"She laughed at me and said 'I'd rather spend that time with you,' and I replied, annoyed, 'having the full count would help me remember what you were like in that exact moment."
ugh. UGH. y'all are good at this.
this game brought me back to the intoxicating online friendships i had as a teenager - years of conversations & time & attention poured into shared interests, always talking around tension, resolving bitter blow-out fights by Going Back To Normal, never scratching the surface of meaningful connection.
the narratives the girls impress upon one another felt so realistic and awful. the way yamos positions ys as the arbiter of her adulthood is particularly interesting.
your VNs are remarkably confident. they take full advantage of the medium's unique aspects, while also maintaining a literary & theatrical quality that is totally distinct among the games i've played. refreshingly unpoisoned by pop games writing. you guys fucking read books, is what i'm getting at, i guess, and i'm grateful for it.
also, some of the most tasteful and impactful use of {nw} i've seen yet. i gasped within the first ten minutes.