Let's Play "In Your Arms Tonight"...because...you know...

Best of luck on your test! You'll do wonderfully!

I have conflicting feelings about all this.
On the one hand, Lysa has been through a lot much of which I understand because PARENTS, she's clearly emotionally hurt and drained; not to mention Koichi just treated her as if she wasn't more than a person he knew instead of his wife (seriously man, she was soaked AT LEAST SHOW A LITTLE WORRY). She's distressed, and here comes Ebi-chan, a man she admires for many non-romantical reasons, to lend a supportive hand. And I really want things to be better for her because ugh everything is horrible and she deserves all the hugs.
On the other hand...though I am willing to let that kiss scene pass this once because of all I just said, it does make me a bit uncomfortable. I'm actually surprised Ebiharausing his full name feels so weird omg did something as bold as that. I understand he cares and wants to calm her down, but they're beginning to step on cheating territory, and honestly, that would make Lysa no better than Koichi. I'm not saying it's wrong for her to feel this connection with Ebi-chan, but the fact is that she's still married, even if the marriage no longer means anything to her. And taking any further steps without taking care of that first would be wrong from both of them.

TL;DR: the sooner she gets that divorce, the sooner she can snog with Ebi-chan all she wants without making me feel extremely guilty and anxious.

I'm pretty sure I wanted to say more about this but my mind is a bit tired right now so I'll leave it at that.
Having that out of the way: Damn that man looks good in casual clothes.

I also feel a little uncomfortable about this since Lysa is still married.

And not to burst anybody's bubble but don't Ebi-chan and Koichi look really similar with their hair down? The first time I saw Ebi-chan, I thought it was Koichi before scrolling up to check the hair.

edit for comparative pictures:



...Looking at it side by side, they don't look similar anymore. Ah well.

It's mostly the glare.

Koichi's glaring and Ebihara looks concerned, if mildly at ease.

And, well, the hair colour as well.

What gets to me is the line "marriage to a tall, handsome, academically qualified high earner". *looks at Ebi-chan* ........................ He's all that plus affection.

No wonder.

I say they do look similar. Same except for how hair parted. Those ears. Shape of head. Those eyes. That nose. That hair colour.

Having read the spoilers about this game above I may have to reconsider my personal ban on playing this game. This route at least seems to be playing out better than I expected and having an idea of how the other routes play out reassures me that I can actually enjoy the game.

And that way Voltage will have ALL of my spare cash instead of MOST of it.

I'm pretty sure a lot of what's going on right now is high emotions kind of running away with the both of them. Especially since my impression from the earlier conversations about marriage and Ebi-chan's workaholic tendencies is that Ebi-chan doesn't particularly have much experience with relationships himself. He strikes me as the type who's been wholly focused on work up until now; I wouldn't be surprised if these feelings were fairly new territory for him.

So I can kind of see how - with the woman he's got all these feelings for running out distraught into the rain and saying things like "no one loves me, leave me alone to die" - he'd jump from the sensible argument of "divorce him already" that he's been making to "LET ME LOVE YOU D:" and kissing in the rain and taking her home with him rather than sending her home to the husband who obviously gives no fucks about her.

Late to the party here... I wandered into this thread tonight because the Sims was laggy and I didn't have anything else to do.

MY OH MY THE THINGS I HAVE BEEN MISSING. Seriously, this whole thing is awesome. An otome protagonist with a spine, realistic emotions from everyone involved... and this may sound weird, but I'm really proud of everyone in here for the discussion this game has sparked.

They do look a little alike. Most of the differences are subtle.

-Ebihara's eyes turn down just slightly at the outside upward corners, while Koichi's are straight.
-Ebihara's eyebrows have a slight curve while (again) Koichi's are straight lines.
-Koichi's hairline looks like it goes straight across under his bangs; Ebihara's has a slight upward curve.
-Ebihara's earlobes are thinner than Koichi's.
-Ebihara's jawline is a little narrower and his chin is wider, making his face look longer and leaner than Koichi's.

And I just realize I have spent entirely too long staring at drawings of fictional men.

You can never spend too much time looking at drawings of fictional men.

Yay! I have time for a short update!





Lysa is really torn.
She hates the idea of cheating on her husband, so she gets out of the bath very stressed and nervous.

Lysa quickly pulls back her hair and goes to tell Ebi-chan that the bath is open, but when he sees her...


oooooh...


*blushing*



Good! Let's keep him this way ❤

Ebi-chan immediately notices Lysa's nervousness.






...yeah, it does.





...........

ヽ(´ー`)ﾉ・°☆.。.:

I am conflicted.

I'm not so much bothered by the potential affair as I am by what it's going to do to Lysa's emotions and psychological mindset.

She's the one going to suffer from this.

But then, compared to her home life, this is so much more... Good for her. But not in this context.

Ohoho, you tease~ Leaving me hanging like this.

Ebi-chan is totally going to offer her the bed and volunteer to sleep on the couch because he's that kind of guy, isn't he?

*swoons for Ebi-chan*

AUUUUGH CAN WE HAVE ANSWERS AND possibly literal FIGHT SCENE BETWEEN HER AND KOICHI SO SHE CAN RUN OFF GUILT-FREE?

I get the feeling the angst is going to kill me...

PleaseofferherthebedandsleeponthecouchPleaseofferherthebedandsleeponthecouch.
I don't remember the last time an otome protagonist was so genuinely emotionally drained and it's making my heart hurt.

Even I feel tired reading this. I don't know how much angst I can handle before I explode. Let me just go read one of those tokimemo threads

I'm back! Update in 10 mins tops!

No, I'm not supposed to be sleeping right now, whatever makes you say that~ *waiting patiently*

So Lysa is in Ebi-chan's room...



Lysa is finally going to get some. I just know it. Ebi-chan's going to make her forget Koichi that one guy. Get some Lysa. But she's married. Shit conflict. Do want? Do not want? Maybe. Yes. No. FUCK.

That was a small recap of the thoughts I was having, but it turned out to be no big deal!








I am now issuing a royal decree!

Every man must learn from Ebi-chan.

He is the Master of All.

And smexy too! Dat SMILE!





Lysa! He is clearly horrified by that suggestion!



Oh hell Lysa, just do it! Otherwise....





........

Called it

You have three minutes left. We're watching you.


Nah, take your time.

...But more Ebi sooner is better than later

edit: Well that update just made my post superfluous.
edit 2 (read post): WELL HE DIDN'T PROTEST MUCH

Not sure if happy about this. I'll just wait. Patiently. Ebi water you doing

Sqeeeee! :D

/sigh/

Chivalry is nice but I have to admit I'd like a slightly more assertive Lysa. Or at least a "guests can't sleep on the sofa" and not "ladies".

/end feminist irritation

Yes, he is very sweet though. ^^

The shower thing reminded me of an interesting post about flirting and sex in Japan, it's a pretty illuminating read!

I like to think that Ebihara is just being nice and actually not wanting her to catch a cold here, though...?

AAAAAAA WHAT HAPPENS NEXT I CAN'T STAND IT

And suddenly I am extremely glad I wasn't born in Japan.

And suddenly I am extremely glad I wasn't born in Japan.

I am really...REALLY torn between



and



I'm sorry, but this guy just pushed me onto his bed now I am scared no ebi no NO NOT LIKE THIS

GUYS GUYS GUYS, EBI-CHAN ASKED HER TO GO TAKE A BATH FIRST WOW THIS MAKES SO MANY SHOUJO MANGAS VERY AWKWARD NOW

So...

...
...
...

Ebi-chan just pushed Lysa onto the bed...

There should be a good explanation right?



....

I'm sorry, I believe I misheard you. All I could hear was the sound of my happy squees clashing with my heart going doki doki and my brain going nonononononono....

Could you please repeat that?





Well then....

Internal Conflict begins...









Meanwhile:
Ebi-chan, being the incredible man that he is, notices my Lysa's uncertainty and internal conflict immediately, so he smiles and relaxes the mood.







I really believe that, Ebi-chan ❤

Ebi-chan has made me bring out this beautiful gif.

I keep starting to type something, then deleting it, because I just can't type anything coherent about Ebihara. I...don't think I can hold back the fangirl beast that lurks within my heart. I must...resist ARGH FUCK IT, EBI-CHAN I LOVE YOU!



*deep breaths*

Holy crap, suddenly otome games make so much more sense! I mean, I knew that Japanese and Western culture were worlds apart but wow... It's easy to forget how deeply ingrained our cultures are.

So basically, I've had this mentality all of my life and I thought I was just weird.
NOPE, just on the wrong side of the planet I am MOVING IMMEDIATELY.

no really literally this entire goddamn thing sounds about right, down to the sex sex without a shower ew ew ew what if you peed

I have been hoping for the same thing all the time. Please Ebi-chan, be the wonderful man I think you are...

That's nice, actually. Even if it can be misleading if someone is just kind. Is it bad that I understand why Japanese are glad to have some kind of rule about all this stuff

I understand a lot of things now that I read that, thank you for sharing.

EDIT:

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Not pictured: about five more screens of Lysa and Ebi-chan going back and forth on "no, seriously, I'll sleep on the couch."

Yeah it was pretty ridiculous.

I swear, Lysa just can't understand that he is trying to be nice about giving her the bed, both in his house and at the inn earlier.

The inn kinda made sense since it was technically a business trip and he was her boss but in his house?
Silly Lysa....he luvs you ❤ and is a gentleman!

Which is strange because that's a common thing to do, so I thought she would just agree after refusing a couple of times...but she's probably too upset and not really herself.

I think both instances kind of say something about how ingrained it is for her to put others ahead of her own needs. :c

I understand SO MUCH MORE about all of the anime I've watched and manga I've read.

Just the bit on flirting alone explains so much!