so if you read my last blog update you may recall two key facts. they are:
and i didn't really elaborate too much on either. in part because it's obviously incredibly personal. besides that, the post ended up long enough without going very deep on anything i brought up.
well. today i want to talk more about "cage of roses" and how some of its themes affected me in a way i didn't expect. as i'm writing this i don't know how it will go. i don't know how much detail i want to give up about my last relationship. i don't know if i should even share this. but i want to write it all the same because i thought it was interesting while i was reading "cage of roses".
i think a sensible place to start this is to go over the broad strokes of the story. ebi-hime's "cage of roses" (available on steam or itch.io) is a vampire yuri romance vn set in uhh the past in Europe. content warning: "cage of roses" is a horror game. there is blood, violence, death, kidnapping and more. also i'm going to talk about stuff that happens in the game. so if you would like to read it yourself blind keep that in mind. reader beware.
i'm not going to recount the whole story because a lot happens. but i tihnk it's good to know the basics. vampire Magdalena has kidnapped human Meike to drain her blood. during the days at Magdalena's forest mansion, Meike has tea and scones provided by Magdalena. she helps herself to the books she finds in the room she is trapped within. and that's basically how she spends every day. passing time until Magdalena will visit. being a vampire and thus nocturnal, Magdalena mostly only appears in mornings - early before Meike has awoken to deliver food - and at night. And it is at night that Magdalena will drain Meike's blood because that's just what vampires have to do. this doesn't come as much surprise. but what is interesting is that she drains her with a blade rather than her fangs. which to be honest with you i was disappointed because neck biting is hot and i am not the best at handling blood/knife stuff. and Meike in that scene sort of echoes this. she says something like "oh are you not going to bite me?" and Magdalena's response if i recall is something like "oh i have to do it this way or else i might get carried away and drink all of you up in one night." something about wanting it to last as long as possible, maybe. honestly i don't remember it word for word. in any case.
another important thing that comes up during these draining sessions is that Magdalena is not happy that she's doing it. the two get close because it's a romance story and so Magdalena feels quite remorseful having to bleed Meike night after night to sustain herself. and Meike for her part notices this. and she comforts Magdalena. she goes so far as saying that she thinks it hurts Magdalena more than it does her. Magdalena doesn't do this because she wants to. she is not enjoying the bleeding. she doesn't make a big show of torturing Meike for her blood or anything like that. she does it as quick as she can. get the blood. clean the wound. done. she doesn't want Meike to suffer. and yet she must do this again and again.
this is where the vampire themes start to hit for me. when we learn more about Magdalena and sort of the nature of her existence. what i mean is that a vampire doesn't just come into being from nothing. Magdalena was at one point a human the same as Meike. until a horrible incident after which her eternal death began. she didn't get to have a normal life. it was taken from her. she didn't want this ever. but all the same she is forever cursed to feed on others' life to continue her own. she need not kill always, but she will always take something. even without malice she still does harm.
but i don't want to!!!