I think it's safe to say that people read VNs for pleasure, so does *that* mean playing LiL makes you a fucked up person? No. But it does make you a person with fucked up ("""alternative""") tastes.
I don't know that I agree exactly. I guess it depends on a definition of alternative tastes. Playing a VN would certainly be an alternative taste to mainstream media. And playing an adult VN for the story would also be an alternative taste within its genre. As to it being a "fucked up taste", I think this is the main point of "it depends".
I think it's safe to say that people read VNs for pleasure, so does *that* mean playing LiL makes you a fucked up person? No. But it does make you a person with fucked up ("""alternative""") tastes. The sooner you embrace that and stop feeling guilty about it, the sooner you'll achieve happiness!!!!!!
You shouldn't feel guilty about enjoying things that cause no harm to any real individual.
When you play a violent videogame, you enjoy the fact that you go around killing creatures and people, but you sure as hell aren't going to enjoy seeing a massacre in real life.
Same thing applies to VNs, you can enjoy imaginary rape and other fucked up shit as long as it's not in real life.
Io's destruction is one of my favorite events because of how the event is constructed; a creepy situation and eerie environment, and I also found it, in a matter of speaking, "hot" even if you aren't supposed to.
Usually in real life I would consider myself as a caring and sensitive person, I am repulsed by the thought of a human being defiled in any possible way, be it mental, physical or sexual torture.
But when it's fiction it's almost as if the forbidden tastes better, knowing there is nobody actually getting hurt.
I must admit most of these characters have grown on me in a way that the fictional aspect gets blurred and you genuinely start worrying, but at the end of the day, this story's main focus is to be an artistic piece to be enjoyed at each one's disposition, and if they LIKE the rape scenes, the hurt scenes, or anything else, it's within their own jurisdiction to do so.
Conceivably, it's Himawari that restores Akira via an egg at the end of "Room with the clocks". And if consuming an egg restores teeth then the teeth thing is either related to slipping or the egg serves a secondary function.
Maybe the liquefying of the teeth is related to being rejected by the current reality, and taking hold of an egg restores your pass or something.
Edit: going back to the Ami being factory reset in front of Akira in the beginning of the first winter, it could be that it was her being rejected by the current reality (thus the liquefying - if in that scene, I don't remember - would qualify as her being rejected by reality as well).
The egg thing always eluded me.For now it just reminds me of the egg theory(Funny little thing.Would rec to search it on ytube) so its all about being rebirthed.Thats why Sensei was able to be saved in the room of clocks via one.
First PhiloPhilo
Yeah i like spicey/hot stuff. When i was younger i ate stuff hot/spicey.
Nowadays it would have severe consequences i'm not that fond of.
Now
About "Teeth turning liquid".
Back then i thought it might have been a hint towards how Akira might had met the ground face forward when he probably jumped. Like his teeth and jaw probably crushed and were shoven down his throat.
But with what i've seen in posts lately maybe Sel wanted to point out how some parents tell their kids stupid stories to make them listen/do as they're told.
Something like Sekai here:
te "And look at you- sleeping in on the lord’s day. You need to wake up or God will cut your hands off and feed them to his angels. It’s true because I said so."
So maybe Saki and or Sekai told Akira, when he was young, that if for example he eats to much candy: "Your teeth will liquify and suffocate you" or something along that line.
This could also tie in with the NIB stuff about Yuu (and Saki?) eating to much candy, which MIGHT be the reason they died.
(I think someone mentioned that probability)
First PhiloPhilo
Yeah i like spicey/hot stuff. When i was younger i ate stuff hot/spicey.
Nowadays it would have severe consequences i'm not that fond of.
Now
About "Teeth turning liquid".
Back then i thought it might have been a hint towards how Akira might had met the ground face forward when he probably jumped. Like his teeth and jaw probably crushed and where shoven down his throat.
But with what i've seen in posts lately maybe Sel wanted to point out how some parents tell their kids stupid stories to make them listen/do as they're told.
Something like Sekai here:
te "And look at you- sleeping in on the lord’s day. You need to wake up or God will cut your hands off and feed them to his angels. It’s true because I said so."
So maybe Saki and or Sekai told Akira, when he was young, that if for example he eats to much candy: "You're teeth will liquify and suffocate you" or something along that line.
This could also tie in with the NIB stuff about Yuu (and Saki?) eating to much candy, which MIGHT be the reason they died.
(I think someone mentioned that probability)
About teeth turning liquid. (Warning: far fetched theory)
-Melting pointh of teeth is 1090 C according to google.
-Peak flame temperature of gasoline is about 1050 C. (For diesel it's around 1700)
-When you try to identify unrecognizable bodies you look for teeth since similar to fingerprints every person has different oral cavity.
We know she died in the car crash but not immediately because they talked about her infidelity.("O world, in our dying moments please tell me. Why him?")
So crash happened, Akira and Ami got out but Sekai and Nozomu stuck inside the car. A fire spreads and both them dies. They can't identify bones so Akira has another trauma because he doesn't know which grave contains his lover/abuser's bones.(I think game always show Sekai and Nozomu's grave togerher, never focuses either of them seperatly.)
Do we have information about Sekai's corpse? Or the game ever gave us about about charred meat smell?
About teeth turning liquid. (Warning: far fetched theory)
-Melting pointh of teeth is 1090 C according to google.
-Peak flame temperature of gasoline is about 1050 C. (For diesel it's around 1700)
-When you try to identify unrecognizable bodies you look for teeth since similar to fingerprints every person has different oral cavity.
We know she died in the car crash but not immediately because they talked about her infidelity.("O world, in our dying moments please tell me. Why him?")
So crash happened, Akira and Ami got out but Sekai and Nozomu stuck inside the car. A fire spreads and both them dies. They can't identify bones so Akira has another trauma because he doesn't know which grave contains his lover/abuser's bones.(I think game always show Sekai and Nozomu's grave togerher, never focuses either of them seperatly.)
Do we have information about Sekai's corpse? Or the game ever gave us about about charred meat smell?
About teeth turning liquid. (Warning: far fetched theory)
-Melting pointh of teeth is 1090 C according to google.
-Peak flame temperature of gasoline is about 1050 C. (For diesel it's around 1700)
-When you try to identify unrecognizable bodies you look for teeth since similar to fingerprints every person has different oral cavity.
We know she died in the car crash but not immediately because they talked about her infidelity.("O world, in our dying moments please tell me. Why him?")
So crash happened, Akira and Ami got out but Sekai and Nozomu stuck inside the car. A fire spreads and both them dies. They can't identify bones so Akira has another trauma because he doesn't know which grave contains his lover/abuser's bones.(I think game always show Sekai and Nozomu's grave togerher, never focuses either of them seperatly.)
Do we have information about Sekai's corpse? Or the game ever gave us about about charred meat smell?
Why would the cause of death be a fire? Why not blunt force trauma or blood lose? To my knowledge we havent the faintest clue as to HOW sekai and Nozumo died other than the fact that it was a car crash.So supposing that the cause of death was fire,which we dont know if its true,and building a theory out of it doesnt really hold water.
It is more likely that melting teeth is a reference to cremation. Japan has a %99.9 cremation rate, and it's been that high for over a decade. By virtue of their being an island nation and needing much of that limited land for agriculture, they don't have the real estate for expansive graveyards like the US does.
Cremated remains are often buried, and in Japan there are family graves/memorials where multiple members of the family might have their cremains interred. This is likely what Akira and Ami visit.
A few other points that make it unlike Sekai died in a fire bad enough to melt her teeth:
1) You have to still be alive to have your organs harvested, and it's heavily implied that Kaori recieved an organ transplant from Sekai (she calls herself a bag of spare parts and is briefly possessed by Sekai). If you're in a fire bad enough to melt your teeth, you are not going to survive that long enough to donate your organs.
2) Akira mentions holding her after the accident, which would be impossible if she were just a pile of ash (the teeth are the last thing to burn because of their high melting point relative to the rest of their body)
3) Some early happy scenes have an audio track of life-support noises. Who's on life support, and why would their being on life-support be in Akira's trauma space? The only people he cares that much about are Sekai, Ami, and Maya. Which of those three would have most likely been on life support? The one who dies (neither Ami nor Maya have indicated past medical trauma)
The most likely scenario is that Nozomu dies on the spot, Sekai is left in a near-death vegitative state, and Akira has to make the call to pull the plug and donate her organs as he's the next of kin. And Kaori is the life he saved with that decision -- which is why Selebus mentions that she's one of the most important characters in the game. She's the consequence of the worst choice he ever had to make in his life.
Also, the line "O world, in our dying moments please tell me. Why him?" is written by Akira. Akira is dying on the inside while Sekai is dying physically, and lamenting that it was his brother that dies by her side and not himself.
Finally -- symbolically, the casket used to cremate someone can be viewed as a vehicle carrying the deceased towards a final destination, and poets have this pesky tendency to be really big on symbolism, so interpreting a lot of what Akira says literally is a bit of a trap -- especially when he's in shoegaze word soup mode.
Edited to add point 3 and the following paragraph, as I remembered them after hitting Send.
About teeth turning liquid. (Warning: far fetched theory)
-Melting pointh of teeth is 1090 C according to google.
-Peak flame temperature of gasoline is about 1050 C. (For diesel it's around 1700)
-When you try to identify unrecognizable bodies you look for teeth since similar to fingerprints every person has different oral cavity.
We know she died in the car crash but not immediately because they talked about her infidelity.("O world, in our dying moments please tell me. Why him?")
So crash happened, Akira and Ami got out but Sekai and Nozomu stuck inside the car. A fire spreads and both them dies. They can't identify bones so Akira has another trauma because he doesn't know which grave contains his lover/abuser's bones.(I think game always show Sekai and Nozomu's grave togerher, never focuses either of them seperatly.)
Do we have information about Sekai's corpse? Or the game ever gave us about about charred meat smell?
It is more likely that melting teeth is a reference to cremation. Japan has a %99.9 cremation rate, and it's been that high for over a decade. By virtue of their being an island nation and needing much of that limited land for agriculture, they don't have the real estate for expansive graveyards like the US does.
Cremated remains are often buried, and in Japan there are family graves/memorials where multiple members of the family might have their cremains interred. This is likely what Akira and Ami visit.
A few other points that make it unlike Sekai died in a fire bad enough to melt her teeth:
1) You have to still be alive to have your organs harvested, and it's heavily implied that Kaori recieved an organ transplant from Sekai (she calls herself a bag of spare parts and is briefly possessed by Sekai). If you're in a fire bad enough to melt your teeth, you are not going to survive that long enough to donate your organs.
2) Akira mentions holding her after the accident, which would be impossible if she were just a pile of ash (the teeth are the last thing to burn because of their high melting point relative to the rest of their body)
Also, the line "O world, in our dying moments please tell me. Why him?" is written by Akira. Akira is dying on the inside while Sekai is dying physically, and lamenting that it was his brother that dies by her side and not himself.
Finally -- symbolically, the casket used to cremate someone can be viewed as a vehicle carrying the deceased towards a final destination, and poets have this pesky tendency to be really big on symbolism, so interpreting a lot of what Akira says literally is a bit of a trap -- especially when he's in shoegaze word soup mode.
It is more likely that melting teeth is a reference to cremation. Japan has a %99.9 cremation rate, and it's been that high for over a decade. By virtue of their being an island nation and needing much of that limited land for agriculture, they don't have the real estate for expansive graveyards like the US does.
Cremated remains are often buried, and in Japan there are family graves/memorials where multiple members of the family might have their cremains interred. This is likely what Akira and Ami visit.
A few other points that make it unlike Sekai died in a fire bad enough to melt her teeth:
1) You have to still be alive to have your organs harvested, and it's heavily implied that Kaori recieved an organ transplant from Sekai (she calls herself a bag of spare parts and is briefly possessed by Sekai). If you're in a fire bad enough to melt your teeth, you are not going to survive that long enough to donate your organs.
2) Akira mentions holding her after the accident, which would be impossible if she were just a pile of ash (the teeth are the last thing to burn because of their high melting point relative to the rest of their body)
3) Some early happy scenes have an audio track of life-support noises. Who's on life support, and why would their being on life-support be in Akira's trauma space? The only people he cares that much about are Sekai, Ami, and Maya. Which of those three would have most likely been on life support? The one who dies (neither Ami nor Maya have indicated past medical trauma)
The most likely scenario is that Nozomu dies on the spot, Sekai is left in a near-death vegitative state, and Akira has to make the call to pull the plug and donate her organs as he's the next of kin. And Kaori is the life he saved with that decision -- which is why Selebus mentions that she's one of the most important characters in the game. She's the consequence of the worst choice he ever had to make in his life.
Also, the line "O world, in our dying moments please tell me. Why him?" is written by Akira. Akira is dying on the inside while Sekai is dying physically, and lamenting that it was his brother that dies by her side and not himself.
Finally -- symbolically, the casket used to cremate someone can be viewed as a vehicle carrying the deceased towards a final destination, and poets have this pesky tendency to be really big on symbolism, so interpreting a lot of what Akira says literally is a bit of a trap -- especially when he's in shoegaze word soup mode.
Edited to add point 3 and the following paragraph, as I remembered them after hitting Send.
Life support sound is in "The Room With Clocks", it might be a bit less remarkable because of the rework.
It also has a baby toy sound which could point towards Kaoris saved life or a baby.
Guess thematic there was life and death.
For others in general:
Sekai says that she was "torn to shreds", goes with the "plucking steel from someones body" by probably Akira.
I tend to think it's an important symbol rather than just general icky imagery precisely because of what Tsuneyo says. I think it's an indication that Sensei (or whoever) has broken some unknown rule, but I'm not sure whether these rules are specific to Wires or not. In all three of the happy scenes it's connected to AmIOkay, specifically sexual desire for her at least in the first two, so there might be something there.
I also take liquefying teeth as more than general icky and gore imagery since it just shows up too many times. There are people arguing it could be a reference for cremation of Sekai, but I can't say it's very reasonable since then we should at least get some info on burial of Sekai and Nozumu.
I, on the other hand, think it might present another lasting childhood impact left by Saki according to Clockless Watch, as Sekai once said "God will chop your arms off should you slept in Lord's day", which sounds more like what Saki would say since she, not Sekai, was the religious person. For we knew that both Saki and Yuu died of Diabetes and Yuu passed earlier than Saki. Then it's natural for her to tell his children again and again not to follow their father's steps that it's stigmatize as an unconscious premonition resurfacing everytime he gets anxious (throat is clogged and no voice comes out). It also applies to Tsuneyo since her father has connection to god as Yuu, so it's plausible for him to use same weird educational strategy as Arakawa family.
Apropos of nothing, what do you think of the Egg in Happy Event? We know that Akira ate an egg in The Room With Clock as a symbol Eucharist and sound of egg breaking seems prevalent throughout the story. And to me in Everlasting Mercy, egg might present an emblem of hymen? As in Akira broke the egg of Maya and reveled in his innocent as some perverse Communion that is Dionysia? Thus "The filling of egg restores what I lost of teeth" could be a metonymy of "Sekai (or Maya, they are identical, the one who tried to fix Akira) fills the role of my lost mother (first one who broke him)." Nothing else comes to my mind. I think we need to discuss on it further.
Here's my review.
Good:
-Heroines design mostly on point
-Good potential
-Horror side adds a lil bit of creativity/mystery.
Bad:
-Feels like there's 10x more effort put into the "horror" scenes than the sex scenes.
-Puzzles that would take hundreds of hours of (mostly pointless)research inside the game if done without help.
-The good potential is not reached.
-Horror is mostly nonsensical, often pure waste of time screens, 20 fake end screens, random quotes from literature/famous people that have zero correlation with anything(kinda "fake depth" if you ask me)
-Sex scenes not that good
-Effort/time per sex scene is very high
This game is very long, even without reading everything, using max speed auto, this game takes 24+ hours to reach the current version's last scenes. Also, some heroines event chains are so long to finally get to bed them that at that point you don't even care anymore.
I guess you could say with this game the journey is better than the end goal, but the journey is pretty tedious for me. The horror is not scary at all and sometimes it makes you uneasy a bit. The horror is like doki doki meets liminal space meets dialup horror, but overall it's mostly random shit being displayed on screen. Doki Doki is more scary, and liminal/dialup/analog horror is pretty hard to do convincingly.
Conclusion: So yeah I give it 6/10, uncompleted and potential not reached and no hints that it will be reached. Also too long for what you get. The horror adds a bit of uniqueness but is more random and nonsensical than anything else. Best part is how the heroines look.
I know I'm late to this, but I'm reading up on the last few gazillion pages after finishing the latest update - and I just have to say this:
Holy bursh, having Pareidolia review LiL and giving it a 6/10 because Akira is a pussy, the sex scenes aren't hardcore enough and there being too much talking in between them in the first place, was not on my 2024 bingo card.
