The Mermaid of Zennor

整体还行，个人角度来说不满意。（尽管关于厌食部分的描写很能共情主角。） 算是个充满讽喻意味的故事，文笔发挥在线。配乐让人有点不安，不过很符合角色心境变化。 前期比较一般，中期开始发力，从圣诞假期开始那部分剧情往后心情就开始持续走低，但是本质上我很认可这种实事求是，不回避问题，客观描绘角色卑劣发言[spoiler]（尤其是最为典型的不把家里的女性当回事，来了年轻漂亮的女性客人就疯狂献媚夸夸其谈，装成是个好“丈夫”与“父亲”的丑态）[/spoiler]的描写。到了结尾二选一有点难评，让人觉得根本没得选，总之果断挑了算是明显he的那个。发展确实算是挺好，倒不如说有点过于好了，以至于我感觉比之前读中期剧情的时候还不舒服，有种一拳打在棉花上的无力——明明绕着弯子费尽周折搞噱头，中期图穷匕见让人意识到是在试图讲一个非常冰冷与现实的故事，却在结尾处的he分支里安排了如此过分童话的结局。 我承认我是个看问题比较悲观的人，所以会感觉这个走向的可信度真的差了点。在现实生活中，多数会让事情发展到这个程度的主要真凶完全没有那种改变的觉悟，也不会有。这是虚构故事里特有的温柔，把比中彩票概率还低的“和解”走向搞成真的。 该去阅读这样的故事的人根本就不是故事本该有的受众——因为他们懒得思考，擅长并致力于让一个家庭的氛围变成可悲、令人反胃且窒息的泥沼，感觉多呆一秒都会中毒。 而真正愿意读完这种故事的人反而更多的会是受害者，却只能在“被愤怒蒙蔽双眼而搞错了报复对象”和“一切变成了过于理想化以至于令人恶心的圆满、谅解和成长”之间做二选一的选择题。既没有虚构世界里可以毫无负担完成的那种冤有头债有主的报复快意，又没有足够的让事情向好处发展的说服力。 [spoiler]我想看的爽文结局是想个办法把生理学父亲骗到悬崖边，然后毫不犹豫地推下去。可惜没有这选项。[/spoiler] 以上。

[I] The Mermaid of Zennor [/i] is a short, dark, atmospheric novel that I utterly enjoyed! <3 From the first second I launched the game I was drawn to those moving waves, it was so meditative! Usually I complain about anything moving in my visual novels because it makes me slightly dizzy T_T and this time it was totally the same but it was such a pleasant feeling when I just wanted to relax, let go and just drown in that water! It's so impressive because I'm kinda afraid of water and still can't swim. So it all set the mood incredibly well! MC is written so skillfully I couldn't keep silent and even had to share about it with some online friends, lol otherwise I felt like exploding if I didn't let those emotions go :) Even before reading the game description on the store page I knew she was autistic. I had similar students, I was always curious how they think, some of them clammed up but the one who actually talked sometimes presented the same ordinary ideas at such a new angle that I was awestruck! I lloved talking to one boy, though quite often he was very difficult in many aspects and I still remember how exhausted his mum sometimes looked. So while reading I could understand mc's parents and even sympathize with them, though it was obvious the poor girl suffered so much more. It's our responsibility as adults to be mature in any circumstances and provide all the support and encouragement kids need. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3385427434 Reading about mc's thoughts, quite often I didn't share her ideas and very often she was confused and misunderstanding lots of things but at the same time despite being VERY different she felt so close and somehow relatable I'm astonished. I believe it's magic of a well-written text. It was such an amazing experience to dive into that special way of thinking and perception and actually FEEL all that. There are two endings and they are both stunning! One is totally heartbreaking (I was afraid it was coming to that T_T) and another is heartwarming, full of hope I needed so much! <3 Sadly, the bad ending felt more realistic T_T plus on par with that mermaid story which also had kinda 'open' ambiguous ending, though the most logical outcome seems obvious but as it's not said directly in both cases it still gives some shred of hope. As usual I left the 'happy' ending for dessert and it wasn't like in some fairy-tale where all the evil villains were punished and everyone was overjoyed but at least some first steps in the right direction were so healing it made me teary-eyed. Undoubtedly it's easily recommended: gorgeous visuals, immersive music, wonderful writing, low price, powerful contrast endings for any taste. Thanks a lot for this masterpiece ♥ [table] [tr] [th]More thoughts about the game in a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/readingnook/discussions/0/592882992704161768/] Reading Nook [/url][/th] [/tr] [/table]

Я не експерт в темі розладів аутистичного спектру, але трошки шарю і по-перше різануло оце "autistic girl" в описі, бо перший-ліпший текст про аутизм для, мгм, загальної публіки зазначає, що таке формулювання некоректне. Опис гри ставить хворобу перед людиною, така собі репрезентація. Ну і по-друге текст теж скоріше художній, ніж репрезентативний, нагадав Загадковий нічний інцидент із собакою Марка Хеддона (там автор теж не дуже в темі і не приховує цього). *розводить руками* Просто не люблю, коли оце починається пхання всього і одразу, і побільше. Кхм. Але про новелу все ж. Уф, це було довго. Не в сенсі кількості тексту, а в сенсі що продиратися крізь страждання депресивної тринадцятирічної дівчини це таке собі. Власне весь сюжет саме про підлітковий ангст і гру я рекомендую тому, що він прописаний чудово, просто це абсолютно не моє [strike]я застарий для цього всього.[/strike] Ну і приємна мальовка, спрайтів цього ж автора можна ще побачити в Heart Fragment, яку я не рекомендую, але вона є. Перша глава все одно безкоштовна.

Тема новеллы довольно необычна: любовь младшей сестры к своему старшему брату. Текст от лица главной героини пропитан такой меланхоличностью и депрессией, что грустно читать. Ощущаешь на себе всю эту тяжесть на душе и невозможность кому-либо выговориться. В новелле есть лишь один выбор, в конце, и вы решаете, предаваться ли такому состоянию далее, либо попробовать раскрыть себя и свое горе. Один нюанс: хотелось бы, чтобы концовки были подлиннее

The Mermaid of Zennor is a very good visual novel game with a beautiful story. The graphics are nice and the soundtrack is relaxing... The ebi-hime games are really great!!! I highly recommend it. 💗

“The Mermaid of Zennor” is a novel that grants me mixed feelings. I absolutely adore Lilac; the main heroine of the story. She is 13 yo girl, that was recently diagnosed with Autism. Author depicts her condition in respectful and proper way. Lilac feels, like a real person with struggles, that people like her experience. Ebi in skillful way express characters internal monologue, her feelings and troubling obsession. The descriptions feel very personal, almost like if I, the reader, was the protagonist. It makes you relate to her in a way, that is hard to express with words. Lilac feels like, someone that is a part of your life, for long time, even if you met her an hour ago. The art of this novel is stunning; on par, or perhaps even better than “Rituals in the dark” The music creates grimy atmosphere, that underlines the world seen by Lils eyes. Unfortunately, not all of it is perfect. The endings; feel odd. The bad ending feels very rushed and without real conclusion. The “good” one was the ending that author themselves expressed; was added a year later. Which you can feel, with characters being disconnected. However I am glad that Lilac got an option of a happy ending. She deserves one. The way it ends, really takes away from the score. I feel like Lil deserves more, even perhaps: “Mermaid of Zennor 2”! I would pay good money for that! So please buy this VN. It is truly great, even with its flaws. Buy it for your brother, and grandpa. Create an account for your dog and buy them a copy, because they are good boy/girl/doggo (as long as it doesn’t brake TOS. We wouldn’t like, to upset the Steam overlords!)

I felt so bad for Lilac the whole way through this masterpiece...

[h1]Eu realmente gosto desse jogo [Eng and Pt-BR review][/h1] Ebi-hime faz isso de novo, adoro como ela consegue criar personagens bem reais, com dramas bem naturais e condições complexas muito bem escritas. Sério, eu simplesmente adoro fato da MC ser autista e ainda narrar a novel em primeira pessoa, a forma como a escrita reflete o mundo de uma pré-adolescente extremamente inteligente, mas com problemas em entender certos aspectos da comunicação e alguns cuidados é algo incrível. Esse jogo me fez ter mais compaixão para com pessoas com condições e além disso, pessoas que estão em uma situação difícil. A forma como a família é retrada e os paralelos traçados são perfeitos! E eu garanto que todos conhecem que está passando por uma condição difícil, mas ou você não consegue notar ou não se esforça o suficiente para tornar o mundo um lugar melhor para todos. Além disso, o enredo é muito bom, as comparações, o modo diferente de ver o mundo, os conflitos e o final, ah o final, é lindo demais!!! [b][u]Adoro as obras da Ebi-hime!!![/u][/b] [hr][/hr] [h1]I really like this game [Eng and Pt-BR review][/h1] Ebi-hime has done it again; I love how she creates such realistic characters, with natural drama and complex conditions that are beautifully written. Seriously, I just love the fact that the protagonist is autistic and narrates the story in the first person; the way the writing reflects the world of an extremely intelligent pre-teen who struggles to grasp certain aspects of communication and social nuances is incredible. This game fostered my compassion for people with such conditions, and for anyone facing difficult circumstances. The way the family is portrayed and the parallels drawn are perfect! I guarantee you know someone going through a difficult situation, but either you fail to notice it, or you don't make enough of an effort to make the world a better place for everyone. On top of that, the plot is excellent, the comparisons, the unique perspective on the world, the conflicts, and the ending... oh, the ending is absolutely beautiful! [b][u]I love Ebi-hime's work![/u][/b]

Steam hasn't been measuring playtime correctly for me recently. I assure you that I have completed the game 😅 Ebi Hime did it again! She's a master at writing short stories about the relationships between characters, or a character's relationship with themself. She never fails to get me to empathise with her characters, and The Mermaid of Zennor is no exception. I wasn't as disagreeable as the protagonist, Lilac, when I was 13, but I really felt seen when I read her perspective on things. Lilac is explicitly an autistic character, and I think Ebi depicted her in a sensitive, faithful and realistic way, especially considering the darker subject matter. She doesn't feel like a list of symptoms, or a character with 'autistic superpowers' who can do no wrong. She's deeply flawed and has a lot to learn, but she's not irredeemable [spoiler] for most of the story [/spoiler] and she's treated with a lot of dignity. The art in this VN is really pretty. While the number of expressions and poses for the sprites is quite limited, they are used very effectively. The CGs are even better and I especially adored the final CG of the good ending where [spoiler] Lilac stares hopefully into the distance, optimistically thinking about her future. [/spoiler] I don't think that there are many pieces of music in this VN, but the ones that are used are fantastic, and perfectly capture the tone of the story. Actually, it's a bit astonishing how good the main title theme fits the feeling of water smashing against the cliff faces at night time. I would absolutely recommend this short, mostly kinetic visual novel. It's not exactly feel good, but one of the ends felt quite cathartic and comforting to me, and the other was satisfyingly angst. It's good ♥♥♥♥. Go read it!

Ждал от этой новеллы лав-стори про братско-сестринские отношения, в итоге получил рефлексию и страдашки от неразделённой любви и от тяжкой житухи одной-единственной ГГ, которую такое ощущение что все нанавидят, на протяжении 5 часов чтения этой новеллы. История зашла, в неё веришь на порядок больше, чем если бы авторка стала делать упор на фансервис "запретной любви". ГГ производит впечатление очень настоящей и проработанной как персонаж, ей действительно сопереживаешь. Единственное что книнжануло - [spoiler]типичные "злодеи" в лице озлобленных одноклассниц и постоянно тыкающих в "нетаковость" ГГ эгоистичных взрослых, у которых единственная мотивация так поступать это "а чо это она не копия нас?". И отдельный самый большой кринж в этом всём - батя ГГ с его отношением к жене и дочери, при котором жена от него почему-то не уходит и терпит это всё как будто так и надо[/spoiler]. На мой взгляд, история выглядит предельно цельно и законченно с плохой концовкой, такая концовка гармонично вплетается в мироощутение и самоопределение ГГ, которые раскрывались нам на протяжении всей новеллы. Хорошая концовка как будто притянута за уши, чтобы не так травмировать впечатлительного читателя, и выглядит как фанфик.