Part 53: Akane route, chapter 2: Jumping on the grenade
Akane route, chapter 2: Jumping on the grenade7/6: The art of being a jerk
In order to make Jun's life easier, Goon will have to harden his heart and be a jerk to someone in order to ensure an easy road for his bro - something that solidifies the current Goon's image as a noble delinquent. Here's a demonstration of just how that works.
Goon: (Time to head home and play games!)
Goon: Oh, it's Sakura-san.
Goon: Invite her to walk home with me.
This is the list of ways you can address Kaedeko. They are:
Sakura | Kaedeko | Manager
Sakura-san | Kaedeko-san
Sakura-chan | Kaedeko-chan
Sakura-san is the only thing she'll let you call her at anything below friendly status - unless you're a member of the baseball team, in which case she lets you call her Manager. As she likes you more, she'll let you call her Sakura, Kaedeko-chan, and finally just Kaedeko.
Goon: Manager!
Kaedeko: Um, uh, I, I don't really like it when you call me that.
Kaedeko: Stop it.
Goon: Oh--
Goon: (Hmm, that went pretty poorly.)
This is a simple and time-saving way to make girls dislike you - however, it's unreliable and RNG-based, so you still have to supplement things with awkward dates and awful birthday presents. Unless it's Miho, who appears after school about twice as often as any other character.
If Homura wins the Bro Poll, we'll have to spend a lot of time calling her Akai-chan or Homura-chan and seeing her angry face. That should be interesting.
7/11: Karaoke with Akane
Usual pleasantries skipped - this screenshot is included to show you the front shot of Akane's Beng-penpenpen shirt, which isn't very visible on rainy days.
Akane: What do you usually sing?
Option 1: The kind of enka that makes your soul shake, of course.
Option 2: Hmm, I guess I sing anime theme songs the most.
Option 3: Obviously, it's a parade of top hits.
This one's a bit ambiguous as to which one's the best one, but we can make some assumptions based on Akane's best friend Homura.
Goon: Hmm, I guess I sing anime theme songs the most.
Akane: If you pick ones from when I was a kid, I can sing along with you.
Akane: Ooh, do you know Super Soldier Dragon?
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
7/12-7/16: Midterms
I had to reload twice because I forgot to account for both midterms and the required Kendo practice day, meaning that we missed an opportunity to see Akane's yukata.
RELOAD COUNT: 5, 6
A side effect of reloading was better scores on Goon's midterms. Goon might be a bruiser, but he's no dummy.
Goon: Not bad, I guess.
73rd: Fudou Gunma
93rd: Sakaki Takumi
97th: Hokari Jun'ichirou
104th: Hinomoto Hikari
144th: Minazuki Kotoko
189th: Sakura Kaedeko
206th: Ichimonji Akane
7/22: Meet Miyuki
While this wasn't intended, it also wasn't very avoidable over the course of this run. Goon needs to build his General Knowledge stat to access higher levels of healing magic, and Miyuki (like so many other girls in this game) is pretty low-maintenance in general, so it's better to bite the bullet and meet her instead of trying to sneak all of the Hang Out with Friends activities over precious weekends and vacation time.
7/25: Ennichi with Akane
Goon: (I wonder if Ichimonji-san is gonna be here soon...)
Akane: Thanks for waiting!
Goon: Hey, Ichimonji-san.
Akane: Did I keep you waiting for long?
Goon: I just got here myself.
Akane: Good. Okay, let's get a move on!
Goon: Sure.
Akane: Hehehe, it's been a long time since I wore a yukata.
Akane: How's it look?
Option 1: It suits you really well, you look cute.
Option 2: That yukata looks really good, the pattern's great.
Option 3: There's a huge gap between it and your regular look.
Dating game 101: Unless something weird is in play, tell the girl she looks cute and tell the guy he looks cool.
Goon: It suits you really well, you look cute.
Akane: Th, thanks. Hehehe, it's nice to be complimented.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
Akane: What do you want to do?
Goon: Goldfish scooping.
Screw katanuki. Back to goldfish scooping!
Akane: Sure. Good luck, I'll be cheering you on!
Bam! Seven fish. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this mini-game.
Akane: Awesome! You're a pro at this.
Goon: (I did it!)
8/1: Status report
This is Goon's current status. Miyuki and Kotoko don't like him very much, while Akane's starting to warm up a little bit. Hikari is friendly as usual.
Kaedeko still likes Goon more than Miyuki and Kotoko do, which could be problematic.
This is Miyuki's profile, which I honestly don't remember including in a previous post but may very well have appeared already.
Kotobuki Miyuki
Born January 1st
Capricorn | Blood type O
Height: 155cm
Club: Tennis
MEMO: Really unlucky, but cheerful girl.
I see her having fun around town a lot.
We have six months from this point to make someone hate us more than Kotoko does. Challenge accepted - Juns before Goons!
8/16: Summer camp
Since no girls are in Kendo club, there aren't any particularly special scenes here. However, there are a couple things I'd like to point out.
One: Kendo is utter murder on the stamina stat. Goon dipped below 40 at the end of the week, and stamina dipping under 30 is instant sickness.
Two: peeking on the baths in Kendo club is the Tokimemo equivalent of playing Russian roulette with 6 bullets loaded in the cylinder. So, of course, the stream really really wanted me to do it. I didn't because Goon was already on the brink and I didn't want to tip him over the edge. I'll try and show it off another time, I guess (ominous music).
8/22: Amusement park date with Akane
Pleasantries and the Ferris wheel choice skipped
Akane: The Ferris wheel, huh?
Akane: I get the urge to ride this every once in a while.
Goon: Yeah, let's get in line.
Akane: That was a great view, wasn't it?
Option 1: All the people seem really tiny from up there.
Option 2: It's pretty fun seeing everything in miniature.
Option 3: To tell you the truth, I'm afraid of heights, so I didn't notice at all.
As tempting as it is to choose option 3, this is once again the Tokimemo Special, 2 good answers and one obviously bad one.
Goon: It's pretty fun seeing everything in miniature.
Akane: Yeah, it's pretty funny.
Akane: Being up there makes it seem so stupid to worry about the little things every day.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
8/28: Fireworks with Akane
Goon: Hello, is this the Ichimonji residence?
Akane: Oh, hi Goon-kun. What're you calling about today?
The change of address to Goon-kun is a good sign - the chain combo system is in effect here and Akane likes Goon a lot more now than she did at the beginning of the month.
Goon: Want to go see the fireworks with me?
Akane: Whoa, you have great timing.
Akane: I got today off of work, so I was thinking about going myself.
Akane: Where should we meet up?
Goon: I'll wait for you at the riverside park.
Goon: Awesome! I should get over there quickly.
Akane: Goon-kun!
Goon: Hi, Ichimonji-san.
Akane: Hehehe, it's been a long time since I wore a yukata.
Akane: How is it?
Goon: It suits you really well, you look cute.
Yes, the second half is exactly the same as the Ennichi conversation. Since Akane reached a new affection level, her response changes, though.
Akane: Thanks. It's nice to be complimented.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
Goon: Hey, it's starting soon.
Akane: Wow, how beautiful...
Option 1: You're quite the romantic, Ichimonji-san.
Option 2: Yeah, tonight's fireworks are especially gorgeous.
Option 3: Are you telling me you've never seen a fireworks show before?
The third option is temptingly hilarious, but that will have to wait for a run where we're trying to set Jun up with Akane.
Goon: You're quite the romantic, Ichimonji-san.
Akane: Y, you think so?
Akane: Wow, look at that!
Akane: I'm really glad we came today.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
8/29: Status update
This call to Takumi was to get Kaedeko's number, but it points out a flaw in the current run's flow.
Meeting Homura's gonna be tough without either sleeping for a month or getting sick (she shows up at 110 stam or 25 stress, and at Goon's current 56 stam and 0 stress, and it'll be even tougher to make her hate Goon more than anyone else. This should be interesting! If Homura wins the poll and we have to meet her and make her hate our guts, we may have to reload and drive up Goon's stress as much as possible - possibly by peeking on Jun or Bakuretsuzan at kendo club summer camp!
Next time: Juns before Goons.
As a reminder, the Bro Poll is still going until Tuesday! C hasn't received a single vote yet, but who do you want Jun to end up with? Will we point him at the shy, retiring Kaedeko, who could use a steadying presence like Jun? Or will we invoke the wrath of Akai Homura, and send him like a moth to the flame?
Vote A for Kaedeko, and vote B for Homura. He's so money, and he doesn't even know it.