Wren.txt - Blog Posts

work shift so godawful that i'm gonna have to buy myself a new video game or something as a reward for surviving it

i swear i keep meaning to finish Hamefura pirates, but honestly i may end up having to skip Keith's route and move on to the others. I'm just kinda stuck with it. It's a nice story, and I do like Keith as a character, but as much as I want to play all the routes and give them each a fair shot, I just don't really want to see Keith & Katarina's relationship progress romantically. The siscon thing just isn't my vibe, and I just haven't felt like playing the game any further for his route. My completionist brain is very upset about this, so I may end up playing it eventually, just so I can have complete thoughts about the game...

Hamlet. Hamlet, listen to me. Hamlet you gotta kill your uncle (message your friends). Killing your uncle (reaching out to your friends) is extremely vital to achieving your goals. You want to get revenge for your father (maintain your friendships). You want to kill your uncle (talk to your friends). You have the perfect opportunity right now because Claudius is defenseless (discord says your friends are online) so just kill the king (message them!!!!). Hamlet you're making excuses again. Hamlet if you wait too long this is going to end poorly. Hamlet-

uh oh Hamlet moment (driven insane by my own inaction despite the fact that i both need and genuinely want to do the things i am not doing)

uh oh Hamlet moment (driven insane by my own inaction despite the fact that i both need and genuinely want to do the things i am not doing)

bizarre moment at work today where i spotted a folder in the front desk email's google drive labeled "Bungo Stray Dogs-S04" and when i opened the folder it really did have the entirety of Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4 in there.

the desire to play unlocalized games vs the fact that i'm absolute dogshit at learning languages

Nicol's route in Hamefura pirates is peak actually send post

finally caved to the part of my brain that has been desperately wanting to buy Hamefura Pirates and I am so glad that I did this game is wonderful and it reminds me of how much I've missed the anime <3

Virche Evermore: Error Salvation - Thoughts & Review <3

Super excited to be sharing my thoughts on Virche now that I've finished all the endings! This game had some great moments and I kept detailed notes on all the routes as I played them. I have a spoiler-free review here on backloggd in case you haven't played the game yet. Otherwise, I'll be detailing my thoughts here with spoilers under the cut!

The game as a whole is a 4/5 for me with an interesting storyline, beautiful art, and compelling characters. However, the game's biggest strength is its tragic romances and compelling bad endings. I am a huge fan of tragedy and I adore bad endings, so this is certainly a game that speaks to my interests directly. I really liked this game and I highly recommend it!

Now for my thoughts on the characters and routes...

(Note: Comments in the pictured slides are from my playthrough notes, written as I played the game. Comments underneath in the post are written after completing the whole game and reflecting on it.)

Starting with our lovely princess of Death...

I love Ceres. I think she's a great character. While she doesn't quite make it to the top of my favorite heroines list, she's a pretty strong contender. Her outlook on life and death was unique, and I enjoyed seeing the story through her eyes. Her little sprites in the corner were adorable as well, and I liked that her outfits changed in some routes.

Next up, I've listed the LIs in the order that I played their routes!

Scien Brofiise - The scientist (3/5)

I expected to really like Scien when I started this game. He reminded me of Shiraishi from Collar x Malice, so I thought he'd be a great contender for my favorite in this game. However, his route just doesn't hit the same as the others do. I played it first and enjoyed it a lot, but when I went back to play his good ending I was underwhelmed and disappointed. That's not to say his route is bad, though! I loved his tragic ending, and I found it fun to watch Ceres spend time with him and his weird little attitude. It's always fun to watch the supposedly heartless characters fall in love, and seeing him grow to love Ceres, seeing him change the aims of his scientific mission so he can continue loving her, was a really nice experience. Scien's route is good, and I liked it! But I liked others more…

Mathis Claude - The writer (5/5)

My god, this route surprised me. I didn't expect to like Mathis, but while I was playing his route his interactions with Ceres were just so cute. The twist in his route was unexpected, but fascinating and well-foreshadowed, and I was completely invested in the story. His tragic ending hit hard and his good ending subverted it extremely well. I really grew to adore Mathis in this route, and returning to play his good ending only solidified that feeling. He and Ceres aren't my favorite match in the game, but this route is really, really good. There's not much else I can say without spoilers, but I highly recommend playing it.

Lucas Proust - The teacher (2/5)

This is an unpopular opinion. I know Lucas is very well-liked by other fans, and his route is certainly very interesting! It just wasn't for me. Lucas was the third route I played and it met my expectations pretty well (my expectation being that I wouldn't like it). I think his character is very interesting, and I enjoyed the plot in his route, but I can't say I was all that interested in Lucas and Ceres' romance. His tragic ending is certainly tragic, but his good end wasn't really my favorite. It was more interesting to read than Scien's good end, though.

Yves Noirge - The guardian (5/5)

Yves is my favorite love interest in this game, and the best match for Ceres. I loved seeing them together. This route is locked behind the first three, and it's extremely plot heavy with a lot of big reveals about the lore and the nature of Ceres' title of Death. Yves and Ceres are adorable together, and I loved getting to see more of Yves' character in this route. There's not a ton I can say without spoiling things, but it truly feels like these two were made for each other. The bad end is extremely tragic and the good end is perfectly bittersweet. They're the exact same kind of weirdo, and they deserve to be clingy and in love forever. <3

Le Salut - The finale (3/5) (Ankou: 4/5, Adolphe: 2/5)

My biggest frustration with Le Salut is that it makes you replay so much of the common route before actually adding anything new. Once the plot diverges, things start to get a little more interesting, but it doesn't really pick up until the final third of the route when all the plot pieces begin to slot into place. This is a joint route is for two of the love interests: Ankou, the mysterious Watchman of Death; and Adolphe, Ceres' protective foster brother – a combo which makes a lot more sense once you finish the route. The plot reveals in this route were foreshadowed well, and I was able to figure most of them out ahead of time. The writing in this route was good, and I liked the complexity and intrigue of the plot. The major plot twist really incorporates the game's themes of tragic love and unusual relationships with death really well. My main issues are that it took too long to get going at the beginning, and that I don't really care for Adolphe. The Salvation ending of Le Salut is essentially the game's "true" ending – as close to a happily ever after as you're going to get for most everyone – and after playing it you can return to other routes to play their good endings too.

And finally, the Rankings:

I took the opportunity here to showcase some of my favorite cgs of my top 3 that didn't make it onto their main slides. Yes, of course, Yves is my favorite. As much as I like the other characters, it wasn't much of a competition lol. His romance with Ceres was my absolute favorite plot in the game, and I love their story. Second place is Mathis, as he was this game's big surprise for me. I truly loved his route despite my initial low expectations. It's always a joy to be surprised by a route that's better than you thought it would be! :)

Virche is a great game, and I would definitely recommend it to any fellow bad ending lovers out there. <3 Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you thought about Virche! I'd love to talk about this game with y'all! :)

slideshow was adapted from this template <3

ok so as a Bad Ending Enjoyer™ i think picking up Virche Evermore was the best decision I've ever made because ohmygod this shit is GOOD and I'm going insane over it

attempted to end my otome slump by gradually getting back into Lover Pretend and playing Makino's route that i was super excited for but THEN Homicipher came out of nowhere and ohmyGOD

I just started playing Lover Pretend because I needed to play something lighter as a break from Piofiore and oh my god this game is so CUTE. There's a very nostalgic feeling I keep getting while playing it, though I'm not completely sure where that comes from yet. Maybe the UI? It's super adorable and some elements of it kind of remind me of the DS games I used to play as a kid.

I'm currently on Chapter 2 of the common route, but I'm already looking forward to all 4 of the main routes. And Chiyuki is a really nice protagonist so far! I love that she has such clear-cut goals that she's focused on, and her relationship with romance is interesting too. I wouldn't necessarily call her aro like me, especially since one point of the game is that she wants to get over her "fear" of men and romance, but I always think it's nice to see an otome heroine who has more complex feelings about romance that make the plot more interesting. I doubt she'll be making it to the top of my favorite heroines list (Lynette and Teuta are hard opponents to beat), but she's definitely a contender so far.

Aromanticism and Otome Games

I am an aromantic who loves otome games. It may seem incredibly contradictory, especially since a common perception of otome is that it's solely wish-fulfillment games for people to insert themselves into a story where they date attractive men. There's definitely nothing wrong with playing them in that way, and many people get a lot of enjoyment out of them, but that isn't the only way to play an otome game. In fact, many otome game players prefer not to self-insert at all and I’m one of them!

My personal experience being aromantic means I do not feel romantic attraction to anyone, and I do not desire or need a romantic relationship to feel fulfilled in life. I’m perfectly happy with my platonic bonds and my perpetual singleness! That’s how I experience it, but there are many different ways to be aromantic, and there’s no one universal experience that defines how all aromantic people live their lives. Some are repulsed by romance and its overbearing presence in nearly all forms of media, and others are comfortable seeing other people experience romance despite not experiencing it themselves (though these, of course, are not the only two groups). I personally lean more towards the latter category. I love romance stories! 

For me, playing an otome game is like watching a romance movie where I get to decide who the heroine ends up with. It's like a shipper's dream! I don’t self-insert because I am not comfortable putting myself in romantic situations, but by observing a fictional couple, I can explore the romantic plots and experiences that pique my curiosity. And let me tell you, I love a good romance plot. Especially one with drama.

A comparison I like to make when people don’t seem to get it is that I also really, really love murder mysteries and tragedies, but I do NOT want to actually experience them myself. What I want for a character and what I want for myself are two completely separate things, so there’s really no contradiction! 

In fact, playing otome games was a big part of my aromantic journey in the first place. I never had crushes as a kid that weren’t forced or peer pressured. When people talk about the characters in their childhood shows that they had crushes on, I can never relate. To me, there were only interesting characters and stories. I’ve never really wanted anything more than that. 

So when my second-ever relationship ended and I was wondering whether I really felt romantic attraction at all, I decided to try otome games. 

I chose Collar x Malice as my first game because, as I mentioned earlier, I am a huge fan of mysteries and tragedies, and the premise intrigued me. Then, throughout my exploration of various otome games (and as I quickly became hooked on them) I tried some games with less developed heroines, specifically made for self-inserting, and found that I couldn’t handle them. Separating myself from the heroine helped me enjoy the games more as I realized that I didn’t actually want to be in these romantic situations myself, but only wanted to enjoy the story.

So what was the point of this whole post? I guess just to share my own personal experiences as an aromantic otome-lover and address the contradiction. Otome games aren’t necessarily mainstream-popular, but they certainly have their dedicated fans, and I’ve really enjoyed the interactions I’ve had so far with these fandom spaces. 

Sure, the primary focus of the games may be pretty boys who you can date, but otome games can also be so much more than that! It’s a genre I’m glad I decided to try. 

I’m happy to be an aro along for the ride to read some good stories, puzzle out the right route choices, and look at some aesthetically pleasing character designs along the way! :)

Hey hey, everyone! My name is Wren, and welcome to Otome Detective!

Currently Playing: Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side: First Love Plus ~ Click here to view my Game Collection on Backloggd <3

I originally made this blog to talk about otome games only, but I had a rather long otome slump this year, during which I played the entirety of Persona 5 Royal (and a lot of Persona 3 Portable before the Akihiko social link made me start to miss my otome games again lol) so I'd love to talk about other games too, especially in the rpg & mystery genres!

If you'd like to read my about page, you can do so here.

If you'd like to read my thoughts on being an aromantic otoge player, check out this post here.

I plan to eventually write and share my personal reviews of certain otome games and routes, so stay tuned for that!