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Polsy posted:Interestingly there is an edit just before here but it doesn't make this line better, it makes less sense if anything. Wow, they really slashed that scene for absolutely no reason. Why? It’s not like it's against Tarua's character to run headfirst into things. Weird for them to cut Reone and Mirei as well. Mahiru I sort of understand because they committed themselves to this unwise personality change idea. The Lillith line also makes sense now. At the very least I can see where the translators messed up.
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Jan 16, 2020 23:34
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Actually - I was just going to take a clip of this from a better quality video and it turned out the same as the one in your update. If you still have a save from before that (do the saves work like that?) I think you need to pick 'I'll work hard for your share', does that change the scene drastically?
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Jan 16, 2020 23:57
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Polsy posted:Actually - I was just going to take a clip of this from a better quality video and it turned out the same as the one in your update. If you still have a save from before that (do the saves work like that?) I think you need to pick 'I'll work hard for your share', does that change the scene drastically? I should still have a save (I tend to keep 8 or 9 different ones for different purposes). I'll check that as soon as I can. That would still be weird though. Usually the different response options just change two or three following lines. Cutting out entire scenes or character appearances would really change things for this LP. I'll have to go checking every main story response if that's the case.
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Jan 17, 2020 00:21
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I don’t think anyone or anything named Furiae has ever had a good time.
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Jan 17, 2020 00:30
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I say don't kill yourself trying to get every bit of dialogue the game has to offer, plenty of LPs just do one "route" through the game. Of course, if you're having fun, the choice is ultimately yours, but don't do it just because you feel the Internet deserves the full Conception Plus experience.
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Jan 17, 2020 00:31
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Polsy posted:Actually - I was just going to take a clip of this from a better quality video and it turned out the same as the one in your update. If you still have a save from before that (do the saves work like that?) I think you need to pick 'I'll work hard for your share', does that change the scene drastically? Jesus, they actually did do it. I tried the "I'll work hard for your share" and that exact scene you described played out. What the gently caress Spike Chunsoft? There's barely any difference in those dialogue options, so why the gently caress would you cut out two characters and their dialogue from that scene? You could have easily put Reone and Mirei in there after Tarua runs off and the scene would still make sense! I could understand it if they changed the other dialogue to reflect it, but they didn't. Tarua still says "See you later, everyone!" despite the fact that the scene in the LP Update doesn't give any indication that Reone and Mirei are there with Itsuki (other than the general assumption that they followed him from the Academy). Now I'm curious as to whether or not I missed other scenes during the main story that might have made weird scenes make more sense. Just a note: Unlike Bonding Events, Main Story dialogue options don't have "Right" and "Wrong" answers (as in Pink or Blue hearts pop out from certain choices). I picked "Good luck with your deliveries" for the LP update, and the third choice was "We have enough help already", so all the options are basically the same thing. So there's no hints as to if I'm getting the "Correct" response or not. This game keeps surprising me with new ways to be batshit insane. Commander Keene posted:I say don't kill yourself trying to get every bit of dialogue the game has to offer, plenty of LPs just do one "route" through the game. I won't be taking it that far. I just intend to start reloading saves whenever I can in order to try out different responses and see if new/more interesting things happen as a result.  Incoming rant about more of Spike Chunsoft's bullshit game design I would do this for all the choices, but Conception Plus is weird about when it gives you a chance to save. Conception II usually gave you a save option at the end of each "Chapter", that is, once the story scene following the boss had finished. Conception Plus doesn't do that. You can save at the Inn or on the Granvania map and that's about the only chances you get. Here's how this all works, just as an example of what I have to work with: In order for me to test out this scene, I had to load a save I had right before the Boss, go into the Libra Labyrinth and run through the entire 15th Floor to find the portal, refight Furiae (who wasn't hard, especially since I abused MECUNITE this time), and then skip the following cutscenes until the Tarua dialogue choice came up. After that, the whole Tavern scene happens, the thing with Shang happens, the entirety of the next update will happen (where Mahiru drags us around for more Rumor Hunting), and THEN you get a chance to save back on the world map. The weird thing about this is, the game allows you to load a previous save basically whenever you feel like, but you can't save whenever you like. So getting different variations in story/event scenes is not as easy as just saving the game right when the player gets a choice of response (unlike just about every other Visual Novel I've ever played which does allow you to do that). The database is supposed to help with this, but re-watching an event from the database doesn't allow you to play out the scene however you want. You are only allowed to pick the dialogue responses that you've already selected in-game during that scene.  This is what one of Alfie's Bonding Events looks like when I go back to the database in order to start typing an update. The only option I'm allowed to select is "Calm down, Drill Sergeant Alfie!", which is the choice I picked when this Bonding Event actually happened during gameplay. You can see that "But falling in love is great." and "I won't do anything to you!" are both greyed out. So in order for me to unlock all variations in the database version of this single event, I would have had to: 1. Make a save before the bonding event happened. 2. Go through the event like normal (because I would have been seeing it for the first time, technically) 3. Choose "Calm down" option 4. Continue through the event 5. Choose another response from a different set of 3 (most Bonding Events have 2 response moments) 6. Finish the event 7. Save the game in a different save slot 8. Reload the save from Step 1 9. Skip through the scene and choose "But falling in love" option, just as an example 10. Skip to the next choice and choose a different response from Step 5 11. Save in the same slot as Step 7 12. Reload save from Step 1 13. Skip and choose "I won't do anything" option 14. Skip and choose whatever option hasn't been selected for the second response moment 15. Save in the slot from Step 7 (or Step 1 if you ONLY did a single event) At that point, viewing this scene from the database would allow me to choose whatever responses I wanted. Keep in mind that that is the step-by-step process for Bonding Events. The step-by-step process for Main Events (the biggest of which only happen after you beat a boss) requires you to stick "Redo final Labyrinth Floor and boss fight" between Step 8-9 and Step 12-13. So if you want to see every variation on the Main Story events, then you need to fight the Labyrinth Boss 3 times. Also you better make sure you don't rush too much/zone out, because the game randomizes the order that responses appear in, so if you accidentally pick any response that you've already seen then too bad, that's another Boss fight for you. I want to remind everyone that so far, this Tarua scene is the only one where a response has caused such a drastic change to the moments that follow it. Normally when I say "variations", I mean that 2 or 3 lines of dialogue will change before the event continues on like normal. Hell, as drastically different as that event that Polsy highlighted might seem, it's still only a difference of 2 lines and the addition of 2 others (Reone and Mirei). This is why I didn't go for 100% in CII. This process isn't long, but it's tedious as poo poo and isn't worth the effort. They should have just allowed the player to rewatch an event in the database and let them play around with different responses to see how things could have gone. Why lock it and require this stupid save scumming? This isn't the same as a traditional Visual Novel, where the choices you make lead to different endings and routes. Wake could have spent the entirety of Feene's bonding events being an rear end in a top hat/pervert to Feene and the result would have been the same: Wake/Feene hooking up and getting married. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Jan 17, 2020 |
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Jan 17, 2020 18:56
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I guess that's one of the perils of JRPG design with VN dialogue scenes. Granted, I don't think any of the Persona/Devil Survivor games have been this egregious, and they usually prompt you to save before anything important happens.
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Jan 17, 2020 22:02
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Yeah, that's really odd. Up to now I had the exact same impression, that different options would just change the next couple of lines of dialogue and that'd be it. Sucks that the main story, where this is most likely to happen (ie, more than two people are in the room) is so inconvenient to double-check.
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Jan 18, 2020 01:34
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Update X: Just about the time you’re thinkin’ it’s alright ~ Breakdown. Takedown. You’re busted Song Title Reference: Shakedown by Bob Seger  No, we’re not done with this yet. We have effectively answered the “Shang 120 years old” rumor, but Mahiru doesn’t know that. Plus there’s still the “Academy Founding Mystery”, the “Academy Vanishing” rumor still hasn’t been totally debunked, and Mahiru already signaled her intention to defy Narcisstes in the case of the “Disappearing Headmaster”. So it’s time for another round of rumor hunting.  It’s so early… Why are you here? Fourth time’s the charm! Oh come on, Mahiru… really? We got off pretty light last time. I don’t want keep poking that beehive.~Granvania Shopping Center~ Too bad, Itsuki. Apparently you don’t get a choice in the matter.  I feel like another “Mahiru cut” happened here. We seem to be picking up midway through a conversation. A conversation that should be continuing back in Itsuki’s room because that’s where it started, not the middle of the shopping district. Listen, I never said that I don’t think anything weird is going on in that room. I just hate being scolded for something you dragged me into. Besides, didn’t you say you were going to wait for things to die down? What makes you think this time will be different? There was something I realized after. Wasn’t Narcisstes showing up like that a little suspicious? I guess… He did find us out almost as soon as we got in. What about it? It seems Mana told Narcisstes about us. You think? Also Mana was obviously annoyed by this whole thing and has been attempting to drag Itsuki out of it, so you know, that seems like a pretty good motive for her to rat us out to Narc. In any case, we need to be cautious around Mana. That’s great… Listen, can we stop somewhere and get something to eat? Hey, are you even listening? I would be able to listen better if I had some food in me. Come on, Collette’s bakery is right over there. Then… how about we interview Collette while we’re at it? She really likes urban legends, so I’m sure she’ll be happy to talk to us.~Collette’s Sweet Wheats~   What’s the biggest sleepyhead in the world doing up this early? It’s not by choice… Mahiru is forcing me. …I see. So you two have been all lovey-doughy since dawn. How lewd! Don’t come near me!Still baking those bread puns. We have no been all “lovey-doughy.” Besides, we’re customers right now, Collette. We want some freshly baked bread. Oh, right! Well then, how about this fresh out of the oven croissant? It’s [sic] flaky crust and rich honey butter taste make it a popular item! Yes, please. Nice. Free items are fine with me. Well, gameplay free at least. Mahiru and Itsuki “pay” for it in a story sense, but our in-game cash doesn’t change so I’m considering it a freebie. Also, Collette… I know you’re busy, but can we ask you some questions? It’s nothing too difficult. Yes, that should be fine. We want to know about the “Disappearing Headmaster” rumor. That’s one of the Seven Academy Wonders, right?  Neeheehee. Of course I know about that! Normally, no one goes inside the headmaster’s room except Narcisstes. You may be right. That’s because the headmaster can lock the door with his strong Star Energy. We aren’t able to open the door because of that. Even Star Maidens can’t unlock it? Why the hell would Lillith be trying to get in there? Are you sure you don’t mean Lillie? Because I’d be surprised if Lillie didn’t try and break in there at some point considering the grudge she apparently has with Narcisstes. Wait, why was Lillith trying to get in there? Because it’s forbidden… is what I heard.They are definitely talking about Lillie, not Lillith. Doing something she’s not supposed to specifically because she’s not supposed to is Lillie’s whole M.O. So no one can enter the headmaster’s room… except us God’s Gifts. Master Detective Mahiru, ladies and gentlemen. “We should be careful around Mana, she might leak out plans to Narcisstes”, and then immediately afterward “Hey Collette! Did you know that we can get inside Narcisstes’ office?! Isn’t that cool?!” We were kicked out right away though… There must be a trap door inside that leads to a hidden room! You think so too, Collette? Neeheehee! This is exciting! Don’t you agree, God’s Gift? I guess. You seem the most excited about it, though. Neeheehee! Of course! You already used that pun! Stop stealing those, by the way. You swiped Itsuki’s “mighty knead” pun during one of your bonding events. Right. Well, here’s the money for the bread. We’d better go. Huh, you’re already done talking? We have to check it out before the students come by. See you later, Collette! Thank you for your patronage.~Star God Academy Gates~ Hm? Is that Arie over there? Good morning, Arie. Mahiru, Itsuki. Good morning. Do you always come to school this early? Oh, uh, yeah… You know, recently I heard… A suspicious person has been seen here in the mornings. Security is tighter. You be careful, Mahiru.I think we all know who this “suspicious person” is. Looks like Narcisstes is ready for Mahiru this time. But, you do have Itsuki with you. I guess you don’t need to worry. Oh no… A s-suspicious person? We should be careful, huh? God’s Gift, please protect Mahiru. Mahiru’s strong. I wouldn’t worry about her. Please be sure to protect Mahiru.Arie got weirdly intense about that. The other two options were “I want to protect you, Arie” and “I know, I know…” No, I’m not refighting Furiae in order to check what the other options result in. I hope you take good care of me, Itsuki. Do you best at your work, Arie! Now, let’s get going.~Star God Academy Field~ Mahiru, do—Wait, is that someone else? Over there by the barn. It’s Sue. She’s holding a sheep in one arm and a goat in the other. Morning, Mahiru… Good morning, Sue. Are you taking a walk? I have to make sure they don’t hurt the animals. Ah, right. That must be tough… Hang in there.He clearly has you outplayed this time, Mahiru. Probably a good idea to back off at this point. You two be careful. No one knows where this person could be. Same goes for you, Sue. Are you worried about me…? [Sheep]: Baaa… [Goat]: Maaa…  Hehe, they do seem pretty trustworthy. Itsuki, we’re interrupting her patrol. Let’s go. Mahiru… Yes? A-Ah, right… We’ll be sure to let you know.*And then both parties go their separate ways* Ugh… I wonder if Sue suspected us?Judging by that look she gave us, I would say there’s a solid chance. We can’t dawdle here. Let’s hurry to the headmaster’s room.But of course, that’s only going to motivate Mahiru more. ~Star God Academy Hallway~ Well, we’re here. You sure you want to do this?The answer is yes, as Mahiru immediately goes for the door to try and open it. Huh? The door won’t open. But it opened so easily before!Did he finally take my advice and install a deadbolt? [***]: Aw right, ya two. That’s enough.  Man, we didn’t even get inside the room before getting busted this time. Oh, h-hey! It’s… the whimsical traveler! An excellent guess! It’s me, the beautiful an’ sexy traveler, Farun! But, what are ya doin’ here, Itsuki? Mahiru made me do it. Farun, why are you here? Narcisstes asked me to pop by. A suspicious person has been seen in the academy, so he asked me to patrol. Why did he ask the Star Maidens? We know that guards exist in this world, because Mana mentioned Shang-ri La not having his with him when he was in Itsuki’s room. Is the Granvanian Army made up of just a handful of guys or something? But, it’s you two who’re the suspicious ones here. Game over, Mahiru. I think it’s time to call it quits. No way! There’s no “game over” in my dictionary.Really? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. Sorry, Mahiru. I was told to tell Narcisstes if I found anyone suspicious.  I’d applaud Narcisstes on his precautions and having Farun as a backup to Arie and Sue, except… Farun, we’re both Star Maidens. Can’t you let this slide? I’m pretty sure the headmaster’s room is off-limits. But one of the Seven Academy Wonders is in here… No matter what, we need to see what’s inside. Seven Academy Wonders? They’re like urban legends of the academy. Yeah, Farun isn’t exactly a reliable guard. Probably a hidden door and room. Whoa! That sounds like fun! I see, I see. In that case, no problem. I’ll let this slide, so in ya go! To the hidden door an’ room! Narcisstes really picked the wrong person for this.Everyone in Granvania is terrible at their job. But the door still won’t open. We can’t get in. Of course. The door has a double seal on it. Oh… poo poo… Hey, Mirei! *Farun books it* So, Mirei, this was your doing? I was asked by Narcisstes to make sure you two didn’t get in again. Ahh, nice work Narcisstes. AMCP. Unfortunately I’m going to have to withdraw my praise of you because you made a critical error in this contingency plan: Mirei is terrible with secrets. Why are you being so secretive about the headmaster’s room? I don’t like the unknown. And I can’t just give up in the middle of something. I see. You have a good head on your shoulders.*Mirei turns around and the screen briefly goes white* What… did you just do? I opened the door. You can go in now.Seriously, all you had to do was post a single loving guard outside the room. Was that so hard? I’m sure the Granvanian Knights could spare one dude. Not like we ever see or hear of the bastards doing anything of importance. Are you sure about this, Mirei? You have a lot more to lose from this than we do. I’m researching God’s Gifts right now. I want to see Mahiru make her grand discovery. I’ll protect my test subjects as they strive toward their goal. Thank you, Mirei. Besides… I’m curious as well. Deadbolt. He could have prevented all of this with a loving deadbolt. I can get one from the hardware store in town for like 20 bucks! But noooo, Mr. Fancypants over here with his loving Star Energy seals and poo poo. Okay, let’s go inside, Itsuki!~Headmaster’s Office~ I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. I mean, not the kind of stuff we’re looking for anyway. Hm? This bookcase can slide, can’t it?*There’s a rumbling as something moves aside* Whoa… This is… There’s no lever though. How does it open? Then let’s push it! If that doesn’t work, we’ll slam into it. Okay. Let’s do it. Might as well go all the way with this.*The screen slowly fades to white and back to normal Wow… that opened a lot easier than I thought it would. This is a high level Star Energy Seal passed on from generation to generation. This is one that can only be opened by God’s Gifts with a special Star Brand. We did it! Famous detective Mahiru is now in service! There are stairs. There may be something down there. It looks like the “Disappearing Headmaster” case has been solved.Sweet, let’s go home.   The gently caress is this? N-No way… What is it, Mirei? This is a Star Energy Circle.Should we know what that is? It’s a magic circle that absorbs peoples’ Star Energy and materializes it. Look, there’s a materialized Star Fragment in the center of the circle. Star Energy Circles are forbidden by law. In this world… So you mean this circle… has taken someone’s life energy to make this Star Fragment?Jesus, we’ve got ritual sacrifice in this game? That’s a turn. With a circle this big, it can absorb Star Energy within a one kilometer radius. What the gently caress, Narcisstes?! That’s some Full Metal Alchemist poo poo. Why put it under the school, though? The amount of Star Energy each of us holds is determined at birth. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Star Energy itself is our life force. Our destiny is to live by consuming the Star Energy that is within us.  Therefore, it logically follows that… this academy sees the students as a massive source of Star Energy. But why? Why are these Star Fragments so important? I don’t know. Star Energy Circles were created long, long ago. They were made to gather Star Energy in case of disasters and other emergencies. So this thing is taking the Star Energy of the students right now? Mirei, can’t you do something? You’re the descendant of a great mage, right? I know what must be done. As a scion of the Star God, I command you! Seal your role for all eternity!*The screen goes white briefly and when it fades the Star Energy Circle has disappeared*  Well, I guess this part of the mystery is settled. No it’s not! Students’ lives are still being threatened! Mahiru, leave the rest to me. I’ll get to the bottom of this evil. We’ll help you, Mirei. No. This is most likely connected to the kingdom itself. I’m fairly certain that it’s too late for that, Mirei. Narcisstes is going to know exactly who was behind this as soon as he comes down here and finds his lifeforce-sucking transmutation circle thing is no longer there. Not saying you didn’t do the right thing. I’ve gained a lot of respect for you for having the moral compass to shut this down without any hesitation (I admit, I was half-expecting Mirei to argue for keeping the circle temporarily active so she could research it). I’m just saying that maybe you could have possibly snooped around a little first. You know, so that Narcisstes wouldn’t get tipped off to the fact that someone knows what he’s hiding. The next time he comes down here he’s going to start on covering his tracks. He can’t really afford to eliminate you (or risk the attention it would draw if he’s evil), since you’re a Star Maiden, but I’m sure he can find a way to blackmail you into compliance. Mahiru, do not get involved in this. Okay…~Star God Academy Gates~ I didn’t think you’d back down so easily on that. I don’t want to get in her way. Besides, we still have more rumors to hunt down. We’ll leave this to Mirei and investigate a different rumor. Sure… So that was fun. Apparently Narcisstes was overseeing the harvesting of lifeforce from the Academy students for some as of yet unspecified reason. Either he’s outright evil and is secretly trying to aid in the revival of the 13th Phantom, or he’s some kind of extremist that is hoping to use those Star Fragments to destroy it. Either way, we need to start keeping a more watchful eye on him. Also the king. It might be hidden under his office, but I doubt this is Narc’s personal pet project. Shang has got to be involved with it to some degree. That’s it for the story portion of the update. It wasn’t particularly long, so I’m going to fill it out by including some of the next update (it was too big to all fit in one post). -Special Events (This continues on in to the next update)- Now that the calendar has moved into the Autumn months, we can finally take a look at one of those events that Mana keeps suggesting whenever we hit the tenth floor of a Labyrinth. In order to avoid confusion, I’m going to refer to these events from now on as “Japan Events”. Japan Events are the ones that Mana learns about from Mahiru and then asks Itsuki to suggest to Shangri-La as something that Granvania could do. In contrast, “Seasonal Events” will refer only to the pre-established events that Mana has been dragging Itsuki to over the year (such as the Sports Festival and Maiden Camp).  Japan Events work slightly differently from Seasonal Events. Seasonal Events will trigger at the same time every year and involve Itsuki joining the Star Maidens in some kind of group activity. You are required to see the event the first time it happens, but every time after that Mana will give you a choice as to whether or not you want to participate. Japan Events will only trigger when you select a Star Maiden to bond with. Unlike the group activities of the Seasonal Events, Japan Events are 1-on-1 affairs between the chosen Star Maiden and Itsuki. The events will trigger when you choose a Star Maiden to bond with during the season that the event takes place in. This means you have plenty of time to see all 12 events. Yes, I meant 12. So far, I haven’t seen any of these events happen for Alfie. Apparently Spike Chunsoft didn’t feel like she was worth the effort for them. However, Spike Chunsoft did put extra effort into certain aspects of this. Some of these Japan Events pay special attention to particular Star Maidens for some reason. I’m not entirely sure this happens in other Japan Events, but when it comes the Autumn Festival there are noticeable differences between the heroines. After consulting with the thread on how I should handle this, it was decided that I should disregard the results of the Maiden Poll and just show off the Star Maidens that get special things during their Japan Events (where applicable. For events like Starmas, I’ll figure out something else to decide on who we see).  In the case of the Autumn Festival, things match up pretty closely with the results of the last poll. We’re missing Alfie, since she doesn’t have a festival event at all. Also, Ruka doesn’t get any special addition to her festival event, so she’ll be relegated to the summary section despite coming in 4th in the last poll. Meanwhile, Collette gets dragged up from the bottom of the barrel for this one. I’ll go over the summaries first, since I have space left in this update. If you only care about the unique stuff, then continue on to Special Events I: The Autumn Festival.  We’ll go through these by poll order, so that means we start with Ruka. Oh yeah, and “Escaping the Orphanage” is her Starmas Event… it’s not as exciting/dramatic as the name might lead you to believe. #4.  Ruka’s event has Itsuki helping her out with a festival food stall that she’s volunteering at. She rebuffs him at first, although Itsuki points out that he doesn’t think she’ll be able to handle customers given her… hangups. She still refuses him. When Itsuki gets to the festival later, Ruka has gotten in over her head and asks him to help her by manning the register. Ruka is apparently worried that she might touch a customer’s hand when handling the change (which… why? She told us that she can only read minds by touching foreheads). She tried to make the payment thing self-serve, but that’s obviously not going to work because you can’t trust people to take only the change they are entitled to.  Anyway, Ruka does a little bit of her self-pity thing and a little bit of her Tsundere thing. As thanks for helping, she offers Itsuki some fried noodles that she saved for him, then asks if he likes it and tells him that she can change the seasoning and stuff if he doesn’t. Itsuki helps her finish everything up and Ruka continues doing more Tsundere things like saying “It’s not like I’m happy we’re spending more time together or anything…”  #7. Mahiru’s festival event opens up with Itsuki staring up at the sky and wondering about what Granvania’s festivals are like (that makes two of us). Mahiru asks him for help with maintaining the flower bed. Itsuki agrees and says that they should go to the autumn festival when they are done. After finishing up with the flower bed, Mahiru tells Itsuki about what she’s planting: a white and orange Granvanian flower called Autumn Powder. Mahiru then gets way too close while she wipes some dirt off of Itsuki’s face. Itsuki is a little shy about this, and Mahiru teases him about it while giving him the patented “unfortunately timed screencap” look, except it’s intentional on her part.  At the festival, Itsuki talks about how he helped to model it after the ones from back home. Mahiru says it feels nostalgic and offers to treat Itsuki since he helped out earlier. The fireworks then start going off. Mahiru, still wrapped up in her rumor hunting crap, says that she’s always wondered if fireworks would look flat if you viewed them from the side since they seem to spread out as circles when viewed normally. Mahiru then drags Itsuki along into the forest to find out. In the forest, things get steamy as Mahiru and Itsuki comment on how it’s like they have a personal fireworks show going on since nobody is around (also that the fireworks are being reflected in a nearby lake). Mahiru blushes as she asks why Itsuki is holding her hand and looking at her silently…  …at which point Itsuki says that a bear is right behind her. “Man-Eating Bear” then roars and the two God’s Gifts book it back to the festival and escape the bear. There’s a little more talk about the flowers they planted, but that’s about it for the event. #8.  In Yuzuha’s event, she mentions hearing strange music from somewhere. Itsuki asks if Yuzuha wants to check out the festival, but Yuzuha is hesitant because there would be a lot of people there. She eventually decides to go anyway. At the festival, Yuzuha is nervous, but plans on toughing it out. She spots a mask stall and eventually winds up picking out a fox mask since she thinks it will be easier to face the crowds with (no, you don’t get to see the mask).  Yuzuha then spots a stall selling chocolate-covered bananas (so I guess in this reality the clerk got the recipe right. That'll make sense when you read Farun's event). Yuzuha tries it, then says she wants to try feeding the rest to Itsuki because she wants to try the “say ah” thing. After that, Yuzuha is glad that she could help Itsuki feel like he was back home, if only for a little while. Then Itsuki walks her back home and they say their goodnights.  #9.  Reone asks Itsuki if he’s decided on a Star Maiden to ask to the festival and Itsuki says he came to invite her. Reone plays coy by saying that she figured Itsuki would have someone special that he wanted to invite. At the festival, Reone talks about how she loves junk food like the stuff at the festival. She’s about to ask Itsuki for recommendations, but instead makes a game out of it. The two split up to find the best food that comes on a skewer. Loser has to feed the other by hand.  Ten minutes later, the two meet up and the player gets a choice as to what food Itsuki brought back. I picked Frankfurt, because come on, it’s Reone (and Conception Plus) we’re talking about. Hell, Itsuki even thinks to himself “I wonder what kind of food would satisfy Reone…?” …I admit, TCG may have been on break when I was writing this part. Anyway, despite me getting into this game’s mindset, Frankfurt turns out to be the neutral answer (the correct one was probably the chocolate covered banana, not that that is any less suggestive). Reone says that it does look good, but it’s “a rather big and thick sausage…” Anyway, innuendo aside, Itsuki finds out that Reone brought back some canned beer. Itsuki points out that canned beer is not a food and definitely not on a skewer. Reone says she got distracted because she figured she could use whatever Itsuki brought back as a snack to go with it, forgetting that they had a competition going. Itsuki says it’s selfish and Reone admits defeat. She wants him to feed her what he brought though, considering that as a reward for him despite not being what they agreed to.  At this point I actually hunched over and chuckled because I imagined Itsuki cramming a Frankfurter into Reone’s mouth. Not in the gentle innuendo/sexy way that Conception Plus was trying to invoke, but in the “jamming a sausage made entirely of pork and cased in sheep guts into her face” kind of way. Also I got a bit of a dark laugh out of the idea that there’s a chance the sausage was made from that pig that disappeared from Sue’s route. Anyway, that’s pretty much where Reone’s event ends. She had fun and walks arm in arm with Itsuki back home. #9. Sue isn’t excited to go to the festival because her animals can’t go with her. Itsuki convinces her by saying that maybe she could buy gifts for all of them while there, like food for example.  At the festival, the two think about what foods to try. Itsuki suggests candied apples (the correct answer was probably buttered potatoes). Sue doesn’t quite grasp the concept of apples coated in candy, so Itsuki brings her to try one. Sue is not impressed. Sue decides to pick up a bunch of non-candied apples for her animals and that’s where the event just kind of peters out. Sue said she had fun and that she wants to do it again sometime. It’s a very short event.  #12.   Lillith/Lillie’s event opens with Lillie demanding to know about the festival. Itsuki questions her motives, wondering if she’s getting up to no good. Lillie denies it and then demands to be taken to it by Itsuki. At the festival, Lillie is examining the stalls and notices the target shooting. Itsuki immediately tells her not to think about aiming at other festival goers.  I got a good laugh from this moment, too. They do target shooting, then look around some more. Lillie apparently keeps buying stuff from stalls, which is burning a hole in Itsuki’s pocket. Lillie then takes notice of a haunted house attraction. One of the workers playing the role of a ghost taunts Lillie a little and she decides to rush in on her own.  We then hear Lillie scream, then Lillith wondering where she is, then a “Ghost” wondering where the hell Lillith appeared from, then Lillith screams, then Lillie screams, then Lillith, and finally that is brought to an end when Lillith wanders out. Lillith asks if coming to the festival with Lillie was fun. Itsuki is… non-committal. Lillith is jealous that Lillie got to spend the entire festival with Itsuki, so Itsuki suggests that they watch the fireworks together. The two hold hands when suddenly one of the “Ghosts” butts in and tells them to get a room. Lillith then passes out from shock because she’s terrified of ghosts. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Jan 20, 2020 |
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Jan 19, 2020 18:10
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Special Events I: The Autumn Festival Now that the summaries are out of the way (they were in the bottom half of Update X, in case you jumped straight to this update for some reason known only to you), we can get to the good stuff. Arie, Collette, Farun, Mirei, and Femiruna all get something unique about their festival events. Why? Beats me. Collette even gets a CG for hers. Hell if I know what possessed the developers to only go the extra mile for certain Star Maidens. ~Star God Academy Field~  Yeah, Star God is doing a bang up job of that right now. Hey, Arie. Oh, Itsuki. Autumn is always so cool and comfortable, isn’t it? Yeah, it’s pretty refreshing. Hey, Arie? Don’t you ever get worn out from praying all the time? It’s not a matter of exhaustion. Praying to the Star God daily is important. I see… Well, I actually dropped by to invite you to the festival that’s going on. I thought you could use the rest, but I guess I was wrong.This conversation is pretty badly done. Official Itsuki makes no effort to chain together these thoughts. He just shows up and goes “Arie”, “Do you get tired from praying?”, “I want to invite you to the festival.” It kind of makes Official Itsuki look like an rear end in a top hat that doesn’t actually give a poo poo about what Arie is saying. A festival? Yeah. Mana learned about it from Mahiru and wanted me to suggest it to the king. It’s based on the Autumn Festivals from where me and Mahiru come from. We wear yukatas and wander around to different stalls. Are you interested? A festival… I’m interested in what they entail. But what is this thing called a “yukata”? It’s sort of like a dress… kind of. Although both men and women wear it. I guess it’s more like an outfit for festivals… although… Never mind. I think it’s easier if you just see it for yourself. Yeah, I think so. I think you would look really good in one. Really? Then I will gladly go to this festival donning the yukata you speak of.~Festival Venue~ Where is… Oh! Arie! This way! This yukata has such an interesting shape. It feels quite nice to wear.This is what I meant about certain maidens having “special” things added to their Japan Events. During the Autumn Festival, the maidens that I listed above will wear uniquely designed yukatas during their respective event. The other Star Maidens do get Autumn Festival events of their own, but they show up in their normal outfits. I’m not sure why SC half-assed this and showed favouritism towards certain Maidens. Oh, and no, you can’t change the Maidens into their yukata costumes outside of this event, despite the fact that Swimsuits has a toggle in the options menu. Spike Chunsoft sucks at the whole “costume” thing, is what I’m saying. They design alternate costumes, put them in the game, but then make them unavailable for the player to use. They also don’t sell them as DLC. If you read the CII LP, you’ll recall that I pointed out the same issue in that game. Characters like Narika and Chloe had costumes in the game that only pop up for 1 or 2 events and can’t be equipped for use elsewhere. I don’t support cutting out content and selling it as DLC, but if you’re going to go through the effort of designing alternative costumes (and especially going a step further by fully modeling them), then make them available to the player through some method, even if it’s through DLC. It’s better than teasing and not delivering. Am I wearing it correctly? Do I look strange? Of course not. You look great. Actually, I’m kind of surprised that you found one that matches you so well. You only heard about this a little while ago. Haha. That’s wonderful, thank you. You look nice as well, Itsuki.No, we don’t get to see Itsuki’s yukata. These festivals are so bustling. There are so many shops here. They sell a bunch of different kinds of food and drink. And what are these ones? They seem to be selling things other than food. Oh, yeah. Some of the stalls are games that you can play for a chance to win a prize. A prize? I’ve never heard of such a thing before. Give it a try. Do I have the right to take part in such a ceremony from your world? It’s fine, Arie. It’s just a festival game. There’s nothing sacred about it. I’m very interested… but I wonder if I can really do it. It’s okay to enjoy things, Arie. It’s a festival. Have some fun and let loose a little. Throw the drat ball! I do want to try it out… It sounds like fun. I will now participate in the target game ceremony. It’s… Arie, it’s not a ceremony. You really don’t need to take this so seriously. Itsuki, I received a ball. What should I do with this? Okay. You see the prizes on the wall over there? You throw the ball at one that you want to try and make it fall. The ones on the top are easier to knock down. *Arie wanders off screen. Is she getting a running start or something?* …There! I missed… That’s okay. You can keep throwing until you run out of balls. Alright… There! There! There!*Arie then wanders back into frame* Phew… I can’t even hit one… And I only have one ball left…  You’re putting a lot of effort into your arm. Try putting your hips into it instead. My hips? Yeah. Turn with your hips during the throw. It should give you a bit more control. That sounds difficult… Well… I guess it is kind of tricky to do without any practice. But… I’ll try following your advice. Arie is wandering out of frame in this screenshot. I only include it because it gives us a look at her back and how she has her hair tied (she has it tied like this normally, but her habit/veil thing mostly covers it). They put some attention and detail in to these, which makes it even worse that you can’t equip them as costumes. Let’s see… Turn with my hips to try and hit the target… There!*Aries comes back into frame again* I got it! I did it, Itsuki! Hey, great job! I got this prize! It’s such a cute doll. Looks like something the kids would really like. Perhaps, but I wouldn’t give this one to the children. This is a commemoration of participating in the target game ceremony. It’s a part of my memories with you, Itsuki.*The screen fades to black for a moment as a time skip happens* Itsuki, thank you so much for today. I had so much fun. That’s good to hear. I’m glad that you were able to relax and enjoy yourself. I didn’t know they could be so fun. The children would love it here.There’s a disaster just waiting to be unleashed. Well, we could always try bringing them next time. It was just so much fun… Can we? As long as you don’t mind being stuck with just me. That’s wonderful. Let’s go out together again. I’m sure it will be just as enjoyable.A little rough in the beginning, but it smoothed out as the event went on. Arie likes to have fun, she just needs a push to get going. If only she’d realize that Star God is kind of an rear end and she doesn’t need to hold back out of fear that he might disapprove.  Next is Femiruna. ~Star God Academy Field~ Hey, Femiruna. Listen, would you like to go out and get something to eat with me? Oh? It appears you have learned a little about how to properly invite a lady. It’s called a Food Truck and the only stars it has are painted on the side as decoration. It’s not really a restaurant. The Autumn Festival is happening today. Festival? You’re going to that carnival? Yeah. There’s a lot of shops and stuff there. Should be fun. Goodness… I was hoping for a more mature date… Come on. It’ll be fun. More fun than going to a fancy restaurant. What are these shop stalls anyway? They sell stuff like fried noodles and sausages and skewers… that kind of thing. They’re like outdoor restaurants where you can try a bunch of different things. My interest has grown considerably. Do you mind if I join you? I will never forgive you if I do not enjoy this outing.Yeah, yeah, you’ve still got some Tsundere/noblewoman in ya. Just throw on your yukata and let’s go. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re going to like it once you get there.~Festival Venue~ Itsuki, what do you think of my yukata? I like it, but that’s mainly because I really like deep purple colours. It looks good. It’s very you. It is quite a fashionable outfit. I like it.Honestly, I think Itsuki should have just opened with “You get to wear an elegant/beautiful outfit.” Femiruna probably would have been on board immediately with just that. There are far more shop stalls than I hard imagined… I did not expect to see such a diverse set of them. Yeah, I’m getting pretty excited. There are so many to choose from. What a fantastic business model!Wait until you hear about “Malls”… and then find out that they were made obsolete by the internet. It’ll blow your loving mind. You don’t even need to bring servants! Amazon will send theirs out to deliver your poo poo to you! I think your excitement for festivals is a bit different from mine… The attracting of customers and the profit margins do not seem too bad… Itsuki, this will surely provide great satisfaction to the guests! Well, as long as you’re having fun I guess… You’ve been looking around for a while, though. Don’t you want to try some of the food? Come, Itsuki. Let us go that way.*Femiruna takes off out of frame* Hang on, Femiruna. You’re going to trip if you… Hey! Ahhh! I’ve got you!*One super heroic catch later… I guess. We don’t actually see it* You okay? Y-Yes, I am fine… I almost fell down. I’m glad that you didn’t hurt yourself. It’s easy to trip in a yukata, especially if you haven’t worn one before. Good thing I decided to keep an eye on you. Anyway, just try not to rush around so much. H-Hmph! I do not need you worrying about me… But… I will be more careful next time. Here, let’s hold hands while we look around. That way you don’t have to worry about falling. Huh…? What? If I’m holding your hand then I can pull you back up if you do trip. …V-Very well. Come on. Make sure you have a good grip. I-I know that! H-Hey! You don’t have to pull me around!*Fun Festival Festivities… later. drat alliteration* Whew! Today was quite the educational experience. It excited me greatly, and I even discovered a new business model. Are you trying to open a business of your own someday? That does sound like fun. If I get the opportunity, I would like to try.Man… I wish I had the money to just go “Eh, I sort of feel like opening my own business. See what it’s like. You know, for fun.  That’s a bit of a low bar to clear from what we’ve seen of Granvania so far. You definitely have the confidence for it. The world outside the manor is fun. I am discovering so many things. Itsuki, teach me more about the outside world. I would like to bear more excitement. Uh, okay. I’ll do my best. Not sure if “bear” is the right word, though.Good stuff. Femiruna took some coaxing, just like Arie, but at least she found her own form of fun to be had at the festival. Let’s check in with Farun next. ~Star God Academy Classroom~ Hey, Itsuki. Hasn’t it been getting’ cooler recently? Not for me. gently caress summer and all its mosquitos and flies and sweat and heat. Then why don’t we go somewhere fun? Hm? Where’s that? There’s an Autumn Festival happening right now. Oh! The festival from your world, right? Sure. We can wear yukatas, too. What’re those? It’s an outfit from my world that you wear for festivals. Oh…?~Festival Venue~ Hehe…. Hahaha. I’m guessing you like your yukata? Yup! I love clothes like this. …What do ya think? It looks great on you.Ehh, kind of disappointing to be honest. Farun is supposedly older than Itsuki, so I guess the developers were going for a more mature look, but I just don’t think the plain colours and minimalist design works for Farun. She’s a traveling dancer. I was expecting her yukata to look flashier and more colourful. More fun and youthful. That sort of thing. Aha! Thanks! I really like this outfit. It’s so cute. Very cute. I know, right? …Wait, did ya mean I looked cute just now? Or the yukata? W-Well… I may have meant you, specifically. O-Oh, but… No, I mean it. Hehe. I don’t think I can believe ya. Though it does make me happy.Hmm… Doesn’t seem to take personal compliments well… Could be self-worth related… or maybe a distrust of others, kind of like Ruka… Oh, sorry. I’m still going through ideas in my head as to what the hell Farun’s whole deal/backstory is. But isn’t this yukata cute? I like it so much. I can’t wait to walk around in it. Let’s get goin’. Now then. I head that the shop stalls are the best part of the festival. Probably. I think Narcisstes mostly repeated the things I told him when he started organizing this with the citizens. Oh, I see. Let’s look for some weird food! Why only weird food? Learnin’ ‘bout things ya don’t know is part of the fun of travelin’. Ya have to challenge yourself to new things! Look! That shop stall is sellin’ somethin’ I’ve never seen before! Somethin’ called “miso banana”! Speaking of weird: Granvania having miso paste and miko clothing, but not knowing what a yukata is. I’m pretty sure this idea didn’t come from my world… I think the idea of chocolate-covered bananas was just misunderstood at some point. Hmm… So what’ll it taste like?Death. Although that might just be a personal preference. I’m not a not a miso fan. Wait, you want to try that? It’s completely different from the food in my world that its supposed to be. Hehe. I told ya to challenge yourself to new things. But I’ll leave it to ya. So, what will it be? Well… I guess you do have the right idea… Maybe it’s actually good. Only one way to know for sure. Hahaha. Ya know it!  Now… are ya ready? Pops! Gimme two miso bananas!Farun trots off out of frame here, but I didn’t include a screenshot of her back because there’s not really anything to highlight about it. The back of her yukata is just plain black with a pink bow. Her hair is also done up in the same way as it always is, so there’s nothing different there. Like I said, I was expecting more from Farun’s yukata. *One ill-advised flavour combination later* Ahahaha! Ahahahaha! That was so terrible! Well, I’ve never had anything like that before… Hehe, but wasn’t it fun? We’ll have a great memory of this so we can look back. It’s “the day we ate miso bananas together.” I love stuff like that. Thanks for eatin’ ‘em with me.*Another brief time skip here*  Guess it’s time to say goodbye to this outfit. It’s too bad, it was so cute. You don’t have to keep it just for festivals, you know. You could wear it all the time if you wanted to. …No. I wanna save it as a special outfit I wear for when we go to festivals. That’s why I’ll save it for next year. Ya won’t see it till then! …Hehe. Well, see ya later!At least Farun was more gung-ho about going to the festival. Didn’t need to twist her arm or anything. The same won’t be said about Mirei, who is next up. ~Star God Academy Classroom~ Hey, Mirei? I know you’re busy with your reading, but I was wondering if you wanted to go check out the festival with me. I’ll pass. I… Okay. That sure was quick. I’ve heard about this festival, but I dislike crowded places. I highly doubt I can enjoy it. So there’s no way I can convince you? You’re persistent… I just explained why. Why do you want to go with me so much? Because I want you to have some fun. I figured this was a good opportunity. Didn’t I say I probably won’t enjoy it? Won’t know for sure unless you try. Part of being a researcher, right? Hm… All right. If I have time, I’ll go with you. However, that depends on today’s research progress. No promises. Sure. I’ll wait for you at the festival, then. Fine. But don’t expect me to show up.We all know you’ll be there. Regardless of whether or not you think it will be fun, you absolutely cannot resist researching new things. Or researching Itsuki in new environments. Whatever works. ~Festival Venue~ Hmm… Doesn’t look like she’s coming after all… Itsuki.*Mirei comes into frame* Apologies for being late. It’s… wait… Are you wearing a yukata? This, on the other hand. This is exactly what I expected from Mirei. I heard this is required for those participating in the festival. I completed my research and took far too long trying to put this on. Apologies. N-No, it’s fine. It looks great. Hmm, I see. I never was interested in clothing. Could have fooled me. Could you spin around so I can get a better look? Spin around? I suppose I don’t mind… How was that…? It was good. That yukata really suits you. …I see. Try holding up your sleeve and striking a pose.Okay, Itsuki. Calm down. Don’t want to go pitching a tent in a yukata. Although, I guess they sort of naturally supress boners because of the wrapping and stuff. You want to see that? You’re so strange… …What do you think? Yeah, you look amazing. How about- Hold on. Why am I listening to you so unconditionally? Oh, right. Sorry. I was getting carried away a little bit. *Some time passes* So, this is the festival… The atmosphere certainly isn’t something I would enjoy. Don’t write it off so soon. Come on, let’s look around a bit. There’s a lot of shops and food to check out. Look, they even managed to make cotton candy. Cotton candy? Here, let me get some for you. …There, give it a try. By using clouds from heaven… and combining them with a truckload of the distilled essences of the second and third circles of hell. Also known as sugar. You heat up sugar with fire and spin it into threads. Then you swirl it on to a stick. Hm, I see. So that stick is used to wrap the sugar around it. How interesting. Shop clerk. Can you let me try my hand at making it? Wait, you want to try making it? Why? Jesus, Mirei. Death comes for us all eventually, you don’t need to coax him along. I don’t think that’s how it works, Mirei… Be quiet. You won’t know if it will fail unless you try.She’s got you there, Itsuki. That’s basically the reasoning you used to get her out here in the first place. But, won’t you be troubling the clerks? Don’t worry. I’ll pay for it. That’s not really what I was getting at.*One experiment in diabetes later* I didn’t think I would actually break the machine. It’s because you pushed the machine too hard… *sigh* We have to pay for that now, too… Oh, no harm done then. Is there anything else we can charge to his account while we’re at it? Oh, what is that shop stall over there, Itsuki? It says “octopus cakes.” I think it’s- Hm? And that one looks interesting as well. What are you doing? Hurry up. H-Hey! Don’t pull! Mirei!*After some fun festival time spent with Mirei* Looks like you ended up having fun after all. It was all part of my research. Didn’t look that way to me… I’m interested in cross-cultural customs. I did it to personally experience it. Now, let’s go home.  They have game consoles in Granvania?! What level of technology does this freaking world have?! You can’t make a drat long-distance call, but you can apparently fire up the old PS4 for some [insert your preferred game here]? I’m convinced something was wrong… My calculations shouldn’t be inaccurate… You know, I’m glad I asked you out. It really sounds like you had fun.And that’s all for Mirei. It was pretty much exactly what you would have expected from her. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on your opinion of her. I think it was nice.  Last up for the unique events is Collette. Collette’s version of the festival event gets a unique CG. No, I have no sweet clue why Collette is the only heroine to get a unique CG for this event. I’m not even sure if there are unique CGs for the other Japan Events. I didn’t see any for Starmas. So it’s possible that Collette is the only one to get a unique CG for a side-event. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Maybe one of the developers or members of the art team had a thing for her. A possibility that creeps out user BlazeEmblem. They are definitely not alone in that regard. ~Star God Academy Field~ Hello Itsuki. It’s autumn now. Speaking of autumn, there’s an Autumn Festival happening now. Do you want to go check out the shops with me? Are they serving roasted sweet potatoes?! Why are you so hung up on those? Roasted sweet potatoes are a staple of festivals here in Granvania!Granvania has festivals? Festivals that haven’t been copied from Japan? This festival is based on one from my world, though. I don’t think there will be roasted sweet potatoes there. What a shame. Then buy some sweet potatoes and roast them. All you need is a fire. You own a bakery, so it can’t be that hard. Well, there might be other delicious things there that are just as good as roasted sweet potatoes. Ooh! You think so?! In that case, I will definitely go with you. Shall we go right now? That works for me. They should have some rental yukatas there as well. Oh, yukatas! That sounds like fun. Let’s be on our way then.Okay, so I don’t know if Granvania has actual experience with yukatas or not. The other maidens didn’t seem to know what they were (including Farun, the worldly traveler), but Mirei was apparently able to research it and Collette seems to know what they are.  ~Festival Venue~ Oh, these yukatas have a different feel than my usual clothes. I don’t really have an opinion on Collette’s yukata. It’s kind of childlike/innocent, but that’s sort of her whole deal/facade. Her head sort of looks too big for her body though. Maybe that’s just me. You wear your yukata well, Itsuki. You look really good. Same to you, Collette. Neehee. I think so too. But… it is a little airy. It feels weird if I don’t wear anything underneath. Yeah. It also chafes a little sometimes. …Ah, did you think I wasn’t wearing any underwear? Sorry to disappoint you, but I most certainly am. Please keep your mind out of your lewd gutter. My mind is not in the gutter. Plus, how was I supposed to know that’s what you were talking about? Not wearing anything underneath is traditional, right? That’s the first I’ve ever heard that.Historically and culturally, it’s complicated. It depends on where you are wearing a yukata (in a private room, festival, bathhouse, that kind of thing) and the kind of people you are wearing it around and what time period we’re talking about (modern day underwear is comfortable enough that you really should be wearing some under there just about all the time). …Wait a minute! Does that mean… you’re not wearing anything under yours? …That’s not important.Ah, a true Scotsman! Free-ballin it like Highlanders intended (at least supposedly).  Don’t look at me when you say that. Right. Well, enough of that. Where’s the tasty food? There’s a bunch of shop stalls everywhere and the scents are enticing… I can’t take it anymore. *drool*… Okay, well first you should wipe the drool off of your mouth. Oh! Excuse me. But finding something more delicious than roasted sweet potatoes will be tough. Shall we split up and look?*Something happens. Not sure what, but there’s a pause between Collette’s lines before she leans back from the camera* …Uh? Huh?! L-Look at this crowd, Itsuki! What’s going on?! …Oh, the fireworks are starting. For now, I’ll look over here. Let’s meet up at the gate at the entrance later…Collette turns a little bit during the “Oh, the fireworks” line, but she doesn’t turn around completely in this event. It is possible to briefly see that she has her hair together in a braid/ponytail (same as what Arie did with hers). I thought this was weird, because I was sure that Collette had a bob cut hairstyle. But I checked her character model in the database and she really does have a ponytail. I always thought that thing sticking out of her character portrait was a ribbon or something. Huh… I don’t think it’s a good idea to split up in this crowd. Come on, just grab my hand. Oh for… Ex-Excuse me! Trying to get through. God’s Gift making a path. All right, Collette, try again. O-Okay…*After fighting through the crowd of people* Whew… I made it. Thank you, Itsuki. Ah… fireworks. What shall we do? There seem to be some empty seats over there. Let’s grab some candied apples and watch. Candied apples?! That’s a great idea. Let’s go! Strike while the iron’s hot! Let’s hurry. …Ah, don’t let go of my hand. I don’t want to get lost again. Don’t make it weird(er), Collette. Sure, let’s go. Yes. Oh, you have got to be kidding me. drat it, Spike Chunsoft, if you didn’t want to draw partial artwork of Itsuki in a yukata then just say that he’s not wearing a yukata. It’s not that difficult. Wow, seeing them so close is such a different experience. I can feel the sound. BOOM BOOM! This candied apple is tasty. The fireworks also look quite tasty. Haven’t heard someone describe fireworks like that before. Neeheehee. …Every time I hold your hand, I’ll remember this moment. This is a very delicious memory. Thank you, Itsuki.*After the fireworks* Shall we head home now, Itsuki? Bakers are early risers after all. Today was… very fun. I had fun too. We should do this again if we get the chance. Yes. …Oh, right. On the way home, let’s get a roasted sweet potato. If I don’t have one, it won’t feel like I actually went to a festival. Oh yeah, you gotta watch those sweet potatoes. Their… 100 calories per potato… and 0 grams of fat… And that’s it for the Autumn Festival. Time for us to get back to proper bonding updates, after having skipped them in the previous “chapter”. We’ve got a somewhat new group of Focus Maidens to show off.
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Jan 19, 2020 18:12
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"Oh, we found a super-secret super-illegal ritual underneath the headmaster's office that was slowly killing everyone around us. Let's go and investigate other rumors like why people miscount the number of doors in a hallway instead of alerting people (or even the other star maidens!!) that the headmaster was evil."
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Jan 19, 2020 18:52
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I get the impression that there was a fan favorite poll on some website sometime before release. Cool update though. I think the yukatas are more on-brand for their Signs, even Farun's - the conservative business stereotype exists for a reason. I also think there's a lot of desperation from Narc to do this for some nebulous reason. Is he trying to manufacture a God's Gift? Or building Star Nukes? AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Jan 19, 2020 |
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Jan 19, 2020 20:37
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Arie's yukata is by far the best IMO. God I can't believe they put Itsuki in regular clothes for these events come on. That's just goddamn lazy
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Jan 19, 2020 21:30
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I'm not sure what to think about the star energy circle reveal. They were banned 200 years ago, before Shangri-La arrived, so someone else had to have made it, assuming that it wasn't just left over from before they were banned. It was almost certainly a weapon against the 13th impurity god, but there is no way using it wouldn't have made everything worse. Mirei had the worst Yukata of the bunch.
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Jan 19, 2020 21:43
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OOrochi posted:"Oh, we found a super-secret super-illegal ritual underneath the headmaster's office that was slowly killing everyone around us. Let's go and investigate other rumors like why people miscount the number of doors in a hallway instead of alerting people (or even the other star maidens!!) that the headmaster was evil." To be fair, we don't know how deep this goes. Who is in on this? Just Narc? Or are there others? Again, Mirei’s approach is the right idea, but by sealing the circle right away she's tipped off Narc and given herself anywhere from an hour to a week (Narc must check on that thing ona regular basis). AnAnonymousIdiot posted:I also think there's a lot of desperation from Narc to do this for some nebulous reason. Is he trying to manufacture a God's Gift? Or building Star Nukes? My mind immediately went to fantasy bomb. The only problem with that is how long it takes to siphon Star Energy. We only found out about the 13th Labyrinth a little while ago. I doubt he could have collected enough for one of those star fragment things in such a short period of time. Manufacturing a God’s Gift is plausible. We know that Mirei’s grandfather made an artifical Star Maiden. SSNeoman posted:Arie's yukata is by far the best IMO. It really bothers me. Hell, if you didn't want to draw Itsuki in a yukata then you could have easily just not put him in the CG at all. If you're going to say something, then put the effort in to make the game reflect that, SC. BlazeEmblem posted:I'm not sure what to think about the star energy circle reveal. They were banned 200 years ago, before Shangri-La arrived, so someone else had to have made it, assuming that it wasn't just left over from before they were banned. It was almost certainly a weapon against the 13th impurity god, but there is no way using it wouldn't have made everything worse. That part is weird. It was banned 200 years ago, but I guess the research/knowledge of it was preserved? Even if it was a preexisting circle, Narc had to have read up on it from somewhere in order to know what it is and how it works. Same goes for Mirei. Shang wouldn't know anything abput it at all, unless Narc or some other Palace Mage told him about it for some reason. The only thing we know for sure is that Narc is definitely complicit in whatever is going on. No matter what excuse he might have, it's incredibly wrong of him to steal life energy from people. He better get some kind of comeuppance by the end of the game. Mirei’s yukata matches her, but I agree that it is bad. The colours are way too drab. I know it would have been similar to Femiruna’s, but I was hoping she would have a purple yukata of some kind that matches her normal clothes.
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Jan 19, 2020 22:37
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Okay a new thought came up: Could that Circle and School be hiding the opening to the Ophiuchus Labyrinth? It just occured to me.
AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Jan 19, 2020 |
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Jan 19, 2020 23:24
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Psycho Knight posted:
Yes - in original Conception this scene starts with Mahiru saying 'There was something I realized after'. There's a cut just after 'Today, we solve the mystery of the headmaster's room' where Itsuki is extremely reluctant to join in with this and Mahiru subsequently drops a huge guilt trip on him about her having to go alone and missing this opportunity to increase their bond while (very) slowly walking out of the door. Eventually Itsuki gives in and she says to herself 'ha, he's so easy to manipulate'. Doesn't really work with "nice Mahiru". Psycho Knight posted:They are definitely talking about Lillie, not Lillith. Doing something she’s not supposed to specifically because she’s not supposed to is Lillie’s whole M.O. I was halfway through thinking this was a mistake in the source material when I realised that again, the mistake is in how the surrounding line is read - rather than 'scared Lillith' it should be 'the scary-type Lillith' (ie, Lillie). I don't remember any corroborating lines about Collette not knowing the difference but the maidens don't interact with each other a great deal anyway. Glad they figured out how to take Arie's hat off for the festival. 
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Jan 20, 2020 00:54
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Polsy posted:Yes - in original Conception this scene starts with Mahiru saying 'There was something I realized after'. There's a cut just after 'Today, we solve the mystery of the headmaster's room' where Itsuki is extremely reluctant to join in with this and Mahiru subsequently drops a huge guilt trip on him about her having to go alone and missing this opportunity to increase their bond while (very) slowly walking out of the door. Eventually Itsuki gives in and she says to herself 'ha, he's so easy to manipulate'. Doesn't really work with "nice Mahiru". Figures that was a cut of old Mahiru. As for the Lillith thing, the other Star Maidens definitely know about the two 'sides'. If you recall, Mana and Reone talk about it briefly during the introduction of the Maidens. Mana even triggers it in front of everyone. So why Collette doesn't just say 'Lillie' is beyond me. Still, good to know about yet another translation screw up. Which, I may have found an answer for by the way. After looking back at CII, it seems that Spike Chunsoft Japan was at least partially responsible for the Steam version (their NA office wasn't open at the time after all). I won't be able to tell for sure until we reach the end credits for this game, but if SC Japan was handling translation for this (even partially), it would explain just about everything we've seen in terms of English errors. It would also fit with the fact that SC NA has a suspiciously small staff for all the localizations they've been doing. As for the Arie thing, that's just funny. I wonder if she keeps the hat on when in her swimsuit as well? She doesn't in Plus. Let’s wait until the summer event to check on that, though. AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Okay a new thought came up: Could that Circle and School be hiding the opening to the Ophiuchus Labyrinth? It just occured to me. It's very likely. Maybe Narc quickly set up the circle to try and keep the lid on the 13th Labyrinth? Although if they know where the entrance is then you'd figure Itsuki/Mirei would have been informed.
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Jan 20, 2020 01:32
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I'm firmly convinced now that Narc is this game's Enzea. And Mana is in on it; either that or Narc has a code phrase/spell that will revert her to her "true" Impurity form for a boss battle. Whether Shang is in on this or not remains to be seen, but he might be a dupe. Hopefully the inconsistency with the CGs/event costumes is more "everybody gets one in the game" and less "somebody's got a Colette fetish".
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Jan 20, 2020 02:25
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...Did Reone manage to make it through the entire event without mentioning her brother? Because you didn't mention him in the summary. More positive points for Femiruna. Good job, girl. Farun you're the worst security guard. ...Nevermind. Mirei, YOU'RE the worst security guard. But who donated the morals you just found to science, and how long have they been sitting in your freezer?
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Jan 20, 2020 07:39
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For some reason, I keep finding myself more fixated on various cultural things more than the events themselves. Or at least, it's beginning to seem so. Bananas as an autumn/fair food just seems exceedingly strange to me and I don't know why. -- Back mostly on topic, Arie and Femiruna's events were rather nice, and Ruka's was basically as expected. I still have no idea where Farun is going with hers, but whatever. Also the whole energy drain circle was most definitely a thing. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 08:29 on Jan 20, 2020 |
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Jan 20, 2020 08:24
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Commander Keene posted:I'm firmly convinced now that Narc is this game's Enzea. And Mana is in on it; either that or Narc has a code phrase/spell that will revert her to her "true" Impurity form for a boss battle. Whether Shang is in on this or not remains to be seen, but he might be a dupe. Absent of any other characters, Narc and Mana are definitely leading the pack for possible main villain. There are still 3 'Other' character entries in the database, but it seems like there’s only 3 Main Event entries left as well. Not really enough time to introduce 3 new characters. There is still a fourth Seven Mysteries event, and there are a ton of empty entries below the Tri-Mating Events, but we know what the Seven Mysteries one will likely be about and based on number the entries below Tri-Mating are probably some other Star Maiden specific thing (It's not their endings, because those would be in the Star Maidens' section of events, not Main). I doubt everyone will get a CG/costume opportunity, unless you count the swimsuits. I know for sure that Starmas has no unique CGs or costumes and Femiruna’s Sakura Viewing didn't have one either. If there was a CG for everyone then they'd have to be loaded all into the Spring/Summer events. I think it’s more likely that someone on the dev/art team just really likes Collette. Raitzeno posted:...Did Reone manage to make it through the entire event without mentioning her brother? Because you didn't mention him in the summary. She does manage it! It's incredibly refreshing! It reminded me of earlier in the game when I looked forward to her events instead of bracing myself for more creepy brother fixation. I actually forgot to point this out in the summary because I was having fun with her event. It didn't even cross my mind that she stayed completely silent about her brother. Which is baffling, because that picture on her desk that supposedly shows the two of them has at least one of them wearing a yukata. The opportunity for her to bring him up was there, but she doesn't for some reason. Not that I'm complaining. The Flying Twybil posted:For some reason, I keep finding myself more fixated on various cultural things more than the events themselves. Or at least, it's beginning to seem so. I've heard of bananas being a fair food before. Usually it's from Americans who deep fry everything, but I definitely know it's a thing. Chocolate-covered bananas wouldn't be particularly odd, especially alongside stuff like candied apples. As for some cultural connection, that I don’t know. I'm not even sure how prevalent bananas are in Japan. Not something I've ever taken notice of. Ruka’s event was what I expected, although I was a little curious as to why she goes and volunteers at a food stall. If she were getting paid then I would understand, because she was probably doing it for the kids at the orphanage. Volunteering at a festival? Not sure the thought process there. For now, I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she did it in order to try and put herself out there more. You know, to try and get closer to people and overcome her self-pitying "nobody wants me around, they all shun me" mentality. AweStriker posted:I don’t think anyone or anything named Furiae has ever had a good time. Also, I'm sorry I missed this. I kept getting distracted. This is good. I was going to say that the Greek Furiae got out pretty good, but I'm sure there's an obscure myth about them getting screwed over too somewhere. At the very least, this Furiae didn't get stuck wanting to screw its brother. Or giving birth to Nowe. It's a mercy. That's the important lesson here: No matter how bad things seem, they could always be Drakengard. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 17:35 on Jan 20, 2020 |
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Jan 20, 2020 13:44
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Psycho Knight posted:I've heard of bananas being a fair food before. Usually it's from Americans who deep fry everything, but I definitely know it's a thing. Chocolate-covered bananas wouldn't be particularly odd, especially alongside stuff like candied apples. As for some cultural connection, that I don’t know. I'm not even sure how prevalent bananas are in Japan. Not something I've ever taken notice of. I mean, I'm from the land of the deep fry but for some reason I've never heard of or seen bananas in a fair. Must be a regional difference. It's worth noting that It has been a while since I've been to a fair. Psycho Knight posted:Ruka’s event was what I expected, although I was a little curious as to why she goes and volunteers at a food stall. If she were getting paid then I would understand, because she was probably doing it for the kids at the orphanage. Volunteering at a festival? Not sure the thought process there. It might be that she's trying to show the kids at the orphanage about being not selfish, but she's also doing it to push herself out of the shell she's got going. I'm beginning to wonder if she really even has these powers or if she even has as much control over them as she thinks she does.
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Jan 20, 2020 16:02
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The Flying Twybil posted:It's worth noting that It has been a while since I've been to a fair. Oh, I haven't been to one in easily over a decade. I just know that foods like that are stuff you can find there, mostly because of various media portrayals. The last fair or festival that I went to personally did have chocolate-covered bananas, because it's the only time I've ever had one. Like you said though, it varies on region. Honestly, I don't believe Ruka has powers at all, or at the very least they aren't nearly as strong as she claims. I think the Tsukuyomi thing is just the excuse she uses for avoiding people/human contact for some reason (likely some trauma, or possibly abandonment issues since she's an orphan). The only person that's ever said 'Tsukuyomi' is Ruka (although she claims that the barefoot girl has said it), which is strange because Ruka also claims that Tsukuyomi have a stigma/reputation for their powers. She's never demonstrated the powers actually working (Mana basically lies to her face in Ruka's Tri-Mating event, and Itsuki has lied to her as well with the 'I don't have anything to hide' line) and whenever she's about to use her mind reading thing, there's always an excuse for why she can't/won't. Not to mention that she told Itsuki that her mind reading requires her to touch somebody's forehead (on top of stuff like hair interfering with it), but then we see her get nervous about accidentally making contact with a customer's hand while working the food stall. I call bullshit, until she definitively proves it (or a third party can back up her claims).
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Jan 20, 2020 17:13
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Bonding Update IX: Ophiuchus and Aries – Classmating 3 and Bonding Events Part 1 Now that we’ve enjoyed a break from Bonding Updates and had a chance to check out one of the “Japan Events”, it’s about time we return to the bonding events.  We’ve got a new selection of Focus Maidens starting with this set of updates. Well, new might be stretching it a little. As we saw with the Festival Update, we still have four of the same Maidens. They’re just ordered a little differently. The only true change to our Focus Maidens are the inclusions of Alfie and Femiruna, and the loss of Reone and Mahiru. Alfie came in 1st, so we start with her. However, because of the way that Alfie’s events work, she’ll only technically have two, as opposed to the other Focus Maidens’ three. The event we’ll take a look at now is her Classmating Ritual 3 event as well as her first Level 3 Bond Event. ~Granvania Shopping Center~  …I picked the right event, right? What are we doing with Mirei? Also, yes. That really is all there was to that scene. ~Mirei’s Laboratory~ So, did you manage to find out anything about that Impurity? Of course I did. Who do you think I am? That’s great. Thanks a lot, Mirei. I knew you’d come through. Just like what Alfie said, it must be the same one that attacked a Star Maiden 30 years ago. You got all of that just from our description of it? There was an upstanding citizen who managed to photograph it. They offered up the photograph to me. Oh yeah… We did hear someone screaming in the forest that day.What the hell was he doing out there? By comparing the photo with previously retrieved data, I’ve figured it all out. The Bond Eater is a rare type of Impurity that feeds on Bond Energy. Wait, what’s Bond Energy? Bond Energy is a special power that Star Maidens possess.  That produces stronger Star Children created from the Classmating ritual.So that’s how it works. Well, partially anyway. The Bond Eater feeds on Bond Energy to grow stronger. It was gravely wounded 30 years ago, and likely laid in hiding in a secluded place ever since. So why did it decide to come back now? One theory is that this is the right time for it to regain its strength. Huh? It’s the Star Chaos, where 13 Star Maidens all appeared at once. If it manages to devour all the Star Maidens, it will gain enough strength to fully revive. According to my calculations… What, you mean like Collette and Tarua? When I say small, I speak of their power.Then say “weakest”. Why refer to it as “smallest”? Unless you’re deliberately trying to be misleading so that Itsuki says something wrong and gives you an opportunity to sound smarter than he is… I could see Mirei doing that actually. In other words… Having the power of the Star Maidens artificially implanted, Alfie was the first target.This doesn’t make sense by the way. The Bond Eater supposedly feeds on Bond Energy, which comes from the strength of God’s Gift’s bond with a Star Maiden. That means it should be targeting Maidens that Itsuki doesn’t spend much time with. In our case, that would be Maidens like Lillith/Lillie or Tarua, you know, since the entire thread hates them. Dammit… So it’s gunning specifically for her then. The people will panic if they find out a dangerous Impurity has appeared on the surface. We must find where it is and destroy it. Also… Excuse me? Why the gently caress would you not tell them? That Impurity is after Star Maidens. Sure, it might be trying to get to Alfie first, but what’s it going to do when it can’t? Tarua seems to routinely run around the forest by herself during deliveries and Sue is separated from the others because she stays at her ranch. Arie is also fairly vulnerable because she seems to live and work at the Church, which isn’t exactly in the middle of the city from what the background CG indicates. Okay. I’ll leave that to you then. I didn’t think I would have to spend so much on that photo… He made you buy it from him? It’s fine. I’ll have the invoice sent to the kingdom.Oh, okay. I’m fine with billing the kingdom, especially considering the recent… discoveries we’ve made and how they are probably being funded by Granvania through some means. Okay. Oh, it’s time. Sorry, I have thing to get to. You mean with Alfie? If it’s all right with you, tell me how she’s doing next time. You mean the two of you still haven’t made up? B-Be quiet… That has nothing to do with you. Let’s try and make sure that it remains a rare moment, okay? We’ve got enough of that crap with Mahiru/Ruka/Femiruna. Hmph… If you’re done here, just go.~Church Spirit Chamber~  Hey! It’s Alfie! Finally showing up halfway through her own bonding event!  Wh-What’s going on here?! Uhh… Alfie? Oh… God’s Gift! …Why were you screaming? I’m sorry! It was nothing! Is that a book in your hand? Th-This is, um… It’s really nothing! Wait… I’ve seen that magazine before… Where was it? Huh? Where did you get it from? Wow, nice of the game to show us that interaction between Alfie and the other Maidens. “No, it’s okay! Alfie is totally part of the story and friends with the other Maidens! You just can’t see it… because… Yeah.” She told me the bookmarked parts are useful for the Classmating ritual… A-And when I read it… It mentioned what happens between a man and a woman that goes beyond what I’ve seen in the dramas…Your mistake was taking any form of advice from Lillie. Yeah, the stuff in there is a little more than you’re used to. Huh? You too? Wh-Why did you read it?! Was it to study and learn?! Uhhhhh… S-Sure… let’s call it that. I-I’m sorry. But this is way too much for me… You really don’t have to read that kind of stuff, Alfie. Lillie is just messing with you. It’s her ‘thing’. So then, this book won’t teach me anything useful? …That’s not important. H-Hey! We still haven’t done Classmating yet! Let’s do that. Now. Yes, please!*Distracalicious Classmating happens* To be honest… From the day I lost my power to fight Impurities… I’ve felt a little down. But when I talked to Lillie, she cheered me up… She told me to just do what I can. She was very lively.That’s one way to put it. Kind of surprised to hear about Lillie being supportive like that… It would have been pretty admirable if she hadn’t tricked you into reading that magazine. But I found my resolve after hearing that. Even if I can’t fight Impurities directly, I can work hard as a Star Maiden!  And I can still teach the Star Children how to fight! That’s the spirit. You’ll do a great job, Alfie. I will! There’s no need to be reserved. Please come to me more often. I will. And I’ll also defeat that Bond Eater. I promise. Oh… Is that the name of that Impurity? Oh, uh, yeah. It’s the same one that you saw back then. I knew it… Don’t worry, though. You might not be able to fight it, but I’ll make sure to protect you. Thank you… By the way, you didn’t tell Lillie about that whole thing, did you? No, I haven’t told her any details… Mirei said the same thing… Huh? It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.And that’s it for this event for Alfie. We’ll check in with her later for her other event. ~Church Spirit Chamber~ Are you ready, Arie? Oh, of course… Really? You don’t sound ready. Is everything okay? Huh? I asked if you were okay. You look kind of pale. My Lord, have mercy on me… …Phew. Thank you for waiting, Itsuki. I’m all right now. Let’s proceed with the Classmating ritual. Well… actually… Arie, this has been bugging me for a while. I think we should stop Classmating. Huh…? You always seem really bothered by this. I thought you were just nervous at first. Everyone was when this first started, especially me. But now I’m not so sure that’s it… I think I should just stick to asking the others. I-It’s not that I don’t want to… This is my duty as a Star Maiden. But that’s kind of why I feel bad for you. You feel bad… for me? Yeah. I don’t like making you feel bad just because you have “a duty”. No, Itsuki. I must assist you as a Star Maiden. There’s no need for you to feel bad about that. But you always look really sad when we have to do this. Listen, Arie. I’ll be blunt. I want to get me and Mahiru back home to our world. In order to do that, I need to work with you and everyone in order to make stronger and stronger Star Children. Oh… But we can’t do that if you’re forcing yourself into this. Doing things that way isn’t going to help anyone. That’s not it, Itsuki… What do you mean? Arie, you definitely look sad every time we get ready to do this. That’s not true… …Very well, Itsuki. This time… will you hear me out during the ritual?Are you going to tell us what’s in the room? I’m happy to hear your honest thoughts about this matter. So I, too, will…  I… well… Please, don’t say anything, just this once.*Soul-baring Classmating then happens* Huff… Huff… Huff… Are you okay, Arie? Y-Yes, I’m fine… So, will you tell me everything now?I thought she said she was going to do that during the ritual, but I guess that was more of a metaphorical “show you my true feelings” deal. Whatever, as long as we get some answers. …Yes. The Classmating ritual is a duty given to me by the Star God.  But during our first ritual, I… I felt very… Very what? Itsuki… must I really say it? You did say that you would tell me everything. That’s true, but… *sigh*… Arie, we can’t keep doing this unless you tell me. Seeing you like that makes me really uncomfortable with this… We won’t be able to build a stronger bond that way and that means that we can’t make strong Star Children. …All right.We’re not about get dumped with a tragic backstory, are we? I’m still sort of put off from Alfie’s. When we first did the ritual, I felt… I… felt really good. Arie, that’s… Wait… You felt good? Y-Yes. A great feeling of fulfillment spread throughout my entire body.  It made me feel like I was doing something sinful. …Um, Arie… It’s a sacred ritual. There’s nothing sinful about it. Is that so…? I still become very nervous during the ritual. But you say you accept it because it’s your duty as a Star Maiden.I left Official Itsuki’s line in here because I honestly have no idea what the line of thinking is here. I couldn’t think of a way to rephrase this part to have it make sense. It’s very strange. The only way I can think of right now to fix this would be to remove “There’s nothing sinful about it” from Itsuki and replace it with “It’s fine” or something to that effect, then chain Arie’s next line together with the above to read “Is that so…? But, I shouldn’t be tempted by sin in my duty…”  I shouldn’t be tempted by sin in my duty… It beats feeling bad about it all the time. Maybe Star God made it feel good so that it would be easier on you?That’s not how gods typically roll, Itsuki. They usually like to make things as much of a pain in the rear end as possible. No… That would only make me a failure as a Star Maiden. Please, Itsuki… Don’t tell anyone this. Don’t worry, what happens here stays here. It’s a promise then. I trust your word, Itsuki. This is how I really feel… What should I do now? Do you really need to agonize over it? You’re always so serious about this stuff, Arie. Well, at the very least I’m glad that you don’t hate the ritual itself. Are you really going to keep punishing yourself over it, though? I can’t help it if I continue helping you as a Star Maiden.Christ, Arie. You’re allowed to enjoy things. Just relax a little. Then how about we change things up a little? Huh? Let’s forget about Classmating and bonding and all that duty stuff and just go out and have fun. If that can help you relax a little and feel better, then I’ll be happy. Itsuki, you’re too kind… …All right. Then let’s go out the next time we meet. We should have a picnic if the weather is nice. That sounds great. Food is always good. I’ll finish my church services early and make some lunch for us. I’ll be looking forward to our date.That was a weird conversation, but the gist of it is that Arie constantly feels like she has to self flagellate whenever Classmating happens because she’s secretly excited by it and thinks that makes her a failure of a Star Maiden. Arie thinks that feeling pleasure makes her unworthy of Star God’s blessings, despite the fact that Star God basically created a ritual where God’s Gift and a Star Maiden have mind sex in order to summon the spirit warrior children needed to stop the world from being destroyed. Granted, he did also apparently make it so that sex produces monster energy… The point I’m trying to make is that Granvania Star God is a gigantic rear end in a top hat and Arie shouldn’t be depriving herself of happiness or pleasure or whatever the hell good feeling you can think of just for His sake. Let’s see if we can chip away at Star God’s influence and free “fun Arie” from His grasp. ~Outskirts Lake~  Oh, man. This place looks gorgeous. …The developers didn’t trace this from a Bob Ross painting, did they? Yeah, it’s an amazing spot. Have you been here before? I’ve come here previously to hike with the children from church. But on one occasion, two children got lost, and it took all day to find them. I see. Must be hard trying to wrangle a bunch of kids on a trip like that.Kids suck. It’s a very nice place, so I regret being unable to relax here. Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve really been able to relax like this as well. Itsuki, you’re always in the labyrinths and never have time to rest.Actually, I’d be interested to see how much time I’ve actually spent running around dungeons compared to watching bonding events and shopping and Star Child creating and etc. We’ll be alone together today, so you can relax now. As long as you can too. Remember, we’re here to get away from it all and help you feel better. Haha… You’re too kind, Itsuki. I made lunch. Would you like some? Oh yeah, you said you were going to make lunch for us. Yes. I always make lunch for the children.  I feel somewhat nervous… If someone sees me doing such a thing… Arie, you’re not doing anything that you should be ashamed of. That’s true… But it’s still quite embarrassing. Here you go. I made sandwiches. There’s plenty to go around. WHOA! Scale it back, Possible Reality Itsuki. This game, man. This is actually the second instance of "I'd like to eat you." so far. I can't remember when the other instance was. Might have been in a Collette event, or an earlier Arie event. Um… Could you maybe feed one to me? Huh? You want me to feed you? It’s kind of become a thing with me, for some reason. Oh, hehe… You can be such a baby. Which one would you like? Why don’t you pick? I’m sure they’re all good. I wouldn’t be able to pick. Then how about this one? It’s been cut perfectly… Say ah… What do you think, Itsuki? Ish good. Haha, that’s good. It’s strange… I feel so happy when you compliment me. I like Arie when she’s not constantly fretting about what Star God thinks. I was going to mention it earlier, but honestly I was just happy at the time that it looked like she wasn’t going to be a pushy religious fanatic. I didn’t want to push my luck. I’m not that great with giving compliments though. Oh! That reminds me. I heard someone in town say that there’s nobody in Granvania as gentle or as good a cook as you. Is that so…? I think he was right, personally.So far, from what we’ve seen, that’s a low bar to clear. As good a baker as Collette is supposed to be, I got a feeling that her idea of cooking involves heavy use of bread and not much else. And even though I think you get a little carried away with what Star God thinks, I admire how devoted you are to your faith. I can see why everyone likes you so much. But I haven’t done anything to deserve that. I am quite a sinful person… You’re not still talking about Classmating, are you? Oh! Y-Yes… I didn’t think I would ever become like that.  I feel so pitiful… Everyone has different sides to them that they didn’t know they had. Hm? They might be hidden, but they’re still part of us. … Arie. Believing in the Star God and keeping the faith is important, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep hiding who you really are. You like the Classmating ritual and anticipate it. That’s part of who you are.Gettin’ real sappy, Itsuki. But I’ll allow it if it means that Arie will start having fun. I-I never said I anticipated it…It was heavily implied. Um, well… I suppose there’s no need to hide it now… I’ve hidden my feelings in the shadows of my faith to the Star God. Haha… You’re like the Star God himself. I, uh… I think you’re really exaggerating it. I’m certainly not. You listened to my confession and absolved me. You are exactly like the Star God, Itsuki.Does God’s Gift have that religious authority? Because I can think of a few people in Granvania who could use the opposite of absolution. Come on, Arie. I’m really not that great of a person. There’s no need to hide your true feelings… I understand now. I will be more honest with myself from here on. Though it may still take some time…I’m fine with that. At least you’re making progress on it. That’s okay. I just want to know what your real feelings are. Yes… You did tell me to show my true feelings after all. Ahem… No, Itsuki… What’s up? I… Hm? …I-I mean, it’s nothing… What were you trying to say?Sorry, Itsuki. Contract stipulates that you can’t have a big confession until the last or penultimate event. It really was nothing… Oh! There’s a bread crumb on your face, Itsuki. Something about Arie’s eyes are bugging me in this CG… I don’t know why. I think it’s because the colour is deeper or glossier than usual? Maybe it’s because it’s reminding me of Enzea or something? I dunno. Hah… The same thing always happens to the children during lunch. So what, I’m like a kid? Please don’t move. I’ll remove it for you. There we go… It kind of feels like you’re just trying to change the subject. Oh, um… I’m sorry, Itsuki… For me to tell you my true feelings… Like, see? Her eyes are normally a bit more dull. Is it just me? Her last CG matched with how we’re seeing her eyes right now. Well, I can’t force it out of you. I’ll wait until you feel you’re ready to tell me. Yes…That’s all for Arie’s event. That went on for a while, not going to lie. Not that I have a problem with that. It’s a hell of a lot better than some of the other events we’re going to see. You know which ones I’m talking about. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 13:11 on Apr 19, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 00:36
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Bonding Update X: Leo, Cancer, and Capricorn – Classmating 3 and Bonding Events Part 1 ~Church Spirit Chamber~ Are you prepared to Classmate today, Femiruna?And no, Femiruna’s is not one of the ones I’m referring to. I actually voted for her this time, despite my usual hatred of “The Noblewoman”, so I’m happy that we’re going to get a detailed look at her events. She’s really been winning me over. I still hate that laugh though. Nothing will ever turn my opinion on that around.  Oh, you’re busy? I am always busy. Today I am going into town to do some shopping. Oh. Well, okay then I guess. I’ll check with one of the other Star Maidens. Just like the other time… If you plead to me like before… I may reconsider. Like before? You mean when you wanted me to be assertive? Not sure I like how you phrased that… but if you really want me to be assertive, then… W-Wait! Allow me to compose myself first. Breathe in… Breathe out… Whew… A-All right. I am now ready. Okay. Ahem… Femiruna! We’re going to Classmate right now! Ah! O-Oh, fine… If we must… Um, are you okay? Your face is getting really red…I’m getting an inkling as to what Femiruna’s deal is… It’s not what I initially theorized. That’s… actually I’m not sure whether that’s a better or worse thing. Untrue! It’s more blue than red! …Doesn’t that mean your suffocating? Okay… Well, let’s get started then.*Classmating! No, I still haven’t unlocked that “Book” class* Phew… That was tiring. I wanted to go shopping, but I am far too tired for that now. Would you mind if I went with you the next time you go shopping? Wh-Why must I go shopping with you?! You don’t have to. I just felt like it would be a nice way to strengthen our bond. Oh, wait… that’s right. You want assertive. Impossible! I will never be seen in town with you! Only an elegant gentleman is befitting for… Maybe taking the assertiveness a little too far with that one, Itsuki. Dial it back a touch. Ah! Okay… Never mind, I guess. She seems down for it. Why does your face get red when I shout at you like that? Are you getting mad?Oh, Itsuki. You sweet innocent soul. I-I do not turn red! I think I actually turn green, you know! Are you sure you’re okay? Do not worry yourself! I must excuse myself now. Good day! You are only tagging along because you forced yourself! I do not look forward to it at all!*Femiruna then struts out* That’s it for her Classmating Event. Let’s get right to the shopping trip that Itsuki and her just agreed to. This event has the first of Femiruna’s CGs. I think we’re only missing one for Reone (which we don’t get in this batch, surprisingly), and one for Mirei (likewise). We’ve definitely had one for Yuzuha, Collette, Arie, Alfie, Ruka, Sue and Tarua. Femiruna, Farun, Mahiru, and Lillith/Lillie all have one in this batch. ~Star God Academy~ Hey, Femiruna. You ready to go into town today? I have high expectations of you to escort me properly. You were looking forward to this, huh? D-Do not be foolish! You cried and rubbed your head on the ground about wanting to accompany me… That is definitely not how it went. Anyway, let’s just get going. We’re wasting time. Come to think of it, my usual shopping habits are not suitable for you. I purchase only the finest of goods which are things you have never even seen. Could you not say it like that? Oh well, I guess that’s less pressure on me. Come on, we’ll take a look around at the “commoner” stuff. Yes. I will be looking forward to it. So you are looking forward to it. I am not!~Granvania Shopping Center~  Maybe you should try a pair of sneakers next time. I’ve got like 8 pairs of athletic shoes I picked up in the Labyrinths if you want some of those. What are you talking about? We’ve barely walked at all. We can still see the Academy from here. *sigh*… It is difficult to see eye-to-eye with commoners. Oh, Itsuki. What is that store over there? It has so many things inside and looks rather dirty. I think it’s just a general store. What is that? …You really don’t know? It’s a store that sells a little bit of everything. Snacks, necessities, groceries, thing sort of thing. Looks like they’ve got a sale on cooking utensils up in the display window. Cooking utensils! I want to see. I always see my servants cleaning them. They fascinate me greatly. So you’ve never used those either, huh? What a strangely shaped accessory. That’s a kitchen knife. I’d rather you not pick that up. It’s too sharp. What do you use this kitchen knife for? …Well, you use it for cutting things. You know, like vegetables and meat and stuff… For cooking purposes. Oh, is that right? Then what is this wooden board used for? Cutting board. That’s what you put the ingredients on that you want to cut with the knife. I see… Cooking appears to use many different tools. How educational. I can’t believe you don’t about any of this. What?! Are you insulting me?! You didn’t know what a kitchen knife was or what it was used for, so I think that’s a pretty safe assumption. I simply do not do it. But I could do it perfectly if I were so inclined! I’m calling your bluff, Femiruna.  Then can I try it sometime? Wh-Why must I cook anything for you? Servants cook for their masters. In other words, if I do so for you… W-Well, maybe I could do it once… Wait, no! Never! Why do you keep mumbling to yourself? What’s wrong? I grow tired of looking around this store. It has been quite educational though. I would like to look elsewhere… Oh, what is this smell? It is quite fragrant… *sniff* *sniff*… I think somebody is selling baked sweets nearby. Did you want to try some?Looks like Collette has more competition.  He’s not around, is he? Come on, give it a try. It’s just you and me. But… Well, I am slightly interested. Hang on. I’ll go and find it and bring some back for us. W-Wait!*One snack run later* This is so hot! Well, yeah. It’s fresh out of the oven. How am I supposed to eat this? Just bite down on the end. Like this. *munching* See? Th… This is delicious… I have never known of something like this existing… Aww, Femi’s enjoying some churro. Good to hear. I-I am only surprised by it… The food made in my manor is many times more delicious however. Well, you generally don’t find master chefs selling food on the street. But… I wonder why this feels… warmer… Maybe because it is so freshly-baked…? Or because you are with me…?It’s because it’s sprinkled with love. …and also a dump truck of sugar. Mhm… Whad waz ‘at? N-Nothing at all! …I-I would not mind sampling another. Ahh… Oh, yeah. Let’s try a different flavour this time. *30 grams of fat later* Whew. It was quite an educational experience today. It was much more worthwhile than reading books at the manor. Um… What about you? Did you… have fun as well? Yeah, it was great. O-Oh. That is a relief. I would have punished you if you said it was not fun being with me. What about you? I-I also… had fun… Say, Itsuki. I will allow you to ask me out again. Still would rather you not say “commoners”, but sure. We can do this again. We should try going somewhere else next time though. You must invite me again the next time. Understand? My family may be worried for me, so I must go now. Good day to you, Itsuki.Well that was just nice and pleasant. Normally Femiruna’s noblewoman “commoners” thing would bug me, but the middle and later portions of that event made up for it. ~Church Spirit Chamber~ Are you okay with Classmating today, Ruka? I-I don’t mind, but why do you always pick me? I don’t like how you always seem to be looking down on me.  I wonder about that sometimes… I have a strategy for it.My strategy is: Which Star Maiden will give the Star Child a cool hair colour? Strategy? You mean for exploring the labyrinths? Oh, right. Star Children have different attributes depending on the Star Maiden you Classmate with, right? Okay… I understand now.  I’m sorry I said you were looking down on me when you pick me. Don’t worry about it. Hmph… So… do you want to start? As long as you’re okay with it. I’m ready to go whenever. I’m always ready. I just took a shower, so there should be no problems.…Okay. Why would that make a difference exactly? G-Granted, this isn’t for you but to make a strong Star Children. The textbooks say you must remain clean for the ritual… I guess that helps. By the way… is it just me or does this place smell different than usual? Huh? Oh… Maybe it’s my shampoo. Do you… not like this fragrance? I didn’t say that. I think it smells nice. Just… don’t move your face so close to mine. And no smelling my hair today! Don’t breathe so much! Understand? That’s going to be a challenge. *sigh*… The ritual is so mentally draining. I do so much for you, so I hope you do the same in return. For starters, you can stop staring! You really like to pile on requirements… Huh…? Do I really? I thought it was pretty standard…  …Honestly, just a little, okay?We get it, we get it. Let’s get this show on the road. Okay. Geez… If we go through this much and the Star Child isn’t strong, I’ll never forgive you.*The show finally gets on the road* Huff… Huff… Ugghhh… Why are you breathing so hard?! You told me not to smell you! I had to hold my breath… You were really doing that…? …S-Sorry… If a strong Star Child isn’t born, it’ll be my fault. I-I know. How about we do it one more time? Nope. Not how this works. Everybody gets one per event. It’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure the Star Child will be fine.This is a little weird. As far as I’m aware, the Star Children are born right away. I don’t think there’s any gestation period or anything. Not sure why Itsuki and Ruka are using future tense here. I-I hope so. …Um… You can do whatever you want next time… Wait, what? A-About the ritual of course. Th-This isn’t for you. It’s for the Star Children that will be born. It really isn’t for you… A-Anyway, I’ll be going now. If you need to do the ritual again, tell me. I’m only agreeing to it because I have to. G-Goodbye.The Maidens are being super talkative for this batch. Seems like I have fewer opportunities to slot dialogue in. Oh, right. I forgot to mention, but this batch of Bonding Updates get a bit more… racy then what we’ve seen so far. It’s nothing really objectionable, but I will have to employ TCG at some points. This event with Ruka will act as sort of a prelude of things to come.~Star God Academy Hallway~ Man… That rain shower came out of nowhere… *sigh* Need to find a way to dry off a little. I better find Ruka first, though.~Star God Academy Classroom~ Hey, Ruka. Sorry, I- Huh? I’m not going to get all Christian about this stuff. This is actually just Ruka’s swimsuit outfit. The swimsuits are going to be pulling double duty in a few of the events, which… I mean I guess I should give props to the developers for that. There’s a lot of reasons for why they might not have been able to make original assets for scenes like this (i.e. budget). I guess it’s kind of clever of them to repurpose the assets they already have. It beats the typical visual novel approach of just telling you about things that are happening that clearly aren’t (like a mall being “super busy today” even though the background CG shows nobody at all in the entire building). Anyway, we were just about to have a wacky “walk in on a girl while she’s changing” moment. Please proceed… so that we can get it over with quicker. Uhhh… Aaahhhh! Wh-Wh-What are you looking at?! I was getting out of the rain! I don’t care why! Just get out! Can I at least explain?! You can do that after you repent and are reborn! Get! Out! Right! Leaving now!~Star God Academy Hallway~ Oh, great… I’ve played enough games to know what happens next… How the hell was I supposed to know she was changing? Who changes in the middle of a classroom? ~Star God Academy Classroom~ I don’t need excuses from you. But I will make you take responsibility. Clench your teeth and stand right there. H-Hey, why do- *Big ol’ smack for Itsuki* Agh!I remember when this was funny… It was 18 years ago when I watched Inuyasha and Love Hina for the first time. Ahh, memories. Hmph. You’re forgiven… for now. Do it again, and I won’t forgive you even if you prostrate naked. Ow… Why the hell were you changing in the classroom? The rain. I remembered I had a change of clothes here, so I came back. Here, you can use this towel. Your hair is all wet.You do know that there are bathrooms where you can go for some privacy, right? At the very least you won’t have dudes walking in on you or trying to spy. *sigh… Thanks. You’re welcome. Right. I’ll wash it before I give it back. I-It’s fine. Just hurry up and dry your hair off. Hey, speaking of a change of clothes. Do you really wear that same style of outfit all the time? I don’t see anyone else wearing stuff like that. Hm? You mean this? It’s the formal dress for Tsukuyomi.I could have sworn she mentioned this before. It’s like a billboard telling everyone there’s a mind reader nearby. But I’ve worn it since I was small, so I just got used to it.I see, so your suffering is self-imposed then. You could wear something else and avoid the supposed stigma, but then you wouldn’t have an excuse for avoiding people. She also says that she’s the only one recently to wear it, meaning that her "billboard" that advertises her Tsukuyomi thing is probably meaningless to every day people who have no experience or idea of what the hell that dress means. You’ve been a Tsukuyomi since you were little? I have been, yes. All Tsukuyomi are born as such. I’ve always been this way. You’re the first human I’ve met who I couldn’t read the mind of. Anyway, what’s with the sudden trial you’re putting me through? I was just wondering. Besides, you’re not the only one that’s been suddenly put through a trial. I got taken from my own world and told to make friends with 12 different girls while fighting monsters with little children from the stars. 12 girls…Well, 13 now, technically. Alfie’s status as existing in the main story is still up in the air. She hasn’t mentioned talking to Ruka yet. I figured out another thing we have in common.…You’re not about to reveal something major about yourself, are you Ruka? You mean other than both of us not having parents and being a leech on others? Yeah, that. For our orphanage, we only have space for 12. Including me, that makes it 13. You remember the girl you carried home? Even now, she talks so happily about how you carried her back. Being a Tsukuyomi, I could never carry her, so it made me jealous…Just buy a pair of gloves! It’s not that hard! They are cheap and readily available! Because you can’t touch others, right? Well, has anything happened with her since then? Nothing’s changed. She still sometimes loses her shoes and pencil case. We still have to work hard patrolling… Let’s go on patrol for the rest of the day.*One patrol later* ~Star God Academy Gates~ Hmph… That does it for today’s patrol. I need to go shopping for tonight’s dinner, so I should go. Okay. I’ll come back after hours when I have the time. That’s fine, but be careful when you go barging through doors. Let me guess, they rely on Star Energy seals. This school is dumb. All right. Adjourned. You better go home before it starts raining again.And that’s where the event gives out. That sure was… a thing. I suppose. ~Church Spirit Chamber~ Heya, Itsuki. Looks like I’m getting’ used to the church here now. This is like my second home, so I know my way around it.Good to see that Farun is back to normal. I don’t know if I’d go that far. But ya were enjoyin’ that, weren’t ya? Heheh. Shall we go…?Well, as normal as Farun can get. Um, s-sure. M’kay, just a sec. …All right. You doing okay?Despite the bedroom eyes she gives Itsuki, it seems as though Farun still needs a sec to do her breathing exercises. Yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothin’ like what you’re thinkin’ of. I’m just enjoyin’ this bit of anticipation an’ tension, ya know? Hehe. That’s a new pose. At least, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Farun do that before. Looks like an Arie thing. I’ll do my best.*Classmating* Huff… Huff… Huff… Farun…? Everything all right? Oh, sorry. Just a sec. Phew… You were enjoying the what now? Weird way to phrase that. You’ve changed a lot since I first met you. Oh, have I? How so? Well, you’re actually enjoying this now. Aha, ya saw right through me. You’re re [sic] quite observant. Hehe. Yeah. I do enjoy it now. Keep it together, SC. You’re starting to spiral. Why do Farun’s events seem so much worse about this? It’s better to just enjoy it! Somethin’ like that… Oh, I’m glad to hear that. You’ve got the right idea. Hehe. Look at ya. What? What did I say? Was it something weird? Not at all. It’s just fun for me. So why the change of heart? I-It’s kinda rude to ask… You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want. I… wanna say it a little. I want ya to listen. Look… Um… okay? Just “nice”? Yeah. When ya were talkin’ ‘bout your duty, ya really looked like a man. An’ when ya said ya appreciated me… I was so happy to hear it. I’ve always traveled around, so I’ve never seriously talked to anyone face to face. That’s why no one’s ever told me they appreciated me. An’… I wanna hear that again sometime. I see… Ahaha! This got so serious all of a sudden. Talkin’ to me makes me blab a bunch of stuff I shouldn’t. This isn’t like me. It’ll make ya lose your respect for Big Sis Farun.I could be mean here, but I won’t be. I mean personally, not in terms of Itsuki’s choices. Is that such a bad thing? I’m… not sure how to answer ya… I’m not used to talkin’ ‘bout serious stuff. It all feels weird to me. Like, it’s makin’ me restless. Somethin’ like that. Do you not like it? Hmm… I guess…  It made me realize that I do think ‘bout these things… an’ that I had this side of me. After findin’ that out… now you’re askin’ me ‘bout it. Yeah. I guess I don’t dislike it. Not in the least.I’m not entirely clear what’s being talked about here. All I know is that Farun’s dialect is really bugging the crap out of me because of how much I have to fight against my muscle memory while typing. Ahaha. It seems like you’re gettin’ ahead of me in knowin’ myself. My pride as the older one is gettin’ shredded. To be honest, I don’t really see you as the “older one”. Oh, c’mon! At least be a little considerate! Okay, okay. Sorry, Big Sis Farun. D-Don’t tease me! Jerk! Geez… All right. I’ll get goin’ now. Heading to the tavern? No, the academy. I was thinkin’ of makin’ some friends. Either way, I have to stay here for a while. I may as well get rooted here by interactin’ with more people. Is that not like me to do so? Hey, you do you. I think it’s nice, personally. Ahaha, thanks. Well, I’ll be goin’ now. Hey, Farun? Thanks for today. Well, I hope ya invite me again. I’ll come flyin’ whenever I can. Please let me use the “g” key. I beg of you! Well, good luck to ya! See ya later!Not what I meant! ~Tavern~ Hey, Itsuki! I was waitin’ for ya. Sit right down in front of me. Hehe. Oh, okay then. Oh, an’ don’t worry ‘bout my work. I’ve already told ‘em ‘bout it. I said I was gonna skip out once ya were here so we could chat. Thanks for making time to talk with me. No, it’s for me, so don’t ya worry ‘bout it. Now, let’s get to talkin’. Has anythin’ good happened lately? Well, I got the chance to sit and talk with you. … Farun… calm down. Don’t go getting crazy on us again. I-I’m sure I’m makin’ a weird face, so I’d appreciate it if ya didn’t look. I can’t believe ya’d say that so easily. Right to my face too.Yeah, it was pretty gag-worthy. Seriously, Itsuki. What kind of lovely pickup line is that? It’s a critical hit on my heart~ Now I have to calm myself down… Whew…Is there a gas leak in this place or something? Is that what this is? She doesn’t seem drunk this time, so it can’t be that. Not going to lie, this is pretty funny. Y-Ya mean when ya tease…? I know I’m reactin’ like this an’ all… But I’ll get ya back for this someday. Never mind that. Tell me more about yourself. Then why not talk about those? I’d like to hear them. Hmm. Well, so much has happened an’ I ‘ve [sic] been to a ton of places.Yes. There is an extra space in “I’ve”. No, if it was meant to be an accented “have” it would have been shown as “ ’ave”. When I went to the desert, I had to care for my skin more since I got so tan. Are ya makin’ fun of me? I’m a dancer, so I have to care ‘bout those things. Uh… I… I didn’t say anything. But desert nights’re amazin’. They’re real mystical. There’s no sound at night, an’ ya get to see the moon an’ stars so clearly. Oh, speakin’ of, I love the moon. Whenever ya climb a high mountain, it really feels like you’re closer to it. That’s another new pose. What is with this event? Farun is starting to go crazy again, she’s pulling new poses, and there’s a higher than normal amount of text errors. … What’s the matter? Bah… It’s cuz you made me talk ‘bout such a topic. Now I’m getting’ my wanderlust again. I wanna go somewhere! I wanna travel! I wanna see some new scenery! I’m not sure if I can help with that… Take me.Phrasing. Take me take me take me! Take me out on a trip! Farun, you know I can’t do that. The Star Maidens aren’t supposed to leave Granvania. It doesn’t have to be far. Which one? Shang? Narc? Some random guard that you nagged until they agreed with you? You need to specify. Please, Itsuki. Do this favor for me. I’ve never been in one place for this long. An’ ya don’t come here every day, so I’m at my limit… Can you…? Please…? Okay, okay! I’ll try and arrange something. Just… stop giving me that look. Really?! Yahooooooo! Itsuki, you’re so kind! You’re a really good guy! I like you when you’re so kind an’ nice! But listen, Farun. We should keep this to just the two of us. Oh, right. Well, that’s inevitable. Y-Yeah, I guess that can’t be helped… Should we invite someone else? Wh-Why? Well, the way you were talking just now. It kind of seemed like that’s what you were hinting at. Oh, I mean, I just wanna take a trip. It doesn’t matter if there’s other people with us… …You’re kinda mean, makin’ me say this out loud… …Oh, geez! Jerk! You’re so mean! I’ll make ya regret this! Geez… So where did you want to go exactly? I’ll leave that to ya. It can be anywhere. Ahaha. I can’t wait~ You’re takin’ me somewhere… I’m sure it’ll be fun, no matter what! Sure thing. Yup! I’ll be lookin’ forward to it! See ya later!Jesus… that mentally drained me. Why is it that Farun gets so weird in the tavern? Is she secretly doing shots every time we look away and just getting drunk in real time? Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Jan 25, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 00:37
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Bonding Update XI: Libra and Bottom 7 Maiden Summaries – Classmating 3 and Bonding Events Part 1 ~Church Spirit Chamber~ Let’s get back to someone a little more- Huh… I wonder where Mirei is. She’s usually pretty punctual.*The screen shakes a little and there’s the sound of glass shattering*  Something’s different about you today… Mirei? What happened? That voice… Is that you, Itsuki? I merely tripped and fell. I hit my head on something earlier because of that. Then something else fell on the back of my head, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.You generally don’t want to assume “I’m sure it’s fine” when you take that much head trauma in a short amount of time. Though, not being able to see is certainly troublesome… What happened to your glasses? I left them behind. Um… why? I want to experiment the ritual without my glasses today. I’m hoping this will elicit a change in your reactions… Wait, is that really you, Itsuki? I can’t see your face… Why didn’t you just take them off after getting here? It seems I can’t see you unless I’m this close… Uh… M-Mirei, you’re face is getting really… Oh, my apologies. It appears God’s Gift acts strangely when I move my face closer to his.Itsuki is generally all over the place when it comes to shyness. I guess that’s just unavoidable when you’re writing routes for, and interactions with, 13 other characters. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t have anything to do with being God’s Gift. All right. Let’s go then. It will certainly be a different experience today. Uh-oh. Whoa! Careful, Mirei… Hm… I’m having trouble keeping my balance. But I’m sure it will be all right. Let’s begin, Itsuki. Hold on, Mirei. This is too risky. I think you should let me lead you. …Heheh.They are just standing there. I don’t understand what all this “leading” or “guiding” nonsense is. Every indication we have is that this ritual is a spiritual/mental thing. NOTE: The anime most certainly does not treat it that way. “I will take the lead/guide you” will be a lot more appropriate when we see how the anime imagines this whole thing. Why is that funny? I just didn’t think you would ever take the lead over me losing my glasses. But… it doesn’t feel too bad. It may be interesting to leave it all to you. Now please, take my hand. Right. Hm… …You okay? Why are you staring at my hand like that? This is a strange sensation… Because my vision is blurred, the sensation of your hand seems clearer.  All that seems to seep into me when our hands touch. Hm… How interesting. It’s a mysterious sensation I’ve never experienced before. Mirei…? Could you maybe stop rubbing my hand? What are you saying? The sensation of touch is of high importance. We should touch each other more to verify this feeling.This will be a bigger discussion once the topic of the anime comes around, but I just want to briefly raise the question of “At what point does intimacy start causing monster mojo to happen?” Do impurities only get created when… you know… the main event happens? I’m still convinced there’s a way to game this whole “sex=monsters” deal. There’s gotta be loopholes. Just… uh… just make sure to control yourself. Okay? Don’t get too handsy… I don’t care so long as it satisfies my curiosity. But first, let’s do the ritual. If we Classmate while touching, new reactions may come about. I can’t wait to see them. Heheh… Let’s do this. It’s time to conduct the experiment.*Classmating happens. Also, sound off in the thread: Mirei without glasses. Yay or nay? I’m Team Glasses, personally* Huff… Huff… Heheheh… The results were certainly interesting. I felt a different sensation, all because my vision was blurry.  It was a fresh new experience. It didn’t feel all that bad. Itsuki, what do you think after having Classmated today? Well… I think it was really nice to see you without your glasses on. Hm? You’re so odd. Was it that good? I dunno. I just liked seeing you without glasses for a change. I see… The change in my appearance created a new reaction in you? If that were the case, then the experiment today had great meaning. It’s a joyous thing. I’ll keep that in mind for future reference. I’m leaving now. Itsuki, today’s experience was particularly stimulating for me. The warmth of your body… And the sensation of relying on you, guided by your hand… All of that was new to me. See you later.*After throwing a paragraph’s worth of dialogue at us, Mirei finally wanders off screen… where she crashes into something else* Hm… Now the side of my head hurts… *sigh*… Mirei, hold on. I’ll walk you back to your lab.And that’s all for Mirei’s Classmating Event. Not going to lie, I sort of liked that. I mean, Itsuki barely got a word in edgewise, but that’s not limited to only Mirei’s events. ~Mirei’s Laboratory~ Mirei? …Mirei, are you here? She must be out. Hm? Why are all these papers sitting here?*Itsuki starts rifling through the papers, because he is incredibly nosy and has no concept of privacy apparently* Wait a minute… These are…*And then Mirei wanders in* Hm? Itsuki, is that you? Why are you reading the letters I threw away? If you’re going to violate other people’s privacy, then at least have the balls to admit it when you end up getting caught. I’m sorry… I’m kind of impulsive like that… Hm, I see. All right. You’re not mad? Pretty sure this line is badly/awkwardly translated. It sounds like is should read: “There’s nothing in them that I wouldn’t want someone to read.” Or something of that nature. She’s trying to say that the stuff in the letters isn’t confidential or especially private. You get the idea. I would rather you speak honestly than lie to me. Anyway, it was my fault for leaving the letters around. I was thinking of throwing them away after I accumulated more. But, these are threat letters… Why are people sending these to you? They’re interesting in learning how humans functions. That’s not what I’m asking, Mirei. Just… listen to these people… ”Your strange research is too creepy.” “You’re underhanded and always look down on others!” These are terrible… The “cold-hearted, four-eyed woman” honestly made me laugh.gently caress Granvania. Not going to say that everything Mirei does is… well let’s call it “normal”, but she hasn’t been malicious. Also there’s the fact that the people of Granvania suck and I hate them. Are all of the letters like this? If you include the ones I threw away, there are plenty more. I calculated statistics on it, and the most used word was “weirdo.” According to this data, I am a so-called weirdo. Why would people be doing this? I’d rather focus on my research than deal with all that. But you have reasons for not making modifications to the tools, right? It’s not like you’re doing it just to be spiteful. That’s true… I don’t understand. Why are you so annoyed by this? I’m the one they think is weird. It’s me they hate. It has nothing to do with you. Because you’re a friend. You might not care about it, but I’m not going to stand here and let them bully you. Heheh… Are all God’s Gifts this nosy?Sure does seem that way, from what we’ve heard of the others. You’re so strange. Even stranger than me perhaps. I’ll set them straight on why you don’t modify the tools. Now that is a true waste of time. Not if it stops these letters. …Are you serious? If you do that, I won’t have time to research you. I think this is another new pose. I feel like we should have seen Mirei doing this exasperated pose before, but it doesn’t look familiar. All right then… I’ll try it. What do you mean? What are you going to try? The research on improving the magic transmission devices. There was something I had tried in the past… I tried to make a version that minimized the Star Energy consumed by the user. At the time, it didn’t go very well.No, no, come on Mirei. Don’t do that. Don’t loving capitulate to those assholes. Itsuki shouldn’t be on board with this either. What’s going to be the moral from this? If you threaten someone enough then eventually they’ll cave and you’ll get everything you want? Ever since, I’ve put that research on hold. If you promise not to do anything stupid, I will try it one more time. Are you sure? That would be a big help. This is not the lesson you should be teaching people! gently caress those people! They don’t deserve to be rewarded because they are goddamn shitheads that spend their time insulting and threatening people! People that WERE CHOSEN BY GOD TO HELP SAVE THEIR LIVES. I really want an evil route in this game. Granvania needs to burn. Or at the very least the people there need a healthy dose of suffering to give them some perspective on their lives. The deadline is until I get bored. If it doesn’t go well, I will give up on it. Okay. I know how smart you are. You’ll be able to pull it off. It’s no use flattering me. Oh, and I’ll propose one condition… If I do succeed with the improved version, I will have you do something for me. You have no right to refuse. My orders will be absolute. With this, I’ll have more motivation, leading to a higher research success rate.Itsuki will regret this, but I don’t particularly care. He started out with good intentions, but now he’s supporting the wrong solution. If you accept this condition, I’ll go through with it. So, what will it be? Sure. I can agree to that. You’re such a strange person… I’ve never seen anyone like you in my life. I want to research you more on a deeper level now… Heheheh… W-Wait! Hold on! That’s only after your research on the transmission device is done, remember? All right. Then let’s begin. You can look forward to the results. Good luck, Mirei.*Itsuki then leaves* You truly are a strange one…And that’s it. Mirei gets to work on improving one of her devices which will no doubt put a permanent end to the threatening letters from jackasses that aren’t happy with their revolutionary technology not being better. Let’s just get to the summaries. My mood is on a downward slope because of that crap. #7.  Mahiru’s Classmating Event has her asking Itsuki if he’s ever heard about the White Impurity. Technically we fought it, but the writers aren’t going to account for the inclusion of that in Alfie’s route, so Itsuki says no. Although I guess technically Itsuki is supposed to be keeping its existence a secret… Whatever, it’s still a handwave. Anyway, Mahiru’s information on the White Impurity matches up fairly well with the one from Alfie’s route. It appears during Classmating and haunts God’s Gift and a Star Maiden, being more likely to go after them if they are in love. When haunted by it, you are supposedly unable to control your emotions. Interestingly, Mahiru says that Narcisstes told her of a Star Maiden and God’s Gift that lost control of themselves at some point in the past and abandoned their Star Offering mission in order to elope. Then the people of Granvania went out, captured them, and basically kept them prisoner until their mission was done. Mahiru then mentions that despite what happened, it was discovered that the Star Maiden and God’s Gift that were haunted by this White Impurity were able to give birth to stronger Star Children.  After this set up, Mahiru reveals that certain symptoms indicate if you’re being haunted by the White Impurity. It makes you sexually aroused during the Classmating ritual, for example. Mahiru then throws the question to Itsuki as to whether he’s been showing any signs of that and Itsuki responding that he’s a goddamn adolescent dude, so of course he gets a little aroused during a ritual where he’s alone and in close physical contact with hot ladies that he’s specifically tasked with getting to know as deeply as possible. Anyway, there’s a bit of back and forth between the two where Itsuki seems to realize that Mahiru is actually hot for him, but the writers pull it back by Itsuki later suggesting that Mahiru is just feeling nervousness or anxious, rather than arousal. Mahiru then turns it around again by getting pissy that Itsuki hasn’t been looking at her or touching her as much as he should. Another kind of ritual then takes place where the developers ward off the ghost of Old-Mahiru. Then Classmating finally happens. After that happens, Mahiru then wonders if the White Impurity really is a thing that exists (it is), or if it was actually just a natural formation of love that had formed between that Star Maiden and God’s Gift since they shared the same mission and spent so much time together. She suggests that the White Impurity may have just been a myth created by the kingdom in order to cover up the idea that a Star Maiden and God’s Gift almost took the bonding thing a bit too far during their mission. The event ends with Mahiru wondering what Itsuki would say if she asked him to elope with her.  Mahiru’s bonding event is not quite as long winded as her Classmating event. Itsuki wanders around the academy trying to find where she went until Lillie runs into him. Lillie tells him that Mahiru went to the spring in the forest. She draws him a map to where it is and Itsuki accepts it like the idiot that he is (why does anyone trust Lillie, ever?). Itsuki follows the map and stumbles on Mahiru-  Yeah, that shouldn’t surprise anyone. These are the kind of events we’re getting into now by the way. For those of you wanting TCG to move out of the way, here is the uncensored. Just a reminder, this game doesn’t have any full-on nudity. Like I said in the OP, I’m just being overly-prudish for the sake of people reading this in more public locations. Anyway, Mahiru freaks out, Itsuki says it was an accident, Mahiru pitches a wash bucket at Itsuki’s head and knocks him out cold, you know how this goes. When Itsuki comes to, Mahiru explains what happens and Itsuki talks about not having seen her naked since they were in kindergarten. Mahiru insists that she wasn’t naked, she was wearing a swimsuit (that was not a swimsuit, that was basically an oversized pasty glued to her boobs). Mahiru wonders how Itsuki even found her because-  …this. I heavily presume when she says “out here” she means this world. Unless GPS does work back in Granvania City and the game is now telling me that this world has a loving space program. Anyway, Itsuki says that Lillie told him where she was and Mahiru points out how stupid it was to listen to Lillie of all people. Mahiru then smacks Itsuki over the head again and complains that it’s not fair that he saw her naked. Itsuki points out that Mahiru saw him naked back when Reone stripped him in the clinic, but Mahiru insists it’s different despite also being an accident. Also, side note: Itsuki says that “But you always see me during the Classmating ritual”. I’m not sure if this is a mistranslated line or something. Despite what the anime will depict, the game hasn’t really given us any indication that God’s Gift/The Star Maidens strip for Classmating. So I’m not sure what Itsuki is supposed to be saying with that line. Back to Mahiru. Mahiru argues some more about that time Itsuki was stripped by Reone, Itsuki wants to know what he can do to make up this accident to her, Mahiru says to think of that himself, so Itsuki decides that he’ll just strip down in front of her to make things even. Mahiru thinks Itsuki is bluffing and calls him on it, but I have Itsuki prove her wrong by going all the way with it.  Mahiru gets really embarrassed and can’t look, she makes Itsuki put his clothes back on, there’s some back and forth about how it feels to have someone see you naked (even though Itsuki has more experience with that feeling than Mahiru does by this point) and then the conversation sidetracks into how Mahiru comes to the hot spring to relax. Itsuki passes on taking a dip himself and Mahiru leaves seeming a little disappointed that she didn’t get to bathe together with Itsuki. Sorry for Mahiru’s summary being so long. Her Classmating thing had some noteworthy details and I also got sidetracked in several places. The others won’t be this heavy. #8.  Yuzuha is still shy about the Classmating thing and asks if there’s a way she can be more comfortable with it since she finds it hard to look at Itsuki. Yuzuha decides to try tying a ribbon around her head like a blindfold. She also asks how the Classmating goes with the other girls and whether he thinks Yuzuha is the worst of the bunch. Itsuki does the correct thing by saying that everyone is great, which Yuzuha thinks is a little blunt, but also understands since he wouldn’t want to be put in the position of ranking the Star Maidens (Don’t worry, Yuzuha. The thread took care of that. You are… well at the very least you’re not at the bottom).  Classmating then happens. After that, Yuzuha says that she thinks it went smoother than last time, even though the blindfold came off halfway through and she could “see the face you make during the ritual”, which… let’s just assume is Itsuki looking really nervous. In the Bonding Event proper, Itsuki finds Yuzuha just about to head out to a vegetable garden that she has.  Itsuki insists on helping her out with her weeding work. In the garden, Yuzuha starts thinking about weird stuff like what you call trivia about beans (beanie-trivia, bean bean trivia, etc.). Itsuki wonders if she always thinks about silly stuff like that and Yuzuha apologizes for talking to herself out loud like that. Itsuki notices a ladybug on her and Yuzuha reveals that she does know some trivia about them. She says they are known to fly towards the sun and have an alternate name which means “insect guided by the heavens.” Yuzuha mentions wishing she could fly all the way to where the sky ends, but quickly changes topics when Itsuki tries to clarify what she means. The scene then fades to black, but it isn’t quite over just yet. Yuzuha’s voice urges Itsuki to wake up since it’s almost noon. Yuzuha mentions to her self that Itsuki apparently fell asleep as soon as he got back to her room after helping to pull weeds.  When Itsuki finally wakes up, Yuzuha offers him something to eat. After the snack, Itsuki offers to come by again some other time and Yuzuha talks about how Itsuki would just come back whether or not she asked him, so he should just do what he wants. It’s… slightly off-putting coming from Yuzuha, because she isn’t saying it in a mean way or anything. Even Itsuki is a little taken aback, since he thinks she’s making him sound really selfish. Either way, the event just kind of ends there. #9.  Reone’s Classmating event involves her wondering why Itsuki is so sure about Classmating with her instead of one of the others. Itsuki says that it’s because he learns so much from her and that seems to make Reone happy. Reone asks Itsuki to lead this time and Itsuki sounds pretty confident about doing it, knowing all about Reone’s habits by this point. Reone is surprised by him, since she says that not even she knows her own habits all that well. Classmating happens. After the ritual, Reone is actually tired out and says that she’s amazed by Itsuki. Reone compliments Itsuki on how much he’s grown and talks about needing to do better in order keep up with him. That’s about it for the scene.  In Reone’s first event, Itsuki shows up to the clinic to find that nobody is there. Farun quickly pops in and says that she doesn’t know where Reone is gone. Farun says she just came by to borrow a bed. However, Farun does start talking to Itsuki about the tavern and how Itsuki went there with Reone one time. Farun says that the dudes Reone beat up keep talking about getting revenge on her whenever they drop by the tavern. Farun thinks Itsuki should be doing something about that.  Itsuki asks if Reone is aware of this and Farun says that she did tell Reone all about it. Reone predictably told Farun not to mention it to Itsuki because he’d get worried. At this point Reone shows up and Farun hauls rear end out of the clinic.  Itsuki tries to verify what Farun told him, but Reone says it’s not something he should worry about. Itsuki tries to fight her on it, but Reone shuts him out by telling him not to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong. She says it’s something she has to take care of herself and refuses to listen to Itsuki about it any further. She then changes topics and asks Itsuki to go with her somewhere. Reone apparently wants to go to the cafeteria and check the nutritional balance of the new menu. Itsuki agrees, because hell yeah free food, and Reone teases him about being really easy. At the cafeteria, Reone starts questioning Itsuki on his eating habits, but Itsuki says they’re fine and she doesn’t need to worry about it. Reone asks if Itsuki has a girl that cooks for him and Itsuki tosses it back by saying that he wishes it was her. Reone says that she wouldn’t be able to make much of anything for him, but now she’s wishing she had learned how to cook.  And yes, that’s when Reone busts out the dead brother topic again. We were so close to getting away with not hearing about him again. Itsuki pries a little more into the story and Reone just says that she’s a bad sister that couldn’t protect him. She says that’s why she wants to protect Itsuki until the very end. Itsuki offers her an ear whenever she wants to get something off her chest like that, and Reone thanks him. She says that she has found a way to atone for what happened to her brother. The event ends shortly after that. #9.  Sue’s Classmating Event has her wanting to Classmate in the hopes of figuring out what the hell that feeling she was getting last time was about. She wants to keep doing it until she understands what it is. Classmating then happens. Sue still isn’t any surer about the feeling after Classmating. She still says that it feels warm inside her heart. Itsuki offers to keep helping her and she agrees. She then mentions that despite how warm it feels when she Classmates, there’s a tinge of pain behind it. Itsuki suggests that maybe it’s because it’s bringing up a memory of her family. This seems to trigger a revelation in Sue, although she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Sue apologizes and says that she gets this way whenever she thinks of her Papa and Mama. She then leaves.  After that sad moment, it’s time for something entirely different. In Sue’s first event, Itsuki finds her being giddy and she admits that she’s feeling really happy at the moment. When Itsuki asks what it is that has her in such a good mood, Sue asks what Itsuki thinks their relationship is like and if they would be considered friends. Itsuki says that he likes to think the two of them are good friends, and Sue seems to think the same. Because of that, Sue feels like she can show Itsuki a secret of hers.  She leads Itsuki to her house and we get to have a look inside where she seems to have… animal ear headbands? Oh yeah, and that picture in the left background isn’t as detailed as the one in Reone’s clinic. It’s just a blurry generic stand-in for a photo. Anyway, Sue mentions that it’s been a while since she’s let anyone else enter her home. Sue says that she found something yesterday that she had been searching a long time for and she wants to show it to Itsuki. When Itsuki asks what it is, Sue says it’s a tail. Sue points out that it isn’t real, it was being sold at the costume store. Itsuki compares it to cosplay, which is something they have in his world. Sue says that she loves to collect tails and animal ears and paws (costume versions I mean, not by chopping them off of animals). Itsuki asks if she wears them and Sue says that she does like to put them on at home and enjoy them in secret, but since the two of them are good friends, Sue wants to show Itsuki. Sue goes off screen to get changed and the screen goes black. When she says she’s ready, we see her wander back into frame and-  Okay, so technically this is just Sue’s “swimsuit” (yes, animal ears included) and I don’t plan to cover those up because none of them are particularly bad, but the pose that Sue does here makes me feel like TCG really should be employed. No, it’s not a CG so I’m not going to post an uncensored.  Sue tells Itsuki that she wanted to show him her hobby because they are good friends and she wants him to know all about her. The event just sort of ends there. #11.   Collette’s Classmating Event opens with her being aware of a certain tension that always happens before doing the ritual. Collette thinks Itsuki is thinking all sorts of dirty things when they do this, Itsuki says he isn’t, and Collette sort of accepts that assertion but also mumbles to herself that the fact Itsuki doesn’t have lewd intentions is problematic for her as a woman. There’s a little more “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this” talk before Classmating finally happens. After Classmating, Collette calls out Itsuki for being overly dramatic with his heavy breathing since it sounds creepy. Itsuki says that maybe he was going a little overboard with it. Collette decides to just think of his heavy breathing as what happens when your exhausted from playing a sport. She then apologizes for insinuating that it was dirty. Then there’s some more talk about Itsuki being gentle and Collette saying that her body might not be able to handle it and all that stuff that these Maidens won’t shut up about despite supposedly being embarrassed. In Collette’s first event, she thanks Itsuki for helping her the other day (the undercover date thing). Collette then tells Itsuki that she hired a part-timer a little while ago. She hired that suspicious woman that had been hanging around her bakery. Collette says that the woman had been a fan of the bakery since the days of Collette’s grandfather running it. Her lurking around the shop was apparently because she has always wanted to work there. Collette says the woman is out doing some deliveries right now so she can’t introduce Itsuki to her just yet. Collette then warns Itsuki not to go hitting on the new part-timer. Collette says the woman is quiet and serious, which is why she can’t recommend her to Itsuki (Collette says that only talkative girls like her are fit for a perv like Itsuki).  The “nyu” thing is because Collette bit her tongue, which she insists is not because she was distracted by thinking weird things about Itsuki. Anyway, Collette says that she’s increased her offerings to 20 different types of bread and the customers love it. Collette says that she would have hired someone else ages ago if she knew it would go this well. Itsuki asks if it was really so easy to expand like this and Collette mentions that she had a secret. She can only make 10 different types of bread that she feels comfortable with selling (she still has a lot to learn, basically), but she has a hidden cookbook from her grandfather with 100 different bread recipes. Collette had wanted to develop her own types at her own pace, but the new competition made her desperate. Collette reveals that her grandfather used to be the palace baker, but he opened his own bakery because he wanted more people to be able to enjoy his bread. Collette says people would say “I’m so happy” upon eating her grandfather’s bread. Itsuki questions why “happy” but not necessarily “delicious”. Collette says that her grandfather’s bread isn’t “delicious” per se, but it creates happiness (I think her grandfather may have been seasoning the bread with weed or something).  Itsuki says that he’s looking forward to trying Collette’s own original recipes someday and Collette seems to be excited by that prospect. The event then wraps up when a customer comes in. #12.  We dodged it until now, but Classmating Event 3 is the one where Lillie gets a turn with Itsuki. Lillie asks if he has a problem with that and Itsuki says that he’s not really against it. Itsuki isn’t quite sure where Lillie is going with her talk of making the ritual fun, but she says not to worry about it. Classmating then happens.  Side Note: I don’t think I’ve ever checked what scene is played during Lillith/Lillie classmating (you better believe I skip that poo poo). I’m not sure if it’s always Lillith, or if it alternates between Lillie and Lillith each time (Lillith is always shown in the icon when selecting who to Classmate with). I should test this… but that would require me to watch Lillith/Lillie’s Classmate cutscene a bunch of times. No thanks. Anyway, Lillie isn’t tired out at all from the Classmating and asks if that’s what Itsuki does for all the Classmating rituals. She then says he should be called “Pervert’s Gift”. Itsuki says that she’s got it completely wrong and that this is a sacred ritual, but Lillie isn’t having it. Lillie then gets bored and tries to leave, but Itsuki holds her up. He says he wants to know more about her and Lillie gets suspicious about his motives since no-one has ever asked her that before. Itsuki tries to reassure her, but Lillie demands to know exactly what “good points” he thinks she has. The choices are vague, at best (“Your hair is cool”, “You’re surprisingly kind”, or “I never get bored around you”). Lillie ain’t buying those. Itsuki then mentions how protective she is of Lillith and Lillie says that of course she’d protect Lillith, the two of them have been together since birth after all. Itsuki manages to make a little headway into Lillie and the two end up shaking hands (without a prank being involved this time). The first event opens with Lillith mentioning that she had a feeling something good would happen today and is glad to see Itsuki here. She also reminds him about her avoiding doing fortune-telling on herself. She says there’s nothing taboo about reading your own fortune, but Lillith doesn’t do it because it always comes true and the idea of that makes her scared.  She doesn’t read her own future because she’s terrified about all the possible terrible outcomes that she winds up imagining and worrying about. Lillith then starts talking about how she wishes she were more proactive, like Lillie is. This leads to another patented “Itsuki goes on a ‘date’ with the Star Maiden” suggestion, which Itsuki is fine with. The event ends shortly after. Yes, it is a very short event. #13.  Tarua’s Classmating Event has her reminding Itsuki about how she wanted to thank him (for his help finding that missing letter). Tarua says that she thought of a way to do it, but she’s embarrassed about it. She asks if she can do it after Classmating happens. Classmating then-  …okay, Tarua goes for a run. Then Classmating happens. After that, Tarua works up the courage to show Itsuki how she’s going to thank him, then makes… a kissing gesture, I think? Itsuki is even confused about what it was supposed to be (she kind of pouts and leans forward slightly, but there’s no “kiss sound” like the game usually does). Tarua says that the books she read said men like when those kind of things are done to them, but she figures she must be missing “sex appeal” (so she probably got books from Lillie as a trick, just like Alfie did). Tarua gets concerned that this isn’t working, so she tells Itsuki to close his eyes and kisses him (on the cheek of course, we’re not at full lip lock just yet. This is only Bond Level 3 after all).  Tarua says that Reone once told her about things that men like, so I guess Reone is partially to blame for corrupting the other Maidens as well. Tarua says she was worried that it wouldn’t work because she doesn’t have “whatever sex appeal is”, but Itsuki says that her feelings were loud and clear. The event wraps up with Tarua saying that she’ll try and learn about other things that Itsuki would like as thanks. In Tarua’s event, Itsuki sees Tarua bolting off towards the church, so he follows her to see what’s up. When he finds her at the Church, Tarua talks about how much running she does. Tarua likes to run, by the way. She says that she has more letters than usual to deliver because she’s covering the Boss’s share too. Itsuki asks if it’s his day off or something, but Tarua says that he’s been feeling sick.  She says that Boss has been feeling really tired lately, but he’s stubborn and has been refusing to rest. Tarua had to force him to this time. Tarua then mentions that the load isn’t too bad because there’s been fewer letters lately. Apparently the advent of magic transmission has resulted in people writing fewer letters. Her and the Boss are sad about that because they don’t want letters to go away, but she admits that having fewer letters makes work easier and that lets her take on the Boss’s share. Itsuki offers to help her, but she declines. She then talks about really wanting to help out Itsuki with his responsibilities and Itsuki tells her not go overworking herself and straining something. She then runs off to complete the rest of her deliveries. Yes, this was yet another Tarua event where she only talks about running and the Boss and nothing much actually happens in terms of character development.  That’s it for the first events and Classmating. We’ve got one more batch to get through and then it’s back to story. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 19:03 on Feb 23, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 00:38
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Y'know if the actual White Impurity didn't make an appearance in Alfie's story, I'd pin Mana for being that. Also, Astrology may be coming soon.
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Jan 25, 2020 01:09
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quote:gently caress Granvania. Not going to say that everything Mirei does is… well let’s call it “normal”, but she hasn’t been malicious. Also there’s the fact that the people of Granvania suck and I hate them. And she's actually shown to have morals, like when she dispelled the soul-sucking magic circle thing. Yeah I'm not on-board with this. It's a very Japanese moral of "if your society rejects you for not understanding you, then it's your own fault for not conforming to its standards"
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Jan 25, 2020 02:36
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Psycho Knight posted:
Most of the events were objectionable for me, yet I know I'm far from the intended audience from this game. Nonetheless, TCG is appreciated. Onto other topics, I suppose Sue's event possibly clarifies that Femiruna's ears are, in fact, real. The real question is now is whether there are human ears underneath the bangs or not. Yuzuha's comment worries me a bit, by the way. The flower and bug trivia tells me though that sending a vote her way was a good choice.
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Jan 25, 2020 03:13
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The Flying Twybil posted:Most of the events were objectionable for me, yet I know I'm far from the intended audience from this game. Nonetheless, TCG is appreciated. I have a higher tolerance for this kind of thing I guess. The CGs and Sue’s T&A pose were the only things that really stood out to me as being too much for an LP that someone might scroll through at work or something. Swimsuits (absent any explicit posing) are just clothes. You see worse in some Top 40 music videos. That said, I like using TCG where I can. I'm starting to make him part of my 'style' as an LP writer by personalizing him. I added a DBAC (Don’t Be A Creep) tattoo near his knuckles and I'm working on something for the front of his beanie. I also hid him in the trees during that Arie thing, since that choice Itsuki is presented with is super out of bounds for this stage of their relationship. Not sure what to make of Yuzuha’s event. We kind of already know what her hangup is, but the game now seems to be throwing something else into it. SSNeoman posted:And she's actually shown to have morals, like when she dispelled the soul-sucking magic circle thing. Right? It's a terrible message to give to people. We all know Mirei is going to succeed at this, so we're going to have to watch an event where a bunch of two-faced human garbage comes up to her all smiling and happy and talking about how amazing she is, right after an event where we read letters from those same people telling her to get out of their sight and that she’s a heartless freak. Even that old man isn't entirely guilt free. He calls her cold for not stopping everything she's doing in order to do him a personal favour, at the same time that Mirei is tasked with being a Star Maiden. AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Y'know if the actual White Impurity didn't make an appearance in Alfie's story, I'd pin Mana for being that. If this was the PSP version where Alfie doesn't exist, I'd guess the same thing. We already know she's the basis for one rumour.
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Jan 25, 2020 03:39
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Psycho Knight posted:I have a higher tolerance for this kind of thing I guess. The CGs and Sue’s T&A pose were the only things that really stood out to me as being too much for an LP that someone might scroll through at work or something. Swimsuits (absent any explicit posing) are just clothes. You see worse in some Top 40 music videos. That said, I like using TCG where I can. I'm starting to make him part of my 'style' as an LP writer by personalizing him. I added a DBAC (Don’t Be A Creep) tattoo near his knuckles and I'm working on something for the front of his beanie. Maybe so. I don't really have too much of an issue with the swimsuits, or even Farun's outfit, though I'll admit they still bother me. There's a lot worse, especially these days- this is practically conservative by standards. I still prefer the look of the 1920's swimsuits personally, though I don't imagine wool jerseys are practical for swimming. That being said, the CG's and Sue accounted for most of the objectionable material and well- You know, I could put this faster by just stating I'm a stick-in-the-mud in most regards: curmudgeonly and old-fashioned. I've got specific reasons for it, but I'm not going to get moralistic about it either. I'm playing VC2: if I broke into rants over fanservice then my head would've exploded by now. In less rambling topics. I did not notice TCG in the trees at first, but after a cursory check, I must note that it is a valid time. I might know what Yuzuha's issue is, but as I've never seen the true text of the events, I could be a bit off. I'll just hold it in mind and wait to see if I guessed right or not, as it's a bit of a stretch. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Jan 25, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 07:08
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Psycho Knight posted:
Unsurprisingly, yeah. Also agreed, glasses Mirei better. Psycho Knight posted:
As you'd expect from a Mahiru event there's various rewrites and both the mention of smartphone navigation and the implication that Mahiru sees Itsuki unclothed for the ritual were added between Conception and Plus. They are correctly translated (arguably Mahiru should say 'here' rather than 'out here' but they're both ambiguous) but I'm not sure what they're doing there, especially the latter, unless they actually were trying to lean into the anime more.
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Jan 25, 2020 18:47
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Polsy posted:As you'd expect from a Mahiru event there's various rewrites and both the mention of smartphone navigation and the implication that Mahiru sees Itsuki unclothed for the ritual were added between Conception and Plus. They are correctly translated (arguably Mahiru should say 'here' rather than 'out here' but they're both ambiguous) but I'm not sure what they're doing there, especially the latter, unless they actually were trying to lean into the anime more. If the line about Classmating/nakedness isn't in the original, then this is definitely a case of the developers trying to line things up with the anime adaption. The anime goes whole-hog with the depiction of Classmating (and results in an aspect of it being worse and funnier than the game, but I'll get to that in time), so I guess the developers were trying to throw in some references to it for some purpose. Which is weird because, as I keep stating, there are no indications outside of this for the Classmating Ritual being anything more than simply two people standing there and holding hands. It also conflicts with characterization, because (just like in CII) there are a few characters that would never be okay with stripping down in front of the main character and play grab rear end, even if the world were at stake. At the absolute bare minimum, we would be seeing much more shyness/hesitation/nervousness about the ritual if both people had to be naked (or even partially naked). Ruka just flipped her poo poo at Itsuki basically seeing her in a swimsuit and I don't buy for a second that she has Mahiru's "work and private are different" outlook. Not to mention that Official Itsuki gets shy and starts stuttering from stuff like getting kissed on the cheek. There's also the fact that we've seen (and will see) Conception Plus use the swimsuit costumes as stand-ins for the Maiden being in various states of undress, yet the game doesn't use those costumes during Classmating. It's like there's a weird hesitation from the developers to make the leap. The anime did it no problem, but the game team are only willing to sort of tip-toe up to the line. It can't be a result of rating worries, because I doubt describing what happens (in terms of them being nude/semi-nude) would bump the rating up on its own. You usually have to show it in order for that to happen. The Flying Twybil posted:In less rambling topics. I did not notice TCG in the trees at first, but after a cursory check, I must note that it is a valid time. The image edits I tend to do are really hard to notice. I have no artistic talent or ability, so I keep it small in order to mask the poor quality as much as I can. I made an edit in one of Femiruna's first events that I don't think anyone noticed as well (at the very least nobody mentioned seeing it).  Granted, it's generally hard to notice image edits in these kinds of SSLPs because you're usually speed-reading the dialogue and not paying a lot of attention to the details of each individual screenshot. As for Yuzuha, the full dialogue of that event is not especially enlightening. She doesn't really say anything about herself. -She mentions the things that she grows, says that it's more than what she can eat alone (her expression/mood doesn't change when she says this, so it's not a "sad" thing), tells Itsuki that he doesn't need to help since they are her vegetables, suggests that Itsuki wait at her house and drink some tea, then accepts Itsuki's help when he goes "Come ooonnnn, just let me help". -At the vegetable garden she wonders what to talk about (which leads to the bean trivia thing I mentioned), does her self-pity thing a little bit where she says the stuff she has to talk about is probably not interesting, then the ladybug conversation happens. The only interesting moment is when she mentions wishing to be able to fly to where the sky ends. She stutters a little when Itsuki asks her what she means "I-It's nothing", but her expression doesn't change from its neutral state and she doesn't blush or anything. -Then the "Itsuki wakes up in Yuzuha's room" scene happens and the dialogue is exactly what I explained in the summary. Yuzuha drops exposition as to why Itsuki is suddenly sleeping in her room, he wakes up and says good morning to her, she asks if he wants something to eat, then after a time skip the conversation about Itsuki showing up at Yuzuha's house whether she wants him to or not happens. Yuzuha's expression doesn't really change through any of that part (other than a brief "thinking" pose). It doesn't change much during the entire event actually. She just has her typical neutral look. It isn't a long event and not much happens. It's not boring per se (I think it's a nice event, personally), but nothing much happens and only a little bit of new information comes to light about Yuzuha (the vegetable garden and her split-second mention of flying).
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Jan 25, 2020 23:23
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Re: Alfie's bonding events and other Maidens showing up in them, Persona 4 Golden did something very similar with Marie. She wasn't in the original PS2 version of P4, so she's not mentioned in the plot (outside of her introduction and one optional dungeon in... February, IIRC), but the other Investigation Team members show up frequently in the Aeon Social Link. Considering how much SC seems to want Conception to be a Persona game, but isn't hitting the mark, it's almost fitting that Alfie is "Marie, implemented worse".
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Jan 25, 2020 23:40
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Commander Keene posted:Re: Alfie's bonding events and other Maidens showing up in them, Persona 4 Golden did something very similar with Marie. She wasn't in the original PS2 version of P4, so she's not mentioned in the plot (outside of her introduction and one optional dungeon in... February, IIRC), but the other Investigation Team members show up frequently in the Aeon Social Link. Considering how much SC seems to want Conception to be a Persona game, but isn't hitting the mark, it's almost fitting that Alfie is "Marie, implemented worse". That's the comparison I was thinking of. I guess Conception Plus is what Persona 4 Golden would have looked like if it had no budget. A bunch of additions being made, but no funds or time to commit to making them correctly. Also, I am an unapologetic lover of Marie. She's one of the only "tsundere" characters that I liked for some reason and funnily enough it seems as though everyone else hates her.
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Jan 26, 2020 00:27
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So, I've decided to cheat a little. I made an earlier post where I've listed the 12 Signs when they go bad and gave a follow up on the Ophiuchus sign. Some of the entries are gonna be quoted from that post, the rest maybe a little more ad hoc. Arie/Aries - The big takeaway from the last couple of scenes is that Arie might be allowing herself to finally follow her Impulses. Buckle up. Tarua/Taurus - AnAnonymousIdiot posted:The two biggest things regarding Taurus at their worst are, their anger and their borderline hedonism. While Aries rage is like a shotgun going off, Taurus rage is like an earthquake. It's loud, destructive, physical, and terrifying. Also unlike Aries, there's no telling when the Taurus settles down once enraged. Thankfully, it takes a lot to make a Taurus see red, and most would prefer to plod on. The other problem they have is a want for things. Their love of a steady routine along with an appreciation for the things around them leads to a focus on having, hoarding, and indulging simply because it's the natural thing to do with the things they have. Whether these things are money, a cozy home, chocolate cake, cannabis, whatever they want, they want to have. And they struggle with the idea of what they have being taken away from them. Considering Tarua though, I think we're more likely to see the anger rather than materialism. Y'know... Tauruses also have a bad tendency to sound like broken records when they get locked into a routine... The Twins/Gemini - AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Gemini at their worst? Look at them! I mean what I say about that remark, but at least there may be an attempt by the Twins to try grounding themselves. The moment where Gemini gives themselves to the present and disregards everything else is when you have the two-faced stereotype in action. Call it short-term memory loss, call it embarrassment, call it whatever you like, but they don't like thinking about the past when it doesn't suit their present self. Ruka/Cancer - At this point, she's letting religious propriety and ostracism get in the way of things she cares about. I'd say she has something in common with Arie in this, though Ruka doesn't have the Impulse as Arie does. Considering what Cancers traditionally want though, this might be the cause of her own problems. Femiruna/Leo - AnAnonymousIdiot posted:I've already touched on Leo's narcissism, self-awareness issues, and want for people around their orbit, but I'll say it again. Leos at their worst think they're the center of the universe and don't think anyone else around them matters. This is how you get an entitled man-child who doesn't understand or care to understand how the world works. They're the star of their own show and you'd better clap. Ooh, enthusiasm! That's a Leo thing! This is what I'm referring to when Leo channels that into something positive. Mahiru/Virgo - Between the lore dump and side details, there's still the question of what she thinks Itsuki wants with her when the two of them meet. Mahiru still seems disappointed in the relationship she has or thinks she has with him. That she's trying to shoot questions back at Itsuki is a much a Virgo play as reading the room. The plot seems focused on resolving this, and Mahiru is on holding patterns from putting herself out there and being upset that Itsuki does the same thing. Libra - AnAnonymousIdiot posted:The trouble with Cardinal Air is an analysis paralysis due to not wanting to get something wrong. Libra is someone who wants to keep their center and be sure about what's happening in front of them. They deliberate, find other points of view to the point where it can make them passive, and events and people move on regardless of whether or not the Libra has an understanding. By that point they do safe things, things that won't get one person angry with the Libra. Collette has a lot of hemming and hawwing, and if you interpret those scenes, maybe you can see the 'safe decisions' with Mirei. I'm not convinced Mirei really is Libra, and the writers aren't really doing a good job selling that. If anything it seemed like they were trying to fix that with her dialogue with Alfie's scenes. Though assuming she's Libra she seems to dodge the trademark indecision and decision by committee, altogether with her own subplot and her appearances in Alfie's scenes. Reone/Scorpio - Oh right, I forgot Scorpio was a fixed sign. Once set on something, they stick to it; this not just applies to Scorpio, but Leo, Aquarius, and especially Taurus. With Fixed Water, you get someone whose emotions are locked down and under control. Scorpio does not let other people in on how they're feeling unless they want you to know. And here we get to the big conceit; they are emotionally intense and receptive to other people's feelings, and they assume that everyone else operates on that same scale. My guess is Reone found some sentiment in Itsuki that she didn't like in that scene. Not the worry, but wanting to include himself into a personal matter. I'd pin that on Reone reading Itsuki's and our discomfort in being compared to her brother and is responding accordingly. Sue/Sagittarius - Last post I mentioned that Sag's have the capacity to get random and tactless. That's... kinda what I expected. I'd think she'd have common grounds with Yuzuha in that both seem to meander about what they want, but while the latter has dreams, the former has impulses. Not like Arie's Impulses, but they're there and they aren't that big of a deal, more something to discover rather than always there in the back of their mind. Sag is a fire sign, but one that isn't that singularly driven by their passions the way Aries and Leo are. Adventure is the key word here. Farun/Capricorn - AnAnonymousIdiot posted:I've mentioned a while back that Capricorns focus on appearances, and I think I may have found the problem with Farun. She's trying to find the character that makes Itsuki trust and confide in her, and will not break that character for anything. This is a normal hurdle for the Sign. Capricorns like to be authoritative and respected and only talk about things that make them feel like the one who has their act together. I've said they don't intend to bottle up their feelings, but when they cannot express something on their terms, well they don't express it at all. At their worst, they get cagey, and not want to confide anything while hoping you may confide in Capricorn. The Cap is being a Cap. The moment that Itsuki buys into 'Big Sis' as an equal is when Farun normalizes. Calling it now. Aquarius - AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Getting locked in your head can cause a spiral where everyone doesn't understand you, and you don't understand everyone. That is something the Aquarius can fall into if they're not careful. Sometimes you get people of this sign who play up their weird tendencies or exaggerate their behaviors just for kicks. They'll do anything to mingle with others if they cannot bring themselves to communicate. Collette is trying to explain things, but there are personal things she's keeping secrets; that's fine. Mirei may be learning, but considering things with Alfie, she still has a long way to go. I remain unconvinced that Collette really is suited for Aquarius. And that last update with her demonstrates that she doesn't have problems with communicating her passions and ideas to others. Yuzuha/Pisces - AnAnonymousIdiot posted:I've mentioned it previously. Their biggest danger is if a Pisces gets too caught up in their own fantasies, they might stop paying attention to the real world. Or worse, they might prefer their dreams to reality, and be upset when they're taken out of their dreams. Alternately, they start treating people in the real world like their dream counterparts, which gets confusing at best, and uncomfortable at worst. I say it again, Pisces love their whimsy and dreams. It's a crapshoot if it flits into empathy or being off beat. My guess is that the plot is gonna involve making one of Yuzuha's dream real and see how it fares Ophiuchus/Alfie - Gotta say this has been more of a lore dump rather than character development. Most of Alfie's curiosity towards love and other quirks check out. Serpent Bearers enjoy engaging the world on their terms, to the point where they carry a personal narrative in the backs of their head. They have a temper and get judgy whenever that worldview gets tested. Not so much because of being slighted, but trying to engage the thing and understand said thing. AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Jan 27, 2020 |
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Jan 27, 2020 18:31
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AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Astrology I don't have time at the moment to do a detailed read, but some of these do jump out just because of what's in store. I want to wrap up this bonding by getting the next update out sometime tonight (I only have summaries and screenshots left to do) because I'll have spotty access to my PC this week which means that the next story update may not come until Friday/Saturday. Some things that I know are related to this: AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Arie/Aries - The big takeaway from the last couple of scenes is that Arie might be allowing herself to finally follow her Impulses. Buckle up. This is definitely happening. I kind of thought that the game would drag out the internal debate some more, but as of this next update Arie seems to be getting let completely off the chain when it comes to impulses. Judging by the way the next event ends, the writers don't seem to be intent on pulling her back in the Level 4 events either (like that walking back they had Itsuki do during Mahiru's recent event). It really looks like we are past the "What would Star God think?" stuff now. I don't know about Tarua's event right now because I haven't done her summary, but I don't recall any expressions or CGs while I was speeding through during recording, so I think it's a safe bet that Tarua will remain exactly the same. I think you'll see some more impulse from Ruka this time, although I'm not sure if she matches up outside of that. I think Femiruna will match up a little more with what you've described. As for Mirei, we all know where this next event is going. I don't think anything coming up will change your mind about whether Mirei fits as a Libra or not.
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Jan 27, 2020 19:49
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Bonding Update XII: Ophiuchus, Aries, Leo, and Cancer (Part 2) Let’s get back to it. We just need to get through these and then we can have another go at the Labyrinths. ~Granvania Shopping Center~ (I guess I’ll have a look at some magazines before I track down Alfie.)*The screen blacks out momentarily, so I guess there was a small time skip?* There we go. …Hmm… Wait a minute… What the hell is this?! Why is Alfie on the cover of this magazine?! I know she said she wanted to help, but… No, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Let me look inside first and find out what this is…*Alfie wanders slightly into frame*  Ahh! Ahh! Alfie?! Wh-Why are you here? You surprised me… You didn’t have to yell like that… S-Sorry… I just wasn’t expecting you to pop up like that. Anyway, could you tell me why you’re on the cover of this magazine? What are you talking about? This! Look. Wait… You don’t know? Nope. But it’s your picture, you must… Hang on… Actually, now that I look closer… I think this is from when you were training. That son of a bitch Townsperson A… [Townsperson B]: Hey, look. Isn’t that Alfie? [Townsperson C]: Yeah. She’s the one who works at the Day Camp. These two townspeople are ladies, by the way. The other Townspeople (from the main story event where the Impurities breached the surface) were guys. Crap… I don’t like the sound of this… Come on, Alfie. We’re going. Huh? Just follow me! Hurry!~Inn: Itsuki’s Room~  No, we’re looking inside this magazine…*Itsuki flips open the magazine to check out what Alfie has to do with it* This… This is… What’s written inside? Please show me! Wait, Alfie! This is… the Bond Eater? *sigh*… It’s the same picture of the Bond Eater that Mirei showed me. There’s an article about you next to it. What is this…? It says that you’re being chased by an Impurity. ”No one knows when the Impurity will appear before Alfie again. Neighbors have expressed their concerns over this.” Dammit… This is tabloid trash. That Impurity… was after me?I have several problems with this. Why was that guy stalking Alfie to begin with? How does he know that Alfie is a Star Child? How does he know that the Bond Eater was there specifically for Alfie (she was out there with a group of other Star Children and this is the only time in past 30 years that this Impurity has shown up)? Well… I… Yeah, it was… I didn’t want to get you worked up. I… see… I’m sorry, Alfie… Listen, I’ll tell you everything that Mirei told me. She said that the reason the Bond Eater is after you is because it wants your Bond Energy. That’s why it went after your Star Maiden mom as well. Don’t worry, though. I’ll protect you. I promise. Itsuki…*The screen shakes a little and we hear glass shattering* Ahh! What the hell?! Who’s throwing rocks at my room?!I swear to god if it is who I think it is. [Townsperson B (Female)]: I know you’re in there! [Townsperson D (Male)]: Dangerous Star Children should get out of town!  That’s not how it works you scum-sucking idiot! poo poo… There’s a mob building up outside… I wanted to help everyone, but I was apparently just causing trouble for them. I’m going out there! P-Please, don’t! Why the hell not?! We’re not going to hurt anyone, Alfie… we’re just going to kill a few of them. There’s a difference. You need to be alive in order to feel pain. *sigh* Alfie… …I’ll go. What? I can’t cause you anymore trouble. Or the other Star Children… I’ll leave town like they want… And the Bond Eater will no longer appear here. It doesn’t work that way, Alfie. The Bond Eater wants Bond Energy. If you leave then it’s just going to go after one of the other Star Maidens. It doesn’t have to go after you. No way… Then… what am I supposed to do? You don’t need to do anything. Just stay the way you are.Official Itsuki does a little speech here that tries to give the benefit of the doubt to the people by saying that everyone is probably just on edge and they’ll calm down if we just talk to them and blah blah blah, but gently caress that. LP Itsuki isn’t going to try and make excuses for those assholes. I’d march out there and kill them myself if the game would let me. But… If you leave town, then I’m going with you. Huh? I said I would protect you, didn’t I? I can’t do that unless I’m close by. Y-You can’t! Then I guess you’ll have to stay here, right? … I understand… So long as I’m here, the other Star Maidens won’t be attacked, right? That’s the theory. But I’ll protect you no matter what. Yes… Either way, I’m going to out give those people a piece of my mind. Someone is going to pay for my window.Hell yeah! Let’s go put the fear of Star God in them! G-God’s Gift! Listen, when I come back then we can get back to our date. Okay? Good to hear. Hm? Did I get a message? Who is… Oh, it’s from Mirei. What did she say? …She says that the guy who took those pictures breached their contract. He wasn’t supposed to sell them to anyone else. Apparently she’s already caught him and is… Umm… “the guinea pig for my next experiment”… Uh-oh… That sounds terrible!”That sounds awesome” is what I think you meant to say. Please, Itsuki! You must stop Mirei!Oh, come on! Can’t you just let me have this one? For god’s sake, all I’m asking is that some of the bastard townspeople face some consequences. Is that so much to ask? Part of me wants to just let Mirei handle things, but I’ll talk her out of it if that’s what you want. You’re way too kind, Alfie. Anyway, I’ll be back in a while. How about you set up the projector and everything so that we can watch some movies when I get back? Y-Yes! I despise Granvania. At least in Conception II we got to see more of the populace and some of them were great people (I’m talking about you, Takoyaki Guy), but Conception Plus doesn’t really have much in the way of an extended cast, so we don’t get any sense of connection with the everyday citizens of this world and we don’t see any halfway decent people. Anyway, let’s move on to Arie’s next event and see if it can succeed in calming my seething rage. ~Star God Academy Church~  Something wrong, Arie? *sigh*… Uh… Arie? Hello? Oh, Itsuki… Hello. Is something wrong? You seem really out of it today. We teach a class to many children at the church… Yeah, you’re their teacher, right? Yes. But I don’t have any right to teach anyone… What do you mean? Some of the children belong to poorer homes. And there was this one child… That child had gone into town and stolen something. He was so hungry that he stole food…  But I… I have no right to forgive him. What makes you say that? I’ve been consumed by pleasures despite being a Star Maiden. I have no right. Arie… Are you still worrying about that? You can’t help the fact that it feels good. P-Please don’t say it like that. It’s embarrassing… I told you that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying Classmating. I know Reone, Lillie, and Mirei definitely do not. Well, I don’t know that for sure. I’m sure I’m the only one who isn’t serious about Classmating. My lord… What must I do? Arie, don’t pray over something like this. Please… I don’t know what to do other than to rely on the Star God.We need to fix you of that, because I assure you that Star God is not at all reliable. Then maybe rely on me. I can help you find a way to solve this conflict you’re having. You’re right.  Itsuki, I thank you for your consideration. But I must ask why… Don’t worry about that. Let’s just focus on you. Let’s see… How about your bad points? If you know what to improve on, then you can work on getting better. My bad points… What would one of those be? Is there anyone out there (other than completionists, I guess) who legitimately choose options like 2 and 3? Like, this is a serious conversation about personal conflict and a minor crisis of faith. Who thinks “Eh, I think your body could use some work” is an appropriate response? To be honest, I think you’re heart is the biggest problem. My… heart? If Classmating makes you feel guilty, then your heart isn’t in the right place. So… do I simply not think that it’s anything bad? Well, there’s not really anything wrong with it in the first place. It’s supposed to be a sacred ritual that’s necessary to save the world. But… Arie, you should be proud of it. It’s because you do the ritual with me that I’m able to get Star Children to help me in the labyrinths. I’m reassured by your words, but… Forget about the guilt for a minute. Just think about all of this with a clear head. How would I do that? Try releasing your heart. Release… my heart? You mean I should bare forth my secrets?Definitely! Let’s start by hearing about what’s in that room.  Yeah. You can’t keep supressing your true feelings. They’re part of who you are.This is sappy as all hell, but I’m willing to let it slide as long as Arie stops beating herself up… and it gets us closer to finding out what’s in the room. Itsuki… I think my heart feels lighter now. You really are my Star God, Itsuki. You’re overstating things again. Itsuki, you accept me for who I am. W-Wait… What?! Haha… I’ve said it out loud now. …Nope, I definitely didn’t somehow skip to the Level 5 events. It’s really early for this, Conception Plus. Standard procedure is to drag this whole song and dance out until the last event. Oh well… ball’s in your court now, other Star Maidens. Please don’t look so surprised. I was only being honest. I… uhh… It’s just really sudden… You told me to release my heart, so I did. I wasn’t ready for it to happen so soon… But you forced me to do the Classmating ritual so many times… I didn’t force anyone to do anything!Ehh, Femiruna is a little debatable on that front. You kind of force her, but she’s also clearly into that sort of thing.  I’m finally prepared to tell you everything. There’s something I’ve been hiding from you… I think I can finally tell you my secret.Yes! Room time!  gently caress YOU, CONCEPTION PLUS! Yes, Arie’s event really does end on that line. We’ll need to wait until the next group of bonding updates to finally get a look inside that secret room. Son of a… You’re not supposed to pull cliffhangers like this, game. That’s not fair.  Ugh… Whatever, let’s just move on to Femiruna’s event. Man, I was starting to get into a better mood and now I’m pissed off again for the game just yanking the rug out from under me. I hope the rest of these are nice events. ~Star God Academy Field~ Oh! I found you, Itsuki. Now, come with me. Huh? Why? What’s wrong? Manor? You mean your house? …What are you gonna do to me? Oh? You go to the labyrinths regularly yet you are afraid to come to my manor? Ohoho! What a cowardly God’s Gift you are!Yeah, I’m not sure why Itsuki is being weird like that. I can’t get around it though because Femiruna’s dialogue refers back to him being a scaredy-cat. Come on, Itsuki. It’s not like this is Mirei we’re talking to. Or Lillie. Or kind of Mahiru. Point is, Femiruna isn’t one of the Maidens that will try and rope you into weird poo poo. Well, isn’t it a little embarrassing for a guy to be invited into a girl’s house like this? Huh…? Wait, me? You’re the one doing the inviting! What a surprise… Wh-Why must I be agitated by your every word?! Why am I suddenly the bad guy here… Just keep quiet and follow me! There is something I want to show you. I am sure you will like it. Eh, I guess that’s sort of fancy. This place is huge… This is what I wanted to show you. Wait… this is… A large bed to help you sleep comfortably. And a high-quality shelf and table. I prepared furniture fit for a king that is too good for your own room. JACKPOT!  Finally, things are looking up! …Not to say that Arie’s love confession wasn’t a high point. The fake out secret room reveal just kind of messed up the momentum. There’s so much. Why do you have all of this? I purchased them from the shops in town. I have already spoken with the stores. I signed contracts so you can take any items you want from any store you visit. Just saying my name will allow you to help yourself to anything in the store.That’s the way it should be. Although, I guess technically that’s how it was going to be when Shang cut us that cheque for 10 million. We better find that bastard in the bird mask at some point. I want my vengeance. This way, you will be able to do even more in the labyrinths. You managed to do all of that? How? Hold on, why the gently caress would they resist? The heiress of the richest family in the city walks in to your business and wants to ink a contact for God’s Gift to come in and pick up everything he wants. Why the gently caress would a business owner not be over the moon about that? I mean, the contract has to say that Femiruna’s family will compensate the shops, right? I could understand their refusal if they weren’t getting compensated, but then why would those shops agree at all if that were the case (even the name of Femi’s father wouldn’t change their mind in that case)? There is nothing I cannot do in this town. Do not thank me. It is my duty as a Star Maiden to cooperate with you. You may use whatever you like. Do make it useful for yourself in the labyrinths. What are you doing?! No? But… why?Yes, why?! You didn’t have to do any of this for me in the first place. That’s not how business works! Somebody coming in and buying up the whole inventory is good for business you idiot! Selling poo poo to make a profit is the entire point! I would not mind. This is for your sake. Even if it is for me, I don’t feel comfortable with it. I can’t accept all of this. I… I do not believe you! You cannot accept a gift from me? I do appreciate all the effort you went through for me. Then why do you not simply accept it? Because I don’t like causing trouble for people. I do not understand… You feel happy, but you do not like this method? You don’t have to go overboard with it. I would have been happy with just a small gift. So you did not like that I caused trouble to the people who owned the stores…”Hello fine shopkeep. I would like to buy all the merchandise you have. Here’s a big ol’ sack of money.” “I apologize fine madam, but it would be terribly troublesome for me to close shop and relax for a few days while I wait for restock. No, I think I would prefer to let my inventory sit on the shelves and instead sell only a portion of it little by little over the span of several months. Please take your tens of thousands of gold elsewhere.” I gathered it all… for your sake… And I appreciate what you did. It was nice of you to go that far for my sake. I-I did not! Oh… Well. You taught me a great many things in town the other day. It’s the thought that counts, Femiruna. Thank you for that. But if you do not accept it, then you are lying about being happy. I’m not lying… … I understand… I will go and return the merchandise to the stores. Why does this game delight in causing me suffering? That’s the idea. Can I trust those words? If so, just you wait, Itsuki. I will make you cry with joy from a gift I will give you!*Femiruna wanders off* I hope she doesn’t go overboard with it again……I get it, okay? It’s a lesson for Femiruna that she can’t just throw money or family prestige around and get whatever she wants, especially at the expense of other people. We’re trying to break her of her spoiled “daddy’s little girl” attitude and teach her how to connect with people on a human level. I get it. But for god’s sake, is it too much to ask that the game let me have one nice thing? Couldn’t we have taken a sword or something? Maybe that jewel-encrusted armor that she initially had in mind for Itsuki’s party? ~Star God Academy Classroom~ Hey, Ruka. I’m here to help out with patrol today.Let’s just move on. At the very least I can’t think of any other ways that the game can piss me off at this point.  Itsuki, what an opportune meeting. Please hear me out. What’s happening, Ruka? She was just about to tell me too. So, Reone, did you find out where her shoes went? They were in the incinerator. I was throwing out the trash…  I remembered her because you brought her to the doctor’s office once. Oh, right. That time I found her barefoot.Apparently Itsuki brought her by Reone’s office before taking her back to the Orphanage? First we’re hearing of this… I think. I’ll be honest, that event was a bit of a haze. I just remember having to make a sprite for barefoot girl’s single appearance so far. Did a bully make her do it? Who was it? A classmate? Or a teacher? There was no one around besides her. What? Then… I saw it with my own eyes. But… why would she…? Did she lie to me to cause me more trouble?! Does she hate me that much…? I don’t get it!*Ruka bolts off* Whew… Trying to grow closer to someone is difficult. Humans are the only animals who lie. Misunderstandings are par for the course.What the gently caress are you talking about, Reone? Making false danger calls to keep others away from food is a big one. There was also the time Koko the gorilla ripped a sink out of the wall and blamed it on her pet cat. The animal kingdom is full of deception and screwing over others, it’s called survival. Do you have any ideas on why she might throw the shoes away? She was mumbling something while she threw the shoes into the incinerator…  Phrasing. Good lord, phrasing. She said that like a prayer. What would she mean by that? Maybe she was feeling lonely. Kids want a more direct expression of love. They get worried when someone they love refuses to touch them.I mean, I could see that being the case, except that barefoot girl knows full well why Ruka hesitates to touch them. It’s not quite the same situation as a loved one just refusing to touch for no reason. On top of that, Ruka rarely talks to them… So of course they’d get worried. I imagine they’d lie to get your attention.This part is more understandable. So that’s why, huh? Or maybe she wanted to tell Ruka about how lonely she was feeling. Either way, it’s all just a misunderstanding.It’s a cry for help, got it. We probably should have picked up on that as soon as we failed to find any evidence of bullying going on. *sigh*… I need to go after Ruka. Oh? Why? She probably ran off to use her powers on the girl, but even if she does that… what would she do then? If she finds out that the kids are feeling lonely because Ruka isn’t able to touch them, then she’ll just distance herself more from them. She might end up leaving the orphanage altogether. Then she’ll end up alone as well.Yeah, Ruka might be able to find out the cause, but she’s nowhere near capable of addressing it. She’s got her own package of issues. If you understand that much, then hurry after her. You may still catch up. Right. Itsuki, remember that there are two types of lies… A white lie that totally doesn’t hurt anyone? I’ll leave it to you to teach Ruka that as well…~Front of Orphanage~ Huff… Huff… Ugh… Ru… Ruka! …What are you doing here? Huff… Hang on… Phew… Listen, I’m not going to stop you, but I really think you should reconsider. Why don’t you try talking to her instead? You know, using words? But she lies all the time. There’s no way we can simply talk. Have you ever really tried? I mean, seriously tried? She’s really just looking for your attention, Ruka. Maybe a pat on the head as well, that kind of thing.This game and its head patting. Actually, I guess I should say this country, because Japanese media seems to have some kind of hard-on for it. But that’s something I can’t do because I’m a Tsukuyomi. Just leave me alone. And thus the problem will definitely be solved. That’s not the solution, Ruka. Listen, if you really want to know how other people feel, then you’ve got to open your heart.Open your heart and it’ll be alriiiiight!~ I like Crush 40 stuff… I-I know that. … No… This all happened because I didn’t know that… But… how am I supposed to open my heart? I’ve long forgotten how to open up to others… You could start by looking them in the eyes when you talk. I know you’ve got it in you, Ruka. Why do you think that…? Because you’ve done so much for her. You buy and cook food, you were worried about her being bullied, you even set up the Maiden Club to try and protect her. Hmph… Who asked you for a speech? You’re such a busybody.I mean, she’s right about that.  Good to hear. I’ll tell you how it went after we’re done. Besides… you’re the club’s vice president. You have a duty to hear the president’s reports. Well, can’t argue with that. I guess I have to. Y-Yes, you do. You have to. It’s not because… you helped me out so much… or anything… I’ll wait for your report, then. Please come back after classes are done. I’ll tell you everything then. I’ll be going now. Right. I hope it all goes well. Don’t worry. I will. I don’t think it’s going to come to that, though. Hmph. I hope so too. So… I’ll try my best with her… Goodbye.Man, we don’t even get to hear the big emotional moment where little barefoot girl comes clean about everything? Lame. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Jan 28, 2020 |
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Bonding Update XIII: Capricorn, Libra + Bottom 7 Summaries (Part 2)  Let's wrap this batch up. We’ve got a hike to take with Farun. It’s also the first time we’ll get to see a personal CG for her. Yes, it’s a hot springs CG, so yes, TCG will be on the scene. ~Forest~ Just… a little bit… more… Itsuki!*The screen blacks out for a second and then Farun appears when it fades back in. She trots up to Itsuki who I guess was dragging himself up the mountainside or something* Ahaha! There’s gotta be a waterfall over there! I can hear one.  Slow down a little Farun. I thought you wanted to find the hot springs first. I didn’t think Granvania would have hot springs ya could go to on a day trip. Hot springs in the middle of the forest like this’re usually pretty great. I’d drop by in the middle of my travels an’ just enjoy the scenery. I’m looking forward to it myself. I could use relaxation like that. Come on, I think it’s up ahead somewhere. Oh… It’s still quite a ways… Sorry for making you walk so far. It’s totally fine. Travelin’s all ‘bout walkin’. It can be fun too. Settin’ that aside… What? I didn’t think of how deep this forest could get… Oh yeah, that’s … Just to be sure… This is a mixed bath… right…?It’s a natural hot spring in the middle of the forest, Farun. There’s no such thing as “mixed” or “separate”, unless you decide on it yourself. Well, yeah. The spring only has one source, so it’s not divided by anything. But I already told you that. Wait… Farun, you did bring your swimsuit, right? Y-Yeah, I did. I was prepared for it, but…  I-I’m startin’ to get embarrassed… Don’t say stuff like that… Now I’m getting shy… C-Cuz there really is no one around us… an’ cuz we’re goin’ into some hot springs together…? U-Uh… We could always take turns, you know. Oh, that’s definitely an option. I didn’t think of that for some reason. Take turns… huh… … …But since we’re here together anyway… Well, just waitin’ for the other person ain’t right. Christ, Farun. You’re not giving each other full-body massages. You’re relaxing in a hotspring while wearing a bathing suit. It’s basically just a hot-water version of swimming at the beach. Calm down, girl. Wh-What do you think? Well, are you really okay with it? …Yes. As long as you’re okay with it, then I am too. Come on. … Farun? You said you were okay. Are you really sure? C-Course I am! Don’t underestimate your Big Sis Farun! It’s just some hot springs we’re talkin’ ‘bout here! It’s nothin’ but hot water!Exactly! So stop hemming and hawing over it and let’s go. Let’s go already! Go go go! I’m totally fine with it, an’ I’ll prove it to ya.~Forest Hot Springs~  God, that looks amazing. I want to try a hot spring so bad… I’m a lover of incredibly hot baths. I just wish this house didn’t have one of those stupid bathtub/shower combinations. The bathtub is too small and the shower is too narrow. It’s like the worst of both. …I-It’s a bath, all right. Yeah, it sure is. Y-Yeah… I’ll, um… go get changed now. B-But don’t look! Face the other way! An’ close your eyes! I said I’d bathe with ya, but I never said ya can watch me change! Yeah, yeah. Can we just hurry up? We're spending so much time just talking about it. S-Seriously! Don’t look…*The screen then goes black as Farun goes off to change… Or changes like two feet away, it’s hard to tell because we can still hear her while the screen is black*  C-Close your eyes! You’re not lookin’, are ya?! Don’t look! My eyes are closed, Farun! Can you please just hurry up?It’s loving clothing. How long does it take to put it on and do a quick check to make sure nothing’s hanging out? H-Hold on… Just a bit… *inhale*… Whew… *inhale*… Whew… …’Kay. All right, Itsuki. Ya can open your eyes now… Finally. Why did it- You know the deal. Here is the unedited for those that want it. Farun is wearing what I can only imagine is a Star Energy powered top, because there are no straps keeping that thing in place. It’s just somehow attached to her chest. I should note that this isn’t actually Farun’s swimsuit. Same goes for that Mahiru scene we got last time. The developers seem to put some thought into the design of each Maidens in-game swimsuit, but the art team working on these CGs seem to just resort to “plain white and as small as possible”. D-Don’t stare, ‘kay? It really is embarrassin’… Ugh… I can’t do it. It’s too embarrassin’… G-Geez… I don’t know what to do… Is that really as far as you’re going to go? Course! Why are ya okay with this? Are ya okay with me seein’ ya?! You’re kind of acting embarrassed enough for the both of us, so I’m not feeling anything. Besides, it’s just swim clothes. R-Really…? Am I just overreactin’…? A-Am I… the weird one here…?You’ve been the weird one since the previous set of bonding updates where you started babbling incoherently at the drop of a hat. Why are you getting so freaked out? You’re always up on stage in your dancing clothes being watched by the entire tavern. That’s different! I dance for people to see me in the first place……What? I show off my confidence with that dance… B-But, right now… You’re the only other person here… An’ you’re the only one watchin’… So… Wh-Why are we talkin’ like this?! Let’s just get in already, Itsuki! This just makes it more embarrassin’ for me! Just get in the bath! Okay, okay. I’m going. H-Hey… D-Don’t stare so much… Y-Ya really can’t… I’m not staring! Man, I never expected to see you react like this. I always imagined you being a lot more open about this stuff. … …That’s not true…Are we about to get tragic backstory/personal issues? Takin’ a trip alone with a man… It’s my first time doin’ somethin’ like this…Nope, never mind. It’s just more of the same. Really? Yeah… Actually, this’s my first time takin’ a trip with anyone else. You haven’t gone with any friends before? Hehe. What friends? Course, that was before I came to Granvania. I always wandered around alone… I went from place to place an’ never made any significant connections… I’m… afraid of bein’ liked or hated by anyone.Now is it time for tragic backstory/personal issues? When I start feelin’ anythin’ from people, I just leave for another place. Hehe. My façade is always the cheerful an’ energetic Big Sis Farun. Me bein’ able to get along with anyone is all a stupid farce.Okay, that’s a little new information. How does it relate to her family/home town though? Hehe. Why did I even tell you that…? Farun… Wow, these hot spring [sic] feel nice. I’m really relaxed right now… I guess I don’t really know much about you after all… Yeah… But I want ya to… Heh… You always said to leave everything to “Big Sis”, but you’ve never even gone on a trip with a guy before. P-Please don’t say that. It’s so embarrassin’. I-It’s in my character to say that stuff. I can’t help it. Oh god, she’s breaking the fourth wall! She’s trying to free herself from the confines of the visual novel! Ah… Even my ears are burnin’ up now… We should get out before we get dizzy. Oh, c’mon, let’s stay in for a bit more. Sorry for the big break between screenshots. Farun’s CG was up for that entire segment so I couldn’t get any in there since TCG would block the text box. Let’s just stay in here an’ look up at the sky… Hehe. Let’s both get dizzy in the bath together. What do you say?*After some more time spent in the hot spring getting dizzy* ~Forest~ Whew… Today was a ton of fun. Thanks for takin’ me today. I never knew travelin’ with someone could be so excitin’. We definitely need to go somewhere together again. That sounds like a nice idea. Hehe, ya said it now. It’s a promise then. See ya later!That certainly was something… I guess. I suppose we at least learned a little more about why Farun is the way she is. Not sure how it relates to her hesitation in regards to her family, but I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of that in her remaining events.  Uuuuuuugggggghhhhhh… We all know what’s coming… Let’s get it over with. Looks like I won’t be ending this update in a good mood after all. ~Mirei’s Laboratory~ Oh. I’ll have you know, I’ve kept my promise. I created a new type of magic transmission device. Already? That was so fast. Heheheh. Who do you think I am? The device is right there. That’s the completed one. It’s communication range can reach anywhere in the world.  The other complaint was that it was difficult to use. So I added a voice guide and a beginner mode as well. Wow. I’m the one making it. I won’t accept anything less than the best. You’re amazing. Heheh. But of course. Do you really think I’m just a weirdo who does nothing but research all day? Of course not. It’s just that this is more than I was expecting. You went way beyond with this. Heheheh… Oh stop, I get it.  Heheh. Even I’m surprised at myself. This wasn’t the research I want to do, but I managed to achieve so much. I broke a new personal record on consecutive all-nighters.I’m sure that won’t have any adverse effects. Thank you, Mirei. For everything. Heheh. That’s right, Itsuki. You should be thanking me. I did this for you after all.I’m fine with that response. The alternative was “I did this for the people”, and they can all go to hell. Me? Why? Yes. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have done this in the first place. Anyway, I’ve kept my end of the promise. I hope you didn’t forget about that, Itsuki. You owe Mirei whatever she wants now. Don’t expect me to try and bail you out with dialogue options either, because I was 100% against this idea. I will have my way with you. Now, let’s see what I should have you do… W-Wait a minute… Is the device already being used in Granvania? Yes. I formulated the theory, so the rest is now up to the engineers. Really? Then let’s go look around. What meaning is there to that? Just come on. We’re going outside. Hey, Itsuki, stop pulling me!~Granvania Shopping Center~ Huh… It’s spreading so fast. There are already so many people using it. That’s it? What else do you want me to say? Let’s go back to my lab. I want to continue researching you.[Old Man]: Mirei, do you remember me? Hm…? Oh, you’re the old man who asked me to modify the magic transmission device.[Old Man]: Yes. Because of your work, I was able to hear the voice of my grandchild.  Take your gratitude and stick it up your rear end, old man. No need for that.[Old Man]: You’re so modest… I said such terrible things to you that day… ”But now I’m remorseful for it because I got what I wanted.” [Old Man]: I called you coldhearted, and I’m very sorry for that… ”At least until the next time that you refuse to do something for me and I insult you again until you’re basically forced to give me what I want.”  [Old Man]: I misunderstood you. You really are a wonderful person. Itsuki, we’re going back. I want to resume our research.[Old Man]: Please, wait. Everyone is thankful to you.  Each and every one of them can gently caress right off straight to hell and start lubing up their assholes for Star Devil’s eventual buttfucking of them. gently caress GRANVANIA. I cannot overstate how much I hate the moral this event is trying to deliver. W-Wait, stop this. Th-There’s no need… Are you getting shy, Mirei? D-Don’t be stupid! Let’s go, Itsuki. Just come with me! H-Hey! Stop pulling!~Star God Academy St.~ *sigh*… You didn’t have to run away like that. This is kind of cute, you know? Seeing this side of you. Stop teasing me! …But, it didn’t feel too bad. Such experiences could be nice every so often. I’m just glad that all the misunderstandings will stop.Yep. Everyone is happy now. No way in hell that people will find other things that they want Mirei to modify for their own personal enjoyment and then immediately start threatening her and insulting her when Mirei declines because they know that it will eventually cause her to cave to their demands. No chance of that AT ALL. Problem is solved forever. You really are strange. You think? Yes, you are…  What about that God’s Gift that Mana told us about? The one that had a crush on you. But that’s because you have a duty to deepen our bond as God’s Gift. Isn’t that right? It’s definitely not because of my duty. I just didn’t want people getting the wrong impression of you. …Heheh. You are so strange. You truly are. Could you stop calling me that? Be quiet. You are an extremely strange one. The strangest one of them all among anyone I’ve ever met before. *sigh*… Anyway, what do you want me to do for my end of the promise? I did say I would do whatever you asked. Yes, that’s right. I want to research you. Even more than before.  Not sure I like the sound of that… but I guess I don’t have a choice now. Okay, I’ll drop by again some other time. Yes, I’ll be waiting.~Mirei’s Laboratory~ Hm… What’s this?  This could be fatigue from the research… I’m sure some rest will help.Just to recount what we just witnessed: Mirei kept telling people she didn’t want to work on the magic transmission device anymore or modify any previous inventions of hers because she wants to focus on other research. Townspeople started threatening her, telling her to get out of town, calling her weird and various other insults, and generally being human garbage. Itsuki browbeats Mirei into improving the magic cell phone she created and the townspeople start praising her and being super thankful and treating her like a human being. The lesson that Conception Plus wants you to take away is: If somebody isn’t willing to put their entire life on hold just to cater to your selfish demands, then start insulting them and threatening them and treating them like dirt. Eventually they’ll be beaten into submission and give you everything you want. Then you just need to offer some empty platitudes and you’ll be guilt-free. After all, they’re the terrible person for not just giving you what you want in the first place. It doesn’t matter what they want to do with their lives, you want better cell reception. We’re going to summaries. For the love of god, at least one of these be sort of sweet. Please.   That’s better.~Bottom 7 Summaries~ #7. In Mahiru’s second event, Ituski goes looking for her in the cafeteria, but can’t find her. He’s about to call her up when he spots her outside in the Academy Field. When he catches up to her, he finds out that Mahiru is a little… off.   Itsuki asks her if she’s been drinking and Mahiru denies it despite the fact that she’s clearly wasted. Mahiru insists she wasn’t hitting the bottle, but eventually drunkenly reveals that she had some chocolate that the pastry chef was making.   I’m putting a lot of screenshots here because drunk Mahiru is funny.Itsuki questions how Mahiru managed to get drunk from eating chocolate and Mahiru says that it apparently had brandy in it (how much freaking chocolate did she eat? You’d need almost a kilo of it just to get to typical BAC limit). Anyway, Itsuki starts thinking about how poorly Mahiru holds her liquor considering she got drunk from desserts, and also wonders if maybe the alcohol in Granvania might have weird effects on people from Sora. Mahiru says not to worry about her and that she just needs to cool off, but Itsuki points out that she’s standing on the Academy Field and some of the people in the school clubs are looking kind of concerned about her.  Mahiru then grabs on to Itsuki and starts trying to lead him in a dance, but she trips over herself and Itsuki has to catch her. Itsuki wonders why Mahiru started learning how to dance and she says that Farun told her she should learn it for the one she loves. Mahiru wonders if she should just give it up, because she doesn’t think she’ll ever be as good as Farun. Itsuki says that maybe he should learn to dance too, for Mahiru’s sake. That way he can escort her during the next dance. He then asks if there’s someone she loves and whether or not it’s Narcisstes. At this point it seems like Mahiru completely sobers up and she talks about how Narcisstes has an entire fan club. She also mentions that Itsuki has a fan club as well, as in the 12 Star Maidens (I guess one of them isn’t a fan. Probably Ruka being a tsundere or something). That’s about it for Mahiru’s event. She mentions that she’s not in Narc’s fan club, calls Itsuki a jerk (because he’s too thick-headed to realize that Mahiru is jonesing for him), and then says she has to go and wash her face. #8. Yuzuha’s second event starts with her airing out her room when Itsuki shows up (She had been painting for a while). Itsuki says she has a cute yawn when she starts feeling a little sleepy and Yuzuha gets embarrassed and mentions that she isn’t used to being complimented. The conversation shifts to school and Yuzuha mentions how she never attended a school before becoming a Star Maiden, she just stayed at home with a tutor. Itsuki takes the opportunity to ask about Yuzuha’s family, but she says that it isn’t a very interesting story.  Itsuki wants to know anyway and Yuzuha is surprisingly forthcoming with information. She mentions that her father and mother were always fighting, but they also worried about Yuzuha because she had been born sickly. Yuzuha says that she was afraid of their loud voices, so she covered her ears and hid in bed. On Yuzuha’s fifth birthday, her cousin brought her some paint. Yuzuha started painting every day as a way to forget about the bad stuff. But because of her weak constitution, she couldn’t go outside very often and she quickly ran out of things to paint. That’s what led to her painting her dreams. She kept a routine of sleeping and painting her dreams until she was chosen as a Star Maiden. Even though Yuzuha wasn’t particularly excited about it, she says that it made her parents very happy and they stopped fighting. This caused Yuzuha to leave home, as she figured she could watch out for her own health and also fulfill her duty as a Star Maiden to keep making her parents happy. Yuzuha then asks Itsuki if he thinks she’s properly fulfilling her Star Maiden duties and if her parents were glad that Yuzuha was born. Itsuki reassures her of both of those things and the event wraps up there. Yuzuha is glad and gets sleepy, so she goes to take a nap.  #9. Reone’s second event opens with her looking pretty messed up.  I mean, that’s what’s implied anyway (this is Reone’s swimsuit. The implication is that her clothes are torn to pieces in this scene). Reone isn’t quite happy that of all the people that could see her like this, it was Itsuki that did. She takes a moment to get a fresh set of clothes and then starts answering Itsuki, who is understandably concerned about what the hell happened to her. Reone says that there’s no point in trying to hide it from him and admits that she wound up in a fight against those three guys from before. She says that it escalated beyond that and starts getting into a bit more backstory on her street fighting days. Turns out that one of the guys from before had also been a fighter back in those days. Reone figures that he only realized she had been a fighter as well sometime after she kicked the crap out of him in front of the tavern. Itsuki wonders if that’s why they were wandering around looking for revenge, but Reone says that it’s not quite that simple. Turns out that those guys are members of a faction that opposes a proposal Reone is working on. Reone wants to build a large hospital out in the middle of the slums. She explains that the slums have tons of back-alley doctors that charge out the rear end for their services. A hospital would help with that, but obviously the extortionist back-alley doctors aren’t on board with the idea. Apparently, in order to pay for the crazy fees that the doctors charge, the people in the slums pay with their own Star Energy. Star Energy is very valuable (It’s basically lifeforce) and can apparently be resold for massive profit. Basically, if the poor people in the slums have an illness or some other medical problem, they’ve got two choices: Deal with it or trade part of their lifespan.  Back to the main topic. The fight Reone was in stems from the fact that the faction those guys were from got wind of Reone’s plan and snatched up the land where the hospital was to be built. Reone figured she could go and negotiate with them, but that went about as well as any sane person would expect. They demanded double the price, Reone said no, and then a fight broke out. Reone claims that there were 10 of them (my fat rear end she managed to beat 10 guys by herself) and that they were all ones nursing grudges against her from her street fighting days. Reone then says that she’ll force them to sign the contract the next time they meet (which is extortion in its own right, Reone. I don’t care if they are assholes, they still legally obtained that land). Itsuki points out the fact that assaulting a Star Maiden is a major crime and Reone should, you know, seek help from the government. Instead of the reasonable action, Reone says that the plan to build the hospital is her personal project and that the reason there is a problem in the first place is because of her days street fighting. Reone figures that those ties will cause the government to force her to resign as palace physician (YOU’RE A STAR MAIDEN, REONE! I don’t think the palace will care that you used to be a street fighter before you became a doctor). Not having any other choice, because Reone is being incredibly stubborn about this, Itsuki states that he’ll protect her. Reone says that it’s her job to protect him, but Itsuki shuts her down this time and orders her to tell him if anything happens. Reone finally caves and then the event wraps up with a scene of Itsuki watching over Reone as she gets some sleep to try and recover from her injuries.  And yes, Reone somehow avoids mentioning her brother this time. Thank Christ. #9. Despite the weirdness of Sue’s last event, the second one takes a more serious tone. Sue finds Itsuki hurt and gets really worried (it’s just actually just a scratch). Nonetheless, Sue makes Itsuki follow her to her house where she treats him. While there, Itsuki takes notice of some photos in the back of her room. He asks if the small girl in the pictures is Sue, then whether the man and woman standing next to the girl are Sue’s parents. Sue says that it’s a photo of her family from a long time ago. She says that her Papa and Mama are no longer here and that they  “went away” when she was young. Sue says that she wants to tell Itsuki about them, so she starts talking about how her parents were biologists. Her father was a zoologist and her mother was a doctor (probably veterinarian). She says that they usually did research on animal ecologies outside of town and Sue followed along whenever they went out. Sue says that one day her mother and father were attacked by an Impurity that was near the town (the Bond Eater, maybe? Impurities above ground are supposed to be incredibly rare). Sue says that her parents defended her until it was gone. They shielded her when the Impurity attacked and the sensation has stuck with Sue, which is likely why she gets the warm but prickly feeling from Classmating. Sue says that she’s never come to terms with what happened. The animals at Sue’s ranch were left behind by her parents and they have helped Sue to live on. Sue then talks about not wanting anyone to die, not her parents, not the animals, and not Itsuki. She says that she doesn’t want Itsuki to go away and that she doesn’t have the courage to say goodbye to him. Itsuki tries to console her, but Sue points out that he’s always going into the labyrinths and fighting impurities. Itsuki tells her that even though he always goes in, he also always comes back, so she doesn’t need to think about having to say goodbye. Sue is slightly comforted by this and thanks Itsuki for listening to her. She says that talking about it has helped her feel lighter.  #11. Itsuki goes into Collette’s bakery but notices that there’s no sign of her despite the sign saying the bakery is open. Itsuki then hears the sound of Collette sniffling in the back.  When Itsuki asks why Collette is crying, she reveals that her grandfather’s recipes were stolen by the part-timer she had hired. Collette thinks that the girl was after the recipes from the beginning (which, duh, she was staking out your bakery for who knows how long), because the girl was Collette’s grandfather’s former apprentice. Itsuki questions this because the girl barely looks any older than Collette, but Collette mentions that she had changed her appearance with Star Energy (which can apparently do that now, I guess?). Collette then starts berating herself for thinking that she could run the bakery all on her own, so Itsuki offers her a handkerchief to dry her tries or blow her nose or whatever. A brief fade out happens where Collette takes a moment to collect herself. She then says that she’ll worry about the recipes later and that for now, she needs to focus on the bakery itself. Collette also figures that the girl has burned the recipes by now anyway (why the hell would she burn them?). Collette says that the girl and her grandfather butted heads a lot, so Collette is just going to forget about the recipes and the thief. Itsuki asks what she’s going to do now and Collette responds that she’ll have to create the “Ultimate Breadwinner.” Collette says that it was the last recipe in her grandfather’s book and “DO NOT READ” was written in there, so she doesn’t know what kind of bread it might be. Collette wants Itsuki to help her, even though she admits that she’s been selfish about that up to now. Itsuki agrees to help and Collette asks him to tell her about the different kinds of bread from his world in order to get some hints.  #12. Itsuki checks in with Lillith and asks if she’s had lunch yet. When she says no, Itsuki asks if she’ll go with him for dinner at a restaurant. Lillith doesn’t know what’s going on, but Itsuki explains that he did say he would take her on a date like she wanted. Lillith is a bit nervous about it, but after pumping herself up-  …in her usual Lillith way, the two head out into town. At the Shopping Center, Lillith asks Itsuki to hold up for a moment while she does a fortune telling to decide which corner they should turn. She says that they should avoid turning right because there is a water hazard that way. Itsuki goes along with that but mentions that at this rate they will never get to the restaurant. Lillith wonders if Itsuki is getting fed up with her but Itsuki just says that maybe she doesn’t need to rely on fortunes just to direct their way to a restaurant. Lillith is worried about Itsuki, but Itsuki tells her to just relax and focus more on the date. Lillith sees the logic in that and Itsuki also points out that not-knowing about how everything is going to turn out can be fun and exciting sometimes. Lillith says that she’s worried because she spent so much time thinking about all the different disasters that could happen because Itsuki is with her. Itsuki tells her that if she’s always worrying about stuff like that then she’ll never be more proactive, like she wants. Itsuki tells her that if anything does happen, then maybe she could try and find enjoyment in that. The two then agree to head for the restaurant without the use of any more fortunes. They then immediately run into some clumsy idiot who knocks over a bucket of water from a ledge above Lillith.  The bucket misses, but the water drenches the two of them. Itsuki then apologizes for insisting on ignoring the fortune telling because it led to this, but Lillith starts laughing about the whole thing. Lillith finds the humor in what happened and says that she’ll brag about this to Lillie. Speaking of, Lillith proceeds to immediately slip in the puddle and Lillie pops out. Lillie is surprisingly nonplussed by the fact that her head hurts and she’s soaked. She even shows concern about Itsuki’s arm which he had scraped a little. Itsuki explains what happened and Lillie mentions that Lillith’s emotions are still lingering, which is how Lillie knew that Lillith was having fun. Lillie then sneezes and Itsuki mentions how both of them have such cute sneezes, Lillie gets ticked off/embarrassed by that, then demands that Itsuki buy her some clothing from a boutique she always goes to. The event ends with Itsuki talking about how it’s like he’s dating two different people. #13. Tarua likes to run. No, I’m not going to stop using that joke. At least not until Tarua’s route loving GOES SOMEWHERE! The event opens with her tearing across the Academy Field and running into Itsuki.  Tarua mentions that she’s glad she ran into Itsuki because no matter how many times she does it he never gets hurt. She says he doesn’t fall over like trees do and doesn’t break like a door does. Tarua looks a little tired and Itsuki asks if she is, but Tarua just claims she just ran a bit more than usual. Itsuki then asks if the Boss is getting any better and Tarua says that he’s coming along, but still seems really tired (I’m calling it now: The Boss is going to die by the end of this route). Tarua says that she needs him to rest up because deliveries are increasing, but also says that she’s getting used to it and is reaching the point where she can take over Boss’s share. Itsuki asks if there’s any way he can help, but Tarua says she’s fine. She says that she just needs a little break and also that she’s kind of thirsty. Itsuki offers to get her a sports drink and that seems to perk Tarua right up. Itsuki offers to help again, but Tarua doesn’t go along with it. She mentions how she wanted to hire a part-timer, but the Boss is too stubborn about it, claiming that only officially licensed mailmen can deliver letters. Tarua is a little happy about that because she figures it means that the Boss acknowledges her as a proper mailman. Itsuki compliments her on also performing her Star Maiden duties well and Tarua is happy about that, but also says that she wants to work hard so that the Boss will compliment her as well. The event kind of peters out from there.  And that's all for another batch of Bonding Updates. We'll finally be able to get back to story content again and maybe see if any developments happen in that whole "Life stealing magic alchemist circle" that was going on under Narc's office that he's definitely learned we've discovered by now. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 19:05 on Feb 23, 2020 |
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Jan 28, 2020 02:34
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