I’m not really feeling these introductions much so… whatever!
Another round of perfect attendance… Splendid!
Now if you keep this up maybe one day you’ll get to leave.
See you at the bell.
Everyone seems so restless, I wonder what they’re planning to do today?
Yes… Galaga. Tell us what you’re planning to do today.
Hey Galaga! How’s it going?
COUSIN! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP ME REHEARSE?
Please don’t be coy, Cousin, Galaga straight up asked to rehearse.
(OH! Is Galaga Ship completely dazzled by my charm? I’ll have to dial it back a bit.)
Okay, yeah. Rehearsing is cool.
GREAT, LET’S GO SOMEWHERE QUIET…
__________________________________________________________________
Somewhere quiet turns out to be the same classroom we were in.
Okay, so, I am here to make the rehearsing!
GREAT. THANKS FOR JOINING ME TODAY, COUSIN.
Uh, yeah!
Y’know. Anything to help out with the Drama Club or whatever!
THAT’S THE SPIRIT!
OKAY, THIS IS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE. PARTLY BECAUSE YOU’RE SO NEW TO ACTING.
(I choose to take that positively!)
I’m gonna do my best, Galaga Ship, don’t you worry!
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEAH…
Screencapped for posterity.
THAT’S GOOD.
Great, where should we meet up?
LET’S JUST HEAD TO THE AUDITORIUM. THE ONLY PEOPLE LEFT ARE IN DETENTION, SO WE’LL HAVE THE PLACE TO OURSELVES.
(A-alone?)
(WITH GALAGA SHIP???)
(Breathe, Cousin. BREEEAAATHE!)
IF WE GO NOW, I CAN AVOID THAT CREEPY RICHARD MILLER. HE TAKES NOTES.
That doesn’t sound too creepy…
NO, LIKE, ON THE STUDENTS. THEIR MOVEMENTS AND STUFF.
Note to self. GALAGA SHIP KNOWS TOO MUCH.
He’s not very sneaky about it, is he?
Note to self: TURNS OUT NEW KID IS A LITTLE RUDE ACTUALLY.
Galaga’s sprite moves a little to the left, away from Richard.
YEAH, I DON’T KNOW WHY HE FEELS THE NEED TO NARRATE THE NOTES HE’S TAKING.
It’s weird. Let’s get out of here!
The screen fades to black and we get text-only dialogue from Cousin.
(Whew. Turns out rehearsing’s tougher than I thought it’d be!)
COUSIN? IT’S YOUR LINE NOW.
!!!
Oh, right. Yeah. Ahem.
AY!!! YOU HAVE BEEN A MOUSE? HUNT! IN YOUR TIME!!!
COUSIN. THAT’S THE WRONG PAGE.
AND THE WRONG CHARACTER.
(Being a great actor sure is a lot of work!)
Uh, yeah. It’s hard to keep track of all these lines.
There’s just so many of them!
But you’re really good at this acting stuff, Galaga Ship. How do you do it?
I KNOW YOU’RE JUST SAYING THAT. AKI’S BETTER.
WELL, IN THEORY ANYWAY.
If you say so. I hope she has an easier time with Romeo’s lines than me though!
YOU’D HAVE TO FIND ONE OF ROMEO’S LINES FIRST.
H-hey! There’s a lot of words in this thing!
And I only understand about half of them!
(Well. Almost half of them…)
Anyway, it’s easy to get a little lost.
HAHA. I’M JUST TEASING YOU, COUSIN. EVERYONE’S SKILL LEVEL IS…
…UH
…DIFFERENT.
AND YOURS IS…
…UM.
VERY DIFFERENT.
(There’s no bad way to take that!)
Well, I’m just out here tryin’ to do my best like everyone else!
(Yes, a very diplomatic response. Well done, cousin.)
THAT’S A GREAT ATTITUDE.
I JUST WISH…
NO.
I DON’T KNOW.
You okay?
NO, IT’S STUPID. NEVERMIND.
But something’s bothering you.
LET’S JUST WORRY ABOUT THE PLAY.
Well, okay. If you’re sure?
NO, YEAH. I’M FINE.
LET’S PICK UP WITH ROMEO’S LINE ABOUT NIGHT’S CLOAK. OKAY?
Right. Okay. Yeah.
(Night’s cloak, night’s cloak…)
IT’S RIGHT HERE, COUSIN. ACT 2, SCENE 2.
Oh, right. Haha! They should make this thing easier to read, am I right!
Ahem.
“I HAVE NIGHT’S CLOAK TO HIDE!!! ME? FROM THEIR EYES!!!
AND, BUT THOU LOVE? ME! LET THEM FIND ME THERE I mean HERE!!!
MY LIFE WERE BETTER ENDED BY THEIR HATE???
THAN DEATH PROLOGUED uh PROROGUED? WANTING OF THY LOVE???”
…
(I knew something was bothering Galaga Ship!)
THAT WAS… WELL, IT WAS THE RIGHT LINE.
(Yeah, makin’ progress!)
AND THEN JULIET GOES…
“MY WHOSE DIRECTION THOU FOUND’ST THIS PLACE?”
(Hm, that wasn’t quite right, actually!)
Oh, uh, Galaga Ship?
DON’T TELL ME YOU CAN’T FIND YOUR NEXT LINE, COUSIN!
Oh, no. It’s not that.
(But now that Galaga Ship mentions it…)
You, um. That’s not your line.
IT’S NOT?
Ah, well, it is. But it’s different from that. It goes… Aw, man. Lemme find it.
Here.
“BY WHOS DIRECTION??? FOUND’ST THOU OUT THIS PLACE!!!”
See? You skipped and moved a couple words.
I… HUH. YOU’RE RIGHT.
Yeah, it’s no big, just FYI.
I’VE DONE THAT LINE A HALF DOZEN TIMES AND NEVER CAUGHT MYSELF MAKING THAT MISTAKE.
Oh, we all make mistakes we don’t notice.
Even I’m probably doing some stuff a little wrong without noticing it!
YEAH, DEFINITELY!
(That was weirdly emphatic!)
BUT WHAT I’M SAYING IS…
NO ONE EVER CORRECTED ME ON THAT BEFORE…
Well, happy to help, Galaga Ship.
EVERYONE ELSE JUST LET ME DO THE LINE WRONG.
It’s a little thing. They might not have noticed it. Galaga Ship, everyone makes mistakes. It’s totally not a big deal!
NO, IT’S NOT. BUT HOW CAN I FIX MY MISTAKES IF NO ONE POINTS THEM OUT?
LIKE, WHAT I MEAN IS, LOOK AT HOW I GOT THIS PART.
REMEMBER? THEY GAVE IT TO ME. NO AUDITION OR ANYTHING.
I JUST GOT IT.
IT’S LIKE, EVERYONE, MY WHOLE LIFE, THEY’VE TREATED ME DIFFERENT.
(A villa is a powerful thing around these parts!)
LIKE THEY NEVER CARED ABOUT ME.
WHO I AM. OR WHAT I CAN OFFER THE WORLD.
IT WAS ALL ABOUT, Y’KNOW, MY HULL.
Your, wait what?
I’VE ALWAYS BEEN DEFINED BY MY LOOKS. EVEN IN SCHOOL, THE OTHER KIDS HELP ME STUDY OR TO JUST CHEAT.
I SKIP, I TALK DURING CLASS, I MISS HOMEWORK, AND THE OTHER KIDS COVER ME.
I’M JUST COASTING THROUGH EVERYTHING AND IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF HOW I LOOK. AND THEY DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT WHO I REALLY AM!
(Wow, I had no idea Galaga Ship was so distraught about this stuff!)
OH, COUSIN. I’M SO SORRY. I DIDN’T MEAN TO… I’M SORRY.
What? No, don’t be!
You don’t, do you think… Do you think I’m like that?
I SHOULDN’T HAVE… JUST FORGET I MENTIONED ANYTHING. OKAY?
IT’S NOT YOUR PROBLEM, DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. WE’RE HERE FOR REHEARSAL, RIGHT? LET’S GET BACK TO THAT.
Hey, rehearsal can wait, Galaga Ship. You’re really upset about this. Do you really think your friends don’t care about you? That’s awful.
YOU KNOW WHAT’S WORSE, THOUGH? ME!
(I-is Galaga Ship a MONSTER???)
I’M LIVING WITH A CURSE. A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE CURSE.
(WEREWOLVES ARE CURSED!)
BECAUSE, THINK ABOUT IT. I KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING, AND I LET THEM SO I CAN GET THINGS FROM THEM. I’M TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEM!
THAT MAKES ME WORSE!
Galaga’s concerns are suddenly Too Real.
Whew, that’s not nearly as bad as a werewolf.
???
(Uh, whoops.)
Er, by which, I mean, uh, y’know.
It’s bad, okay, but it’s not like you’re literally a monster, i.e. werewolf.
(Nailed it!)
Anyway, we can do something about it!
YEAH? LIKE WHAT? ENROLL IN EVIL NAMCO HIGH WHERE ALL THE AWFUL KIDS BELONG?
I hope Evil Namco High is real.
No, that’s going too far!
IS IT THOUGH? HOW DO I KNOW YOU’RE ANY DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THEM? ALL THIS REHEARSAL AND WANTING TO HELP.
HOW DO I KNOW YOU’RE NOT JUST SAYING WHAT YOU THINK I WANT TO HEAR BECAUSE I’M THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPACESHIP IN SCHOOL?
HOW DO I KNOW YOU’RE NOT JUST TRYING TO IMPRESS ME?
Wow, this is a conundrum!
What the-?!
Things get Too Real for Cousin and backup arrives.
???
!!!
What’s going on in here? Is this…
IS THIS SKIPPING?!
Ah! Uh, it was for a good reason! We’re rehearsing for the play! For drama club! For school spirit!
A likely story. I even believe it.
Parts, anyway.
But the law’s the law! And you’ve broken it! Now you must face the ULTIMATE PUNISHMENT
(DEATH???)
DOUBLE DETENTION!
NOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
Oh my god you losers.
HOLD ON. THAT DOESN’T SOUND SO AWFUL.
Well I mean if you’re stuck in detention anyway.
If I’m honest, it’s just regular detention. ONLY TWICE AS BAD.
But how could it get any worse? Do you pump in more of that weird wrestling mat smell in from King?
Unless King gets some real lines I really don’t wanna bother making him a character icon.
Yes, I know. Yes, I’ll tell them.
King says…
Ahem.
“THAT IS THE AROMA OF VICTORY!”
Anyway, his musk is not on trial here. YOU kids are.
I know there was a line earlier about DigDug being scared of King but I just ship it.
The verdict?
GUILTY!
WAIT, WHAT? ALL YOU DID WAS SAY “GUILTY”. THAT’S NOT A TRIAL!
King roars.
I’m afraid he’s right.
Your sass just earned you seventeen years of double detention!
I’ll only be in High School for a total of three years, though.
Time works differently in double detention!
I DON’T GET IT. WE WERE TOLD TO SHOW SCHOOL SPIRIT TO GET LESS DETENTION, BUT WE EARNED SOME KIND OF BIZARRE HIGHER LEVEL DETENTION BY DOING IT!
Logic works differently there, too!
(This is all my fault! What have I done!!!)
__________________________________________________________________
This splash image actually appears with each day progression but I only managed to snatch it this time. It plays a school bell and turns over when the sound file is done, and Namco High being what it is I couldn’t go back and get it easily.
There are a lot of features that are available in most dating sims and visual novels that aren’t in Namco High. Such as being able to remove the text box. I really wish I could remove the text box.
Seems like all you riff-raff decided to show…
King roars.
Admirable…
But King insists it doesn’t excuse any of your miscreant behavior yesterday.
We’re giving you another chance accept your punishment.
There’s a variety of ways this could be a typo, or only one way it could be an All Your Base reference.
See you at the bell.
(I wonder if anyone else got in trouble yesterday?)
I guess scene 3 is trouble with teachers. What could scene 4 be?
CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT MORE DETENTION FOR TRYING TO REHEARSE…
IT’S, LIKE, WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM ME?
GET DETENTION, SHOW SOME SCHOOL SPIRIT TO GET OUT OF IT OR MAYBE GET MORE DETENTION FOR IT!
DOUBLE DETENTION, EVEN. WHATEVER THAT IS.
IT’S ALL AKI’S FAULT, REALLY.
(Wow, never seen Galaga Ship so upset…)
That’s the end of Galaga’s contribution for this detention. We wait patiently for Detention to be over.
(I don’t think any of us are EVER getting out of here.)
__________________________________________________________________
I am pleasantly surprised you are all still here…
…but King wants me to remind you we are not surprised you are still delinquents.
See you at the bell.
(Another day in the weirdest school and the weirdest detention ever.)
(I wonder how the others are doing?)
Galaga, you seem really stressed out… Maybe I can help out.
…………..
I’m already cringing at whatever gesture Cousin is about to perform.
(I think the only way to get to the heart of a Drama student is to pull off a BIG TIME DRAMATIC GESTURE!)
And with that the screen goes black and we relocate.
WOW.
Maybe Galaga Ship is wrong and they really got the part because of the villa…
Anyway, I need to talk to Galaga Ship!
But how!
Ah! I’ll just throw some rocks at its window.
Uh. Which window though???
Obvious solution:
THROW ROCKS AT ALL WINDOWS AT ONCE.
No, wait. That’s crazy.
The courtyard is so immaculate I’d never find enough rocks to do that. Duh!
Wow, is that a hedge maze?
WHO’S OUT THERE?
Oh crap! No, wait. That’s good!
COUSIN? IS THAT YOU?
No!
Wait. Yes, though. How’d you know I was out here?
YOU’RE TALKING TO YOURSELF RIGHT OUTSIDE MY WINDOW.
Oh, right.
(Darn it, Cousin! Internal monologue! Like this!)
IT’S LATE. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
I came to apologize!
FOR WHAT? WAKING ME UP? YOU COULD’VE STAYED HOME AND SAVED SOME TIME!
No, not that. Uh, sorry about that too though.
But I meant about the double detention.
IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT.
Yeah, well…
I just wanted to say, um, my bad anyway!
WHO SAYS “MY BAD” ANYMORE?
Me. Sometimes. Sorry to all my friends.
Lots of people!
Where I’m from.
(Well, they used to. So many years ago…)
It’s making a comeback!
NO, I DOUBT THAT. DONKO WOULD’VE MENTIONED IT TO ME.
ANYWAY, I ACCEPT YOUR ANACHRONISTIC AND UNNECESSARY APOLOGY ALL THE SAME.
Great! Because I really wanted to talk about that stuff you mentioned earlier.
OH. WHAT, ABOUT NOT EARNING THE PART?
YOU SHOULD JUST IGNORE WHATEVER I SAID.
But it’s a real problem! And you shouldn’t have to feel that way!
OH, COUSIN. DON’T YOU KNOW HOW INSIDIOUS IT IS? I CAN’T BE SURE YOU’RE NOT PRETENDING TO CARE JUST TO GET CLOSE TO ME.
(Wow, that’s pretty twisted! Hadn’t thought of it like that.)
DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW? IT’S HOPELESS. JUST FORGET ABOUT ME AND GET HOME BEFORE IT STARTS TO RAIN.
(What choice do I have…?)
(There’s no way through it.)
(Except…)
You leave me no choice, Galaga Ship.
There’s nothing left for me to do but…
USE TOTAL HONESTY!
!!!
(Here goes nuthin’!)
The words scroll by again too fast for me to catch them. Gettin real tired of this.
But then I got to know you! And I saw a lonely spaceship lost in a crowd of admirers. That’s no way to go through life! You need a true friend and I can do that for you, Galaga Ship, if you’ll let me.
Only the first line of that bit cut off, so I managed to salvage it.
But…
But I understand if you can’t. Some people need to find their own way, spaceships too I guess, and that’s okay.
…
YOU…
YOU MEAN IT?
I’m a little nervous right now, so don’t quiz me on every little thing I said exactly, but yeah I meant all of it.
YOU REALLY THINK YOU’RE A GOOD ACTOR?
(That’s a weird thing to focus on!)
(But this is an emotional time and it’s easy to lose focus on stuff.)
IF YOU WERE TRULY DOING THINGS ONLY TO IMPRESS ME…
YOU WOULDN’T HAVE DARED TO GET UP ON STAGE.
YOU GAVE IT YOUR BEST, MOST HONEST SHOT AND IT TURNED OUT, UH…
…THE WAY THAT IT DID.
(Yes, those of us on the cutting edge of culture are often ridiculed for our brave expeditions into uncharted territory!)
YOU WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING ELSE RATHER THAN TO ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE EMBARRASSED LIKE THAT.
MAYBE… MAYBE YOU ARE BEING GENUINE WITH ME. IS… IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE?
You’re a wonderful young spaceship and, I mean, I’m open to something more, but I’d be honoured to be a part of your life that makes you happy. And if that means being a true friend…
…I’M THERE!
OH… OH, COUSIN!
The romantic music suddenly stops.
What’s all this racket?
MOM!!! DAD!!!
Ack!
IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!
It looks like this hooligan is trespassing!
Hooligan?! WHERE!
Don’t get smart with me, kid. You think you’re the first suitor to throw rocks at my spaceship’s window in the middle of the night?
That’s why we don’t have any rocks in the garden!
Heck, what do you think the hedge maze is for?
Aesthetics, yes, but also TO LEAD YOU KIDS AWAY!
Galaga slides behind their parents and exits to the right, leaving Cousin alone with them.
YOU GUYS ARE SO EMBARRASSING!
Shut the window and get back to your docking bay!
As for you, shorty.
Hey!
I forbid you from visiting my spaceship in school, and especially in the middle of the night!
Mrs. Galaga Ship and I have work in the morning!
Our spaceship has school in the morning!
Even a delinquent like yourself with all kinds of detention has to show up to cause more trouble for innocent school kids at some point!
That’s not a fair assessment of my average morning!
(Although I did kind of roll up everything that wasn’t nailed down and most of the stuff that was on my first day…)
(And he’s not wrong about the extra detention thing either…)
(And now I’ve gone and woken up the whole Galaga Ship family! I ruined a whole day for all of them before it even started!)
(Gosh, maybe I should just leave Galaga Ship alone. I’ve done nothing but cause grief!)
Did I… get a bad end…?
Go on now, get out of here! I don’t ever want to see you again!
The screen flashes and there’s the roll of thunder.
THUNDER
KABOOM!!!
And a sound effect of rain begins.
RAIN
TORRENTIAL!!!
And stay away from our spaceship forever!
DOOR
slam!
We’re glad it’s raining on you!
Wow, hahahahaha
DOOR
SLAM!!!
Nothing left to do but walk home in the rain and be super sad about everything.
Times like this I wish I could just roll up all my problems, but emotions won’t stick to a Katamari!
Though more immediately, it’d be nice if rain clouds did so I could be super sad but dry.
You can totally roll up rain clouds. Poor inferior cousin.
Maybe I could stumble upon a cliff on my way home. And then fall over the cliff.
No, that’s going too far. I’ll just be super sad.
Cousin.
WHAT HAHAHAHAHHAHHA
Uh, Pac-Man? What are you doing out here in the rain?
Be true to yourself, Cousin.
I can’t stop imagining Pac-Man with the voice of James Earl Jones.
I don’t know what that means…
Be true to yourself.
Yeah, but could you be a little less vague about what that means? It’s raining and I’m super sad.
Cousin.
Be true to yourself.
That doesn’t really help me right now, Pac-Man.
Unless…
Unless you mean that being super sad is a way of lying to myself.
A way to wallow in negativity and deny my true self: the part of me that says YES!
Yes, some people seem to think I’m a bad actor, but really I’m quite naturally gifted and just do a different take than most!
And that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to be less than the best actor I can be!
I kinda screwed up apologizing to Galaga Ship, and now its parents hate me, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world, does it?
All I have to do is stop TRYING to be a part of Galaga Ship’s life and to SIMPLY be who I am. To take a step back and let Galaga Ship make the next move!
IT COULDN’T BE SIMPLER!
Now if only people could figure this out when actually engaging in courtship.
Pac-Man, you’re a true inspiration!
I’m gonna go straight home and be the best Cousin there is!
Cousin disappears from the screen and Pac-Man is alone in the courtyard.
What an odd youngster. I would have been happy to share my umbrella…
__________________________________________________________________