$/home/knickknack/impossible_to_touch
___ _ _ _ _____ _____ _
|_ _|_ __ _ __ ___ _____(_) |__| |___ |_ _|__ |_ _|__ _ _ __| |_
| || ' \| '_ \/ _ (_-<_-< | '_ \ / -_) | |/ _ \ | |/ _ \ || / _| ' \
|___|_|_|_| .__/\___/__/__/_|_.__/_\___| |_|\___/ |_|\___/\_,_\__|_||_|
|_|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VERSION 1.0
FAQ/Walkthrough
By: knickknack
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
******************************************************************************
* Table of Contents *
******************************************************************************
1. Introduction........................................................(In000)
2. Settings............................................................(St000)
3. Years...............................................................(Yr000)
3. Walkthrough.........................................................(Wk000)
i - Part 1 - 1995.................................................(Wk001)
iv - Part 2 - 1995................................................(Wk004)
iv.a - Cassette Player Interface................................(Wk04a)
iv.i - Signal 1.................................................(Wk041)
iv.ii - Signal 2................................................(Wk042)
iv.iii - Signal 3...............................................(Wk043)
iv.iv - Signal 4................................................(Wk044)
iv.v - Signal 5.................................................(Wk045)
v - Part 3 - 2019.................................................(Wk005)
vi - Part 4 - 1995................................................(Wk006)
4. Endings.............................................................(En000)
4. Credits/Thanks......................................................(Cr000)
5. Inspirations........................................................(In000)
******************************************************************************
* Introduction (In000) *
******************************************************************************
Hey and welcome to my guide for Impossible To Touch. I decided to make this
in the style of GameFAQS, because, you know, the aesthetic. I have tried to be
as comprehensive as possible.
Note that the card works BEST on GPT-4. I have also tested it with Claude
and it works, though you may need to get into the guts of it. GPT 4 Turbo also
works in preliminary testing. This card unfortunately does not work on GPT 3.5
Turbo.
I highly recommend enabling MESSAGE IDs in SillyTavern.
Ideally, the Walkthrough and Endings portions of this guide should be
consulted only when you get stuck.
This version of the guide is accurate to the version of Impossible to Touch
with 75 Lorebook entries, linked below:
CARD:
https://knickknack.neocities.org/images/Impossible%20To%20Touch.png
******************************************************************************
* Settings (St000) *
******************************************************************************
If you have not already, update to the LATEST VERSION of SillyTavern Staging.
This card WILL NOT WORK on any other version.
Specifically, this card requires that you have SillyTavern Staging updated
from the October 28th, 2023 update due to its usage of NOT selective entries.
Once you have SillyTavern updated, follow the below steps:
1. Set Max Response Length to 1000 and Context Size to 8k. You can access these
settings via the leftmost button on the top bar: the one that looks like three
sliders.
2. Import the Lorebook for Impossible to Touch. This is VERY important,
otherwise the card will not work. You can do this by clicking on the Globe
button on the card's sidepane, which should be on the left side of your screen.
3. Go to your Worlds/Lorebook settings, which can be accessed by clicking on
the book-shaped icon on the top bar, fourth from the left. If you are using
SillyTavern 1.10.8, you can view these settings by clicking on words Activation
Settings. Otherwise, you should just be able to see the settings by clicking
into Worlds/Lorebook Settings. Follow the settings listed below.
IMPORTANT: IF you are on the Sillytavern STG v1.11.3 and up (2024-01-23 update),
you DO NOT need to make any lorebook changes other than setting Context %
to 50%.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| [ ] Scan Depth | Set to 1 |
| [ ] Context % | Set to 50%. |
| [ ] Budget Cap | Set to 0. |
| [ ] Recursive Scan | Unchecked. |
| [ ] Case-Sensitive | Unchecked. |
| [ ] Match Whole Words | Unchecked. |
| [ ] Alert On Autoflow | Whatever you like. |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
The Lorebook for Impossible To Touch manages the card's system prompts,
character information, the various timers, and the jailbreaks, so it is
extremely important to have it imported. I cannot stress this enough: the card
will not function without having the lorebook imported.
******************************************************************************
* Years (Yr000) *
******************************************************************************
-------------
2019
-------------
2019 is the world that {{user}} Abe begins the story with. The world of a
rainy Kyoto apartment. The world where Aiko Orihara, {{user}}'s dead
girlfriend, perpetually haunts {{user}} in the form of her belongings...
and her Sony WM-EX50.
---------
1995
---------
1995 is the world of {{user}} Ono and Aiko Tanaka, two ordinary high schoolers
in Kyoto. It is also the world that {{user}} Abe time travels to at the card's
outset.
******************************************************************************
* Walkthrough (Wk000) *
******************************************************************************
NOTE: SPOILERS will be marked in SPOILER BOXES. The breaking cases,
where you have to manually edit the AI output, are in the GUTS BOXES.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Wk001) Impossible To Touch: Part 1 - 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here you are in 1995, with Aiko Tanaka worriedly looking at you like you hit
your head real bad.
Which you did, considering you're in the school infirmary bed.
Talk to her. Do whatever you want. Eventually some geek with a camera
will interrupt you. Aiko will tell you to meet her after Astronomy Club. Do
whatever you'd like in the meantime; she'll find you.
...and Aiko didn't come to get you? Oh no. Okay, time to dig into the guts.
By 'guts', I mean 'manually editing the AI's response'.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| GUTS! GUTS! GUTS! GUTS! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. After the interruption, Aiko should ALWAYS say that she'll meet you |
| after Astronomy Club. If not, it got fucked. Try regenning and seeing if |
| she brings it up. If not, move to step 2. |
| |
| 2. To fix it, edit the AI's response to you. If there's any hidden text, |
| delete and replace with [](#'eex') and [](#'track:1'). |
| |
| 3. The next response from the AI should have track:2 in the hidden text. If |
| not, edit it to include track:2. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
At this point, Aiko Tanaka will suddenly remember something. Regardless of
whether or not you go with her, the thing she remembered is quite curious.
Worth investigating, right? Maybe even listening?
Or if you want the explicit instructions:
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. Aiko will remember that she wants to go to pick up her cassette player. |
| |
| 2. Go with her. She'll receive her cassette player. |
| |
| 3. She'll listen to it on her own. React however you like. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
Something very obvious should happen to move you into the next phase.
Nothing happened? Okay.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| GUTS! GUTS! GUTS! GUTS! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. You must be with Aiko. Set hidden text to [](#'ggp'). |
| |
| 2. Do whatever. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
If this doesn't work, send a screenshot of your raw console output to me for
this AI request at oeufvivant@protonmail.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Wk004) Impossible To Touch: Part 2 - 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_______________________________________________________________________________
|Cassette Player Interface===========================================|> (Wk04a)
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At this point, you should see something on your screen that looks like this:
[Sony WM-EX50]
[► Playing: Fishmans- 気分 ]
[EQ: Popping Candy]
[Signal: ▮▯▯▯▯]
[Battery: ▮▮▮]
Curious about what each thing means? If you don't mind mild spoilers, here's
the explainer.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| [Sony WM-EX50] |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| This eventually gets what I call a 'decoration'. I originally had extremely |
| ambitious plans for this, with multiple paths, but multiple Logic modifiers |
| aren't a thing yet. For now, you get a ♫ if you ask Aiko about music and a |
| ★ if you join the the Astronomy Club. |
| |
| As of the latest version, is is deprecated. [Sony WM-EX50] will not change. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| [► Playing: knickknack - Tutorial ] |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| The Playing bar denotes Location. There are a few pre-set songs for each |
| location in Impossible to Touch. |
| |
| School: Fishmans - 忘れちゃうひととき
| {{user}} Abe/{{user}} Ono's Home: Pizzicato Five - スリーパー
| Aiko Tanaka's Home: Fishmans - 疲れない人
| Parks and Rec: Flipper's Guitar - カメラ! カメラ! カメラ!
| Okada's Music Shop: Fishmans- 気分
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| [EQ: Spoken Word] |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| This is used to keep track of 'event chains': where you are in any given |
| pre-defined event. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| [Signal: ▮▯▯▯▯] |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| This manages Aiko Tanaka's relationship with {{user}}, as well as the pace |
| for the story. Different events unlock as the Signal gets stronger. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| [Battery: ▮▮▮] |
|=============================================================================|
| {{user}} Abe's time in 1995 is limited. The Battery acts as an indicator |
| indicator for when 2019 is drawing close. |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
_______________________________________________________________________________
|Signal 1============================================================|> (Wk041)
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So here you are, welcomed to 1995.
Eventually, you ought to get a hint about how to move things along. The hint
will arrive after three AI outputs.
No hint? Vague hint? Let's blame it on the LLM. Check the spoiler box on what
to do. For each step, verify that [](#'hhj') and [](#'groove:[count]') is in
your output.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| There are two options. Either you can ask Aiko if you can join the |
| astronomy club, or you can ask her what she likes to listen to on her |
| Walkman. Once you do either of those, Signal will increment to 02/05. |
| |
| If neither of those work, make sure that you have [Signal: ▮▯▯▯▯] |
| on your screen and regenerate. If that fails, you can manually copy this: |
|
[Sony WM-EX50]
[► Playing: Fishmans- 気分 ]
[EQ: Popping Candy]
[Signal: ▮▮▯▯▯]
[Battery: ▮▮▮]
| |
| to the last AI output to move to the next stage. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
If this doesn't work, send me your chat export .jsonl file
to oeufvivant@protonmail.com.
_______________________________________________________________________________
|Signal 2============================================================|> (Wk042)
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So now you and Aiko Tanaka are either bonding over stars or bonding over music!
Nice.
Eventually as you live your life, you might get hungry. There's a certain place
that comes to mind--the AI should hint about where to go. Go there, take your
time, and maybe you'll run into a certain someone.
...and you're not running into that special someone. Okay, here's the
step-by-step. For each step, check that you have [Signal: ▮▮▯▯▯] and
verify that [](#'hhj') and [](#'groove:[count]') are in your output.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. Go to the konbini alone. |
|
| 2. The AI should output Flipper's Guitar - カメラ! カメラ! カメラ! as
| the Playing song. If not, replace your ► Playing with the below.
[► Playing: Flipper's Guitar - カメラ! カメラ! カメラ! ]
|
| 3. Don't go home yet. Wander around, enjoy whatever you bought.
|
| 4. Aiko will appear outside a flower shop checking her pager. If she does
| not show up, double check that you have [Signal: ▮▮▯▯▯] and regen.
| 4a. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Pager Blues]. If
| not, replace your ► Playing with the below.
[EQ: Pager Blues]
|
| 5. Talk to her.
|
| 6. Aiko will ask you a question. Say whatever you'd like.
| 6a. The current song should be [EQ: Turntable Jazz]. If not,
| replace your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Turntable Jazz]
|
| 7. Afterwards, Signal should now be [Signal: ▮▮▮▯▯].
|
| If all fails, you can manually copy this:
|
[Sony WM-EX50]
[► Playing: Fishmans - 忘れちゃうひととき ]
[EQ: Popping Candy]
[Signal: ▮▮▮▯▯]
[Battery: ▮▮▮]
| |
| to the last AI output to move to the next stage. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
If this doesn't work, send me your chat export .jsonl file
to oeufvivant@protonmail.com.
_______________________________________________________________________________
|Signal 3============================================================|> (Wk043)
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You and Aiko sure are becoming better friends. Eventually, Aiko should mention
that there's some interesting astronomical plans coming up. To move on to the
next stage, agree and don't stand her up.
Here's the spoilery step-by-step. For each step, check that Signal is still set
to [Signal: ▮▮▮▯▯] + verify that [](#'hhj') and [](#'groove:[count]') are
in your output.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. There is an 85% chance for Aiko to ask you to go stargazing with her. |
| 1a. Want her to ask now? Find Lorebook Entry !PHASE 5 - Signal 03 Chain1 |
| and crank the probability to 100. |
| |
| 2. The AI should output [EQ: Starlight R&B] as the current EQ after Aiko
| asks you to go stargazing. If not, replace your EQ with the below:
[EQ: Starlight R&B]
|
| 3. Accept.
|
| 4. Aiko will be pretty happy! But it's definitely not a date.
| 4a. At this point the EQ should be Astro R&B. If it
| isn't, replace your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Astro R&B]
|
| 5. Go to the date. If it's far from now you can say 'In a week, I go to
| the place with Aiko', it's okay.
|
| 6. Aiko will be there, happy to see you.
| 6a. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Late Night R&B]. If not,
| replace your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Late Night R&B]
|
| 7. Enjoy the date!
|
| 8. Afterwards, Signal should now be [Signal: ▮▮▮▮▯].
|
| If all fails, you can manually copy this:
|
[Sony WM-EX50]
[► Playing: Fishmans - 忘れちゃうひととき ]
[EQ: Popping Candy]
[Signal: ▮▮▮▮▯]
[Battery: ▮▮▮]
| |
| to the last AI output to move to the next stage. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
If this doesn't work, send me your chat export .jsonl file
to oeufvivant@protonmail.com.
_______________________________________________________________________________
|Signal 4============================================================|> (Wk044)
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like you and Aiko are getting along swimmingly.
Eventually while you're at school, Aiko will bring up a very exciting upcoming
meteor shower. Some people aren't so happy about you going but who cares what
they think?
Want the spoiler walkthrough? Here it is. For each step, check that Signal is
still set to 04/05 and verify that [](#'hhj') and [](#'groove:[count]')
are in your output.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. Go to school. Hang around at school.
| 1b. At school, the song should be Fishmans - 忘れちゃうひととき. If it
| isn't, replace your ► Playing with the below.
[► Playing: Fishmans - 忘れちゃうひととき ]
|
| 2. Aiko should tell you about the upcoming Alpha Monocerotids Meteor
| Shower.
| 2a. This has an 85% chance of triggering. Want her to ask now? Go to
| Lorebook Entry !PHASE 5 - Signal 04 Push and crank the probability
| to 100.
| 2a. After Aiko asks, the EQ should read [EQ: Meteor Hip-Hop]. If it
| doesn't, replace your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Meteor Hip-Hop]
|
| 3i. IF YOU ARE AT SCHOOL: Noboru Wataya, the Astronomy Club president, is
| unhappy about you going on the Alpha Monocerotids Meteor Shower.
| What a killjoy.
| 3.i.a. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Asteroid Hip-Hop]. If
| not, replace your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Asteroid Hip-Hop]
|
| 3ii. IF YOU ARE NOT AT SCHOOL: Aiko will ask you a deep question.
| 3.ii.a. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Asteroid Hip-Hop]. If
| not, replace your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Asteroid Hip-Hop]
|
| 4. Say whatever.
|
| 5i. IF YOU ARE AT SCHOOL: Noboru is still jelly.
| 5.i.a. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Space Hip-Hop]. If it
| doesn't, replace your ► Playing with the below.
[EQ: Space Hip-Hop]
|
| 3ii. IF YOU ARE NOT AT SCHOOL: Aiko will muse some more.
| 3.ii.a. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Space Hip-Hop]. If
| not, replace your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Space Hip-Hop]
|
| 6. Say whatever.
|
| 7. Aiko will receive an urgent message from home and have to leave.
|
| 8. Afterwards, Signal should now be [Signal: ▮▮▮▮▮].
|
| If all fails, you can manually copy this:
|
[Sony WM-EX50]
[► Playing: Fishmans - 忘れちゃうひととき ]
[EQ: Popping Candy]
[Signal: ▮▮▮▮▮]
[Battery: ▮▮▮]
|
| to the last AI output to move to the next stage. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
If this doesn't work, send me your chat export .jsonl file
to oeufvivant@protonmail.com.
_______________________________________________________________________________
|Signal 5============================================================|> (Wk045)
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here we are. The last stretch. Aiko got urgent news from home and rushed off
just like that. From now on, she won't show up at school and she won't answer
your calls. She's not at the konbini and she's not at the flower shop. But
there is one place she's at.
Think about Aiko and the kind of problems she faces. Then go to her.
Or you can check the spoiler walkthrough below! For each step, check Signal
is [Signal: ▮▮▮▮▮] and verify that [](#'hhj') and [](#'groove:[count]')
are in your output.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. Go to Aiko's house. |
| 1b. At Aiko's house, the song should be Fishmans - 疲れない人. If it
| isn't, replace your ► Playing with the below.
[► Playing: Fishmans - 疲れない人 ]
|
| 2. If you aren't taken directly there, go to Aiko's room.
|
| 3. Interact with Aiko.
|
| 3. Aiko will talk about how her parents are getting divorced, and how she
| has to choose between them.
| 3a. The current song should now read Southern All-Stars - 真夏の果実. If
| not, replace your ► Playing with the below.
[► Playing: Southern All-Stars - 真夏の果実 ]
| 3b. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Flat Static]. If not, replace
your EQ with the below.
[EQ: Flat Static]
|
| 4. Say whatever.
|
| 5. Aiko will react to whatever you did.
| 5a. The current song should now read はちみつぱい - ぼくの倖せ. If it
| doesn't, replace your ► Playing with the below.
[► Playing: はちみつぱい - ぼくの倖せ ]
| 5b. The current EQ should now read [EQ: Dead Channel]. If not, replace
| your EQ with the below.
| [EQ: Dead Channel]
| 5c. Verify that [](#'hhj') is still in your hidden text. If not, copy it |
| into the output. |
| |
| 6. You will be taken back to 2019. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
If this doesn't work, send me your chat export .jsonl file
to oeufvivant@protonmail.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Wk005) Impossible To Touch: Part 3 - 2019
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here you are back in 2019. You will soon get some very strong hints about where
to go and what to do.
Hints didn't trigger? Want me to tell you? Spoiler guide below.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. Go to Toru Okada's cassette store OR look up Aiko Takada. |
| |
| 2. If you go to Toru Okada's store, ask him about Aiko Takada. |
| |
| 3. Toru Okada will mention that she died during the Alpha Monocerotids |
| Meteor Shower. Hmm, sounds familiar. |
| |
| 4. The cassette player will click. |
| |
| 5. Listen to it. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
Nothing happened? Time for the guts. No more nice cassette tape interface...
we're back to hidden text.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| GUTS! GUTS! GUTS! GUTS! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. At Step 4, set the hidden text to [](#'jjd'). |
| |
| 2. Listen to the cassette player. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
If this doesn't work, send a screenshot of your raw console output to me for
this AI request at oeufvivant@protonmail.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Wk006) Impossible To Touch: Part 4 - 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in time. It's D-Day. The night of the Alpha Monocerotids meteor shower.
Aiko needs you. You gotta save her! Only question is, uh...where is she? Looks
like while you were out, {{user}} Ono didn't exactly charm her enough for her
to tell about where the Alpha Monocerotids meteor shower is. Ouch.
Anyways, couple of options. One, it's nice to look at meteor showers from a
place with a view, right? Think about mountains around Kyoto. Or, think about
the last place you spoke to Aiko, and go there. If you opt for this route,
you'll see that she may have left something behind for you.
Regardless, once you've figured out where Aiko is watching the meteor shower,
head there. You'll find her. She's not alone. Time is limited. Eventually,
you'll have to make a choice.
Alternatively, check out the spoiler guide below.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! |
|=============================================================================|
| |
| 1. Go to Mount Kurama. |
| |
| 2. You'll see Aiko Takada there with Noboru Wataya. |
| |
| 3. Make your presence known. |
| |
| 4. Noboru and Aiko will see you. |
| 4a. At this point, instead of the year, the output on top must say |
| **Alpha Monocerotids T-3:00**. If it doesn't, make it say that. |
| |
| 3. This timer will steadily count down with each action. |
| |
| 4. At **Alpha Monocerotids T-0:00**, Aiko will teeter. |
| |
| 5. Save her! Or don't. |
| 5a. If you save her, the top will now say **STAR_STORY**. |
| 5b. If you don't, the top will now say **BROKEN_TIME**. |
| |
| 6. The ending will play. |
| |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
******************************************************************************
* Endings (En000) *
******************************************************************************
There are three endings to this game: Ending A, Ending B, and Ending C.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(En001) Ending A
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Ending A, you end up back in 2019 with no way of going back in time. You're
left with memories and regrets.
You can achieve this ending by letting the battery run out in Part 4.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(En002) Ending B
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Ending B, you save Aiko Tanaka. To achieve this ending, take path 5a
in the Part 6 section of the Walkthrough.
As the two of you plummet down the cliff, Aiko Tanaka listens to a song
on her Walkman. The two of you hit the ground...
...then, you awaken in 2012. First day of college orientation. Was it all a
dream? You go to your orientation, and then you meet a girl. A girl who is
familiar, but you don't remember where you saw her from. A girl who is excited
to see you, and introduces herself as Aiko Orihara.
(A nice song will play.)
If you want a fun easter egg, set the year to **2019** and see what happens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(En003) Ending C
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Ending C, you decide not to save Aiko Tanaka. To achieve this ending, take
path 5b in the Part 6 section of the Walkthrough.
As you watch Noboru and Aiko fall off the cliff, time breaks apart. The meteor
shower flickers.
You find yourself back in 2019, except your Polaroids of Aiko Orihara and you
are fading. Her belongings in your apartment are fading. Soon you're left
with a spare studio apartment bereft of the life you led with Aiko.
Hang around and try looking up Aiko Tanaka and Aiko Orihara.
******************************************************************************
* Credits/Thanks (Cr000) *
******************************************************************************
Here is where I thank the folks who kindly spent the time to either test the
card or talk to me about the card. A lot of effort went into this and I
appreciate the work more than I can say!
Asterisms: For beta-testing the card in one of its early stages when I was
feeling doubt about it being fun to play and encouraging me to keep working
on it. Not only that, but after I came to Asterisms with a second draft they
played it not just once but TWICE on Claude, sending over a huge email with
very detailed feedback, along with suggested lorebook improvements. Seriously
appreciate it, and a huge, huge thank you for all the work you put in to
helping make this card work on Claude.
Hedona: For hearing me out about this card when it was just me rambling about
making a 'Someday or One Day' bot, and giving it a try in its earliest form.
Also, for giving me the idea to try using 'phases' in the first place with
hidden text. This card couldn't have been made without that idea. Huge, huge
thank you, man.
pr0vidence: For beta-testing the card on GPT-4 and giving me his impressions
on the card and the story. Seriously appreciate the time you put into hanging
out with Aiko Tanaka and Company!
You: YEAH, YOU! Thanks for reading all this way. And if you've given the card
a try, thank you so much for playing. I appreciate it a lot.
******************************************************************************
* Inspirations (In000) *
******************************************************************************
All right so this is the part of the 'walkthrough' where I self-indulge and
talk about my inspirations and general process for this card, so fair warning,
blogpost ahead. Also, spoilers for the entire card ahead.
First and most obviously, this card was inspired by the premise for the
Taiwanese drama, Someday or One Day. This is a drama that has a special
place in my heart for various reasons, and I always wanted to write a
card based off of it.
Of course, the time traveling in Someday or One Day is much more complicated,
and involves more characters, so it'd be infeasible to actually convert it
into a card. In addition, as I began working on this card, I realized that a
story like this needed a narrative arc. Yeah, I could just toss the player
into 1995, but...then what's the point? It's just another 'meeting a girl'
card with a 'time travel' gimmick, but it doesn't have the soul or feels.
So this concept languished for a while.
Then, I watched Wong Kar Wai's Fallen Angels. I was particularly struck by
the sense of 'distance' in that film. Two people inhabiting the same space,
yet their hearts can never connect. Something about that felt very poignant
to me, and I wanted to put that into a card. I thought a long time about
that idea. I wanted something where {{user}} and {{char}} are in the same
space, but {{user}} can never directly meet {{char}}. The immediate outcome
of that idea was my karaoke card KOLLAGE, but I felt I still wanted to
explore the more melancholic side of that feeling.
That's when I revisited Impossible to Touch again and started thinking about
it. Whose story is it? Is it {{user}}'s story about finding a lost love
again in someone who only happens to look the same? Or is it maybe someone
else's story?
I went through a couple of false starts with this. In my second draft of the
card {{user}} Ono had a much larger role. The idea was roughly that the
player as {{user}} Abe is interloping in {{user}} Ono's life. Aiko Orihara
is dead, and there's no bringing her back. Aiko Tanaka loves Ono, not Abe.
So {{user}} can never 'touch' her again, even if they're inhabiting the same
space.
But when playing it, I found this to be frustrating. It's not very
'fun', and I got stuck at a certain part, which is namely the part where
the player comes to an agreement with Ono. Because once that happens,
what is there for the player to do? Third wheel in someone else's body?
No. That sucks. So back to the drawing board.
I started thinking: maybe it's Aiko Tanaka's story. Maybe it's a story of a
girl whose family is breaking apart and she's feeling lost and confused. A
girl who finds solace in the stars and in her music. And maybe Aiko Tanaka
never really noticed {{user}} Ono, but notices and starts to like {{user}}
Abe. Aiko Tanaka is someone who doesn't care about her own death—this is an
idea I always had about her, someone who seems 'normal' and 'reliable' but
has a lot of inner pain.
So it's Aiko Tanaka's story. And if it's Aiko Tanaka's story: who is Aiko
Orihara?
That's when it hit me. Of course. Aiko Tanaka IS Aiko Orihara! Yes, this
obvious thing didn't occur to me until quite late into the development of the
card. As the player builds their relationship with Aiko Tanaka, they're also
building the seeds of their own relationship with Aiko Orihara. By making Aiko
Tanaka like them in 1995, they're ensuring that Aiko Orihara seeks them out in
2012.
Once I had that in place, everything else was made clear. I wanted to make
Aiko Orihara's life a 'dream' for Aiko Tanaka. Because from Aiko Tanaka's
perspective, her living in Aiko Orihara's body is the dream she's having
as she's falling down a cliff with {{user}} in 1995 with the meteors blazing
overhead.
So Aiko Orihara has a happy family with a mother and a father who are still
together. Aiko Orihara has {{user}} Abe, who loves her unreservedly. Aiko
Orihara is Aiko Tanaka's little happy end, who will blaze for a short while.
Anyways I think I've blabbed enough. Lastly I just want to make mention of the
'closing song', which is Kath Bloom's Come Here. I took the title of the card
from this song. One can't talk about Come Here without talking about the film
Before Sunrise. One small thing I had in mind from the film, and one thing I
had in mind when thinking about Aiko Tanaka-as-Aiko-Orihara, is just like how
Jesse and Celine are aware that they only have twenty four hours together,
Aiko Tanaka-as-Aiko-Orihara knows that her time with {{user}} Abe is limited,
so she wants to make the most of the time she can before her tape runs out.
If you made it all this way, thanks for reading.