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

We're going to have to read the LP while on the toilet then.

Waaaay ahead of you :D

WHY IS THERE A PICTURE OF THAT.

That guy is adorably hairy. <3 Did I just heart a stock photo? Also, he apparently went to the bathroom in a shirt, underwear and nothing else.

Oh man, this is going to go the way of the Queen of Damned drinking game and everyone will be passed out before chapter 3 I can just tell. And maybe we should add:

Protag-chan starts justifying/agreeing with Koichi/Koichi's Mom/Protag-chan's Dad's cruel words/plans = DRINK

Still down though. I've never done an arggggh this makes me want to drink drinking game instead of a lolz based one so it shall be a new experience. :D

Fortunately, now that I've played the route, I can say that the protagonist is not nearly as much of a doormat this time around as she was in Ebi-chan's route.

I don't know that I'd say I like Koichi's route better, because DAMMIT, KOICHI, but I definitely like the protagonist better in it.

There's a Queen of the Damned drinking game?

Yeah, the rules are a bit fuzzy since it's been awhile but I think it basically boils down to anytime you roll your eyes or someone says "Hello David" then you take a drink. There's a list of actual things but that's what it boiled down to. And we played with mixed drinks so we were all gone by halfway.

I think I know what my best friend and I are going to do next time we get together.

I'd probably start binge drinking the first time Koichi makes protag-chan's kokoro brokero. GUESS WE'RE NOT LEAVING THE PROLOGUE, GUISE.

Welp, at least now I know what I'll be doing for Christmas break :D

/ominous music begins to play/

I am warning everyone now, for the sake of entertainment, I will pretend during my comments as much as possible that we did not romance Ebi-chan.
After one last look at the man we will be romancing:



It is time to begin...

Lysa has just seen the unthinkable. Her husband of three months, playing tonsil hockey with a woman of unknown origins. The world grows darker.

And then a time skip brings us 6 months into the past. To Lysa and Koichi's first meeting...

Yoshiko: "You know, Lysa..."



Well that's...interesting. Mom, why are we here?





Oh right.
That.





Lysa still hasn't met this man, and their future is already being planned by their parents. Ick.


Oh...well he doesn't look so bad. Sweet maybe?







Oh sweetie.
So naive.

So, Lysa. What is your first impression of Koichi?



Uhhhhh yeah....suuuure



That would be so cute usually.
Takatoshi notices how quiet Lysa has been. However, he completely fails to notice that it just might be because she is being wrangled into marrying his son.



Lysa's father makes a snide comment about Lysa not being young. She's thirty after all! Ass
Luckily, Takatoshi just laughs and says that she is still young. Times have changed since their day, now thirty is still considered to be the prime of one's life.
I don't want to like you, but I kind of do right now.

Yoshiko decides to rescue Lysa from the awkwardness.



She mentions that the garden is supposed to be quite lovely.




Only because it's really uncomfortable in here.







Hmmm...well this will not do! What should the new, proactive and confident Lysa do to change the situation?

A.
how is this a question?

Lysa I implore you to say something. Should I get ready to bring out my gif arsenal?

Oh, sweet Lysa. He's like hell in a handbasket. That's what.

Too early to break out the hugs for what Lysa will soon go through? /tear

Try starting a conversation, obviously! This is new and proactive Lysa, after all.

Start communicating early and often. Hopefully it'll stick.

A because we're supposed to be acting in some semblance of effort even if Koichi appears to be a dirtbag at current face value.

A. We must do what we must do.

Lysa is strong, independent, and proactive. She begins conversations on her own!


She isn't very good at it though...







Lysa: "Oh, I see."
Koichi: "...."
Lysa: "...."











Lysa is pulled out of her thoughts by Koichi's voice.
Koichi: "Would you like to meet again? Another day?"


...wut



Who are you...

And suddenly I feel like this roller coaster is going downhill fast.

Yes! I support meeting without the meddling parents involved! Maybe we can get an honest answer out of him about why he agreed to all this!

But, you see, that part of the roller coaster is usually the most fun. Whereas here, it's more like the anticipation experienced by someone with acrophobia approaching the summit of a giant, steep ride.

I'm still surprised that Koichi wants to spend time with Lysa. With Lysa.
Although this is before they are married, so no cheating has happened as of yet.





Now why couldn't you have had that attitude in other routes?
Lysa agrees to the request, and the two make plans to meet another day.

While we wait for that day to come, let's see what Lysa's friends have to say about her potential arranged marriage!

Friend #1



Yeah, I can't believe it either...
It was SUPER awkward.

Friend #2



Hmmmm...interesting metaphor. Quite fitting given the situation as well.

Friend #3





O-okay....
Sweetie, I don't think you fully understand the situation.

The conversation about marriage goes on for a while longer, it was pretty much exactly the same as it was in Ebi-chan's route.
And then this happened.



/spit take

WHAAAAAAT?!


I like you Yukako. And not just because you look a little like an older TMGS3 Karen ❤





AKA no, Lysa did not bang Koichi in the garden. (Is it bad that I kind of wish that had happened?)

Oh my gosh she DOES! I hope they are related somehow.

Her question almost made me do a spit take as well. XD

Koichi, don't you dare make me associate you with Mr Spock for a brief instant ever again.

Biggest insult to a character I admire and love I could ever have done.

What.

I... may have been waiting for a chance to post this.

(these were my actions, I have no words. Gif posting JUSTIFIED.)

I should rephrase my post to "don't you dare give me reasons to associate you with Mr Spock ever again", but then this image made my day.

Well, well, well, Yukako...she may be a psychic.
"Night life incompatibility"...well, that's one way to put it.
Time to ride this rollercoaster, baby!

Well of course you don't know him that well yet, Lysa! You just met him once.

Her friends give her some more bad advice about marriage and "taking the plunge" and then we time skip to the time Lysa is supposed to meet with Koichi.
✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*

Lysa is walking toward the meeting place and thinks to herself that she was always aware of the prospect of marriage, but it just never worked out. Then, before she knew it, she was thirty. She wants kids and a family after all.

Suddenly, Lysa's phone beeps with a message from Koichi. He's at the clock tower in front of the station they are meeting at. Lysa looks at the time and he's twenty minutes early.

Lysa: "I'd better hurry..."
She starts walking a little faster and gets bumped into by a man holding a cup of coffee.



What?! But you ran into her.
He bitches about the coffee ruining his coat then runs off without asking if Lysa is okay.
What a jerk.





Lysa wonders if she should just stop and fix it, but then she'd be late to meet Koichi. Instead, she tries to walk without fixing it.
As soon as she notices people staring at her weird walk, she just thinks "screw it" and yanks off her heel then runs the rest of the way. Haha I can picture that.


Nice coat.



...holding an ice cream cone...


Aww not the coat..

The poor kid starts crying because the bad man's coat ruined the ice cream cone he was holding. His mother runs over, apologizing profusely and Koichi kindly shakes his head, saying that it's fine.



He's really awkward about it too...
Lysa wonders if he isn't good with kids as the boy and his mother leave.



Lysa: (Come to think of it, Koichi didn't wipe it off at all with the child present...)



I've actually done this to someone before, and that is a really sweet gesture! There is nothing more embarrassing than spilling on someone and watching them clean it up
(￣◇￣;)

Not sure how I feel about Koichi's sweetness yet...


I think what Voltage is trying to do here is show the difference between Random Street Asshole who bumped into Lysa, spilled coffee on himself, then bitched at her; and Koichi who got run into and spilled on, but treated the boy and mother kindly even if he was a bit awkward.


But I could be reading way too far into this.
It is Voltage.

So he knows how to not be an asshole. What happened after he got married then? I must know.

I have a pretty good idea of the explanation, but I will save it until we're further into the route.

Yeah I'm really startled; I normally like the awkward types, so my previous Koichi ire is melting. But...

It's Koichi, man.

I'm still so very, very suspicious.

Appearances are important, after all, so it might not just be from genuine kindness.

Though I then feel bad because that's just assuming the worst out of someone without the facts. Ebi-chan's route doesn't count. Voltage has this thing of somewhat altering characters on each route, so I'm trying not to take that into consideration while looking at Koichi as he is now.

Remember, though, that Lysa's marriage depends on her relationship with Koichi as husband and wife.

She's not interacting with him as a small child. How Koichi acts with small children adds another facet to his character, but not one that's relevant to his marriage. If he can't interact appropriately with his wife, then no number of awkward pats to children's heads will help his marriage.

Simply put, it doesn't matter.

I'm picturing the look she has on her face in this moment. I'm assuming teasing, cute, and holding back a little laughter.



Lysa says it's no big deal and mentions lunch.





Koichi: "Your shoe..."
Lysa: "The strap for it broke on the way here."

Please don't be mad...she just wanted to be on time!





You are embarrassed aren't you?!



You can fix her shoe?



Uh yeah...



He's not mad...
He wants to help her...

I actually fangirled when I saw this....a lot....it's so Cinderella!!!