For Want of a Nail - Misha Route (Updated 11/1/19)

[timetravelzero]

ded fic
ded thread
ded game

rip

Your username though... Please give ProfAlliser some credit- he has a job and a life of his own, after all. Good writing takes time.

[Kutagh]

Yup, I know for a fact that it is still a work in progress, simply moving along slowly indeed because of job, life and such but definitely not forgotten about.

[XcaaaL]

This is the best Misha fan fic I've read so far. Can't wait for the rest.

[Zookz]

So I just registered in order to say thank you for writing this.

Having just gotten around to playing this game, my first run ended up being with Emi. After such, I took a liking to Misha and wanted to get to know more about her. Saddened at the apparent lack of route for her, I went with Shizune to see if there was maybe a branch that went more in her direction. Being someone of whom never plays (or should I say reads) a game such as this, after getting to the choice of whether or not to comfort Misha, I instinctively choose yes because I genuinely care for her and would be terribly upset otherwise.

What comes next... is awkwardly depressing. Finishing off that path seems like it merely fades away instead of concluding (at least for Misha, though it felt a little unsubstantial for Shizune aswell).

What finally broke me down was during the good ending, after Misha's confession they made one slight change; showing her perk up to her cheery, mirthful self near the end just before they leave. It broke my heart as if it were as weak as Hisao's. I was watching her shove all that shit back into herself, putting on that mask and telling me it's all fine~!... And this was meant to be the good ending. It cut terribly deep and no amount of prospect for her shown in the ending is able to allay the pain. D:

So, I did the only thing I could to remedy; search for a fanfic that does Misha justice! This one was the first one to pop up, so I guess I could of gotten any of the Misha fanfics here, but nonetheless, it's so far done everything I'd hope for.

I'm particularly enjoying the liberties you've taken to expand things and how well you've interpreted it into how it would play out in the game, enough to where I can easily imagine it. I initially thought that Misha's feelings for Shizune would of been part of the first conflict, or that it'd be something like Misha being confused about her sexual orientation. These could still be points of tension later on in the story along with her depression and self-conscious issues though, so maybe I shouldn't count it out. Giving plenty of ideas about the coming conflict and not simply defining it is great, especially when it doesn't feel like you're forcing them out of character to achieve this.

Of course, it was still great fun seeing the actual outcome and how Shizune is different due to this route. It feels very much like she realized sooner how she had been treating Misha over the past year because of Hisao's actions. By helping Misha sign in class for Shizune, or how Shizune is taking the council workload off of Misha or letting Misha do her own thing instead of keeping her around to translate all of the time because she knows Misha won't say no because of her feelings for her. It very much feels like Shizune feels bad for Misha after the turmoil with their relationship in the past and just wants her to be happy by her own merit.

You've just done an awesome job building this up, and any complaint I've had (like how Misha seemed a bit more forced onto Hisao than I'd expect near the beginning), were clarified later (Shizune along with others were purposely trying to get them together, and Misha was trying to not-so-subtly get Hisao with Shizune, hinting herself on accident). And I like how you're slowly filling in nuance things. I've wanted to know the reason Misha has trouble with speaking certain words or why she is so loud (having apparently gone through voice therapy after losing it, you can see the connection). Originally I thought it was autistic behavior but it appeared too particular and not overarching across everything she did. It's actually kinda funny; I was the introverted asperger in my class, and one of my friends was the extroverted asperger of the class. I was usually quite and methodical, while he acted more as the voice, which was exceptionally loud and theatrical (laughing loudly in a similar manner to Misha as well as holding exaggerated poses) on top of stuttering some words. The pairing of Shizune and Misha reminded me a bit of us, in a sort of strange way, which is where the initial thought came from. Anywho, it's been pretty fun finding these things out even though you didn't have to include them.

And now I can actually think of that "comfort" choice without being disturbed because you had Hisao do what I thought he'd of done in the game, that alone gets plenty of praise from me. Seeing the way the story is going though, I do hope she keeps her pink drills. I'd be sad to see those go in the end.

Ultimately, this is just long-winded praise towards you for writing this, giving me much needed closure for Misha. I'm looking forward to whenever you get around to updating this. So~... thank you so, soooo much~, Profchan!

[Chaoxdriver]

@Zookz
Dude, this is awesome: we had the EXACT same first experience with KS: I too went with Emi at first, feel in love with Misha and went with Shizune's route since Misha didn't have one, choose to comfort Misha and realized that things didn't go so well, and then played the good ending only to find that Misha gets hurt to some extent regardless of what you do

Anyway on topic: I too created an account just to say how very, VERY amazing this fanfic is. I've read a few Misha routes, and this is the one that I have choosen as my official headcanon. This isn't just one of the best fanfics I've ever read (in any fandom): it's one of the best things I've read PERIOD. You're an excellent writer who excels at immersion: I can actually swap Hisao out with myself and pretend like the fanfic is real! Your pacing and style fit in with the official game, and all of the little things that you do add charm to your writing. And I absolutely love how you fleshed out Misha's character (by making her a swimmer, having her try so many different foods, expanding on her self esteem issues, etc.) All of those things add depth to her character and help this story stand out.

(On a side note, I like that you gave Misha a disability. Well maybe I should rather say that I like HOW you did it; I have fibromyalgia, which shares a lot of the symptoms that you have Misha display throughout the story. I guess her mystery disability hits kind of close-to-home with me, but I like this fic all the better
for it )

There's so much more that I'd like to express about this story, but to be honest, there isn't anything else I could say that Zookz hasn't already said better in the post just above mine... Just consider everything he's said to go for me too! It's so awesome to see Misha finally catching a break; she has important roles if you choose to play a route like Hanako's or Emi's, yet if you play Shizune's route (where you get to spend the most time with Misha), she gets the short end of the stick no matter what you do...

Anyway, I totally understand that you have a lot going on and are super busy, so I'll wait patiently for updates; good writing like this takes time! But you absolutely HAVE to promise me that you'll finish this, okay? It would be a true crime if you never did; poor Misha deserves the break that you're giving her! Keep up the great work ProfAllister

[Critical115]

R.I.P. in peace Misha Route. I will miss you.

[Vempele]

No, it's not dead. Do note that right below the text "The End" it says "You DID notice the date, right?".

[SirKaid]

It's been six months without an update, it's safe to call it dead.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd be delighted if I was proven incorrect with an update, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Vempele]

The author remains active on the forum and hasn't declared it dead, it's at the very least disrespectful to call it dead.

[Kutagh]

I'm still in touch with ProfAllister and occasionally talk about FWoaN. It's not dead, it is simply that progress comes quite slow since there is not a lot of time for her to work on it. You can call it hibernation at best

[Atario]

ProfAllister

[…]

her

Whoa. Did not know that.

[AntonSlavik020]

ProfAllister

[…]

her

Whoa. Did not know that.

I generally assume someone is a guy unless they say otherwise, or their avatar is a girl, which is strange since I'm a guy with a female avatar.

[griffon8]

I generally assume someone is a guy unless they say otherwise, or their avatar is a girl, which is strange since I'm a guy with a female avatar.

But your forum name is decidedly male.

And what would your assumption be if the avatar is two girls?

[Mirage_GSM]

In that case I would assume you are definitely male, even if the nickname was female

[griffon8]

In that case I would assume you are definitely male, even if the nickname was female

Hey, not everyone who is an F-Ash/Emily shipper is male.

Granted, a lot of the Misfiled Dreams beta-readers who have mentioned an opinion on the matter have expressed a certain level of, shall we say, flexibility on either gender identity, sexuality, or both.