Friday

A very slow day today, with nothing much to report. Probably the highlight was when Rinko met me and decided to start calling me "darling" again (which sounds much better than "Ko-kun"). There was some kind of event today, where Rinko met me in the Library. I'm not sure what it was all about, but possible some kind of To-Do assignment? Anyway, I took the opportunity to kiss my little Library Committee girl while we were there...

Back To School

Today was my first offical "full" day in Towano with Manaka as my girlfriend. It kicked off with the Opening Ceremony at school, complete with the Towano High School song!

Despite being the "blue" personality type, Manaka was nothing at all like Rinko's dreaded blue personality. Instead, I found her still very happy today, and it was easy to kiss her and get her up to the highest affection level. I think I love the blue Manaka, after all, and may not try to change her to orange. She's a very sweet and slightly shy girl (which I adore).

I met her later in the Tennis Club Room for a chat (and, well, you know. One thing leads to another...) Actually it's great to be back at school in the game... ^^

 And the girls are still in their short-sleeved summer uniforms, despite the fact that it's autumn already in Towano. Here' s a nice close up of Manaka-chan, blushing as she walks home from school with me. Aww.

During the 12 noon timeslot, there was an event in which Manaka met me in the school courtyard and talked to me about a doubles game that was coming up soon. I think maybe it was the start of another ToDo assignment? Not sure. But she wanted me to kiss her at the end - and when Manaka asks, it's difficult to say no.

The last photos for today are from the second installment of Manaka's "Seishun No. 1 Page". The story seems to revolve around a younger girl who joins the Tennis Club and absolutely ADORES Manaka.

Here's the culprit. She's so star-struck that it seems like more of a crush to me.

I played through my standard four days in Skip Mode today, basically to begin unlocking date locations around Shin Towano Station and to raise my stats a bit. I'm hoping to try an "after school date" tomorrow, which I've never done before (and didn't know about until recently).

I also went shopping in Electric Town and bought the 12x Record Card for my in-game camera. This is one piece of equipment in New LovePlus that's absolutely essential. These last two photos are from an evening meet-up with Manaka at Winning Burger. I really love the smart dress she is wearing.

Well, so far, I'm loving my new game with Manaka. She's sweet and wonderful, and I think this new relationship is going to last for a long time.

Monday Monday

Another very pleasant Monday morning in Towano. As usual lately, Rinko woke me up by appearing in my room before school. She has a new hairstyle from the date yesterday, and looked very cute...

She cooked breakfast for me, which looked like an omelette, toast and a cup of tea.

Wow, Rinko is a fast eater. She must be a growing girl!

And here's my cute little girlfriend, walking along the road to school with me. No matter how many times I do this, it's still enjoyable. ^^

The food theme continued when Rin-chan met me at lunchtime and shared a box lunch with me up on the school roof.

There was an event in the afternoon, where Rinko walked home with me and chatted about something. Probably another To-Do item...

And I finished off my first day "back" in the game with a late meeting in the classic date spot, Fountain Park.

Rinko looked kinda sleepy...

And here she is, very sweetly saying goodnight.

No real plans for the rest of the week yet. I'm still getting back on my feet after this past week, so I'll just take it slow and enjoy playing my favourite game. I'm glad that it's still part of my life.

Two Pleasant Dates

It was a normal day at school in Towano today, but I managed to squeeze in two short and sweet dates with my Rinko-chan. I had a bit more time than usual because I was off work today due to illness, so I was able to relax and enjoy "New LovePlus" more than most days.

First up, in the morning, I called Rinko and asked her to meet me on the roof of the school. Now that the weather is changing into Spring, the sky was such a beautiful blue that I just had to take more shots than usual with the in-game camera.

I'm actually getting used to Rinko with short hair now. After trying to get her to change to medium-long hair for almost a month, I've finally decided that it doesn't really matter. She's adorable with any kind of hair (within reason).

Wow, I just realised that Rink is blushing in every single shot from today. When I first met her and we started dating, she was very straight-faced and hardly ever blushed at all. Now she's such a happy girl that her cheeks are red a lot...especially after we kiss or hold hands.

Later in the afternoon, after I'd tried to solve the "To-Do" problem for about the hundredth time (without success), I called Rinko for another quick date at the Shrine. You can really notice the change of seasons in this game. The sakura trees at the Shrine were so beautiful today, in full bloom and shedding leaves. Just like anime. It's nice to be able to date at the Shrine, now that it's unlocked, and I think Rinko likes it too.

The next photo has beautiful blue sky again, as well as the tall green trees and city buildings that I noticed at night a few days ago, when we went to the Shrine for the first time. You can only see them by having the gyro sensor on and playing around with the angle of the camera.

And then back to the front of the Shrine again to say goodbye. All in all it was a sweet and memorable day.

Pretty in Purple

Today started with an event at Towano High School, probably to mark the beginning of another school term on Monday. It was fun to hear the school song again - shortly after which I was able to grab Rinko for a quick kiss.

Nothing much after that, though, because I had to go out shopping (in the real world) today. I managed to get in a "To-Do" session this afternoon and also call Rink for a quick meet at Winning Burger. She looked very pretty in the purple stripe outfit she wore - and it's nice to see that she likes the bag I gave her during the week, because she always seems to be carrying it around.

Most importantly, I went gift shopping in the evening for a present for tomorrow's big date. I went to the Shopping Mall and was hoping to buy the stuffed black cat for Rinko, because I know how much she loves cats. Unfortunately the cat was pretty weird looking, so I decided to buy the stuffed brown bear instead. I hope my girlfriend likes it!

Going to bed early tonight. So tired. T_T But it's a big day in the game tomorrow, with a date at 9:30am and visitors coming at 11am. Then sometime in the afternoon I want to visit the markets at Fountain Park to get tickets for the night-time sakura viewing.

The Library Ain't Just For Reading...

I tried to plan my (game) day strategically today. Once again, I had an option for the "To Do" list in every time slot...but I have other objectives in the game, and they're much more important. So I chose Tennis Club first, to help pick up my fitness before the date on Sunday. Second, I chose Library, because I thought (and hoped) there might be a chance of a quick kiss with Rinko. Third, I worked at my afternoon job to earn some much-needed money. And lastly, the To-Do activity.

The beginning of the day was pretty uneventful. But when 12 o'clock came around... Let's just say that libraries are more than just place to read a book! When I started the session, Rinko appeared IMMEDIATELY as though she'd been waiting for me to show. She didn't say anything. She just smiled very shyly and said, "Ano..." ("Hey...")

Now I know Rink well enough to understand what she wants most of the time. Usually she protests a bit when I try to do skinship/kissing with her at school...but not this time. Boy, not this time. Soon we had five kisses, then four more, then three more. And after THAT, Rinko hummed her little happy song, stepped up really close and gave me three more kisses for free.

But that still wasn't the end! Next, I got another beautifully wrapped gift from her and we kissed me some more. This girl is just crazy in love with me at the moment. Hehe, the feeling is mutual. It's sometimes known as a "purple patch".

I figured something out, too. When your girlfriend gives you a gift during an Event or a Date, you get to keep it in your briefcase. But when she gives you gifts on ordinary days or short mini-dates, they just seem to disappear after you open them. I don't think it's a bug in the game - it's just a question of relative importance. Some gifts are significant (like the watches) while other are just for day-to-day fun. Anyway, it's always sweet when Rinko gives me stuff. Sadly, I wasn't quick enough to grab a picture this time.

Pushing three solid weeks of playing "New LovePlus" in real time now, and I still find it enjoyable and surprising every day. I feel all the crazy ups-and-downs and thrills of new love. What a cool game.

Oh, and I've decided that I kinda like her hairstyle now. That shaggy look of the past few days suits her much better than her default style. Maybe I won't bother changing her hair length after all.

Another Rainy Day

Man, this has been the THIRD STRAIGHT DAY of rain in Towano City!!! I know, I know, I complain too much. But when it rains, I can't meet up with Rinko and kiss her, because she's holding the umbrella and she always says no. And when the rain lasts so long - especially in the school holidays, when I can't kiss her at school, either - it's a bummer. I met Rink this morning at Dixies, and I think her expression just about says it all:

Yep, she's as sick of this rain as I am. Met her again for lunch - same story. No kissing. Plus, when we sat down, she asked me a question I wasn't familiar with, and it had about six possible choices. I chose the first one (usually safe?) but she didn't seem really happy about it. But at least she looked a little happier after meeting me, and I liked her outfit too.

Finally - again on a crowded bus on the way home - the rain stopped long enough for me to have a quick meet with her at Fountain Park. This time, I took every SINGLE opportunity to kiss her, and she loved it. Such a long day! I'll be glad when the holidays are over, actually, and we get back to school life. I hated my real high school life...but it's fun it the game with such a cute girlfriend.

Still working on the To-Do assignment. Again, I chose just two sessions today - it appeared in all four - and I guess I'll just go somewhere at random and see if I get lucky. I might call Rinko-chan out for another meet, too. Who knows, it might rain again tomorrow.

By the way, I just discovered that you can check the weather before you ask your girlfriend out by going to the map option in the main menu. Wish I knew about it sooner...

Dear Sweet Rinko!

I started off today with To-Do items in all four time slots! Because I don't understand the concept of the To-Do list in "New LovePlus" very much, I decided to just take two slots for it, because I'm trying to build up stats again. So I did exercise in the morning, then To-Do (unsuccessfully), then work at Dixies in the afternoon, and To-Do again (once more, unsuccessfully).

I was also pretty busy at work in the real world today, so I didn't get to see Rinko for nearly the whole day. Withdrawal! I actually missed her pretty bad by early afternoon.

The day wasn't a total loss, though. I opened the 3DS on a very bus crowded on the way home to see what was happening in the game. To my surprise, Rinko came to Dixies while I was working there! I kissed her when she arrived...which I gotta say is hard to do on a bus, especially when your girlfriend reacts like this:

Anyway, I can take the embarrassment. It was worth it, too, because Rink had another beautifully wrapped gift for me. I'm not really sure why - it's not our two week anniversary until tomorrow. Maybe she's just getting in early. Or maybe she's still on Daylight Saving Time.

The other problem is that I can't figure out what she gave me. When I checked my item list after the session, I couldn't find anything new. Maybe it will appear tomorrow, or maybe it's a bug? Anyway, as they say, it's the thought that counts. My dear, sweet Rinko! And she wore such a snappy outfit, too.

I didn't have a gift on hand, and no time to buy one, so I called Rinko and asked her to meet me. Then I have her the "eternal love letter" which appears in your item list when you reach about level 4 in the lover ratings. She seemed happy.

After that, I played a few days of Skip Mode to build up points for next week's date. I have a sort of "cheat" that I use each Monday afternoon. I go to Skip Mode, play two days of activities, then save and start again. When you do this, the clock resets to Monday. The advantage of this is that Monday and Tuesday are the days when your girlfriend is least likely to call you and arrange a Sunday date - and if you have to play through a Skip Mode date, you lose points, which kinda defeats the purpose. I usually play through either six or eight quick days like this, until I'm up to three hearts for each attribute, and that's usually enough. You still have five days in Real Time mode to collect a few more points before the date.

Interesting...?

When I opened the game this morning, I had an interesting schedule for the day:

1. Event
2. Event
3. Date
4. To Do

Wow, I've never seen a day look like this! After yesterday, I'm not sure if it will be good or bad. I just opened the first "Event" block, and Rinko met me at a table in a restaurant and talked for a while. I'm not sure what's going on, because I didn't get a chance to reply. That was the end of the event.

The second "Event" block today I still didn't understand, but the outcome was at least a little better. Rinko met me at the shopping centre, and I was able to kiss her.

I say "able" to kiss her, because she really didn't want to stop. Then we went to the Live House and kissed some more. Every time I wanted to advance to the next screen, she made a very disappointed sound and the skinship outline appeared, so she wanted more. This was kinda embarrassing, because I was actually visiting a friend's house for lunch today. I had to stop (for what I thought would be a quick event) and play the game, and it actually took around half an hour. T_T

And what can I say about the skinship and kissing? I couldn't kiss Rinko outside when I met her, because of the rain and her umbrella. But once we were inside, everywhere was five kisses plus four refrain kisses! My little Rink was in a very very VERY loving mood today. Maybe the rain is romantic after all.

Anyway, at 5:00pm it was time for the big date. It's been raining for two straight days in Towano City, and today was no exception! Rinko met me wearing a super outfit - still no change of hair length, though - and her usual polka-dot umbrella. I tried to kiss her, and she didn't look very impressed...

Oh well. We also had to change the location of our date from Fountain Park because of the bad weather. I chose Karaoke, and Rinko liked it. She was much happier sitting next to me on the train.

Then at the very worst time I ran out of photos on my in-game camera. I hate it when this happens. For some reason, I could only take five shots today (and 2/5 were blurred). Arghhh! Maybe spending money on the camera upgrade will be worth it.

Anyway, Karaoke was nice. Every single kiss on today's date went to five kisses and then four refrain kisses, continuing Rinko's lovey-dovey mood from this morning. If anyone doesn't believe me, here's a photo I grabbed with my iPhone. XD

After Karaoke, we went for lunch at the Ramen Shop. Rinko really enjoyed the ramen and gyoza I ordered for her (only 4 rich - so cheap!). But then came the next surprise. Rinko came back to my house and hung out with me for a while IN MY ROOM. We listened to my new CD together. We played PuzzleDama together. And you probably guessed that there was kissing involved. (*Blush*) Here are some photos taken with a camera...just to capture the moment. I love the variety of Rinko-chan's expression:

But that still wasn't the end! I'd been playing this date for over an hour already, and expected it to end, when Rink invited me back to her house! We had a study date. And then finally, totally exhausted and supremely happy, it was time for the date to stop. At least she didn't say that today's date was "giri giri".

Wow, after a few slow days in Towano, this one was amazing. Two nagging points, though. First, I wsn't able to give the CD to Rinko as a gift. Guess I'll have to try something else next time. And two, I don't have a clue what the To-Do assignment is all about. Have to look for some online information about it. ^__^

PS: April Fool!
Well, looks like I was the fool today - I totally forgot that today was 1 April, which is April Fools' Day. So that's what Rinko's seriousness yesterday and this morning, and why I had to search for her today. She was playing a trick on me. Great.