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alias_sqbrMy Forged Wedding: Akito, Star Crossed Myth: Dui epilogue and Krioff, Kings of Paradise: prologue
Various things I played for free, and one I got on special. I didn't get super into any of them, but did kinda enjoy My Forged Wedding: Akito.
Content note: mentions of consent issues and pseudo-incest
My Forged Wedding:
MC is a country girl from Kyushu (why is it always Kyushu) unemployed in the big city. Her 'uncle' (a distant relative in his 30s) helps her out, but says she needs to help out one of his friends/bar patrons in return, a group of 20 something dudes he coached in little league.
And it turns out that 'help' ends up being a fake marriage! Including, potentially, with the uncle! Who is a laid-back bohemian CEO who runs a sports bar as a hobby, sure. I was curious to see how they'd handle it and so checked out the comments and looks like he (a) has to be persuaded to be involved with MC by her (b) was adopted into the family. He's still like 12 years older and watched her grow up but ANYWAY.
Akito:
The free dude was Akito, MC's childhood first love, now turned esthetician (masseuse/makeup artist) at a fancy spa. He was an asshole but I read the whole thing in one sitting, even with ads, so I guess I liked it! The two of them have been in love since they were kids, but just as they reached their teens and might have said something, MC misunderstood and thought he had a girlfriend, and became distant. So they haven't seen each other in ten years and are both full of frustrated yearning that manifests as quasi-sibling-esque only-somewhat-good-natured teasing, with lots of poking each other's noses etc.
This dynamic was super cute, except for all the times Akito took it too far and got really mean and sexually skeevy, which was not cute at all. At first I thought he was trying to dubcon MC but in the end I think he was in denial about how sexual he was being and told himself it was just teasing, since as the relationship develops he tends to stop himself and blush, looking surprised at his own reaction. And eventually he tones down the meanness and they have a cute companionable dynamic.
Also it was enjoyably ungendered, he's very un-self-conscious about being a somewhat androgynous man in a job associated with women, and has an arc about convincing his more traditional father to respect his career. He's not skeevy at all to other women, he explicitly treats male and female clients the same.
So I may or may not have been imagining a version of this where Akito is a cis woman lol. "BFFs who were secretly in love but never said anything and now project their frustrated yearning into 'platonic' teasing" is made for f/f. Or m/m, which could leave Akito's arc identical and just change the more vaguely characterised MC. Obviously that would make the fake marriage part harder to incorporate, especially in Japan, but there would be ways to make it work.
Star Crossed Myth:
Krioff: Was free with ads. They were going for "seems gruff and mean on the surface, is actually angsty and well intentioned", and I kind of got it, but he was way meaner than made any damn sense (he traps MC in his room 'for her own good' and doesn't give her anything to read or do) and I couldn't be bothered dealing with the ads so just stopped.
Dui Epilogue: This was half price and I had the coins to spare. I wanted to see the shadow/regular Dui conflict explored and settled, and that happened a little but there was something lacking. It was a bit sexier than the main story, and very cute and romantic.
Kings of Paradise:
This prologue was a fun ride, even if I didn't feel inspired to play the associated route.
The heroine is a sad housewife wondering if her neglectful husband still loves her. She gets invited to a fancy party in a fancy apartment block and he says he's too busy to go, and she ends up impressing four rich guys by warning someone about an allergen she tasted in their food. She says "I'm not a professional I just cook a lot".
BUT THEN. HER HUSBAND SHOWS UP WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND!
The four guys whisk her away to dress her up in a pretty dress, treating her like something precious. This was pretty fun, poor girl deserved it. She strides out to confront her husband.
He says "What's the problem, you can still do your beloved cooking and cleaning"??? And that she can't survive without him, and without proof of his cheating he won't have to pay alimony?? This bastard better not be a LI >:(
She tells him to go hell :D
But a while later she's burning through her savings, unemployed, worried she'll never find someone who'll hire her with a four year employment gap.
Then a fancy car takes her to a mysterious interview! In the fancy apartment block! IN THE POOL. WITH THE FOUR HOT GUYS IN THEIR BATHERS.
MC: This seems weird maybe I should just...go... D:
Taki: Noone else will hire you. You're going to become our private housekeeper. We've already moved your luggage.
They've been TRACKING HER PHONE.
Creeped out, she tries to leave, but slips and falls into the pool. AND SHE CAN'T SWIM. WHICH HOT DUDE WILL SAVE HER???
Hmmph, looks like the nice one I got attached to, Yosuke, is secretly skeezy. Anyway, the free dude is Taki, the coldly domineering real estate agent who seems to be her childhood friend. I'm not in the mood for another cold childhood friend right now so will wait on playing it.
Various things I played for free, and one I got on special. I didn't get super into any of them, but did kinda enjoy My Forged Wedding: Akito.
Content note: mentions of consent issues and pseudo-incest
My Forged Wedding:
MC is a country girl from Kyushu (why is it always Kyushu) unemployed in the big city. Her 'uncle' (a distant relative in his 30s) helps her out, but says she needs to help out one of his friends/bar patrons in return, a group of 20 something dudes he coached in little league.
And it turns out that 'help' ends up being a fake marriage! Including, potentially, with the uncle! Who is a laid-back bohemian CEO who runs a sports bar as a hobby, sure. I was curious to see how they'd handle it and so checked out the comments and looks like he (a) has to be persuaded to be involved with MC by her (b) was adopted into the family. He's still like 12 years older and watched her grow up but ANYWAY.
Akito:
The free dude was Akito, MC's childhood first love, now turned esthetician (masseuse/makeup artist) at a fancy spa. He was an asshole but I read the whole thing in one sitting, even with ads, so I guess I liked it! The two of them have been in love since they were kids, but just as they reached their teens and might have said something, MC misunderstood and thought he had a girlfriend, and became distant. So they haven't seen each other in ten years and are both full of frustrated yearning that manifests as quasi-sibling-esque only-somewhat-good-natured teasing, with lots of poking each other's noses etc.
This dynamic was super cute, except for all the times Akito took it too far and got really mean and sexually skeevy, which was not cute at all. At first I thought he was trying to dubcon MC but in the end I think he was in denial about how sexual he was being and told himself it was just teasing, since as the relationship develops he tends to stop himself and blush, looking surprised at his own reaction. And eventually he tones down the meanness and they have a cute companionable dynamic.
Also it was enjoyably ungendered, he's very un-self-conscious about being a somewhat androgynous man in a job associated with women, and has an arc about convincing his more traditional father to respect his career. He's not skeevy at all to other women, he explicitly treats male and female clients the same.
So I may or may not have been imagining a version of this where Akito is a cis woman lol. "BFFs who were secretly in love but never said anything and now project their frustrated yearning into 'platonic' teasing" is made for f/f. Or m/m, which could leave Akito's arc identical and just change the more vaguely characterised MC. Obviously that would make the fake marriage part harder to incorporate, especially in Japan, but there would be ways to make it work.
Star Crossed Myth:
Krioff: Was free with ads. They were going for "seems gruff and mean on the surface, is actually angsty and well intentioned", and I kind of got it, but he was way meaner than made any damn sense (he traps MC in his room 'for her own good' and doesn't give her anything to read or do) and I couldn't be bothered dealing with the ads so just stopped.
Dui Epilogue: This was half price and I had the coins to spare. I wanted to see the shadow/regular Dui conflict explored and settled, and that happened a little but there was something lacking. It was a bit sexier than the main story, and very cute and romantic.
Kings of Paradise:
This prologue was a fun ride, even if I didn't feel inspired to play the associated route.
The heroine is a sad housewife wondering if her neglectful husband still loves her. She gets invited to a fancy party in a fancy apartment block and he says he's too busy to go, and she ends up impressing four rich guys by warning someone about an allergen she tasted in their food. She says "I'm not a professional I just cook a lot".
BUT THEN. HER HUSBAND SHOWS UP WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND!
The four guys whisk her away to dress her up in a pretty dress, treating her like something precious. This was pretty fun, poor girl deserved it. She strides out to confront her husband.
He says "What's the problem, you can still do your beloved cooking and cleaning"??? And that she can't survive without him, and without proof of his cheating he won't have to pay alimony?? This bastard better not be a LI >:(
She tells him to go hell :D
But a while later she's burning through her savings, unemployed, worried she'll never find someone who'll hire her with a four year employment gap.
Then a fancy car takes her to a mysterious interview! In the fancy apartment block! IN THE POOL. WITH THE FOUR HOT GUYS IN THEIR BATHERS.
MC: This seems weird maybe I should just...go... D:
Taki: Noone else will hire you. You're going to become our private housekeeper. We've already moved your luggage.
They've been TRACKING HER PHONE.
Creeped out, she tries to leave, but slips and falls into the pool. AND SHE CAN'T SWIM. WHICH HOT DUDE WILL SAVE HER???
Hmmph, looks like the nice one I got attached to, Yosuke, is secretly skeezy. Anyway, the free dude is Taki, the coldly domineering real estate agent who seems to be her childhood friend. I'm not in the mood for another cold childhood friend right now so will wait on playing it.
