damswedon (Level 16)

Well my attempt to write a regular blog series fell at the first hurdle. Turns out real life doesn't care about any stupid Internet plans that you have.

Before I get into it I've made the images larger than in part 1 because I thought they were too small. The bad thing is this means I can't show as many images, while this might be a blessing once I get further into the story at the moment I want to show off as much as possible. So, next time the image sizes might change again. As always any choices I make will be in bold.

Part 01

Day Two

Day two starts with me waking in my room and doing the normal stuff you do in the morning. My guy is hooked up on the fact that he doesn’t really understand what normality is in this school and ends up deciding he will ask about clubs. During class I turn to Misha and Shizune and ask them about after-school clubs. They give the standard; “You are encouraged to join a club and there are festivals” stuff that always comes up in school based Anime and Manga. I’m not the only one that finds this strange am I? Not once during my time at school did someone come around and say, “Hey you should really join an after-school club you guys.” Mid conversation girl with long straight black hair gets up and leaves the classroom and nobody bats an eyelid.

We barely finish our work before we go for lunch. This seems to annoy Shizune, it turns out she has a little competitive side to her. We head down to the Cafeteria for lunch and then the two girls try to force me into the Mafia. Well not really but they do try to get me to join the Student Council. I tell them no for now. I like them. They’d be in my top five characters of the game so far, but I’ve also only met five characters so far. They try to trick me into joining via a few games I’m having none of it. I do agree to a game of Risk for funsies after class though.

At the end of the day we head up to the Student Council room to play Risk. The room is empty meaning this will be only a three-way game, obviously this means I’m fucked. Halfway through the game I’m given the impression that I have Australia, mainly through the fact that Shizune says she will spare my people if I join the Student Council. I defy her wishes and decide that playing defensively for a while would be a good idea.

Shizune crushes my feeble empire, so that went as well as every game of Risk, Civilization, Command and Conquer and name countless other strategy games have gone for me. You see I just never know when it is the good time to expand and attack so I always end up getting crushed. Anyway Shizune lays into me for being a weak opponent, so I guess that relationship is now fucked. I then leave to find the Library.

I get lost however and decide to go into an open classroom to ask for directions. Inside I find the blonde haired Lilly in the room. I spend some time talking to her; you know normal chit-chat about clubs, and drinking tea until she decides to take me to the Library. In the Library we meet Yuuko, the Librarian. My being there seems to distress Yuuko so I decide I will go and grab some books. Then I run into her.

I walk over to her and she jumps when she sees me. Quickly I say I didn’t mean to startle her and apologise. She introduces herself as Hanako and then an ever so awkward silence fills the air. I take a glance over to her and notice she is doing the same to me (she’s checking me out!)…Then our eyes meet and she runs off, so that didn’t go very well.

I walk to the counter and tell Lilly and Yuuko about what happened. Lilly seems worried by the events and goes after Hanako, well there goes another two relationships. By this rate it is going to be just me and my hand by the end of the story. Yuuko says that I’ll only have problems with the people here if I make it a problem, essentially saying I’m the problem. I guess that is the sexy Librarian relationship down the drain as well.

Just as I’m about to go into my room I run into Kenji who accuses me of being a psychic spy and then decides to give me a speech on the great female uprising. Like I said this guy is great and it doesn’t hurt that his music is awesome as well. I tell him that I freaked out Hanako and his first reaction is to ask me if she was cute. You know the logical thing to do. I say yes because hell I’ve fucked up enough today I might as well try and get some brownie points from some spiritual being that might be watching all this transpire.

Day Three

Today I want to do one thing. Not piss someone off, or get through the day without making an ass of myself. I just don’t want a repeat of yesterday.

The morning’s goes by with little excitement. At one point I bring up the fact that Hanako isn’t working with anyone and bring up the motion that she could work with us. Misha just says Shizune wouldn’t get along with her. Fuck. Well there goes my objective for the day. At lunch I blow off Misha and Shizune and decide to talk to Hanako. Maybe I can do some damage control over yesterday. If not then she makes a scene and I become known as the guy that scares young girls for the rest of my time here. So, no big deal then.

She doesn’t freak out! We have a conversation! She tells me she is waiting for Lilly. Then she tells me that Lilly doesn’t get along with Shizune. FUCK! I’m going to be forced into some East Coast, West Coast stuff aren’t I. The game is going to end with me shooting down Lilly or Shizune in Retribution for the death of one our own. I thought that the game would be a look at disabilities and how they impact our lives, but the fact is, it is a deconstruction of gang violence and the effects is has on our youth. To make matters worse Lilly enters the room. SHIT! It’s all going to kick off now isn’t it? I’m going to have to stab Hanako or Misha in the back right now aren’t I?

To avoid any confrontation I invite myself to lunch with the two and we leave without making a scene.

On our way to the tea room I get knocked over by a girl in a PE uniform. I stand up and feel like I’m going to have a Heart Attack. Thankfully I don’t. Which is an understatement to say the least, I don’t think the game is going to be as drastic as to kill me off on the third day. I messed up yesterday but this isn’t King’s Quest I’m not going to be fucked because I don’t pick up the amulet, I hope.

The display freaks the girls out, but I reassure them I’m okay. Lilly tells Emi (the one that almost killed me) off and then we head go eat.

Lunch happens and I don’t die (Success!), we head back to class and do that whole school thing. At the end of the day I stay behind and talk to Mr Mutou, and he tells me that I will only have a problem with the other students if I make one. While we are mid-conversation Misha barges in and I get sent on a quest to find art supplies for the festival. I step into the art room to find…

… a girl with no arms eating food with her feet. Well now I’ve seen it all. For some reason I start to have an argument with Rin over the proper naming of Rin’s food, is it Lunch, or is it Dinner? (Who cares!) She then tries to guess what my "problem" is. And she guesses penis. Why do they always think it is the penis? When I say it is my heart she seems disappointed. Well this isn’t the only time a girl was disappointed by my penis. I grab the stuff and run into Misha and Shizune in the hall. Five minutes later I end up being given another quest to help Rin with her painting.

On the way we run into the Nurse and he tells me to go swimming or go for a run tomorrow or I will die. So I say I will. I think dying wouldn't be in my best interest. Although if the Lilly vs Shizune kicks off I might end up caught in the crossfire. Rin and I spend the rest of the day painting her wall (she paints I mix the colours} then I go back to my room and sleep.

I can count the number of visual novels I've played on Anne Boleyn's right hand.

1. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All
3. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
4. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
5. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
6. Love Hina Date Sim RPG

In fact that final one is the reason why I started to watch anime in the first place. Anyway, I started to hear about a Visual Novel about disabled people that has roots in the cesspool called 4Chan. My first reaction was "well that is what I expect from there", but I then started to hear that it is, surprisingly, not the scum-sucking piece of shit that it sounds like. That it might actually be thoughtful and might even be called good. So I decided to jump head first into the damned thing and I might as well write about it while I’m doing it

Just so you know I'm dong this by feel, I have no idea who I might end up with, hell I might even end the game all alone. I will underline and bold all choices that I make but I won't always say what they all were. Also If I end up writing something offensive at all I'm truly sorry, I know this can be a delicate matter for people so if I do offend you just write me off as a fucking internet moron and move on.

I start in a snowy forest. I’m told that it is a popular area for couples. A note in my hand says to meet here at 4:00PM. I pass the time thinking philosophically about the world, “The Snowflakes falling from the white-painted sky are the only sign of the time passing in this Stagnant world.” Then a sound from behind startles me. “Hisao? You came?” I turn to face the person.

My heart begins to beat heavily. I try to start some kind of conversation using that all time classic “Here we are. Out in the Cold.” A gust of wind shocks our bodies and with my heart in my mouth. She begins to talk but before she can finish her sentence I step towards her and plant my lips on hers. When our lips finally part she whispers “Take me.” and I do.

The End.

Well that wasn’t all that bad. It was very short, the music and art wasn’t that bad but I don’t see why it took five years for it to be made.

Okay, okay. That isn’t how it goes. The truth is I have a heart attack. No really look.

I’m told I have Arrhythmia and had to live the last four months in hospital. Not surprisingly, I’m totally fucking bummed out by this fact. The girl that was there when I had the heart attack visited for about six months before she stopped coming. One day the Doctor comes to tell me and my disembodied parents that I can leave. Yay! back to my old school where I can live out the rest of my school life being known as the strange kid that has a heart attack every time a girl touches him. Life is going to be awesome!

Actually I’m told that my parents have enrolled me into a boarding school for disabled students to have a normal education. The place is called the Yamaku Academy and has a “24-hour nursing staff on hand” I’m pretty much told I have no choice in the decision, that I’m going if I like it or not.

I’m dropped of at the gates to my new home some time later. I make my way towards the Main Entrance and mentally comment on how creepy the place is while it is empty. In the main entrance I meet a man called Mutou. He says he is my homeroom teacher and that I have to see the nurse later on in the afternoon. We walk to classroom 3-3 and he asks me If I want to introduce myself or if he should do it. I say I will and he goes in first. I read myself and step in to see my classmates.

I introduce myself and get a round of applause from everyone but the girl with only one arm. They are either being polite or I have serious charisma. Mr Mutou then begins to talk and when he is done he also gets a round of applause. Which is weird. Hell this time even the girl with one arm claps. I guess I’m not as charismatic as I hoped. Mutou says we are going to do some group work and pairs me up with Shizune Hakamichi the class representative, saying she’ll be able to “explain things to me”.

I take a seat next to Pinky who it turns out isn’t Shizune and is in fact Misha Something-something. The blue haired girl next to her was the actual person I was looking for. Pinky here is just her interpreter. Turns out Brain (you know pinky and the brain) is deaf and mute. Mutou must of been messing with me with the “explain things to me” line. We joke about our names and honorifics in that way I will just never be able to understand. They offer to give me a tour of the school later and then we do our work until lunch.

The three of us head down to the Cafeteria. There is a wide range of food which is probably because there are many varying dietary needs for the students. You know, instead of the school just being super nice about how much food they will serve. We sit down at a table and I ask where the Library is, Pinky tells me where it is and then the two start to have a conversation between themselves. It’s just a quiet conversation what with Brain being deaf and mute and all that.

When lunch is over we head back to class to find a girl with long straight black hair.

I'm talking about her.

While playing this part for the first time (I’ve ended up playing this section three times while writing this) I realised I had a problem. I can’t remember Japaneses names to save my life. Hell I can’t remember names full stop. So I’m using nicknames. Thing is I don’t want the nicknames to be based entirely on the disabilities of the characters. While I did name Pinky based on the fact that she has pink hair, one of her physical traits, I think that is acceptable because I’ve used the same nickname for characters in shows like Saki and Bodacious Space Privateers (they are not Pirates they have a Letter of Marque). So what is my problem here? Because I’m going into this with barely any prior knowledge I can’t just default to her real name because I don't know it. I could just read the website to find out, but I don't want to ruin the experience. So either I have to come up with a nickname based on what I’ve seen so far (and I’m not sure naming her after Old One-Eye the unkillable T-Rex from the fantastic 2000AD series Flesh is a good idea, or that PC). Or I could just refer to her as The Girl With Straight Hair (TGWSH), or I could write this paragraph explaining that I tried to avoid the whole thing.

We sit in our seats and finish the day’s classes. I realise that I’m surprisingly tired and begin to wonder if this a side effect of staying in hospital doing sod all but read for four months. When the final bell comes Pinky and Brain say that they have some work (trying to take over the world) to do so they can’t give me a tour of the place, but they will take me to the nurse before they leave me to my own devises.

The nurse turns out to be a dude (bummer). He gives me a rundown of the facility and says that the place is equipped for almost any medical situation, except for brain surgery. Not only is he not a hot woman he also makes terrible jokes. He also says that I can’t play football (soccer-football not hand egg-football) I’m starting to hope for a “go crazy and kill the Nurse” ending. However there is a pool. After that I head to my dorm for some rest. Before I go in my room (119) I introduce myself to room 117, Kenji.

Kenji is already my favourite character, first thing he does is ram his face into yours to see you, due to him being short-sighted. It then turns out he is a paranoid conspiracy nut. First thing he does is tell you he was spying on two people who went into your room, who turn out to of just been your parents. He also tells you to trust no-one but yourself then goes back into his room. I go into my room and take my medication and go to sleep.

Review pimpin' section

First up was Sora No Otoshimono Forte, I don’t know about this show. The first episode was an effective introduction to the show to a point where I was somewhat curious to see what actually happened in the first series. However, the whole show seems to be one enormous dick joke with buckets of boobs and panty shots for the sake of it. This is a shame because the mystery of Angeloids, Heaven and the Synapse came off as actually cool. It’s just you have to cut through so much crap to get to the good stuff for example, in the second episode there is probably a total of five minutes of overall plot relevant stuff, ten if your generous. ( full review here) 
 

This picture is not related at all.

The second review I wrote was for Yumeiro Patissiere Professional. I have no real clue on how I feel about this show. On the one hand, it’s a really and I mean really stupid premise, a millionaire builds a town and fills it with sweet shops to have a sweets shop world cup. On the other hand, it has an easy watching carefree feeling encasing it that just feels great. There was a point where I wanted to watch the first series to get up to speed and then I notice there are fifty episodes to this show. So ‘eff that. The show easily wins the BEST OPENING THEME award with its song and theme that feels like it would be found in some European capital club called De dans. ( full review here) Third was Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. I liked it. ( full review here) 

The fourth review was for Otome Yokai Zakuro that story wise seems okay nothing too out there; the setting is however is interesting to say the least. I don’t know much about of Japanese history other than samurai, ninja and the whole World War 2 thing. I find the show to be oddly appealing the Meniji era seems to be the death of old Japan and the rise of the imperial Japan that ended up in the war. Oh and the art is beautiful just mind meltingly good. ( full review here) 

Fifth was The World God Only Knows which has a real detective feeling, I just get this real Sherlock Holmes feeling from the main character and hey the writer/s actually know how to make you like a character within the first episode. ( full review here) The Sixth was Fortune Arterial, which has a cool premise; a boarding school has a couple of vampires living in it. Sadly, nothing really happens in the episode to the point where all you really needed to carry the story was the first five minutes and the last two or three. ( full review here) Finally, there was  My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute or Oreimo as it is also known. This is a cute but also thoughtful look at Otaku and how they are perceived in Japan. Oh and it isn’t nearly as incesty as I expected. It also wins the award of BEST BACKGROUND MUSIC with its ska soundtrack. ( full review here) 

Musical Interlude

Other Shows

 Whoa there, keep something for the rest of the show.

Speaking of Incest, Yosuga no Sora is a show that started off with the typical harem set up of bunch of girls who seem to fall in love with our white haired protagonist. His twin sister seems to have a connection issue with him that verges on the creepy side to a point where she shows up in her brother’s room at night and asks to “lay” with him. I’m fully expecting the show to do an it’s him who is actually having the incestuous fantasies but time will tell. Squid Girl was fun, it relies waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much on placing Squid and other Squidy words in place of adjectives, and it expects us to find that funny. However the rest of the show is fine and there where a few funny moments that makes it nice and easy watching. Iron Man exists and well they seem to understand that the right Iron Man to Tony Stark ratio favours a more Tony focused format. In that Tony Stark being an asshole is more fun than a dude in a iron suit fighting other robots.

MM! and Star Driver rubbed me the wrong way. MM! feels like it is purposefully doing everything it can to piss me off, with its complete arsehole of a club leader in Mio Isurugi. Why is she put in charge of being a consultant when she is obviously a psychopath? Maybe you would be able to “cure” Sado Taro’s sadism if you just talked to him. God Damn it just watch the bloody opening to your own show and you’ll understand that the problem is his over loving mother and sister. As for Star Driver I feel like the art is just rapidly changing in quality at times there is a major contrast between characters and backgrounds, but in the other realm the artwork is fantastic. There are also two things that really bug me about the show, Firstly why can’t anyone realise that the bad guys are all the students with weird hair colours? Secondly, why is it that everyone’s neck is longer that his or her heads?

Well I’ve rambled on for way too long... so... erm... bye