Ilinox

hi, i wanted advice on how you and the LN fandom deals with the meal replacment from that fandom. at times it does get so irritating when they keep doing this behaviour so how do yalls stay strong and tolerate it. Yalls have the patience to educate and tell them but i feel its a lost cause at this point? I feel their behaviour is getting worse every week :( is it better to not give it attention and ignore them? i will admit the negativity did get me that at one point i didnt enjoy LN as much as i used to. Now i came back stronger cuz i had some another LN friends reminded me on why i love the game (eg. the story, the men and the amazing LN fandom on twt) so maybe some advice would be appreciated. 

otome spaces not being bl-friendly. Yall got such a big space and still want to invade us. fuck off. It makes me conflicted because I enjoy bl myself, but damn, can yall just keep food separate? Can't even lie, I sympathize with lads for the shit they get for banning bl on their official servers, but how do you even bring this up without getting pelted by accusations of homophobia (which is even more ironic considering I'm queer myself). Sometimes I wonder if it makes me a hypocrite or a "self-hater" that I dislike seeing bl in explicitly het-oriented/otome spaces, like how there are lots of women who have internalized misogyny.

Like fuckkkkkk off. always men, men, men. 

In your opinion 😸 just curious especially after seeing LN mc’s outfit for Charlie’s birthday ! So cute and very idol coded imo. Love the tinsel hair. And your account.

But I don't avoid everything that's sad just some of them

I'm still not sure what makes me avoid them though

What do they have in common between the things that I avoid and the things that i'm ok with 

Or maybe it might not necessarily be about what they have in common with each other because what if there's this two different things that have similar story to each other but I avoid one and not the other

What makes me avoid one of them but not the other one 

And does it have to do with how i've been feeling this past few years or is it something else that is making me avoid it

I feel like if I don't read/watch them then I will miss out on things

Especially in a game if I don't read them then I will miss out on important parts of the story

Hi Ili! I was wondering if you could recommend me a trustworthy site or app or maybe something else I can use to learn Chinese accurately on the go? I want to start playing LN and Btw on my own, I've read a lot of fantranslations including yours and Lily's but I really really would like to experience it for myself. Mainly LN, ever since its release I was hoping for a localization so I could play but after so many years I doubt they'll ever give us one 🥺 and now that BtW caught my eye too I have twice the motivation haha

I've looked up resources on my own but I'm not sure how accurate they are so can you please direct me to some? 🙏🏻 

Thank you! And I wish your day is filled with Osborn 🫶🏼

I don't know if this is funny or weird enough, but I liked the way you explained Xu Mo's character and story so much that I think I fell in love with him all over again, and I got so engaged that I became genuinely curious about you opinios on LADS’s characters and lore. Sometimes I feel guilty for not engaging with the worldbuilding because it's just so ???!!??!??????? and on top of that I really like Caleb and his route, which is stressful enough due to incest allegations, endless fights with sylus main and craziest takes from proshippers so I would love to hear your views about all that stuff!

I thought they realised main story on this month but still no info, Are the dev  scheduling for war again on big 6? 

I read a couple of articles that quite a few members in HYV company have been openly mocking otome players for some time now. After hearing about their beef with Paper Games and messing with their site, I'd started to become suspicious of HYV practices. Those of us who play their other games are constantly frustrated at the treatment of male units and male characters general- but we could accept it because in the end it's not meant to be male centered in the first place...but when I'd considered playing ToT, everyone told me that it's an amazing otome, but the company constantly forgets it. 

A get months ago I found some articles criticizing HYV members for mocking female players in general (not just those for HSR/GI) which was concerning because they manage a very popular ototme game. While many of us had been bullied and harassed irl for being "whores" for playing otome, it wasn't any better online with the whole influx of hate that came towards games like L&N and LaDS from angry men and male celebrities. 

I heard they didn't celebrate National Women's Day properly on their only otome, and that players feel like they've forgotten all about ToT. And tbh I don't think it's a coincidence. A company that feels "women should be playing their games yet expect nothing because we deserve nothing" (their words apparently) shouldn't be managing an otome where the fan base is mostly female. It's made me not even want to touch any HYV branded game. 

I neither follow your account nor see the content regarding it but someone brought the issue some time ago about how you talked about mcs in other's games which really falls into misogyny. It was a Convo between you and your oomf where you were pointingout inconsistencies and flaws in tot's writing by saying how "rosa is busy being the light of her men's life" while my mc is already stepping tjhe stones in her career by now. Which does icks me a lot because there's a lot more ways to point out flaws in tot's writing instead of reducing a character to just "busy being the men's light" it's almost as if you are reducing her character down to her male love interest ❓❓❓not to mention that career hierarchy and progress varies A LOT when you compare a lawyer and a fashion designer's career roadmap

Forgive me if the title is not accurate, but imagine a company announced a new otome game in a few years. I feel like whether it's 2d or 3d would end the debate once and for all on if 3d is actually more profitable or more sought after by players. Because no one jumps into a competitive market without researching it right? You raised a similar argument in how the rest of the big6 are digging their heels into 2d more, but that could be playing at their strengths instead of definitively proving the above point. Trying to be what they're not would be a detriment, similar to how trying to sell gameplay as a visual novel will weaken both.

And I just realized but given otomes are essentially visual novels, their fanbases will usually boast about characters or story any chance they get. I'll bring up art for example but always add how much I adore the story. But that game's fanbase leans so far into "3d! It's 3d! It's unprecedented!" Makes it feel like there's not much else to talk about lol. Which to be fair, PG opened with that when marketing the game. But that's all it should be; the opening. Now many of those players complain that the 3d cutscenes are getting shorter, but very few appreciate that the stories are getting longer, regardless of their quality which I can't speak on. For me, main story is the core to an otome because it sets the stage for much of the worldbuilding and character development, and I left the game uninterested.

Anyway, I understand them feeling put off by the shorter cutscenes even if I can't relate because I personally don't care for them, but it seems like all of their complaints originate from revenue arguments. Like, they make so much money surely they can be better at _____. Which would be valid if the revenue said anything about the profit margin. The other issue is nothing is definitive. Money≠quality 1 to 1. If the game was designed to be a quick buck for pg, no amount of money is changing that. If they limit themselves creatively, through stuff like treating the cast like an idol group, they will never explore each LI creatively. 

So even while they cut corners so much, I can't comfortably associate that with profits being poorer than anticipated because there are so many other variables. 

Sorry for making this so long, but I just love your insights and mulling over your arguments because I realized they tend to be more grounded than most. Sincerely, a qc stan that could have gone rabid if you didn't indirectly speak sense to her 😭 

Crazy work considering most of your lads responses are in response to a lot of us on anon complaining (me included oops)

n-yways, thank you for always hearing us out on our rants and providing a safe space to vent, it truly means a lot. your responses are always very thoughtful, i can tell you put a lot of care into each response 🫶

how do you feel about somebody asking for a "lads that focuses less on player-romance and more on gameplay, with a similar focus on story"? isn't that just a genshin but focus on men?

Person above is a Hoyoverse player btw, and dismisses Themis as a throwaway title with "a negative budget, no intrigue, no lore, too modern-day, no fantasy (e.g dragons/mermaids), no past lives, no alternate timelines." Bet you can't tell what game they're referencing as the model. 

I genuinely can’t stand how people dismiss Themis for its gameplay (or LBC, or MLQC, or any other 2D otoge) when, at the end of the day, it’s par for the genre. It’s a visual novel. Of course the “gameplay” is limited—you’re supposed to be there for the story, the characters, the emotional arcs. That’s the whole point. If you don’t like the writing? Totally fair. Trash it. God knows I could list a dozen flaws myself. But you (or any REASONABLE person) don’t go into a VN expecting hack-and-slash mechanics or open-world exploration. The gameplay is minimal on purpose. If you’re dismissing it because it doesn’t have combat systems or triple-A production values, and calling it a “negative budget” game for doing exactly what it’s supposed to do, then yeah—fuck you. Themis was never trying to be Genshin in the first place. The genre illiteracy is real smh. I wish I was as eloquent as you are when making points because I know my temper so I didn't bother replying. 

They don't actually want to prop up women in the gaming sphere, way too many not-like-other-girls with superiority/inferiority complexes in both Hoyo/PG spaces. If you want Genshin-but-men, that’s fine. Say that. Ask for it. But don’t pretend otome games are somehow lesser just because they don’t do what ARPGs do. Just throwing other women under the bus. fucking lol. Too many of these ppl want validation for liking “real games” while still thirsting over pretty 2D men—but they’ll bend over backward to distance themselves from anything labeled otome or romance-heavy. I want to call it some form of internalized misogyny tbh. Hetero romance is cringe, so fuck the firefly/castorice/ayaka/whatever girl hoyo is peddling in HSR/Genshin fanservice but also omg Phainon is so cool, aww Xiao x Traveler is peak. Ew Castorice phone call, cringe loser behavior aiming at incels -> aww, Phainon is showing you around his hometown. Crazy ass double standard. 

To be fair it was the first time I heard a booth saying they'll provide pads if you ask at expo  😅 it's nice knowing that other companies do it too tho! getting your period when you least expect it or forgetting to bring an extra pad is the worst I'm glad it only happened to me twice LOL

if it makes you feel any better people are 100% not gonna tie it to whatever otome adjacent thing they were doing for his marketing LOL those fans aren't playing hsr unless they're also bl shippers. kind of a vent but every time I see that pov vid they released on their official Twitter account have qrts say "mydei's pov" a part of my yume soul screams 🫠 

For gachas specifically -- Why do people genuinely seem to think there's a real possibility of MLs canonically dying, like frfr death, no revives? I get it from a in-universe story MC perspective, I don't understand it from actual IRL people. Like, what makes people think that they would kill off their moneymakers, especially considering the gacha aspect. everytime I see somebody genuinely worrying, I go full head-tilt like an owl, just thinking huh? Maybe they were traumatized by a prior otome gacha that I am unaware of?

The most prominent example I remember is the Luke drama(?) where i've heard that people actually quit because they didn't want to grow attached in case mhy kills him off after whatever year deadline. I've also heard something in relation to MLQC but I never played and from a vague summary I heard over a year ago, apparently people died/time shenanigans/revived? maybe i'm missing something there lol, that's probably a horrible and likely inaccurate summary. 

They can kill off ppl in AUs (stares at LN in particular), but canonically? I truly don't get it and I find myself thinking 'bro. use your brain pls', please correct me if I'm overlooking something obvious i guess haha

hello illi! so i want to poiso- i mean give them an explanation and luring my friend to play l&n. but my space memory brain is so tiny :") and you already make thread about it so may I ask for your link about light and night lore and world building? i can't find in your twitter bcs drowned in another thread :")

Hello!! I hope you’re having a great day, I just want to ask you (I hope this doesn’t come off as rude or offensive or anything). Have you stop translating bits of L&N altogether or it’s just paused atm?

hello illi! i saw your your Twitter thread about ml character song! but when i open it there is none of their songs there, do you have another recomend web or  link to listen to their songs again?

I started playing recently, trying out the different servers, and I’m a bit confused on how reruns work in LN lol. I dont think I’ve seen solo event cards get reruns, birthdays (??) are a mystery because I’m not sure if I started too late or if there was never a rerun for Charlie’s (or QSL’s) 1st birthday on TW server. I have seen some 4SSRs get reruns (1? 2 year maybe?), and I think I’ve heard anniversary cards get reruns. Oh, wheels gets reruns too (also takes a long time?). Would really appreciate some clarification lol, tysm!! 💛🫶

Talks about otome games, drama cds, and occasionally provides advice? Running away endlessly from my backlog of hobbies.

Ilinox

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Featured

Featured answers

light and night lore, world building link pls!

L&N translation

L&N ml character song link

Hi! Question about LN reruns

do the l&n men have noticeable kinks so car that you had noticed?

Answers

how do u deal with meal replacement? the toxicity of that fandom :(

Makes me irrationally annoyed when people cry about

out of the big6 heroines, who do you think would make the best idol?

Avoiding sad things

Recommendations

are we free from global ln discourse for another year xD

big 6 yandere in a battle royal…who would make it out (with/ without their mc’s influence)

Hello where can i listen to full Light and night bgm?

hey,could you, please, explain why do you dislike the love and deepspace writing?I just got curious

Still no main story 🥲 l&n

What's it like being a paralegal? What degree did you get to get your foot in the door?

Do you ever feel that HYV is ignoring Tears of Themis on purpose?

Your way of talking about mc in other otomes is very... Ehhh

The CN otome market seems saturated but..

the lion, the witch, and the audacity of that b----

Adding on-to the vent posts TvT

Ain’t no way KR passed up on 生生团圆 and the white day cards just to skip all the way to VR series 😭😭

sanitary pads

Phainon

Am I missing something? (ml death question)

Ilinox