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Update 8: Short Sharp Shock (Silence) It takes me some time to relax and get up so I can get started on homework. It's because the sheets are cool and comforting against my cheeks, and it feels good just lying there with my eyes closed. This school is like some kind of bizarre and surreal island. It's isolated on top of a mountain, and each person is stranger than the last. I just can't seem to fit in.  What irony, one would think that fitting in a place that's made for people who are unfit for anywhere else would be easy.  HISAO: "Maybe I'm trying too hard." Although I say that, it doesn't help take the edge off, and the words are left echoing off my empty walls. I guess it's not as bad as I expected, though. This place really is more a school and less a hospital pretending it's a school than I thought it would be. If nothing else, the scenery is beautiful. I open one eye, seeing the schoolbooks and bottles of pills arranged side-by-side on my desktop. Maybe this place is too much like a normal school, after all. Katawa Shoujo OST - Track 23 (Passing Of Time) HQ     Haven’t mentioned this yet, but I probably should: while most scenes have a standard wipe separating them, the game marks bigger transitions – like, say, transitions between days in the first act – by playing the first eight seconds of this theme and showing this graphic. It’s actually rather nice. Katawa Shoujo OST – Fripperies  I feel very tired this morning, probably because yesterday itself was a very tiring day. On top of that, I woke up far earlier than necessary. After saying hi to Shizune and Misha, I start doing the work as instructed from the board. It already looks like today is going to be heavy. I don't have a problem with that now, though. Shizune and Misha might jump on me trying to get an answer about whether or not I've decided to join the Student Council, even if it's just one day. I wouldn't put it past them to try, and I don't have an answer for them if they do. So, this situation is convenient for me. About ten minutes into class, Hanako walks in and takes a seat, but no one looks at her. The teacher doesn't even comment on her lateness. He does, however, stop us to say that we're going to break into groups again. I turn my head and see that Shizune and Misha are looking at me. Shizune gives me a smile that is equal parts cute and menacing. This is a smile that says 'We have you now. There is no escape.  MISHA: "Hicchan~, it looks like we're together again! Yay yay~!"  Misha leans sideways while Shizune pushes her desk closer to mine. There really is no escape now unless I were to jump through the window. Jumping out the window isn't the best option, sadly. I think this is the first time a screenshot with gray text made it into this LP. Generally, if I want to grab a shot I missed earlier, I need to reload a save, work my way back to whichever screen I’m looking for, take the shot, and find where I left off again. However, KS has a built-in function that lets you scroll back through text you’ve already read as far as you like, even past choices if you want to take them again; any text you’ve already read get grayed out. A useful function for an LP, right? It would be, if tabbing into and out of the game didn’t mysteriously disable it. Any chance I have to scroll back and capture something is a blessing that I can’t help but use when I can. If anyone finds the text harder to read like this, though, I can go back to reloading.  SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "What's wrong, Hicchan?" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Oh... Hicchan, have you been thinking about what you said yesterday? You said that you would think about joining the Student Council, didn't you? It's okay, Hicchan. We were talking about it after you left, and it would be rude to expect you to already have an answer for us this early, right? Right~! Hahahahahaha~!" I'm so happy you two are able to have a laugh at my expense, and even more pleased to know that you both know how crazy the two of you can be. Now that that's over, Shizune snaps back into serious mode and smacks today's assignment with the back of her hand in an overly dramatic and important way. When I actually look at the stuff, it's mostly just reading. In fact, there are only two problems. I almost want to say something about how her rush to get started seems a bit much, considering the small amount of work. In fact, Shizune probably knows how little there is, and simply doesn't care. Yeah, it seems like the workload doesn't matter to her as much as the fact that there is work; the actual amount is unimportant. She approaches everything with the same level of ambition. (Silence)  While I'm reading, I let my eyes wander around the room and catch Hanako trying her hand at solving the problems. It looks like she's working alone. I can't remember seeing her working with other people before. Thinking back to how shy she is, it's understandable. HISAO: "Hey, that girl over there..." MISHA: "Huh? Who, Hicchan?" HISAO: "Her. Hanako. Over there. Does she always work alone?" MISHA: "I think so, Hicchan. Do you feel sorry for her because she's alone?" HISAO: "I was just thinking that maybe she could work with us, or something." MISHA: "Hmmmm... No, I don't think that would be a good idea, Hicchan." HISAO: "Why not?" MISHA: "Shicchan wouldn't get along with her." HISAO: "Why?" Misha shuffles around the question, letting out a laugh that sounds very strange; it's nervous, but still has that lilting up-and-down quality present in everything she says. MISHA: "Just because, Hicchan." By now, Shizune has noticed our conversation, and it makes me realize again how Misha has been signing everything she has been saying this whole time. SHIZUNE: "..."  MISHA: "What, Shicchan? The friend of my enemy is my enemy? That sounds so harsh, I'm not going to say that." HISAO: "You said it anyway." MISHA: "I know, Hicchan, it's fine if you overhear~!" I wonder if this is Misha's way of keeping things fair, since without her, I wouldn't be able to understand a thing Shizune is saying, and vice versa. Is that also why she signs all the time, so there is never a conversation Shizune will be left out of? SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Anyway, we should start on the problems now, Hicchan." Katawa Shoujo OST – Daylight  We finish with time to spare, and I decide to ask if there are any alternatives to the cafeteria, as frankly, the food so far has been subpar. This sends Shizune and Misha arguing among themselves about their favorite restaurants. All of them are downtown, so I don't think we have time to go all the way there. And what about the bill? Are they arguing just for the fun of it? Maybe. They seem so distracted by it that they don't even notice the start of the actual lunch break. I look over my shoulder towards the back of the classroom. She seems to be studying her notes from the previous class. It's an odd sight; everyone else in the class is busying themselves with the lunch break. Socializing, gossiping, rearranging desks, the ones with actual boxed lunches mixed in and chattering like everyone else, only interrupted by short bouts of eating. But, when I watch Hanako, it feels that I'm the only one who can see her. Almost as if she was invisible; sort of hiding in plain sight. Is she being bullied? Is she isolating herself from the rest of the class on her own accord? I see her look over her shoulder towards the classroom's rear door. Come to think of it, she hasn't turned a page since I've started watching her. I guess she's waiting for someone.  What to do... >"Wait for Shizune and Misha to come to a decision." >"Read my book." This section used to contain a bunch of flags analysis, but it looks like almost everything I said about flags up to this point is wrong! whitehelm posted:I had a feeling you would get something wrong here but I didn't want to spoil anything earlier (and I knew the thread picked Emi so it didn't matter). There are 3 flags (not 2) available for both Shizune and Lilly/Hanako in the first bit and you only need 2 out of 3 for each of them to unlock the corresponding choice here. For Shizune the 3 flags are: introducing yourself the first day (this is the one you accidently got because you thought it just changed the dialogue a bit...it doesn't), telling Shizune you have no further questions, and playing Risk aggressively. For Lilly/Hanako the 3 flags are: asking Shizune about the library, apologizing to Hanako, and telling Kenji that Hanako's cute. You only got the apologizing flag, so you successfully got rid of the Lilly/Hanako path. The only thing that seemed off her was I swear I selected "ask about library" and it let me go back to the dialogue menu, but I went back and verified whitehelm had it right. I'm on my THIRD walkthrough now and this one seems legit. We'll see. =>”Read my book.” I'm not shooting for any of the currently available characters so I take the most boring possible option, reading. It wipes all of my flags, leaving all three girls inaccessible and forcing me to pick between two characters we haven’t met yet. The game really wants you to socialize, man. (Silence) I do what I always do when I don't know what to do. Like now. I've already started on one of the books I borrowed yesterday, and took it with me to school to fill the empty moments between classes. I find the page that I creased a corner of to mark the spot I left yesterday night, and pick up from there. Misha and Shizune are still arguing heatedly, probably about restaurants still. If I joined them, I'd just get caught up in that, or worse, get grilled about joining the Student Council. Misha isn't speaking aloud since there is nobody who'd need to hear what they are talking about. But why does she tend to sign things even when Shizune doesn't need to understand what's being said, or even more strangely, when Shizune is not around at all? What an odd conflict of habits. I find it hard to focus on the book, and besides, the lunch break beckons me to leave the dullness of the classroom. I do so, heading down for the cafeteria. Misha and Shizune, having come to a conclusion of one kind or another, follow in my wake though still talking in their animated fashion. There’s an odd sound effect here, one that sounds kind of like running and kind of like flexing metal. Just around the corner of the hallway something hits me in the chest with the force of a runaway train. HISAO: "Ouch..." Katawa Shoujo OST - Standing Tall (Emi's Theme)  Opening my eyes, I see a pair of saucer-like green eyes looking up at me.  They belong to the perpetrator, a short girl who bumped into me and has now fallen down onto the hallway floor. She wears a PE uniform and a very worried frown. The former strikes me as a rather strange thing to have on during a lunch break. ...More striking than that, though, is that she doesn't have legs.  Or she does, but they are not flesh and bone. Her pale and very much flesh-and-bone thighs end in shins and feet made of some black metallic or plastic-like material. They look disturbingly artificial and unnatural. It almost makes me forget that my chest is hurting. The girl winces a little, rubs her nose and jumps up.   "Aw man... Hey, are you all right? I'm sorry about that, really! I wasn't looking where I was going, and you just came out of nowhere. Sorry... Sorry!"She's looking really apologetic, in the hurt puppy way of looking apologetic. I quickly forget about being angry or anything, since hurt puppies are my weak spot. HISAO: "It's okay. Don't worry about it... ouch..." (Silence)  I say that, but there's a stinging pain growing in my chest, and I know that this is about the biggest possible danger for my condition. Another heavy heartbeat. Don't overexert yourself, don't forget your medication and most of all, don't get hit in the chest. Another heavy heartbeat. I try to rub my solar plexus to chase the pain away, holding my breath in an attempt to hear my heartbeat. Another heartbeat, but softer. It fades away. It seems normal... Katawa Shoujo OST - Standing Tall (Emi's Theme) "Hey, should I get a nurse?"The worried, high-pitched voice of the girl snaps me out of it. I stare at her for a few seconds dumbfounded, until I realize that I probably looked worse off than I really was, doubled over myself and looking all tense. drat, I'm overly worried about my heart. HISAO: "Err... no need, I'm fine." Managing to say something in response, I pull myself upright, feeling my sore ribs one last time, and take a deep breath. She just knocked the wind out of me. Big time. But it's nothing more than that. "You sure you're okay? I hit you pretty hard."HISAO: "It's okay. I said I was fine, and nothing's broken. No harm done." "That's good! I was—"I feel a hand on my shoulder at the same time the girl's eyes widen in horror and whatever she was saying gets interrupted by a very horrified— "Eep!" I don't have time to look behind me because Shizune is already shoving me aside and stomping over to the girl, signing furiously at her. MISHA: "Miss Ibarazaki, I saw that. Running in the halls is strictly forbidden." Misha translates, right on Shizune's tail, but her voice is girlishly playful, not full of the divine fury Shizune's arm movements would seem to call for. "Er, sorry, I was just going to get some stuff, and I was in a kind of a hurry."SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "You've been told this a thousand times before. Your reckless behavior endangers other students, and even worse, it's explicitly against the school regulations."  The girl blushes and starts to fidget nervously like a little child caught misbehaving. It's so cute I find myself smiling. "I know that! I— I, um, I was just..."SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Make sure that this will not happen again... although I'm sure telling you this is futile, and only causes me further headache when you choose to ignore the regulations. Got that, Emi?" The small girl sticks her tongue out in response. "Aaah! I gotta go! Teacher'll have my head! I promised to help with printouts, but I went running instead! Sorry, but I've gotta change and everything!"(Running Sound Effect, Silence) Before Misha or Shizune or I can say anything, she's already bolted from where she was a second ago, almost halfway towards the stairwell. Shizune looks like she's about to go nuclear on the spot, so I smile at her in a vain attempt to calm her down. Katawa Shoujo OST - School Days SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Are you okay, Hicchan? That Ibarazaki girl is always like that, causing trouble to others." HISAO: "You know, I'm pretty certain Shizune wouldn't call me 'Hicchan.'" MISHA: "Never mind, never mind!" … HISAO: "Yeah, anyway, I'm okay. Just got the wind knocked out of me." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "That's great, Hicchan!" I wouldn't call that great, but I let it slide this one time. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "We have to run now, there is an important student council meeting regarding the festival. And we finally decided where to eat~!" SHIZUNE: "..."  MISHA: "Too bad you can't join, but this lunch meeting is only for council members. We can take you there some other time! Oh, but that'd be like a date, wouldn't it? Wahaha~!" Everything after the ellipsis above changes if you waited for them earlier. They’re a lot more friendly and casual. The girls leave for downstairs. I didn't manage to get far from the third floor hallway before all this commotion struck, literally. I should get going as well. Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Aug 19, 2021 |
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May 28, 2021 22:18
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oh hey, this game! It has a special place in my heart for being the first of a very small selection of "proper" visual novels that I've actually played all the way through. It's super cute!
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May 29, 2021 00:09
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I'm excited to follow along! I remember KS extremely vividly, one route in particular was one of the most emotionally devastating things I had experienced at the time. I remember literally sobbing and didn't feel back to normal for three full days. Ah, to be a teen. It seems like it won't be in the LP, which is a shame, but I'll be happy to reminisce along with the things I do remember.
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May 29, 2021 04:53
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I still get a little misty-eyed whenever I hear the first notes of Wiosna
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May 29, 2021 11:01
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Count me in as another person who had this as their first exposure to VNs! This game emotionally devastated me when I was a teen, and I have a real soft spot for all of these characters. Yes, even Kenji. I was diagnosed with Asperger's in elementary school, and although they kept me in my regular class for the most part I would be shuffled off to a "special class" for 30 minutes in the middle of the day. Said class was the school's attempt to be progressive and help disabled kids learn social skills, or something along those lines. They clearly had no idea what the gently caress they were doing, and lumped people with Asperger's, ADD, ADHD, neurotypical kids who were slightly rambunctious, kids with physical disabilities, and kids from the actual special ed class all in one room with a teacher who (as far as I know) had only ever taught regular classes. In hindsight it went better than it could have, the teacher was nice and tried their best, but nobody learned a goddamn thing in there and we had to catch up on the 30 minutes of class we missed to be a part of it, and the class was canned after one year. I had no idea what the deal was with that class until way later (because nobody actually bothered to tell me I had Asperger's until I was well into high school for some loving reason  ), so I just assumed it was some kind of special treat for smart kids because I had good grades and the special class teacher gave me candy.
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May 29, 2021 18:32
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Chicken Thumbs posted:I was diagnosed with Asperger's in elementary school, and although they kept me in my regular class for the most part I would be shuffled off to a "special class" for 30 minutes in the middle of the day. Said class was the school's attempt to be progressive and help disabled kids learn social skills, or something along those lines. They clearly had no idea what the gently caress they were doing, and lumped people with Asperger's, ADD, ADHD, neurotypical kids who were slightly rambunctious, kids with physical disabilities, and kids from the actual special ed class all in one room with a teacher who (as far as I know) had only ever taught regular classes. In hindsight it went better than it could have, the teacher was nice and tried their best, but nobody learned a goddamn thing in there and we had to catch up on the 30 minutes of class we missed to be a part of it, and the class was canned after one year. I had no idea what the deal was with that class until way later (because nobody actually bothered to tell me I had Asperger's until I was well into high school for some loving reason Oh boy I felt that. Being diagnosed with Cerebral palsy always made wonder if going to a special school on Saturdays was part of the deal. The place was full of neurodivergent kids like me and one part of the lessons was getting make words out of random letters (think of those wordscramble games.) That special school took me in for a year. It wasn't until high school I found out I had NVLD which has some autistic traits. I honestly wonder if I was misdiagnosed due to being a cis woman. The whole NVLD diagnosis took place in 2000 when I was 7 or so. There wasn't any Autism Spectrum back then IIRC. Violet_Sky fucked around with this message at 18:58 on May 29, 2021 |
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May 29, 2021 18:55
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Falconier111 posted:Update 8: Short Sharp Shock I had a feeling you would get something wrong here but I didn't want to spoil anything earlier (and I knew the thread picked Emi so it didn't matter). There are 3 flags (not 2) available for both Shizune and Lilly/Hanako in the first bit and you only need 2 out of 3 for each of them to unlock the corresponding choice here. For Shizune the 3 flags are: introducing yourself the first day (this is the one you accidently got because you thought it just changed the dialogue a bit...it doesn't), telling Shizune you have no further questions, and playing Risk aggressively. For Lilly/Hanako the 3 flags are: asking Shizune about the library, apologizing to Hanako, and telling Kenji that Hanako's cute. You only got the apologizing flag, so you successfully got rid of the Lilly/Hanako path. You also got some information wrong about the choice in the cafeteria when you made it. You can't actually choose another option after "Ask about library" like you say in the update, so the "ask about library" and "I think I got everything" flags are exclusive. However since you only need 2/3 flags each way, you can still get the other 2 flags for the girl you messed up and fix things.
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May 29, 2021 20:07
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Chicken Thumbs posted:Count me in as another person who had this as their first exposure to VNs! This game emotionally devastated me when I was a teen, and I have a real soft spot for all of these characters. Yes, even Kenji. My special education class was put in my schedule. It was for students with less serious behavioral and mental conditions. We basically did not much at all. Just projects the teacher thought up. She was really nice and helpful while I was there, think I survived high school because of her. Met two of my good friends through it as well. Funnily enough, we were all anime fans. Don't know if aspies/adhd/autists have a high likelihood of liking anime but to me there is a correlation.
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May 29, 2021 21:44
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whitehelm posted:I had a feeling you would get something wrong here but I didn't want to spoil anything earlier (and I knew the thread picked Emi so it didn't matter). There are 3 flags (not 2) available for both Shizune and Lilly/Hanako in the first bit and you only need 2 out of 3 for each of them to unlock the corresponding choice here. For Shizune the 3 flags are: introducing yourself the first day (this is the one you accidently got because you thought it just changed the dialogue a bit...it doesn't), telling Shizune you have no further questions, and playing Risk aggressively. For Lilly/Hanako the 3 flags are: asking Shizune about the library, apologizing to Hanako, and telling Kenji that Hanako's cute. You only got the apologizing flag, so you successfully got rid of the Lilly/Hanako path. Can I just edit this post into the correct updates? Also, DelilahFlowers, Violet_Sky, Chicken Thumbs, permission to throw links to your post into the OP? I’m thinking subdividing it into sections if response remains this high.
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May 30, 2021 02:10
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Falconier111 posted:Can I just edit this post into the correct updates? Sure, do whatever you want with it.
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May 30, 2021 02:17
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Falconier111 posted:Can I just edit this post into the correct updates? Permission granted!
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May 30, 2021 03:04
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Falconier111 posted:Can I just edit this post into the correct updates?
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May 30, 2021 03:19
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Falconier111 posted:Can I just edit this post into the correct updates? Go ahead, although I didn't say much that had already been said.
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May 30, 2021 03:50
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DelilahFlowers posted:Feel free to, though I don't think I added much to the conversation comparatively. Though if it was valuable, thank you. Violet_Sky posted:Go ahead, although I didn't say much that had already been said. The fact that three posters in a row from across time and space had such eerily similar experiences is itself kinda notable 
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May 30, 2021 04:46
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Falconier111 posted:The fact that three posters in a row from across time and space had such eerily similar experiences is itself kinda notable My special school wasn't a thing my school did though. It was a thing my parents decided on I think. That special school decided to become an actual school focusing on the neurodivergent.
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May 30, 2021 05:48
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Update 9: Private Lunch (Silence) The lunch and the afternoon class pass uneventfully. I read most of the book I had started yesterday, and eat some of the mostly inedible offerings of the cafeteria. The class is tiresome. The teacher seems like an okay person despite the weird first impression I got, and the material is relatively interesting. However, the way he teaches is really bizarre. It's as if he expects that everyone is a natural genius. Katawa Shoujo OST – Afternoon  When the final bell sounds, I realize that there is still a lot of time left in the day, and I'm left wondering what to do. It's odd, at the hospital I had 24 hours a day of free time, but here filling the considerably shorter hours feels difficult. Everyone else leaves, and I'm left alone with the teacher. Mutou is examining the assignment sheets we were working on earlier, marking them with a red ballpen. Raising his eyes from his papers briefly, he notices me and furrows his brow.  MUTO: "What is it, Nakai?" I jump at him addressing me, but I guess it's natural to spark some conversation since there is nobody else around. HISAO: "Umm... nothing. Thinking about what I'd do after school." The teacher slowly puts the cap on the pen he is holding and arranges his papers into a stack, clacking it against the desk twice. He seems very methodical and for a brief moment I'm reminded of Shizune, but the teacher is more unhurried and relaxed, much more routined. MUTO: "You have no plans?" HISAO: "No. I considered joining a club, but don't know what kind of club would interest me." MUTO: "Go observe a meeting of someone else's club. Might pique your interest." HISAO: "I guess... I just..." But I don't know how to continue from there. Mutou looks at me in a way that makes me quickly want to take the words back to avoid a conversation. But I can't, so I have to forge ahead. HISAO: "I just don't know how to deal with people. I mean, the other students. I'm talking to people and everything, so it's not that I'd be isolated or anything. I just don't know what to think about... the disabilities. It's like... it feels that I'm being impolite if I pay attention to them, and it's weird to ignore them. Damned if I do, damned if I don't." The teacher scratches his cheek absentmindedly, looking very unresponsive. MUTO: "These things are only an issue if you make them one. You can talk normally with someone, even if they are blind or something.”  MUTO: “Try to look behind the superficial. There's not a single student here who isn't just a normal kid behind whatever they might seem at first glance." He says the same thing as Yuuko did. I know they're right, but it's hard. How can you not consider for example Shizune's deafness, when the only way to communicate with her is to talk through Misha? Or Hanako... it's not like you can ignore her face. HISAO: "But..." (Silence) I'm interrupted by the door of the classroom suddenly slamming open. Katawa Shoujo OST - Generic Happy Music  MISHA: "Teacher~!" Misha crashes in, hand straight in an enthusiastic greeting, her voice loud and lively enough to wake the dead from their graves. She starts towards the teacher's desk with her bouncing step, hands energetically swinging with the rhythm. Mutou, visibly dismayed at the interruption and Misha in general, slumps in his chair. MUTO: "Mikado." Misha stops in her tracks and looks around cluelessly, as if she's sensing from his tone that something's wrong but has no idea what. MISHA: "Yes~?" MUTO: "We have talked about volume control before." MISHA: "Yes~!" But she doesn't lower her voice at all, and the teacher just rubs his eyes. MUTO: "So, what is it?" MISHA: "I... we need help! We are running out of supplies for the festival stands! This is a distress!" She waves a pink slip of paper she's holding around. MUTO: "So... go get more supplies from the art room. What's the problem with that?" MISHA: "Plywood! Plywood is always the problem! Last time we wanted more there was only a little, but that time we just took it all and went with that. Now there's like none left there, so do you know where there is some?" MUTO: "I don't understand. How would I know?" MISHA: "Shicchan... I mean the president thought that a teacher would know if there is plywood. Was she wrong?" Mutou looks like he is in great pain, frowning with his entire essence, and Misha doesn't get it at all.  Looking at the two of them communicate is terrible, like looking at a man being tortured by drilling his skull open while blasting pop music at full volume at the same time. MUTO: "I'm afraid I have no idea if there is any plywood in the school, let alone where it would be if there was any." MISHA: "Awww... what should I do?" MUTO: "Perhaps try to find Mr. Nomiya? I'm quite sure he would know where to find everything you need. You'd have to pry them from his cold, dead hands, but that's a different matter." MISHA: "Aaaah! I don't have time! We are so busy!" She holds her head with both of her hands, looking as despairing as it's possible for a person like her. Without even noticing, she crumples the note she's holding against her hair. MISHA: "I shouldn't even be fetching these things, there is so much to do and we are falling behind the schedule!" Mutou looks at her gravely and then, suddenly smiles. Smiling doesn't really fit his face. I think it'd be better if he didn't. MUTO: "I wonder if you could get some temporary help?" He switches to staring at me focusedly, with a hard expression, as if trying to say 'go make some friends.' ... HISAO: "Eehhh... I guess I can give you a hand." MISHA: "You can? Thanks, Hicchan, you are really nice!" She pauses, does a double take and then points at me with her finger, yelping 'Ah!' and looking very puzzled. MISHA: "Come to think of it, what's Hicchan doing here? Class is over, you should be having fun~!" MUTO: "We just had a little chat." MISHA: "Oh no! It's not detention is it? Are you in trouble, Hicchan?" HISAO: "No, I'm not." MISHA: "Is Hicchan in trouble, teacher?" MUTO: "No, he's not." Mutou sighs deeply and I feel that I have to help Misha to get her off the teacher's back. HISAO: "So what do you need?" MISHA: "Here's a list. I can try to find the plywood from somewhere if there's none in the art room." She offers me the note she's holding. I take it, hesitating a bit. HISAO: "I said I'd help you, but this has no implications on whether I'm joining the council or not." MISHA: "Awww.... Still, thanks, Hicchan. Try to be quick, we are in a stall-building streak now, we must hurry hurry hurry!" She bounces out of the classroom, leaving me and the teacher looking at each other with something that feels like a silent agreement. MUTO: "Well, there you have it, Nakai. You have something to do now." Please don't sound so smug. Looking at the list with a number of items ranging from paint to plywood, all written with small, neat handwriting that is undoubtedly Shizune's, I heave a sigh. HISAO: "I'll be going then." Waving the long list limply at the teacher, I exit to the hallway. (Silence) The classrooms closest to ours are designated belonging to classes 3-1 and 3-2 on the right side, and 3-4 on the left side, each door looking exactly the same. Further down the corridor still with identical doors, are rooms that I didn't think were used for classes. I guess the art room is not a classroom as such. I carefully push open the furthest door, and peek in.  It's a classroom, but it seems rather badly kept or not in use. Am I in the right place? Desks and chairs are all around the room, a thin layer of dust settled on them. There are some easels in the corner so at least this looks like the right place. The room is flushed in sunlight from the big windows, shadows creeping all over the desks. Specks of dust are dancing in the stagnant air, making the beams of light almost visible. Jokingly, I call into the empty room. HISAO: "Anybody ho--" Something catches my eye and I stop mid-sentence. Katawa Shoujo OST - Parity (Rin's Theme)  Sitting on a desk is a short-haired girl; curiously wearing a boy's uniform, with a fork between her toes, a morsel of food stuck firmly on the end. This odd way of dining seems to be caused by her apparent lack of hands, but her presence here is what takes me aback even more. How did I miss her before? She's sitting in a corner very still, but I still somehow took her as a part of the furnishing or a statue at first glance. I'm not being too observant today, as a whole. The girl seems to be frozen in place, staring at me with her huge eyes like a rabbit in headlights. She's staring at me, her mouth wide open, ready to accept the fork. I'm staring at her, my mouth wide open, suddenly remembering I didn't finish my sentence and trying to think if I should. This weird stalemate keeps us both stunned into silence, punctuated only by the wall clock ticking rhythmically.  RIN: "Hello." The girl stuffs the forkful in her mouth, and is now staring at me expectantly while chewing. This is a bit awkward. HISAO: "Umm... hello. I was told to pick up some supplies from here. For some festival stalls I think. I didn't think there would be someone here." RIN: "There isn't. That's why I came here, too." She picks up another forkful. HISAO: "Doesn't that mean you're here, then?" She raises her eyebrows as if she was suspecting my observation was false. RIN: "You are pretty observant. I guess it does. But who are you?" This girl is pretty straightforward, isn't she? HISAO: "I'm Nakai, Hisao Nakai. I just transferred in on Monday."  RIN: "I'm Rin. Tezuka Rin. Rin Tezuka.”  RIN: “I won't shake hands with you, but at least we know who we are now. That's very nice." Her deadpan manner of talking makes it hard to determine whether she's joking about shaking hands or not. It kinda bothers me, joking about these matters doesn't feel appropriate at all. While I'm trying to figure what's appropriate and whether this girl is, she seems to have lost interest in me and is now gazing yearningly back at her food. RIN: "Can I continue my lunch? If you don't mind me, I won't mind you. If you need to get your stuff, the supplies are at the back." HISAO: "Go right ahead. But... lunch? School's already over for the day." RIN: "What word would you use then? There is no word for a meal you eat after lunch but before dinner, right? It bothers me very much too, but I don't really know what I should say." HISAO: "I don't think you are supposed to eat a meal between lunch and dinner to begin with." RIN: "But I'm hungry now and my delicious boxed lunch would go to waste otherwise. I have curry. It's very delicious." With much decisiveness, Rin once again picks up the fork between her toes and with at least as much impoliteness, she points it straight at me. RIN: "So, Nakai, what brings you to this place?" HISAO: "Like I said, I was told to look for these things."  RIN: "No, the school. From outside you look fine. Is your problem inside?" (Silence) I come to a full stop, opening my mouth but not getting a word out. HISAO: "I..." RIN: "I can guess. I am good at guessing. Better than most people." Rin cuts me off before I can answer her question, or skirt around it somehow. I don't know which I would've done. I froze in front of this issue again. I haven't even told anyone here about my condition, or maybe it's only because it hasn't really come up. I do get the feeling that not making issues of this is a part of the social code here, as the teacher said. I wonder if the people here could relate? Probably not any better than any normal person could. I can't relate to Shizune's circumstances, or Lilly's, either. Naturally, while I go through this in my head, Rin keeps considering what my condition could be, with an overtly contemplative look on her face. She puts her fork between her lips and leans back, looking at the ceiling as if the answer was written up there. A beam of light illuminates her face from the window side, creating a mask of dark shadow on the other side. RIN: "I don't think it's anything in your head, and something in your guts would be boringly ordinary, like this lunch of mine. And less delicious.” Katawa Shoujo OST - Parity (Rin's Theme)  RIN: "The problem must be in your pants!" This messed-up Sherlock Holmes kind of statement and the sheer lack of tact it was delivered with catches me completely off guard. I think I might've reeled back even physically as Rin's eyes widen in revelation and astonishment. RIN: "So I was right! There's something wrong with your tackle, isn't there?" Still partially in shock but recognizing the need to reply something, I spit out the first thing that I can think of. HISAO: "No! Nothing like that. I have a heart problem. Arrhythmia." ... I said it. More like blurted it out, but I said it. The girl in front of me purses her lips together and glowers at me, looking very disappointed. RIN: "How boring. Trouble in the pants would have been much more scandalous." What’s with this reaction? HISAO: "I'm sorry to let you down." RIN: "I forgive you. Just, I collect people and a person with, you know, that kind of problem would've been really great." HISAO: "Collect people?" RIN: "People with different problems." HISAO: "Huh, so you just... like, go around asking people what's wrong with them?" RIN: "Pretty much." HISAO: "I see." (Silence) ... With little left to say, Rin resumes her lunch and the conversation dies away, but I keep thinking about what was said. It's the first time I told anyone else about my condition. All the other people have either known about it already, or heard about it from someone else. Or didn't need to know about it, like every other student here, so far. Should I have told it as a natural part of introductions? Is it expected of me? 'Hi, I'm Hisao. I have a very serious heart condition.' Is that how I'm supposed to go around introducing myself from now on? As if our disabilities would define us. What a disgusting thought. Or maybe this Tezuka girl just has an unnatural interest in such things. Katawa Shoujo OST - Raindrops and Puddles  As I walk to the back of the room to pick up the items on Misha's list, a chance opens to study Rin from the corner of my eye. Her hair is a burnt auburn, almost orange, and cropped short. Long hair would probably be impossible with no arms. The boy's uniform and the lack of arms make her look very thin, almost scrawny. She is not particularly pretty except for her murky green eyes which flicker restlessly from below her short bangs, even when she eats. The distance and the shadows make it seem like they don't reflect sunlight at all, but instead absorb all of it within them like deep wells. She moves her feet almost as deftly as a normal person would use their arms. However, I can see how this sight could discomfort people, especially while eating. It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable at least. I hesitate to think about the word 'unnatural' but it's too late now, isn't it? I keep searching the cabins and shelves for Misha's things, but after enough time passes the silence grows too uncomfortable, so I try to force some conversation out of this strange girl. HISAO: "So, do you always eat alone and this late? Or do you get the occasional visitor?" RIN: "Visitors... maybe you are my first occasional visitor. But I don't always eat alone either. Sometimes I eat with a certain person on the roof, if she's not horsing around." HISAO: "Horsing?" RIN: "She likes to do sports." HISAO: "Oh." And that's all I can think of to say. Both of us fall silent again as Rin forks the last bits of her meal to her mouth. I look down at my haul and double check it with Misha's list. It seems I have everything except plywood. HISAO: "Umm... so, I think I have all the things now." RIN: "That's very nice for you. Don't feel obliged to stay. I was about to take a nap anyway. You need to do whatever you are going to do with that stuff anyway, right? Or perhaps you like to watch girls sleeping?" HISAO: "Ehh..." I'm not sure what to make of this, but Rin looks serious. HISAO: "Even if I did, I think I have to be going. I... I'll catch you around, Tezuka." RIN: "You can call me Rin. I feel that our relationship is at this point good enough to warrant this much." I was already turning to make my exit, but she draws me back in. HISAO: "Fine, then I'm Hisao." RIN: "Then you are." ... Rin looks at me hard in the eyes but that intimidating feeling you get when someone stares at you isn't there. It's like she's actually not looking at me at all. She blinks a couple of times, and I can't figure out why a pause like this just popped between us out of nowhere.  RIN: "See you later, Hisao." There is something like a tiny smile there in her face, maybe. The term for a small meal in the afternoon is “afternoon tea”, or “tea” for short. Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Aug 19, 2021 |
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May 31, 2021 20:13
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AAAAAA it's Rin~!  Lilly might be the route I like the most because I her relationship with Hisao is very sweet, but Rin is my favorite and most relateable character. 
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May 31, 2021 21:00
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The best character in the game has finally arrived!
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May 31, 2021 21:24
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quote:The boy's uniform and the lack of arms make her look very thin, almost scrawny. Also, I get the sense the student council/Shizune is the 'intended' first route, but they really don't do a good job of making you want to put up with it. But my reaction to Misha is about what Mutou's is, so maybe I'm biased.
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May 31, 2021 22:57
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Falconier111 posted:Her hair is a burnt auburn, almost orange Rin is already amazing, though.
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May 31, 2021 23:15
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Carpator Diei posted:Either there's something wrong with my screen, or the writers and the artists weren't talking to each other :v If you're male, you have about the same chance of being red-green colorblind as you do of being left handed! Maybe Hisao has an invisible disability he never knew about.
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Jun 1, 2021 00:36
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Blaziken386 posted:AAAAAA it's Rin~! I remember not liking Rin my first playthrough. I'm not sure why. I think I found her unpredictable in a bad way? Then again, I thought Shizune was rude and annoying and now her route's one of my favorites, so  By the way, I know someone mentioned they wanted me to tackle something in a Disability Corner, but I said I wanted to do another topic first. That topic just isn't happening (it's too big for me to boil down), so if whoever posted that can remind me what the topic was, I'd appreciate it.
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Jun 1, 2021 04:38
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Falconier111 posted:By the way, I know someone mentioned they wanted me to tackle something in a Disability Corner, but I said I wanted to do another topic first. That topic just isn't happening (it's too big for me to boil down), so if whoever posted that can remind me what the topic was, I'd appreciate it. Carpator Diei posted:I'd be interested in your thoughts on derogatory words with mostly-forgotten ableist roots, such as 'dumb'. It's a discussion I've encountered a few times, and I think it's kind of intriguing (and extremely sad to realize how many common terms have their roots in calling people mentally disabled as an insult).
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Jun 1, 2021 08:37
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Yeah, I didn't like Rin. Or... I guess it's not as simple as disliking her. It's more that her route kicked up some killer existential dread for me. It ended up being pretty rough to get through, and I didn't get a sense of catharsis afterwards; just continued feeling bad for a while.
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Jun 1, 2021 10:01
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I can't recall my reaction to Rin's route. It was the second and last route I played after Hanako. I think it overall hit me harder than Hanako's route (though I did cry real hard after a particular part of Hanako's route). Really enthused to re-experience it. Now, I do recall Rin's route getting mixed reactions from people. It either hits you right or wrong and no other ways about it.
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Jun 1, 2021 12:48
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I don't know any route but Rin seems great so far. 
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Jun 1, 2021 15:39
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Rin has some of the best facial expressions.
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Jun 1, 2021 20:09
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I'm definitely in the camp of Rin's route being the most affecting in the whole game, by leaps and bounds. I do find that it does lack that catharsis that many of the other routes get, for better or for worse, but I honestly find that that is a good thing. Her route doesn't tell you how to feel; it's painfully ambiguous, which, I think, tracks very well with real life relationships. You can never truly get inside another person's head, and that leads to pain and sorrow. Rin's route has a lot of that. But it also feels all the more real for it.
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Jun 1, 2021 20:24
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Blaziken386 posted:AAAAAA it's Rin~! She's definitely memorable even outside her route, that's for sure. As for favorite route, I'm kinda torn between two. Lilly's has the aforementioned sweetness (it's kind of the most "typical" love story in that regards, but who cares?). Emi's I like because one constant in all the routes is Hisao starts to gravitate towards a personality that fits with the girl he's chasing (which is a great touch, makes things less about Hisao looking for love and more "deciding who I am" and clicking with someone who fits that person) and with Emi that personality is unrelenting smartass, which is glorious and definitely the me I want to be in life  .theamazingchris posted:I'm definitely in the camp of Rin's route being the most affecting in the whole game, by leaps and bounds. I do find that it does lack that catharsis that many of the other routes get, for better or for worse, but I honestly find that that is a good thing. Her route doesn't tell you how to feel; it's painfully ambiguous, which, I think, tracks very well with real life relationships. You can never truly get inside another person's head, and that leads to pain and sorrow. Rin's route has a lot of that. But it also feels all the more real for it. Yeah, Rin's route was kind of hard to figure out sometimes, not least because of the neurodiversity aspects. I definitely appreciated the theme to it was accept someone for who they are and let them be that, moreso even than the other girls. There was no "change Rin into a better person via your actions/love/dick" crap, it felt more like Hisao learning to appreciate what was there even when it was very hard for him to understand it. Which rather fits the art metaphors through the route too, really.
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Jun 1, 2021 21:10
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I think what happened with me and this game, and it happened right here. I was told to play it by a friend on Discord-mentioning the way it told stories and characterization well for disabled highschoolers, so I was curious. Everything was fine up until I dealt with Kenji last update, who I already had what I felt was a read on him in terms of his social concerns were, given experience with autistic people I dealt with in the past like him, and he absolutely soured everything that I would have liked him to disappear from the plot at that stage, which was basically strike 1 and 2... And then Rin came along, and my ‘social worker’ hat came in with the ‘did she just ask someone completely self-conscious about their disability blatantly where it causes clear and obvious discomfort’ and I was like “what was this school doing.” And I didn’t go farther than this. Not that I thought Hisao didn’t have some problematic takes, but I actually felt better about him after he talked with Motou. Like, that was enough for him to get a better grasp (despite ‘volume control’ could have been handled with less intensity, there.) on the direction his life has taken, and that he can grow to have meaningful relationships with the people here..and then callousness kinda broke in?
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Jun 1, 2021 22:03
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Psycho Lawnmower posted:And then Rin came along, and my ‘social worker’ hat came in with the ‘did she just ask someone completely self-conscious about their disability blatantly where it causes clear and obvious discomfort’ and I was like “what was this school doing.” And I didn’t go farther than this. I'm actually going to go over the part in question because I think it's helpful to understand different mindsets here, especially since what scans as "clear and obvious" to NT people often isn't unless you share a similar background and brain wiring: quote:I come to a full stop, opening my mouth but not getting a word out. Notably, he doesn't seem to go quiet for very long - it's hard to gauge this stuff in a VN, but it seems to be on the order of a minute or two. Rin may not have noticed that there was unusual silence in that short of a timeframe. (and if she's ND, as the implication seems to be, she may not regard mid-conversation silence as being as unusual as a NT person would anyway) (Obviously talking over people like she did to Hisao is bad, and the whole "I like to collect people with different problems" thing is also not great in general. This is 'explain why it might not have been obvious to her that Hisao was uncomfortable' corner, not 'Rin is flawless' corner.) quote:
quote:
So although the player obviously knows Hisao is uncomfortable here, it may have been much less obvious to Rin - the only part that could easily tip her off was the silence after she first asked. (or, like I said before, she might just not care. ND people can intentionally be jerks too!) (And before you get into the body language/etc that would be present irl - remember that learning to parse that is often a much bigger struggle which involves a lot of active effort for many ND people. And it only gets worse the more subtle the body language is.) e: Also I'm not sure if anyone's actually defined these acronyms in the thread yet, but just in case: ND=neurodiverse(encompasses a variety of conditions, but the most relevant one to this post is autism). NT=neurotypical(aka 'you have what society has deemed "normal" brain wiring'). Haifisch fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jun 2, 2021 |
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Jun 2, 2021 01:33
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"I..."
"I can guess. I am good at guessing. Better than most people."
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You could also interpret it as her being curious out of a sense of fairness, almost? As in, her disability is much more obvious than Hisao's is, and she's like "well, you're clearly aware of what my deal is, so, hey, fair's fair, what's up with you?" But I think it's more "not realizing something would come across as rude until five minutes after actually saying it" 
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Jun 2, 2021 02:31
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Neurotypical people have such a weird aversion to facts. When I describe the situation that has resulted from another person's choices, it seems like they get offended at the implication that I'm blaming them for something. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but in either case, there is an action required and I am not equipped to do it. The person I'm talking to is. And I can't ask them to do it because nobody ever asks me to do things. They tell me that things need to be done and assume I'm going to do them, or ask whether I have the time and capability to do them, then announce that the situation has been handled, leaving only the implication that I will be doing the things. Asking someone to do their job just feels wrong to me, somehow. I also hate wasting time with idle conversation when we both know there's something important to talk about and I have no interest in what the other person is saying, but no idea how to tell them that. Okay, you and your spouse recently produced a human baby and now it is performing human activities at such a rudimentary level that it requires assistance regularly. We now have ten fewer minutes to meet this deadline, and at most one of us feels any more motivated as a result of your story occupying those minutes. Even worse, it's pretty often that I know what they want, but can't get them to say it, and saying it myself bothers them. So I have to try to hint to them that surely, there must be something more important they need to tell me right now, and when they finally provide the interminable dump of information containing the information I need to provide the simple answer, I'm already frustrated and rather snappy. This seems to have led to me having a reputation as someone who should only be asked questions as a last resort, after the would-be questioner has exhausted every possible other method to make the problem many times worse than it would have been if they'd just asked for instructions to start with. And don't get me started on a topic. I never shut up, and yes, I'm aware of that. This is why I lurk silently in 99% of the places where I am, because I do 99% of the talking in the other 1%. The point is, every good thing you can name about autism is a bad thing someone else can name about autism. It's entirely possible to have no idea what effect your actions, particularly words, are having on people until they're pointed out, and even then, "common sense social skills" are something you have to learn like NT people have to learn calculus - eventually, you just give up, learn to type an integral symbol into the Google search bar, and stick close to the one person at the time who isn't obvious enough in their attempts to avoid you. And memorize the key phrase for communicating effectively: "Ah." Very few situations that one won't see you through.
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Jun 2, 2021 04:36
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My favorite is when someone is mad at you but refuses to explain why they're mad because "you know why". Luckily that's far from universal, and the type of people who act like that aren't people I want to hang out with anyway. Even a lot of NT people agree that's some high school poo poo. Life would go so much smoother for so many people if it was socially acceptable & even encouraged to just be crystal clear about everything, instead of it being some 4D chess where you have to know ahead of time if someone will take clarity and directness as a snipe at them/a weird attempt at lying/etc. (Note that this is seperate from rudeness, despite what the "I just tell it like it is! If you can't handle brutal honesty, too bad!" types who care more about being brutal than honest would have you think) Not-so-coincidentally, I went into a line of work(medical lab) where being clear and direct is a critical part of the job because not being those things is a known factor in bad patient outcomes. And every part of the job is clearly and extensively documented in a variety of easily accessible binders. And if people are contacting you for something they get to the point instead of wasting 10 minutes talking about the weather before mentioning that they added an important test to this ER patient. I'm pretty sure working a standard office job would frustrate me to no end.
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Jun 2, 2021 05:01
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Nidoking posted:I also hate wasting time with idle conversation when we both know there's something important to talk about and I have no interest in what the other person is saying, but no idea how to tell them that. Okay, you and your spouse recently produced a human baby and now it is performing human activities at such a rudimentary level that it requires assistance regularly. We now have ten fewer minutes to meet this deadline, and at most one of us feels any more motivated as a result of your story occupying those minutes. Small talk is, sadly, really important. Bonding with people and getting them to like you makes it much easier to get them to actually help you with things and give you direct answers. I think the phrase is "emotional bank account," where doing minor things like saying hello, remembering people's names, engaging in small talk that you might find boring, etc. fill the account, and asking people for help or asking them to forgive a foible of yours drains the account. It might sound manipulative, but it's just a way of describing people and their interactions. The more we interact with people in a positive way, the more we like them, and the more we are willing to do for them, and vice versa. It can help to take a class on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (it helped me quite a bit at work), if only because it'll help quantify some of the issues that you're expressing and give you the tools to express things to people in a way that doesn't offend them. I get it though, small talk is loving boring 99% of the time. It's also frustrating that there's a whole world of things unsaid, ways to "say" things without actually saying them, and just kind of generally an almost hidden language carried along by tone, expressions, and body language.
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Jun 2, 2021 08:36
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I did, in fact, take one of those classes. They spent a lot of time talking about how to use the information you gain from social cues to tailor your responses to situations. That approach rather glosses over the part about actually gaining the information in the first place, which is the part I can't do. I spent most of the examples going "wait, that person was doing that during the scene? I didn't even notice." In the end, the lesson I got was "don't be autistic, ya jerk". Clarifying, but not particularly useful. The emotional bank account idea sounds good in principle, but it ignores the "actual bank account", which is a theory where, if I don't go out of my way to do things for people I really don't like, I get fired and they stop putting money in the actual bank account. I gave up trying to be liked long ago because I don't think it's going to happen, so my emotional bank account is just always overdrawn. This is why I've put my entire stake in technical expertise, so that people know that if they come to me, they're either going to get the best answer possible, or I'll be able to tell them exactly who has that answer. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Rin is the resident expert on some subject of interest to most of the students, such that they have little choice but to ask her for help even if they find her off-putting.
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Jun 2, 2021 12:45
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So far I don't think Rin is autistic.
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Jun 2, 2021 13:03
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The next update and Disability Corner are both ready, and I want to put them up at the same time. We also have like three more posts left on this page, and I hate posting updates at the bottom of a page. It's, like, a whole thing with me. So, uh, anybody have anything they wanna say real quick? DoubleE: better option! Soon enough we’ll have have the opportunity to get a scene with either Shizune or Lilly. It won’t effect anything major, but we can’t go neutral on this. Would you guys like the Shizune or Lilly scene?  Vote closes in 24 hours!
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Jun 2, 2021 |
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Jun 2, 2021 17:15
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So I had heard "4chan made literal disability porn," and I heard "katawa shoujo is a good VN," and for years I never put these two things together or really thought they were related because I am dumb as hell and never thought to check on something I heard in passing a few isolated times. I'm really grateful for this thread. I'm (so far) very light on the disability spectrum, and most of my interactions with disability politics has been either from family members who are disabled (largely age-related) or from how disability politics intersects with other politics I act in (any sort of transportation or housing politics inevitably needs to include disabled voices if it's going to be at all reasonable or ethical). I don't know how much I have to contribute from my own experiences, but I always appreciate the chance to listen and learn. e: Shizune. We've seen more of her so I figure that for this run we may as well cluster things together to keep them fresh.
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Jun 2, 2021 17:29
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Well, um. I've been meaning to say something in the thread but didn't think it quite appropriate to interrupt ongoing conversations, so here goes I guess? I'm following this, I just haven't had anything to say because this is absolutely not my area of expertise. This game is... fascinating, and I'm shocked at how well it's managing to do its thing (especially given the origin story). I'm legitimately quite impressed. That said, I personally find it kind of insufferable? Part of that is that romance VNs are absolutely not my genre, but also just... it's way too irritatingly anime and twee for me. Obviously that's very much a matter of personal taste, but, well, the characters all annoy me and I don't particularly want to spend time with them. Regardless, I appreciate the work you're doing, and this is really worth seeing even if I'm personally not enjoying it that much.
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Jun 2, 2021 17:30
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