Katawa Shoujo Forums

So i was wondering if you guys feel like you've gained something or..lost something after finishing kc, well not necesarily finishing the whole vn but after playing different routes of those too good to be true lovely characters.

personally i feel that after most routes i gained different urges, for example, emi's route gave me an urge to start and do jogging, lili's route made me want to be more understanding and a nicer person, shizune's route gave me an interest in sign language which i heard around here thats it's really hard but havent checked it on my own, hanako's route made me want to be a better person with those around me and help them whenever i can, rin's path made me want to try and become better at drawing which i ... used to be, quite decent at, misha made me want to be a more positive person in day to day life, kenji....kenji just gave me headaches...

while i gained alot of emotions and urges and motivation to do good stuff, i also had a big loss regarding private life which i'm not sure i want to confess at the moment, besides that i lost touch with reality, the yamaku world, small as it is, was just too perfect for me...irezistible, made me depressed for a while, scaringly so(i think thats a word, right?), i may be overreacting but i really felt like i lost it for a moment

so yeah, thats what i gained and lost after playing this masterpiece, now's your turn, you dont need to say what ever route gave you, just overall^.^

Even the depressing parts of playing the novel feel like a gain in hindsight. The whole experience was unforgettable, and I don't think I'd be the same person I am now without it.

Honestly, KS did a lot for me outside of the realm of 'feels'. I played the game and it did affect me emotionally, but honestly I think the coolest stuff has happened because of these forums. I can say I'm a much better writer now than when I started on my fanfic. I also had never tried my hand at digital art, and am now considering getting a tablet. Hell, I even got asked to be a writer on another VN project because of what I wrote here.

It's just funny, I guess. You wouldn't think a VN made by a bunch of strangers on the internet could affect your life in such a positive way. But that's my own experience.

I gained a crapton after playing KS; I can now run for 45 minutes straight (I'm going to get to the hour soon...), have done more drawing in the past 3 months than I had done in the past 3 years, and bizarrely, it helped me cope with being away from my girlfriend for long periods of time much better. I'm also hoping to start learning sign language, for the purpose of possibly becoming an interpreter or SENCO, and have decided to work in a care home over the summer, something I never thought I would do.

forgetmenot wrote:
It's just funny, I guess. You wouldn't think a VN made by a bunch of strangers on the internet could affect your life in such a positive way. But that's my own experience.

THIS. I never thought I could be as affected by... anything, really, as I was when I finished my first route, but after the initial especially low few days afterwards, I started to be able to carve out positives to take away from it, and I think that has to go down to the amazing work by the writers. I know what Kibaro means by the feeling of 'loss' afterwards though... for a moment, a brief moment, I do remember feeling like Hisao. And then the end credits rolled.

AaronIsCrunchy wrote:And then the end credits rolled.

I think that's the most gut-wrenching thing a fictional story has put me through.

SpunkySix wrote:

AaronIsCrunchy wrote:And then the end credits rolled.

I think that's the most gut-wrenching thing a fictional story has put me through.

Me as well. It still affects me now.

While KS did effect me emotionally like any other good VN, I dont think it made any large lifestyle changes to me other than hanging around these forums and writing a bit of fanfiction from time to time.

I was lucky enough to get every good ending when I ran through each route first time (No flowchart either, lucky me) I got alot of the warm fuzzies, and only went to get the bad endings when I wanted too, and as such was expecting something bad.

But if I had to label it, I would say I took Emi's route to marathon, I was meant to start a while before, but I saw the thread and was just like "Eh, mayaswell start now."

If anything, I lost 3 days straight while I played all the routes...

Not as bad as the 5 days straight playing Fate/Stay Night though...

I gained SWAG.
Now the disabled chicks be all over me.

Gains: An introduction into the VN genre, a damn good experience while reading said VN over the course of three months and an appreciation for what is my first (and only) recommended "romance visual novel". Also found my way here near its end.

Loss: A couple of sleepless nights and what little that society stereotypically passes for "manhood" these days.

AussieInquisitor wrote:Gains: An introduction into the VN genre, a damn good experience while reading said VN over the course of three months and an appreciation for what is my first (and only) recommended "romance visual novel". Also found my way here near its end.

Loss: A couple of sleepless nights and what little that society stereotypically passes for "manhood" these days.

Manhood is overrated

AaronIsCrunchy wrote:

AussieInquisitor wrote:Gains: An introduction into the VN genre, a damn good experience while reading said VN over the course of three months and an appreciation for what is my first (and only) recommended "romance visual novel". Also found my way here near its end.

Loss: A couple of sleepless nights and what little that society stereotypically passes for "manhood" these days.

Manhood is overrated

By a lot. I'm pretty sure being a "man" nowadays is synonymous with being an "asshole".

Yeah, I was being sarcastic on the last point - as AiC pointed out, the concept of manhood is overrated.

I have a hard time writing about myself coldly and impersonally, let alone writing anything even touching on my emotions, so this whole post feels very strange to me. I've tried to write this several times, and at least I'm slightly less uncomfortable with what I've written this time, so here goes.

I became pretty sick seven years ago. It was troublesome; I knew that I wouldn't be able to live out what I thought to be a normal life. I was able to pretend to ignore it, sometimes, but I never really was at peace with the idea.

After playing Katawa Shoujo, that sense of being... defective? I don't really know how to describe the feeling... was missing from me. I figured I was distracted, and that the awful feeling would be back in a few days, just like always. But the weeks passed and that feeling never returned. I guess playing Katawa Shoujo helped me start accepting myself, post falling ill.

It's weird though. I don't really know why it helped me. I've had seven years of experience where nothing seemed to affect those feelings. I don't think I believed I'd ever accept that part of me. What was the difference for Katawa Shoujo?

I guess even though I can accept myself now, I'm just as confused as ever when it comes to my emotions.

I've just gained awareness of my infatuation. Falling deeply for Emi only after, what, a couple of hours? Oh lord... plus the good ending made it hard for me to cope...

But, in a positive note, I can admit that I know somebody that reminds me very much of Emi, and I've been thinking of her ever since the good ending. I am more aware of the beauty I posses.

Still more endings to go...I must wait a few days before continuing with somebody else. I feel like Emi is my actual girlfriend, and that I'm cheating on her. What I find "unrealistic", is that you cannot meet every girl, and all of them have the same affection for Hisao. Like... I would play Hanako's path, but Emi wouldn't care about me, well, because she's a video game character, and does not remember anything...
Oh I wish you understand what I mean.

Well, that's it.

ginywiny wrote:What I find "unrealistic", is that you cannot meet every girl, and all of them have the same affection for Hisao. Like... I would play Hanako's path, but Emi wouldn't care about me, well, because she's a video game character, and does not remember anything...
Oh I wish you understand what I mean.

I get that. I'm almost done with Rin's path now, and every time Emi shows up, it feels kind of weird because everything her and Hisao did on her route is just sort of gone.