NIGHTSHADE - Gekkamaru (aka Gekka nii)

Ooohhhh boy did they do our boy Gekka DIRTY! At one point I actually thought I got the bad ending... (Yes I know, it was that surprising) Which is such a shame because LOOK at his character design, he's such a charming cinnamon roll of a character. Standard anime protagonist, but hey. Why mess with prince charming! 

WE REDEEMED OURSELVES! (You know, since he got zero points in our initial organic walkthrough with Yuki)

I guess we can't shake Kuroyuki, and I'm 100% fine with that!

FINALLY, this is what I've been trying to tell you all along!

Hug the girl~

Kiss the girl!!!

What to say, what to say... oh dear there's a lot. I feel like the devs failed our dear Gekka. Why do I feel that way? Well, because the route was tragic -- SPOILERS! 

All your friends from Koga die, seriously. Ennosuke is Gekka's best friend and gets slain by him ;_; WHAT THE HECK right? Kyara dies a bit more valiantly but it was still sad, and even baby cream puff otouto isn't spared. 

Compared to the happy endings where everyone is alive and well, this change in the storyline didn't do it for me and docked major enjoyment points from my playthrough. In the end, it's only Gekka and you visiting your friend's scattered graves aimlessly. Sure, you're in love and supporting each other, but all your childhood friends/family died before your eyes (except Kuroyuki which, well, yay!).

Let's explain more in the ranking system... GEKKAMARU'S SCORE!

Looks: ★★★★ 

He gives off some Shiro from Fire Emblem vibes with his colour palette. He's the "main" poster boy so of course we expect him to be handsome.

Storyline: ★★★ 

Too sad and tragic for me, the ending with the "curse" was a great addition to the plot but there is so much more they could have done to enhance this route. It's like they didn't care to give Gekkamaru a true "happy" end, but I suppose not every story has all rainbows and butterflies.

A big highlight in this route is that you get to travel together with Gekkamaru and his younger brother Kuroyuki - and that Yuki actually supports and cares for his older brother, instead of the hostile attitude in his own route. As someone who likes Kuroyuki (duh), this was a redeeming boon.

Dokidoki effect: ★★

He's not very romantic. He's your dependable, skilled, bodyguard boyfriend. From the other routes, I honestly hoped that his devotion would be enhanced or viewed in a different way when romancing him, but as someone else mentioned, his behaviour is much of the same. There's a lot of hand-holding, until he feels guilty for being in love with MC (as her servant) and pulls back, but literally nobody forced him to put labels and restrictions on himself. I'm glad he realized that in the end, anyway.

** Points for Gekka being able to cook well.

FINAL GRADE: ★★★

I'M STILL not over it! They did our boy dirty! I can't believe the yandere brother's storyline had no friend deaths but in Gekka's, all your friends die. What a twist, eh?

NIGHTSHADE - Kuroyuki

Ooof so being sick and covided has allowed me to stay home and rest lots, but was also the perfect time for me to pick up playing a juicy otome game and that game is about dating ninjas - certainly a genre I am very familiar with. Japan makes a lot of these huh? The dating oni/youkai and ninjas boys in feudal times kinda deal. 

This one was actually on the nintendo estore which was super surprising. It's also fully voiced (apart from MC) and the VA's are amazing so far! They put so much work into it.

I started off with my first organic playthrough and ended up with Kuroyuki WAY ahead in the leads for points... I guess I do have a type, BUT I wasn't intending it to be this way! Everything fell into place on its own. This little ninja is a yandere ahahaha but still so sweet and I really enjoyed a lot of him and MC's interactions.

G-G-GOLDEN DEER? Devs please, I already like him!

Probably the ONLY otome guy who held hands and DIDN'T lose a whole person

NAUGHTY! He says a lot of this naughty stuff throughout the game HAHA

B-but we're both kiddos...!

Cute traumatized bean T_T Darn people were right, I do have a thing for these "younger brother" types...

In any case... his VA is amazing and the voice is a perfect fit for this character. I find it hard to create a ranking system for characters I like but I'll try it... OK! Making a final score for Kuroyuki!

Looks: ★★★★ 

I mean he's the standard otouto type that makes you wanna squeeze and protecc him (despite his yandere tendencies) and his character poses are, from what I've seen so far, the best out of all the guys. I always was a sucker for the dark hair/red eyes combo...

Storyline: ★★★ 

DUDE we were on the run as fugitives! But it wasn't his fault in the end, which made things better; he didn't actually frame MC. Aww heck he was so cool with using Kagehemi in fights and protecting MC so I'll give him an extra star damn ★

What I liked best about Kuroyuki's storyline is that the majority of the chapters were only MC and him, giving ample opportunity for romantic/sweet scenes. Sure, he whisked you away and perhaps some people disliked the problematic aspects of the route, but this is fiction. I enjoyed spending time with him, the strongest ninja and assassin in the game due to his ninjutsu skill.

Dokidoki effect: ★★★★

His VA really made my heart melt, and the playful way he flirts with MC is my style. (Cute boys who tease are my weakness, huh?) After learning about his tragic backstory, one couldn't help but want to hold and comfort him. 

FINAL GRADE: ★★★★1/2

WELL... I ENJOYED his route... and he's a cute lil mischievous bean! Would play again o___o OR ELSE...???

He's my fav so far and best of all, at the end none of your Koga friends die. Which is more than I can say for Gekka-nii...

Waves of Blue

I wanna hold you close

Don't wanna let you go

Be with you night and day

I've been feeling so low

I wanna touch your light

I wanna breathe in your air

I'll be holding you tight

When the night is through

We'll be riding the tide in the sky so alive

On waves of blue

I'm in love with the thought of being in love

You can bring me along for the rest of your life

If you wanted to 

You're no good for me

You got what I need

I just wanna be with you

~Majid Jordan

--

The weekend has been eventful. Meeting with new friends and old. Somehow things still feel artificial. As if this is an illusion. Which it might as well be, seeing as this earthly life only concerns itself with temporal gain. 

Love is complex. I've sacrificed, and others have sacrificed for me. My heart still longs for the memories we shared, but in this timeline, the stars did not align for us. I've made my decision and you've accepted that. There is the underlying ache, but this too will pass. I await the day. Until then, I'll cherish the times we had together.

Stuff

The weather has been nice. It feels like summer. Not much to report these days, life is 

Well, what is it? 

My life is a calm sea. I should be grateful, but sometimes calm is boring. And I've never been one to enjoy boredom. I don't know many people that are.

Still -- I feel restless. A story is not enticing if there is no excitement.

Water Lettuce Lady

Celebrating $87* in aquatic plant sales and some nice reviews ☺️ Pretty cool to see that my mini-side hustle is well received and helping fellow aquarists!