#this applies to every game except ikesen

[nad-zeta]

hope im writing right;; match-up for ikesen, please? im a libra (scorpio moon, virgo venus) who prefer to be in hufflepuff. so, im an optimistic person with black humour and head half in the cloud. love make art but cant sing because my voice is really bad, ugh. sometimes i can literally disappear to find a balance in my emotions, because i dont wanna bother my friends. if i was in game, id be a wandering warrior with some kind of wind magic. im really interested in your work, wish you luck uwu

Hi, there love! Thank you so much for the request! I hope you have a good day today and I hope u enjoy the matchup!

So I match you with.................. Kennyo

So at first, I matched you with Mitsunari, lol I even wrote a whole matchup but then last minute changed my mind ^_^

The first time you meet Kennyo was when you literally ran into him in the forest in an attempt to get away from Nobunaga and his crew. You ran as fast as your legs could carry you. Only to slam into what felt like a brick wall; you stumbled backward, and before you hit the ground, two strong arms gently cradled you and brought you back to an upright position. You were out of breath and your eyes darting everywhere. You were on high alert. Kennyo softly traced the lines on your face to try and calm you down, almost like you would a kitten. You looked into those smoky grey eyes staring at you with concern. You managed to calm down a little and whispered a small thank you. You heard the sound of horses running in the distance, and you knew they were now chasing you. You took one last look at the man before scurrying off again.

The Oda’s weren’t all that bad, your first impression of the strange lot may have been a bit hasty, as you have actually come to enjoy this mixed bag of characters. Although they were somewhat overwhelming at times. Especially today. Your emotions were all over the place, and you felt like you needed to get away and find your balance again. You told Hideyoshi that you were going to walk around the garden to clear your head. You walked the vast garden route, head entirely in the clouds. You were wandering around aimlessly. You had found an overgrown path leading you further away from the castle. You couldn’t help but smile and think about Robert Frost's poem “The Road Not Taken.” You wondered down the road taking in the beautiful scenery all around you

You spotted a small injured cat on your path; the poor thing looked like a stray that lost a battle for food with the other wild animals in the area. You crouched down to get a better look while looking around for some help. You signed; the cat would have to hang on until you were back at the castle so that Ieyasu could tend to it. Your kind of like the idea of having the poor thing as a pet. Just then, a big bear of a man appeared. You were slightly started and fell back to land on your rear. The monk peered into your eyes. “Are you okay young miss, it wasn’t my intention to frighten you.” You looked up at him and smiled. You examined his face; he had a big scar stretching across it. You could see he had gone through many a struggle in his life, yet he had a sense of calm kindness about him. He crouched down and examined the cat. Of course, you scooted closer and explained you were planning to take the little guy back and care for it. Kennyo then reached in his sleeve and pulled out some medical supplies and started treating the cat in front of you. You watched his skilled hands apply salve to the wounds and wrap them up good as new. He then looked back up at you and tried to give you his scariest face. “Run along back home, little miss, and never forget demons roam these woods at night.”  You picked up the little cat, thanked him, and started running back home, you stopped halfway and looked back to take one quick glance only to see no one there.

You had been missing for hours, and the sun was now dipping below the horizon, mama Yoshi was frantically searching the garden for you. When all of a sudden, you reappeared from the tree lines carrying the little cat. Hideyoshi breathed a sigh of relief and gave you a small lecture. Everyone accepted your new little pet with open arms. The kitten was treated like royalty, Masamune cooked for it, Ieyasu gave you medical supplies to care for it, Mitsuhide gave you a small collar with an attached bell, and Mitsunari and Hideyoshi gave the little kitten the softest fluffiest bed to sleep in. And of course, Nobunaga didn’t forget to spoil his luck charms new kitten; he too brought the kitten some toys to keep it entertained. At times you couldn't help but let your mind wander back to the monk that had helped you. After all, it was thanks to him treating the little cat on the spot that it managed to survive your trip back home.

The next day you left again to wonder the same path, secretly hoping to run into the monk once more to thank him and show off how well the little kitten was doing. That’s when all of a sudden, your kitten jumped out of your arms and started running in some random direction. You chased him curious to see where it was leading you to. You stopped when a small cabin came into view. You slowly made you way up to the door; your little kitten was now scratching at the door as if to try and open it. The door swung open, and you locked eyes with the very man you were looking for. He was shocked. What were you doing here, and how did you even find his hideout? He tried to scare you off to no avail; you low key though he was just joking. You did have a slightly dark sense of humor, so the more he tried to intimidate you, the darker your jokes got. Just who the hell was this woman. Eventually, he relented and let you into his little home.

You sat down and made yourself at home. Kennyo offered you some tea and rice pudding. You graciously accepted hearing him say something under his breath about how hopelessly optimistic and naïve you were. You couldn’t help but smile at this strange monk. The two of you leisurely sat and chatted. You were surprised at all the different types of animals he cared for, each looking like they had seen better days. Even your kitten had made a new friend with Kennyo’s every own grey cat. Kennyo couldn’t figure out why he was so attracted to you, why he had invited you into his home, and why on earth he had offered you tea. He was a monster, and you should fear him, except here you are sipping tea in his home without a care in the world. When it was time for you to leave you scooped up your little cat promising to visit again so it could play with his new friend, you waved Kennyo goodbye and left. Kennyo bid you farewell while wearing the most gentle soft smile, unbeknown to him. You had visited him many times since. Every time bringing some kind of sweet treats to share and have with your tea. The more you visited the more Kennyo seemed to enjoy your company and open up a little.

Kennyo never thought he had any humanity left in him until meeting you. Every visit seemed to soften and melt his stone-cold icy heart. Before he knew it, he was utterly in love with you. He loved your dark humor; he loved your vast imagination, and he loved that you respected his alone time as well. Your optimism and gentle nature even managed to heal the hole in his heart and soul. 

He slowly returned to the tender, soft-hearted monk he once was, also rebuilding the bridge of friendship with his old friend Shingen. Of course, he still dislikes Nobunaga, but that never affected your relationship. You eventually, with Dad Nobunaga and Mom Hideyoshi’s permission, moved into the small cabin with Kennyo. The two of you can often be found wandering around the forest together, hand in hand, heads in the clouds, and helping anyone or anything in need. He loves nothing more than to lay with his head on your lap, as you gently play with his hair and sing to him. Even when you think your voice is terrible, he absolutely loves it! He has now dedicated his like to the optimistic angel who swooped in and saved him from himself. And will love you to the ends of the earth and back. 

Other potential matches................Mitsunari 

I hope you enjoyed it dear! And I hope you are staying safe and well!

#ikesen matchup #matchups #ikemen sengoku kennyo #ikesen kennyo #ikemen kennyo #ikemen sengoku matchup #ikemen matchup #kennyo matchup

[hikariobsessions]

I think I kind of agree with you, I'm not too fond of the sassy mc in ikesen, but she'll grow on me eventually maybe. It kind of makes me sad that people think reserved or shy characters can't be written well or be strong without being sassy/rude or without being annoying. I always see them being written as if being shy/pure is their only trait. I've met shy people in real life who are very enjoyable to be around once they open up to someone. (You don't need to reply to this by the way)

I can’t say how much this kind of ask/discussion is making me smile right now. Thank you for this (*^^*) – if you want, you can dm me and we can discuss this in a little bit more detail~ More opinions from me under the cut – but you don’t need to read it if this topic is already driving you insane (as it is me) because of how it blew up into this odd, unpleasant thing that really didn’t need to be. But I suppose, it’s Tumblr nonetheless… 

Don’t let one opinion stop you from enjoying the stuff you really admire. THIS OPINION IS JUST ME. Ignore or barrel through the commentaries, that’s up to you.

But it’s there as food for thought. For myself, and just as an answer to this asker who has been the only person so far that has responded to my call for civility when it comes to these rants. 

Again, thank you so, so much (*^^*)

[RANT] Just another one to get stuff off my chest ^^;; We all know how this goes right?

I can understand why people like the ENG MC. And here’s the thing, they’re not WRONG to like her for whatever reason they have. It’s FINE.

I’m just running my mouth with my own opinions because first of all this is my blog - LET’S JUST GET THAT OUT OF THE WAY IN CASE NO ONE HAS NOTICED. 

But also, just as someone in the minority of these opinions, I take it upon myself to try and elaborate on my own point of view because I feel like I owe it to the people who like/maybe even love this particular character, to not just give them hate and criticism, but rather a valid argument for my own views.

But so far no one has given me any fair observations/criticisms of the writing that points me in a different way of looking at and appreciating the writing in the IkeSen ENG App for what it is, flaws and all. People are just going “it’s good writing/dialogue” and I’m just like…why do you think that way? PLEASE ELABORATE. 

I am literally someone who wants my opinions challenged because I don’t want to hate on this game. Far from it. Why would anyone want to download something just to do that?

Furthermore, I don’t tag the company’s social media in my rants in particular because they are just that – RANTS. I call the localization team out on several things, definitely, but whether they change their writing is up to them.

Ever since I entered this fandom, I already knew I was in the minority when it came to opinions of the MC, just by looking through Tumblr for IkeSen content. 

But honestly, I want a more substantial reason as to why people think the writing is good apart from the fact that the MC is different (sassy, witty etc.) from other examples of MCs in otome. 

Because as you said, hun, there are other people out there who can be really shy and reserved but have their own strengths as a person/character. And they can also be rude and judgmental at their worst. This is just human. 

And you’re right, it’s a shame that they are sometimes only “written as if being shy/pure is their only trait” – that in itself is BAD WRITING.

The only bad female character, if you ask me (and you did), is one who’s flat. One who isn’t realistic. One who has no agency of her own, who only exists to define other characters (usually men).

Here’s the thing about being a damsel in distress…it’s only bad if that’s all she is. If the character’s defining characteristic is being a damsel in distress, that’s bad. - Mad Lori

I can’t stop quoting Mad Lori enough about this :’)I don’t need to tell anyone that this goes for “sassiness” as well right?? So how about this? About “progression” in the sense that women don’t have to be “strong” in order to be good, well-written characters. And they don’t have to possess a specific trait, such as ‘sassy’ just to be said - “strong” character. That they find their own strength by choosing to love, overcoming their own flaws but more importantly being someone with their own agency to achieve self-determination in the world that they’re in – but also remain down-to-earth, shy, outspoken or otherwise. 

This was never taken from the Japanese MC as a character in the JP App. This is why I remain so confused as to why the English team decided to change her.PORTRAY CHARACTERS AS HUMAN. Not as this thing trying for a convoluted cultural ideal which has its own flaws. 

This is coming from someone, who in turn watches stuff like Orange is the New Black (just watch a trailer for it (if you haven’t heard of this show) and maybe you can get why I’m referring to it). 

It’s a show which has an amazing amount of diversity in terms of its portrayal of women. But what’s good about it, is that those portrayals aren’t so much black or white, shy or sassy, strong or weak – they all have their strengths and weaknesses that make them complex and are motivated by their individual character traits and flaws as well as possessing their own agency.

In any case, the only reason, or at least the MAJOR reason I was completely turned off by the ENG MC is that in the writing, they try SOOO hard to make a point that this particular MC is different from the rest. That she is witty. That she is sassy. Oh, and look just how “strong” she is, by thinking up all these snarky comments/comebacks against the guys, even when they’re not being dickheads!! 

To me, that’s the only reason they decided to change her from the original Japanese MC (correct me if I’m wrong, PLEASE) – shoving these sentiments of “a strong woman” into this particular character just to……..what? Reach a “diverse” audience?? How diverse are we talking about exactly? 

If you can’t even look at a type of character that is shy, insecure and reserved as part of that diversity – and admiring how she becomes an exception to her own trope – you’re just kidding yourself.  And this change isn’t even the core of my problem with the writing.

Look I get that people can be frustrated because of the lack of representation of different kinds of MC and that’s a fair frustration to have. But let’s not back ourselves into a corner of thinking that women need to be portrayed as this one thing in order to be “well-written”:

Sherlock Holmes gets to be brilliant, solitary, abrasive, Bohemian, whimsical, brave, sad, manipulative, neurotic, vain, untidy, fastidious, artistic, courteous, rude, a polymath genius. Female characters get to be Strong. -Sophia McDougall, Quote take from here.

To me, this entire push to have this “sassy” MC in the ENG App is the writer or perhaps the business, literally shoving their own rant/agenda onto my face (or rather their “market research” let’s say). 

Having that happen to you as an audience/reader is seriously disengaging from the story. What I’ve seen them do, is blatantly spoon-feed information about the traits of the characters and tell audiences what to think or feel about them, instead of letting readers figure these out for themselves. 

They are literally “talking” to the reader, and that severely takes me out of the world of the story. For example, they use thought-bubbles of the MC to monologue about (Oh, how I used to be such an independent woman, but now I’m in the Sengoku…) — From my perspective, THAT IS SERIOUSLY BAD WRITING. And hence, why I think she’s not a well-written character. Not because of how they changed her to be outspoken and/or sassy, but rather their execution of conveying that in the stories.

“Show, don’t tell” anyone?? Nothing bad about applying a common writing technique preached by almost every writing mentor out there.

The thing is audiences aren’t stupid, but more often than not - when they're paying attention - they know when they’re being called “stupid”.

I have nothing against the localization team trying to change this particular MC into having a ‘sassy’ personality. My problem is that they don’t write it well. 

There’s nothing substantial added to the story by changing the MC that actually makes the development of their relationship (MC and any Warlord) stronger from the stories in the JP App. It’s possible to have done it but unfortunately no, not in this version. If anything the ‘decorative’ nature of what the English team has done with the character to “reach” audiences just made the MC unbearably annoying (to me).

But, equally bad is that everything that they’re doing, which shouldn’t be evident while reading the stories, is showing:

i.e. aiming for a goal of wanting the MC to be different, and using her thought-bubbles to deliver expository commentaries; instead of letting her stand on her own two feet as a character through her actions. 

 –  they should at least BE SUBTLE about it and make sure that they have that self-awareness as to why they’re doing it. And not just because you want to gain popularity amongst audiences who are sick of a trope. This is what I mean when I say I don’t like different for the sake of being different. It’s just sensationalist, immature and completely distracting from the actual story and relationships we’re supposed to be admiring. To quote the great screenwriting guru, Robert McKee:

Just as children break things for fun or throw tantrums to force attention on themselves, too many filmmakers [in this case writers too] use infantile gimmicks on screen to shout, “Look what I can do!” A mature artist never calls attention to himself, and a wise artist never does anything merely because it breaks convention. - Robert McKee

But, hey, like with anything else — this is just me, with my blog, voicing my opinion~ If you’ve read this, again:

Thank you so much for putting up with these rants ^^

Peace out guys, and stay kind ^_^ - Hikari

#0-0iseul #ikemen sengoku #personal #rant