![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waterscrollI think rather than get into something I was reading/watching/etc Before it was actually easier to start something new, and I decided I really badly wanted to date a Taisho-era soldier with a dark past and some probable war crimes behind him. I dropped Rose in the Embers a while ago after the prologue for being too rapey. But it turns out that it's only the prologue that is rapey, once I'm on the actual route that's not an issue at all.
In the prologue, MC comes to the city with a contract to work as a maid in a hotel, only to find out that she's been tricked into signing herself into indentured sex work. Her co-workers, employers and prospective customers all cackle with glee at ruining her innocence. I did not like this at all and did not think it was well done. The prologue ends with a wealthy lord buying her contract and then giving her to one of his friends. I'd recommend to past-self to skip the prologue and start with the route.
Takahisa is grumpy and rude but turns out to be a relatively decent employer. He originally says that he is hiring her as a housekeeper but what he really needs her for is to be a caretaker and companion to his younger sister, Suzuko, whom he is trying to raise after both their parents died of cholera. Suzuko is a mess, angry and traumatized, and so is Takahisa. The first four chapters is almost entirely MC alone in the house with Suzuko and Takahisa, trying to find a way to connect to them when they both clearly need some kind of emotional connection but won't let her in.
There are rumors about Takahisa that he left one of his men behind in a battle. It may have been on purpose. It may have been in order to get a promotion. I am curious to hear more about this.
In other fannish things, I watched episode 1 of Guardian. There's a lot of infodump and I'm not sure I got it all, but Shen Wei is lovely and pines beautifully and I could watch him doing that for a while.
In the prologue, MC comes to the city with a contract to work as a maid in a hotel, only to find out that she's been tricked into signing herself into indentured sex work. Her co-workers, employers and prospective customers all cackle with glee at ruining her innocence. I did not like this at all and did not think it was well done. The prologue ends with a wealthy lord buying her contract and then giving her to one of his friends. I'd recommend to past-self to skip the prologue and start with the route.
Takahisa is grumpy and rude but turns out to be a relatively decent employer. He originally says that he is hiring her as a housekeeper but what he really needs her for is to be a caretaker and companion to his younger sister, Suzuko, whom he is trying to raise after both their parents died of cholera. Suzuko is a mess, angry and traumatized, and so is Takahisa. The first four chapters is almost entirely MC alone in the house with Suzuko and Takahisa, trying to find a way to connect to them when they both clearly need some kind of emotional connection but won't let her in.
There are rumors about Takahisa that he left one of his men behind in a battle. It may have been on purpose. It may have been in order to get a promotion. I am curious to hear more about this.
In other fannish things, I watched episode 1 of Guardian. There's a lot of infodump and I'm not sure I got it all, but Shen Wei is lovely and pines beautifully and I could watch him doing that for a while.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-01 12:04 am (UTC)I haven't watched Guardian but have admired Shen Wei's prettiness in gifs.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-01 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-01 02:12 am (UTC)Thanks, that's really good to know.
Oh also: while we're talking about Love365, I don't know if you noticed but the new free guy just showed up, he's a mean pirate. Which I suspect is not your sort of historical but mentioning it just in case.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-05 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-05 11:36 pm (UTC)I tried the prologue and did not like it at all but YMMV.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-01 02:36 am (UTC)Shen Wei pines wonderfully, it's true. (And yeah, I'm still not sure I got all the infodump either.)
no subject
Date: 2020-04-01 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 12:39 am (UTC)I am still mostly having shippy thoughts and rolling in the feelings, no deep thoughts yet either. But we'll see. :)