Prologue (a)

PROLOGUE

There is no choice without consequences
This is the consequence of a choice you have made





What usually wakes you up in the morning? Is it the hateful chime of an alarm clock? I suppose that at least half of the world would answer "yes" to that question.
It is quite depressing if you think about it; it means that for half of humanity each day starts with a sound they hate.
When you hear that monotonous "beep beep", you want to stop it that badly that even the desire to keep sleeping under your cozy and warm sheets is no match for it. But I guess that's the very purpose of an alarm clock in the first place.
Still... it sucks...
If you are lucky, then there's someone close to you that wakes you up gently and kindly. Surely when you were still a little child, your mother or your father used to take that role.
They still do? Well... being young and spoiled sure is nice... but it can get even better.
Can you think of anything sweeter than being woken up by a kiss from the person you love? Perhaps after she carefully prepared a wonderful breakfast?
Damn! How nice... but I couldn't even dream of something like that!
No, who am I trying to kid? To be honest... I've been dreaming of that a lot, and that makes waking up an even more dreadful experience.
But I digress! If you were one of those anime, manga, eroge or light novel young male characters, then you would probably have a little sister or a childhood friend that would gladly kick you out of your bed each day.
That doesn't sound very pleasant, but it would certainly be a colorful way to start the day.
Admit it, you wish the first thing in the morning you heard was "onii-chan" said in a cute female voice. And you wish you had a friend so close to you that she wouldn't mind intruding in your bedroom while you are still asleep.
Doesn't that make you feel jealous all of a sudden?
Come on, be honest! Each time you hear the annoying shrill of your alarm clock, it makes you mad!
There's nothing wrong with that! It's perfectly normal and understandable!
Why can't I have a cute little sister?! Why can't I have a cute childhood friend?! Why can't I have a cute girlfriend?!
And as I mentally scream all those questions, my hand sends the alarm clock against the next wall.
Serves you well, you filthy destroyer of dreams!
Damn, you would think that that taught it a lesson! The damn thing just doesn't want to shut up!
I dejectedly raise from my bed. Another day has begun.

To be honest, my life isn't that bad. I have a nice family and while we don't certainly swim in gold, we aren't completely broke either.
I have a younger brother and one older that doesn't want to get out and find his own place, so the apartment is a bit cramped.
I also have a lot of friends, and, despite what I've said earlier, I do have a female childhood friend that I still hang out with.
But don't let that mislead you, she's nothing like the stereotypical character found in anime. I'll tell you more about her later.
By the way, my name is Meito Oda, and I'm an 18 year old high schooler. Sorry for the late introduction, pleased to meet you, I'll be in your care, etcetera, etcetera...
I swallow my omelette in one gulp and I quickly attack the rice bowl with a barrage of chopstick swings.
I hear my mother protesting from the kitchen.

Mom: "Meito, you shouldn't eat that fast first thing in the morning."

Mom: "Meito, if you worry that much about being late for school, wake up earlier."

Mom: "Meito, are you even listening?"

I am listening, Mom, really. It's just that I've been hearing the same things over and over for the past few years. I developed an immunity to those stimulus, they no longer affect me.

Youhei: "Thanks for the food."

My younger brother, Youhei, dispassionately puts down his chopsticks and stands up. If it wasn't for the automatic speech, I wouldn't even have noticed him. Why does he need to be such a robot? His calm and indifferent demeanor really gets on my nerves.

Meito: "Hey, Youhei! Couldn't you act a little more like you are part of this family and not just an occasional passerby?"

Youhei: "I'm going."

Meito: "Hey!"

But before I can add anything, he's already gone.

Meito: "Kh... what the hell is wrong with him?"

Mom: "Leave him be, Meito. Yohei is studying hard and diligently to get admitted to a good high school. He's thinking seriously about his future... unlike you..."

Meito: "He just wants to get load of money and get done with us poor losers!"

Mom: "Don't talk like that, Meito!"

Meito: "Yeah yeah... what about the other brother, the one that is totally useless? Where is he?"

Mom: "He's still sleeping."

Meito: "He hasn't found any job yet? Why don't you tell him to get a grip?!"

Mom: "I keep telling you that, did it ever work?"

Touché.

Mom: "Besides... it's not his fault. You know how the economy is bad these days, after the lost decade and all..."

Meito: "How longer will he keep making that excuse? Give me one more year and I'll be done studying. Then you'll see how fast I'll get a job!"

I take a slice of bread and stuff my mouth with it. At the same time I get up and I pick my schoolbag up.

Meito: "I'mf foin'..."

Mom: "My my, Meito, finish your breakfast properly before heading out..."

I don't reply, there's no need and I couldn't even if I wanted. Chewing and entire loaf of bread is no joke.
I absentmindedly put on my shoes and open the door, and suddenly I see a finger being thrust to my face at the speed of sound!

Girl: "You're late!"

The surprise attack makes me swallow and my overstretched esophagus sends a storm of pain signals in protest. I double over while repeatedly hitting my chest. I'm almost in tears.

Girl: "How long were you planning of making me wait? Useless man!"

I want to protest and give her a piece of my mind, but right now... I can't...

Girl: "Seriously... what kind of man makes a lady wait that much? You're really the worst!"

Meito: "Good morning to you too! Hitomi!"

Hitomi: "Yeah, yeah... good morning."

My tone was absolutely sarcastic and irritated, but if she read the mood at all, she didn't really let it show.
By the way, this is Hitomi Gotsuji. She is the childhood friend I mentioned earlier, and as you can see... she is truly a sweetheart...
Her apartment is in the same building as mine and we were born on the same year, so we practically grew up together.
I'm a little older, though, I'm 18 already while she's still 17. Not like she cares anyway...
At any rate, we go to the same school and this year we are even in the same class. Which means...

Hitomi: "Here, take my bag and let's get moving. I don't want to be late because of you."

Meito: "Why do I have to be your pack mule again?!"

Hitomi: "Hu-huuuu..."

That mischievous smile sends me a shiver.

Hitomi: "Did you really forget? Do I need to remind you?"

I didn't forget. I just want to pretend that it never happened.

next->

Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Akaki Shinjitsu wa USO DA!!

When I started this blog, it was just meant to collect a series of "yonkoma" (four panel strip), based on Ryukishi07's sound novel: "Umineko no naku koro ni", that makes use of the original graphics with just a few edits here and there. Since then a lot has happened, and now the purpose of this blog has expanded, but the original work is still here for everyone to enjoy.

The concept behind "Umineko USO DA!!" is to make fun of the "red truths" by showing one character stating a shocking revelation followed by another character that for certain reasons is unable to accept it. Those who are accustomed with "Higurashi no naku koro ni" (another Ryukishi07's sound novel) are most certainly familiar with the japanese expression: "uso da". There is a particular scene that became very popular because of the intensity of the voice acting, just look for "higurashi uso da" on youtube and you'll find plenty of videos about it.

"Uso da" literally means "it's a lie", however it can be used to express a strong denial about something that someone else has said, so it could also be translated as "no way".

This is basically what these strips are about: the paradox of a red truth, which is by definition an absolute and undeniable truth, whom nonetheless is strongly denied and labeled as a "lie".

Henceforth the title: "Umineko no naku koro ni - Akaki Shinjitsu wa USO DA!!": "When the seagulls cry - The red truth is a lie!!"

You can choose two different approaches to browse the yonkoma:

•  You can follow the chronological order by creation's date, starting from here and then following the "next" links at the bottom of each page.
• You can jump directly to the yonkoma dedicated to the character you wish choosing one from the following list:

T. Nanjo	Goat	Chiester 00
Kinzo	Asmodeus	Gaap
Genji	Satan	M. Nanjo
George	Beelzebub	Sabakichi
Battler	Lambdadelta	Kawabata
Hideyoshi	Mammon	Erika
Eva	Leviathan	Dlanor
Kyrie	Belphegor	Gertrude
Rudolf	Lucifer	Cornelia
Rosa	Ronove	Zepar
Maria	Virgilia	Furfur
Jessica	Eva Beatrice	Featherinne
Kumasawa	Chiester 45	Will
Gohda	Chiester 410	Lion
Kanon	Ange	Young Kinzo
Natsuhi	Okonogi	B. Castiglioni
Shannon	Kasumi	Clair
Krauss	Amakusa	Little Ange
Beatrice	Sakutaro	Tohya
Bernkastel	Ootsuki	Chiester 556

Witches & Woodlands 3.5

Warning for Umineko Chiru Episode 8 spoiler













Two long years have passed since the day
Witches & Woodlands was released
for the first time.
A lot has happened from back then and
now I'm proud to announce the ultimate
release of this successful fanwork:

Umineko no naku koro ni: Akaki Shinjitsu wa USO DA!!
Witches & Woodlands 3.5

Download the patch from here:

Box: https://www.box.com/s/kidbtcpoaes2y99zwyr9

Or here:

Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/download/a5um5fc73dyiv7b/Umineko+USO+DA+-+W%26W+3.5+-+ver+1.0.rar

(leave a comment if the links are broken, I will try to find a solution asap)

Remember that this is only fully compatible with
Umineko no naku koro ni - Episode 8

Now the file is 131 megabyte, so while you wait
for the download to end, please take a bit of your
time to READ this post until the end.
But first, the usual screenshots:
















There are two things you need to know about this patch:

The first is that extra music will be available if you
set the directories in a certain way. Two are the conditions for
that to happen:

1) A copy of Umineko EP4 must be installed under the same
directory where your Umineko EP8 main directory is.
2) The main directory of Umineko4, must
be named: "Umineko4".

This has been tested on Windows and on Mac OS.
If you set everything correctly, the last music in the
Music Selection screen will be "Discode" instead of "Byakumu"

Music apart absolutely nothing will change if you can't make this
work for any reasons.


The second thing you need to know is that if you
really, really, really... don't want to replay the whole
main story, you don't have to.

There is a very small, barely visible, button in the bottom
left corner of the main menu. click on it and confirm
your decision, in order to unlock the "????".

No further automatic unlocking is possible, but the "????"
and the "Tea Party" are so short that you can skip
them very quickly using CTRL.


For anything else, please refer to the "Read ME.txt" included
inside the directory of the patch. It's there for a reason.


THIS IS THE ULTIMATE RELEASE
OF WITCHES & WOODLANDS
 That means I don't have any projects about creating
new Umineko related content.
However this doesn't mean this will be the last
entry of my blog.

I expect that typo and bugs will be found even after
all the testing and proofreading that has been
done. So I'll probably release a fix in the future.

If you notice any bug, typo, or any kind of odd behavior,
please report it.

Additionally, while I won't work anymore on this project
there are other people that are working to make
Witches & Woodlands an even better experience.

For quite some time Immblueversion has been working on
a voiced patch of Witches & Woodlands.
The work is proceeding slowly but steadily.
As soon as his project is finished I'll make an
announcement on this blog.

I've been contacted by other people each with their own idea.
I'll take this chance to publicly state that I'll give permission
for any kind of project you have in mind. In fact you don't
really need my permission. I'd be an hypocrit if I demanded
that. It's not like I've ever asked any persmission to 07th Expansion...

That being said, it is still my wish that you tell me about
whatever project you are starting regarding
Witches & Woodlands
but that's simply because I'm interested in knowing that.

So if you plan to, for example, translate Witches & Woodlands in
another language, let me know!


Lastly, while I have said that I don't intend to create
any other Umineko related fanwork, that doesn't mean
I won't create anything else in general.

I have really enjoyed creating this Visual Novel and I
plan to create more in the future. I'm still not
sure what I'll end up doing next, but something
surely will come. I'll just be on hiatus for a while
and in the meantime, who knows? Maybe I'll start
doing yonkoma about Higanbana.
That really depends on how much I'll enjoy that,
I'm still waiting for it to be translated.


SUPPORT WITCHES & WOODLANDS!

This project has been realized with the hard
work of many people. All this was done
out of pure passion without any expectation
for any kind of compensation.

But there is still a way for you to show your
appreciation to me and to everyone else that
contributed to render Witches & Woodlands what
it is today: spread the word!

If you really enjoyed this work, then talk about it
to the Umineko community you belong.

Also, you can spend a bit of your time to
register on vndb and vote for Witches & Woodlands
on this page:

http://vndb.org/v5055

Wait after you have unlocked all that you can unlock
and give me your honest opinion, following the site's guidlenes.

This is my only selfish request.

Thank you!

Update on the work in progress

As you are probably aware Chronotrig has recently
announced that the final patch of EP8 will be
relesead somewhere between early and late December
of this year. The release of the final version
of Witches & Woodlands will come shortly
after that. If all goes well it will be between
late December and early January.

The main bulk of the changes and new contents that I
had planned for this final release is basically done.
All the new portraits are finished with the exception
of Fighter Battler who needs a few adjustments.
Etrien is currenly working on it and should be able
to provide the material in a few days.

So I guess it's time to make a list of what has changed, and
what was added, so you can have an idea of what to expect.
I couldn't do this before because I wasn't really sure of how many
of the things I wanted to make could actually be done.

CHANGES
-The three parts of Witches & Woodlands are merged in a
single continuous story now renamed "Witches & Woodlands 3.5"
-Several new portraits have been introduced and replaced existing
ones in the fantasy side and "real" side.
-Right-click menu enhanced providing detailed informations about
the fantasy characters and a few of the "real world" characters.
The menu will update frequently in response to changes inside
the story.
-All dialogues are now enclosed in quotations marks.
-Several adjustments in the script and dialogues are made in
order to: improve clarity about the game rules, adapt to the new
continuous format and new portraits, improve consistency with
in game mechanics and characters' stats.


NEW CONTENTS
-"Ura Tea Party" unlockable after completion of the main story,
(already published on youtube)
-"Tea Party" unlockable after completion of the "Ura Tea Party"
(yes I inverted them). This will be a very short scene where the
characters discuss about the game they have played a few minutes after
its ending. Several matters that have remained unresolved
will be explained.
-TWO "surprises" will be unlocked after completion of the "Tea Party".
I can't tell what they are about because... they are supposed
to be a surprise! Two of them!
-A third minor surprise will be accessible from the two "surprises".
That will be basically a simplified music box linking to almost
all the musics of Umineko (excluding the boring ones).
It will also include the missing musics from EP4 provided
paths are set correctly.


All the new contents are already scripted/programmed.
What's left to do are adjustments in the main story and
the right click menu (which is however at a good point).
Proof reading pending, as it'll have to wait for the EP8 patch first.
You can take a sneak peek from the few images below (click to enlarge).
Stay Tuned!

Unforgivable

Spoiler alert!

The following yonkoma contains

spoilers about Umineko Chiru Episode 8

Yes, this is the last "USO DA" yonkoma, with this the series is completed.
What? Did you expect Bernkastel to say "USO DA" in the last panel?
I'm sorry, the witch of miracles couldn't find any kakera where she'd say
that in the end. She assured me there really isn't any. And who are you to deny that?!

Jokes apart I hope you enjoyed the 60+ yonkoma I made so far and I hope
you enjoyed this one as the fitting, unexpected, closure for this series where
Umineko rules and Higurashi memes collide.

This is however just the last of the "Umineko" yonkoma. Nothing says that
I won't make more, for example about Higanbana or who knows what else.
I won't make promises, but you can still hope. And in the off chance that
"Umineko Rei" will introduce a new character... well it could even be
possible that I'll have to make another Umineko USO DA yonkoma
in the end (I hope not, though...).

About Witches & Woodlands, I have already done practically anything that
I wanted to do. The only things that are missing are the new portraits (which
will require just a few changes in the script) and the right click menu character
TIPS. For both of them I'd rather wait until I have the new art ready.
Currently only Monk George, Paladin Erika and Fallen Paladin Erika and are done.
Fighter Battler is half done and only two more portrait sets are missing.
Etrien is currently working on them and so far he's doing a very good job.
So as of now I'm no longer looking for an artist.

Supposing everything will proceed steadily I expect to finish the job
before Witch Hunt releases their patch or around that time.
However I still wish to release the final product after Umineko is fully translated
because there will be EP8 spoilers, some of them are pretty heavy.