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  • Locked thread
Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Now I'm just remembering all the FATE post-bad-end screens where you get the discussion about what you should have done differently. I wonder if that's going to keep going through this half of the game.

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Haifisch
Nov 13, 2010

Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!



Taco Defender
Salyu and Yuuri top
Mashiro high
Natsuhiko middle

TheMcD
May 4, 2013

Monaca / Subject N 2024
---------
Despair will never let you down.
Malice will never disappoint you.

Alright, voting is closed. The results are...

Yuuri: 8
Salyu and Mashiro: 7 (Salyu has a tie-breaker)
Natsuhiko: 4

TheMcD
May 4, 2013

Monaca / Subject N 2024
---------
Despair will never let you down.
Malice will never disappoint you.

A small batch of footage concluding the second chapter is recorded. Not sure if I'll crank out a chapter tonight, we'll see when it's done rendering. Quick spoilers: We get Salyu's first friendship scene this time around (while keeping Mashiro's and Yuuri's), and we don't gently caress up and die. All around a good round.

TheMcD
May 4, 2013

Monaca / Subject N 2024
---------
Despair will never let you down.
Malice will never disappoint you.

YOUR NAME IS

The results are in!

code:
Natsuhiko:

Top =     
High =    I
Middle =  IIII
Low =     I
Bottom =  

Result: ((0*8)+(1*6)+(4*4)+(1*2)+(0*0))/6 = 4 = 4

Yuuri:

Top =     IIIII
High =    I
Middle =  
Low =     
Bottom =  

Result: ((5*8)+(1*6)+(0*4)+(0*2)+(0*0))/6 = 7.666 = 8

Mashiro:

Top =     III
High =    III
Middle =  
Low =     
Bottom =  

Result: ((3*8)+(3*6)+(0*4)+(0*2)+(0*0))/6 = 7 = 7

Salyu:

Top =     IIII
High =    II
Middle =  
Low =     
Bottom =  

Result: ((4*8)+(2*6)+(0*4)+(0*2)+(0*0))/6 = 7.333 = 7
The result this comes out to is that Yuuri is at 8, Natsuhiko is at 4, Salyu is at 8 or 7, and Mashiro is at 7 or 6 - basically, if the Senses input is between Mashiro and Salyu, I'll put Salyu at 8 and Mashiro at 7. If the input is between Yuuri, Salyu and Mashiro, I'll put Yuuri at 8, Salyu at 7 and Mashiro at 6. Basically, this just ensures that we have Salyu above Mashiro in accordance with the results. Now, let's see how this affects the events of September 11th.




The first change comes during this input in TRANSFER STUDENT.

(Wh-what's with her...?)

But she said nothing, slipping in beside Natsuhiko to reach her seat.

Hey, Natsuhiko. She's pretty cute, huh?



She's kinda like a doll, isn't she? I guess half-Japanese girls really are cute.
True, I guess there might be a genetic component to it, but...

Regardless of how he put it, she was an eye-catchingly beautiful girl.

But it kinda looked like she was staring at you, huh, Natsuhiko?

And then it proceeds as normal.



The next change is during the next Senses input in TRANSFER STUDENT.

So, how about it? How does Salyu sound? I think it's cute, personally~
Hmm... well, I don't see why not.
Really!?

Mashiro nodded to herself repeatedly.



Natsuhiko was a little surprised at how easily the nickname was approved.

That sure was easy... What, did you happen to like that nickname?
I guess.

She answered quite simply. But did she really like it, or was she just sick of Mashiro talking and wanted to get it over with--?

(Probably the latter, I'd say.)
Eheheh. So, Salyu, once again, nice to meet you.
... Mm.

And then it continues as before.



We go as before for a while, until this input during FOR YOU.

I think that'll be a plus for Yuuri. And maybe even the professor brought Salyu here with that same intention?
I wonder...

Natsuhiko could only halfway agree with that assessment. Mashiro's reasoning made sense, but he didn't expect that sort of thoughtfulness from his cold mother.



So in this case, favoring Yuuri means that we don't have any Favor changes at all in this segment.

Yeah... She didn't seem that against it, but still. Well, let's just settle into it. I'll be there to help in my own way.
Yeah. I'm counting on you.

Once Natsuhiko nodded, Mashiro suddenly noticed something.

Actually, I'm worried about how Salyu feels too. Not just Yuuri.
How Salyu feels?

And once again, we go on as before.



Now, we come to the major departure for this re-do - thanks to our higher Sense of Salyu, we now get an opportunity to get her first friendship scene.

And it makes me feel bad when you're unkind to me. Stop.
I-I'm sorry about that...



♪ BGM: Individualist / Theme of Louise

(She was sent here to protect me...? What's this girl saying?)



...
...
...
...

But she showed no intention of talking whatsoever.

(Sh-should I try to ask her what she means...? Would she even humor me with an answer, though...?)

As Natsuhiko mulled over his choices, Salyu abruptly spoke up.

Natsuhiko.
Huh?
You like stars?
Stars?

Salyu pointed up.



I don't really like them or hate them to be honest...
I see.
So what does th--

Salyu cut Natsuhiko off before he could finish.

What's the meaning of the name Natsuhiko?
C-come again?

Natsuhiko stumbled over his words like a fool in light of her barrage of questions.

I... I dunno? I'm not even sure if there is a meaning behind it.
Natsu is summer. Were you born in the summer?
Ah, yeah. In June. What about it?
I see.
...
...

--A somehow tense silence fell between them... Salyu ignored Natsuhiko's bewilderment and subtly continued the conversation.

...All names have some sort of meaning behind them. There's no such thing as a meaningless name.
I-is that how it works?
That's how it works. You people have quite meaningful names.
What do you mean?
You haven't noticed? Well, I guess it -is- just a coincidence.
No, I haven't noticed a thing...

He didn't understand her in the slightest.

Even the nickname 'Salyu' has meaning. I don't think Mashiro noticed at all, but it's pronounced the same as 'salut', which means 'hi' in French. A salutation. The beginning of communication.
Ah... Th-that's right.

That was all news to him. But he wasn't going to let her know that.

--As a further aside, it also sounds similar to the word 'sairuiu' in Japanese, meaning 'tear rain'.
Sai... ru... iu?
...You've never heard of it?
Never in my life.
You're so ignorant. I thought you were Japanese.
...!

The sudden disparagement annoyed Natsuhiko.

(What the hell's going on... Can we get this conversation over with already?)

The moment that thought crossed Natsuhiko's mind,

Stuffed Animal: Gyuu!

Salyu's stuffed animal let out a weirder cry than before.

...

Salyu gasped when she heard it.

(Why did she gasp...!?)

Salyu looked at the utterly confused Natsuhiko with gloomy eyes.

...If you'll excuse me, I have to do my daily routine.
Huh, ah, wait!

Salyu ignored Natsuhiko and darted back inside.

... What. What just happened...!?

Natsuhiko was at his wits end, not understanding a lick of what occurred. And it didn't look like he could find an answer just by thinking about it. The questions only piled up.

thread.txt

So in the end-- he never heard what exactly she meant by ''protecting'' him.

(But still... honestly, what's with that girl...?)

And with that, we re-enter FOR YOU. Finally, we have our last departures during THE PAST AND PRESENT YOU.



The blue branch after Yuuri's friendship scene leads to a different bit, with Yuuri gaining a +1 in Favor.

I'm perfectly fine with it.
Are you sure? You can be honest with me, okay?
I'm sure~ Hikorin, you're such a worrywart.
I-I see...

Yuuri turned Natsuhiko's words from yesterday against him.

I guess we're both a couple of worrywarts, then...
I'm glad you care about me and all, but why does it bother you that much?
To be honest, I'm... confused... That girl says a bunch of strange things.

It then goes on as normal, until...



...there it is. The red branch asking about Salyu. For this, we need to have Salyu at 7 or 8 to not die, so we made it through here.

...How?
...How indeed? But I'm sure Salyu is on your side, Hikorin.



It's... hard to believe that so suddenly.
I guess that's true...

Yuuri smiled sadly as she said so.

Both you and I have lived in fear of change, after all. But one day... we have to accept it. Or else we'll be trapped in the past forever...

She fell silent. The only sound in the still room was the ticking of the hands on the wall clock.



Natsuhiko gasped.

(That's right... yesterday... when Yuuri started talking with this tone of voice--)

He looked at his watch, only to find it had broken before he had realized it.

(No way...?)



♪ BGM: Close to the Truth

The dial had cracked. The hands were stopped, and the date displayed was days into the future.



Early morning, five days from today--

Wh... why?

Yuuri continued despite Natsuhiko's terror.

...Hey, Hikorin. No matter how many things make no sense around you... No matter how many things seem suspicious... No matter what's the truth and what's a lie, you should be in the company of those with good intentions, shouldn't you? So don't distrust those around you. ...If you must distrust someone, then distrust me.

And with that, Yuuri turned around, and left the living room.

Y-Yuuri...? Wait, what do you mean?







Haifisch
Nov 13, 2010

Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!



Taco Defender

TheMcD posted:

(What the hell's going on... Can we get this conversation over with already?)

The moment that thought crossed Natsuhiko's mind,

Stuffed Animal: Gyuu!

Salyu's stuffed animal let out a weirder cry than before.

...

Salyu gasped when she heard it.

(Why did she gasp...!?)
What I'm getting from this is that either Salyu can read minds, or her stuffed animal is some sort of intention/emotion detector.

CirclMastr
Jul 4, 2010

Haifisch posted:

What I'm getting from this is that either Salyu can read minds, or her stuffed animal is some sort of intention/emotion detector.

So the stuffed animal is possessed by a ghost, you say?

EponymousMrYar
Jan 4, 2015

The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

CirclMastr posted:

So the stuffed animal is possessed by a ghost, you say?

Yuuri may also be a spirit guide from the way she's going on.

Double the ghost, become a host Natsuhiko!

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


TheMcD posted:

Now, let's see how this affects the events of September 11th.

:911:

Cyouni
Sep 30, 2014

without love it cannot be seen
Yes, this scene is where you first get the reference to 'sairuiu', or tear rain. It's also a hint to 'Altair' and 'bridge of wings', but the full reference comes later.

Seraphic Neoman
Jul 19, 2011


That was terrible. By far the worst piece of dialogue in this game jesus christ.

I've seen machine translations that sound more natural.

GeneralYeti
Jul 22, 2012

Look at this smug broken asshole.
Also, just gonna point out that Salyu doesn't sound like 'salut', unless they don't pronounce the Y and her nickname is just 'Salu'.

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


GeneralYeti posted:

Also, just gonna point out that Salyu doesn't sound like 'salut', unless they don't pronounce the Y and her nickname is just 'Salu'.

The typical rendering of the French word "salut" in Japanese is サリュー, "saryuu". Salyu's nickname sounds similar to the first syllables of each of her names in Japanese, Sannomiya Ruiizu Yui. SaRuYu, Salyu, saryuu, salut.

Danaru
Jun 5, 2012

何 ??

Pollyanna posted:

The typical rendering of the French word "salut" in Japanese is サリュー, "saryuu". Salyu's nickname sounds similar to the first syllables of each of her names in Japanese, Sannomiya Ruiizu Yui. SaRuYu, Salyu, saryuu, salut.

Okay that makes way more sense. I was real confused about that line.

GeneralYeti
Jul 22, 2012

Look at this smug broken asshole.

Pollyanna posted:

The typical rendering of the French word "salut" in Japanese is サリュー, "saryuu". Salyu's nickname sounds similar to the first syllables of each of her names in Japanese, Sannomiya Ruiizu Yui. SaRuYu, Salyu, saryuu, salut.

Huh. Learn something new every day.

OddHaberdasher
Jan 21, 2016
So, the 'Salut is a magical girl' theory keeps building up evidence. Also, it seems Yuuri does have some form of achronal business going on with her.

Danaru
Jun 5, 2012

何 ??

OddHaberdasher posted:

So, the 'Salut is a magical girl' theory keeps building up evidence. Also, it seems Yuuri does have some form of achronal business going on with her.

I mean Yuuri's straight up roasting Natsuhiko's nuts through time for being a dumbass and telling him how to not get himself killed later, so she's definitely some kind of time Jesus. Also the static flickers whenever she goes from normal to ~ooooooo time vagueness~ mode. Just tell him what to do you rude timejerk :mad:

ArashiKurobara
Mar 22, 2013

Cyouni posted:

Yes, this scene is where you first get the reference to 'sairuiu', or tear rain. It's also a hint to 'Altair' and 'bridge of wings', but the full reference comes later.

I basically got here, went "... is that even a word?", looked it up in my usual Japanese <--> English dictionary, didn't find it, concluded for the time being "well, it's not totally comprehensive, but I am very skeptical of your 'is a word'-ness, game."

Talked about the note and the conversation the next day with a friend of mine who's played, he did find it in a Japanese dictionary as in like one for native Japanese speakers. Let's just say for now that it's an extremely specific sort of rain and I would not be shocked in the least if Natsuhiko not knowing the word is pretty typical.

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


ArashiKurobara posted:

I basically got here, went "... is that even a word?", looked it up in my usual Japanese <--> English dictionary, didn't find it, concluded for the time being "well, it's not totally comprehensive, but I am very skeptical of your 'is a word'-ness, game."

Talked about the note and the conversation the next day with a friend of mine who's played, he did find it in a Japanese dictionary as in like one for native Japanese speakers. Let's just say for now that it's an extremely specific sort of rain and I would not be shocked in the least if Natsuhiko not knowing the word is pretty typical.

Looks like it really is a thing: http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E5%82%AC%E6%B6%99%E9%9B%A8

weblio.jp posted:

Sairuiu
Kanji: 催涙雨
Pronounced as: sa-i-ru-i-u
Also written as: 洒涙雨、灑涙雨

Rain that falls on the 7th of July. It is named after the tears that Orihime and Hikoboshi weep as they are unable to meet outside of when they cross the Milky Way during Tanabata. It's also referred to the "car wash rain", in reference to Hikoboshi washing his ox cart in preparation for seeing Orihime.

EDIT: It is interesting to note that the usual kanji used to write the word translates literally to "lachrymal rain", and the alternative writings are something along the lines of "washing/sprinkling tear rain", where "tear rain" is a word used to refer to a light (as in not heavy) rain, or a rain falling at a time of sadness.

Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 14:58 on Jan 17, 2017

OddHaberdasher
Jan 21, 2016
Since Pollyanna went and revealed the Tanabata reference, I will say that Altair is a reference to Hikoboshi (I have no idea who represents this one unfortunately) while the 'bridge of wings' refers to the flock of magpies that promised to span the river so Orihime could cross (as long as there was not a sairuiu to get their feathers wet,anyway). I wonder why she would bother to leave a message for that person.... As for the second part, I do not know, though superficially speaking, cage when said by a Japanese person would sound close to Keiji.

OddHaberdasher fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Jan 17, 2017

TheMcD
May 4, 2013

Monaca / Subject N 2024
---------
Despair will never let you down.
Malice will never disappoint you.

OddHaberdasher posted:

Since Pollyanna went and revealed the Tanabata reference, I will say that Altair is a reference to Hikoboshi (I have no idea who represents this one unfortunately) while the 'bridge of wings' refers to the flock of magpies that promised to span the river so Orihime could cross (as long as there was not a sairuiu to get their feathers wet,anyway). I wonder why she would bother to leave a message for that person.... As for the second part, I do not know, though superficially speaking, cage when said by a Japanese person would sound close to Keiji.

I'll just go ahead and add what I know, since I don't know what the message means either, and can therefore speculate with the rest of you.

Hikoboshi, from what I'm seeing online, can also go by the name of Natsuhikoboshi. It's apparently a lesser used name, but it seems pretty obvious where the connection is.

And of course, the flock of magpies pretty much has to be referring to Watase - see also, the extra bit with Yuuri I posted during the chapter Hug. This is the only other time that a name was really brought up as significant, and Salyu seems to be big into names and their meanings.

I have an idea what the thing at the end might be referring to, but if that's true, it's not going to be coming up for a bit. So I'll bring that up when we get there.

Cyouni
Sep 30, 2014

without love it cannot be seen

TheMcD posted:

And of course, the flock of magpies pretty much has to be referring to Watase - see also, the extra bit with Yuuri I posted during the chapter Hug. This is the only other time that a name was really brought up as significant, and Salyu seems to be big into names and their meanings.

I have an idea what the thing at the end might be referring to, but if that's true, it's not going to be coming up for a bit. So I'll bring that up when we get there.

I will point out that Salyu's line is specifically referring to the 'bridge of bird wings'.

To make life easier on people, I will say that the answer to Salyu's question at the end of the message won't be possible to answer for a while.

OddHaberdasher
Jan 21, 2016
The full message as we understand it:

From Salyu to Natsuhiko and Kasasagi
Did you guys manage to escape?
Or are you still here?
I haven't found you after all my searching,
so perhaps you're long gone.
But I'd like to reunite with you as soon as possible if you are indeed still here.
If you guys are the ones reading this, then answer the following question:
"Was Sirius able to escape from his cage on that night of the full moon?"

EDIT: Also, really, Hikoboshi was staring me in the face, I have no excuse for that.

OddHaberdasher fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Jan 17, 2017

TheMcD
May 4, 2013

Monaca / Subject N 2024
---------
Despair will never let you down.
Malice will never disappoint you.

SALYU - SEPTEMBER 16: 09/16/2030, 06:39



♪ BGM: Psychological Warfare

Wah!

Before Natsuhiko could think, he tumbled over from the excess momentum. And he knocked his back against the floor.



Natsuhiko, are you okay?

Mashiro called out to him.

...

Salyu silently looked down on him. Natsuhiko was confused for a second as to what was going on.

(... Th-that's right... I was trying to escape from LABO.)

And after straining to wrench open a jammed gate, they had finally gotten it open. Yuuri looked at Natsuhiko and anxiously spoke.

C-can you stand?
Y-yeah.

Natsuhiko got up and looked toward the gate.

...More importantly, let's go. Area 2's probably ahead.

They all nodded and rushed towards Area 2.



They were in such a desperate situation, yet Natsuhiko just spent a moment in deep reminiscence.

(Why now? Why am I remembering what happened these past few days...?)





He vividly recalled what happened that day as if time had rewound itself.





He experienced with such clarity the conversation he had with Mashiro at the park, and the time Salyu showed up at their house, too.

(... No, this is no time to be looking toward the past. Concentrate on getting out of here!)

As soon as Natsuhiko had that thought,



♪ BGM: Ominous Ambience ♫

Wh... what are those?
...!

Natsuhiko and the others stopped in their tracks. The two shadows were unidentifiable people with their faces hidden behind masks.



???: You kids sure as heck aren't staff members. What're you doing down here?
And you are...?
???: We're the rescue squad that received a distress call from LABO.
Rescue squad!?

Natsuhiko breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.



♪ BGM: LABO Security Lv. 2

Rescue Worker 1: You kids must be survivors, right?
Y-yeah... We happened to be down here by coincidence and got caught up in all this.
Rescue Worker 1: Anyone else with you?
No, just the four of us.
Rescue Worker 2: --How many did you say?
Just us four. We have a particularly frail girl with us, so can we entrust her to you?
Rescue Worker 2: Understood. Then let us see her real quick and...

As the rescue squad member spoke, he reached a hand out to Natsuhiko--





♪ BGM: Looming Crisis

!?

The rescue worker collapsed onto the floor from the impact of the kick.

(Huh...?)



It was Salyu that had kicked the man. She looked at Natsuhiko with level-headed eyes.

Rescue Worker 2: Wh-what are you doing!?

The other rescue worker grabbed at Salyu's shoulder.



Rescue Worker 1: Gah!

The rescue worker hit the floor and lost consciousness.

Salyu, why...!?

Salyu responded to Mashiro's hollow voice with a ''hmph''.

Natsuhiko, Mashiro. You guys are too soft... You let your guards down too quick.
Huh!?
Why are you so quick to trust people?
...



Those same eyes she had when they first met. Those gazing eyes that looked at Natsuhiko expressionlessly from within the onlookers at the car crash--

(No... why...?)

As soon as Natsuhiko had that thought,





♪ BGM: Ominous Ambience ♫

...Hikorin, have you forgotten? Have you forgotten what sort of girl Salyu is?
Huh...?
She's been with you all the way up to today, hasn't she? Do you not understand... the truth hidden behind her words? You can take your time, but I want you to remember. What is real. And what is a lie. Hikorin, you should already know... who it is you must trust.

He could not grasp the true intention of those words.

The answer lies in your memories. The memories of that day--

As soon as those words left Yuuri's lips, Natsuhiko saw his watch in the corner of his eye.





(What happened on that day!?)

Natsuhiko tried to confirm what Yuuri meant-- As he struggled to form his thoughts into words.



OddHaberdasher
Jan 21, 2016
Salyu kicks rear end and distrusts people. What else is new? Also, wow, that didn't take long until the time warp.

AweStriker
Oct 6, 2014

Salyu how hypocritical can you be? Natsuhiko had to trust you with no reason to to get here and now you're calling him out on it?

POOL IS CLOSED
Jul 14, 2011

I'm just exploding with mackerel. This is the aji wo kutta of my discontent.
Pillbug
All adults are evil, especially adults in positions of official authority.

In another VN LP, I think there was some discussion about the elements of style prized in Japanese literature vs. Western literature, particularly in repetition vs. novelty. Does anyone recall the specifics?

HydroSphere
Feb 11, 2014

TheMcD posted:


Rescue Worker 1: You kids must be survivors, right?
Y-yeah... We happened to be down here by coincidence and got caught up in all this.
Rescue Worker 1: Anyone else with you?
No, just the four of us.
Rescue Worker 2: --How many did you say?

Hmm...did the rescue worker just somehow overlook someone, or could he literally not see one or more of them?

HydroSphere fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Jan 17, 2017

Seraphic Neoman
Jul 19, 2011


You're not giving us a lot of reasons to trust her, Yuuri. If you know what's going on, share with the class.

CirclMastr
Jul 4, 2010

HydroSphere posted:

Hmm...did the rescue worker just somehow overlook someone, or could he literally not see one or more of them?

The rescue workers can't see the ghosts.

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


HydroSphere posted:

Hmm...did the rescue worker just somehow overlook someone, or could he literally not see one or more of them?

Good catch, there's definitely some ghostery going on.

OddHaberdasher
Jan 21, 2016
Alternatively, the rescue worker (the blue armband was Watase, right?) might have been seeing the ghost of Gunshot Girl.

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


Actually, yeah, good point. There's nothing implying that he's seeing less than four people. :tinfoil:

TheMcD
May 4, 2013

Monaca / Subject N 2024
---------
Despair will never let you down.
Malice will never disappoint you.

DREAMS AND REALITY: 09/12/2030, 06:39



Natsuhiko sprung up in bed.

Ah... Huh?

For a second, he couldn't tell where he was.



His heart was still thumping hard.

...That same dream again...

Every so often, Natsuhiko would wake up from a nightmare like this. But every time he'd wake up, he'd forget about the particulars of the nightmare. It probably had something to do with ''that day'' nine years ago. Or perhaps--

What a way to start the morning...

Natsuhiko shook his head in frustration before changing and leaving the room.



As Yuuri had been implying in the last chapter, this day will be revolving largely around Salyu and just what kind of girl she is. I hope it will help a bit in warming up to Salyu - as the implications I've been getting from the thread have been rather cold.



♪ BGM: Anxious Times of Rokumei City

Good morning, Hikorin~
...

Yuuri greeted him with a warm smile. Salyu on the other hand just looked at him silently. Yesterday still seemed hard to believe: a beautiful French-Japanese prodigy abruptly moved into his house-- But apparently it was no dream.

Uhm, good morning, Yuuri, ...Salyu.

Not used to greetings, Salyu awkwardly attempted a reply.

... Morning.

The moment Salyu said that, Mashiro popped out of the kitchen.



Breakfast is just about ready. Help me prepare.
Oh, sure.

Mashiro seemed to be the same as always. Natsuhiko went through the motions of helping to prepare for breakfast. And soon enough, a small family-sized portion of French toast, salad, and some coffee was laid out on the table.



The salad has French dressing and the coffee is French roast!
It's all French style, huh~. Mmm, looks delicious again today~
...Mmm.
Okay, everyone, put your hands together--
Thanks for the food.

And thus, they began to eat, leaving Natsuhiko's bewilderment unresolved.





That was what bewildered Natsuhiko. --And then, after breakfast was over-- Natsuhiko, Mashiro, and Salyu had to go to school, so they turned the lights on on their way out.

HydroSphere
Feb 11, 2014

OddHaberdasher posted:

Alternatively, the rescue worker (the blue armband was Watase, right?) might have been seeing the ghost of Gunshot Girl.

Watase had a black armband.

TheMcD
May 4, 2013

Monaca / Subject N 2024
---------
Despair will never let you down.
Malice will never disappoint you.

Yeah, to mention the colors of the armbands for correctness's sake, they are as follows:

Watase: Black
Kazami: Red
Jun: Green
Dojima: Yellow
Hiyama: Blue

So those two Salyu beat up were Dojima and Hiyama.

EDIT: Or somebody wearing their suits. Unlikely for that to be the case, though, since the two died in their suits.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Honestly it feels like this is the main game and Watase was a side story? Unless there's going to be some secret third THE TRUUUUUTH game going.

eternaldough
Jan 16, 2017

Considering Route After ended with a cliffhanger, it's rather certain Route Before will too, then comes a route where they merge. Assuming the structure of the story isn't totally lopsided in Natsuhiko's favour.

I couldn't say which feels more like the 'main' path starting off though, as so far they feel like completely different genres of visual novel. Starting off with the closed and dangerous environment of Route A is definitely ideal though, as was starting with someone as clueless to the world as the player would be.

Cyouni
Sep 30, 2014

without love it cannot be seen

freshlybaked posted:

Considering Route After ended with a cliffhanger, it's rather certain Route Before will too, then comes a route where they merge. Assuming the structure of the story isn't totally lopsided in Natsuhiko's favour.

I couldn't say which feels more like the 'main' path starting off though, as so far they feel like completely different genres of visual novel. Starting off with the closed and dangerous environment of Route A is definitely ideal though, as was starting with someone as clueless to the world as the player would be.

I will say I enjoyed going from B to A, but going from A to B is definitely the ideal way of doing it. Given people have already noticed and commented on the discrepancy between the amount of endings in each route and the amount of endings overall, it's safe to say that Route B isn't the end.

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Logicblade
Aug 13, 2014

Festival with your real* little sister!
Yeah, we've played the Dark Route, we're playing the hero route now, so there must be a Last Route upcoming. (Where we crash LABO into the moon or something iunno)

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