Yamaku Book Club (20220124 Dish Washing)

[brythain]

Hmm, what's this? Imminent talk about one of my writings?

Well, I guess I can make a return to the forums for that.

Thanks to Hoitash for letting me know this was happening.

What I like about 'Emi's Winter Break' is that everyone is so happy! I can't write happy well, and you did it in pleasant and adorable fashion. Your Emi is the Emi-est.

I also like the way you handled the running-into-the-old-friend bit. Somehow, things resolved without the deep-seated problems other writers have produced.

Emi's character is light-hearted, appreciative of good humour in others, willing to take pains and commit herself to effort, and abidingly positive. A good Emi.

*****

Here is a confession of sorts. Mirage's 'Tripping', with its multiple POVs, was what triggered the 'mosaic' approach to 'After The Dream'. I admired 'Tripping' for the amazing interplay between characters, and the way almost every character has a recognizable unique voice. Big influence on the way I started out. Perhaps less of an influence on the way I write Emi, or so I thought... and then I realised that there are similarities other than the fact that we both have the same source material, more or less. Perhaps it's down to Mirage writing before the official release? Not sure.

[griffon8]

I also like the way you handled the running-into-the-old-friend bit. Somehow, things resolved without the deep-seated problems other writers have produced.

Could you expand a bit on that? Are you referring to deep-seated problems between Hisao and former classmates?

[brythain]

I also like the way you handled the running-into-the-old-friend bit. Somehow, things resolved without the deep-seated problems other writers have produced.

Could you expand a bit on that? Are you referring to deep-seated problems between Hisao and former classmates?

Iwanako's guilt and the bullying and all—resolved quickly after Emi confides in Hisao. Whee! It's a very quick resolution of sorts.

[griffon8]

Iwanako's guilt and the bullying and all—resolved quickly after Emi confides in Hisao. Whee! It's a very quick resolution of sorts.

Interesting. I actually chose Emi for my story because I believed that she would have the insight to understand Iwanako's situation. Nobody else of the five (and those were really the only choices available, plus Misha) had their disability as the result of someone else's actions.

[brythain]

Iwanako's guilt and the bullying and all—resolved quickly after Emi confides in Hisao. Whee! It's a very quick resolution of sorts.

Interesting. I actually chose Emi for my story because I believed that she would have the insight to understand Iwanako's situation. Nobody else of the five (and those were really the only choices available, plus Misha) had their disability as the result of someone else's actions.

Yes, that's exactly it. And Emi has effectively overcome her disability in at least one way. In a sense, she gives Iwanako possibly a whole new lease on life.

[brythain]

This post brings the Emi Ibarazaki reading list up to 2012/2013. Glad to see griffon8 and Hoitash back here!
I've added two short stories that add a little more colour to the Emi-ssion Spectrum.

Serious question: what do you think makes Emi Emi? When an author writes in Emi's voice, what makes you feel it is genuinely her?


Emi Ibarazaki: Fastest Thing On No Legs

EARLY EMI
Empty Hallways by cpl_crud (31 May 2007)
Crush by Silentcook (21 Mar 2008)
Once (From The Vault) by TheHivemind (29 Apr 2009)

PRE-FINAL EMI
Emi's Winter Break by griffon8 (completed 03 Sep 2010) (long)
Tripping by Mirage_GSM (started 14 Jun 2011) (long, incomplete as of 2013)

POST-RELEASE EMI
A Wedding With Lilly by themocaw (21 Feb 2012)
No More Pirates by Scissorlips (22 Aug 2012)


Note: Other Emi pieces already discussed in this thread include Rooftops (by Numb, written 24 Aug 2013, discussed from 17 Jul 2014), Exceeder (by Steinherz, written Feb-Apr 2013, on hiatus, discussed from 20 Jul 2014) and Ascent: An Emilogue (by Mountaineer, external, discussed from 12 Aug 2014). Mehkanik's Emilogue (also external) was linked on 17 Jul 2014 in the thread but not the first post. Links can be found in the first post of this thread.

[Oddball]

Sorry. I'm a little bit behind. I did go back and read Empty Hallways though.

It's hard to criticism because it obviously wasn't the finished version, but it's always interesting to see the old stuff. Emi seems quite a bit weaker in this and Hisao doesn't back down as easily. I think both changes in character were for the best.

[kaserkin]

I remember reading "A Wedding with Lilly" some time ago. I like the air of bittersweet melancholy it has. I wonder if it started the trend of Hisao ending up with Emi after Lilly's neutral/bad end

"No More Pirates" is a fun, heartwarming little tale. I don't have much to say about it, really.

"Once" is weird. I get that it was written very early in KS's development, but the Emi we see there is barely recognizable, unlike the one "Crush" that is pretty similar to her final incarnation under a few aspects. EmixRin really irks me. Yes, even if it's one-sided. Why can't two girls simply share a deep, intimate but purely platonic bond? I also disliked Emi and Misha literally jumping at each other the moment they discover the other's sexual orientation (yes, I'm difficult and I like my Yuri being purely subtext ). The semi-omniscient third person narrator felt strange for some reason, but that's probably just me.

I'm still reading "Emi's Winter Break" and I haven't started "Tripping" yet, but I'll be sure to leave a comment once I have finished both.

[brythain]

Comments always welcome on the pieces presented so far, or more general comments.

I'll be putting up a couple more readings for this weekend, and then that'll be it for Emi, for now.

[Ommadawn]

I just finished reading Developments, and it seems to me that A Wedding with Lilly was a perfect epilogue to that epilogue... even though it was written years earlier.

[brythain]

This post brings the Emi Ibarazaki reading list up to 2015.

Serious question: what do you think makes Emi Emi? When an author writes in Emi's voice, what makes you feel it is genuinely her?

/u/Nevflinn on Reddit actually tried answering this here, if anyone's interested. Anyone from this forum feel like replying?


Emi Ibarazaki: Fastest Thing On No Legs

EARLY EMI
Empty Hallways by cpl_crud (31 May 2007)
Crush by Silentcook (21 Mar 2008)
Once (From The Vault) by TheHivemind (29 Apr 2009)

PRE-FINAL EMI
Emi's Winter Break by griffon8 (completed 03 Sep 2010) (long)
Tripping by Mirage_GSM (started 14 Jun 2011) (long, incomplete as of 2013)

POST-RELEASE EMI
A Wedding With Lilly by themocaw (21 Feb 2012)
No More Pirates by Scissorlips (22 Aug 2012)

POST-POST-RELEASE EMI
Emi's Arc by brythain (12 Mar 2014)
Stopping Short by scratchminus (26 May 2015)


Note: Other Emi pieces already discussed in this thread include Rooftops (by Numb, written 24 Aug 2013, discussed from 17 Jul 2014), Exceeder (by Steinherz, written Feb-Apr 2013, on hiatus, discussed from 20 Jul 2014) and Ascent: An Emilogue (by Mountaineer, external, discussed from 12 Aug 2014). Mehkanik's Emilogue (also external) was linked on 17 Jul 2014 in the thread but not the first post. Links can be found in the first post of this thread.

[Mirage_GSM]

No More Pirates
Huh... I don't even remember that one. Nice, though, even if the idea of Kenji working in an amusement park is somewhat ludicrous

Emi's Winter Break
This one I do remember. Must have been one of the first pieces to include a reunion between Hisao and Iwanako as well as the one of the first with Iwanako struggling as the "Heartbreaker" - a topic that has later been taken up by several other stories. (I think the first was probably Wren's "Watercolours")
Also, this story is the source for part of my forum signature, so I'm regularly reminded of it

[Hoitash]

As someone who came late to the KS party (I wasn't made aware of it until after the first full release, so I never got into that beta/Act 1 stuff) its interesting to read stories like Emi's Winter Break. Hisao is characterized in a way that's entirely believable but not in line with the final release, so there's a bit of a disconnect there. That said, resolving the at home issues Hisao tends to ignore in every route except Shizune's was pretty refreshing, I guess retroactively so because this was one of the first to do it.

As for what makes Emi Emi, I'd say Pride. Pride and the stubborn idiocy of teenagers. Pride that by Japanese standards is somewhat impolite, actually (though as I understand it her tendency to keep things to herself is pretty Japanese. They seem to have a live and let live policy about personal matters.)

There's definitely more to Emi than Pride, and I'd also say passion. She throws herself wholeheartedly into something once she's convinced its the right thing to do -she stayed in bed when she got sick, she stayed in her chair when her leg got infected, and she spilled the beans to Hisao when she realized he wasn't going anywhere (Hisao can be stubborn, too.) I think that's part of why out of all the routes, for me Emi and Hisao is the only one that from the first kiss onward actually feels like a real relationship.

So, Pride and Passion. And maybe a little Prejudice because of her crack at Lilly in her route about being a half-breed.

[dewelar]

I just finished reading Developments, and it seems to me that A Wedding with Lilly was a perfect epilogue to that epilogue... even though it was written years earlier.

*nods* Given my headcanon on how everyone's relationships continue after Developments, I could easily see this happening.

Since I don't do pre-full-release stuff, I will go ahead and say that A Wedding with Lilly is a cute short. I tend to like themocaw's stuff, and this is no exception. Shorter is better in this case, I think -- just enough information to make it work.

As for No More Pirates...well, first of all the title is horrible . One of my pet peeves is people who contort themselves to fit their title to a random song or whatever. It's never as clever as the author thinks. Overall, the piece felt a little too paint-by-numbers, and using an American-style carnival felt off. Unusually for me, my favorite part might have been the Kenji bit, although the bumper boat scene was pretty good, too. Not a great piece, but not bad, I guess.

[brythain]

And maybe a little Prejudice because of her crack at Lilly in her route about being a half-breed.

Hmmm. I think of Emi as the anti-Lilly. (In my mind it's also Hanako v Misha and Rin v Shizune.) It's not that they're totally different, but that they would actually find it easy to hate each other.