Post by Kurari.chr in Porcelain Heart comments

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Kurari.chr10 days ago (2 edits) (+3)(-1)

AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE THE WRITING SMMMM I HAD SO MANY WILD REACTIONS TO EACH EVENT

I will do my best not to spoil anything, but we shall see if i succeed in this whilst gushing over the game lol.

The foreshadowing felt like it was laid really thick, but it never detracted from the story... the moment the story of the boy came up i was thinking "oh, a boy who ran away? hmmmmmm" and every point after that was just me thinking "oh my god it's so obvious how are they getting away with this!!!!" ehehe (idk how else to say this without spoiling wwww)

I really adored how smoothly the theming felt throughout; the symbolism of daffodils was really nice even if I only noticed it after the fact </3, but most importantly to me was how Mary herself was written!! Without spoilers, I will only say: I find her portrayal both intuitive enough to appear sympathetic, and compelling in the nuance of how she treats Hazel. I think Hazel was handled really nicely, not least of all being because I could very much resonate with her, so I didn't have that clunky feeling of disconnection to the protagonist that blank slates often run the risk of. I like that she remains her own complex character! I really like how she misunderstands Mary in ending #3!! If there's anything I'd want in a sequel, I would love to see more advancements upon how she responds to her situation in ending #2.

After I played through every ending, I reread the title and so many pieces fell into place for me... Porcelain heart... Mary visually has a porcelain face, but the title calls one's heart into question instead. Who one is at their core. I just really like the symbolism i guess teehee... god i'll never finish writing this review i have too much to say aa..

for other viewers at home who aren't done: what are you doingggg finish the game!!! don't let me pseudo-spoil it for you!!

for the others who have seen it all like me: please reply, i'm very interested to see what you have to say!!

for the developers: TYSMTYSMTYSMTYSM ALSO THEY'RE VERY PRETTY; THE CHARACTER DESIGN IS SO THEMATICALLY AND CHARACTERIZATIONALLY RICH. PLEASE KNOW YOUR WORKS ARE APPRECIATED THANK YOU FOR THE YURI

if i had any critique: it ended :c i wanted more doomed yuri :< ah, but life moves on; so long as i live, there will be more yuri in the world

also: DOOMED YURI YAYYYYYYY

also also: YURI!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!! SOOOO INCREDIBLY HAPPY FOR THE HAPPIEST ENDING. I WOULD SOB AND CRY AND EXPLODE WITHOUT IT LOL :D

UndefinedSlope10 days ago

SHUT UP

UndefinedSlope10 days ago(+1)

im friends with them irl dont worry guys

im allowed to be a bully

Kurari.chr10 days ago

>_< whyyyyyy ;~;

UndefinedSlope10 days ago

hi kurari :3

Kurari.chr10 days ago

</3

cinnamew9 days ago

AWWW THANK YOU this comment means so much 🥹🙏

Kurari.chr9 days ago (3 edits) (+1)

yayy!! i'm happy my comment was well received!

i'm already here i may as well ramble more

the line that gave me the most pause was probably one of the duke's lines about how hazel is the 3rd? 4th? girl mary has taken in (i don't remember the exact line)... a lot of thought must've been put into mary's characterization... i was wondering how much thought was put into the specifics of mary's past beyond what we see in the story; we know about eleanor, but there were supposedly others too, and given mary's posessiveness being implicitly tied to her past relations, i'd assume that she in some way learns from past "mistakes" to respond the way she does in endings #1 and #2, as well as her nearly rehearsed manipulation tactics (side-note, i like how mary's manipulation is left ambiguously intentional or unintentional, as she does it out of fear of hazel leaving, but does not appear to wish specifically to harm hazel in doing so... it's a very believable portrayal in that regard, so thank you for that nuance!). the only ending where mary seems truly taken aback is ending #3, presumably the only ending mary hasn't seen play out in some form before with the others who ran away from her

anyway,

to the developers: feel free to read; i don't expect an answer, i just like doing some silly analysis over media i like

to other players: make sure to add a spoiler warning to whatever you say, but feel free to reply or add your own thoughts, i'd be happy to read your responses and hear what you have to say!

Sam zᶻ ૮˶- ﻌ -˶ა⌒)ᦱ5 days ago

i loved reading your comment :3 tho i wonder what it would look like with spoilers

Kurari.chr4 days ago

i would happily write a more detailed ramble if you're curious :3

i have one condition though.

u have to give ur own ideas too!! >:D

Sam zᶻ ૮˶- ﻌ -˶ა⌒)ᦱ4 days ago

Noooooooooooo!! >-<

I don't really have any new original ideas but i think when Mary sucks our blood it kinda feels like an sa scene. Im kinda happy there isnt a happy ending with them together, as much as id like it i dont think they could ever have a healthy relationship. At first i was surprised but after playing it again i realized that Mary HAS been acting off and it wouldnt have worked out

Kurari.chr2 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

!SPOILERS!

1: That's what my friend said during that scene too!! I think it makes a lot of sense, especially as Hazel's trauma resurfaces because of it.

2: I agree!! They are so extremely doomed, and even if Hazel were not to die in ending #3 (where Mary is arguably the nicest to Hazel), Mary would still have been the same controlling and manipulative character we see more clearly in the other endings. I like that Mary is depicted as abusive yet still acts loving and apologetic in other moments, and even what could feel like most instances. It makes her seem more real, more nuanced and complex. I also really like how they wrote her backstory. I wrote about that in my other reply written in strikethrough, but in short: Hazel is at least the second person Mary has taken in, and from this, and the slightly subtextual way Mary speaks as though she's afraid of Hazel abandoning her like the others did when they had to escape her. It just all fits together so nicely and I like when stories are thought-out so cleanly :D

* I also think cinnamew made a reply to someone clarifying how they thought out ending 2 that confirms this?... anyway I hope you have a nice day!

uhh last regards, right. so: if you don't have that many new ideas, no worries! how about this: do you have any questions? or just topics, really.. i just like having an opportunity to analyze media i like, so anything goes, really!

Sam zᶻ ૮˶- ﻌ -˶ა⌒)ᦱ2 days ago

I definitely have a BIG question! :D I'm a bit confused by Hazels backstory? It feels like abuse and possibly sa but i cant make out much of it, so im really interested in your opinions about it!

Kurari.chr4 hours ago (8 edits)

Sorry for the late reply; I don't log on very often :p

Content warnings for this comment: spoilers, mentions of: SA, injury, trauma, amnesia, vomiting, self-harm

I agree with your assumption! It's very heavily implied that Hazel has trauma from multiple instances of past SA and injury. The content warnings also likely confirm this. When I was watching my friend play, I took note of the line about how the Duke would often pull Hazel's hair out, implying more constant abuse. I also like how Mary offers to trim her hair, sort of as a sign of moving on from her trauma. The comfort makes things hurt more as the plot progresses imo. (side-note, I really like the character designs cinnamew's games have! they're so thought-out and themed really elegantly!)

Furthermore, Hazel's amnesic trauma response and overall fawning characterize her as someone trying to internalize her interpersonal trauma. We also see her making an effort to avoid her traumas and live normally in spite of them, something the plot repeatedly forces her to confront.

After the scene where Hazel's traumas resurface, we see her vomit as her memory comes back; vomiting is a response to extreme disgust, and is not uncommon among those facing the disgust of sexual trauma and abuse. In terms of what Hazel does during the time she loses her memory, it's ambiguous whether she vomits involuntarily or not. The vomiting can be self-inflicted as a way to cope, akin to how self-harm is used to cope, or it can be a response to the disgust itself.

itch.io

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