#dawninbloom

[dawninbloom]

I had my adorable girls pose for a New Year's family photo. Not sure why they look confused...

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all have a lovely 2026. Credits to my girlfriend @ninetheghost. <3

[dawninbloom]

Crack theory: IkeSen, IkeRev, IkeVamp, and IkeVil all take place in the same universe.

Both Ikemen Revolution and Ikemen Villains are set in nineteenth-century Britain. Alice (Rev's MC) falls into the magical world of Cradle after pursuing a man resembling the White Rabbit. Kate (Vil's MC) discovers a secret organization known as Crown, which harbors criminals cursed by fairytales. So what's the connection here?

Cradle's existence suggests that there may be some validity to other fairytales, providing potential insight on the origins of the Cursed. The disparities between humans from the Land of Reason and humans from Wonderland explains why magic functions differently in the two games; i.e., citizens from the Land of Reason have the ability to nullify magic from Cradle. Given the secrecy surrounding the Cursed, it's reasonable to assume Alice would be unaware of Crown's existence, hence why she's frightened by magic. Likewise, it's understandable that Kate wouldn't know about Cradle, regarding Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as only a work of fiction.

What about Ikemen Sengoku and Ikemen Vampire? Vampire is set in nineteenth-century France, whereas Sengoku takes place in... the Sengoku period. Shocking! Despite this, their connection is more apparent than the aforementioned games. Mai (Sen's MC) is taken from modern-day Japan to Sengoku-era Japan when she accidentally encounters a wormhole. Mitsuki (Vamp's MC) is transported from modern-day France to nineteenth-century France after she mistakenly enters a portal. In short, the time travel narratives share similar characteristics, leading me to believe it's the same world.

Lightning round. I already have to suspend my disbelief to accept the existence of fairytale magic, so why not do the same for time travel? Technically, Alice arrived in Cradle via a gateway, which she did again in the Looking Glass route sequels. Said gateway confirms dimension jumping is possible in Rev, connecting it to Sen and Vamp. Furthermore, if the Cursed can exist, then why can't vampires? Though the canonical nature of the story can be questioned, I faintly recall a Halloween event where Crown transformed into undead beings with a taste for humans. That sounds exactly like vampires.

If you're curious as to why Mai isn't seeing any of this, there are two main reasons. 1. Remember the difference in time periods? She's hundreds of years early. The most plausible explanation is that anyone who uses magic is put to death. 2. She's in Japan rather than Europe. Another possibility is magic had yet to reach Asia, thus the lack of sorcery. While all of my evidence can be taken as circumstantial, I'd like to argue proving they aren't related is equally as speculative. But that's just a theory. A crack theory.

[dawninbloom]

I mustn't let this transgression slide.

Credits to my girlfriend @ninetheghost!

[dawninbloom]

Everyone kindly give a round of applause for my MC. She may not be the brightest, but I am a proud mother nonetheless.

Bugs when you lift up a rock:

Credits to my good friend @.192congas on TikTok! Please check out his account; he posts really cool art.

[dawninbloom]

IkeVil Elbert Route Ch. 2

Content Warnings: This is a playthrough from the perspective of a developmental editor! Please don't take my critiques as me disliking the game's content. <3

Crown's involvement makes significantly more sense now that I know their mission regards a human trafficking ring. They should've made this clear from the start, since there's no reason to keep key information hidden from Kate or the reader. Introducing crucial context haphazardly gives off the impression it was a secondary thought in the writing process.

Huge props to Cybird for including a storyline relevant to our current political climate! I'm impressed.

I'm getting real tired of your attitude, Alfons...

Adding some levity to his route is a necessary palate cleanser, but going about it in an exaggerated manner is too on the nose. On the contrary, Elbert and Alfons collecting little teaspoons like grandmothers is adorable.

If Alfons has Elbert's best interests at heart, why doesn't he intervene to prevent him from engaging in self-destructive behaviors? Their dynamic is already quite complicated. I'm interested to see how it progresses.

How did Kate even get the notion that he was buying a present? I find it hard to believe she'd reach such an arbitrary conclusion.

This is akin to asking whether the chicken or the egg came first, despite the fact it's not a complicated question nor an evolutionary dilemma. Elbert's greed is not a moral conundrum, and I hope the game doesn't intend to depict it as one.

The answer is @ninetheghost. Doohickey is a close second, I suppose.

This chapter contains a lot of exposition. I'm not a fan of the delivery, as it forces Kate to speak in questions rather than express her curiosity naturally. We've already witnessed multiple sequences where he inquires if something is beautiful; we don't need to be handheld to that conclusion.

Rat bastard always has something nasty to say. I'm at my limit. You are hijacking Elbert's route!

This makes perfect sense, and it leads me to believe Alfons truly does care for his well-being. His attempts to recoup the losses from Elbert's excessive spending are so sweet. However, it once again begs the question of why he permits such outrageous purchases in the first place.

My peace has ended. I was living a lie, forgetting the existence of ye old intimacy checks. Woe is me.

[dawninbloom]

IkeVil Elbert Route Ch. 6

Content Warnings: This is a playthrough from the perspective of a developmental editor! Please don't take my critiques as me disliking the game's content. <3

I enjoy how the writers aren't afraid to address the horrifying caveat of possessing magical powers, that being the lack of control over their activation. Elbert's desire to avoid unnecessary use is a totally logical explanation as to why he didn't stand up for himself (beyond what I had mentioned prior).

On the contrary, one aspect of the writing I dislike are the extremely redundant descriptions. Eyes are a difficult component of the face to describe, considering how little most people pay attention to them. Yes, eye contact is important in many cultures. But if I asked you to name all of your friends' eye colors, you likely wouldn't be able to, compared to a more defining feature such as their hair or a birthmark. There are more reliable and interesting methods to detail a character's emotions beyond the Wattpad blue orbs callback every chapter.

I find Cybird struggles heavily with balancing tone in Elbert's route, though this may turn out to be an issue with the game as a whole. Him being harassed earlier was realistic. Now, it's overdone to the point of being comedic. Subtlety would be appreciated!

Doohickey is back on my last nerve. I'm certain this is simply a translation issue, because what do you mean "who is that man?" He just told you!

My main gripe with romance stories, as someone who specializes in romance, is the dating tends to be terribly contrived. Not a single woman in the history of ever is behaving like that in the face of a gun for a man she met 5 days ago!

The exposition is killing me.

Breaking news: Doohickey is flabbergasted that the self-described evil-doers are, in fact, evil-doers. This is really inconsistent of her character. Only a few sentences ago, she expressed disbelief that Elbert doesn't wish to hurt those who treat him rudely. She is floored now that he is doing exactly that, even though the thin man is significantly more dangerous since he has a literal firearm.

[dawninbloom]

IkeVil Elbert Route Ch. 5

Content Warnings: Sexual Harassment, Talks of Sexual Assault/CSA. This is a playthrough from the perspective of a developmental editor! Please don't take my critiques as me disliking the game's content. <3

Oh goody! Elbert lore. My initial interpretation was that he had lost someone important to him, and this obsessive need for material goods was compensation behavior. However, after finishing this chapter, it sounds more like a metaphor for CSA. "I need to collect enough to replace the joy that was stolen from you..." is a deeply chilling line if we follow my train of thought.

Shockingly, this is a solid plan. Though I'm unsure what cover would hypothetically be blown here, considering they aren't the police and the art dealer has no reason to believe he's being pursued.

In all of the thousands of languages that have existed since the dawn of time, not one could even begin to describe the look on my face right now.

I despise how well Cybird is depicting sexual harassment. I seriously want to crawl out of my skin and die. Elbert's freeze response breaks my heart, and I can imagine this is a tragic cycle he's been stuck in since childhood.

It gets considerably more horrifying with every line. Police, yeah, that one right there! Her dialog is what led me to associate the opening with CSA rather than the loss of a loved one. A decent, albeit obvious, approach to imply she's a predator.

This is the first chapter to fully immerse me into the mind of Kate. Unease, uncertainty, confusion. I was wondering why Alfons hadn't intervened, but his reasoning makes perfect sense given the time period and role they're performing.

The moral is rich people are peculiar and shouldn't exist. Thanks for attending today's lecture.

Get them, Doohickey! This sequence is incredibly gratifying to read, and I'm loving how consistent her character is. I flamed her quite a bit throughout the prologue for her poor decision-making, but all is forgiven now! It takes a lot of courage to intervene in scenarios of sexual harassment or assault, as bystanders may also experience Elbert's freeze response.

A little detail that piques my curiosity here is the woman's name, "Green-Eyed Lady." At first, I took her descriptor at face value, assuming it meant she literally had green eyes. While this is most certainly the case, viewing it as a metaphor is far more interesting and adds to Elbert's predicament.

He is terribly lucky this isn't America, because the grandpas are NOT safe from me. I will swing on you in the Waffle House parking lot, buddy.

His voice was what? This is possibly one of the stupidest sayings I've ever heard, and honestly killed the tension for me, as I immediately started laughing. Cybird, you were doing so good!

[dawninbloom]

Oh, what's this in my pocket!

Credits to my girlfriend @ninetheghost!