[ChicletPrime]

i know that title... "Tomorrow's Catch-22" - wasn't that one where the boys were drugged out of their collective minds in leather gear? i swear i won't blow rent money on it, but i might eat ramen for a couple of weeks!

also, segue that is only tangential to this -- i came across a Caleb fic author who put this long comment in their fic summary that was something along the lines of "this is childhood friend only and he was never her brother not even once not even on the darkest of nights and all of you brother-fuckers need to stay the hell away from me and my clean and lovely stories (you perverted freaks i know you're there i can hear you breathing)" ... and i just read that disclaimer that was in bold type at the bottom of all their fics and thought to myself  "..but.. but, sweetie. the brother-fucking is the canon storyline?"

i heroically refrained from actually commenting that on their story because you gotta let people grow where they're planted but it just kinda... threw me for a loop there. Catch-22 must have *really* rattled their psyche when it came out. i've only seen about 20 seconds of trailer for it and *i* needed a cold drink of water.

its still too early days to know how this is going to shake out, but right now its a three way tie for Sylus, Caleb and Rafayel coming down the straightaway, with Xavier doing the pursuit predator thing on their heels and Zayne somewhere in a lab taking measurements and running comparative data analysis on the field numbers.

[Coldsaturn]

With a whole muzzle on while in a literal cage. Yes. That's the one. Also notably the only time you hear Zayne angrily shout. People haven't been the same ever since.

/facepalm
This reminds me of a post I saw on tumblr the other day where a user was screenshotting a tweet with google lens translation of a chinese post (look at that grapevine) from a Caleb official community (jeez, okay, we're there finally) where it apparently said that MC cannot be called Caleb's sister, he doesn't call her that, and in fact it's prohibited by the rules of that community to use "sister" as a nickname for MC. And people were being obnoxious in the comments like finally the incest-fuckers would give up...if not for the fact that the translation was wrong.
What it actually said was that a specific way of wording the nickname was prohibited because it would attract fans who main MC instead of the LIs (and they call each other sisters? Something along those lines), and this community hates MC mainers, so they put a rule that would help avoiding them.

But this kind of discourse is always the same every time you get a Chinese source material that uses traditional tropes.

Catch-22 was HATED when it came out. Fans wanted fluff and flowers for valentine's day and here came the boys in leather, chains, literally going feral with MC interactively groping them. It's only now that you're starting to see people waiting for a rerun because hindsight is 20/20 and that banner gained a lot of popularity with youtube and twitch reactors, which in turn made the game gain players.

[Coldsaturn]

Rumor has it that this is the updated schedule for the rest of the year. Basically the multi banners have been changed into reruns. I'm not entirely sad about it if that's the case because there are a bunch of events I would pay an unreasonable amount of money to get and I fear infold knows. There were also rumors of a multi rerun this/next week but I don't think we'll get it.

[ChicletPrime]

/tags that on the main page for easy reference

[Coldsaturn]

We are apparently going back to the first schedule, because we should be getting a multi after this banner, and it will be Veiled Whispers rerun! <3

Xav will be yellow Tender Night
Zayne will be red Drunken Intimacy
Raf will be pink Tipsy Invitation



These are all cards from their initial stage of relationship, if not pre-relationship even. I've already seen a few Zayne girlies inviting others to skip this in favor of his 3rd myth because he's not lacking in red cards, but of course it's all a matter of "how much do you want this card specifically"
I will be pulling for Raf obviously.

I so so so so hope we'll get reruns of the other banners too because oh my god there are some serious bangers that I've missed.

[ChicletPrime]

i had some downtime at work so i watched all three of these on Lavender's channel.  I really liked Zayne's cut scene, that boy does not get enough credit for being so steadfast in his admiration of us. But Rafayel stole the show as always; that boy is always talking on two layers at the same time and of the little storylines themselves, his was both the cutest and the sexy-est.

I took a look at my cards and I don't have a 5* pink for Rafayel so if I end up pulling, I'll pull for his but I may just... pass? they are all adorable in their own ways but Winter Sylus Is Coming. If you pull for it, feel free to screenshot the best parts of his cut scene for me!

also:



muahah! noooo, of COURSE not, who would think such a silly thing.

[Coldsaturn]

I fear I have to pull for it because I'm not normal about him ever (and it would be very nice to have another pink 5*).
The sad thing is that they're not rerunning the event that came with the original Veiled Whispers, and in Raf's case it was especially important because it's one of the first instances where we get to see his obsession with MC as a bride. He secretly buys a veil for her and puts it on MC while she sleeps and she wakes up with it (https://x.com/eaKneS7/status/1968161930285359223). It's why fans were going nuts during the wedding banner, because he conjures up a veil that is rumored to be the very same one.

P.S. that man is always gaslighting us

[ChicletPrime]

wow. there is SO MUCH GATED STUFF behind past events, its not funny. that is So Cool and really creepy on Rafayel's part. does she wake up in the dress a week later?!

i am so glad these men are fictional but really, why is nobody writing more horror / dead dove stuff for this game? the opportunity to fall off the rails only a little bit and splash land into panic room shenanigans is sadly being ignored.

[Coldsaturn]

Yeah it's no joke! If it were just cute stuff or little details I'd get it, but here we're talking of lore relevant details for both the character and the relationship with MC stuck behind events that came along with the cards and that won't be rerun. So you're forced to look it up on youtube.

And yes he is absolutely creepy as hell. You know those youtube videos where they make a certain movie look romcom or thriller or horror based on the music choice of the trailer? That's Raf in a nutshell. You get the very same scene but just switch the music and suddenly it's so sinister. And in the specific case of the game, so much of the creepy vibe is ruined by the sweet background music. Play the cards without it and things start sounding heavier.
In the fandom's defense, Caleb gets his fair share of DDDNE. Raf, too, thanks to his deeply unsettling vibes (but it requires going past his bubbly princess persona, which gatekeeps a lot of fans from seeing past it). Sometimes people try with the other LIs but end up making them more OOC than intended. You can twist Sylus as much as you want but that man is a walking green flag and no amount of mafia tropes will save him from it.

One tiktok I remember watching with glee talked about the fact that MC is just as unhinged as the LIs themselves, because there's no way she reacts so normally to being stalked, chased down, locked up, etc. All the LIs have done problematic things, and some LIs are baked into red flags, but MC is the worst of them all for being so cool with it (and retaliating whenever she can).

[ChicletPrime]

Caleb is definitely the most overt example of I Dunno Are We Sure About This Guy? but honestly, the only one I can think of that doesn't really have unhinged moment is.. Zayne? like, i'm wracking my brains trying to think of anything where he did anything beyond the pale (when not under mind control / drugged to the gills). Even his cards where he gets a little drunk and comes on super strong is totally normal and hinged. The guy has PARENTS. and they LOVE HIM.

I love so much that Sylus looks and even acts as Edgy McEdgelord to everybody else but he's just here to make sure we're being all that we can be, complete with towels to dab on our forehead and some electrolyte drinks ready to go with little sippy straws.

i just realized. i have both of Caleb's cards now. I can play Lucid Dream for myself. with my girl. in the starring role. and all the.... oh my god i'll be back in three days with 257 more screencaps, please look forward to it.