Iwanako: Mean Time to Breakdown {updated 2015-4-1}

[HipsterJoe]

I just recently discovered how high quality the writing on this board is and I've been devouring the stories here over the last few weeks. It was a cruel realization that for some of my favorite stories I now have to wait for updates like the rest of the plebes.

That said, this is one of the stories I'm most excited to read updates for. I love deconstructions and I hadn't truly realized how Hisao shaped the hole was until I got to the Emi collision. I unfortunately don't have anything insightful to add, but I am unbelievably excited to see Iwanako's relationship develop with the main cast.

[YutoTheOrc]

I've had this on my bookmarked tab for a while, and I'm glad I finally had a chance to get around to reading it. I managed it in just a few days(Impressive for me ).

I Have really enjoyed reading so far, and may I comment on your wonderful portrayal of Iwanako? I never gave her much thought, I just figured that she was just a normal girl, but what does constitute "normal"? I've never been so pleased to be proven wrong! I particularly enjoy your take on Iwanako's depression, it is a lot different than Hisao's, and I think that's better in all honesty.

As for the original character design, all I can do is slow clap you to victory! I loved your slight reference to one of my favourite Dewealer characters!

Keep up the excellent work, and I dream about the next update.

[Leaty]

Now that the crime has been committed, I suppose that all I can really do is apologize profusely for it.

I am very, very sorry.

[Alpacalypse]

I am very, very sorry.

You should be
In all seriousness, though, while the tone of the music does kinda fit the whole "Doesn't quite fit" vibe of MTtB, I cannot listen to it.
Sorry, Leaty.

[YOTC]

I listened to it with good headphones on. I got blury vision after a bit from the disorientation of it jumping between the ear pieces so often. Love it.

[Strongstache]

The sax part (if you can even still call it that) reminded me of Splatoon. I don't even play Splatoon. Yet.

As a whole, this piece is reminiscent of Kenji's theme, Out Of The Loop. And it's hilarious.

[Leaty]

I'm not going to lie; I was tired as hell when I made that video last night and this morning I thought it was the most hilarious shit ever. The reactions just make it better.

Anyway, as restitution for putting everybody through that, I've created a soundtracked version of one of my personal favorite chapters in the story, Cardioblivion. I've gone to the trouble of extending every track on a special MTtB YouTube channel so that they'll be easier to read through, and my song choices are a bit more daring this time around than they were in my earlier proof-of-concept.

Hopefully it's been a long enough time since people have read that chapter that people will want to give it a look? This is still the trial run, so I'm looking for feedback.

And yes, I did do all this solely because I needed a break from working on the next chapter.

[Blank Mage]

And yes, I did do all this solely because I needed a break from working on the next chapter.

Working on MTtB to take a break from MTtB? Can't fault that work ethic.

[TheHivemind]

Soundtracking, eh? Always a curious pursuit to me. I am, of course, a sucker for bringing in things that require additional effort when it comes to reading--and music's always been an intriguing element to add in. The only problem I run into with this sort of thing is a difficulty in pacing. When you can control it, it's easier, but if you happen to be a fast reader, it's all too easy to finish sections before a melody's even got going. Which is, of course, part of what makes it fascinating to think about (does adding a soundtrack fundamentally alter the meaning a reader might take from a piece? should the reader read slower, in order to get the full effect? Does the music add enough to the experience to make that worth doing? Did I really spend money on the "soundtrack" to Shadows of the Empire when I was younger? Does the fact that even if I did I have no clear memory of having it on while I read that tome of somewhat questionable quality mean it was a waste of money and time? Why did I ever think the N64 game of the same name was any good when it's such a muddy fucking disaster? Discuss).

At any rate, I suppose I shall go back to waiting to see what else you'll do here.

[FelOnyx]

Now that the crime has been committed, I suppose that all I can really do is apologize profusely for it.

I am very, very sorry.

I honestly like it.

No, I'm not stoned, honest.

[Leaty]

Did I really spend money on the "soundtrack" to Shadows of the Empire when I was younger?

Counterpoint: I owned this. Even as a little girl listening to that album, I was like "what exactly the fuck is going on here?" The nineties were so weird.

Anyway, I personally started getting interested in soundtracking because I love the idea of leitmotifs—I literally cannot write a character without envisioning what their theme would sound like, and things kind of spiral out of control from there. (This probably has something to do with a childhood interest in pro wrestling; nowadays all those songs sound like butt rock, but when I was nine years old I thought wrestler entrance music was the coolest shit ever.) Given that, with this fic, I've intentionally been trying to pastiche the sort of pacing the VN had—the moment this story stops feeling like a normal playthrough of Katawa Shoujo that went completely off the rails is, I suspect, the moment it stops being nearly as compelling—introducing multimedia elements that reinforce that experience are worth the time to pursue, I think, so long as there are some readers who'll appreciate them.

I definitely know it's not for everybody, but hopefully enough readers are into it to justify the effort. It's a fun little challenge, at any rate, and I do think even those speed-reader types might get a kick out of a second reading if they willingly slackened their pace for the music.

[TheHivemind]

Did I really spend money on the "soundtrack" to Shadows of the Empire when I was younger?

Counterpoint: I owned this. Even as a little girl listening to that album, I was like "what exactly the fuck is going on here?" The nineties were so weird.

OH MAN THAT FUCKING ALBUM. I did not own that but the kid across the street definitely did. I'm also pretty sure we only ever just listened to the one song. You know the one.

I like to give characters little theme songs when I write them (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that most of Emi's character grew out of one song in particular which wasn't even released when I started writing the damn path (but when I re-wrote the path the final time, it was on basically 90% of the time), with another track basically soundtracking the entirety of the bad end. Bounce between those bands enough and you eventually get to what makes Emi tick, or at least what was in my head whenever I wrote her (I very nearly said "whenever I write her," but I don't write her anymore, do I? I daresay she'd be unrecognizable at this point if I did).

As a dude who definitely put a lot of thought into his own wrestling intro music (how the fuck did I never wind up in the hospital as a dumbass teen?), I can definitely understand the urge to give everyone a theme song. It's fortunate that in this case, themes and the like are quite warranted--and add something that is worth slowing down a bit to enjoy (also drugged out mixes of familiar tracks, when the occasion calls for it).

[Alpacalypse]

I had completely forgotten about how well-done that scene was. life of girl w/ arrhythmia seems to suck so much more than life of guy w/ arrhythmia The soundtracking makes it even more awesome (I was surprised to see songs from outside the KS ost, but then again, this story is not quite KS, so I probably shouldn't have been). Kudos to making one of the scenes where I really sympathise with your Iwanako that much better

one song in particular

Is it strange that I could totally see Emi playing the guitar for that song? Because I could totally see Emi playing the guitar for that song.
Now time to find those on I-tunes, because my I-pod requires some new music.

[Leaty]

It's fortunate that in this case, themes and the like are quite warranted--and add something that is worth slowing down a bit to enjoy (also drugged out mixes of familiar tracks, when the occasion calls for it).

I'm not entirely sure I'll ever use that particular Nurse song, because it seems to either infuriate people or cause them to burst into fits of laughter, but I'm interested in how modifying the tempo or pitch of a song affects its emotional resonance (the Harry Potter theme played on a guitar straight up sounds like a Diablo theme,) and I can't promise I won't seriously utilize that as an artistic device at some point if I think a scene would benefit from it. (I can already think of some future possibilities for Standing Tall...)

I had completely forgotten about how well-done that scene was.

Hee, thanks Like I said, it's one of my favorites, along with Báthory in Her Castle and Blood Pressure. I think I like Báthory best overall, but looking back on it, I think it started off a little weak and I don't know if that works to its favor.

The soundtracking makes it even more awesome (I was surprised to see songs from outside the KS ost, but then again, this story is not quite KS, so I probably shouldn't have been). Kudos to making one of the scenes where I really sympathise with your Iwanako that much better

Woo! I'm really glad the song choices worked for you. Hopefully others appreciate them as well.

Cardioblivion is probably the chapter that, out of all of the ones I've written and will write, will have been the very hardest to score. Even if I'd wanted to stick exclusively with the vanilla soundtrack, the tone of the chapter is just way too bleak and cold for most of the songs on it--the ones I did use (Damage and Breathlessly) were basically my only options whatsoever. The rest of the OST is too laid-back, with the exception of Caged Heart, Painful History and Shadow of the Truth, which were all unusable for various reasons (Caged Heart is Hisao's theme so I can't use it, Painful History is restricted to Hanako scenes, and Shadow of the Truth is best used sparingly and needed to be saved for when I eventually score Báthory, which should surprise absolutely no one.)

I think it turned out pretty well--I don't think I'll be second-guessing any of my choices on it any time soon. I could probably easily score some of the other chapters, now that I've really gotten the hang of it, but some of them are so paint-by-numbers (the early chapters in particular) that I'll save them for when I'm bored as hell.

[emmjay]

The nineties were so weird.

No, the nineties were EXTREME! The eighties were weird. (After all, that's the decade that gave us both Weird Science and Weird Al.)