Everlasting Love
I “saved” Huedhaut for last on the Wishes side of things, because I didn’t really know how I felt about his premise. I’ll tell you about the premise after the jump, although it’s not actually that much of a spoiler.
This is my last Wishes god. I did not expect to finish Wishes first, because I’m far more partial to the Punishments side of things, where I have two gods left.
Synopsis
“Why did you call me?”, Huedhaut asks when he saves the MC from falling to her death off the roof of the planetarium. She doesn’t know. Something about him was kind of… familiar, for lack of a better term. Even if she’s never met him before. Spoiler: she has.
As is usual, she is taken to the mansion, everybody is introduced, and Ikky and Teo make a move on her. Only this time, the move is uncharacteristically aggressive, and I can’t say I enjoyed seeing that. Everything is resolved quickly enough by Hue rescuing her. In the customary next step, the MC is called to the mansion to assist Hue with his work. They go on a field trip to a couple’s wedding. The bride is in a wheelchair, and wishes to be able to stand for one single picture with the wedding party. Hue grants the wish, but is in a gloomy mood throughout, knowing that the bride will soon die, leaving the husband to live out his life without her. He poses the essential philosophical question on love: is it really better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved in the first place? He is convinced the latter is preferable. The MC does not understand his melancholy, and Hue only offers cryptic allusions. Back at the mansion, Leon explains that Hue tires easily in earth’s atmosphere, because he lost the stars in one of his eyes, which are the source of their powers.
The MC starts having dreams again in which she hears the voice of a man. It’s always the same man, and she knows that he must be important to her, but she never sees his face or figures out who the voice belongs to. In her dream, she is standing by what looks like a pool full of radiant water, a magic well of sorts, surrounded by a beautiful garden… The entire scene feels very familiar, but she puts it down to having had this dream for years.
Of course, the MC cannot just continue her ordinary life without the constant interference of the gods. When she goes away on a work trip, the trio of Wishes gods suddenly shows up at her hotel, much to the delight of the MC’s coworkers. Of course, Teorus is charming, Leon is dashing, and Huedhaut is the very image of a gentleman. Plus, they are quite the spectacle to look at. Naturally, the gods do not just show up to mess with the MC’s life – that’s just the added bonus – but because they need her help with work. It is that evening, as she meets with them on the shore of a lake, that everything suddenly comes back to her: who she was when she was a goddess, how she was Hue’s consort, and how she made the fateful decision that cost her her life. Hue is overjoyed that she remembers, but for the MC, the circumstances are not so clear: she cares deeply for Huedhaut, but is he able to love the woman she is now, or does he just see her as a reflection of the goddess she was?
Sidenote: I am happy to report that the sole bathtub situation was handled with grace and aplomb by all involved, and there are no calamities to report.
Epilogue
Meh. The usual. The MC is all stressed out because she totally and immediately wants to know everything about Huedhaut, he is being dark and mysterious, because communication is for schmucks, apparently. A lot of misunderstandings, a festival in the heavens, and a happy ending. Save your money for worthier stories.
The Chemistry
Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? They know each other, but they don’t know each other. The MC responds to the familiarity she senses around him, and quickly develops feelings for him. Hue, of course, is very careful to keep a distance between them, as his feelings regarding her are too painful. When she finally remembers her old life, things get even more complicated. At first, Hue is overjoyed, but sensing her reservations, he goes back to keeping his distance. Once his mark of sin fades and he is recalled to the heavens, that’s when things spin completely out of control, and both Hue and the MC get to show how far they will go in order to protect each other.
While I did not necessarily appreciate the whole teasing aspect all that much – I always think that it’s ridiculously easy to fluster the MC – Hue is overall a very likable character. He is respectful of her, and tries to inflict as little inconvenience on her as possible, without being boring (looking at you, Karno). Also, let’s be honest, he is the love of her life.
The Love Meter
Blessed. So, so blessed. However. I cannot stress enough how absolutely livid I am that Zyglavis is once again cast in the role of the villain. What the everloving fuck is that even? Granted, Hue’s story was one of the first, and maybe they didn’t know they were going to end up releasing the second set of gods, as well, BUT FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, this is ridiculous. It’s not even about what Zyglavis does, but his attitude about it. Once Voltage got around to his own story, they did a complete 180° on his character. Which I fully support, but also why this early version of him is ridiculous.
What? Oh, Hue! Yes. The ending was unnecessarily drawn out, a bit like the end of any given action movie, where the heroes totally must fight it out in hand-to-hand combat. Except fireballs. The King took his own sweet time before he made his appearance, which, of course, ended aforementioned conflict. So, a more timely intervention would have been appreciated.
Bottom Line
I’m glad I got around to reading this route, because in a way, I finally saw the “origin story” of the MC. This is as much about Hue as it is about the goddess the MC was in her former life, and it’s the only story where we get to learn who she was as a person, and what happened to her. However: this is obviously the Official Couple, so much so that I don’t want to imagine what Hue must be feeling in every other route you can choose.
This is a good story. The ending could use a bit of streamlining, but overall I am pleased. Hue might be my favourite Wishes god, after all.
Pretty Boys All in a Row 