In preparation for my scathing review of my own work directly based in it (see my other blog post, my Tumblr account, or my deviantART page for details), I decided to give it a re-read.
That, and I thought it was amazing when I read it originally via Baka-Tsuki.
Now, having torn through it in a span of several hours, I am going to devote this space to my impressions of Disappearance, both on its face and through the eyes of the Darian Hunter Files and its continuity.
First off, the second reading was every bit as enjoyable as the first. The "talking without quotes" style is still hard to interpret as to when Kyon is talking or when he's expositing, but I worked my way through. The story was still stellar and the contrasts between the alt-characters, as well as the similarities, are written very well.
The next thing I noticed is that I completely forgot about Human-Nagto inviting Kyon back to her place. (cue bad 70's porn music) I'll get back to this in the next section.
Also, I got the date wrong. Nagato does her business on Dec 18, not Dec 17. That'll teach me to rely on Wikipedia…
Finally, there were some marked differences between the Baka-Tsuki version and the official translation: the first was his noticing Yuki's emotions was at the end in the Baka-Tsuki version, but in the official version, he noted it just before he shot her with the Plot Device. Also, his speech to the Overmind at the end was a bit different. I'm not sure I like the official version being more of a snide, cocky retort. The Baka-Tsuki version I recall being more of an angry, defiant gesture, more a warning than a middle-finger, which is what the official version felt like.
To me; YMMV.
Now, my impressions of Disappearance as it pertains to the story told in Arrogance and Visions:
First, my idea about why Nagato altered the time plane to begin with was pretty much spot-on. Kyon attributing it to emotions and wanting to live in a "normal world" were based on incomplete information. It was semi-accurate, but not completely.
I mean, how she acted around him, still giving him the application even though he pushed her against a wall and basically browbeat her. The fact she invited her to his apartment having only met him once before in the altered history.
The factors Darian pointed out: Suzumiya's no-show, Mikuru's forgetting (and subsequent decking) of him, and Yuki's being more human were all on display as well, just as I remembered them - except Mikuru was still shy and waifish. But, still, the Mikuru we know would never deck anyone, so that alone makes her a badass in my book, at least.
Next, the escape program: in the interpretation of events I have set forth, it is likely that Yuki(true) set that up to allow Kyon a choice. She would never force him to be with her. But she wanted him to look at what she was offering him: no aggravating Suzumiya, no exploiting Mikuru, no SOS Brigade to consume his life…
…and her, exactly as, she believed, he wanted her to be. She hoped that by seeing her as she made herself to be, he would choose her over his previous life.
He didn't.
Plus, I was also unaware that Nagato removed Suzumiya's ability to manipulate reality. I assume she used enough PE(Possibility Energy) from the Heart to make the necessary alterations, then drained the rest somewhere. Perhaps into Asakura; that would make sense if she resurrected her to be her guardian.
Of course, she couldn't destroy the Device at all, even WITH the power of the Heart, so all she could do was drain it, meaning that the Device was intact, but inert, leaving the Device-Suzumiya's pathology intact.
So, yeah, a re-read of Disappearance was eye-opening, but even going mostly by memory, I seem to have nailed the backstory pretty well.
Now, I think I'm ready to tackle my story from a more cynical standpoint.
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