> Comfort Hanako

[pandaphil]

I think it was in Hanako's arc where Hisao said he would never just toss her away if she became a bother because he knew what it was like to be abandoned. I think this goes double for Hanako. Her childhood friends walked away, leaving her hurt and alone. She'd never dream of doing that to someone else, especially Lilly or Hisao. Sure, they may grow apart in later years, and move on to new relationships, but I can't see Hanako actually cheating.

[Oddball]

Those of you who believe Hanako would never, ever cheat are gravely distorting Hanako's character, overestimating her kindness, and under estimating the effects of her trauma. Hanako is so lonely and love-starved that she will take affection wherever she can find it; for this reason she is the one Katawa Shoujo girl I can never imagine being faithful to a romantic partner. If she could date people in real life, I have no doubt that she would be involved with multiple of the Hanabros who adore her so much at any given time.

Her two biggest hangups are find out her "friends" didn't really care for her at all and abandoned her as soon as it was convenient and feeling that all she ever did was cause people pain and not wanting to do that anymore.

So she's going to abandon the people that care the most for her om a way that would be sure to cause them a significant amount of pain?

It's like you played some kind of weird Bizarro KS game that had a Hanako who was the exact opposite of the one in the game everybody else played.

[Umber]

Those of you who believe Hanako would never, ever cheat are gravely distorting Hanako's character, overestimating her kindness, and under estimating the effects of her trauma. Hanako is so lonely and love-starved that she will take affection wherever she can find it; for this reason she is the one Katawa Shoujo girl I can never imagine being faithful to a romantic partner. If she could date people in real life, I have no doubt that she would be involved with multiple of the Hanabros who adore her so much at any given time.

Hm. If Hanako was really so lonely and love-starved, and wanted to cure all of that, she would probably exert some effort into finding some friends, though the only one she really had ever was Lilly.

She might not trust 'friends' anyways, or the might-be's that tried to communicate with her, because of the childhood experiences everyone else had pointed out in earlier posts.

"I love Hisao, he became my friend, someone who cared for me, someone who loved me back. He's someone I can trust. And Lilly has been one I could trust after all these years, and she, too, took care of me when I needed her.

...So I'll seduce Hisao and steal him away from my best friend because...I need the affection."

Viewing her trauma in this light makes Hanako seem cruel, immoral and selfish. She's hardly that kind of person, and in any case, her trauma would, should, motivate her to keep the few that she has. She can hardly cope with life, even with two people supporting her. I can't imagine her having to do it alone, though this happened to be the case a long time ago.

And she'd just love to go back to those days, for sure.

[Guest Poster]

Those of you who believe Hanako would never, ever cheat are gravely distorting Hanako's character, overestimating her kindness, and under estimating the effects of her trauma. Hanako is so lonely and love-starved that she will take affection wherever she can find it; for this reason she is the one Katawa Shoujo girl I can never imagine being faithful to a romantic partner. If she could date people in real life, I have no doubt that she would be involved with multiple of the Hanabros who adore her so much at any given time.

Actually, that's not how Hanako is when Hisao meets her. She's lonely, yes, but also resigned to her loneliness. She mentions to Hisao she doesn't mind being alone most of the time since she doesn't like people in general. She's not desperate for other people's attention...which is why she shuns human contact in general instead of trying to reach out to others in a bid for affection. She IS, however, desperate to avoid losing the people she has...she gives up her virginity to Hisao because she feels he's drifting away from her. Hanako's never been a person who enjoys a wide circle of shallow contacts. She always felt best when surrounded by a small group of people she cared about. She says so herself.

Of course, if there's any lines in the game that form a solid basis for your argument, I'd love to hear them.

[Selim Bradley]

Those of you who believe Hanako would never, ever cheat are gravely distorting Hanako's character, overestimating her kindness, and under estimating the effects of her trauma. Hanako is so lonely and love-starved that she will take affection wherever she can find it; for this reason she is the one Katawa Shoujo girl I can never imagine being faithful to a romantic partner. If she could date people in real life, I have no doubt that she would be involved with multiple of the Hanabros who adore her so much at any given time.

Sorry, but you'll need to provide evidence of this to back up your assertions. From what the game shows us, Hanako doesn't want attention on her because all the attention on her from her whole life after the accident has been negative. The reat of society saw her as a freak, a burden, and many other mean things. This led to her emotional detachment, anxiety, and cynicism towards other people. But then she meets a true friend in Lilly and eventually Hisao, who don't see her as what everyone else in her life does. After so long being shunned by the world she has found two people who truly care about her, and she would never risk losing that because that leads her to being truly alone again. She would do anything to preserve that friendship with them, or the romantic relationship with Hisao if that occurs.

[Hisao&Hanako<3]

Wow, looks like a war started in my one day absence.

Enter Hanako-Assassin to kick the rears of all the people who talk crap about her...

[pandaphil]

I'm really getting frustrated with myself. After reading over my latest fic-in-progress, I find myself writing Hanako as a helpless girl. I'm falling into the same trap as Lilly and Hisao, wanting to shelter and protect Hanako after all the crap she's been through in her life, even though the rational side of my brain tells me that's the last thing I need to doing. Ugh, its so damn hard to change that mindset. I'm just too much like Lilly, a nurturing person my nature.

Wow, looks like a war started in my one day absence.

Enter Hanako-Assassin to kick the rears of all the people who talk crap about her...

That's beautiful man. Shame you don't get a scar option.

[muliebrity]

Those of you who believe Hanako would never, ever cheat are gravely distorting Hanako's character, overestimating her kindness, and under estimating the effects of her trauma. Hanako is so lonely and love-starved that she will take affection wherever she can find it; for this reason she is the one Katawa Shoujo girl I can never imagine being faithful to a romantic partner. If she could date people in real life, I have no doubt that she would be involved with multiple of the Hanabros who adore her so much at any given time.

It's you who's distorting. Hanako doesn't want just anyone, she wants to feel like she has something to hold onto, something that won't vanish if she says or does the wrong thing. This much is obvious from her dialogue in act 4 of her route. Also:

Hm. If Hanako was really so lonely and love-starved, and wanted to cure all of that, she would probably exert some effort into finding some friends, though the only one she really had ever was Lilly.

Exactly, there's no reason to believe she was lying when she said she doesn't like people. They obviously make her feel intensely uncomfortable. She wants individuals she can trust and feel comfortable with.

I'm really getting frustrated with myself. After reading over my latest fic-in-progress, I find myself writing Hanako as a helpless girl. I'm falling into the same trap as Lilly and Hisao, wanting to shelter and protect Hanako after all the crap she's been through in her life, even though the rational side of my brain tells me that's the last thing I need to doing. Ugh, its so damn hard to change that mindset. I'm just too much like Lilly, a nurturing person my nature.

Just try to see things from her perspective. She is weaker than others, but she needs support not protection, which is true of everyone if you think about it.

[Xanatos]

I'm just too much like Lilly

That's good then. Lilly came to her senses about it.

[YZQ]

I'm really getting frustrated with myself. After reading over my latest fic-in-progress, I find myself writing Hanako as a helpless girl. I'm falling into the same trap as Lilly and Hisao, wanting to shelter and protect Hanako after all the crap she's been through in her life, even though the rational side of my brain tells me that's the last thing I need to doing. Ugh, its so damn hard to change that mindset. I'm just too much like Lilly, a nurturing person my nature.

IMO, it's like flying a kite: you can't hold the string too tightly or too loosely.

[Umber]

IMO, it's like flying a kite: you can't hold the string too tightly or too loosely.

Except, the wind is still an uncontrollable factor, and when that kicks in, it all depends on how you react to it.

[YZQ]

When the wind picks up, hold on tighter. But, remember to let loose once the wind drops. Many people forget to adjust/change.