Following that Ami discussion, I went back and looked at a few of her events, and yeah - if you put aside the fact that there's a lot of filler that sort of dilutes it, her character is probably one of the most solid in the series thematically.
Point One: Ami is still deeply traumatized about her parent's death - and while Sensei does make her somewhat less lonely, it's something she's nowhere even close to getting over.
Point Two: Her inability to move on has translated into severe abandonment issues. She's desperately afraid of being left alone, like her parents did to her when they died.
Point Three: Her abandonment issues manifests in several ways, first is her desire to keep her uncle safe, which becomes borderline psychotic the more unwell Sensei is, such as starting to think everyone is out to get them.
Though, keep in mind that taking care of him in these sort of "states" is very damaging to Ami. In one of the earlier scenes, Ami comes home after a normal day at school and finds her Uncle in the middle of a breakdown, and you can see how terrified she is. But ultimately, she needs to stay strong for him.
Even later in the game, where she's a lot more unhinged due to her abandonment fears growing, you can still see how she has to cope when her Uncle enters these states. She talks to herself, creates imaginary conversations with Sensei, and even hears voices.
Point Four: The second way it manifests is her trying to become what Sensei wants - Sekai. This takes the form of looking like her and acting like her, such as her recent moves into poetry.
Now there's an inherent contradiction with what Ami wants:
Ami doesn't want to be lonely and wants Sensei to never leave her side due to her abandonment issues.
But she also wants Sensei to stay safe and mentally well and not end up damaged or hurt.
This is why she was so excited when she was able to create the safe space for him after Maya died, because it seemed like both of Ami's desires could coexist - staying with Ami and not leaving her side is how Sensei becomes mentally well, and it's actually the outside world that is damaging him. This is her happy ending, where Sensei stays with her forever and won't randomly breakdown.
But, this falls apart when Ami realizes that these two things are not necessarily compatible nor possible.
Sensei spends nearly a weekend ignoring Ami, and in that state, it probably drove her near insanity fearing that he might have gotten hurt. It also drives in the abandonment fears that have been building for a while now. To Ami, love is about sacrifice, and in a sort of symbolic gesture she cuts her hair to prove her "love" to Sensei in a desperate attempt to stop him from leaving her.
Sensei does the most active thing he's done the entire game and stops Ami from potentially harming herself, and in the process Ami hurts Sensei. And this is so damaging to Ami because of the two points brought up earlier. She mentions earlier in the game that she is literally incapable of hurting Sensei, which is why she believes that he can only be with her.
But in this instance, that's proven wrong. Ami can hurt Sensei, making her no different from any of the other girls. And this breaks her, destroying her purpose and that dream she had.
That's kinda at the state where we're at with Ami, but I'm very excited about how she'll be able to overcome these issues.
Holy hell… That was the best Ami deconstruction I’ve ever read. Serious props putting this together, man! I’m also really excited for what the future holds for our beloved redheaded niece.
Ami’s story has room for some serious development in the very near future.
All i remember is that maya told him something about different world that could be interpreted as isekai during one of her first events. But i think by now it should become clear that was just her way of preparing him for the resets and loops without actually mentioning them.
All i remember is that maya told him something about different world that could be interpreted as isekai during one of her first events. But i think by now it should become clear that was just her way of preparing him for the resets and loops without actually mentioning them.
Doesn't Touka's appearance also have to do with her fitting the motherly bill for Sensei? She looks pretty similar to to Saki(long black hair, giant chest, etc.) and we know she didn't like him (Saki) very much according to Yasu. Touka's wholesome nature along with her appearance is what probably makes Sensei see her as a maternal figure even though every important female figure in his life has/ or wants to fuck him. And I think Yumi may have fit that bill also if she didn't call him "douche monkey" and whatever creative nicknames she came up with for him that I can't think of right now all the time.
Tangent: Has there been a clues given as to what the other name Parold E. Dolia(correct me if that's not the right god) knows Yumi as? Since its been revealed in Chapter 1(I think) there really hasn't been any clues or hints given as to what the name is.
Thank you for actually referring to the source, as right now I'm unable to put enough effort for a proper research myself.
It's nice to see the story is aware that it forces a motherly role onto Touka instead of Touka just becoming a good mommy on her own solely through interacting with Yasu and Sensei.
My criticism is not about mommy-Touka being a turn that doesn't make any sense narratively. No, it kinda does. It's just that it feels somewhat rushed and undeserved. I just can't see how Touka simply damage-controlling Yasu's shenanigans would make Sensei think "hmm, I want her to be my mommy". As I see it, for this transition to be more believable, we would need more mature behaviour from Touka, more gradual shift in how Sensei views her and more resistance from Touka against others imposing this new role on her. But she just kinda runs with this weird new development for no reasons other than this would be convenient for the story. And not only she does it, but other main characters like Ayane (not even involved in her arc) start parroting the word "motherly" and it makes them look like mouthpieces in the hands of the writer who wants to push a certain narrative. Which is what all writers do by definition, but in the moment it becomes obvious, the magic fades and bad writing becomes apparent
I don't think Yasu matters that much when it comes to Sensei seeing Touka as a motherly/matriarchal figure.
That seems to mostly have started in her 'Kryptonite' Chapter 3 event where Sensei dumps his relationship issues on her and she literally tells him he needs to grow up:
This was after she gives him a place to stay, and finds out about his Maya and Makoto relationships on top of Chika, etc. Sensei came to Touka with his problems and she genuinely tried to help him see that he's acting like a child.
Besides simply being honest, she's also known for her compassion. Hence why in her 'A Brief Moment in Time' Chapter 2 Event, she's crying for those in The Old District and feeding a random homeless old man in front of Sensei:
Throughout Chapter 3, there's some comparisons made between Touka and Tsubasa by Sensei, and of course the whole maternal urge stuff.
Still, by the end of Chapter 3, at the Halloween party, she's simply letting herself fall into whatever role Sensei needs, because he looked like Yasu:
She's not really trying to be his mother figure (and likely doesn't want to), she's just being honest and showing compassion, which leads to Sensei seeing her as one.
As for Ayane, well, she also doesn't really have high standards in the first place. Her actual mother ditched her. Simply showing compassion and having boobs is probably enough for most in this game to consider anyone motherly.
Although, Touka has been raised and trained to mother at least two children simply out of tradition, for the empire she'll inherit, and there's not really anyone more mature or generous, around.
I wouldn't really consider this as being bad writing. My only real critique is that choices seem to deprive the story of certain consequences, albeit that might be the point.
Well, the game starts with you having to jump and then you're 'isekai'd' into a sensei with no memory of your previous life, then there's the happy scene on the roof of the school where Maya says that was their spot to meet and Akira has said he'd jump off a roof if he got someone pregnant (pretty sure about that one) so the theory came about putting all those together, that Maya and Akira met on the roof, she told him she was pregnant, he jumped, she prayed, gods came up with a malicious game, and yeah, that was the theory, some details are just guesses but it fits, so even if you have to fiddle with the details a bit, it fits, no way to know if it's right, but that's the theory, one of many. Agree with it or discard it, i'm only explaining it. As always, DeSkelly can/will fix up anything i got wrong or missed.
I was gonna say that Ratman post was fucking deep but i scrolled down a little bit and saw the Deskel double post and knew everyone else was done for.
I would personally ask for your react/image folder but it's probably just as large as every scene that exists at this point, just prettier and i need more space for trash steam games.
I was gonna say that Ratman post was fucking deep but i scrolled down a little bit and saw the Deskel double post and knew everyone else was done for.
I would personally ask for your react/image folder but it's probably just as large as every scene that exists at this point, just prettier and i need more space for trash steam games.
ratmanirl's Ami breakdown is pretty solid, tbh. Not really much I could even add to it, and it demonstrates why Ami is starting to grow on people. She's endearing in a sad kind of way:
Also I have like 3 gigs of screenshots at this point of just LiL stuff, which are basically categorized in a secret language that only I would probably understand... I have a problem...
Also I have like 3 gigs of screenshots at this point of just LiL stuff, which are basically categorized in a secret language that only I would probably understand... I have a problem...
