I Forget That Most People Ship Things Because They Want Characters To Be In A Happy Relationship And

i've finally transferred my save files for tmgs over to my new laptop. i'm planning on replaying after i finish persona 5 and writing the otojam game!

ooohh fun!!~

I'm making slow progress through year 3 but i should be done with my first playthrough in a little while! i just found out in the most ridiculous way that 2 dates in a row at the same location is a bad thing (literally not even my fault though. like i scheduled an amusement park date a few weeks out with madoka and then literally the next day he was like "let's go to the amusement park this sunday!" and like um. ok. impatient much? but what was i supposed to say, no?? lmao~)

but he still likes the mc a lot so who cares.

anywho~ out of curiosity, where are you at in p5? and are you playing royal?

I've been considering doing an NG+ run for either p5r or metaphor sometime soon (though i have a million other games i want to play too lol)

((also super excited to see ur otojam game!!!))

girl who craves community but is fucking horrified to talk to anyone in those spaces even when they are looking her directly in the eye and saying "welcome!! ::D"

my favourite fun fact is just that like. the handicraft club almost never lets you meet a love interest or best friend so the main reason people play it is just because, if you stick with the handicraft club for three years, there's a unique scene where you head out on the runway in a wedding dress and your love interest blushes madly over it lmao.

ohmygod???? that's literally so cute omg i'm 100% gonna have to play for that scene at some point~ it's super cool that there's hidden scenes like that omg

i'm already so excited about replaying this game and i'm still on my first route lmao

mój ulubiony route

Aromanticism and Otome Games

I am an aromantic who loves otome games. It may seem incredibly contradictory, especially since a common perception of otome is that it's solely wish-fulfillment games for people to insert themselves into a story where they date attractive men. There's definitely nothing wrong with playing them in that way, and many people get a lot of enjoyment out of them, but that isn't the only way to play an otome game. In fact, many otome game players prefer not to self-insert at all and I’m one of them!

My personal experience being aromantic means I do not feel romantic attraction to anyone, and I do not desire or need a romantic relationship to feel fulfilled in life. I’m perfectly happy with my platonic bonds and my perpetual singleness! That’s how I experience it, but there are many different ways to be aromantic, and there’s no one universal experience that defines how all aromantic people live their lives. Some are repulsed by romance and its overbearing presence in nearly all forms of media, and others are comfortable seeing other people experience romance despite not experiencing it themselves (though these, of course, are not the only two groups). I personally lean more towards the latter category. I love romance stories! 

For me, playing an otome game is like watching a romance movie where I get to decide who the heroine ends up with. It's like a shipper's dream! I don’t self-insert because I am not comfortable putting myself in romantic situations, but by observing a fictional couple, I can explore the romantic plots and experiences that pique my curiosity. And let me tell you, I love a good romance plot. Especially one with drama.

A comparison I like to make when people don’t seem to get it is that I also really, really love murder mysteries and tragedies, but I do NOT want to actually experience them myself. What I want for a character and what I want for myself are two completely separate things, so there’s really no contradiction! 

In fact, playing otome games was a big part of my aromantic journey in the first place. I never had crushes as a kid that weren’t forced or peer pressured. When people talk about the characters in their childhood shows that they had crushes on, I can never relate. To me, there were only interesting characters and stories. I’ve never really wanted anything more than that. 

So when my second-ever relationship ended and I was wondering whether I really felt romantic attraction at all, I decided to try otome games. 

I chose Collar x Malice as my first game because, as I mentioned earlier, I am a huge fan of mysteries and tragedies, and the premise intrigued me. Then, throughout my exploration of various otome games (and as I quickly became hooked on them) I tried some games with less developed heroines, specifically made for self-inserting, and found that I couldn’t handle them. Separating myself from the heroine helped me enjoy the games more as I realized that I didn’t actually want to be in these romantic situations myself, but only wanted to enjoy the story.

So what was the point of this whole post? I guess just to share my own personal experiences as an aromantic otome-lover and address the contradiction. Otome games aren’t necessarily mainstream-popular, but they certainly have their dedicated fans, and I’ve really enjoyed the interactions I’ve had so far with these fandom spaces. 

Sure, the primary focus of the games may be pretty boys who you can date, but otome games can also be so much more than that! It’s a genre I’m glad I decided to try. 

I’m happy to be an aro along for the ride to read some good stories, puzzle out the right route choices, and look at some aesthetically pleasing character designs along the way! :)

game i'm working on is just "this dating sim crashed and glitchedand everyone got turned into glitch creatures except for this one background character and some suspicious guy she found, now it's up to them to turn this horror game back into a dating sim."

except as u go on it becomes "none of the love interests enjoy being forced into their roles but they all feel too much social pressure to actually stop or bring it up with the others"

ooooooh that sounds cool!

it seems like a concept that would lead into a lot of interesting discussions around the characters, especially regarding different tropes and character archetypes that they're expected to conform to!

Certified yapper

i love being unhealthily obsessed with pieces of media that my friends have never heard of!

The first ever otome game-themed Steam festival, Otome Games Celebration, is now live on Steam!

What are otome games? They're romance-driven games where the player can play as a woman and pursue romantic relationships, with a focus on men as love interests. Our festival showcases the wide world of otome, with some of the games featuring customizable main characters, love interests with a variety of genders, and more.

Over 100+ otome games agreed to take part in the event from 80+ developers, with titles from BUSTAFELLOWS to A Date with Death to Royal Alchemist and more. The event will go for a full week, May 19-26. We have otome on sale, free otome, upcoming otome demos, and more!

One of the pain points of finding visual novels & otome on Steam is the lackluster categorization that doesn't allow for finding the specific story genres you want to find. To try to counter that, I've created lots of widgets separated by story genres, such as a fantasy category, cute & comfy, and more. We even have categories for games with customizable MCs, all male love interests, and more!

check out the wide world of otome on Steam!