Gray's Otome

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The Dom Type in Visual Novels (If You Want to be Whipped…)

In a previous post I spoke about Tsunderes and my love/hate relationship with them, while some of those men can take the cake with irritating me to no end. There is one particular type of character(s) I don’t care to touch as often as they are very virile and dominant in their nature. As we go deeper into the Visual Novel Helldom, we start to take a look at the different types of people you’ll meet in the games, and one of the most popular character types is…

The Dom aka Alpha ‘Daddy’

*Snort* Okay, I know I did the ‘daddy’ thing because I have a very delicate relationship with this type of character even in romance novels, and for good reasons. This type of character is very easily able to be written as an abusive Motherfucker, or a proper dominant alpha with a possessiveness that can treat his lover PROPERLY.

One GOOD example of a BAD dominant male is:

This is my own personal opinion, please don’t fight me about it.

I feel that Christian Grey was poorly created in domination play with a submissive, and honestly, I cringe whenever I remember the foreplay and ‘sex’ scenes that were created in the book. I feel that the book was geared more towards older women, and the fact that it sorta crossed the boundaries of BDSM; I digress… I feel the only thing about the man that was good was when he walked away because I was totally okay with saying ‘bye’ to his face.

A good example of an AWESOME dominant male:

Gideon Cross is the best example of what a good dominant male is like, he gives up control to his lover and changes into a better person for her. However, he isn’t someone who will allow his morals or characteristics to be changed by force, that’s where things get very fierce. This is normal, you shouldn’t be trying to change anyone into anything, they should change naturally because they want to change not because someone is pointing the gun at their head to do so.

I’m a book reader, so be bound to see book references in here besides VNs *cheers*

Assessing the Dom

What exactly is a Dom type and what are their characteristics… Oh I can give you a big list but let’s keep it simple… or try to.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙

Driven to Conquer

In most Otome games, the Dom is a person driven for success, usually, they are already a successful person in a game and or they’ve created an empire for themselves and rule over it like a king (cough, Eisuke). Their focus tends to be on obtaining a certain goal, whether it’s fame, success, or world peace, these guys learn certain tactics and maneuvers to forge their own paths. Creating several pathways for success, once they get what they want, they’ll move onto the next goal on their itinerary unless something changes their ideals.

The Leaders/Kings:

These guys are never someone to sit in the backseat or the passenger side, they don’t like mixed messages and cannot stand when you’re wasting their time. A lot of times in harems, or thriller type games with a romantic element in there, the dom type is the leader of the group. It’s actually easy to spot them in most cases in a game since they will most likely be either in the center of the game cover or they have a close upon them.

A Look at 10 Days with my Devil (with screenshots) | Otaku Clock — Look at Kakeru ‘Toast’ Babe… Hogging the spotlight LMAO

I digress, when the dom is portrayed as the leader of the group you better get ready to fight the man because you best believe your opinions will be ignored at the beginning which will definitely make you scream (or want to slap the absolute fuck outta them). To absolutely honest, because my astrological chart that allows my expression of speech is in Aries; which tends to be the typical sign of these doms besides Leo. You best believe when I see comments like this from a dom:

Gray’s First Reaction:

Gray’s Next Reaction:

Entitled to the World

We can’t have a dom without a sense of entitlement, whether they created their kingdom from the ground up or were served it on a silver platter these guys don’t take too kindly when you rain on their parade. Most of the time, if a Dom is done correctly, their actions to rule the world and be entitled to everything stems from a sense of a loss. However, they don’t personally make it a habit to degrade or humiliate someone unless you challenged them in their territory.

When you do meet a very preferably dom type, his nature of being entitled to everything and be fierce can kinda come off cute because they can’t express that they’re either jealous and whatnot properly.

1085 — Keith, baby, just say you’re jealous ffs…

Aggressiveness

Ah, the epitome of what draws a lot of fans to these types of men, the aggressive nature that they project, and the fact that they always happened to be hot as hell. Doms are fairly expressive when they are attracted to their love interest, a lot of it being sexually suggestive and doing things that are of ‘forced’ seduction. Somewhat similar to an S-Do type, the dom tempts the MC to do things that would push them out of their comfort zone.

I believe that this is the biggest reason why there’s a big attraction to these type of men in games, I feel the danger and also the bedroom bully ordeal entices audiences into choosing this kind of romance. I will agree, there are very few Dom types that are done well, and make you shiver from excitement at exactly what is about to unravel between you two. However, the biggest downfall for these characters at times happens to be when the MC cannot stand their own ground against them.

While the idea of being a submissive character in a romantic aspect is cool in the bedroom, it’s not really a warming comfort characteristic to have when you go toe to toe with an alpha. There are a few stories that I can deal with the alpha being the way he is and the MC being docile, but half the time it’s a no from me.

However, let’s get a good example of some seriously sexy dom types:

1432 — Riki Yanase from Love Letter from Thief X

Riki Yanase from Love Letter from Thief X is a good example as while he is one of my favorite versions of a dom, he likes to be sexually explicit with his way of talking and teasing the MC. Usually drawing her to a false sense of security is when he takes that moment to ‘attack’ and place a situation between them that definitely gets your cheeks red.

Other times, he doesn’t need to place the MC in those situations as they are already in an area where he can do as he pleases and say exactly what he wants.

🌚🌚🙈🔥🔥❤️. . . . . . #otomegames #otome #voltageinc #love365 #loveletterfromthiefx #rikiyanase — Excuse me a moment as I scream from this screen shot…

Gray’s Emotions at the Current Moment:

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Kakeru baby, definitely lives up to his name as the prince of hell, he wears his entitlement and ego like armor and doesn’t mind flaunting that alpha power in front of everyone. If Voltage Inc did decide to raise the bar about adding BDSM into their games, Kakeru Kamui would definitely be on my list of ‘let me see your dirty kinks.’ He pretty much orders you around in the beginning but after he falls in love it’s more of a dom ordering his sub, lovingly, to listen to him.

He’s a very caring person even with his ego being the size of the Atlantic Ocean…

Love, Hate, or Fk Them?**

The truth is still the fact I have a love/hate relationship with this character a little more than a Tsun-Tsun type. Tsun’s are fairly easier to manage with their hot and cold emotions, those guys are easier to tease and get the truth out of in a game. However, don’t expect that from a don type, they are extremely prideful but they will apologize when they know they were truly in the wrong.

But, the best explanation that my friends and I say about this type of character is:

This is my own way of expressing what I think about them, I don’t agree with how they talk but you can’t help but want to challenge these alpha pricks at their own game. So when there is ever a choice to say something snarky, aggressive, and sarcastic–Oh you best believe that’s the first option I click on first, regardless of if it is the answer that gives me good or negative points.

It also may be a good case in point to bring up a famous dom in the Otome field, Eisuke Ichinomiya, I have an extreme love and hate relationship with this alpha Capricorn. His paid version irked me and made me dislike his intentions, it was a stark difference to his Party version which was a way more likable persona. So in honesty, I love his party version, hate his paid version.

FYI: Back in my days on tumblr, I had to RP as Eisuke for two days as part of a punishment game. Hooooooo boy……….. I am gonna say I’ve never had an inbox explode until those two days; anyone who RPs as Eisuke I salute the hell outta you because he’s a very high in demand dude. *Hat’s off to you*

Gray’s Corner

Regardless, these are just my own opinions and everyone has different tastes; we can safely agree to either disagree or enjoy that we all have a love/hate relationship with certain types of characters. In conclusion, I feel this type of character is also a necessary component in any game, they do help spice up the storylines and romance but they can also pull an alluring intensity into the gameplay that you can help but consider… if you want to be dominated.

PS….

Gray’s Truthful reaction to doms in a game:

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My Favorite Otome Guy (Forever)

In any book, game, anime, or TV show, there’s always that one character you favor more than anything in the world. However, do you ever just have that one character who trumps over all of the characters you’ve met, and even if you may have hubbies/waifus in certain games if you ever were pitted to pick between that one character over another one, you’d end up choosing that specific husbando/waifu?

While that may seem impossible for some people to choose one over the other, I have my eyes only on one character even if I happen to romance other people in other worlds. His game and route are forever etched into my heart (even if I write other fanfictions about his associates and friends).

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

My Forever Favorite: Yuta Kajima of My Forged Wedding

Uncertain Beginnings

Let me explain something, when I first played My Forged Wedding from Voltage Inc, I looked at this man’s profile and saw what his job was and his sign… To put it simply, I was put off. I couldn’t fathom how someone very sweet and innocent looking could entertain me in a story, and even from the prologue I immediately friendzoned him.

I do like the funny guy every now and then in romance movies or books, but never as an actual love interest. Sad to say, when I first played My Forged Wedding I was pretty set on certain ways of romance and I can partially blame that on my type in romance novels. I felt pretty bad for Yuta as he seemed to never be taken seriously and the only person who understood his jokes was Saeki, whilst everyone else was unsure what was even funny about his stunts.

The other contributing factor to my doubting of him is the fact he’s a Gemini, I don’t hold any personal grudges against the sign but every time I’ve met someone of that zodiac it’s never turned out well even if I’m a Sagitarius. I understand a Sagg x Gemini have a really good compatibility in both friendship and love wise, but to be blatantly honest, I’ve just had fairly bad run-ins with the sign.

But then again, just to hold out an olive branch about this issue, my astrologer friend said that my serious nature stems from the Capricorn Rising sign in me which is possibly why I can’t understand the nature of a Gemini.

I digress… I feel guilty about not giving him a try even if I was hesitant to buy his route, the way he was presented in the other romanceable routes, he gave off a lot of friendship vibes only. Let’s face it, Yuta’s a major goofball, while his friends were either serious, flirty, brotherly, and the older gentleman type; he was the class clown. Whenever I hopped onto the MFW app, I would look at Yuta and just be like:

The other issue, is he shares the same name as someone I am close with so it felt awkward to even read the name and not think of this person. Which was very strange and I felt I would keep thinking of the real life person versus the game character, and I didn’t feel like having my imagination run off in that direction at the time.

During this time, there weren’t many games from Voltage Inc, and when I had managed to play everyone else’s route on MFW… I was left with Yuta and still put him off to play substories… Which was where the man got me, I had been playing a sub story and decided to go out on a limb and see what Yuta was like in this short story.

Okay, that story made me do a double take at him because he made an expression that I had never seen before in any of his friends’ routes, and it made me take a pretty dramatic pause.

Gray’s reaction to Yuta as a potential romance

For some people, it’s probably a ‘meh’ not sexy enough look and whatnot, but he really caught me off guard when he gave this look at me:

I forgot which substory it was but I just recall pausing and looking at him in a different light when I saw him look at me through the screen and ask, “is that what you think?” I forgot what I was even playing for a moment hahaha! It was from this moment, I looked at his profile again and bought his route with a bit of hesitation but determined to find out what lay beneath the smiling comedian’s facade that he projected towards everyone at the bar.

Assessing Yuta Kajima

When you first play Yuta’s route, you find out that Yuta is part of a comedy duo named, Fukumimi. If anyone is familiar with the comedy skits from Japan, the most popular type is best called like a slap-stick entertainment where someone is a Tsukkomi (The Corrector) and the other is a Bokke (The Idiot). To those who have seen Yuta through other people’s routes it may be surprising to find out that Yuta is the Tsukkomi of the duo, and his best friend Yuu is the Bokke.

However while I do explain those points, I also need to relay that even if he isn’t quite famous, he still has to treat himself as a celebrity and be careful with what he does.

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Which is what brings you both into a problem in the future, when you go out to celebrate with Yuta on a victory of his, you both fall into a very unpredictable circumstance, while none of you are at fault the fact of the matter is that this incident of just you two hanging out turns into a massive misunderstanding.

While he wants to protect you as a friend he tries to elaborate that the incident was purely an accident, however, as a friend and also feeling partly responsible as well, you also want to help protect his career. To be honest, the way the heroine acted in the story was basically how I would of handled the situation as well.

With both of you agreeing to pretend to be married for the sake of clearing up the incident and also helping Yuta obtain his dreams, you embark on a ‘forged’ wedding, not knowing that fate was about to intervene. Destiny and marriage unfolding between the two was actually hinted early in the route when the two of them are talking about certain things they are good at, what was surprising is that the MC is good at palm reading (which is something I’m good with doing as well, so it was surprising to see this element).

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As the story progresses, you both develop a strong friendship at first, where you get to know each other deeply and build a strong trust with one another. While you continue to pretend that you’re married for the TV program that you both are in, you do end up developing feelings of guilt when your father comes by to ask you how you’re doing and if you’re looking for work and such.

Oh boy, I felt pretty awful as the reader, as I’ve been in a similar situation like the MC when I couldn’t find work and my parents were asking how my job hunting was going and such. It was saddening that she was lying to them about what was going on, but given her situation and what she was helping Yuta do; I empathized with her situation.

However, when Yuta caught wind of this he felt like pulling the plug altogether because he didn’t want to depend on the TV Program to bring his comedic duo, Fukumimi, into the spotlight.

Yuta does protest for you not to keep assisting him with being his ‘fake’ wife as he feels he’s doing so much wrong towards you in using this show and also you as a stepping stone. I understood from his perspective, but from mine and the MCs side, we both didn’t just want him to give up all that he accomplished and even if the circumstances aren’t the most agreeable. We both wanted him to succeed and also help his best friend get better, and see all the hard work that was being done.

I feel, that when we meet Yuu, is where we start to see the relationship transition from a very close friendship to something more. It was a subtle change, something that you just don’t see happening if you were in the heroine’s shoes… But… It was when Yuta opened his mouth and said:

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Both the MC and I took a moment to let what he said sink in, and that’s when I knew that I was about to go freefalling straight into hell with this dude. He said something that made me react and realize this was gonna be a hell of a burn, I was pretty stunned just by the fact he said something that resonated with something that happened to me in real life. It was so uncanny that his whole personality was fairly similar to someone I knew and actually did have a crush on in the past, so he got me like:

While the man boasts this funny man persona in front of a crowd and with his friends, you as the MC see something a lot more endearing when the comedic mask comes off. He may have more of the boyish looks out of the group, sometimes he comes off flat with his jokes, but when you sincerely get to know him you find many amazing things about him that’s hard to ignore.

Falling in Love with Yuta Kajima

When you fall for this man, you don’t see it coming until it’s very late in the game, it’s a slow burn that turns into conflagration that can’t be put out. Realizing the truth about him and under all that childish charm and bad jokes he throws out, you find the man is an intellectual that happens to be a nerd at collecting toys.

Living up to his Gemini sign, he’s got two different masks, the Mister (gentleman or funny guy) or the Master (the possessive, naughty guy) being able to play a prince charming towards you with a cute face on his expression and blindly allowing you to believe he’s a normal sweet lover.

When in actuality, he can flip his switch very easily once he has you where he wants you, and at this point, you hardly want to put up a fight with his suggestive line of questioning or advances as he touches your heart and mind.

Case Evidence #1: Him Being Cute

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Case Evidence #2: Him Being a Cute Devil

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He may not look like the competitive type or someone who can manipulate a situation into his own advantage, but he has in several side stories and it’s so subtle that if you don’t recognize the hints you’re left flabbergasted at his wit. When he does play his hand at being a bit mischievous, oh man all the men in the group are easily able to be just as prone to shock as you are.

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Another side of this man, is his possessiveness, while he may seem like a small little house cat to some people he’s pretty feral when it comes to you and also behind doors… In a pretty sensual way, he knows when he’s got a hold of you and can allow himself to become a damn devil… I possibly forgot to say he’s pretty adventurous with his romantic gestures, where he will kiss you very passionately in places that he KNOWS can cause an uproar.

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However, he likes that control, and the fact he knows you love him raises that predator-like aggressiveness he hides behind his smile.

So, if anyone ever asks me who is my ultimate hubby and who I’ll always venture back to even if someone throws a Ryoichi Hirose at me. I love this character and how well he gradually captivates your heart, drawing you in with an innocent smile and a casual joke here and there.

You never really know when he has you caught in his web, until you’re looking into those eyes of his and feel the burn of heat against your skin as he teases the ever-living heck outta ya.

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Fair warning, beware of the innocent kiss and his docile nature to be funny… You’re bound to get caught up in his web…

033 — Stop pretending to be cute when you’re saying something lascivious!

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#OtomeWritingChallenge “React”

Part of the #OtomeWritingChallenge we dive into a fanfiction that’s on a slightly more mature level, reader’s discretion is advised

Challenge: Hey Chicka! So, remember the good old days of your horror/suspense writing back on Tumblr when you wrote fanfiction for most of the voltage times, but they were all a little ‘strange’ (snicker). Call me a sucker for the creepy genre but can you please retell/rewrite the story about the Vampire and the Witch, you can cut out the ‘sexy’ scenes if necessary. However, most supernatural beasts come with ‘that’ kinda craving, ne~?

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Sammi, I’m even surprised you remembered that series because I had to lock that stuff up after the thirty-one days were over for October. I don’t mind rewriting the story a little bit to fit a different audience, it’ll help tie a few things into others… I suppose. However, going back to my roots every once in awhile won’t hurt too much, unless the characters in the story bite me lol.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

“Fleeting Memories…”

“Run!”

Mud slicked my bare feet, as a low hanging branch tore into the side of my face as I ran deeper into the woods. A cacophony of voices screaming through the forest as I escaped down the side of the mountain. My heartbeat in my ears as I refused to look behind me, the fear intensifying with every step I took until a deafening howl pierced the ominous sky.

Don’t look back. Don’t look back.

Tears streaked my cheeks as wave after wave of anxiety slammed into my chest, I could never go back, I could never be a normal girl again. “Agh!” I screamed as my foot caught into an upturned root of a tree, my body tumbling forward into the foliage of leaves, vines, and rocks. I wish I could have died then, praying that one of the upturned stones I rolled over was sharp enough to pierce my chest or cause enough damage to let me perish.

Alas… The Goddess was possibly mocking me as I found myself sprawled next to the sea cliffs that overlooked the one thing that separated this hellhole from the world. I wasn’t sure if I was feeling tears or blood streaking down my face, or maybe it was both? As I turned agonizingly to my side and began to crawl towards the cliff, if the land refused to allow me to die then the sea shall take my last breath.

“FIND THE WITCH!”

No… I screamed inside my head as the voices were drawing closer, I couldn’t be caught by them, not again. Dragging myself forward towards the cliff I tasted salt in the air and the gentle caress of the wind as it beaconed me forward to its embrace. Grabbing the edges of the plateau I heard someone break through the trees and let out a blood-curdling scream as I dug my fingers into the earth and pulled myself forward and over the cliff.

The wind howling around me as I closed my eyes and waited for eternal slumber to finally swallow me whole.

ayanami rei bandages barefoot cuteg eyepatch feet monochrome neon... ❤ liked on Polyvore featuring anime, backgrounds, nge and pictures — IMG SRC: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/454019206165748969/visual-search/?cropSource=6&h=530&w=530&x=16&y=16

February 14, 1715 Paris, France

That memory always seems to come back to me whenever I’m not at my strongest, I let out a pathetic chuckle. Memories always had some understanding when to attack you when you were feeling lost, alone, or guilty of a crime. Today, I could of lost my life, and I would have forfeited it gladly in the event of just trying to stop the clock of destiny from causing another person’s pain. Yet…

I examined my hands, my eyes tracing every inch of skin that had been damaged in the skirmish from earlier. Cuts and abrasions left their marks on my flesh as a cruel reminder that I could never escape my past, or just who I was before I came to this century. Balling my hands into tight fists, I could feel my nails digging into my palms but I couldn’t stop shaking with the emotions that churned inside me.

I had been a fool to go into an area without properly assessing the extent of danger I would be putting myself and others in, I had been selfishly wanting to find the truth to create an end. No, I wanted to cause a disruption in destiny and make an easy exit for my soul to stop fate, and shut down a system that could no longer harm others witches born with similar gifts.

A sigh escaped my lips as I finally unclenched my hands, the tendrils of blood nonchalantly slid down my already damaged skin. Getting caught in enemy territory was always a risk, but the sadistic and perverse intentions of the enemy… What I had seen would fuck with the minds of any veteran of bloodshed. The burns from the shackles around my wrists ached as I remembered the struggle of breaking my own wrists to slip my hands through the small metal holes.

An unhealthy move, I know, but when you’re used to dangerous situations you learn manners and tactics to assist in escaping from detrimental events. However, I could say I was both lucky and unlucky in this situation, as I closed my eyes and remembered how I had managed to help the others escape, and at the turn of events when I wasn’t paying attention, I had miscalculated and had put my comrads lives on the line.

When the only life I was calculating to put an ends to a mean was my own, sadly, my mistake was now also the reason I was being held captive in my room. If it hadn’t been for the interventions of the vampire king, I… They… I raked my hands through my hair, blood further highlighting the ends of my tresses.

A witch who was ready for death, no, I was prepared for my own soul to be stripped from me. Yet that man, his presence haunted me no matter where I went or what solitude I tried to achieve without needing him beside me. Love, passion, and hope were not made for me– I was an entity created for the soul use of bringing pain and triggering a legacy of more bloodshed.

My heart clenched as I remembered Satuski’s eyes when he saved me, his expression reflected anger, pain, and worst of all… betrayal as he lead all of us back to Le Comte’s Manse. Carrying me against him and refusing to exchange any words between us throughout the journey back. The look he held sent chills down my spine, as I felt gripped by the reality that vampires hid their true demons well, but it would take the right person to get underneath their skin to trigger the monster within.

With a bang, the doors to my room flung open with a grand flourish, sunlight trailed in behind the fierce being who presented himself at my door. Anger seething from every muscle in his body as he slammed the door behind him and stalked towards me. Most would of fled in fear, begged for forgiveness at the face of one of the three vampire kings of this world. Invoking their wrath was not something any normal lesser vampire, human, or ghoul would want, but luckily I was neither of the lot.

Satsuki stood over me and took my wrists into his hands, I schooled my features to a blank slate and met his burning scrutiny, allowing him his anger to come at me.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” He snarled as I held my own ground, staying silent as I allowed his anger to wash over us, “we told you to not make such foolish plans without consulting us, without speaking to me first.” I felt his grip tighten as he looked at my hands his fangs sliding out from behind his lips as I sensed his bloodlust curdling within him.

“I miscalculated,” I stated coldly, “I never intended to get Yuzuki or Chihaya caught up in my own plans, but… I do regret my actions in putting them in danger.”

Suddenly I felt my body falling backward onto the bed, my hands pinned above my head as Satsuki growled, “do you even regret putting yourself at death’s door?”

I stayed silent as I held my gaze against his, allowing him to see the truth reflected in my heart, “no.”

I love how guys will pin you down or against a wall then kiss you ... — IMG SRC: https://favim.com/image/6532906/

Silence danced between us as he stared down at me with his scarlet gaze, a concoction of anger, sadness, and possession seeming to overflow as he seemed to have made up his mind. “You leave me no choice except to do something so you take your life seriously, Athena, and my warnings.”

In a fluid motion he brought one of bleeding hands to his lips, his tongue slowly tracing the cuts and bruises in a delicate dance as he held me under his scrutiny. His saliva healing the wounds as he continued to lavish my wrists, fingers, and palms with his mouth. A steady beating reverberated in my chest as liquid flame began to pool within my belly as his teeth grazed the delicate lines of my palms.

A moan escaped my lips at his ministrations as I realized what he was doing, “stop Satsuki,” tugging my hand back only to have him bring his lips to the other wounded hand. Repeating the same actions, the bed dipping from his weight as our bodies practically aligned.

“No,” he echoed the words back to me as his teeth sang into my wrist and as a wave of pleasure trickled down my body, “I won’t stop, not this time Athena.”

Releasing only one of my hands he let his free arm slide under the arch of my spine as he pressed me firmly against his hard body, allowing me to see him fully and understand the gravity of my situation. “You are free to attack me, Athena, I know full well you have the power to slay a vampire with your gifts.”

He watched me with those eyes filled with desire and hunger, “but if you don’t care for your life like I do, then I will gladly take it from you and make it mine.”

Satsuki leaned his face closer, his lips caressing my own as he held his predator gaze, “I will take everything that belongs to you so that your heart, body, and destiny belong to me.”

“That’s horrib–” My words suddenly drowned as my lips were enveloped in his kiss, the tension that had been building between us since the beginning chaotically going over the edge. Every thought, emotion I had cultivated to this point to keep myself away from this man overflowed as I felt my free hand tingling. The energy flow of power surging and readying to attack him as I lifted my hand over his back and prepared to strike him, my heart racing as I tasted copper between our kisses.

A groan escaped me as his lips left mine to trail down my throat and his teeth dancing against my neck as I knew it was now or never, I closed my eyes as I brought my hand down against his back and balled it into a fist. My body arching up to meet his as I bared my neck in submission to the vampire king and felt the sweet joy of his kiss against my flesh.

Gray’s Corner

I had written a small fanfiction about three vampire kings a long time ago back on tumblr, while the scenes are suitable for a younger generation in the true version. It was nice to go back and see this and fix it a little more, albeit, my writing is still not the best, but that’s always going to be my opinion.

I’m glad you read a little of my fanfiction and also a bit of my past style, thanks for reading thus far~!

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Ikemen Vampires

My current favorite game is Cybird’s Ikemen Vampires, with its stunning art and seductive poetic imagery for story-telling, it’s a no wonder why many love this game. I was particularly late on the bandwagon for this one as when this game debuted a while back, I didn’t sink my fangs into the game as quickly as my other friends had. However, I’m glad I finally took a bite into the game after a bit of observing and researching from other gamers who had posted a few SCs of the game itself.

One of the particular reasons I hadn’t hopped onto the vampire craze was because of the whole card game ordeal, while I have a history in playing Yu-Gi-Oh! I was bemused with the concept of adding card battles to an otome game.

I’m not new to the whole SR, R, SSR, and N card games as it seems similar to another favorable game called Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice. Where you also battle with certain cards against other players or an AI to gain rank, EXP, or items to use to further the story. I do find the concept engaging, however, I didn’t see the actual point of adding such an element into an otome game.

Even if you managed to grab a sexy five-star card of Arthur Conan Doyle or Le Comte, I was hoping more for a story to be shown to delve further into the psyche of the characters. However, from prodding around on the card games, you don’t get that kind of action like you do when you win a card from Mr. Love.

Five Star Card, but no love scene or extra incentive except that it’s a cute guy looking at you

I digress, when I finally got the guts to download the game I was pretty intrigued by the fact we get to see many historical figures be reincarnated into a vampire. I’m a nerd for certain areas of history and literature, so imagine my face when I saw Shakespeare and Arthur Conan Doyle as a romanceable character.

I scrolled through the profiles in both worry and also morbid curiosity as to how these characters would be portrayed and if there would be elements from their real-life persona integrated into their vampiric nature. While I did have some doubts, I decided I would go in with an open mind and see how things panned out with a few of the vampires that were available.

Sadly, the one I WANT IS NOT AVAILABLE YET

This was a ‘Kiss’ Event… give him to me already LMAO!

I mean, come on… He’s the person we see at the Louvre and we follow; why is it always the one who catches my eye that is NEVER available. I’ll probably be 75 years old by the time he releases LMAO.

Anyways, because the man I had been hoping to romance wasn’t available, I had several other options that seemed viable… but I wasn’t sure exactly who to allow to take my heart, my body, and my destiny.

The Love Interests

From the left we have :

1. Amadeus Mozart, a famous composer and known for penning one of the hardest arias known to the opera world “Queen of the Night.”

2. Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of the French and military leader who lead the French Revolution, with several successful campaigns.

3. Leonardo Da Vinci, okay, who doesn’t know this man and his incredible discoveries? There’s a lot to even say about him and the science, philosophy, and alchemy he provided to us.

4.Arthur Conan Doyle, or should we call him Sir Arthur? The famous known author for The Lost World and, of course, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

5. Jean D’ Arc, I was a bit surprised about this one as they said he was Joan D’Arc… But his name confused me as there was a bishop with a similar name who served under the pope.

7. Sebastian, the human butler of the household and an extreme nerd for history, he comes off as cold and stoic in the beginning but don’t be fooled; he’s very kind and fangirls over the residents in the home.

8. Sir Isaac Netwon, aka Newt, we all know of Newton’s laws of physics and the apple falling from the tree. You’ll hear read running gag jokes from the crew about apples when it comes to him in the game.

9. Theodorus Van Gogh, for once, I actually didn’t recognize this man’s name so I had to look him up. He is the younger brother of Vincent Van Gogh and happens to have a brother complex…

10. Le Comte de Saint Germain, okay, I’ve heard so many variations of this man in video games to history and he’s everywhere from Code:Realize, Castlevania, Ikemen Vampires, and I’m sure I’m missing a couple more… Nonetheless, he was the one I actually wanted to romance but I have to wait for my immortal a bit longer….

11. William Shakespeare, everyone knows his name and his wickedly entertaining insults he’s created that still carries weight to this day. He’s famous for plays such as Romeo x Juliet, and Taming the Shrew.

12. Osamu Dazai, now this one threw me for a loop, the only reason I’m familiar with this name is because my husband had to study a bit of this man’s work when he still lived Japan. This man is famous for having created popular works such as The Setting Sun, Run Melos, and No Longer Human to name a few for modern-day literature in Japan.

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That’s a lot of men to be honest, and I think that’s a bit much for a heroine to have that many options in a game but this is a fantasy we are living out in this game so when in Rome… Uh– I mean Paris, blend in and just take it as it is.

The Setting:

The_XVIIIth_century;_its_institutions,_customs,_and_costumes_France,_1700-1789_(1875)_(14780805482)

The game basically sends you back in time to the 17th century where the internet, really good toilet systems, and sanitary conditions were very minute. I did find a few things odd with the setting, but I decided to treat it as an ‘isekai’ or a parallel universe to what our history texts portrayed the era to look like. Overall, I’m pleased with the aesthetics and also how the men of the harem are able to assimilate to the time period, especially Osamu and Arthur.

The MC:

While I can’t portray a picture of the MC without her being in an actual CG of the game, she’s actually someone I can relate to in some semblance of sorts. Very head strong, outspoken, and not a pushover; she’s capable of holding her own with the vampires in the house and can be a force to be reckoned with. I was very happy with the fact she is a traveler blogger and that she is fond of the arts and music literature, the only thing that I can say I dislike about her is that she’s not knowledgeable in self-defense.

Okay, hear me out, I know not all travel bloggers know self-defense but the ones I’m friends with are and they travel to various countries and areas by themselves and know the dangers of being alone. I feel that was my only pet peeve that her comment said ‘we live in an era that self-defense is not needed as much’ or something like that and it irked me…

However, everything else about her is very solid and I’m just thankful she doesn’t take any nonsense from some of the more OUTSPOKEN men in the group (looking at you Arthur).

I haven’t decided yet if I like his dirty mouth or not LOL

Can You Keep a Secret?

One of the many features I liked about the game was the loading screen, seeing the cute chibis express secrets about the guys was hilarious and adorkable. It was nice to see some gossip about the guys, and some of the information is very useful because now you know that Newton and Vincent are possibly the ones to watch out for in the game… (it’s always the quiet ones…).

Dramatic Ending or Romantic Ending?

Pin by Sarah Puryear on Westallen⚡️ | Barry iris, The flash ... — Dramatically Beautiful and Sweet End…?

Like most of Cybird’s games, you have an option to either have a bittersweet romantic ending where you return home and leave the love you had behind, but their is an emotionally satisfying happy ending or a sexy romantic one where you choose to stay with your beloved in that time era for the rest of your life. The reality check here, is that as the heroine you must decide their fate and how things will end up whether you want an alluring sexy ending in the 1700s where you both submit to one another, or to return home with bittersweet memories only to find under a bloodtsained moon that you have or will reunite with your love centuries past.

For me, depending on the character, I’m always one for drama but I always love a very sexy ending as well; so it’ll possibly depend on the character I romance and how their story feels on which route I will take.

Brendy's review of Beast, Part Two — Hot and Sexy Romantic End?

While we may never know what choice she truly makes, Cybird has done very well in creating stories that engage readers, filling us with suspense messing with our feelings for these fictional entities. Also, I’m glad they stay true to the romance genre and give us happy endings regardless if they are dramatic or romantic, I do know they held an ‘tragic’ end event which I felt was–pardon my french- DUMB AS HELL, since romance is a fantasy of a guarantee of a HEA (Happily Ever After) or HFN (Happy For Now) endings.

>>>What Is The Romance Genre?

This is a mass-market novel with an emotionally satisfying ending. These stories are about a romantic relationship between two people. They are characterized by sensual tension, desire, and idealism. The author keeps the two apart for most of the novel, but they do eventually end up together. (Writers Write)<<<

Who am I currently engaging in a battle of Love and War?

ikemen vampire arthur | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs | Tumgir

I usually avoid flirty types, as even in real life I avoid them at all costs because I can’t take them seriously whether friendship wise or love interest wise. I prefer someone to be upfront rather than play wordy games with the English language, however, I chose Arthur because I’m a fan of Sherlock Holmes and The Lost World. I have a deep love for the writer and his way of expressing himself in his novels and the amusing play of words he composed during his years of work.

As I’ve progressed along with his story, I’m very impressed with how engaging the story is and how certain elements of history have been incorporated including how Arthur had become a doctor but the practice failed. It also touches base about a few things of Mr. Doyle that I was surprised to see, including fan mail to Sherlock Holmes and not the author himself and that their was a bit of disdain towards his creation of Holmes…

I’m still debating on my choice of whether to go back home and suffer a little or stay with him in the 17th century with the possibility of embracing to become a vampire myself (who knows..?). What I do know is that regardless, at the end of the novel he will have most likely captured my heart, body and soul.

FYI I STILL WANT LE COMTE SAINT GERMAIN BECAUSE I NEED >__>

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Love to Hate You (Tsunderella Types)

Tsundere: A stock love interest who is usually stern, cold or hostile to the person they like, while occasionally letting slip the warm and loving feelings hidden inside due to being shy, nervous, insecure or simply unable to help acting badly in front of the person they like.

The Japanese term tsundere refers to an outwardly violent character who “runs hot and cold”, alternating between two distinct moods: tsuntsun (aloof or irritable) and deredere (lovestruck). (Fandom Wiki)

In Gray’s Otome Terms: TsunTsun are basically jerks who have a sweet side to them, they tend to be fiercely brutal towards you over trivial or small things. However, because they can’t comprehend how to be nice to you when they are trying to encourage or compliment you, they go in roundabout ways of showing you their affectionate side.

#HateThatILoveYou

I’ve mentioned in a previous post that I have a love/hate relationship with Tsundere types, as because of late, they’ve become very cruel with how they bully the MC in certain games. While I wouldn’t be opposed to certain aspects, I feel that when you plop a very SUBMISSIVE MC without a backbone in her body, running scared all the time, and constantly being backed into a corner.

The tsundere type leaves much to even be considered a desirable personality to like, especially when we aren’t given many options as the MC to scream, fight, punch, or stand at equal footing with the male character.

A good example would be Shin from Amnesia, bless Tetsuya Kakihara for voicing his character, I was in so much rage with how I could not slap the unholy oblivion outta the dude. Playing devil’s advocate, we understand the MC has no memories of her past self that did fight on equal grounds with Shin, however… I didn’t appreciate the fact that a lot of the motions she produced were of her blankly staring Shin when he did something waaaaay outta line.

The only thing that helped ease me through the route was Orion screaming what I felt into the heroine’s mind LMAO.

However, I also need to take a breath and also face the fact that I also love the character type, when it’s DONE RIGHT. One of the better Tsunderes I’ve met happens to be Yuzuki Kitaoji aka Yuzuberry (since he loves strawberries), he’s a classic type of Tsun-Tsun which you can’t help but fall for his childish antics. He has his temper tantrum moments, and also his roundabout ways of expressing his feelings for you, but when he falls in love with you, the moments are sweet–and you can call him out on his bullshit easily LOL.

EXAMPLE ONE: BEING ROUNDABOUT ON HIS FEELINGS

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EXAMPLE TWO: CALLING HIM ON HIS BULLSHIT

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Tsundere versus BST

Just a clarification a Tsundere is a type of character and not a situation, some people can get it confused with BST, better known as “belligerent sexual tension.” This is a common scenario or trope used in anime, manga, and also in otome as well, one of the better know BST stories can be found in A Knight’s Devotion in Ken’s story, where both the heroine and himself banter off each other in a very funny manner.

EXAMPLE ONE:

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EXAMPLE TWO:

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However, the tension between the two characters starts to get more intense as the chapters progress. Eventually leading into the progression of love and intense desire to be with one another, although their previous behavior towards one another doesn’t diminish, the tension has already been set off since the beginning of the game. Although, it was up to one of the two to actually pull the trigger to get things finally rolling into a very sensual evening of embracing one another.

Tension Ignited:

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Types of Tsunderes

While there is a list of dere-types out there, we tend to not realize just like how Otome is a branch from the Visual Novel gaming world. Tsundere is also another umbrella term for many subcategories of the type, I won’t list all of them but I will name the few I’ve encountered in the Otome Hel–Heaven:

A tsun’aho ツンアホ is a character that’s been so tsuntsun all the time they became an aho アホ, in other words, a tsun’aho is a character that has tried so hard to look uninterested and not be honest with their feelings they became an idiot. (Fandom Wiki)

One of my favorite types of tsunderes, these types are the ones who cannot for the life of themselves, cover up their feelings properly, and as a result because they have no idea how to really formulate a proper statement. Half the time what comes out of their mouths just makes you go:

Takuto Hirukawa is the best example of this type as while he carries the regular Tsundere traits, he has his moments of saying the most ridiculous things in the world to hide what he was about to say to you.

*You could just say “thank you, I can’t wait to try what you’ve made me” versus the comment above Takkun… LOL*

Gundere or Gandere: A “gundere,” or gandere ガンデレ, is a girl that expresses her love with or towards “guns,” or gan ガン in Japanese. This is usually in the form of firing said guns while blushing in excitement or something. (Fandom Wiki)

These guys are a little more violent than a regular Tsundere, where they actually draw out there weapons when they are caught up in their feels for the person they love. While they have the capability of being extremely violent like the Yandere type, they don’t kill people for the insanity of love; but they sure as hell make you think that you’re about to die from the rain of bullets they blast at you.

*Note, Soryu Oh is not a Gundere, but I thought it would be funny to have him here to poke some fun at him for his trigger happy moments.*

Deretsun (jp. デレツン) — from jp. dere-dere “loving, caring” and jp. tsun-tsun “angry, caustic” – this the subtype can be called tsundere Vice Versa. (Fandom Wiki)

This type is a little tricky, they’re the ones who come off as very pleasant and cordial in front of friends, family, work colleagues– They are an extremely different person in the public eye, however, as soon as they are with you… The personality switch is either chilling or angers the hell outta you.

*When I played Chiaki the first time, I already had a feeling he was going to be bad for my heart LOL*

A “tsundra,” or tsundora ツンドラ, is a like a tsundere without dere and filled with mercilessness instead. Basically, while normal tsunderes often call the guy/girl stupid and so on, they usually do it in a flustered way that hints they don’t really mean that because they’re secretly interested. A tsundra is different. (Fandom Wiki)

Gray’s POV: Okay everyone, this is the tsundere I have an extreme love and hate relationship with… These are the ones who will viciously say something without flinching or showing that they are saying it out of the conflict of their emotions for you. They are very hard to love because the things they say come off more like a bully rather than someone who has a crush on you, and it’s really hard to grasp their affection.

Shin is a great example of this as he really is hard on the MC and sometimes… you really want to throw out the game because he doesn’t some anger raising actions that are quite hard to forgive.

Assessment of a Tsundere

After having traveled sometimes through various Otome Worlds and romancing plenty of Tsunderes, you realize these types are the in-between of either being a childish school bully or the sweet person next door.

EXAMPLE: ICHIGO SATO “TSUN” ~HARSH~

EXAMPLE: YAMATO KOUGAMI “DERE” ~SWEET~

Tsunderes can be fairly attractive depending on your flavor and type, as they can range into different variations as of late; some of them becoming an S-Do as a story progresses… However, it’s hard to hate the type even as the trends keep changing, especially when a character is well developed and you can understand them enough to recognize their antics as child’s play.

This type of character is usually independent, and usually has the ‘go for it’ attitude towards the goals they want to accomplish. Rather than waiting for a chance to pass them by, they’re the type to just grab it before they lose sight of what can be theirs. Aggressive in courtship and competitive against other rivals, sometimes you can’t help but fall for their bravado to gain your attention.

*You ass wipe, you totally liked what I said to you, don’t deny you’re happy Tsun-Tsun butthead*

Did I also mention that they are possessive? Not like Yandere style, but they definitely make it known in a very overly confident manner that they are the King/Queen of your heart, and leaving room for no one else. However, they go about it in a roundabout way, as usual to give you the hint LOL.

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Usually, Tsun-Tsuns try to make it clear that they aren’t in love with you or have feelings towards anyone, albeit, they deny it vehemently to throw you off their trail. Often in otome games or in bishojos, when their love interest decides to fall for someone else or even hints that someone is vying for their affection. The Tsundere will immediately flip a switch in them, whether it’s crying or finally admitting the truth to the person of their affections and hidden desires.

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CONCLUSION

To say the least, you live with them and you can’t live without them. In a previous post called #PerfectMatch or #RealLifeHusbando, I mentioned that my IRL husband is a Tsundere, and has been the inspiration for many jokes with my friends who know how our relationship is.

To say that I don’t like Tsunderes would be a lie, I’m just not fond of the Tsundora/Tsundra type as they can be a bit too much for my own personality to handle.

However, when they tend to be like Yuzuki, Tennoji, or seem similar to my husband in general and do stuff like this (EXAMPLE IS TAKEN FROM THIS POST):

(My husband when he bought me my first otome game because he knew I was searching for something geared towards female audiences)

“So I got this because you finished school and–These games are popular back home for girls so…”

My reaction:

Huh GIF - Huh Anime Questionmark - Discover & Share GIFs — ***Extreme confusion at the item being presented…***

“You mean back in Iwakuni, or Japan in general? What is it?”

“…”

“You know what, just take it, and play it and you’ll see what I mean!”

(I’m not kidding, my husband is a tsundere and I was pretty bemused when he showed me my first otome game; His behavior however, was funny as hell LMAO)

I shrug off the need to be on guard with the character and let myself become enveloped in their shenanigans. Safe to say, tsunderes are an ongoing character that will always be a good character to present in an otome. Their personality and their need to be the dominant alpha is can get most people worked up in both the heart and also the nerves, which is why they will always remain on my list of #lovetohate.

Resources

“Tsundere.” The Dere Types Wiki, Fandom Wiki, the-dere-types.fandom.com/wiki/Tsundere.

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Sweet Fuse Close to You: Subaru Shidou Review

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side stars Saki Inafune, niece to legendary game developer Keiji Inafune. Saki’s famous uncle opens an amusement park and Saki attends the opening ceremony, but things really heat up when Count Hogstein—a malevolent pig—takes over the park, and holds everyone hostage. Saki, along with seven sexy men, decides to enter Count Hogstein’s deadly game to save her uncle and the other hostages. Will she be able to solve the complex puzzles that Count Hogstein and his merry henchmen have in store? And most importantly, which steamy bachelor will Saki choose? (Game Description from PSN)

Available for purchase on Amazon or PS Network for Digital Download!

FYI everyone, I write my reviews like standalone books, so readers who just want to just read the character analysis please scroll down to the part where you just see the character’s picture and read from there! Otherwise, enjoy my hapshaw version of the game’s prologue!

A RIGGED BEGINNING

Okay guys, I’ve played this game so many times because I love it so much, so I may be biased but here is a bit about the prologue, and the common route you undertake before you start romancing the awesome men in here.

You play as Saki Inafune (but you can change your name at the beginning of the story), a high school student who shares an affinity for games and puzzles. You wake up one morning and realize its the grand opening day for the Gametorium that your famous uncle has desired to create and build. In this moment of the game, I got just as excited as the heroine since I LOVE GAMES, and the fact that they were bringing a gamer concept into an otome was amazing!

I digress, you get ready and head out to the train station only to bump into a mysterious person who actually stops you from falling over. While in the beginning, you don’t get to see this person’s face due to spoiler reasons, he asks you about the little trinket you have on your phone which is KANE DE BOO, the mascot for The Gametorium. The stranger lets you go and tells you to have a nice day, but keep in mind, that voice you heard as you’ll hear it turn up in the game from time to time.

You make it to the grand opening, and it’s loud and bustling with camera crews, security, and family of the staff that helped bring this amusement park to life. At the helm of this eventful day, your Uncle Keiji Inafune presents himself as the creator of the park and at first, all seems well and grand but as your Uncle begins to make a speech his microphone cuts out and suddenly the screens surrounding the entrance of the park flicker to life with a grotesque image of what seems to be KANE DE BOO…

At first, as the villain makes his first appearance, everyone thinks this is a joke as people are purposely being taken off stage by these Piglet dressed henchmen. As the MC, you’re thinking that this is all just a big hoax that your uncle has created since he is the type to do flashy and childish like antics. However, the child’s play of the event comes to an explosive halt as the villain, Count Hogstein, blows up the main icon of the Gametorium.

This sends everyone into a panic, and the MC realizes her mistake of not taking the incident seriously. Pushing against the crowd she tries to make it to the stage as she sees her uncle being hauled away by the Piglet henchmen, at this moment, Hogstein announces that he would be picking seven people to be the ‘heroes’ of a seven-day challenge.

These challenges would put the lives of the hostage and the park at stake because your family is in danger of being killed, you volunteer willing to take on the challenge and go against Count Hogstein and play his games to rescue your uncle.

After an explosive opening ceremony, you can enter the park and meet the chosen ‘heroes’ in this deadly game that Hogstein has created.

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From the slideshow above:

Shidou Subaru the cool and strict detective with an incredible hairdo
Ryusei Mitarashi our resident tough guy who is the number one host of Ulysses
Kimimaro Urabe, the fortune-teller who happens to be a Yandere (YES HE IS A YANDERE//I LOVE HIM THOUGH LOL)
Kouta Meoshi, the loveable gamer/cinnamon roll (he’s relatable on so many levels)
Ayumu Shirabe, our sexy ossan man who is an investigative reporter with a sweet tooth!
Towa Wakasa, an adorable scared cat who can sing and dance; our resident popstar
Finally, we have Makoto Mikami… He’ll be unlocked after you finish the common routes, but be aware he’s a ~~PSYCHO BABY~~ LOL

I want to make this clear, all the men here were chosen versus you, someone who just volunteered. It’s easy to see how in the beginning the men are quick to throw suspicion on you, because you’re a young girl who just offers to be in a life or death match of games, while they were handpicked by Hogstein. To be honest, the heroine should have voiced that one of her family members was captured by Hogstein, and it would have helped the team be a little more confident with who they were working with.

After the brief introductions, Hogstein advises you all to join him in his merry little castle of doom that he ripped off of Castlevania or something. Once inside, and a few gruff statements are exchanged from Ryusei and Shidou, Hogstein describes seven rules to which you must all abide by for the next seven days, but the last rule is the killer one.

Upon stating the seventh rule, Hogstein demonstrates his power and control over the players and also the hostages as he reveals that the prisoners (including your uncle) are trapped in a large cage that is underneath a gigantic wrecking ball. Making it clear that one false move could end the lives of everyone beneath it, this hog meant business, so if you mess around consider your bacon cooked. (No, I’m serious, one of the other rules is that if you don’t complete a game the attraction blows up)

Thus, we begin the rigged game wars that Hogstein has created, and continue to the common route. The common route is 1-3 stages where most of the games are all the same, but your answers boost the morality of the romance with any of the guys around you. So keep in mind, that you’ll probably pick the same bout of answers for certain routes and for others you have to choose an obtuse answer that wouldn’t make sense to make in the real world, but this is fiction so just go with it.

Investigating Subaru Shidou

CV: Kenichi Suzumura

Shidou’s route is the last one that is recommended to be played before Mikami’s is revealed, while I think anyone should play the routes how they please; I do feel his route should be last considering everyone’s story ties in properly and a lot of the loose ends from everyone else’s route gets clarified.

To be honest with anyone who isn’t fond of a tsundere, or the very aggressive type, I am in that same pool and I really have a love-hate relationship with Tsun-Tsuns.. but Shidou is the classic Tsundere that I prefer, and unlike in other games where you are a submissive MC. You get to yell at this detective and win his love while screaming at him to get a clue LOL.

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Shidou’s voice actor is Kenichi Suzumura, a very popular guy and is recognizable from being the voice taken of Sho Minazaki from P3, Momotaro from FREE!, and my utter favorite character from Gintama, Sogo Okita. It’s hard to believe that Kenichi played a serious and hard-boiled type of character but that just lets me know how talented the cast in this game is…

and I’m about to fangirl again so let’s get into the investigation!

Shidou is the calm and cool type, mixing with the traits of both a Kuudere and Tsundere, he can be obtuse with expressing his feelings due to his nature of being a detective and being a ‘lone’ wolf. While he has amazing hair btw, his eyes are sensitive to light which is why he has those pretty cool looking shades.

He happens to keep a spare of those glasses in his coat for emergency… He comes off as a bit of a prude towards you when you begin the game, since you volunteered yourself to be in the games rather than be chosen.

There are hints here and there in the game that you can see this man is trying to keep his emotions in check, usually, he will make an “ngh!’ sound when he tries to stamp down his anger.

However, because of his way of reasoning and his approach to situations, he is the level-headed one out of the group, acting as a pseudo-leader in keeping everyone together. I may be praising him a bit, but he also comes with his ego issues and his ‘white knight’ persona…. you learn first hand that Shidou is a bit of a sexist and that DOES NOT bode well for the MC, and he learns first hand at what happens when you piss off the heroine.

“When Shidou tells the heroine that she’s a girl, and she shouldn’t just go touching things… While we as the readers understand she shouldn’t have touched anything without checking out the situation first… What does having to be a girl have anything to do with the situation?”

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Obviously, there’s a problem with the detective’s logic, and what better way than to call him out on his sexist bull-bull? SCREAM AT HIM LMAO!

Calling Shidou out on his sexist bull was one of the best things ever, and he had one of the best “shocked” expression out of the men besides Urabe and Mikami. I couldn’t help but shake with laughter at how the thunder and lightning rained down on him when she yelled at him for being a brute.

However, this moment taught Shido a fairly good lesson about his way of thinking, and how he should clean up his logic towards the heroine. At the end of the first stage, when you make it onto the cruise ship, you find Shidou in a brooding mood (why are all handsome men always brooding or something?). He introduces the heroine to the flavor of black coffee and talks to her about a few things about himself whilst holding a gun for emphasis (LOL).

Coming from my perspective, Shidou definitely the man you would want on your side to keep you grounded. While he may have some of his goofball moments, he is passionate about his work and caring towards others even if it comes off as him being a brute at times. Quick on his feet but also calm like an ocean about to turn into a massive tropical storm, the guy captured my heart in the first two stages of the game.

Endearing and careful to always be certain of your safety, he learns to start taking care of understanding his own way of speaking and approaching others. Though there are some exceptions with his attitude towards Mitarashi, you realize those two try to rival each other with their masculinity and macho man hoo-haa and what not. They do end up being best bros later in the game… Albeit I would have hoped they had a bromance like :

(I’m getting off course—AHEM* My inner fujoshi almost took over LMAO)

Anyways, into the daily challenges, you learn that Shidou is from a family of cops, and he takes that heritage in stride and upholds a lot of honor to it. This bit of information helped me put together his line of thinking a bit better, knowing he grew up around police officers and detectives in his life. It was no wonder why he seemed to have this detached persona down-pat until he met the heroine and lost some of that control he’s used to wielding around like a detective.

Getting past his crusty behavior in the beginning stages, as the gamer you start to see a different aspect of this man. Honorable to a fault, he takes a lot of initiative in putting his life on the line in protecting others, which causes a lot of trouble for the heroine. The man is selfless, and it’s hard for the MC to ignore the attractiveness of his alpha wolf nature. Also, that hair dude, I’m still wondering how he gets it to look like that everyday LMAO.

While being held in captivity at the park, the heroine and grow closer during the times that they finish the deadly games. Usually for all the break times that the game gives you, you get to uncover a little more about your chosen man. A lot of the time it’s self-reflection and conversing about how you both felt in the game and what could have gone better.

It’s during these moments of introspection that the heroine speaks about her doubts and her ability in helping solve the puzzles in the games. As she doesn’t have super strength, she can’t fortune tell, she’s not a detective, she’s a random school girl who volunteered as tribute to save her uncle and the hostages.

For Shidou, after listening to her worries, he tells the heroine that there’s nothing wrong with her abilities and that she is perfect the way she is. Similar to what occurred in Towa’s route, he tells her that there are things that she is only capable of doing, and that is more than enough.

We also find out during this moment, as he pats her head, that Shidou apparently likes things that are shaped like a circle or that are round. He’s adorable LOL.

Leveling Up with Subaru Shidou

Wooo boy… When this man falls in love, he lets you know it by showing his possessive side, immediately. Compared to the other guys, I knew that once he was hooked on the MC it was going to be pretty intense since he always seemed the type to be calm in all situations. Albeit he was very aggressive LMAO.

In his route you already know you feel for the man after a few life-threatening moments (suspension bridge effect?), and it’s hard to resist his charm once he’s turned his affections towards you. This is what makes the chemistry between the MC and Shidou very dokidoki, as he’s straightforward with his wants and desires after he captures your heart.

Shidou teaches us that staying calm in a scary situation can be tough, but panicking will also get you nowhere. Learning to assess things properly, and weigh the pros and cons of the situation can help you figure out your next move and determine the possibilities before you.

Another notion his route teaches us is learning to take bold risks, and betting on the unbelievable can also lead you to a magickal outcome.

“Sometimes risks are necessary to win the game.”

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“Just like how they all had to dress up in animal suits and Shidou vehemently argued that he didn’t want to dress up as wolf and refused… But lost anyways and had to wear it LMAO!”

“YOU LOOK FINE, BOO THANG~! LOL”

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STORY ROUTE:

4.5/5 Stars ★★★★✧

CG GALLERY:

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Humble Beginnings and Visual Novels

PROLOGUE TO VISUAL NOVEL HELL

Hey everyone, and thanks for dropping by to my blog and taking the time to read this post, as I’m not the greatest blogger out there, I feel I can write this post with some justice. I wrote something called Otome Prologue that briefly goes over my transition into otome games, but this blog will touch a bit more on how I got into not just otomes, but the visual novel genre itself.

I’ve been a gamer since the early age of seven when my dad bought my sister and me a first-person shooter game that I cannot even remember the life of me what the name was. With all, it’s old fashion pixels and horrific leggo block explosions when you blew something up on those big hunky monitor screens that weighed a ton.

To say the least, I got my first brush with games because of my dad and was pretty happy that I never turned back after those days. However, my love of games expanded from being a poor shot to those of JRPG nature, consisting of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts as a majority of my young days. However, something tilted my perspective of games when I found the game, Persona 4 Golden.

(Available here on PSNor Amazon)

While it wasn’t the original Persona 4 that was released on PS2, I was a bit bemused by the game at first because not only did you have to fight like in a JRPG and level up. There was an aspect to romance people? Just as a heads up, not only am I gamer, I’m also an avid romance reader who can devour books like I can take up camp playing games all night if left to my own devices.

So finding out about being able to romance a character, I was pretty psyched (although I got a bit upset because I wanted to romance Yosuke, and you could only become like EXTREME best bros with the man…) and romanced Naoto Shiragane, because she’s waifu.

After completing this game, I started finding myself searching for more games that had this aspect where I could romance other characters. Pilfering shelves of Gamestop or indie stores that were around me and constantly asking if they had games with a romance element or gameplay concept. A lot of the time they would point to games that had just one person you statically fall for, you don’t dictate anything and you just kinda play and what not… Which wasn’t what I was looking for…

However, at this time, there wasn’t much for me to find as most of the games were more JRPG or shooter type, and a lot of the associates from the stores couldn’t find something fitting to what I was looking for… So… sadly, I gave up my search of ever finding something that had a little more romance in it geared towards women.

Until… one day, several years later, my husband found this game:

(Regular Edition Available on Amazon)

When I first got my hands on this game I was fairly shocked at how it looked, as my husband is more of the type to go and buy shooter, JRPG, or heavy grinding type games. You could imagine my surprise when he brought this game home to me and said that these types of games are popular from his homeland (Japan), and in Tsundere fashion, he handed it to me with a blush on his face.

“So I got this because you finished school and–These games are popular back home for girls so…”

My reaction:

“…”

“You know what, just take it!”

(I’m not kidding, my husband is a tsundere at times and I was pretty bemused when he showed me this game and how he was acting about it LMAO)

I remember taking the box from him and staring at it in awe and opening it to see Hakuoki and a few other items inside the box. It was amazing and beyond my wildest dreams, and I wasn’t even sure at the time what it was, or that this was an ‘otome’ game.

Alas, this game and I were not meant to be at the time… as I soon was bombarded by work and the game slowly began to just be a collection piece on my gaming shelf.

(Special Edition Box Available here on Amazon)

However, the Visual Novel Gods were looking out for me and brought me into their heaven (hell) and I became a devout follower a year later when I moved to the tropical lands of Hawaii. I became obsessed with otome games and found a small community at the time on Tumblr who helped expand my horizons on not just Otome Games but the Visual Novel genre itself, and I’m grateful to them.

PRESS START TO ADVANCE TO VISUAL NOVEL HEL–AHEM–HEAVEN

So then, you may be sitting there and wondering, okay she talked about her beginnings into gaming and visual novel discovery but what’s so great about them? They’re just stories, right?

You are correct, they are stories, but visual novels or VNs is an umbrella term for a much bigger set of sub-genres underneath this category. What makes them great is that there are many variants of the genre that can cater to everyone’s particular taste or desires, depending on where you go and what you crave. So in reality, when someone says Visual Novel it may look like an iceberg that as a bit of depth… but don’t be fooled after you hit the iceberg and go down further you get caught in a web of different ways to go and you get entirely sucked in.

Emirati Entrepreneur Floats Iceberg Idea to Address Freshwater ... — A calm iceberg with some depth…

graph theory | The IT Student Blog — The bottom of the iceberg and the neverending discovery of subgenres in VNs

{What’s a Visual Novel?}

A visual novel or VN is a story written like a novel with static pictures and sprites. Usually, you see anime-style characterizations in these novels, but there is rarely any interactive engagement from the gamer. While certain visual novels will have an element for you to do certain moves like participate in a battle or decide on what an MC can say to another character. VNs mainly rely on heavy narration, and remain very static for the most part; basically watching a movie or anime except you’re reading it like a book.

Gameplay for VNs are usually nonexistent, with linear events that will occur in the story regardless as the story progresses over time. A good example of this type of a VN is Higurashi: When They Cry, you are basically placed in the protagonist’s viewpoint and watch the story unfold from their POV without making any choices. Regardless of what you wish to do, you can only follow along as a third party and watch the events unfold and bawl your eyes out or go insane…

While I know there are some RPG variations like Persona 4 and such, you have to remember that most of your interaction with a visual novel itself is scrolling and clicking through a written script.

“As a footnote here, games like Fire Emblem and Persona may have a romance element in them but they aren’t otome games, as romance is not a need to further the story and develop the characters versus when you play an otome game, a lot of your choices and actions are geared towards romancing or appealing to a certain character to drive the plot.”

What is an Otome Game?

(Steam Prison Available on Mangagamer, Steam, and Amazon)

Well from my point of view, an otome is a romance-driven game where in order to develop the story you are building a relationship with several male or female suitors. Different from a ‘Choose Your Own’ adventure, your choices dictate the relationship you take with the characters, usually these specific choices either help you get to a happy ending or a horrific ending…

Otome translates to ‘maiden’, so when we say otome games we’re saying ‘maiden games,’ and this subgenre of the visual novel scope is very popular in Japan. The very first Otome Game came out from Japan, called Angelique, which was created by Koei with an all-women team back in 1994. The game became very popular towards teenagers and women in their 20s and above, and thus began the trend of what we know as otome. Spinning off a sub-genre that would seek to please or pleasure female readers and gamers alike with aesthetically pleasing visuals and engaging stories.

Like I stated above, most otome games have more than one romanceable guy/girl that you as the gamer can choose to woo, in a lot of the games I’ve seen most of the plot revolves around a single MC who has a harem of disorientating proportions. The gameplay is based on the choices that you choose as the reader that either assists or hinders the MC from developing or becoming a complete pushover.

BAD END EXAMPLE (~~TBH I didn’t think this was a bad ending, but I have a thing for horror and Yanderes LMAO~~):

maxresdefault — I really don’t think this was a bad end, but LOL

HAPPY END EXAMPLE (He’s not really a psycho baby, but his ending gives a lot of feels):

Amnesia Memories – Toma Good Ending Walkthrough | once upon a writer — AMNESIA MEMORIES OF NO ONE: TOMA GOOD ENDING

(Game Available on Amazon, PSN, and Steam)

“Most otome games are of boy/girl relations…”

However, there are games that steer towards girl/girl relationships that are starting to come out of the shadows, which I’m deeply thankful for because I love me some sexy ladies that can make my heart go dokidoki as well. Such as Nurse Love Addiction & Nurse Love Syndrome this game appeals to my medical background and the romanceable characters are cute and also hot as hell.

(Both games are available on PSN, Steam, and Amazon)

I digress, while I mentioned the notable GxG otome, the more well-known games are the GxB (girl pursues boy) to name a few would be games such as Amnesia, Memories of No One, Code: Realize Guardian of Rebirth, and Kissed By The Baddest Bidder.

Otome games are available on PC, mobile devices, PSTV, PSVita, and other certain gaming platforms like the Switch. However, if you’re looking for otome games that have a bit more emphasis on sexual advances with CGs, Sony and Nintendo will censor that right off the bat, but you can definitely find your 18+ fix on PC games such as Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome from Mangagamer or getting the ‘smexy’ patch from Mangagamer after getting the steam version.

However, there are plenty of other game titles that deserve some justice out there, but we will get to those in due time.

What is a Bishōjo Game?

(Pure Station is available on Nintendo Switch)

Okay, I know we talked about Visual Novels, Otome Games but let’s also talk about another branch of this area… Bishōjo games!!

In my opinion, bishōjo games are what I call the male version of otome games, thus, these games are geared towards men or boys in high school (pick your poison). With almost a similar premise of what Otome Games are, you romance a particular female interest and progress the story along with your choices or actions. However, the Bishōjos can go into a very gray area, so if you are interested in playing the male version of otomes RESEARCH PLEASE!

Bishōjo translates to ‘pretty girl’ or gal game, so to speak. When you play these games, you see a lot of the characters are very sexy, cute, or beautiful women who either abhor from the MC or fall hopelessly in love with them (like otome games hohoho~). Similar to otome you choose your own adventure or romance, however, in certain cases just like the maiden games. You will more than likely need to get both the good and bad endings to unlock extra content, or be able to get a secret route that was hidden in the game.

EXAMPLE OF A MAYBE A BAD END… HAREM HEAVEN:

I Thought this was Harem Heaven, but it's Yandere Hell' has a lot ... — EVERYBODY IS A YANDERE; GET YOUR FEAR ON

(Available for purchase on Amazon)

EXAMPLE OF MAYBE A GOOD END… Aokana (actually no, because a lot of the good ends have some explicit scenes so this will do LOL):

Release date announced for Aokana - Four Rhythmns Across the Blue ... — Good ends in Bishojos tend to be sexually explicit, so let’s just have this here instead LOL

(Aokana can be found on Mangagamer, reader’s discretion is advised because there’s smexy stuff all over the webpage for this game. You’ve been warned!)

I want to make something clear, as I mentioned above that Bishōjo’s are geared towards men, so there is a lot of questionable tastes, kinks, and fetishes that you may find if you decide to play one of these games. Hence why I say to research before you just pick whatever comes up on steam, one of the few games I recommend that doesn’t have fanservice explosion out the ass is:

A Butterfly in a District of Dreams

(Available on Steam)

This is a cute start for anyone looking for an adorable and CLEAN beginning to bishōjo titles, I bought this game for my little brother and he absolutely enjoyed the story and the characters in it.

What about BL Games?

(This game is no longer available…. sigh… but I loved this game so much)

I’ll state this for clarification purposes, while BL games have a visual novel element and you can romance people, it is not considered an otome. Why? It’s a male character romancing a male character, similar to the girl and girl romance, these visual novels fall under their own subgenres such as Yuri and Yaoi.

Now with these games, they also can have a tendency to go from cutesy to HOLY-FUCK-WHAT-DID-I-JUST-PLAY!? In a span of 1-50+ hours of gameplay, so as a fair warning to my readers exercise a lot of caution and research the games before you jump right in. One of the games I do recommend for the BL genre that isn’t going to blow your brain up from how psychotic or detrimental it can be is :

First Love Story from Fabary

This game is less intense as the other BL games I’ve played this game is available on a mobile device only, and it’s free to play! It’s a high school love that you’re bound to find cute in certain ways depending on the choices you make, while the more demure type BL Games can be found on mobile.

However, if you want a little more engagement and romance I suggest this new game that just came out and is very well done!

Royal Alchemist

(Available on Steam)

This game is a strategy game with an Otome & BL twist, the images are pleasing, no crazy stuff, and most of all you get to exercise your brain in a battle of tactics. You’ll never be bored, you can play as either a male or female, however similar to Kenka Bancho Otome; you can either have a romance ending, friendship ending, or a very bad ending LOL.

ADULT CONTENT TYPE GAMES

As we come to an end with this blog, I wanted to save this part for last for our more ‘adult’ and ‘mature’ audiences who need a little more ‘spice’ and sexiness to their visual novels. Be advised you can find the more ‘adult’ kind of love on PC Games, so if you are looking for something more adventurous in all visual novel areas…

Please check out some of the titles on JASTUSA, Itch.io, and Mangagamer to get your fix.

Thanks for reading!

Catch you on the gaming side~!!

Featured

Sweet Fuse at Your Side: Towa Wakasa

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side stars Saki Inafune, niece to legendary game developer Keiji Inafune. Saki’s famous uncle opens an amusement park and Saki attends the opening ceremony, but things really heat up when Count Hogstein—a malevolent pig—takes over the park, and holds everyone hostage. Saki, along with seven sexy men, decides to enter Count Hogstein’s deadly game in order to save her uncle and the other hostages. Will she be able to solve the complex puzzles that Count Hogstein and his merry henchmen have in store? And most importantly, which steamy bachelor will Saki choose? (Game Description from PSN)

Available for purchase on Amazon or PS Network for Digital Download!

FYI everyone, I write my reviews like standalone books, so readers who just want to know a specific route will read the common route and then see the character analysis. If you wish to just read about the character, please scroll down to the part where you just see the character’s picture and read from there!

A RIGGED BEGINNING

Okay guys, I’ve played this game so many times because I love it so much, so I may be biased but here is a bit about the prologue, and the common route you undertake before you start romancing the awesome men in here.

You play as Saki Inafune (but you can change your name in the beginning of the story), a high school student who shares an affinity for games and puzzles. You wake up one morning and realize its the grand opening day for the Gametorium that your famous uncle has desired to create and build. In this moment of the game, I got just as excited as the heroine since I LOVE GAMES, and the fact that they were bringing a gamer concept into an otome was amazing!

After an explosive opening ceremony, you are able to enter the park and meet the chosen ‘heroes’ in this deadly game that Hogstein has created.

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From the slideshow above:

Shidou Subaru the cool and strict detective with an incredible hairdo
Ryusei Mitarashi our resident tough guy who is the number one host of Ulysses
Kimimaro Urabe, the fortune teller who happens to be a Yandere (YES HE IS A YANDERE//I LOVE HIM THOUGH LOL)
Kouta Meoshi, the loveable gamer/cinnamon roll (he’s relatable on so many levels)
Ayumu Shirabe, our sexy ossan man who is an investigative reporter with a sweet tooth!
Towa Wakasa, an adorable scared cat who can sing and dance; our resident popstar
Finally, we have Makoto Mikami… He’ll be unlocked after you finish the common routes, but be aware he’s a ~~PSYCHO BABY~~ LOL

I want to make this clear, all the men here were chosen versus you, someone who just volunteered. It’s easy to see how in the beginning the men are quick to throw suspicion on you, because you’re a young girl who just offers to be in a life or death match of games, while they were hand picked by Hogstein. To be honest, the heroine should have voiced that one of her family members was captured by Hogstein, and it would have helped the team be a little more confident with who they were working with.

Thus, we begin the rigged game wars that Hogstein has created, and continue to the common route. The common route are stages 1-3 where most of the games are all the same, but your answers boost the morality of the romance with any of the guys around you. So keep in mind, that you’ll probably pick the same bout of answers for certain routes and for others you have to choose an obtuse answer that wouldn’t make sense to make in the real world, but this is fiction so just go with it.

Examining Towa Wakasa

CV: YUKI KAJI

Towa’s route is the first route that is recommended to be played, and to be honest if you don’t have a lot of patience, he is a handful. He comes off as a spoiled superstar and is one hell of a scaredy cat. I can understand he won’t be the easiest route to complete due to how his personality is… However, I’m used to working with kids and very obtuse personalities, the plus side of this character I LOVE his voice actor, and also the complexity of this character’s nature and why he acts the way he does is intriguing to me.

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“For those of you familiar with Eren from Attack on Titan, Kanato Sakamaki from Diabolik Lovers, and Finis from Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~. Yuki Kaji voices Towa in an unrecognizable way that it amazes me, since most of the characters I;ve heard him voice are fairly… Psychotic… LOL. So if you’re a Yuki fan, this game should be put in your repertoire of things to either listen or play, because he voices this character EXTREMELY well.”

I digress, I’m fangirling over Yuki Kaji LMAO.

In the beginning, Towa it’s pretty evident that he’s going to be a pain in the ass, as he is too afraid to do anything heroic. He’s a big crybaby, and he even tells everyone that he wanted to runaway, but he was here for a promo gig from his work. When we come to the first attraction in the common route, he is adamant at not going in and he’s quick to throw out a bunch of statements due to his anxiety and fear of everything that is happening.

To say the least, he is unreliable and is quick to allow his panic to consume him. However, he’s understandable, he’s been a child actor and then turned popstar who’s lived a pretty easy life until this happened. His reactions to a situation and his panic is valid, as not everyone can think calmly or be brave in the face of danger all the time.

What makes him a likable character is that he admits to his faults, he knows he isn’t level-headed or a master genius at solving games or puzzles. Which is what makes him puzzled as to why he was one of the chosen heroes in Hogstein’s games. It’s difficult for him to comprehend because he knows that there isn’t much that he can do, and yet, the heroine says something to him that is beautiful and well said.

She tells Towa that there are only things that he can do and that is something he needs to remember, and that not everyone will react to danger with a cool headed approach. Whilst having this conversation both the MC and Towa get to understand one another better, strengthening their relationship over the course of the game.

“Can you speak to me normally? We aren’t that far apart in age.”

Over the expanse of the seven days, Towa slowly starts to chip away at his fearful nature, and he is honest about his feelings towards his actions at the end of the game. When you spend time with him, he elaborates on how he feels useless and he’s tired of being so scared of everything.

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He uses singing and dancing as a way to express his emotions, and it is one of his ways of being honest with himself. That may be odd to some people, but this scaredy cat lover boy is really the most at ease when he’s able to perform music and just have fun. Which is very pivotal towards the end of the game when you move along further into his route.

You find out that this poor baby is just as sheltered as the MC, where he may know a few things about handling cellphones and what a host club is. He’s never been given liberty to do things on his own, so he’s always had to rely on someone to make the decision for him because no one ever gave him the right to do so.

He casually would go with whatever anyone said for him to do because he upheld this moral of always making people smile, regardless of how he truly feels.

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Now… I did mention there are times that you can lose patience with him, and OH BOY~! Do you ever get to say something back to these guys in the games when they’re being idiots. There’s a part of the game that Towa does something that goes against not only his morals but puts people in danger, so you as the MC must stop him by doing the only thing you can do.

YELL AT HIM FOR BEING AN IDIOT AND STOP HIM!

“I cherish this game for allowing us to scream at the romanceable guys in here, and it’s a refreshing stance considering a lot of games I’ve played before didn’t give us an option to say something. It was more than we have to be submissive, yet, this is so hilarious, I can’t even stop laughing at how these guys get so scared or crushed when the MC screams at them for being assholes. I’m entering from the point but I had to add a shocked Towa in here for the sake of the funnies and just how great this game is LOL.”

Leveling Up with Towa Wakasa

When Towa realizes his affection for you is love, he’s a bit shocked by the revelation at first but then slowly breaks into a smile of happiness. Of course, due to the situation you both are in, it’s a bit of bad timing to announce that he’s in love to you but it was cute how he blurted it out and then blushed.

Towards the end, Towa redeems himself from the first few days facing his fears and anxiety even though he still is scared. And you know what? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, at all, I do things scared all the time because we can’t get things done if we cry in the corner and never move.

Towa teaches us that you’re a lot braver than you believe yourself to be, and much more stronger than your own expectations. He cries over silly things at times, but he honestly admits his faults and his worries in a way to reflect how to be better than next day. Thus, which gives me and the heroine both faith in him to do the right thing, and do things he knows he can do.

I forgot to mention he’s just a cinnamon roll altogether and I have this thing for kids and family in games, when one of the characters daughter happens to get pulled into this horror show of games. She recognizes Towa and is fangirling beyond belief because he’s her favorite member of the boyband he’s in, and she asks him if he could sing for her.

And HSIAUHDIHKWIH!~* He does, and it’s so sweet, and not only that it shows where his passion and heart is… Making people smile with the power of his voice and his kind heart.

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STORY ROUTE:

4.5/5 Stars ★★★★✧

CG GALLERY:

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OtomeWritingChallenge 6 “Den of Wolves”

Challenged by a group of writer friends, I am embarking on a fanfic journey of the paranormal and dark fantasy realm. Today’s challenge issued by another friend is ‘the den of wolves’:

Like any good romance trope, you wake up in an unknown place and find yourself in the presence of several good looking men, women, or both. A feeling of trepidation creeps into you as you realize there is something odd about everyone, you soon realize that escaping would mean facing either your death or reincarnation…

Who is in your harem of wolves?

Are you ready to face death or make a pact with the devil?

(consider this a continuation of “Bitten”)

“The delicate flower has finally started to unfold her petals.”

Was I dreaming? I asked myself as I heard a voice speak, the sound of their voice echoed familiarity and yet… I couldn’t place it as I felt myself turn towards the sunlight. My eyelids felt heavy, and my body was definitely hurting from all that running I had done to try and catch Mitsuhide.

“MITSUHIDE!” The sudden realization that I was following the bastard woke me up instantaneously, I sat upright looked at my surroundings remembering that I had followed the fiend into an alley. To my disconcertion, I wasn’t in my room nor was I laying in a ditch somewhere in Paris… I was… Where the hell was I?

I heard a faint chuckle from my right, my eyes seeking the owner, the hairs at the back of my neck stood up as I recognized the visitor.

“Hirose..?” I watched him tilt his head in amusement at my perplexed expression, I knew the famed author from previous events with our publishing house. While Ryoichi Hirose and I did not share the same circle of editors or friends, due to the fact he writes seductive romances versus I, who writes mysteries and thrillers. It wasn’t odd to be acquaintances… However, it was fairly unnerving being in his presence in an unknown room in Paris.

“I’m hurt that you’d be uncertain with who I am,” he closed the novel he was reading and laid it on the table, “we’ve met enough times for you to remember my body.” I watched him flit his gaze over me, the way he let his eyes slid across my form sent a shiver up my spine as I pulled the blanket harder against my body and began to move towards the opposite side of the bed.

Edging myself off to put even more distance between us, “I’m sorry to be intruding… but how did I end up here?” Another laugh left his lips as he kept his eyes on me, yet again that gaze of his felt like he hands on the blanket I was holding and was gently tugging it away from my grasp.

“Did little Koro finally wake up? I’ve got treats made especially for you,” a man I recognized as Ota Kisaki, the talented artist appeared beside me, causing me to stumble back onto the bed, my eyes staring at his extended hand as I noticed he was holding what looked to be a heart-shaped cookie towards my lips. “Don’t be scared Koro, take a bite, say ‘ah’…”

I pulled away and found myself scooching towards the side where Ryoichi was, “I’m not hungry…” I managed as I felt both of their gazes on me. Just what in the hell was going on? Why are these two here, and why am I–!

I jumped as I felt a gentle caress grace the back of my head, the sensation provoking my defensive senses as I swatted the hand away and pressed my back against the headboard. Looking to the owner of that unfamiliar touch, I found myself looking into a pair of concerned eyes from a boy that I knew I had met before… His name eluded me as I struggled to grasp how all these men were suddenly popping up like daisies around me.

“Aww… Don’t be scared,” he drew his hand back to his side, “don’t you remember we met at the casino recently?”

Why would I remember anything about a casino, especially right now when I’m surrounded by people I don’t personally know?! I found myself screaming this question in my head rather than voicing it as I looked at the boy and suddenly it dawned on me as I remembered.

“Tonight, I will change your fate!”

“What the hell?” I managed to speak as I remembered him. Mirai Kageyama was at the new casino that Satsuki Kitaoji had opened in Paris that I had gone to following that lead about Mitsuhide… I had won something, a ticket to go around the world but had declined the win at the time as I was eager to find that bastard werewolf. I started to push myself up against the headboard, my eyes flicked back and forth from the two men near me.

All the while, Hirose seemed to be enjoying my confusion all the more, casually sipping from a teacup and observing my reactions to what was transpiring.

“Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on, or do I need to start screaming bloody murder?” I snarled as I heard the edge of the wolf inside me come forward, baring my teeth in an animalistic way I froze as I realized what I had done.

I could feel the top incisors protruding out from my gums and my nose crinkled in disdain from feeling cornered, but the men looked at me with curiosity rather than fear. Smiles starting to creep onto their faces as I realized something was terribly amiss with this group of men, as the sensation of fight or flight began to move within me.

“Honey, I’m home! I– What are you all doing in here?”

The door swung open to reveal another man, his face showing surprise at how we all looked as he stood there in confusion. At that moment, I leapt off the bed with a force that I knew was coming from my transformation, landing in front of the bed and rushing towards the window I made a mad dash for the door. Shoving Takamasa aside I sent him sprawling backwards as I bolted into the long hallway, a cacophony of laughter erupting from behind me.

“Oh my, little Koro. Don’t be such a naughty girl and run away,” the man who had the heart-shaped cookies suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him with a strength that riled up the beast in me even more. “It wouldn’t do for you to disobey me, now would it?”

Adrenaline howling in my veins I sent an open palm jab into Ota’s chin and watched his head snap back from the jab, his grip loosening on me I pulled away. Trying to regain speed, I ran around a corner and found a window, immediately I tried to open it only to see the Mirai appear out of thin air.

“Oh, you’re feisty. I like that,” he placed a hand against the windowsill, a look of mischief upon his face as he leaned close, “Is this how all werewolves act?”

I shoved him back and didn’t look back as the sound of my footsteps resonated in the corridor; in my peripherals, I could see paintings, sculptures, and other oddities as I fled. My memories of the night before were being recovered at a snail’s pace as I kept running, blood rushing to my head as I felt the devil in me howl as I came to a grand set of doors.

Forcing the doors open and I sent them slamming against the walls and was greeted with a grand staircase that lowered to the bottom floor in a regal flourish. My heart was pounding as I looked at the entranceway in awe, but the sounds of footsteps behind me kicked me out of my wonder. Practically stumbling down the steps my knee hitting the floor with a nasty slap and scraped against the tile.

I held in my yelp of pain as I felt blood begin to pour down my knee as I threw myself against the door and began pulling at the doorknobs and twisting it to open. But the locks refused to turn, and the foreboding feeling of eyes on me tickled the back of my neck as I relentlessly tried to pry open the posterns.

“Honey, bleeding in a place like this is not good for my heart.”

“Hmm…? It seems things are about to get interesting with the smell of fear and blood in the air.”

“Running from us would do you no good, come, let us tend to that wound of yours…”

“Koro, now you must be disciplined for causing such unpleasantries.”

Sweat trickled down my back as I cautiously turned around and looked behind me, my eyes slowly gazing upwards to see the men revealing smiles that turned my blood into ice. Snake-like fangs slid out from under their lips, and their eyes glowed like rubies under the dim lighting of the foyer. I pressed my back against the doors, the aura emanating from them was nothing like Mitsuhide’s…

“… Vampires…” I whispered under my breath as I felt my chest tighten with anxiety and the beast within me bellowing to be released.

“What have we here?”

I turned to the new voice and began to inch away from the door as the man came closer. His look of curiosity slowly turning to that of something lascivious, his smile revealing a similar stance as the men above.

“How intriguing, to find a blossoming werewolf in the company of vampires.”

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#OtomeWritingChallenge 5 “King of the Damned”

Challenge: Hey friend! I heard that one of my favorite guys from KBTBB is causing a ruckus for you. Can you redeem him in a sexy vampiric fashion and give him a bit of a bite, so to speak. Don’t back off from the challenge, I wanna see what you write on your blog!

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Shay, I’ve taken certain liberties in changing some of Eisuke’s personality so he won’t be on point with his voltage inc demeanor. However, I felt I should put two kings in here … or maybe three? Anyways, thanks for the challenge, I hope you enjoy the one-shot!

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

Satsuki Kitaoji tilted the wine bottle and watched as the Rouge spilled into the glass, it’s ruby essence gently rising to half glass as he filled the glass and then placed it in front of Eisuke. The two men sat across from one another in affable silence as Eisuke lifted the glass and swirled the contents around once before taking a sip of the viscous drink. Satsuki relaxed into his chair as he reached for his own glass and turned his gaze towards the fireplace.

While it was nearly summer in the alps of France, there was still a bite of winter in the night air, making the weather unusual for this time of the year. A crackling of wood came from the hearth as a log broke and caused some embers to fly upwards into the chimney, causing a small plume of smoke to enter the chambers. Tilting his head slightly to look back at his guest, Satsuki set his glass down and folded his hands over his lap.

“I suspect your encounter with Ares did not go according to plan,” he finally broke the silence between them as Eisuke looked into the Rouge and slowly raised his eyes to meet Satsuki.

“…” Eisuke thought back to his brief meeting with the exiled princess, images of her face filled with hate towards him annoying pricked at the insides of his heart. Humans, animals, even werewolves were easy to understand or gain control of in the world he existed in. He was used to getting what he wanted, no matter the consequence and who it hurt, as long as it was his to claim in the end. Yet…

This female vampire defied him. An exiled princess from the Alderan Clan, she lived amongst humans and were raised closely with those cattle. Yet, to her own blood lineage and birthright, she would choose to deny the throne and challenge him? He laughed at her in the beginning when he first encountered the woman under the Parasite Moon, thinking that she was merely a weak-willed vampire heiress who needed proper retraining.

However… Something in those eyes of hers captivated him. Lavender christened irises that channeled rage, hatred, and pity towards him, the expression upon her face as she drew arms to defend those humans and werewolves. It was infuriating.

“Considering how foul you’re acting,” Satsuki took a sip of his glass, “she rejected you again, correct?”

“She didn’t reject me,” Eisuke sneered, “she threatened to kill me. It seems the princess has a lot of backbone to go against a pure-blooded vampire, especially one that she is betrothed to.”

Satsuki chuckled at his friend’s comment and placed his wine glass down, “her lineage may have her crowned for the throne, but her heart is of a different matter. You and I both know that she is quite fond of the humans she’s existing with, regardless, even I know we can’t take a heart by force.”

“Unless we drive a stake through it,” Eisuke said nonchalantly as a dark shadow passed between them at his words, “but I’m not as foul as the humans who used those archaic methods on us from days old.”

Satsuki inclined his head towards the bottle of Rouge, noticing that Eisuke’s glass was almost empty, “old friend, I do feel that being honest rather than forceful would get her to come by your side; mayhap, even listen to you for once without a fight.”

“…Perhaps.” Eisuke looked into the fires that jumped and sparked in the hearth besides them, the hues of orange and red reflected in his eyes as he mulled over their conversation. “The actions sound easy for even a child to do, yet, even I know if I approach her she would be fast to draw swords before I speak.”

Carding his fingers through his amber locks, Eisuke closed his eyes and let out a slow breath as he saw Ares’ eyes gazing back at him with disgust, tears staining her cheeks as she drew her weapon against him.

“If you will not die by Van Helsing’s hand,” she snarled, “then it will be my own blade delivering you eternal death.”

Her cold words echoed in his mind as he remembered the night he had gone to see her and was attacked by the people who she had called her family. Unknowingly living amongst a priesthood that planned to use her for vile purposes, but even as he tried to speak to Ares, she refused… and her anger and heartache bled into the night sky as she screamed vengeance on him and all vampires.

He balled his hands into fists and brought his arm over his eyes to cover any fleeting emotion that may betray him in front of Satsuki, living for almost thousands of years in the dark inlets of the shadows and hiding his nature from anyone, he was now losing his composure over a mere woman. How unbecoming of the King of the Damned.

“Am I interrupting gentlemen?” Saint Germain smiled as he entered the study, parcel in hand as he took a seat between the men.

“Not at all,” Satsuki shook his head as he looked at Eisuke who seemed to fold his arms and narrow his gaze at their new visitor.

Both men watched as Saint placed the parcel he held on the table, the packaging was plain from the outside with only a yellow ribbon holding it closed. With a small tug, the bow on the top came undone, “I have intriguing news that we all cannot ignore.”

Eisuke glared at Saint as the man dipped his hand inside the box and presented a stone or cerulean and emerald facets, it sparkled under the low lights in the chambers and softly hummed as he placed it in the center of the table. The energy in the room began to grow thick with electrical pulses as the fire suddenly roared, filling the room with a wave of heat. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t have phased either Satsuki or Eisuke, considering the item before them was stated to be in a dormant state of sleep.

Yet, it showed no appearance of such a slumber any longer as it pulsed with life and generated surges of energy around the vampires.

“The Alistrian Jewel…”

“…Has awakened… So the Bride of the Moon has also appeared. “

“Yes,” Saint chuckled as he stared into the orb and the images of three women appeared inside the jewel. “It seems that war is upon us my friends and that fate has placed these women as the catalyst for the beginning of the end.”

Featured

Kiss of Revenge: Kyosuke Narumi

Kiss of Revenge is an otome game by Voltage Inc. Driven by revenge by your mother’s death, you become a surgeon and work at the hospital where the director who operated on your mother works at, but you fall in love thwarts that desire. (Voltage Wiki)

It’s available on Android and iPhone.

The Playable Bachelors Who Will Either Suffer By Your Hand or Be Loved By You:

From the left, Issei Sezaki, Junpei Miyashita, Soichiro Irie, Kyosuke Narumi, and Naoya Hasegawa.

In this review, I’m going to be talking about Kyosuke Narumi, the flirty and almost too laid back doctor of Internal Medicine. While he seems very childish and can come off as a slacker, this man is an endearing character for the series and will surely earn a place in your heart (even though he’s a flirt).

WINNER OF GARBAGE FATHER, SCUM MEDICAL DIRECTOR, SHIT HUMAN BEING AWARD FOR EVERY YEAR OF HIS LIFE(*AHEM* I mean the person you’re plotting revenge against):

BE ADVISED, THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN HERE. DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROUTE.

RAGE PROLOGUE:

Okay ya’ll, You’ve finally made it to Ebisu General Hospital after working my way up through the ranks at Shimane Hospital. In the beginning, you enter the director’s office and are introduced to Director Sezaki (*cough* cough* shit father *cough* asshole person *cough* scum of Goliath’s toes). Soichiro Irie enters the room and the three of you head over to an expensive restaurant for a welcome lunch.

While Issei Sezaki couldn’t make it because he was attending a patient’s surgery and it’s revealed to be the director’s son. However, you decide to use the topic of medical malpractice as a good form of an ice breaker, and explain about how there was a recent issue about it on the news (~~yes, nice going MC, totally doesn’t make you look awkward~~), which makes scumbag director agitated. The situation is diffused thanks to Dr. Irie who then, after the director leaves, reveals that he has been pretending to smile and that you shouldn’t get on the Director’s bad side, hinting about the topic of malpractice you decided to bring up…

We go back to the hospital where you are introduced to the nurses at the department of surgery: Shoko Narumi (Head Nurse), Akako Okida, and Saomi Ikura. Dr. Irie leaves you at this time because he has a lecture at a university but kindly tells you that there’s a welcome party for you later.

Shockingly, your old high school crush and friend, Junpei Miyashita enters the nurse’s station and recognizes you. He almost reveals about your mother having passed away at Ebisu General Hospital but you manage to stop him. You find out, he is also invited to your welcome party before the Nurse Narumi brings takes you on a tour through the surgery department.

As the tour ends and Okida rushes in to inform Nurse Narumi about an emergency operation from the Department of internal medicine, and magically, there are no other surgeons available. Since you are a surgeon, you volunteer to perform the surgery despite having no experience doing this specific type of surgery (I actually froze when I saw this and was like ‘no, no, no… that can’t ever happen, and if it has, I’ve never heard of it; MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT AHOY~!).

MIRACULOUSLY, the operation is successful but just as you were about to stitch the patient back up, their blood pressure decreases, and you decide to do the WORST THING YOU CAN DO.

Panic.

As if on cue, Issei Sezaki, finally appears to save the day and helps you out but not before calling you out about panicking in the operation room. Both Issei and you switch, and you end up assisting him, luckily for everyone, the operation ends smoothly.

Once everything has wrapped up with the patient, you thank Issei for his help and acknowledge his skills as the Super Doctor. Issei is pretty cold in the beginning so he just leaves and Dr. Kyosuke Narumi comes in (SPOILER ALERT, yes, he is related to Head Nurse Narumi). Dr. Narumi thanks you for taking care of his patient and makes some comments about Issei because they’re sorta like childhood friends per se.

The scene then moves to the welcome party, everyone but Dr. Sezaki Jr. is present. Your new work colleagues mentioned that Issei isn’t the type to go to parties or gatherings, so to not take it to heart. During the party, you find out that Nurse Narumi has known Dr. Irie since he was a resident at Ebisu General Hospital. This causes you to think about who you need to get closer to… and just as everything is wrapping up, Dr. Sezaki appears and acknowledges your skills. (Voltage Wiki)

Scheduled Check Up on Dr. Kyosuke Narumi

A close friend of Issei Sezaki, this flirtatious doctor is definitely hard not to like, albeit he has a lot of moments where you want to roll your eyeballs to holy high heaven. In Kyosuke’s route, he enters the car behind you, and while the interaction is pretty harmless. You can’t help but be annoyed by him barging into your personal space and asking you to go for another round of drinks somewhere else.

He comes off pretty lax and carefree compared to the surgical department, which is kinda true… This is just me talking from my own experiences and no one else’s, working in the hospital there is a different energy per department or section you work in. Surgery is very cut and dry, not meaning to be punny but it was really rare to meet a surgeon who wasn’t very straight to the point like the edge of a scalpel.

Versus Internal Medicine, we did have the concise and stern types roaming in the department, but a lot of times this crowd was a little more on the chill side. It was also a little easier to get into contact with the doctors here and bring important stuff to their attention. Not only that, but Kyosuke also got immediately friend-zoned in the beginning because he reminded me WAY too much of a former coworker I used to work with.

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The conversation above happened to me before and I swear, compared to the MC, I actually smacked the top of my coworker’s head because he was being an idiot. I wish that was an option here, but they didn’t give it to us, sadly.

I digress… Kyosuke is the son of Nurse Narumi in Surgery, and while he has his moments of tomfoolery and childish motives. The man has a heart of gold and is a likable character for those who seek to have a fairly funny but bittersweet romance in Kiss of Revenge.

In the first several chapters of his story, the MC does her horrible sleuthing skills and finds Kyosuke to be somewhat of horrific pain in her ass. Since her work morals and personality is practically obtuse, to be honest, she’s an asshole. I understand that she’s serious about her work and her way of thinking is starkly different from Kyosuke.

However, I was offended by the MC in his route, regardless of her revenge… I really found her unlikable in the beginning, I almost abandoned Kyosuke’s route just because of her dour statements and slander against Dr. Narumi. She backhands Kyosuke’s demeanor and approach to patient care (~~WHICH WAS BEYOND DISGUSTING, I WAS LIVID WITH HEROINE~~), stating that he needed to stop fooling around and be serious.

irritated GIF — ME AT THE MC EVERY TIME SHE’S AN ASSHOLE

When you play the route and come upon the scenario I’m speaking of, by this time you might already realize how Kyosuke is the type to present advice to helping the heroine through what looks like a casual conversation and light-hearted jokes. While the reader may understand what he’s doing, the MC (who’s a mess of a person at this time), does not and tells him to GTFO of surgery.

It’s later that the MC finds out that Kyosuke was trying to convey advice to the MC to help get along with her patients, especially the one(s) who needed surgery right away.

Unimpressed Sea GIF by SpongeBob SquarePants — Nurse’s Note Below:

NOTE: A lot of doctors do not spend quality time getting to know their patients, it’s not uncommon in the medical field to see a doctor only check a patient for two minutes and then leave.

Kyosuke is one of the few rare breeds of doctors who takes his time to get to know his patients and understand them, thus creating a bond with the patient and their families. When you’re in the hospital, in an unknown place, and your family can’t be with you 24/7 it’s a terrifying experience. You see people pop in and out of your room, sometimes they talk with you other times they’re there to draw blood or hang another IV drip and just go about their merry way.

It’s easy to forget that patients are human beings, and the way the MC was going about visiting her patients… Oh, she deserved every ounce of attitude that this patient hurled at her.

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While I’m certain the MC was not appreciative of what occurred, I certainly was glad the patient did what she did. But… I digress, it was after this particular incident and Kyosuke talking with the heroine about a specific teen idol magazine, the heroine was able to speak with the patient above and have the girl open up to her.

It’s then, at this point you start to put trust into Kyosuke and recognize him as a good doctor and person.

Unlike the other reviews I did, I want to express that I wasn’t very fond of Kyosuke’s Another Story, as if you choose to fall in love and give up on revenge. The story takes a bit of a weird turn, and it turns out EXTREMELY ANTICLIMATIC, it really turns into sad fluffy bunnies and stuff, and the story didn’t make sense anymore.

kyle hill whatever GIF by Because Science — ME ON KYOSUKE’S ANOTHER STORY

But if you want the suspense and the thrill ride of a major ‘NO! DON’T DO IT!’ proceed to the Main Story and get MF revenge on Dr. Sezaki and find the truth behind Kyosuke’s medical license and his mother’s guilt. I mean it people, his main story threw me for a damn loop and I was screaming internally with what this man was prepared to do for the love of his life.

In his main route, you find out some very disturbing things that the Director did to keep both Dr. Narumi and his mother in check (it’s so foul, I want to set that man on fire), the crisis that occurs, but also the love of mother comes in hand at the ending. I’m a STICKLER for family bonds and loyalty, and this story struck a pretty hard chord at the climax.

wonder woman dc GIF by Warner Archive — NURSE NARUMI FTW

Also before I finish up this section, I want to give major applause to Kyosuke’s mom, Nurse Saomi Harumi, because she is WONDERWOMAN, like I cannot stop gushing about her. None other than that, she definitely is a force to be reckoned with, you go mama bear!

Falling in Love with Kyosuke

To fully fall in love with this man, please continue on with his ‘Main Route’ as you discover more about his character and hidden guilt there. While Kyosuke comes off as a goofy person, I sincerely adore his approach to patient care rather than the regular cold patient-doctor relationship we see in the hospital setting. He can seem childish to others, but it’s his way of creating relationships and trust with people and patients in his care.

Another rare breed of a doctor in a hospital setting, you rarely find a doctor like him unless it’s in a clinic setting or a private practice. His flirtatious advances on the heroine are pretty funny, and it is fun to shut him down when he tries to get the heroine to take the bait. I couldn’t help but eventually be charmed by Kyosuke’s way of thinking and approach to his work, he’s a very serious student of medical practices even if he doesn’t seem the type.

Hardworking, loyal, and a beast he’s hard to not like. I’m not someone who takes an instant attraction to flirts but getting to know Kyosuke and his character. I’m glad that I did, and he’s very outspoken about his appetite for nightly activities with the MC, so beware if you’re uncomfortable with that stuff~! Much like Ikki from Amnesia, he does have insecure moments, especially where Issei is concerned (everyone has a thing about Issei in this game, geezes LMAO).

However, dear otome players, if you’re looking to fall in love with someone who is selfless and compassionate and is willing to even commit something unspeakable just to guarantee that YOU ARE SAFE FROM HARM. Take a ride with Kyosuke Narumi, and have some popcorn and soda ready, and maybe tissues. You’ll need them.

STORY RATING:

4/5 Stars ✰✰✰✰

Featured

#OtomeWritingChallenge 4 “Bitten”

Challenged by a friend(s) to do this one:

You’ve been chasing a lead on someone who could cure you of your current affliction, however, instead, you find yourself transported to Paris of the 1700s. With nothing but the clothes on your back and the bag you carry, time is ticking as the moon becomes fuller and sinister by the day. In the midst of your worries and fears, a stranger approaches you with a proposition to help you with the devil that lies within you…

Team Vampyre? Team Zombie? Team Werewolf?

Who is the lucky husband(s) to help or worsen your situation?

How do you cope in a society known to burn anyone for suspicious appearances?

“Uhhh.. Ngh!” My head throbbed as I gradually rolled to my side, everything, screamed in agony like it had been through hell. I felt stones stabbing into my ribs as I felt around in the darkness for my weapon, after grappling with a few sharp rocks from the pavement I felt the familiar bite of metal beneath my fingertips. I gripped the Glock and opened my eyes.

Why were the streets so dark? I questioned as I propped myself up and looked down the alleyway that I had run into to follow Mitsuhide…

Damn him, damn him to the realms of Hades. I coughed and found the familiar flavor of copper dancing against my tongue, a shiver of excitement ran through me as I felt the wolf inside me writhe in happiness at the taste of blood. “Not tonight, satan,” I spat the words as I forced myself to my feet and stumbled forward.

Leaning against the side of the building before me, I secured the gun to its holster and looked again towards the streets. He shouldn’t have gotten far, I can’t let him escape again, I thought as I used the brick wall to assist me. My gait unsteady as I chided myself, I couldn’t believe I miscalculated going into the alley after him, I was too hasty and stupid and–

My internal monologue coming to a pause, I stopped at the exit of the alley and noticed the electric street lights were gone, in its stead were lamps with flames. Shallow wisps of light that looked more like ghostly lanterns lit the night of Paris, as a horse-drawn carriage rumbled by at a brisk pace. I rubbed my eyes and then massaged my temples, whatever Mitsuhide had managed to have me inhale, it was genuinely messing with my psyche.

Returning my gaze back out to the streets, I noticed a drunk couple dancing around in what looked to be a renaissance fair attire. I frowned, I don’t recall there being a fair of some sort tonight, especially in these late hours… I cautiously stepped onto the path and grimaced as pain ricocheted up my spine.

What the hell did Mitsuhide throw between us? My anger stirring as I felt my muscles ache and bones crack under my languid pace. I felt like hell. Lost in my anger and need to control the unease in my body, I trodded down the street and moved between the random groups of people that filled the footpath.

My head was pounding as I tried to collect my thoughts, I had followed that man…

“Gyuh!” I grimaced as I heard the howl of the beast within me reacting to the throngs of people as the moon watched us. I pressed a hand to my chest, time was running out, and the changes in my body were moving quickly. “Mitsuhide…” I snarled his name as I began to jog, following the somewhat familiar scenery and dodging the random drunks on the road…

Why were so many people out? I questioned as I tried to keep focus, a faint whiff of a familiar scent catching in the air as I acknowledged that some of the powers of the wolf inside me were of some use. Yet, as I followed the faint essence, I could also smell something else in the stagnant air, sweat, sex, and smoke…

I was far from the red light district, unless… The wolf had taken over and brought me to it. I stopped jogging and shook my head, it couldn’t have happened, it had only been mere minutes when I fell unconscious from whatever that bastard had done.

The foul memory of Mitsuhide laughing at me as I cornered him, brandishing my gun and holding him at gunpoint. His cold smile, laced my thoughts as it never faltered as I threatened him. I should have thought out my plan more wisely, I shouldn’t have been so rash.

I found myself walking as the memory of Mitsuhide tossing something between us floated back to the surface, the swirl of purple fumes engulfing us both as I fired a round into the mist. The heady smell of herbs, spice, and chemicals washing over me as I felt like Alice falling into Wonderland, and the faint smell of cinnamon enrapturing me.

“Enough,” I commanded myself, pulling my own mind out from its reverie. If the gas impacted me that much, then it should have the same effects on that bastard, he couldn’t have gotten far… I bounded the corner with determination as I caught another whiff of his scent, and froze.

“What..?” Hundreds of people crowded the central area of Paris, dancing, jeering, and laughing in the street as a carnival of sorts overtook what was supposed to be a quiet night. I took a step back as a shiver of dread took my heart hostage, the need to pursue Mitsuhide disappeared as I felt the clawing of the wolf come back in full force. I needed to get away from here. Now.

The intoxicating smells of hormones, food, and intimate interactions filled my senses and excited the beast, feeding its hunger to hunt. This wasn’t good.

“Escape,” I commanded my human mind as I felt my pulse skyrocket as the smell of blood reached my nostrils, no doubt there were people here having more than just a merry good time. Gritting my teeth, I felt the familiar edges of canines pressing against my lower lip, a feral growl escaping my throat as the hunger to kill forced its way into my thoughts.

“No!” I yelled as I felt the wolf inside bellow, my human side fighting against the need to change and let go. “I will not become a monster–!” I lashed out as I felt my spine crack and start to curve like a cat, my hands shook violently as I felt the bones in them contort at the impending need to feast.

Pain threaded its way into my chest as I felt myself reeling backward, the howling getting louder in my ears as I slammed into something behind me.

“My lady, are you alright?”

Strong arms circled around my waist as I felt another wave of both nausea and agony sweep over my body. Leaning my head back I looked into the face of the man who caught me, feeling the instant need to sink my jaws into his throat. I bit down the urge to scream at him as I wrenched myself out of his hold and pushed him harshly as I ran as far away as I could from everyone and everything, but there was no guarantee of safety.

The monster inside was winning, a howl escaped my throat as I found myself running into an abandoned building and shutting the door, as another torrent of pain slammed against me.

I wasn’t a full werewolf yet, I wouldn’t become a full-fledged one until the full moon, but the change was coming on strong, and the animal inside wanted everything that was human to submit to it. Bile rose up to my lips, my bones cracking and twisting under the light of the moon as I found myself at a dead-end and dropped to my knees.

Such a fool. I curled into a ball as I went over my idiotic choices tonight in following the leads to capture Mitsuhide. A yelped into the darkness as I felt the fangs in my mouth extend and my jaw began to contort and elongate, the beast was trying to force a half-mutation on me and it was winning. I should have stayed at the cottage, I should have chained myself in the basement and drank the wolfsbane concoction again but I had thought because the moon wasn’t at it’s darkest peak that I would be fine.

I was a fool. Now, as I lay there as my body viciously began to mutate into a half-wolf form, I felt the tears of humanity slip down my cheeks. I would kill again. I would kill someone again, and I was an idiot for believing I could find a way to stop this curse. Reaching for my gun with an unsteady grip, I clasped my hand around the smooth metal and pulled it free from it’s home.

“Only ten days left…” the words echoed in my ears as I remembered Mitsuhide’s sickening voice in my mind. “When that time comes, you will come to me and know true suffering…”

Another sickening pop came from my lower legs as I brought the gun closer to my chest, I threw my head back and screeched as the wolf in me bellowed, “I won’t become a monster… I won’t…”

“Poor thing…” I felt a gentle stroke the back of my head, the calm voice whispered into my ear as I saw a pair of golden irises looked down upon me, “let me help you.”

I let out a snarl as I tightened my hand around the gun and forcefully kicked away from the man.

“Drink this,” his voice was calm as he kneeled next to me, “it’ll be okay.” The wolf inside me bared its fangs as his hand drew near and lashed out, but the man took hold of my muzzle with ease, carefully dodging my teeth and poured something down my open jaws.

The cool liquid turned into a conflagration in my belly as he released me and I felt my entire being become consumed with a fierce heat. A human scream came out from my throat as I felt my body twist and convulse as the wolf in me howled in anger as I felt my body start to return to normal. My back arching like a bow as the fierce fire within me began to subside and I fell to my side like a helpless ragdoll, shaking and quivering from what had just occurred.

I felt my heartbeat quicken as the soft footsteps of the unknown intruder came close from behind me, and I felt his hands slip beneath my body and lift me against his chest. I couldn’t move. The exhaustion of fighting myself had drained my lasting outlets of energy, and the lack of sleep over the past days were catching up to me.

I felt a tender caress against my cheek as I found myself looking up at the man, his features lighted only by the faint glow of the moonlight that streamed in from the broken roof of the building. Fear must have flickered in my eyes as he gave me a sad smile, it was the man I had accidentally fallen against earlier when I was running away.

Alarm bells going off in my head, I commanded my body to move, but it refused to do my bidding as I stared up at the intruder. My thoughts screaming out loud as I couldn’t open my mouth to speak, what had he done to me? Who was he? Why?

A flicker of amusement could be seen in his eyes as he a strand of loose hair away from my face, ” you have every right to be afraid, mon cher… But tonight, I am not your enemy… As it would be a disservice as a gentleman to leave a lady in such a state of misfortune, in a territory of vampires.”

“Especially a werewolf.”

Vampires. His words sank into the cold depths of my belly as he began to walk towards the doors I had pathetically bolted down during my panic. With a simple tilt of his head, I watched all the pieces of wood and metal bars that I had propped against it fly off to the side and the doors swung open with a groan. “Rest easy little wolf, no harm will come to you as long as I am with you.”

His words echoed in my head as I struggled to stay awake but exhaustion was catching up to me, and in my mind all I wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and believe my nightmares would be over, and I wouldn’t become a killing machine hellbent on devouring people. If only sleep could erase the damage done to me, if only… if only…

My thoughts slowly began to drown in the shadows that crept into my vision as reality departed into an endless field of darkness.

Twenty days ago, I had been an ordinary mystery writer taking reprieve in the cabins of South Dakota tending to my work and creating a story. I should have found it strange when Akechi Mitsuhide had appeared at the cabin out of the blue, stating that Alex, my editor, had requested that he go out to check on me.

While it was understandable for my editor to check in on me every now and then, I should have listened to my instincts when I found it odd that Mitsuhide, who wasn’t even Alex’s assistant, had come in his place. At the time, I had seen no harm and invited him in despite the inkling of wariness that held me…

I recall how I had stepped away from him to look at the emails that came in through my computer, having managed to send a quick email to Alex, thanking him for sending Mitsuhide to check on me but it wasn’t necessary. However, as I opened Alex’s email, alarm bells went off as he relayed he had never asked Mitsuhide to visit me and that he would never tell anyone about my secret location either.

“How troublesome,” were the words that Mitsuhide had whispered into my ear as he read the email over my shoulder and sighed as he violently tossed me to the side. A sinister look upon his mug as he glared down at me with an expression that sent fear into my core.

I could faintly remember the smell of blood in the air as Mitsuhide leaned down to look at me, his muzzle covered in scarlet as I remembered his eyes gleamed with humor at my pain. His teeth stained with my life, I heard his speak those cursed words… “tonight ends your human existence, the bride of the moon.”

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Kiss of Revenge: Soichiro Irie Review

It’s available on Android and iPhone.

The Playable Bachelors Who Will Either Suffer By Your Hand or Be Loved By You:

From the left, Issei Sezaki, Junpei Miyashita, Soichiro Irie, Kyosuke Narumi, and Naoya Hasegawa.

In this review, I’m going to be talking about the seductive Dr. Soichiro Irie, the mysterious and cunning right-hand man of Director Sezaki. He is one of the first available routes to play in KOR season 1, and just as an FYI, he is a SADIST.

THE MAN WHO DESERVES THE FOUL AND DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING AWARD (*COUGH* ~~I mean the person you’re plotting revenge against~~):

~*~*~BE ADVISED, THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN HERE. DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROUTE.~*~*~

AMATEUR REVENGE MISTRESS PROLOGUE:

We go back to the hospital where you are introduced to the nurses at the department of surgery: Shoko Narumi (Head Nurse), Akako Okida, and Saomi Ikura. Dr. Irie leaves you at this time because he has a lecture at a university but kindly lets you know that there’s a welcome party for you later.

Miss A Dancing GIF — Junpei be like “IT’S YOU FIRST LOVE, HEYYYYYYYY”

MIRACULOUSLY, the operation is successful but just as you were about to stitch the patient back up, their blood pressure decreases, and you decide to do the WORST THING YOU CAN DO.

Stressed Season 1 GIF by Friends — MC BE LIKE…

Panic.

Pre-Check Up of Dr. Soichiro Irie aka The Right-Hand of Director Douchebaggins

Doctor Irie is a mysterious and aloof character in the beginning, albeit, I was already on to his game with how his personality was going to be in the prologue. To be honest, he was the one I was anticipating the most for since I like to see cat and mouse games in stories in general. However, because our heroine is not quite a sleuth or reads a lot of mystery murder stories… Dr. Irie’s personality is very complex and he’s purposely mysterious for ulterior motives.

Im Sorry What Season 1 Episode 7 GIF by Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist — The MC’s reaction to everything Irie does…

When Irie is the one who approaches you after the party, I feel as the reader, you already have a good idea that he’s already suspicious of the heroine after her debacle of asking over lunch “~~hey… so there was this medical malpractice lawsuit on TV recently, what do you think about that Director Sezaki, did anything LIKE THIS HAPPEN TO YOU AT THE HOSPITAL?!?~~”

Spare me, I know she didn’t say it like that but having been to enough lunch meetings and with superiors, this isn’t something you bring up unless they prompt you. Also, she barely even knows anyone there so her bring up this subject was inappropriate and suspicious.

x-files scully GIF — Me, every time the MC does something obviously suspicious

Again, I digress, he enters the car after you and he asks a strange question… Albeit, even I was already on alert being inside the same vehicle as him. However, his question was rather… Strange, and inappropriate–Which puts the heroine on edge because of how out of the ball park it was. He basically asks if you are seeing anyone, and his reasoning was because the Director had wanted to know, AS THE DIRECTOR FEELS THAT HAVING A RELATIONSHIP CAN F**K UP YOUR PROFESSIONAL WORK LIFE (I mean, what even…?).

The MC tells Irie that there’s nothing to worry about as she is single and career oriented, and while this answer seems to be acceptable to Irie and he exits the cab at the next corner. You can’t help but feel a bit weirded out by this confrontation, and also suspicious of Dr. Irie as well, yet… the man is still a complete Rubix Cube to you.

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Within the following day after the party, you come into work early and try to look for your mother’s chart in the computer system. However, Irie shows up as well and questions you about how come you are early into work–While he seems to agree with the reasonings you give he then moves you to a desk RIGHT NEXT TO HIM, and he explains that he will be your mentor for the next few months.

~~(THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE YA’LL, NO LETTING RESIDENTS OR BRAND NEW DOCTORS RUN AMUCK WITHOUT SOMEONE WATCHING OVER THEM!)~~

As you work with him, you realize he’s a key component of the hospital, from dealing with schedules to being at the front man of the hospital itself. For me, it was strangely relatable again… As you start to mingle with your coworkers and do rounds with the nurses. Your coworkers begin to explain that Irie handles EVERYTHING, including stamping the Director’s seal on documents, to many other things.

Which prompts the MC to feel that Irie may have some resentment towards the head of the hospital, as we later find out that, although Dr. Irie is practically the stand in for Director Sezaki. The position of becoming the next hospital director would not be given to him, due to the fact that the director already was CHRISTENING Issei (the director’s son) in taking his place.

Using this knowledge to your advantage, you try to pry into Irie’s thoughts and emotions about his feelings about not being able to become the director. How the MC handles it, was pretty okay, but–THIS IS A HUGE BUT, she still barely knows the man… which is what once again prompts me to scream at her for being PAINFULLY SUSPICIOUS AF.

She tries to brush what she says to Irie as a joke, but even I felt the malice behind her words which in fact… When you see Irie’s expression below pique’s his interest or suspicions about her.

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While the MC realizes her mistake in the midst of the conversation, Irie takes the upper hand at realizing the game that’s being played… when the MC asks to speak with him for advice (as she assumes she can try getting more information about the Director through him). Casually, he invites her to play a game of billiards, which I thought was a pretty good hint to the MC that he was already figuring out her game.

See, billiards is a mental game, a strategy, if you will… It allows you to see and get a feel of what kind of person you are going against or partnering with, and thus, we fully begin the cat and mouse game. Especially when the MC decides to try to PAINFULLY inject another jab about the Director into their pool time, it causes Irie to coldly respond in deflection at her question.

However, fangirl moment:

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When he said that I could be inviting unwanted trouble… HONHONHON~ There should have been a choice to say,

“but I’m handing you the invitation for it.”

Anyways, I coming back from my fangirling moment, *ahem*, while the night ends on a very serious note after that conversation. I did say that the game between the two begins, and indeed, it begins in a very titillating type of way. However, because the MC is still ‘wet behind the ears’ so to speak, she understands that Irie is up to something but she’s not really great at parrying him with his sexy remarks or innuendos.

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I was laughing at how bad she handled a few things he said to her, which shows her inexperience with romance and men. Albeit, Irie was the one who made it entertaining for me and the heroine was basically playing into his hands. However, things take a turn, when Irie finds your coin pouch at the cafeteria and your blood runs cold because your mother’s photo is inside of it.

Irie parries the MC’s questions with ease as he states he found out it was her purse because of the billiards play card being in there, but even for me, both the MC and I knew that there was no way he hadn’t seen the photo.

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Evidently, the game starts to take a major turn from here when the MC manages to get ahold of the key to Director Sezaki’s office. Due to Irie having to always be the stand in for the director, he has a copy of the key but it falls out from his belongings, and thus, our hot-headed heroine uses this as an opportunity to BRASHLY CHARGE INTO THE FRAY and get her ass caught red-handed with her mother’s chart in her hands.

Regardless, this moment helps Irie put 2 +2 together, even though he already had an idea about the MC, but his reasoning for allowing you to stay at the hospital was to see what exactly you planned to do…

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I have to break it this into two different scenarios, as I adored both Irie’s Another Story and Main Story.

Assessing Dr. Soichiro Irie

Taking on his main story, you find out the dark truths about why his personality has become as mysterious and twisted as it is. Learning, he was also a small town doctor before coming the Ebisu General Hospital, and the poor soul… He really learned the hard way about how different the country hospitals and city hospitals were like.

You see, Irie’s goal, or dream is to help bring better medical facilitations to small town islands, like where he is from. When he got older, he realized that in order to bring about his goals to life he needed to head into the city and meet people in order to gain support. However, the city is no Goddess of Victory for anyone who has big dreams… He realizes that only power and a title will give him recognition for what he desires and thus, pursues a path for control.

This saddened me. As this isn’t uncommon in our field, you come in thinking with a mindset that you’re gonna save lives and serve a purpose. However, no one teaches you about growing a back bone, or the harsh realities that you will experience once you leave your schooling and go out into the real world. when I delved deeper into Irie’s personality, he reminds me a lot of how newbies tend to be when they come onto the field in a BIG NAME hospital.

You’ve got a dream, you have a goal, and there’s something you want to do, but there are people who are aiming to shoot those goals out from under you if you believe that everyone will always take the initiative to do what ‘the patient wants, versus what the hospital needs.’

Irie stepped away from his initial goal of trying to focus on patients and their well being and his idea of a ‘hero of justice’ dims… His inner child wounded, he’s pretty self-deprecating to himself, albeit he doesn’t come forth with it in front of you. However, you start to realize his jealousy towards Issei, as unlike him, Issei freely works with his patients’ hands on versus Irie who has to do things that he never wanted to do.

In his main route, you realize that while Irie did things in ways that didn’t seem favorable to the patient or staff at the time, he was weighing the outcomes always like a game of chance. Further into his main route, he makes it know he doesn’t want the heroine to kill the director or dirty her hands to get her revenge. He helps her obtain what she wants by having the Director admit to the fatality of her mother’s operation, and having a public announcement and apology issued to the heroine.

However, this comes with a hefty price that the MC doesn’t realize, when Irie also resigns from his position and disappears to his hometown.

If you choose to disengage from your revenge, things kinda end up very anticlimatic as the heroine opts out of bringing down Director Sezaki as she decides to help Irie with his goals of bringing healthcare to low income areas. However, there is drama, and I mean very funny drama to say the least. But you’ll have to read about it yourself and think if this was the ending you wanted, and if revenge was truly… justified.

Falling in Love with Soichiro Irie

I feel, it’s pretty obvious, I’m in love with him. Although I had his game figured out in the beginning, he did keep me on my toes throughout his route. A very huge difference to all the other routes I played, his style of teasing and being flirtatious did get under my skin and caused me to blush every now and then.

Which is surprising because it’s rare for me to blush and get all up in arms over an ‘ossan’ type, but there is a sincerity to his character that wrapped me around his fingers. He’s a country boy out in the big city, while when he first came to Ebisu, he was very brash and outspoken his ambitions got trampled on and taught him a cruel lesson.

Very much like Issei in this aspect, those experiences caused him to change his personality to someone who was calculating and manipulative. Using the techniques he had developed over the years, he used that skill set to even the playing field in both medical and business aspects. I will say this, him being able to utilize his cards and play them well like a game of poker is astonishing as he pulls the strings like spider creating it’s web.

I admire and respect that the way he is able to articulate a situation and prepare a pathway easily, albeit , sometimes it looks odd for others but when it comes down to it. Knowing what moves to make in a certain situation is necessary, and being able to place your pawns on the chessboard is also another dynamic way of working the field.

Did I also mention he’s way too sexy? LMAO, while he is the mature one out of everyone in the group. He does have his childish moments, as he HATES carrots and the MC playfully jabs at him for that, but, there’s also a sweet kindness that emanates from him once he’s fallen for you deeply.

He’s a king readily making sure that you are cared for and surprised by his actions of love towards you, keeping you on your toes and always guessing what exactly he plans to do next.

Overall Rating:

5/5 ✰✰✰✰✰

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Kiss of Revenge: Naoya Hasegawa Review

It’s available on Android and iPhone.

The Playable Bachelors Who Will Either Suffer By Your Hand or Be Loved By You:

From the left, Issei Sezaki, Junpei Miyashita, Soichiro Irie, Kyosuke Narumi, and Naoya Hasegawa.

In this review, I’m going to be talking about Naoya Hasegawa, the young mysterious man who appears to you one day with a letter from your father that has been missing for 12 years. Naoya was not one of the first season bachelors you could romance, his route is available only in season 2 of KOR (Kiss of Revenge).

THE MAIN WHO DESERVES GARBAGE FATHER, SCUM MEDICAL DIRECTOR, SHIT HUMAN BEING AWARD FOR EVERY YEAR OF HIS LIFE(*AHEM* ~~I mean the person you’re plotting revenge against~~):

BE ADVISED, THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN HERE. DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROUTE.

One Rough Beginning

The scene opens to the MC receiving a letter from some unknown kid at her doorstep, he pretty much was trying to get his way in until he saw two of the MC’s coworkers. Dr. Issei Sezaki and Junpei Miyashita, it’s pretty evident that when this blonde kid takes one look at Issei, the anger and resentment radiates off of him like a ticking bomb.

He ends up forcing the letter into the MC’s hands and whispering, “it’s a letter from your father,” before running off into the night before anyone could catch him. I found hard to believe because her two co-workers were right there and they did nothing to stop him…

I’ll be honest, I held off playing his route because I am very hesitant to play “Shota Type” routes as of late… Since the Shota Type is becoming more and more sinister-like in their personalities… *cough* ~~Ota~~ *cough* ~~Kisaki~~…

**Shota Types are usually the younger male romanceable characters… IN THE PAST, they used to be very sweet and adorable… However, due to recent trends, they’ve become adapted to be more sadist-like and cruel with their teasing….***

I DIGRESS

When you finally read the letter that the mysterious kid left you, you realize it is from your father (~~who up and left you 12 years ago and shipped you off to live with your grandma, disappears, and goes to find justice for the medical mistake that caused your mother’s death; Yea… thanks dad…~~), you jump for joy and wait for the appointed day to meet your father at a designated area near the train station.

However, when the day of your reunion comes, you are held back by work and end up coming really late to the rendevous point. The MC goes up to almost everyone calling them ‘dad’, and I was like… Child… You carry a picture of your mother but nothing of your father, and you’re randomly going up to people and calling them ‘~~daddy~~?’ Lady, no.

However, this is where the story truly begins and we get the best interactions from both the MC and Naoya because I relate to how she handles this situation of ‘cat-calling.’

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While I love how she responded, ~~they should have given us an option to roll our eyes and slap the ‘idiot’ outta the person~~. However, instead, after the heroine tells the guy GTFO she feels the presence of someone doing a kabedon and BEHOLD:

The interaction here was fairly good banter between the two, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of someone that I know in real life who does this with me all the time. Where they make a completely ridiculous comment and I literally light a torch of hellfire under their ass for being ridiculous.

After having a few more words with Naoya, she is told that her father left something for her in one of the lockers.

Okay, to be honest with you, I was pretty irritated with the heroine on how she wasn’t reading Naoya very well and his actions. It was obvious that he was lying about a couple things, and the whole situation of him having magically meeting her again at this station that her father was supposed to meet her at was already SKETCHY.

She finds medical records of her mother’s operation and a recording with her father confronting Director Sezaki, while the recording was practically botched… The heroine is psyched up to start her revenge plot again.

So this is where the story starts to unravel, Naoya asks the MC to go with him to a nearby cafe and talk with her a bit and apologize for his actions earlier. The MC goes willingly (thus, I need to shake her for being an idiot but, I digress), At this point of the beginning, Naoya offers to be the MC’s ally in getting revenge against the director as Naoya has also been wronged by the man himself.

Although the heroine is hesitant at first, she agrees to partner up with Naoya and the story begins.

My Thoughts on Naoya

The route itself is refreshing, as it’s very rare for me to see an MC go toe to toe with a romanceable bachelor, usually you have to choose the answers that are submissive to earn points. However, in Naoya’s route, you get to say snarky, sarcastic, and funny comments to him and get his ass to either get riled up or blush like an idiot.

As you make your way through the route you find out the Naoya is a momma’s boy, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. I love having family elements in a story, and Naoya’s mom, Miki, is the sweetest woman I’ve met in the series. Not only that, she still bosses Naoya around, and it was PRICELESS.

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Towards the middle of the story, you start to see the layers of this character come undone, while he comes off as a flirty little brat with no morals at the beginning. You see his character grows and develops. It was endearing for me to see him hard at work, working two jobs to support himself to go through school, and he is a BOOK LOVER.

HE EARNED MAJOR LOVE POINTS FOR BEING A BOOK DRAGON. There were moments when the MC and he would talk about books and he’d cover his ears because she was teasing to spoil the ending of a novel to him. However, this earned him major kudos in my book when he asked the MC to go to the bookstore he works at to see a new book. However, we all know, he was using it as an excuse to get her to visit him and keep him company.

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Also, he’s not honest with speaking his feelings like most Tsundere characters, so they go in a roundabout way of saying ‘I like you’ ‘come visit me’ ‘I miss you…’ Towards the end, Naoya admits that he knows he’s terrible with saying his feelings but he tries to be more open with the MC in towards the end.

While he’s not really upfront with his feelings, he’s very public about his desires and flirtatious towards the MC. Which she usually shuts down because she can’t take him seriously when he does that, also, the fact that he’s seven years younger than her makes her dismiss him …

However, we shouldn’t forget one thing about younger guys in otome games, they hate being teased to the point that they aren’t seen as a man in their love interests eyes…

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In Naoya’s story, if you delve deeper past his overly flirtatious and funny banters with the MC, you realize he’s a man trying to be acknowledged by both the MC and also the father who abandoned him. It’s heartbreaking to see his cries for help, while for some people they just think he’s screaming and being an asshole. However, I recognized he was calling out for someone to acknowledge his presence and not be thrown away.

Which causes him to talk the way he does to the MC at times and how he can’t express his feelings clearly, he’s not used to verbally telling someone his feelings due to what his sperm donor said to him before (trash father Director Sezaki, may you burn in hell).

In the end, both the MC and Naoya come to terms with the ‘revenge’ they were after, forgiving those who had done them wrong. However, also accepting help from the most unlikely ally in his route.

While I did play Naoya’s ‘Another Story’ where you choose to stop your revenge plot to save Naoya from spiraling out of control. I preferred the main route because it ties up all the loose ends from the other routes and gives you a better perspective about this cinnamon roll.

OVERALL STORY RATING:

4.5/5 ✮✮✮✮⋆

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Autumn Written in Blood

The gentle sensation of an autumn chill stroked against her cheeks, but Evangeline kept her eyes closed, and threw the duvet over her face. She tried to force herself to go back to sleep. She was sure that if she chose to rise from the comfort of her linens, she would see the mid-fall and winter frost dancing across her window pane. She could very well imagine herself settling for a warm cup of coffee at her usual cafe and take in the scenery for inspiration.

However, a cloak of numbness had wrapped itself around her soul, managed to keep her sullen, and not wanting to move. A vicious case of writer’s block had taken wake in her spirit, and was haunting her body like a disease.

“I need to check my phone…”

Evangeline let a sigh escape as she agonizingly roll beneath the covers onto her stomach and reached for her phone. These last few months had proven to be a struggle. Sleepless nights, trashed character concepts, and story board papers strewn about on the usually well kept floor. The life of a writer was shining at it’s darkest upon her. Sliding her fingers on the screen of her work phone, she saw multiple newsletters and amass of emails from her editor.

She groaned, knowing full well that her editor was going to hunt her down if she didn’t get back to him today, “I’ve gotta get up.”

With the vigor of an old decrepit 90 year old body, Evangeline’s feet touched the hard floors as she practically dragged herself towards the shower. The familiar hiss of hot water raining down from her shower head, her pajamas sluiced down to the floor. Her thoughts of hope also falling along with it.

Slipping into the spray of liquid heat, she washed, and scrubbed the grime of her sleepless escapade. Lately, Evangeline had been dreaming random oddities, she was seeing visions of unknown origins, while this should of been something to use as inspiration for her writing. The dreams made no linear sense nor did it strike passion, what it did do, plant a seed of wariness and perhaps… fear.

Evangeline shook her head, maybe being an author had finally taken a toll on her sanity. Causing her to frequently hallucinate more than live properly in the real conforms of reality.

“And that’s why I’m a writer…”

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Gray’s Emporium- Witches Brew and Other Potions

Resources:
Lyrah Lavender

Music:

Derek and Brandon Fiechter

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Gray’s Emporium- It’s a Long Way Down

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#notestoalice

I’ll continue to write,

to fade into paper.

Dry my memories like ink,

so that way you will remember me.

Whenever you wish to relive our dreams,

I am only a page away.

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#comeundone

A little bit more risque writing posted up on Tapas.io, if you’re interested in seeing more of my writing and work. Subscribe, like, and share! Thank you for your support and cheers ^_^

https://tapas.io/episode/1171997

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Little Lies (Old Drabbles)

Iron bars painted against a lavender night sky, protectively guarding what lay within its embrace. A manor with windows dressed in stark darkness loomed from behind, neither candle, shadow, or ghostly soul stirred from behind the glass. It’s only visitor, was the moon that dared to dance against the panes, trying to coax the sleeping sins that lay within its domain.

For anyone who managed to find the estate, they would see a mansion that was past it’s prime, a beaten relic of something that belonged in the late 1700s. However, that was if, you were a normal human who couldn’t see past the magic protective veil that made the Ten’no Dormitory look like some horrific haunted house. Kyori Ten’no looked at the large Victorian style home, to her it stood proudly in the night, harboring many secrets within it’s hold.

Lots and lots of deadly secrets at that. Loose strands of raspberry chocolate tendrils tickled her cheeks as she tucked the loose strands back over her ears. It had been a decade since she last stepped foot onto the grounds, albeit, she never thought she would ever do so again. Not after the …

“Don’t think about it,” she ordered herself. There was no point in rehashing old memories, especially from this place. She pulled the lapels of her rain coat, autumn had come faster and was nipping at her flesh. Teasing her skin with lascivious intent to come undone, like hell she would allow that though.

The heels of her boots clicked against the cement pavement as she carefully made her way to the front door and pulled the skeleton key from her pocket. Kyori looked at the key in her hand, the golden piece of metal glowed under the moon, the crest of her family branded into the key wards. Such a powerful family she came from, and also a quite dangerous one, she thought to herself as she pushed the key into the door.

Kyori narrowed her eyes as a panel opened to the right of her, the mouth of a familiar gargoyle peering up to her as it’s white fangs eagerly awaited her blood. Lifting her right hand over the mouth of the beast, she pressed her index finger against the lowest canine and felt blood begin to seep from the tip. Red slid down the creatures throat, and a low humming noise began to resonate all around her as the house slowly flickered to life.

The giant door that held the key in it’s grasp began to clank and whir as Kyori reached for the key and twisted it to the right, three times until a click sounded.

“So time consuming,” she muttered as she turned the key only a quarter backwards and shoved it further into the lock. Chains grated and a moaning emitted from the door, lowering itself down into the bottom of the floor and allowing her entrance.

“Show time.”

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#notestomad

I love the way you terrorize me,
To the point that I’m unable to move.
I love the way you cruelly take me,
And mark me as yours.
A dark love that keeps me captive,
Drowning me in both pleasure and pain.

Why do I love the way this love hurts?
It’s unimaginable and yet,
I don’t want to get away from this passion.
I don’t want to survive this heat,
I rather be kept in this hell.
Then to embrace the kiss of winter,
Without your embrace.

This love hurts me so,
But I love the way it’s cuts me baby.

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Scarlet Over Tokyo (Old Drabble)

Prologue

Scarlet bled into the blue sky, drowning the last dredges of day in a limbo of twilight. I had once loved that color so dearly, that crimson shade of passion and love. Who knew that shade could also become something worthy of the emotions called hate and anger? The sun was escaping its duties now, and hurriedly making way for night’s arrival; I was by the seashore, angrily shedding tears, and holding that simple tube of lipstick he had given me in red.

My husband, no, excuse me, soon to be ex-husband, had always told me that this color suited me. That it highlighted my passionate integrity and liveliness that he had fallen for, what a load of bullshit that was. Seven years of my life wasted, time that I can never get back. Time that slipped away while I worked to help his business and he fooled around and got our secretary pregnant.

“Fucking cliche, straight out of a movie,” I spat, uncapping the tube of lipstick, “what is the point of vows if you can’t even stay true to them?” It hurt so badly to say these words out in the open, but these were statements that I couldn’t hold within my chest anymore.

“Make this a good last cry, Evan.” I ordered my heart, “you will never again, cry for someone who does not keep their vows.”

Never again.

I whispered to the ocean as I dug the lipstick into the sand and began to draw a line of across the moving earth. This was my own vow, to myself, and to my heart, that I would live for only for myself and no one else. I watched as the red line bled into the sand and slowly dissipate into nothing.

It was a signal to close the door on this mess of a chapter, even as the tears fell from my eyes and disappeared into the waves that lapped onto the sand. This pain would fade, I knew it would. Just like the crimson twilight above.

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Duality

I miss eating apples… Seeing this gif always makes me miss their sweet tartness and juicy flesh that always makes that nice crisp sound when you puncture the neck of it.

I have a confession, I think my mind likes to toy with me a lot when I write. I hear many voices but no one seems to be around. I’m a haunted house of my own, with many secrets hidden inside.

You’ll probably get lost in the labyrinth of my mind, there’s only a one way ticket in but no exit out. Someone once said that when you go into a writer’s head, that you’ll find a lot of messed up and strange things. I’m the grand library of strange and foreign, toiling away at my desk and writing things that don’t make sense.

But there’s this obsession, that I need to keep writing or I won’t be able to breathe. It’s a crazy thing, where the lines of sanity blur with insanity. It’s a habit, it’s a type of drug, if I am not able to type or write, I feel the withdrawal deep in my bones.

Shaken not stirred, the fine threads of reality are blurred. For the voices in my head demand to speak, if they stay unspoken, they will fill me up to the brim for weeks.

Write.Speak.Type.Talk.Imagine.

Wreak havoc.

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Bad Apple Inc: Outfoxed Excerpt

*WHEN YOU FIND YOUR OLD TRASH WRITINGS SOMEWHERE AND START SCREAMING IMMENSELY LOL!*

Bad Apple: Foxed Excerpt

The smell of human exudation and sex hormones were formidable from where Kizuna Eiri stood in the crowd of party goers in the club. It was enough to make her want to rip her own nose off from the excess smell of cheap cologne and highly alcoholic perfumes that resonated in the oxygen in Club Lune. But there was also another scent in the air that made her almost want to reel from impending fear, it was an undeniable musk that made her legs begin to quake. Wolves. The club was owned by wolves, and not just by a small Omega pack that usually run these kinds of establishments. No, as she took another whiff of the air and scented out Alpha and Beta wolves, at least more than twenty of them lurking somewhere around the club.

“You can do this.” Kizuna chanted to herself, she couldn’t lose her nerve now that she had come this far. She wouldn’t have come here if it weren’t for a tip that her second eldest sister, Kaya, may be here. It had been over three months since her sister had suddenly abandoned her and their family in Yama Horo. Kizuna felt her mind slip back to that day when she had come from her routine of running through the hollow, the look of grief on her family’s faces as she came into the den. Kaya was to be the next in line to take over the Eiri Den, since the death of first eldest sister who had been slain by the clan for a betrayal so horrid to speak of, her family had sworn to never speak of such disloyalty ever again. There was much speculation that Kaya’s departure was due to her resistance to be married to someone that was not of her choosing, which resulted in her abandonment of the Eiri Den. The clan elders of Yama Horo deemed that she was to be hunted, brought back to the hollow, and then slain before the clan elders for such insolence.

Kizuna bit her lower lip as she brought herself back from her reverie, she wanted nothing else than to see her eldest sister happy… She gulped, which meant she was also willing to find her beloved sister and give her money to get her the hell out of dodge. Kizuna scanned the dark club, her eyes having a hard time adjusting due to the damned laser lights and disco orb of ridiculousness above her. She closed her eyes again and inhaled, a trickle of fear tingling down her spine. The wolves’ essence was getting stronger, meaning they were closer to her than earlier.

From her own history lessons from her mother, wolves were notorious, territorial killing bastards, and she was a fox in the wolf’s den. Kizuna exhaled a strangled breath, she was already on enemy grounds and none of them had noticed her scent when she came in. She was sure her scent was masked with the Kitsune ward she had conjured before coming into this glory hole. Kizuna ground her teeth, it was now or never, she had to find Kaya, and standing around with underdressed teens and junkies was not going to get her anywhere.

“What do we have here?” Kizuna froze as a warm breath caressed her ear, the deep brogue of the man made the blood for her face drain. Wolf. Shit. Run. Out of instinct Kizuna dropped to the floor and morphed into her fox form shedding her clothes in her transformation. She was lucky the club was dark and the only lighting was black lights and lasers, giving her cover from the humans. Her fox form darted between legs, ping ponging between drunk men and women who were obsessed with the hardcore beat that pumped through the speakers in the club. Kizuna made another sharp turn passing a couple eating each other’s face out before taking cover under a table by the bar, her heart rushing waves of adrenaline to her brain.

She glanced around her surroundings and realized she had sprinted across the huge dance floor without being noticed, but then again everyone was too intoxicated to even care if they felt either a breeze or a tickle against their legs to give a shit. Kizuna twisted her head to focus her eyes at a door across from her table that was guarded by two big wolves. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air and grimaced. Her heart rate was skyrocketing as she smelled the familiar scent of jasmine and rich earthy musk, Kaya had been here. Kizuna maneuvered her way underneath other tables, careful whipping around the drunk patrons as she got herself closer to the door. The two burly wolves guarding the entrance were menacing, and looked like they could snap her body in half with one punch to her gut. She needed another way into the back room, if her nose and intuition was right, her sister Kaya had either been back there or, Kizuna hoped, maybe Kaya was still here, alive.

“This must be the Lune Lair,” Kizuna thought to herself as she recalled from what her source had told her about the club. The VIP back room known as the Lune Lair, was more so a sex dungeon, rather than a calm reprieve area for hardcore dancers and drunks. A click of a swinging door opening and closing caught Kizuna’s attention, surveilling the room, Kizuna saw the open kitchen door.

“I can do this,” carefully, Kizuna moved towards the bar, once getting to it, she pressed herself against the wood while she slithered her way under stools and dodged kicking feet. As if by a stroke of luck, before her stood a rolling cart of dishes, as much as it was disgusting it would mask her scent a little from the wolf who had found her. Holding her breath, she dove into the cart, just as the bust boy began wheeling it into the kitchen. The cart rolled its way through the open kitchen doors, Kizuna buried herself deeper into the filthy helpings of leftovers in the dray. The stench of half eaten raw steaks and elk, was beyond foul and had her tearing up, but it couldn’t cover up the dominant smell of virile male wolves in the kitchen.

Please don’t smell me, Kizuna pleaded as the cart made another turn into the back of the kitchen.

“Daryl, come help me with this stuff before you wash those dishes.” A gruff voice called out from behind her, the deep baritone made her heart race as she heard footsteps come bounding close to the cart. Oh Gods, please don’t let him smell me! She was quivering now, as the wolf came up to the bus boy.

“I’m coming, I just need to put these on the counter,” the boy, Daryl, responded as he started to lift the bottom tray that she was in. Shit.

“Boy, we have a full bar of drunk idiots who need to be served. Do those damn things later,” the wolf responded as he turned on his heel with Daryl following after him.

Kizuna could hear her heart in her head as the foot falls became incoherent with the kitchen sounds, “stay calm… Do what you came here to do.” Sliding herself out from the tray she grimaced as a piece of lettuce and a squirt ketchup clung to her fur. When this was done, she was going to have a nice hot shower. Gods, did she also have Buffalo sauce on her? Settling her paws on the floor she looked around for an exit, the dirty dishes cart wasn’t going to keep her covered forever and she had to find another way to the Lune Lair. As if the Gods were answering her questions, she glanced up to see a vent, and there were boxes stacked in a staircase like fashion leading to it. Taking another look behind her to make sure no one was watching, she began to hop onto the boxes as quietly and swiftly as possible. Making it to the top, she let out a soft sigh. “Almost free,” with her teeth, she pulled at the tip of the old screen that covered the vent, the metal frame came off with a low groan causing her to freeze and prick her ears up and look below. Relief washed over Kizuna as the kitchen staff didn’t seem to hear it, or maybe the cacophony of the club and kitchen noises overcame the sound of the vent being peeled off. With one more look again to check that no one had heard or seen her, Kizuna slowly positioned herself to enter the vent.

“And where do you think you’re going, love?” Her blood turned to ice as she the voice from earlier spoke out to her from below, Kizuna slowly turned her head towards the male, every muscle in her body froze as she saw the alpha male standing in front of the boxes. Kizuna hadn’t even heard him approach. She didn’t even smell him!

She eyed the wolf cautiously as he began to approach, his liquid gold eyes held onto her, almost as if he was devouring her. His black hair was tousled a bit, as if he had been running around, mostly likely because of her. From Kizuna’s judgement, he was tall as hell, and while he wore a fitted suit, even she could sense the lethal aura beneath the exterior. Her gaze roamed over him, if she wasn’t scared for her life about wolves and the fact she was on a mission. She would have complimented the wolf for looking well refined and ask if he was Adonis in another life. Kizuna immediately brushed the thoughts aside as she started to move closer to the vent, her eyes still on the wolf.

“If you come down from there now, I will not hurt you little one.” His voice was sounded like liquid heat, coaxing her gently to come to him.

Like hell he won’t, Kizuna growled out of nervousness. Sensing that he was going to pounce, she sharply turned into the vent and made her hindlegs kick out hard to send some of the boxes falling as she escaped into the ventilation system. A howl of frustration enveloping her as she scurried through the vents, away from the predator that she knew, would hunt her down.

Alasdair Ward howled as he saw the vixen jump into the small vent, the wolf in him roared as instincts over took him. If the fox wanted to be hunted, he would show her who would win this game.

Alasdair turned to look at a group of his men who had gathered behind him, “how did none of you smell the fox in here?” A few men gulped, while others looked away from his glare, “Do not stand here, track her, find her, and bring her hide to me.” He pushed passed his men, and then shot a challenging stare to all of them, “did you not hear me?” The wolves out of fear, dropped what they were doing and spread out from the kitchen and into the club area. Alasdair reached into his pocket and held a piece of the stray vixen’s clothing that she had dropped when he first tried to approach her, up to his face as he inhaled her scent, his feral side bellowed as he took in her aroma. When he had been scoping the crowd to oversee the drunk patrons, Alasdair had thought he was imagining the exotic smell of jasmine and cherry blossoms. The tantalizing smell stirred the wolf within him to find the source, he had stalked through a crowd of teens and college kids when he saw her. The vixen stood in the center of a crowd with a concerned look on her eloquent face, through the dark lighting of the club he could see her porcelain skin glow like the moon. Her eyes reflected the color of the earth, a deep burgundy and russet that entranced him, and full lips that made him eager to want to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. Black hair the color of ash that was tailored into a pixie cut that highlighted her oriental features, he felt his wolf eagerly command him to claim the beautiful creature before him. Alasdair growled as he remembered how she reacted when he only wanted to talk to her. He shook his head as he tried to fight the feral urges threatening to take over, his human side wanted to talk with the female, his wolf however, wanted to throw her over his shoulder and take her somewhere quiet to ravish her. However, that chance was now gone, and if his little fox wanted to play with wolves. “So be it,” he chuckled.

Crawling through the vents with limited light truly sucked hairy coconuts, Kizuna grumbled as she scurried around in the dark and knocked her noggin into a few dead ends. Her thoughts mulled over the fact that she could use her Kitsune Magick wards and create an opening, however, if she did that, she knew it would send a ripple of energy through club, and almost any wolf, vampire, or creature that held magick in the vicinity would know she was there. Banging into what seemed like the twentieth metal wall, Kizuna abruptly came to a halt as a familiar scent bombarded her senses, her sister’s essence lingered somewhere close by. Kaya must have been brought here, hope flickered inside her as she paced her way towards the aroma. After what seemed like an eternity of zig-zagging, Kizuna found herself in front of a vent that practically emanated her sister’s scent. Pushing her nose against the screen, she sniffed, she could smell faint traces of other creatures having been in the room, but the one that seemed to stand out even higher was Kaya’s. Slowly with her paws, Kizuna began to push against the grate, the vent not making as much noise as started to give way, until the last nudge. Suddenly the steel covering made a horrible scrunching noise as it peeled off the wall and fell onto a couch below her. Kizuna flinched, her body frozen as she could smell the mixed scents of fox, wolves, and jackal permeating the room, almost completely making her want to choke from the stink. Her heart was hammering again as she listened for anyone coming, instead she was met with a pained groan from below. Kizuna felt herself jump down into the room, her body shifting from fur to human flesh. The pads of her feet softly landed onto the rough patch of carpet which sheared into her skin as she crouched down in all her nakedness. Her eyes went wide as she didn’t know what to think as she observed whips, chains, St. Andrew’s Cross, and collars that hung on hooks. It was a dungeon alright, Kizuna assessed as she stood up and looked for the source of the groan in the room. Her heart rate coming down as she realized that there was no one in the room, and that the noises were permeating from the room next door. Kizuna felt like bopping herself for jumping in without really assessing the situation, she had thought that maybe, maybe, her sister was in here. She closed her eyes, letting the embarrassment of acting on impulse slide away as she sniffed again and got a whiff of sex, sweat, human and animal secretions. The odor slithering its way around her nostrils, as she tried not to gag while she treaded lightly towards the bed. Kizuna sucked in a sharp breath as she smelled her sister’s scent was getting even stronger as she approached the divan. The sheets may have been changed several times from others’ using the room, but it was there, her sister had been shackled to this bed. Kizuna felt her body react to a moment of thinking of what it would be like to be taken by the alpha male that was chasing her.

“Focus, stupid!” She snarled at the fox part of her, she needed to think clearly, what if Kaya had been forced? She bit her lip, as she pressed a firm hand against the mattress. Kizuna let the smell of pheromones of primal feral males sink into her senses, closing her eyes she felt her body shift to fox as she came on top of the bed. Putting her nose down onto the sheets, she dug her way to the actual padding of the bed until she caught a whiff of her sister’s aroma. Three alphas had been in this room with Kaya, the animal fluids were evident, jackal, fox, and coyote. A shiver ran down through her as she imagined the thought of the males holding her sister and doing a forced mating in the chamber. Even as the thought ran through Kizuna’s mind, her feral side decided it would pop another image of the handsome alpha wolf about to ravish her senseless. “Oh, for the love of the Gods, stop it.” She practically yelled aloud at herself, one of the curses of being a Fox-Born was that while your human side could be rational, the animal side always had a penchant for being horny or ridiculous at the worst times. Forcing herself off the bed, she drilled it in her mind that her time was short and that the wolves would find her soon, she needed to get out of here. Jumping off the bed she was about to pad her way back to the open vent when voices and rushing footsteps caught her attention, voices of women resounded in her ears. Frantic, Kizuna looked around the room until she found the laundry basket. Thoughts of rubbing her body against unknown bodily fluids made her grow rigid, but as she heard the door lock for the room start turning, Kizuna bolted for the couch and jumped into the basket.

“We better hurry, Master Ethon wants it set up for the next set of guests who are coming.” Kizuna heard, as she struggled to not gag from the fumes of stink that clouded her nostrils. Oh yeah, I am going to scrub my skin off as soon as I am home.

“I would love it if Master Ethon tie me down,” the woman squealed as she threw sheets into the laundry basket, which made breathing even more harder for Kizuna as she continued to try and remain calm, whilst being suffocated with unknown bodily fluids. Oh no, Kizuna paled, this sheet has urine on it. Oh Gods…

“I would much rather have Master Alasdair do it, mmmm, the way that man wields a flogger. I’d let him do sweet torture to me anytime.” Kizuna should have been appalled at what these women were talking about, whips, chains, collars, sex toys were far too extreme for her own likes. But as she felt another load of acrid sheets landed in the basket, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of curiosity about what they spoke of.

“That’s the last of it, let’s drop this off in the laundry room.” Suddenly the basket was lifted, and she felt herself floating until her ass landed in a rolling bin with a nasty spank, a squeak of pain escaping her jaws.

“Did you hear something?” Kizuna curled herself tighter at the bottom of the bag, dirty sheets be damned.

“I think it’s just the cart, it’s old ya know?”

She held her breath as the women fell quiet for a few moments before, she felt the cart begin to roll in a slow pace through what seemed to be an endless hallway. Kizuna’s breathing was shallow, but she could feel herself starting to lose oxygen from what seemed like an eternal walking spree. Suddenly the cart jerked immediately to the right and Kizuna heard a door swing open.

“Okay, we’ve got other rooms to do. So, let’s go, maybe we can get rewarded for doing good work!”

If she had enough air, she probably would have had the energy to roll her eyeballs at this comment. Keeping herself as calm as possible, she waited for the maids to leave, as soon as she heard the door swing shut. Kizuna transformed into her human form and climbed out as if she were in a basket full of spiders, she felt nauseous from all that she had endured for the last few hours. She now knew that Kaya was alive, and that she could have possibly ran off with three alpha males, or had been kidnapped. Either way, now was not the time to think over her findings, it was time to get out of here. But as Kizuna stood there, she realized she hadn’t thought up of an escape plan.

“Shit,” Kizuna looked at the scent ward that she had placed on her hand, the magick was already fading, and the wolves would soon catch her scent and find her. Panic flooded her as she noticed no vents or windows were in the laundry room, turning her head, she looked at the swinging door and noticed costumes hanging on the side. Going to the clothes, she gasped, leather bras, underwear, latex suits, and a wide variety of naughty costumes hung neatly before her.

“When in damn Rome,” Kizuna rubbed her temples as she made a grab for a black suit that rivaled that of Catwoman and matching black combat boots. God, I hope I don’t look like an idiot. The latex glided onto her flesh, and conformed to her body like a second skin, a strange heat began to build inside her stomach as she moved lithely in the suit. The feel of the attire against her body, made her heart begin to race as her nipples strained against the front of the fabric.

“Stop it.” She snarled as she took a pair of cat eyed black goggles and placed them over her eyes, and for the hell of it Kizuna grabbed a whip. “I’m already insane for coming in here, might as well go all out.”

Stepping out of the room, she sniffed the air and then looked both ways. Good. No one was close enough to the laundry area to see her and ask her what she was doing in the laundry room. Carefully, she walked back the way the maids and her and come from, turning a few corners, she managed to pass by a few couples who stared at her with interest. Kizuna kept a straight face as she hurriedly walked faster. She knew there had to be another exit close by, making another turn she began to jog, the heavy footfalls of her boots echoing along the halls.

“I should of chose the kitten heeled boots,” Kizuna growled at herself as she finally found a sign that pointed to an exit, she was almost home free. A sigh of relief washed over her as she found the door, now all she needed to do was disable the alarm and get the hell out of here. Touching the steel frame to freedom she began to look for the wiring to shut off the warning system, when a familiar hot scent engulfed her. Wolf.

“You are a very bold lass.” A voice came to her, like sweet honey and liquid chocolate pouring down her throat. “But I think it’s time we put an end to this hunt, unless you want to get rough punishment.”

Kizuna turned to face the wolf from before, a devilish grin spread across a fanged mouth as she watched the wolf give her a slow appreciative once over, Kizuna felt her body warm to his gaze. It was as if he was already pinning her down and touching her, “come now, vixen, or I’ll have to do something that you’ll live to regret.”

“You’ll regret ever meeting me, wolf,” As the words left her lips, she took hold of the whip by her side, gripping the handle and swinging it forward. A loud crack emanated in the hall way as the whip made impact and slashed open the golden eyed wolf’s shirt, good lord he was ripped. Kizuna looked up just in time to see him lunge, she immediately shifted to fox form and heard the man knock into the door. Alarms blared as she realized he had opened the door with his impact, without hesitation, she fled through the opening and out to the concrete. Kizuna’s adrenaline pumping through her, as she picked up speed. She was about to let out a laugh of triumph when she heard the baying of wolves. A shiver ran across her spine as she didn’t dare look back, the orchestra of howls that reached her ears told her one thing. The wolves were declaring a fox hunt. She was royally screwed.

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Gray’s Emporium-Minicast No. 5

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Blessing of Dark Poetry

My newest poetry page is up on Tapas.io, if you like what I write, subscribe and hit that heart button! Thanks everyone for your continued support and encouraging words ❤

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Galactic Gladiators, Vice Commanders, and Souryos

However, it was stories and words that kept me going, and I would just tell myself ‘hold on just a bit more. There’s a happy ending out there, you have to go after it, not wait for it.’ It’s hard to keep that train of positivity, it really is, and I get tired of people telling me these words;

“but you’re so strong, look at how far you’ve come.”

It’s a late night post, and I’m tapping away on my keyboard realizing how much I’ve missed when I don’t give myself a break. I get so drunk on my daily work tasks in the week that I never space enough time to just breathe. While I love the work I’m doing, I forget that sometimes you still need to take a break from it to recharge.

It’s a bad habit of mine to continously work and forget about resting, and even eating as I work on my content creation. I’m not uber popular, nor youtube famous, but I’m driven to compete with myself to pursue my dreams. Dreams that I’ve let dwadle and simmer in the background, while I chased paper and ran myself into the ground with work I despised.

“but you’re so strong, look at how far you’ve come.”

It bothers me when I’m told this by anyone, I feel as if my feelings are not even validated. What if I’m tired of looking strong, and listening to how you keep recounting about all these other feats I did. I’m not looking for a pep talk, I’m looking for someone to listen and hear me exhale. I know you’re not coming from a bad place, I truly understand you mean well, but listen to my heart that cries… I need to crash…

My only way to escape from even the tired feelings that chase me on a daily basis, is reading, and I feel that I have neglected that area for far too long. I realize I would start a book and then not be able to continue, it’s not even a hangover, it’s the fact that I will get caught up in something else and forget to read.

Today, I was ‘encouraged’ to leave my desk and breathe by my husband who had growing concern over my constant staring and typing (including my extreme meltdown the other day because nothing was coming to mind). I went with my family on a drive to Chinatown, and during that time I listened to an audiobook that I had been holding off on.

I swear, it really turned my world upsidedown to hear the story, it doesn’t matter if it were a written verse or spoken word. The story captured me and made me laugh and melted away the pressure I had been shouldering for so long. Knots in my back coming undone as I found myself laughing and fighting along Galactic Gladiators, and falling for a Vice Commander.

It also helped me realize how much I want to want this kind of feeling to wash over my own readers when they read my own books. I’m so attached to my characters and I want others to either hate them for legit reasons, or to be just as in love with them as I am. Love enough to realize you can fight again, and have the tension that had you strung up through the week be released and tidal wave out of your body.

I want to believe, and breathe in that idea. It won’t ever be easy, and that proves that I am just as much a fighter as my Souryos, Jaegers, and Magicians.

Gotta fight for that love.

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Can You Order Ten More Burgers Please?

Teke Teke Riddle:

Shortly after hearing the legend, she will ask you a riddle, either in a dream, or in a mysterious phone call. The only way to escape death is to answer her questions exactly the right way. She will ask you: “Do you need your legs?” You must reply: “I need them right now.” Then, she will ask you: “Who told you my story?” You must reply: “Kashima Reiko. Ka as in mask (仮面), shi as in death (死), ma as in demon (魔), rei as in ghost (霊), and ko as in accident (事故).” If you answer her riddles without mistake, she may just let you live.

Music by:

Resources:

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Gray’s Emporium-Did You Say ‘OTOME’!?!

UPDATE: THE NAME FOR A ROMANCE-SIM VISUAL NOVEL GAME FOR MALE AUDIENCES IS A ‘BISHOJO’ !!!

Resources:

What the heck is a visual novel?

What is an Otome?

Otome For Men?

Music:

BGM Cafe “Jazz Chillhop Lo-Fi”

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Book Talk and Otherworldly Things

Music:

Derek and Brandon Fiechter

Resources:

What is Dark Romance

What is Romance?

Difference between Erotica and Romance

What is Horror?

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Agony and Storyboard Labyrinths

The woes of story creation and planning ahead

RESOURCES:

MUSIC:

Derek and Brand Fiechter

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Beer and Kielbasas Before Blaugust

Detached Gaming’s Blog

Blaugust Discord

Belghast’s Blog

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Writing Absolute Insanity

I’ve been writing this novel on and off for the past few years, since I’m always fearing that it’s never going to be good enough. I keep writing it and then I’ll stop, look it over and get anxious about what others would think when I actually finalize it. I already know that I won’t please everyone, but what if I do that…?

What if the story pleases absolutely no one?

It’s a random bet that writers put on the line when we publish a piece of ourselves out there. It drives me insane that I can’t stop my insecurities from clawing at my self-esteem and practically beating myself up before someone else even can. It’s exhausting, and yet, I keep coming back to this cycle, because I want to write this story.

It’s a book that I’ve never seen on the shelves of a bookstore, and no matter how many historical tags I put into a search engine to find a book that could be written within the same vein of it. This book does not exist, because it is here in my own mind, and no one else can write it, except….

Myself.

I keep writing.

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The Struggle is Beary Real

Status update:

I am struggling to complete this, and it’s not because I am lazy. It comes more from the fact that the story keeps adding more characters with no memorable personalities that I end up getting confused. I’m going to complete this book and review it properly, even if it pulls the stuffing out of me.

The Dom aka Alpha ‘Daddy’

Assessing the Dom

Driven to Conquer

Entitled to the World

Love, Hate, or F**k Them?

My Forever Favorite: Yuta Kajima of My Forged Wedding

Uncertain Beginnings

Assessing Yuta Kajima

Falling in Love with Yuta Kajima

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

The Love Interests

From the left we have :

The Setting:

The MC:

Can You Keep a Secret?

Dramatic Ending or Romantic Ending?

Who am I currently engaging in a battle of Love and War?

#HateThatILoveYou

Tsundere versus BST

Types of Tsunderes

Assessment of a Tsundere

CONCLUSION

From the slideshow above:

Investigating Subaru Shidou

and I’m about to fangirl again so let’s get into the investigation!

Leveling Up with Subaru Shidou

STORY ROUTE:

4.5/5 Stars ★★★★✧

CG GALLERY:

PROLOGUE TO VISUAL NOVEL HELL

PRESS START TO ADVANCE TO VISUAL NOVEL HEL–AHEM–HEAVEN

{What’s a Visual Novel?}

What is an Otome Game?

What is a Bishōjo Game?

What about BL Games?

First Love Story from Fabary

Royal Alchemist

ADULT CONTENT TYPE GAMES

Thanks for reading!

Catch you on the gaming side~!!

From the slideshow above:

Examining Towa Wakasa

I digress, I’m fangirling over Yuki Kaji LMAO.

YELL AT HIM FOR BEING AN IDIOT AND STOP HIM!

Leveling Up with Towa Wakasa

STORY ROUTE:

4.5/5 Stars ★★★★✧

CG GALLERY:

Panic.

Pre-Check Up of Dr. Soichiro Irie aka The Right-Hand of Director Douchebaggins

However, fangirl moment:

Assessing Dr. Soichiro Irie

Overall Rating:

5/5 ✰✰✰✰✰

My Thoughts on Naoya

Love, Hate, or Fk Them?**