Let's Rock Some Manly Eye Shadow in Animamundi: Dark Alchemist

Also, I vote for "Watch her disappear" even though it is losing, because making deals with demons is a bad idea, and I don't trust that Lilith will be saved even if I do.

Nuh-uh. You protect your little sister. Always. Against anything. Against demons, death, bullies, parents, evil little brothers, too much make-up... Anything!
So Pull her back!

Just caught up and I'm... well, unfortunately, I'm not too fond of Lilith. So voting to watch her disappear. Think of the bright side people: there's an engaged man in the city who'll be available.

OH YOU YANDERE YOU

Pull her back!!! D: (Yeah, guess who else has a little sister.)

Jumping in here but- PULL HER BACK!! PULL HER BACK!!! (little sisters everywhere. I got one two years younger than me. All my feels are screaming right now.)

Watch her disappear. What? I don't give a damn about imouto.

I called my little sister and asked what she'd want me to do if she were being dragged to hell and I had the opportunity to save her a la Faust. She told me to let her die unless the devil could make us both Digidestined. Girl's got her priorities straight.

Watch her disappear.

Chapter 3: Part 2 [Video]

The Lilith-haters were overwhelmed by a majority of overprotective older sisters, so we're going to try and pull Lilith back from the gaping abyss of death itself, even though she IS kind of a creeper and is probably going to jump Georik at some point.

Georik tried to pull Lilith back to him.

[ Georik ]
Stop!

Crying out, Georik latched tightly onto Lilith’s arm.

[ Georik ]
No...!
I will not let you have her!

Who will do my eyes and comb my hair to a shining lustre if she's gone? You, Mephisto? I wouldn't trust you with foundation, let alone eyeliner.

Pulling with all his might, he brought Lilith closer, and...

Flash!



The force drawing her to Mephistopheles suddenly loosened, and Lilith fell close to Georik.

Yes! We pulled her back into the world of the living! Hah, take that, Mebitchsto!

[ Mephistopheles ]
Thy answer is clear.

[ Mephistopheles ]
Thou has chosen to fight against fate to save her... In other words, thou hast agreed to the bargain.

Say what?!

[ Georik ]
Wha... what did you say?

Yeah, Georik never agreed to any bargain!

[ Mephistopheles ]
It is obvious.
Her life had passed, yet I gave thee another chance.

[ Mephistopheles ]
In choosing to spare her, thou hast accepted the terms of my bargain.

[ Mephistopheles ]
Shouldst thou expect her life to be spared without a pact, thou wouldst presume wrongly.

OH SNAP! IT WAS A TRAP!

[ Georik ]
...You planned this?

And we fell for it like idiots!

[ Mephistopheles ]
I have told thee.
The answer lies within thee.

[ Mephistopheles ]
In choosing to breathe life into the dead, thou hast made clear your answer. That is all that matter.

[ Mephistopheles ]
Thou hast revealed thy true self... By choosing to fight against the fate ordained for thee by God.

Wait, so now you're representing God? Are you sure you're in the right uniform, Mephisto? Did you lose your pigeon wings and halo on the way to the manicure parlour of hell?

[ Mephistopheles ]
Very well...
When the time is right, then we shall meet again.

Lose the lipstick next time, all right? If you're going to seduce me, quit the mind games, stop murdering my sister, correct that ATROCIOUS posture, and maaaaybe I'll consider it. Oh, and please do see a chiropractor. Constantly hunching over like that can't be good for your spine.

The devil’s voice gradually faded away, and he melted into the shadows.

Georik was plunged once again into darkness.

...

When Georik came to, he was in the forest again.

[ Mysterious Man ]
Well, well, are we awake yet?
I really must say it is remarkable...

You really need to get other hobbies other than watching beautiful men sleep, My Man.



You know, I just realized that Georik's had that scar on his face this entire time, but as soon as the demon came it opened up and started bleeding? Is this supposed to be some kind of demonic stigmata? I don't know how I missed that through all my replays of this game. D:

[ Mysterious Man ]
Quite remarkable... All the rumors saying that Mephistopheles desires you really were true.

I'd like to know where you heard those "rumors". You regularly attend sleepovers in hell or something?

[ Mysterious Man ]
I certainly am jealous.

Jealous of who, is the question.

Who... who do you think you are?
You’re in league with that devil, and are trying to trick me, aren’t you?

Trying? I'm sorry, Georik, for all intents and purposes you've ALREADY been tricked.

[ Mysterious Man ]
No, no, not at all.
It seems that you did not understand...

[ Mysterious Man ]
But you certainly do now. That there are sicknesses even the power of medicine cannot heal.

If you count mortality as a sickness, sure.

The man pulled a beautiful bottle filled with an amber liquid from his breast pocket, presenting it to Georik.

I don't see a breast pocket anywhere on that outfit. More evidence of the devil at work!

[ Mysterious Man ]
Allow me to give this to you.
Consider it my way of making amends.

[ Mysterious Man ]
I am looking forward to things to come...
Count Georik Zaberisk.

[ Mysterious Man ]
Specifically, the day you come to me begging for help.

The man eyed Georik with a look half filled with pity.

Pity is fine and all, but I'm worried about what's in the other half.

[ Mysterious Man ]
The curse of the House of Zaberisk...
Each generation meets with a strange fate.
And now only you remain.

Hey, hey! Lilith's still alive, thank you very much!

[ Mysterious Man ]
Those of the House of Zaberisk are not destined to die of old age. Who can guess what will become of you?

[ Mysterious Man ]
A handsome man like you, pursued by the devil... I will welcome you with open arms.

And other things too, no doubt.

Georik coldly ignored the man and held Lilith’s body close. She was slowly losing her warmth.

[ Mysterious Man ]
My words may disgust you...
But the day will come when you will be desperate for my secret medicine.

*snrk*

[ Mysterious Man ]
Ha, ha, ha...
You are even more lovely when you cry.

And saying this, the man vanished into thin air.

Aww, look at that, he's trying so hard to impress us. How adorable.



But Mephisto isn't a stranger! We met once before, remember? In a dream. We had a nice little chat. It was all very romantic.

[ Georik ]
Lilith...

As Georik sat there stunned, he slowly became aware of a noise.

[ Georik ]
What...?

From deep within Lilith’s body came the sound of a heart beating fiercely.

Wow, that sure is one noisy heart if Georik can hear it while sitting up.

[ Georik ]
Lilith...?

A rose color once again filled her cheeks, and the warmth returned to her.

Just then...

[ Lilith ]
Geo... rik...?

As Lilith’s eyes opened, a strange look suddenly came over her face...

But just as quickly disappeared.

Shiiiiiiit. I don't like the sound of that. I don't like the sound of that AT ALL. Are you absolutely SURE we made the right choice here, people?

[ Lilith ]
Georik...
What... happened?

[ Lilith ]
I feel...
As if I’ve been asleep for the longest time...

[ Georik ]
Aaah, Lilith...!

[ Georik ]
You are alive...
No... I mean, you are awake?

[ Lilith ]
I...
I remember now.
I was attacked by a monster in the forest...

[ Lilith ]
I didn’t think I would survive...
But it doesn’t matter now, as long as you are safe.

[ Georik ]
...I did not either.

Georik held Lilith close.
[ Georik ]
(Her body temperature and heart rate...
They seem the same as always.)

[ Georik ]
(I wonder if it was all a dream...?)

Somebody's in deniaaaal.

[ Georik ]
(If it was no dream then I am in trouble...!
Even still the memory lingers, burned into my brain...)

[ Georik ]
(I must be tired.
Yes, it is probably just that...)

Feeling slightly dizzy, he said this as if he were trying to convince himself.

Holding Lilith close, he mounted his horse and rushed back to their villa.

...



When Georik carried her to her room and started to tend to her...

To his surprise, Lilith’s wounds had vanished without a trace.

Wait, so you waited until you'd galloped all the way through the forests on uneven, pot-hole-filled country roads before checking the extent of her wounds to see if it was safe to move her? Obviously the sign of a medical genius.

(Her injuries... have disappeared... It cannot be... those were deep gashes.)
(She even had me starting to think some monster caused them...)

Georik froze in surprise as Sebastian entered the room.



Let me tend to her. If there is a change in her condition, I’ll be sure to call you right away, good master.

And saying this, Sebastian set himself down quietly in a chair next to the bed.

Very well. I will retire for now.
Thank you. You have been good to us.
If you go back to Kamazene... You’re sure to be busy getting ready and all.
Well, I must admit I am concerned for Lilith... But I should have the house empty in a day or two.

Georik straightened the covers on the bed.

I’m counting on you to look after things while I am not here.
I will clean up my study a bit before going to bed.
Certainly, Master Georik.
Very well then, may you be blessed with good dreams.

With a warm expression on his face, Sebastian bowed and left the room.

The old man had been with the family since the time of Georik’s father. Georik had known him since he was a small child.

But Georik was worried about his old age, and was considering releasing him from their service when they moved to Kamazene.

I certainly hope you're giving him a good pension for all those years of dedicated service, Georik.

Going back to his room, Georik let out a loud sigh.

If we leave this place, I wonder if I will escape those demon-plagued dreams.
Now that I think of it, the devil said... That he had left something for me in this room.

Look at that face full of longing. It's been a while since you received a nice romantic gift, hasn't it, Georik?

[ Georik ]
This is stupid...
What am I doing?
Why should I start to take that dream seriously now?

But no matter how he tried, he could not shake the feeling... And so, Georik searched his room.

However, he found nothing...
Only dust and spider webs.

Who knows, maybe spider webs are Mephisto's way of saying mwahaha come here baby let me entangle you in my sticky white okay I'm just going to stop there

[ Georik ]
Maybe it’s in another room...
No, this is foolish.
It was just a dream.

Georik sank down on his sofa, and fell into a deep sleep.

Well. That could've gone worse. I mean, Lilith's alive, so that counts for something, right? We just sold our soul to the devil in the process, that's all. He's kinda cute though, if you get turned on by malformed shoulders, so it'll probably be all right.

This... made me laugh WAY more than it should have. I was all;

I absolutely lost it at this update's snark. Well played, banana.

YES.

JESUS HOW DID YOU KNOW

you owe me ten bucks for that one btw

I dunno. Remember Mephistopheles said, "‘Tis not her fate to meet such an easy end." So, by saving her now, have we guaranteed her another much more horrible death? Something's definitely up, what with that brief but 'strange' look on her face after she was revived.

I hear what you're saying, but she is our sister and she is alive! That's good, isn't it?

It's not like she is actually possessed and will cut us up with a scalpel while we sleep, right? That's just a silly thing to think.

Right?

We accidentally fucked ourselves didn't we.

We'll see~ <3

Now I'm kinda glad Georik pulled her back.

This seems like the kind of game where the other choice fucks you, too, so I wouldn't feel too bad.

Well, Georik's sister is most likely a vessel for Satan now. With the way this game is going that probably won't be the worst thing to happen to her anyway.

Shucks. Why didn't I see this thread earlier? It's been such a long time since I played this game!

-Evil crackle-

Yep. *gets popcorn* ah my first runthrough of this game. THE FEELS.

Why is it that most butlers are named Sebastian? And this one isn't even hot.

I love you so much Anabanana! and how can I tag people?

because of you I remembered all of my feels from past. Oh, beautiful glorious feels filled with gross sobbing!
And now I think I love black lipstick because of Mephisto-kun :I I thought that art was awesome on my first playthrough, now I can see all these abominations of this anatomy, but still cute. On the strange way...

Type @ and start typing a username, and then pick the right one from the list that pops up.

According to the mighty, infallible TvTropes, it's "possibly due to the 1960's anime adaptation of Heidi; Clara the Ill Girl's butler Sebastian was a very popular character".

Chapter 3: Part 3 [ Video ]

We have another new character coming up, so you might want to take a look at this video.



Dawww, Lilith really is adorable when she smiles happily like that. Even if she may be the spawn and/or wife of Satan.



Yup, Georik swings both ways~

Shouldn’t it be the other way around? You really are silly sometimes.

That evening Lilith was busy preparing sandwiches and assembling other food for Georik to eat on his journey.

Hey, hey, Georik? Did you ask Sebastian yet?
Is it really true that I’m well enough to go on a long trip?

Girl. GIRL. There is one doctor in this house, and Sebastian is NOT him.

Well, I do not doubt it. You really have gotten so much better. I am relieved.
I’ve worried you so much. But really, I’m fine now.

If we'd all care to remember who's the guy with the medical expertise around here, that would be much appreciated, thank you very much!

Aye... While I am gone I want you to be careful. There have been reports of bandits and robbers.

And devils, but that was just in my dreams. Obviously.

Yes... We’ll be fine!
I’ve explained the situation to the village patrol and asked them to make extra rounds.

Did you tell them to equip their crosses and holy water guns while you're at it? You didn't, did you?!

The village patrol is nothing more than a group of kindly farmers. You be sure to get home before dark.

Maybe you should've tried imparting some of your awesome bandit-killing skills to your sister in the three years you were faffing about in the countryside, eh?

All right.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Yui Horie's voice acting is incredibly adorable <3



Bang, bang...!
There was a loud knocking at the front door.

Georik went to the door to see who it was.

For somebody called Sebastian, Sebastian sure doesn't do a lot of butlering.

And here we have Junichi Suwabe (Greed in FMA, Grimmjow in Bleach, Archer in FS/N, Undertaker in Kuroshitsuji) as Dashwood, who's rocking that black nail polish unlike a certain demon I could mention.

...what? It goes well with his shirt, I swear!



That tells you all you need to know about Dashwood, doesn't it?

It’s about the debt, see? Well...? Do you think you can repay it soon?

Again, highly recommend that you check out the video. Dashwood sounds like a perfectly charming little slimeball.

The man studied Georik’s face, smiling unctuously all the while.

He only came at night; the fact that he never visited during the day was particularly suspicious.

Yeah, he's a debt-collector, narrator, he literally JUST told us.

(Unbelievable. Why would father borrow money from people like this?)

Maybe he has a thing for redheads?

I told you yesterday. I have not changed my mind since then, and I am not going to change my mind now.
There you go, playing dumb again. I’ve heard that line too many times before.
Count Sandwich is threatening to bring it to court this time. You’re really in trouble now.

A food item is threatening me? Oooh, I'm terrified.

... There is nothing I can do about it right now.
Tell him to wait a year. I want him to change the contract to give me more time.

I really hope you don't try that on Mephisto-kun when he inevitably shows up.

If I work as the King’s physician for a year, I should be able to pay off a considerable portion of the debt.
That would really be something, wouldn’t it?
If you were able to pay off that debt, I’m sure your father would smile down from Heaven.
You really are something.
But it’s really too bad. Count Sandwich says he can’t wait any longer.
If you don’t pay off the whole debt in a month, he says he’ll take this house as payment. Those were the terms of the contract.

It's fine, Georik, you have a whole other mansion in Kamazene, just let him take the damned thing-



...or maybe not.

No, I’m afraid not, Master. Count Sandwich has paid me handsomely this month.
And I haven’t been paid a single cent by you. So I’m afraid I really can’t be bothered.
It’s is always money with you.
Oh come now, Master, you see right through me.

Georik took out his leather bag.



HOLY SHIT GET OUTTA MY FACE

[ Dashwood ]
But you know, how about making some fast cash?



Excuse me? I don't recall giving you permission to play with my hair. Or to take off your classy black nail polish.

[ Dashwood ]
There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you...

What kind of shampoo I use? Well-

[Dashwood ]
If you were to say, send the corpses of any babies or women my way... I could unload them for a profit.

Uh.

[ Georik ]
...What!?

My thoughts exactly.

[ Dashwood ]
You’re a doctor, right?
I’d need them fresh, though.
Can’t seem to get enough babies or women...

I wonder why.

[ Dashwood ]
Babies over seven months go for about 1.5 million Zech, and pretty girls go for at least 5 million.

[ Dashwood ]
And if she’s a beauty and pregnant, well, you can pretty much set your price.



There you go, playing innocent again. You can’t pretend you aren’t tempted?

Nope, not into pregnant women. Not into women, period.

Never!
Get out of here! Just talking to you makes me sick!
Say, Master, you’ve got the look of death about you.
It’d be wiser to stay friendly with me, you know.
You know what they say... “Money has influence even in Hell.”
Heh, heh, heh... I’ll be back at the end of the month.
If you don’t have my money by then, I’m taking your house. You got that?

What? But I just PAID you to negotiate with the Sandwich!

Ha, ha, ha...

And so saying, Dashwood faded into the dark night.

Goddamnit, Dashwood. I want my money back.

Ah... Lilith. You’re still up?
Well, you were making so much noise.

I like how this scene implies Lilith sleeps in her goth loli dresses instead of regular pajamas like the rest of us peons.

It was nothing. Go back to bed now.
That man came here when you were gone.
When I told him you weren’t here, he gave me some strange candy and left...

Lilith. No. Just... no.

Lilith! You are not to let him in!
Look down from the upstairs window, and if it is him, you are not to open the door. You understand?
Yes.
...All right then.
But Georik... He keeps coming again and again.

I hope you don't mean what I think you mean, young lady.

Just ignore him! You are not to open the door for that man!
...All right.

Georik went back to his room...

And locked the door from the inside.

...

Georik took the letter from the King out of his desk, and read it again.



I already left that post once to take care of Lilith.
I am grateful that he would call on me again.
They say that an elite but arrogant doctor has taken my place, and is abusing his power.
I suppose I should try to stay out of his way.
I will need to see that they send a doctor to Geutrink. If I’m going to make that a condition, I should do it from the start.

Georik took a swig from the bottle of spirits by his bed, and lay down.

An alcoholic AND an insomniac. Our perfect little protag-kun isn't so perfect after all, is he?




[ Georik ]
I look forward to it...

[ Georik ]
I have enjoyed my time in the country, but living in a big city like Kamazene definitely has its attractions.

So... why are you refusing to sell off your country house again?

[ Georik ]
Meeting friends, taking up the sword, studying to become a doctor... It all started in that city.

The curtain of night fell, and the silent town became more silent still.

And Georik, his heart full of eagerness to meet old friends once more, fell fast asleep.

And that, friends, was the end of Chapter 3. Pretty uneventful, if you ask me. Why, all we did was dream a lot and get hair-molested by a sleazy debt-collector.

Oh Dashwood *swoooooon* I didn't know he was voiced by Suwabe Junichi o.o

Weirdly, what surprises me most in all this is that Lilith is making sandwiches herself. It's such a prosaic, modern, middle-class sort of thing to do when packing for someone's trip. What are they paying that butler for, anyway? Surely sandwich-making isn't beneath him if it's not beneath the lady of the house. Or maybe in this society food preparation is so strictly gender-segregated that it'd be considered more improper for a male servant to do than for a female aristocrat--

--I'm overthinking it again, aren't I.

lets date the slimeball

YEEEESH!

I'm thinking that since Lilith and Georik are heavily in debt (though Lilith doesn't know it), they probably only have the one servant to help around the house and are used to doing a lot of stuff by themselves. Remember that Lilith also made the snacks for their herb-hunting trip. Also, from a narrative point of view, the fact that Lilith is making food for her nii-sama~~ helps to characterize her as the loving, cute little sister.

We might not get to his route this time around, but I might do other routes after this first playthrough is done. The order of those will be determined by an on-going character popularity contest, which I'll keep track of in the first or second post, I haven't decided yet. I'll be recording that as two votes for Dashwood, but you can change your mind whenever you want. Just remember to bold your votes next time! :D

I say we romance Mephistopheles. We'd be celebrities in hell! I am totally not a fan of Faust or Blue Exorcist, nope. Totally not.

Make that three votes for Dashwood.

Creepy corpse-peddling or no, he is a very attractive fellow. How is it possible to look that rugged and manly while wearing thigh-high boots and a bright magenta belt? I can see Georik benefitting from Dashwood's attentions. He looks like a guy who knows how to apply some restraint in the right situations, if you know what I mean.

(I am talking about makeup. Geez Georik do you just glob it on with a trowel every morning or what)

I half-suspect those are chaps.



Don't those look like chaps to you?



AHA! They ARE chaps! Not sure if that's official art or anything but WHATEVER I WAS RIGHT MWAHAHAHA.

Oh, and while I'm at it, here's a reminder: don't google for stuff from this game, if this is your first time playing. I ran into several major endgame spoilers for his route just from searching "dashwood animamundi".

Voting Dashwood for those chaps.

Jesus, Dashwood.

On one hand, JUNICHI SUWABE UGHHHHHNNN and I have to agree about the nail polish.

On the other, he wants dead babies and pregnant women.

Worse still; his shoulders seem suspiciously normal! Even if he compensates with a ridiculously deform waist, the lack of dislocated/hunched shoulders strikes me as terribly ominous.

But fuck, it's Junichi Suwabe. I'll abstain from voting because there is a certain blonde tsundere waiting in Kamazene and I want to see him in action before making any decisions.

*whistle*

Even better. Yowza. He's even got spurs.

And a whip.

I... guess he rides a lot? Especially if he goes around collecting debts all around the back country. Probably a lot of riding involved. Yes.

I thought I was the only one who noticed that. When I got to that part, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Think I'll hold out on voting to see if it's worth stealing Lilith's fiancee or if we should just throw Georik to Mephistopheles.

Oh, right! Different cultural assumptions/cues. (I was even more horrified when I discovered the third-grader was making dinner and doing the laundry back in Persona 4.) I don't watch/play/read quite enough stuff coming from this culture to pick up on a lot of those cues, so far, though I at least usually get the big common ones. I am being reminded of the conversation I had with the spouse about characters in another game. ("At first I was all excited that they were avoiding the usual stereotypical depiction of lesbians. Then, after watching this anime, I realized they were just different stereotypical depictions of lesbians than I was used to.") I would have, if anything, twigged on making a meal for a sibling as an older sibling sort of marker: making sandwiches for another sibling still reads in my head as something a big brother or sister would do for a smaller one that's not old enough to make their own meals yet.

It really is interesting how culture colours the creative process, isn't it? Even though this game is ostensibly set in a pseudo-medieval Europe kind of setting, there are still those cultural cues that seep through in the way the narrative and characters are framed. To me, as something who's watched/read way too many anime/manga, Lilith's snack-making behavior is shorthand for "ooh, look how cute and feminine and caring and total girlfriend material she is" (because, as we all know, cooking is girly and cute and making sweet snacks is ESPECIALLY girly and cute because liking sweet things is girly and manly men only eat MEAT, of course). Also, making things like scones and sandwiches seems somewhat posh and classy, you know, in a British tea party sipping Earl Grey with pinky finger out sort of way, instead of the middle-class connotations you associate with it, because Western food is ALWAYS posh and classy, am I right?