Project Sakura Discussion Thread

Visual Novel Community Anime/Otaku Discussions
#281

Here’s what I had in mind:

Iris wakes up in the morning and looks over to see Brant and Eri in bed with her. She gets up and rings for her breakfast. When it arrives, it’s being carried in by Brant’s older sister instead of one of the servants. She had come to discuss some family business with Iris and offered to bring it herself. When she notices that the covers have partly fallen away from the sleeping Brant and Eri, she goes over to the bed and pulls them back up.

“It’s not good for a sister to see her little brother naked,” she explains.

“What about a cousin?” Iris replies slyly.

“I’m only speaking for myself,” she replies. “What other people get up to is no concern of mind.”

But it’s obvious that she does mind, because she feels protective of her little brother, and fears that Iris is having a corrupting influence on him. But she lets it pass and gets down to the business she came to discuss.

And that’s all I have. If you like it, take it from there. (Although I’m not sure how you’d take a menage between Iris, Eri and Brant. I’ve been watching too much OniAi, I guess)

Sorry I took so long to get around to this, but life has been keeping me busy lately, and I haven’t been monitoring the BBS much. Well, I’ve got my own story to work on, so jaa naa.

#282

If that’s some of what you are borrowing them for, go ahead. I’ll do the leading to why they in the same bed. Then after the talking if you do the talking of family business and such.

I check here rarely too.

#283

That sounds good.

I’m currently busy with a current story, so I won’t be able to get back to it for now. So you have plenty of time to explain how they ended up in bed together. You know, someday I’d like to do a harem story, just for laughs.

#284

Great.

I’ll start on the why probably this weekend or something, I’ll do it though. That would be funny and exciting. And as of this post I am drunk.

#285

I made a slight mistake in this last story. I wanted to include a few lines contrasting the appearance of Kokoro her white kimono versus Kuchisake in her black one. You see, Kokoro’s outfit is bright and new and clean, and she, herself, has been purified by her bath. Kuchisake’s clothes, on the other hand, are dark and old and possibly dirty, since everything about Kuchisake hints of age and decay. I wanted to conjure up an image of good versus evil here. True, Kokoro is a thief, a liar, a drug-dealer, and corrupter of morals, but she’s a good person, while, Kuchisake is rotten through and through, even though she hasn’t actually hurt many of the other characters-yet. I mean, she really is rotten. I wonder if she wears gloves? I’ve never thought about it before, but, you know, her hands probably don’t look too good.
Well, in any event, the contrast I intended should be obvious when the visual novel comes out.

#286

Well, this last post was, of course, a Lovecraft-inspired homage. Homage, as you know, is the French for ¬ërip-off.’ Things always sound so much better in French, don’t they?
But does this mean that a trepanning zombie is now roaming the streets of Moriyoh? What do you think, Chaos?
A couple of weeks ago, I went to ColossalCon in Sandusky, to help a friend of mine sell cat ears and fox tails to the cosplayers and score a couple of hard-to-find DVDs for myself. This was our third year at ColossalCon-just two dirty old men looking for panty shots as it were. But you know, all of the good stuff at these cons take place way after my bedtime. However this time I stayed up fri night to attend a presentation on dera ¬ñfrom tsun to yan-in anime; a topic of some interest to me. But there’s only so much you can say about female stereotypes in Japanimation so the moderators were pretty much done with the subject about twenty minutes in and the rest of the time was spent dicking around doing Google searches. The first few were on topic, i.e., searching for examples of dera, but then they started typing the word ¬ëhentai’ in the search box and inviting the audience to supply a second word. You know, ¬ëhentai Pokemon,’ ¬ë hentai Sailor Moon’, ¬ëhentai futa’ and so on. The topic search that got the biggest rise out of the audience, tho, was ¬ëhentai McDonald’s,’ where, among other images, we were treated to the sight of the Wendy’s mascot exposing herself to Ronald McDonald who was on his knees, being bored by the Burger King.
It was all silly fun, and no one was offended except the guy coming in to do a talk on ultra-violent manga the next hour. He evidently considered the porn distasteful in comparison to his topic: the purity of graphic violence.

#287

I’m sorry for my disappearance. Anyway,I’ve no idea yet what or when my next post will be, I decided to scarp my previous one. as for a trepanning zombie…that would make them an infected not a zombie. Makes that zombie even more dangerous.

#288

I’ve been reading a book called Pandemonium and Parade : Japanese monsters and the culture of Yokai by Michael Dylan Foster (University of California Press, 2009). It’s a bit turgid, so I won’t say that I’d recommend it to anyone, but since it covers the subject of Japanese folk monsters, a subject I’m interested in, it’s news I can use. Along with the traditional ogres, mountain hags, kappa and whatnot, the author has a few things to say about our lovely friend, Kuchisake. And although I’ve been characterizing her as a deathless ghoul with an apocalyptic agenda, that’s just me. In fact, as an urban myth, the “real” Kuchisake only goes back as far as the 1970s, when she started appearing on the streets of various cities in Japan, threatening children and single men. Although she was at that time a “new” monster, some commentators tried to connect her with Izanami, the distaff half of that fun couple who invented Japan, Izanagi and Izanami, in her aspect as the goddess of death. On the other hand, a Japanese woman who used to work with me believed that Kuchisake was a real person, but not supernatural. Just a disfigured crazy woman. According to Foster, the peak of Kuchisake’s popularity came in 1979. She was discussed in all the papers (especially the sports papers for some reason) and on TV. There was even a song written about her (I think it was called, “Catch That Woman”) and performed on TV by a group of three girl singers wearing surgical masks. There was an album planned, but just before it was released, the producer got a phone call from a woman claiming to be “the” Kuchisake, who threatened him with dire consequences if it was, so he scuttled the project. Truth? Who knows, but maybe I can work it into my story somehow.
I’ve been looking at this list of new “someday” releases Jlist just put out, and I have to admit I’m a little excited. I’ve been fascinated by Steins.Gate for some time now, so I’m looking forward to that one, and Ryoko’s (?) Bitch Days is just what we need, another game about a promiscuous school teachers. I’m mostly looking forward to Raidy III, however. I want to see how this business of her combining with the monsters is going to work. But, I’m an old man, and I just hope I live long enough to see any of these titles. Jlist should take that into account.

#289

Interesting. I’m going to try and begin hashing out something, I’ve been dry on the thinking stories up department in my brain.

#290

Well I’m sure you’ll find your Muse sooner or later. Right now, I’ve got another project going on, so I might be la little late with my next story. One thought. Do you remember that the Moriyoh police are roughly equally divided between those who are loyal to the Otera family and those who are aligned with Saitama, the right wing politician and yakusa boss, who sponsors the tank police? Consider Dirty Hairu, the police bar, as a possible setting for a story. I always find it works to put the characters someplace and have them work out the story for themselves.

#291

I did do that didn’t I. Hmm I hate myself. I’ll try and start something.

#292

As I was driving to work this morning, I found myself stopped at a light, behind a truck with one of those vanity plates that read: RABDMLF.
Now, I have no idea what special meaning RABDMLF had for the owner of that truck, but to me it said-loud and clear-Rabid MILF!
“Wow! The worst kind,” I said to myself.
But, you know, I got to thinking-just what would a rabid MILF be like: a chijo with a heightened libido? Or an everyday mother and housewife who goes around biting everyone in sight? Hmmm, maybe someone could make a game out of that-sort of like the Ultimate Barrage Shooting arcade game in Professor Cherry.

Well, the Halloween season is upon us, but, instead of playing a game of Bible Black (which-now that I think about it-is really more appropriate for the month of April, anyway), I’ve decided to reacquaint myself with those old Universal monsters (you know, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy) that were a big part of my youth. Last weekend I saw Frankenstein. I haven’t seen it in several decades, but it was still just as wonderfully scary (although also unavoidably campy) as the first time I saw it on TV when I was nine years old. Right now I’m watching The Bride of Frankenstein, which-in my opinion-is the best horror movie ever made. Next up is Dracula’s Daughter, a 1936 sequel (or sorts) to Lugosi’s Dracula. It’s not as well-known as some other 1930s movies, but it should be-if only for the faint whiff of lesbianism that hangs over it. There was a sort of whacked-off re-make of it (with a lesbian scene) in the nineties called Nadja, which starred Peter Fonda and Van Helsing. Throughout the movie the characters are prone to making declarative statements that have absolutely nothing to do with what’s going on in the scene. It’s as if they’re all caught up in their own little worlds while Nadjia slowly drains the blood out of them. It’s at once tediously arty and kind of cool.

#293

Interesting and I so need to get my ass to try and write something up, maybe when I read a book. I’ll be motivated.

#294

I probably should explain why my latest post isn’t part of the regular Project Sakura continuity. A while ago, I was surfing the net and came across a screen shot of the first page of a manga by Yamatogawa called “Witchcraft.” It depicts this guy who’s waking up after spending the whole night in his club room at school. Fearing he’ll be later for class, he rushes off, failing to notice a calendar with “Girls’ Festival- No boys allowed” written next to the date. Well, I got kind of obsessed with the whole idea, but since the chances are I’ll never read the original manga, I decided to write up my own version. I’d hoped to have it done in time for Halloween, but couldn’t manage it. Still, I don’t think being a little late spoils it. I hasten to add that none of the characters mentioned in this story, nor the school, nor the unnamed narrator are part of Project Sakura; it’s entirely stand-alone.
This was my first foray into writing eroge, and whether or not I did a good job or not’s for you to decide, but it seemed like the story demanded some explicit sex scenes. Plus, I had just come off a Professor Cherry marathon, so I was in the mood. The notion that all women are witches I borrowed from Fritz Leiber’s classic "Conjure Wife, and I doubt that the idea was original with him. I asked the Wife if there was any truth in it, but she just clammed up. Mum’s the word.

#295

Sorry it took me so long to post another story after that little Halloween number, but, you know, the holidays and all that. Plus, the characters wouldn’t speak to me for a long time after that. It was fun to write an all-out explicit story, but I don’t expect to do that again anytime soon. I hope that doesn’t disappoint anyone.
Learned an interesting term recently: onna bugeisha. Onna, of course, means woman. Geisha, as I recall, means Art Person, and that usually brings to mind entertainers trained in the fine or erotic arts. But the bu- means warrior, as in bushido. Put ¬ëem all together and you get a phrase that describes a female fighter, or Woman Warrior, bringing to mind all those female martial artists, sailor soldiers and sentai warriors you see in anime all the time. But in this case, onna bugeisha refers to real persons in Japanese history who really were top fighters. Empress Jingu, who conquered Korea, was one. And during the Kamakura and civil wars periods women were frequently called upon to defend their families or villages while their men were away threatening someone else’s family or village. So in consequence, many women became skilled in the martial arts-bugeisha-and some of them became legendary: Tomoe Gozen was the wife of Minamoto Yoshinaka of the Minamoto clan during the Genpei War and a real life Ikkitosen by all accounts. She could ride, shoot a bow and swing a sword with the best of them. The story is that in one battle she took out the enemy’s fiercest warrior with one blow. Minamoto made her his first captain and had her lead the charge whenever a battle was imminent. (But I have to wonder if he wasn’t trying to free himself of such a fierce bitch as well). Another one was Hojo Masako, who was the wife of Minamoto Yoritomo, when he died, she became a nun, as was expected of the wife of a slain samurai, but that didn’t stop her from keeping her hand in things, and in fact she was referred to as the general in nun’s habit.
So you see, while all these girls in anime, jumping around, flashing their panties and battle scars, may look like just a silly fantasy, they are based on hard, historical fact.

#296

Sorry it’s taken so long for me to post this latest exciting episode of the eternal struggle between good and evil and cat girls,but it’s been a long winter.

This time I introduce two new female characters into a story that’s already top heavy [obvious gag] with female characters, Gamine and Delilah. If you look up the definition of a ‘gamine’ in the Wikipedia, you’ll find that it describes an innocent, but precociously sexual, young woman. A girl on the cusp of womanhood as it were–in other words, a lolita. and this is my sop to all you lolicons out there. My original plan was for Gamine to be the lead character, with Delilah secondary-- making the occasional wisecrack. But it’s the characters who tell the story, and frequently take over the story. I kind of liked Delilah’s open sensuality, so I sort of let her take over. additionally, in order for me to catch myself up with Chinpo’s troubles, it was necessary to go back and review the last story he was in: Reunions. In the process, I did a substantial re-write, so you might want to go back and read that one, too. I’ll try not to wait so long for the next story and I promise to give Gamine a larger part.

#297

Well, another grievously late post, I’m afraid, but it’s been a busy summer, and I haven’t had a lot of time or energy to put into writing. The Wife’s favorite Disney princess is Mulan and just the other night we were watching it for the umpteenth time I suppose, when I noticed for the first time that one of the characters in the movie is named Chinpo. Really! I never got that before, but I briefly if I was influenced by Mulan movie when I got around to naming my character, but I think not. I’m pretty sure my Chinpo came from those Soft On Demand nanpa videos where the guy waves his Johnson in front of the girl and gets her to say what’s it’s called in Japanese. Besides, the two characters are nothing alike. Disney’s Chinpo is a soft, doughy, Buddha-like character while my Chinpo is a younger, swashbuckling version of myself. Of course I have to wonder what the Disney writers were up to. We know that ¬ëchinpo’ means penis in Japanese, but what does it mean in Chinese? Was Disney having a little joke at China’s expense?
The legend of Mulan, you know, is one of the oldest stories in all of Chinese literature and as such has undergone more changes than the DC universe. You may remember that in the Disney move, Mulan saves China from the Mongols and is rewarded by the Emperor himself. Ironically, though, in one of the more famous versions of the story, the Emperor is a Mongol and Mulan is sent against Han rebels. Also, I have to wonder how the Disney movie played in Ulan Bator.
On a related note, I received a newsletter in my email from Jlist this morning where PP goes on at length about the presence of cross-dressing characters in anime, and you would certainly have to include Mulan in that group. I wonder how transvestites there have been altogether in anime. I’m betting a lot. Ever see that episode of Slayers where the heroes encounter a whole village of women, because the queen there declared that all male children should be put to death for some reason? But the queen doesn’t have the heart to kill her own son, so she raises him as a girl, and then it later turns out that half the women in the village are actually males in disguise, because all the other mothers in the village did the same.

#298

How quickly a year passes.
Some of you may remember that last year at this time, I broke with the continuity to try my hand at writing a sex-drenched Halloween story. Well, it was more than that. It was a little ditty employing many of our favorite tropes: the Girl Next Door Who You Have Anal Sex With; the Sexy Teacher; the Secret Witchcraft Club; the Hero with Inexhaustible Genki and a Harem-a ridiculously over-the-top harem. But we still love you, 4-H Coven.
Now it’s one year later and I’m tempted to try it again. I’m working on something , but, like last year, I doubt I’ll finish it in time for Halloween. Maybe by Guy Fawkes, though.

#299

The current post on the Project Sakura page was originally meant to be the “too late for Halloween sex number,” but it turned into the "way way too late for Halloween number, and there’s no sex in it. But there will be next time, have no fear. I originally thought I could write up this episode as a one-parter, but I discovered that I need more room and time to do a little research as we learn a little about the secret life of bunny girls. Also, I’m sorry about Ryo and Xallie, but I figured that as long as I was setting this story back in Moriyoh, I might as well kill off a couple of beloved characters while I was at it-that’s what I do.

#300

Well, in light of recent events, I guess I’d better wind this little story up soon-at least before August. It’s just as well, you know. I figure I’ve colonized this bbs for my own egotistical purposes long enough (although I didn’t start it). The question now is how to do it? These things have to be done very delicately, or you break the spell. I remember that Steven King once mentioned that when he was writing The Stand, he’d put too many characters in the story and they were bogging it down. So he locked half of them in a room and blew it up. After that, he said, things went much smoother. Well, I too, have a lot of characters in my story (“Why do you do that?” the Wife asks. “I don’t know,” I reply. “I just do”), but blowing them up seems a little drastic.
But there will be blood.
A couple of brief comment on this current episode:
I don’t know enka songs as well as I would like, so I pick the songs Esther was singing at the wedding from a list I found online. I don’t even know if they were appropriate to sing at a wedding, bur inappropriate is sort of what Esther is all about. One of them, however, I do know. Ue wo muite arukou, the song she roped Ken into singing with her is the well-know (but inappropriately titled) Sukiyaki, and it’s one of my all-time favorites-right up there with Innagadavida.
I’ve never been to Osaka, so I used the net, of course, to supply me with a little flavor text. If I ever go to Japan, Osaka is one city I’ll be sure to visit, because I wanna eat til I drop. I saw a picture of the Dotonbori, and it looks fascinating. A canal goes through the center, you know, with the streets rising up on either side. You can lean over the rails and watch the boats as they pass by below. If you’ve ever seen the first Ghost in the Shell movie, however, you may remember the scene where the Major is on board a ship passing along the canal when she looks up and sees a woman in a shop that looks exactly like her. It’s a surreal and mysterious event, unless you’ve read the manga, where it explains that the Major’s cybernetic body is a common model she choose to avoid having it body-jacked.