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Masterlist and guide
So I originally had little interest in the CollarxMalice sequel game, CollarxMalice: Unlimited, since I assumed it would be $75 worth of post-canon fluff which I wouldn't enjoy enough for the price and length. I'm all about the emotional arcs and drama!
But I was left slightly wanting by the base CollarxMalice Shiraishi ending, both in terms of gaps in his backstory and being curious about what happened next. I looked up a review of his CollarxMalice: Unlimited route and it was like "I wanted sexy post-canon fluff like all the other routes, but instead got G-rated flashbacks, character exploration, and plot".
Which made me think I might enjoy his route, and his route only, so I watched it on youtube.
And I did enjoy it, and that sense of niggling dissatisfaction is gone. I didn't LIKE all the answers it gave me but at least I got them. It's fairly romantic, in a bittersweet-angst-followed-by-hugs kinda way, but not at all sexy, the main character herself assumes he's asexual until one of the extras (when it turns out he isn't, but you could definitely read him as demisexual with a very slow fuse)
It's also, just...the kind of mix of angst, drama, and fluff where at one point a terrorist threatens to kill civilians unless the couple goes on a date at an amusement park. It digs a LOT into Shiraishi's trauma, but...I can see why the most popular fic on the AO3 for this canon has the premise "Shiraishi gets some actual therapy".
But I liked the overall theme of recovering from trauma and guilt, and carving out a happy life under difficult circumstances.
Not sure if I'll watch any other routes, or just put the game on my wishlist and buy it if it's ever significantly on sale.
Content note: Violence, death, suicide, child harm, fantasy slavery
( Read more... )
So I originally had little interest in the CollarxMalice sequel game, CollarxMalice: Unlimited, since I assumed it would be $75 worth of post-canon fluff which I wouldn't enjoy enough for the price and length. I'm all about the emotional arcs and drama!
But I was left slightly wanting by the base CollarxMalice Shiraishi ending, both in terms of gaps in his backstory and being curious about what happened next. I looked up a review of his CollarxMalice: Unlimited route and it was like "I wanted sexy post-canon fluff like all the other routes, but instead got G-rated flashbacks, character exploration, and plot".
Which made me think I might enjoy his route, and his route only, so I watched it on youtube.
And I did enjoy it, and that sense of niggling dissatisfaction is gone. I didn't LIKE all the answers it gave me but at least I got them. It's fairly romantic, in a bittersweet-angst-followed-by-hugs kinda way, but not at all sexy, the main character herself assumes he's asexual until one of the extras (when it turns out he isn't, but you could definitely read him as demisexual with a very slow fuse)
It's also, just...the kind of mix of angst, drama, and fluff where at one point a terrorist threatens to kill civilians unless the couple goes on a date at an amusement park. It digs a LOT into Shiraishi's trauma, but...I can see why the most popular fic on the AO3 for this canon has the premise "Shiraishi gets some actual therapy".
But I liked the overall theme of recovering from trauma and guilt, and carving out a happy life under difficult circumstances.
Not sure if I'll watch any other routes, or just put the game on my wishlist and buy it if it's ever significantly on sale.
Content note: Violence, death, suicide, child harm, fantasy slavery
( Read more... )
