Atelier Log I’m trying to make my own visual novel(s) (development blog here), so while working on the early stages of that I’ve also been playing a lot of VNs to get inspiration and tastes for their usual structure. And I mean, also because I love visual novels. They’re such a fun, unique form of storytelling, I feel.
The one I’m currently playing through is a demo of Zodiac Axis by Studio Theophilus. it’s a mystery story utilizing some Chinese mythology and so far pretty compelling. It has bits of romance in it as well, but that’s a given since I’m this interested (￣ω￣) Romance is a huge deal to me and I generally find it hard to be engaged in a story if there’s absolutely none. (Not that I won’t be interested without romance, it’s just a little bit harder.) I feel like Zodiac Axis balances mystery and romance very well from what I could tell in just a demo, and how far I got, at least. And it helps that the characters are all pretty interesting in various ways! It seems to me that one of the central themes is the idea that everyone has secrets, or at least things they don’t let out into the public eye; that people may not be what they seem, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad people. I would like to play the full version when it comes out, but we’ll see if I can afford it （ ; ; ） I would like to see where this story goes!!! At least it won’t be released until 2020 or so, so I guess there’s time if I really do want it.
I’d like to say I’ve made more progress on my own VNs than I actually have, but I cannot. That isn’t to say I’ve made no progress, but it’s been slow and very gradual. It’s just me working on them, after all, and I unfortunately can’t devote 100% of my time to them. Especially when I’m not even convinced anyone will want to read/play them.
But slow progress is still progress, right? ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)
Since I finished Fairy Tail and liked it so much, I decided to check out Hiro Mashima’s other works, and the one he has currently running is Eden’s Zero.
It is similar to Fairy Tail in a lot of ways, including some character names and designs, which is funny for me having just come off FT. The main characters remind me of Natsu and Lucy a lot, but maybe that’s to be expected if it’s by the same mangaka, plus I think they might be meant to be expies. It’s a clever way to write a story, that way you don’t have to design a slew of new characters lol
To be honest I may like Rebecca just a liiiiittle more than Lucy but I love them both. Mashima writes really good/fun characters ok. The story overall is more science-fantasy than straight up fantasy like FT was. I still like it a lot though.
Speaking of reading, on top of the novels I’m currently blasting though (almost finished with Caught in the Devil’s Hand!), I picked up some self-help books that I’m really hoping will help me be a better… me. Make Your Bed by William McRaven; Organizing Solutions for People With ADHD by Susan Pinsky; and The Queen of Distraction: How Women with ADHD Can Conquer Chaos, Find Focus, and Get More Done by Terry Matlen.
My biggest problem is best summed up as I am EXTREMELY LAZY (whether that means distracted/hyperfocused, unmotivated, forgetful, low-energy, etc… it’s a blanket term…), so I really need to get my butt up and moving and get stuff done. I’m trying, at least. I want to live a happy life. So here’s hoping these books will help me!
Yesterday (Monday the 19th) I got in contact with someone I haven’t spoken to in a long while, who was something between a friend and an honorary grandma to me. She was hired to help take care of things when I was about 15-16, because my Oma was dying and my Opa wanted more help around the house. We became really close and she was someone I always deeply confided in. But I’m bad at keeping up contact with people so it’s been at least two years since I last spoke with her. It was nice to catch up and hear that she’s doing fairly well; I think about her often and I know she thinks the world of me. I told her I would try harder to keep in contact, I hope I can keep up with that ヽ(´～｀；）
As long as she stops mentioning the horror of the death of my Opa, I should be good…
Anyway, I hope everyone has a good week!!! love <3