okay this is going to be really long LOL so please forgive me, I think my fave tropes/archetypes are a little varied and I’m not the best at categorizing but there are commonalities haha, since I'm not sure who asked this question, I'll go ahead and put the series name in parentheses for each character I bring up since I know not everyone may be familiar with the franchises!

The short answer is that I like characters that I find cute and I often enjoy some form of tragedy that is part of their background. I also like characters that emotionally move me. Can’t really think of specific archetype names…

Long answer: In a broad sense I'm mainly drawn towards "cute" characters with "tragic" backstories... You could fit Riquet (Mahoyaku) in that kind of category I would say... which would then bring in another particularly specific archetype of "young boys with religious background and trauma" which would then point to another character I really love which would be Orlok (Piofoire). if you were mutuals with me on main anytime before mid 2022, you would've seen me talk a lot about him and otome in general!. I actually think they're a bit similar (in background) given the fact that both grew up in church and were heavily influenced by some religious figure which affected their perception of life/self/others and whatnot, but I think they have their differences as well (given the difference in occupation that both of them have lol). I will say I have yet to play the sequel game to Piofiore so there is still quite a bit I'm missing in terms of backstory for Orlok... but I wholeheartedly believe that if you like Riquet, you would like Orlok (theory proven true with sample size of 2--me and another jp orlok fan/artist) You could also put Tokisada (Olympia Soiree) on this list LOL... so that's one very specific archetype that I seem to like! Not exactly sure how that came to be

If we want to look just at "cute" outside of physical youthfulness, this would point towards Natsuki (Utapri), who I think fits the term a lot! He's Really Tall, like 6'2 or something, prob in his mid-late 20s (forgive me I can't remember canon fdsjhfjf) and has a little more meat to him, so comparatively different from previous characters mentioned who are on the younger, shorter and/or on the lankier side. I think Natsuki is particularly cute with his behaviors/speech/etc, but ofc that's not all he is! Cuteness is a trait that stands out a lot in him to me and I think that cuteness I see in him comes from his kindness and how he speaks... which brings me to Tonbokiri (Touken Ranbu)! A character that is Buff(er) and Large(r) as well and... I don't know if cute would be the word that people would describe him from just visuals alone? Visually, he’s a character that I wouldn’t be as into as my usual faves (see above), but he caught my eye quite a bit in Katsugeki through his interactions with others! He came off as very caring/polite when not in battle (which he's then very cool!!!), and although my exposure to his character is still limited to anime/game knowledge (haven't really seen him in the musicals except for utaawase, which his konpeito segment was really funny and memorable LOL, but who knows! I’m curious how he’s portrayed in the myus where he’s part of the formation… at least from live concerts he’s also charismatic to me), it's his kindness that I've seen that has me label him as "cute" LOL, oh!! gentle giants I forgot that's a term!! Well in that case I could argue that Natsuki and Tonbokiri are both "gentle giants" archetypes, which I find cute! Another honorable mention is Ugo (Magi)... I think what I consider "cute" is kinda skewed as I would imagine people view some of these characters differently from me haha (Hot? Sexy? I don’t often think of/use those terms really…) I’m not super into paralive but I do want to listen to more of the drama cds, but I would put Simon in this list too… just from the very little I know of him…

Now, Yagen (Touken Ranbu) is a character I consider "cute" too, but I think my view of him is more so "cool" than "cute", or At Least in equal parts... I find him more charismatic than most swords I like and I think that comes from his overall design + personality? Yagen to me… he’s level-headed? Aloof? Caring? I’ve seen him in both games, Hanamaru, Katsugeki, Kyoden (both the anime and the stage play) and I think there’s different aspects of him to be seen in each… I think also the fact that he’s so petite with a deep voice and serious(?) personality is like wow!!!!! I can’t lie the leg appeal also gets to me real bad LMFAO… strong loyalty too, I like his lines with the saniwa very much… I think the history behind him is fascinating and I’m not gonna get into that level of detail but I just really like him! 𝑩𝑰𝑮 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 I actually find it hard to talk a lot about him (and Riquet) bc I have fears of not understanding them as much as I think I do/suck as picking the right words dhgshsf but that’s beside the point… anyway, I would put Shirayuki (Snow White with the Red Hair) on this list because although she’s quite different from Yagen, I think it’s how she carries herself that I think she’s so cool at times… Also, she’s working to be a court herbalist iirc and I think I also tend to really like characters who have a knack for plants/poisons/medicines… so maybe a category specific to this sort thing would be appropriate… not sure what I’d call it, but other honorable mentions would be Hakase (Hashihime)... maybe I could slide in Asuku (Nie no Machi) here too… AHHH MILO (Sabikui Bisco) TOO I LOVE MILO (and I love Bisco but he’s like an outlier in my usuals). They are all cute. To me.

Outside of “cuteness” and focusing on “tragedy” brings me to Nero and Faust (Mahoyaku) who are other characters I really love (individually/together/with others) but I don’t exactly describe them as “cute” (well, I think they are cute, but my reason for liking them isn’t exactly that). What I often seek out of the art and stories I engage with is to be met with a strong emotional response… does that make sense? There’s probably a deeper reason in the back of my head that I’m not going to touch on, but I love being moved and/or relate to things to the point of tears haha… And tragedy doesn’t have to be like, Super Major Trauma. If there are things that occurred in a character’s past that has changed the way they approach life, and then are met with someone or something that challenges those perceptions or whatnot, I think it’s lovely. I like connections. I like love, any kind of love. I like seeing what different relationships are like and how characters influence each other… I’m getting a bit sidetracked here haha…

Oh right!! I really like twins in media but that’s like, its own thing if that makes sense LOL, like think idolish7: I love Riku and Tenn when talking about them together and I even have an ita bag for them (I like them individually for different reasons), but if you were to ask me who my favorite (1) character from the series is, I would probably answer Iori or Gaku… Same thing with paralive, I like cozmez a lot, but I actually think my favorite character might be from the cat’s whiskers! Still gotta listen to the drama cds aaahhhh1!!!!

Uhhhh I hope this made sense! I kinda went everywhere but I have types that are obvious when you put characters together… I should probably make like a grouping thing w/ pictures at some point so that you can get a better understanding of what I like…

I actually just decided to make another trip to little tokyo for ice cream! it's gonna be 105 F which will be rough but i'm not going to let it stop me from having fun! I actually really enjoy spending time alone and I find that it helps improve my mood! Maybe I'll bring my book or tablet to draw... which I guess means I'll be there for a while and should maybe grab lunch there? I'll see how that goes!

As for albums/playlists I've been listening to a lot... I've actually been primarily listening to the touken ranbu musical albums haha! They have a good range of themes in songs, I jokingly told myself I should make two playlists titled "toumyu songs to listen to when sad (to feel better)" and "toumyu songs to listen to when sad (to feel worse)" LOL, some just emotionally hit me in a way that makes me cry (gestures over to love story)… but two albums in particular have been Atsukashiyama Ibun and Kishou Hongi! Not sure if they’ll appear outside of jp accs (cause I have mine set to Japan haha) but hopefully they can be accessed!

1. https://open.spotify.com/album/4JWftAfzMc1Pd1dK61nQKE?si=xavO1mpOSKOyJOBmNSvFeQ
2. https://open.spotify.com/album/4EzSFTCI5nnBbrcJpXtoV9?si=o-c8bplOTkGDUI1K1BtfIw

Outside of toumyu, I haven’t really been listening to much… but indigo la End and as well as Gesu No Kiwami Otome have been bands I’ve been listening to in between as well! Fun fact: new priv username came from this song title! https://open.spotify.com/track/3j7gjKmwraazOQyoibP5PA?si=ToWgEjfGR46aVvCQimKhPQ

sorry anon this was genuinely hard to answer bc I didn't grow up having a room for myself (still don't LOL) but in a hypothetical case that I had the chance to decorate my room, I'd love to put up posters and prints again! I got really into buying them when I went to uni since it was the first time I had the chance to decorate a (shared) room and I just love the look of a wall full of stuff I like!!!! bookshelves would be nice, I'd want to have a nice area to read/draw/write... and maybe a small table by a window to eat/have tea at! I'm also not a fan of carpet floors BUT carpets are cool... wood floors for ease of cleaning... It's hard for me to visualize something in detail though hhhh..... never really had a lot of space to work with!

good question!!! I don't have a clear answer actually haha (i kinda do?), especially because I'm not as knowledgeable on them as I'd like to be, so I'll just ramble a bit about flowers that I do like and why if that's okay!

chrysanthemums -- I have a funny association with these because the name of this flower was on the list of a spelling bee I took part in during 5th grade (I think, or it could've been between 4th-6th)... I practiced really hard to remember how to spell it! and I did! but I got second place because I forgot how to spell independence LOL... Anyway, the point is that I knew the name of the flower since young and although I can't recall when I've seen these flowers in person (probably a few times!), I thought the spelling was so lovely that I still find myself repeating it in my head quite often... I think the flowers are quite pretty and some of the meanings behind them stand out to me a lot! specifically white chrysanthemums having completely different meanings depending on the country (some associate it with grief while others with loyalty); additionally, I appointed this flower to one of my ocs (Elaine). I think the memory I have attached to the flowers (particularly the name) is why I'm quite fond of them.

baby's breath -- This flower's more fitting to the original question haha! So you can consider this my actual answer and all others (above and below) as others I love. I'm not exactly sure what drew me to them (which is often the case...) They're what sticks out to me most when I go to the supermarket and walk by the flower section. I think they're beautiful and I like how they pair well with browns (like those brown paper bouquets!!! very gorgeous!!!) I think the size of the flower also really catches my eye... I like looking at things (just like spectating life around me I guess?) and just taking in what's around me and these flowers in particular always have me looking at each tiny petal... these flowers are so cute to me... they soothe my heart..! I'm looking up the meaning behind these flowers and they're often given at weddings/to mothers, they're a symbol of purity/innocence and other similar sentiments!

hyacinths -- another flower that I don't really recall seeing in person much if at all, but also am attached to them because they kinda influenced the development of my main oc Leila (which I think the timing of this question is kinda funny given that I was thinking back to how I came to design her recently). I appointed purple hyacinths to Leila since years back and I have a feeling that those flowers were the reason why I gave her purple hair haha, that + the fact that the meaning behind them is related to feelings like forgiveness and sorrow also stood out to me! So these flowers have some sentimental value for me due to my association of them with Leila!

I think I also seem to lean towards white flowers as favorites... I do like white lilies and lily of the valley, and a somewhat recent addition to that list would be star jasmine! I used to see them a lot around my uni town and they have a pleasant smell! I didn't know what they were called until my girlfriend told me about them while we were walking haha ^^ I think she's much better at recognizing flowers than I am LOL, but it's the memory associated with them that makes star jasmine a flower I really really like as well!

I'm also realizing that a good amount of these flowers I like either have associations with purity or death in a way haha

ah!!! good question... lots to think about in particular to my mhyk au... I think both are neutral about them, but have distinct exceptions...

I think Leila is fond of animals mainly from afar..? She enjoys seeing animals through her window and at times wishes she could admire them a little closer. One of her favorite leisure activities is simply enjoying the scenery around her, animals included. She enjoys watching and feeling life being alive which puts her heart at ease... if that makes sense..? She does like petting them if it's safe to do so! But she doesn't harbor a huge interest in animals on a personal level... (much like people). She doesn't have a favorite animal at the moment, but she likes small critters! I will say she is Particularly Curious and interested inreptiles...

Elaine on the other hand is more welcoming of them in proximity, especially since they occasionally roam around in her town. She is also more adept at handling/dealing with them as needed and isn't disturbed by their closeness (Leila would struggle to keep calm with sudden approaches). But, like Leila, she doesn't have a huge interest in them on a personal level either. She does have favorites though (owls and deer), and would consider those animals the exception of lacking personal interest as she has fond memories of them from her youth. She has a really good memory and often can distinguish the various owls and deer from one another. She would give them names too... but that's not something she would tell others haha...

tl;dr, Leila and Elaine lean mostly neutral towards their likeness of animals, but Leila is interested in reptiles for reasons that maybe i'll explain in the future, while Elaine is interested in owls and deer because they're really cute to her and also early life experiences.

oooo sure!!! I'll preface this with a vn that I think may be in your interest (the rest will be personal faves), which is Hashihime of the Old Book Town! It's a Taisho-era mystery blvn that I and many of my friends love, one in particular also happens to be a big mamiya fan! My attempt at a basic run down (forgive me it's been a few years) is that Tamamori, our protag, moves into Tokyo and after failing his entrance exams, ends up working at a strange bookstore that only opens doors during the rainy days... strange happenings occur, causing Tamamori to get stuck repeating the same few rainy days as he tries to prevent the deaths of the friends around him... It is r18 in nature, if you'd like specifics I can def write something up for you, I know h scenes are censored/removed in the swtich version, though there are some significantly important dialogue during these scenes that gets removed as well, if that fits your preference more! (I can also share my steam library if it's of interest to you ^^). A lot of japanese literature references and symbolism/metaphors that are present throughout! The first route in particular was really emotionally touching to me that it took me months to finally get back and continue the game haha, it's also pretty kinetic and you only get the opportunity of making decisions after the first route, though the total amount of choices that can be made in the entire hand can be counted all in one hand. Sorry if my explanation is all over the place... it was a wonderful experience...

Aside from that!! Some other personal favorite vns (mainly otome, I don't have much experience with stuff outside of otome/blvns) include:

• Taisho x Alice: Otome, has some suggestive and potentially triggering content depending on the route you play, but very intriguing storyline. You follow Yurika, who wakes up in darkness one day and ends up running into Alice, the two of you lost and unfamiliar with your surroundings and each other. The two end up finding crystal mirrors that show a fairy tale world... and as you step in, you end up following along the tales these worlds contain! I don't want to say too much because I think this game is best played knowing as little as possible! It's got a lot of fairy tale inspiration (which you will see through the cast's names and plotlines) and the game Takes You Places...

• Jack Jeanne: Otome, I think it may have some content warnings? I haven't actually finished the game because it's Incredibly Long (to me) so I'm taking it slowly... I found it to be a really valuable game for me and where I currently am in life... You follow Kisa, a girl with a love for acting, who one day gets invited to join this prestigious all-boys acting school, Univeil, though in order to stay, she mustn't be found out to be a girl and must also be cast as a main role in the final performance of the school year... I Love Love Love the relationships she forms with her peers and the characters outside of her class... There's a lot of stage performances that occur within the school year, each unique and important to Kisa's (and others') development... A beautiful game with moving lines... Some of these characters hit a little close to home from the... 90ish hours i've played so far... give me about a year or two and i'll be finished with the entire game... I will also mention that it's a stat raising game and there's also a rhythm game portion that comes with each of the plays, but there's varying difficulty levels that you're free to choose!

• Uuultra C: BLVN, R18 (same creator as hashihime), whole lot of content warnings, more so than hashihime maybe..? This is a showa-era tokusatsu blvn that's separated into three chapters, each following a specific pair within the story! A story with kaiju and heroes, there are incidents that happen throughout japan and each chapter gets you new insights on the overarching story... It's not at all straightforward and TBH one playthrough of the game isn't enough... I've played it in full twice and even then there's still new things that I catch when I revist this game. Each of the pairings are distinct from each other, each having their own problems and desires... lots of identity talk... gets very crazy in chapter 3... It's personally my favorite vn... I think if you ever get around playing hashihime and enjoy it, you might like this game too..? Another game filled with references to japanese media of the time, metaphors and symbolism as per Adelta's usual storytelling. This one in particular is completely kinetic, no choices so you just click and read through!

I hope this was legible since it's hard to look back at the text on here hahaha but thank you for the question! I love these games and if others out there can enjoy them (me sharing this on an acc with like 10 people), then I'd be incredibly happy! I love visual novels and there are many more that I want to play...

dusting off my oc acc to post this (also rip I’m retyping everything a second time) but thank you for the question!!! Haven’t had time to think too much about my ocs lately so this was fun to write out ^^

random tidbit:
I took inspiration from the gazette’s “Reila” for her name! It’s one of my favorite songs of theirs ^^ I simply changed the first letter, but also then after found out that there’s a meaning of night/dark to the name which then led to me picking out Elaine’s name, so now theres a day/night or light/dark theme association I put to them sometimes haha

Favorite flowers:
Leila: purple hyacinths, often associated with sorrow, pretty and similar to her hair color.
Elaine: white chrysanthemums, have a variety of interpretations, mainly loyalty and grief are what I think of (I purposefully chose both flowers for their associations to death and grief long while back)

Favorite colors: ngl this was a bit hard to answer simply bc it’s not something I’ve really thought about tooooo deeply
Leila: probably white, but likes neutrals and colors that remind her of nature
Elaine: jewel tones stand out most to her

What they most like to eat for breakfast
Leila: tea is a must, would most likely eat some combination of a sandwich/bread and an assortment of fruit!
Elaine: something a more on the savory side, a choice of meat/fish and rice, and/or soup. Good soup.