Aiko's Pavilion of Thoughts

As an ex-Love Nikki player, and still a Shining Nikki player, you can say I'm quite invested in this series at this point. I saw it myself when Infinity Nikki was first announced, to the surprise and delight of everyone. I've been looking forward to it so much, and finally, it has arrived!! This is actually my first time playing an open world game (yes, I never even touched Genshin Impact), so I was keen to find out how it goes. Here's my impressions after a day of playing.

(Cross-posted on BookWyrm)

(Started and finished: 2024/08/22)

"Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II" (Shinigami: Shibito Magire) is a supernatural horror visual novel developed by Experience, Inc. for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and PC (Steam). It is the third installment in the "Spirit Hunter" series and the direct sequel to "Spirit Hunter: Death Mark", released in Japan in 2022 and worldwide in 2024.

SPOILERS ALERT.

Synopsis

The game returns to H City, Tokyo, this time at Konoehara Academy. Strange rumors circulate about "The Departed", who posts ominous notices announcing a student's death at the hands of a spirit. Not long after these notices appear, the student in question vanishes. The protagonist of the first game, Kazuo Yashiki, is called in to investigate these rumors and find the true culprit. But it will not be easy, for he will have to face off against several new spirits haunting the academy, and rumor has it that the Departed is hiding among the students, disguised as one of them - and they also seem have a particular fascination with Kazuo. Accompanying him will be old friends and new faces, including the two mysterious students Himeko Douryou and Michiho Kinukawa. (From TVTropes)

I might hate gacha games with mixed genders, actually. "Actually" because I believe I didn't feel that way before, but some things happened that left me disillusioned. I'm no longer the bear I once was.

What happened exactly to shift my feelings and perception like this? That is what I'd like to talk (rant) about in this post.

During Valentine's Day, I saw people celebrating it. That's normal, but somehow, it made me feel weird...maybe inadequate, even, for not doing anything. Sure, it was election day (which was frankly quite stressful), and it's not unusual for me to not do anything...so why did I feel this way? I know very well how silly it is, but at that moment, the feeling was so strong, I wanted to make a Twitter thread. The problem isn't Valentine's Day or celebrations, it's something else: the inaction of not doing anything when it seems so many people around you do.

This is an introspection of my thoughts and myself, the far longer version of this tweet. Warning: this entire thing is silly and might be quite incoherent. I tried.

On January 24, Bilibili Comics (international), which legally hosted and translated Chinese comics (manhua) from Chinese to English, announced that it's shutting down on February 29. The link is from Twitter because the announcement only appeared on the website's desktop version, while its official Twitter account has been inactive for a while. This announcement came as a shock to everyone.

I don't read a lot of manhua there, but I'm also shocked and saddened by this announcement. I have plenty of thoughts about it: how this is a HUGE blow to the accessibility of legal digital comic platforms to deter piracy, and the transient nature of digital media nowadays, with an example of how one of my favorite manhua vanished from Bilibili Comics.