has to hold Reone’s hair back while she pukes her guts out into a toilet? Hell, where’s the traditional Japanese scene of Reone hunched over the bar ruminating on how her life is going nowhere and she’ll be stuck in the same old soul-sucking routine for the next 120 years? ~Tavern~  Sorry, I’m in a pissy mood this update and I’m starting to get a bit too real. They serve regular drinks and food too. But it looks like today is Farun’s day off. Yeah. Kind of weird for her, actually. I see her here pretty much all the time. Hmm… I want to start with a beer. What will you have? We all know what would happen if you chose “I’ll have the same thing.” It’s also the worst answer. Reone’s “correct” choices are honestly tough to figure out. Sometimes she likes the bold/mature answers, and other times she absolutely hates it when Itsuki tries to be bold or mature. It seems like she’s caught between seeing Itsuki as a separate person and seeing him as her brother. Whenever she’s treating him like her brother, she tends to dislike the bold/mature dialogue options. Just get me some water. Don’t sound like you’re poor. Order a proper drink. I just feel like having water. What’s wrong with that? If you drink water in front of me, it’s harder for me to drink alcohol. Pick a juice or something at least. It’s pretty good here. They squeeze the fruit only after you order it. Okay, okay. I’ll go with juice then. Okay, let’s start by ordering our drinks. Excuse me. I’d like a beer and some juice, please. And please make it quick. I’m incredibly thirsty.*A short time later* There we go, here’s your juice. Shall we make a toast? To what? I know it sounds pompous, but this really was a fateful encounter. Don’t you think it’s a deserving of a toast? I suppose. Here’s to hoping our encounter will lead us down a better path. Cheers. Sure. Cheers. *gup*… *gulp*… Fwa… that hits the spot. I haven’t had booze this delicious in a long while. Drinking with someone can also be nice sometimes. Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Again?  Well, this isn’t surprising at all… You better leave before you make me mad. gently caress you, Conception Plus! Stop showing unique character art and then not giving them a Database entry where I can easily crop them out of the background! I made a character portrait for that little barefoot girl and she still hasn’t reappeared. …All right. Shall we go outside? Itsuki, you wait right here. I’ll be done soon. Done with what? Don’t worry your pretty little clavicles over it. It won’t take long. Order yourself a baked apple and eat to your stomach’s delight. If you make a commotion here, it’ll be a problem for you and the tavern. I really think I should go with you. I’m not going to act like I’m some sort of badass, but I do fight monsters in the labyrinth that would make those guys scream like babies. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I want you to stay here. I don’t think these people can do anything to you… If there’s a chance you’d get hurt, I’d be a failure of a palace physician. *sigh*… If that’s what you want.[Punk A]: Hey, you done— …Uuuugggghhhh… I can't do it. I hate having art assets missing, even if it’s a pain in the rear end...  Hey, you done talking to that kid? You’re really testing our patience here.There. I swear to god, let this be the end of the one-shot character portraits. Or at the very least start using these drat things for more than a single scene. I’ll deal with you soon enough.  All right, Itsuki. Be a good boy and wait here.*Reone wanders off. There’s silence for a while and then we hear some generic crowd screams from outside* drat it, Reone. I can’t just sit here.~Granvania Shopping Center~ Are you okay, Reone?! Itsuki… I told you to wait for me inside the tavern. Though I did just finish up here. It didn’t even take me a minute. You took them out by yourself? Who else is here? They lucked out by trying to harass me. Okay, first of all, that’s kinda hot. Street Fighter Reone earns a few points that partially makes up for the stupid drinking PSAs. But what kind of pathetic lightweights were those dudes? Unless Reone’s go-to fighting technique is “kick ‘em in the balls”, then I’m not buying the idea that she beat the poo poo out of those dudes. That one beast-man guy looks like he’s two weight classes above her at least. I don’t care how much experience Reone has, she looks like she weighs 110 pounds at best and has no muscle mass (that dress she wears is pretty much painted on and there are no signs of abs). Come on, Spike Chunsoft. You had 13 heroines to work with. You could afford to give at least one of them some iron, you know what I’m saying? Some guys love that look and you clearly wanted to go for variety. Buff Reone would have been way better. Hell, just give her some abs and slightly more defined arms. That’s all I’m asking. At least her legs look like they might have some power in them. So you were a martial artist or something? They were illegal underground prize fights. I wasn’t really hiding it, but it’s not something I’m proud of. It was the only way I could support a living with my brother at the time. I see. Sounds like you had a tough life. Pretty amazing, though. Haha… I’m actually undefeated, you know. But that’s all in the past now. I think I’m strong enough to at least protect you, Itsuki.Just a reminder, Itsuki fights creatures roughly twice the size of him on a weekly basis. Actually, Itsuki is an oddity as well. Based on that scene in the first update, Itsuki’s body looks pretty strong (his arms look like they’ve got a bit of definition to them at least), but according to Mahiru he seems to enjoy spending his time playing video games and eating chips. Then again, it may just be that the opponents this time were simply too weak. Speaking of, are those three going to be okay? Don’t worry. I only beat them up a little. Anyway, let’s get out of here. There’ll be trouble when they wake up.*Some time later*  Sorry we didn’t get to relax and eat. It’s fine. At least we got to have something to drink. Haha… It sure was a strange toast. There may be a rocky road ahead of us. …I really enjoyed today. I haven’t had that much fun in a long while. I usually drink alone on the way home from work. I can go with you more often, if you’d like.And yes, Official Itsuki takes this moment to highlight again that he’s not old enough to drink. Sure. I’ll ask you out again. If something does happen to you, I can protect you pretty easily. Well, I’m going this way. You should go straight home, okay? Goodnight, Itsuki.And that’s where we’ll have to stop for now, at least with the Focus Maidens. Here are the summaries for three of the other non-Focus Maidens. #7.  Sue’s Classmating scene has her being confused by what she feels during Classmating. She wants to keep doing it in order to figure out what it is. After Classmating happens, Itsuki asks her if she figured anything out, but Sue just says that it feels “mysterious.” It makes her feel “fuzzy”, “floaty”, and “warm.”  She says that whatever the feeling is, it’s different than happiness, sadness, or fun. She ponders that maybe it feels nostalgic, although she doesn’t elaborate on why. In her first Bonding Event, Itsuki checks up on the status of the wounded wolf that he and Sue brought back to Sue’s ranch. Sue says that he’s recovered, but he’s kind of hyperactive and hard to control. Sue invites Itsuki to go with her and feed him, which he takes her up on. At the ranch, Sue says that the wolf was initially hesitant to eat, but now he eats whatever she gives him. Sue then gets to talking about how she thinks the two relate to each other, since they are both alone. Itsuki tells her that’s kind of a sad thing to say and reminds her that she’s got him and the animals at her ranch. Sue says that’s cheesy, but she agrees with him. Itsuki then asks her if she is going to give the wolf a name, like she did with all her other animals, but Sue declines.  She says that she can’t keep him at the ranch because, you know, he’s a wolf. He’s a wild animal, not to mention the fact that sticking him in with Sue’s other animals is a recipe for disaster. Sue doesn’t want to name the wolf because that will just cause her to get attached to him more and make it more difficult when the time comes to release him. Sue is clearly troubled by the idea of having to let him go, so Itsuki offers to go with her when the time comes. #8.  Yuzuha’s Classmating event has her being embarrassed and asking if Itsuki is embarrassed doing it. Itsuki says that feeling embarrassed is just part of it. Yuzuha tries to worm her way out of the ritual by saying that she needs to run home and change into her special ritual outfit and then maybe just fall asleep by mistake. Itsuki isn’t having any of that and points out that they don’t need special clothing for the ritual, they just wear what they normally do. That’s basically all there is to this. There’s no new insight into Yuzuha as a character.  In Yuzuha’s Bonding Event, Itsuki goes to her house to visit and finds her asleep in her coffin bed. Itsuki asks why she’s asleep in the middle of the day and Yuzuha responds that she hasn’t been dreaming lately, so she’s trying to get it to happen by sleeping more. She says that she can’t draw anything if she doesn’t have any dreams to base her paintings off of. Itsuki suggests that it might be the Star Maiden duties tiring her out too much. She then falls back to asleep. There’s a time skip to when Yuzuha wakes back up and states that she still didn’t have any dreams. Itsuki suggests to her that she should go outside and look for some inspiration there. Yuzuha agrees, but only if Itsuki goes somewhere with her where there aren’t many people around. Eventually they decide on the park and Yuzuha finds herself apparently looking forward to going, which she says is weird for her. #9.  Femiruna’s Classmating event opens with her saying that she’s not in the mood to Classmate. She doesn’t elaborate on why and just refuses to participate. Itsuki just lets it go and says that they can try some other time then. Femiruna then glares at him and comments that Itsuki isn’t very assertive. Itsuki questions what the hell she’s getting at, since she just insisted that she didn’t want to Classmate today. At this point Femiruna lets it slip that she was thinking about what happened in town the other day (when Itsuki called her out on her attitude) and was hoping that he would do it again.  Itsuki decides to try playing things her way, so he tells her that the two of them are Classmating right now and that’s that. Femiruna is shocked and Itsuki says that he thought that’s what she wanted. Femiruna gets all flustered and shy like she did last time, but then goes back to being defensive. Eventually classmating happens after a few more mixed messages from Femiruna. After the ritual, Femiruna wistfully says that she was “taken by force” and Itsuki asks her to please, for the love of god, rephrase that in a way that won’t be easily misunderstood by people. Femiruna is still really confused, Itsuki is confused because Femiruna is confused, and then Femiruna mumbles something about getting excited when Itsuki raises his voice to her. She then gets indignant and runs off while saying that she won’t lose to him. Itsuki is left not knowing what the gently caress. In Femiruna’s bonding event, she appears to be really happy and asks if Itsuki would like to have tea with her. When Itsuki questions what has her in such a good mood, Femiruna says that her mother and father are coming back to the manor today. She’s looking forward to having dinner with them and having them ask her about all the things that have happened at the Academy and that kind of thing. Itsuki asks why this is such a rare event if Femiruna lives at home with her family, but Femiruna points out that her parents are incredibly busy people and they have very limited time to see each other. Anyway, Femiruna is excitedly waiting for her father’s servant to arrive and inform her of the schedule for that night. When the servant shows up, the exact thing that you’re expecting happens. Plans apparently changed and Femiruna is disappointed. She also mentions that her father said the same thing the last time they were supposed to have dinner. When she comes back, Itsuki tries to check on her. She tries to brush it off by saying that it can’t be helped because her parents are quite busy and this happens pretty frequently. Femiruna is clearly upset about it though, so Itsuki offers to have dinner with her since her schedule is open. She gets insulted by this, but when Itsuki mentions that he was offering because he figured she was going to be lonely, she softens her tone and gets shy.  She thanks Itsuki and tells him not to worry about her because she’s used to it. After a bit more “I’m acting like I’m insulted but I’m blushing and have tears in my eyes so I’m clearly putting up a front”, she takes her leave. That’s all for this batch. Next update we’ll check in with Farun, Mahiru, and Ruka. Also the other bottom polling Star Maidens. Then after that, we need to go through everyone’s second Level 2 Bonding Event. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Feb 23, 2020 |
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Dec 25, 2019 22:58
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quote:Where’s the scene where Mirei and the other Maidens dragged Reone’s drunk rear end back to her office and had to spend a few hours keeping an eye on her so that she didn’t choke on her own vomit while she was passed out? Or the one where Mirei has to hold Reone’s hair back while she pukes her guts out into a toilet? Hell, where’s the traditional Japanese scene of Reone hunched over the bar ruminating on how her life is going nowhere and she’ll be stuck in the same old soul-sucking routine for the next 120 years? Whoah actual consequences? In my dungeon-crawling harem simulator?
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Dec 26, 2019 01:15
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I had hoped Reone could acknowledge that Itsuki and her brother were two different people. Either she hasn't, or she's intentionally conflating the two to provoke a reaction from the former.
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Dec 26, 2019 06:48
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This was kind of a mixed bag for both Femiruna and Reone, but the former definitely came out looking better than she started this update, while I lost a bit of respect for Reone. That's a bit odd, what with her coming from a fuckawesome Fight Club background, but... With Femiruna, there's an actual issue that can potentially be solved. It's a lot easier to reopen closed communication channels with living-but-busy people than to help someone get over a dead family member they had a creepy crush on which they're projecting onto you. Raitzeno fucked around with this message at 08:00 on Dec 26, 2019 |
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Dec 26, 2019 07:57
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SSNeoman posted:Whoah actual consequences? In my dungeon-crawling harem simulator? I would have gained immense respect for these writers if they had.  AnAnonymousIdiot posted:I had hoped Reone could acknowledge that Itsuki and her brother were two different people. Either she hasn't, or she's intentionally conflating the two to provoke a reaction from the former. That's obviously where her arc is going, but considering how fast the other Maidens development is happening, I sort of thought Reone would have moved beyond this by now. That worries me a little, because it means that there's a chance that Reone’s entire character arc is going to be about her weird brother thing with Itsuki. There are 6 major bonding events left after the next one, so there isn't a lot of time left to shift to a different focus. Raitzeno posted:This was kind of a mixed bag for both Femiruna and Reone, but the former definitely came out looking better than she started this update, while I lost a bit of respect for Reone. That's a bit odd, what with her coming from a fuckawesome Fight Club background, but... This game is making me like characters that I normally hate. That bugs me. I'm actually more invested in Femiruna now than with Reone, which I was positive wasn't going to happen. Femiruna has done that stupid noble laugh, but it's been rare and short and it's now done during times when she seems to be covering for sadness, so it hasn't been bothering me very much.
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Dec 26, 2019 14:51
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At some point, I have to wonder if repeating the Classmating/Mind-melding ritual with the same person is gonna wind up with a buildup of random thoughts and memories that makes sense for one but confuses the other.
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Dec 27, 2019 16:21
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Bonding Update VII – Capricorn, Virgo, and Cancer – Summary of Aquarius, Gemini, and Taurus Okay, time for us to get through the second half of these Classmating scenes and Bonding Level 2 events… so that we can immediately move on to the other Bonding Level 2 events. Yeah, we’re still not ready to make plot progress. Starting to think that I should have cut down the Focus Maidens to 3 after all. Oh well.  Farun is up first. ~Church Spirit Chamber~  Yeah, sorry about asking you so much. I’m trying to be careful and make sure that I go into the Labyrinths as prepared as I possibly can be. Hmm. I know ya gotta do what ya gotta do. But do we really have to come to the church every single time? It’s not that I don’t wanna, but it’s a little pain in the butt.I love this idea of the Maidens constantly wondering if the sacred Classmating ritual can be done in any old location they feel like, like a back alley or something. Well, the church is kind of the only place where the Classmating thing can happen. I can try and make it up to you if you’d like. Oh? I like the sound of that. What will ya do for me? Um… what if I take you somewhere? Hehe. That sounds nice. Do ya really think ya can satisfy me? I’ve traveled the world, ya know? Those places sound loving awesome. Can we see them? I just raised the bar for ya. So, where ya gonna take me? Hmm… I’m probably going to need a little while to think about it. Good! Think about it long an’ hard! Hehe. Seein’ ya troubled looks so cute. But hearin’ those words make me super happy. So thanks! Sorry for bein’ mean to ya.  I already agreed to it. I don’t need ya to do anythin’ for me. So there really isn’t any need for ya to force yourself to do that. Oh, but thanks for the gesture. I do appreciate that. Well, if you’re sure. So… should we start the Classmating? Y-Yeah… … H-Hold on just a sec… *inhale*… Whew… *inhale*… Whew… A-All right. I’m okay now. Let’s do this. Are you sure about that? I-I’m fine. I better get used to this soon… *Classmating! Also, yes, the translation really does have “let’s” with a lower case ‘L’ despite being at the start of the sentence*  I do this because I love you, Spike Chunsoft. Yeah, I’ve got problems of my own. I’m not about to sit here and deny that or claim to be a master of linguistics. I have a habit of using “alright” basically all the time, even though “all right” is the formally acceptable version. I also interchange British and American spellings based on nothing but my own whims, but I’m Canadian and that’s kind of our whole thing. The big difference between us is that I’m not getting a cent for this and I’m not charging people for it. The expectation of quality is a teensy bit lower for me. Huff… Huff… Hehe… Guess I can’t get used to this that easily. I guess you don’t like it either, huh? …No, it’s not that I don’t. It’s ‘kay. I just get the feeling that it’s somethin’ special. An’ I don’t dislike it, but… Ya know… It’s, um… …Yes? It’s what? P-Please don’t ask. I’m fine, so don’t worry ‘bout it. Okay. I’ll let it go. Phew… It’s finally over. What do to now… Don’t you have to work at the tavern or something? Oh, that? I’m just a helper there. Ah, the good old “show up whenever you feel like it” job. Super popular among Japanese workplaces. The only job I could get with that kind of  mentality would be as an online ESL instructor for some debatably trustworthy Chinese website that is the definition of “too good to be true.” Huh… Well, I bet the customers get pretty sad whenever you do. Hehe. Is than an offhanded compliment?Uh, no? I’m pretty sure that’s a direct compliment. He just said that everyone’s mood worsens when you aren’t around. I’m the young an’ beautiful crowd-drawer. Of course they’d be disappointed. I know I would. Huh? Hey, ya laughed when ya said that. That’s so rude. What? No way. Hm? Really? Are you really really sure? Hehe. I really wonder ‘bout ya. Well, I won’t mind bein’ there whenever ya stop by. Now, what should I do? Maybe I really should go back to the tavern. Even if I take time off, I have nothin’ to do. Why not hang out with some friends? Friends…? Yeah. You know, like someone from the Academy, or maybe one of the other Star Maidens? Friends… Uh… Farun? …Yeah, I should go to the tavern. Why the sudden change? Hm… Well, I just heard it right now. I can hear the voices of everyone at the tavern waitin’ for me. I can’t turn my back on ‘em. Well, I’m off to go to work. If that’s what you want. Thanks for everything. …N-No problem. Ya don’t need to thank me… Well, good luck to ya, Itsuki. See ya later! … …Farun? Farun, are you doing okay? O-Oh! Itsuki! It’s not openin’ time yet. Don’t scare me like that. You have a mode for that? Never mind that. I was skippin’ out on the prep work. I better get back to it.Hmm… Still no ideas as to what her “thing” is going to be. Looks like she’s got some “happy/friendly Farun is just a mask” stuff going on, but that doesn’t help me figure out what the story behind it is. Was that a letter you were just reading? Y-Yeah… But don’t worry ‘bout it. It’s got nothin’ to do with you. You looked pretty sad while you were reading it, though. Huh…? Was I? Was that the face I was makin’? Ahaha. Sorry I made ya see such a strange side of me. Just forget ‘bout it. I don’t mind. Ya can only see me when I’m happy! Ahaha… It’s so not me, ya know? I wouldn’t say that. Really…? I thought it’s more like me to always be cheerful an’ energetic. Everyone has multiple sides to themselves. We’ve all got a masks that we wear for different situations. I’m sure it’s the same for you. It would really help our bond if I could learn more about your other sides. Gettin’ to know me ain’t any fun. I don’t have any interestin’ stories to tell. But I’m surprised you’d say that. Let’s just say there’s this story that I was really invested in for a while that had a lot to do with that kind of thing. (Me? Calm and collected? I’ve been constantly freaking out since I got here. I’ve just gotten really good at hiding it. Probably shouldn’t tell her that, though.) Well, we have a sort of special relationship, don’t we? It makes sense I’d be interested in learning more about you. Special… I guess you’re right. Hehe. We’re makin’ Star Children together after all. Yeah… I guess you’re right… So will you tell me about the letter?Official Itsuki is incredibly nosy if you haven’t noticed. Can’t really write around that with LP Itsuki. Why? It’s got nothin’ to do with ya. I’m worried about you. Whatever it is, it’s obviously bothering you. Oh… I guess that’s fine… But it’s not interestin’ in the slightest. It’s just a letter from my family. Remember when I told ya ‘bout my hometown? I was born in a tiny house in a tiny village. My parents’re great people. I love ‘em. But I left that home. I shouted out that I was goin’ places. Sounds like you were something of a tomboy. Haha. That’s exactly how I seem, huh. After I left, I never really contacted ‘em on my travels. They seemed to have found out that I’m stuck here now.I’d imagine that the identities of new Star Maidens would spread pretty quickly (especially given the current crisis), so that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Oh, so that’s why they sent a letter. Yeah… They send one every day…  But of course I’m doin’ well. This is me we’re talkin’ ‘bout. Hehe… My parents never seem to change… So are you not going to send them a reply? Huh…? Oh… Yeah. I don’t have much of anythin’ to write ‘bout though. What? How do you not have stuff to write about? You’re always traveling. Why not write about that? … …Right. I should have a ton to write ‘bout. Like ‘bout where I went an’ what landscapes I saw… I have loads of memories when it comes to my travels. I know that I should just write ‘bout that. But… I just can’t write ‘bout that for some reason.Arranged marriage that she ran away from and now feels ashamed of? Claimed when she left home that she would become a famous dancer and now she can’t bring herself to admit to her family that she’s basically just a vagrant? …Dammit, I’ve got nothing. Any reason why? I… don’t know… I think my parents just wanna know that their daughter’s safe. Like how I’m enjoyin’ life every day an’ stuff like that. But… I can’t bring myself to write that. That’s a lie? Then… Aw, c’mon! We’re done with all this gloomy talk now!Massive debt! She owes some kind of debt to someone and she travels from place to place because she’s running from them! …No? poo poo… what’s the angle here? There’s some kind of generic backstory at work, I know it. It’s so not like me. Sorry ‘bout that. I made ya hear such a completely borin’ story. I don’t think it was boring. Honestly I wish you’d get into it more. It is borin’, an’ it doesn’t matter anyway. That’s what I think of it. Bah. I made ya see this strange mode of mine. Just forget it, ‘kay? Time to help out with the openin’ of the store. Farun… if something is every bothering you, you can talk to me about it. I don’t want to hear about it as a Classmating or bonding thing, I want to hear about it as a friend. Big Sis Farun is a strong woman, so I’ll be fine. Ya should just worry ‘bout yourself. You’re goin’ back in the labyrinths, right? Good luck out there. Ya have my support. See ya later.*And then Farun just turns and walks away* That sure was a fun event, wasn’t it? No? It was horribly depressing? Okay, well how about we check in with Mahiru and see if her inconsistent personality can turn things around and lighten the mood. ~Church Spirit Chamber~ Mahiru! Let’s do Classmating! I’m trying different things. A lot of the Maidens seem to get really nervous whenever I’m serious about this. You, on the other hand, don’t seem nervous at all, Itsuki. Really? I guess I’ve just gotten used to it. Do you mean to say that Classmating is easy now…? I guess that would be true. You’ve done it so much with all the Star Maidens. Compared to me, you have so much more experience.Of course he does. Mahiru, the only possible way you could have even the same amount of experience as Itsuki with this ritual is if he exclusively did it with you and only you, which just isn’t feasible. Are you only realising this now? You don’t need to get so worked up about it. Then why are you stepping on my foot? I know you need Star Children to fight in the labyrinths. Mahiru… You’re still on my foot… That’s why you have to Classmate with all 12 Star Maidens evenly… Forever and ever! What does that even mean? It means you’re doing it with them nonstop! So what should I do? Not Classmate with anyone and have us all die? I’m going to be honest, Mahiru. I don’t like the way you’re acting right now. I’m trying to get us home, remember? I’m doing my best to save this world. S-Sorry… I went too far. *sigh*… I’m terrible at this. I know the other Star Maidens see it as part of their duty… But I still have trouble with it. *sigh*… Don’t worry about it so much. This is a little much for both of us. It’s not like I don’t have doubts of my own. Then how do you feel when you do this ritual with the others…? Honestly? I’ve gotten into the habit of just letting my mind go blank. It really helps with the embarrassment. I’m basically on auto-pilot. You mean you don’t think of anything? Pretty much. Sometimes I’ll just focus on one small detail. For example, with you I try and focus on just your face because it’s something familiar. That helps to make me feel a little more relaxed. Anyway, I’m sorry for making you feel bad. It might just be the stress that’s getting to me. Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault, Itsuki. Still, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t criticize me or anything. Then can I take it out on you whenever I get these dark feelings? Uh… define “take it out on you.” Like drawing on your face or pulling down your pants. Oh, well if stuff like that makes you feel better, then I guess so. Haha, you better not regret that promise. I usually do. Anyway, are you ready? Yes. Let’s start…*And then Classmating happened. Also, Itsuki had to do something to make Mahiru feel better even though she was the one that was being a jerk* That was so disgusting! How can they call this a sacred ritual?! IT’S NOT SEX! WHAT THINGS COULD HE POSSIBLY BE DOING?! Don’t I have to be more aggressive in order to make stronger Star Children? Did you not like that? It’s not that I didn’t… but… you shouldn’t! I don’t like this one bit! Prepare yourself, Itsuki! Prepare myself for—AHAHA! Mahiru! The hell!Mahiru apparently starts tickling Itsuki. Phew… I feel much better now. I wonder what I’ll do to you the next time I feel down. Haha, I can’t wait. Yeah, there’s the regret. Didn’t think it would hit this quickly.~Star God Academy Cafeteria~ Welcome… Oh, it’s you, Itsuki. Hey, Mahiru. I’m guessing that you got that part-time job? I’m helping out with the register while learning how to make sweets. So, can I take your order, sir? Gonna be honest, it’s pretty nice to have you address me like that. Nice change of pace. There’s the inconsistent Mahiru we’ve grown to love. Sorry, I didn’t know I needed a ticket to order here. Then move aside. Look behind you. Where the hell did they all come from?!*A quick fade out happens where Mahiru starts serving the big lineup. Or SC cut another scene where old Mahiru was too obvious and couldn’t be rewritten, who knows?* Next customer please. Thank you for waiting.[Male Student A]: A super size cutlet curry, please… Oh, and Mahiru… read this.  A bold move on the part of no-name NPC. Will it pay off? [Male Student A]: Oh, and you there. Who, me?[Male Student A]: I’ve been watching you, but are you and Mahiru… dating? Oooh, probably fumbled it with that. Generally not a good idea to try asking out a girl right in front of a guy that you suspect might be her boyfriend. Then again, he was probably planning this move for god knows how long and drat it if Itsuki being there is going to mess up that timing. How rude. We’re not dating. Pretty sure he was asking me, Mahiru. The answer is the same either way.[Male Student A]:Then you have no problem with me asking Mahiru out? Actually, I do have a bit of a problem with that. Are you forgetting about the Classmating thing? We’re supposed to be building a stronger bond so that the Star Children get stronger. I have a feeling that either of us getting into a relationship with someone would probably complicate that. Right? Now that you mention it… Maybe. I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just saying that I don’t think it’s a good idea right now. Anyway, I’m sorry. Because of my mission, there’s someone here that’s head over heels for me. At this rate, who knows what he’ll do in a fit of rage. Wait, what?! I don’t want to cause any trouble to you. He may not look it, but he’s the one who kills Impurities in the labyrinths.  H-Hey! Don’t go making up rumors about me! Do you really want to take that risk?[Male Student A]: I thought I recognized you from somewhere… So, you’re God’s Gift? H-Hold on, I don’t like her that much! So please, d-don’t kill me! Looks like homeboy is wimping out. Also, I’m surprised to see that at least some of the students at this Academy have a proper (fearful) respect for God’s Gift. Wake never got any of that in CII and he was a trained swordsman that had an unhealthy bloodlust. Yet every nobody in that game thought they could take him on. H-Hey! What about your super size cutlet curry?!Also, that student apparently ran off after begging for his life. He’s gone… *sigh* Mahiru, why did you have to go and make me out to be some kind of psychopath? That’s a slightly unsettling look you’re giving us there, Mahiru. Please don’t pull a Narika. She had that same look in her eyes early on and things took a sharp turn at the end. I can’t believe this… I’ll be done with my shift soon, so can you wait for me in the classroom? I’ll go there right after.~Star God Academy Classroom~ Thanks for waiting, Itsuki… What are you carrying? Are those… are those all love letters? All the boys handed them to me after I left the cafeteria. Ah, there’s that good old suicidal confidence that Conception NPCs are known for. All is right with the world again. Great… Now I’ve got a bunch of guys looking at me like I’m some kind of hurdle they need to clear. I don’t know what to do now… The plan has backfired. You’ve got a great deal of enemies at the academy now. Thanks for that, by the way. I would have turned them down completely back there had I known. Even in this world you’re the center of attention at school. Don’t say it like that… Worried your childhood friend is so popular? Not really. You’ll be fine. Why would I be? You were really popular back on Earth too, but you never wound up in a relationship. It’s not because I couldn’t, I just didn’t. Don’t get that wrong.Yeah, yeah. It’s because you’ve got a secret lady-boner for your cousin/childhood friend. We already know. So what are you going to do about the letters? It feels so much more serious than responding to a text… Anyway, it’s going to take me all night just to read through them. You’re really going to read all of them? They all wrote something for me. If I don’t know what they’re thinking, I won’t know how to respond. Does that mean I should write one for you too? Huh? Well, not a love letter obviously. Maybe something like a “Thank You” letter. Hm… No thanks.And then the event just kind of stops. Official Itsuki is just as weird about that last part. He talks about writing her a letter of gratitude for everything she’s done for him, which is… what exactly? We certainly haven’t seen or heard of Mahiru doing anything for Itsuki that would warrant a thanks.  Whatever. We’ve got one more to go for this batch. Last time we talked to her, Ruka was organizing some kind of surveillance team to keep an eye out for bullying and stuff at the Academy. ~Church Spirit Chamber~ Okay, Ruka. It’s time for Classmating again. Is that okay? Ugh… With me, huh… W-Well, I guess we can’t do anything about it. You do need Star Children to explore dungeons… …So, how were the Star Children we made in the previous ritual? I really do wonder how they are… You mean D’Angelo and Andre? They’re doing great. Please don’t let them overexert themselves. I hope you shower them with love. Are you worried about them? Not exactly… But since you mention them, I want them to grow up to be cute and strong. Being born into this world, that’s all I wish for them. (Wait, can Star Children can grow up? Probably should ask Narcisstes about that.) Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m doing my best to look after them. Y-Yeah…  It seems like it doesn’t work on God’s Gifts. So you don’t have to worry about me reading your mind.I mean, whether or not it works on Mahiru is irrelevant. We know it doesn’t work on Itsuki, so why would he worry? I wasn’t really worried about it anyway. Even if you could read my mind, I know now that you aren’t the kind of person that would go around telling everyone what you found out.This is a total lie. Official Itsuki also says he isn’t worried and says that he’s got nothing to hide. We know drat well that he’s hiding something big, though. The little matter of that 9,999,999G cheque that got jacked from him and Mana, does that ring a bell? Wh-Why are you so confident about that… It makes me look stupid for pleading to Mahiru when she resisted so much.Now Mahiru, she’s definitely hiding a bunch of poo poo that she wouldn’t want Ruka to know about. Anyway, what I wanted to say is… Just because I can’t read your mind doesn’t mean you should get carried away. I got it. I’ll make sure to look away or something. I-I didn’t say that!  O-Oh… It isn’t because I feel embarrassed or anything. I just don’t like to be stared down. Isn’t that the same thing? Sh-Shut up. Let’s get this over with. Okay, okay. H-Hmph. This is merely out of obligation. I don’t think anything of it.Careful Ruka, you’re straying into Mahiru and Femiruna’s territory with that attitude. I was just starting to think better of you for quickly distancing yourself from the Tsundere thing. Don’t make me take that back. *Also Classmating happened. I should mention that*  Another new class that we can make without too much trouble is the Magic Knight. Magic Knights are like an in-between of Fighters and Mages. Or maybe they’re more like an upgrade to Fighters since they are a more advanced class. Either way, they’ve got a good balance of stats but their Magic isn’t quite as potent as a Mage (the skills, not necessarily the stat). The other drawback to them is their piss poor MDF and LUC. Their SPD is nothing special either. That said, they are fairly versatile and a good option if you aren’t sure what else to put into a team. Their usefulness will likely drop off as we get access to more specialized classes, though (especially once higher tier Mages are available). Huff… Huff… My mind feels even more dazed than the last time… What’s going on…? I feel so sleepy… Careful, I’ve heard that before. You might want to lay down or take a nap before you collapse or something. Y-You’re telling me to sleep here?  I’ll go home to sleep. Goodbye.*Ruka tries to leave but stumbles* Uh-oh… I can’t stand up properly… I warned you. Here, lean on me. I can help you get home. I-I don’t need your help! How are you fine and I’m like this? This is so humiliating… I’ll do better next time! …But don’t ask me to do this so casually. I have no intention of doing this multiple times with you. Hmph. Goodbye.One step forward and two steps back it seems. Come on, Ruka. You were making good progress as a character. I was even starting to overlook your Tsundere poo poo. Turn it back around. ~Star God Academy Classroom~ Oh, you’re here… again. Club? I told you we were making a student council the other day, didn’t I? It wasn’t approved, so I made it a club instead.Huh, I guess the faculty is only willing to go so far for the Star Maidens. Weird that they would turn down a proposal from one of them to better help the students. Conception A patrolling club where Star Maidens patrol the campus after hours… I call it, “After Hours Maiden Club”! Uh… Geez… Do I have to explain everything to you? You should just be quiet and write your name on the application. What exactly am I signing up for? This is such a pain.  But you need at least five members, so I thought of including the Star Maidens.Okay, hold on just one minute here. There’s no precedent for a student council at this academy, but they have applications and procedures in place for student clubs (that of course match Japanese anime/game depictions)? Who the hell manages that if there’s no student council? The faculty sure as gently caress don’t seem like the types to get off their asses and handle that kind of legwork. When I explained it during the assembly, everyone agreed to join. That’s why I called it the “After Hours Maiden Club.”Hold on another minute. Everyone agreed? loving Mirei agreed to take part in this? Or for that matter, Yuzuha? I call bullshit. And you will be joining too since you’re the one who suggested it. Well, I did say we’d be a team. I’m not a student at the academy though, so is it still okay if I join something like this? Not a problem. You don’t have to be a member to participate in club activities. Don’t you have clubs in your world? It’s the same thing. If you say so. That title seems a bit wordy though, don’t you think? Maybe it could use a nickname or something. But, if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.We’re given a choice of what to say here, although it won’t actually change anything. Also, none of the answers are funny. The choices are “Maiden Club”, “Maiden Clubbers”, and “Maiden Academy”. Why not just “Maiden Club”? ”Maiden Club,” huh…? I think that’s fine. I didn’t expect you to come up with such a cute name. But that could end up being associated with our Star Maiden class too. So what, “Maiden Clubber Class” or something? Wow… That’s not even funny enough to be a joke… I get the feeling you’re the type who thinks too hard then messes up in the end. Jesus, Ruka. He was just throwing out suggestions. Chill out. I’m not like that. Honestly, that kind of sounds more like something you’d do. I-I’m not either! It’s common if it happens only once a week, unlike you. Wait, that happens once a week? Seriously? Wow… Did you say something? Nope. Just mumbling. Well, I’m sure the nickname will be decided eventually anyway. I already told you this, but the Star Maidens and God’s Gift will be on patrol.  Rumor will spread that some truly amazing people are on patrol. The purpose of that is to apply pressure. I’ll help out however I can, then. Thank you. U-Um… You probably think I’m full of myself, don’t you? Hm? Why would I think that? Because I made people get involved in a club just to protect my siblings… It’s really not that big of a deal. I’m sure the others don’t mind at all, either. They did join up, after all. Th-That throws me off… Because you and the other Star Maidens help out so selflessly… Everyone is so busy with their own stuff too… Well, what’s done is done. The club is set up, so I’ll do as much as I can to help. Of course. That’s all I ask.  So I want to do what I can at the academy. To be honest, I want to pat her on the head and listen to what she has to say… Oh, sorry… I guess that doesn’t really matter to you. Hey, hurry up and write your name on the application. Don’t get cold feet now. Sure thing, Club President Ruka. D-Don’t call me that… I don’t like talking to you at the academy, but I’ll wait for you after. So try not to ditch too often…That was a weird conversation. Anyway, in the next update we’ll start going through everyone’s second Level 2 event. To finish off this update, we’ll have a look at some summaries. #10.  In Collette’s Classmating Event, she suggests that picking her so much might be leading the other Star Maidens to think that there’s something going on between her and Itsuki. She also seems to think that this Classmating Ritual thing is problematic in a number of ways (no arguments here). Anyway, Itsuki asks if Collette is embarrassed by the ritual and she says that it wasn’t so bad at first, but now that she’s done it the embarrassment is building up.  Collete does that thing that every Star Maiden has done so far, where she goes in a circle talking about how it’s embarrassing but she has to do it because it’s her duty as a Star Maiden. Eventually Classmating actually happens and then Collette requests a reward for participating. Itsuki tells her she can get whatever she wants from some nearby café, which Collette seems content with. In Collette’s Bonding Event, she mentions to Itsuki that she’s got a major problem on her hands. Specifically, there’s a new bakery set to open elsewhere on the street. I guess Collette’s bakery was the only one in the area or something, judging by how she reacts to having a rival. What’s worse is that apparently the bakery that’s opening is *gasp* from a major chain! The horrors of rampant capitalism! Collette says that they are supposedly famous for opening up their shops next to other bakeries and stealing customers by selling their bread at incredibly cheap prices. You know, business. Collette says she would normally ask for advice from her grandparents, but she doesn’t want to bother them. Collette eventually breaks out of her funk and vows to keep chugging along and making her bread with love and smiles and all that crap which will totally beat out prices, variety, and convenience.  Collette also asks Itsuki again if he’s seen a suspicious woman hanging around her shop. Collette clarifies that although she calls her a woman, the suspicious person is actually only a little bit older than her. #11.  Ugh… Luckily the Classmating event has Lillith in control, so we don’t have to put up with Mana-lite during it. Lillith says she was reading a fortune on how the Classmating ritual would go for that day and it apparently told her to “watch out for something that starts with a ‘c’.” The options are “…corners?”, “…cuttlefish ink?” (the gently caress?), or “Chie?” which… is that a Persona reference or something? Anyway, the correct choice is obviously “corners”. Neither Itsuki nor Lillith know what it really means, but they agree to be wary of it regardless. Classmating then happens. After the ritual, Itsuki hears something strange and reacts just in time to pull Lillith out of the way of a piece of the ceiling which fell. Seems like the church is not exactly OSHA compliant.  Itsuki mentions that he only noticed it because of Lillith’s fortune, which caused him to keep an eye on the corners nearby. Itsuki compliments Lillith on her ability, but Lillith immediately dives into the self depreciating well and points out how she can’t do stuff like academics, or athletics, or singing, or cooking, or dancing, you get the idea. Lillith eventually admits that as long as she can do fortune telling really well and help people in that way, then she’ll be happy. The main bonding event opens with Itsuki walking in on Lillith when she has customer. Lillith seems to be acting a little strange however, as she very bluntly says to the guy that him and his girlfriend are definitely going to break up and that it’s not her problem. She continues on to say that the girl is only after the guy for his money, which makes her a pretty lovely girlfriend. Itsuki tries to intervene by saying that it’s a lie, but Lillith tells him not to spoil the fun. You guys all know what’s going on here. The guy questions Itsuki’s statement about it really being a lie and that him and his girlfriend aren’t actually going to break up, which causes Lillith to respond “Hell if I know. I didn’t actually do any readings.” She then tells him to stop coming here to get his fortune told and that all these worrywart people suck. The dude says that all that talk of Lillith being a genius is a crock of poo poo and that he’s never coming back. Lillith then wanders off, only for Lillie to coming back on screen. I guess Lillie and Lillith can change to the other personality’s appearance at will? This somehow includes swapping out the magic floating angel wings for devil wings and also swapping hair color from blue/teal to pink. Itsuki asks how Lillie was let loose for the day and Lillie says that Lillith fell off the bed headfirst while she was still half-asleep. Itsuki tries to convince Lillie that he is worried about her, not just Lillith, for some ungodly reason I can’t bring myself to think about. Eventually he talks to her about the graffiti that she drew on the academy walls and Lillie asks if he thought it was great.  Itsuki is not amused, because gently caress you I don’t care if it’s the “negative” option I will not reinforce Lillie’s lovely behaviour by telling her that it was funny. The conversation then shifts to why Lillie would do that knowing that it would also get Lillith into hot water. Lillie says that it has nothing to do with Lillith, until Itsuki points out that Lillith was the one that went and cleaned it up. Lillie calls him a liar and says that Lillith would have told her if that happened because she tells Lillie everything that happens. Lillie calls Itsuki a liar and spouts some horseshit about how Lillith and her have been together since they were born and there’s no possible way that Lillith would ever confide something to some dude that only just showed up that she would hide from Lillie. Lillie knows everything about Lillith after all and blah blah blah blah blah. The event then thankfully ends with Lillie storming off. gently caress Lillie. I hope this character arc ends with her consciousness dissolving or going to sleep forever or something that only leaves Lillith behind. #12.  Tarua’s second Classmating Event has her worried about the ritual since she passed out the first time and hit the floor. She’s concerned that it will happen again. She tries to think of a way not to be so nervous and then has an idea which causes her to run off. Some time later she returns and tells Itsuki that she ran around the block to shake off the nerves. Of course, the moment Itsuki moves towards her for the ritual she gets nervous again. Classmating eventually happens and Tarua manages to not eat floor like she did the first time.  She also does that thing where she leans forward and grunts until Itsuki figures out that she’s waiting for her reward. Very uncomfortable head patting follows. Then Tarua runs off again to finish deliveries. Tarua’s bonding event has Itsuki finding her at the Star God Academy Field looking pretty bummed out. When he asks what’s wrong, Tarua admits that she messed up at work. She checked the letters she had to deliver when she headed out in the morning, but when she checked them again later, she noticed that she was one short. She found a hole in her bag, so the letter must have fallen out at some point. She starts beating herself up about the screwup, but Itsuki comforts her by stating that mistakes are just part of life.  Itsuki offers to help her, but she declines. She says that she feels a lot better now because of Itsuki and that she’ll go finish her deliveries before backtracking her route and looking for the lost letter. That’s the end of the event. Not much to it. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Feb 23, 2020 |
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Dec 30, 2019 01:59
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"After Hours Maiden Club" has some very unfortunate connotations. I'm glad they immediately decided to give it a less lovely nickname. And yes, all of those choices are less lovely. I'm also a bit confused on who exactly was doing (or in this case not doing) the fortune telling here. I've either got the names or the timing mixed up somehow...
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Dec 30, 2019 06:25
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Raitzeno posted:"After Hours Maiden Club" has some very unfortunate connotations. I'm glad they immediately decided to give it a less lovely nickname. And yes, all of those choices are less lovely. Depends on which instance you're talking about. Lillith is doing the fortune telling during the Classmating ritual. In the bonding event, it appears at first that Lillith is doing the reading. She looks exactly like Lillith and her name is used in the textbox. However she isn't acting or speaking like Lillith. We then find out that it was just Lillie disguising herself somehow. Real Lillith actually has no speaking part during the entire event. The two of them are really hard to keep straight when all you have are the names. I said this right from the start, but Lillith should have been the name of the pink haired one. Lilith is a demon from Jewish mythology, so Lillith would have been more fitting for the pink haired girl. The developers thought otherwise I guess. Normally I'd be okay with the devs avoiding such an obvious naming convention, but this case is different because these two characters are technically the same person and their names are incredibly close, so having some natural way to connect a name with a particular personality would have been really helpful.
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Dec 30, 2019 13:37
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The head pat thing is super creepy when basically every other girl acts like classmating is not!sex. Why put that in Japan, why?!
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Dec 30, 2019 15:17
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Time to unload more Astrology madness. Be mindful that I may repeat myself. Arie/Aries: Before the last two updates, I wasn't quite sure where the trademark Aries Impulse is. With Aries you expect them to be running off of something they thought up and now want to do. We get snippets of what that Impulse might be when she talks without thinking - that brain-to-mouth filter problem is kicking in it seems - but now I'm wondering where the writers are taking this tangent. The traditional problems Aries face is letting their passions and impulses run them without any forethought or reflection, and being frustrated at Things Not Working, or their Impulses being denied or questioned. But if I'm reading the plot right, is the arc about Arie accepting her own Impulsiveness? Tarua/Taurus: The Taurus is still being a Taurus. That is all. The Twins/Gemini: Some people pointed out on the thread Gemini's two-faced reputation. Part of it comes from the fact that this zodiac isn't direct. They'll meander rather than get to the point. They aren't consistent. But this is how you get someone who relies on their wits at the moment and prefers the now, rather than the then or later. I'd say we'd get some of that in the Twins, but they don't want to be grounded, and they're having self-righteousness to defend their flightiness. I'm more worried that the writers want to have the Twins situation being treated as a benign thing that requires nothing but time to themselves. Ruka/Cancer: We're seeing more of Cancer's caring nature show itself in Ruka. However, we are also seeing the dark side of this zodiac's compassion. Something I forgot to bring up is that when there are large gatherings, it's as much a maelstrom for the Cancer as Ruka is to Itsuki. Too much of an emotional plurality to keep things together. Curiously, she seems to be trying to get over the Cancer's usual challenge: to speak up about things instead of stewing in what possible feelings they concoct. That avoids the meltdown that can happen, though she's doing it unintentionally which makes me wonder what her Moon Sign is. I have to wonder if part of her behaviour may be her trying to cultivate a safe space for herself in trying to care for others. Femiruna/Leo: The Leo is still being a Leo. I'd say that is all, but her sudden urge to have Itsuki be forceful with her raises eyebrows. It's outta left field - and I wonder if this is meant to be a zodiac 'joke' - but the way she's handling this is very much a Leo way. I should also point out that Leo suffers from living in a vacuum, forgetting that there are other people around her with different wants, feelings, and goals from her. On the one hand that we can see that she wants friends and why. On the other hand, it's also like watching a toddler learn how to walk. Then we have her relationship with her parents... It's not pretty and again, I can see why she wants friends now. Mahiru/Virgo: All earth signs have stories that they stick to, but act in different ways. Tauruses tries to press on regardless of whatever change may happen; Capricorns cultivate an image of confidence and respectability to people, and Virgos try to read the room and be the most useful to others. With Virgos, there's this deep-seated want to be dependable, though not authoritative like Capricorn. They also get upset when there is something they can't do themselves. I can see some of this want and stymying in Mahiru easily, as well as her own refusal to explain herself. Remember that Virgo's don't want people to see them crack. I wanna say she's chastising herself, just as she's chiding Itsuki. Collette/Libra: Flighty like the others though clearly having a goal in mind. Libra is being Libra and I suspect Collette might catch on to her issues in time. Personally I have to wonder if she forgot to put the Closed sign to Open in her shop. Reone/Scorpio: Before those new Bonding Scenes came up I had hoped that Reone could acknowledge that her own relationship with her brother and that with Itsuki were two separate things. I'm surprised and disappointed that she's compounding them, though I'm really hoping she's pretending in order to get a reaction from Itsuki. Scorpios tend to use emotion as a medium for reading and transmitting messages, as much as they use words. Primarily, they look for nuance. Almost anything is to try to get an emotional response out of people. Then we get the usual stereotypes of Scorpios: passionate nymphomaniacs who have nary a taboo they're willing to break. At this point, I wanna complain to the writers about using this stereotype. Yes, I get why the stereotype exists. Yes, they look to love and sex with a spine-chilling intensity. But again, they speak in and listen for emotional sentiments, and sex is just another language. Not because they're thirsty as hell. But anyway... Scorpio's usual roadblock is knowing when to tone themselves down simply because few people operate on the same wavelength as this sign. Sue/Sagittarius: Sue flummoxes me. If anything she's what Sag's don't want to find themselves in. I suppose her enthusiasm for animals and bluntness is something you'd expect from that Sign, but it's like she's constrained into something she likes but hates. Farun/Capricorn: I... may have misspoken about the Capricorn personality traits. I remarked that they were supposed to be conservative-looking business-types. But that itself is a stereotype of the Sign. Capricorns pay attention to keeping up the appearances they want to keep, sometimes burying their feelings or saving them for another time. This isn't to say they bottle things up; more they want to express them on their terms. Almost rehearsed so that nothing is misunderstood. The best example of a Capricorn confession would be Misery Business by Paramore. The one thing I'd say about the Sign compared to Farun is that they fret over serious matters, and we're seeing them here. Don't know if she's trying to be master of her own destiny while wrestling with her own feelings of family. Caps do have traditions they acknowledge, albeit grudgingly. Mirei/Aquarius: ... This was what I was talking about with Aquarius' detachment from others. They should have the capacity to care for others, but really need to work on that and not be afraid of putting themselves out there. That she seems willing to disregard others for her own wants - even if she has some sensible goal in mind - shows how badly she needs coaching on this. Otherwise, you get locked up in your head and people aren't going to understand the Aquarius' perspective. Yuzuha/Pisces: The Pisces is being a Pisces, nothing to see here. They tend to be detached like an Air Sign, but more because they're perceiving 'mysteries' around themselves, and others. They can be surprisingly introspective though they can also be locked in their own heads. They also have this tendency to reflect any emotion they're perceiving from others. It may not be right, but being made aware of what other people in a room are feeling can be pretty stressful. AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Dec 30, 2019 |
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Dec 30, 2019 18:13
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Psycho Knight posted:*A quick fade out happens where Mahiru starts serving the big lineup. Or SC cut another scene where old Mahiru was too obvious and couldn’t be rewritten, who knows?* There's an edit here to remove Itsuki saying 'ha ha, it's funny to hear you using polite speech' and Mahiru getting annoyed, so probably because of that. Psycho Knight posted:Lillith says she was reading a fortune on how the Classmating ritual would go for that day and it apparently told her to “watch out for something that starts with a ‘c’.” The options are “…corners?”, “…cuttlefish ink?” (the gently caress?), or “Chie?” which… is that a Persona reference or something? Cuttlefish ink is an effort to tie it back to the options in Japanese ('having an octopus spit ink at you') but it's not like there's any reason for them to not just make up entirely new answers. Option 3 is 'Sumi-chan' (corner being sumikko in Japanese) so if that's a reference it either wasn't the same reference in Japanese or wasn't a reference at all.
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Dec 31, 2019 00:44
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Polsy posted:Cuttlefish ink is an effort to tie it back to the options in Japanese ('having an octopus spit ink at you') but it's not like there's any reason for them to not just make up entirely new answers. Option 3 is 'Sumi-chan' (corner being sumikko in Japanese) so if that's a reference it either wasn't the same reference in Japanese or wasn't a reference at all. ...Well, huh. This is a strange thing to try and keep consistent between languages. Chunsoft just being their classic self, I guess? This is always interesting stuff to read- keep up the good work! Slaan posted:The head pat thing is super creepy when basically every other girl acts like classmating is not!sex. Why put that in Japan, why?! Agreed. I've never understood the head pat thing, and it always comes off extra weird because it's always the younger looking characters. Slaan posted:Why put that in Japan, why?! I find I ask myself this question far too much. The best answer I can come up with is a quote from the FE: Fates LP: "due to EXTREME CULTURAL DIFFERENCES"
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Dec 31, 2019 01:55
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AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Time to unload more Astrology madness. Be mindful that I may repeat myself. Keep in mind that you have Mirei and Collette swapped. Mirei matches up with Aquarius, but SC made her Libra for some reason. I don't know if Arie's arc is heading that way, but she's definitely fighting some kind of impulse or trying to deny it. I think you are on the right track with Ruka. Trying to create a safe space for herself seems pretty plausible considering her past and how she stays at the orphange to help out. Judging by the barefoot girl (or at least what Ruka tells us about her), it seems like the kids at the orphanage isolate Ruka just like everyone else due to her powers. Despite that, Ruka still tries to act the part of their caretaker/older sibling and be a nurturer. I might be corrupting this a bit, but maybe Ruka is trying to force a surrogate family with those kids at the orphanage because they aren't able to keep their distance from her, unlike everyone else. She has a captive group that have no choice but to be near her because they have nowhere else to go, which lets her try and build some kind of relationship with them that she's been denied in her daily life. I'm probably overthinking that. Polsy posted:There's an edit here to remove Itsuki saying 'ha ha, it's funny to hear you using polite speech' and Mahiru getting annoyed, so probably because of that. Yeah, the cut isn't surprising. On the other hand, the comment they cut was already made earlier in the event, so it probably would have been redundant if it was kept. Itsuki already makes a snide remark about how politely Mahiru is treating him, which leads to the "Shut up and give me your ticket" moment from Mahiru which... now that I think about it, Mahiru was smiling while saying. Is that moment different in the Japanese version? I'm wondering if they pulled something weird where they cut that dialogue about Itsuki making fun and Mahiru getting annoyed, then pasted it over an earlier part of the event in order to cover up some different Mahiru dialogue. If that makes sense. I'm actually hoping this is the case, because that would really kick up the baffling decisions level of this whole product to a new level. Also, thanks for following up on the Japanese version like this. I'm really hesitant to go looking up this stuff on my own because I'm trying to avoid spoilers and keep this totally blind. I've already caught sight of some CGs just by having searched for the opening and miscellaneous details. I should probably put in guest credits for you and AnAnonymousIdiot in the intro post. I'll collect the Astrology dumps and Japanese comparison segments in the Bonus section. The Flying Twybil posted:Agreed. I've never understood the head pat thing, and it always comes off extra weird because it's always the younger looking characters. I know it's common with teenagers, but even then it's usually kept to within the same gender as sort of a familiar or close friendship gesture. It also can have romantic implications. I think the creepy part comes from games/Anime/Manga combining the two intents a lot, so you get a family connection implication in addition to romantic implications. Why Japanese media pushes romance between relatives (blood or surrogate) is a whole other weird matter entirely.
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Dec 31, 2019 05:41
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Psycho Knight posted:I think you are on the right track with Ruka. Trying to create a safe space for herself seems pretty plausible considering her past and how she stays at the orphange to help out. Judging by the barefoot girl (or at least what Ruka tells us about her), it seems like the kids at the orphanage isolate Ruka just like everyone else due to her powers. Despite that, Ruka still tries to act the part of their caretaker/older sibling and be a nurturer. I might be corrupting this a bit, but maybe Ruka is trying to force a surrogate family with those kids at the orphanage because they aren't able to keep their distance from her, unlike everyone else. She has a captive group that have no choice but to be near her because they have nowhere else to go, which lets her try and build some kind of relationship with them that she's been denied in her daily life. That ain't out of the question with that Sign. It is in Cancer's nature to be motherly and affectionate towards whomever they choose; whether needed, prompted, or otherwise. Remember that they value the care they give to others and get upset when that is snubbed or spurned. This is how Cancer's caregiving can turn cold or smothering depending on how much communication the Sign does with those they care about.
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Dec 31, 2019 07:00
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Psycho Knight posted:On the other hand, the comment they cut was already made earlier in the event, so it probably would have been redundant if it was kept. Itsuki already makes a snide remark about how politely Mahiru is treating him, which leads to the "Shut up and give me your ticket" moment from Mahiru which... now that I think about it, Mahiru was smiling while saying. Is that moment different in the Japanese version? I'm wondering if they pulled something weird where they cut that dialogue about Itsuki making fun and Mahiru getting annoyed, then pasted it over an earlier part of the event in order to cover up some different Mahiru dialogue. If that makes sense. I'm actually hoping this is the case, because that would really kick up the baffling decisions level of this whole product to a new level. Hmm, I should re-review that actually. There was definitely more dialogue between 'I'm learning how to make sweets' and 'can I take your order' otherwise I would've noticed those were basically the same comment about her speech. Psycho Knight posted:Also, thanks for following up on the Japanese version like this. I'm really hesitant to go looking up this stuff on my own because I'm trying to avoid spoilers and keep this totally blind. I've already caught sight of some CGs just by having searched for the opening and miscellaneous details. Yeah, it's not hard to not translate the dialogue when browsing but the CGs and seasonal events are hard to miss.
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Dec 31, 2019 11:35
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Polsy posted:Hmm, I should re-review that actually. There was definitely more dialogue between 'I'm learning how to make sweets' and 'can I take your order' otherwise I would've noticed those were basically the same comment about her speech. Actually yeah there's a couple of edits: M - I’m helping out with the register while learning how to make sweets. I - It looks like you're really enjoying life in Granvania M - I'm just trying to pass the time. There's no point brooding over it M - So, can I take your order, sir? I - Gonna be honest, it’s pretty nice to have you address me like that. Nice change of pace. M - Just shut up and give me your order ticket I - I didn't come here to eat, I came to see you M - More like you came to get in my way I - I didn't. Am I in the way? M - Look behind you and you'll understand (slightly edited in the Plus dialogue) I - Where the hell did they all come from? M - If you don't want anything then move aside. Otherwise you'll make me angry I - Sorry M - Next customer please. Thank you for waiting [continues as normal] There's probably more edits to the bonding events than I expected if I went through them line-by-line, the parts I'd looked at before now were basically identical but I guess it varies depending on what's story-critical and untouchable (the promise, presumably) and what they want to edit for personality reasons. Actually most dramatically (this was very confusing when I was trying to find this event in Japanese just now), in Mahiru 3 the entire block between 'Is your class done for today'? to 'the cake in the cafeteria is delicious' is replaced by M - Yeah. What are you doing here? I - I came to see your face M - Wow! I'm so happy! I - Wait, really? M - No, I was joking. I - I figured M - Well, it sounds like you're at a loose end, so removing the entire dialogue chunk about rehashing the promise, then after that is some additional missable dialogue about how she wants to experience Granvania cooking and Itsuki doesn't know what a patissier is, before going back to agreeing to go for the cake to improve their bond. Polsy fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jan 1, 2020 |
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Jan 1, 2020 00:53
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Polsy posted:*Various questionable decisions* So not as bad as I initially thought. It's mainly them trying to find a way to frame Mahiru's new personality, except that they are trying to achieve it by mostly cutting things and hoping that the scene still makes sense. I should note that Yoshinori Terasawa produced the original game and was brought back to produce Conception PLUS as well. So this weirdness isn't a result of a change in producers. He's been involved with the production of the Danganronpa franchise as well, so he's not exactly a rookie. As for the localisation, Spike Chunsoft's North American branch appears to be very small (LinkedIn says between 1-10 employees, although I don't know if that's accurate). There are at least two Editors/Localisation Team members listed, but I find it hard to believe that a team that size could be churning out so many RPG/VN localisations on their own. Are they outsourcing the translation or something? That would explain a lot of the errors, although the weird changes are still suspect. I don't see a video of the English Credits up for PLUS yet, so we might have to wait until this LP is finished before we get a good look at the full production/localisation staff. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Jan 1, 2020 |
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Jan 1, 2020 01:52
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Bonding Update VIII – Aries, Libra, Capricorn, Scorpio, Virgo, and Cancer Finally, time to get this done. We’re going to speed through the second Bonding Level 2 events and then tackle a second Star Offering. Hopefully that will trigger some new plot or the introduction of the 13th Maiden or something of interest. Arie starts us off. ~Star God Academy Church~ (Huh… I guess Arie’s not here today. That’s— Oh, wait, there she is. …Hang on… did she just come out of that forbidden room?) Arie? Ah!*Arie very quickly runs up to Itsuki* H-Hello. Did you need something today? Not particularly… I just came to see you… Hey, isn’t that the forbidden room that you just walked out of? W-Well! I thought you said there was some kind of evil sealed away inside. Um, well… Does that mean you managed to pry it open? Huh…? You told me it was rusted shut and couldn’t be opened. But it was very dirty inside, so I was cleaning it. Um, Arie? Why are you being so panicky?She really is. Normally when the Star Maidens change poses in these 3D modeled scenes, there is a slow and gentle flow to their movement. However, when Arie changes poses in the lead up to the line “Th-That’s right!” the shift is quick and sharp. What’s in the room, Arie? I-I am not panicking! If you say so. Anyway… Since the room is open now, maybe I can have a look. Huh?! I want to see what this unspeakable evil thing you mentioned is. Y-You may not, Itsuki! Ah! H-Hey! Wh—*The screen goes black at this point* You mustn’t look inside that room! I said no! (What do I do?! What—Hands! Hands are free! Not touching anything! Not moving them!) Arie… you’re suffocating… me… Please. Just not this room… Please, spare me… Arie… please… This room can’t be seen by anyone. O-Okay… I give… I give! Oh… I-I’m sorry… I don’t know what got into me. Itsuki, I’m ashamed of hurting you. I’m… I’m good… I think… Just have to remember the Classmating exercises I came up with…drat. So close. You should have just gone for it, Itsuki. No words, just boom, straight dash to the room. I’m really sorry, Itsuki.  You’re not the only one. You too? What do you mean? Uh, it’s nothing. Don’t mind me. But that’s the first time I’ve seen you get that flustered. What’s the deal? I-I’m sorry. I try my best to remain calm at all times… Is what’s in that room really such a big secret? Yes… I see… Well, I’m sorry for trying to pry into your private life. I may have gotten a little too curious. I still don’t have enough courage to show you inside the room.  I may be able to gather the courage to do so…Kink dungeon. It’s gotta be. It’s clearly a guilty pleasure (judging by her comment when she exits the room and thinks she’s alone). She’s training as a nun to try and overcome it or purge herself of it or something. It’s also something that she doesn’t want anyone to know, yet is willing to share with Itsuki if the two of them build a closer relationship with each other. Now that I’m fairly confident about Arie, it’s time I shift my attention back to figuring out what the hell is going on with Farun’s backstory. ~Mirei’s Laboratory~ Oh, right. We need to get through Mirei before that. Looks like she’s not here… Hm? What’s with all those letters sitting in the trash?*Mirei wanders onto the scene* Whew… Oh, Itsuki. You’re here? Oh, yeah. I just got here. You look pretty refreshed. What were you doing? I went out for the first time in a while and enjoyed myself. …Really? That’s kind of surprising. I thought you only cared about research. This is different. Research may be the only thing I look forward to in life… But refreshing myself every now and then helps with my research. Okay, so where did you go then? Do you want to know? Try to guess. The hint is that it felt quite nice. It felt nice? So… like a massage or something? Untrue. I have no experience with massages. Is it supposed to feel good when they rub your body? From what I know, yeah. It’s supposed to feel really good when you’re feeling tired. Where are you going to rub? You can do it anywhere you want. Try to make me feel relaxed. Go ahead. Me? I don’t know how to properly give massages. I’m not a therapist. Oh, is that so? Hm… Then if it really feels good… I should consider developing a plant with Star Energy that can massage me.A plant? How the hell is a magic plant supposed to… Oh… I see your game, Conception Plus. Good thing Mana isn’t here. So if you weren’t gone for a massage, then where were you? This part is actually sort of weird. Mirei’s profile already reveals that she loves baths. Based on context, and the fact that she feels really refreshed, it’s safe to say that that is where she was just now. So all the mystery is sort of gone from this event if you bother to go check Mirei’s profile at any point between the start of the game and now. You’d think that section of her profile would pop up after we discovered what she was up to. Maybe that’s a red herring? What is with everyone and having secret places that they won’t tell me about? Eheheh, don’t sulk, Itsuki. Still, it’s weird seeing you this happy. Outside of that medicine you were working on, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you genuinely laugh. I mean in a non-creepy way. I feel good right now thanks to having gotten so refreshed. If there’s something you want from me, now would be the time to ask. Really? Then could you maybe try smiling a little more often?That’s the best option. The other two options were “Stop your research on me” (which I’m betting is the worst one seeing as how research is everything to Mirei) and “Let me kiss you” (which I’m betting is the neutral answer because Mirei would probably find that uninspired and a boring typical horny teenager thing). Heheh, what is with that request? You’re so strange. I don’t know, you just seem a lot happier when you’re smiling. That makes me feel more relaxed. Eheheh. You really have no greed at all. It’s true that laughing makes you happier. At the very least, I’ll try to laugh more around you. Great. I really liked seeing this side of you, Mirei. Heheh. I enjoyed it too. Chatting with you is a nice change of pace. I’m going to compile the data I’ve obtained up till now. See you later.…The gently caress was that? That doesn’t sound like the Mirei we know. Did she get replaced with a body snatcher that was somehow unable to match her cold logical personality? Weird… ~Tavern~ Oh! Hey, hey! If it isn’t, Itsuki! Have a seat. Wanna drink? How ‘bout some water? You seem pretty pumped up today. Hehe. Does it seem that way? Well… Hm? Oh, my work? There aren’t that many customers today. This is another weird transition. I didn’t leave anything out there. Official Itsuki just says “You seem real happy today” and then Farun blurts out everything you see above. You really just do what you want, huh? I sure do. I have permission from the bar owner, so it’s all right. Well, the reason I’m so happy is… Hehehe. I talked to this really good lookin’ boy at the academy today! He’s the popular kid! I didn’t know those kinda people actually existed! Well… Hehe… What the gently caress is going on in this update?! First Mirei is legitimately happy and friendly, now Farun is here getting all giddy over the fact that some dude called her beautiful despite making it clear that she can easily brush off comments like that. …Huh? I didn’t say somethin’ wrong, did I? Uh… not really. I was just… I was thinking that you have pretty typical tastes, that’s all. Should I not? What girl wouldn’t like bein’ complimented by a good-lookin’ boy? Hm? You thinkin’ ‘bout if you were the one who complimented me? Hmm? Me? Uptight? I can tell how serious ya are, always goin’ to the labyrinths an’ stuff.Is Farun drunk or something? It’s not me, right? Like, I haven’t gone crazy. The Maidens are starting to get really weird. I knew ya were upstandin’, but that also told me that we ain’t compatible. You know how happy-go-lucky I am. Hehe. I don’t think I’m that serious of a guy. I just had to start taking things seriously because of what I got dragged into. Ahaha. There ya go puttin’ on a front again. I’m not putting up a front. When I first got here I thought this would be a fun adventure and I could be a cool badass hero. But then all this stuff got dumped on my shoulders, and I had everyone telling me that the fate of this entire world is riding on me, and I have to keep juggling a bunch of “modes” of my own because I need to form bonds with twelve people that have completely different personalities… I have a lot of very important things to handle. That’s what I mean by bein’ uptight. I’d just run away if I were you. This isn’t something that I can run from, Farun. I want to get back to my own world. But you’re still workin’ so hard. An’ yet, you’re so… You’re working hard too, aren’t you? You’ve done a lot to help me out. Well, same goes for me. That’s why I need to do what I can. … I also promised to get Mahiru back home, so I can’t just stop. Right… Mahiru… Now I’m jealous… W-Wait! Forget I said that! Ahaha! Farun, what’s going on with you? You’ve been acting really strange. Plus, you keep staring at my face. Cuz… Um… Uhhh… Th-thanks? A-Ahaha! Th-This is just so weird. I’m sure sayin’ some funny things today!No arguments here. A-All right! Next topic! How ‘bout we talk ‘bout economics?Please don’t. I changed majors to get away from that stuff. Farun… W-Wait… I can’t look ya in the eyes…  I don’t think I can talk to ya normally right now… Is something wrong? B-Be quiet! I-I just happened to be like this today! Wait till tomorrow an’ I’ll be back to normal! Just ya see!It’s the first week of August, there shouldn’t be a full moon, so what the hell has gotten into Farun? Okay… well I guess I’ll check in with you tomorrow then. Oh, and um… I mean… Whoever that guy was, I’d say he was right about you being beautiful. Wha…?! Wh-Wh-What are ya talkin’ ‘bout?! Th-That was outta nowhere… Wh-Why would ya say that?!That’s a good question, actually. I’ll be honest. I was curious to see how you would react to that. D-Don’t tease a woman older than ya! Jerk! Th-That’s just too sudden for me! Um…  Got it, leaving right away. You’re such a jerk… Whew… I’m burnin’ up… I wonder when he’ll come by again. I wanted to chat a bit more… Itsuki… please visit again soon… …What the Christ was that? Did Farun get possessed? Am I having a fever dream or something? ~Star God Academy Clinic~ Welcome, Itsuki.Well, at least we’ll have some time away from Farun to hopefully let her work through whatever the hell is going on with her right now. I was just about to call for you. Really? Why’s that? I told you my duty is to watch over your health. What would you even do about it if he did? Does your magic stethoscope fix scarring? Do I really have to get another check-up so soon? Why do you look so annoyed by it? I always treat you gently… There’s no one else I give such special treatment. I don’t think there’s anything you should be dissatisfied about. I’m not really dissatisfied. I just don’t see the need to get a check-up so frequently. If I’m feeling off or something happened, I’ll let you know. Outside of that, isn’t a check-up a once a year sort of thing? No. If you let your guard down, it could be too late! Why are you getting so worked up about this? He’s not your brother Reone. Get over it. Your arc is getting progressively creepier the more you harp on this. Anyway, please let me perform a check-up on you. I don’t want to be lazy about this. *sigh* Okay, okay. Sorry for being cranky about it. I know you’re doing it because you care. It’s all right. I’m glad you understand. As your reward… should I undress you? You can just stand there and let me take care of things. Not happening.This is the worst choice by the way, but I really do not want to be encouraging this poo poo. We know Reone is having difficulty separating Itsuki from her deceased brother. She was clearly self-conscious about it during Classmating and yet here she is trying to be seductive and teasing by undressing Itsuki with her own hands. Oh, really? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind seductive or teasing characters. This stuff was sort of amusing in the early part of the game/her arc. But knowing what we know now changes the dynamic and makes it increasingly uncomfortable. It’s okay to let me spoil you sometimes, you know. Sorry, but I don’t want things to get out of hand. You’re so stoic… But that’s no fun at all. With how insistent you’re being about this, I’m starting to think that I should just go along with it. That’s right. You should accept people’s goodwill. Here goes. I’m going to undress you now. Be sure to stay still, all right? H-Hey! I didn’t say that I was agreeing!*Yeah, that’s right. Reone does it no matter what you choose. Go figure* … You really do have beautiful collarbones. I can’t help but stare. May I touch them? I know it has nothing to do with the check-up, but… Uhh… I guess? Why are you so fixated on them anyway? And this is why it’s creepy, Reone. In the past, my brother examined me just like this. I had no shortage of wounds from all those street fights. For every little injury, he’d patch me up. It was actually my brother who wanted to become a doctor, not me.Okay, that’s slightly more understandable. I will heavily presume that your brother was more professional about this than you, though. I was a bad sister fighting in the streets just to earn money for food each day. I was desperate to help my brother attain his dream of becoming a doctor… Oh, I see… So… what happened to your parents then? I don’t know who they are. My first memory is of my brother and I having been abandoned in the slums. It may sound strange coming from me, but we had a hard life.  So that’s what it is… Sorry. Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for making you listen. …That ends the check-up for today. You can get dressed now. Or should I help you get dressed? Nope. I’m good. That’s my final answer. Your body is fine. The health check-up ended with no issues this time. But that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. What you’re doing now is much harsher than what I did all those years ago. I hope you understand that. I still think you worry too much. You didn’t have to say it like that… It’s a given for me to worry about you as your doctor, no? Now that I think about it… my brother also told me I worried too much… *sigh*…  …Um… Well, I better head back now that the exam is done with. Oh, right. I shouldn’t hold you back too long. I hope you don’t find these examinations too annoying. Do come back again soon. While I can’t join you in the labyrinths… I can treat your wounds, be a love counselor, or anything in-between. I will protect the town outside the labyrinth so you have a safe place to live. Right. I’ll be counting on you. Haha… If any unscrupulous people go after you, I’ll be sure to purge them. I… just want you to be happy.  I will look after you until the day you return to your world. See you later then.This update is going a lot weirder than I would have expected. Just to give a peek behind the curtain, I’m only truly seeing these bonding events as I type the update. In order to collect all of them in one convenient batch, I fast forward through them when they first happen and then go into the database to record them once all 12 Maidens have their next level of events unlocked. I get the gist of what happens in the events from speed-reading, but I only get the detailed dialogue once I go back to the database. ~Star God Academy Field~ I’m hungry… I should get something at the cafeteria.Anyway, just a reminder that I don’t have a lot of advanced warning for weirdness like we’re seeing here. Also, that was literally the only line for this location. We’re straight off to the Cafeteria. We’ve moved on to Mahiru’s event now. ~Star God Academy Cafeteria~ drat… it’s closed. I wonder if Mahiru already left. I’m still here.*Mahiru wanders into the scene* Oh, good. I thought I missed you. Were you planning on eating here? Well, I was… I guess I’ll have to try and find something on the way back to the inn.Official Itsuki says that he’ll just have to go home and eat some instant noodles. Once again, I want to remind everyone that we are in a magic fantasy world which seems to have a predominantly European Renaissance/Industrial Revolution era of architecture and supposedly a culture built on magical progress rather than technological progress. But apparently you can still grab some readily available Top Ramen from the nearest market. Hm? Hey, Mahiru… what’s in that box? Oh, this? I-It’s nothing. Really? Because I get the feeling that it’s a very delicious nothing… Like maybe those Nonsweet Sweets that the pastry chef made… Unfortunately, that’s where you’re wrong. Then what’s in there? Oh. Well then let me grab a piece of that. But you know my cooking is… You did taste it, didn’t you? Of course I did. I’m not in grade school anymore. Then what’s the big deal? It’s fine, right? Well… It’s still in the trial stage… It’s not up to par yet… Why are you getting so embarrassed about it? You know me. Don’t force yourself… It’s my fault that terrible thing happened to you, Itsuki. You almost died because of my cooking! There’s no way you’d want to eat anything I make… *sigh* Mahiru, why are you so hung up on that? It was an accident. Remember? It was food poisoning from the seafood that sent me to the hospital. But it’s my fault. So you’re still afraid of people eating what you make? Yes, I am… I keep telling you that it’s in the past. You can’t let that hold you back forever. But… No “but.” It was an accident, it happened a long time ago, and I’m fine now. Look! I’m here in a different world fighting monsters and running around dungeons. Reone is constantly giving me check-ups and she always says that I’m perfectly fine. Itsuki… You wanted to get better at cooking, right? I want to support that. The stuff you make might wind up on the cafeteria menu some day, right? People are going to eat it eventually. Come on, just let me try some. I’m hungry. I’m sorry, by the way. I didn’t know that you were so traumatized by that. It’s not your fault, Itsuki. I should be the one apologizing. Sooo…. can I have some of that cake now? Sure… Let’s eat it together. Oh, and I know you don’t like stuff that’s too sweet. So I had the pastry chef teach me how to make that Nonsweet cake. So you made this just for me, then? You become more motivated when you’re making it for someone specific. But once I started, I couldn’t bring myself to give it to you. Don’t beat yourself up, Mahiru. You’re suffering from a half-assed developer induced personality change. I was going to bring it home to eat it myself. Now that I think about it, you never made anything else for me after that incident happened. I was too scared to. But I’ve thought otherwise after coming to this world. Everyone has their own problems, but they’re living life to the fullest. I knew I couldn’t stay the way I was… You’ve really matured since coming here, you know that? Really? I hope so. I’d like to believe I’ve changed, too. What do you think? Well… I think you do look a bit cooler than before. Only a bit? You’re being about as sweet as your Nonsweet cake. Anyway, I’m really hungry now. Then shall we eat? Hold on, let me get a fork. I only have one though. That’s okay, right? Sure. As long as you don’t mind this being some weird indirect kiss event. Don’t call it an event!*We then get another fade to black moment that I heavily presume indicates another cut Mahiru scene, because there doesn’t appear to be a time skip* Are you not going to take it out of the box? Setting aside how it tastes, it doesn’t look good, so I don’t want to show it. Say “ah.” So now you’re doing a “Say ‘ah’” event as well?Official Itsuki actually does refer to both this and the “indirect kiss” thing as events, like he’s drawing a parallel to video games or visual novels. It matches my characterisation of Itsuki, but I bring it up because Official Itsuki actually hasn’t made any video game references since the very first scene of the game (where he’s talking with Mahiru on the school roof back on Earth). They probably dropped it after the opening scene in order to keep him as blank a slate as possible.  Come on! Say “ah”! Sure, sure.*Itsuki has some of the cake and doesn’t keel over immediately* Well? It’s not bad. Tastes exactly like something you would make. What does that mean? Like it’s bad? I didn’t say that. It’s more like… nostalgic. I made you curry 10 years ago. It’s the first time I’ve made any dessert. Maybe it’s just the Konatsuki family style. Konatsuki family… Once we go back to Sora, I want to have Mom’s curry again. Say, Itsuki… What do we do if we can’t go back? Don’t think about it like that. I promised you we would get back, didn’t I? But if we can’t… Why not do it regardless of what happens? I’ll be there to taste it either way, right? Okay…Despite how much the cousin thing bothers me about the Itsuki-Mahiru route, I do enjoy typing out these events. Itsuki and Mahiru have a comfortable history, so their back and forth tends to work better than with the other Maidens. It’s just a shame that we know this route will end with them hooking up despite being blood related. Too bad it doesn’t stay as a friendship.  Oh well. What are you gonna do? We’ll deal with that when/if the thread decides to declare Mahiru the Ending Winner. For now, let’s keep looking to the immediate future. Right now, the immediate future is Ruka and her unique CG. ~Star God Academy Classroom~ Hey, Ruka. Are there any club activities happening today? I was just about to go on my patrol. Do you want to come with me? I am a member, aren’t I? Plus, I did promise to help you. So let’s get a move on. Seems like you’re plenty motivated. Here, wear this. A… sash? Why does it say “I’m God’s Gift!”? You’d just look like any other student otherwise.I guess…? Except the uniform he’s wearing is a completely different colour and has a totally different emblem than the Star God Academy which is also in a different place. But sure, other than those things, he looks just like any other student here. That said, having a sash sounds pretty sweet. I’m disappointed that it’s not a costume option for Itsuki in the dungeons. As I said, I want people to know when God’s Gift is on patrol. Will this really be effective? I don’t know. It’s the first time I’m patrolling with you. If you don’t want to wear it, then don’t. It sounds like you’re not serious about this anyway. I didn’t say that. I think a sash is cool. It looks handmade, too. Did you do it? Huh? I did. Why? Oh… But it’s not for you to keep.Booo! You should know this already, but it’s specifically for the patrol. You’re really into this, huh? Of course I am. If I don’t show my motivation now, when am I going to? It may be a little flashy, but I think it will be effective. You went through the trouble of making it for me, so I don’t mind wearing it. Plus, I think it’s kind of cool. Makes me look official. I was kind of bummed out that I didn’t get some kind of hero armor or uniform. I-I see… Let’s go on patrol now. It’ll be our first time together doing it. Maiden Club on patrol! All you jackasses at the Academy are officially on notice! ~Star God Academy Field~ The academy is quite large, so patrolling the whole area is tough. Have you gone on any patrols by yourself? I do whenever I come to the academy. But everything is so peaceful. I’m beginning to regret dragging them into this. Everyone is so busy with their own stuff after all. They decided to help, didn’t they? I think you’re just being a little overly considerate of other people’s feelings. That’s how Tsukuyomi are. I get sensitive about it because we know when people are lying. Let’s make our rounds at the cafeteria and call it a day.~Star God Academy Cafeteria~  Wh-What’s going on…? And… we’re a couple…?[Cafeteria Worker]: Now right this way. We’ll bring you the commemorative parfait straight out. H-Hey… We’re not a couple! Why aren’t you denying it?! Just roll with it. It’s free food after all. Don’t let it bother you so much. O-Of course it’ll bother me… Now we just look like we’re a couple hanging around the academy. Didn’t we decide on just “Maiden Club”? So then you don’t want any free parfaits? Ugh… …I-I’ll eat it… If I don’t eat it now, it’ll just ruin the cafeteria’s celebratory mood. B-But just so you know… Eating my fill of parfait hasn’t been a lifelong dream or anything. Oh, then that’s a bonus. We get free food and you get to have a dream come true. I didn’t say that! Let’s just eat this giant parfait and go home.*20 seconds pass and Grumpy Ruka becomes…*  Mmm… This is good. What’s with this fresh cream? It just melts in my mouth. I can’t stop eating… That’s great and all… but do you think that I could have some? Oh, fine. Just a bite. Say “ahh”… (This is a weird week. But, whatever. Not going to complain about free food.) Ahh… Oh man, that’s good. Right? Oh, don’t take the cherry. I’m saving it for last.And now for the inevitable regret of scarfing down a ton of ice cream. ~Star God Academy Classroom~ Ugh… I overate. I don’t think I have room for dinner… Well you did kind of force yourself to eat every last bit of it. Wh-What’s so wrong with that? This was like a celebration of the club’s formation. This academy really is problem-free… How could she have lost her shoes here…?I kind of figured they’d pull this. If it’s not bullying, then what is it? Does barefoot girl just not like shoes? Is she deliberately trying to make herself look poor/neglected in order to earn sympathy from someone in the hopes they will adopt her? Sorry. That’s way too cynical, even for me. Maybe we can find some clues if we keep doing the patrols. Right. I’ll continue this club until she gets adopted. I have to work hard until then at the very least. I have to prepare for dinner, so I need to go now. I’m short on my allowance, but I want to buy some cake for the kids. I shouldn’t be the only one who gets some enjoyment today. Okay. I’ll make sure to call out to you if I see you around the campus. We can keep each other updated in between patrols. You really don’t need to call out to me… B-But, I hope you come to the club meetings. Phrasing. Well, meeting adjourned for today’s After Hours Maiden Club. You got it, Club President Ruka. I keep telling you to stop calling me that…A little rocky at the start, but Ruka manages to wrap up this series of Focus Bonding Events in a heartwarming way. Let’s see if the Non-Focus Maidens can manage to ruin that. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 14:35 on Jan 1, 2020 |
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Jan 1, 2020 02:53
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Bonding Update VIII Summaries - Sagittarius, Pisces, Leo, Aquarius, Gemini, and Taurus BU8 was a bit too hefty for a single post, so here are the summaries on their own page. #7. Sue’s event follows her previous one, where she talked about having to one day set the injured wolf free into the wild. The time has arrived and despite some reservations, Sue thinks that she’ll be okay as long as Itsuki is there with her. Not really looking forward to this myself, if I’m being honest. I hate these kinds of scenes. Anyway, Sue questions Itsuki again as to why he decided to help her since she sees this as her problem. Itsuki says that it’s for her sake, but rather than get confused by it, Sue actually appreciates that explanation and says that she does want Itsuki by her side. The scene transitions to the forest with the wolf whimpering. Itsuki points out that he looks pretty sad about this himself, but Sue states that this is the way it has to be and that he (the wolf) knows that too. The conversation about naming him then repeats, with Itsuki talking about how Sue never gave the wolf a name and Sue saying that naming him would make it much harder to say goodbye. You know the deal. Sue then tries to send him off, but the wolf jumps up to her and starts licking her. Sue pleads with him to leave, but Itsuki says that the wolf doesn’t seem to want to be separated from her. Sue pleads with the wolf a little more before she does the typical “Get out of here!” yelling and fake anger to try and drive him away. The wolf finally slinks off and Sue proceeds to break down. Itsuki tells her that she did a good job, which leads to…  In case you’re curious, the actual name of Itsuki’s school is gibberish. The lettering over the logo looks something like “Fimni High Scolle”. The only word that’s written clearly is “High”. Sue has herself a good cry and says that this is tearing her apart because she didn’t want to say goodbye. She reveals that this is why she hates getting involved with people, because new encounters means she eventually has to say goodbye. She says that it’s also hurting her to be with Itsuki because she knows she’ll have to say goodbye to him someday as well. Then she continues crying and says she doesn’t want to be alone. After she gets that all out of her system, Sue thanks Itsuki for being there with her because she doesn’t think she would have had the courage to do it alone. Sue says that she’s feeling a bit better and that she thinks the sadness was cut in half because she had Itsuki there to share it with. The event ends with Sue saying that she’s confident the wolf will be okay because he’s returned to his friends and family.  #8. Yuzuha’s event opens with Itsuki in the park commenting that Yuzuha is late for their meeting. Yuzuha shows up shortly afterward lugging a coffin with her. Yuzuha is surprised that he noticed and then says that she came up with the design herself. She asks him what he thinks. Itsuki is left mostly speechless, but says that it does look very feminine, which Yuzuha appreciates as that is what she was going for. She wanted to make it cuter, because according to her “Coffins are usually masculine.” Itsuki asks her what’s inside and Yuzuha says that all of her art supplies are in there. She starts explaining that coffins are great because of variety of uses they can have (like sleeping in it, using it as a bag, etc.), but Itsuki points out that they don’t look especially convenient considering how heavy they are. Yuzuha says that she made this one lightweight so that it’s easy to carry and that she feels more at ease when carrying it herself. Some little NPC girl then butts in and points out to her mother that Yuzuha is carrying around something weird. Her mother tries to get her to be quiet because Yuzuha is a Star Maiden and she shouldn’t be saying bad things about her.  The mother then immediately starts openly pondering about why someone like Yuzuha would become a Star Maiden and what possesses her to go carrying around a coffin like some weirdo. The mother then hurries her daughter along. Yuzuha is understandably upset and says that she’s just going to go home now. Itsuki tries to comfort her, but she tells him to stay away because she doesn’t want people to start thinking that he’s weird too. Yuzuha then starts to break into tears and says that she should have just stayed home. Despite her protests, Itsuki wipes the tears away and comforts her. He offers to carry her back home and tells her that anyone that thinks she’s weird or abnormal can gently caress off (obviously I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the general idea). The two get back to Yuzuha’s workshop, where Yuzuha apologizes for having Itsuki carry her all the way back. She asks if she was too heavy, but Itsuki deflects by saying that the coffin was the major source of weight. Yuzuha wishes the she could be considerate like Itsuki instead of being shy all the time. Itsuki points out that she was sleeping on the way back as well, which causes Yuzuha to reveal that she just felt really comfortable and also managed to have a dream (it was about big buildings during the night, but it was still being bright outside and it was a mysterious place she’s never been to before. In other words, she was dreaming of Sora). Itsuki asks her to try painting it, but Yuzuha says that she doesn’t think she can have that dream again unless she’s sleeping on Itsuki’s back. The event ends with Yuzuha getting embarrassed about unintentionally implying that she wanted to sleep on Itsuki’s back.  #9. Femiruna’s event opens with her quickly pacing back and forth in the Academy Cafeteria and having some kind of internal debate. When Itsuki questions what’s got her so worked up, Femiruna gets embarrassed and gradually admits that she was thinking about ordering something from the cafeteria but also that it’s something she doesn’t want to eat. With a little prying from Itsuki, Femiruna reveals that she wants to try overcoming her aversion to carrots, which she’s had ever since she was a child. Itsuki asks what prompted this sudden attempt at personal growth and Femiruna almost lets it slip out that it’s because of that time he told her off for flipping out at her servant (if you don’t recall, she was going to fire the servant because they served her a dish with carrots in it). Femiruna then ropes Itsuki into helping her and orders him to bring her some food with carrots in it. She tells him that he’s the one that put the idea in her head, so he’s got to take responsibility for that. Despite what she says, she clarifies that if he just brings her a plate with nothing but carrots on it, she’ll be pissed. Itsuki eventually returns with one of three choices (the player can choose “Carrot Cookies”, “soup with carrots”, or “a carrot stick”). Serving up soup with carrots (the best answer for this event) has Femiruna point out that it should be a fairly easy starting point for her since the carrots are diced up. She says her opinion of Itsuki is higher now, since he made such a wise choice. She gets ready to try the soup and Itsuki takes the opportunity to ask her why she’s so fussy about them. Femiruna says she can’t really remember the exact reason; she’s just always hated them since childhood.  She eventually gathers her resolve and goes for it in order to prove to Itsuki that she can. She is surprised to find that it’s not bad at all and not what she was expecting. Itsuki asks if she’s ever even tried eating carrots, but Femiruna is too caught up in her victory. She then thanks Itsuki for his help and he questions what this has to do with him. Femiruna then just comes right out and says that it’s because Itsuki belittled her for that time she flipped out at her servant. There’s a little more Tsundere stuff from Femiruna where she tells Itsuki that it’s not like she did this because of him or anything. Itsuki says he feels bad for that servant that she tried to fire over something so silly, which prompts Femiruna to tell him that a gentleman shouldn’t keep bringing up that kind of stuff. Just before the event ends and Femiruna is walking off screen, she stops and gets shy. She manages to squeak out a “Thank you” to Itsuki, then leaves for real.  #10. Collette’s event continues on with the “New competition in town” subplot that was started in her previous event. She closes up shop as soon as Itsuki walks in and tells him that he’s going with her somewhere. When Itsuki asks what’s going on, Collette reveals that she’s going to be carrying out an undercover operation against her new rival and Itsuki is going to be her partner. They head out into the Granvania Shopping Center and Collette leads him to where the new bakery is. When Itsuki asks why he had to be dragged along for this, Collette reveals that the bakery is having a “Love Loaf” sale for their grand opening. Couples that go together apparently get all you can eat bread (are couple events the only promotions people in Granvania can come up with?), so Collette is using Itsuki to help her gather some intel. Collette also concedes that, although they are her rivals, this is a good strategy. Itsuki points out that the two of them look more like siblings than a couple, which Collette concedes is true. The event—  NO!  Itsuki thankfully shuts that down completely and Collette laughs and says she was just joking. She then says that if they just stress the fact that they’re lovers and not siblings, then that’s what they are. Operation: Half-baked is about to get under way, where Itsuki and Collette will pretend to loaf each other in order to scone some free bread, but Collette stops for a second to make a request of Itsuki. She wants him to not call her Collette because the rival bakery probably knows her name at the very yeast. She suggests that he call her something like “honey” or “kitten?” Itsuki says those are kind of childish, so Collette responds with “In that case, call me ‘baby.’” In turn, Collette plans on just calling Itsuki “bro”, which Itsuki points out is pretty stupid if the two of them are supposed to be posing as lovers and not siblings. She then decides on Pookums.  They get the ball rolling on their stealth op and Collette somehow manages to get cream on her nose (fanservice. It’s supposed to be fanservice. The answer will almost always be fanservice). Collette starts commenting on how the bakery uses too much of it and then the CG scene just sort of ends. The event picks back up outside of the rival bakery with Itsuki asking Collette what she thought of it. She states that they might be a bigger challenge than she first thought. Their flavour isn’t nearly as good as hers (according to Collette), but they are much cheaper. She thinks they are evenly matched, but only between price and flavor. In terms of variety of breads offered, the rival bakery absolutely destroys Collette’s (they have 25 different varieties compared to her 8). However, Collette says that she’s still confident that she can beat them and says that she’ll start by bumping up her offerings to 20. She also says that if she doubles the amount of bread she makes, she can stay in business (which is not how business works in this case. Making more bread is useless unless you have the customers to buy it, Collette. We already know that you don’t completely sell out of the bread you currently make). Anyway, Collette reaches the conclusion that despite her best efforts, she has no choice but to hire another worker since she’ll need to be in the back of the shop baking in order to keep up. To her credit, she states that even though she wanted to run her bakery entirely on her own, now is not the time to be stubborn. The event peters out from there. #11. Great. This sure is my favourite part. Ugh, here we go. Lillith starts us off for this event. She has a customer (Female Student B) who is pissed off that the fortune she got from Lillith isn’t all sunshine and roses. The student demands to know why she can’t date Mark, but Lillith says that that is all the fortune tells her. Lillith tries to come up with some way of calming the girl down, but the girl just demands that Lillith redo the reading so that her and Mark can date. Lillith tells her that isn’t how fortune telling works and that she has to accept the results. The girl then accuses Lillith of being full of herself because people call her a genius. Itsuki tells her to take a loving chill pill and between him and Lillith they manage to spin the reading in such a way that the girl might be able to win this Mark guy over some day and date him in the future.  That seems to calm the girl down and she leaves, causing Lillith to thank Itsuki for stepping in to help since she’s bad with words and doesn’t know how to explain herself very well. Itsuki asks her if she gets customers like that a lot and Lillith says that she does. The rumor of her being a super accurate fortune teller is causing some friction with people who get less than ideal fortunes. Itsuki contemplates finding a way to be there for Lillith more often, but she tells him that she can’t possibly ask him to do that. Nonetheless, she thanks him for his concern and reassures him that despite how angry some people get, there’s nobody around that would actually go so far as to hurt her (other than, you know, those random rear end street punks that tried to pick up Reone). Itsuki still tells her that she can depend on him to help her out with whatever she needs and that causes Lillith to get shy and embarrassed. She heads out back to make the two of them some tea, which results in (yes, unfortunately…) her tripping and causing a personality flip. Lillie rushes back out and starts accusing Itsuki of doing something to Lillith because her emotions are all screwed up (Lillith and Lillie can pick up on emotions when their personality swaps happen, but they don’t know about the context behind why those emotions are there). Lillie starts trying to threaten Itsuki because she’s convinced he did something to Lillith, but Itsuki tells her to check the drat memo that Lillith left which explains the entire situation. Even after reading the memo, Lillie still threatens to rip Itsuki’s lungs out if he ever makes Lillith cry and it’s absolutely adorable that Lillie thinks she’s capable of beating up anyone that isn’t a pre-pubescent child. Anyway, Itsuki says that Lillie must really care about Lillith, Lillie denies it and says she’s just concerned about something happening to their body because they share it, then the rear end in a top hat girl from earlier comes back and Lillie threatens to kill her for making Lillith cry and then the event ends.   I hate her so loving much. I truly do. I’m actually looking forward to having Mana around again. That’s how bad Lillie is.#12. Tarua’s event is all about her tracking down that missing letter from last time. She remembered where she dropped it, so Itsuki goes with her to help look. They head to the forest, which Tarua says she ran through on her way to make a delivery. She promptly ran into a tree, which is when she figures the letter fell out. Tarua has been back here every day trying to find it and the spot they are in now is the only one left. So it’s not so much that she “remembered” where she dropped it, so much as she eliminated every other possible location it could have wound up in. Either way, Tarua and Itsuki scour the area but turn up empty. Tarua suggests that maybe it fell in the mud, but Itsuki tells her that she’ll get filthy if she goes digging around in there. Tarua says she doesn’t care and darts straight into the mud. She starts frantically looking around while Itsuki looks on in exasperation. Itsuki eventually caves and joins the search, although Tarua tries to discourage him because then he’ll get dirty too. The search is still fruitless, which causes Tarua to finally crack and start crying. She feels horrible because she lost a “precious letter.” Itsuki points out that she doesn’t know that (it could be spam or bad news after all), but Tarua isn’t going for it. Itsuki gets her out of the mud and towards a nearby tree where *gasp* they find the missing letter!  There’s much rejoicing and Tarua is super happy. She then takes off to deliver the letter. Itsuki meets up with her later at the Academy Field (which I think is during the next day or something? That CG implies that it was the evening when they found the letter, but the Academy Field shows bright blue skies  ). Anyway, Tarua says that the receivers were happy and that the letter was from a friend that went to a faraway place. They forgave Tarua for the letter being a little late and a bit muddy. They tell her she did a good job, but Tarua still feels guilty about it. Itsuki then tells her she did well and Tarua does what she always does: Leans in for a head pat. The event wraps up with Tarua declaring that she’ll find some way to thank Itsuki for his help. That’s it. Finally. …For now anyway. The important part is that we can return to dungeon crawling and replacing Star Offerings. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Feb 23, 2020 |
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Jan 1, 2020 02:57
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Edit: You fixed it while I was typing this.
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Jan 1, 2020 04:45
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BlazeEmblem posted:Edit: You fixed it while I was typing this. Yeah, usually what happens is that I'll post the update from my PC and then go sprawl out on my bed to relax while proofreading the update on my tablet and making little corrections. I still appreciate any attempts at pointing out my errors though. I don't always catch every one.
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Jan 1, 2020 05:15
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Once again, Femiruna up, Reone way, way down. Sue's was much better than her previous one, Collette's was much worse. I almost feel like I should be keeping track of these as a stock ticker. Rather than a kink dungeon, I got the odd impression that the Sealed Evil is trashy romance novels - possibly of a kinky nature of some sort. Not sure if it's plain old smut or BDSM or BL or what, but that's the impression I got from it rather than being a room full of outright toys/tools. (Also, a supposedly demure girl getting caught reading any and/or all of those things is a fairly common anime trope.) I guess we'll find out soon enough.
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Jan 1, 2020 06:06
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This is a real race to the bottom. Reone is really bad though
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Jan 1, 2020 07:11
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So... those were some Things That Happened. I feel like something got cut in a few of the Events. Time for a distraction. I hypothesize that Classmating has the risk of having the psyches of both God's Gift and Star Maidens being altered from repeating the ritual over time. Assuming that the act is a temporary mind-meld, there's the possibility that one person's thoughts and emotions begin to blur with the other over time and repetition. Your subconscious being altered due to exposure to another subconscious; muscle memories and habits popping up that aren't things you normally do; sudden changes in behavior that you cannot really pinpoint where they came from. In worse cases, cognitive dissonances crop up where two ideas of stimulations hold true yet contradict each other, like, "I hate Carrots." and "I like Carrot Soup." According to hypothesis, God's Gifts have the possibility of having their psyche affected by repeated rituals with the Twelve Star Maidens. The former, in lack of a better term, would be like a carrier of fragments of the Maidens' subconsciouses; they could potentially 'contract' aspects of said Maidens, internalize them, and 'spread' these acquired aspects back to the Maidens' own psyches. The same can possibly happen to the Maidens from the God's Gift, though instead of it being twelve possible fragments 'spreading once, it's one foreign psyche that can gradually spread iterations of itself through the ritual. It's not stated if there's a psychological 'inoculation' during the deed, or if the Star Child takes these altered thoughts from both parties upon conception - this, of course, assumes thoughts have weight, mass, and can come to life in this strange world. It could explain some things - like Mirei's research and the others' apprehension towards Classmating itself. Though I worry about how drastic these alterations may be considering the last updates. AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Jan 1, 2020 |
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Jan 1, 2020 08:45
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A quick note: I've added AnAnonymousIdiot and Polsy's contributions to the bonus section. You'll be able to find links in that post to anything else they contribute to the LP.AnAnonymousIdiot posted:So... those were some Things That Happened. I feel like something got cut in a few of the Events. That's probably overthinking it. It could technically have a basis, because this is the first time that God's Gift has needed to do this much Classmating with this many Maidens (so there wouldn't be any research on or knowledge of possible side-effects), but I doubt the developers thought about it that much. The general weirdness of that update may have just come down to timing. Lord only knows what the hell is happening to Farun, but Mirei at least had some foreshadowing of her love for baths (or whatever the hell she's keeping secret from Itsuki that makes her feel refreshed). SSNeoman posted:This is a real race to the bottom. Reone is really bad though Raitzeno posted:Once again, Femiruna up, Reone way, way down. Sue's was much better than her previous one, Collette's was much worse. I almost feel like I should be keeping track of these as a stock ticker. It really is sliding downhill, but in strange ways. Here are my current thoughts on some Maidens that I have voted for/might vote for: -Arie: I'm still totally fine with Arie and I'm pretty sure she's still my favourite (although that's largely because she hasn't been exhibiting any irritating or stupid traits similar to the others). I mentioned this before, but I really like her design. It's also very refreshing to have a character that has a strong sense of faith but isn't pushy or overbearing about it. The only thing that could really tank my opinion of her is if that forbidden room contains something really hosed up or weird. -Mirei: Mirei is mostly unchanged for me. She seems to be cooling off with the mad scientist deal a little and it's nice to see her smiling and laughing, but now she's picking up some jerk tendencies due to her general lack of compassion or understanding of others. If that goes any further then she might start sinking. I'm only willing to tolerate the cold/logical type of characters to a certain extent. There's a fine line between that and "rear end in a top hat". -Reone: Reone is dropping fast. The brother thing seems to be picking up steam rather than just being a passing detail. Now this could have the potential for a strong arc, were the writers interested in focusing on Reone's emotional struggle of trying to come to terms with Itsuki looking like, but not actually being, her brother. Unfortunately they seem to want to have that emotional confusion while also still keeping Reone as the seductive/erotic/mature type. Those two things don't mix well, as we just saw in her last event. -Femiruna: As much as it pains me to admit, Femiruna is moving up quickly. I will continue to make my hatred of the "noble" character type loud and clear for as long as I'm here. That said, god drat if Femiruna isn't distancing herself from that at a breakneck pace. She's only done the "noble laugh" maybe 3 times in all of her bonding events (she didn't do it at all in this last one, even as she was celebrating her accomplishment). She's also been showing an immediate and genuine desire for personal improvement. Not to mention she clearly wants to form some kind of friendship with someone. However, there is one major concern I have that I would not put past this game given what we've seen with Reone and Mahiru (as well as that comment from Collette, regardless of whether or not she was really joking): It sort of seems, at least to me, that Femiruna may be looking at Itsuki as though he is a parental figure. Her own parents are too busy for her and Femiruna has mentioned that they frequently cancel plans to spend time with her. She's also either spoiled or is given way too much leeway in her actions judging by how she mumbles that her father has never raised his voice to her. Itsuki then comes along and A. Disciplines/scolds her for bad behaviour, and B. Makes an effort to connect with her and listen to her troubles/thoughts/daily life. In turn, Femiruna is clearly desperate for Itsuki's approval and respect. She doesn't want him to be upset with her. It sure shows signs of parental replacement, although I am very much hoping that it's something more akin to her seeing Itsuki as her first true friend and not wanting to lose him (or just the obvious "Femiruna has a crush"). Time will tell. -Farun: I have no idea what's going on with Farun right now. Not after that last event. -Mahiru: Mahiru's in a weird place. I do want to see more of her events (in detail, I mean. I see every event to at least a basic degree), but it's mostly out of morbid curiosity. The personality change she got from the developers is like an ongoing pileup in a blizzard. You wish you could do something about it, but you can't, so now all you can do is wait and see what pops out next and how bad the resulting crash will be. At her best, she has a good friendly dynamic with Itsuki that he's currently lacking (in terms of CII: she's the Chlotz to his Wake, in other words). On the other hand, because of the cousin thing, I highly doubt that she will ever move out of the middle of the pack. The chance of me voting for this LP to get Mahiru's Ending is sitting at about 5%, and that 5% is mostly because Lillie exists. -Ruka: Ruka is moving up as well. I don't have any major comment on her, I just sort of like the feel of her events so far. The Tsundere thing being increasingly pushed to the back is also helping. -Sue, Lillith/Lillie, Tarua, Yuzuha, and Collette: No major changes. Sue's last event was a bit of a tearjerker, because I'm a wimp when it comes to sad animal scenes, and it was nice to see a hint of why she tries to isolate herself. The key moment for her is what happens immediately after this event, because that last one packed a good punch. If her arc can keep that emotional momentum going, then she could quickly move up. I hate Lillie, so Lillith will probably never move beyond 11th. Yuzuha is just kind of there. I think Yuzuha's last event was probably overshadowed by Sue's, so I didn't think it had the same weight. I don't necessarily have a problem with Tarua's individual events, but they also don't seem to be going anywhere or building up to anything in terms of a character arc. Plus, Tarua is still way too much of a kid, both in appearance and personality. In a dating-sim, that basically bars her from ever being considered for the ending. Collette is eh. I'm still having fun with the bread puns, but she lost major points for that comment about siblings (I don't care if she was supposedly joking). If I were to vote right this second, it would probably be: Arie, Femiruna, Mirei, Farun, Ruka, and... Mahiru, I guess (maybe Reone. I think the next event will be the deciding factor). That said, I'll be heading off to record the next dungeon after I finish this comment and Raitzeno posted:Rather than a kink dungeon, I got the odd impression that the Sealed Evil is trashy romance novels - possibly of a kinky nature of some sort. Not sure if it's plain old smut or BDSM or BL or what, but that's the impression I got from it rather than being a room full of outright toys/tools. (Also, a supposedly demure girl getting caught reading any and/or all of those things is a fairly common anime trope.) I guess we'll find out soon enough. I didn't consider that. Yeah, that does sound very plausible. Arie's events are building up this secret of hers to be something really embarrassing or shameful, so pulling a fake-out and having it be something silly like trashy romance novels is definitely likely. Not sure how I would feel about that if that is what it turns out to be. I think I would still find that funny (if cliche), because Arie has been a likable character so far. On the other hand, I think I'd also feel a little cheated that it wasn't something juicier than that. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Jan 1, 2020 |
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Jan 1, 2020 17:19
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I feel like Arie's secret could also be something stupid like a room full of plushies, or a indoor pet cat. You know, something normal and cute that many girls would like a good bit, but that she might find inappropriate to indulge in because she is a woman of the faith. Something that shouldn't even be embarrassing in the first place.
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Jan 1, 2020 19:21
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