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Soulless Watcher

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  1. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from FinalChaos in Alice Soft — Translated Titles   
    Here is a neat reflection of the series on Alicesofts' official YouTube. (at least I think it is) 
     
  2. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Mr Poltroon in Alice Soft — Translated Titles   
  3. Like
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Kenshin_sama in Save net neutrality   
    Yeah, turns out they didn't give a shit. The FCC voted on the Net Neutrality repeal today, and it came out with 3-2 in favor of it. I hoped it wouldn't happen, but I half expected this repeal to pass.
    So much for having a free and open internet. Just goes to show how much influence money has when it comes to policy in the U.S.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html
  4. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Plk_Lesiak in What's the meaning behind your username?   
    The "Soulless" comes from my precieved lack of persona. I have always been one to actively avoid people, even in my kiddie years, so I feel that I lack a "self" that is developed by interacting with others. The "Watcher" is also very related to my issues with interacting with others. Even when I am in a group, such as a group project or work, I feel isolated from others like I'm watching them through a TV screen and I'm not actually next to them.
  5. Like
    Soulless Watcher reacted to MaggieROBOT in lets talk about incest. :mare emote:   
    Well, I never really shoehorn myself in any protagonist. I usually read them as "story of another person". But this always ends up like those "don't imagine yadda yadda" situations that your brain just go and imagine it (at least for me)!!!!!! In your other examples... imagining the scenario doesn't disturbs me so much, maybe bc of my limited imagination, so whatever.
    Also, my sister also plays VNs and we do talk about them. Except talking about a route were MC bangs his sister with your own sister is a bit too much for me...
    Ofc, I'm not trying to condemn anyone who likes it here. Everyone is free!!!! Just saying that I'll not change my mind that easily...
     
    And a side note, Clephas-san just fatality-ed everyone in this discussion with his knowledge...
  6. Thanks
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Clephas in lets talk about incest. :mare emote:   
    I should also mention that there was no strong virginity taboo in pre-Meiji Japan.  That kind of thing started to pop up in the nineteenth century, when western Christian values began influencing male views of females.   Female relatives were regularly bargained away solely to form connections between families within a craft or caste, to bring a competent/capable successor into the family to take over the business/farm/province, and to become an informal pipe for information and communications between powerful families.  This treatment of women as currency was common on all levels of Japanese society, and it was more or less expected that any male of power and influence would have multiple consorts, concubines, etc.  The concept of the 'wife' as we know it didn't exist in Japanese culture until the late nineteenth century.
  7. Thanks
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from mitchhamilton in lets talk about incest. :mare emote:   
    I'll admit it, incest is one of my creepy fetishes and I think it is even better if inbreeding is involved. Any pairing is good for me, except yaoi pairings and I only will accept grandmas if they are anti-aging lolis, even I have standards. I don't really think there is a reason for it, other than the taboo. 
    On a side note, I always chuckle when I see someone say it is creepy or disgusting because they have a corresponding family member in their family. I have sisters, a mother, and a father and I have never considered any of them in a romantic way. I'm actually quite horrified by the idea actually. To me it is akin to someone disliking a first person shooter because they don't think they would do well in a combat situation or, for a metaphor more close to the subject matter, stories of a romance between a student and teacher because they don't have a teacher they want to bone. It just seems odd that some people are all to eager to insert themselves in some works of fiction and mentally distance themselves in others.
    As a storytelling element, I would love to see it fleshed out better and developed into an actual narrative, instead of a cheap porn tactic. 
  8. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Dr.Bisquick in lets talk about incest. :mare emote:   
    I'll admit it, incest is one of my creepy fetishes and I think it is even better if inbreeding is involved. Any pairing is good for me, except yaoi pairings and I only will accept grandmas if they are anti-aging lolis, even I have standards. I don't really think there is a reason for it, other than the taboo. 
    On a side note, I always chuckle when I see someone say it is creepy or disgusting because they have a corresponding family member in their family. I have sisters, a mother, and a father and I have never considered any of them in a romantic way. I'm actually quite horrified by the idea actually. To me it is akin to someone disliking a first person shooter because they don't think they would do well in a combat situation or, for a metaphor more close to the subject matter, stories of a romance between a student and teacher because they don't have a teacher they want to bone. It just seems odd that some people are all to eager to insert themselves in some works of fiction and mentally distance themselves in others.
    As a storytelling element, I would love to see it fleshed out better and developed into an actual narrative, instead of a cheap porn tactic. 
  9. Thanks
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Clephas in lets talk about incest. :mare emote:   
    A lot of it is that incest was insanely common on pre-Meiji Japan and made a sort-of comeback in the years after WWII (though no one advertises that and you have to actually go looking for the proof).  The fact that no one really thinks anything of first-cousin marriages over there is one leftover of that time, for instance.
    Occasionally you see references to it in otaku literature, but it wasn't uncommon in powerful families for 'extra' females to end up as practical sex slaves/concubines to their close relatives.  At the same time, it was also common for those same women to end up married off for political reasons afterward...  but because of that, you have leftover attitudes that don't make much sense to westerners.   It was only after Western influences became strong during and after the Meiji Restoration that you saw that kind of thing becoming taboo.  The reason for that crap right after WWII is because of the lack of living males, to be blunt about it.
    Isolated cultures often end up with incest being common.  Its inevitable when all your neighbors are close cousins.
    Now that remnant culture has combined with fetishism in a weird synergy that has made incest immensely popular with otakus in Japan.
  10. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Erogamer in On h-scenes in VNs   
    I will make no effort in grandstanding by trying to defend my position by conjuring up some elaborate excuse, I simply like h-scenes because I'm a horny bastard. 
    I've recently gotten allot of shit for rating some eroge higher than story centric visual novels on vndb. No, I don't think Funbag Fantasy has a better story than Kara no Shoujo, but they weren't aiming for the same goals. You can't rate a comedy on the same grounds as a action film, just as you can't yell at Stephen Hawking for being shit at baseball. I know that isn't what this topic is about, but I wanted to preemptively explain that before getting to the meat of the matter. 
    The real question is how to feel about sex scenes in story focused visual novels. Well personally I like them, I'm the type of person that after becoming a fan of characters in fiction I look up fanfiction and doujin about them fucking. Having the porn in the source material beforehand is something I find incredibly convenient and a major time saver. Do I expect people to be fine with this? Absolutely not and I completely understand why people would dislike these elements in visual novels. Not everyone has a masturbation addiction to help deal with the condition known as "living", some people drink alcohol instead...... or they just like a great story to distract them from life. 
    I find the question of whether "sex" can be used effectively as a narrative tool to be an interesting one. It's pretty common for people to cry out that an H-scene is "unrealistic", which always baffled me. We don't cry fowl when a FPS doesn't include a 40+ hour rehabilitation simulator after the player character is shot and no one complains that half of rom-coms don't end with a sloppy divorce. Fiction will always contradict reality on some level. I have never believed that a sex scene in any medium was "realistic" aside from Harry Turtledove books and quite frankly it kinda sucks. Realistic depictions of sex without dramatic flourishes are no different from depicting eating a meal or getting over a cold, it's just another boring part of life. 
    Would I like more story centric visual novels with sex scenes integrated better in their plots? Absolutely, but as I stated before it's not that easy. Sex is a relatively boring act as a plot device, without going into FSN territory and inviting contrived reasons sex is required, it can only be used as a plot device in stories of youthful indiscretion, Romeo/Juliet rip-offs, and stories of jealously. In all three instances sex isn't even necessarily required and could be substituted with something else. Sex isn't as big as a deal as society makes it. Oddly enough I think the horrible act of rape is a much better plot device and something that society needs to be better and handling. This act of abject evil opens the door to a menagerie of storytelling opportunities, however if the writer isn't incredibly skilled and knowledgeable it will come across as a cheap shock tactic that is "trying too hard". 
     
  11. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Dreamysyu in On h-scenes in VNs   
    I will make no effort in grandstanding by trying to defend my position by conjuring up some elaborate excuse, I simply like h-scenes because I'm a horny bastard. 
    I've recently gotten allot of shit for rating some eroge higher than story centric visual novels on vndb. No, I don't think Funbag Fantasy has a better story than Kara no Shoujo, but they weren't aiming for the same goals. You can't rate a comedy on the same grounds as a action film, just as you can't yell at Stephen Hawking for being shit at baseball. I know that isn't what this topic is about, but I wanted to preemptively explain that before getting to the meat of the matter. 
    The real question is how to feel about sex scenes in story focused visual novels. Well personally I like them, I'm the type of person that after becoming a fan of characters in fiction I look up fanfiction and doujin about them fucking. Having the porn in the source material beforehand is something I find incredibly convenient and a major time saver. Do I expect people to be fine with this? Absolutely not and I completely understand why people would dislike these elements in visual novels. Not everyone has a masturbation addiction to help deal with the condition known as "living", some people drink alcohol instead...... or they just like a great story to distract them from life. 
    I find the question of whether "sex" can be used effectively as a narrative tool to be an interesting one. It's pretty common for people to cry out that an H-scene is "unrealistic", which always baffled me. We don't cry fowl when a FPS doesn't include a 40+ hour rehabilitation simulator after the player character is shot and no one complains that half of rom-coms don't end with a sloppy divorce. Fiction will always contradict reality on some level. I have never believed that a sex scene in any medium was "realistic" aside from Harry Turtledove books and quite frankly it kinda sucks. Realistic depictions of sex without dramatic flourishes are no different from depicting eating a meal or getting over a cold, it's just another boring part of life. 
    Would I like more story centric visual novels with sex scenes integrated better in their plots? Absolutely, but as I stated before it's not that easy. Sex is a relatively boring act as a plot device, without going into FSN territory and inviting contrived reasons sex is required, it can only be used as a plot device in stories of youthful indiscretion, Romeo/Juliet rip-offs, and stories of jealously. In all three instances sex isn't even necessarily required and could be substituted with something else. Sex isn't as big as a deal as society makes it. Oddly enough I think the horrible act of rape is a much better plot device and something that society needs to be better and handling. This act of abject evil opens the door to a menagerie of storytelling opportunities, however if the writer isn't incredibly skilled and knowledgeable it will come across as a cheap shock tactic that is "trying too hard". 
     
  12. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Ramaladni in Why Tentacle Rape genre is exist?   
    Like everything it is white people at fault, Japan used to freely show dicks in its' porn, it wasn't until the Meiji Restoration (aka let's be a European colonial power) that porn was frowned upon. It got worse when America occupied the country and further stigmatized porn, but as we all know the power of boners would not be stopped. The desire to get around censorship laws that were put into place to copy western culture, plus a complete lack of understanding behind the reasoning of these laws, is why censorship in Japan is a mess of contradiction and nonsense.
  13. Haha
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Nandemonai in On h-scenes in VNs   
    I certainly hope not.  If you cry fowl, it wouldn't be a cockamamie idea to see a doctor.  Now I'd better duck out before someone gooses me...
  14. Thanks
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Scasma in On h-scenes in VNs   
    I will make no effort in grandstanding by trying to defend my position by conjuring up some elaborate excuse, I simply like h-scenes because I'm a horny bastard. 
    I've recently gotten allot of shit for rating some eroge higher than story centric visual novels on vndb. No, I don't think Funbag Fantasy has a better story than Kara no Shoujo, but they weren't aiming for the same goals. You can't rate a comedy on the same grounds as a action film, just as you can't yell at Stephen Hawking for being shit at baseball. I know that isn't what this topic is about, but I wanted to preemptively explain that before getting to the meat of the matter. 
    The real question is how to feel about sex scenes in story focused visual novels. Well personally I like them, I'm the type of person that after becoming a fan of characters in fiction I look up fanfiction and doujin about them fucking. Having the porn in the source material beforehand is something I find incredibly convenient and a major time saver. Do I expect people to be fine with this? Absolutely not and I completely understand why people would dislike these elements in visual novels. Not everyone has a masturbation addiction to help deal with the condition known as "living", some people drink alcohol instead...... or they just like a great story to distract them from life. 
    I find the question of whether "sex" can be used effectively as a narrative tool to be an interesting one. It's pretty common for people to cry out that an H-scene is "unrealistic", which always baffled me. We don't cry fowl when a FPS doesn't include a 40+ hour rehabilitation simulator after the player character is shot and no one complains that half of rom-coms don't end with a sloppy divorce. Fiction will always contradict reality on some level. I have never believed that a sex scene in any medium was "realistic" aside from Harry Turtledove books and quite frankly it kinda sucks. Realistic depictions of sex without dramatic flourishes are no different from depicting eating a meal or getting over a cold, it's just another boring part of life. 
    Would I like more story centric visual novels with sex scenes integrated better in their plots? Absolutely, but as I stated before it's not that easy. Sex is a relatively boring act as a plot device, without going into FSN territory and inviting contrived reasons sex is required, it can only be used as a plot device in stories of youthful indiscretion, Romeo/Juliet rip-offs, and stories of jealously. In all three instances sex isn't even necessarily required and could be substituted with something else. Sex isn't as big as a deal as society makes it. Oddly enough I think the horrible act of rape is a much better plot device and something that society needs to be better and handling. This act of abject evil opens the door to a menagerie of storytelling opportunities, however if the writer isn't incredibly skilled and knowledgeable it will come across as a cheap shock tactic that is "trying too hard". 
     
  15. Like
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Dergonu in On h-scenes in VNs   
    Well said.
    Yeah, I absolutely agree. I think the setup the west has now is pretty good. People who want H gets it, (most of the time,) and people who don't want it has an option as well. The only vexing part of it being when X version comes out before Y version. (For example, the way it has taken over half a year and counting for Grisaia no Rakuen to come out in its 18+ form.) The system isn't perfected yet, but it's at least good everyone gets what they want in the end.
    I still do find the system fascinating, though. (The cutting of content technically "meant" to be in the game.) But, it's working, so hey, can't complain.
    Fiddle, what would this place do without you?
    Never leave us, please. We need your memes.
  16. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Plk_Lesiak in On h-scenes in VNs   
    I will make no effort in grandstanding by trying to defend my position by conjuring up some elaborate excuse, I simply like h-scenes because I'm a horny bastard. 
    I've recently gotten allot of shit for rating some eroge higher than story centric visual novels on vndb. No, I don't think Funbag Fantasy has a better story than Kara no Shoujo, but they weren't aiming for the same goals. You can't rate a comedy on the same grounds as a action film, just as you can't yell at Stephen Hawking for being shit at baseball. I know that isn't what this topic is about, but I wanted to preemptively explain that before getting to the meat of the matter. 
    The real question is how to feel about sex scenes in story focused visual novels. Well personally I like them, I'm the type of person that after becoming a fan of characters in fiction I look up fanfiction and doujin about them fucking. Having the porn in the source material beforehand is something I find incredibly convenient and a major time saver. Do I expect people to be fine with this? Absolutely not and I completely understand why people would dislike these elements in visual novels. Not everyone has a masturbation addiction to help deal with the condition known as "living", some people drink alcohol instead...... or they just like a great story to distract them from life. 
    I find the question of whether "sex" can be used effectively as a narrative tool to be an interesting one. It's pretty common for people to cry out that an H-scene is "unrealistic", which always baffled me. We don't cry fowl when a FPS doesn't include a 40+ hour rehabilitation simulator after the player character is shot and no one complains that half of rom-coms don't end with a sloppy divorce. Fiction will always contradict reality on some level. I have never believed that a sex scene in any medium was "realistic" aside from Harry Turtledove books and quite frankly it kinda sucks. Realistic depictions of sex without dramatic flourishes are no different from depicting eating a meal or getting over a cold, it's just another boring part of life. 
    Would I like more story centric visual novels with sex scenes integrated better in their plots? Absolutely, but as I stated before it's not that easy. Sex is a relatively boring act as a plot device, without going into FSN territory and inviting contrived reasons sex is required, it can only be used as a plot device in stories of youthful indiscretion, Romeo/Juliet rip-offs, and stories of jealously. In all three instances sex isn't even necessarily required and could be substituted with something else. Sex isn't as big as a deal as society makes it. Oddly enough I think the horrible act of rape is a much better plot device and something that society needs to be better and handling. This act of abject evil opens the door to a menagerie of storytelling opportunities, however if the writer isn't incredibly skilled and knowledgeable it will come across as a cheap shock tactic that is "trying too hard". 
     
  17. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from S. Drakensson in Do you find this version of the anime-style ok to watch?   
    The guy in the middle reminds me allot of Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. I think the art-style looks great, visually distinct from common visual novels and pleasing to look at. 
  18. Like
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Useless-san in What are you playing?   
    I could tell from your VNDB, which is why i stopped. Nonetheless, the case of C;C is pretty peculiar as it goes to great lengths to maintain the theme's integrity and coherence. The route structure is a result of that, and it's only good if you care about the theme. Therefore, i can't fault anyone for disliking the routes.
     
    Over sky on the other hand, is as you said impeccable. It is a perfect 10/10.
    The structure was great with minimum downtime, and most of the scenes felt meaningful to the goal the story was heading to. It also manages to show managed to show the cast in this route as people, developing them throughout the route (save for Hana and Uki). You can just praise it tbh, there is nothing to complain about.
    I wrote my impressions on Choas;Child already, so doing it again feels redundant.
  19. Like
    Soulless Watcher reacted to S. Drakensson in Do you find this version of the anime-style ok to watch?   
    I know there are different visual-styles of anime/manga. You got the Ghibli style and the semi-realistic one etc etc
    When we started development of the game for the picture seen below, we wanted to give it a unique look. Not just because we would (hopefully) gain more attention but also because I have never been
    a fan of something that is mainstream. But still, I am interested in hearing your opinion.
    If you were to play a 2D anime-game or watch an anime film with this style, would that be uncomfortable or ugly to look at in your opinion?

  20. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Useless-san in What are you playing?   
    As a collection of side stories or fables they are fine, good even, I think it was my misperception that it would be structured in a similar way to something like Rewrite that tainted the overall experience for me. If I knew beforehand that the routes would just be their own separate thing that went along with the main route and not building towards a grand finale I probably wouldn't have been as disappointed. 
    Honestly though I really didn't care about the underlining themes, I read stories to escape reality, not to learn anything to benefit it . What really drew me into the main route was the character arc that Miyashiro Takuru goes through, how he changed and matured in response to the plot. As a character story about the loss of innocence I think the main route strives as a stand alone story. 
  21. Like
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Useless-san in What are you playing?   
    The routes enforce the story's theme rather than doing something else entirely. Chaos;Child is about dealing with information and the burden of the truth. That's not to say that there are no problems in the way they were executed, it's just that they serve that purpose well. This can be, especially, seen in Hinae's and Nono's routes where both where about truth and falsehood. Uki also serves this concept pretty well, but Uki was really boring.
    I think the routes also connect to how important information can also be pointless in the grand scheme of things, but that's a bit of a stretch.
    I don't think the main theme would have worked out without the routes, but it will take me quite a lot more to convince you and i am not sure if you care about themes in general.
  22. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Desert35 in What are you playing?   
    Fucking hell, I just finished the normal ending for Chaos;Child and currently I would rate it on par with Steins;Gate. It engaged in such way that I literally skipped a meal, because I didn't want to stop reading and I cried in such a way that hasn't happened since I first started reading visual novels. You know, when you start off with the cream of the crop with your Clannads, MuvLuvs, and Grisaias. Before you have to really shift the shit for anything palatable. 
    It was like, "Oh fuck that's right, I'm a human being with emotions!!!" 
    It's a fucking crime that this was jammed into 12 episodes and a movie and that it had to follow a..... less than stellar predecessor.
    Watch, the other endings will be garbage and completely ruin my experience. 
  23. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Kenshin_sama in What are you playing?   
    Fucking hell, I just finished the normal ending for Chaos;Child and currently I would rate it on par with Steins;Gate. It engaged in such way that I literally skipped a meal, because I didn't want to stop reading and I cried in such a way that hasn't happened since I first started reading visual novels. You know, when you start off with the cream of the crop with your Clannads, MuvLuvs, and Grisaias. Before you have to really shift the shit for anything palatable. 
    It was like, "Oh fuck that's right, I'm a human being with emotions!!!" 
    It's a fucking crime that this was jammed into 12 episodes and a movie and that it had to follow a..... less than stellar predecessor.
    Watch, the other endings will be garbage and completely ruin my experience. 
  24. Like
    Soulless Watcher got a reaction from Dreamysyu in What are you playing?   
    Fucking hell, I just finished the normal ending for Chaos;Child and currently I would rate it on par with Steins;Gate. It engaged in such way that I literally skipped a meal, because I didn't want to stop reading and I cried in such a way that hasn't happened since I first started reading visual novels. You know, when you start off with the cream of the crop with your Clannads, MuvLuvs, and Grisaias. Before you have to really shift the shit for anything palatable. 
    It was like, "Oh fuck that's right, I'm a human being with emotions!!!" 
    It's a fucking crime that this was jammed into 12 episodes and a movie and that it had to follow a..... less than stellar predecessor.
    Watch, the other endings will be garbage and completely ruin my experience. 
  25. Like
    Soulless Watcher reacted to Dreamysyu in What are you playing?   
    Good taste!

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