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sb hermit posted:anyways, this game has heart, and a lot of inside jokes, and I love both. Same here. It's the kind of thing I'm always happy to find with obscure games like this.
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# ? Nov 17, 2021 18:49 |
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# ? May 9, 2024 20:15 |
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the dungeon is Big and has a lot of stuff both to transcribe and explain so I'm gonna take a quick day off before tackling it. Here's a Nico to tide you over:
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# ? Nov 17, 2021 20:54 |
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Wait, this weird little game is based on an anime? Huh, did not expect that. Also why is the art style of the anime and this fan material so different? It looks like the anime inspired some alien beings from another universe to do some art, it's so strange.
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# ? Nov 17, 2021 21:12 |
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Libluini posted:Also why is the art style of the anime and this fan material so different? It looks like the anime inspired some alien beings from another universe to do some art, it's so strange. it's a fan project rather than official licensed media; not required to meet any stylistic standard. Easier for the artist to maintain their own style than try to mimic the source.
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# ? Nov 17, 2021 22:02 |
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obssesednuker posted:I take it Honk's absence is significant... Honk did a murdre
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# ? Nov 17, 2021 22:36 |
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NullBlack posted:it's a fan project rather than official licensed media; not required to meet any stylistic standard. Easier for the artist to maintain their own style than try to mimic the source. And it shows, it is so much its own art style the actual media looks bland and boring in comparison! Man, I'd watch this poo poo if the actual anime was in this art style
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# ? Nov 17, 2021 22:54 |
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I do honestly like the art style, there's always a level of heart and confidence to this kind of art you see in these kind of fan projects. I guess the proper term is "amateur", but that's sounds more like an insult thanks to connotation. In general I've just got a soft spot for sorta wonky art of all kinds. Besides, I know I can't do any better.
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# ? Nov 17, 2021 23:20 |
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I ended up taking more than a day oops Sorry
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# ? Nov 24, 2021 05:02 |
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In which The Cutest Idol in the Universe brings a smile to her wardrobe designer MUSIC: CLUBROOM Greetings and salutations, everyone! This update will tackle the first dungeon, and also spoils the last few episodes of Love Live Season 1. Y’know, if you care about that kinda thing. Fortune favors the bold! Let’s both do our best! Just don’t talk too much, you’ll ruin my mood. Hwhaaaat? MUSIC: NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE BOARD DIRECTOR On that note, welcome to Kotori’s Dream: This Time For Real! We won’t die in real life if we die in the dream. Probably. Chun-eyed viewers might have noticed that the cost for upgrading Singing has changed from 2 to 1. This is because our shop costs are influenced by our Partner! Let’s get a peek at the exciting discounts and… counts((?) Is that a word?) our dear bird-themed compatriot can give us! What the heck the costs changed posted:Singing - Increases Live accuracy. NP Cost: 1 Here’s a Chunslime. We’ve seen it before, but… Now that we’re facing it at base stats, it’s not a sure shot. We do get the first Nico Nico Nii off, but it also isn’t enough to convey our feelings properly, so it laughs at us. God damnit. One more Nico Nico Nii does the trick, though. Kotori celebratorily… Hugs an alpaca? Listen her infatuation with alpacas wasn’t exactly the best set up in the anime either Here’s the other enemy in floor 1, Chirpy. It’s just a regular bird that chirps. It’s also 95% at base stats, so if fate really hated you you could just keep missing until you died or ran out of time. Let me know if that happens to you though, I have some gacha I need you to roll. They also barely give any EXP, but it’s free EXP. Wait, do dream-selves even need to eat? We take care of another Chunslime to get to level 2. Finally, that 5% chance won’t loom over my head! A quick search for the stairs later… You’re right. Well, it’s not like we’re talking much… Why are you making that “it’s not like we’re talking much” face. Hweh?! I-, I was not! Floor 2 comes with a new enemy type, the Bad Chunslime. You can tell it’s bad because of the Tough Scar on its face. Intimidating you. Look at it, threatening to commit vague social faux-pas of squeezing lemon juice on your fried food! Don’t they know that’s a matter of personal preference in Japan!? Won’t anyone think of the children?! As Nico saves the fabric of society one bad chunpple at a time, let’s talk about our partner. Other than the shop pricing, they provide the pivotal service of Onwards to floor 3! Hmm? What do you mean? Well, it’s full of all these weird creatures. Hweeeh?! But they’re all so cute! ……Right. C’mon Nico. If you can’t trust the aesthetic sense of your costume designer, who can you trust? Floor 3 brings with it Sleazymes, a scary prospect for any idol. The battle encounter dialogue is randomized, by the way; so Kotori could be clinging to Nico for protection from… A bird. They’re a fair bit tougher than the previous encounters, doing more damage and being a lot more slippery to hit. Must be all the hair grease. The levelling curve in this game is pretty steep, so knowing when and how to grind is crucial. It’s also trial and error. Here’s the two post-battle quotes that we didn’t see posted:Well done! Oh snap, it’s Three Birds. Speaking of trios, the second-years of µ's (Honoka, Umi, and Kotori) are also all childhood friends. In the manga Kotori was closer to Umi but in the anime swapped it so that Kotori and Honoka were much closer. These three birds however, will take that power of Friendship and beat us to death with it. It’s got like 7 squares! I still can’t explain the 2ch joke to you, but I can in fact get beaten up. I also misremembered about levelling, it doesn’t heal you fully but instead keeps the same HP percentage you had with your new max HP. A fact I learned after they showed up again. The text for failing to run is ‘The world isn’t so kind!’. What the heck, game? We’re almost dead, but it’ll be fine. Probably. There’s plenty of enemies where running is the best option, and we’ve got a mirror to heal to boot. Onwards! I’m here to cheer you on! You should help me out with the fighting too. Nico-chan, you’re the coolest!❤ ……...Tch. So, the Rapslime does 4 damage. With my current stats I can clear it in 2 Nico Nico Niis, so I can tank one hit and reach its heart without dying. I can then heal while Exploring and use my mirror the next encounter, hopefully against an enemy that doesn’t hit quite so hard. …Or, just not use the mirror and die. That works too? Nico-chaaaaan!! Oops. We did not in fact die, so that’s a plus. The game knows it’s trial and error (it even says so in the README), so there’s no real setbacks for a loss. A VICTORY HORN, FOR VENGEANCE! MUSIC: NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE BOARD DIRECTOR, TAKE 2 There’s no new dialogue for try, trying again so… I’m so impressed! To think that the so useless Nico-chan could improve so fast…! ……… Ah! Wait, don’t leave me behind! Nico-chaaaaaaan! This floor sucks. The only encounter here is Beefymes, the boss of the chuntorial. They only have 1 square, But their hearts are also needlessly buff. Making fun of a girl’s chest size after whinging about getting their muscles made fun of! What a jerk! I’ve excised all of the running this floor, but here’s the run quotes: Nico Yazawa Cuts her Losses posted:I’ll let you off the hook this time! Hm? It might be best to prepare before going to the next floor…! Ah, boss’s next floor. So blunt! The final floor has the final enemy type, and this one is actually feasible to grind! This one’s Minalinslimeky, based off of Kotori’s Akihabara Maid Persona, Legendary Maid Minalinsky! I personally would’ve gone for Minalinslimesky, myself… As they are harnessing the truly legendary power of maid outfits, they also hurt like hell. I debate running… …Then I remember that I have the power of Looking at Cute! Nothing like having a good look in the mirror to lift your spirits. The idea of Nico just throwing the mirror away after looking at it is kind of funny though, why are they consumable? Do they explode upon coming across Nico’s Cuteness? So as I do a bit of grinding before the boss, maybe I should properly explain what the heck a “Legendary Maid Minalinsky” is, huh? Well… it's the alias Kotori used in her part time job in a maid cafe in Akihabara. She started working secretly to build her confidence, but it turned out her personality meshed really well with the job and she got famous as a Legendary Maid. In the anime, the others find out about this and tell her to write a song about her experiences in Akiba: Wonder zone, the 5th insert in the anime and the first song there to have Kotori as the center. The power of the Akiba Charisma Maid, Legendary Maid Minalinsky, The Ideal Maid! But is being an 'ideal maid' really a good thing? Nurturing, but supportive to a fault. Great at following instructions, bad at making decisions by themselves. Able to take other's feelings into consideration effortlessly, but smothering their own feelings in the process. Well, I’m probably just overthinking things. It’ll be fine. Onward and upward. Finally made it to the boss floor. Let’s just beat it up and go back. ……… Yeah. Silence. All packed up to go abroad. Huh? Hey, this boss… Isn’t it just you? ……… So transparent. …...Well, I don’t really get what’s going on… MUSIC: wonder zone But I just need to defeat it, right?! We face Kotori Minami, ready to go abroad for her transfer to a fashion boarding school, and leave µ's behind. The game likes messing with you in particular, so she’s not particularly hard to hit and it’s mostly a race of Charisma. If you thought that Dancing being expensive meant it would be important, or Singing being cheap meant it would be important, sucks! Sorry! There’s no turning back, so it’s just a straight damage race from here on out. Maybe I should’ve stocked more mirrors… Not having learned my lesson, here’s me showboating at 1hp before using my mirror even though it isn’t even a full heal. We make it with 3 hits to spare. The music stops. Nico-chan! You did it! MUSIC: SUSUME -> TOMORROW Exit stage right. ……… ……Well, let’s go back, Nico-chan. ……Hey. ……… What is it? ……Why didn’t you go abroad in the end? ……… ……I thought that there was nothing I could do about it. You brought it out of nowhere, and caused a lot of trouble for Honoka. I couldn’t help but think: “what the hell is wrong with this girl?” And yet, just as you went and left us with that gloomy face of yours… You came back with a huge smile on your face. I really don’t get what you wanted to do. Honoka told me not to go. So I didn’t go. ……………… ………That’s it? Yup, that’s it. That flimsy reason, was all it took for you to throw it all away?! You wasted your dream and came back, just because she said not to go?! There was no way that I could go back on it at that point. And yet… “That flimsy reason”, to me, is much, much more important than any dream. Hey, Nico-chan. MetaMeme fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Nov 29, 2022 |
# ? Nov 24, 2021 05:03 |
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llama
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# ? Nov 24, 2021 06:02 |
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In which The Cutest Idol in the Universe meets up with the entourage once more Greetings and Salutations, everyone! Let’s touch base before our next dream. MUSIC: CLUBROOM Everyone’s still here, right where we left them. Same people, different things to impart. Kotori, after her dream posted:Nico-chan… Good luck. Maki, before her time in the spotlight posted:I'm next, huh? Whatever, let's get it over with… Eli, still scribbling something posted:Have a safe trip, I'll be here relaxing. Let’s pop in for a quick few chats. MUSIC: A TRADITIONAL ‘Yuuki No Reason’ REMIX The problem with meditation is that you’re left alone with your thoughts. Nico, are you focusing your mind? ……… It seems that you are, very well. ……… ……Nico, care to listen to me for a second? ……… …I’m a coward. I didn’t have the courage to tell Kotori not to go. Because I was scared of having that degree of responsibility over her life. And in the end, I was too late, and was unable to tell her how I felt. I was only able to egg Honoka on, and let her handle it all by herself. That’s why I’m a coward. A coward and a weakling. ……That’s why, I want to at least do what I can and… ……… ……It seems you have lost your focus. Now then, please do come again. Have you said all that you wanted to say? posted:Nico, are you focusing your mind? MUSIC:‘Kaguya no Shiro de Odoritai’ REMIX How about another reading? Nicocchi, good to see you here. This is the card that will guide you on this occasion! Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? It's "The Star" tarot card… reversed. …Heheh, I remember a certain someone pulling this one in the past too. …But as you are now, I think you deserve to be happy. Let me rephrase that: it’s okay for you to embrace happiness. After all, I’ve been watching over you for the past two years. Do your best! I’ll be cheering you on! Haah… A second opinion, please! posted:Oh? Back again, Nicocchi? MUSIC:‘>ω</ You have now subscribed to Cat Facts™. If you wish to cancel, text NYAN to this number. Do you know about Schrödinger's cat, nya? Never heard of it. Jeez, your education is really lacking, Nico-chan. Are you insulting me? Schrödinger's cat is a term used for when you can’t tell what’s inside a box until you open it, nya. And what happens to Schrödinger and his cat? Is that really what it means? Haah, Nico-chan, you care too much about details. I guess we can call that Schrödinger’s Nico! Just kidding!! What? The wave function collapses, and... posted:Do you know about Schrödinger's cat, nya? MUSIC: Strategy Meeting I could really go for some rice right now. I miss sushi... Here you go, Nico-chan! Tsuyahime from Yamagata! Whoa… Fhwaaaaaaa!! It’s so deliciousssss!!! …...Good for you. This stickiness and sweetness is just to die for! Don’t you think so, Nico-chan?! I didn’t get to eat it. Well, here’s the bill!! We look forward to seeing you again! Huh? I’m paying for it? Have you heard of Rakugo? Fascinating stuff posted:Nico-chan! Welcome! Maki is next, the main composer of μ's. As with Kotori we’ll get into her next upda- Wait, average at pen twirling!? I’m calling nonsense, do you know how much hair-twirling she does? Regardless, I’ll see you next update, with Maki’s Dream! MetaMeme fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Nov 24, 2021 |
# ? Nov 24, 2021 07:16 |
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drat, I don't know much about Love Live, but Umi looks cool. She looks kind of like a valuable character who never gets a single episode in the anime dedicated to her while others get to have loving arcs to themselves through the course of 2 loving seasons and a movie, and to add salt on the wound, she never even gets to get a proper center to herself because she gets overshadowed by her peers despite being so good. That's the gist I get from her, anyways.
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# ? Nov 24, 2021 09:15 |
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Odd Wilson posted:llama Careful. If there's too many llamas, it'll bring about the alpacalypse.
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# ? Nov 24, 2021 10:30 |
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Quackles posted:Careful. If there's too many llamas, it'll bring about the alpacalypse. Careful yourself. If Kotori heard about that, I've got a feeling she'd probably do it.
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# ? Nov 24, 2021 17:43 |
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I'm still so confused, but at least the game seems pretty neat still!
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# ? Nov 24, 2021 20:42 |
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In which The Cutest Idol in the Universe brings a smile to her songwriter MUSIC: CLUBROOM Greetings and salutations, everyone! Second verse, same as the first. Same amount of floors as last time, but different enemies and different trivia. Huh?! I should be the one saying that! I FIGURED OUT THE SONG NAMES: KARMA And on that note(heh), Maki’s dream! New partner, new enemies, new dynamic! We have now graduated from being a run of the mill IDOL and are now the local IDOL. I… don’t know the difference either? Anyhow, Maki! First-year and Nico’s junior, the local tsundere, associated with tomatoes, and the songwriter of µ's. How she relates to our titular protagonist and super-special bestest local IDOL Nico Yazawa is that they bicker like an old married couple. I mean, dedicated idol and someone who wants to be a doctor, resentment at a talented songwriter ‘wasting’ her talents, the conflict writes itself really. But under that harsh exterior is a deep bond of trust, and an almost magnetic fascination that can’t keep their gazes away from each other… …Is what the gaybaiting marketing says. C’mon, you don’t actually buy that from idols, right? ...right? The first thing you’ll notice about our new partner is the difference in dynamic. Unlike Kotori who led Nico with absent-minded enthusiasm, Maki instead shares an… antagonistic rapport instead. Pictured is her being flustered over our first encounter, literal seconds after chiding Nico for apparently glancing her way. Speaking of encounters, this is a familiar face(beak?)! The first few floors of dreams tend to have Chirpies, as Nico’s level (and her stat distribution!) reset between each foray. As before, they don’t hit very hard and are easy marks for our charm. And the moment the threat is passed she goes back to acting cool. Cute, isn’t it? Chirpies kind of give crap experience for the amount of time it takes to search for them, so I just head down… …Is what I would say if I were playing this optimally, but I wanted to show off the other enemy type on this floor. This will bite me later. Listen, it’s either the level up quote or the level up VFX, alright? If you must know, the level up quote was Haah… Nico really is the cutest… I mentioned before that each partners had their own specialties, and it shows in the prices that you can spend NP on. While the chuntorial with Kotori had the costs of the 3 stats be a static 1/3/2, Maki the songwriter instead offers us a 2/1/3 spread. At least, at first. The price for Dancing increases for each time we upgrade it. She never was very good on her feet, was she? This is ‘I don’t Slime it’, a slime with Maki’s nifty do. The name (and dialogue) is riffing off of Maki’s catchphrase, “Nani sore? Imi wakannai’. It’s one of those terms the weeaboo gaijins like to leave as the romaji, but it roughly translates to ‘What’s with you? I don’t get it’. It means a lot of things depending on the context but in this particular context with this particular character the translator has chosen to use this phrasing yadda yadda all translation is imperfect Coincidentally, it’s defeat quote is it finally getting it! What is “it”? Usually, the joke. In this case, the local IDOL’s charm. Later? Who knows…? Let’s just go down to the next floor… Dunno. Huuuuuh?! The heck? You’re starting to piss me off… Taking screenshots is hard, but I do like the imagery here where Nico is quite literally speechless. This right here is a Chuunime, named after Chuunibyou, or eighth-grader syndrome. Don’t let anyone get you down, eyepatches are forever cool! Especially don’t let the schmuck who didn’t buy any accuracy, missed two out of three hits, and ate an attack she had no business taking get you down! …You may want to keep at least one eye to see out of, though. Cosmetic eyepatches still rule and I won’t let anyone sway me. Probably. Maybe. Maki says ‘can’t you be more slick about it?’ here because she’s kind of bad at the whole complimenting thing. My lady doth protest too much?. They’re judging each other for being melodramatic seconds apart from each other. Unfortunately, the irony is lost on both of them. Ever downwards! Are all dreams gonna be like this? How should I know? Huh? Oi, isn’t this supposed to be your dream? Jeez… They just get on each other’s case about staring unprompted, it’s great This is Budhaime, reminiscent of the Buddha. Do not ask me how this relates to Maki’s dream, I Do Not Know There’s a lot of facade and bluster but when the chips are down and Nico’s hurt, Maki’s very clearly Genuinely Worried. D’aww…. The defeat quote is riffing on Namu Amida Butsu. Dreams are weird, dog. Don’t wanna. Good grief, how are you going to become a good idol with that attitude? It’s not like I want to… ......What? ...Wait, no, I mean, I’m doing it because I want to, but… Pft. Y-, you were just making fun of me!? You know, she-slimes, more health, hurt like hell, you get it you’ve played Dragon Quest. A… chunpuchun-o? No I see why they didn’t go with that pun that name sucks. You really shouldn’t drink inside dreams, you’ll- whatever, forget it, next floor. Sh-,Shut it! I don’t wanna hear that from you of all people! Hwuuh? But Nico Ni’s never told a lie in her whole liiife? Let’s just go. Hey! That’s dragon dash quest dot org slash wiki slash She dash slime, make sure not to accidentally go to the fandom wiki instead. This means you, sitting there reading this. You in particular. She’s coming for you. IT’S SYMBOOOOLIC CAW poo poo What, are you too proud to do a little Nico Nico Nii action? NOBODY’s too good for that! So the readme of this game just says it’s a “trial and error” kind of game I’ve spent too much time on the lower floors showing off enemies, and now I need a really really lucky floor 6 stair spawn to get to the boss. The pot’s calling the kettle black. I know. It’s not something you can talk about easily, but… ...What? ...No, nevermind. It’s double symbolic, since it’s rubbing it in both mine and Nico’s faces at once!! So, you’ve been levelling your accuracy, right? (do you get the metaphor) I lose a fair bit more health before cutting my losses and running. Discretion is the better part of valor in this game, and knowing what fights to take is half the battle! But stopping the hands of your clocks won’t stop the inexorable flow of time, and our time is up regardless. The alpacas are angry, with THREE whole exclamation marks. so like, that’s what happens if the timer runs out. don’t do that. Anyway, this is where my notes from a year ago runs out. Just noting that the prose might be slightly different because you can never step into the same river twice yadda yadda you’ve also read Heraclitus let’s move on MUSIC: KARMA Say, have you ever been stuck in a rut? Well and truly stuck in the motions? And in the midst of your frustrations, what could be more irritating than someone lamenting having what you would kill to have. Seeing them squander and bemoan what would let you finally move forward from this holding pattern, seeing them Squander their talent for writing beautiful songs— Able to proudly pursue their dream like you never could— If only you could tell them what about them makes you so envious. Alas, the well-meaning but prideful and brash approach rouses defensiveness, and the true depth of your mutual respect and yearning go unaddressed. Or everyone’s reading too much into it since WindyNii’s commissioning so much art. Who’s to say? Anyway, we’re here! Hurry up and defeat it, okay? Shut it. ……… Twice could be a coincidence. …It’s nothing. MUSIC: REVOLUTIONARY AISHITERU BANZAI …Well, can’t say I fully understand what’s happening but… Just need to beat this one for now! They gave her 12 squares so unless you hit that 80% chance twelve times or invest a crapton of points into the rapidly scaling Dancing to get it up to at least 7 you have to do three lives to get through each iteration. It’s a hilarious joke played by the devs entirely at my expense. Woo. STATISTICALLY AVERAGE ROLLS, MAKE SOME NOOOOOOISE You can’t skip turns in this game so you realistically can’t lose unless you just don’t use your mirrors if you’ve built right. Still a lot of mashing, though. MUSIC: AISHITERU BANZAI But it’s not really us that brought a smile to her face, was it? Exit stage right, led by a helping hand. ……… ……… ………Say. …What is it? …Huh? I’m talking about when Kotori left to go abroad… …And when Honoka quit. I asked them and they agreed, wanting to continue to be idols. But you ended up refusing when we asked you. And then you went back to playing the piano on your own, looking all gloomy. ……I woke up from a long dream. What? What’s this change of topic? That’s why, I thought that my music would have to end one day. My music that had stopped began moving once more, and became so colorful. Every day was just like being inside a wonderful dream. And I felt it would be pointless to chase after a waking dream. Hey! Everything after the “my music has to end” part was too unclear. Hey, Nico-chan. When I talk to my parents about school now, they seem so happy about it. I’ve always been meant to be a doctor. That’s what we’ve always thought. I’m sure they would accept it with a smile. I don’t think I have the courage for that though… Thoughts like “I have no choice but to be this” seem like a waste to me… SFX: CYMBAL ROLL
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# ? Nov 21, 2022 11:23 |
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In which The Cutest Idol in the Universe checks in with her entourage one last time Hey everyone. How about we do one last check-in, for old times sake? NAILED THE SONG TITLE THE FIRST TIME: CLUBROOM Wrapping up loose ends. Anything before we close this out? Kotori, holding Chun tightly posted:It’ll be over soon, we’re waiting for you, Nico-chan. Maki, secure in herself posted:...What? Don’t look at me too much. Eli, really intent on that drawing posted:I’m up next, huh? I got a lot of things I want to talk to you about, so this is a good opportunity. Let’s pop in for a quick few chats. I STILL DON’T KNOW THE ACTUAL TITLE TO THIS: A TRADITIONAL ‘Yuuki No Reason’ REMIX Everything will be just fine in the end. Nico, are you focusing your mind? ……… You truly are amazing, Nico. ……… ......Nico. When it comes to idols, you are more serious and earnest than anyone else. ...I can tell that just from looking at you. Because that’s your dream, isn’t it? ...What did you think of us… when you met us for the first time? ...And, what do you think of us now? ……… ...I can tell just from looking at you. Indeed, I can tell very well. We have spent enough time together for that.. Now then, please do come again. ...We’re waiting for you. Knowing that, we still linger regardless… posted:Nico, are you focusing your mind? MUSIC:‘Kaguya no Shiro de Odoritai’ REMIX How about one last reading? Nicocchi. ......... ...This is the last card that will guide your path. The ”Death” tarot card… Don’t worry, it’s reversed. But, maybe the upright Death would also have meaning in this situation. Maybe there’s a big turning point about to show up in your life…? ...Everything will be fine, Nicocchi. I’m sure you can overcome whatever’s on your way. Besides, you’re not the same as you used to be. You have me on your side! Overly sentimental? posted:...Nicocchi, I’m sure you’ll be fine even without my fortune-telling. MUSIC:‘>ω</ nya Nico-chan, I’ve got some really sad news, nya. Today’s cat classroom will be the last one to air. Hm… Don’t make such a sad face! It’s not like this is the last time we’ll see each other! I wasn’t. There you go again Nico-chan, you really just can’t be honest with yourself, huh? But I know, I know how you feel about all of us… What do you want? Ehehe, nah, it’s nothing. Well, see you later, Nico-chan! Thank you for cancelling from Cat Facts™. posted:Oh, you came back even after I told you it was the last one? MUSIC: Strategy Meeting You know, Hanayo could actually give Nico a run for her money in terms of Idol geekdom. Ah, Nico-chan. Huh? There’s no rice here this time. Ahaha… being surrounded by all of that rice made me act a bit weird, so… Ah, you woke up. There’s something I need to tell you, Nico-chan. Before I become all weird again… Whoa, a line straight out of a movie. You know, I’ve always really admired you! Since I’ve always looked up to idols too… That’s why, I know how strong you are, Nico-chan! And, how weak you can be… ...... Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll all be smiling by the end. After all, you’re a super idol, Nico-chan! A brief moment of reflection posted:Ah, Nico-chan. And last but not least, Eli Ayase, (former) Student Council President and choreographer of μ's. I’ll get into her next update, ideally not in November 2023. No promises, though. I would put in a pithy “oh golly gee willickers i sure hope I get these next dungeons down without any WACKY DEATHS but like I’ve already finished recording and there’s no more deaths so like I can’t be assed Man, I should have finished this LP back when I was full of piss and vinegar and not so jaded. MetaMeme fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Nov 23, 2022 |
# ? Nov 21, 2022 12:12 |
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Trying to figure out if the game is making the common mistake of misreading the Death card (Tower is the card whose arrival indicates A Bad Time), or if having the Death card show up in reverse here is actually rather apt.
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# ? Nov 21, 2022 15:57 |
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Happy to see this back! i can't believe the llamapocalypse is finally over
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# ? Nov 21, 2022 16:27 |
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It's cool that you came back for this. I played the game myself in the meantime and I think it's fantastic, so thank you for letting me find out it about it!
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# ? Nov 21, 2022 17:45 |
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MetaMeme posted:
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# ? Nov 22, 2022 01:33 |
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In which The Cutest Idol in the Universe brings a smile to her choreographer ACTUALLY THIS IS CALLED: SHALL WE TAKE A DETOUR? Greetings and salutations, everyone. Let’s wrap up our bandmate’s dreams, shall we? More floors, more dangerous enemies(?), and a (former) student council president that’s more permissive! Let’s just get this over with already. MUSIC: WHAT ELI WANTS TO DO (STAGE) A fresh new level, and a fresh new start as Japan’s finest IDOL! Our final partner of μ's is Eli Ayase, fellow third year and formerly the strait-laced Student Council President. Oh, and she’s quarter Russian (on her grandmother’s side), former ballerina and the choreographer of μ's. She and Maki make up the rest of BiBi, Nico’s subgroup in μ's. Facts copied from the wiki aside, she and Nico have been friend-of-a-friends (friends-in-law?) since their first year of high school through Non-non-Nozomi, even though they butted heads often. Nico butts heads with others a lot, actually. Could it be the super-special bestest finest in Japan IDOL’s fault? ……Nah. Same old chirpies, day in and day out. Oh, by the way, you can tell which year said student is in by their ribbons: First-years like Maki had blue, Second-years like Kotori had red, And third-years like Nico and Eli have green. Nico interacts with Eli a lot more genuinely and less guarded than either Kotori or Maki. Know someone for three years and you start keeping it real, huh? Anyway, our first new enemy is I won’t Slime it, riffing on Eli’s response to the second-years at the start of Love Live petitioning for an Idol Research Club. It’s also what the tagline of the dungeon is referencing, in case you were curious. This line is referencing this panel of the manga. Even by female idol standards, Eli’s been a part of a lot of gaybaiting, like that one song where she sings about falling in forbidden love in a garden of lilies with her vice-president whose likes are ‘looking at cute girls’. I’m sure they’re just really good friends. Anyway, Eli’s stat spreads as a partner are 3/2/3, which initially sounds worse than any of the others. And it is. However, the main thing is that you can buy mirrors for only 1 Nico point, and unlike the other partners that cost never goes up. This means you’re allowed to play a lot more fast and loose with health and leveling. The ending quote is it finally allowing ‘it’. What is ‘it’? In the source material, the idol group. In this case, Japan’s finest IDOL’s activities. Later? Who knows…? Let’s just go on to the next- Hey, WAIT! We’ve already done this joke before! How? Being like this, walking side by side with you. Just a year ago, I would have never expected this to ever happen. Same here. The Chika fish is here because Eli’s nickname is Elichika. It’s appearance is based off of a japanese meme of a fish about to be cut. If for whatever reason you’re playing along, make sure to be around level 3~4 before heading down to floor 2 or you’ll get clobbered. Suppose so. I also thought the same. D’awww A fungus! A garbage hit rate! A level up! Man, I could really go for hot pot right now. This is a deer. It’s name kinda sounds like Chika if you squint your ears, so it’s here. Our hit rate on this thing is 34%, sooo… We make a classy retreat. I just love Eli’s reaction here. And the last new enemy is an Amazon(wait, are we allowed to say brand names out loud?) Chunslime! 400 yen is around $2.8 USD, and is a whole 100 more yen than the soundtrack for this game that they’re selling for an equivalent of $2 USD, an absolute steal! In this dystopic hellscape, merely smiling at an ad signs you up for their associate program. Truly, we live in Jorjor Well’s 1969. ...That so. Well, I also didn’t exactly dislike you either. ...Nozomi told me a lot about you too. She did? She would make a face every time I talked bad about you. This is the Matrichunka, a matryoshka doll and also part of the reason I’m not the biggest fan of this dungeon. You see, both when I was first playing this and when I was recording for the LP I was nursing a wrist injury. It’s emblematic of the issues I had because it has 15(!!) dancing squares and is the primary source of EXP you’ll be grinding. It’s Not Great, tbh It’s also a doll of russian make unsure of itself. I wonder what that could mean…? Why? Huh? She did that because she wanted to, why should I care? Heh, guess so. ...I guess, I don’t mind. Heheh, it’s a promise. By, the by, this is the statline you need if you want to reliably one-turn these. There’s also a new enemy, but if you can handle Matrichunkas you can sweep them pretty reliably. You can actually beat the dungeon with these stats if you just stock up on like 15 mirrors, but I didn’t do that because I value my wrist. Ish. Spit it out. Huuh? Why would I? So I worried I might have been too harsh on you… ......Pfft. Hmm, I wonder? Ha, who would’ve thought you cared so much about little Nico? Ngh… This is the Bluebird of Happiness, a common symbol of how actively searching for happiness causes it to slip from our fingers. A trick in this game is to give a new enemy one Nico Nico Nii to see whether you should fight it or not. To validate the story of the bird landing on your shoulder when you stop chasing it, we immediately choose to then run away. We do this for the entire floor. ...Huh? Me? I would never do that. ...Well, can’t say I had many positive thoughts about you either. There’s nothing but bluebirds in this floor too moving on We both fell into that trap. ......Guess so. Huh? Can you do it now? Accepting others… Accepting us. ......I see. ...What? This floor also has more deer and… A new enemy! Katchunsha is referencing the Russian folk song Katyusha, and it also speaks lyrics from said song. We are no match for the immortal science and we continue to move swiftly to the next floor. Counting on you, Nico! ............ But thrice is a pattern. A Russian doll, unable to think for herself. It’s a shame that even the most skilled puppeteers can’t quite replicate the elegance and grace of a ballerina, no? MUSIC:A STRONG PERSON Regardless, this is our final encounter for this dream. If you’ll take a look at the left there, that’s 40(!!) squares. While I just rawdogged it with these stats, you’re better off with a little bit higher stat curve as being able to reliably 2 cycle a Nico Nico Nii saves you a ton of wrist pain. It’s a rather large amount of mashing. Since that was 1/7th of the bar, please imagine me doing that 7 more times while healing in between for the full experience. While we merely dance for the random encounters, Nico always sings to her bandmate’s hearts. Accepted them a long time ago, huh? MUSIC:WHAT ELI WANTS TO DO But it’s not “our” hand that she takes, is it? Our last exit to stage right, taking her outstretched hand. ...What do you mean? She sighs. ...Hey. Since when did you start wanting to be an idol? You completely had it out for us, got in our way a ton and yet… You actually wanted to do it too. What, were you just being jealous all this time? Good grief, you do know you’re not a kid, right? ...Yeah, since when, huh? I have to wonder. Back then… I wasn’t thinking of what I wanted to do at all. It was during that moment that I realized how I actually felt. And I just wanted to be like that since a long time ago. ...Mhm, yeah, that sounds like you. ......Of course not. ...I gave up on mine once, way in the past.. But you know, Nico? I’m not sure when it started, but… Even after that, I still began to want to be an idol… And it was thanks to you all that I could change. I mean, just think about it. It’s almost like… If you manage to get past that… SFX: CYMBAL ROLL MUSIC: SHALL WE TAKE A DETOUR? But we’re still here, and we’re still stuck. Ahaha, good work out there. ...So what was the deal with all this, anyway? What did you guys want? ...Ah, whatever, it’s all over now, right? ......... Hm? Huh? The music cuts. ..................... Ha. Ha……… Ha, so that’s it, huh? This whole time. What a stupid joke. .........Tch.
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# ? Nov 23, 2022 07:59 |
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In which "The Cutest Idol in the Universe" is all alone. SFX: STATIC HUM
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# ? Nov 23, 2022 08:00 |
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# ? Nov 23, 2022 08:30 |
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# ? Nov 23, 2022 15:37 |
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In which “The Cutest Idol in the Universe” faces reality. Let’s proceed. Keeping one’s fingers crossed is a wish for good fortune, but it can also mean that one is lying. It’s you! MUSIC: A SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUAL, NICO Obviously, you don’t need to banter with yourself. Don’t be silly! It’s the Nico Sliime! (or should it be the Nico Nico Nliime?) It needs a little bit more love and stings a bit, but it’s no less deserving than anyone else of a bright smile! With a 2/2/2 stat cost spread, we’re a triple threat! Mirrors might cost a bit more each time, but money being a bit tight is nothing unusual. You’ve got to cook for three younger siblings on only one income, after all! ............ Oh, chilled noodles are on sale! A few little additions to the pot here and there… And even a 500 yen noodle set can be a hearty meal for the whole family! Did you know? The japanese verb for stewing is ‘niko mu’! Doesn’t that just make your heart go ‘Nico’? No? Not at all? I understand. I’ll try harder next time. What’s the World Renowned IDOL’s favourite animal? A uNICOrn! Eh? eh? No? Still not good enough? Not good enough at all? I understand. I just have to try harder for next time. See? Just a little bit more polishing on my dancing skills and they smiled! That’s all that really matters, in the end! ”Coming home is terrible whether the dogs lick your face or not; whether you have a wife or just a wife-shaped loneliness waiting for you. Coming home is terribly lonely, so that you think of the oppressive barometric pressure back where you have just come from with fondness, because everything's worse once you're home.” I need to work harder… Hey, think you can stay longer for practice? The stairs on floor 5 come up right away, and it’s best to take them! After all, the only encounter on this floor is a bossy, demanding challenge that would require you to sharpen and hone your skills to impossible, self-destructive standards to even come close to properly addressing. I’m sure we’ll catch up to them soon if we do so! Hey, what do you think is the most important thing about working in a group? Is it prestige and exclusivity? Similar, but not quite. Is it fame and publicity? As if. Self-awareness? Not that either. I’d say the single most important thing about working with others is finding people with similar motivation to you. ......... ...I see, it’s fine. I mean, it was obvious from the start. Asking members of the go-home club for that much dedication? Even a child would know that’s an unfair ask. Pfft, I guess that makes us stupider than a child, then? It’s okay, I can do this on my own. The rise of Nico, the solo charismatic school idol! ”You think of the vermin clinging to the grass stalks, long hours on the road, roadside assistance and ice creams, and the peculiar shapes of certain clouds and silences with longing because you did not want to return. Coming home is just awful.” The other straws we grasp at don’t feed into our loop of “self-improvement” well, But struggling in vain against the unceasing flow of time does rather nicely. At least, until we find an easier target. Enter the Lonely Idol. She’s our up-and-comer and is a lovely stepping-stone for our progression. She talks a big game but the gains from taking her down outweigh the cost in mirrors. See, she’s even thanking us for sparing the time for her. 「That's an idol, an idiot dances Not realizing this, I dance inside the cage」 Almost finished. Wouldn’t you like to become a school idol? This floor introduces the Symbol of the Summit, everything you grasped for and imitated only to come up short. What do they have that you don’t? Everything, really. It would be shorter to list the ways they don’t. But if I had to say, the biggest thing would be that the three of them have each other? Regardless, all you can do against them is run away with your tail between your legs. It’s easier to face the facsimile of yourself made of straw than anything in reality, isn’t it? Then again, any encounter must be herculean to a “World Renowned IDOL” that can’t even look at her own name. Just a few more steps, now. The music cuts. You can hear the sound of your footsteps on the ceramic echo loudly in the hallway. 「When I opened my eyes, I was walking all alone It seems that we've eaten our way to the very end of this dream.」
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# ? Nov 24, 2022 11:13 |
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Terry van Feleday posted:It's cool that you came back for this. I played the game myself in the meantime and I think it's fantastic, so thank you for letting me find out it about it! If i don't get this done by the end of the month I will likely never touch it again until november 2023 so I'm rushing it out the door ASAP glad you liked it though
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# ? Nov 24, 2022 11:18 |
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....oh.
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# ? Nov 25, 2022 07:39 |
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I couldn't help but notice Nico-partner's ribbon color, which started as blue for the bulk of the dream and turned red on this floor.
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# ? Nov 25, 2022 08:52 |
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Nico Yazawa is a liar. MUSIC: CLOCK (FLOOR 11) I’m gonna become a super idol one day… So all your whispering means nothing to me… Just…… Just ignore their whispers and focus on licking your wounds. You can’t run and you can’t hide. What is to be done? It’s simple, really. What you’ve been doing all this time: Putting smiles on people’s faces. They were begging for me to join, it’s tough being this popular. Just ignore them. What they say doesn’t matter. You’ll make it not matter. She’s a little younger, so she’s a bit more gullible. Not like it matters anyway. Why would they ever doubt what you say? They begged for me to use it too, you see. So I’ll be there most of the time after school… Twisting the truth to fit in impossible knots. Pretending not to hear the overt mockery. Numbing yourself to your mentality being shaved away, bit by bit. You basically don’t even have to try with how young he is. He trusts you completely. As long as you can stomach betraying their implicit trust, it’s all too easy. As long as you can follow up lies with bigger lies, it’s effortless. You guys be careful too, you need to look out for paparazzi as my siblings! ...... As long as they’re smiling, it’s fine. No matter what happens to you, it’s fine. She’s a bit harder to trick, but it’s for her own good. She’s too busy with work to be worrying about you anyway. Ah, ahaha, y-, yeah, it’s fine. Huh? ...Yeah! I’m having a lot of fun every day! Yeah! Do your best at work too! And I’ll… be working hard too… Failure normally carries the faintest of silver linings; at least you aren’t tormented by the knowledge of what might have been— They’re the same age as me… And yet, I…… The seasons change and fall, the trees shed their leaves, but you’re still here, and you’re still stuck. Left to wallow in trivialities. What?!! How can you not tell?! They’re A-RISE. A-RISE. They’re school idols. Yes, an idol group formed at a school. Don’t you know anything? God, for a second-year like her to be so clueless. She can’t even read the pamphlet she was holding? Who dares disregard me like this? ......! Her…?! She probably thinks this is just some sort of game you can do easily! ...Hmph. Reality will……… ……………… Until— Until— ...Looks like my luck has finally turned around! ...But, how am I going to explain this back at home? ......I know. With a steady, practised hand. Like you’ve always done. Just like when you made those flyers. Heh, I did a pretty good job! Nothing looks out of place! Yeah, it looks way better with me in the center! The dominoes are falling faster now. Lies on lies on lies on lies— Heheh, I know, right? These girls? Disguising your bandmates as your entourage, This futile game of whack-a-mole, getting faster and faster— So since they kept asking I let them be my backup dancers. But well, there’s eight of them so they should be fine to at least debut. ......... ......... You couldn’t hit all of the moles if you had 9 arms to do it with. But you can’t stop. You’re up to your elbows in fallen dominoes. Ah, aaah, right, it was written in one of the posters, huh… ............ So you shamble onward, doing what you do best. The music fades. Eight lies, for eight Backup dancers. A cut to black. Fading into an unfamiliar stage. Beat. You’ve been pretty annoying, this whole time. Another beat. There’s nobody else here. Disgusting… You’re really getting on my nerves now. Why are you acting like you know everything about me? She leaves the side, and… Fades in center stage. Who even are you? Your dream. Ridiculous… What did you say?! What the hell would you know?! I’ve been with you for so long now… I know how you lived to get this far. I know how you feel right now. Yeah, yeah, brag all you want. I need to get past here. MUSIC: VS NICO’S DREAM So I’ll go ahead and defeat you now! She talks a big game, but she’s fairly mediocre in all aspects. Relative to everyone else, there’s nothing she does particularly well; no specialty to call her own. Just ignore her. Don’t think too hard about what she’s saying. Focus on surviving today, one step at a time. The music fades. I did it…! I won! Pfthahahaha! Aah, sorry, sorry. You just made me laugh. ......Wha- ......Why would you ever think that you could defeat me? I watched as you were so lost and unreasonable. I watched as you were so helplessly hurt, time and time again. All alone in that dark club room, hugging your knees. ......It’ll all be fine, Nico. We got this far working hard together, right? I will always support you, as you do your best to make me come true. To a place where you can run from yourself, and never be hurt. To our castle, where you can be an invincible future super idol. I will continue to support you from this moment onward too. From here on out… The game closes. MetaMeme fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Nov 25, 2022 |
# ? Nov 25, 2022 10:14 |
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Oy. That got... complicated.
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# ? Nov 25, 2022 10:23 |
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# ? Nov 25, 2022 10:43 |
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I'm starting to think all is not well with Nico.
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# ? Nov 25, 2022 10:55 |
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# ? Nov 25, 2022 15:38 |
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Is this another game that's going to make you mess with a text file to continue?
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# ? Nov 25, 2022 16:08 |
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Nico Yazawa is loved anyway. When we first start up the game, we are greeted to a f█m█l██r v██d. It fades into static buzz with the titular Nico Yazawa, #█ ██████ idol in the ████████ ██ years running. She is currently ██ ███ student idol █████ █̵̧̮̻̫͂̓̅͒̈͋̉͗͌̿̄̀’̷̡̢̨̳̹̤̮̘̟̹̝̗̐́́͗̆̀̑́͑͐͐͐̽̏̕̚͜͝█̸̢̨̼̳̜̹̘̜̤̰̼̪̏̒̒̔̇̾̋̊̎͑̀̍̃͜͝͠ (pronounced █̸̣̦͖̦̻͍̠̲͉̙̖͓̺̙͗͌͑̏͊́̾̍͜█̷̢̛̥͕̔̔̎͐͊̿̍̃̊̿̈́█̶̧̪̗͇̘̩̼̱̝̐͜█̸̧̫̩̞̳͑̾̓̄̑̄), and she and her dream have been serving as our protagonist this game. No, forget it. That doesn’t matter at this point, does it? She unfortunately doesn't seem any more aware of our bearings than we are. You can definitely do it. Isn’t that what you always tell yourself, too? She ██fortunately doesn’t seem ███ more aware of our bearings than we are. There’s no better way to make a name for yourself than to be with them, huh? Wasn’t it worth it to endure all that pain to have such good luck now? She █████████████ doesn’t seem ███ ████ aware ██ ███ ████████ ████ ██ ███. They’re all different from you in that regard. And yet, if you let them into your heart… ......... You will be left alone, again. So, don’t you think it’d be better to be alone from the get go? She █████████████ █████'█ s██ too ████ aware ██ ███ ████████ ████ ██ ██. Then, everyone will split up and go down their own paths in life. You know that, don’t you? ███ █████████████ ██████ ███ too ████ aware ██ ███ ████████ ████ ██ ██. You close your worn-down heart, and live all alone. Just thinking about what will happen after you make me come true… Too aware. I mean, trying to make me come true is the only way you know how to live. ███ █████. I’m sure that something will happen. I’m sure that you’ll be saved. Let’s keep it up, Nico! ███ █████— ██████ ██████ fades into view. Founding and leading █'█ might mean she can ████ us█— Since we can hear her loud and clear. .........Honoka? ...What do you want? Need me for something? Nico, that’s our enemy. You just need to defeat her and you’ll become the center, right? ......... Back to basics. Eight boxes for eight other members, but that doesn’t matter for just hitting her. ██████: I tried thinking, as hard as I could. ███████: And, I think I came up with a pretty good idea in the end. Another hit. H█████: I can’t really say that I know what you’ve been through. After all… ██s███: We only met after you went through everything, but…. Again. H█n█k█: I feel like we’ve got to know you, just a bit now. K█s█k█: And I think I know how you feel about us too. Harder this time. H█n█k█ can’t keep this up forever. Just who does H█n█ka think she is? Wait, in her hands— The white lingers, then fades into two fellow seniors. MUSIC: NICO’S PAST (ORCHESTRAL) Well, it is the first time we’ve had to think of designing an outfit. Yeah, we need to have a super cute outfit waiting for her! A dress worthy of the number one idol in the universe! That’s my kayo-chin! It looks nice and all, but can we really set up something like this…? Yeah, let’s do our best, Maki-chan! The implication here is that Maki’s family is loaded. Really? I wanna see! Really? That’s a relief. Think you can make it with this……? I’ve said that Kotori was Nico’s costume designer before; but that was a lie. Kotori might be the one actually making the costumes and is the costume supervisor, but Nico is usually the one designing them. We don’t have much time, so let’s do our best to pick up the pace! Yeah!!! Who knows. She’s not very honest about how she feels. ...No, it’ll be fine. I’m sure of it. ...Indeed, let’s believe in her and wait. Is Honoka already heading over there…? For whom does the bell toll? A beautiful requiem for the solo idol Nico Yazawa, And a celebration of the rebirth of an equal member of µ's. We fade back. What is……… This…… I didn’t ask for anything like this! So why would you do something like this… You don’t even know what I think of all of you in the first place…… Well. Wha……….. Ha……… Ha………… So you’re all just idiots. Nico-chan! You… Stop it. Right now you’re with us! A familiar soft chime. .........Kgh! That’s why, Nico-chan. 「Honoka reaches out her "hand" to me. and I———」 SFX: HEARTBEATS MetaMeme fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Nov 27, 2022 |
# ? Nov 26, 2022 12:20 |
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I'll post the next update in the thread tomorrow, to prevent anyone from accidentally spoiling themselves for now. It will be with the credits and afterwords. See you soon.
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# ? Nov 26, 2022 12:21 |
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Don't take her hand, she probably hasn't even washed it in the past year. Gross. edit: oh the buttons are links i am dumb. BUT STILL DONT DO IT.
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# ? Nov 26, 2022 12:34 |
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TeeQueue posted:edit: oh the buttons are links i am dumb. Another victim of the merciless ruina illiteracy
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# ? Nov 26, 2022 12:37 |
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# ? May 9, 2024 20:15 |
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MetaMeme posted:Another victim of the merciless ruina illiteracy It's not my fault, the text boxes didn't have Managerial Guidelines unlocked yet.
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# ? Nov 26, 2022 12:39 |