Post by wendingshadow in Harem Hotel (18+) comments

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wendingshadow2 years ago (2 edits) (+2)(-1)

I downloaded this game because I heard it was popular. I wasn't expecting the story to be so gripping. What started as a kinky, guilty pleasure has evolved into a riveting saga where the stakes couldn't be higher and my emotional investment is all-in. I really, really hate the humanity of this world, with the exception of the few good ones. You're doing an incredible job of stoking my sympathy for the elves. If I had the power, I'd reach into that game and counter-crusade the fuck out of humanity. I want revenge for the elves. I want to see human cities burn and the human race endure a dark age for every year they enslaved the elves. I'm on the bit right now with Jia's wedding, and that peppy newscaster line of "we've all been on the edge of our seats waiting to see who will become the next king of all elves!" left me feeling utterly appalled. You're portraying the rape and destruction of a society, and I cannot look away until I see the elves freed and the unfathomable tragedy that's befalling them come to an end. A certain part of Maria's story (and I think you know which) nailed my overall emotional reaction perfectly.

In short, this is a remarkable story you've created. Not only because of the elves, but because of the characters. Each of their stories pulls at me emotionally in a different way. Ash's nearly made me cry. Even the "side" characters are people I want to get closer to. My favorite might be Jin. I want to romance her just to see her shattered spirit mend.

As a sidenote, it's somehow incredibly powerful that I've never seen a single male elf up until this point. Just letting my imagination describe them being entirely separated from their females and worked to death is horrifying. The rage and despair I imagine in them ought to be able to tear apart worlds.

(Edit: And now I finished Lin's story, and Nia's story, and my emotional turmoil has reached new heights. Fuck... By the way, I want some serious catharsis by the end of this. I mean it. I want to see that newscaster and everyone connected to this plot to make half-elves the 'replacement' and genocide a whole species get sentenced to death by torture. Extreme? Hell. Yes. But given the crimes implied, if anything deserved it, this does.)

Recyi2 years ago (1 edit) (+1)(-1)

Same here, let's purify this world Comrade

I think everyone got mad about Maria's event, it was very stressful.

For me , all the stories have marked me a lot, i don't want to forget this feeling or this game.

I didn't like Jin so much because of the first impression, my favorite secondary was Kate:v I identified with her a little bit.

RuneyGames2 years ago(+2)

Thank you so much! Catharsis is one of the main emotions I want felt by the end of this story. It's not done often in media, but I think it feels really good. I think it's not done often because it takes a lot of time to get to that point but that's another conversation.

wendingshadow2 years ago(+1)

Thank you for the response! And for the reassurance that there will be a cathartic payoff at the end! Not gonna lie, I was starting to question whether it was healthy to keep following such an emotional story when I didn't know whether it would reach a conclusion I could live with. I don't put my heart through a wringer just for the experience, but rather because the pain allows for an even greater joy when we get that longed-for reversal. Now that I know you understand that, I feel safe to keep going. You're a great storyteller. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

RuneyGames2 years ago(+2)

Thanks :)

antherus792 years ago (1 edit)

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you ..." - Friedrich Nietzsche

While it is understandable to feel moral outrage and a powerful emotional response to the plight and oppression of the elves, retaliation such as you're suggesting would make you far worse than the humans in this story. Remember that there are good humans as well, ordinary people with ordinary lives, and they'd be caught up in the indiscriminate massacre that you propose.

Seek to right wrongs and injustices, not create far more of them.

P.S. Keep in mind that you didn't have a problem reaping the benefits of elf/human relations early on. Lin was your slave from the start, and your first thought wasn't "I must free her at all costs!" You went into it with the mindset of "oooh, kinky harem simulator!" Your default state wasn't that of a moral crusader, but an average person. Suppose someone came along during that point in the story with your current mindset. Saw that you were a slave owner and instantly declared you to be irredeemably evil. They then sought to end your life or at the very least ruin it. You probably wouldn't have appreciated it very much.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a reaction to the story at all. Instead, temper it with some self-reflection and humility.

wendingshadow2 years ago

Thanks for the response! I appreciate it. That's a good quote. (It's a testament to Runey's crafting of the story that people can actually bring up Nietzsche when discussing it.)

When I first started playing the game, it was just a game. The characters were pixels and code. I wasn't invested emotionally. There's a reason people indulge in fantasy: no one is harmed. For all I knew, Lin wouldn't be written as a sentient being, but as a shallow archetype. There are plenty of adult stories in circulation where females are written to gleefully adore their circumstances. Those stories aren't my cup of tea, but to each their own.

All I was doing with my previous post was trying to give expression to the depth of emotion the story evoked in me at certain points, to congratulate Runey on a job well done.

As you said: "Seek to right wrongs and injustices, not create far more of them."

To that I would add: "Do not hesitate to intervene when a wrong is being committed before your eyes, simply for fear that in rescuing the innocent, you do harm to the guilty."

I realize that is a very, very slippery slope to stand on. I could see that being extended to a philosophy of: "bomb the guilty, even if some innocents get killed as collateral damage." Which I do not agree with.

The actions I spoke of ('counter-crusade the fuck out of humanity' for one) were written in a state of extreme emotion. I'm a very reflective person by nature. Killing is terrible. It is always terrible, even if there are times when it is justified. For example, if I had the chance to rescue those elven rebel leaders who were hanged, even if it meant killing their executioners, I'd have done it without hesitation.

During World War 2, there was a debate over bombing Auschwitz. Some advocated doing it, even if it meant that some of the prisoners would die, in an attempt to deter the Nazis in their mass-killing. A way of saying, "We know what you're doing." It's an incredibly difficult quandary. One of many things Runey has done well is portraying that there is no simple, easy solution to what's happened to the elves. Yet the actions of the revolutionaries remain understandable, because they could no longer stand by and do nothing while their people were being raped, enslaved, and murdered.

And for the record, heh, my very first reaction to Lin was wanting to give her a hug and reassure her that everything was okay, that I'd never hurt her or get rid of her. It wasn't to berate her bad cooking.

ResidentLurker2 years ago

That part of Maria's story made me go and clean my personal weapon collection. The rage that I felt at that particular story point had me wanting to legit go to war. Runey does a superb job of drawing out the feelings of the player, and I believe I'm not the only person who felt the urge to begin a crusade to free the elves.

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