straightforwardly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
straightforwardly) wrote2019-01-06 03:08 pm
straightforwardly) wrote2019-01-06 03:08 pm
202 | OZMAFIA!!, brothel route edition
► I’d almost forgotten that I used to do this...
Reading: The Iliad for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
classiclitclub. I’ve already bounced off of this one once, when I tried to read it in 2016, but here’s hoping that it works out this time. I’m also eyeing a few T. Kingfisher novels that I got for Christmas (Clockwork Boys + the sequel), but I haven’t started on them yet.
Listening: The Dust Arc from The Adventure Zone. Mostly while doing the dishes. No spoilers, please!
Playing: I think everyone knows it at this point, but OZMAFIA!!.
Watching: Technically still Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, though I haven’t seen an episode in about a month now. I’m so close to finishing the Grand Prix arc! But my co-watcher isn’t being very cooperative.
Writing: Not focusing on anything in particular— mostly just adding to various WIPs in 50-100 bits, poking at a few potential Chocolate Box treats, and considering OZMAFIA!! fic.
► So, the Brothel Route in OZMAFIA!! turned out to be much shorter than I expected— I finished it one day. It was also… kind of weird.
Mostly, the tone of many of the scenes really, really didn’t fit the rest of the general route— especially after Fuka starting sleeping with Alfani. The contrast between “Fuka losing her way, oh no” and the usual mafia shenanigans was very— jarring, especially since Fuka (obviously) continued to be her usual innocent self in the general route scenes.
Also, this route was surprisingly— graphic? Yes, I know, brothel ending, etc., but it’s not like Fuka never had sex in the other routes either— it’s just that those scenes were all fade-to-black. Though the first few in this route were pretty fade-to-black too— almost hilariously so; I actually wasn’t sure if Fuka had slept with Alfani or not that first time! To quote from my notes for that Sunday + the next:
“- wait, did she sleep with alfani or not????
- and now kyrie’s talking about her bill??? is he just assuming, or???”
Dorian was The Worst. The worst. I mean, the whole “kidnapping Fuka and drugging her to be his sex slave” thing was already PRETTY TERRIBLE, but then came all the extra scenes about how, exactly, he runs the brothel— and yeah. No. Those moments where Manboy’s thinking about how much he hates him were nearly the only time where our thoughts were in-tune.Literally the only good thing about Dorian was how shippy he and Manboy were, in a “we are in the dark together and I will not let you leave me behind in favor of reaching for the light” kind of way.
(Though, uh. It seems that my initially thinking that Manboy was the prostitute killer in one of the lover triangle routes wasn’t too off-base, actually.)
On that note— I wasn’t too crazy about Manboy. I have the vague impression that this might be an unpopular opinion? I do feel sorry for him in the sense that I feel sorry for everyone who is under Dorian’s control. He clearly hates his life and can’t escape from it, and being forced to work in a brothel is a special kind of awful (though he seems to hate his work in the funeral home just as much). But— okay. I do understand why he might feel this way, considering his life circumstances, but his attitude towards sex, and Fuka having sex in particular, was pretty off-putting. It really feels like he thinks only a “pure” Fuka is good enough— and that her enjoying sex is enough to taint her. Which is bullshit. There’s this moment later on where she’s coming on to him, and the narration says, and I quote: “It was as though Manboy had become a sacrifice to some sort of demonic creature.” Which. Really???
I also hate his attitude to Alfani— like he’s always judging him and is disgusted by him. Especially since— I feel like it’s pretty clear that Alfani isn’t stupid, that he knows full-well that this life of theirs isn’t right, and he deals with it all through playing dumb and single-mindedly pursuing pleasure. There’s this great conversation where Alfani makes it very clear that he knows just how fucked up the brothel is— and then wraps up the conversation by playing dumb again.
And that same scene also had this bit, which I found pretty telling:
In short, Manboy basically treats Alfani like trash just because he’s found his own way to deal with everything, and I really dislike that.
I adored Alfani, in case that wasn’t obvious. In a lot of ways, he is complicit in what Dorian does to Fuka, especially in the bad ending— but he’s also had the same thing done to him, in a sense. In fact, the good ending’s route explicitly compares the two of them to one another! I liked Alfani/Fuka a lot, actually, especially in the good ending. There’s something almost pure about their sheer enjoyment of one another— even before Dorian’s drugging, Fuka seems to genuinely like being with him and he with her, even if he’s serving Dorian’s interests at the same time— and I loved how Alfani switches his loyalty to her so easily in the good ending. It’s definitely more than a little fucked up, because Alfani is so very fucked up (and so is Fuka in this route), but I enjoy it.
Here, have another “Alfani isn’t dumb” moment that I liked:
This route also gave me quite a few Kyrie feelings! Especially the bad ending, though the good ending did send my mind awhirl with the Kyrie/Fuka possibilities. (Though it’s an absolute tragedy that it ended just before we got to see Kyrie’s reaction to Fuka being the new owner!)
It’s interesting— in one of Kyrie’s routes, either he or (I think it was more likely) Dorian compares the two of them to one another. And I do see the similarity, actually, especially after playing this route. Both complain of boredom, both seek to please themselves, and both hurt other people.
At the same time— I feel like this route also makes it abundantly clear that Kyrie’s actually the better person of the two of them. I can see Kyrie doing a lot of terrible things— but he would balk at what Dorian can do without blinking. I made fun of Kyrie in one of the love triangle routes for thinking that he was “too twisted” for Fuka, but now I think that maybe what Kyrie thinks that he (Kyrie) is, is what Dorian actually is.
Also, this made me wibble hard:
That whole scene did, actually. It’s clear that Kyrie’s trying so hard to seem unaffected by what’s happened to Fuka— and it’s equally clear that he’s not unaffected. His not being able to find any words— and when he does speak, it’s to see if this was at least what Fuka wanted — but of course, there’s no comfort for him there either, because Fuka’s “yes” is so obviously not a real yes, but the result of brainwashing/drugging. Ughhh, it’s so painful and I love it. The good ending was easily my favorite, but— Kyrie’s pain here does give the bad ending something to recommend it.
So, yeah. Weird, weird route, but I did find some enjoyment in it. Next up is Robin Hood’s route, which I’m not too excited about yet, but I am definitely willing to be convinced. Though, there was an intriguing/promising moment with him during Scarlet’s route…
Reading: The Iliad for
classiclitclub. I’ve already bounced off of this one once, when I tried to read it in 2016, but here’s hoping that it works out this time. I’m also eyeing a few T. Kingfisher novels that I got for Christmas (Clockwork Boys + the sequel), but I haven’t started on them yet. Listening: The Dust Arc from The Adventure Zone. Mostly while doing the dishes. No spoilers, please!
Playing: I think everyone knows it at this point, but OZMAFIA!!.
Watching: Technically still Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, though I haven’t seen an episode in about a month now. I’m so close to finishing the Grand Prix arc! But my co-watcher isn’t being very cooperative.
Writing: Not focusing on anything in particular— mostly just adding to various WIPs in 50-100 bits, poking at a few potential Chocolate Box treats, and considering OZMAFIA!! fic.
► So, the Brothel Route in OZMAFIA!! turned out to be much shorter than I expected— I finished it one day. It was also… kind of weird.
Mostly, the tone of many of the scenes really, really didn’t fit the rest of the general route— especially after Fuka starting sleeping with Alfani. The contrast between “Fuka losing her way, oh no” and the usual mafia shenanigans was very— jarring, especially since Fuka (obviously) continued to be her usual innocent self in the general route scenes.
Also, this route was surprisingly— graphic? Yes, I know, brothel ending, etc., but it’s not like Fuka never had sex in the other routes either— it’s just that those scenes were all fade-to-black. Though the first few in this route were pretty fade-to-black too— almost hilariously so; I actually wasn’t sure if Fuka had slept with Alfani or not that first time! To quote from my notes for that Sunday + the next:
“- wait, did she sleep with alfani or not????
- and now kyrie’s talking about her bill??? is he just assuming, or???”
Dorian was The Worst. The worst. I mean, the whole “kidnapping Fuka and drugging her to be his sex slave” thing was already PRETTY TERRIBLE, but then came all the extra scenes about how, exactly, he runs the brothel— and yeah. No. Those moments where Manboy’s thinking about how much he hates him were nearly the only time where our thoughts were in-tune.
(Though, uh. It seems that my initially thinking that Manboy was the prostitute killer in one of the lover triangle routes wasn’t too off-base, actually.)
On that note— I wasn’t too crazy about Manboy. I have the vague impression that this might be an unpopular opinion? I do feel sorry for him in the sense that I feel sorry for everyone who is under Dorian’s control. He clearly hates his life and can’t escape from it, and being forced to work in a brothel is a special kind of awful (though he seems to hate his work in the funeral home just as much). But— okay. I do understand why he might feel this way, considering his life circumstances, but his attitude towards sex, and Fuka having sex in particular, was pretty off-putting. It really feels like he thinks only a “pure” Fuka is good enough— and that her enjoying sex is enough to taint her. Which is bullshit. There’s this moment later on where she’s coming on to him, and the narration says, and I quote: “It was as though Manboy had become a sacrifice to some sort of demonic creature.” Which. Really???
I also hate his attitude to Alfani— like he’s always judging him and is disgusted by him. Especially since— I feel like it’s pretty clear that Alfani isn’t stupid, that he knows full-well that this life of theirs isn’t right, and he deals with it all through playing dumb and single-mindedly pursuing pleasure. There’s this great conversation where Alfani makes it very clear that he knows just how fucked up the brothel is— and then wraps up the conversation by playing dumb again.
And that same scene also had this bit, which I found pretty telling:
In short, Manboy basically treats Alfani like trash just because he’s found his own way to deal with everything, and I really dislike that.
I adored Alfani, in case that wasn’t obvious. In a lot of ways, he is complicit in what Dorian does to Fuka, especially in the bad ending— but he’s also had the same thing done to him, in a sense. In fact, the good ending’s route explicitly compares the two of them to one another! I liked Alfani/Fuka a lot, actually, especially in the good ending. There’s something almost pure about their sheer enjoyment of one another— even before Dorian’s drugging, Fuka seems to genuinely like being with him and he with her, even if he’s serving Dorian’s interests at the same time— and I loved how Alfani switches his loyalty to her so easily in the good ending. It’s definitely more than a little fucked up, because Alfani is so very fucked up (and so is Fuka in this route), but I enjoy it.
Here, have another “Alfani isn’t dumb” moment that I liked:
This route also gave me quite a few Kyrie feelings! Especially the bad ending, though the good ending did send my mind awhirl with the Kyrie/Fuka possibilities. (Though it’s an absolute tragedy that it ended just before we got to see Kyrie’s reaction to Fuka being the new owner!)
It’s interesting— in one of Kyrie’s routes, either he or (I think it was more likely) Dorian compares the two of them to one another. And I do see the similarity, actually, especially after playing this route. Both complain of boredom, both seek to please themselves, and both hurt other people.
At the same time— I feel like this route also makes it abundantly clear that Kyrie’s actually the better person of the two of them. I can see Kyrie doing a lot of terrible things— but he would balk at what Dorian can do without blinking. I made fun of Kyrie in one of the love triangle routes for thinking that he was “too twisted” for Fuka, but now I think that maybe what Kyrie thinks that he (Kyrie) is, is what Dorian actually is.
Also, this made me wibble hard:
That whole scene did, actually. It’s clear that Kyrie’s trying so hard to seem unaffected by what’s happened to Fuka— and it’s equally clear that he’s not unaffected. His not being able to find any words— and when he does speak, it’s to see if this was at least what Fuka wanted — but of course, there’s no comfort for him there either, because Fuka’s “yes” is so obviously not a real yes, but the result of brainwashing/drugging. Ughhh, it’s so painful and I love it. The good ending was easily my favorite, but— Kyrie’s pain here does give the bad ending something to recommend it.
So, yeah. Weird, weird route, but I did find some enjoyment in it. Next up is Robin Hood’s route, which I’m not too excited about yet, but I am definitely willing to be convinced. Though, there was an intriguing/promising moment with him during Scarlet’s route…
no subject