In which I will make pop culture references, and you will LAUGH; let us play Cherry Tree High!

Aight, boys and girls! Time for yet another let's play in a sea of let's plays! It's time for Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (unhelpfully abbreviated as CTHCC)!

Now before we begin, I do need to lay out a few ground rules and matters of note;

1. This is my first LP, meaning I have no idea of what I'm doing. So when your computers inevitable burst into flames, just remember that you knew the risks.
2. Not only is this going to be a blind play, I barely even know what CTHCC is about. Pretty much all I know is that I need to get people to join my comedy club and this game loves pop culture references. So yeah, it's a dark, unknown labyrinth before us kiddies, and who knows what lies before us? Well, it's probably light hearted feel goodness. That, or madness and despair.
3. And finally, it should be noted that I work in one of the Big Four. What this means is that I have a terrible work/life balance where an 11 hour work day is considered light for me. I'm on leave for the rest of this week, but once my 60-70 work week kicks in again, expect things to slow down.

So, with that out of the way, let us begin!



So this here is CTHCC. We'll be playing Miley Verisse (she's the one at the forefront) as she tries to convince at least three suckers new friends who are totally doing this of their own free will and not because they're being press ganged by a deranged teenager to join her comedy club before the 30th of April, when registration for new clubs closes. Because as dating games have taught us, if Miley fails, she's doomed to a life of loneliness and spinsterhood.



So things open with Miley and her best friend/sidekick Harriet discussing the Comedy Club, which then segues into how Miley's once friend and now rival, Octavia Richmond has been abusing her position as head of the student council to stonewall Miley's plans.

We're then hit with a flashback to illustrate the dark underbelly of high school politics...



If anime has taught me anything, it's that all blonde people are upper class, elitist snobs. All blonde people.





So Miley brings up her proposal to form the CTHCC (she actually does call it the "CTHCC"), and Octavia rightly points out how ridiculous that sounds. I have to admit, that kinda endeared her to me.



And there we have Miley's life ambitions. She wants to follow the footsteps of people who willingly call themselves...the Grinmeisters. Also, Japan approves, as can be seen in the background.



Octavia however, is unmoved and tells her that Miley and Harriet don't have enough bodies to constitute a club.



So uh, historians, take note.



So now that we've got our epic quest laid out, let's get into some gameplay! Exploration consists of Miley walking on a 2d plane and interacting with people, buying stuff and spending time at various jobs and activities (note the green arrow next to the word 'Cafe'). Jobs let her earn money but raises fatigue, whereas activities build up Miley's various stats while also raising fatigue.



And here we have Miley's list of stats. In order to befriend people and force them at gunpoint to join her club, Miley has to raise whatever stat that corresponds to their interest. Because as we all know, the only way to make friends is to force or fake an interest in whatever it is they like. I mean, why do you think I went through five years of law school? Now I am friends with every lawyer in the world.

As an aside, I do like how certain stats already have a point or two, it makes Miley feel like an actual person rather than a blank slate.



This is the town map. Visiting any of these locations brings Miley into the 2d plane you guys saw above.



And here we have a perfect example of this game's concept of humour, which unfortunately, consists primarily of random pop culture references. Admittedly, I did smile at quite a few of them, but for a game about a comedy club, laugh out loud jokes kinda rare.

Anyway, I decided to visit the Prosperity Shrine, where we get a cutscene.



So here's Elise. Who is a shrine maiden. Named Elise. Who has thighs like Chun Li. And is also a Jedi. A shrine maiden Jedi named Elise. Is this America or Japan? GOD, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE WE ARE ANYMORE.



So after...whatever that was, I decided Miley needed to bring back a little normalcy into her life, and got her to do some homework (which as you can see from the image, apparently consists of her doodling).

I should also note that the game has a set amount of homework that Miley has to complete in time, otherwise something "bad" happens. Given that I'm flying blind here, I have no idea what this "bad" thing is. Though in lieu of any evidence to the contrary, I'm going to assume Cthulhu wakes from his dread slumber and swallows her.



So after a hard day of homeworking, Miley goes back to her dorm only to be greeted with Dormmaster Dina, who accuses her of laziness. BITCH, I SPENT THE WHOLE AFTERNOON STUDYING JUST SO THAT MY LIFE WOULDN'T END UP AN ENDLESS SPIRAL OF FAILURE AND DESPAIR LIKE YO-ohgodpleaseputawaythatbat



I am going to suffocate you in your sleep. I know where you sleep, so I'm already halfway there.



So after a hearty meal of dinner and emotional abuse, Miley and Harriet decide to throw in just one more pop culture reference before the day is done.



Oh, and Dina comes up to inform us that starting tomorrow, there will be yet another prisoner under the rule of this chain smoking despot.

Anyway, Miley has some free time for the rest of the evening, and that's where you guys come in! Currently, her options are as follows:

Sleep (greatly reduces fatigue)
Watch TV (increases a skill that corresponds to whatever program is on)
Read magazine (increases a skill that corresponds to whatever magazine Miley reads. However, at present, we don't have any magazines)
Make jewelry (earns Miley $5. We currently have $30)
Study (Finishes some of Miley's homework)

Anyway, I'll leave it to you guys to vote on Miley's next course of action, and we'll go from there. Ta ta!

You shall study I am sure. Sleep after that.

There's no "play videogame" options? Then watch the TV.

Well if you bang the chairman surely you'll have your club approved the next day. The game is infecting me with its bad jokes, help

I've only played a little bit of the demo, so I'm afraid I can't give much useful advice.

I'm voting for studying, so you can get homework out of the way and get on to recruiting!

Wait, I'm lost. Are we building a club out of friends or friends? Because I only see women in that screenshot and I am totally down with making a comedy club that consists entirely of lesbians.

Big Four accounting firms or investment banks? or something else? I thought the former had normal work/life balance (sort of?)!

and duuude. 4am?!

I really like the look of the game O: The GUI and the little people and stuff. do they actually walk around or are they just images?

Why can't we level up video games?!?!? That's all you need in life. D:

Watch TV sounds good, be a slacker all day! relaxation after studying~

Alas, I think the one in the white shirt and isn't facing forward is supposed to be a guy.

Is he the token trap? Because I could be down with that, too.

I'm pretty sure there are guys on the recruitable list. I'm also reasonably sure that character isn't one of them... (Oh wait, I thought you meant the punk. Okay, I don't know who that one at back is.)

Honestly, I have no idea; I barely even know who is friendable in the game to begin with. That said, I too am totally down for lesbian comedy club.

Big Four accounting. They do have a better work/life balance than the investment banks, but they're still pretty bad. I've received emails from my bosses at 3am or so quite a few times.

And yeah, the people do walk around, but it's only left and right, so things are still pretty static. Better than them creepily standing in place all day though.

Man, your bosses are vampires.

That sounds quite cute! I want to play now. Need to stop adding to my very long list of things to do.

Wait, is smoking in the dorms even legal?! Oh well, this is Japan... I think.... Umm... Make some jewelry, I guess. Money is nice to have... XD

Watching tv because slacking is the easiest way of tumbling down society's ranks to the darkness beneath it's fun!

I vote for studying, 'cause I don't want to whatever-this-bad-thing-is happen to us!
There are two guys to recruit in this game.
My favorite character is Dina, for sure.

And by popular vote of the People, it has been decided that Miley will shirk off her responsibilities and watch TV! And what show does young Miley decide to kill her free time with?
EDIT: Unfortunately, I had already gone the TV route before Sofalisa's post, which would have tied TV watching and homework.



...a talking heads political program. Which causes uproarious laughter in Miley. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past her for mistaking an episode of the Colbert Report for an actual political talk show.



So the next day comes about, and it's time to welcome the new dorm mate! And you all know what that means...new party member potential candidate for the comedy club/friend!



Ladies and gentlemen, meet our newest dorm member, Sara Croft! She's shy, soft spoken, a fan of comic books and holy mother fucker that dog is huge. Like shit, she has the goddamn Hound of the Baskervilles as a pet.



And like any good host, Miley insinuates that she and Harriet are members of the mob.

I must admit, as lame as her jokes are, Miley does rather endear herself to me. Anyway, with Sara's introduction out of the way, we're free to roam about the town, where we can meet and chat with friendly folk such as...



...yeah, thanks, Dina.



And of course, we have Octavia, making herself the enemy of otome gamers everywhere.



Too depressed by what passes off as friends and associates in her life, Miley decides to spend the rest of her morning doing her homework. The doodling is numbing, but at least the pain goes away.



Oh, I forgot to mention, days are divided into three blocks of time; morning, afternoon and evening. Morning and afternoon are the same, and allow Miley to wonder around the town and interact with it and the people in various ways. Evenings are spent in the dorm, which was where we made our first choice to watch TV earlier.



Anyway, without a clear plan on which stats to upgrade and who to befriend just yet, Miley decides to hang out with the Chun-Li thighed, Force sensitive shrine maiden, Elise. And by hang out, I mean help out. And by help out, I mean do all the work while Elise sits on her fat ass all day.

But hey, at least we got $10 out of it.



Back at the dorm, the girls start prepping for Sara's welcome party.



I lieu of any evidence to the contrary, I'm going to assume the sentence was finished as follows, "...things got awkward when the male stripper Dina hired broke out in tears and started crying about how he wasted his life. At least the cake he burst out of was nice."



With the party wrapping up, Miley gets straight back to work with trying to convince Sara to join the Comedy Club. As it turns out however, they've got some strict competition.

Anyway, that's it for today, here are our stats as they stand:





Fatigue is manageable and we're two study sessions away from completing our homework.

And now onto voting! We've got two things to vote on today! First, what should Miley do with her evening? The options are the same as the last time.

And more importantly, shall we work towards getting Sara as a member of our club?

From what I've been told, the game is a harsh mistress, and you really have to focus on three specific targets if you want to romance befriend them in time. So pick carefully!



Unfortunately, we don't know her interests just yet. That said, what we do know is that she's shy, into comics and really, really loves her dog.

Anyway, what I'm going to do in regard to the character voting is this:

Please vote Yes or No on whether we should target her. I'll tally up the total yes votes and no votes, and if the yeas outnumber the neighs, she'll be one of our three potential candidates. Happy voting!

STUDY! We'll need to get this homework done with!

AND NO SARA! She's boring.

Note that the library has books so you can get skills by reading books there. I am sad Politics stat is still at zero. She watched Colbert Report. Surely that counts!

Study, because I'm boring like that.

Also yes to Sara.

Study! Games are for doing things that will never happen in real life, right?

Also, yes to Sara. It's the quiet ones you have to watch for after all. And we could always use the dog to intimidate/lure people to the club.

Study and yes.

Because I have high hopes for Sara.

I approve of Miley and her sheer genkiness.

Sara's alright, but I bet we could do better. Like smoker chick. Pass.

Sara's last name is Croft. This can only mean good things. Sure, she might look nerdy now... but give her a gun and a crop top and watch shit get done.

I vote for Sara. All girl lesbian comedy club GO!

Maybe this LP will make me actually fork out the $8 and buy this game

Study, because that's the opposite of what I've been doing. and No to Sara, her dog YES! but the owner is sadly lacking in any ninja or ass kickery skills to add to our highly illegal mob Comedy Club...

I vote yes for Sara, because boring is a nice change from the typical yandere glasses-kun.

And so the people have spoken. And by decree of the people, Miley will spend her night...



...studying. I swear, you are all nerds. Each and every one of you.

Anyway, the next day dawns, and hey, what'dya know, another potential candidate!



Meet May, she's a naive younger girl who calls you onee-sama. I have a good feeling about this one.

Miley then tells her about her plans for the comedy club.





This is of course, a damn, dirty lie. We're going to have to brown nose her just as much as anyone else if we want her on our roster.



Hell, even Miley knows something isn't right.



Also, we totally met this guy, but he refuses to even say a work to us. Obviously he's the tsundere. We will break him.





Anyway, since Tsundere-kun refuses to talk to us, Miley buys a pet magazine to study the enemy read up on Sara's interest to befriend her.

And then she played some video games.Cause hey, it's Amerijapan, what else do teens do to kill the time?
Fun fact, when I visited Tokyo on holiday a few years back, I went to an arcade in Akihabara and totally beat a Japanese business man in Street Fighter 4 by button mashing. It was made even more perfect by the fact he was Ryu and I was Rufus. His tears were delicious.



Back in the dorms, Miley confirms what everyone already knew; the dog is a pimp.





And here's the end of day report; not too much different from yesterday, but we're just one study session away from finishing our holiday homework.

And once again, it's voting time!

Firstly, what should Miley do for the night? Options are as follows:
- read the pet magazine (increases Pets skill);
- do homework (finishes a homework assignment);
- watch tv (increases a random skill);
- make jewelry (earns $5); and
- sleep (greatly decreases fatigue).

And much more importantly, what say you about the new girl?



Unlike Sara, May is a bit of an enigma. I have absolutely no clue what her interests may lie in. Except Miley of course, she's totally into her onee-sama and is probably a yandere in training. Though given her clothing, she may think that she's a cat.

Anyway, same rules as Sara; vote yes or no on whether she'll be our next targeted member for the club. Happy voting!

I vote for studying again and finish this damn homework!

No for May. She's annoying.

I am not smart enough to be a nerd. I prefer to be called a geek. Not otaku either.
I vote yes to studying though hopefully get sleep after that or reading magazine.
I am indifferent to miss May but for certain you will get Sara Croft into comedy.

So close to finishing...study it is! Otaku Nerd at heart and proud of it.
And May is such a hypocrite, you wanna call us onee-sama? Then join our club without badgering
I want Tsun-kun to join though. Break him with the power of puns and lame jokes

Oh, and I'm definitely not nerd. I was The Major Homework Slacker at my school days.
You can call me Otaku though.

I'm nowhere productive enough to be a nerd. All of my homework wasn't started until about five minutes before class began.
That said, finish that homework!
No to May, she's too cheerful.

I think I'm a nerd but I tend to slack off and always posticipate my homeworks or assignements XD
And I think May is cute, while Sara seems boring :P But the only guy in the game, we NEED to have him in our club XD

Do your homework.
I vote yes for May, just to be different from everyone else.

I second what Faust said, Sara seems really boring compared to our adorable kouhai kid who calls us aneki big sis. She's a keeper.

I change my vote for Sara from yes to NO because TSUNDERE.

YOU HAD ME AT TSUNDERE

*insert evil cackle here*

Also, I am curious about May, so YES.

And let's do homework.

On a different note, I wouldn't call myself a nerd. A geek, however? Oh dear God, fuck yes.

I say go for May at the moment, because I think her design is adorable.
Just wait for the game to do a major tweeest and May will go hardcore yandere on us. Just wait.

Just an update;

Sara has 5 Yes votes to 4 No and has been locked in.

May currently has 4 Yes votes to 3 No votes. She'll be locked in in a few hours, so if you want to vote, now's the time!

Yes for May, just to make sure.

Alright, time's up! Both Sara and May are now locked in, and we have room for just one more target!



Wishing to free herself from the despotic tyranny of homework, Miley sets off to vanquish their fell armies once and for all!

With the dawning of the new day, Miley sets out to talk to the good people of the town, and what do they have to say?



...this is not a good start.



At the very least, it's preferable to Octavia.



Secret Girls Love route confirmed!





When it comes to potential targets, you can either engage in small chat or 'spend time' with them; the former doesn't cost any time and sometimes gives useful tidbits about their personalities, whereas the latter costs time but may also increase your friendship with them. The above two are just small chats and as you can see, we now know Sara is into Whodunnits' and May is...god, she's still unreadable. Why isn't there a 'Miley' topic to chat about? It's the only thing that I know appeals to her.

Anyway, with all that running round town, what do we get but a cutscene!



It...it is...!



...an aging comedian whose fanbase probably largely consists of baby boomers.



So Miley fangirls all over Mr. Comedy Man, and in return...



...he gives us a sidequest! He tells Miley that he has a son, who he implies is quiet and lonely, and asks her to be a bro to him. Wait, quiet, lonely? Do we know anyone like that? Should we even bother working it out by matching character traits, given that there is literally only one teen male in this entire town?

Stan's son is...!



TSUN-KUN!!!

!

!

...

...

...who still refuses to say a damn word. I just don't even know anymore, guys.



Giving up on scaling the steel battlements of Tsun-kun's heart friendship, Miley decides to chat with Sara about mystery novels, since we now know she's into that.



Quite amusingly, talking to Sara actually raised Miley's fatigue (it was 1 1/2 before). To be fair, trying to maintain a conversation with someone as dull as Sara Croft would be draining on anybody.



Miley than chats to May about video games, which turns out to be a thing she's completely neutral towards. What is this woman's personality and interest??

Anyway, the day is done, and we've learnt that Tsun-kun will never love us, talking to Sara is work and May is obviously a robot masquerading as human.

Here's our stats at the end of the day:



Note that unlike Sara, hanging out with May had no effect on Miley's fatigue.



So lads and lasses, what's our plan for tonight? We're done with homework, so no more of that! Our choices are thus as follows:
- read the pet magazine (increases Pets skill);
- watch tv (increases a random skill);
- make jewelry (earns $5); and
- sleep (greatly decreases fatigue).

Happy voting!