tvtropes.org

Serre - TV Tropes

  • ️Tue Jun 09 2020

Serre (Visual Novel)

Arlette is an awkward girl who likes plants more than other people. Oaxa is a bee alien conqueror of planets who's not very good at it. What does Arlette do when said bee alien conqueror suddenly appears, towering over her and staring menacingly? Offer her tea, of course!

Serre is a Visual Novel about a girl and an alien drinking tea and falling in love. It was developed by Adrienne Bazir in 2017 for Itch.io's Yuri Game Jam. Lindar K. Greenwood composed the soundtrack and oversaw the sound design, and Allen Martsch served as beta tester. The game can be downloaded on Itch.io for 5 dollars. For 10 dollars or more you also get access to an art book, which includes Concept Art and bonus comics.

Serre contains examples of:

  • Abusive Parent: Oaxa’s mother — a Grand Commander who might be called “Andoi” based on the shapes in her name — sent Oaxa, alone, to conquer Earth, expecting her to die in the process.
  • All There in the Manual: The art book reveals the story takes place in a city in France.
  • Almost Kiss: In Chapter 3, during a tender moment, the player is given three options that are all variations of "kiss Oaxa." The two lean in... only for Oaxa to lean in and give Arlette a Bear Hug, while Arlette mentally berates herself for forgetting that of course Oaxa doesn't understand what a kiss is, lacking a mouth.
  • Animal Motifs: Oaxa’s insectoid design, buzzing telepathy, and black-and-yellow colors evoke bees. This cues the reader to the authoritarian nature of her home society — Oaxa’s mother rules harshly. On a lighter note, bees are attracted to flowers, and Arlette is a florist.
  • Caring Gardener: Arlette adores flowers, partly because they can't say cruel things about her.
  • Distant Finale: The epilogue shows a slightly older Arlette and Oaxa, still happy and still together.
  • Extra Eyes: Oaxa has six eyes, being designed after a bee.
  • Flower Motifs: Arlette explains the symbolism of flowers like roses and narcissuses to Oaxa. On another note, Oaxa is a very bee-like alien who is drawn to Arlette, a gardener who lives surrounded by flowers.
  • Genki Girl: Initially fully confident in her ability to conquer Earth, Oaxa is chipper and bright, a sunshiney contrast to Arlette’s self-beratement and timidity.
  • Interspecies Romance: A love story between a human and a large bee-like alien.
  • The Radio Dies First: When Oaxa crashes, it’s mostly her ship communicator that breaks, preventing her from getting in contact with the Empire. She asks to stay with Arlette until it repairs itself and spends that time slowly bonding with her. Once it finally comes back online, Oaxa’s mother has a harsh conversation with her, presumably explaining that the world is bigger than one greenhouse.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Oaxa realizes that Arlette lied to her about how big Earth was and slips up by admitting that her mother said that humans were ruthless, Arlette lets her have it, pointing out that Oaxa was there for conquering — even if she tried to do it peacefully — and that it was a member of her own species that sent her to die on the human’s planet. Arlette immediately regrets laying into her afterward. However, the speech gets Oaxa to realize that she’d been imposing on Arlette without considering her feelings, and apologizes for “conquering” her greenhouse.
  • Take Over the World: The Grand Commander sent Oaxa to Earth with the goal of conquering it for their people. Oaxa, however, mistakes Arlette’s greenhouse for the entire planet, and satisfies herself for a while by “conquering” it through a relatively peaceful conversation with Arlette. The reveal that Arlette was lying about the greenhouse being the whole world causes the finale’s tension.
  • Telepathy: The bee aliens don’t have mouths, so instead Oaxa communicates to Arlette through electric signals sent directly to her brain. Arlette immediately identifies this as telepathy and panics about whether or not Oaxa can read her mind.

    Arlette’s Narration: Oh god… Has she been able to read my mind this whole time!?
    Oaxa: Oh, of course not!
    Arlette’s Narration: OH MY GOD SHE JUST READ MY MIND.
    Oaxa: I did not! I would never!!!
    Oaxa: You just, well, tend to say things out loud sometimes. Things that I think you do not mean for me to hear.

  • Translator Microbes: Oaxa has a translator that's small enough to wear like a pin that allows her and Arlette to understand each other perfectly. When she turns it off, Arlette hears her telepathy as a pleasant hum in her mind. Oaxa also finds Arlette’s untranslated voice enchanting.
  • Wham Line: Two in quick succession from Oaxa after she learns just how big the planet she's been sent to conquer actually is:

    Oaxa: This is Earth, isn't it?
    Arlette: !
    Oaxa: Oh... Oh, no...
    Oaxa: Mother has sent me to Earth to die.

  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Initially, Oaxa wants very badly for her conquering of Earth to go well, in the hopes that her mother, the Empire’s Grand Commander, will tell her that she did a good job.