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mimikoi

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A member registered Sep 22, 2017

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Hi~
I see you're asking for feedback on this game, correct? I played the game as I saw a post on englishotome's tumblr; from my understanding you're also the creator of Aloners?! That was the first free otome I played, and extremely impressed me, especially as you were able to make a game compelling even with the knowledge there were only two endings and a "set" MC personality. I'll stop there as this post isn't about Aloners. Spoilers ahead! 

I say that to say...I'm not as impressed with Bahadur's Story, and perhaps the Wilder series (haven't played Ran so can't judge).  The MC and Bahadur never really grabbed me as authentic nor realistically attracted to one another. The MC I understand is young, a tad spoiled, and naive, but her actions annoyed me (i.e. her objection to the marriage seemed ungrateful considering the times she's living in). I.E she buys alcohol for Bahadur, a djinn slave, and gets upset when he won't sit beside her instead of behind her when they're in a public location.  And still be upset when Bahadur explains they need to blend in. There's a time and place for making a proud statement, and that wasn't one of those times, and lead away from seeing the MC as sensible.

Later,  I couldn't see indicators to support the growth/assumed maturity she experiences later in the story.  One such example is after she and Bahadur have relations on the boat. After he starts to treat her the same as before, the MC assumes it's b/c  he sees her as the aunt, and shields her self in her room pouting/crying. This situation/scene came across as very self-centered on the MC's part, considering I feel we are supposed to feel for her in this moment.  Considering Bahadur's sexual abuse (and trauma)  from the aunt and the MC knowing this, the fact that she turned the situation (his "back to slave thinking" mentality) to be about her emotions/feelings/actions (i.e. "I can't believe I'm doing  this to him", "I feel horrible." etc. so I'm going to sulk) rather than his (Bahadur has to not only seek her out first, but insist she's not hurting him afterwards) made me see her as still very  immature and not truly putting his feelings first. Even towards the end of the game when her uncle, and the others start to reveal the larger plots to the story, the MC's reaction of anger came across as still immature and selfish, mainly indirectly putting her emotions above the needs of others; tbh,I even kinda sided with the Uncle at the end. He may have been conniving, but to me that's realistic for his career, the times, the setting, and what would have been achieved had he been successful. The MC sees the world too idealistically and short-sighted, thus we could never connect enough for me to identify with her or insert myself into her role.

MC aside, Bahadur sadly came across as a little "one note." I feel he fits into the "lifelong friend," "older brother" or "butler" trope, which is fine. But, I couldn't get a grasp on why he always liked/loved the MC. Like, what about her? What's attractive? He's known her so long that it felt like he saw her as a "purity token" (not sure that makes sense, so I apologize) to his strong feelings of guilt. He came across so accepting of her behaviours not matter what she did/said. I kinda wished we saw them butt heads or something so we could a view of their compatibility beyond them "liking" each other.  I know his devotion is to be seen as romantic, but it seemed sad to me; Bahadur came across as so unconditionally devoted to be dependent on her acceptance/adoration/relationship, rather than attaining a stronger sense of esteem and himself. Even how the MC was able to "love him" out of his drug-induced rage in the jail instead of something involving him doing it on his own  seemed a tad cliché, kinda sad, showing to me not a loving moment, but one showing how much he needs her rather than himself, indirectly in a way supporting the slave-master/co-dependent relationship the story seems to want Bahadur/ them to move beyond.

Lastly,  I  freely admit to being overly sensitive about romanticizing slave/slave master relationships. I am a POC woman w/ a background in cross-cultural studies and my family history is, of course, riddled with unromantic slave/master relationships. So, please understand I try not to hold my personal feelings on this subject matter against you or your story, especially as anything or situation can be written about. And, I'm assuming we're coming from different backgrounds. I know I may be taking this too seriously, but I must say I never felt completely comfortable with the portrayal of Bahadur's love for the MC nor the MC's love/view of Bahadur.  Something rubbed me too "you validate me, so I can love/accept myself" or "Uncle Tom-like" on Bahadur's part; this was hard for me to read as this sense of self-perception is a real train of thought I see in my POC community who idealize White cultures/people and seek validation from them rather in themselves first and foremost, especially after the years of being seen as lessors. I can't put it completely in words, but Bahadur just made me sigh sadly on the inside and want more for him. At first, I didn't like his character and antics, (always forgiving the MC, unconditional support, not letting her blame herself even if it's her fault, constantly reassuring her she's better or not like other humans, loving how MC accepts the "shameful, unclean" person he is, etc. ) until a few days later I realized all those things are the same actions I've seen and read concerning POC past and present who lost their sense of self to the point of seeing their worth through the eyes of their oppressors.  A little too pitiful for me. 

The MC in the relationship gave me heavy "it's not me it's them"/"I'm colorblind"/" human guilt" vibes. I never felt like she completely tried to see the world through Bahadur's or a djinn's eyes beyond "slavery is not right" and "they're equal to humans." So seemed delusional to the deeper effects of djinn slavery and people's lives, especially when the MC makes a comment of something along the lines "so you don't see me as useful? "able to do anything?" in response to a conversation with Bahadur and Anisa. All I could think was, "are you serious? I'm sure it's has more to do with him being the slave and you his master for over 18 years is more in his mind." As someone who struggles answering how some of my non-POC friends over how they can show allyship and show empathy while accepting their privilege as a simple reality, I felt by the end of the story the MC wasn't ready or self-aware to be in healthy relationship with a djinn, let alone Bahadur, one so close, attached, and meaningfully interwoven into her life/upbringing. 

I'm very sorry if I come across too critical of your hard work on you story and visual novel. But, I'd rather be honest than patronize you as I have more respect for you as a writer and a person than that, even more so for how much I enjoyed your storytelling in Aloners. I do commend your efforts and wish you luck in your future works. It may be that I am not the audience for this particular series, the Wilder series, for a variety of reasons, the young MC and the portrayal of slave/master relations not my cup of tea being the main ones. I hope you take my words with a cup of salt, and not too harshly. You are brave to submit your work to the eyes of strangers on the internet. 
Good luck with your future projects.

Hi! Is there a guide for Shiloh's birthday game???! It says there are 16 options and I've gotten 8....who are the others and how can we see theirs o___o? Thanks!

welp. I played the demo, forgot about this game, saw it mentioned again somewhere, dl'd the free version. Finished Shiloh's route, and was like, "f' it, let's buy the whole thing." Did not disappoint. This is witty ass game with memorably crappy-in-a-good-way MC+ROs.
I've only done "Adrian," Jeremy, Pran, and Shiloh's routes, but I can say the writing and in-game art (mostly) is bomb.com. Seriously, the shady comments and comebacks left me shooook, like I wish I could spoil them, but unlike the characters im not a jerk. Everyone says things that left me like, "noooo they didn't go there. o.m.g these kids are MOUTHY ASF! NO F'S GIVEN!!" They read for filth, and left me wishing I was that snappy in school. The conversation writing is seriously what makes the game. Just know I DIED during a scene involving impressions, and the MC's b-day party, aka at her willingness to be thristy w/o shame. The MC is truly thotty and bold, and aint shame 'bout it! LOVE IT! We need more bossy and self-assured MCs like her! Best line in the game is from her..."What I want is what I deserve!" YUP! AMEN SISTER.
About the main RO (slighty spoilery?): all good mostly, and "get along" (I say that loosely) with each other. Relationships in all routes, and with one another are believable. Dont come here expecting a Disney love affair.; no love conquers all here! I love how everyone  stays so true to themselves. Jeremy = the best loser ever. Who doesn't like a defeatist with good ol' snark and emoji text game? MC+Jeremy banter shows they work well together; his "hidden layers" are also portrayed very well. funnily, you learn more about Jeremy AND another RO is this route. And his bf ending! Surprisingly sweet. Next, Pran is hot enough physically and such a Sum 41 Hot Topic middle school emo. His boho fashion is ON POINT. Love the sheer! MC+Pran I liked, but I felt I didn't learn enough abt him until the end of the route :T. He is very read between the lines... And tbh, his bf ending left me kinda sad lol. Pran has a line and I'm thinking " woow, awwwh, that's messed up  ;__;." and the MC, well, acts like herself and I just had to luagh and SMDH! She's a really sweet b*tch, and it works for her! Now Shiloh....This dude...is.a.tool. nuff said. Think Butters from South Park, minus authenticity. I can't say I enjoyed his romance w/ MC (rather flat to me), but I laughed the most in his route. God, he's just pathetic. Or, is he?!?!? HMMMM. This guy is a piece of work. He has one of the biggest "wtf you just say?!?" moments and even the MC was shook. And his endings! shoot, I felt bad for MEEE. Too many mixed emotions and questions. gosh darnnit. Shiloh is actually at his best/worst when he shows up in other routes and in-game scenes.
And Adrian. A lovable, adorable, fashionable, ditzy heartbreaker. Cute like a puppy,  petite, and obedient....yeeeep, a man like Adrian is husband material.  shame he's  a sidedude (/TnT)
Now, a few cons. Re-playing the game is a nightmare if you dont use the cheat for taffies and cliques+skip key. Use them to blast through fasters. It's a linear game w/ random scenes thrown in, so it means seeing/skipping a bulk of the non-route content. Also, the side characters Missy and Alicia, what happened to them in the 2nd and 3rd arcs? I felt they were introduced and disappeared. At least we got Lynn! The straight man to the insanity. You also dont need to play with the voices; they're there, but not "wow-ing."
Overall, very good game. refreshing (and btw, these kids get a lil' fresh, m'k?! As someone who went to a boarding school I know how frisky on-campus folks get xD), and great for laughs at others expsenses and roasting. Which I adore highly recommend. and hey, play the free version to try it out, then throw some coin at the creators. deuces, yall! thanks for the enjoyment! on to the others!