Visual Novel / Sweetest Monster

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Robin Hawkins is down on his luck. His relationship with his wife, Sally, is stagnating, and his daughter, Melody, no longer speaks to him. Stuck in an unsatisfying and draining job, Robin's life is one long, monotonous slog... until he meets the mysterious girl of his dreams in the middle of the night, Bell. However, there is far more to Bell than meets the eye - and Robin's 'dreams' are fast in danger of becoming 'nightmares'.

A short psychological horror Visual Novel by ebi-hime, creator of The Way We All Go, Strawberry Vinegar, The Sad Story of Emeline Burns, and other indie Visual Novel titles.

A direct sequel, Sweetest Monster Refrain, was released in 2023.

Tropes:

• And I Must Scream: At the end, Bell reveals that Robin's daughter Melody was aware of what was happening while Bell was controlling her. Refrain's "He Loves Me Not" ending, meanwhile, has Robin reject Bell, and Lily shows up to take her away. Melody returns, but remembers everything. The game ends with her literally screaming.
• Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: Jokingly said by Bell at the beginning of the game.
• Asshole Victim: Robin, in some viewers' eyes. He ignores his family to an alarming degree, to the point that he hasn't talked to his own daughter in months and considers it a 'normal' afternoon when his wife won't talk to him.
• Cat Girl: Bell has a pair of black cat ears and a tail. Makes sense considering she is the spirit of the cat which belonged to Robin's great-aunt.
• Cats Are Mean: In the flashback, Bell, the cat belonging to Robin's great-aunt would bite and scratch at him. This also applies to Bell as a catgirl as she grows more selfish and cruel.
• Coitus Uninterruptus: Sally walks in on Robin and Bell having sex at the end of Refrain.
• Crazy Cat Lady: The protagonist's great-aunt is described like this, albeit in a more tragic way than usual for the trope.
• Cruel Twist Ending: Bell has permanently possessed Robin's daughter Melody, and Robin is probably stuck with her forever. Robin can choose to exorcise her with Lily's help at the end of Refrain, but Melody wordlessly reveals that she remembers everything Bell and Robin did.
• Despair Event Horizon: Robin's daughter Melody suffers from anxiety and depression and tried to kill herself before the events of the game. And she decides to die, in a sense, after essentially being raped by her own father, by allowing Bell to forever possess her body.
• Downer Ending: Paired with a Cliffhanger in Refrain. Sally walks in on Robin and Bell having sex, with an appropriately horrified reaction. The epilogue then implies that Robin has been Driven to Suicide, as Lily asks Bell if she wants her to finish the job, to which Bell responds that no, she should be the one to do it.
• Driven to Suicide: Melody recently tried to commit suicide, but was unsuccessful. This is also implied to be the case with Robin in Refrain's epilogue, as Lily asks Bell if she wants her to "finish the job".
• Heel Realization: In Refrain's epilogue, while discussing the situation with Lily, Bell realizes that her selfishness destroyed Robin (and his family's) life.
• Kinetic Novel: There are no choices that change the story and there are no Multiple Endings. Refrain, on the other hand, does give the reader a few options and has two different endings depending on your final choice.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Bell, at first. Refrain's epilogue reveals that she was truly a spirit first, then became a cat, then lived as several other humans before possessing Melody.
• Parental Neglect: Robin hasn't even had a proper conversation with his daughter Melody in months. It's so bad he doesn't even realize that Bell is using her body until it's too late.
• Questionable Consent: Bell kisses Robin when he explicitly doesn't want her to, but feels conflicted because he enjoys the feeling of kissing Bell. Eventually, Bell all but corners Robin in the park and has sex with him, despite his initial reluctance he goes along with it.
• Shared Universe: Lily, from ebi-hime's other visual novel Lily of the Valley, appears in Refrain. She fulfills the same purpose here, being The Grim Reaper. The "He Loves Me Not" ending and epilogue suggest that Bell and Lily are akin to cosmic coworkers, and that Bell may have the same powers as Lily.
• Surprise Incest: It turns out that Bell had possessed Melody's body... and then seduced Robin, her father. To his horror.