Post by Panacea the Cleric in Bell Maiden's Bloom comments

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I just have to say, this brought tears to my eyes... I truly appreciate your appreciation for this project, and that you recognize love and care I've poured into every last drop. Your support means a lot to me. Thank you so much.

That said, I'm SO happy you've enjoyed your time in the adventure so far! I hope Dianthus has taken good care of you. <3 He's been such a mystery, even to myself. But I'm also glad you're enjoying your time with the other flower boys as well! n_n As for Zinnia, I know he's a bit rough around the edges, but be patient with him. The man's been through a lot, and it will take a lot of time and care to break through his thorny surface. Don't give up on the fussy general! (I'm currently in the process of writing his full route, alongside Clem's.)

You mentioned a great point about Rosea in terms of describing her. Look, I'm a Black woman, and I know how alienating it is to never read about our features being mentioned in this type of media. It breaks your immersion, and can also make you feel that our features have less value. They don't. They're beautiful. And I made a point to highlight Rosea's skin color and hair in the text. And not only that, but other small little details like the bonnet. It may feel trivial, but I personally feel that those kinds of details matter, as it's part of our experience.

Anyways, I've rambled on for FAR too long. XD Once again, thank you for your support and genuine interest in this twisted world of flowers. This kind of feedback is very encouraging and motivating. I'll keep doing my best!!~

Yuutsurin211 days ago(+2)

I’m just happy that my appreciation and support has gone through to you. Your love and passion for it really shines through to me. It was important for me to tell you that the most. And I'm very serious about how much the world hooked me! I really love how it's been built up and written about. I also look forward to seeing more of Dianthus’s mystery, and I definitely can’t give up on Zinnia when he’s in a story made with such caring hands! I will trust you on that.

And it really is. Honestly seeing Rosea’s hair, skin, and even stuff like her having a bonnet be touched upon and highlighted was really nice to see. It has been pretty alienating and definitely immersion breaking when the protag you’re playing, especially if you have the choice to make them black, still gets described or talked about in text in ways that completely ignore it in favor of something more “default” (still using hair as an example bc there’s so many times I have to ignore or mentally re-write my hair being described as something like “long and smooth” or a character easily touching/petting it, especially without asking first @_@). I’m glad that that isn’t the case here like I said, but it’s also a little bit sad that seeing these things actually included is still infrequent enough that it makes me do a double take when I do see it. But that’s just another reason I wanted to make sure to show my support!

And it’s all good! There’s seriously so much more I can say as well (though I really should finish the other routes first at the very least), but like I said, these were the ones I wanted to tell you the most for now. I really am cheering you on with this, I really look forward to it all!

(Also, I forgot to say that I love Poppy. Poppy is very good!!)

Panacea the Cleric210 days ago(+1)

Oh my goodness! I don’t even know where to start. I could write a whole novel here. XD It’s honestly very healing to speak with other Black women in the Otome space who feel affected by the issues we’ve discussed.

I love Otomes to bits, but it’s clear that they don’t love girlies like us very much in return. It’s a sad/disappointing reality that you’re constantly reminded of whenever you’re playing. And for better immersion, you may find yourself having to employ tactics like the ones you’ve mentioned- such as mentally rewriting hair texture descriptions and whatnot. It’s truly not a very inclusive space.

So yeah, as for myself, I’ve decided to roll up my sleeves and try to change that with an Otome of my own that will finally give soft Black girls some love. It’s far from perfect, and it will be quite some time before it’s completed, but I think these efforts matter. It’s already proven to be such an wonderful experience since I’ve been able to meet other Black women who lament these issues, but have said they feel seen because of Rosea. That truly warms my heart. 💐💐💐

Anyways, please know that your feedback and support means a great deal to me. Sometimes it feels like I’m always yelling into the void, so it’s nice to hear from folks who’ve found some value in this work. The feedback helps me improve and sparks ⚡️ ideas as well. I was at one point considering adding a scene where someone touches Rosea’s hair without permission. I think that’s important commentary. One step at a time!✨

Wow! I’ve rambled on for waaaaay too long! O.O Sorry about that. XD

Please feel free to let me know what you thought about the other Flower boy’s routes once you’ve finished them! (Don’t worry, I won’t tell Dianthus. He’ll clearly your number one, haha!)

Have a great rest of your day! 💐

itch.io

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