#otome thoughts

[belovreinozomi]

Deep Shower Thought : "Modern Heart" vs. Sengoku Reality

I was recently reading a fanfic where the MC gets jealous because of the political reality of the Sengoku era—specifically, the fact that having concubines was completely normal for a warlord.

It really made me pause. As much as I love Ikemen Sengoku, how would a modern woman actually survive that? The game shows us so much intimacy and such deep, soul-mate level conversations. In our world, that bond is exclusive. But in that era, marriage was just a political tool.

I honestly don’t see a "happy ending" for a modern MC in that situation. If you take a heart that believes in being "the only one" and drop it into a world where you are "one of many," something has to break. The intimacy we love in the game would be ruined the moment a political marriage or a concubine enters the picture.

What do you guys think? In that situation, what would the MC even do? Would she try to accept it, or would the heartbreak be too much for a modern girl to handle?

😵‍💫😵‍💫😭😭 (why am I like this?)

[otomeminion]

kiyohito shirakami [spoilers]

now i will do my best to not bash kiyo since i know plenty of people enjoyed his story. i appear to be of the minority(?) that didn’t. for once in my life i actually had to put my phone away and detach. which in itself is bizarre since i play games to escape reality. yet here i am running away from a fantasy.

but as a writer i know that fiction stems from reality, and inspiration can come from anything that happens in our daily lives.

my problem with kiyo is mainly his behaviour and attitude. (i hate that word, but it’s the only one that seems to fit though) he’s the type of man that doesn’t like women and has a mouth that should be sewn shut basically. somehow this type of man is popular, and my life is blessed to not know of any.

he basically treats mc like his personal project; and she literally is when he does his makeover article with her as the first ‘contestant’ or winner. i can’t quite remember how it is phrased. a major theme in the story is change, people changing. but i’m not entirely sure the mc in this story needs to change in such a drastic way as kiyo seems to force upon her. in the entire story mc isn’t given an opportunity to grieve over her marriage, which she should be entitled to since she’s just found out her husband--who she absolutely adores and has complete faith in--has cheated on her.

i’m reading about a mc who is the most loving woman that possibly exists, yet you have her love interest who bullies her into believing she caused her marriage to breakdown and that she is a coward for making all these excuses and not doing anything to change them. even if it were true: which i don’t actually believe, since we’re not given any evidence to prove this besides kiyo’s opinion: he actually has no right to insult her when she’s experiencing a life crisis.

i won’t delve too much into nitpicking kiyo’s character, but essentially he’s a trope i steer clear of. i hoped he would be an improvement on taki, but at least taki seems to appreciate the mc from the beginning of his story; whether that be because of their history, i’m not concerned.

my next issue was kiyo’s incredibly brief back story. it wasn’t at all compelled to feel anything, i almost thought; “so what he was bullied?”, then my opinion of his worsened because he should know better, because while we may excuse his name-calling because it’s a staple in voltage games, it’s also a form of bullying. and words hurt people, as insignificant as they may seem. kiyo attempts to convince mc that she should learn to filter out the negativity spoken to her, but lets be honest, for a great portion of his story all he seems to do is criticise her. it’s a bit hard to ignore.

later we learn that kiyo was tricked by a married woman when his career was hitting big. hence, why he no likey the women in the world. fair enough. i can’t quite scrutinise that besides asking myself why on earth he shows remotely any interest in the mc. what about her actually makes him consider giving her a chance...? i was so so hopeful for an answer when kiyo is asked in the final moments ‘why her?’ by a reporter.

enter disappointment. excuse the major spoiler but his answer is basically he was ‘drawn to her’, oh boy kiyo that goes way against your character trope. (which i’m not entirely against) but still, could you please let me know what exactly made you fall for her? he explains that mc is the most beautiful woman in the world. was that before or after her makeover buddy? i’m not sure what is worse, his vague answer or his superficial continuation of confusion i was suspected to.

but i’m sure mc loved to be called beautiful because she was cheated on her and her self esteem was probably all over the place the entire story. the minute kiyo says he needs her, feeding her all this lip service nonsense, i’m a little gutted she didn’t trust him less, only because i didn’t believe a word coming out his mouth.

anyway, this rant has helped me sort out this frustrations i had over kiyo’s story. if you were lovely enough to read this post in its entirety i would love you to click on the heart. i do blame myself a bit, for all this aggro, since i’ve been attempting to kickstart my various novels, my opinion on other writings has become rather harsh and i find myself displeased the majority of the time. i feel that voltage stories never truly dig deep enough into a story, at least in kiyo’s case. that or, i was on a mighty empathy wave the entire read. ^^;;

thanks again.

[otomeminion]

so my thoughts on the 'scintillating' drama in riku's main story. i don't condone what yukiko and riku are doing, since she is cheating on kazumi. but at least they both make it clear they don't love each other. so it won't end up as a messy break up (imo that is.) my issue, however, is that yukiko and kazumi have been together TEN years so evidently if yukiko can state he doesn't understand how she feels (spoiler, he does but like yukiko does nothing about it) then the error is in their relationship and they are both in the wrong by not addressing it with one another as a couple should. obviously yukiko loves kazumi cause she's endured his character for ten years, but im amazed any couple can last with the dynamic they demonstrate. i suppose ignorance has helped, or their self sacrificing view that they should let each other be and not vocalise their loneliness or emotions to one another. maybe it's me, but ive thought communication in a relationship is rather paramount.

[otomeminion]

cheating is bad, but does that mean the person cheating is too?

 hi everyone, enticed by my title. i’m sure you’ve already answered this question in your head, or aloud. you’d think the answer would unanimously be yes, a person that cheats is a bad person, but i only agree insofar as that the cheating was the wrong part. it would be wrong to continue to judge a person--even if they cheated--without knowing the whole story.

now to relate this to otome games; in season one of in your arms tonight, koichi cheats on mc, in season two the tables have turned and mc is the cheat; if not physically, from what i have read; emotionally, it has a very similar impact.

now don’t think i’m telling you to not feel the way you do about cheaters and cheating in relationships. the hurt involved and act itself in most likely unforgivable. but i want to take a moment to explore the most important aspect of this issue.

why do we cheat?

once i took some time to truly think about this; and given my own personal experience; i came up with a few reasons.

the relationship has become stale/too much routine, so a partner seeks out something new and exciting

the cheating partner has commitment or trust issues

one partner/both has fallen out of love 

spite/resentment

upon researching this in several websites, i found it surprising just now many reasons there were. so while cheating is common, it’s not always such a black and white issue; feelings, insecurities and personality flaws or clashes are involved, which personally, make it hard for me to completely persecute both koichi and mc in these games.

having reading koichi’s story, you soon learn he views marriage as a contract, no love need be involved. and while i don’t feel the same way, when you consider the reality of arranged marriages, it seems feasible that people can view marriage in that light. so then i compared my research to the second season of in your arms tonight, to ask myself. why does she cheat on her husband?

it’s apparent he is controlling, but since the main character doesn’t seem to comment much upon in, i couldn’t pinpoint that as the reason. so i delved deeper. i found my answer rather quickly, the mc is a housewife--and while some women may love the concept of the man bringing home the bacon so she can indulge and spoil her husband with all her domestic wiles--it’s a stifling environment to live everyday. coupled with the fact that her husband isn’t supportive of her working or pursuing her dreams, i’m really not at all surprised she starts considering the men that enter her life, romantically.

now i know i’ve read on tumblr that the mc doesn’t cross the physical boundary with takeru but it is very obvious where her affections now lay. too be frank, i wouldn’t of minded if they’d kissed or gone further, but it seems the writers decided a tamer approach, a slower pace in a new relationship, perhaps.

we could argue that mc could have tried to amend her marriage; maybe you’d believe that you would never cheat on a man that adores you like her husband. but if i’ve learnt anything in my 26 years of life, it’s that nothing in life is a guarantee.

to say you’d never cheat, means:

"Never" means at no time; past, present, or future. Under absolutely no circumstances. If you think you can live up to that, you can consider yourself perfect and above all other human beings.

[excerpt from http://www.dearcupid.org/question/why-do-people-cheat-instead-of-just-ending.html]

now i don’t know about you but i can’t quite say with absolute resolution i would never cheat; because unfortunately i’ve been in the predicament where like the mc i emotionally strayed from my partner.

like anything in a relationship, not everything is this or that, it becomes a complex equation where personalities and upbringings are concerned which is why, love may seem new and exciting at first. it needs hardwork, patience and understanding, and in some cases it’s not a quality, one or both partners can put into a relationship.

thank you for taking some time to read this random mini tangent, i don’t know if it was helpful in anyway but if you have any thoughts to add, please feel free to.

[otomeminion]

i am very happy i switched it up and decided to play serendipity next door. i enjoyed izumi's story a great deal, thank you voltage. haven't given up on you yet 👍

[otome-obsessed]

Voltage just dropped a new game xD Anyway are you going to try it? Just curious.

Is it a pay game? Because I haven’t played a Voltage pay game since... earlier this year when I tried to get back into my pickbox and read routes only to fail again. And the last new game I bought routes in was I think Star-Crossed Myth. I bought Leon because his story was on sale, but have yet to read him. This was last year.

I’m just not a big Voltage fan and their games just don’t excite me anymore tbh. Liar is an actual surprised because, the MC is flawed af and she’s amazing and annoying at the same time. And, hey! A free-to-play aspect! Which is what my site mostly focuses on.

Both Voltage and Solmare, I’m just like whatever.

I want to use this platform to elevate the games that people might not know about otherwise. To give new companies trying to break into the international market a bit of a spotlight. To help push forward games I feel more people should give a chance to.

Sorry, I kinda went off on a tangent. Long story short:

MEH

[bldvnbln]

Please tell me I’m not the only who wants to see/read a drinking contest between the heroine from LLFTX, MLFK, TLSL and the other heavy drinker MC.

[cannibalisticskittles]

I love my otome heroine