Yamaku Book Club (20220124 Dish Washing)

[brythain]

What are the things that made you want to write your own?

Ostensibly, my motivation for writing was more related to what I didn't see, but that's probably more subject to interpretation than I'd admit. As for authors whose works convinced me that writing a fanficiton was worth doing, Doomish and Scissorlips easily top the list. While many (myself included) consider Scissorlips's PseuPseuSu to be a slow-moving train wreck, his one-shots are (generally) beyond reproach. Similarly, Doomish far too readily delved into the dark corners of our psyche that most would rather have left unexplored, but he also wrote plenty of lighter, more uplifting pieces as well. In both cases, I'd say they were among the most technically proficient authors to have graced these forums.

I'm sure there are plenty more worthy of attention, but either I haven't finished reading them, or the authors haven't finished writing them. There's one or two in particular who I really wish would get off their lazy butts and finish what they started, but I'm sure they have plenty of excuses which may be legitimate, but really aren't satisfactory. I'd like to believe they haven't abandoned it, though.

For the other insights, and especially for this section, thank you. It helps to highlight two authors who might not be known (at least outside the PPS) to new readers.

[pb08]

Thanks for the answer i am new to fanfic here but a old reader of ks and got interested on this topic

[Puncyclopedia]

On the Fifth Anniversary of Katawa Shoujo: it's the reason we're all here in the first place.

In a sense, the only 'book' worth discussing at such a time is all of KS and the fanfics it's spawned.

What are the things that made you want to write your own?

I'm really only qualified to answer this last one because it's been so long since I've read anything on here.

I think the work lends itself to fanfiction because of how disciplined the creators were. The routes themselves are tight yet incomplete, moments of time in twenty-four hour days. We see almost nothing of Hisao's day to day life in the grand scheme of things, let alone the lives of the main girls, let alone the lives of everyone else at Yamaku. The Academy is a world prime to be built up further. Katawa Shoujo leaves room for us to imagine a variety of stories afterwards, all equally valid (or invalid, depending on your perspective).

I started The Benefit of Hindsight in some ways as an experiment - I wanted to write a Shizune x Hisao fic (and still do), but was a bit terrified at the prospect. LIlly was my second favorite character, and I saw a lot of people on here that didn't enjoy her characterization or route. Essentially, TBoH is designed as "how could the two of them have had a more functional relationship and avoid the pitfalls of their actual route?" while of course adding NEW pitfalls for them to "enjoy."

[MishMush]

is Yamaku Book Club still going on ?

Yes. I've been on a sort of RL-induced hiatus, but it will be back soon! Thanks for asking!

Looking forward to more Yamaku Book Club!

What do you think have been the most convincing 'spinoffs', or the most painful?

Misha fan here so I'm probably (definitely) biased, but I felt like "For Want of a Nail" was/is a convincing 'spinoff'. Now to be fair so do quite alot of the 'route' fics (as they are meant to fit in ks), however few reach For Want of a Nail:s quality.
As for "painful" I'm going to shamelessly again mention a Misha fic "Blame" by pip25. When I first read it I got the bad end,insert sadface here this made me feel both sad and frustrated, the latter because I couldn't picture myself in a situation where I would have made the "right" choice.

Regardless they are both great stories and I recommend anyone who hasn't read them to do so pronto!

[brythain]

Yes, RL events have made me somewhat unable to engage fully, but I'm still around.

1. This thread caught my eye a while back: RIte of Passage Fanfics?. It's a good question: what do you all think?

2. Recently, a lot of works on hiatus have been resumed. What do you do when such a momentous event happens? Do you read the work again from the beginning until you get to the new bits, or do you read the new bits first and then read from the beginning?

[Mirage_GSM]

I usually skim the most recent chapter before the hiatus and or read my comments in the thread. That's usually enough to jog my memory enough to continue reading.
I've found that knowing what I thought about the story works better than trying to get into the story again by rereading everything.

[brythain]

I usually skim the most recent chapter before the hiatus and or read my comments in the thread. That's usually enough to jog my memory enough to continue reading.
I've found that knowing what I thought about the story works better than trying to get into the story again by rereading everything.

You must have a prodigious memory. I think you've read everything in the forum!

[Mirage_GSM]

Not everything. I steer clear of the HBHC, the "official headcanon thread" (which is an oxymoron by the way) and similar stuff.
But yes, I've read (almost) everything in the fanfiction section

[Lianam]

(God it's been so long since I've posted here. Also, hey Mirage and brythain, good to see you again)

On the first question, the two fanfiction's I'd recommend are Scissorlips' pseudo-pseudo Suzu route if you want a route, and, of course, Guest Poster's "Sisterhood". I also recall Rikabro's "Can You Open Your Heart?" being popular, but I might be misremembering that.

On the second question, I think a lot of the old posters have been gone long enough that this forum brings back a nostalgia, and are returning because of said nostalgia. In my case, I saw a YouTube video on KS and decided to come back.

[Oddball]

This last update in this topic was July so I'm taking over now. Consider this a mutiny.

Pirate Emi red.png (1.08 MiB) Viewed 6704 times

We will now all read ...

Some Lilly Scene by Lulz a very VERY early story back from the days when there wasn't so much "fanfic" as there was "story pitches."

So... go read it now. Then come back and share your thoughts and opinions.

[brythain]

This last update in this topic was July so I'm taking over now. Consider this a mutiny.

Thank God someone made that decision!

We will now all read ...

Some Lilly Scene by Lulz a very VERY early story back from the days when there wasn't so much "fanfic" as there was "story pitches."

So... go read it now. Then come back and share your thoughts and opinions.

It's a nice short piece with Hisao being full-on fake re Mozart. France in the 1700s indeed. Those violin concertos were written in Salzburg.

Also, good simple irritating Kenji, and the sense that this is what KS could have been. I don't know where the scene might have fit in, but if you made KS as long and arduous as some other VNs, you would probably find space.

[Mirage_GSM]

I didn't really like that one all that much. Apparently I couldn't even be bothered to comment on it when I read it the first time.
It's not just that classical music is quite out of character as on of Hisao's interests - after all his characterization was not at all finalized at that time, though I'm not sure how prevalent a penchant for classical western music would be among Japanese teenagers - but also a lot more inconsistencies than can be excused in such a short piece.
For example that Hisao is apparently versed enough in the topic to fill a lengthy conversation yet does not know more than one piece of one of the most famous composers.
All in all, to me it felt as if the author just wanted to talk about his own hobby and used Hisao as a prop to do that.

Oh and it seems Aura did kill off Niji somewhere in the meantime

[brythain]

Oh and it seems Aura did kill off Niji somewhere in the meantime

And it was all because of -this- story's thread!

[Craftyatom]

This last update in this topic was July so I'm taking over now. Consider this a mutiny.

Consider my timbers shivered.

Oh and it seems Aura did kill off Niji somewhere in the meantime :-)

He may be dead, but somewhere, to the disdain of many, the Nijiposting lives on...

Some Lilly Scene by Lulz a very VERY early story back from the days when there wasn't so much "fanfic" as there was "story pitches."

It's been almost a decade since this was posted... which is striking to me because I'm not much more than two decades old myself. It's strange to think that this is all so old - my time on the internet has been characterized by near-constant change, so to see this project (and many others) stretch back so far is strange. "Everything stays, but it still changes."

First thing that struck me about the story was the honorifics. They never made much of an appearance in the final game (which I think was the correct decision given that English has no analogue, and therefore translation should technically remove or significantly alter them, but I don't feel strongly enough to argue about it), but moreover, the one chosen for Hisao felt kind of weird. Lilly's final route had this little power dynamic where Hisao struggles with her being more proper and refined, which makes him worry that he's not living up to the standard she's setting. There are times where their dynamic is more mentor/student (or even mother/child) than peer-to-peer. Including honorifics sort of dampens that impact - you always know where you stand relative to someone else - but also sort of enhances it, making the power play tangible rather than implicit.

Regarding PE: on one hand, it doesn't make sense to have Hisao change and sit around the whole time doing nothing, so I think not including it as a plot point (on the assumption that he's excused and has a study hall) is the correct choice (though I can't remember what, if anything, was explicitly stated about it in the final game). On the other hand, I remember PE in high school, where everyone changed and did nothing for 40 minutes, then changed back and went about their day. Obviously my school was very different, but there is a precedent for 'if you can't join in, you can just do nothing'. It does allow for the scene to happen, but probably would've been less exciting in the other girls' routes.

Kenji's role in all of this felt fluid, but obviously doesn't fit with his characterization in the final game. I think, were this to be 'modernized', I'd keep that line, but make it come from someone else, though I'm not sure whom.

Hisao is apparently versed enough in the topic to fill a lengthy conversation yet does not know more than one piece of one of the most famous composers.
All in all, to me it felt as if the author just wanted to talk about his own hobby and used Hisao as a prop to do that.

To be fair, I'm not that big into classical, but based on the few pieces I know by ear, I can hold a decent conversation. I can comment on what a piece sounds like, whether it fits my preferences, how it compares to songs I know, etc; it won't be very insightful, but it doesn't have to be - it's just small talk, which is what this entire scene is about.

Hard to give an overall opinion on this piece, because the characterizations are different from, yet similar to, the ones we know ("What a scary woman."). Personally, I tend to find standalone slice-of-life stuff a bit boring, so this doesn't make my personal favorites list, but I can recognize that it's well-written and probably contributes to the overall story - even though that story is one I've never really read.

[StilesLong]

First off, I think it's a great idea to revive this club. Hopefully we get some good conversations going so the forums are more active. I think the inaugural fic was an... interesting choice, however.

It's already been pointed out but man, do the characterizations seems different from the source. Lilly seems to have been abducted and replaced by someone else and Hisao's had a lobotomy. Kenji's only line was Kenji-worthy but judging from the rest of the fic, it's probably a good thing it was his only line.

When we aren't constantly switching between past and present tense, the fic was well-written- the first part particularly so- which makes it even more sad that the characters are so confused and disconnected from the game.

Including honorifics sort of dampens that impact - you always know where you stand relative to someone else - but also sort of enhances it, making the power play tangible rather than implicit.

I wouldn't read too much into this, crafty. It was likely just done for cuteness, not for any clever motive, unfortunately.

I do think it odd that the characters would dress for PE. You would think that a school like this wouldn't have their students bother, particularly when there is the risk that the guy who might die if he gets hit on the chest would get hit on the chest.

I'm looking forward to next week, so keep'em coming!