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So, I wanted to take my read of Monster Girls here with this last bit of info: While I like basically everything involving the method of both assisting, communicating with, and accommodating the Durandal…Satou for me is a different can of worms. See, Discworld also attempts this same idea with Vampires within the city with the most narrative impact in that world: They’re simply a part of the culture, and we kinda gloss over the fact that they need to consume the blood of living creatures to sustain themselves…or make methods by which they draw in interest into other ways. However, the main point is that, because it is read as a part of them, they do still need to drink blood (which can be cattle, but most do not), and they effect societies they live in. Satou’s nature is similar: While she certainly cannot help that this is the effect she has on people, and tries to control it, the people around her aren’t aware as to why they are effected or that it isn’t entirely under their control. Takanashi has excellent self-control (as was clear in other episodes before this), but to ask everyone to always be prepared to deal with urges they may come unbidden is a bit of a problem. Like…the story gives me the impression that we’re supposed to resonate and relate with her issue-which I do-but her issue actively effects others. In order to better acclimate, that has to require an understanding of her effects on others, and that would need communication with people (and especially willing men) without judgment of their desires, when they have no idea that it is being manipulated. Which the story appears to…not give them at the moment? As for Shizune, I already have a good idea as to why she’s working harder than everything else, and it has a lot to do with the fact that this is the first time that we’ve seen her communicate without another person..which helps me ease off on her a bit. Mind you, it is still rude and does not consider Hisao….but I understand the effort she puts in. Psycho Lawnmower fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Oct 5, 2021 |
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Oct 5, 2021 16:37
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| # ? Jun 11, 2024 16:30 |
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Update 64: Throwing Balls We skip to Sunday afternoon before running out of previously-covered Act 1 content. (Silence) I ponder what I'd like to do with Shizune and Misha. Deciding it's best to be extra prepared, I duck back into my room to stock my wallet with money. I wonder if they have that game where you try to catch goldfish on a paper net. It seems way easier than they make it look. Then again, if I were to catch a goldfish, I'd have no real reason to keep it. What am I going to do with a fish in my tiny room? Cook it? I could give it to Shizune, or Misha, but that might be overstepping my bounds. It's a real problem. Both of them are cute, but I don't think I have any chance with either of them. Regardless, I mull over the thought of doing it. I imagine how they might react if I were to give them a gift tonight, like a fish or a doll. Misha would probably laugh like she always does. Shizune might slap it out of my hand. Maybe it isn't such a good idea after all. Okay, I think I'm set. A good while later, I decide that this could be another psych out test devised by Shizune. Even if it isn't, it's starting to get kind of late. I resolve to just go out and search for them, even though I don't know where I could look. They might be really hard to find today. .png) As soon as I step outside, I almost bump into Shizune.  HISAO: "Hi, Shizune. Where's Misha?" I try to sign it as best as I can, but really I'm just making stuff up. I've got to ask Misha to teach me some of this.  MISHA: "Here!" Katawa Shoujo OST - Katawa Shoujo OST - Generic Happy Music Misha pops up from behind Shizune, grinning widely. MISHA: "We just came to make sure you're coming along with us to the festival."  SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Don't renege on your promise~!" HISAO: "Promise? I don't think I promised anything." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Stop trying to get out of it! C'mon, Hicchan, it'll be fun! You need this, anyway, or you'll become a no-good person! You don't want to become one of those people who just stays in their dorm room all day, being paranoid, do you?" I find myself staring over her shoulder at the door to Kenji's room right across from mine. I hope he didn't hear that, but I think Misha wants the opposite. HISAO: "No, of course not. I was just playing around a little, and was right about to leave anyway. You two didn't have to come here." MISHA: "Really? Ahahaha! Shicchan was worried you would try to get out of it somehow! We need you, Hicchan~!" HISAO: "Huh?" I think my heart just skipped a beat. MISHA: "I don't have the aim to knock the dolls off their pedestals in that one game... and Shicchan refuses to throw things." HISAO: "Oh." Shizune stares at me, immediately noticing my disappointment. She uncrosses her arms and adjusts her glasses. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "What did you think we meant? I refuse to throw anything. Why, Shicchan? That is weird... Well, anyway, Hicchan, you've thrown a ball before, right~, right~? So! You have to come with us!" I'm amazed by their logic. I don't know if they're joking or if they're not. HISAO: "Heh, I'd feel offended if I didn't know you guys were joking. You're joking, right?" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "It is what it is, Hicchan~! It is what it is what it is what it is what it is!" HISAO: "Well that's reassuring." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Come on, let's go! The deaf band is setting up outside your window. (Silence Misha grabs me by the hand and tries to pull me out the door, but it's clear that she isn't trying at all. Shizune looks at the both of us, blushing slightly and fiddling with her glasses impatiently. I'm not used to this kind of casual contact, but I have nothing against it. How could I object? Katawa Shoujo OST - Hokabi (Crowd Sounds) .png) It's still light outside, but the sun is getting ready to set behind the trees. It looks like half the school is out here, and I can even see some faculty members standing off to the side, helping themselves to some punch. They are about to empty the entire bowl, to the dismay of the girl working the stall. There are some fortunetellers chatting idly with their friends, while others have already gotten started slinging horoscopes at anyone who walks in range. I think that kind of tactic is a little too aggressive, but it shows that they're into it. It's refreshing to see, but I don't know if I'll be able to get used to it. SHIZUNE: "..." .png) MISHA: "Well, we should get something to eat. Hungry, Hicchan?" Come to think of it, I haven't eaten all day. HISAO: "I don't really want to eat fried noodles." MISHA: "That's okay, there are other fried foods!" HISAO: "Are there any foods that aren't fried?" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Candy. Junk food is the essence of celebrations! Wahahahaha!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Come on, I - I mean, Shicchan - will treat you to one thing~! One?" SHIZUNE: "...!" MISHA: "Just one~! Only so you can build up energy for your throwing arm! Ah, but it doesn't look like all the booths are done setting up yet, so you might not be able to get what you want." I take a look around, surprised by the number of stalls. It's unbelievable, this festival seems larger than the ones you might see in actual towns. Despite what Misha said, it seems like half the school is already celebrating. The air is humming with the excited chattering of at least half the student body. I can smell food cooking, and it's only making me hungrier by the second. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Come on, Hicchan, the food is already disappearing fast! If you want takoyaki, we need to move now! I could go for some takoyaki~! Come on, let's eat that!" HISAO: "All right, I haven't had takoyaki in forever. I'm game." Shizune takes off before Misha can even sign it back to her, briskly walking towards the takoyaki stand as Misha and I try to catch up. .png) Misha laughs as she skips towards Shizune, who asks for three orders of takoyaki by holding up three fingers. I never noticed it before, but for someone who is so obsessed with high class tea, it's a little weird that Shizune is also so into fast food. I take the plate of takoyaki she hands me and wonder if I should dig in. It looks extremely hot. I can see the smoke coming off of it and the oil bubbling on the surface. Shizune and Misha both look at me, as if waiting for me to eat before they can begin. I can't back down, so I spear one on the tiny plastic fork jauntily sticking up from the corner of the plate. However, before I can even put it in my mouth, Shizune and Misha begin eating eagerly, Shizune taking quick but delicate bites out of the takoyaki while Misha eats with relish like a small child. I guess at the end of the day, both of them are just kids like any other student here. (Silence, Crowd Sounds Continue) This is kind of nice. I don't think I've had a chance like this in a long time to just hang out with other people and enjoy their company. Even before coming here, I'd been going through a very busy year. So busy that I hadn't realized what I have been missing until now. Here, I feel at peace. This is a soothing atmosphere. I didn't know these kinds of festivals still existed. MISHA: "Eh? Hicchan, you aren't going to eat your food?" HISAO: "No, I'm going to eat it." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "I hope you aren't chickening out because it's too hot." HISAO: "That's not it." Even their teasing is beginning to become endearing. Katawa Shoujo OST - Afternoon .png) I eat quickly before my food can get cold, thinking that the dimly lit paper lanterns glowing warmly against the sunset make for a beautiful sight. Before I can finish my last bite of takoyaki, Shizune steps in front of me, standing perfectly straight with her arms rigidly behind her back. I can see she's trying her best to look as serious as possible, but even she can't hide her good mood, as there is a slight smile on her face. .png) MISHA: "Ahahaha~! Come on, Hicchan, let's go play some games!" HISAO: "Are they even done setting up?" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "No, but it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter~! Come on, Hicchan, before it gets too crowded!" Misha puts her hand on my shoulder and laughs very loudly. MISHA: "Come on! Come on! The prizes look really great this year, really really~! Wouldn't you like to win some prizes for two cute girls like us?" Misha flashes her best “cute” look, which is admittedly pretty cute. I look at Shizune, expecting her to do the same, but she just looks at me like I'm insane. .png) MISHA: "Misha, stop doing that!” .png) MISHA: "Wait... I'm Misha..." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Hicchan, hurry up, you've been holding that piece of takoyaki for like a thousand years! Hahahahaha!" HISAO: "I like to savor everything that I eat. Even this." Without warning, Shizune picks the takoyaki from my hand and plops it into her mouth with a smile. It happens so fast that there was no way I could have stopped her. Before I can even fully process what just happened, Misha bursts into laughter, and Shizune smiles at me, probably the closest I've ever seen her come to laughing. SHIZUNE: "...!" MISHA: "Well, that takes care of that~! Wahaha! Hahahaha!" (Silence) Shizune grabs my right hand, and Misha grabs my left. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "You're coming with us! There's a lot to do tonight, you should try harder to enjoy it! Hahahaha~!" Katawa Shoujo OST - Ease .png) Running through an already sizable crowd of people, we play game after game, from ring toss, to whack-a-mole, to games I've never even heard of. We rarely win, but it's fun nonetheless. HISAO: "Hey, do they have that goldfish scooping game here?" SHIZUNE: "..." .png) MISHA: "Of course! I didn't know you liked that game, Hicchan!" HISAO: "Well, I've always wanted to try it. It doesn't seem too hard." MISHA: "Are you sure about that, Hicchan~? Wahahaha~! Okay, okay! We'll see! It should be around here somewhere!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "But, where are you going to keep your fish? Do you have a bowl for it?" HISAO: "Well, no..." MISHA: "Maybe he'll eat it!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Hahahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha!! All right, Hicchan, if we win any fish, we'll give them to you!" HISAO: "Oh, really? Another game? Fine, then." Shizune pushes me excitedly towards the booth, trying to hide the enthusiasm in her eyes. Fortunately, the two of them fail to catch a single fish, but I don't do any better. I can't help but laugh as immediately afterwards, they start tugging me towards a particularly large, colorful stall that I helped build. I remember this one; it had been a real pain in the rear end to make. The booth runner, an average-looking guy with dyed brown hair, snaps to attention when he sees us walking over. I notice two things: First, it's one of those games where you throw a ball at a pyramid of opaque bottles and try to knock over as many as possible. Four balls for 50 yen, that's pretty good. Second, there are instructions on how to play in braille. I almost want to say something, and look to see if Shizune and Misha see it as well. Either they don't, or they don't find it strange at all. BOOTH OPERATOR: "Hey! It's good to see you, Hakamichi! Thank you so much for your help with this booth. Having fun?" Shizune glances towards Misha, who signs everything to her in a flash, then beams at the operator. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Haha~! It was nothing, nothing at all, really~! Yeah, this is great, I think the best festival we've put together yet! Shiraki, we'd like to play this, that's okay, right? Of course~, it would be really great if you would just give your cute, hard working Student Council representatives a prize, for all the hours we put in to make all of this possible!" SHIRAKI: "Hahaha, haha... No." If anything, Shiraki has balls. HISAO: "Hey, I built this stall, it was a backbreaking job, too. I wasted two hours of my life, I think I deserve at least a free round." MISHA: "And me!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Me too! Ah..." After some hesitation, he eventually gives in, and hands us each four balls with a shrug. Barely a second later, Shizune and Misha dump theirs in front of me. HISAO: "What gives? Don't tell me that after making such a big deal out of it, you two aren't going to even play? Not after the way we ganged up on Shiraki." SHIRAKI: "Yeah..." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "You stay out of this, please~!" Shizune turns to me and begins waving her hand dismissively. Misha appears torn between translating for her and consoling the booth operator. SHIZUNE: "...!" MISHA: "Ahahaha! Hicchan, where's your sense of chivalry? Besides, I - Shicchan, have a policy against throwing balls! Ah, sorry, Hicchan. I don't know if my aim is that good, either. You must be pretty good at these things, though, right, right? It shouldn't be a problem for you!" (Silence, Crowd Sounds Continue) This looks simple enough. The bottles aren't even that far away, the only challenge is that these are wiffle balls. I throw one at the bottles hard, and it bounces off unceremoniously. (Muffled Thump) HISAO: "What the hell?" SHIRAKI: "Ah, yeah, it's not as easy as it looks. There's water inside the bottles. Trade secret." MISHA: "That's not very fair!" HISAO: "This must be why it's four balls for 50 yen. How devious." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Come on, Hicchan, you can knock them down! You have eleven more chances! Go!" HISAO: "Maybe you should do it. Shizune? Do you want to try?" Shizune emphatically shakes her head from side to side. Katawa Shoujo OST - Air Guitar I laugh, this is actually pretty fun. (Muffled Thump) Winding up, I throw another ball at the pyramid of bottles and manage to get them to budge just slightly. Both Shizune and Misha are casting longing glances towards a doll shaped like a cat. All-in-all, they really aren't that different. Sometimes I wonder if Shizune would sound like Misha if she could talk. No, they're not that alike. I throw another ball, realizing that it's actually quite simple. If I can hit two bottles in the bottom row at the same time, it's an easy win. Already, a small crowd is beginning to gather, so the pressure is really on me. Nine more shots. (Bowling Pins Sound) Winding up like a baseball pitcher, I throw as hard as I can and the bottles come tumbling down. .png) Triumphantly, I claim my girlish cat doll prize and Misha laughs uproariously as if it was her who won it. Shizune stares at me with her usual blank expression. It's clear she wants the doll too." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Hicchan, congratulations~! What are you going to do with that doll?" There is no right answer. I have to tread carefully. HISAO: "I... do not know." MISHA: "Wellllll~ I'll take it, if you don't want it..." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Unless you want to keep it for yourself, Hicchan. I didn't know you liked dolls. How delicate." HISAO: "I don't. I have no use for this." MISHA: "Can I have it, then?" SHIZUNE: "..." Their eyes are drilling into my soul. This is a decision I don't want to make. I turn back to the booth. HISAO: "Hey, you have more than one of this doll?" SHIRAKI: "Actually, yeah, just one more." HISAO: "Okay, set everything up again, I want to try for that one as well." I still have eight tries. As soon as the game is set up again, I throw as hard as I can again, but miss. MISHA: "Hahaha! Trying to win another one? Taking the easy way out, Hicchan?" HISAO: "If it's that easy, you could try it." MISHA: "No thanks~! Say, Hicchan, can you at least put the doll down while you throw the balls?" HISAO: "No." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "There's only one more left, you had better get it! If you fail, I'll kill you~!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "What a clever way to duck out of giving me the doll, though! And by me, I mean me~!" SHIZUNE: "!" MISHA: "Ahahahaha~! Just kidding!" I can see Misha didn't mean any harm from it, and Shizune seems to enjoy her joke, smiling at it, but she looks a little depressed afterwards. I decide to hand her the doll, at least while I'm trying to win the other one. It's kind of hard to aim holding a giant cat. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Thank you, Hicchan. Shicchan seems happy, Hicchan~! But, you're going to win one for me, too, right?" HISAO: "That is what I'm trying to do, isn't it?" (Silence) I throw again, but my aim is way off this time. My arm feels kind of heavy as well, as if blood isn't flowing to it properly. I scold myself mentally, thinking that it's pathetic I could get tired from something like that. Then I realize maybe it's because of my heart. If it is, then I don't know what to think. It's depressing that even something as small as this is enough to make me realize my own mortality. I guess there won't ever be a time when I'll be able to forget about it. Even today, when I thought I would be able to just enjoy myself, on this beautiful night and in this beautiful place, I can't escape the reason why I'm here. I've never felt so at peace in my life, in this place which is like nowhere else I've ever been. It's hard now to keep from thinking the unthinkable: Katawa Shoujo OST - Shadow of the Truth That I may just have been sent here to die. These past few days have been some of the best of my life. The first time in a long time that I've ever felt truly alive. But in the end, I'm someone who finds himself reminded every time he climbs too many stairs or throws a ball too hard that he could die at any second. I'll always be limited by this. I feel depressed by that, and angry as well. In the end, I care about my life, and I enjoy it, and now it's more transient than ever before. I wonder what it is that will finally do me in. It could be anything, if I'm this weak and pathetic: a bad fall, a punch to the chest, a stray baseball. I've now lost my will to keep playing this game, but I keep playing anyway. (Sudden Silence, Crowd Sounds Stop, Heartbeat) The heart effect flashes on screen very slightly, too fast for me to capture. Suddenly, I feel a split-second sensation of pain in my chest. It comes and goes instantaneously, but it's enough to make me stumble just a bit. (Crowd Sounds Fade Back In) .png) Shizune jumps back, startled. She comes closer, staring at me with concern. Misha puts her hand on my shoulder. Katawa Shoujo OST - Stride MISHA: "Hey, Hicchan, are you okay?" HISAO: "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't really feel too good right now. I think I'm sick. I don't think I can go on." Misha frowns. MISHA: "Don't strain yourself. If you're that sick, you'll just make yourself sicker." SHIZUNE: "..." .png) MISHA: “Look, the festival is just getting started, and we've been playing games for a while. We can take a little break if you're tired. Good idea, Shicchan, I'm feeling a little tired too! I think we're all a little worn out, running all over the school, Hicchan!" I nod. They don't seem to notice anything unusual. That's good. We walk through the sea of people, with Misha cheerfully pointing out the faces of everyone she knows. Shizune holds the stuffed cat in her arms, cradling it absentmindedly. It seems like they're having fun. Suddenly, I feel a pang of guilt. Because of my poor health, we all had to stop. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Hicchan, we're both feeling kinda hungry. How about you?" HISAO: "I'm not as hungry as I could be, but I do want something to eat." MISHA: "That's good enough, Hicchan~! So, what should we get to eat?" HISAO: "It doesn't really matter to me." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Ah! How about sandwiches, then? And we'll need something to drink, too! Misha'll get everything! What?" .png) Shizune looks at me and smiles, and I realize she might be trying to cheer me up with a joke. I laugh. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Hicchan, it's getting kind of crowded, so we might not be able to eat here. It's getting kind of loud, too. Maybe we should go eat up on the roof." HISAO: "That's fine with me. It might be a nice view, and there could be a little breeze." MISHA: "Okay then! I guess I should get the food and drinks now... So I'll see you two then~!" (Silence, Crowd Sounds Continue) Misha gives a clumsy wave and then runs off. Before, I didn't notice how the paper lanterns look illuminating the dark night, but now that I'm able to see it, it's really an amazing sight. Fireflies float overhead, their soft glow making it look as if it's snowing lights in the night sky. This type of thing would be impossible to see in the city. Shizune tugs at my sleeve impatiently and crosses her arms, frowning as if to show displeasure at me for getting distracted. SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "You know I don't know how to read sign language." SHIZUNE: "..." Come to think of it, isn't it kind of stupid of me to have said that to a deaf person? She wouldn't have heard it. I shrug, hoping to show her that I don't understand. Shizune shakes her head and dismisses it with a wave of her hand. Maybe I should get around to asking Misha for some lessons on sign language. (Crowd Sounds (Muted)) Climbing up onto the roof, I find myself in awe again at the sheer size of this school. The grounds are so expansive I can't believe I hadn't realized it before. As I walk across the roof, trailing behind Shizune, I can't help but be taken in by the stars shining in the sky. .png) Shizune and I sit down on a bench. She seems like she's in a good mood as she smiles softly while the breeze blows through her hair. We look down at the festival, which looks like a sea of glowing amber lanterns and waving paper fans teeming with people, some of them festively dressed in yukata. In fact, most of the girls seem to be wearing yukata. I wonder why Shizune and Misha didn't dress up today. The two of them would look nice in yukata. I briefly think about what types they would wear. Shizune would likely go with something traditional. However, Misha is a bit harder to place. Misha arrives, panting as she runs to us, trying to keep the food in her arms from falling. Setting everything on the ground, she lets herself drop backwards. MISHA: "Ahahahahahahahahaha~! That took awhile! Come on, you two didn't tell me what you wanted, so I got some rice punch, some sandwiches, and some candy, too! A little bit of everything!" HISAO: "That's great. Let's dig in." Misha takes a bite out of a small, triangular sandwich. MISHA: "So, Hicchan, what do you think of the festival? It's nice, isn't it?" HISAO: "Yeah." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "The stars are nice tonight. This couldn't have been a more perfect day." Katawa Shoujo OST - Lullaby of Open Eyes .png) The sound of people talking below us is like faint music alongside the chirping of crickets in the distance. I take a sip from the can of punch and look over at Misha, who looks as if she's sleeping comfortably with her back stretched out and a half-full can of apple juice balanced on her stomach. Shizune sits with her legs drawn close to her, rocking back and forth slowly like an impatient child as she stares up at the sky. The two of them are so cute. I look around and can see many students holding hands with their girlfriends or their boyfriends. Not too far from us on this roof, there are couples gazing up at the stars or down at the lights of the festival, holding each other's hand. A part of me wants that. Looking at Shizune and Misha, I wonder if maybe I should ask one of them out some day. I wonder if it would be worth the risk. The golden hands moving across the face of the delicate watch on Shizune's wrist catch my eye, and I see that it's getting kind of late. But the festivities are still going strong. Shizune is still holding the stuffed cat I won by the paw. She notices me looking at it. SHIZUNE: "...?" Offhandedly, she offers it to me. I smile, wanting to ask her what I would do with it, but she wouldn't be able to understand me. I shake my head and try my best to tell her to keep it, hoping she'll understand. As I look out towards the school, I can see before me so many people, all of which are happy and cheerful. Watching them makes me feel content. This really was something. Today was worth it. But I still can't shake the feelings of guilt and melancholy from earlier, they keep hanging onto me, and I can't let them go. Shizune signs something to me, and I can't understand her. No matter what I say, she won't be able to hear me. HISAO: "I can't understand you, Shizune. Well, whatever. I wonder if we both consider ourselves at fault for this. Anyway, I'm sorry for not being able to understand. You know, I'm almost, almost glad that you tried to coerce me into coming here. If I attempt to date you, though, I might have to think more about that side of you. No, actually... I'm glad. Today was nice. You would be cuter if you smiled more, you have a nice smile.” (Silence, Crowd Sounds (Muted)) Frustrated, she stands up, arms behind her back, looking authoritative and confident against the backdrop of stars. (Crowd Sounds Stop) .png) Suddenly, Shizune throws her arms out towards the open sky, seeming to hold it between her hands. It's as if she's telling me to look at everything in front of me: .png) The camera dramatically zooms out, hiding Shizune in light pollution from the celebration below. The school, bathed with the festival's glow and lit up with the colorful yukata, the roof illuminated by fireflies, the sky so vast that it imposes the feeling of awe onto you. What does she want? It slowly dawns on me with time. This beautiful scene before me is proof that there are things wonderful enough that spoiling them with a bad mood would be unforgivable. And I can feel the weight of Shizune's personality pressing the point further. HISAO: "Thanks, I guess." I look away, but then Shizune grabs me by the shoulder, her watch brushing against my cheek. With her left hand, she points up at the sky. .png) .png) The screen flashes with fireworks. (Fireworks Sounds) With faint pops, fireworks begin to go off in the sky, each one spreading a shower of bright colors that slowly fade into the dark. I can't even recall the last time I saw fireworks at all, much less a display this large. Not to mention it seems that they're being launched from the school; it's almost impossible to believe. The lights in the sky mingle with a second salvo from the town below, and they seem timed to complement each other like two parts of a duet. They continue for maybe fifteen more minutes, and then stop. Shizune realizes her hand is still on my shoulder and withdraws it carefully, looking a little uncomfortable. Regaining her composure, she grins, with her hands on her hips and her chest thrust out in front of her. It's in these moments that she seems most like a regular teenage girl. Energetic, happy, and carefree. I eat thoughtfully with Shizune, the two of us looking out at the gradually thinning crowds below in silence. She sits leaning forward slightly, her chin resting softly on her hands and a contented look on her face with just a hint of wistfulness. All the while still gently holding on to the stuffed cat's paw. I start feeling tired and I tell her that I'll see her and Misha tomorrow, without even realizing that she can't hear me, and then start walking back to the dorms. I feel warm and alive, even in this chilly night air. The image of Shizune standing forcefully before the stars themselves, denying my self-pity, does not leave my mind easily. If... if it only takes a moment for there to be love, I think I may be falling in love with her. Just a little bit. END OF ACT 1
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Oct 6, 2021 15:02
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That was a ride. Eat, drink, and be merry, Hisao...
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Oct 6, 2021 17:48
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quote:The two of them would look nice in yukata. I briefly think about what types they would wear. Shizune would likely go with something traditional. However, Misha is a bit harder to place. Misha would totally wear one with video game emblems or anime characters on it. Calling it now.
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Oct 6, 2021 18:21
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Quackles posted:Misha would totally wear one with video game emblems or anime characters on it. Calling it now. I read that, thought “ahegao yukata”, and physically recoiled.
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Oct 6, 2021 21:30
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Quackles posted:Misha would totally wear one with video game emblems or anime characters on it. Calling it now. Or she could wear yukata that have appeared in other games, like the yukata with cats on them from Tokimeki Memorial Girl's side?
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Oct 6, 2021 21:52
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After all the faffing about last route, this one is refreshingly direct. Does each route start with Hisao at about the same level of depression, or is that left as an exercise for the reader?
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Oct 7, 2021 00:14
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Decoy Badger posted:After all the faffing about last route, this one is refreshingly direct. Does each route start with Hisao at about the same level of depression, or is that left as an exercise for the reader? Well that would be spoilers, wouldn’t it  But really, remember that each route was helmed by an entirely different writer, with other writers only handling editing and spotting each other when they use characters across routes. That’s a big part of why the routes we’ve seen so far have been so tonally different.
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Oct 7, 2021 02:09
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This was definitely a more refreshing update on this duo thus far. Also despite me not being able to contribute that much of relevance to this thread, thank you for covering this game.
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Oct 7, 2021 02:19
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"I should ask out one of these girls on a date some time," thinks Hisao, on a date with a girl and her interpreter.
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Oct 7, 2021 11:36
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Not really related to the game itself but more to what the OP does professionally... So I work for one of the Big Four, which one I'll hold off on naming. Their big push right now is, of course, disability awareness due to it being October. My own disabilities are the "hidden" ones that you work with professionally - mood disorders (which one I'll hold off on saying for privacy reasons) and ADHD (which ties in with the mood disorder). I've learned coping mechanisms for the latter and am on medication for both but have only recently become comfortable self-acknowledging them professionally. So I go to click on their resources page... And mostly find things like Zoom backgrounds and ways for people to be aware. Not readily available resources for those like myself. But they sure do like bringing up the value my hyperfocus brings to the firm. In your role with the program how much do you find yourself balancing the two potentially competing goals of shareholder value and assisting the individual? I will admit that this is still the healthiest work environment I've found, since my previous experiences in Big Law was more about grinding folks like myself down like an overworked cog and replacing us with a new, shiny cog before repeating the process. Now at least I feel like an expensive, difficult to replace cog that they oil occasionally.
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Oct 7, 2021 14:51
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Falconier111 posted:
See, this is another trap for me. I see somebody spread their arms out wide like that, especially in the context of the scene, I'm thinking 'it's hugs time'.
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Oct 7, 2021 16:07
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FlamingRok posted:Also despite me not being able to contribute that much of relevance to this thread, thank you for covering this game. It’s an honor. There’s a lot to talk about and I’m glad it’s making an impact. If you pay attention and absorb the lessons we try to teach you you’ve done more than enough  .citybeatnik posted:In your role with the program how much do you find yourself balancing the two potentially competing goals of shareholder value and assisting the individual? I will admit that this is still the healthiest work environment I've found, since my previous experiences in Big Law was more about grinding folks like myself down like an overworked cog and replacing us with a new, shiny cog before repeating the process. Now at least I feel like an expensive, difficult to replace cog that they oil occasionally. That’s a complicated question to answer because technically me talking about internal policy with the public without identifying myself violates my contract. But my program basically takes the view that:
). Internally we’ve set up a team with me at the head that coordinates the community and escalates concerns; we’re currently overhauling the company’s approach to accessibility and building a community support network. But… Ultimately it’s like a year and a half old in a company that’s currently going through internal upheaval. At this point it’s basically the hiring program (which is on track to pull 300 employees in by the end of 23) and a network that advises on policies and helps people fiend friendly HR reps once in a while, plus some other things I’m not privy to. We’re also helping other departments set up equivalent programs, and thank god we have the clout to do so because at least one of those programs was a nightmare until we stepped in in ways I don’t want to talk about to protect the privacy of one person involved.Ah, but I forgot the most important part: the department I work in has a lot of high-level managers who are open about being neurodiverse, and they play a major role directing the program. Like, not an advisory role or because they got shunted into the program, they actually set policy while maintaining their previous positions. That’s obviously brutally rare, but it means people actually take us seriously. So that’s nice. To actually answer your questions, we’ve built a framework that argues (and proves) individual support leads DIRECTLY to shareholder profit, so we use that. The support we offer is… Limited, but it definitely exists and is measurably growing. This is definitely the friendliest workplace I’ve ever worked at, too. Good lord the company isn’t perfect but at least this part of it is really good to us. Also, some of our marketing in India did do the “they have superpowers  ” thing, but some of said ND execs spotted it, got pissed because she found the content dehumanizing for her, brought it to the attention of the program, and put a stop to it. Now we’re helping our branch there set up their own ND hiring program (I helped run a manager training session this morning). That’s pretty great!E: gegi posted:With no context I would probably read that image as "HUGS! NOW!". I read it as her going “BEHOLD ” in a really dramatic way given how abrupt the motion is and the fact that she stands in front of the visible festival, but then, I did have a closer interaction with the source material.
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 16:38 on Oct 7, 2021 |
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Oct 7, 2021 16:13
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ChrisBTY posted:See, this is another trap for me. I see somebody spread their arms out wide like that, especially in the context of the scene, I'm thinking 'it's hugs time'. With no context I would probably read that image as "HUGS! NOW!". Given the context of the scene, what little I know about Shizune at this point, and the angle at which she's holding her hands, visually that reads to me as "Hey! Pay attention! I'm right here and we're already on a date, you doofus!" I would definitely not read it the way Hisao is, "look at the sky", unless she turned her palms more up instead of towards him. Since we can't talk to her directly right now I have no idea if he's just clueless or if the artist and I have different ideas about body language.
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Oct 7, 2021 16:24
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I am feeling a bit better now about this route than I was before, but I will definitely maintain that the earlier behaviour probably needed a rewrite if they wanted it to come across as playful rather than insufferable and abusive (at least it's not hitting my triggers any more, regardless). Some of that may be down to genre issues (e.g. the aforementioned discussion about tsundere archetypes) but I'm not convinced that's all of it.gegi posted:With no context I would probably read that image as "HUGS! NOW!". I was actually thinking along these lines too, I think the pose would have worked a lot better to convey this if she had been facing away from the 'camera'. But I can kind of understand why they wouldn't want to draw it that way, seeing the characters' facial expressions is a big thing in this sort of game. Edit: to clarify a bit, I think it's also that facing the camera implies she's facing Hisao, and that gesture facing someone seems like it would imply that (or be very easy to misread as such). Explopyro fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Oct 7, 2021 |
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Oct 7, 2021 16:35
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I might have guessed hugs, but I generally don't like to hug, so I wouldn't hug her.
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Oct 7, 2021 16:46
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Falconier111 posted:[*]The standard interviews process is kind of hosed in general and neurodiversity-friendly hiring is a great place to start fixing it So what exactly does a neurodiverse hiring process look like? I’m really curious now what it might entail.
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Oct 7, 2021 18:22
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Quackles posted:So what exactly does a neurodiverse hiring process look like? I’m really curious now what it might entail. E: I have been informed that I can’t go into corporate policy in depth like this on the kind of forum that produces poo poo like Groverhaus and the Machine to Kill Children, so I have to remove this now  .We’re still early in the process, we’ve only gone through a few rounds (I was in the first), but we’ve been pretty successful so far - a few major issues, but the kind that comes from small thing that become real problems beyond the reach of the program rather than anything fundamental. If you’ve noticed you could cut out steps 1 and 9 and it would still function, well, you’re right. The process was originally designed by another company specifically to bring in neurodiverse hires, but we got it by partnering with them for the first round, took it, stripped out the flash they put in to advertise themselves to people who’d already signed on, and streamlined it. Most of the elements that go into good management of neurodivergent employees are just generally good management practice, and this process was designed with those in mind: it’s entirely possible to tweak it and use it for general hiring, and in fact we have a few execs sniffing around looking to do just that. This version incorporates specific support structures for us. Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Nov 9, 2021 |
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Oct 7, 2021 21:15
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Update 65: Message Passing Three Stars - Katawa Shoujo OST/Cinematic .png) .png) .png) Shizune, Misha, and Hisao walk together through a white background, chatting companionably..png) .png) Hisao tries showing off his sign language in a classroom… .png) … And Misha bursts out laughing at him while Shizune studies in the background. .png) .png) .png) At night, the camera pans down from the Summer Triangle to Hisao and Shizune sitting quietly on the school roof, passing notes back and forth. .png) Misha watches them from the doorway, unseen. .png) Her smile is hollow. .png) .png) As she closes the door, Shizune hands Hisao back the notepad and stands up. .png) She closes her eyes, smiling as the wind blows through her hair… .png) … And we begin Act 2. Katawa Shoujo OST - Raindrops and Puddles The next morning, I recall what a perfect night last night was. So much so that I can't stop thinking about it. It's probably not the most appropriate time to reminisce, since I have a test first period. Ah, it's so unfair. How can they do this? They hold a festival that is the culmination of what has to be at least a few weeks' worth of work on a Sunday, and then follow up with exams starting the very next morning? It's got to be some kind of sick joke. I'm not too worried about it, but I wonder if they really couldn't have held off on this for at least another week. Well, at least the weather this morning is nice enough that I can study outside before class. It's a lot more refreshing out here than it would be in the classroom. Not to mention with how quiet it is, I'm starting to think that everyone else will be sleeping in pretty late today. I put down the notes I'm reviewing for a second and stare out at the school grounds, still littered with festival stalls. Looking at them now in the daytime, without paper lanterns or crowds of people to draw my attention away from them, I notice something peculiar. A lot of the stalls that Shizune, Misha, and I visited last night also happen to be ones that we worked on. … That's cute. Did Shizune come up with this? It had to be intentional, especially knowing her. Did she hope that I would catch on and see the fruit of our labors? (Silence) .png) I hear footsteps crunching the grass behind me and turn around. I feel slightly paranoid, but all I find is Shizune standing there with an innocuous look on her face. Katawa Shoujo OST - The Student Council (Shizune’s Theme) SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "Good morning." Why do I keep forgetting that she can't hear me? It's probably because I've gotten so used to Misha translating for both of us that I haven't actually run into many situations where I was forced to acknowledge Shizune's deafness and the problems that could stem from it. I think yesterday was the first. I give her a wave anyway. I can do at least this much, but I'm not even going to pretend for a minute that I could hold up a conversation with her, considering my ignorance of sign language. Would it be rude to just go back to my notes? I don't really know what else I could do. HISAO: "Where's Misha?" SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "Not just because I can't understand you. You two are always together anyway, so I'm not used to seeing you apart." I know it's silly but for some reason talking to her makes me feel less awkward. Surprisingly, she doesn't get mad at all. She starts signing; but it's different than usual. Shizune's hands move more slowly, and the gestures are simpler. I quickly realize that this isn't sign language at all, but she's still attempting to communicate with me. HISAO: "So is this the sign language equivalent of breaking it down into layman's terms?" I'm terrified that if I attempt to gesticulate back, I'd just look like a total dumbass. The look on Shizune's face tells me that she is starting to think that trying to have any kind of back and forth like this is not exactly the best way to accomplish things. There has to be a better way. Writing on a pad? Well, I do have paper and a pencil. What else, though? Cell phones? I don't really have much use for mine here, so I barely carry it around, and I don't know if Shizune even has one. She takes the initiative, holding up a finger to ask for a pause before pulling out a pad and pen from her bag and writing a single word on it: .png) quote:Hello. SHIZUNE: "..." I stare blankly at her and receive a similar but somehow more intimidating stare in response. She nudges the pad in my direction forcefully, clearly wanting me to reply. quote:Good morning. Shizune beams with a disproportionate amount of happiness. She starts twirling her pen triumphantly as she thinks about where to go from here. HISAO: "Oh, come on, it's not like we just invented fire." Shizune pushes up her glasses curtly, as if she had heard me, and then starts writing at a furious pace. .png) quote:Use the notepad! Write write write write write write write write write write write write write write write write write write write write write! I'm confused; am I supposed to take it from her and write “okay” now? This is about the furthest thing I could imagine from a smooth, flowing conversation. It makes me envy the ease with which Misha is able to communicate with Shizune. quote:Are you studying for the test? I'm pretty sure I can get away with answering simple yes or no questions like this with nods. quote:You are here very early; most people sleep in late after the festival. That means you are abnormal. …Is that so? quote:You're here too. Before handing that response back to her, though, I remember what I'd noticed earlier, and add: quote:You're here too. Yesterday was fun. I noticed today that I built a lot of the stalls we went to. Maybe that's why they were so familiar. Was this another game? She shakes her head from side to side indignantly. quote:No tricks. I thought that because you had made those stalls, they were the most important ones. We had to visit them, because everyone should be able to appreciate the fruit of their labors. I wanted you to be able to see and enjoy what you had done. I'm sort of touched. Still, I have to wonder why she would go so out of her way, and I ask as much in my response. (Silence) .png) quote:Because you were depressed. I want to say that I was depressed for days, but stop. It's true, I was moping quite a bit, and not being too subtle about it half the time, either, so it's possible that she knew. Was everything she did just to cheer me up, then? HISAO: "Thanks." I mumble it before I can catch myself, but Shizune doesn't seem to care. I write it down instead, and she nods once, as if unused to it. The silence between us grows more vast with each passing second, and there's nothing I can do to break it. Having to write everything down on paper kind of destroys any hope of trying to be casual. quote:Good luck on the exam. Shizune pushes the pad right in front of my eyes, breaking my concentration. Taking the initiative again, as always. As she walks into the school building, I can't help feeling a little sad. That felt like the longest twenty minutes of my life, and all because it's so alien to me to have a face-to-face conversation with someone by passing notes to each other that I can't help coming up blank most of the time. It makes me want to learn sign language. That's easier said than done. Although in a school like Yamaku, they might very well have sign language classes. In that case, there would be little reason not to pursue this. The only person who I can think to ask, at the moment, is Misha. How badly do I want to know this? There's two options: Wait until after class, or go look for her now. I guess I'll go now, but I'm not certain where she is. My best bet would be to start searching for her in the girls' dorm, though. After all, if she wasn't with Shizune, that's probably the only place where she would be. Katawa Shoujo OST - Daylight A guy casually prowling around the girls' dorm early in the morning is unacceptable, but asking Misha about sign language classes in front of Shizune would be just unthinkable. She has to come to school sometime. After all, we're in the same class, so she too has to take this test. If I wait here, I'll be sure to see her sooner or later. I just hope she doesn't walk past me while I'm flipping through my notes. It turns out to be a pretty long wait. As students file into the school, I wonder if Misha is going to be late. Eventually I catch sight of her. While she bounces across the grounds, it hits me that I'd have to be blind to miss her with her incredibly distinctive hair. .png) MISHA: "Hi, Hicchan~! Good morning~!" HISAO: "'Morning." I don't have a lot of time left before class starts, so I cut directly to the chase. HISAO: "Hey, can I ask you a question?" MISHA: "A question? Hm~... Okay, Hicchan~! Sure~ sure~! I have time, but only because I'm late!" HISAO: "What does that mean?" MISHA: "Haha~. I should have woken up earlier, but I was so tired~... if I had, I would have to study, but since I didn't, it won't hurt~! What is it, Hicchan?" HISAO: "Well, there are sign language classes here, right?" MISHA: "Yup~! They're electives! Why do you want to know, Hicchan?" For some reason that question briefly makes me panic. HISAO: "No reason. It sounds interesting, but I guess it's too late to sign up now, right?" I'm not exactly being too subtle here, but Misha never seems to pick up on things like that anyway, so I'm probably being more cautious than is necessary. MISHA: "Hm~? Ah, well, Hicchan, I've heard there are fewer and fewer students taking sign language every year. So! If you want to, I'm sure they will let you in~! Are you thinking of learning sign language, Hicchan?" HISAO: "...Yeah." MISHA: "If you learned sign language, Hicchan, that would make Shicchan really happy~. If you want, we can go to the teachers' office after school. They'll probably let you in." HISAO: "That would be great. Don't tell Shizune that I want to learn it, though." MISHA: "Why not?" HISAO: "So it can be a surprise. Besides, it'll look bad if you tell her this morning, and then I find out in the afternoon that I can't take the classes." MISHA: "Aw~. You're right, Hicchan. Still, this will be hard~... It's such good news..." HISAO: "I'm in the Student Council, so I might as well try learning it. Even if it's just the basics, it'd be a step up from nothing. Besides, Shizune and I can't keep relaying everything through you as if you were a phone or something, right?" She pauses. MISHA: "Wahaha~! You're right, Hicchan~!" … (Silence) The bell rings to signal the start of first period, cutting our conversation short. I guess I'll just ask a teacher after classes are through. Her reaction was a little strange, but I forget about it as the day goes on. Katawa Shoujo OST ~ Passing of Time .png) (Silence) The bell rings and the teacher at the front of the room gestures that classes are over for the day. Katawa Shoujo OST - School Days Although getting into this class was surprisingly easy, it's only been a few days and I'm still not used to the experience. The actual signing is easier to pick up than I expected, but most of my classmates are hard of hearing. On top of that, the teacher favors immersion. I haven't heard her speak since I asked if I could take the class. It's an alien concept, and really unnerving. The moment I step out of the classroom, I hear a familiar laugh explode through the air a short distance to my left. .png) MISHA: "Hi, Hicchan~!" Misha's not in my sign language class, so this is the first time I've seen her in this context. I still don't know whether her not being in my class is good or bad. It would be more interesting with her in it, but the potential for awkward situations would increase drastically. HISAO: "Hi." MISHA: "It's a surprise to see you here, Hicchan! ...Ah, that's right! You're taking sign language, aren't you~? Right~! What do you think of it so far, Hicchan?" HISAO: "It's not easy to learn a new language, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Despite how different it is from other languages, it's still easier than English." MISHA: "Haha~! Really, Hicchan? Hm~... I agree~!" I was just joking, but she's apparently totally serious. I wonder how Misha can effortlessly translate things to me while simultaneously having a conversation with Shizune in a different language like she does. Until now, I've taken for granted how amazing it is. Someone bumps into my shoulder and apologizes. It's getting kind of crowded here, what with it being the end of the day and all. HISAO: "I think we should talk somewhere else instead of the hallway. Let's go to the roof or something." MISHA: "Okay~!" I decide to continue talking on the way. It's surprisingly quiet enough to carry on a conversation while doing so. (Silence) HISAO: “It's still taking me some time to get used to having to look at the teacher constantly. I guess I took all those years of simply listening to the lectures while I doodled for granted. It makes taking notes a lot more difficult, too. The introductory class is small, and I'm already behind. I guess I have a lot of stuff to do.” .png) HISAO: “Yeah, this is much better." I turn around to look back at Misha and see her staring at me with her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed outwards. .png) MISHA: "Hicchan, you're behind? That's not good at all!" HISAO: "I started the class a week later than everyone else. It's not that bad." MISHA: "Okay, Hicchan, let's review what you learned, then~! I'll tutor you, okay~?" This is the first time I've heard “I'll tutor you” used outside of dirty movies; I'm not nearly as turned on as I'd have expected. HISAO: "I don't know if I need a tutor yet." MISHA: "Aw..." She looks more disappointed than usual. It makes me feel awkward to see her making that kind of face. MISHA: "I want to be a sign language teacher, Hicchan! But~, it would really be great if I could try tutoring someone in it, first. Even if it's for a little while, the experience would be valuable." HISAO: "Ah, well, yeah, that's true. I didn't know you wanted to be a sign language teacher." It's hard to believe she isn't intentionally trying to make me feel guilty, because she's very good at it. Still, it makes sense. She's very good at sign language already from what I've seen, and certainly has the voice for dealing with the hearing impaired. I never saw her as the teaching type, though. MISHA: "Hahaha~! It's the reason why I wanted to go to this school, Hicchan! It's also really expensive to attend here, you know.” .png) MISHA: “Because I want to be a sign language teacher, I have reduced tuition fees. If it wasn't for that, I don't know if I'd be able to keep going here." Misha made a huge impact when the demo first came out. Between her striking aesthetic, over-the-top personality, sudden appearance (since she wasn’t in the original document), and mysterious dev-confirmed lack of a route, she became an instant fan favorite, so much so the official wiki renders anonymous comments on its pages as being from Shiina “Misha” Mikado. But the demo never clarified what Misha’s disability actually was. People spent the next three years tossing theories back and forth, not helped by the developers jokingly canonizing mutually exclusive explanations: she has an inner ear disorder, she has ADHD, she has cancer, she had a hangnail in third grade and her parents overreacted. To me, between implied sensory issues, lack of volume control, difficulty reading situations, and a possible special interest in sign language, she always read as autistic. But that was one possible answer among many.And then a few thousand words into Shizune’s route we get this scene, which lays it all out for us: Misha doesn’t have a disability at all, or at least not one that gets her in to Yamaku. She’s basically a scholarship student there specifically to learn how to teach sign language. Yet, if anything, those theories kept spreading, adding at least one possible explanation on the way. So yeah, here’s your answer. HISAO: "I see. It's not that I think you would be bad at tutoring, it's just that I don't know if I need it just yet." MISHA: "You're right, Hicchan, you're smart." HISAO: "Well, no, that just makes me sound arrogant. All right, please tutor me." MISHA: "Ahahaha~! Really? Okay~! Okay okay okay~! Yay~! Thanks, Hicchan~! I'll do my best! Let's start right now~!" HISAO: "Too soon." … MISHA: "I miss Shicchan~..." HISAO: "Didn't you just see her this morning?" MISHA: "But it's hard to talk to her in class, Hicchan! There's no Student Council today, either~." HISAO: "Well, there have been exams all week. I'd be kind of mad if there was still Student Council; I'll be glad when they are over." MISHA: "When it's back, you're not going to skip out, right, Hicchan?" HISAO: "Of course. I'm in it, after all. Don't worry, I'm not going to just suddenly stop showing up. A promise is a promise." Misha pauses for a second, not looking very convinced. .png) MISHA: "Shicchan takes the Student Council very seriously, Hicchan. Now that you've joined, she works harder than before since she wants to make a good impression. Some other people joined, at first, but they stopped coming soon after. Shicchan tried to get more people interested in the Student Council but wasn't successful. Even when someone would join, they'd stop coming eventually. They'd make excuses and just put it off more and more until they stopped coming altogether. However... I believe that you really mean it, Hicchan." My eyes stay focused on her hands, tilting and moving almost of their own free will, softly signing everything she is saying to herself as she speaks. MISHA: "When you said you would join, she was really happy. Shicchan thinks you're interesting, Hicchan. An uninteresting person won't have the drive needed to join. Even if they do, a person that isn't interesting will quit soon after. That's what Shicchan said. So~! It's my duty to make sure you keep going~!” HISAO: "Is that why you want to tutor me? You're kind of sneaky." MISHA: "Really, Hicchan? That's the first time anyone has said that about me~! Wahahaha~!" There's no chance that I would avoid student council work now. Thinking back over the past few days, I've started to realize that the only reason I joined in the first place was because of Shizune; her competitiveness and force of will are alluring. I can't tell Misha that, though. MISHA: "Okay, Hicchan, let's review what you learned in class today~!" HISAO: "You don't even know what I learned in class today." MISHA: "Hm~, you're right, Hicchan~! Okay, let's start with the basics, then~! I'll just teach you everything from the beginning~!" HISAO: "You're kidding, right?" MISHA: "Huh~?" HISAO: "You're serious? That's like, days of lessons, and we're not even learning on the same level..." MISHA: "It's like riding a bike, Hicchan~! You never forget the basics! Wahaha~! I don't know how to ride a bike, though~..." Oh no. (Silence) MISHA: "Right, right~. I want to be a teacher one day, so of course I know what I'm doing... Okay~! Okay okay okay~! We're starting~! Uh... ...Mmm~... Ahahaha~..." She looks like she's trying very hard, so this could be bad. Well, learning a language is vastly different from teaching it, and the first step is usually the hardest part. Honestly, I couldn't do any better. Still... .png) MISHA: "Um... Sign language was formally introduced in the 18th century by a Frenchman named... ah... whose name I can't pronounce, and he started the first public school for the deaf in 1755, but the unwritten history of sign language is said to... I don't really know where to start. Sorry~... Well~, what better place to start than the history of sign language? Right~? Right~! No, wait, maybe the alphabet. Okay~, the alphabet it is, then!” Katawa Shoujo OST - Everyday Fantasy MISHA: “Okay, Hicchan~! This is pretty basic stuff, although some people think that this is all of signing, and forget there are all kinds of specific gestures and words. Although you can't really get anywhere else without the basics! This is A. Do you see it? Now, you try!" HISAO: "I already know this, though." I humor her anyway. MISHA: "Hahaha! Yeah, that's it! Now, this is B, and this is C." Misha makes one symbol with each hand, without specifying which is which. MISHA: "And now D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, VWXY 'n' Z~!" Yeah, this is bad. HISAO: "Do you think Shizune wants to do some student council work today anyway? We could go." MISHA: "Of course not, Hicchan~!! Come on, I'll do it again! A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K... Your turn~!" HISAO: "So there's really no student council work that needs doing, or anything like that?" MISHA: "What are you talking about, Hicchan? Come on, sign, sign~!" HISAO: "Like this?" MISHA: "No, like this!" HISAO: "Like..." MISHA: "This~!" HISAO: "Uh... huh..." MISHA: "I wish Shicchan was here, this would be so much easier with her. Hahaha, that's how sign language is taught most of the time, anyway, with two instructors~! Did you know that, Hicchan?" HISAO: "No." I let my brain run through what this would be like if Shizune were here. ... MISHA: "Hicchan~! Are you paying attention?" HISAO: "Yeah." MISHA: "Shicchan says that sign language is different from any other, because you have to think about everything before you say it. That means every word has more weight, Hicchan. Every single one is more important than normal. So~, pay attention, please." She continues her basic rundown of the basics of sign language. Eventually she starts talking about stuff I start to recognize. In the end, I'm impressed. It took a bit of stumbling to get there, but as a teacher, she's pretty good when she's serious. (Silence) After awhile I start to notice that it's getting late, so I thank Misha, bid her goodbye, and go back to my dorm. I learned a lot today.
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Oct 8, 2021 14:21
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The autism read makes sense to me, and the dizziness on stairs made me think dysautonomia (well, I have both, so I tend to see them everywhere...) I think I like Shizune and Misha both better when they're apart from each other.
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Oct 8, 2021 14:41
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I also get why Autism could be read into Misha, with those aspects. I will say that I got the impression her socialization-while usually limited to sign-is far better than I’d expect from someone with ASD, I also think her over-exaggerated social mannerisms are indicative of that as well, so there you go. Though getting into the school due to an interest in Sign with no disabilities? That’s nice, but now I feel even more bothered by her presence here? Like, don’t get me wrong: her aims are noble, but she has made some glaring mistakes in interpretation, and the staff isn’t correcting that behavior. Also, she’s possibly more of an outsider to this-with the same notions and possibilities of well-intentioned harm-than Hisao is. And has more pull, given what she already knows. And in a position of authority? It’s not the worst look in the world-like she wants to learn-but I feel weird about it.
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Oct 8, 2021 14:58
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I wonder if there's someone in Misha's family/friendgroup outside of Shizune who is hard of hearing or deaf. This is mainly because she says she's specifically here to learn to be a sign language teacher. That just feels...extremely specific to me. Assuming that she met Shizune at Yamaku, she would have had to be interested in this beforehand in order to apply to the school and get reduced tuition fees. Wanting to become a teacher alone would feel more typical to me. Though I suppose it makes sense that Misha would want to go to a school that offers sign language lessons as opposed to a public school. I've always found Sign Language classes to be very difficult to find if you aren't hunting for them online.
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Oct 8, 2021 15:14
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Apparently Japanese Sign Language fingerspelling is partly based on the American Sign Language alphabet. Oddly, the remaining signs mostly emulate katakana rather than hiragana. It's also used less often than the ASL equivalent, mostly for loanwords, so I guess that explains why it's katakana. So that scene with the alphabet could very well have played out in Japanese with the exact same material. The history of sign languages is pretty neat since it's somewhat rare to see mass education curriculums and imperialism have such a profound effect on natural language use. Black ASL is probably the most famous example, but I'd love to hear about others!
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Oct 8, 2021 20:06
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Decoy Badger posted:Apparently Japanese Sign Language fingerspelling is partly based on the American Sign Language alphabet. Oddly, the remaining signs mostly emulate katakana rather than hiragana. It's also used less often than the ASL equivalent, mostly for loanwords, so I guess that explains why it's katakana. I was going to wait until tomorrow but  .Disability Corner: Nicaraguan Sign Language Before we begin, just as a reminder: in the world of Deafness, lowercase-D deaf refers to the condition of not being able to hear, while uppercase-D Deaf refers to members of the global culture formed by people who are deaf. Likewise, hearing refers to the physical condition and Hearing refers to the broader culture. My research implied Deaf applies specifically to members of the modern global community and not other coherent communities of deaf people, but I went ahead and used it like it did in the rest of this disability corner for reasons that should quickly become clear. I will, of course, change this paragraph (and the whole disability corner, on that subject or otherwise) if someone points out I hosed it up, but keep all this in mind as we go forward. Anyway, Charles-Michel de l'Épée, a French abbot who founded the world’s first school for the deaf, usually gets the credit for inventing sign language. That’s… Not true. While he developed a sign language, it was complicated, impractical, and usually passed over by his students in favor of a complete, preexisting sign language from Parisian slums that inspired him to invent his system in the first place. Modern French Sign Language, born as Deaf students adapted bits of l'Épée’s system to cover some gaps and developed it further on their own, forms the root of most of the world’s sign languages, just adapted to match local conditions; American Sign Language, for instance, is a blend of FSL and the sign language developed by the Deaf community of Martha’s Vineyard. The origins of language are poorly understood in general (lack of contemporary records), but the origins of naturally-developed sign languages are even more obscure. Nobody knows how far back Old French Sign Language goes, after all; the Hearing world didn’t notice it until long after the Deaf community of Paris adopted it. Hell, it’s only one of many sign languages developed by primarily deaf communities. But nobody took notes, and nobody expects to see a new one pop out of the earth so they can study how people put it (or any other kind of language) together. Except in Nicaragua. So, it’s the late 70s and the new government’s promised universal education for all children in the country. That includes deaf kids, and so they set up two specialty schools in the capital of Managua, one in 77 and one in 83, for an eventual total of 400-odd students. The teachers they hire all use a mixture of oralism, a type of education emphasizing lipreading, speech training, and trying to prepare students to assimilate with society, and a Soviet-gifted system of fingerspelling Spanish. Problem is, oralism alone doesn’t loving work. Maybe 1 in 10 students actually get to the point where they can make themselves understood through speech, and maybe 1 in 25 can lipread well enough to function in ordinary conversation – and that’s for teachers with more training, funding, and experience than the Nicaraguan program could find. And, without any success in teaching Spanish that way, they couldn’t hope to make headway with that fingerspelling. So yeah, they mostly failed. They did notice, though, that their kids seemed to using some kind of homemade hand gesture pidgin with each other, but since they couldn’t make heads or tails of it they eventually threw up their arms and brought in an expert, a freshly-PhD’d linguist out of MIT named Judy Kegl. Kegl came from a very, very different background than the teachers they had on the ground when it came to linguistics and Deaf education. She’d learned in school about the Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf, the first major meeting of deaf education experts in 1880 (the first one was teeny and didn’t get much done). While a couple of Deaf people were invited along, all of the voting members were Hearing and many of them were borderline (or outright) eugenicists. Like, for example, Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, whose wife and mother were both deaf. The guy who had this to say about deaf people forming relationships: Alexander Graham Bell posted:Those who believe as I do, that the production of a defective race of human beings would be a great calamity to the world, will examine carefully the causes that lead to the intermarriages of the Deaf with the object of applying a remedy. He wrote a whole book full of this poo poo. And he was a voting delegate. Anyway, he and his ideological allies voted to formally condemn manualism (teaching sign language) and promptly sent Deaf education into a nosedive across the world for nearly a century: they didn’t manage to kill sign language entirely, but they exiled it to a few iconoclast or cash-strapped schools and rooms at night when outsiders weren’t watching. Kegl started studying linguistics right as a new wave of sign language advocates, now largely Deaf themselves, pushed back and earned the world’s sign languages a measure of recognition they’d never had before, as actual, natural languages. Granted, Kegl probably wasn’t thinking about all that when she arrived, because it wasn’t until well after she started working with these kids that she realized their teachers made the same mistake l'Épée did. See, he didn’t see a coherent language when he looked Old French Sign Language, it’s not like he had the training necessary to recognize it. He wanted and expected them to speak French, and OFSL wasn’t French; it was a language developed by Deaf people entirely separately from the Hearing people around them, a language isolate emerging in one of the world’s largest cities. He just saw a “beautiful but primitive” stopgap measure he dismissed in favor of his pet conlang, which is now mostly a footnote. Kegl was told the kids used a limited communication system to pass along important information, home sign writ large – and that was mostly true, at least for the older kids, the ones who were school-aged before they got there. But by the time she arrived, the program had been in place for eight years, long enough for kids still at the point of language acquisition to come in, borrow that system, develop it, and share it with the next generation. She found herself trying to learn an entirely original language younger than some of the kids who spoke it, something no scholar had ever pulled off. So Kegl found herself at a crossroads. Option A was doing what most experts would have done, teaching these kids American Sign Language and helping them adapt it to their needs. It had been done before successfully all over the globe; she could have hooked them into a global community that could offer them resources and support. But she was a product of the cultural turn, the paradigm shift that introduced postmodernism to the social sciences and instilled an emphasis on personal experience and minority issues that characterizes much of academia to this day. She was studying linguistics when an American professor convinced the Malaysian government to suppress a similar Deaf schoolchildren-developed language in favor of an ASL variant. She studied under Noam Chomsky, for gently caress’s sake. So, instead of engaging in ”the linguistic imperialism of promoting American Sign Language worldwide”, she settled on learning the language from the kids, teaching it to their teachers, and making sure the resulting curriculum held together before heading back to the US to make her career on her findings. She’s been accused ever since of treating these kids like lab rats to isolate the variables for her research and criticized for not looping them into the broader Deaf community, which I guess is fair, but her critics are the sort of people who bring their best to the New York Times to say she had to have “the conscience of Josef Mengele” not to teach them ASL (paywall, I found the quote elsewhere and confirmed it by spotting the line before the block kicked in). As someone who lost relatives in Auschwitz, get hosed, there’s no more efficient way to convince me you’re full of poo poo. E: the secondary source distorted the quote, he said that about some who’d set those circumstances up intentionally and deliberately doesn’t apply that to Kegl. Remember, kids, always check your sources .Anyway, that language is now known as Idioma de Signos Nicaragense (ISN), the official sign language of Nicaragua. It’s as complicated and idiosyncratic as any other natural language, with a sentence structure hinging on massive compound verbs, a full raft of dirty words, older speakers complaining about how kids these days talk, and a habit of describing locations in relation to bus stops. Just like Old French Sign Language, ISN has nothing in common with the Hearing language that surrounds it, but Deaf students learn to read and write Spanish as well; between that and some ISN speakers learning ASL anyway, they don’t seem too disconnected from the broader Deaf community. They see a constant stream of academics swinging by to study the only known language to emerge spontaneously – including Shepard-Kegl (she got married), now an established professor in her own right. ISN’s situation is far from perfect. As with everywhere else, the school system has to struggle with budget cuts, and some parents hide their deaf kids where the school system can’t reach them, leaving them unable to communicate outside basic concepts. As far as I can tell, it isn’t under serious threat, but not everything is coming up roses. And my analysis isn’t perfect either. See, most English-language sources on ISN are either impenetrably academic, paywalled, or both: the bulk of the remainder focuses the journey, opinions, and discoveries of Shepard-Kegl, a Hearing woman. Even those that actually talk to ISN speakers usually do so through her or asking about her, leaving most of the content here filtered through her experiences. So you might get the impression this is the story of a white abled woman saving brown disabled children and bringing a wealth of knowledge back to the outside world, but that’s really not the case. It’s the story of a bunch of deaf kids becoming Deaf on their own terms, pulling off a feat in the process that would embarrass the inventors of Esperanto if they were still alive. And that’s way more interesting than the dry treatise on Japanese Sign Language this disability corner started out as .
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 14:29 on Oct 10, 2021 |
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Oct 8, 2021 20:48
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It's a shame to hear about the stamping out of Penang Sign Language, although sounds about right for the local politicians.
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Oct 9, 2021 04:12
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Falconier111 posted:Problem is, oralism alone doesn’t loving work. Maybe 1 in 10 students actually get to the point where they can make themselves understood through speech, and maybe 1 in 25 can lipread well enough to function in ordinary conversation ... 1 in 25, drat. I didn't know any statistics, but I'd always assumed that lip-reading would be very difficult - and actually dreaded the possibility of ever talking to someone who needed to rely on it. Especially because - social anxiety disorder striking again - I'm not great at the whole "enunciating clearly" thing, and don't like it when someone is staring intently at me while I'm talking - which of course is a requirement with lip-reading. So of course I had to have that put to the test a couple of times in the past year or so - talking to a friend of a friend of a friend at a party, and then more recently meeting my cousin's husband - people who need to use a hearing aid and lip-reading in combination to understand people speaking. It was a bit of a struggle. The guy at the party seemed to understand me alright, though it wasn't exactly smooth. I don't think my cousin's husband was able to understand much of what I was saying though, unfortunately, but was really nice, so at least was polite in the face of me being a kind of useless counterpart when it comes to lip-reading. 
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Oct 9, 2021 07:16
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My favorite moment from next week's updates:quote:
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Oct 10, 2021 02:53
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Falconier111 posted:... and a habit of describing locations in relation to bus stops.
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Oct 10, 2021 12:47
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It’s that time again, folks! We have another round of  posts to work into the OP, and I’d like to lay out exactly what happens next. Normally I’d wait a little longer, but after that storm of  posting I want to make sure I capture everything. Psycho Lawnmower, EclecticTastes, Antistar01, Dirk the Average, Ghost Car, Explopyro, you’ve all made posts that warrant inclusion and have already given ongoing permission. This is just a courtesy call to let you know in case you have anything you want to change, exclude, or limit before it goes into the OP. Just let me know via PM or in the thread.YaketySass, VictualSquid, Tulip, megane, Marluxia, SimplyUnknown1, and citybeatnik, you also made posts that qualify for inclusion in various ways, but I haven’t received permission from you yet so you get the full spiel. Same goes for Haifisch, Renessia, Poll, and SpruceZeus, since I never got confirmation from you. I need your permission in the thread or through a PM to put your posts in the OP. I have a background in oral history, and I know drat well how sensitive information about a person’s disabilities is from a legal and moral standpoint. But I can’t really apply the full set of ethical standards to this thread without it getting ridiculous, so this is my compromise with myself. You can give me permission just to use those specific posts in the OP or give it for any of your posts going forward; in the latter case, say specifically that  you grant me permission to use your posts in this thread going forward unless you specifically say otherwise . And I mean it - you can tell me at any time to take this stuff down and I will. I’ve also set up a backup for this LP on AO3 in case something goes wrong over here before I complete it and it enters the LP Archive; while I will upload the text of your posts there, I’ve settled on using abbreviated versions of people’s usernames there to preserve some anonymity, and you can request I make your records there anonymous or leave them out entirely. Or let me use your full username over there if you want, whatever. You keep the same rights over your information as you get here, too. You can contact me via PM or in the thread at any time with requests or further questions. That goes double for you, Explopyro, because you posted some sensitive information I’d rather not put in the OP without your explicit go-ahead.
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Oct 10, 2021 19:32
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Sure, I'm ok with my posts being reposted or quoted going forward.
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Oct 10, 2021 19:45
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In general, I'm of the opinion that these things are better discussed than hidden away, and given that I already said the things I see no further reason to try to hide them. If it matters, though, please use he/him pronouns for me in reference to the sexual assault thing I mentioned. I'm agender and am fine with any pronouns generally, but in this context I think it's more important that I was presenting/passing as male at the time. It is also fine with me if you add some kind of disclaimer that I was probably reading my own issues into that particular segment of the story, because I no doubt was, and that I don't expect everyone or even a majority of people to agree with my interpretation.
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Oct 10, 2021 20:16
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I give full permission for my posts to be used by this thread going forward unless I specifically state otherwise. As for the AO3 option, I have an account on there already under a very similar name so if it makes it easier to leave my username as is, that's fine as well.
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Oct 10, 2021 20:36
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Yeah, you got my permission to put my posts in the op or on ao3 or whatever. I thought I already had told you last time.
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Oct 10, 2021 20:53
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VictualSquid posted:Yeah, you got my permission to put my posts in the op or on ao3 or whatever. I thought I already had told you last time. ... You did? poo poo, it was only a matter of time before I displaced someone's records  .
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Oct 10, 2021 22:24
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Update 66: Advanced Game Theory Katawa Shoujo OST ~ Passing of Time .png) (Silence) I'm jolted awake by a thunderous banging sound coming from my door. My first thought is, it could be Shizune. After all, only a deaf person or a jackass would knock that loudly at this hour. HISAO: "Who is it?" Of course, if it's Shizune, she wouldn't be able to hear that or answer it. There's no reply, so I'm kind of pleased. I haven't seen Shizune in a while. Katawa Shoujo OST - Out of the Loop .png) Opening the door, I find Kenji standing out in the hall, his eyes nervously darting from side to side. We get more Kenji bullshit I don’t want to transcribe here. This time, it’s less “fundamentally horrifying” and more “he has opinions so gross I hate reading it”. He was a mistake. Anyway, Kenji convinces Hisao to go pick up some mail for him in town because he thinks the Student Council will intercept it and go through it if he does it himself. I close the door and jump right back into bed. The second my head hits the pillow, a painfully loud ringing assaults my ears, and I realize it's my clock. The alarm going off means that right now is the time I'm supposed to wake up in the first place. On weekdays, at least. I pick it up and throw it without looking up. It gets wedged between the bed and the wall, the noise not stopping. In fact, it seems to grow louder. By the time I'm able to pry it out of there I know I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep. The only thing I can think of doing now is going into town and just getting Kenji's stupid package, but it's too early for that. After showering, I take my medication. I'm actually very hungry today since I went without dinner yesterday, and before that I had just a very light lunch. I eat the pills, chomping on them like a leg of lamb. They are unbelievably bitter and disgusting. Well, good medicine tastes bad, or something like that. I'm still hungry, and there's still a lot of time to kill, so I decide to go into town and find somewhere to have breakfast. I can't remember the last time I ate out. Besides, the weather is nice, so why not? Katawa Shoujo OST - Air Guitar .png) The walk into town is longer than I remember, possibly because it's been a while, and probably because I rarely come here alone. There are barely any cars on the road because it's so early in the morning, making it unusually quiet. The first thing I do is start looking for a place to eat. Immediately I think of the Shanghai, but I want something more substantial than sandwiches or a cake. Since it's so early, though, I decide to get Kenji's package first. Picking it up at the post office doesn't take very long, but the moment I see it, I'm enraged about what a pain in the rear end it will be to carry this thing all the way back to the school. .png) The box is huge, you need two hands to hold it. Insultingly, it's not even very heavy. I was thinking of wandering around for a little while, but with this thing in tow, that's going to be a real problem. I guess the Shanghai is my only option now. Everything else is closed, and the ones that aren't all have about the same menu. That fact also makes me want to throw some more business Yuuko's way. Before I can even open the door and enter, someone taps me on the shoulder from behind. I turn around and see Shizune there. Instinctively, I look for Misha, but she doesn't seem to be here. (Silence) .png) SHIZUNE: "[Good morning.]" Looks like those sign language classes are already starting to pay off. I'm tempted to sign it right back, but then she might think I know a lot more than I actually do. For now, I just give her a wave and open the door. She's probably here for her morning tea and didn't come here just to greet me. It turns out I'm right, as Shizune follows me inside the teahouse. It's a total ghost town in here. It's not exactly peak hours, but every other café I passed had at least a few customers. Actually, the Shanghai has been fairly empty every time I passed by. How does this place stay in business? Katawa Shoujo OST - Katawa Shoujo OST - Generic Happy Music  YUUKO: "Hello! Thank you for choosing to patronize our establishment!" Yuuko bows with the force of a falling axe and her head collides with the box in my hands, launching it towards the floor. YUUKO: "Oh no, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, sorry, please forgive me!" HISAO: "It's okay, and you don't have to do that “Hello, thanks for choosing our shop!” thing since we know you." YUUKO: "But it's part of my job. You're here early, what can I get you?" HISAO: "I just want some coffee for now." I wonder what Shizune wants. Without Misha, there's no real way to tell, or any way to even ask. I haven't learned about that yet. She's here, so I'm pretty sure that means she wants something too. HISAO: "Er, I don't really know what Shizune wants. Does she have a usual? Wait, she might want something else, though. Perhaps you should bring us a menu just in case." I look around for one, but can't find anything that looks remotely like a menu. YUUKO: "Menus... I'll look for one right now." HISAO: "Huh?" YUUKO: "Um... there are menus. They're just... rare." It's only a restaurant menu, not a collector's edition. SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "Weird." YUUKO: "Is that what Shizune is saying?" HISAO: "Nah, she can't hear you. It's just weird for a café to make you have to go out of your way to look for a menu." YUUKO: "Weird...? Yes... you're right. It's so illogical. There are so many things... Like, why is it called the Shanghai? This is a Western style teahouse... but, the name is Chinese... and the architecture is old-fashioned, but my uniform is so modern and sophisticated..." She looks like she's about to pass out. If she does she'll probably fall forward and make a mess of everything. .png) YUUKO: "I can't work here any more." What a bad place for her circular train of logic to end up. HISAO: "No, come on. That kind of stuff is what sets this place apart; there are a lot of cafés around here, you know. I think it's charming, really. Please don't quit. Business is good here, isn't it?" YUUKO: "Not really..." HISAO: "See, I think this is a good job for you. It suits you, you shouldn't quit." I've never had to defuse this kind of crisis before. Eventually, I manage to calm her down, and convince her that I'm sure Shizune just wants what she usually orders here. (Silence) Yuuko walks away to get our drinks, and by then, Shizune has already picked a table. Katawa Shoujo OST - Raindrops and Puddles There are no other customers, and Yuuko isn't the most talkative person, so it's very quiet. It doesn't really bother me, but I wish that there was some way we could communicate. There are so few moments when we're alone. Shizune and Misha are almost always together, to the point where sometimes it seems like they are one. Now, it's just me and her, and I'm unable to understand her or have her understand me. It's terrible. HISAO: "You don't have your little notepad today? I know it's the weekend and all, but it's not like you to be unprepared. Well, that's fine. I don't really like using it anyway. Still, it would come in handy now." SHIZUNE: "... ... ..." Shizune starts signing in short bursts punctuated by her stopping to take a sip of tea. It's strange how she doesn't make the slightest attempt to change how she normally acts. I'm talking to her for the most part because I'm not used to long silences. I briefly wonder if it's the same for her, in a way; however, it seems unlikely. I think it's more that she is the type who doesn't change how she acts for anyone. HISAO: "Hey, it seems like Misha joined the Student Council because of you. That makes two of us, you know. I'm only there because you forced me into it. Well, not really forced, I guess. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have joined." That sounds slightly romantic, and I find myself blushing a little. I feel like such an idiot. HISAO: "Although, I still don't know why you joined. It should have been the first thing I asked, in retrospect, but I'm really curious. I'll have to remember to ask Misha sometime." SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "It's nice to talk to you, even if you can't understand me. I wonder if it's the same for you. That would be really... great." SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "I don't think sign language will ever be as natural for me as Misha makes it look, but it's got to be a step up from using pen and paper, right?" SHIZUNE: "..." (Silence) We've both been finished with our drinks for a while, and Shizune's eyes fall upon the box sitting in its own chair by my side. SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "I'm just picking it up for someone, it's not mine." Katawa Shoujo OST - Hokabi .png) Shizune pulls it closer to her, intending to open it, and my heart almost leaps out of my throat. I quickly try to pull it back by wrapping my leg around the leg of the chair. HISAO: "What the hell, don't open it. You can't just open other people's mail, that's not legal." SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "No!" SHIZUNE: "...!" Once she gets going, there is almost no stopping her. Eyes filled with excitement, she looks ready to fight me over this stupid package and I realize just how fast this could turn into a game of tug-of-war. I am almost out of my seat now and waving my arms like an air traffic controller, before she finally settles down. Shizune pouts, not pleased with having her curiosity checked, and gets up to leave. It's about time to, I guess. We've been here a while. I protectively pick up the box before standing up myself. Suddenly, she tents her fingers excitedly and pulls out a marker from her pocket, and starts writing on Kenji's box. HISAO: "Hey, what are you doing? I said this isn't mine! Hey!" I can't even see her with it blocking my vision. HISAO: "Fine, at least let me put it down first." I have to to read whatever she's writing, anyway. .png) quote:I'll help you carry it. It doesn't seem like she's finished, though, and Shizune draws a fierce line afterward to signify that there's a catch. quote:I'll help you carry it. HISAO: "That's stupid, there's a fifty percent chance I'll end up carrying it myself anyway." Actually, I feel pretty stupid myself right now. I just forgot she can't hear me. I stop talking and shake my head. SHIZUNE: "... ...! ...!" I can't understand her at all, but she's coming across very forcefully. It's clear that she thinks this is a great idea. Well, if she drops the box or something, she'll have to carry it. That would make things a lot easier for me, obviously. The odds are 50-50, then... they're probably higher than they would be for any other plan of hers. All right, I'll take it. Thinking about it, I'm not sure how we should do this. Then Shizune grabs hold of one end of the box and lifts it up, and I take the side that she isn't holding. Is this even right? It's very uncomfortable to walk like this. We leave the café, and I find myself hoping that the streets are still devoid of people. Yuuko seemed confused as to what we were doing, and I imagine it'll only get worse as more people see us. Shizune doesn't seem bothered at all while walking with her arm at this unnatural angle; she just grins confidently and periodically makes some kind of weird gesture. There are people staring at us as time passes, and the usual morning crowd begins to fill the streets. I feel silly, but I'm sure that if I give up, Shizune will take it as a sign of surrender. I can't allow that, because I think I'm doing well so far." Initially, I just write Shizune's little hand signals off as her preemptively gloating, but I catch on quickly that she's actually signaling where she wants to go. It dawns on me that this isn't a competition. It's not much of a challenge, first of all, and second, it's really more of an exercise in teamwork. It's just that Shizune has made a punishment for failing instead of a reward for doing well. (Silence) .png) Our fingers touch under the box, and Shizune moves her hand away, almost dropping her side of the box in the process. Well, that's game over for her. She doesn't look very happy. Does she think I did it on purpose to make her lose? If she does, she isn't making a big deal out of it. All's fair in love and war. I feel like I should take it from her and carry it myself, but she pushes me away when I try. Katawa Shoujo OST - The Student Council (Shizune’s Theme) She glares at me as if to tell me off, but she can't. With that box in her hands, she is basically gagged. A sad expression flickers across her face for a second, maybe on realizing that and having to acknowledge that there are some limitations she has to deal with after all. However, she is still as prideful as ever, even when it's to her detriment. She wouldn't accept letting me allow her to skip out on the consequences of her bet. Anything is fair during the game, but the results have to be honored to the letter, huh? Shizune is an interesting type of person. .png) The march back to the dorms is uneventful. Shizune passes the trip by shifting the box around occasionally like a giant Rubik's cube. It looks like another game she has invented to amuse herself. It can't be good for whatever's inside, but I don't care enough to stop her. Maybe this is how she deals with things, by making everything into a game; it's hard to say for sure, though. It seems futile to try to psychoanalyze Shizune. In the short time we've known each other, I've been surprised on a fair number of occasions. (Silence) I notice Shizune shivering. The wind is picking up, and the school is pretty high up. It makes sense that she would be cold. If I gave her my jacket, though, would she reject it? I take off my jacket and drape it across her shoulders before she has a chance to protest. Her shoulders are slim and delicate, so much so that I want to let my hands linger on them. Shizune flinches when my fingers brush against her, understandably surprised. HISAO: "Sorry." SHIZUNE: "... ..." Her fingers dance lightly over the surface of the box, and I think of taking it from her, but I doubt she would let me. Shizune makes a quick gesture with her hands as best she can, pausing a bit afterward as if wanting to say more. I'm sure that what she means is “thank you.” I'm glad that I was able to catch it. Katawa Shoujo OST ~ Passing of Time .png) Katawa Shoujo OST - School Days The sign language teacher says I'm pretty good. I try not to think about it too much, but the truth is I'm poring over it so much lately that it's hard not to keep coming back to it at least a couple times a day. I guess I am picking it up faster than expected, but it's still not enough. I understand it just fine; understanding it is simple. Well, I have to put my mind to it to read it, but it's easy enough when I do. The signing itself is doable, I just need a little more practice. However, trying to do both at the same time, even at half the speed Misha does it? It's impossible. Where I'm at now is good for my level, but in order to reach a point where I'll be able to really converse with Shizune, I'll need more work. I'm doing my best to get to that point one step at a time by doing as much studying as I can squeeze in during lunch. I look up from “Introduction to Japanese Sign Language” to check if Shizune or Misha are around. Of course, since this is taking up my lunch hour, I've had to avoid them for a few days now. What's more, I'll have to continue doing so if I want to keep Shizune from finding out. My back to the corner, scanning the area every ten minutes, I feel like some kind of criminal trying to evade capture. … Every chance she gets, Misha asks me why I want to hide the fact I'm learning sign language from Shizune. Looking back on it, there really wasn't any reason, but now I think I know. If I want to be able to treat Shizune as an equal, then sign language is an important step towards that goal. Another important step is to make sure she doesn't know, so that when we're able to finally speak on equal terms, I'll be fully ready, able to do it right, not like some dilettante. Anything less, I think, would be insulting. She would see it the same way. So to me, this is the only option. Especially now that I've decided to be so resolute with it. Shizune has a huge aura. It's very easy to see her coming, or even to sense her coming. Mostly because Misha's hair lights up any crowd she's in like a beacon, and you can hear her laughing from a mile away. Although, even if Misha weren't with her, it would be the same. Her directness and efficiency are core parts of her, so it's no surprise that they come across in the way she walks as well. Due to all these factors, I'm able to put away all my things and put on my best casual face long before they see me and head my way. .png) HISAO: "Hi." SHIZUNE: "[Student Councilll.]" MISHA: "Student Council~!" “Student Council” was the first thing I asked to learn; it seemed like it would come in handy. HISAO: "Yeah, I've been dodging it for a while now, huh?" MISHA: "Yup~!" (Silence) Shizune sits down in front of me to my right, and Misha to my left. It was a mistake putting myself in the corner; now I'm, well, cornered. In the end, I'm dragged off to the student council room, but I don't mind. I was starting to miss them a bit, anyway. In some ways this makes it easier: satisfied with having caught me, Shizune doesn't ask me where I've been all this time. Once I stand before the door, I wonder what could be so important that they're so eager to pull me back in. .png) HISAO: “Games.” Katawa Shoujo OST - Everyday Fantasy There are more games out than books. This at last explains why every time I come here there are stacks of books piled on every table and occasionally parts of the floor: they need the room to put all these games somewhere. MISHA: "Hahaha~! It's boring playing against each other so much, Hicchan. So, it's your turn, okay? Okay~! It's settled then~!" HISAO: "I didn't even say anything!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Hicchan, this is one of the last days we'll be able to take it easy like this for a while. So~, it's especially important that we make the most of it, don't you think? Tanabata will be coming up soon, and we'll have to put in a lot of work for that, too. So, for now, play with us~!" Come to think of it, it's true. I hadn't even noticed because I've been so wrapped up in wanting to learn sign language. Right on the heels of one festival, a bigger one appears. I wonder if Shizune will try and rope a couple new members in to help with that one as well. HISAO: "You're right." MISHA: "Hahaha~! Yay~! Hicchan agrees~! Let's celebrate!" SHIZUNE: “[I know, we should play a game.]" MISHA: "Let's play a game to celebrate, Hicchan~!" HISAO: "I don't know, that kind of thing usually ends badly for me." MISHA: "Hicchan is worried about the stakes~." Misha makes a very disappointed face. It's hard to tell if she's mocking me, since her expressions are so exaggerated by default. She's an “all-out” kind of girl. I turn my head to Shizune. Now, this person, she is definitely mocking me. HISAO: "Hey, stop that. But, yes, I'll play with you if you tell me what's at stake first." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "How very Japanese, putting the consequences above everything else. Hicchan, have you ever heard of the expression “missing the forest for the trees?”" HISAO: "No." That's a lie. But I have my pride, which is currently feeling wounded. HISAO: "Okay, I'll play, but I want to pick the game." Misha nods. HISAO: "Additionally, I pick the punishment if you lose." Shizune makes an X with her arms. That either means “denied” or that she's about to use her special attack. HISAO: "Aha, now who's afraid of consequences?" SHIZUNE: “[How vengeful, still thinking so spitefully about a playful little joke. If a ... bit you, you would probably bite back.]" Shizune signs a word that I don't quite catch. MISHA: "Hicchan is so vengeful~, even though it was just a playful little joke. If an armadillo bit you, you would probably bite back!" HISAO: "Armadillo?" MISHA: "It's foolish to bite an armadillo back, Hicchan!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "But Hicchan would do it anyway, you see~! Hahaha!" HISAO: "I see." Shizune adjusts her glasses with a small flourish of her hand. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Hicchan, we didn't have anything planned at all if you were to win or lose, you just assumed there would be something like that~." HISAO: "I wonder why." MISHA: "Hm~, me too~! But, oh well~! There isn't. Does that change your mind, Hicchan?" HISAO: "Well... yes." .png) Misha windmills her arm at high speed to show her joy. Weird habit. This is the kind of thing you could only see in the student council room, occupied only by three people. Anywhere else she would end up socking someone in the face. Stims when happy, good to know. MISHA: "Yay yay~! Let's start right now~!" HISAO: "Not just yet." MISHA: "..." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "..." SHIZUNE: "..." HISAO: "Okay, okay. However, we have to all be able to play. That's my condition. I don't like games where one person is clearly the ace player right off the bat, or games where only two people can play so one of us has to sit back. It has to be something the three of us can play equally." SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Checkers?" The instant she says it, Misha takes out a bag of checkers and places them on the table. HISAO: "Only two people can play that. I told you—" MISHA: "Okay okay~! Hicchan, how about... Monopoly?" A Monopoly box slowly edges towards me, and I take it out of Misha's hands and put it under my chair. HISAO: "I don't like games that revolve around luck of the draw; they're too much about chance and not about skill. Also, stop jumping the gun with these games!" MISHA: "Luck is kind of a skill, you know." HISAO: "No, no it's not!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "It can be if you're consistently lucky~! Right~?" HISAO: "Once at that point it's something else entirely." MISHA: "Hm~, hm~ hm~ hm~~. Baccarat? Marbles? Life? Snakes and Ladders? Roulette? Blackjack? Paper football? Trivial Pursuit?" Misha begins to excitedly name a bunch of games as if she were reading from a list. With each suggestion, a new box, board, and pieces appear around her, a bizarre catalogue of games ranging from children's fare to serious, polished-looking gambling instruments that look very out of place in this humble room. MISHA: "Three way chess?" HISAO: "Is that even possible?" SHIZUNE: “[Let's try.]" MISHA: "Yes yes~, let's try it, definitely~! Ahahahaha~!" They pull a chessboard from behind them with a flourish like two junior magicians. Well, magic does require some deft sleight of hand, and they've got that in spades. I'm not surprised. Nevertheless, it is still somehow unsettling. HISAO: "Stop doing that!" (Silence)  HANAKO: "E-excuse me...?" A very timid voice manages to make me look up. .png) HANAKO: "I l-lost my ID card, and someone told me... I could find out where to get a new one here. If I'm interrupting s-something, I can come back later." Hanako's eyes drift across the room, taking in the landscape of piled-up record books, haphazardly scattered chairs, and overturned board games. I guess this isn't exactly the image an organized, tightly run Student Council like ours should be giving off. HISAO: "Hello." It's the only thing I can think of to break the ice. Unfortunately, it just seems to startle her further. HANAKO: "... Ah... my ID card... I..." MISHA: "You're in our class, aren't you, right? Right~! So~! Don't be so timid, okay? Come on!" SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Yup, even though we're your seniors, it's not like we'll bite!" HISAO: "We're not her seniors, we're in the same class." Still, I am grateful to them for stepping in. Katawa Shoujo OST - Fripperies MISHA: "What is it you said you want? An ID card, right~? Right~!" HANAKO: "Yes." Her eyes slide away from Misha. Being shy, it's no wonder she's not the best at keeping eye contact. I follow where she's looking, and notice her gaze stop on the chessboard on the table. Hanako's eyes widen, just for a moment. Shizune notices as well. SHIZUNE: "..." MISHA: "Do you like chess?" HANAKO: "Eh!?" SHIZUNE: "...!" MISHA: "You like chess, don't you~? Yeah, you do, definitely~!” .png) MISHA: “Do~ you~ want~ to~ play~?" The words appear one by one. Hesitation. She might make a break for it. I refuse to get involved in this; it won't end well. To my amazement, Hanako seems to be considering the idea very seriously. She touches the tips of her fingers together pensively, mulling the thought over. That level of consideration is more or less a confirmation. MISHA: "We're having our lunch break, so you'll have to wait anyway. Why not play with us in the meantime~? Come on, it'll be fun, really fun~! You like chess, don't you? I can tell, really really, it's obvious, so~! Please~, will you?" .png) HANAKO: "Okay..." MISHA: "Wahaha~! Yay~! Success, success, okay okay okay~! That's great~!" Hanako is still the same person, even in a different route.
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Oct 13, 2021 |
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Oct 11, 2021 16:17
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Also, Zurai, you were supposed to be on that list but I missed you, so there you go.
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Oct 11, 2021 16:50
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Falconier111 posted:Shizune starts I don't think the dialogue portrait is supposed to be there. Possibly a search-and-replace mishap? I've not been a fan of Shizune (and, to some extent, Misha) so far, probably because I have some deep personal issues regarding being pressured into doing things I didn't want to do; and while I agreed to do them at the time, and may even have meant it, in retrospect, I don't believe I wanted to do them at all. And that's been Shizune's entire M.O. in this story, not helped by Misha always being there and just naturally turning any conversation into a two against one situation. But now there's this. Shizune may be being playful in her own mind, but she's actually attempting to intrude on the privacy of someone who isn't even there to defend himself. I don't care how loathsome Kenji may be as a person, it doesn't merit Shizune trying to open a package that's not hers. If it were Hisao's, then at least he could give her permission if he chose to do so. But it's not, and he can't, and even the offer to help carry it seems like going too far to me. It's not her business, and I honestly expected her to lose on purpose so she could take over carrying it and then open it before Hisao could stop her. Also, may I point out that Kenji's fears that the Student Council would try to intercept his mail and open it have been proven entirely valid because that's exactly what they just tried to do, if not with the intention he had in mind? Game writers, please do not make me side with Kenji.
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Oct 11, 2021 16:54
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Was she actually intending to open the box though? We only have Hisao's interpretation of her action to prove that, she could also have just been intending to make carrying it back a game the whole time. Even if she was it's only a bit rude because she has literally no reason to believe it's not Hisao's stuff, like why on earth would Hisao walk all the way to town to pick up someone else's package when he doesn't hang out with anyone but the Council to begin with and Shizune knows that. Kenji asked a member of the Student Council to carry his mail so that the Student Council wouldn't open it, you don't need to side with him. Also yeah...you can start to see here that Misha really is changing the tone of Shizune's messages a bit and it really isn't great. Although personally it'd feel a bit dishonest to hide that I was learning a language while listening in on someone I know using it constantly.
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Oct 11, 2021 17:06
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Katawa Shoujo posted:Opening the door, I find Kenji standing out in the hall, his eyes nervously darting from side to side. I thought Kenji was blind? Does this mannerism even make sense in this context?
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Oct 11, 2021 17:17
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| # ? Jun 11, 2024 16:30 |
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Explopyro posted:I thought Kenji was blind? Does this mannerism even make sense in this context? He's extremely visually impaired, but he still has some sight - hence even bothering with glasses at all.
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Oct 11, 2021 17:25
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