XOXO Droplets: Pran path reactions
Sep. 23rd, 2019 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Time for the extra-tsun tsundere, Pran!
This was cute. He never stops being a belligerent asshole, but they seemed happy, and he isn't a sociopath, so he's the nicest dude so far!
I also did the friendship paths for Lynn, Alicia, and Trent, which were all very cute.
I'm enjoying this game a lot more than I expected to! I especially love the complex relationships between all the characters. That's one thing English Language dating sims are not generally very good at. I'm even vaguely pondering fic, and I never do that for mundane canons. They're just regular teenagers! None of them are vampires or elves or anything.
Content notes: Abusive family, what could read as mild consent issues, vague hints at disordered eating
I was a bit worried this path would end as ambiguously as Shiloh's but poking at the GBPatch tumblr I came across a few posts where people asked questions like What would the Jerk Squad be like as dads? and the answers were like
Not Shiloh: Love his kids and Do His Best despite his issues.
Shiloh: Who knows. Good luck kids :)
So I'm expecting something a little more traditionally romantic, if still...this game.
MC: I'm glad you have a cellphone, makes it easier to talk to you instead of tracking you down in person!
Pran: The fact it lets me avoid talking to you in person is the only reason I haven't thrown it away
MC: So I'm central to your life :D
Huh! Random conversation with Nate where he explains that he doesn't wear the uniform jacket and vest because they make him so uncomfortable he kept pulling at them and the school asked him to stop wearing them. I wonder if he's autistic. The love of rules, dislike of being touched, and emotional disregulation all fit. He's an interestingly atypical autistic character if so.
Oh no I love all these assholes now. EVEN BAE. When did that happen?? Apparently there ARE ending variations with more friendship beyond MC's LI, which I am definitely going to look into.
Whoa I can just make Shiloh be her boyfriend from the menu now?! I'm not going to, but that's interesting.
I've written myself a guide to playing this game and getting ALL the content, since I missed a few minor things last time. I'm finding the stats raising less frustrating as a result and haven't felt the need for cheats yet but we'll see.
Wow, a scene I hadn't seen before where Shiloh just blushed and flailed about how pretty MC is even though I haven't flirted with him at ALL. He's going to feel so much creepier when he's Like That with zero encouragement beyond MC's general enthusiasm for being complimented.
Pran: You dropped an eraser.
MC: Thanks, I didn't notice.
Pran: I know >:(
MC: Are you going to give it me?
Pran: No.
MC: If you were just going to steal my eraser why say anything?
Pran: Now you know.
MC: Yeah, now I know how much of as nut you are!
Pran: Good :)
(he has this deep growly voice like The Nameless One from Planescape Torment >.>)
MC: Pran, don't hang up, but I think we should date.
Pran: I don't.
MC: Yes you do. If it helps you can think of it as just two people hanging out!
Pran: That's worse. I don't want a girlfriend, but I want a friend even less. There's nothing good about you and there's nothing good about me.
MC: So we're perfect for each other!
Pran: I said no. Why can't you get that?
MC: Cause I refuse to accept rejection. I will never let this go.
Pran: ...Alright, we can go out and you'll see how worth it it is.
MC: :D
That's kinda dickish, MC! But he'll thank her in the end so it's fine.
The great thing about pursuing Pran is I don't feel like I'm missing anything by skipping the scenes I've already seen because he never says anything anyway.
During the week I've been seeking out the Jerk Squad's supervising teacher, Nurse Lynn. He's an absolute sweetie, and I feel bad pressuring him to spend time with MC when he's uncomfortable with it, but I want to know him better! She's thankfully toned down the flirting. I've come across a few people complaining that he's not a love interest and I can understand why, he's the only nice, intelligent guy in the whole game. But he's also very much an adult and sees MC as a child so I don't ship it. I do kinda ship Lynn/me though (HEY, HE COULD BE IN HIS THIRTIES, IT DOESN'T SAY) Also, Lynn gives off a bit of a queer vibe, even asides from choosing to go by his girly sounding surname (When MC asks his first name he smiles and says "Nurse"). I kinda ship him with the department store clerk Trent, who is also a nice adult dude.
I like how even though we only see Lynn in "Dealing with troublesome teens" mode and he's pretty good at setting boundaries about not talking about himself too personally, it does feel like there's a real person in there. He's not a perfect supervisor for the group meetings, either. He means well, and is overall a good influence and able to kindly and gently keep everyone mostly in line. But he doesn't always make perfect decisions and can be a bit overbearing.
Asking Pran out on a lunch date involved wearing him down to "If you see me there you can sit with me". He was grumpy about her interrupting his salad but seemed quietly surprised that she'd noticed a bunch of things about him, like that he always eats salads and is especially quiet at mealtimes. He says he hates eating and I wonder if he's got Food Issues. That or he's just a vegetarian.
Haa I forgot that Pran deliberately arrives late on his birthday, and Jeremy says its because he can't get away with being late all the time, so he picks the one day that and causes the maximum inconvenience. I think this is the point where everyone realises that Jeremy can be used as a guide to all the things Pran refuses to articulate. Pran doesn't seem to mind him doing it, and I have to wonder how much of Pran's unfriendliness is a result of feeling self conscious about his poor social skills. Definitely not all of it! But maybe some.
Awww Lynn says the reason he tries so hard and cares about the group was that he was a jerk in highschool himself. He sees himself in all of them. I wonder if teen!Lynn will show up in Gamepatch's next game, Our Story: it covers 15 years of time, starting about ten years before this game, and child!Shiloh shows up.
I suspected Pran's parents were neglectful and yeaaah they were pretty bad. He had to scrounge what he could from around the house from age seven :(
MC: So, Lynn, I've decided that even though you're cute we're better off being friends. I'll still make comments but now you'll know they're jokes.
Lynn: ...they weren't jokes before?
MC: Haha of course they were.
Lynn: I have trouble making friends, I'm glad. I have this wall I put between me and other people.
MC: Wait that wasn't just you being professional??
Lynn: No, that's just me. And now that we're friends...you can never sit in the nurses office again :)
MC: Wtf? But friends hang out together at lunch!
Lynn: Then you better make some friends out there.
MC: I thought you said you were done being a jerk!
Lynn: I am.
I have real difficulty figuring out if this is appropriate. I don't remember feeling anything resembling friendship for any of the highschool kids I taught, even the ones I liked, they all very much pinged as Children to me even when I wasn't that much older. But I did befriend some of the 17-18 year old university students I tutored in my early to mid 20s, and that's how old MC is. Also any time I was stuck teaching highschool students I tended to be thinking "God I hate teaching highschool students", which probably didn't help. (IT'S NOT YOU, KIDS, IT'S THE SYSTEM. AND THE VERY BORING MATHS YOU'RE LEARNING)
Me: These dates are ok but since I can play them in any order, until they officially start dating there's no emotional progression, so how will I ship it more?
Me: ...somehow after playing more random dates I am shipping it more? How do they do that???
Like it's hard to describe there's just this layered sense of them getting to know each other, and while they're both being asses (Pran being hostile and negative, MC doggedly refusing to be rejected and making fun of him) there's these little moments of connection and understanding.
He's an artist but VERY self conscious and self hating about his art. He's self hating in general, his attitude is that everyone sucks but he sucks the most.
But he's remarkably self confident about his appalling taste in clothing.
heee there is a set order to the conversations when you message each other and he's progressed to giving her a blow-by-blow commentary of Bae and Nate having an argument, "because he has nothing better to do". MC is delighted.
Pran: I know it doesn't make sense, but she's my date. When she wants me to do something, I do it.
MC: Since when?
Kam: That doesn't sound good.
Pran: It's not.
MC: It totally is :D
Kam: Why do you do it?
Pran: I don't know.
MC: Ok, you can stop paying attention to someone who isn't me now. Bye Kam!
Kam: Bye!
MC: Are you mad?
Pran: Why would I be? You haven't been worse than your usual horrible self.
MC: I shooed away your soulmate Kam. You like him, I can tell.
Pran: You're wrong. I can tolerate him more than other people, but only because it's not obvious what's awful about him.
Awwwww everyone Pran rooms with on the trip kicks him out so he ends up having to stay with MC. Which she is delighted about. His pajamas are significantly sexier than Bae and Shiloh's (and Jeremy's for that matter), he's just wearing pants and an open robe because he forgot to bring a sleepshirt.
Pran: Don't tell anyone I stayed here.
MC: Since when do you care about breaking the rules?
Pran: I don't. But I don't want people knowing I spent the night with someone like you.
MC: I know you intend that as an insult but I'm going to interpret it as you being demure about the intimate time we're going to spend together :D
Pran: >:/
Awww. So it turns out the catalyst was that when Pran joined the school a year ago he told Jeremy not to be seen with him so Pran didn't drag him down. But then Pran got a reputation as a cool loner so Everett wanted to hang out with him. Pran was ambivalent until he found out Everett was mean to Jeremy, at which point he told Everett never to speak to him again. Pran was hoping this would make Jeremy happy, which it did.
But it meant that on the trip, Everett didn't want to room with Pran, and then when Pran switched to room with Nate, he got yelled at (either because Nate was feeling protective of Everett, or because Nate is just Like That) Bae didn't like rooming with him either.
(Lynn forbade them to room with their friends, much to everyone's annoyance)
MC: Hey Pran, I know this trip hasn't exactly been fun for you and you're feeling bad about what happened with those jerks being jerks. But before you go to sleep, I just wanted to let you know...I'm glad you didn't have time to grab a shirt <3
Shiloh and MC conspiring to make the group happen for a second year is weirder when they're not dating.
Shiloh: MC! Are you waiting in line? You can cut in ahead of me.
MC: Thanks! How do you ever get to the front of lines?
Shiloh: I don't give up my spot for just anyone ;)
MC: Yeah, I am special.
Shiloh: You are <3
Pran: No she's not.
Shiloh: Are you here together? Man, you're good. I can't imagine how you persuaded him.
MC: Easy. I just promised him I'd have sex with him afterwards ^_^
Pran: That's not what happened.
And then Shiloh seems to get genuinely angry at Pran's statement that people don't do good things out of genuine good motivations? What is going on in that head of yours, Shiloh.
MC: So surprising as it sounds I've decided you're the most stand-out guy.
Pran: No I'm not.
MC: Shh. So I'm letting you be my official boyfriend!
Pran: No.
MC: But everyone wants to be my boyfriend!
Pran: Then date one of them.
MC: But I want you.
Pran: I don't care.
MC: Ok from now on when you say that I'll just consider it your way of saying you're crazy about me.
Pran: o.O
MC: Don't look so horrified, we're a couple now!
Pran: No we're not.
MC: You don't care enough to reject the idea forever.
Pran: I don't...*visibly struggles with how to end that sentence*
MC: I heart you too <3 Now let's make out!
Pran: No. ...I won't go that far.
MC: Then how far will you go?
Pran: ...we'll see.
MC: :D
Nate: So I'm guessing the conversation went 'Hey Pran you're hot and don't do anything so you can be my boyfriend. I'll take your silence as a yes.'
I mean...kinda...
MC: Jeremy, you're not surprised to see your only friend replace you with a far superior girlfriend?
Jeremy: I'm not replaced, and he already told me.
MC: Aw, Pran, you cared enough to tell Jeremy.
Nate: I'd have liked to see that conversation. 'Hi Pran where did you go' "Just getting a useless girlfriend.'
Jeremy: Pretty much.
Pran: There's nothing you people need to know about what goes on between her and I. We do what we want.
Awwwwwwww.
MC: Yeah you guys don't need to know about all the very intimate time we've spent together ;D
Shiloh and Everett: D:
Pran refuses to kiss her or say anything romantic in the tunnel of love just to spite her, and instead tells a rather depressing story about his mother.
MC: You better hold my hand on the way back to make up for it.
Pran: You can't make me do anything.
MC: I'm not making you, you want to. Here's my hand, out in the open all alone, I wonder if someone will hold it...
Pran: Do you think I'm a child.
MC: I won't if you grow up and just hold your freakin' girlfriend's hand like everyone in the world knows you wanna do.
Pran: ... :/
MC: Hooray ^_^
A cute scene where MC does both sides of a conversation with a silent Pran, which he is silently going along with until she says "You've got a lot to be proud of. Have you seen your sketches? Have you seen your abs?", at which point he walks away.
MC: Come on, Pran, I just want to make you happy.
Pran: ...
MC: Ok I was also thinking it'd be nice if I caught you off guard. You'd see how smooth I was and blush.
...and they end up going back to her room to settle whether she can make him blush, which is a fantastic pretext for makeouts with someone so stubborn. Also "your heart and abs won't be the only things hard" is dirtier than I expected from a game that stars out "damn".
MC: Hey Jeremy, have you seen Pran? He's been ignoring my texts.
Jeremy: He's avoiding you.
MC: What? Did I do something wrong?
Jeremy: Probably not. He likes sneaking away sometimes. Don't tell him I told you.
MC: Then we're going to go look for him!
Jeremy: *sigh*
Pran: Why were you looking for me?
MC: I don't remember. But I got to hang out with Jeremy, and see your handsome face, so it's all good!
Jeremy: I'm leaving now.
Once again it's a WEIRD relationship where MC has to do a lot of translating from Jerkspeak, but they both seem happy, and this one's not a sociopath.
Haa speaking of which Shiloh bumps into them again and passive aggressively needles Pran about being a bad boyfriend who ignores his date. The subtext is blatantly "DATE ME I'D BE A MUCH BETTER BOYFRIEND" haha yeah no.
MC: Why are you being extra snippy, are you jealous I asked out Pran instead of you?
Pran: He's always talked to me like that.
Shiloh: If I said something that seemed mean, I didn't mean it that way! *continues to snipe at Pran until they leave*
After being permanently kicked from Lynn's office I've been getting to know Alicia, MC's childhood friend whose departure for this school many years ago is what inspired MC to want to go to a boarding school in the first place. Alicia likes watching people but not actually making friends with them, so MC is her only friend, and the way she said "Haha, no, no boyfriend for me, and that's never going to change" makes me think lesbian (or aro ace). So naturally I ship it!
Shiloh really does have an issue with Pran, it's interesting. He seems frustrated that Pran could have much more than he does if he put in the effort.
Haaa, ethnicity does exist in this world: MC tries to get a rise out of the unflappable department store clerk Trent by asking him if he's "white or what" and he cheerfully says he's part Taiwanese. His arc so far has been MC unsuccessfully trying to find a crack in his bland Customer Service Guy persona.
MC sees Jeremy and Nate bonding over how much they like well organised worksheets and asks why two such anti-social nerds don't get along.
Jeremy: The enemy of my friend is my enemy. And I'm not very likeable.
Awwww.
Shiloh actively ignores MC the next time he sees her with Pran, which she finds fascinating, but eventually she decides he's just upset because Pran is his complete opposite, in both looks and personality, which means Shiloh isn't her type.
MC: How does it feel to know Shiloh is jealous of you?
Pran: Noone should be jealous of me.
MC: But you're dating me!
Pran: Noone should be jealous of me.
MC: Come on. You're happy to be dating me. And you're happy someone is unhappy because you're dating me.
Pran: *teeny tiny smile*
MC: :D
Wow Shiloh is just. Straight up quasi-stalking MC and talking about how he'll always be there for her if things don't work out with Pran.
MC: It's convenient having you carry my books and stuff but it's not going to make me leave Pran. I'm happy.
Shiloh: I don't understand how.
MC: You wouldn't, it's hard to explain. But as long as we're clear about the situation between us.
Shiloh: Crystal :)
Is he like this with everyone?? Skeezy little goblin <3
Aww so MC succeeds in making Trent open up ever so slightly and he implies that the reason he puts up with MC's annoying questions is that she reminds him of his boyfriend (who is not Lynn oh well). MC has zero reaction to him being queer she's just happy she got him to express an emotion.
MC asks to meet Pran's parents and he says they're not worth meeting, and if he told them he had a girlfriend they wouldn't care. The only family he has worth meeting is Jeremy ;_;
MC: Could you at least tell them you have a beautiful amazing girlfriend they'll never get to meet?
Pran: Maybe.
MC: Because that would make them sad, right?
Pran: *tiny smile*
MC: Glad I could help, baby.
Pran's an anti-capitalist vegetarian, MC describes him as like a hippie but spreading hate instead of love. Also he wants to become a tattoo artist when he leaves school which she thinks is super hot.
MC: You know with this kind of attitude there comes a point where you're only screwing yourself over.
Pran: Not doing anything is what I want. You trying to get me to do things is my only problem.
MC: Do you really mean that?
Pran: ...
MC: That's a no if ever I heard one. If I wasn't around you'd have noone to say no to. What a remarkable thought process you have there. Wanting people around for the sole purpose of getting to push them away.
Pran: It still hasn't screwed me over. You're still here.
MC: That I am. Tell you what, you keep doing what you do, and I'll keep hanging around. But you're gonna have to do stuff with me at least some of the time. Compromise is crucial.
Pran: No.
MC: It's a deal.
Wow Shiloh STILL acts jealous at the thought of MC becoming Prom Queen and thus dancing with Nate. Pran says he has no interest in going with her to prom at all.
OMG I WON PROM QUEEN :D :D I had about 2400 reputation points total. Honestly it feels a little OOC for Pran's girlfriend but I guess it shows she has her own life and priorities beyond him.
She asks why he came if he hates prom so much and he says he doesn't know. Sometimes he just does things and he doesn't know why.
MC: Since you're in a sharing mood...your parents sound pretty neglectful, how did you end up in such a fancy school?
Pran: My naans, my grandparents on my mothers side. They insisted.
MC: I'm surprised you didn't refuse to go.
Pran: I did, until they offered me a deal.
MC: Ha, so you're like this with everyone, even family.
Pran: They're the reason...the reason I'm like this. If it wasn't for my parents and naans never being satisfied with anything I did, I'd still be shy and obedient.
MC: Wow. Is that... why you don't think highly of yourself?
Pran: I know it's their fault. But I can't forget how they made me feel, back when I did care.
MC: Oh :(
Pran: Don't look at me like that. I'm better off this way.
MC: Ok. I do like the obstinate man shy you grew up into. Does the way I force you to do things make you feel bad deep down?
Pran: No. Don't talk about it any more.
MC: Ok. Then come on and dance!
HMMM. Time for Punch/Kiss/Marry.
Obviously I'm punching Shiloh. He apologised for whatever he did wrong with a smile on his face.
She kissed Jeremy and he sighed in annoyance. I went back to an earlier save and got her to kiss Pran and got a teeny tiny smile <3
Awww and when she married Pran he gave another tiny little smile.
Haha she STILL did the "Shiloh gave me sexy lingerie" joke.
(Pran gave her nothing but did wish her happy birthday)
The end of the Trent friendship arc is pretty cute.
I girded my loins and watched the breakup scene. He's upset and covering it with anger, but as she points out "he doesn't care" and by the end has bludgeoned him into agreeing to stay friends and hang out, because they both still really like each other. (I mean he mostly just says "I don't care" but it was implied)
When she insists on a long distance relationship he puts up a token fight but basically admits he's glad.
Pran: You won't be thanking me when it's over.
MC: I'll take my chances. You're not as bad as you think you are.
The Lynn and Alicia ending conversation were also SUPER cute. We find out Lynn's first name is Mason!
MC: So, now that we're at the end: does this relationship really mean nothing to you?
Pran: Yes. You're an awful person, and you shouldn't waste your time with me.
MC: You deserve to be happy, Panda.
Pran: You're wrong.
Bala: Well, you deserve to be with me.
Pran: ...maybe that is what someone like me deserves.
Bala: Exactly. With that taken care of, all you've got to do is say you care about me, even a little.
Pran: Instead, you should admit you don't care about me.
Bala: Fine. I'm glad you won't say how you feel. Who wants a Panda who says nice things directly? That misses the whole point of your allure.
Me: That was a little understated but cute.
Pran: I don't care.
MC: I'm crazy about you too <3
Pran: o.O
MC: Ha! You thought I forgot about that! I know you have trouble expressing yourself, I remember the secret code.
Pran: I...it doesn't matter.
MC: Really? You're going to let go of your signature phrase just because I pretend it's code?
Pran: I don't care.
MC: :D
Pran: ...
MC: HEY GET BACK HERE YOU CAN'T RUN FROM THE TRUTH. Or the graduation ceremony.
Pran: I'm not going to graduation.
MC: ooh, we can rebel together!
Pran: No, you should go.
MC: That's sweet but this'll be way more fun. Though this level of rule breaking is new to me, I'm feeling light headed. You should carry me.
Pran: ...ok.
MC: *kisses Pran on the cheek*
Pran, laughing affectionately with her in his arms: I don't care.
THE END
ahhhhhhh my heart ;_;
I think I still kinda ship Jeremy/Pran more than MC/Pran. But it was still pretty sweet, and I could be persuaded to ship Jeremy/Pran/MC.
Time for the extra-tsun tsundere, Pran!
This was cute. He never stops being a belligerent asshole, but they seemed happy, and he isn't a sociopath, so he's the nicest dude so far!
I also did the friendship paths for Lynn, Alicia, and Trent, which were all very cute.
I'm enjoying this game a lot more than I expected to! I especially love the complex relationships between all the characters. That's one thing English Language dating sims are not generally very good at. I'm even vaguely pondering fic, and I never do that for mundane canons. They're just regular teenagers! None of them are vampires or elves or anything.
Content notes: Abusive family, what could read as mild consent issues, vague hints at disordered eating
I was a bit worried this path would end as ambiguously as Shiloh's but poking at the GBPatch tumblr I came across a few posts where people asked questions like What would the Jerk Squad be like as dads? and the answers were like
Not Shiloh: Love his kids and Do His Best despite his issues.
Shiloh: Who knows. Good luck kids :)
So I'm expecting something a little more traditionally romantic, if still...this game.
MC: I'm glad you have a cellphone, makes it easier to talk to you instead of tracking you down in person!
Pran: The fact it lets me avoid talking to you in person is the only reason I haven't thrown it away
MC: So I'm central to your life :D
Huh! Random conversation with Nate where he explains that he doesn't wear the uniform jacket and vest because they make him so uncomfortable he kept pulling at them and the school asked him to stop wearing them. I wonder if he's autistic. The love of rules, dislike of being touched, and emotional disregulation all fit. He's an interestingly atypical autistic character if so.
Oh no I love all these assholes now. EVEN BAE. When did that happen?? Apparently there ARE ending variations with more friendship beyond MC's LI, which I am definitely going to look into.
Whoa I can just make Shiloh be her boyfriend from the menu now?! I'm not going to, but that's interesting.
I've written myself a guide to playing this game and getting ALL the content, since I missed a few minor things last time. I'm finding the stats raising less frustrating as a result and haven't felt the need for cheats yet but we'll see.
Wow, a scene I hadn't seen before where Shiloh just blushed and flailed about how pretty MC is even though I haven't flirted with him at ALL. He's going to feel so much creepier when he's Like That with zero encouragement beyond MC's general enthusiasm for being complimented.
Pran: You dropped an eraser.
MC: Thanks, I didn't notice.
Pran: I know >:(
MC: Are you going to give it me?
Pran: No.
MC: If you were just going to steal my eraser why say anything?
Pran: Now you know.
MC: Yeah, now I know how much of as nut you are!
Pran: Good :)
(he has this deep growly voice like The Nameless One from Planescape Torment >.>)
MC: Pran, don't hang up, but I think we should date.
Pran: I don't.
MC: Yes you do. If it helps you can think of it as just two people hanging out!
Pran: That's worse. I don't want a girlfriend, but I want a friend even less. There's nothing good about you and there's nothing good about me.
MC: So we're perfect for each other!
Pran: I said no. Why can't you get that?
MC: Cause I refuse to accept rejection. I will never let this go.
Pran: ...Alright, we can go out and you'll see how worth it it is.
MC: :D
That's kinda dickish, MC! But he'll thank her in the end so it's fine.
The great thing about pursuing Pran is I don't feel like I'm missing anything by skipping the scenes I've already seen because he never says anything anyway.
During the week I've been seeking out the Jerk Squad's supervising teacher, Nurse Lynn. He's an absolute sweetie, and I feel bad pressuring him to spend time with MC when he's uncomfortable with it, but I want to know him better! She's thankfully toned down the flirting. I've come across a few people complaining that he's not a love interest and I can understand why, he's the only nice, intelligent guy in the whole game. But he's also very much an adult and sees MC as a child so I don't ship it. I do kinda ship Lynn/me though (HEY, HE COULD BE IN HIS THIRTIES, IT DOESN'T SAY) Also, Lynn gives off a bit of a queer vibe, even asides from choosing to go by his girly sounding surname (When MC asks his first name he smiles and says "Nurse"). I kinda ship him with the department store clerk Trent, who is also a nice adult dude.
I like how even though we only see Lynn in "Dealing with troublesome teens" mode and he's pretty good at setting boundaries about not talking about himself too personally, it does feel like there's a real person in there. He's not a perfect supervisor for the group meetings, either. He means well, and is overall a good influence and able to kindly and gently keep everyone mostly in line. But he doesn't always make perfect decisions and can be a bit overbearing.
Asking Pran out on a lunch date involved wearing him down to "If you see me there you can sit with me". He was grumpy about her interrupting his salad but seemed quietly surprised that she'd noticed a bunch of things about him, like that he always eats salads and is especially quiet at mealtimes. He says he hates eating and I wonder if he's got Food Issues. That or he's just a vegetarian.
Haa I forgot that Pran deliberately arrives late on his birthday, and Jeremy says its because he can't get away with being late all the time, so he picks the one day that and causes the maximum inconvenience. I think this is the point where everyone realises that Jeremy can be used as a guide to all the things Pran refuses to articulate. Pran doesn't seem to mind him doing it, and I have to wonder how much of Pran's unfriendliness is a result of feeling self conscious about his poor social skills. Definitely not all of it! But maybe some.
Awww Lynn says the reason he tries so hard and cares about the group was that he was a jerk in highschool himself. He sees himself in all of them. I wonder if teen!Lynn will show up in Gamepatch's next game, Our Story: it covers 15 years of time, starting about ten years before this game, and child!Shiloh shows up.
I suspected Pran's parents were neglectful and yeaaah they were pretty bad. He had to scrounge what he could from around the house from age seven :(
MC: So, Lynn, I've decided that even though you're cute we're better off being friends. I'll still make comments but now you'll know they're jokes.
Lynn: ...they weren't jokes before?
MC: Haha of course they were.
Lynn: I have trouble making friends, I'm glad. I have this wall I put between me and other people.
MC: Wait that wasn't just you being professional??
Lynn: No, that's just me. And now that we're friends...you can never sit in the nurses office again :)
MC: Wtf? But friends hang out together at lunch!
Lynn: Then you better make some friends out there.
MC: I thought you said you were done being a jerk!
Lynn: I am.
I have real difficulty figuring out if this is appropriate. I don't remember feeling anything resembling friendship for any of the highschool kids I taught, even the ones I liked, they all very much pinged as Children to me even when I wasn't that much older. But I did befriend some of the 17-18 year old university students I tutored in my early to mid 20s, and that's how old MC is. Also any time I was stuck teaching highschool students I tended to be thinking "God I hate teaching highschool students", which probably didn't help. (IT'S NOT YOU, KIDS, IT'S THE SYSTEM. AND THE VERY BORING MATHS YOU'RE LEARNING)
Me: These dates are ok but since I can play them in any order, until they officially start dating there's no emotional progression, so how will I ship it more?
Me: ...somehow after playing more random dates I am shipping it more? How do they do that???
Like it's hard to describe there's just this layered sense of them getting to know each other, and while they're both being asses (Pran being hostile and negative, MC doggedly refusing to be rejected and making fun of him) there's these little moments of connection and understanding.
He's an artist but VERY self conscious and self hating about his art. He's self hating in general, his attitude is that everyone sucks but he sucks the most.
But he's remarkably self confident about his appalling taste in clothing.
heee there is a set order to the conversations when you message each other and he's progressed to giving her a blow-by-blow commentary of Bae and Nate having an argument, "because he has nothing better to do". MC is delighted.
Pran: I know it doesn't make sense, but she's my date. When she wants me to do something, I do it.
MC: Since when?
Kam: That doesn't sound good.
Pran: It's not.
MC: It totally is :D
Kam: Why do you do it?
Pran: I don't know.
MC: Ok, you can stop paying attention to someone who isn't me now. Bye Kam!
Kam: Bye!
MC: Are you mad?
Pran: Why would I be? You haven't been worse than your usual horrible self.
MC: I shooed away your soulmate Kam. You like him, I can tell.
Pran: You're wrong. I can tolerate him more than other people, but only because it's not obvious what's awful about him.
Awwwww everyone Pran rooms with on the trip kicks him out so he ends up having to stay with MC. Which she is delighted about. His pajamas are significantly sexier than Bae and Shiloh's (and Jeremy's for that matter), he's just wearing pants and an open robe because he forgot to bring a sleepshirt.
Pran: Don't tell anyone I stayed here.
MC: Since when do you care about breaking the rules?
Pran: I don't. But I don't want people knowing I spent the night with someone like you.
MC: I know you intend that as an insult but I'm going to interpret it as you being demure about the intimate time we're going to spend together :D
Pran: >:/
Awww. So it turns out the catalyst was that when Pran joined the school a year ago he told Jeremy not to be seen with him so Pran didn't drag him down. But then Pran got a reputation as a cool loner so Everett wanted to hang out with him. Pran was ambivalent until he found out Everett was mean to Jeremy, at which point he told Everett never to speak to him again. Pran was hoping this would make Jeremy happy, which it did.
But it meant that on the trip, Everett didn't want to room with Pran, and then when Pran switched to room with Nate, he got yelled at (either because Nate was feeling protective of Everett, or because Nate is just Like That) Bae didn't like rooming with him either.
(Lynn forbade them to room with their friends, much to everyone's annoyance)
MC: Hey Pran, I know this trip hasn't exactly been fun for you and you're feeling bad about what happened with those jerks being jerks. But before you go to sleep, I just wanted to let you know...I'm glad you didn't have time to grab a shirt <3
Shiloh and MC conspiring to make the group happen for a second year is weirder when they're not dating.
Shiloh: MC! Are you waiting in line? You can cut in ahead of me.
MC: Thanks! How do you ever get to the front of lines?
Shiloh: I don't give up my spot for just anyone ;)
MC: Yeah, I am special.
Shiloh: You are <3
Pran: No she's not.
Shiloh: Are you here together? Man, you're good. I can't imagine how you persuaded him.
MC: Easy. I just promised him I'd have sex with him afterwards ^_^
Pran: That's not what happened.
And then Shiloh seems to get genuinely angry at Pran's statement that people don't do good things out of genuine good motivations? What is going on in that head of yours, Shiloh.
MC: So surprising as it sounds I've decided you're the most stand-out guy.
Pran: No I'm not.
MC: Shh. So I'm letting you be my official boyfriend!
Pran: No.
MC: But everyone wants to be my boyfriend!
Pran: Then date one of them.
MC: But I want you.
Pran: I don't care.
MC: Ok from now on when you say that I'll just consider it your way of saying you're crazy about me.
Pran: o.O
MC: Don't look so horrified, we're a couple now!
Pran: No we're not.
MC: You don't care enough to reject the idea forever.
Pran: I don't...*visibly struggles with how to end that sentence*
MC: I heart you too <3 Now let's make out!
Pran: No. ...I won't go that far.
MC: Then how far will you go?
Pran: ...we'll see.
MC: :D
Nate: So I'm guessing the conversation went 'Hey Pran you're hot and don't do anything so you can be my boyfriend. I'll take your silence as a yes.'
I mean...kinda...
MC: Jeremy, you're not surprised to see your only friend replace you with a far superior girlfriend?
Jeremy: I'm not replaced, and he already told me.
MC: Aw, Pran, you cared enough to tell Jeremy.
Nate: I'd have liked to see that conversation. 'Hi Pran where did you go' "Just getting a useless girlfriend.'
Jeremy: Pretty much.
Pran: There's nothing you people need to know about what goes on between her and I. We do what we want.
Awwwwwwww.
MC: Yeah you guys don't need to know about all the very intimate time we've spent together ;D
Shiloh and Everett: D:
Pran refuses to kiss her or say anything romantic in the tunnel of love just to spite her, and instead tells a rather depressing story about his mother.
MC: You better hold my hand on the way back to make up for it.
Pran: You can't make me do anything.
MC: I'm not making you, you want to. Here's my hand, out in the open all alone, I wonder if someone will hold it...
Pran: Do you think I'm a child.
MC: I won't if you grow up and just hold your freakin' girlfriend's hand like everyone in the world knows you wanna do.
Pran: ... :/
MC: Hooray ^_^
A cute scene where MC does both sides of a conversation with a silent Pran, which he is silently going along with until she says "You've got a lot to be proud of. Have you seen your sketches? Have you seen your abs?", at which point he walks away.
MC: Come on, Pran, I just want to make you happy.
Pran: ...
MC: Ok I was also thinking it'd be nice if I caught you off guard. You'd see how smooth I was and blush.
...and they end up going back to her room to settle whether she can make him blush, which is a fantastic pretext for makeouts with someone so stubborn. Also "your heart and abs won't be the only things hard" is dirtier than I expected from a game that stars out "damn".
MC: Hey Jeremy, have you seen Pran? He's been ignoring my texts.
Jeremy: He's avoiding you.
MC: What? Did I do something wrong?
Jeremy: Probably not. He likes sneaking away sometimes. Don't tell him I told you.
MC: Then we're going to go look for him!
Jeremy: *sigh*
Pran: Why were you looking for me?
MC: I don't remember. But I got to hang out with Jeremy, and see your handsome face, so it's all good!
Jeremy: I'm leaving now.
Once again it's a WEIRD relationship where MC has to do a lot of translating from Jerkspeak, but they both seem happy, and this one's not a sociopath.
Haa speaking of which Shiloh bumps into them again and passive aggressively needles Pran about being a bad boyfriend who ignores his date. The subtext is blatantly "DATE ME I'D BE A MUCH BETTER BOYFRIEND" haha yeah no.
MC: Why are you being extra snippy, are you jealous I asked out Pran instead of you?
Pran: He's always talked to me like that.
Shiloh: If I said something that seemed mean, I didn't mean it that way! *continues to snipe at Pran until they leave*
After being permanently kicked from Lynn's office I've been getting to know Alicia, MC's childhood friend whose departure for this school many years ago is what inspired MC to want to go to a boarding school in the first place. Alicia likes watching people but not actually making friends with them, so MC is her only friend, and the way she said "Haha, no, no boyfriend for me, and that's never going to change" makes me think lesbian (or aro ace). So naturally I ship it!
Shiloh really does have an issue with Pran, it's interesting. He seems frustrated that Pran could have much more than he does if he put in the effort.
Haaa, ethnicity does exist in this world: MC tries to get a rise out of the unflappable department store clerk Trent by asking him if he's "white or what" and he cheerfully says he's part Taiwanese. His arc so far has been MC unsuccessfully trying to find a crack in his bland Customer Service Guy persona.
MC sees Jeremy and Nate bonding over how much they like well organised worksheets and asks why two such anti-social nerds don't get along.
Jeremy: The enemy of my friend is my enemy. And I'm not very likeable.
Awwww.
Shiloh actively ignores MC the next time he sees her with Pran, which she finds fascinating, but eventually she decides he's just upset because Pran is his complete opposite, in both looks and personality, which means Shiloh isn't her type.
MC: How does it feel to know Shiloh is jealous of you?
Pran: Noone should be jealous of me.
MC: But you're dating me!
Pran: Noone should be jealous of me.
MC: Come on. You're happy to be dating me. And you're happy someone is unhappy because you're dating me.
Pran: *teeny tiny smile*
MC: :D
Wow Shiloh is just. Straight up quasi-stalking MC and talking about how he'll always be there for her if things don't work out with Pran.
MC: It's convenient having you carry my books and stuff but it's not going to make me leave Pran. I'm happy.
Shiloh: I don't understand how.
MC: You wouldn't, it's hard to explain. But as long as we're clear about the situation between us.
Shiloh: Crystal :)
Is he like this with everyone?? Skeezy little goblin <3
Aww so MC succeeds in making Trent open up ever so slightly and he implies that the reason he puts up with MC's annoying questions is that she reminds him of his boyfriend (who is not Lynn oh well). MC has zero reaction to him being queer she's just happy she got him to express an emotion.
MC asks to meet Pran's parents and he says they're not worth meeting, and if he told them he had a girlfriend they wouldn't care. The only family he has worth meeting is Jeremy ;_;
MC: Could you at least tell them you have a beautiful amazing girlfriend they'll never get to meet?
Pran: Maybe.
MC: Because that would make them sad, right?
Pran: *tiny smile*
MC: Glad I could help, baby.
Pran's an anti-capitalist vegetarian, MC describes him as like a hippie but spreading hate instead of love. Also he wants to become a tattoo artist when he leaves school which she thinks is super hot.
MC: You know with this kind of attitude there comes a point where you're only screwing yourself over.
Pran: Not doing anything is what I want. You trying to get me to do things is my only problem.
MC: Do you really mean that?
Pran: ...
MC: That's a no if ever I heard one. If I wasn't around you'd have noone to say no to. What a remarkable thought process you have there. Wanting people around for the sole purpose of getting to push them away.
Pran: It still hasn't screwed me over. You're still here.
MC: That I am. Tell you what, you keep doing what you do, and I'll keep hanging around. But you're gonna have to do stuff with me at least some of the time. Compromise is crucial.
Pran: No.
MC: It's a deal.
Wow Shiloh STILL acts jealous at the thought of MC becoming Prom Queen and thus dancing with Nate. Pran says he has no interest in going with her to prom at all.
OMG I WON PROM QUEEN :D :D I had about 2400 reputation points total. Honestly it feels a little OOC for Pran's girlfriend but I guess it shows she has her own life and priorities beyond him.
She asks why he came if he hates prom so much and he says he doesn't know. Sometimes he just does things and he doesn't know why.
MC: Since you're in a sharing mood...your parents sound pretty neglectful, how did you end up in such a fancy school?
Pran: My naans, my grandparents on my mothers side. They insisted.
MC: I'm surprised you didn't refuse to go.
Pran: I did, until they offered me a deal.
MC: Ha, so you're like this with everyone, even family.
Pran: They're the reason...the reason I'm like this. If it wasn't for my parents and naans never being satisfied with anything I did, I'd still be shy and obedient.
MC: Wow. Is that... why you don't think highly of yourself?
Pran: I know it's their fault. But I can't forget how they made me feel, back when I did care.
MC: Oh :(
Pran: Don't look at me like that. I'm better off this way.
MC: Ok. I do like the obstinate man shy you grew up into. Does the way I force you to do things make you feel bad deep down?
Pran: No. Don't talk about it any more.
MC: Ok. Then come on and dance!
HMMM. Time for Punch/Kiss/Marry.
Obviously I'm punching Shiloh. He apologised for whatever he did wrong with a smile on his face.
She kissed Jeremy and he sighed in annoyance. I went back to an earlier save and got her to kiss Pran and got a teeny tiny smile <3
Awww and when she married Pran he gave another tiny little smile.
Haha she STILL did the "Shiloh gave me sexy lingerie" joke.
(Pran gave her nothing but did wish her happy birthday)
The end of the Trent friendship arc is pretty cute.
I girded my loins and watched the breakup scene. He's upset and covering it with anger, but as she points out "he doesn't care" and by the end has bludgeoned him into agreeing to stay friends and hang out, because they both still really like each other. (I mean he mostly just says "I don't care" but it was implied)
When she insists on a long distance relationship he puts up a token fight but basically admits he's glad.
Pran: You won't be thanking me when it's over.
MC: I'll take my chances. You're not as bad as you think you are.
The Lynn and Alicia ending conversation were also SUPER cute. We find out Lynn's first name is Mason!
MC: So, now that we're at the end: does this relationship really mean nothing to you?
Pran: Yes. You're an awful person, and you shouldn't waste your time with me.
MC: You deserve to be happy, Panda.
Pran: You're wrong.
Bala: Well, you deserve to be with me.
Pran: ...maybe that is what someone like me deserves.
Bala: Exactly. With that taken care of, all you've got to do is say you care about me, even a little.
Pran: Instead, you should admit you don't care about me.
Bala: Fine. I'm glad you won't say how you feel. Who wants a Panda who says nice things directly? That misses the whole point of your allure.
Me: That was a little understated but cute.
Pran: I don't care.
MC: I'm crazy about you too <3
Pran: o.O
MC: Ha! You thought I forgot about that! I know you have trouble expressing yourself, I remember the secret code.
Pran: I...it doesn't matter.
MC: Really? You're going to let go of your signature phrase just because I pretend it's code?
Pran: I don't care.
MC: :D
Pran: ...
MC: HEY GET BACK HERE YOU CAN'T RUN FROM THE TRUTH. Or the graduation ceremony.
Pran: I'm not going to graduation.
MC: ooh, we can rebel together!
Pran: No, you should go.
MC: That's sweet but this'll be way more fun. Though this level of rule breaking is new to me, I'm feeling light headed. You should carry me.
Pran: ...ok.
MC: *kisses Pran on the cheek*
Pran, laughing affectionately with her in his arms: I don't care.
THE END
ahhhhhhh my heart ;_;
I think I still kinda ship Jeremy/Pran more than MC/Pran. But it was still pretty sweet, and I could be persuaded to ship Jeremy/Pran/MC.
