The Oni tackles MuvLuv - a let's play of sorts (Update #45 on 25/08)

[tensai_oni]

Without further ado...

Update #10, where titans clash

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The day starts... with Sumika and Takeru going out already! That was fast.




And totally anti-climactic. It's not just Takeru who needs to study drama.

At least Sumika is working hard for the lacrosse tournament. But she's also being extraordinarily annoying today, so...



Hey, it's been a while.

Retaliation is swift.



Some time later, Meiya wonders why the two look severely out of breath and ready to fall over dead at a moment's notice.



Translation: they chased each other. A lot.




Please, no. We don't need Mitsurugi-brand overkill in this. It's really okay.

Walking to school, we notice the class rep - as well as some other girl.



A bit of an understatement there. Fortunately, Meiya learnt better than to swing her sword haphazardly around since then!

... After remembering Sunday, I retract the statement. She learnt nothing at all.



Suzumiya (no relation to the reality bender) seems too well-adjusted and normal to be in this VN.




Ah, there we go! The ability to totally break Takeru's soul and confidence with words only? That's more like it.



So of course her and Chizuru are close friends.

Our MC decides to offer some verbal encouragement.



And here comes a natural 1 on an empathy roll.



Not this again.

Let's see how our best buddy, bros 4 lyfe Mikoto is doing.



Drowning in letters and confessions. Even more so than usual - I wonder for what reason?

Sumika seems to have an explanation on hand...



All those people wanted to see Mikoto in a swimsuit. And by people I mean both guys and girls, because it's Mikoto.

Unfortunately for them, it's not Free.




Yuuko's class begins. Brace for trolling.



Please don't just make up new animals like that.

Chizuru is asked to solve a Yuuko-brand problem. Only she has the brainpower to do it... but today, the class rep seems distracted.




Yes? What could it be?



That's sudden.

While Sumika and Meiya glare at Takeru for thoughtlessness (or possibly for adding another rival into the triangle), the two retreat towards the corridor. And Yuuko takes down notes related to her theory, I assume.



Ah.

So it was actually about convincing Kei to join the lacrosse team.

Okay.





That was a realistic stance we took there... but also rather heart-breaking.

Classes are over, and Takeru faces his hardest choice yet.



By the way, where is Meiya? The angular hair is nowhere to be seen.



That's a bit worrying.



That's REALLY worrying.

Before they can depart, Takeru spots Tama going off somewhere. A clever plan starts to spark in his mind...






We got her attention! Proceed with emotional manipulation.



Hnngh. That's too cute.



But even properly hyped up, Miki has second thoughts about the plan.



She believes Takeru has to do it himself. Otherwise Ayamine will see it all through.

Considering the track record we had so far? That's pretty likely.




Well, this is up to a swimming start.




Takeru Shirogane, master of persuasion.



Kei is concerned about what effects her presence will have on teamwork. This is in addition to not being able to stand the thought of playing lacrosse in one team with Chizuru, don't get the wrong idea here.

So of course Takeru gets the wrong idea. Or is it an absolutely right one?







After leaving the realm of his own delusions, our protagonist notices Ayamine made herself scarce in the meantime. Curses!



Takahashi's at the school gates for some reason.



Oh yes, the most trustworthy source of information around... ow!




The maids don't like being backtalked. Their response is VIOLENCE.



The maids screwed up (what's new?) so Takahashi takes them home. Takeru decides to walk.

A wise alternative to sharing a vehicle with the three stooges.

Suddenly!



Oh dear.



Is this really happening?



It's happening.




Don't worry for your life Takeru.

Even if you die, this must be one of top 10 ways to depart from this world.




Shortcut! Can you even do that?!





And that's how Takeru got stranded in the middle of nowhere.

It was awesome.

Later - much later, we're back home. Somehow.



The experiences changed Takeru forever. From now on, he will only treat Sumika nicely.

Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what is going to happen.

Speaking of uncharacteristic niceness...



Though something tells me they don't do this out of their own free will. That something (spoilers: it's Tsukuyomi) keeps knocking on the side door, gently reminding the maids of hell they'll be in if they don't apologize.




Okay, let's say forgiveness is given for now - cough it up, what else have you done this time?



They don't want to say.



And that is not helping.

Good night.

My thoughts so far:
Best. Day. Ever.

[Tengu_temp]

Truly Takeru is the stand-in for the audience.

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Please tell me we'll get even more Initial D in the future. I demand more.

[Ishikar]

Sadly I believe that is all the Initial D we get in Sumika's route but it was a great nod to the show. Muv Luv is pretty full of references and little jokes that show that the staff at Age is pretty savvy about the genre in general (one word: Exams).

Spoilers for Unlimited/Alternative:

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But yeah, the whole Ayase/Chizuru rivalry gets played for laughs pretty well but the two really work surprisingly well together when the appropriate situations arise. Also keep those goggles handy for Alternative because when you start drafting 16-17 year old women into the military it kinda shows how desperate you've gotten about burning through the population.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Truly Takeru is the stand-in for the audience.

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Ah, Yuri Goggles, the better to see Yuri Fields with!

[Terraoblivion]

Indeed. Never leave your home without them, you never know when they'll come in handy!

[jseah]

There are unspoiled people who are reading this LP?

*raises hand* At least until I started reading the thread...

[tensai_oni]

Ahaha... oops! Sorry about that. Will hitting you on the head help you forget the spoilers? It worked on Sumika.

Update #11, where different titans clash... again

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Here we go! Once again, the day starts with a flashback to the characters' early days.




That's adorable. The part where little Takeru gets hit in the stomach and almost passes out, less so.

Normal sized Takeru is stirred away at an unearthly early hour of 5 AM.



Sumika's watching TV downstairs but no - loud may she be, she was not the origin of the loud noise.

The TV decides to be informative.



Oh. Of course.



Should've seen it coming. So that's what the maid talk was about yesterday.



Yes, please send the army of world-class fitness trainers away. This is getting... actually, it was already ridiculous somewhere around day 3.




Meiya seems to be getting slightly better about... life. Very slightly. Baby steps.

She gets interested when Takeru namedrops the legendary Drill Milky Punch.




Something about it just draws her attention for some reason. It's as if she wanted to know more of Takeru and Sumika's past.

Surely there is nothing more to it, so let's go visit the Pee Park on way to school.



Meiya remains nostalgic about the Pee Park.



Also very mysterious and avoidant whenever asked for motives. Not much change from usual, then.

The class rep is waiting at the gates.



Silly Takeru, it's the class rep, not yourself.

Chizuru actually did spend a sleepless night. Not because of video games though, but problems with the lacrosse team. Speaking of which:




No idea what these two choices imply here.



Ah. Takeru means he can't be so dedicated so there was no chance he'd persuade Kei to join.




That was really sad.

Speaking of sad...



Marimo barely holds herself together.



Correction, she does not hold herself at all.

Kei actually arrives in class, fashionably late (several hours, what difference does it make?) as usual. A fight between her and Chizuru begins, but Ayamine did not come bare-handed.




Only Tama can stop the argument!



Delegating the task, I see? Very well then, only Mikoto can stop the argument!



Mikoto is too busy living in his own world to stop anything.



He knows how to invite you for a special one-of-a-kind (and entirely offscreen) lunch though.



Among other things. No, nothing suspicious is going on here. They just want to play Virtua Valgernon.



The game allows for two-seater matches. With teams divided like this, what could go wrong?



This setup leads to predictable consequences.



Ahoge abuse! Ahoge abuse!



Do you really care about winning at all, Takeru?



The Mikoto and Meiya team divided roles much more sensibly.

... We're screwed, aren't we?



Yup.






Yet somehow, after Sumika's acceleration and wild flailing, team protagonist scores a hit! What shall we do next?





Because Takeru nudged the controls on his side, rather than letting Sumika charge into a killing blow. It's an opening!





Nerf Xao-Myun plz.



Nerf Meiya, too.



She seems really fired up about this. Please don't become addicted to Valgernon, you'll end up with a different kind of no life than you already have.



A particular brand of no life where you travel all over the world and people let you break rules because of how filthy rich your family is.

Forget I said anything.

In the evening, Sumika has something to say.




Gah, you noticed? You really noticed!

Takeru explains that it was just for that one attack, to prolong the match and make it more fun.





Explanation accepted! That went well.

Good night.

My thoughts so far:
Fun day. Turning Chizuru down keeps breaking my heart though.

[kamikasei]

Fun day. Turning Chizuru down keeps breaking my heart though.

Hurry up and get on the Kei route then, obviously.

[tensai_oni]

Have Chizuru go the Kei route, you mean.

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[CarpeGuitarrem]

*re-summons appropriate quote*

Truly Takeru is the stand-in for the audience.

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[the_druid_droid]

Ah, Yuri Goggles, the better to see Yuri Fields with!

Man. What did we do before Steins;Gate screencaps?

[tensai_oni]

Update #12, where we get stuck in a trap of exposition

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Another day begins - Sumika and Takeru decide to become physically active and jog all the way to school.

They barely survive the ordeal.




Meiya got really good at criticizing people.



She's not beyond shaming them in front of other people, too.

But Chizuru has better things to do than to wonder about (lack of) endurance of our leads. Witness the shocking news!



Ayamine decided to join the lacrosse team, putting it at required 6 members!



"Someone" means Tama.

So in the end, the whole moralizing about intents and doing things yourself did not matter. Just get the pink cat to do everything for you.



Chizuru departs, showing us the latter part of tsundere.



Lacrosse-related rumors start to spread.



Mikoto picked the wrong class for gossip.




We get an earful as well, despite it all being Mikoto's fault.



Not you too, sensei.

But then, something worrying happens.




We'll be here forever, won't we?



Yes, we will. I'll spare you the tl;dr part. See what I did there?

By the way,
Images I cannot show you counter: 1

That was one of the pictures from before so yes, the count just got lower.




Yuuko ensures she has a captive audience.

Then she continues to rant about neural networks for 20 minutes.



And she's off!



How to put it lightly... Chizuru does not appreciate what just happened.

During recess, Sumika suddenly decided to educate herself.





But joke's on her, Meiya already knew everything without the need to read.



Forcing me to choose between a Miki and a Marimo scene? Why do you do this, MuvLuv? Why?



Fine. Let's go say thanks to Tama. You know, for doing all the hard work for us.




Following in Sumika's footsteps.




Ha ha, what.




Well, that was that.

Once classes are over, time for lacrosse practice. Takeru does not want to come, it's not his event after all.

Sumika and Meiya drag him in anyway.



A lot of exposition follows, and I mean it. First Yuuko, now you class rep? Please don't run away to write a paper about this!

The rest of the team seems bored as well, as they ask about outfits to wear while playing. Lacrosse uniforms are supposed to be pretty cute, but the school won't shell out money for them for just a one off event.



Someone else will, though.



What, you were there all along? Where were you hiding?



Everyone's shocked expressions say it all. Except Kashiwagi's. She doesn't give a damn.

The practice game begins!



Look at Chizuru go! Sadly but predictably, Sumika and Tama are no obstacles for her.

Meiya and Kei fare a bit better, but in the end, despite their efforts and Kashiwagi's defense...



Okay, she's good.




Are you good at everything you try, Meiya?

Well, except life.



What, out of enthusiasm already!

In the end, Sumika worked hard (typically of her), but did pretty pathetically (even more typical).





And with thet ominous message, the day ends. Good night.

My thoughts so far:
Today was quite fun. Is this the start of the infamous lacrosse arc? It wasn't too bad so far. We'll see if that changes.

[kamikasei]

I'm having the most terrible Mallory Towers flashbacks.

[Pronounceable]

Images I cannot show you counter: 1

Weren't we at like 4 or something?

[tensai_oni]

Nope. Topless Meiya is the only one I can't show you without editing. If it turns up again I might actually show it, if I find something funny to censor it with.

[Ishikar]

Okay, I just have to say this has pretty much turned me back into re-reading this whole trilogy. It's just that way now.

[tensai_oni]

Update #13, where Sumika overcomes her limitations

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Spoilers for the title: not really.



The uniforms have arrived! What, already? So fast!





The team seems happy with them. I wonder what happened to numbers 6 and 8 though.



Takeru's thoughts are mine here as well.

Sumika's book to the rescue!



That's pretty good English for a Japanese game.

Time to train! Or rather, the team trains while Takeru goofs around.



Takeru's gentle encouragement is appreciated by Sumika.




I'm sorry for lying.



Yes, the day ends already (though Sumika hopes for a round two). Once you cut out all the bits about lacrosse training that are frankly not that interesting, you're not left with a lot of stuff this day.



Let's stay and cheer on the two for a little while.



I'm surprised Sumika does not respond with violence, considering the kind of "cheering on" Takeru's been doing for the whole day.




Progress! Still terrible, but it's a 150% improvement no matter how you look at it. Hooray for low standards.

Sumika's looking forward to lazying the rest of the evening away, when suddenly a horrible realization hits her.




Such a miserable chibi.



Meiya decides to be helpful. Takeru decides to be a brat.

Sumika's action is swift and decisive.



Drill Milky Punch! Ah, here comes the VIOLENCE.




The bickering continues. That's how you know they like each other.

Stealing food only helps with that.



Food is swiftly stolen back, courtesy of ninja maid.



Takeru's protests end up with Tsukuyomi preparing dessert - but only for Meiya and Sumika.

So he starts crying until he gets some too.



The three stooges strike again!



Takeru has enough of it and handles it all like a responsible, ready to graduate high school adult.



Throws a tantrum and runs away into the night.

No goodnights for anyone! There is only RAGEQUIT.

My thoughts so far:
Short day without a lot of stuff happening, really. Still, it was okay. Takeru was a jerk even for himself today, but it doesn't bother me too much.

[Landis963]

Y'know, I've been noticing this for a few updates now, but Sumika's got a veritable mood ring growing out of her head. I suppose it was clearest when her idiot hair turned into a heart a few in-game days ago.

[tensai_oni]

Ha ha, indeed. Not that her emotions are hard to read even beside that...

[tensai_oni]

This thing still exists. No updates due to a busy weekend, that's all.

[tensai_oni]

Update #14, where we take care of a permanently offscreen creature

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Lacrosse training continues. Yes, even on Saturday.



Sumika shows all that punching practice didn't go to waste.

Anyway since the ball went off somewhere, Takeru is sent with an important mission of retrieving it. Instead of the ball, he finds...



As the update's title betrays, the kitty does not exist in-game as a graphic. All you can hear is its meowing - and it meows a lot.

Takeru decides to leave it behind.



But the cat gets more and more desperate.







Sumika runs off to find some food for the kitten.

I'm sure she'll pick up something perfectly suitable.



Cats don't eat that! Also nattou is nasty, don't feed anyone that!



To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Sumika is not very good with animals.

Takeru's off on a mission again, to find someone who might actually take semi-decent care of it.



He spots Marimo, but she's too busy with her own problems. Or rather Yuuko's problems, but Yuuko's problems are everyone else's.

Or at least she makes them everyone else's soon enough.




Oh well. I am sure that scene was of no importance to the problem at hand at all.

A quick skip ahead:




That's a very good question.



Ah yes, that makes sense. Let's make a thoughtful and educated decision!

Or, everyone can just melt at how cute the (still offscreen) kitten is. That works too.



Chizuru retains a clear head long enough to nominate Takeru - decide who should keep the cat! And I don't mean Tama.




I... am having instant second thoughts about this choice.




Sumika shows off kitten food she bought in preparation. All things considered, maybe the decision was not such an awful one after all!

Then she wants Takeru to pay her for the food. But suddenly!



Reckless driving can mean only one thing.




Should've seen it coming.



As quickly as she arrived, Yuuko leaves with the cat.

Takeru decides to follow.



Takeru can connect the dots between the cat and the missing "student". Mainly, they're one and the same.

What was that all about?




Agh. Asking for an explanation? Might have been a mistake.



Are you serious? This is too weird to be true. Time to bail.



Yuuko disagrees. There's no escaping her steely grip.



Wall of text hits you for 9001 damage.

You die.





No one can, Sumika. Trust me.

Though now I have an image of Yuuko going TELL ME YOUR SECRETS to a cat stuck in my head. It's a thing.

Good night.

My thoughts so far:
Short day, really silly and fun. Exactly what I needed to get back into this LP.

[Landis963]

Yuuko makes any day she's in hilarious simply by being there.

[tensai_oni]

That's one statement I can agree with any day.

Update #15, where the team reveals its true colors

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Sunday comes, gotta practice lacrosse. No escape.



Unless you're Takeru that is. He just sits back and eats sweets.

Less focus on chocolate, more on the team. They actually play a game and not just practice individual tasks. Let's see how they're doing!






Oh dear.




Time for a talk.



What do you have to say for yourselves?



Wrong answer.



The punishment is VIOLENCE.



This conversation is taking a really weird turn...

Time to do what we can to salvage the situation. A manager talks to every team member individually!

Sumika:



Please try not to kill yourself while running around blindly.

Meiya:



Keep your "must sword everything" instincts in check.

Tama:



You're surprisingly perverted, you know?

Class rep and Ayamine:



The reversal is delicious. Also the two of you just make out already.

Kashiwagi:



Keep chillin'.




This setup satisfies me.




Let's approach Sumika and see how she's doing... BALL TO THE FACE!

Ow.



Takeru eventually regains consciousness.

It was an accident, honest! Never blame on malice what you can blame on incompetence. And Sumika has plenty of the latter.

Speaking of accidents:




Well, you have to give her that at least. Sumika is determined to keep going even while mortally wounded.



I ran out of sarcastic comments so you know what? Just keep it up.

And so the day ends. What, already? That was really fast!



Little progress has been made. Unless negative progress counts?



Such confidence is not exactly warranted, Meiya.

Good night.

My thoughts so far:

[kamikasei]

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Yes, obviously.

What a surprisingly easy question for a VN!

[tensai_oni]

Update #16, where we find ourselves in a sports movie plot

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Another day... actually, wait a second! MuvLuv skipped two of them. Can you do that?

Anyway we're stuck in lacrosse town, and Chizuru is all fired up.





Despite trying hard, the team isn't exactly pro level. Takeru knows this, the class rep knows it. It's a secret to no one.



Kei's snark does not help.

Speaking of which - as training begins, watch out Takeru. Here comes a BALL TO THE FACE!

When he comes by, guess who's by his side.



Thanks for checking.

Takeru's tougher than to die from something like that. Being callously left on the ground in cold weather has had an effect on him, though.




Your cute side is showing, Ayamine.

This is a good moment to ask about something that's been on my mind for a while now.




That's kinda serious, isn't it? But if it's not about anything personal between Kei and the class rep, maybe they'll finally stop fighting?



No. Of course they won't.

Late in the evening, no one can see the ball anymore so a rather despirited Chizuru tells everyone to go home.

Let's talk to her instead.




More ominous hinting at a backstory, I see. Come on, tell us more, please! Even though we're not doing your route!

But suddenly!



Lights flash on the darkened playing field!



Meiya, you...

You are a really good person, you know?




Team spirit prevails!

... This is like a scene straight out of a sports manga, isn't it.



Eventually, it really is too dark to play anymore. Takahashi and his long car are here to take everyone home, but...





Seems half the team has a different idea about this.

What to do?



Longcar it is.

Back at home, Meiya invades Takeru's room again. This time it's not for shenanigans though, but to wonder about Chizuru and Kei.





Yeah, despite all the quarrels they're pretty mature about the whole thing. You could learn a thing or two from them, Takeru!

Good night.

My thoughts so far:
The day had some neat moments but was mostly really down to earth - and not in a very interesting or entertaining day. Fortunately the lacrosse arc is almost over, so we'll be done with it before it gets really boring.

[Pronounceable]

Noneuclidian Hair hits you for 1d6 SAN damage...

The pink girl is the alien, isn't it?

[tensai_oni]

She's just entering Super Saiyan mode.

[Ishikar]

She's just entering Super Saiyan mode.

Great, now I get a flash of her powering up, hair flashing between pink and gold before in a great burst we get a hairdo more patently ridiculous than Vegita's, it's a good thing she'd have super strength or she'd fall over from being too top-heavy.

Still enjoying this with all of it's little hints and foreshadowing. The best way to play Muv-Luv may very well be Extra > Unlimited > Alternative > Extra just to catch how well they wrote their plot through for each other.

Also coming soon should be copies, exams, and mysterious flying shoes.

[tensai_oni]

Update #17, where a thing from before appears again

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As the day begins, it turns out someone else is worried about Kei and Chizuru fighting.



Marimo recovered enough to worry about others! Are you really so confident we have a chance of winning against your rival's class?



She really is. Well, we can't let her down now, can we?

As for the class rep and Ayamine situation...





Takeru decides to be apathetic and hope things turn out fine on their own.

While I continue to kick myself for following the walkthrough rather than picking the most interesting option. Oh well, we can do it later, right?

During practice, something appears on the field.



It's the dog from day one, isn't it.



Takeru's best buddy Mikoto, bros 4 lyfe, is there too.




Never change Mikoto. Never change.



It's the dog from day one, Takeru. Of course it'll use its cuteness for evil. You should know that.



Called it.

Suddenly, the game gets interrupted!



The obvious culprit is to blame.




That's an oddly specific rule you know!

It's also 100% true.



Kei is appreciative of the dog.



So is Mikoto. In a slightly different way. What is this, Excel Saga?

To put it lightly, Kei didn't like that.

That's it for the last day of practice. The big event is tomorrow! In the meantime, time to go home - and Takeru has house invaders.



Meiya offers to make tea, Sumika offers to make the rest of the food, Mikoto offers to suddenly become anxious.



Ah, of course.

Fortunately, the maid is nowhere in sight. No need to call the police today.




Keep living your crazy life, bro.

A conversation topic pops up - the difference of food eaten by dirt-rolling commoners like Takeru and Sumika, and ridiculously rich snobs like Meiya. It was all in good spirits... but after the meal, Meiya became distraught for some reason.

Better ask her what's up.




She doesn't want to say except for in vague terms. This is not awkward at all. Except that yes, it really is.



Aha! That must be the thing - Meiya seems there is a disconnect between her snobby life and those of her dirt common friends, and it's tearing her apart, Takeru.



Takeru of course doesn't get it.

Good night.

My thoughts so far:
That was alright. Really short day though.

[Pronounceable]

I've now noticed that Blue in previous update isn't actually our dudebro indulging in a bit of crossdressing. It's a girl with blue hair. Wait, where did she come from? Oh well, no matter.

Super Saiyan

Weren't they also aliens?