7'Scarlet: Sosuke good ending
Feb. 23rd, 2021 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I was going to do all the bad ends first but I did Isora's and they were all boring. The only one with much to it was the Tragic Love ending, which was effectively bittersweet but had a very similar plot to the Good End.
So, on to Sosuke! His route was sweet. He is broadly your typical uptight paternalistic nerdy Glasses Guy, but less tropey and more like an actual person who happens to have those traits. Also while he's more paternalistic than I like it felt less gendered than with Isora and Hino since he's kinda like that with everyone.
As with all the routes so far, he and Ichiko seemed to genuinely enjoy each other's company, care about each other, and have a bunch of UST. The writing's not quite as satisfyingly feelingsy as the best otome but I'm still having some feels. And the mystery stuff is definitely building to something, I'm quite excited to keep going!
I like kuuderes anyway, so was expecting him to be fun romance wise but after the Toa route I am also curious to find out his Dark Secrets.
I checked out an extra little scene with Yuki and he changes the subject every time Ichiko brings up his parents HMM.
Sosuke talks in a fairly monotone voice and goes off on a rambling tangent about the nature of humanity and medical science, then apologises for it. He's a bit arrogant in that I Am Rational way but not a total jerk about it.
Ha he doesn't want Ichiko to share his drink bottle because it'd be an indirect kiss and offers to pour it into her mouth instead. She thinks he's being silly and just grabs it. He talks about being a neat freak who doesn't like germs.
Ichiko: Oh, I'm sorry!
Sosuke: No, I want to get over it. This can be a first step. *stares at the rim for a moment, then drinks* It would be great if I could drink from cups others have drunk from besides you...
Ichiko: What?
Sosuke: Nothing.
OMG did he have a LIFE CHANGING CHILDHOOD MOMENT with a SHARED CUP when she was 8 and he was 12
Ha just as I was thinking he was more sweet and awkward than the usual domm-y glasses guy I initially read him as...
Sosuke: You want to go to the summer festival? I'll go with you. Meet me at the bookstore at 6pm sharp. No dress code. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring as much money as you like, but shall we both bring the equivalent of 300 yen of snacks?
Ichiko: Sosuke, they sell a ton of food at festivals, I don't think we need snacks.
Sosuke, with exactly the same flat tone as always: I know, I was joking. With that decided...
And then he just WALKS OFF. Amazing.
Flashback: Teen!Sosuke finds child!Ichiko lost and injured in the forest.
Ichiko: Ah, a monster!
Sosuke: No, they're further up. We have to get out of here.
He does a very nice job of calming her down, fixing her cut, and carrying her to safety, and it's sweet. But game, I do not want to ship a 12 year old and an 8 year old, please let him not develop feelings until later.
Oh man this is totally why he became a medical student with an interest in being good at difficult hikes. It's a little weird how she defined all these guys' lives!
Sosuke's all "I've never been to a festival before and am a little nervous and unsure how this is supposed to be fun. But I'm determined to enjoy it and will leave it to you to show me how." Ichiko is determined to be a good guide, it's cute. He says his parents never took him to one I wonder if they were like...John Winchester-y driven zombie hunters.
Ichiko neither enjoys nor understand Sosuke's science infodumps :( But she does share his interest in more philosophical subjects like the nature of life and death, fringe science to do with eternal life etc. Since the game has ZERO interest in discussing her or Hino's majors, I've decided she's majoring in philosophy or maybe religious studies.
They both have moments of being quietly, awkwardly blushy about each other while being oblivious to the attraction being mutual, it's adorable.
He offers to help her investigate her brother but as on earlier routes noone around town remembers him. Unlike other routes, he suggests they go into the Forbidden Mountains. They are marked off with shimenawa, ritual ropes used for purification.
Sosuke: Someone's coming, let's hide in the shrine. Shh. Stop squirming. *holds her tighter*
Ichiko: *has confused but intense heterosexual awakening*
???: All the way out here...I thought we were the hunters not the hunted. If this gets out to the public the meaning of our existence will be questioned.
And then Sosuke gasps and starts shaking and won't let Ichiko look. It turns out there's a dead body.
Ichiko can tell he's upset so goes exploring by herself the next day. I was sure she'd get stabbed but no! The forest is just VERY CREEPY. On the way back she's interrogated by the vigilance committee and Sosuke shows up and says "She's with me".
He admits to her that he grew up here, but has been hiding it to avoid seeing his family, who he cut himself off from once he got a scholarship to study in Tokyo.
Ichiko: I may be overstepping my bounds but...you should see them while you're here. What if this is your last chance to speak to your father?
Me: Uuurgh. They better not have a heart-warming reconciliation.
Sosuke: It's too late for that, he's dead.
Me: :D
Ichiko: Oh no I'm sorry D: Well, um...you could burn incense...
Sosuke: It's too early for that. They need to have a wake first.
HIS DAD WAS THE DEAD BODY
In a soft, weak voice he asks Ichiko to stay and keep him company after the wake.
He explains WHY he cut off his dad: as a kid he was so proud of his dad being in the vigilance committee. Until he followed his dad on one of his late night excursions...and saw the committee drag a man away from a restaurant and MURDER HIM. Was that ISORA'S DAD??
Ok then I was excited and played through to the end let's see...
Ichiko insists on following Sosuke onto the mountain though he wants her to stay where it's safe. He says the day after seeing his father kill, he explored and found a hidden field of beautiful purple flowers. A man was standing there, radiating death and seeming to suck the colour from the world, and Sosuke ran. Something about the man reminds Sosuke of how Ichiko described her brother, though he would have been too young at the time.
They're stopped by the committee, and Sosuke demands answers about his dad. At first they insist Sosuke visit the Murakumo mansion alone, but then recognise something in Ichiko and let her come too.
Yuzuki's dad dresses like an Edo era samurai, long hair and all, and is just as cold and mean as Yuzuki. When Sosuke asks if Yuzuki is involved in all this his dad scoffs and says he's useless, aw.
The Vigilance Committee's true purpose is to exterminate the revenants that rise every summer (!) from the corpses of the town's recent dead (ALL the recent dead??) Their real name is the Ensupulchers, which means "one who entombs". In Japanese they're saying something like "Shisogumi", afaict shiso=revenant and gumi= brigade so it's the Corpse Corps :D
Sosuke finds out his dad was killing a revenant, not an innocent man, and has messy feelings. Revenants are killed by covering them in salt and setting them on fire, otherwise they regenerate.
Yuzuki's dad makes vague comments about Ichiko's 'power' meaning it's her destiny to attract revenants, but doesn't explain. He does give her a notebook they found a year ago in the mountains. In it is the single word "Hanate", which was apparently her brother's name. I assume this only being revealed so late means the name is significant but I don't know how.
He asks them both to join the Ensupulchers, to get revenge for their lost family. When Sosuke objects to putting a woman in danger Yusuki's dad says they don't discriminate based on gender. Aw, what a progressive shady ancient murder cult!
I'm guessing the same meeting happened on all the other routes, just without Ichiko, which is why Sosuke knows so much in the Toa route.
Back at the hotel, Ichiko is attacked by Catface in the dark. Everyone runs out to check on her. Sosuke hugs her and says he loves her and can't stand to see her hurt, they share a sweet moment and she asks him to stay and I'm honestly not sure if they had sex? I don't think so, but it wouldn't change much if they did. They're cute around each other the next day.
There's a whole One Of Us Is A Murderer thing with Clues and Red Herrings which was entertainingly done. Yuki is set up as the primary suspect and even if I hadn't known the real answer surely Ichiko would have noticed if her attacker was like 4 foot tall. But in the end Sosuke manages to corner Kagura with the holes in his alibi and he goes all BWAHAHAHA YES IT WAS MEEEEEE and brings out a knife. He tries to stab Ichiko but Sosuke takes the blow.
Luckily Yasu already called the committee for backup and they capture Kagura. Sosuke gets Intense and threatens him with the knife while Ichiko tries to get him to back down.
Kagura: Are you going to kill me with that knife? Go ahead. But know that you don't understand anything. Never bury anything you don't understand. That's the grave mistake this town has been built on.
I wonder if this line is as punny in Japanese.
Sosuke: Did you kill my father?
Kazuya: I've got no idea what you're talking about, Mr Father Complex ;P
Ensupulcher: Stab him if you like. He'll regenerate, but he feels pain.
Sosuke drops the knife and walks away. He is not his father. He refuses to join the Ensupulchers. Instead he will return to Tokyo with Ichiko and they will move forward with their lives, in the way they choose.
He takes her to the mountain one last time and shows her the flowers, saying the day he first saw them, he found a lost little girl on the way down. He gave her a flower he'd dug up (an evil corpse flower?? knowing the legends??) and then helped her back home. Helping her made him feel like he'd atoned for his father, and made him realise he wanted to dedicate his life to helping people.
He notes idly that she kinda looked like Ichiko, but doesn't realise they're the same person, and does not seem to have spent the last 12 years fixated on an 8 year old he met one time when he was 12. Hooray!
Ichiko thinks about how the flowers look like one she had in her garden as a child that had beautiful purple blossoms every summer.
They share a nice kiss.
The post credit scene has no words, and is just the "treasure box" of memories we've seen before fully opening.
THE END
That was really nice! Curious to see if Yuzuki is deep down as nice as all the other dudes have turned out to be. Even more curious to see how they make Kagura a remotely workable love interest when he's so fixated on murdering Ichiko as nastily as possible.
The title screen started out just showing Isora, Hino, and Ichiko, then every time a new guy unlocked he was added. It's now showing all 5 main love interests, but not in the order used in the image I stole from someone else's review to put in the masterlist post.
I was going to do all the bad ends first but I did Isora's and they were all boring. The only one with much to it was the Tragic Love ending, which was effectively bittersweet but had a very similar plot to the Good End.
So, on to Sosuke! His route was sweet. He is broadly your typical uptight paternalistic nerdy Glasses Guy, but less tropey and more like an actual person who happens to have those traits. Also while he's more paternalistic than I like it felt less gendered than with Isora and Hino since he's kinda like that with everyone.
As with all the routes so far, he and Ichiko seemed to genuinely enjoy each other's company, care about each other, and have a bunch of UST. The writing's not quite as satisfyingly feelingsy as the best otome but I'm still having some feels. And the mystery stuff is definitely building to something, I'm quite excited to keep going!
I like kuuderes anyway, so was expecting him to be fun romance wise but after the Toa route I am also curious to find out his Dark Secrets.
I checked out an extra little scene with Yuki and he changes the subject every time Ichiko brings up his parents HMM.
Sosuke talks in a fairly monotone voice and goes off on a rambling tangent about the nature of humanity and medical science, then apologises for it. He's a bit arrogant in that I Am Rational way but not a total jerk about it.
Ha he doesn't want Ichiko to share his drink bottle because it'd be an indirect kiss and offers to pour it into her mouth instead. She thinks he's being silly and just grabs it. He talks about being a neat freak who doesn't like germs.
Ichiko: Oh, I'm sorry!
Sosuke: No, I want to get over it. This can be a first step. *stares at the rim for a moment, then drinks* It would be great if I could drink from cups others have drunk from besides you...
Ichiko: What?
Sosuke: Nothing.
OMG did he have a LIFE CHANGING CHILDHOOD MOMENT with a SHARED CUP when she was 8 and he was 12
Ha just as I was thinking he was more sweet and awkward than the usual domm-y glasses guy I initially read him as...
Sosuke: You want to go to the summer festival? I'll go with you. Meet me at the bookstore at 6pm sharp. No dress code. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring as much money as you like, but shall we both bring the equivalent of 300 yen of snacks?
Ichiko: Sosuke, they sell a ton of food at festivals, I don't think we need snacks.
Sosuke, with exactly the same flat tone as always: I know, I was joking. With that decided...
And then he just WALKS OFF. Amazing.
Flashback: Teen!Sosuke finds child!Ichiko lost and injured in the forest.
Ichiko: Ah, a monster!
Sosuke: No, they're further up. We have to get out of here.
He does a very nice job of calming her down, fixing her cut, and carrying her to safety, and it's sweet. But game, I do not want to ship a 12 year old and an 8 year old, please let him not develop feelings until later.
Oh man this is totally why he became a medical student with an interest in being good at difficult hikes. It's a little weird how she defined all these guys' lives!
Sosuke's all "I've never been to a festival before and am a little nervous and unsure how this is supposed to be fun. But I'm determined to enjoy it and will leave it to you to show me how." Ichiko is determined to be a good guide, it's cute. He says his parents never took him to one I wonder if they were like...John Winchester-y driven zombie hunters.
Ichiko neither enjoys nor understand Sosuke's science infodumps :( But she does share his interest in more philosophical subjects like the nature of life and death, fringe science to do with eternal life etc. Since the game has ZERO interest in discussing her or Hino's majors, I've decided she's majoring in philosophy or maybe religious studies.
They both have moments of being quietly, awkwardly blushy about each other while being oblivious to the attraction being mutual, it's adorable.
He offers to help her investigate her brother but as on earlier routes noone around town remembers him. Unlike other routes, he suggests they go into the Forbidden Mountains. They are marked off with shimenawa, ritual ropes used for purification.
Sosuke: Someone's coming, let's hide in the shrine. Shh. Stop squirming. *holds her tighter*
Ichiko: *has confused but intense heterosexual awakening*
???: All the way out here...I thought we were the hunters not the hunted. If this gets out to the public the meaning of our existence will be questioned.
And then Sosuke gasps and starts shaking and won't let Ichiko look. It turns out there's a dead body.
Ichiko can tell he's upset so goes exploring by herself the next day. I was sure she'd get stabbed but no! The forest is just VERY CREEPY. On the way back she's interrogated by the vigilance committee and Sosuke shows up and says "She's with me".
He admits to her that he grew up here, but has been hiding it to avoid seeing his family, who he cut himself off from once he got a scholarship to study in Tokyo.
Ichiko: I may be overstepping my bounds but...you should see them while you're here. What if this is your last chance to speak to your father?
Me: Uuurgh. They better not have a heart-warming reconciliation.
Sosuke: It's too late for that, he's dead.
Me: :D
Ichiko: Oh no I'm sorry D: Well, um...you could burn incense...
Sosuke: It's too early for that. They need to have a wake first.
HIS DAD WAS THE DEAD BODY
In a soft, weak voice he asks Ichiko to stay and keep him company after the wake.
He explains WHY he cut off his dad: as a kid he was so proud of his dad being in the vigilance committee. Until he followed his dad on one of his late night excursions...and saw the committee drag a man away from a restaurant and MURDER HIM. Was that ISORA'S DAD??
Ok then I was excited and played through to the end let's see...
Ichiko insists on following Sosuke onto the mountain though he wants her to stay where it's safe. He says the day after seeing his father kill, he explored and found a hidden field of beautiful purple flowers. A man was standing there, radiating death and seeming to suck the colour from the world, and Sosuke ran. Something about the man reminds Sosuke of how Ichiko described her brother, though he would have been too young at the time.
They're stopped by the committee, and Sosuke demands answers about his dad. At first they insist Sosuke visit the Murakumo mansion alone, but then recognise something in Ichiko and let her come too.
Yuzuki's dad dresses like an Edo era samurai, long hair and all, and is just as cold and mean as Yuzuki. When Sosuke asks if Yuzuki is involved in all this his dad scoffs and says he's useless, aw.
The Vigilance Committee's true purpose is to exterminate the revenants that rise every summer (!) from the corpses of the town's recent dead (ALL the recent dead??) Their real name is the Ensupulchers, which means "one who entombs". In Japanese they're saying something like "Shisogumi", afaict shiso=revenant and gumi= brigade so it's the Corpse Corps :D
Sosuke finds out his dad was killing a revenant, not an innocent man, and has messy feelings. Revenants are killed by covering them in salt and setting them on fire, otherwise they regenerate.
Yuzuki's dad makes vague comments about Ichiko's 'power' meaning it's her destiny to attract revenants, but doesn't explain. He does give her a notebook they found a year ago in the mountains. In it is the single word "Hanate", which was apparently her brother's name. I assume this only being revealed so late means the name is significant but I don't know how.
He asks them both to join the Ensupulchers, to get revenge for their lost family. When Sosuke objects to putting a woman in danger Yusuki's dad says they don't discriminate based on gender. Aw, what a progressive shady ancient murder cult!
I'm guessing the same meeting happened on all the other routes, just without Ichiko, which is why Sosuke knows so much in the Toa route.
Back at the hotel, Ichiko is attacked by Catface in the dark. Everyone runs out to check on her. Sosuke hugs her and says he loves her and can't stand to see her hurt, they share a sweet moment and she asks him to stay and I'm honestly not sure if they had sex? I don't think so, but it wouldn't change much if they did. They're cute around each other the next day.
There's a whole One Of Us Is A Murderer thing with Clues and Red Herrings which was entertainingly done. Yuki is set up as the primary suspect and even if I hadn't known the real answer surely Ichiko would have noticed if her attacker was like 4 foot tall. But in the end Sosuke manages to corner Kagura with the holes in his alibi and he goes all BWAHAHAHA YES IT WAS MEEEEEE and brings out a knife. He tries to stab Ichiko but Sosuke takes the blow.
Luckily Yasu already called the committee for backup and they capture Kagura. Sosuke gets Intense and threatens him with the knife while Ichiko tries to get him to back down.
Kagura: Are you going to kill me with that knife? Go ahead. But know that you don't understand anything. Never bury anything you don't understand. That's the grave mistake this town has been built on.
I wonder if this line is as punny in Japanese.
Sosuke: Did you kill my father?
Kazuya: I've got no idea what you're talking about, Mr Father Complex ;P
Ensupulcher: Stab him if you like. He'll regenerate, but he feels pain.
Sosuke drops the knife and walks away. He is not his father. He refuses to join the Ensupulchers. Instead he will return to Tokyo with Ichiko and they will move forward with their lives, in the way they choose.
He takes her to the mountain one last time and shows her the flowers, saying the day he first saw them, he found a lost little girl on the way down. He gave her a flower he'd dug up (an evil corpse flower?? knowing the legends??) and then helped her back home. Helping her made him feel like he'd atoned for his father, and made him realise he wanted to dedicate his life to helping people.
He notes idly that she kinda looked like Ichiko, but doesn't realise they're the same person, and does not seem to have spent the last 12 years fixated on an 8 year old he met one time when he was 12. Hooray!
Ichiko thinks about how the flowers look like one she had in her garden as a child that had beautiful purple blossoms every summer.
They share a nice kiss.
The post credit scene has no words, and is just the "treasure box" of memories we've seen before fully opening.
THE END
That was really nice! Curious to see if Yuzuki is deep down as nice as all the other dudes have turned out to be. Even more curious to see how they make Kagura a remotely workable love interest when he's so fixated on murdering Ichiko as nastily as possible.
The title screen started out just showing Isora, Hino, and Ichiko, then every time a new guy unlocked he was added. It's now showing all 5 main love interests, but not in the order used in the image I stole from someone else's review to put in the masterlist post.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-24 03:03 am (UTC)Me: Uuurgh. They better not have a heart-warming reconciliation.
Sosuke: It's too late for that, he's dead.
Me: :D
Ichiko: Oh no I'm sorry D: Well, um...you could burn incense...
Sosuke: It's too early for that. They need to have a wake first.
HIS DAD WAS THE DEAD BODY
＝＝＝
loooool jeeze I'd dying! I'm pretty sure this game is not supposed to be a comedy? But these writeups are so entertaining.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-27 08:50 am (UTC)Some of it is meant to be funny! I think this part was meant to be a little funny but more in a sort of horrified laughter "wow, ok then Sosuke, that's not how most people would explain that" way.