Lo

I feel like their card art is improving? Maybe just me?

Ok...... I should be working on my thesis but instead I cranked out this random rewrite of a portion of this chapter. I'd really like to write my own story some day and thought some no stakes practice like this might help. I have never before in my life shared a single sentence of something I have written. I had to actually hype myself up by asking ChatGPT (fucking AI of all things) if it was okay writing. I could not bear to show it to another human. Anyways, in the words of my therapist, sharing this is probably good or something. Perhaps no one will read it at all. Maybe someone will like it. Maybe everyone who comes across this will think it's ass.

I've had my own thoughts and ideas for plenty of the chapters in this game that I would like to work on. Those may come later if I retain this unbridled courage. I find MC to be boring as hell, so I really wanted to write her in a more engaging tone. I believe her default name in Japanese is Luna? Or something similar? So that is what I have named her here.

The streets were dimly lit, neon signs flashing on every corner. A dim fog blanketed the sky as they walked.

“Something smells good”.

Just as suddenly as they had arrived, Taiga was walking off in the direction of a small bar in the nearby alley. The remaining three stopped as a sigh escaped Romeo’s lips. “You, Luna, follow him.”

Luna was suddenly ripped from her thoughts, doubts about the “trip” they had been sent on spiralling in her mind. “Huh? What, me?”

“Yes you! You are the inspector - don’t let him out of your site” Romeo snapped, “Ritsu and I will learn more about this city.”

She crossed her arms, a sour look spreading on her face. “An inspector is not a babysitter. I would prefer to do something useful here.”

“No ifs ands or butts about it! I’m in charge right now!” he screeched.

Rather than provoke him further, Luna simply sighed and spun around on her heels, heading towards the damp alley. The bar had a rusted out sign in the front. Some of the lights on the Chinese characters had also gone out. Tentatively, she opened the sliding door and took a step inside.

The interior was small, filled with cigar smoke and shady looking men. Some sat in corners, whispering to each other. On one side sat a large group playing mahjong. It didn’t take too long for her to spot Taiga - his voice alone was enough.

“Hey! Get me a beer!” The bartender nodded and brought a glass over to the small table he was sitting at, slamming it down. She walked over, feeling all the eyes in the place on her. When Taiga noticed her approaching, he patted the chair next to him boisterously.

“Kitty-cat! Sit down! Order something.” He flashed her his usual mischievous smile. She sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose. Nine months at Darkwick and no rest in sight.. I really need to stop sighing like that, it’s going to prematurely age me at this rate…..she thought.

She scanned the table as Taiga downed his beer in a few gulps. “No menu. Helpful…..” She stood up and headed towards the surly man standing behind the bar. “You got rum here?” He simply nodded in response, looking her up and down. It was obvious he was sizing her up, but he held his tongue. “Rum and coke would be great.” He smirked at her, but made a drink nonetheless. When he handed it to her across the counter, he finally said what was on his mind. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?” This time it was a frown that crossed her lips. Before she had a chance to respond, a familiar voice rang out behind her.

“Hey! Are you gonna bring me another or what?!” The bartender scowled and walked over to Taiga’s table with another beer. 

Only a few minutes, and I’m already exhausted, she thought. Taking a long sip of her drink, she returned to the table. “Taiga, don’t you think we should be working on finishing this training camp.” Completely ignoring her, he suddenly shot straight up, his chair flying out behind him. He strode over to the mahjong table, beer in hand. Realizing it was a lost cause, she continued to sip her drink from the table, wondering what nonsense could possibly unfold next.

“Deal me in,” Taiga stated matter-of-factly. The men at the table stared in disbelief. “Who the fuck are you?” one of them spat. Taiga only looked more serious. “Deal. me. in.”

The men looked taken aback for a moment, before one of them slid a handful of tiles his way. The game seemed to go on and on. At some point, Luna noticed the men getting irritated. “Impossible!” 

She stood up and went to stand next to Taiga, peering down at the table. It looked like he had won every round so far. She didn’t know much about how mahjong was played, but it was clear the other men were getting more and more pissed off. 

“Is this game really that exhilarating? Perhaps we should leave now?” she asked, in an attempt to diffuse the worsening situation. One man sneered “Teach your girl a lesson if you wanna hang out with men”. 

“Girl?!” she snapped back. Taiga cut her off with only one word. “Hu.” The man across from him suddenly stood up, violently pushing the table aside. Mahjong tiles flew everywhere. “You’re cheating! Big mistake in here buddy!” He brandished a knife, stepping towards them. Luna stepped back instinctively, but Taiga remained fixed in place, even as the man lunged at him. It all happened so fast. Rather than dodge or fight back, Taiga had grabbed the blade. Blood streamed down his hand, trickling to the floor in a small puddle. His expression was unreadable, almost detached, and yet every move was precise, controlled. She had never seen something like it. Shakily, she took a step forward, but before she could act, he was ripping the blade from the man’s hand. He spun around, whipping it in the direction of the door. A yelp rang out as she watched it strike another man’s hand who was about to step outside. “Taiga!” was all she could manage to yell out. 

Suddenly, she realized his intent - there on the ground were both of their wallets. The man had pickpocketed them. Taiga strode up to him calmly, picking up the knife and wiping the blood off on his pants leg. “I hate thieves,” he stated coldly, picking up the wallets and handing them to Luna. The intent in his voice was clear - make another move and you're dead. He then handed the man’s knife back to him just as emotionlessly as he had grabbed it. “You can have this back now.” Without another word, he walked right out the door. 

“H-hey wait!” Luna yelled back in shock. His voice rang out from the alley again, “Oh, yeah, pay for our drinks with my winnings.” The bartender stepped out from behind the bar, a scowl once again on his face. “Just get the hell out of here.”

Luna quickly composed herself and jogged after Taiga, who was languidly walking down the alley. “Hey! Hey! Taiga!” she yelled. He ignored her, until finally she caught up and grabbed him by the wrist. “Taiga!” 

He finally turned to look at her, a mix of annoyance and confusion on his face. “What’s the problem? Going to scold me?” he asked patronizingly. 

“You’re bleeding”. She lifted up his wrist to get a better view of his hand. Blood had continued to splatter down onto the ground, leaving a trail in his wake. As she suspected, the slice was fairly deep. It was then that he had a slight change of expression, glancing down at his hand. “Oh, yeah.” It was as if he had been scratched by a twig, not sliced open with a blade. “We have to find a hospital,” she stated. At this, he yanked his hand away and continued walking in silence. She jogged in front of him, blocking his way. “Hey, this is serious. That’s a deep cut.”

He stopped, and with a scoff, responded. “You’re annoying. Why should I care, it’ll be fine.”

She felt her face growing hot. Fine, she thought, sure he’s a ghoul and he heals faster. Sure, Hyde told us any injuries sustained here would disappear upon our exit of the simulated world. But still, it will create problems while we are here… “No. Listen, even if you won’t go to a hospital, at least let me treat it”. She expected another quick rebuttal, but at this he simply shrugged. 

I really don’t understand this guy.

After scouting through the streets, they came across a small pharmacy carrying all manner of medical supplies. Finding a small bench, she gestured for him to sit down. The plastic bag rustled in the quiet of the night as she pulled out an array of items. “I can’t believe how easy it is to buy this stuff here. Are all Chinese pharmacies like this?” 

She spoke aloud to herself as she grabbed his now heavily bloodied hand and placed it in her lap. Tearing open the package of gloves, he finally spoke up. He hadn’t said a single word since they left in search of a pharmacy. “Aren’t you going to get blood on that new get-up Kitty-cat?” She looked down, remembering the clothing change that had occurred when they first entered the mansion. Her clothes had transformed into a sleek, black qipao. Red spider lily patterns adorned the fabric. At the time, she had thought about what a sick joke that was. 

“Oh, well, the lilies are red anyways. I’m sure a little blood will fit right in.” A smirk spread across her face as she looked down, putting on the gloves. He simply stared back at her, an unreadable expression on his face. “What, I thought that was funny,” she said. 

Picking up his hand, she scrunched up her eyebrows. “This is going to hurt. Let me know if I need to stop.” She pulled out the rubbing alcohol and began to rinse the blood away that was obscuring the cut. When he didn’t even flinch, she flitted her eyes up to his. His face was unchanged. No reaction whatsoever, not even a grimace. 

As odd as this non-reaction to pain is, I don’t really have time to ponder this right now, she thought. She took the small needle and dipped it into the rubbing alcohol bottle. Digging around in the pharmacy bag again, she removed a lighter. Taking its flame to the needle, it glowed a faint blue as the alcohol was burned away. She fumbled with it for a while. “Never was good at threading needles,” she muttered. 

Throughout it all, he simply watched her, eyes tracking her movements. Finally the wound was stitched shut. She began to carefully apply a thick gel. “This should numb it,” she stated, wrapping the last bit of gauze around his hand. “There”. Letting go of his hand, their eyes met for a moment. The silence could be cut with a knife and she felt her heart rate jump in her chest. Just before she could take it no longer, one of their phones rang out. “Taiga, I think your phone is ringing.”

This game has me in a chokehold so in case anyone cares, this is my full review of the characters up to bond level 7 before you confess. Of course, these are just my opinion and are subject to change! I will update this after I finish everyone's dates and marriage/kids quests.

Side note: I played as Kaguya so this is written with her POV as I have yet to create a Subaru playthrough to compare and contrast.

(1) Kai

I have seen a lot of people who were turned off by his hot mess express drinking problem (he really does give broke b*** without a bedframe) BUT I feel like I felt the most romantic tension between him and Kaguya mutually

They have a unique share a parasol interaction where Kai tells her to get closer so she doesn’t get rained on and she gets so flustered and blushes (he is predictably clueless as to why)

He is the one who actually kicks off the idea that he and Kanata use severance to save Subaru from the whole selling his soul thing. He didn’t have to offer that but he does

He seems to be the only character outside of maybe Ula who implies that he really wants the Earth Dancer’s approval, specifically. The way he tells her all about his dream to unite oni and humans when he is drunk, then asks her if she thought he was a good “bridge” in his last bond event. Thought this was really endearing honestly, that he places so much value on her opinion

That last bond event was so emotionally charged?! His “prank” to get her back for talking him into being a target for the kid’s game is soooo poorly thought through (in some of the writing too bc you are trying to convince me that Ikaruga of all ppl went along with this lol?). But I think it really showcased how much Kaguya cares about Kai as she clearly would not have been able to choose between the town and him - and gets so upset over it that she cries. We only see her cry a singular other time, when Subaru literally dies. With almost every other character she seems to keep this perfectly calm exterior no matter what is going on.

Then when he takes his mask off without thinking and she sees his face, her reaction is 1 hilarious and 2 he remarks on how he does not understand why he keeps letting his guard down around her

Overall I have a lot to say about Kai lol maybe I’m biased bc I love a hot mess but it’s how I feel

(2) Cuilang

Second most implied romantic interactions in my opinion, though I think they remain one sided on the part of Kaguya

Only placing him above Pilika bc of the emotion we see again from Kaguya here - the way she gets so viscerally upset about Cuilang treating himself as only a tool for others that isn’t important. Her being so adamant about the fact that SHE cares about him as a person was super sweet

Him literally short circuiting when she tried to help him

His willingness to confide in her that he is an automaton and has a dream to have a real heart like a real human added a layer of intimacy to their interactions

(3) Pilika

Now we have the opposite, where I feel like Pilika has clear romantic feelings for Kaguya but Kaguya herself is clueless

The dual saving each other from an incoming attack was really cute, esp when Pilika is hardcore blushing after Kaguya knocks her to the ground

Bonus points bc she asked me out to the fireworks festival herself. Whether or not other characters do that too, prob, but I will still give her the win on this

(4) Ulalaka

Definitely is daydreaming to herself about dating Kaguya, but the entire thing feels very much still in the friend zone at this point

I really enjoyed how hard she wanted to show that she was useful to the villagers and Kaguya

At the very end where she muses about whether or not gods can be in a relationship with humans is what indicated to me that she was thinkin on what it would be like to date Kaguya and just live as a normal human

(5) Fubuki

My sweet sweet boy, I love him but in terms of romantic vibes I don’t think there were any yet

Looking for the winter blossom in the place of the couple does have the whole romantic backing to it, but I did not feel like they displayed any strong romantic feelings towards each other during this

Only at the very end when Fubuki remarks that he feels “warm” despite the cold and is not sure why did I peg a potential spark between them

(6) Hina

The way she ends up looking up to Kaguya is sweet but that is about all I got out of this one, the RF5 throwback was nice

(7) Ikaruga

There is some intimacy formed there when he opens up about his master’s death and Kaguya carrying him back to the shrine when he gets injured is cute but it kind of ends abruptly

(8) Mauro

Adorable and fun buuuut nothing else strikes me as romantic here they are just besties

(9) Murasame

Honestly…..he kinda just irked me the entire time with his work himself to death attitude

Points for Kaguya getting so annoyed with him that she plans to put a stop to his actions by force, so it shows she cares but she is super stern in this one

(10) Kanata

Love her personality, super funny, but her bond events are more about her self-actualization and I don’t get any romantic tones at all from their interactions

(11) Kurama

This being so low is surely a hot take, but I just don’t see anything romantic between them. Kaguya helps him come out of his shell with the villagers but that is about it.

(12) Iroha

She is sweet but honestly so forgettable that I don’t even have anything to say, hard friendzoned

(13) Subaru

My feelings on him went from one extreme to another. Hate to acceptance but mostly their relationship feels more familial to me

Their past combined with Subaru’s trauma about being the black dragon’s rider just makes these interactions feel really toxic. At first he is so rude to her just for checking in on him. He is in fact so mean that she questions whether saving him was even the RIGHT thing to do

I think her jealousy about Tsubame is more a symptom of their shared past trauma as childhood friends and not from true feelings. He even tells her she should go be happy bc they are nothing more than friends and she shouldn’t feel like she has to look out for him bc of their betrothal. It feels like Kaguya feels odd about Tsubame more bc she gave up so much to save him and now he is shutting her out. He is the last bit of her past that she even remembers, so I think this is the true source of her conflicted feelings

(14) Matsuri

I feel bad putting her even lower than Subaru bc I genuinely had beef with him for a while but I just do NOT get even an inkling of spark from this one. I don’t dislike her but I cannot see them dating each other really ever. I’m not even sure they would be friends, more like that acquaintance you just tolerate in small doses

(15) Clarice