That both explains and confuses Yukima's reduced club attendance bonus (but she's the captain so maybe its that?) Whatever the case, we now have access to normal friend things, so lets watch Silas flail around helplessly . And as a sidenote, are these options only targetable at Freinds and above?
Not necessarily, particularly if you decide during that action to invite both a Friend and some non-Friends to the outing. If you try to take someone who isn't a Friend yet on an outing, though, you'll suffer a not inconsiderable malus, though it's still possible.
More than that though, @LuciDreamer , how does crushing and romance work in this? Obviously there was some sort of trigger in that last choice with Hana, but is there a trigger that fires if two people simply have a high enough relationship? Will we start getting options at high relationship values? How high do relationship values get, anyway? I assumed Big Sister was maxxed out, but now that I think about it there wasn't any reason to.
At some point, Silas will get a question that boils down to:
Do I really like person-san?
[] Yes
[] No
[] Err...
This will determine whether or not the playerbase wants to pursue that romantic arc or not. The 'Maybe' option, naturally, translates to 'I don't know... I'll just put off the question for a little bit and see what happens.' This will probably happen around Close Friends. If you choose Yes, Silas gains the trait: Crush(Person), and an action: Confess. Silas could choose to confess at any time... buut... because High School and because Anime, he won't let himself until he has gone on outings with the person in question an arbitrary amount of times in the form of Not-Dates. His crush will also color the rest of his social interactions with that person.
For better or worse.
Of course, the whole process could be circumvented if the other person develops a crush first. But... you'd have to do some snooping to actually DETECT that, and then you'd have to get them to admit it. Which is hard, because High School. Or. Or! The other person might confess first, in which case, Silas can easily decide to accept the confession and start from there. I mean, that's a distinct possibility, but it's also pretty unlikely.
REL goes from -100 to 100, but anything above 40 and below -30 is abnormal, and will either lead to fun things or !!FUN!! things.
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Space Opera. In the not-so-distant future, human civilization has advanced technologically to the point where space travel becomes a graspable reality. International politics become a mess as everyone grasps for a slice of the space pie. For space is filled with mysterious wonders, mysterious riches… and equally mysterious waifus. (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
This is a hard one to get buy in on. Its pretty obtuse to non-fans
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Idol Magical Girl Reconstruction. Going against the recent trend of deconstructing popular anime tropes, while at the same time recognizing the faults that the deconstructions parodied and coming to terms with them. A magical girl who is also high-school student who is also an idol for a pop group team rises to fight off some sort of world-eating eldritch monstrosity using magic powers based off of various musical instruments, juggling both her responsibilities as a magical girl and her responsibilities to her friends and her social life. It'll be nice and fluffy! (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
This would be memorable, but the question is whether people like it or hate it. Risky gamble.
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Fantastical Meta-Comedy. An ensemble cast of blatant anime tropes blunder their way through an extensively-developed fantasy world, their incompetence causing them to run into horrible situations which they escape by the skin of their teeth on a regular basis. Some of the more Otaku jokes might go over peoples' heads, but people like slapstick, right? (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
Student Council Status: Triggered.
[] [Theme] (Trait: Sensitive) Romantic Dramedy. The Romantic Dramedy is a genre that will simply never, never die, no matter how many times it is rehashed to fit the current cultural trends. Dramedies are great for telling heartfelt emotional stories; furthermore, they are easily adaptable to the stage, thanks to there being no need for fancy tech or equipment. Most of the time. The Dramedy is not universally liked, but, if Silas were to hazard a guess, he would assume that most of his club mates would be at least receptive to the idea. (Yumika will… probably like this idea.)
Straightforward and traditional. Nobody would raise an eyebrow.
Nobody might remember either.
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako + Trait: Sensitive) High School Romantic Dramedy. Same as above, but in a high school! This combination will almost universally appeal to Silas's fellow classmates, because teenage heartache, crushes, friend-zoning, and relationships are something almost everyone has had a brush with. Then again, high school romance is the kind of ubiquitous topic that has been used again and again in popular media… could they really make something interesting enough to stand out? (Silas thinks everyone would like the idea, though whether or not they find it impressive is a different story.)
Same as above, but better.
[] [Theme] (Hobby: ToM) Video Game Isekai. Isekai is a growing trend in Mihoku Popular Culture, for some odd reason. Soooo… why not combine the two things Silas loves, video games and anime?! (Silas does not know who will like this idea)
Iffy.
So for the Theme, the big deal is: Do we want to play safe or do we want to make it memorable?
Assuming we don't want to trigger the shit out of the StuCo again.
Oh, and will Silas nominate himself for the position of Writer?
[] [CW1] "No."
[] [CW1] "I mean… I guess...?"
I'm not sure why he'd WANT to...
Who does Silas support for Writer? [] [CW2] Himself Haha nope.
Nope!
[] [CW2] Shinohara
Nightmare fetishist. No idea how it'd impact the writing though.
Voting for her will lead to a Rakuyama victory.
[] [CW2] Mikado
??? Voting for hims is the most likely to produce a tie between Mikado and Rakuyama.
[] [CW2] Rakuyama
Bit of a slowpoke. But is the most popular option. Vote for her to resolve.
[X] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Idol Magical Girl Reconstruction. Going against the recent trend of deconstructing popular anime tropes, while at the same time recognizing the faults that the deconstructions parodied and coming to terms with them. A magical girl who is also high-school student who is also an idol for a pop group team rises to fight off some sort of world-eating eldritch monstrosity using magic powers based off of various musical instruments, juggling both her responsibilities as a magical girl and her responsibilities to her friends and her social life. It'll be nice and fluffy! (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Rakuyama
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
[X] [BS] Yes. Whatever the Student Council is, they represent a threat, and if Silas knows he has a way to get at them, he'll have a way to sabotage them in small ways that Big Sister could never do.
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
I think if we avoid doing anything too crazy for Silas this week Big Sister's temporary absence should be fine. Probably.
Not necessarily. If Silas isn't available as a candidate, we have no information on how Kuroda's vote will fall. It's possible that he would vote for Shinohara, in which case this would lead to a tie (assuming Mikado votes tactically) to be broken by Yumika.
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako + Trait: Sensitive) High School Romantic Dramedy. Same as above, but in a high school! This combination will almost universally appeal to Silas's fellow classmates, because teenage heartache, crushes, friend-zoning, and relationships are something almost everyone has had a brush with. Then again, high school romance is the kind of ubiquitous topic that has been used again and again in popular media… could they really make something interesting enough to stand out? (Silas thinks everyone would like the idea, though whether or not they find it impressive is a different story.)
EDIT: [X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends aka [X] Karnewarrior. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
Karne brings up a good point and I do love this idea.
[X] [CW1] "No."
Absolutely not.
We would have to come up with a play.
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
-[x] Call in a favor from Yumika to have the coin fall your way in case of a tie
SUPPORT THE FREIND! Besides, we could always offer to Help so that it doesn't turn into The Shining or something.
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
Keep the option open, as we might need additional Soldiers Actors/Technicians. Plus it seems like a very large investment we probably shouldn't make at the moment.
[] [War] "I know a couple people in the Student Council. I could ask them to help out…" Mikado glances out the window, twiddling his thumbs not-suspiciously. "A-Also, I've been wanting to take to Kirino-chan recently… E-Err… you know. It would help. Having an excuse." (Drama declares a "proxy war" on the Student Council, with Mikado as their belligerent.)
[] [War] "War! WAAAR! War is the only honorable discourse!" Mikado booms, causing most of his friends to cringe slightly. "We must annex the Computer Club! We must annex Drama Club! The Student Council! We have claims, friends, and we must USE them! We must War; for the sake of the Duchy! Hurrah!" (Drama "declares war" on the Computer Club, Student Council, Debate Club, Class 4-1, the Kendo Team, and the School Administration. Overstretching means they probably won't actually get anything done. Yumika gets a headache and Reizei punches somebody.)
Sorry Mikado, I don't want to play matchmaker right now. And I don't really know what Taking to a person is, but it looks like strange auto-correct of TALK.
Nope. The Drama club is trying to civil war itself apparently, and lets not create the Empire of the Perfectly Normal High School. Let us create the Homogeny of the Perfectly Normal High School. WE SHALL BE THE HABSBURGS (But with way less cousins).
"You stutter. Stuttering is normal, when you're scared or trying to change a subject suddenly, but you do it in almost every sentence, almost for no reason at all." Yumika frowned. "...and that's pretty weird, Sai-kun. I'm almost certain you stuttered a lot less earlier this month."
He also had a lot more Big Sister Oversight. And now she seems to be failing....
[X] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
The longer Big Sis stays in the SC's system the greater chance she has of getting caught. The foundation is sadistic enough without a metastable AI alongside it.
Also, please don't die on us Big Sis.
Then we would have to find a consistent way to hang out with Nanami.
Ahaha...
(Hey how many of our friends are in their database?)
I have accepted my place as a Shinohara shipper and feel no shame.
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
Look, we are literally surrounded by anime plotlines, why not lift one of them? What's the worst that can happen - I mean, it's not like the student council will go ballistic again, right? Also, cute fluff and the possibility of Shinohara in a big sheet with a googly-eye glued to the front and a big scary painted on mouth, which would be stupidly cute AND appropriate.
And if she writes it we get to know what she thinks of us. Win-win.
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
War later. What is it with nobility always agitating for war? ...I say we buy the other clubs like proper burghers.
[X] [BS] Yes. Whatever the Student Council is, they represent a threat, and if Silas knows he has a way to get at them, he'll have a way to sabotage them in small ways that Big Sister could never do.
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
It's unfortunate, but BS is going to have to trust Silas. Kids always grow up and leave the nest, and the same is true even for baby brothers. Besides, he's a perfectly normal high schooler with a perfectly normal group of all-female friends. Particularly attractive female friends... See, perfectly normal. It's not like one girl is a dream eater and the other some sort of nesting doll of personalities operating as a pseudo-hivemind within a single person, right? Right.
I don't figure this will win, but I'm okay with frankensteining.
Frankly, I'm too conflicted about most choices to make a decision, especially because I'm on mobile, but I do like the Strange Friends Play idea.
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
Kuroda looked stricken. "Forgive me, Yumika-dono. I have acted dishonorably toward you." He hung his head as if he'd just been caught murdering a student. "Please - I beseech you - bind me in chains and lash me a hundred-fold so that I may live the rest of my life in shame!"
Silas felt his hand reaching for his mouth; he was agape. The room almost immediately fell silent. Did he just…? Was that even - ?!
"Woah there, Harima-kun, that's… uh... going in weird places I'd rather stay away from." Yumika chuckled awkwardly. She scratched the back of her scalp and suddenly seemed really interested in the ceiling.
"Ahah! The lynchpin we need to resolve this debacle!" Kuroda declared. "If Sai-kun becomes writer, we are all equally dissatisfied with the arrangement! The fairest choice is him!"
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Space Opera. In the not-so-distant future, human civilization has advanced technologically to the point where space travel becomes a graspable reality. International politics become a mess as everyone grasps for a slice of the space pie. For space is filled with mysterious wonders, mysterious riches… and equally mysterious waifus. (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Idol Magical Girl Reconstruction. Going against the recent trend of deconstructing popular anime tropes, while at the same time recognizing the faults that the deconstructions parodied and coming to terms with them. A magical girl who is also high-school student who is also an idol for a pop group team rises to fight off some sort of world-eating eldritch monstrosity using magic powers based off of various musical instruments, juggling both her responsibilities as a magical girl and her responsibilities to her friends and her social life. It'll be nice and fluffy! (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Fantastical Meta-Comedy. An ensemble cast of blatant anime tropes blunder their way through an extensively-developed fantasy world, their incompetence causing them to run into horrible situations which they escape by the skin of their teeth on a regular basis. Some of the more Otaku jokes might go over peoples' heads, but people like slapstick, right? (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
[] [Theme] (Trait: Sensitive) Romantic Dramedy. The Romantic Dramedy is a genre that will simply never, never die, no matter how many times it is rehashed to fit the current cultural trends. Dramedies are great for telling heartfelt emotional stories; furthermore, they are easily adaptable to the stage, thanks to there being no need for fancy tech or equipment. Most of the time. The Dramedy is not universally liked, but, if Silas were to hazard a guess, he would assume that most of his club mates would be at least receptive to the idea. (Yumika will… probably like this idea.)
[] [Theme] (Personality: Otako + Trait: Sensitive) High School Romantic Dramedy. Same as above, but in a high school! This combination will almost universally appeal to Silas's fellow classmates, because teenage heartache, crushes, friend-zoning, and relationships are something almost everyone has had a brush with. Then again, high school romance is the kind of ubiquitous topic that has been used again and again in popular media… could they really make something interesting enough to stand out? (Silas thinks everyone would like the idea, though whether or not they find it impressive is a different story.)
[] [Theme] (Hobby: ToM) Video Game Isekai. Isekai is a growing trend in Mihoku Popular Culture, for some odd reason. Soooo… why not combine the two things Silas loves, video games and anime?! (Silas does not know who will like this idea)
[] [Theme] Write-in: ???? (Insert a write-in here. Write-ins that are sufficiently in-character for Silas will be weighted normally, but write-ins that are out-of-character for Silas to write will have their vote halved.)
[] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
[] [War] Reizei huffs and looks like he's ready to punch somebody. "Harima-kun, could you just… stop? Please. For the love of the Empress. Stop. How about we ban you from making suggestions to the Officers, anyone else up for that?" (Kuroda is barred from initiating Club Votes)
[] [War] "Oh, you mean recruiting people?" Yumika ponders, absentmindedly twirling a butterfly knife prop in her fingers. "I guess we could do that… but… you know… hmm. I could go to the Computer Club and call in a few favors. If that's what you mean. It would stop me from tutoring Sai-kun, though, and since we don't even have most of the groundwork stuff done yet, it would be pretty premature…" (Drama "declares war" on Computer Club! Yumika will be tied up in "diplomatic proceedings" next week.)
[] [War] "I know a couple people in the Student Council. I could ask them to help out…" Mikado glances out the window, twiddling his thumbs not-suspiciously. "A-Also, I've been wanting to take to Kirino-chan recently… E-Err… you know. It would help. Having an excuse." (Drama declares a "proxy war" on the Student Council, with Mikado as their belligerent.)
[] [War] "War! WAAAR! War is the only honorable discourse!" Mikado booms, causing most of his friends to cringe slightly. "We must annex the Computer Club! We must annex Drama Club! The Student Council! We have claims, friends, and we must USE them! We must War; for the sake of the Duchy! Hurrah!" (Drama "declares war" on the Computer Club, Student Council, Debate Club, Class 4-1, the Kendo Team, and the School Administration. Overstretching means they probably won't actually get anything done. Yumika gets a headache and Reizei punches somebody.)
"Yeah!" Yumika replied. "For one, your opening line was a question. When someone asks a question, you don't respond with another one, unless you're doing rhetoric or forensics or something. You need to be concise; otherwise, people might assume that you're being indecisive. Great for really specific situations, but not so great if you're trying to act out a convincing character most of the time."
"Yep!" Yumika said. Pointedly, she glanced at her thin twintails. "...it's been a while since I've gotten to do one of these, being honest. I'm feeling pretty giddy!"
"Most of the time, I get made an antagonist," Yumika admitted sheepishly. "...I don't really have the heart to turn anyone else down when they big me to be made the MC. Heheh…"
Dramatic Speech - The nuances of enunciation, expression, and body language - skills that have some level of application beyond Drama Club. Leads to Skill traits Conversationalist, Persuader, Improviser, and Deceiver. (47/???)
Self Deprecating - It's hard for Silas to recognize things that he is good at, and he tends to over-emphasize his negative attributes a lot. This makes his self-assessment skills way off. (Character traits and personalities in the Character Sheet may be represented as being more severe than they actually are. The REL value assigned to many of the characters is incorrect. Now that Silas knows that he has this trait, -5 ST to everything.)
Low Self-Esteem - Silas does not think very highly of himself. While this means he avoids the avarice of pride, it also means that he actively suppresses any notion that he may be genuinely talented at anything, due to thinking that there is no way that his skills could be better than anyone else's, so him trying isn't worth the effort. (Silas does not know his own talents. At least one of his stats is considerably lower than its "true" value, and will continue to act this way until this trait is removed. Several traits of his need to be discovered.)
Inspired Tutor- Yumika knows how to choose her words in order to inspire people to act beyond the level they would normally act at. In a different game, this would translate to giving a buff to morale during a military engagement, but considering the significant lack of 10th century political systems or feudal militaries... (Whenever Yumika tutors someone, that person gets a +2 COUR boost and a +10 ST to the action. In the incredibly unlikely event that Yumika is put in charge of a Saisei-era military regiment, +15% morale damage and +15% morale defense.)
[] [Theme] Write-in: Space High School Romantic Dramedy
pffft bahahah okay nevermind actually wait that maybe isn't terrible
[] [Theme] Write-In: Space High School War Story. In the far future, students at a military academy prepare for war against their hated foes, pushing themselves to the limit to achieve honor and fortune, all the while navigating fraught inter-personal relationships.
Theoretically non-terrible
Could refine towards a blatant Battetech ripoff or go further sci-fi and make it about aliens
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Mundane Monster High School Romantic Dramedy. An ordinary high school boy transfers into a brand new school, where he finds that all of the other students aren't human. Frightened at first, he soon finds that even if they're monsters, they're just as human as he is.
But it is delicious bait and I cannot resist
[X] [CW1] "I mean… I guess...?"
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
Right. Silas needs to get some kicks in the ass to both have non-otaku hobbies and get motivation to do something in general.
Obvious support is obvious. Other than being obvious, she's also the only other one obviously not hating on Silas.
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
Pay no attention to his antics, though he hasn't abused them to the degree that we've seen yet to justify revocation.
[X] [BS] Yes. Whatever the Student Council is, they represent a threat, and if Silas knows he has a way to get at them, he'll have a way to sabotage them in small ways that Big Sister could never do.
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
Theoretically giving Silas more info to hopefully not make stupid choices (ha ha ha) while Big Sister goes quiet for a week. At the very least, this is (SCIENCE) to see how he will react to a lack of Big Sister presence. [And uh since I'm not the hugest Big Sister fan I'm okay with weaning him off her.]
Kuroda looked stricken. "Forgive me, Yumika-dono. I have acted dishonorably toward you." He hung his head as if he'd just been caught murdering a student. "Please - I beseech you - bind me in chains and lash me a hundred-fold so that I may live the rest of my life in shame!"
I'd ship it if I didn't want Yumika for ourselves. Be a great outlet for Evil Yumika.
Play idea:
[X] [Theme] Write-in: (Personality: Otaku + Traits: Loner, Sensitive) Loneliness and Friendship. Very similar to the two Dramedy options, further elements (school, supernatural elements, romance, etc.) negotiable. Featuring a cast of characters with various personal issues that isolate them and/or make them unhappy, and how by getting to know, accepting, and helping each other and becoming friends, they can overcome them and gain happiness. Gets fairly dark at times, but ultimately has a happy ending.
As much as I like some of the other ideas, I can't help but vote for this. I think everyone in the club, if not the entire school, will be able to get something out of it, and it comes straight from Silas' heart, so that by working on it he can express himself and his dreams.
This would let him explain himself by proxy and get others to understand and empathize with his isssues without explicitly exposing himself and putting it out there that the story is about him, while at the same time motivating himself with the idea that as lonely and hopelessly unsocial as he seems at times, things can get better.
He should also find it easy to insert himself into a role in it, with practice at acting out the resolution of that role's issues helping him grow more confident and hopeful off the stage.
Ideally, author would be Shinohara, seeing as she quite plausibly has the greatest insight into personal issues that it's possible to have, helped jointly by Yumika, to inject a dose of happiness and hope to things and suggest how those issues might be resolved, and ourselves, for an additional first-person perspective and to get us closely involved into the process so we gain the most self-therapy benefits out of it that we can.
[] [BS2] Overclock and focus on raiding the database, watching over Silas, and monitoring the students close to Silas, particularly those in the Drama Club and Student Council. Big Sister's watching… (Big Sister may find one more document next weekend, begins to discover things about classmates for him. She will leave the world alone for a bit. Big Sister my suffer internal damage.)
"I'm really dedicated to the act, you see! But, Dorima-himesama would probably flay me alive if I tried staying in-character indefinitely. It certainly gets on her nerves, this act of mine. Anyway; we're holding up everyone else."
It's easy to forget that Kuroda was introduced to us as the best actor and one of the Drama's most important assets. It was good to see him out of costume, and he turned out to be very likeable. If we want to act, he'll likely be our partner along with Yumika, so we should get to know him a bit better.
Also, Dorima-himesama? I kinda get the feeling of a rich and self-important kid from a powerful family coming from her. Now that we've seen Kuroda, he gives off the same vibes, and he implies familiarity with her. Could they be orbiting the same circles?
"The Student Council is going to hate us if the thing actually breaks…" Mikado mumbled from somewhere behind her. "...and after that window shattered the glass in 4-1 the other week, too…"
Is he referencing our misadventure with Maeda-dono? Why, I thought it stayed between us, and no leads remained implicating the Drama Club in that particular stunt!
(also, isn't there a typo in that sentence?)
"Well… that could have been handled better!" Yumika giggled. "Sorry, Sai-kun. Renji-kun's in a bad mood. His… uh… his sister came over to see him the other day."
I didn't know Nanako-nee was his actual sister. I thought she was his upperclassman who got him interested in music, and the -nee suffix was just a sign of affection similarly to the one he shows to Riku.
They look very cute together. I wonder what's the story behind them. Childhood friends?
Rakuyama suddenly returned with the basket. "Nah… none of us can stand up to Yumika-chan. She's too good! Yumika-chan makes all of us look bad whenever we try…"
"I keep them with me at all times! All different colors and intensities, for whenever I need to change characters," the girl with Yumika's voice chirped. Then her voice dropped low again: "Oh, and my name is Evil Yumika. It's a pleasure~"
Ah, I knew it! The hidden sadistic personality finally shines through! You have never managed to completely fool me, you foul trickster!
Evil Yumika is surprisingly tame. And very femme fatale - red eyes, hair undone, slightly disheveled looks, the forceful manner of speech. I can understand Kuroda's mistake a bit better now.
"Ah… sorry, by the way, if you're a bit creeped out by this. I need my practice too! And I figured that you responded well to stress and tension. I think I was right!"
Oh yes! Please stress him out more, it really brings out the best in the guy. I bet Evil Silas would make for quite a villain.
Alright!
First thing I want to note - I want Shinohara's writing. And not just because we are friends - I want to make the play a work of art, and I think she can enhance it with her supernatural abilities, weaving them into the play and turning them into its artistic merit. I mean, her entire deal is evoking feelings in people, guiding them through dealing with their problems, and bringing them to a catharsis. Doesn't it look the same? I think we should talk to her about it, it would be a way to channel her 'fear-eating eldritch abomination' powers towards creative purposes. Who knows, maybe eventually she'll make a career out of it?
Second, if we vote for Shinohara, Mikado will definitely vote for Rakuyama, who would have the biggest support behind her, courtesy of Reizei. Such is the club politics. I wouldn't be adverse to seeing what Riku can come up with, either, and I feel like Kuroda has been a bit too harsh on her, but... see the first point.
This brings me to the third one. If Kuroda gives us a vote of confidense and supports Shinohara (since he isn't a fan of Rakuyama's Reizei's writing), there will be a stalemate. Likely it will be resolved with Yumika throwing a coin, since she wants to stay out of this. Buuut, if we really wanted to, we have a way to sway her vote... because she owes us a favor.
Basically, if we want Shinohara to write the play (and I do, because we can make it something truly outstanding!), we'll have to discreetly call in our favor here. And we have a game mechanics meant specifically for that. How neat!
I want to try it out.
The war is a pretty simple affair. The only war we can afford - I think - is the 'war' on Student Council. Skipping Yumika's lessons would harm the play, and overextending is counter-productive. And the guy wants an excuse to speak to Maeda anyway. Why not indulge him?
she had a solution to this little problem that didn't involve MetroPol, or the murder of students - two things that would probably have a negative effect on Silas's psyche.
I like the way she snuck 'probably' in there. Never change, Big Sis! <3
But this bears consideration. Do we want Silas to be more aware of the Student Council? Or will we let him stumble in the dark? We got an invitation from Kei and Yuuko, and we could probably become good acquaintances if not friends... but we will be unlikely to consider it if Big Sis decides to fuel our paranoia. On the other hand, unknowingly getting caught up in another incident, or leaving the, ah, retributive actions entirely to the discretion of Big Sis could have its drawbacks as well.
I am inclined to not tell Silas anything just yet.
Also, it'll probably take until tomorrow for me to update the Character Sheet (Also also, I've just noticed that all of the pictures expired.... *sadness*).
That one is easy to fix, though. It's not like the pics have expired... it's that postimg.org had an accident, but the pics are all still there. You just need to replace all instances of postimg.org in the code with postimg.cc, and they will all be back.
Having read the discussion so far, here is my vote.
[x] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
This theme appeals to me most. I want to try our hand at something bizarre and otherworldly.
[x] [CW1] "No."
[x] [CW2] Shinohara
-[x] Call in a favor from Yumika to have the coin fall your way in case of a tie
Silas plays 4X strategy games, he knows how this works.
[x] [War] "I know a couple people in the Student Council. I could ask them to help out…" Mikado glances out the window, twiddling his thumbs not-suspiciously. "A-Also, I've been wanting to take to Kirino-chan recently… E-Err… you know. It would help. Having an excuse." (Drama declares a "proxy war" on the Student Council, with Mikado as their belligerent.)
A reminder that this is the guy who gets to pick the theme AND has an ax to grind with Shinohara. Having some kind of leverage over him could do us some good if we want a measure of control over what gets picked.
[X] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
[x] [BS2] Don't overclock. Focus on the database and on Silas, but neglect close oversight of the global economy. The markets will sort it out, probably. (Big Sister has plausible deniability anyway; if the world burns, it won't be her fault.)
Global economy can go the way of potatoes, I want those files!
[X] [Theme] (Personality: Otako) Idol Magical Girl Reconstruction. Going against the recent trend of deconstructing popular anime tropes, while at the same time recognizing the faults that the deconstructions parodied and coming to terms with them. A magical girl who is also high-school student who is also an idol for a pop group team rises to fight off some sort of world-eating eldritch monstrosity using magic powers based off of various musical instruments, juggling both her responsibilities as a magical girl and her responsibilities to her friends and her social life. It'll be nice and fluffy! (Silas does not know who will like this idea.)
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
[X] [BS] Yes. Whatever the Student Council is, they represent a threat, and if Silas knows he has a way to get at them, he'll have a way to sabotage them in small ways that Big Sister could never do.
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
{Х} [Theme] (Trait: Sensitive + Hobby: Containment Breaches): The Perfectly Normal High School Romantic Dramedy. Set in an outwardly perfect high school, it follows the story of a socially awkward transfer student, who struggles to fit in an already established social dynamic. She is... oddly successful at it. She has a secret: she is being given directions by an interdimensional hivemind, who has an incomprehensible stake in her love life. And perhaps the school is not quite what it seems, either... A heartwarming friendship/romance story that slowly descends into the maddened depths of Lovecraftian horror.
(Optionally: a subplot where she is chosen to be the writer of a play, and decides to go all meta about it.)
Intended audience: Hanamura, Shinohara, the Student Council.
[X] [Theme] (Personality: Otako + Trait: Sensitive) High School Romantic Dramedy. Same as above, but in a high school! This combination will almost universally appeal to Silas's fellow classmates, because teenage heartache, crushes, friend-zoning, and relationships are something almost everyone has had a brush with. Then again, high school romance is the kind of ubiquitous topic that has been used again and again in popular media… could they really make something interesting enough to stand out? (Silas thinks everyone would like the idea, though whether or not they find it impressive is a different story.)
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Rakuyama
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
[X] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. Focus on Silas and the global economy; the information that can be gouged from the database is surely exhausted by now. (No documents will be found next weekend, but Silas is safe and the idiots that run the world economy remain safe for another week.)
So, Yumika is very well-informed, has materials for subtle disguise at the ready at all times, is a master actor... I'm very glad she is our friendassetco-conspirator friend. And a good tutor, too!
I'm not sure she is. Yumika referred to her as "his- um- sister", note the hesitation. I'd consider it a dead giveaway ordinarily, as per the Law of the Conservation of Detail, but I'm not that sure with Yumika. Would she make a slip so obvious?
Vote:
[x] [CW1] "No."
[x] [CW2] Shinohara
-[x] Call in a favor from Yumika to have the coin fall your way in case of a tie
[x] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[x] [War] "I know a couple people in the Student Council. I could ask them to help out…" Mikado glances out the window, twiddling his thumbs not-suspiciously. "A-Also, I've been wanting to take to Kirino-chan recently… E-Err… you know. It would help. Having an excuse." (Drama declares a "proxy war" on the Student Council, with Mikado as their belligerent.)
[x] [BS2] Don't overclock. Focus on the database and on Silas, but neglect close oversight of the global economy. The markets will sort it out, probably. (Big Sister has plausible deniability anyway; if the world burns, it won't be her fault.)
[x] [BS] Yes. Whatever the Student Council is, they represent a threat, and if Silas knows he has a way to get at them, he'll have a way to sabotage them in small ways that Big Sister could never do.
Reasoning:
Shinohara is going to write best script, and that theme idea would have wonderful synergy with this.
Continued involvement with the Student Council is important. Poking at them would reveal useful information.
Global economy is not as important as figuring out the truth behind a global reality-warping event, and not nearly as important as our entertainment. Let it all burn.
Silas has some unique opportunities to interact with Student Council members in safe environments, e. g. Kei and Yuuko's invitation — being better informed would let him gather more information.
Also: we're voting about a vote here. It's amusing.
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
-[x] Call in a favor from Yumika to have the coin fall your way in case of a tie
[x] [War] "I know a couple people in the Student Council. I could ask them to help out…" Mikado glances out the window, twiddling his thumbs not-suspiciously. "A-Also, I've been wanting to take to Kirino-chan recently… E-Err… you know. It would help. Having an excuse." (Drama declares a "proxy war" on the Student Council, with Mikado as their belligerent.)
[X] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. Focus on Silas and the global economy; the information that can be gouged from the database is surely exhausted by now. (No documents will be found next weekend, but Silas is safe and the idiots that run the world economy remain safe for another week.)
In case anyone was wondering, Strange Friends is definitely a genre that exists. Anyone ever see My Neighbor Totoro?
Student Council can't touch us, as long as we fudge enough details to make it not look like Shinohara to anyone but us and Hana (and possibly Master Spy Yumika). Another part of why I want her to write is that if we help we can have an excuse to ask her about that. It really is a fascinating ability and as an Otaku myself I know I'd be really interested in doing (ethical and consensual) science to it and finding out how it works. Step one would be gathering data from the source, as it were.
Is he referencing our misadventure with Maeda-dono? Why, I thought it stayed between us, and no leads remained implicating the Drama Club in that particular stunt!
I would assume he is thinking that the SC already had to replace a broken thing and probably doesn't want to do so again in such a short time. What he may not realize is that Madea is the one who broke it, but that's unlikely since it did spread around the school I believe.
A reminder that this is the guy who gets to pick the theme AND has an ax to grind with Shinohara. Having some kind of leverage over him could do us some good if we want a measure of control over what gets picked.
{} [Theme] (Trait: Sensitive + Hobby: Containment Breaches): The Perfectly Normal High School Romantic Dramedy. Set in an outwardly perfect high school, it follows the story of a socially awkward transfer student, who struggles to fit in an already established social dynamic. She is... oddly successful at it. She has a secret: she is being given directions by an interdimensional hivemind, who has an incomprehensible stake in her love life. And perhaps the school is not quite what it seems, either... A heartwarming friendship/romance story that slowly descends into the maddened depths of Lovecraftian horror.
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
-[x] Call in a favor from Yumika to have the coin fall your way in case of a tie
[x] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
-[x] Call in a favor from Yumika to have the coin fall your way in case of a tie
[x] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
I don't know if the favor is really necessary, but whatever.
I bet Silas is the kind of person who finds it hard to make friends but sticks to them like fucking glue once he manages to make one. Poor Hana doesn't realize it yet, but she's not in Silas' harem... He's in hers!
[ ] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
[ ] [BS] Yes. Whatever the Student Council is, they represent a threat, and if Silas knows he has a way to get at them, he'll have a way to sabotage them in small ways that Big Sister could never do.
[ ] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
Of course, it could be fun to see what Rakuyama comes up with as well. Since I could go either way, I don't think this is worth spending a favor on.
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
[X] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
Always in favor of weaning Silas off of his dependence on Big Sister.
[X] PLN STRANGE FRIENDS
[X] [Theme] Write-in: Strange Friends. A young girl becomes lost in a world of dreams, full of strange and alien creatures. One group of creatures call themselves the "Dream-Eaters", and normally feed on human nightmares. Strangely though, one Dream-Eater starts to form a friendship with the girl, and together they begin to hatch a plan that will allow them to escape from the strange landscape she's trapped in. Along the way, they learn about what it means to be friends.
[X] [CW1] "No."
[X] [CW2] Shinohara
-[x] Call in a favor from Yumika to have the coin fall your way in case of a tie
Section 1: Outlines that we want to solidify our friendship with Hana, do nice things with her, and possibly use a favor to help her become what she was always meant to be: a blushing schoolgirl
[X] [War] "Wait… what?" Rakuyama asks, looking very, very, confused. "Err… Harima-kun, are you alright? I think you should go home… Err… actually! No, that would be, like, mean, or something… Let's just… ignore him for now?" (Nothing happens)
Section 2: Outlines that we want to put War off for now, for various reasons
[x] [BS] No. Silas deserves some measure of separation from Big Sister's skullduggery. He's just a schoolboy, after all. And Big Sister would be good to remember the old adage about Ignorance...
[X] [BS2] Don't overclock. As much as it pains her, Big Sister may need to start withdrawing considerable oversight over Silas if she wants to maintain her obligations to him. (Big Sister may find one document next weekend, and the global economy is safe, but Big Sister will not be present for Silas next week. Silas may not like this.)
Section 3: Outlines the beginning of Silas' weaning from Big Sister's constant oversight, while making sure BS shows she trusts Silas not to immediately eat paint the minute she looks away, which is vital for a healthy relationship between any two people where one of them isn't literally 3 years old (Big Sister may or may not be 3 years old...)
Section 3: Outlines the beginning of Silas' weaning from Big Sister's constant oversight, while making sure BS shows she trusts Silas not to immediately eat paint the minute she looks away, which is vital for a healthy relationship between any two people where one of them isn't literally 3 years old (Big Sister may or may not be 3 years old...)
Silas is confirmed to have been in seclusion for 4 years at least. Big Sis was there for him 'as long as he remembered', which given memory-altering drugs may not mean anything, but considering they are in a possession of a group in no way affiliated with Big Sis, I think it is reasonable to assume Big Sis existed for longer than that.
Of course, with all that talk about the Flip it's possible that the world itself is younger than 3 years old, but we are talking perceived history.
On another note. I find it pretty interesting that your idea of the play gives the lead role to a girl. Who do you think will play her? We only have Yumika out of the pros*. Come to think of it, whom will Silas play if he participates? It'd be funny if he got the role of the Dream Eater. But maybe that way we can write off any weird things in his acting with the 'duh, alien' excuse.
* Unless we get Silas to crossdress. Hm. Hmmm.
However, to ensure it gets picked (and I think this is a major uniting factor behind the push for Shinohara as a writer) you need a plan to deal with Mikado... likely through social interactions. And your Big Sis choice hits us for a -20 ST modifier for a week. Isn't that a bit too much of an impediment? The completion of our Friendship quest and the subsequent evolution of the Loner trait - which is presently our biggest detractor for conversations - isn't due until Week 7.
On another note. I find it pretty interesting that your idea of the play gives the lead role to a girl. Who do you think will play her? We only have Yumika out of the pros*. Come to think of it, whom will Silas play if he participates? It'd be funny if he got the role of the Dream Eater. But maybe that way we can write off any weird things in his acting with the 'duh, alien' excuse.
It would be very funny indeed to have Shinohara in the lead with Yumika in the role of the Big Friendly Monster, but that would leave Silas playing the antagonist and might be putting a bit much on Hana. With the antagonist usually the most important role in the story, that's probably my first choice for Yumika - especially since it'd likely be another Dream Eater and would allow for Yumika to be seriously spooky. Silas can be the Big Friendly Monster, which is a good role for him because of what you mentioned and because it'll be easier to avoid stage fright when he's literally hid under a sheet. Plus, I imagine the BFM would have relatively few lines, with much of his character being communicated through awkward, alien body language.
Honestly, I dunno who the lead should go to. I just figured we were tossing ideas into a hat for someone else to write, and the writer would decide who plays what. So we'd depend on Hana. I trust her to put us where we need to go. ~<3
. And as a sidenote, are these options only targetable at Freinds and above?
