mysecretsoul

Right? One day I'll learn your secret! Probably after years of practice with my own gaggle of Reise-babes. XD

Isn't Sol Hee completely brash and bold? If her sister had actually died and there was no other way to live, I might understand her decision more. But running straight that way with other options, intending to steal her sister's birthright and fool innocent people left and right? When she tried to leave Solnan for bandits early on, I knew we'd be in for a doozy, haha.

She really is a better actress; her expression, especially when Kucheon held her, was really moving. I feel they even out as the story progresses, well, most things in this drama do.

Haha! It looks like I'm double inexperienced though; I've no idea which Korean dramas are what. Sometimes I get Painter of the Wind and Sungkyungkwan Scandal mixed up, though with similar elements that's a bit excusable. <.<

Ah! That must be it, then. We do appear to have several friends in common, from what I can tell. It'll be great to see you around in the feeds from now. :)

I'm always happy to meet others who like the same actors as me. Sometimes it feels like I have unusual taste, so it's awesome to alleviate that a bit.

While we're near equal in number of dramas, you've seen so many more films. :o With your experience, you must make quite good recommendations~ What movies would you recommend to someone relatively new to Korean cinema?

Right? I can't believe there's only one week left for God's Gift. Just like everyone else, I'm super impressed with Cho Seung Woo and the overall atmosphere of the series. There are times I find myself confused though--it's such a complicated story~

Thank you so much for the friend request! Have we spoken before? Somehow I feel as though I've seen your username once before. You have a lovely profile, in any case. I adore your gif of the week, and one can never have enough opportunities to look at Joo Sang Wook, haha :)

So sorry for the long delay! I've been watching my niece and nephew most of the week, and they're at a somewhat energetic age. Each time I watch them, I find new wells of respect for parents; how in the world do you do it? XD

You're watching at quite a good clip! Bet you hate Sol Hee even more now, ne? I've still got to see Sungkyunkwan Scandal...so behind on all these classic dramas!

Has Myongnong brightened up any yet? Jinmu starts with some pretty hilarious scenes (his first with Myongnong comes to mind, haha!), and remains a relatively sympathetic character throughout. How are you finding Solnan, character and acting-wise?

Hate away! She does look evil, ne? I'm not terribly fond of her myself, though her actress isn't bad at all. Both sets of parents shared a sweet, simple narrative. I loved how nothing got too crazy or complicated between them, like they tend to do in other sageuks (they've got me so trained I initially thought the king was going to kill General Yung and take Chaehwa to wife after she fell pregnant XD).

Doesn't he look *just* like Ha Ji Won? It's actually frightening, but also cute. I'm just glad we're not doing Empress Ki at the same time, because that could have been odd, haha.

My favorite part of the OST is the instrumental of the lullaby, though. It's so forlorn. Did you meet the entire adult cast then? The crown prince starts out a little boring, but as time rolls along you'll love him for sure. :,)

You've imagined the mascot well, haha! Something he must have is an honorary sash, "Ten Seconds or Less!" XD

Golden Therapeutist you say? That sounds perfect for the vice president of the fanclub, haha. We'll need different implements for beating up our resident bishounens, from paper fans to swords. Our industry is really growing, ne?

I know I had more I wanted to say, but I've been watching my niece and nephew all day and they've destroyed my energy, haha :,) Any time I see cute kids on film or TV I want them, but then days like this happen and I'm less sure XD

Woo! Welcome back, officially! This series is really easy to marathon, right? You may have chosen quite well for a return into Korean drama; I'm still enjoying it a whole heck of a lot, even at episode 70. The short length of the episodes really help, and it might just be my preference, but the romance is exceeeeellent.

Kucheon is awesome, right? Every time he smiles it just makes you want to bundle him up and be nice to him :,)

After reading your final comments on Lost Days, I may put off or avoid it altogether. The issues you mentioned are pretty much everything that could and would frustrate me in a drama. Been thinking about picking up Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna instead, perhaps after Kita Yoshio. I'm in the mood for unusual J-dramas lately anyways.

I think you might be happier that way. Following your gut feeling on a drama is always best, and it's unfortunately not the best offering from OCN. There might be a second season to address some of the issues, but...as generous as I can be with shows, I'm not sure I'm in the mood to stick around for it.

I liked your analysis on The Client, by the way! Never heard of it before, and the casts looks excellent.

Awesome! Whenever you do play it, feel free to keep me up to date! You likely won't need any help with strategy, but I'm excited to hear which guy you end up preferring.

Yup, they now share a company after Enix merged with Squaresoft. Personally I preferred their titles more when they were apart, but even getting some re-release for several of these titles is great. Atlus comes to mind for that, since almost none of the original Shin Megami Tensei or Persona games could be reasonably tracked down before. But yeah, they do make too many versions of Final Fantasy <_<

Ah, you'll post it on your blog? That way many others can see it as well. I'm sure there are many Dias fans that would appreciate it. If you run into any issues with blockage while writing, just imagine a fanclub mascot Bishounen cheering you on~

Myongnong does flirt with Solnan, but he's so clueless/clumsy about it as to be adorable. I love it when his bodyguard just shakes his head, almost as if to say, "Seriously? How can you be so bad at this, dude." But if he ever says that to her, I might faint. There were a few times he got me fluttery, which pretty much only seems to happen in sageuk romance nowadays. XD

Oh, I could see Solnan as Rena in a way. But then I would need an Otome game of this story, not playing as Solnan. So the player could date Kucheon too, muahaha. >_>

Right? Honestly, much as I liked the story and involving elements, the pairing system &#40;compatibility events and endings in particular&#41; could have been better. They were a little too ambitious, which is probably why subsequent games were simplified. Just stinks that only male main characters were used from that point on. You may like the PSP Persona 3, if you haven't already played it. Both love routes for the female MC are great, especially since the canon choice is Dias-like in personality (if not in looks, though he does have long hair).

It actually makes me wonder whether they accidentally switched Rena and Celine's Noel endings. <_< They're totally the opposite of what they would do in that situation, ugh. I like, need you to write this scene with Dias, though. ;-; I'm sure there's fanfiction, but probably not for that specific scene. ->

At this point, I almost wish Myongnong would fall over himself in love! Though, I might just be coming into the part where he does, so perhaps I'll eat my words in the end. The seeds for the romance are there, and the scenes are delectable; it's just every time they conclude, they show Sol Hee, which is, as I mentioned, like receiving a bucket of cold water to the face. Example: "Teehee, how can he be so c-what?! YOU?" XD

I'm not sure whether you actually wanted me to answer about Nede, so I'll leave that here at the end. If not, the part below is a spoiler and you may want to run and never look back, haha:

Chisato and Noel are part of the party, so I assume that being removed from Nede spared them their fate. Energy Nede ultimately is sacrificed for Expel, as you suspected. Though to be fair, I wonder if it isn't a plot hole. They should be "energy," ne?

Right? And when the romance is already intended, I think it's often written better. They don't have to spend time trying to equalize scenes between characters, and writer bias doesn't come into play. Most of the time, haha.

Music might be one of the most important facets of any visual entertainment, at least for me. I pay very close attention to how it's used, in video games, films, and television. If the music ain't workin', then neither is the scene. XD

I have heard Lunar's soundtrack, at least the revamped one. They did alter the vocals for the PSP, if what I read was correct. It's neat they used the same voice actress both times, though; her voice really is great. As to Star Ocean, I'm not sure whether there's any difference. I do recall that music box theme you mentioned, so perhaps not much. ->

Oh! That does seem to be the case? I'm glad I'm not going mad or mixing up endings then. What makes the Noel ending more disappointing is that Rena apparently *also* loved animals. What happened in that scene seems more like what Celine might do, yet I think she's more agreeable to him in her version. o_o I found the idea of the two of them together, as Rena finding solace in a member of her own race and Noel finding an understanding partner, well, rather romantic. It's too bad.

Thing is, it would make *sense* for Dias to be at the Lab. Claude has his pushy way of checking on Rena, but Dias seems like he would really *need* to be by her side at that point. :,) If it were a drama scene, it would be wildly romantic--and Claude would arrive a little too late, and get that "OUCH" second male lead look as he watches from 5 feet away, since nobody has peripheral vision. XD ->

If you do write a fic, I'd love to read it. I'm feeling a little nostalgic for Dias lately...though if I were to replay, I might try for Ashton. Always felt bad for him, even though I think he would love barrels more than Rena, haha.

I really wish I'd been able to keep my copy of Lunar, now. My brother borrowed it some time ago, moved, then sold it without remembering it belonged to me :,) It was the super special edition copy with all of the trappings, too. >_o Doesn't the game have a very musical element to it, by the way?

Ah! I need lonely, long-haired bishounen in my dramas. Myongnong and Jinmu are close as I get these days. Squealing over Kim Myung Min will be as good, though. His characters are usually lonely. XD

In a way it feels sorta lazy of them, right? Like, they put in this great element but they would *really* prefer you stick to Claude. Perhaps it was to save expenses doing a similar scene for every other character, but still. Probably better off just watching the scenes you wanted on Youtube for now, just as you've chosen. No use getting frustrated when all is there at your fingertips, muhaha. XD I've watched a few endings I was curious about myself, having not felt the need to replay the whole thing for secondary character romances.

Right? Dias clearly loves Rena in his ending, but relies on the fact that she understands him anyway to say it. Ernest, he's always the flirt! XD I seem to recall her having two possible endings with Ernest, though, one that had her go off planet with him. O_o Must be crazy or mistaking it for Celine's. ->

I took it upon myself to check out a few guides (and no doubt, many of them focus solely on straightforward game-play). From what the wiki says, there are *many* mandatory events that affect relationship values. One includes when Leon joins, even temporarily; he raises all points by a point or two in every direction. None of them mention which scenes are compatibility-based or mandatory, either.

I had no idea the game did so much to keep Claude and Rena together; apparently, if you do absolutely nothing and just beat the game, they'll end up together -_-; Makes me feel lucky I've even seen an alternate ending now, honestly. I may try one of the old PS2 guides and see if they're any better~

Right? At least if it does take that long, Nede might still be there >_>

And! I saw a new preview for New Leaf during Cunning Single Lady today. Squealed out loud for joy in front of people <_<

By the way, have you considered the first Star Ocean game? It has less in the way of otome elements and there aren't as many endings or pairs to achieve, but I think you'd have fun tracking down the PAs and characters. There were a few combinations I always found really cute.

No reason to feel guilty! A discussion with you is pretty much guaranteed fun for me. Plus, I'm glad to be of some service. It isn't often someone asks for advice about video games. Only club members may request such treatment. XD

Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting you've not reached the later events just yet. It'll probably be more fun to do it this way the first time, experimenting and using what you know to try to do it organically. If all else fails, you can always keep a save file situated before those events and go back. But should the fortuneteller be trustworthy, that sounds as though you've got Dias in the lead now.

Good thinking! While locked endings might prevent either of them from stealing Rena, they'd still take priority in those value-based scenes. ->

Have you found a guide which lists which scenes influence or are influenced by RP/FP? I remember there being one that did as much for the PS2 release, though who knows how applicable it might be to the PSP version. Perhaps that would be helpful to you.

It's probably fine to reset Claude, especially if it appears he's tied with Dias. That means that Claude will stagnate at that level. But what about resetting Claude yet again just before that scene? After the required grinding, you'd pretty much be guaranteed Dias. I just think it's funny that the designers put that in as a way to adjust values; they totally knew their game would require a ton of grinding. XD

Oh! I didn't mean that I'd have known it four years ago, though. Just a comment on how old I'm getting, haha. To be honest, I've played this game within the last two years <_< My memory is just poor, kekeke.