On BL VNs
As I mentioned previously… I’m still very much into BL, haha. I finally have a little extra pocket change again to legally purchase games, so I’ve been having a lot of fun with that!!
My partner is still “new” to BL - she had ships for non-BL media (haven’t we all), but has only very recently gotten into actual BL. Last year we played DMMd together, and we finished sweet pool at the very start of this year. We’re currently playing through TnC, which has been a real blast from the past. She somehow NEVER gets spoiled for anything that was popular back in the day (she legit didn’t know major plot shit in Death Note, despite me having a literal PAINTING of a character who died that one of my best friends made for me, and only found out one character death in Naruto early while we were watching it because someone she knows accidentally mentioned it), so it’s been wild hearing her theories about what she thinks will happen.
As for games I’m playing on my own… it’s been a bit of a struggle to find the focus to do that sometimes. Right now, I’m still in common route for NO, THANK YOU!!! - we had started playing it together, but she doesn’t know if she cares enough about the plot to continue so I’ve been putting off playing more. (I liked it, for the record!!)
I also started playing Lkyt. last weekend, since Mars recommended it, and honestly it fucking rules so far. I’m only about an hour in (computer crashed 🥲) but I’m really excited to play more. I’m glad I got it on sale though because holy SHIT is it expensive for it being a digital release… It was one of those games that the price tag definitely put me off on, but I 100% trust recs from friends and it’s never really lead me astray. And I mean if Mars really likes it, I’m sure it’s something great.
I currently have Paradise and Hashihime of the Old Book Town purchased and waiting in the wings, but I really need to complete something first before I can add another new game into the mix, lol. After that, I’ll likely pick up Room No. 9, since it sounds so interesting and someone in a BL group I’m in highly recommended it. At some point I should probably (?) play Slow Damage, but I have a strong feeling I’m not really going to give a shit about Towa and idk if any If the LI will be my type (sorry). I also saw that Lucky Dog 1 is officially coming out in English sometime soon-ish (maybe?) and I KNOW I will be picking it up when it does.
I really, really want to replay Enzai again. Like, so fucking badly. I own a physical copy of it (thank you past me for ordering it), but every time I open it I just end up sitting on the menu screen and let the music loop forever. I tried playing a little bit with my partner a while back, but it definitely isn’t her kind of game - I totally get it. Most people I know who have played it hated it, or played it for the lols, or only know how bad the OVA was (I can forgive them for that one, at least - the animation sure is of its time); more people won’t even pick it up to try. Outside of the friends I had back when I first played it, I know of… literally two people who played it and didn’t hate it? And they both played it back in the day, so they aren’t new fans.
It’s a little sad to me that it gets written off as “bad” since I still have so, so many fond feelings for it (which might be weird to say, I guess). I talked with Mars about this a little bit, and I know it’s mostly the nostalgia factor in play. I went through a really terrible scary low point in my life prior to when I first played (not to dwell too much on it), and making friends by bonding over BL quite literally saved my life. I think that’s part of the reason why I wanted to reconnect - to say thank you for giving me something to live for again.
…I genuinely didn’t set out to write all this sad shit. Whoops. I had sat down and said “yeah let’s make a post about what stuff I’ve been playing!!” and then things ended up here. That’s okay. I guess I just needed to say it. I’ll eventually update when I get further along in these games, or complete them, or start something new. I always love getting recs, so feel free to let me know what other games to check out.