Board 8 > Kanzaris plays Dies Irae [Visual Novel] [Playthrough]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Recently, just a few days ago, the english translation of a very old Visual Novel was released. The name of that VN is Dies Irae ~Amantes Amentis~, and it carries years of hype with it. People who could read japanese have spoken about it to me for a very long time, telling me how it far exceeds more famous VNs that were brought over before it (such as Fate/Stay Night). Now that it's on Steam (for free - if you want to read along, you can do so until we hit the route splits, as the specific heroine routes are paid DLC), I can finally see what the hype is all about. Without further ado, let's begin.

Oh, and...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fMHms5Cvsw

My favorite version of the liturgic Dies Irae. It's wonderfully soothing in spite of its magnificence, isn't it?
---

Berlin, 1945. Interesting, so we're jumping into WW2?

Aaaaand we're getting heavy metal, off the bat. I wonder if this will keep up or we'll jump to orchestral accompaniments later.

"Such was war. It allowed no time for idle thoughts. Only slaughter, murder and bloodshed."

That's a nice line. Prose is aight so far (though 'in accordance to the Neumann effect' is so overly technical it just looks silly). We begin with a company of german soldiers, being decimated by the russian army...and soon there's just three left. We even get to know them a bit! The main one's name is Walter Gerlitz, and his companions are Joachim Brauner and Marco Schmitt. We don't get to see much of them, though - as soon as they came, Joachim and Marco are gone, killed by gunfire and explosives. Walter prepares to die and then...

"O father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

'well then'
---

welp

Berlin is ashes

Shit just got real! Somehow! In the middle of a pitched battle in a world war! And somebody's singing a mocking requiem for the fallen...

'oh'

it's a bishie boy with only one eye. BIG BOSS?!

Nah, Eastern Front Assault Corps' special unit leader, SS Major Wolfgang Schreiber. Who...apparently died three years ago. Interesting.

Huh, turns out there's a reason his red armband doesn't have a nazi swastika. Neat! Was wondering if that was censorship. Game anticipating reader thoughts here.

Spirits rise through the air...and Schreiber eats them through his eyepatch! Oh shit, it's not METAL GEAR, it's Soul Reaver!
---

Walter's offered a question as he dies by Mr. Bishie Revenant: "What do you wish for?" His answer is victory, for himself, his fallen friends and his country. Apparently this was the right answer, because Schreiber recruits him into some kind of forever war - to be repeated again and again and again, until their side wins. I smell a bunch of sore losers...

And Walter's absorbed into Schreiber's eye, to join the legions of THE SATAN in looking for victory, or so it seems.

At the same time, in another place, a new nightmare was unfolding.

CRASH, BANG, BOOM (the CG so far has been pretty sweet btw)!

An entire battalion of at least a dozen tanks had failed to bring down a single man.
---

We cut to a messily shaven officer from the legions of THE SATAN wrecking tanks left and right and no-selling like an overpaid wrasslin' star. He too is already dead - died a year ago, in his case. He's about to wreck everybody's shit with a GOD FIST when a lady with red hair who's covered in burns comes in to steal his kill. For shame, I say! For shame! Where's the team spirit?

Miss Burns starts infodumping a bit - apparently tall dark and scruffy is a hero, especially in comparison to Schreiber, and the city needs to fall to power a ritual - the creation of the Ark of the Covenant, prototype version. Did nobody tell these guys Indiana Jones already got his hands on the real deal or something?

Apparently not-Akuma can speak. The name of the burnt lady is Samiel, and heroman is looking for someone called Mercurius, who's unkillable. Also he's friends with the boss so no having a fancy duel with him. This infodump is coming thick and fast, but I suppose we gotta get all the introductions outta the way SOMEHOW. Looks like Samiel, Schreiber and Punchman are all part of the Obsidian Round Table, because of course you mix DARK KING ARTHUR with the ark of the covenant. Of course.

Oh, and there's a giant burning swastika in the sky. Yup. Business as usual!

And then a guy with gold hair, gold eyes and one arm plus a DARK MAN descend from the heavens. Apparently that's the leader and lieutenant of the Bible Black Round Table.

Oh hey! He's the guy speechifying before the game started properly! Interesting.
---

I'd personally call him Not-Id actually
---

And at his command, people start killing themselves en masse. 'oh'

His name is Mephistopheles, apparently, and his dark friend's name is...Karl. And whatever they were planning here was a success, so now they're going to wait until something called the Shambhala is complete fifty years from now, and then unleash the Day of Wrath. Hey, that's a title drop already!

Karl suggests Mephistopheles not go it alone to 'the other side', because it's dangerous. So of course he takes the three officers we met earlier - and we finally have a name for Mr. Punchman, Berlichingen. Karl and Meph decide it's time to call it a day, and leave. And that's the end of the Totenkopf Empire (which means 'Death's Head' IIRC?).

'And so, six long decades came and went.'

Welp, SOMETHING didn't go according to plan for Msrs. The Satans.
---

greengravy294 posted...

I'd personally call him Not-Id actually

Naw, Mephistopheles looks way more 'Not-Id' than Berlichingen. Same long hair and shit. Kinda reminds me of Dhaos too, actually. I wonder if he has lasers?

Food break now BTW. Will read more once I'm done eating.
---

Lol like you have time between this and mercs
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trdl23 posted...

Lol like you have time between this and mercs

Hahahaha

HAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
---

Oh neat. Heard a lot of good stuff about this also. Didn't realize it was on Steam now.

I almost definitely won't follow along with the topic myself because spoilers, but I'll download the VN myself at least :/
---

You'll have to let me know if this is good or not. I like reading VNs, especially the translated ones that aren't blatantly just porn, but something about the way this was sold to me really turned me off reading it.
---

Remember to use this guide *it's not completely spoiler free I don't think*

https://gareblogs.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/dies-irae-amantes-amentes-english-walkthrough/#more-9696

For those of you who don't know, the original release of this game was really tempestuous and the original writer ran out of time before completing two of the most important routes, so they hired outside help to finish it. However, one of the unfinished routes actually was supposed to come in between the finished routes.

Play out of recommended route order at your peril! It seems to really screw around with your event flags, and a bunch of scenes that "should" appear when you're on a route don't.

And none of this is enforced by the game.

P.S.

Make sure to play every line by kasumi where she's just making a sound effect, it's the greatest

p.p.s.

jun suwabe aka archer's va is in this game

kasumi trying to speak english to a foreigner A++
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trdl23 posted...

Lol like you have time between this and mercs

full disclosure, I'm currently doing this, mercs, writing two novels, playing in multiple PnP RPGs, working a job on saturdays, attending school on tues and weds, and also trying to have a social life. You only get one guess for which part is the hardest!
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KanzarisKelshen posted...

trdl23 posted...

Lol like you have time between this and mercs

full disclosure, I'm currently doing this, mercs, writing two novels, playing in multiple PnP RPGs, working a job on saturdays, attending school on tues and weds, and also trying to have a social life. You only get one guess for which part is the hardest!

Social life.
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ok, food break is over. PLAYTIME RESUMES
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Sceptilesolar posted...

You'll have to let me know if this is good or not. I like reading VNs, especially the translated ones that aren't blatantly just porn, but something about the way this was sold to me really turned me off reading it.

@Sceptilesolar


moogy (someone big in the VN translation scene) gave a writeup about what and what not to expect from this VN if it helps.
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1spttdr
---

We cut to November 29, 2006. It's 3 in the morning. Mt. Fuji is at peace...

...Nope it's not. SHIT'S ON FIRE YO

We cut to a familiar looking guy with golden hair being summoned by a black-haired woman. The guy's name is...Valeria Trifa? And the lady's name is Leonhart? Did somebody mix these names up?

Who cares though, IT'S TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME

And we get an opening that is probably spoilery as fuck, I just lack context for it.

You know, looking at these designs I can't help but wonder, did the writer for this play Double Cross? One of these characters looks like, super similar to the Chimera sample character. Like it's pretty uncanny. And given the usual background of VN writers, it's not that impossible...

And I finally reach the main menu. And it only took a couple hours! AMAZING PROGRESS I TELL YA
---

OK so, the NEW GAME option is flashing. The game's developers wanted one thing here and I think I know what it was. Subtle they ain't! Let's jump right in.

Did the game just spoil me on the routes at the main screen

'lol'

Not that I care since that's not what's important, but it still amuses me greatly. Rather than picking one of the routes, I'll go with 'new game' as newbie's guide suggests. LESSGOOOOOOOOO
---

OK yeah based on that twitlonger I would be willing to bet money that the writer played/plays Double Cross then. The similarity is too blatant to not be the case.

ANYWAY

"If only time could just stop.

It was impossible to truly determine the greatest moment of your life until you were looking back on things from your deathbed, of course. But I was sure everyone had wished for something similar at least once. It was only human to wish for fun times to continue; to want to relieve a moment of glory. It felt only human to wish to hang on to the here and now. Even should its brilliance eventually fade, it still beat losing it. The known was comforting. The unknown, terrifying.

Everyone must've experienced this sort of anxiety before. Especially students like me."
---

We're introduced to a new character, Ren Fujii. Our MC, I assume? We'll see. He's contemplating the passage of time, and mourning the fact the life he loves will eventually wither away, replaced by something else. He loves it too much as it is, and doesn't want it to change - but it must, because he must grow. So what if, he thinks, he refused to grow up?

"Okay, so try to imagine your life as a novel."

For reasons I can't really disclose, this line makes me laugh. This guy needs to work on some facets of himself, but he's entertaingly thoughtful!
---

And we meet the one who voiced that quote. He's blonde and he uses some...familiar words. But I'll dwell on that later. For now...

"Now ask yourself this: is this novel of yours even worth reading? As the protagonist, are you an interesting, worthwhile character?"

Ten mins into the game proper and I'm gettin hit in the feels already

That's one question I ask myself often, right there...
---

The name of the blondie who asks those questions is Shirou. The extended literary metaphor continues, but the gist of it is simple: if your life isn't unique, valuable, special, why are you even alive at all? What's the point of it?

And then the analogy goes some interesting places, which would be way too long to explain or transcribe. But the short of it is pretty similar to what's come up before in this very story already. What if the lives we lead are fated to be that way? Apparently this has him restless. So he wants Ren's help, with 'manipulating variables'. The response from our enterprising POV character is ????, to which Shirou elaborates: he feels stuck in a rut, repeating himself. So it's time to break the script. And the way to do it is by severing from his pal by picking a fight, to change the 'genre' of his own novel.

Y'know, this extended metaphor is pretty solid. That's a very refreshing change of pace. Most VNs have painfully forced ones. This is actually much more attractive to me than everything in the prologue. It just feels...way less by the numbers, kinda? Like I've seen the whole ANCIENT CONSPIRACY, MASTER OF EVIL, EVIL PSYCHO KID, LET'S THROW LOTS OF PROPER NOUNS AROUND shit a million times before. This is different. Fittingly enough, it feels like it's worth my time.
---

The fight goes...a little far. More like really way too far. They both fight until they end up on the verge of death. Shirou doesn't seem to care much, though...he's having the time of his life. And apparently Ren really needs to skip town, because there's nothing actually here in this spoiler. The black box is just to simulate the way Ren can't remember whatever the reason Shirou told him was. They talk shit at each other, and it really feels like it's done in the way only two friends can. What a strange little scene...

And on that note, it ends. We skip to another day. Ren lists all his injuries and it's a loooong list. To sum it up, his words: "If you listed it out like that, it sounded like I got into a fight with a dump truck or something. I was surprised I even made it to the hospital in one piece."

Ren kinda feels like there's no reason to do anything else after having picked that fight with Shirou. "Enough excitement for a lifetime", he says. Apparently, there is such a thing as having too much chill. But even though he'd rather stay in the hospital forever, he's got no choice. Two months is enough to heal fully, yo. Time to get out or get kicked out!

But first, gotta clean up the room he used. Apparently grabbing his stuff was easy. Grabbing the stuff someone called Kasumi brought in...not so much. Who brings porn into a hospital?!
---

Aaaaand he's headed downtown to see if anything's changed while he's been gone. The season has passed from autumn to winter, but that's about it - Suwahara City is kinda on the same vibe as Ren with having lots of chill. We get a bit of info on it and on him as well - city built in WW2 that grew into a touristic location, he moved in two years ago, and the city seems lively but is actually full of that small-town relaxed atmosphere. Shirou's opinion comes up (this guy still matters a lot to Ren, in case it wasn't obvious), and so does someone called Himuro's. Incidentally, Shirou got surgery and ollied out within three days. What happened to him is a mystery...for now at least. Disappointed, Ren decides to go home...

WARNING WARNING

WARNING WARNING

Waifu is approaching at full throttle. According to the data, it is identified as 'Kasumi'. NO REFUGE.

I have never heard a man sigh so defeatedly in my life goddamn

We're introduced to Kasumi Ayase, childhood friend of Ren. She's the head of the kendo club at his school. Sidenote: the music went from wistful and a bit melancholy to totally upbeat and synthy when she came in. Solid musical cues right there.

Ren asks why she's skipping school (what with it being a schoolday and all and her not being, y'know, on medical leave). She blushes a lot as she tells him she wanted to see him. The interest is noted. She also gets mad at him for leaving the hospital and asks him why he would ever think about doing that when she'd said she'd drop by to pick him up. Ren, keenly aware that only suffering and sorrow await those who get embroiled in the Waifu Wars, decided to duck her (it's more like he expected her to drop by after school and eff waiting around that long but details!). Having identified her prey already, however, Kasumi's radar was too finely tuned for him. A little lovers' spat ensues (as much as Ren would vehemently deny it. Kasumi probably would too but uh, less vehemently, just from this five minute impression >_> ).

"Maybe she would calm down a little if I did the whole 'my angel' thing, but I really did not feel like going through with that."

Tactical analysis meets chill and chill wins hard. Ren you better not get into any fights if this is your groove son, you're gonna job out

But he plays his trump card and all is well. Earlier, Ren sent all of Kasumi's stuff back to her home. Which means, she sent it all back...to her mom. As in, that includes the porn. #Outplayed

Kasumi tries to recover. She fails. She asks Ren if he got any 'use' out of the stuff she bought. Lady you do not ask a dude that the hell you doin'

Ren chooses the troll mathematician answer - he didn't do anything with em, but loaning them to the other patients bought him peace and quiet, so he says 'kinda'. Unfortunately this just encourages her and she asks him which parts were his favorite.

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/83/83fa7afc4230715b33ee15793ed122eddf34acb03f69f59715fa02251ffa0d3c.jpg

...Pffffffffffffft I actually get to pick which

The temptation to do a troll answer is TOO STRONG you guys
---

I gotta stay on track for the proper route progression. INFINITE SADNESS :(

Oh well. "I was lying, you idiot" is the one. At least I can derive some amusement from the fact it's the only one that wasn't half-assed with an 'I guessssssssssss'. Kasumi doesn't buy it tho - the 'wink wink nudge nudge' game from her is strong. The conversation soon shifts elsewhere and - wait what the fuck Shirou was using knuckledusters in the fight against Ren? Damn son, that's DIRTY. No wonder Kasumi got worked up over the possibility of Ren taking lasting wounds, that shit can fuck you UP.

And now we know why - Ren is 'pretty'. And he hates it, because he apparently got mistaken for a girl all the time as a kid - and still kinda does. Is the poor dude gonna be forced to crossdress? We shall see.

"If you wanna have some fun, all you gotta do is say so."

Above quote presented completely out of context. Half convinced it means exactly what you think it means.

OK yeah Kasumi just asked him on a date, let's up that chance to 75%, waifu wants it real bad right now

Of course, our daring ladies man denies it because rule 1 of VN club is you never lock the route in that early. Which of course causes another girl to come up in the conversation - her name's Rea, Rea Himuro, and she apparently ordered Kasumi to go after Ren. DANGER REN ROBINSON DANGER

Our MC-kun is naturally perplexed by this - particularly at Kasumi agreeing so readily. Turns out Rea bought tickets to the museum already. Being kind of a spendthrift, the thought of just wasting those tickets rubs Ren the wrong way, so off we go to the museum with Miss Kendo Master. He points out that this doesn't seem like something Kasumi would enjoy too much (which seems kinda true), and maybe something more like what their Senpai (AKA Rea) would like. But then the current exhibition's title is revealed and everything makes sense - Blades of the World. Can't tell a swordsgirl to NOT go look at EKSUCALIBAAAAAAAAAA!

Aaaand it turns out Ren is afraid of sharp blades. 'welp'

Needless to say our chill heroman isn't feeling this particular museum trip. Kasumi doesn't seem to get why so she asks, and in response Ren tries to pick a classic 'girly phobia' that she might have out to make a point with - and she kinda doesn't have one. MC status: DESTROYED

"I can't see how you'd find being on a date with me fun." -Ren, accidentally mercilessly firing shots at the character archetype he belongs to in the course of a normal conversation.

Apparently Ren isn't scared of blades, per se. He just has a MYSTERIOUS AVERSION to them. Surely this won't come up later on. Surely.
---

And suddenly Ren starts hearing voices. Well, more like *A* voice, but you get the idea. Someone calling out "Mu".

"...rer..."

Murderer? Is that it? We're about to find out, 'cause Ren takes off like a rocket, chasing after the voice and leaving Kasumi behind. The voice takes him to a guillotine blade. None other than Robespierre's own! A brief conversation ensues about him and his reign of terror, when Ren starts really not feeling this whole 'let's watch a guillotine' thing and decides to leave, when suddenly...

...Well, that sure is a ghost girl standing right there.
---

Also, just so you know, I *believe* the choices are made to put you on like, the boundary of route selection, so you only need like a save for one or two choices at the end to switch a route. I advise leaving a save there and remembering to go back or just picking the other one and reloading when the scene "seems" done.

And everything goes staticky, then red, then black.

"Does my present live up to your expectations, Zarathustra?"

The above is in red text in the VN. How odd...

And thus starts chapter 1 (or ends, not sure): "L'enfant de la punition". The child of punishment.

We cut to Ren and Kasumi arriving at his house. Instead of making bad dirty jokes, I'll just note that they don't seem freaked out about OMG A GHOST, which stands out as off. Like, I could see maybe Kasumi not seeing the ghost but...

...Man it just hit me

Kasumi's clothes remind me so much of pajamas

CAN'T UNSEE

Anyway, this conversation is normal. WAY too normal. The hell happened to the ghost sighting? Are Ren's memories fucked up or something? It's very suspicious at this point.

...And then I find out Kasumi fucking made a hole in the wall and put in a special door to sneak into Ren's bedroom wtffffffff

This officially raises my waifu danger sense from just silly jokes to 'yandere flags activated', seriously. Who the hell does that?!

"Kasumi and I had moved into this apartment together when we enrolled at our current school..."

Man the jokes are just too easy, it's not even a challenge to make 'em anymore

Oh, so Shirou laid down the precedent. 'ok'

That makes it a bit more acceptable, dialing down the yandere flags then. That dude makes things weird and fuckin' knocking down a wall with a hammer seems like something in his wheelhouse.

After some more banter, Kasumi bids her adieu. D'aww, and Ren starts thinking about whether he deserves the way she cleaned his room (and Shirou's) while he was away so it wouldn't get dusty. That's cute. And then, it's bedtime for him too. But not before finally looking back on the ghost he saw - he thinks it's a hallucination. So apparently Kasumi didn't see it, or he didn't say a peep about it. OK then.

And then, static. And more redtext. And then, the story of the 'princess of the guillotine', told to Zarathustra by someone named Cagliostro. To make a long story short, most men are mediocre, doomed to be nothing more than irrelevant - but some stand out, some are born greater, and the common man cannot understand this. One such special being was a woman, who was perfect, who was other, who was never to experience love. Her perfection touched Cagliostro's heart, and gave him a purpose - to lead her soul to salvation, by evoking the Day of Wrath that would sunder the universe.

And that's as far as the story gets, before it's rudely interrupted by crashing waves. Ren finds himself at a beach, a beach he doesn't know, frozen in time. And he understands that it's beyond the ravages of time, without anyone telling him, and he loves this place, loves the fact it will never change. He looks at it, and much like Shirou before him, is assaulted by a sense of déja vú. But he loves it. He wishes it would last forever. He loves the fact he knows what happens, here, and with that foreknowledge, he can extend this moment infinitely. His ideal world is...

"Knowing everything in advance."

And we're back to the static and the redtext. Ze timelines, zey are merging!

Not just that...we see the ghost girl again, and this time present here, in the flesh. And Ren is captivated by her, just like Cagliostro was. She is pure. She is immaculate. She is perfect in his eyes.

(Brief aside: Something I haven't mentioned is the beauty of these descriptions I'm reading right now. The music is good, but what really is making this scene is how poetic the words are. I'm very impressed by Dies so far.)

A burst of static interrupts all the awe and wonder. Something feels off now...but what?

And then, the static dissolves, and her words become clear.
---

"I had been a fool. Throughout Japan's history, twilight, the borderline between day and night, had been regarded as the time when the natural and the supernatural grew thin. Twilight was when the inhuman walked among the living.

All along, this girl had been mad."

The song is a song of blood. The girl is calling for blood to feed the guillotine, to quench its thirst. It finally clicks to Ren who this girl is - the ghost girl. The child of punishment (with overtext saying 'the damned girl', pish posh tbqh).

And everything goes black. And when Ren's vision comes back, there he is, staring up at a guillotine amidst a crowd. And they all sing the same song, the girl's song.

"Blood, blood, blood, it wants blood."

And Ren is the one marked for execution. 'welp'. Turns out the timelines did merge, just not the way I was expecting.

No help comes. The only person to step forward is the executioner. Ren dies, and his blood runs all over the guillotine.

Fade to black. Time to wake up.
---

Ren gets a rude awakening. Really, who could blame him for being a bit rattled by that? That's one hell of a strange nightmare. But it's light out, he's alive and he's awake now. He's OK. At least for now, he's OK.

...Except Kasumi was in his room, watching him sleep. FUCK
---

(she's got cool new clothes btw - they don't remind me of jammies anymore!)

"Also, I was groaning in my sleep because some pervert was staring at my face while I slept."

Ren best, I love you man

also fffff Kasumi even brought a kitchen knife, YANDERE FLAGS RAISED AGAIN (she's just cooking something, sorry to ruin the fun for any yandere fans out there getting hyped about this)

"Can't you be grateful for what I do for you and let you enjoy a few benefits on the side every now and then?"

"Benefits?"

"I mean getting to watch your face while you sleep. It's so cute!"

OK YEAH NVM ABOUT THAT, YANDERE FLAGS RAISED FOR REAL, OBSESSION IS GO

And then while Ren is thinking Kasumi says this (catface tally: 2 so far)

"'I began to seriously consider embracing her and stealing a kiss."

OK yeah that's real fuckin blatant, Ren how come you don't notice this boy

Like I get it, 'MC-kun syndrome', but that only goes so far when the girl is so transparent. This demands an explanation!

And then it's breakfast time. Lots of breakfast antics (more like brunch at min tbqh, who eats spicy food during breakfast?) ensue, and after a little conversation, Ren opts to focus less on Kasumi and more on the news. Nothing seems too interesting, so he—

WHOA SURPRISE GUITAR OUTTA NOWHERE

Apparently somebody died in the park. Wait, am I supposed to be like 'OMG SO SURPRISING', really? It's a city. There's gotta be like at least a couple dozen murders a day unless it's got like a couple thousand people tops. Just how small can Suwahara be for Ren's reaction to be this one?

Oh the victim got decapitated

WELL THEN

That's a bit more interesting at least!

Kasumi drops a plate. Does she know? The question has no answer, cause Ren quickly decides to just focus on getting back to school. He asks Kasumi to leave so he can change (she sewed his ruined-ass uniform back together btw - wouldn't he have at least one or two backup ones? Going to school with the exact same uniform every day seems a bit gross), and her response is that he's got nothing to be embarrassed about. SHE'S WATCHING YOU GET CHANGED DAILY BRO, RUN WHILE YOU CAN

Outside, there's a brief argument. Surprising no one, Ren is a(n uncaring) ladykiller. More surprisingly though...

"Besides, when it comes to popularity with girls, you're actually—"

"Completely indifferent to it. Especially when it comes to you."

So he actually does know? That surprises me if true, though it's a pleasant surprise. It's nice to have an MC with some level of emotional intelligence. Like it's not THAT hard to notice if somebody is crushing on you, especially when it's this blatant. So at least acknowledging it and saying 'not interested' helps make things more believable tbqh.

Regardless though, off to school go our leading ladies (because Ren is girly looking ha ha ha get it I'm so clever). Ren tries to persuade Kasumi to go in ahead of him to spare her some negative attention, but all this does is motivate her to grab him and come in together. I suspect the above quoted line doesn't mean what i thought it did...

(Minor note for later: Apparently Ren's only friends are/were Kasumi, Shirou and Rea. Interesting.)

Lunchtime arrives and this ominous quote is dropped.

"And why exactly should I have to hang out with a bunch of girls I've never even spoken with before?"

IN A.D. 2101 WAIFU WAR WAS BEGINNING

THERE SHALL BE NO SURVIVORS
---

(We get a new choice after getting told we're hanging out with Kasumi's gal pals to try to convince her this is dumb or bail. Option selected: "Try to persuade her".)

This isn't really a major quote but I want to bring up this internal monologue for a sec.

Before I could respond with 'of course I fucking do'...

Rare instance of direct profanity from a VN main character. Usually the language is pretty clean! It's kinda neat to point out all the divergences from my past VN experiences like that.

Oh yeah, and right before Ren escalates the argument, RING RING

Phone saves the day. Ren gets a text and excuses himself. It's a very polite one, inviting him on up to the roof and telling him there'll be some privacy there...

...wait a sec were those seriously a whole buncha blushing emojis

I knew that had to be Rea from the get go but the trolling there really surprised me! This should be interesting...let's hurry on up to the roof then and see what Ren and Kasumi's senpai really is like.

...Man, is it just me or has Ren gone from being pretty much on edge to super relaxed in the span of a few textboxes? Like he seems so chill with the prospect of going up to talk to Rea. Very noticeably different from his stuff with Kasumi. Now I really want to see what she's like.

And we meet Rea Himuro. Huh, she's got silvery-white hair. How odd! She's munching on a sandwich with a pleased look on her face and giving Ren absolutely no attention at all. He tries to call out to her, gets no attention still, and ponders if she's fallen asleep, which makes me facepalm because she's eatin a fuckin sandwich who the heck falls asleep while actively fooding

And then, this happens:

"It's cold. I'm freezing. Warm me up."


---

"Actually, let's not beat around the bush. Hand it over, bitch!"

This combination of refined appearance and language is slaying me, send help

"We could wear it together if you like. Then we could snuggle up together real nice and..."

The trollmode is real, the trollmode is too real guys

Rea Himuro does not mess around. She gets Ren's coat, exposes his uniform, AND asserts dominance all in one go. If the banter here isn't top tier I riot!

"Sorry, but I felt confident I was better at this whole 'human' thing than she was, at least."

yesssssssss now he just needs to start firing the shots out loud
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pfffffffff Rea was imitating Kasumi

This is terrific, she totally did nail it

And so the most important question is posed: Who won the big fight? Ren or Shirou (whose surname is Yusa btw, apparently)? Of course, we know it was a tie (kinda, double KOs are weird), but nobody else does. Interestingly, though Ren's answer is he won, he feels like Shirou would've said the same thing about himself. So it really was a true tie.

"And indeed, Kasumi wasn't popular...at least, not with us."

Well of course, Ren is clearly on that Shirou route what with caring so much about him

BL mode doesn't allow for grills!
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Ren X Shirou OTP of all OTPs

Huh, so Rea lives in a church? That's...interesting.

And the nun at the church has 'model-like proportions', Ren's words. Oh boy oh boy that's gonna get you damned man think real hard if that one's worth it

...did I just hear 'boing boing f-cups' voice acted

This conversation truly is going places

"By the way, I'm a B-cup."

'Uh, TMI.'

OK NOW the conversation went places. Kasumi fired the opening salvos of the Waifu Wars but Rea is going straight to heavy artillery fire!

"It's because she witnessed a murder."

WELP

I've heard some surprising swerves in the conversation but I was not expecting this one. And Rea's still speaking in the same calm, flat tone too.

So uh, Rea and Lisa (the nun) found the body. And they got interrogated all night long. And Rea's feeling a bit sleep deprived. And uhhhhhh, it's kind of impossible to tell because she's taking it so chill. This conversation sure got bizarre quick. A loooong discussion about the murder ensues, and there's no real good way to summarize it, except one detail: the victim was found at a spot where Shirou and Ren used to go biking. After a while, the conversation shifts back to more mundane matters, and Rea tells Ren to support Kasumi more - because a guy's gotta stand up for the girl he likes. He tries to correct her, and it's fun, but the easygoing humor from before is just gone. And then, Rea leaves. Ren, deflated, decides to stay there for a while and skip class...and falls asleep and wakes up later, wayyyyyy later. It's dark out already! So he decides to grab his stuff and go home. He finds an angry note from Kasumi on his desk, and does the only thing he can with it: throws it into the trash can. In his own words:

"I totally sunk the free throw."

Aww yeah NBA Ren hype

"I wasn't a fan of ghosts myself. If I had to say why, it was because they were immune to physical attacks."

As a total PnP mark, A FREAKIN MEN GODDAMN FUCK GHOSTS

Right as Ren is going home, he notices something: the Kendo club's lights are on. A choice pops up between checking it out and going home. Absolutely no prizes for guessing what the walkthrough I'm following recommends.
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Kasumi is inside. No funtimes now, though - she's practicing, and that deserves Ren's respect. He just quietly leans back and watches her work. She's impressive - very refined, very practiced. But watching her calls some words from Shirou to mind. Quoting in full because it's worth talking about.

Shirou on Martial Arts

People who are strong to begin with don't need to rehearse or practice. Martial arts is a way for the weak to become strong, which is why the idea that 'you can do it if you put your mind to it' is so influential. The match starting and ending with a bow — that's all part of it.

People born weak don't know how to deal with having strength. So they end up putting top priority on trying to discipline themselves, because they'll break down if they don't...poor bastards. Well, I guess they can't help it, though.

In other words, Kasumi is in that group. It's cute that she's trying to go beyond her ability, but she wasn't born strong, so really she's just pushing herself. Unlike a certain someone.

Man, how did things end up like this, anyway? Who decided to dangle a carrot in front of the little bunny? Well, Renny?

Setting aside absolutely everything else about it, the first and most obvious thing about this is just how completely, utterly BULLSHIT the idea of the strong not needing to rehearse or practice is. This quote sticks out to me because it feels like it exposes a character perfectly (unless something he does later surprises me). In a few brief paragraphs, it totally tells you how divorced from the world Shirou's view of reality is. The strong don't need to train? Really? What good is strength that you don't know how to harness? Imagine being physically massively strong. Could you do much more than lift big things without actually practicing and experimenting with what you can do? Training isn't really about pushing your limits (because you can't really do that while training - all you can do is reach them). It's about understanding how to use what you already have creatively and efficiently to do what would otherwise be beyond you with a brute-force approach. This entire philosophy assumes there is such a thing as a 'perfect strength' that can overcome any problem effortlessly, but nothing in this world is perfect. Look at the Mona Lisa closely enough and you'll see a thousand cracks, flaws that should irreparably compromise its beauty. Listen to your favorite song and you'll hear the singer fail to hold a long note, or the guitarist slightly exceeding the pace of his bandmates, or a billion other touches. Perfection's an ideal, an ideal that is unattainable. Assuming you can find it, that you can have it, is a fool's errand. There's only two states that matter in this world: 'insufficient' and 'good enough'. This approach is not a strength - it's a weakness. And I bet anything that at some point it will be Shirou's undoing.

(Also, look at that second to last paragraph. Doesn't it feel like it should say 'punishing' instead of 'pushing'? Seriously feels like a typo, yo.)

Anyway...sorry for that aside. Just like the 'imagine your life as a novel' comment generated a response from me earlier, so did this bit, and I wanted to dwell on my thoughts on it for a while, just like with any good book. A part of me instinctively rejected it, and I wanted to understand why that intuition kicked in. Sometimes, fiction puts me in a philosophical mood like that. Once again, sorry for the rambling, guys.
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man this is going to hit 500 before a single route is finished isn't it

"In retrospect, maybe I should have decked him right then and there."

Ya go my Ren. That's a guy who's got his head screwed on straight.

You know, this actually gets me wondering - Ren says he's been friends with Kasumi since childhood. If that's true, doesn't that mean they moved into Suwahara together? Ren's only got here two years ago, after all. What led to that? And what's the story behind their connection? Now I'm curious about that.

*CRASH*

And Ren gave himself away to Kasumi. 'Whoops'. Kendo beauty ruined!

In the end, they go home together, but not before stopping for groceries at the supermarket because Ren is starving and no other food but Kasumi's will satisfy him. This is cute, not gonna lie about it. On the way back, they talk about how it's kinda a bad idea to be walking the streets so late with a slasher around, and I'm positive I heard a 'seigi no mikata' come out of Kasumi as she talks about capturing the murderer. What's with that phrase anyway? Is it very commonplace or something? Needless to say, plenty of snark from Ren follows.

D'aww, a pinky swear to tell Kasumi if something weird happens to him. That's cute.

And afterward, Ren goes to sleep.

IT BEGINS
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MasaomiHouzuki posted...

man this is going to hit 500 before a single route is finished isn't it

I did like three topics for Undertale and that was a short-ass game

I imagine a VN will probably triple that
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undertale has like 10 hours of content

this has like 50 hours

oh boy

Another dream...maybe. This one's far more lucid than the last one, and more than that, far more current. It's about beasts - beasts in human form. One beast kills feeble prey. The other beasts, 'hunters' kill the first kind of beast, but only when it's tremendously strong, when they can't handle it alone.

We cut to a woman with black hair. Is she the one from the first post-1945 scene? Seems likely...white clothes too, and I think she had the same floofy collar.

The lady greets two like her with just a few, meaningful words.

"Anyway, welcome to Shambhala."

Zero prizes for guessing Suwahara had to be the place. Now the question is, what else are we going to find out here?

A guy in a priest's cassock (almost certainly the same one as before at Mt. Fuji) offers greetings to the other two - 'First Lieutenant Bey' and 'Warrant Officer Malleus'. Latter means 'hammer' in latin, former...I think it refers to the Dracula legend? Probably not about Beyblades I think.

The two spoopy military men (well, 'men' - have I mentioned these guys reek of murder and calamity?) greet the priest - some Father Kristoff. Didn't this name come up in Berlin? Coulda sworn it did. And on that note...we get some CGs of our spooks. One's a tall pale man with white hair. The other's a cute pink-haired girl. They look pretty damn similar to Wolfgang Schreiber and Samiel, and they're both wearing Totenkopf uniforms. Did they reincarnate into similar but different bodies? Seems very possible...they did talk about trying again and again after all (would that mean the black-haired girl is the reincarnation of Berlichingen? That'd be a hell of a change if so).

Enough tangents. The three engage in conversation. The question's posed - how many beasts are present here? The answer provided is six in total: the two deathheads, Leonhart (from earlier), and some new people called Sonnenkind (Child of the Sun in german IIRC), Babylon and Tubal Cain. We'll meet everyone soon enough, I'm sure. Apparently Leonhart is a replacement of someone called Valkyria, and she's pretty strong. This immediately gets Bey and Malleus' murderboners' going, but the padre stops 'em cold.

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/survivor-org/images/e/e2/No_fighting.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140623074619

Nobody wants a repeat of what happened 11 years ago - so there WAS a setback. And apparently it was because somebody was too dumb to not pick a fight at the wrong time. Deserved tbqh - as with seduction, murder requires you to keep the boner hidden until the right time comes!

Hmm. Interesting. Mercurius is sending in a subtitute - why is one of the big bosses going MIA? Planning something, maybe? Mercurius is Karl, IIRC, the shade. Weird that he'd bail like that.

Aaaaaaaand father Kristoff is taking the dogs off the leash. Roll call time. Wilhelm Ehrenburg is Bey. Malleus is Rusalka Maria Schwägelin (shoutouts to Lady Ashe, who apparently really likes her). And the padre is Kristoff Lohengrin, number 3 of the Obsidian Round Table (ORT from now on because using the name of a jewish academy while describing the occult nazis is hilarious)...better known as Valeria Trifa. And with that, the ceremony is over. Shit's about to get real now.

Boss selection screen comes up. Six out of thirteen ORTs are revealed. Turns out I was a bit mistaken - Bey and Malleus look similar to Samiel and Schreiber, but they're not the same people because Samiel is still there on the list. Berlichingen is there too, as well. The ORT slips are too small to really make out details of Sonnenkind, Tubal Cain and Babylon Magdalene, but this is looking interesting. Can't wait to see where Dies takes me next.

And with that, Chapter 1, 'L'enfant de la punition', is over. This seems like a good stopping point.

Chapter 1 — END
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Oh, and I save on this note:

"Tell me, have you ever experienced the sensation of foreknowledge?"
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I had a dream that Johnbobb submitted a bid for 0 GP but I decided to not trust myself
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KanzarisKelshen posted...

'First Lieutenant Bey' and 'Warrant Officer Malleus'. Latter means 'hammer' in latin, former...I think it refers to the Dracula legend? Probably not about Beyblades I think.

probably not, but I kept thinking of him as "Beyblade" anyway

(tag)
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Ein

liking this so far through one route - the translation kinda sucks though

Update: no Dies today, but I think I can swing some tomorrow after merx is done torturing me! Hoping to get chapter 2 started soon.
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