The way I wanted to strangle Lara as if I were Homer Simpson
God, this was so heartbreaking but I'm happy that Katekyo ended up realizing he's not broken and that he's completely valid. While I'm not sex-repulsed like him, I could still relate a lot to many of his feelings; like how he mentioned giving grandchildren to his parents, people asking REALLY intrusive questions and think it's completely okay, or someone saying it's weird that he hasn't dated anyone despite his age... it all hit very close to home.
I'm so glad this game exist 'cause it shows REALLY WELL just how much acephobia there is in the world and how some comments/question might not seem like a "big deal" to the people who say/ask them but they ARE a big deal to the ace-spec person receiving them.
I hope Katekyo can be happy with himself as he is and stop trying to please his parents instead of doing what he wants 🫂
And I'm glad you managed to connect with Katekyo! I indeed used a lot of my own ace experience to write him, because, for some reason, when you explain not feeling attracted to anyone, people feel entitled to ask you the most intrusive questions, as if you were some circus animal.
And I agree, people tend to say it's no big deal, but in eneral, try to ask them the same questions, and they'll be offended lol (for example, try asking a straight guy how he can really know he's straight if he never tried anything with a boy; or worse, tell him he just needs to find the right boy to turn him bi...).
I can't promise the route to self-acceptance and setting boundaries will be an easy one for Katekyo, but I can promise he'll eventually get there! My boy deserves a life full of cakes and peace!!
And thanks for trying this game, Pri, it means a lot!! And thanks for sharing a bit of your experience with it, it makes it all worth it!
As an ace, I could relate to quite a few of Katekyo's thoughts. Finding baked goods more attractive than another person? Of course! There's nothing quite a delicious pastry! I found his love for baking absolutely adorable, and I'd love to learn more about Katekyo himself.
As for the girl... I already knew I was meant to hate her, but man, that hate just kept on growing everytime she spoke. While I've never had any experiences of the sort myself (never went on dates either and I'm 23 :P) I've heard of many ace experiences similar to this. It may be something I'm aware of, but this is a good way to show it to people who perhaps haven't thought of the consequences of their words, of how some people may feel.
ALSO almost forgot to say, I love Katekyo's eye color. It's lovely!
Anyway, loved the story, and wish the best for Katekyo, please let him be happy!!!
(repeating my rating rambles because you deserve more comments)
Ha ha, thanks for commenting (omg this game is certainly my most underrated efgtbrt)
And Katekyo had to have some "cake better than sex" moment, it was of the upmost importance!!!!!! If you don't have it, can you really call it "ace" representation......
For Lara, she is EVIL, end of the story, I even understand the motivations of my worst character, but she's one of the rare ones I HATE with all my heart!!!!!!! But yes, alas, these experiences are quite common (although Katekyo's is quite extreme fvgrbth).
And I'm happy you enjoyed Katekyo's eye colour, who's definitely a totally normal colour frgbfhretg.
And I can promise Katekyo eventually gets happy (although he is going to suffer beforehand erfegt)
I recorded myself playing it initially and will send that to you! I fucking adored this game so much! It was so smart how you tackled this topic that means so much to you in a brilliant way! It’s like the epitome of asexual based story telling and if anyone ever as ever confused about it, I’d simply have to link them to your game!
I see now why Katekyo is on it your favorite characters! Cause now he’s one of mine 🥹
Lara *shakes fist* LARA!!! So cute but so evil man- like she feels so real, but like- ughhhh
Musicccc greatly picked as always! I adore their character designs so much, some of my favorites from you with Amanda, Peter, and Chloe’
GUI so so niceeeee 💜
But the writing the writing AHHHHHHHH one of my favorites! Like genuinely, the realism, the comedy, and the analogies and internal dialogue just. So. Much. Yes.
I said so much of what I wanted to say in the video but please please please, anyone reading this okay the game! And rate it 😉.
Wow, you're going through all these games so fast!!! Thank you for having played this one!!!
So, yes, Katekyo is a very important character to me, haha, he was originally created as an OC twelve years ago, so... he's basically half my life! He's grown a lot with the years and I'm so happy to be able to share a bit of him with the world now!
"It’s like the epitome of asexual based story telling and if anyone ever as ever confused about it, I’d simply have to link them to your game!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH THAT IS SO NICE, THANK YOU???? I do think that WonderMiss's answer to Katekyo's post on what is basically AVEN lol is a good introduction to asexuality indeed! And Katekyo hopefully tells more about the pressure of being "performative", and about how sex is used to justify maturity and virility.
And yes, I didn't like!!!! Y'all have given Lara pretty privilege when she DOESN'T DESERVE IT!!!! She's evil!!!!!!!!! I hate her so much!!
And thanks for the music, I had a lot of fun choosing it! And thanks for the GUI! I wanted to make one I could basically reuse for the full Namida project, so I went simple but I think it fits this kind of stories?
"But the writing the writing AHHHHHHHH one of my favorites!" Thank you, aaaah!!!! I do agree this is one of my favourite games, haha (I especially like the last portion, but you know me, I like some angst efrtgrgtd).
Now, I'm excited to watch your video!!!! I'm sure I'm going to have a lot of fun with it!!
The thing that strikes me the most about this is Katekyo's need to conform and to be 'normal' by society's standards. It's just heartbreaking to see him go against his own wishes to please everyone else and fulfill the 'duties' he believes he has because of cultural programming. (and personally, the grandchildren thing is grating on me the most; nobody is entitled to grandchildren ffs ghghhgshsjsl)
And though Lara's comments and questions made me super uncomfortable, it was refreshing (and surprising!) to see Katekyo turn the tables on her. You managed to pinpoint the double standards and the hypocrisy surrounding men's and women's past experiences when it comes to dating. Plus, Lara's reaction to having the same level of nastiness thrown back at her was spot on. 👌
It was an emotional experience overall, so great job! I sincerely hope Katekyo finds happiness on his own terms in the future. 💜
Yes, that's actually an important part of Katekyo as a character (even in Namida): he wants to please everyone else, leaving only little room for his own wishes and desires.
I agree with you and it's a talk I had with my mother rfgtdf nobody owes their parents grandchildren!
And yes, Katekyo coming at her was the most satisfying part to write (and I had a lot of fun making him quite extreme actually).
Overall, thank you for your kind and detailed feedback!! I'm not saying it's going to be easy for him, but I can promise one thing: Katekyo has a happy ending!
I could write a longer review but all I want to say is: chouquettes, more like, I want to cho-ke her, congrats for making me feel hatred towards a character like this because I tend to try and sympathize with characters most of the time and here, there was no way to do so
FRVFRFRR let's spread the Lara hatred all over the world, she doesn't deserve to be sympathised with!!!! She's the one who should have been cancelled from twitter!!!!!!
I love this a lot. The music is so relaxing, the word choice and overall tone is great. And oh my God Katekyo is adorable. I love that he calls his mum "mummy". Very Sweet!
P.S. I'm awfully sorry about the Twitter suspension. Hopefully they can sort that nonsense out soon. Chattercap was kind enough to link me to your Itch
Hi! Thanks for taking time for this game and for the feeback! I'm happy you enjoyed Katekyo as a character, I love him so much!!
(And the fun thing is he's half-British (from his mom), half-Japanese (from his dad), so that's why he calls his mother "mummy", despite his brothers not doing so, haha!)
And thanks. I'm a bit conflicted about it, since it seems like a lot of people encountered the exact same problem; but some people who encountered it earlier didn't see the problem solved rapidly, or haven't even seen it solved yet. So I hope they quickly fix it, but I'm all doubts, haha! And Chattercap is a hero, but thank you for asking for the itch account, I appreciate the support!!
This could only be called the Worst First Date Ever! For a person who was already struggling with his identity such as Katekyo, this was truly nightmarish...Somehow this was so much worse than what I expected, but also...I'm crying because Lara's sentiments are SO accurate (sadly). I think that a lot of people do feel that way; they just don't voice them nearly as brazenly (most of them...) Seeing Katekyo struggle so much with Lara's words, knowing that he was ALREADY struggling before that point, was very heartbreaking to watch!
The music is well-chosen, and it fits the tone of each scene. (The menu animation was great, even better than in Out of the Suitcase!) The art is GORGEOUS, and I loved the vibrantly chosen colors and the expressions (Katekyo's increasingly flustered faces were, while upsetting, also very adorable). The composition and colors of the cafe scene were on point, with the sprite and background melding perfectly together. The highlight was definitely the animated sequence at the end during Katekyo's breakdown, before he discovers the website! The combination of hand-drawn illustrations/rotating pictures really gave weight to the depths of Katekyo's despair!
Although this is a prequel, it's a self-contained story with a satisfying arc! Though Katekyo hasn't quite processed his identity at this point, he's on a good path. However, I also think that this drops quite a few interesting tidbits that might be explored in the full Namida game, and I'm looking forward to seeing the continuation of Katekyo's story!
Ha ha, thank you for your feedback! And yes, Katekyo really was put in a horrible situation in this short game. It always makes me sad to write him struggle like that, but I'm glad he still had some backbone to throw at Lara's obonoxious face!!!
Ha ha, I'm glad you appreciated the art! I'm not a 100% convinced with the main menu so I'm glad you appreciated, haha! And yes, I tried to blend Lara with the café a bit better, so I'm glad you caught up on that!!!
The breakdown is certainly my favourite part of the game: it is hard, it made me cry (actually, of relief, when he reads the message from WonderMiss), but I'm very proud of the result!
Ha ha, it drops tidbits for sure, even some nobody but me must have caught, haha! Anyway, thanks for your lovely compliments!! I hope the rest of his story is up to this short game, haha!
The realisation scene was really cool!! the ominous ending too! And the tittle screen is so cute!!!!!
Katekyo made think of myself a little with the "pfffff, I'm not ace I just never found someone sexy in my life..." lucky for me I never felt "broken" for it but, being seen as a woman in my day to day (even if I don't fully identify as one) makes my disinterest a """""virtue""""" and not a """""flaw""""" (always found that difference so weird and dumb) like "wuo! You are so great and pure for not caring" it's so "ok?????????????????"
It was really interestig to see that dichotomy in a way and how it can be really unconfortable in diffent but similar ways in the end people asuming and expecting stuff from you because it's "the normal" and then being treated like some sort of spectacle for deviating from de norm is... well it can really suck
In that, the whole date made me think of a visit to a doctor that I had, he spend half of the appointment congratulating me for "not being like those other girls" and the other half telling me that I NEDED a boyfriend and to have a child "before is too late" I found it so absurd and out of touch that it ended up being kinda funny.
But sorry, I liked Lara, she made me laugh so much with her bad takes and intrusive questions (would hate to spend time with her in real life but maybe in retrospective would remember our encounter as something kind of funny like that doctors appointment)
Reading about the way you perceive your own asexuality is pretty interesting to be honest! I'm glad you managed to accept it quickly (I did so too, as I knew what asexuality was before realising I was ace, so I had the tools to comprehend it).
My favourite scene is also the realisation one, haha! The ominous ending, let's say it's teasing for the main project!
And yes, it's quite contradictory indeed, haha, the way you get congratulated and blamed at the same time for being special.
"I liked Lara" OMG WHAT???? (seriously, I get that, she's a fun character, but gets clearly more obnoxious when she becomes a real-life one hehe)
This hit me pretty hard. Though I never had a first date like this, as someone who never actually "dated" and didn't find a partner until, well, let's just say a good while into my life and who got made fun of a number of times for not having kissed anyone (or more than that) "at my age," I related to Katekyo more than I can say. Particularly the realization afterwards, the attempt to refute it -- because it can't be true, right?? -- to the research and posting on forums about it (AVEN), to the acceptance that you know what, that actually makes sense, and the eventual relief and comfort I found from it (for me personally, figuring things out made it so I didn't have to assume/accept I'd have to do certain things with a partner, which provided me comfort as before that I had always assumed it was inevitable no matter what somehow LOL).
Ehhh... anyway. Didn't mean to ramble on so much but just wanted to show how much I could put myself in his shoes and then why there were tears running down my face in the part where Katekyo was having his realization/denial panic moment.
Lara made me want to scream. And it's not even just like, her as a character, but the fact that so many people think like this that I think is what really gets me. So having so many her comments just stark and out in the open like that really cut into me. Like, even just from the very beginning -- Katekyo feeling uncomfortable because of the way he knows she's looking at him and the sexualizing comments she's making were already sending uncomfortable shivers up my spine as I feel similarly in that just knowing that someone is looking and thinking about me in a sexualized way unsettles me to the core. You did a really good job of writing a scene that would make an ace person want to shrivel up and die LKAJDLFKASDF I really enjoyed when Katekyo finally shot back at her with his own insensitive and demanding questions. I could probably never have done this myself in a situation like that, so it felt incredibly empowering and I enjoyed getting to feel like Katekyo (and I) had regained some of his agency in the end at least.
GOD SHE MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL THOUGH.
Guh...
Going back to the whole realization/denial scene, that was so well done. With the sprites and the expressions and the animation and everything. It was incredibly intense, especially as I was already overwhelmed by the whole experience, so it really hammered it home. You're really good at directing those kinds of "jolt" scenes that cut straight into some kind of intense emotion and really make you feel it as the player (similar to those scenes in High School Lolita).
Mmm. OK finally my heart has started to calm down a bit LOL I had to just kinda sit there and stare at the title screen after it was done before I was able to write this LOL And now writing this has helped me work through my feelings LKAJDLFKASJDF Anyway, this was wonderfully done. I MEAN SUPER INTENSE. But really well done. And also I'm really excited and curious to learn more about Katekyo!! I feel like we have a lot in common LAKJDLFKSD
AAAAAH I’M SORRY (but if it can help you feel better, I cried too during the denial/realisation scene??)
Yes, you really get the whole ace experience with Katekyo, haha, even, I had to include AVEN (but historically, the ace community built itself online though, so it really was important!). I’m part of the luck ones who knew what asexuality was before realising my own asexuality, and those tools are important because, in the end, it was way easier to me to accept it (well, that didn’t spare me the “coming-out”, the doubts etc. but I had a much easier time! Although the question of the partner is still a HUGE one for me, haha)
I told everyone, I HATE LARA!!!!! If it were me, I would have left the date way earlier than Katekyo, but to each their own, right, haha! Of course, she embodies to an extreme point all these intrusive questions we get asked, or all these intrusive people who think us being ace grants us a pass to ask us all sorts of personal questions (I got the famous “are you sure it’s not testosterone?”). So, long story short: SHE’S A VILLAIN and you can’t even imagine how happy I was writing the part when Katekyo talks back to her!
Thanks!! Believe it or not, I actually had a very hard time figuring out the direction I wanted this scene to have, let it be about the ending (in the first version, it ended with WonderMiss’s post), the assets (at first, I wanted to use a CG with Katekyo curling up, but in the end, I thought it would be more intense that way)! I also put a lot of thoughts in the music haha: I really wanted it to hit hard I think? And in the end, when I troubleshot it, I was SHAKING and CRYING and the rollercoaster of emotions got me!!
I’m happy this game helped you think of your feelings and your experience, and that the title screen helped you calm down, T.M. Bach’s music is really soothing haha, I love it! And I’m so excited to show more about Katekyo (and his brothers of course)!! He’s a really selfless character and sensitive, and I hope it shows in the main game, haha!
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The way I wanted to strangle Lara as if I were Homer SimpsonGod, this was so heartbreaking but I'm happy that Katekyo ended up realizing he's not broken and that he's completely valid. While I'm not sex-repulsed like him, I could still relate a lot to many of his feelings; like how he mentioned giving grandchildren to his parents, people asking REALLY intrusive questions and think it's completely okay, or someone saying it's weird that he hasn't dated anyone despite his age... it all hit very close to home.
I'm so glad this game exist 'cause it shows REALLY WELL just how much acephobia there is in the world and how some comments/question might not seem like a "big deal" to the people who say/ask them but they ARE a big deal to the ace-spec person receiving them.
I hope Katekyo can be happy with himself as he is and stop trying to please his parents instead of doing what he wants 🫂
FERGRF SHE WOULD DESERVE IT!!
And I'm glad you managed to connect with Katekyo! I indeed used a lot of my own ace experience to write him, because, for some reason, when you explain not feeling attracted to anyone, people feel entitled to ask you the most intrusive questions, as if you were some circus animal.
And I agree, people tend to say it's no big deal, but in eneral, try to ask them the same questions, and they'll be offended lol (for example, try asking a straight guy how he can really know he's straight if he never tried anything with a boy; or worse, tell him he just needs to find the right boy to turn him bi...).
I can't promise the route to self-acceptance and setting boundaries will be an easy one for Katekyo, but I can promise he'll eventually get there! My boy deserves a life full of cakes and peace!!
And thanks for trying this game, Pri, it means a lot!! And thanks for sharing a bit of your experience with it, it makes it all worth it!
reginalara george...may both sides of her pillow be warm for as long as she livesMay she never find chouquettes she'd enjoy now that she tasted Katekyo's delicious ones 🙏
Just finished playing this game, it was lovely!
As an ace, I could relate to quite a few of Katekyo's thoughts. Finding baked goods more attractive than another person? Of course! There's nothing quite a delicious pastry! I found his love for baking absolutely adorable, and I'd love to learn more about Katekyo himself.
As for the girl... I already knew I was meant to hate her, but man, that hate just kept on growing everytime she spoke. While I've never had any experiences of the sort myself (never went on dates either and I'm 23 :P) I've heard of many ace experiences similar to this. It may be something I'm aware of, but this is a good way to show it to people who perhaps haven't thought of the consequences of their words, of how some people may feel.
ALSO almost forgot to say, I love Katekyo's eye color. It's lovely!
Anyway, loved the story, and wish the best for Katekyo, please let him be happy!!!
(repeating my rating rambles because you deserve more comments)Ha ha, thanks for commenting
(omg this game is certainly my most underrated efgtbrt)And Katekyo had to have some "cake better than sex" moment, it was of the upmost importance!!!!!! If you don't have it, can you really call it "ace" representation......
For Lara, she is EVIL, end of the story, I even understand the motivations of my worst character, but she's one of the rare ones I HATE with all my heart!!!!!!! But yes, alas, these experiences are quite common (although Katekyo's is quite extreme fvgrbth).
And I'm happy you enjoyed Katekyo's eye colour, who's definitely a totally normal colour frgbfhretg.
And I can promise Katekyo eventually gets happy
(although he is going to suffer beforehand erfegt)IT DESERVES MORE VIEWS AND PLAYS AND RATINGS!!!
And of course, it's just ace culture! A must, even! Dare I say, a big mood! I'd frankly love to hang out with him, make him real pls
Play this game then read this review!
(Spoilers below) 👇
I recorded myself playing it initially and will send that to you! I fucking adored this game so much! It was so smart how you tackled this topic that means so much to you in a brilliant way! It’s like the epitome of asexual based story telling and if anyone ever as ever confused about it, I’d simply have to link them to your game!
I see now why Katekyo is on it your favorite characters! Cause now he’s one of mine 🥹
Lara *shakes fist* LARA!!! So cute but so evil man- like she feels so real, but like- ughhhh
Musicccc greatly picked as always! I adore their character designs so much, some of my favorites from you with Amanda, Peter, and Chloe’
GUI so so niceeeee 💜
But the writing the writing AHHHHHHHH one of my favorites! Like genuinely, the realism, the comedy, and the analogies and internal dialogue just. So. Much. Yes.
I said so much of what I wanted to say in the video but please please please, anyone reading this okay the game! And rate it 😉.
Wow, you're going through all these games so fast!!! Thank you for having played this one!!!
So, yes, Katekyo is a very important character to me, haha, he was originally created as an OC twelve years ago, so... he's basically half my life! He's grown a lot with the years and I'm so happy to be able to share a bit of him with the world now!
"It’s like the epitome of asexual based story telling and if anyone ever as ever confused about it, I’d simply have to link them to your game!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH THAT IS SO NICE, THANK YOU???? I do think that WonderMiss's answer to Katekyo's post on what is basically AVEN lol is a good introduction to asexuality indeed! And Katekyo hopefully tells more about the pressure of being "performative", and about how sex is used to justify maturity and virility.
And yes, I didn't like!!!! Y'all have given Lara pretty privilege when she DOESN'T DESERVE IT!!!! She's evil!!!!!!!!! I hate her so much!!
And thanks for the music, I had a lot of fun choosing it! And thanks for the GUI! I wanted to make one I could basically reuse for the full Namida project, so I went simple but I think it fits this kind of stories?
"But the writing the writing AHHHHHHHH one of my favorites!" Thank you, aaaah!!!! I do agree this is one of my favourite games, haha (I especially like the last portion, but you know me, I like some angst efrtgrgtd).
Now, I'm excited to watch your video!!!! I'm sure I'm going to have a lot of fun with it!!
Wow, this made me sad and uncomfy. Poor Katekyo.😞
The thing that strikes me the most about this is Katekyo's need to conform and to be 'normal' by society's standards. It's just heartbreaking to see him go against his own wishes to please everyone else and fulfill the 'duties' he believes he has because of cultural programming. (and personally, the grandchildren thing is grating on me the most; nobody is entitled to grandchildren ffs ghghhgshsjsl)
And though Lara's comments and questions made me super uncomfortable, it was refreshing (and surprising!) to see Katekyo turn the tables on her. You managed to pinpoint the double standards and the hypocrisy surrounding men's and women's past experiences when it comes to dating. Plus, Lara's reaction to having the same level of nastiness thrown back at her was spot on. 👌
It was an emotional experience overall, so great job! I sincerely hope Katekyo finds happiness on his own terms in the future. 💜
Hey, thanks for playing the game!
Yes, that's actually an important part of Katekyo as a character (even in Namida): he wants to please everyone else, leaving only little room for his own wishes and desires.
I agree with you and it's a talk I had with my mother rfgtdf nobody owes their parents grandchildren!
And yes, Katekyo coming at her was the most satisfying part to write (and I had a lot of fun making him quite extreme actually).
Overall, thank you for your kind and detailed feedback!! I'm not saying it's going to be easy for him, but I can promise one thing: Katekyo has a happy ending!
I could write a longer review but all I want to say is: chouquettes, more like, I want to cho-ke her, congrats for making me feel hatred towards a character like this because I tend to try and sympathize with characters most of the time and here, there was no way to do so
FRVFRFRR let's spread the Lara hatred all over the world, she doesn't deserve to be sympathised with!!!! She's the one who should have been cancelled from twitter!!!!!!
I love this a lot. The music is so relaxing, the word choice and overall tone is great. And oh my God Katekyo is adorable. I love that he calls his mum "mummy". Very Sweet!
P.S. I'm awfully sorry about the Twitter suspension. Hopefully they can sort that nonsense out soon. Chattercap was kind enough to link me to your Itch
Hi! Thanks for taking time for this game and for the feeback! I'm happy you enjoyed Katekyo as a character, I love him so much!!
(And the fun thing is he's half-British (from his mom), half-Japanese (from his dad), so that's why he calls his mother "mummy", despite his brothers not doing so, haha!)
And thanks. I'm a bit conflicted about it, since it seems like a lot of people encountered the exact same problem; but some people who encountered it earlier didn't see the problem solved rapidly, or haven't even seen it solved yet. So I hope they quickly fix it, but I'm all doubts, haha! And Chattercap is a hero, but thank you for asking for the itch account, I appreciate the support!!
BOOOOOOO HISSSSSSSSS
This could only be called the Worst First Date Ever! For a person who was already struggling with his identity such as Katekyo, this was truly nightmarish...Somehow this was so much worse than what I expected, but also...I'm crying because Lara's sentiments are SO accurate (sadly). I think that a lot of people do feel that way; they just don't voice them nearly as brazenly (most of them...) Seeing Katekyo struggle so much with Lara's words, knowing that he was ALREADY struggling before that point, was very heartbreaking to watch!
The music is well-chosen, and it fits the tone of each scene. (The menu animation was great, even better than in Out of the Suitcase!) The art is GORGEOUS, and I loved the vibrantly chosen colors and the expressions (Katekyo's increasingly flustered faces were, while upsetting, also very adorable). The composition and colors of the cafe scene were on point, with the sprite and background melding perfectly together. The highlight was definitely the animated sequence at the end during Katekyo's breakdown, before he discovers the website! The combination of hand-drawn illustrations/rotating pictures really gave weight to the depths of Katekyo's despair!
Although this is a prequel, it's a self-contained story with a satisfying arc! Though Katekyo hasn't quite processed his identity at this point, he's on a good path. However, I also think that this drops quite a few interesting tidbits that might be explored in the full Namida game, and I'm looking forward to seeing the continuation of Katekyo's story!
Overall - great game, and great ace rep!!!!
BOOOOOOOOO LARA BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ha ha, thank you for your feedback! And yes, Katekyo really was put in a horrible situation in this short game. It always makes me sad to write him struggle like that, but I'm glad he still had some backbone to throw at Lara's obonoxious face!!!
Ha ha, I'm glad you appreciated the art! I'm not a 100% convinced with the main menu so I'm glad you appreciated, haha! And yes, I tried to blend Lara with the café a bit better, so I'm glad you caught up on that!!!
The breakdown is certainly my favourite part of the game: it is hard, it made me cry (actually, of relief, when he reads the message from WonderMiss), but I'm very proud of the result!
Ha ha, it drops tidbits for sure, even some nobody but me must have caught, haha! Anyway, thanks for your lovely compliments!! I hope the rest of his story is up to this short game, haha!
The realisation scene was really cool!! the ominous ending too! And the tittle screen is so cute!!!!!
Katekyo made think of myself a little with the "pfffff, I'm not ace I just never found someone sexy in my life..." lucky for me I never felt "broken" for it but, being seen as a woman in my day to day (even if I don't fully identify as one) makes my disinterest a """""virtue""""" and not a """""flaw""""" (always found that difference so weird and dumb) like "wuo! You are so great and pure for not caring" it's so "ok?????????????????"
It was really interestig to see that dichotomy in a way and how it can be really unconfortable in diffent but similar ways in the end people asuming and expecting stuff from you because it's "the normal" and then being treated like some sort of spectacle for deviating from de norm is... well it can really suck
In that, the whole date made me think of a visit to a doctor that I had, he spend half of the appointment congratulating me for "not being like those other girls" and the other half telling me that I NEDED a boyfriend and to have a child "before is too late" I found it so absurd and out of touch that it ended up being kinda funny.
But sorry, I liked Lara, she made me laugh so much with her bad takes and intrusive questions (would hate to spend time with her in real life but maybe in retrospective would remember our encounter as something kind of funny like that doctors appointment)
Hi, thanks for your feedback!
Reading about the way you perceive your own asexuality is pretty interesting to be honest! I'm glad you managed to accept it quickly (I did so too, as I knew what asexuality was before realising I was ace, so I had the tools to comprehend it).
My favourite scene is also the realisation one, haha! The ominous ending, let's say it's teasing for the main project!
And yes, it's quite contradictory indeed, haha, the way you get congratulated and blamed at the same time for being special.
"I liked Lara" OMG WHAT???? (seriously, I get that, she's a fun character, but gets clearly more obnoxious when she becomes a real-life one hehe)
Soooo.............
Sitting here crying LOL
Thanks for that /j
This hit me pretty hard. Though I never had a first date like this, as someone who never actually "dated" and didn't find a partner until, well, let's just say a good while into my life and who got made fun of a number of times for not having kissed anyone (or more than that) "at my age," I related to Katekyo more than I can say. Particularly the realization afterwards, the attempt to refute it -- because it can't be true, right?? -- to the research and posting on forums about it (AVEN), to the acceptance that you know what, that actually makes sense, and the eventual relief and comfort I found from it (for me personally, figuring things out made it so I didn't have to assume/accept I'd have to do certain things with a partner, which provided me comfort as before that I had always assumed it was inevitable no matter what somehow LOL).
Ehhh... anyway. Didn't mean to ramble on so much but just wanted to show how much I could put myself in his shoes and then why there were tears running down my face in the part where Katekyo was having his realization/denial panic moment.
Lara made me want to scream. And it's not even just like, her as a character, but the fact that so many people think like this that I think is what really gets me. So having so many her comments just stark and out in the open like that really cut into me. Like, even just from the very beginning -- Katekyo feeling uncomfortable because of the way he knows she's looking at him and the sexualizing comments she's making were already sending uncomfortable shivers up my spine as I feel similarly in that just knowing that someone is looking and thinking about me in a sexualized way unsettles me to the core. You did a really good job of writing a scene that would make an ace person want to shrivel up and die LKAJDLFKASDF I really enjoyed when Katekyo finally shot back at her with his own insensitive and demanding questions. I could probably never have done this myself in a situation like that, so it felt incredibly empowering and I enjoyed getting to feel like Katekyo (and I) had regained some of his agency in the end at least.
GOD SHE MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL THOUGH.
Guh...
Going back to the whole realization/denial scene, that was so well done. With the sprites and the expressions and the animation and everything. It was incredibly intense, especially as I was already overwhelmed by the whole experience, so it really hammered it home. You're really good at directing those kinds of "jolt" scenes that cut straight into some kind of intense emotion and really make you feel it as the player (similar to those scenes in High School Lolita).
Mmm. OK finally my heart has started to calm down a bit LOL I had to just kinda sit there and stare at the title screen after it was done before I was able to write this LOL And now writing this has helped me work through my feelings LKAJDLFKASJDF Anyway, this was wonderfully done. I MEAN SUPER INTENSE. But really well done. And also I'm really excited and curious to learn more about Katekyo!! I feel like we have a lot in common LAKJDLFKSD
AAAAAH I’M SORRY (but if it can help you feel better, I cried too during the denial/realisation scene??)
Yes, you really get the whole ace experience with Katekyo, haha, even, I had to include AVEN (but historically, the ace community built itself online though, so it really was important!). I’m part of the luck ones who knew what asexuality was before realising my own asexuality, and those tools are important because, in the end, it was way easier to me to accept it (well, that didn’t spare me the “coming-out”, the doubts etc. but I had a much easier time! Although the question of the partner is still a HUGE one for me, haha)
I told everyone, I HATE LARA!!!!! If it were me, I would have left the date way earlier than Katekyo, but to each their own, right, haha! Of course, she embodies to an extreme point all these intrusive questions we get asked, or all these intrusive people who think us being ace grants us a pass to ask us all sorts of personal questions (I got the famous “are you sure it’s not testosterone?”). So, long story short: SHE’S A VILLAIN and you can’t even imagine how happy I was writing the part when Katekyo talks back to her!
Thanks!! Believe it or not, I actually had a very hard time figuring out the direction I wanted this scene to have, let it be about the ending (in the first version, it ended with WonderMiss’s post), the assets (at first, I wanted to use a CG with Katekyo curling up, but in the end, I thought it would be more intense that way)! I also put a lot of thoughts in the music haha: I really wanted it to hit hard I think? And in the end, when I troubleshot it, I was SHAKING and CRYING and the rollercoaster of emotions got me!!
I’m happy this game helped you think of your feelings and your experience, and that the title screen helped you calm down, T.M. Bach’s music is really soothing haha, I love it! And I’m so excited to show more about Katekyo (and his brothers of course)!! He’s a really selfless character and sensitive, and I hope it shows in the main game, haha!