Have you dated someone like any KS character?

[Warwise]

I registered just for this.

I had my Emi once. I met her at a university party where we dressed up with customs. I was dressed as a ship captain and she was dressed as a spanish dancer. I was really drunk, mostly to kill my shyness and allow me to aproach women. I had aproached some girls, but ended up aproaching her and her group. She was really small, like 1.50 meters or so, with a very small frame. Extremely cute and with a extremely beautifull face, blonde, nice fair skin, with breast implants and a nice toned body. Her only physical flaw was a crooked yellow teeth in her upper teeth, which I really didnt mind. I aproacher her group, chated with some of her friends, and danced around. After a while I aproached her and started chating, and we exchanged a few words. She said she was going to the bathroom with her friends, but was coming back in a while. One of my friends called me over and said I should join them, because she was probabily not coming back and just used that as an excuse to get away.

I waited.

And she came back. We kept chating and ended up kissing on the dancing floor. She was very open and had a quite nice personality, finding me funny and laughing at my jokes. You see, I met her about 30 minutes after entering the party, something like 11:30. We ended up staying together for 7 hours, until she left at about 6:30 am.

In our second date we stayed 10 hours together. In our third date we stayed 14 hours together. She was very open about sex too, and we ended up having our first time (in a gas station, in the back seat of my car) mostly due to her advances. In the end we stayed 3 years together, which so far has been the best relationship Ive had so far. The funny thing is that she said she loved me because at that first time we met, at the party, I waited for her to come back. I trusted her, and from that moment she trusted me too.

How was she so similar to Emi? Not only they looked alike, but also personality wise. She was also very much alive, acted silly and shy a few times, but most of the times she had a lot of energy and also liked to laugh a lot. She was very romantic and caring. Her crooked teeth was because a few months before we met she was at a party and there was a fight where a guy fell over her while she was going down some stairs, so she ended up hiting the floor and her front uper teeth came of. She managed to stick it together but it looked bad and she would have to do a teeth implant. So, I did stay with her while she used teeth bracers, did canal treatment (to kill the teeth nerves, which hurt a lot), and did her teeth implant. She had been in a relationship before (6 years), so she was not a virgin.

She also had issues with her small frame, because everyone said she looked like a doll and was too skinny, which she really hated. After understanding her I understood why she got breast implants (230ml in each boob), always overdressed (took a long time getting ready for anything) and also worked out (even through she was extremly weak): Since her frame was almost childlike, she did everything she could to look mature and womanly. I remember watching her run, with her long blonde hair, skinny and childish proportion, and thinking she almost looked like a kid.

She also had family problems (which she didnt like to share): Her parents had divorced and her step father used to beat on her mother, who was very submissev. Her father also used to have a lot of money but lost a lot due to bad comercial choices, and that meant she went from middle class to an almost poor status. Also her sister had a child when she was 15. So, even being 21-23, my ex was the most stable person of the family and helped everyone.

She managed to do college even though she had to take university loans and pay for it herself. She worked since she was 15, and kept working through college to pay the bills and remain independent. So much that even having a hard time she managed to help her family.

Unfortunaly, not everything was so nice. She had some serious mood swings. She was extremely nice about 3 weeks of the month, but there was one week every month before her menstruation that was bad. For 7 days every month she would either get extremly dependent, depressed, sad about the smallest things, extremely horny, angry or other radical emotion, usually one for each day. So she would be nice for 21 days than depressed in one, angry for another, horny for the third day and then dependent for the next 4 days. She was also very small, which means that she would get hurt during sex a lot of times. She wasnt very good at it either, meaning sex was usually kind of boring and not very good because she was very fragile, barely had strengh and energy to do more advanced sex positions and due to her pussy being so small she would get hurt quite a lot of times.

I loved her the entire time, but passion only lasts so long. The good thing about passion is that it gives you energy and motivation to easily do anything necessary to keep loving that person. MY passion for her lasted 2 years, which so far have been the best 2 years of my life. In the third year her family problems, mood swings, high maintenance, dependency and insecurity started to take a toll on me. You see, she loved her family quite a lot and had tons of friends. Every week I had to go to 2 diferent social encounters with her friends/family, which took a large chunk of my free time (I study medicine). Since she was from a somewhat poor family, most people werent that educated or interesting. So, a lot of time we were to spend together was "wasted" on these encounters. I really loved her, but most of the time was spent on social encounters I actually didnt care about. Her passion towards me also diminished, and so we didnt invest in each other so much. We used to cuddle a lot, she gave me romantic gifts and cards with emotional words writen on it, and she used to cook for me, but it started to die down mostly because I didnt reciprocated it. I remember when I gave her a card telling her how important she was to me and how much I loved her: she cried of joy in the spot. Since she couldnt get suport from her family, she asked for a lot of favors. I had to give her car rides and even loaned money sometimes. In the end we slowly drifted apart and I started to act like a jerk due to all the things I did for her, both for favors and emotions, and also hurt because she barely tanked me, mostly due to pride. Yes, she was as proud as Emi, even that is similar. I guess it happens with small girls. We spent less and less time together, fought a bit, and things werent doing that well.

We broke up, mostly due to me being a jerk and a selfish guy. She was an amazing girl, even with her flaws, and I loved quite a bit. Its funny that I really realized it after we broke up. You see, in Katawa Shoujo most of the stories have this theme: Being there for your girl. I failed at that. I wasnt there for her enough and wasnt strong enough to do it. I had a lot of problems and she stood by me. We both suported each other in our flaws. But in the end I was the one who couldnt handle it anymore, and was the reason why it didnt work. It has been about 1 and a half year and she is still important to me, even though Ive dated other women. The worst thing is not that I lost her. Its the guilt. After we broke up I started to realize how much she was trying to make the relationship work, and in my selfishness and pride I neither recognized that nor apreciated it, and actually kept pushing her away. So, you see, I was pushing away a girl who really loved me and gave me the best moments of my life and was trying to make it work. And I pushed her away nonetheless. That is guilt my friends.

Life went on for both of us. We are both in other relationships. What remains are the good memories and also the scenes where I could have acted and did the right thing to save the relationship, but did the wrong things and fucked it. Nonetheless, it was amazing. We both became very intimate and depended on each other, and used the relationship to became better. I think that is why I like Emi story so much: they not only remained together, but Hisao also become better phisicaly, emotionaly and even academicaly. By the end of Emi´s story Hisao is a decent runner, has tamed his heart, has become intimate with Emi, became frieds with Musai and managed to stablish the cornerstones of his future. That is what health relationships do: They help you become better together.

So, Im glad I had my Emi, even if I did the wrong choices and our ending was not the good ending. Thanks for those that readed everything.

[SemisoftCheese]

Man, the wrong context can make all the difference. It's good that you're thinking about it in a healthy way, but that had to suck. Did you like Lily as a character? Like, did you enjoy the route or was it a bit too much?

I enjoyed it a ton. It hurt a shitload, but it taught me a lot of stuff. To be honest, before I played Katawa Shoujo, I had never laid a finger on anime or manga or whatever. That stuff was "weird as shit." I had this hard shell on from being stuck in this competitive world I live in (you really have no idea), and I was so wrapped up in myself--varsity sports, straight a's, buying nice clothing, hitting on girls--I sort of lost myself. Then I met this girl on a cruise... and I didn't have to pretend for once. Because no-one knew me from home--no-one had any previous expectations of me.

And when I came to Katawa Shoujo, I found the same lovely girl waiting for me--a fresh new start. Every sentence I read in Katawa Shoujo was the same scene from the past summer--a lovely girl across a table; the beautiful art of small talk, and everything in between.

I sort of came to realize that the things that I thought had made me--all the little ego-stroking things I did during the day--from wearing my varsity jacket to sitting at a table full of pretty girls--weren't really as valuable as I thought in a relationship. They were stupid, little, things, that I didn't do with Nina or Lilly. And those were the best kinds of relationships, because I was me. For once, I was me.

To answer your question; yes; it hurt like hell. Did I enjoy it? I did. Because for four hours of my life, I was free. I was on a cruise in Europe again. There was no senior year or college applications or all that shit. I didn't have put on a clothing brand during Katawa Shoujo, because it was a video game--they couldn't see the little logo on my chest.

If you meet me in real life (rule: don't meet people on the internet in real life); you'll never see that side of me. I'm still in my stupid hard-shell, the kid who's always well-dressed and always ready to perform. But I think now, I'm looking for a little more in life than just a little polo horse on a cotton shirt, or a kiss from a pretty girl.

And I think that's why I hang around on these forums, even if my friends can't figure it out for their lives.

[OtakuNinja]

...
Nomiya(ish)
...
Never dated any of them...

Ugh, imagine dating Nomiya...

Nope. Not doing that.

[illuminati]

I could definitely relate to you there. When I moved and changed schools, I entered my school as the class clown, and left as the class clown. I was always saying stupid stuff that made entire classes laugh in the middle of a lecture. Sometimes the teachers would laugh along with us, but most often they'd forge a vendetta with me...
Ehh... I'm losing train of my thought.

Haha, thanks.
One of my teachers suspected i had a crush on the girl and would point it out in front of the class. I didn't take it personally cause i knew he was trying to get back at me for talking during his class. He was a pretty cool guy. Now that i think of it, he was similar to the nurse in the game.

Maybe you should try looking at it differently. Read some of the stories on this forum from other people, like the many who started working out thanks to the impact the character of Emi had on them. There's good to be found in those feels.

Wow. At the end of the game i told myself i have to hit the gym. I already got my workout routine all planned out haha.

I registered just for this...

Good read!

[muliebrity]

@Warwise
Thanks for sharing, hope you stick around. She sounds like an impressive person, if a little bipolar (which is pretty Emi-like, too).

@SemisoftCheese
That was bloody interesting. I built a really tough shell, myself, going through high school that I haven't really escaped, but mine was focused on being so grumpy that no one talked to me, at least not for very long. Didn't work all the time, though, I met some of the most interesting people because of it. What really makes me marvel is how diverse the fanbase for this game is, it's affected a lot of us powerfully despite coming from very different backgrounds.

Nope. Not doing that.

...Actually, yeah, I'm sorry I said anything. *shudder*

Wow. At the end of the game i told myself i have to hit the gym. I already got my workout routine all planned out haha.

Same here, man.

[Xanatos]

...Actually, yeah, I'm sorry I said anything. *shudder*

It would go something like this.

And I made a mistake earlier. It was a Miki I almost dated, not an Emi.

[muliebrity]

It would go something like this.

Aaaand you've made me vomit by imagining Nomiya's face on that. Congratulations.

[win746]

It would go something like this.

1.) Where the hell are you finding these stuff?
2.) Last time I'm ever clicking on one of your links.
3.) Especially in public location.

[Caden Tiksaril]

Never actually dated her, but in my first year of college I knew someone who was like Emi in the sense that she had a generally cheerful personality. Most likely it had nothing to do with any sort of traumatic past though, and the most physical activity she seemed to do was DDR on occasion. Me being the awkward, inexperienced dude I was, it never really went anywhere, but you get the idea.

[atw_ah]

As socially awkward as I usually am, for instance not understanding the protocol for giving/receiving hugs, I actually have dated an Emi before.

She wasn't the athletic type but she was the happy-go-lucky, always on the move, and always smiling kind of girl. She was my first (and only) girlfriend. We first met in Junior High where I thought she was weird because so was always acting silly and she thought I was scary because I kinda big and mysterious. It was through a strange set of circumstances that we became friends and even stranger circumstances that we started dating in high school (our confessions lacked any kind of resolve until we knew each others feelings, which meant that it took us about an hour after confessing to register that it had happened and a week after the fact to call ourselves a couple). Being with her were some of my most cherished memories. It was fun and it seemed like there was nothing the world in that could bring me down. We were pretty much opposite, she was an extrovert and I was an introvert. Even our birthdays were at opposite ends of the year (mine was in winter, her's in the summer). Regardless of our differences, we clicked and had a lot of fun. However, being an Emi meant that whenever my girlfriend would hit her rare lows, she would never depend on me and would deal with the matter herself. There was one time that I found her depressed and almost on the verge of tears. When I asked her about it she said that it was nothing and that I shouldn't worry about it. She never truly opened up to me and as an subconscious response, I didn't open up to her. We were both still young, inexperienced and lost about what we wanted to do with our lives.
We were together for almost a year until out of the blue she tells me that it would be better that we break up. Her parents didn't think that she should have a boyfriend until she was done with school and didn't let her go out on any real dates with me. She told me that she didn't think it was fair for me to have a girlfriend who couldn't go out and that she had made up her mind and wasn't going to change it. I tried to convince her otherwise but she wouldn't budge; we broke up and slowly drifted apart.
It wasn't until a few years later that we started talking again but our friendship could never again be the way it once was (we now go to different universities).

Playing through Emi's route brought back a lot of memories from that time. The banter between Hisao and Emi, even the way that they walked around with their arms around each other, reminded me so much of my relationship. To be honest, it hurt me getting all of her endings. The good endings actually hurt me the most because it made me realize that had I'd been more open with her, she wouldn't have been able to end our relationship like that. She might have had more of a resolve to go against her parents wishes. *Shrugs* That's just wistful thinking on my part.

Anyway, other than that, I've had "flings" (not really a relationship but a little more than just friendship) with two Miki type girls and a Shizune.

[mysterycycle]

I should keep this brief, since I'm typing this up on a tablet and because I'm liable to go full- on Hanako's Broken Heart Club on this. Short version, I fell madly in love with an Emi and never got over her, to the degree that I've suffered some pretty bad periods of depression that I ended up seeing a psychiatrist over.

Physically, she's Emi's opposite in a lot of ways: brunette, very tall, Nordic features. But she's athletic and has a great sense of humor. Emi without the baggage. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever known. And we became very close friends. But, while she said she was attracted to me physically, she didn't have romantic feelings for me.

I think I fell in love with Emi because they had so much in common, but they're also different enough that it wasn't like it was a slap in the face or anything.

[HLGU]

Just finished Hanako's arc.

She does very much remind me of my ex-girlfriend, in a number of different ways.
Like her personality, appearance (minus the scars, plus skin problems), personal atmosphere, how she sees at herself and such.
It's been almost a year since the last time I saw her, but still I happen to think about her every now and then, more likely every day, in a good way or bad.

I have seen Hanako's good ending.
Yes, Hanako is amazingly adorable. I hnnnggged a lot throughout her arc
I am happy that Hisao managed to make Hanako a happy girl, that now Hanako may start to like her life and self. I think I should thank Hisao for that.
frankly I'm jelly, for I failed at doing the very thing what Hisao have done to Hanako.

nonetheless, I have mixed feelings now. That I doubt I could verbalize.
it's like escapism and reality kick in both at the same time.
I don't know, maybe I'm wishing I could see a good ending, of the Hanako I used to love.

really enjoyed the arc overall. XD

[Xanatos]

maybe I'm wishing I could see a good ending, of the Hanako I used to love.

We've all been there. If we haven't, we will. I feel the saying "Wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up first." applies well here, cynical expression that it is. Wishing's no good if it drags you down.

[HLGU]

maybe I'm wishing I could see a good ending, of the Hanako I used to love.

We've all been there. If we haven't, we will. I feel the saying "Wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up first." applies well here, cynical expression that it is. Wishing's no good if it drags you down.

yeah, i guess i just have to keep swimming , for there are plenty of fish in the sea.

but right now I'm not so certain.. I'm a little bit Kenji now in regard of love and relationship, for it seems to be somewhat easily expired.
And by looking at the people around, it seems fairly easily replaceable, too.
I thought it would be something much more than that, something I cannot redo easily. maybe i took it far too much seriously, I don't know.

I donno. it's even kind of funny that all the future I was shaping with that significant other can collapse such in vain, in company with all the care and affection.
or maybe I simply was not actually loved from the beginning. Possibilities, possibilities. Don't wanna be unnecessarily pessimistic though .
no, I guess it is that both of us were trying too hard, and got exhausted.

I'm just glad that I met KS. that's all I can say:)

[Xanatos]

It collapses easy sometimes. That's just a fact. Love's largely a crapshoot. If it comes, enjoy. Just don't get too fixated about it.