The Struggle Is Real...

The Royal Signs III:

Aries: An exile. As close to a leader as anything. Decades of experiments. Inhuman flesh. A blank porcelain mask, inscribed with a single symbol. The only thing left untouched is her hair.

Taurus: The Knights Captain, daughter of the high priestess. A martyr. A township saved, burning like a star in the dry autumn heat. Blazing wings. 

Gemini: The King Under The Ice. A stolen childhood. Small shoulders for an impossible burden. A desperate bargain to contain an ancient evil. 

Cancer: The first queen. A woman more scars than flesh. Respect commanded by tooth and claw. Legend says even the beasts bowed their heads when she spoke.

Leo: The High Priestess, come to make good on an old covenant. Thunder on the mount. Eyes burned by sights from the land of the dead. A flash of thunder revealing the legions of ancestral dead, come to heed her call to arms.

Virgo: A young princess, currently being carried to safety in a backpack. She wraps her tiny hands around the shoulders of her bodyguard and tries to sleep.

Libra: A empress by title, an alchemist by desire. Long trips to the countryside spent foraging in swamps and mountain caves. Jars of exotic insects displayed proudly to less than excited diplomats.

Scorpio: A general. Born with an ancient and rare gift. A man who could speak to beasts. Said to be the first to harness the great wild things and drive them for war. Legends of an army of half-men, half-beasts.

Ophiuchus: A prince fallen prey to an old and terrible sickness. An inexplicable whistling cry that only he can hear, calling him to the mountains. There he sits, preserved in the abandoned aeries, decked in scales.

Sagittarius: The renegade prince. Palace finery and lavish parties forsaken for nights of adventure and intrigue in the city streets. Scandalous tales of cross-dressing and romance and baffled police.

Capricorn: A king of blood and stone. A menace to some, a savior to others. To carve out a space for his people against impossible odds and overwhelming enemies. Rites finally conducted in service of a god that was long thought to have abandoned their worshipers.

Aquarius: A queen burdened by loss. A pilgrimage to the ancestral mesa. She sits under the night sky. A low, droning tune on a horn carved from an old tree. The stars mourn with her.

Pisces: A queen of many eyes. Networks of spies that span the kingdom. A diplomatic party approaches, an assassin among them, unaware of her own assassin that already sits perched in the rafters above them. 

My Commander Shepard

Round-up: A Lot of CSI-Style Forensics Have Turned Out to be Bogus

Basically a lot of it is pseudoscience that was never rigorously tested in controlled situations to see if it actually worked.

This is because it was not developed by scientists, but by police, and mainly with an interest in putting people in prison rather than uncovering the truth.

At least two dozen people have been falsely convicted due to “Bite Mark Analysis”. 

“Burn pattern analysis” put an innocent man to death in Texas

“Blood Spatter analysis” such as that shown on the TV show Dexter is actually completely unreliable even according to the US Department of Justice

Forensic hair comparison is also widely believed to be junk science and the FBI is currently reviewing convictions based on hair analysis due to the unreliability of their results

Handwriting analysis has an unreasonably high error rate, by some accounts as high as 43%

Lie detector tests, or polygraphs, are notoriously unreliable and based on bad science. Even though everybody knows this, they are still constantly being used in criminal investigations among other places.

Toxicology labs can be poorly supervised and badly run, producing false and even fraudulent results

Due to sloppy procedure at many labs and lack of regulation even DNA testing is often unreliable

Even when correct results are produced, genetic profiles may be less useful than we have been lead to believe

Fingerprinting analysis is not foolproof and actually has not been thoroughly tested, as this Frontline special discusses

Here are a few more articles on how unreliable modern forensics are.

Unfortunately due to TV shows that stress forensic investigation, juries are demanding this kind of evidence at trial, and have little idea of how untested and unreliable it really is.

What a long way to say "PLEASE SAVE HIM"

SLBP “Consummate Moonlight: Passion Ascending” Pt 2 Review

Yeah, yeah, I know this event ended like a week ago, lol. I’ve been swamped with real life stuff. Nearly everything that could possibly change in my life is changing - but in the best possible way! So I’m going on semi-hiatus for a bit - aka the only otome I’m likely to consume for the foreseeable future are SLBP events and IkeRev stories with CG’s. Sorry, MidCin Giles anon! ^_^

But enough about me! Here are my highly belated thoughts on the 2nd batch of ninja pre-sex events, from least to most favorite. :)

Kyoichiro is, for lack of a better description, a little bitch in his ES. When MC is headhunted (alongside the Mitsuba) by Shingen, Kyo comes along for the journey. Which seems cute on the surface, except he’s really only there to guilt MC into hurting the potential deal by going back to Oda territory with him, and all because he’s being headhunted himself by Hideyoshi (“Will you go with me, or onward to Kai?”). Upon their return, Kyo gets arrested by Nobunaga on suspicion of being Goemon, and it’s up to MC and Hideyoshi to rob a samurai in his absence to save his sorry ass. And of course, Kyo’s upset that MC puts herself in danger, and doesn’t even apologize (he has much to learn from Sasuke…). In the end, Kyo’s grateful to MC and I guess it’s kind of cute, but I was too upset to really appreciate the scene tbh. ^_^

This ES had the makings of a great story, but too much went wrong imho. I would’ve liked it better if MC had made the decision of returning with Kyo herself, without him explicitly asking her to (cos that’s awfully selfish of him). I would’ve liked it even better if she’d at least met with Shingen for her clan’s sake! Also, I wanted to read the actual scene where MC and H became thieves. And don’t even get me started with that omg-you-put-yourself-in-danger bullshit that he pulled (without apologizing!!). All in all, I think Kyoichiro does have his good sides, but they definitely weren’t on display in this story.

Personal enjoyment: 3/10

In Genya’s ES the poor guy is faced with one doozy of an order from Iga: kill Masamune. Holy shit! Adding to the pressure is the fact that Sakuya (aka Genya’s evil bro) has found MC, and is more than ready to kill her if he doesn’t follow orders. Yikes. Gen handles the situation with as much grace as one can reasonably expect, which is to say it feels like he’s on a verge of a breakdown for half the story, but can you really blame the guy?! Gen’s eventual “confrontation” with a sleeping Masamune is devastatingly touching (“Aren’t you going to kill me?”), but fortunately, he, MC, and the Date clan are able to work together and come up with a solution out of this whole mess (but not before MC tries to leave to protect Gen and he saves her from Saku 💔). One Ashina assassination and a victorious battle later, and things fortunately go back to normal for the absolute sweetest gang in SLBP.

I loved this route (although it was super stressful to read!). Gen’s struggle to reconcile everything felt super realistic (or as realistic as one can get in a universe with magic ninjas), and he came off as such a great boyfriend to MC. Gotta admit though: every time I read a Genya story, I just end up hating Sakuya that much more. Good thing Gen more than compensates for his bro’s villainy! Best quote: “You can take everything I have, but not her! Never her!”

Personal enjoyment: 10/10

Hanzo is a bona fide semi-villain in his route, simultaneously manipulating Ieyasu into pursuing Divine Rule while, well, not really trusting that he can really pull it off. But when the hotheaded Ieyasu insists on facing the mighty Takeda army head on, Hanzo can’t even help because a) Ieyasu doesn’t want him there (“We don’t need you to come. You’ll just be a burden anyway”), and b) Hanzo’s injured and traditional medicine doesn’t work on him! In the end, Ieyasu’s poison-filled salves end up doing the trick, and our snakey ninja is able to rush off into battle, save Ieyasu’s sorry ass, and return to Ieyasu’s castle, alive and more-or-less in one piece. Aww. I could swear I’ve read very similar setups in slash fanfics before… ;)

Okay but in all seriousness, this is supposed to be a story between Hanzo and MC, and I personally thought that that aspect of the ES was utterly fantastic! Literally everything Hanzo does with MC is super appealing (and super hot!!) - from playing with her early in the story, to calling her little mouse (I died, ngl), to coming home to MC after the battle, kissing her hair!!, and asking her to help him with Ieyasu’s salve. What a character! The shockingly functional relationship Hanzo was able to sustain with MC in this story almost makes me believe his MS’s happy ending could work. Almost. ^_^

Best quote: “Sing to your heart’s content..let your voice reach the greatest heights” - Hanzo auditioning for Phantom of the Opera

Best platonic scene: Hanzo and Sakai bonding over plants. Again. :)

Personal enjoyment: 10/10 (also that epilogue… 💕)

So those were my thoughts. What did y’all think? I’m curious to know! :)

Hideyoshi's "Gunboat" Diplomacy

“Totalitarianism begins in contempt for what you have. The second step is the notion: ‘Things must change—no matter how, Anything is better than what we have.’”

— Hannah Arendt, “Interview with Roger Errera”, The New York Review of Books (26 October 1978)

After the honors are given to blushing lords, MC and the player whispered amongst each other...

MC: I do not mind if my Lord blush or not, what is important he knows just how much I love him and he, too, values me also?

Player: *looks at MC* But what if he lies and is only using you? What if he speaks trash and insults you? What if he gets bored, get drunk and sleeps with other women? What if he got god complex and sees women as mere decoration and forces himself on you? In the end...most of them are BOORS!

MC: *silenct pause and smiled suggestively* I see...you only said that because you like me, don't you?

Player: I care about yo--- (*sees MC blushing in their direction*) wait! No! Its not what you think!

MC: Oh..*gives player a sultry smile* but you are blushing, now.

Player: THAT IS NOT TRUE! (oh no!) I am only concerned that my handsome hubbies might hurt you!

MC: *eyes wide and shocked face* ...

Player: (My God what did I just say??) Well...sh*t!

Hahaha somehow this thought bugged my mind and can't help sharing this...

Who blushes the most in SLBP?

The latest Lord of the Draw brings up an interesting question: which lords (and ninjas) are most prone to blushing in SLBP, and which the least? It’s definitely a matter worthy of analysis!

1. Yukimura Does anyone in SLBP blush more than Yukimura? Fandom’s sweetheart is unused to the ways of love and women and his face (and Saizo’s running commentary) makes sure everyone knows it.

2. Inuchiyo A close contender, Inuchiyo blushes every time he has a dirty thought about MC, acts on a dirty thought about MC, or feels guilty for acting on a dirty thought about MC. So, you know, constantly.

3. Mitsunari The first of the tsunderes! Mitsunari is usually quite matter of fact, but when love is involved his face lights up like a tomato (…if tomatoes lit up).

4. Masamune Our shy boy doesn’t blush so much at romantic love as the thought of anyone loving him at all. Compliments are the quickest way to an embarrassed but pleased red face.

5. Kyoichiro He wouldn’t be blushing at all if you hadn’t gone and done something so stupid, baka!

6. Ieyasu I’m sure Ieyasu would be outraged to be so high on this list, but otome tsunderes need some way to convey their true feelings. If he’s gonna lie with that mouth his cheeks will have to do the truth-telling for him.

7. Hotaru Like Yukimura, Hotaru has very little experience with love or women, but unlike Yukimura, Hotaru doesn’t know enough about societal norms to be embarrassed (most of the time). Most of his blushes are guilt-induced rather than MC-induced.

8. Sakuya Sakuya’s a reasonably good actor and can keep his face impressively stony under most circumstances, but just let MC bare a little bit of flesh when he’s not expecting it and there he goes.

9. Genya He’s an easy-going guy with a lot of life experience. He’s not gonna blush at the little things (though he’ll tease you for doing so), but he’s just as susceptible as his twin to MC’s charms and not nearly as dedicated to hiding it.

10. Shigezane All of Omori loves his smile, but his blushing face is quite nice too. Like Genya, he’s both experienced with the world and open with his emotions.

11. Kojuro He strives to always look neutral, but he’s still a red-blooded man and just can’t help it sometimes.

12. Mitsuhide Ditto. Out of bias I have concluded he’d be ever so slightly better at hiding his blushes than Kojuro, plus he’s got that reputation as a “perfect” samurai to uphold.

13. Saizo Wishes he was lower on the list, but can’t help it when MC wears that ribbon dress.

14. Sasuke It takes a lot to make Sasuke blush after everything he’s done in life (and the bedroom).

15. Nobunaga What do you have to blush about when you’re the best in the world, the grand unifier, and deserving of everything?

16. Hideyoshi He’s had a thousand lovers and is amazing on the battlefield. What’s to blush about?

17. Shingen See: Hideyoshi (but older).

18. Kenshin Completely lacking in shame. Probably the only person who can make Shingen blush.

19. Hanzo If he blushes, I assume it’s through careful ninja makeup trickery and is somehow part of a plot of tease either Ieyasu or MC.

Kojuro's Blushing Face

Otome Game Memes…

When Your Event Allies Quit Midway…

When you like the Side Characters more than your “hubbies”…

When you alone is rooting for the fandom’s “least favorite” Love Interest amongst your circle of friends…

When you rant about a certain route or a character on social media…

When your ship is sailing to lala land in the limited edition epilogue you just bought..