VOLUME 5
Chapter 2 – The author never expected the story to be so chaotic, so you can’t blame him for being sad
Part I
“Hmm, that’s strange. Aki-kun did tell us to be here at ten, right?”
“S-surely he’s back at home and not drinking morning coffee in a hotel room somewhere, right?”
“Erm, Eriri, I know creators have to be creative, but it’ll be a bit troublesome if you start applying it to your delusions.”
“R-right, Megumi, but I still think we better check Tomoya’s room. Just to be on the safe side, you know?”
“Wouldn’t it be bad if he isn’t in?”
“I’ll just see if he’s there or not. And besides, he’s the one who’ll be in trouble if he isn’t. Things are gonna get real bad real soon.”
“Hmm…I guess you have a point. I’ll go get the key.”
“O-Wait, how come you know where the key is? Don’t tell me you’ve been coming here in the middle of the night without-”
“Eriri, what I did say about managing creativity?”
* * *
“Waaaaaaah…”
“…”
“Erm…”
And so began a Sunday in the middle of autumn.
Or more specifically, the day after yesterday (the events in the first chapter).
“Ooooh, ah, it’s *sniff* you guys *sniff*”
“Are you greeting us or crying at us?”
“Erm, good morning, Aki-kun. It looks like you didn’t sleep much.”
My eyes, bloodshot after an entire night of crying, were still glued to the monitor of my PC when Eriri and Katou walked through the door.
“Oooh *sniff*, sorry *sniff* it’s meeting time already? *sniff* my bad, *sniff* I didn’t hear the bell *sniff*”
Drowning in a sea of text, it was as if I had lost all sense of time and sound.
“Tomoya, what the hell are you doing?”
“S-Sorry, but *sniff* it was just so moving.”
“What? So you were doing it1 at the Prince2 last night!”
“Wow, you even nailed it down to the place.”
“It’s not that, it’s just…look, it’ll be better if you read it yourselves.”
I directed the two of them to the seemingly dull and uninteresting wall of text and they obliged despite the looks of doubt on their faces.
Anything to do with the Prince was quickly forgotten.
* * *
“Oh my god…”
“Wow…”
Half an hour had passed, and two of them looked like idiots as they stared at me with their mouths open – a reaction not unlike mine when I first finished reading the file.
“Amazing, right? It’s the missionary of tragic love, it’s the artist of heartrending destruction, it’s Kasumi Utako with a dash of Utaha-senpai added in…”
“She’s completely changed the original ending!”
“Can’t you just appreciate the obvious difference in quality?”
“I can appreciate all the illustrations that I’ll have to redo now!”
As a direct result of the sudden appearance of Utaha-senpai’s new scenario, Eriri, whose workload in the remaining month before the deadline had unexpectedly and exponentially increased, now cradled her head painfully in her hands.
I don’t understand why she can’t look past the small things and see this masterpiece for what it really is.
“Wow, this is pretty interesting… I thought the original was good enough, but this is even better.”
“Katou?”
But maybe our main heroine, far and away from all these petty concerns—unaware of what “she” was getting into—can.
“They’re just words but… I can see images and hear music! And that ending really gave me the goosebumps.”
“I know, right? I’m so happy you understand, Katou! That’s what I expect from a Jane Doe.”
“I don’t think any girl would be pleased to hear that, Aki-kun.”
…Well, while she might take issue with my compliments, we certainly have no trouble agreeing on the subject of Utaha-senpai’s second attempt.
It’s so good it brings tears to your eyes.
“Utaha-senpai really only changed the last part, but the final product reads like a completely different story altogether.”
“I see…That’s also pretty amazing!”
Indeed, there were a lot of modifications, but virtually all were confined to the latter half of the penultimate chapter and epilogue– which makes the disparities between the old and new renditions all the more astonishing.
Taken together with senpai’s ingenious “reconciliation” of the plot by subtly shifting the perspective of the story, we have a beautiful end effect that leaves an indelible impression.
Allow me to elaborate.
While the plot development is considerably unorthodox, every conceptual seed sowed from the introduction onward is skillfully reaped by the conclusion– just as in the previous iteration.
And this time it’s taken to another level. My inadequate powers of expression may not carry the full essence of what I mean to say, so let me use an analogy:
Let’s assume first our heroine says something to the effect of ‘I know you’ll be able to do it, Seiji-kun,’ in the prologue.
Then we arrive at the eventual climax of the story. While in the original ending the same heroine might say to Seiji the same line as they struggle to fight and survive together, in the newer version, the line would be a hollow echo in the background as our protagonist slowly loses consciousness after making the ultimate sacrifice.
And despite the added subtlety, it succeeds in preserving both the wholesomeness and appeal of the original scenario.
With these kinds of gems found everywhere in the new plot, I’m beginning to have nefarious thoughts of selling the initial product as is then the second as some kind of “director’s cut”.
It’s almost as if you’re playing two separate games in one…but I guess that would be a bit too crazy.
“But Tomoya, are you sure you’re alright with this?
“Eriri?”
While my expression was exuding an almost religious tranquility– well, actually I was grinning devilishly—Eriri, slightly more calm, bitter, and contrite than before, called out to me.
“I know Megumi also agrees, but this means that everything we’ve done until now is now open for reinterpretation. The entire themeof our game might have changed.”
“Mm…”
“That of course includes the art too. Forget the epilogue, we’re gonna have to redo everything right from the beginning.”
“…I see.”
“And I shouldn’t have to tell you, but more important than all of this, the heroine for the True route has changed.”
“I understand.”
Maybe Utaha-senpai had done too good of a job.
“Really? Meguri still looks like the main heroine to me…”
“It’s as Katou says.”
“Yep, Megumi’s right about that.”
“Eh?”
These were the two new realities created by Utaha-senpai.
Main heroine and True heroine were no longer synonymous.
To the casual character-focused player, the main heroine Meguri remains central to the game experience.
But to a person accustomed to analyzing and studying galge on a regular basis such as Eriri and myself, the true essence of the game is now embodied by the secondary heroine, Ruri.
“Ah, this sense of loss, this sense of pure agony accompanied by a strange feeling of exhilaration– everything has the smell ofMetronome in Love on it.”
“It’s pretty clear that you’re a Kasumi Utako fanboy, Aki-kun.”
“Wow, she really got me this time. At the rate things are going, it’s soon going to become Kasumi Utako’s game while Kashiwagi Eri fades into the background.”
“You’ve been careless, Eriri.”
“Hmpf. Well, I never meant to be.”
I could always point out that Kashiwagi Eri’s at her best when it’s R-rated, but as they say, some things are better left unsaid.
And besides, it would be remiss of me to be so facetious when Eriri is finally complimenting Utaha-senpai’s work as fellow creator when she’s always found ways to criticize it before.
“Right. So before we begin work proper, I think a formal vote is in order?”
As I said those words with the utmost seriousness, the room suddenly took on an air of palpable anxiety.
Do we take the easy road and stick with the more than adequately entertaining original?
Or do we choose the less-travelled path that may reward us with a more compelling end product?
A challenging ordeal awaits us no matter which route we embrace, but so does the promise of a truly extraordinary game.
But still, we must decide.
There is no turning back once we do.
This single decision will determine our fate, for better or for worse.
“Well I hate to break it to you, but I’m afraid we’re not going to do that.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t have the time for something this heavy, this troublesome and this calorie-consuming now that I’ve got a deadline to meet. Go figure, Mr. Producer.”
“B-But we’ve always talked things over before deciding things as a group, haven’t we?”
“Not this time, we won’t. This time it’s your job as our director to decide, and our job to shut up and listen.”
“My job?
Do I really have to do this on my own?
“If you really wanted another opinion, it would be from the scenario writer…only she isn’t here, is she?”
“That’s because she’s already finished her part…and things on her novel-writing side are getting a bit behind schedule…”
“…But I see that doesn’t prevent her from getting cozy with some men the entire day.”
“Don’t say that like you saw it yourself!”
She didn’t- couldn’t have, right?
“Anyway, it doesn’t change the fact that Kasumigaoka Utaha isn’t here. So somebody better take responsibility– ‘Ethics-kun’.”
“Ooh…”
Honestly, Eriri’s not being irresponsible by forcing this decision on me.
She understands the gravity of the outcome and the responsibility that comes with it.
I’ll have to respect her decision too.
There’s no route I can choose which will allow me to come out unscathed.
And of course by “route” I mean the direction our circle will head.
There aren’t really any other choices I have to make, right?3
Deadpan’s Wonderland:
1You sick pervert.
2Sunshine City Prince Hotel, 3-1-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan 170-8440
3Choose Megumi.