Katawa Shoujo Forums

Just because Misha is an awesome character do you think there should be a Misha route? Yes or no?

Not if it's "just because Misha is an awesome character."

Misha has a route. cpl_crud confirmed that it is, unfortunately, hidden away in Kenji's box (the package you deliver during Shizune's route).

(Note: He was making a joke but I'm making it canon so there.)

(Also, I continue to mentally pronounce 'cpl_crud' as 'cripple crud'. I have no idea why and it makes me feel bad.)

If memory serves, the devs posted in the "Ask" thread that they had considered the possibility of Misha Route, Kenji route, etc., but ultimately decided that it was better to stick to the Original Source Material. So, regardless of how desirable ANY route would be, the Original Source argument vetoes any and all extra routes.

As far as fan works go, sure, why not. Interestingly enough, there only seem to have been three serious fan attempts at an actual Misha route. (I haven't found any others, but your Google-Fu may be stronger than mine.)

1) DrSciencePhd's Route (Completed) - Extremely short in comparison to the canon routes.

2) Doomish's Misha Pseudo-Route (In Progress)(On Semi-Hiatus) - Undergoing a rewrite. Original here. Doomish is evidently extremely busy, so updates are sporadic.

3) My own humble attempt (In Progress) - Only including this here for the sake of completeness. I don't have near the resume of Doomish, but I do consider this a serious attempt. So far, I've been able to maintain a schedule of updating on Thursdays.

Since I'm currently working on one of the three, I will refrain from making any judgment on the other attempts.

The thing is, a Misha route doesn't make much sense given that she's, well, a lesbian, you know? I mean, that kinda precludes a relationship with her. And Shizune's route is almost just as much Misha's, just that you're dating/banging one and not the other. Well, depending on if you decided to comfort Misha.

FoxtrotZero wrote:The thing is, a Misha route doesn't make much sense given that she's, well, a lesbian, you know?

Is that canon?

Xanatos wrote:

FoxtrotZero wrote:The thing is, a Misha route doesn't make much sense given that she's, well, a lesbian, you know?

Is that canon?

Well, she explicitly mentions wanting to be in a relationship with Shizune, and if you decide to comfort her, she mentions that it's kinda new and awkward for her to be with a guy. I don't think they ever outright say the word lesbian, and it's possible she swings both ways, but yeah, I think it's pretty much canon.

Xanatos wrote:

FoxtrotZero wrote:The thing is, a Misha route doesn't make much sense given that she's, well, a lesbian, you know?

Is that canon?

Technically, no.

What IS canon is that she is sexually attracted to Shizune.

I's dropping spoiler tags from here on. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!



This subject has been discussed for pages upon pages across several threads. Sexual orientation is a very delicate and complex subject, but, whatever else might be discussed, it is generally accepted that sexual orientation is not a binary proposition (i.e., Heterosexual or homosexual). Furthermore, there is (evidently) a very common idea in Japan of "schoolgirl lesbianism," a phase in which girls have physical relationships with each other as a prelude to a "real" "serious" relationship.

So we can't really conclude that Misha is a lesbian. She could be bisexual, she could be going through a "phase" (this is even a common trope in the US), she could be "gay for Shicchan," she could be in the midrange of the Kinsey scale, etc. All we know is that she is (or claims to be) sexually attracted to Shizune, and she's willing to have sex with Hisao (the disastrous result could happen even with a 100% straight Misha - all the elements for terrible sex are in place without factoring in sexual orientation).

Ergo, inconclusive. Needless to say, most Misha routes are based on the premise that she isn't 100% homosexual. (the rest more likely than not involve genderswapping or harem routes)

ProfAllister wrote:

Xanatos wrote:

FoxtrotZero wrote:The thing is, a Misha route doesn't make much sense given that she's, well, a lesbian, you know?

Is that canon?

Technically, no.

What IS canon is that she is sexually attracted to Shizune.

I's dropping spoiler tags from here on. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!



This subject has been discussed for pages upon pages across several threads. Sexual orientation is a very delicate and complex subject, but, whatever else might be discussed, it is generally accepted that sexual orientation is not a binary proposition (i.e., Heterosexual or homosexual). Furthermore, there is (evidently) a very common idea in Japan of "schoolgirl lesbianism," a phase in which girls have physical relationships with each other as a prelude to a "real" "serious" relationship.

So we can't really conclude that Misha is a lesbian. She could be bisexual, she could be going through a "phase" (this is even a common trope in the US), she could be "gay for Shicchan," she could be in the midrange of the Kinsey scale, etc. All we know is that she is (or claims to be) sexually attracted to Shizune, and she's willing to have sex with Hisao (the disastrous result could happen even with a 100% straight Misha - all the elements for terrible sex are in place without factoring in sexual orientation).

Ergo, inconclusive. Needless to say, most Misha routes are based on the premise that she isn't 100% homosexual. (the rest more likely than not involve genderswapping or harem routes)

That is, to say the least, very interesting. Sexuality is, indeed, not a binary proposition, I'll give you that. I don't think your whole 'schoolgirl lesbianism' thing applies (that's interesting, though, I've never heard of anything like that before) seeing as how she is interested in Shizune on more than a physical level (and even if this isn't explicitly said, it's implied. It can also be deduced by just how distressed she is over Shizune and Hisao being in an emotional relationship).

So yes, we don't know Misha's exact orientation, and yes, the fact that she and Hisao's sex scene was awkward doesn't really mean much. I just roll with the notion that Misha is a lesbian. Things are simpler (and more fun!) that way.

FoxtrotZero wrote: I don't think your whole 'schoolgirl lesbianism' thing applies (that's interesting, though, I've never heard of anything like that before) seeing as how she is interested in Shizune on more than a physical level (and even if this isn't explicitly said, it's implied. It can also be deduced by just how distressed she is over Shizune and Hisao being in an emotional relationship).

I found the Class S relationship genre to be very relavent in Shizune's arc. It basically initiates the love triangle that Hisao has to successfully nagivate in order to get the good ending. You can read more about the cultural aspects of it on Japanese society here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_S_(genre)

Yeah, there was never going to be a Kenji or Misha route. This was never considered, except maybe as a joke. Tired of hearing this rumor circulate.

Whoosh.

Anonymous22 wrote:Yeah, there was never going to be a Kenji or Misha route. This was never considered, except maybe as a joke. Tired of hearing this rumor circulate.

Whoosh.

Damn. A22 comes out of hiding to say I'm full of shit. It's almost flattering.

Looked back at my sources, and I was clearly misremembering what I had read. Looks like Aura and Silentcook said that a Misha route would be the most likely route in the (not gonna happen) event that there were more routes. Obviously not monolithic, considering Suriko's answer to a similar question.

There may have been side comments by individual devs to similar effect in AMAs or other interview-like formats, but I was wrong on this point. Apologies to the devs for perpetuating a false rumor.

ProfAllister wrote:Misha route would be the most likely route in the (not gonna happen) event that there were more routes.

Now get to continuing your Misha fanroute.

ProfAllister wrote:...As far as fan works go, sure, why not. Interestingly enough, there only seem to have been three serious fan attempts at an actual Misha route. (I haven't found any others, but your Google-Fu may be stronger than mine.)

1) DrSciencePhd's Route (Completed) - Extremely short in comparison to the canon routes.

2) Doomish's Misha Pseudo-Route (In Progress)(On Semi-Hiatus) - Undergoing a rewrite. Original here. Doomish is evidently extremely busy, so updates are sporadic.

3) My own humble attempt (In Progress) - Only including this here for the sake of completeness. I don't have near the resume of Doomish, but I do consider this a serious attempt. So far, I've been able to maintain a schedule of updating on Thursdays.

Since I'm currently working on one of the three, I will refrain from making any judgment on the other attempts.

A short (and no doubt incomplete) trawl through the forums yielded the following:
Some Nights by Doomish
Listen to your Heart by Snorry
It all makes sense in the End by myshoesarebrown
Closure by wetcrate
Katawa Kijo by Mirage_GSM
Constant Companion by darrin

Of those only Closure and Katawa Kijo are long enough to be considered routes, but I encourage you to read at least Constant Companion, as it is one of my personal favourites.

Xanatos wrote:(Also, I continue to mentally pronounce 'cpl_crud' as 'cripple crud'. I have no idea why and it makes me feel bad.)

I do that too!