Andromis

My Polish Stepmother introduced me to them along with other amazing Polish foods, but I'd have to say Pierogis are my favorite of all them.

Pierogi- Basically Polish dumplings.
Meatloaf- Can't go wrong with meatloaf.
Ropa Vieja- Shredded Pork with rice and beans. (Can't believe i'm the first to say spanish/cuban food)
Empanadas- A stuffed bread that consists of meat, cheese, etc.
Apple Pie- The classic.
P.S. Now I'm hungry....

That tagline is literally what brought me here after I've (re)discovered visual novels and decided to devote more of my time to them. What makes me a weirdo is that from the very beginning I was actually infatuated with OELVNs and I'm only very slowly digging into the "proper" VNs.
My personal view is that VNs will always be a niche genre in the West because of their strong connection to "weeb culture", which grosses many people out (that very much includes OELVNs) and to a lesser extent because of the stigma connected to sexual content in them. And because people playing video games or watching anime around here are not really that much into reading. Apart from the super undemanding titles like Nekopara or Sakura games, there's simply no mass market for them.
I'm also pretty sure that VNs will never go far in the West without a healthy OELVN market. The actual "hardcore" VN community is very niche and hermetic, like most fandoms of this kind and as long as people are told to learn Japanese if they want to get involved and western stuff is treated with disdain, the community like ours really won't help things much. Progress is obviously happening thanks to more and more major JP titles being translated, but those also might hit a wall quite soon, if the fanbase doesn't expand steadily - I don't think those horrible sale numbers of A Sky Full of Stars are just because people were bitter about h-scenes - there's simply not that many people interested in buying quality JP VNs and the market is getting saturated.
I think an interesting question is what we, as a community, can do to popularize VNs in the West. I desn't look like we're doing much right now, because outside of the forums, the site is rather stagnant. While the VNs in the West are booming, at least in some respects, we're just cuddled in our own, super-niche corner, ignoring the filthy masses roaming around Steam and other places. Optimally, we should do something to reach people outside of our own little circle, how and who should do it is a nice topic for discussion.
EDIT: And when it goes to setting and giving VNs a "western" feel, definitely. But I don't think I've seen a VN developer that didn't come from the "weeb" culture and wasn't heavily inspired by some JP VNs. It would be extremely hard to escape that association because it's a core feature of the genre and part of its identity. The thing that we should do away with is mindless copying - there are situations where using Japanese setting adds something to the game (DDLC is a good example because it tried to look as generic as possible to make the twists more powerful and unexpected), but usually, it's just lack of imagination IMHO.

I don't think this is a huge problem, but it is something that probably makes people a bit wary of having visual novels on their steam accounts and such. Differentiating the ones with and without more probably would help though, as many tend to think of porn when they hear of visual novels, if they even know about them at all. 
I don't think it's the setting that is the main issue, it's more the way they tend to be written. But more neutral or "western" settings would probably help, not everyone is in love with Japanese culture.
I do believe it is doomed to be a niche, it is not a great way to neither read nor experience a story. Perhaps the mechanics could be developed to present the story more fluidly, with less text and more video or gameplay-ish content, but would it still remain a visual novel? I don't know.

Fuwanovel has this tagline both here on the forums as well as the main site; if you were to Google Fuwanovel, the first result proudly exclaims "Fuwanovel – Make Visual Novels Popular in the West!". I haven't seen too much discussion about it, though, so I thought I'd stir up a conversation to hear everyone's opinions on what needs to happen in order for VNs to appeal to a larger portion of the Western audience, or if it's possible at all.
Popularity is subjective, of course, so for our purposes just consider what would make VNs more popular, rather than reach any particular standard of renown.
I'll present a few general topics that I feel are relevant to provide a base, but of course don't be afraid to present any thoughts that may pertain to something else.
1. Sexual Content - This post and associated podcast by NowItsAngeTime brought up some good points on this topic. Do you feel that the presentation of sexual content, or the idea of pursuing heroines as a requisite feature, that is so common in VNs needs to be changed, altered, or removed somehow? Dreamysyu noted that visual novels with sexual content are separated from those without completely in Japan - to the point that they are essentially different genres. 
2. Setting and Japanese Influence - Naturally, a lot of VNs are set in Japan, frequently in specific settings like a high school. This even extends to OELVNs, where it is not unusual to see a VN that takes place in Japan or has characters with Japanese names, honorifics, and so on. Do you think VNs, particularily OELVNs, need to break away from this standard in order to appeal to a larger Western audience?
3. The Format in Itself - Does the nature of a visual novel make it forever doomed to be a niche genre? Would VNs with gameplay features appeal more in the West? Are there possible changes to the existing format that can be altered while still retaining the core of what a visual novel is?
I look forward to hearing your opinions!

It's not fucking karaoke unless you sing your fucking ass off

Both of these pictures were taken by me. First one was taken while I was boating on a lake and the second one was taken of the sunrise (or was it the sunset?) over Daytona.

A great channel about WWI.

Been meaning to do this for awhile. Old picture from when I used to live in the Keys as I could not find a good recent picture of me in which I don't look dead inside.
 

I feel like I accidentally stepped into the underworld and saw some things no human being should ever witness 

You know, I used to think you were a nice guy. Or at least a /funny/ dick. But after seeing your true face this night playing Uno, I can no longer bear your presence upon these forums, nay, the Internet, nay, the world itself. In the voice call you destroyed me utterly, scheming my demise together with your so-called "waifu" @HMN as well as that dastardly brit and the "SECRET" SHITPOSTER YOU LITERALLY INVITED PURELY TO INCREASE YOUR SERVER'S SHITPOSTING POWER. It started out innocent enough when you made a fucking meme because I said "childhood" like "childhoods". I mean fine, it was funny, for the first three fucking seconds. TOO BAD YOU KEPT IT UP ALL NIGHT. But you weren't satisfied with that, were you? You just had to fucking kill my dog too.
Okay let's back up here. You know how Zaka writes about his cooking sometimes? https://disearnestlydisearnest.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/cooking-with-zaka-a-super-legit-tomato-sauce-narrative/ I used to think it was funny, too. But what you don't realize is how he uses these concoctions. Well, he gave a batch of that awful salsa to us, and just as fucking expected it was bland as shit. We ended up giving half of it to the family dog, and now you realize his ingenious plan - yeah, he was actually trying to poison poor Mahmood to death. YOU INSULTED ME ALL NIGHT AND KILLED MY DOG.
You know what I want now, don't you? It's time for a battle at the crack of dawn, 1v1, random starting order, ACKNOWLEDGE ALL DRAW CARDS, no stacking, Final Destination: Egypt. I'm going to destroy you at uno so hard you won't know what hit you, until you realize that addition by four is triggering your PTSD. Have fun passing your math classes, you god damn conniving wannabe cat.
1v1 me in uno tonight
or I will give you a taste of your own FUCKING SALSA AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR FUCKING THROAT.

I want a Makina really, really badly.

Dark and messed up? I know a guy who just so happens to be an authority on dark and messed up VNs. Take a look at his list of the best:
Might be a little too dark and messed up for ya though. Or for any human. 

Pepper your angus for Total War : Three Kingdoms. 

Fluffy Is Justice

This speaks for itself. Art in it's purest form.

This speaks for itself. Art in it's purest form.

That is true. What I usually do is before I even get started, I make of list and plan of what I am going to do in the short and long term of the game so I can keep on track and not get screwed over. But sometimes even with that, I still make mistakes and lose the game even though I have 282 hours of play time and there are still somethings I have a hard time doing. IMO, saving often is usually important so if sometime goes wrong, you can have something to fall back on (Unless your playing Ironman mode, you can't use previous saves in that.)  Down below I have included a link which is an excellent resource and I recommend anyone who plays HOI IV to look at it.
 

This speaks for itself. Art in it's purest form.

This speaks for itself. Art in it's purest form.