Scars Unseen

You didn't like Sachi? I thought her route was one of the more interesting ones, plus she's one of two heroines in the VN that had a genuine link to Yuuji. I felt really guilty for ignoring her the next playthrough to get Michiru's route.

Any particular reason for the reluctance? There are no routes in Grisaia that aren't great reads. Actually, Michiru's route was the one that surprised me the most, as I had pretty low expectations of her from the shared route. As for me, I trudge ever onward through Muv-Luv Extra. I think I am beginning to hate lacrosse by association...

http://instantrimshot.com/

With that combo that designation may be temporary at best. We're talking about a girl who can wither your ego and then literally chop your balls off(to keep and to hold and to cherish forever).

They're polar opposites. Okabe is barely competent most of the time, rarely serious, but incredibly caring about everyone around him. Yuuji is hypercompetent, often serious(though he does have a screwed up sense of humor as well), and generally only truly cares about the heroine of whatever route he's on. They are both awesome in their own way, though. EDIT: To tell the truth, in my first playthrough I couldn't stand Okabe until... stuff happened. Once I understood him better, I enjoyed his character throughout the VN. Yuuji on the other hand, I enjoyed from start to finish, though that may partially because his brand of humor isn't too different from my own.

I'll also throw in a recommendation for Grisaia no Kajitsu. The humor and drama both are incredibly well written. It's long, but I'd hesitate to call anything in the VN "filler," as it's all enjoyable, and even most of the slice of life scenes reveal some new nuance to the characters.

I would count this as a bigger plus if the VNs I've played so far were higher resolution in the first place.

I made a tablet holder that works pretty well. It's basically a bean bag attached to a shaped piece of wood with neodymium magnets. The beanbag part of makes it work equally well for surfaces or sitting on my thigh.

It's probably a good idea to point out that, as far as I'm aware, there is no scientific theory at present regarding global warming. There are observations and studies. The overwhelming majority of the scientific community supports the opinion that humans are causing global warming, and there are no national or international scientific bodies that actually reject that opinion. But even consensus does not make something theory. It's not enough for the scientific community to agree that we are causing global warming. A true theory would have to be able to explain how, and this explanation would have to be testable, something that would be difficult given the scope of the subject. Even that isn't enough, because the true strength of a theory isn't just to explain what is, but to predict what would be under different hypothetical circumstances. This is not a dig on global warming, but rather a caution to avoid using terms that don't yet apply. All that does is give people room to doubt.

For a while I couldn't even think of any character songs that stood out in my mind, but then the obvious hit me. Here's a remix of the theme music for my favorite video game villain: Kefka. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOUmYK3BH4Q

All interaction in the game is made through your phone. Other characters will call you or send you text messages, and you can reply to those text messages by clicking on one of two(or sometimes three) underlined sections of text. The problem is that neither the messages you receive nor the replies you send have any context within the game to indicate that they are anything other than idle chatting. There is no clear line of cause and effect in the game. The exception to this is that a few times throughout the game you can use the phone on your own initiative rather than in response to someone else's message, and these times always(I think?) have an effect on the plot. It's a muddled mess of a system, and Steins;Gate succeeds in spite of it rather than because of it. I still recommend the game as a pretty amazing sci-fi visual novel. I just also recommend using a guide, because it's hard to figure out how to do anything without one.

lol... exactly this, and for the same reason. After Katawa Shoujo, I burned through Steins;Gate, Grisaia no Kajitsu and School Days, but then I hit Ever 17, which I kind of lost steam on after a while, then I completely stalled on Muv-Luv Extra. I almost want to just give up and pick another VN to play, but I do want to get to Alternative, so I just kind of play for an hour or two a week, then watch some anime or play a game for a bit. Basically, when I'm enjoying the VN, I sacrifice sleep to get through it. When I'm not, I... don't.

I actually would recommend playing School Days despite the(valid) criticism. Getting through a route is pretty quick compared to other VNs, and the presentation really is good. The writing isn't bad either insofar as the VN does what it is trying to do effectively. It's just the characters that are unlikable(mainly the protagonist), but they aren't really meant to be. It's not like Muv-Luv Extra where I think I'm supposed to be laughing, but it comes across like humor written by Data from Star Trek.

In School Days(the only VN I've played so far that matches what Lambda is describing) I went into each playthrough with a base assumption("I'm going to stay true to one girl or the other," "I'm going to let one of them change my mind if given the chance," etc) and make my choices based on that. What I like about School Days(and it's one of the only things I like about it) is that most choices lead to logical consequences without telegraphing what's going to happen before you make the choice. This allows you to make decisions more naturally as they come. Compare the choices in Schools Days to those in Grisaia no Kajitsu(which route do you want to take today?) and in Steins;Gate(here, let me give you a bunch of choices that make sense neither before nor after you choose them, assuming that you even recognize that choices are being offered in the first place). Note that I like both of those games better than School Days. I just prefer School Days' route format.

There is one other option, though this is primarily available to Americans. Hire on with a contractor on a US military base. They almost all provide SOFA(Status of Forces Agreement), which would grant you permission to stay in the country without a visa while employed. I did this for a couple of years after getting out of the military(I was providing internet and cable tech support). One upside to this is that it also gets you access to on-base shopping and gas(the latter of which is much more expensive off-base). Another is that you can get a driver's license without having to go through the Japanese driving schools(more important in Okinawa, which does not have the extensive train system that mainland Japan does). The downside, of course, is less daily exposure to the culture, as you will often be working with Americans(and Filipinos, oddly enough) as much as you will Japanese.

I'm assuming we're talking about putting yourself into an anime/manga/VN, not bringing the -dere type into real life. Real life yanderes are truly scary beings, and there is no "winning" with them because they are fundamentally broken people. I'm talking "you didn't answer my phone call right away(because you were at work, driving, taking a shower, etc) so you must hate me, and now I'm going to swallow this bottle of pills" scary. Everyone needs love in their life, but some people need therapy and medication first. Real life danderes wouldn't be much better, though at least they'd be less dangerous.

Rent is going to depend on location. In Okinawa it can vary from around 円25,000 for a crappy 1DK(1 room plus dining/kitchen) on up. I'm paying 円43,000 for 3DK apartment that is in decent shape near the base I work on and some decent shopping and food within a 5 minute walk. At one point I was paying 円150,000 for a 3LDK(living room/dining/kitchen), but that was a brand new apartment, and I was in the military at the time(the Okinawans charge military 2-3 times what they charge everyone else because of the screwed up way overseas housing allowance works). I pay around 円2,500 for water, maybe 円4,000 for gas, 円6,500 for electricity and another 円6,500 for fiber optic internet. Exchange rates are currently hovering right around 円100 <-> $1.00, so altogether, I'm paying about $625 per month on rent and utilities.

It's hovering around a high of 70 °F here. Not too bad, though I do fear the return of the hot humid days of summer...

I thought he was funny for about the first 2-3 rants, but then I just started skipping through them...

Yeah, I do a lot of reading, probably ever since being exposed to the Chronicles of Narnia after my parents got divorced when I was 9. I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy, with some of my favorite authors being Terry Brooks(the Shannara series), Isaac Asimov and Elaine Cunningham. One of my favorite books of all time is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. It's a children's novel, but the writing is so clever that I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading, regardless of age. I got my first e-reader, a Kobo Glo, a year ago, and I actually prefer it to dead tree books now. I've read over 40 books on it(mostly Star Wars and Forgotten Realms novels) since then.

Be careful not to rely on that; sometimes that surface courtesy can cause problems when it doesn't reflect an individual's feelings. My ex-wife(Japanese, from Nara) went through a lot of stress because she ended up around people she didn't like(I think I eventually ended up on that list) and couldn't say anything about it for fear of seeming rude. There were many times she tried to get me to make up an excuse for her so she wouldn't have to go to some social gathering or another. Being the fairly blunt person that I am, I would usually just tell the host that my ex didn't feel like going, and boy did that earn me some scolding. Okinawa at least has a lot of romaji used for road signs and such due to the larger U.S. presence on the island. Most chain restaurants can provide English menus, and in most other cases you'd be surprised how far you can get with nothing but gestures and a few Japanese phrases. That said, you'll get out of a visit to the country what you put into it, and so I'd at least recommend getting to the point where you can hold a simple conversation before going to the great expense of coming out this way.

If I had to choose, I guess I'd go with Kuudere. I spent 5 years married to someone who was kind of the polar opposite of a tsundere(very dere in public, very tsun at home), and I don't think I could deal with that crap again. Yandere is out of the question, and dandere seems like too much of a project.

I have to say that this one highly depends on the quality of writing for me(although I suppose good writing removes the "uninteresting" part of the complaint). For example, Grisaia no Kajitsu has quite a few slice of life scenes that don't really do much for the plot even after the characters have been well established, but I still enjoy them because each scene usually has it's own self-contained theme, often leading into a rather amusing broken aesop. And I guess that leads into my big pet peeve. I can roll with almost anything in a VN(even if it isn't to my taste) except for boring writing. That's why I'm still having trouble with Muv-Luv Extra. Either the writing was bad, or something was lost in translation, but that VN really does remind me of my time spent grinding levels in EverQuest.

I'd say that my favorite genre is the somewhat vaguely defined "progressive rock" genre. To show how varied this genre can be, I'll post songs from two of my favorite bands: Porcupine Tree and The Mars Volta. Small warning... they're both pretty long songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XIpR59xeEU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1_1VgDVmQo

Here is some slightly more conventional cuteness: