Reactions

[tarvok]

I'm playing this game for the first time, and this game is hilarious. I'm just going to post my reaction to each day, as I go through the game.

Day 1: I want my baby back baby back baby back baby back... rofl. Loved this moment.

Pretty sure that first girl I met on the bus is some kind of princess... or whatever. I wonder what's going on there.

Redhead girl: tsundere altert, I'm assuming.

Really fun. Will post again.

[tarvok]

Day 2: Interesting combat system. Just pick a word, fast. Misclick, and it might go wrong... maybe? Too easy to figure out how badly it can go, at least this first playthrough.

Decided to take the bike, didn't see the "princess" again. Heck, all I did see was my team partner and that Akira dude.

[tarvok]

Day 3: Apparently the design on these suits is so embarrassing for the ladies it doesn't matter how you talk about them; they're just trying to pretend its okay.

Was so tempted to go with "YOLO"... but no, I stuck to the plan. Finished the first one with a "Yaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Hit "d" too many times on the second one to get in my intended "LEROOOOOY JENKINS!"

[tarvok]

Day 4: Decided to do that history project with Yuuna, mechs through the ages or whatever. Pretty funny how straight-laced she is. I still don't know who exactly she is that she can intimidate that admin guy into giving me my parking permit.

This "click fast" mechanic is kind of fun. I stood there staring at the choice of whether to help her on the motorcycle or let her go... until I noticed the countdown. In a moment of something that almost felt like panic, I clicked the "help her" option, and got to go on the ride.

Then I got treated like a wishbone by my sister's friends. Yay? lol

Finally, hooray for cat videos. They truly make the Internet go 'round... them and porn.

[Rain]

I apprechiate this :D

[tarvok]

First sight of Valerie Belle: daaaaaaaaang. Was tempted to go with "my core can also do other things", but she's creepy, and I got enough irons in the fire as it is. She's definitely after something, and it ain't the d.

Decided to spend free time with Kaori. Yuuna wasn't on the list, and I'm down with that tsundere thing, so here I am.

End of the day, I was faced with the choice of going to see Yuuna, Shou, or my sister. A sense of responsibility tugged me toward all three. Shou, of course, is my teamate, and I don't think I've seen him in couple days, should probably touch base there. I just asked Yuuna for a favor (the sponsorship thing), and I don't want to leave her thinking that's all I'm after. And, of course, I gotta look out for my sis. Decided to go with Yuuna.

Really loving this "click fast" thing. FIrst tennis serve totally whiffeed by me, but true to my word, I managed to get that second one.

I love the little bits of humor. "I used to bring you food from the kitchen." "I was five; I thought everyone did that."

I wonder what Nikki's doing so late. Dance club, maybe?

[tarvok]

Swiggity swooty, rofl. Another one of those things that keeps me laughing for several pages afterward. Of course, I played it classy; I'm not playing a perv (this time; going full perv next time for the lols). Kaori seemed to appreciate it. I did find it very amusing that this game lampshaded how surprising Japanese gym uniforms (at least in anime; don't know about real life) would be to an American who wasn't already a weaboo.

Another thing I'm enjoying that I haven't mentioned yet is the sheer simplicty of the character ability thing. Every now and then I get some green text that allows me to act all smart (because that's what I went with). Very simple concept. I haven't played a huge number of VNs, but I have played a few, and I'm not sure if I've encountered this device before.

Which is to say, this time I sought out Mayu. Gotta build up that team cohesion, right, though it meant passing up an opportunity to spend time with Yuuna.

I wonder who that dude was that dropped off Kaori.

[tarvok]

Finished another day. Not much happened that really left a mark on my memory, aside from learning about Uncle Kaito's separation. It didn't even occur to me he was married; figured he was just a plot convenient bachelor.

I am a little concerned that toward the end of the day, I was given a list of names... of ONE name. I'm guessing I'm approaching a divergence, and a few options have been culled. I'm just playing it by ear, so if there's a "nobody" line, that's probably where I'm headed.

[tarvok]

Spent part of the day talking to Yuuna about pilot mental health. Spent the other day lecturing Valerie about messing around with someone else's GEAR without permission. She did a pretty good job of acting like she's just curious about the thing, but I still think she's up to something.

And yeah, I've done that. Forget something, go back to get it, get distracted, return home... still don't have it.

[tarvok]

What a day. We won the match, recruited Valerie, went to a party, and Kaori got suuuuuper drunk. It was awesome. No, I didn't go home with her. Seemed like a baaaad idea.

This character really should have texted his sis the moment he got his phone back and saw all those messages. I forgot to post before the next day started, and have already seen the consequences of failing to do so. Looking forward to Kaori's reaction once I meet her at the grocery store to grab ingredients for sushi or whatever it is he's trying to make.

[tarvok]

W00t. Got what I wanted: Kaori doubled over in laughter. Also got to know who that dude is: foreign uncle for whom strange levels of physical affection is perfectly normal. At any rate, it appears I have officially chipped through the other layer of Tsun to reach the gooey interior of Dere goodness. I know I was focusing on Yuuna up to this point... but I gotta have that dere.

Also Pretty Princess Sparklebike FTW.

[tarvok]

Heh. Got me a nice pair of headphones, decided to turn voiceover back on (I had turned it off earlier). FIrst try: Valerie. Earbleed! Next up, Kaori. Earbleed! I'm guessing this is going to be a pattern. It lierally sounds like they recorded volunteers over Skype or something. I find myself wondering if there is an original Japanese VO I could hear instead. Oh well. Turning voice off.

Such grace! Much elegance! lol, this game is memetastic.

I enjoy spending time with Shou. And it was fun to point out the obvious to him. And I love that my reading is fast enough that I *almost* always get through the challenges... though this one almost got me. Only one right choice out of... what was it, five? Six? Still, I reasonably well on the rings.

[tarvok]

W00t. Ecchi Da--I mean... Beach Day! What an opportunity for good, wholesome fun in the sun! There's water, and there's sand (NO PREQUALMEMES!), and... ah, who am I kidding. BIKINIS! W00t. Let's perv it up, shall we? (Yuuna and Mayu proceed to cover themselves.) Ladies, I ain't exactly asking you to wear a burka or anything, but you *do* know they make perfectly good swimsuits that are more modest in design, don't you? I'm just saying, if you don't want that kind of attention, maybe don't go directly to the ones that are specifically designed to show it all off to the greatest extent possible. (And if you start blaming the author... well let's just say it's a good thing you're all fictional.)

Anywho...

In a *very* close heat for first place, we have Yuuna with her elegant bikini and sarong ensamble (did I say that right?), alongside Valeri with her absolutely *minimal* white bikini and playfully provacative stance. Close behind is Mayu, who's hips are perfectly accentuated by the particular cut of her bikini.

But never mind all that; I still gotta have dat Dere. Took a moment to play... vollyball? Or whatever. It made Kaori happy, which is good. I wonder what the deal is with her and... what was her name? The dark haired girl who showed up later.

[Austichar]

Valerie's voice is bad? Sacrilege I say!

[tarvok]

Eh, I'm just *extremely* sensitive to voice acting. I have no problem reading, so I'd just as soon people not waste resources on mediocre voice acting... particularly when there's a perfectly good Japanese track to convey emotion along with the English text conveying meaning. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm a total subsnob. :p

Next day. I'm starting to kind of rush through this. I keep forgetting to write when night falls.

The interview with our sponsor rep was enlightening. I found their analysis of different team dynamics interesting. And at least now I know why everybody tiptoes around Yuuna. Her bro died in a fire (probably), and now everybody is extra nice to her.

Chose to do some training with Kaori. Both she and her friend need to chill... but her friend really needs to admit she made a mistake when she spilled the beans. Sure you were trying to help... but it didn't work out. You miscalculated. Say you're sorry already.

EDIT: OH! I almost forgot the coolest part of the day. Spent the first part with Mayu. We're forming a band. It's the kind of part that would make for a great anime, what with the over-the-top style cliches and the random dude who showed up to help us judge (I'm guessing he's emulating a guy on a show I never watched). I used to do music, so I really appreciated this part.

[tarvok]

So I'm stopping just after the match. I clicked flawlessly and managed to take out both my opponent and Shou's. I tried to hold back and let Kaori do her thing... but I wasn't about to let Mei(?) take me down without a fight. Assuming this game has the option, my next move is, "What the hell did you think you were doing out there?"