The Genderbending of Haruhi Suzumiya [Spoilers Aplenty]

[Sute443]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

I actually had to look this up, unfortunately. So they're the ones behind all the removals on YouTube? Huh.

Man, the Wikipedia article is hilariously biased against them.

Only in the way that reality has a liberal bias.

Some stuff I've been wondering about the VN:
1. Since it's mostly being told from Kyon's perspective, are you planning on having him appear on-screen during his lines, or is he going to be treated like a typical VN protagonist?
2. What is the default screen size you're thinking of using?
3. Multiple characters on screen at once, or just one at a time?

[DJ_RockmanX]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

Man, writing Haruki is as fun as ever. Why don't I do this more often?

Only you have the answer to that.

Originally Posted by beanbrew

Oh, I was assuming that we'd want to do a commercial work since we'd be paying people to animate it. Some way of recouping losses or something like that.

Before even considering hired hands we need funding and something for them to actually adapt.

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

All I want is a VN, man.

I want a lot of things. But I'm not too concerned about getting any of them at the moment.

Originally Posted by otai

Have you got a tree diagram for the plot progression? Don't spoiler it here though.
If you don't, I suggest using some online spreadsheet program like Google docs where the writing team can build one collectively.
You can then budget the number of words the writing needs.

I think it's time to expand the writing team to more than just Kaisos and myself. But this requires more than just communication via forum posts to pull off.

Originally Posted by Sute443

Some stuff I've been wondering about the VN:
1. Since it's mostly being told from Kyon's perspective, are you planning on having him appear on-screen during his lines, or is he going to be treated like a typical VN protagonist?
2. What is the default screen size you're thinking of using?
3. Multiple characters on screen at once, or just one at a time?

1. Probably your typical VN protagonist, but will appear in CGs and where he does not command the POV.
2. Beats me.
3. Multiple people on screen at once is a given for the group scenes, but I think most of the dialogue Kyon has is one on one conversation.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Originally Posted by DJ_RockmanX

I think it's time to expand the writing team to more than just Kaisos and myself. But this requires more than just communication via forum posts to pull off.

I'm willing to help in the VN, though my knowledge when it comes to them is... comparable to Mikuru's knowledge of boats

[Cat Megex]

Originally Posted by beanbrew

I'm in law school.

Actual graduate-school-type law school, or a high school that focuses on law? 'Cause if you're 16 and in grad school... damn, man.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by otai

Have you got a tree diagram for the plot progression? Don't spoiler it here though.
If you don't, I suggest using some online spreadsheet program like Google docs where the writing team can build one collectively.
You can then budget the number of words the writing needs.

You totally missed it.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by Sute443

Some stuff I've been wondering about the VN:
1. Since it's mostly being told from Kyon's perspective, are you planning on having him appear on-screen during his lines, or is he going to be treated like a typical VN protagonist?
2. What is the default screen size you're thinking of using?
3. Multiple characters on screen at once, or just one at a time?

Like Danchou said, treated like a typical VN protagonist. I'm really thinking of using Key's usual user interface, so...

If we can do it, whatever resolution widescreen is. Because fullscreen is for losers like me with an CRT monitor.

Originally Posted by Kogetsu Shirogane

I'm willing to help in the VN, though my knowledge when it comes to them is... comparable to Mikuru's knowledge of boats

Ah yes. Programmers. We do need those.

Originally Posted by Cat Megex

Actual graduate-school-type law school, or a high school that focuses on law? 'Cause if you're 16 and in grad school... damn, man.

You didn't know this?

[Sute443]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

Like Danchou said, treated like a typical VN protagonist. I'm really thinking of using Key's usual user interface, so...

If we can do it, whatever resolution widescreen is. Because fullscreen is for losers like me with an CRT monitor.

Ah, and since we only use Kyonko's perspective for when we want the reader to know what Kyon can't see, we don't need images of him for those scenes either...

I think VNs designed for widescreen have a windowed size of 800x600. Lessee, the typical amount of characters that can be on-screen at once in a VN (or at least, the ones I've played) is 3, so that gives something over 200 pixels of width per character, depending on how much space you want to leave between them. Usually visible down to their thighs, depending on how tall the character is. The character files in Ren'Py are .png, but I'm not sure how indicative that is of typical VNs... I'll have to check Blade Engine for more information.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Sute443

Ah, and since we only use Kyonko's perspective for when we want the reader to know what Kyon can't see, we don't need images of him for those scenes either...

Not entirely. Kyon will probably be seen from Kyonko's perspective a couple of times.

I'd prefer to not rely on interludes/alternate perspectives however, given that part of the reason Haruhi is what it is (and why it can be such a mindfuck if treated properly) is the incredibly limited perspective.


In other news, here's some rewrite material. Now stop complaining that I don't write anything.

Spoiler for Boredom Part I dun remember:

Allow me to announce the batting and fielding position of "Suzumiya Haruki's SOS Brigade Baseball Team (Of Legends)”, decided by the God of Lottery:

First batter, second baseman: Me. Second batter, center fielder: Nagato Yuuki. Third batter, right fielder: Asahina Mitsuuru. Fourth batter, pitcher: Suzumiya Haruki. Fifth batter, left fielder: My brother. Sixth batter, catcher: Koizumi Itsuko. Seventh batter, first baseman: Kunikida. Eighth batter, third baseman: Tsuruya-san. Ninth batter, shortstop: Taniguchi.

Why am I up first!?

That was the line-up of our team. There were no substitutes or managers, and no cheerleaders even.

What a sad baseball team.


-----


After both teams paid their respects to each other, Haruki grinned at me and jerked his head towards the batter's box, with which I regretfully had to comply. Having completely forgotten the existence of helmets, we had to borrow some second-hand white helmets from the organizing committee. If there were anything that truly belonged to us, then it would have to be the nine yellow loudspeakers Haruhi brought for us.

The pitcher, a tall girl with blonde hair, smiled at me in a way that chillingly reminded me of Haruki. In turn, I just gritted my teeth and waited, bat raised.

When the umpire yelled, "Play ball!", the opponent pitcher stretched her arm back and prepared to throw the first pitch.

I didn't swing at the first pitch. And so, it was a strike.

Now that was scary. That ball was fast. Basically, it sliced through the air and made a high-pitched swishing noise. I had no idea what speed it was traveling at, but it moved faster than I could blink. In fact, the moment I saw that the pitcher had thrown the ball, the very same ball had already landed in the catcher's glove.

What in the name of...? I knew we weren't going to win at all, but this is kind of insane.

The second pitch. The ball curved.

Is this what they call a curveball!? If I had ignored it, it would have been a ball, but, for some reason, I still swung at it.

You can guess where things went from here. I didn't unlock any special powers at the eleventh hour, and so I was declared 'out'.

As I passed Haruki on my way back to the bench, he gave me a thumbs up in congratulations for my failure. “Good job out there, Kyon! Don't worry, baseball isn't a girl's sport anyway. Leave it to the men, we'll show you how it's done.”

I kicked him in the shin again.

The second batter up was Nagato, who walked silently to the batter's box, dragging the tip of the aluminum bat on the ground.

Back on the bench, my little brother slid over towards me with his usual evil grin. Why does everyone keep making that face at me today?

“Hey, hey, Kyon-chan. That guy who's up to bat, wasn't he the guy who walked you home once? Isn't he your boyfmmph!”

Please, I beg of you, not in front of Haruki, or we don't know what will happen. I'll buy you a month's supply of sweet sugary treats, so please, please, be quiet.

And back at home base...

"......"

Nagato ignored all the balls being pitched his way, and was struck out very quickly. He then silently returned to the bench, took off his helmet and handed the bat to the next batter – Asahina-senpai.

Haruki looked absolutely dumbfounded. “Yuuki, what was... what was that!? You call that batting!? You're supposed to hit the ball!”

"......"

“Look, just... nevermind. Mitsuuru-kun!” Haruki threw one of his arms around Asahina-senpai.

“Gyaa! Don't hurt me!”

“Listen up, Mitsuuru-kun. You're our only hope. The only person we can rely on.”

“S, Suzumiya-san, I really don't...”

“You understand? This is something that only you can do.”


And so, our third batter, Asahina-senpai, wearing a wide helmet that barely fit his small head, walked hesitantly towards the batter's box.

"M, may the best wi...... Gyaa!"

Before he could finish, a high angled straight ball came shooting his way... straight into his gut.

Asahina-senpai doubled over in pain, as the pitcher began to apologize with a 'Woops, my bad. You okay?', a slight smirk on her face That bitch, how dare she hurt Asahina-senpai!

Maybe I should find out Haruki's policy on hitting girls...

“Suck it up, Mitsuuru-kun!”

And he doesn't appear to care at all.

The umpire ruled it a foul, and after he stood up, Asahina-senpai had become as stiff as a Buddha statute, and only looked silently as all three pitches flew past him.

So when the umpire announced that he had struck out, he breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the bench.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Mitsuuru-kun. You were our only hope." Haruki's complaints are nothing, what's important was that Asahina-san was safe.

And so it ended with three consecutive strike outs, and both sides had to switch positions.

Not a single hit. This was so embarrassing.


------

To be brutally honest, our defense had more holes than you would find in a tropical savanna ant hill.

The outfield defense was especially ridiculous. As I learned in our pre-match warm-up, neither our right-fielder Asahina-senpai nor our right fielder my lying brother can actually catch a ball.

So when the ball flew to the right side of the field, it had to be retrieved by me, the second baseman; when it flew to the left field, Taniguchi the short stop would have to run for her life to retrieve the ball.

Whenever Asahina-senpai sees the ball flying towards him, he'd curl up on the ground and start muttering something about “high hopes”, so we can't expect him to do any defending. As for my brother, he'd chase after the ball energetically, but the ball would always land three feet away from where he was standing, so he isn't of much help either.

Nagato the center fielder was flawless when catching the ball, but he only reacted to those that flew within his defensive perimeters, and his reaction time was just dead slow. If a line drive flew past him, our opponent might as well have scored a run already.

God, our team sucks. Might as well hurry up and lose so we can go home already. That wouldn't be too bad, actually.

"C'mon! Bring it on. women!" Haruki, the only one with any enthusiasm, walked enthusiastically towards the pitcher's mound. (The gloves, shin guards and chest protector for our catcher Itsuko were, of course, all borrowed.)

Our opponent's first batter bowed to the organizers, then headed to the batter's box.

Haruki wound up in an exaggerated fashion, slung his arm, and made his first pitch.

Strike.

It was a really good pitch, be it the angle, speed or control of the ball. The ball landed right in the center of the strike zone, with so much power behind it that the batter didn't even have a chance to swing his bat.

Of course, the SOS Brigade members, myself included, weren't surprised by this at all. If this guy were to be suddenly called up to join the Japanese National Soccer Team, I'd think we wouldn't be too suprised about it. There's nothing that's impossible for Haruki.

It wasn't that simple for the opponent's first batter, though. She couldn't swing her bat for two consecutive strikes, and only managed to react for the third pitch, but still struck out. The third pitch seemed like one of those change up balls that curves slightly when entering the strike zone, as unpredictable as Haruki's personality.

The second batter listened to the suggestions of the first batter, (who never managed a hit), and tried to bunt. Yet she hit the ball outside the foul line twice and missed the third pitch, so she, too, struck out.

“Ha ha ha! You see?” Haruki yelled over towards second base. “These wenches stand no chance against the might of Suzumiya!”

Seeing how the situation was beginning to change, I was beginning to feel uneasy. Both teams weren't going to drag on like this till the last inning, were they? Also, it looks like Haruki's sexist comments are beginning to get to them...

So, as expected from their clean-up, the third batter managed to make a direct hit on Haruki's powerful fastball. If you keep pitching fastballs, Haruki, it's only a matter of time before it gets hit...

The ball flew way past the head of Nagato, who remain rooted there, and disappeared into the distance. With the look of Agamemnon who had just been betrayed by his wife, Haruki looked intently at the third batter who had just hit a home run.

[Editor's note: I CAN'T FIND ANOTHER GOOD MYTHOLOGICAL REFRENCE TO REPLACE MEDEA AND JASON HELP PLZ]

Anyway, as a result, we were now one run behind.

Now I need to come up with something for the cheerleading scene. Since Kyonko won't stand for wearing an outfit like that, we're left with the FUCK YEAH OUENDAN from that one doujin... The problem is how to get this to work, as the female team isn't going to be affected by young men in gakurans as the male team was by young girls in skimpy outfits.

I'll come up with something, but suggestions would be GREAT.

[Cat Megex]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

You didn't know this?

I knew he was in a law-oriented school; I just didn't realize it was that high-level.

[ijuinkun]

A random thought: Somewhere in the multiverse there exists a world in which Haruki and company are the normal SOS-dan, and Haruhi is the gender-reversal.

[Joe4evr]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

FUCK YEAH OUENDAN

I couldn't help but think of that on Motteke! Sailor Fuku! when I read it.

In other news, attempting to make a theme has been slowed down due to my computer being a bit fucked up and the akwardness mentioned in the group discussion.

[DannyCat]

Originally Posted by ijuinkun

A random thought: Somewhere in the multiverse there exists a world in which Haruki and company are the normal SOS-dan, and Haruhi is the gender-reversal.

Pretty much. Which means we need to see their reactions to our regular SOS-dan characters.

[otai]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

Now I need to come up with something for the cheerleading scene. Since Kyonko won't stand for wearing an outfit like that, we're left with the FUCK YEAH OUENDAN from that one doujin... The problem is how to get this to work, as the female team isn't going to be affected by young men in gakurans as the male team was by young girls in skimpy outfits.

I'll come up with something, but suggestions would be GREAT.

How about this.
The opposing team are so disturbed from seeing a shouting maniac and a crying shouta that the pitcher starts throwing balls and fouls.
This encourages Haruki, going, "You're doing GREAT KYON! Let me reward you<3!" and starts striping like Hosaka, exposing his chest and the macho cliche dragon motif underlining embroidery in his gakuran.
That shocks and pisses off the opposing team, and they start getting real serious...

Originally Posted by ijuinkun

A random thought: Somewhere in the multiverse there exists a world in which Haruki and company are the normal SOS-dan, and Haruhi is the gender-reversal.

And in that universe; the opposite gender versions of ourselves are posting in the Haruki Suzumiya no Seitenkan forum.

[besieger]

Originally Posted by otai

How about this.
The opposing team are so disturbed from seeing a shouting maniac and a crying shouta that the pitcher starts throwing balls and fouls.
This encourages Haruki, going, "You're doing GREAT KYON! Let me reward you<3!" and starts striping like Hosaka, exposing his chest and the macho cliche dragon motif underlining embroidery in his gakuran.
That shocks and pisses off the opposing team, and they start getting real serious...

This is made of WIN.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

"M, may the best wi...... Gyaa!"

Before he could finish, a high angled straight ball came shooting his way... straight into his gut.

Asahina-senpai doubled over in pain, as the pitcher began to apologize with a 'Woops, my bad. You okay?', a slight smirk on her face That bitch, how dare she hurt Asahina-senpai!

Maybe I should find out Haruki's policy on hitting girls...

“Suck it up, Mitsuuru-kun!”

And he doesn't appear to care at all.

The umpire ruled it a foul, and after he stood up, Asahina-senpai had become as stiff as a Buddha statute, and only looked silently as all three pitches flew past him.

Um... hitting the batter is an automatic walk

[dkellis]

According to the archive post this one is part 4 of Boredom.

Updated, by the way.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by dkellis

According to the archive post this one is part 4 of Boredom.

Updated, by the way.

Thanks...

Originally Posted by otai

How about this.
The opposing team are so disturbed from seeing a shouting maniac and a crying shouta that the pitcher starts throwing balls and fouls.
This encourages Haruki, going, "You're doing GREAT KYON! Let me reward you<3!" and starts striping like Hosaka, exposing his chest and the macho cliche dragon motif underlining embroidery in his gakuran.
That shocks and pisses off the opposing team, and they start getting real serious...

This works. I like it.

Originally Posted by Kogetsu Shirogane

Um... hitting the batter is an automatic walk

This is why you don't get me to write baseball scenes. I KNOW NOTHING

Guess that gets changed, though I still did want Kyonko to have some concern for him, and I thought that would be the right way to do it.

Poor Muttsuuru gets no love then.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Well the mere attempt at hitting him should be enough for Kyonko's "big sis" instincts to kick in, as well as give Mitsuuru enough of a reason to be too scared to do anything at the plate from that point on.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Kogetsu Shirogane

Well the mere attempt at hitting him should be enough for Kyonko's "big sis" instincts to kick in, as well as give Mitsuuru enough of a reason to be too scared to do anything at the plate from that point on.

Muttsuuru is SLIGHTLY more capable than Mikuru is, hence why Kyonko's "big sis" instincts don't activate as easily Kyon's "I MUST PROTECT THE MAID" reactions.

Muttsuuru just looks worse because he's SO UNMANLY.

But I guess that works.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Kyon started flipping out because the pitcher threw a fastball. I think almost hitting Mitsuuru would be enough.

Alternative: Keep Mitsuuru getting hit, but have Haruki get out by a fly ball. His motivation here is to show off for Kyonko, and making a "stupid mistake" like that would be enough to put him in a foul mood like the one Haruhi waws in after Kyon struck out... and somehow have him blame it on Mitsuuru.

Now, I didn't say it was a good idea, just an alternative

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by otai

How about this.
The opposing team are so disturbed from seeing a shouting maniac and a crying shouta that the pitcher starts throwing balls and fouls.
This encourages Haruki, going, "You're doing GREAT KYON! Let me reward you<3!" and starts striping like Hosaka, exposing his chest and the macho cliche dragon motif underlining embroidery in his gakuran.
That shocks and pisses off the opposing team, and they start getting real serious...

That doesn't really feel like the Haruhi series.