aetherna: (artistique1)
I had applied for residency in neurology, but the admission was inevitably delayed due to COVID-19 issues. I went into a half-frenzy-half-scared mode when I got the news that interview and all the remaining exams would take place online. Frenzy because I had to juggle studying among everything else, and scared because now I'm not sure if I want to leave my comfort zone and go back to school in the middle of a huge war against the Coronavirus. But there's no running away, and I finished all the exams yesterday. Now I wait.

In the middle of this confusing time, as I run out of games to play, one phrase suddenly comes to mind: otome games. I have no idea which part of my brain comes up with such a suggestion and why, but I end up downloading Mystic Messenger and Mr. Love: Queen's Choice. Two old otome games which, according to two friends, are quite popular in their niche and are worth my time at least for the tragic and broken plot.


As charming as Gavin and Victor are (guess which ones are them from the poster above), I don't have the time yet to fully commit to a game as huge as Mr. Love, given that I still have an action RPG one to grind almost all day long. I stick to Mystic Messenger for now, which so far is showing promises 7 days into the game. As the game matches my real time to dish out content, it feels almost real; as if I am talking to real people and preparing for a real party. It is even more surprising to hear the Korean instead of the usual Japanese voiceover on my games. The only unreal part is how I should go for answers which are not really me to get to the desired ending(s) and find the bigger picture of what's going on. Still, these new experiences are entertaining, so I believe I'll stick around for several walkthroughs.


One point that originally pulled me into these games was the 'dating sims' tag, but turns out this is quite different from my imagination. I was thinking about the style dating sims in Persona series, but neither really works like that so far. I avoid spoilers, so maybe I'm just not yet at that romantic dating point, so we'll see. I do like that I see each character's flairs throughout the chats in Mystic Messenger; everyone is so crazy fun and weird in their own ways, even the minor characters in the emails. More than romance, I'm thankful to have this kind of character and relationship exploration.

After all, that's what reality is about, isn't it?