#ask vv

The women of the town tell the MC that she needs to play hard to get otherwise he will grow bored of their relationship. Even though she questions that Kenshin would remain anything less than devoted to her, she goes along with it for the sake of attempting to add some spice into their relationship. A merchant is selling rare sake and the MC is going to pick up some for Kenshin as a gift. Kenshin happens to be walking by and asks if the sake is a present for him since he knows the MC doesn't like it. In an effort to play hard to get, she tells him it's for another man in her life. She immediately recognizes the error in her ways and tries to backtrack, only for Kenshin to whisk her away to a place where no one can find them.

The poor guy gets so worked up and keeps kissing the MC vowing to never let anyone else have her (which makes sense given his past).

Eventually she ends up being able to explain but the story fades to black and they don't show his reaction.

I actually felt so bad for Kenshin because I thought this was kind of mean given everything he's been through!

The vertical stories are long as well. If you are familiar with any of the Ikemen Series games, the party app stories are about on par length wise with their main stories/first arcs. Again, they are long, so I would recommend starting to read them when you have a dedicated amount of time and not beginning at 10pm like I did 😅.

As far as the price, I was someone who was so impatient that I would buy tickets in the party apps because I couldn't wait for the ticket reset. While the story is more expensive coin wise, it's still cheaper than having to purchase the tickets back in the original app and it's also significantly cheaper than a LC story. Especially with how dried up the app has been with content lately, I have no issues paying for a quality story and based on my experience, I felt it was worth the price.

I recognize KBTBB is already a very popular title, however, I think it would have had even more of a positive reception had these main stories been the ones on the front lines.

I hope this helps and this may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel strongly about my perspective and I hope it can provide some helpful insight. If you do end up purchasing it, you will have to let me know if you liked it!

Thanks for the ask! 💞

Why they continue the prioritization with the office titles & the VIP events & Princess in the Mirror is beyond me because I personally don't see the logic behind it.

With the VIP events, it almost seems like Voltage is trying to push the idea of subscriptions by locking premium content behind a paywall. In theory it's not that I'm opposed to paying to support my favorite titles and characters by purchasing the premium content, but the content lately hasn't felt as "premium" as it used to be? This might be an unpopular opinion and while the content hasn't been bad by any means, it aligns with the traditional special stories you would expect to find in the older titles. I recently started a side blog to dump older screenshots, and it really served as a reminder of how good we used to have it with the special stories (including how much more affordable they were) compared to similar stories being locked behind the VIP paywall. My guess is that Voltage is speculating they can rely on the popularity of titles such as HLITF, MK, KBTBB, IM, Oops, etc and bank on fans that are willing to spend money on any content they can obtain, especially with all the dry spells in the app.

If this is indeed their actual intent, it's a poor business model for multiple reasons. For one, it lacks any scalability. There isn't any incentive for long-term VIP members to continue on with the subscriptions once the VIP room affection levels are maxed, and the fans no longer have any remaining stories they wish to acquire with the monthly passes or the coins. I'm an active VIP member and I honestly don't have any older stories I want to purchase and the recent monthly schedule updates have made my eyes twitch......

As far as the office titles go, one potential reason Voltage may be trying to pump them out is they may be speculating that it's a "safer" demographic and may appeal to more of their audience versus the titles that have more specific theming. I can imagine trying to navigate the balance between having relatable MC's and ones we aspire to be like is difficult, but at the same time not fully taking into account that for some of us that hits a little too close too home and we enjoy the gaming aspect as an escape from our day-to-day responsibilities..... Please don't take this as me being disrespectful towards those titles because I LOVE & ADORE some of those men, however, there is no shortage of office drama I experience in my day job that unfortunately I can obtain a front row seat for free. 😅 I know I'm not alone in that aspect either. Again, not the wisest business model in my opinion. Though I can't say I'm shocked considering L365 doesn't seem to be interested in wanting to be receptive to the feedback from their fan base.

I fear Voltage is now adopting the methodology of putting their eggs all in a few baskets in an attempt to divvy out all of their resources into those titles in hopes that the fan base for those titles will remain loyal and willing to continue spending to support them. As fans we do have to support our favorites, and I don't think anyone would argue that point. However, Voltage is dropping the ball by narrowing their target demographics and their current strategic plan overall feels very antiquated. It's times like these when I miss the survey they used to have open in the app because they have the potential to try and turn things around. Unfortunately, I worry Voltage continues to alienate what is left of the fans by the lack of communication, slower updates, and overall a decrease in value at their current rate. I wish Voltage would be more receptive to the feedback of the fans and it makes you wonder why they are hesitant to listen considering the usage of the app has significantly decreased over the years.

Let's hope there is some secret strategy that they plan to unleash on us at some point in the near future.

I would love to be able to say Voltage's intentions are pure and they are in a state of transition, however, it's very difficult for me to defend them based on their actions over the years. They constantly ignore feedback (including from their JP fan base), events like their elections have really become monetary driven as they don't appear to take into consideration the results outside of their elections promises that are predetermined prior to the start of the election, and a significant increase in prices for less content. I understand times have changed and I'm a firm believer and advocate in supporting the developer, although the quality of said content has been on the decline. There are less cgs, shorter duration of stories, and overall the quality on some of the newer material has been lacking that emotional connection that used to draw a lot of us in. This is not speaking for every new story of course, and is only my own opinion based on the stories I have read.

It doesn't help that they aren't exactly transparent about their intentions either, especially when you compare L365 to their sister games, CoD & SLBP. My day job entails corporate strategy, and I've lost count of how many times I've tried to envision L365's road map or vision for the future because I cannot begin to try and pinpoint what their endgame intent is here. To be honest, I'm not sure they are entirely sure they have a clear direction either.

I personally told myself when I returned from my hiatus that I was going to be a lot more selective about which stories and events I choose to partake in. I do believe it's important to support the LI's and titles I would like to continue seeing content for which I will carry on in doing so, but otherwise I don't have as strong of a desire as I used to with needing to read other titles or events. As far as the level of engagement within the fandom, I would first try to encourage you to share some posts of your own (assuming you don't already). Your own thoughts, and even something like screenshots from older stories is a great starting point! There can never be too many people who post in a fandom, and it's a great way to share the nostalgia and engaging with other blogs (which you already do since you sent in this ask 💞) is another great way. I've been enjoying rereading older stories and it's been such a positive experience since it's been a pleasant reminder of the good ole' days. Feel free to start a conversation as well with someone! It always makes me happy on a personal level when someone reaches out wanting to discuss a story or character further, and I know others feel the same. It's difficult because I know a lot of people have stopped engaging with Voltage and I can't say I blame them. Voltage has screwed their fans over on multiple occasions, including the way they are so quick to abandon titles, even when they are performing well. This is just one point and this may not be the most kosher example, but KoP was thrown aside while Voltage ran off with the new mistress with some of these newer titles. We could sit here and list title after title that Voltage stepped out on, because KoP isn't alone in getting screwed over with this type of treatment either. People have been fed up and want to be done since they don't want to emotionally or financially invest anymore only to end up burned. A lot of the otome fandoms I'm involved in have slowed down considering there have been a ton of changes, but L365 in particular is very quiet compared to what it used to be. My advice would be to continue to remember why you fell in love with the fandom in the first place, and try to focus on igniting that spark to keep it alive. We all fell in love with otome for a reason, and those stories/characters will always continue to be special despite the changes not always made for the better.

I will forever cry, scream, and throw up at losing his route! ____________________________________________________________

Honorable mentions would have to include Chiba (HLITF), Momose (HLITF), Inui (KBTBB), and Samejima (KBTBB).

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From a platonic standpoint, I would give the best girlie awards to Naruko (HLITF) and Hiyori (SCM), while the best loyal companion awards go to Sydney (KoP) and Little Yamada (SITS)!

Outside of Taki, I also really like Goto (HLITF), Hikaru (KBTBB), Kotaro (A World With(out) You), Rei (Destind), Soji (Era of Samurai), lori (SITS), Tamaki (MFW), and Asahi (My Wedding & 7 Rings).

In IM specifically, I really enjoy Toma & Keita and in OISY I am a huge fan of Shu! I feel you...these titles remind me too much of work sometimes...one of the curses of getting older, I suppose. 😂

Gosh, I love many of the older titles! It's difficult to narrow them down and this list certainly isn't all inclusive of them, but I really enjoy the following below: -Seduced in the Sleepless City (first otome I ever played <3) -Star-Crossed Myth -Scandal in the Spotlight -Kiss of Revenge -Era of Samurai Code of Love -Rose in the Embers -Love Letter from Thief X -Enchanted in the Moonlight -My Forged Wedding -My Wedding & 7 Rings -My Last First Kiss Thank you very much for all of your kindness and the sweet sentiments you shared! I've been very fortunate to be welcomed back into the fandoms, and it's individuals such as yourself that make it so worthwhile to be involved in these types of communities. I feel a lot more refreshed, and am excited to be sharing again!

Don't be a stranger! 😉