It's kind of amazing that a horny game like Nikke actually included stuff like Cyberpsychosis. Nikkes going insane or committing suicide if they are reminded too much that they are actually full-conversion cyborgs. The reason why they don't have a lot of cool gadgets like built-in thrusters or weapons. And then you have someone like Snow White who replaced a large chunk of her body with enemy robot parts.

Nikke is this really cool thing to have Existing in the space, even if I don't play it anymore, because of how charmingly unbalanced it is as a whole, making the charming parts of it all the more apparent.

It's got barebones gameplay, the seams of which burst the moment you do high level content and realize there's not much it can do due to its limited concept. Combat rarely translates to whatever is going on in any story thematically, being thus gameplay being more of an abstraction. There is a gulf and an ocean of power between fellow characters of the same rarity, meaning a max rarity character might do absolutely fuck all while another one, with the same odds, might snap the game in two with ease. It's story is absolutely nothing to write home about. It's a setting that can be best described as "self-indulgent incel nice guy heaven", where your character is The Only One to be nice to all these poor second class citizen superpowered voluptuous supermodel living weapons with tits two times your head and asses big and heavy enough to easily crush cars. Everything jiggles. It's so insanely predatory with its flash sales after every little thing you do.

And yet, the basic story it tells, it tells well. It's fun. It's entertaining. It knows what it is, and it has fun with itself, but it doesn't throw all pretense, either. It walks the razor-edge thin line between having a goof and telling a story with emotional depth. What it doesn't have in complexity or originality, it makes up for in sheer moment-to-moment, with good scenes, with good execution of things we've already seen. The showdown with Modernia lives rent free in my mind, Commander loading the Vapaus round, as Modernia or Marian, no way of telling, begs them to put down the weapon, because she's already back to normal, Commander shooting, and Modernia catching it with her teeth, and then growling the most guttural threat with freshest purest fury: "You shot me. Your really shot me! Shikikan!" and then drilling Commander right through the chest. And everything that happens after in that scene. It's got interactions out the wazoo, both mundane and touching. It has music that goes from "background music that really works" to "handcrafted for the moment and the character in its excellence". I think it's because Nikke knows what it is, but doesn't reach the self-mockery rung of the ladder. It knows what it's doing, and it's still sincere about it, even if it dares have fun at its own expense sometimes.

So, with that on the table, the take on Cyberpsychosis present in Nikke is incredibly powerful as a narrative tool because it tells you just how much of a jury-rigged slapdash product Nikke are. They are not cutting edge technology, they are literally something they pumped out quick as can be while telling everyone in the world that's still alive that they are cutting edge technology. And all, all of the safeguards are ultimately subject to willpower and perspective. Some Nikke go insane if they are too machine-like. Snow White has basically rebuilt herself over and over hundreds of times in her forever war. Nikke cannot aim at humans, so Crow instead puts a steel plate on the ground and ricochets her bullets off of those to shoot Commander successfully. Aiming is something you do with your senses normally, right? Rose figured out that she can just wear a blindfold and convince herself that what she's slashing is not a human, but a Rapture, and that's how she disemboweled and killed her Commander. Just by not seeing and fervently believing.

It's really, really cool how they go about it.

hi!! fanfic writing person here again :D

i've been looking at a ton of stuff and first like. damn i didn't expect me headcanoning a character as transfem to lead me down a rabbit hole where i now 1. have loads of random knowledge on transfem issues and 2. have a massive amount of respect for transfem people and understanding of the differences in experience of different trans people. wonderful actually. your stuff has been super helpful tysm

actual question! how do i go about using femininity as a marker of transition without falling into gender roles? do you think that's disrespectful? because like. wearing makeup, 'feminine' clothes, that kind of thing-- functionally no bearing on someone's womanhood. but those are, to my understanding, big hallmarks of transfem experiences. i don't want to say that wearing makeup or a dress makes her suddenly feel wonderful and pretty and solves all her woes, but i also don't want to downplay the significance of that experience. ideally, how do you think those should be balanced? basically how do i make her feminine without it seeming like a certain level of femininity is required to be trans.

generally, are there any experiences you think would be helpful to know? i'm writing a lot about her (currently two fics on different effects of HRT as an adult, and two on her gender being affirmed as a teen when she had taken basically no steps in her transition) so any insight is helpful. ideally what would you want portrayed in a non-transfem author writing a trans girl? idk!

i understand that these are very big asks so once again don't feel pressured to reply-- thank you regardless! generally looking at your content as a trans woman has been super helpful so thank you so much for sharing <3 best wishes!

"how do i go about using femininity as a marker of transition without falling into gender roles?"

you cant! but why do you need to? a core part of the trans experience is experimenting with gender, stereotypical or not. so many trans fems (including myself) start off by leaning very hard into stereotypical femininity because they are things that many of us have not previously explored. and then a core part of that journey is learning that there is no right way to explore gender. i spent years leaning into being femme until i realized i was more comfortable with a little bit of fluidity and androgyny. i think the most authentic experience would be to have her explore femininity, stereotypical or not, and then eventually coming to terms with how she is a woman outside of stereotypical femininity. two experiences that i think might be a good way to introduce this concept is one, the gender affirming experience of being included as one of the girls. there's a lot of nuance to that experience that people dont necessarily consider. there is the self doubt of, oh am i really one of the girls or are they just humoring me? and also for some there is the need to feel like they need to confirm to expectations of femininity, and leaning too hard into it.

second, the experience of experiencing misogny for the first time. i specifically say misogny because a lot of trans women have face homophobia and transphobia before they experience misogyny that validates them as a woman and for many people there can be this sudden awareness of how different the world is when you move through it as a woman. there is your typical run of the mill, this guy is a dick misogny but then there is also that experience of facing internalized misogny from other women. the experience of being told by cis women how to engage with femininity because a lot of cis women haven't deconstructed that for themselves is an experience that can be particularly hurtful because it is infantilization and misogny that is also incredibly invalidating.

third, when youre talking about gender affirming experiences from pre-transition, there's a lot of nuance to those experience because while they are gender affirming, there is confliction too. for some theres the question of why do i like this? and you also have to consider that many times those experiences that happen to a person who sees themselves as a boy. there is a level of separation from the experience because they havent necessarily embraced transness yet, and if they have, theres tentativeness because being in your teens is all about forming identity.

if you can capture these experiences in your writing, then fantastic! but also these are hard to capture because often times it takes lived experience to write it with nuance. love these questions and happy to answer! good luck with your writing!

A while ago I remember someone pointing out how Viv makes all of her “tops” bi/pan (Blitz, Ozzie, Husk, Chaz, etc.) and many (but not all) of her “bottoms” gay twinks (Angel, Stolas, probably Fizz? etc.).

She just liked a tweet basically saying Stolas and Fizzarolli are too feminine to ever like women which like, fair I can’t see either genuinely being into girls because they’ve never showed canon interest, BUT, I think it just continues fo prove the point she fetishizes gay men as “the woman” because they are solely attracted to men, and for some reason they’re all effeminate. Again, I love my femme bois, but Viv seems to refuse to believe gay men can be anything other than “twinky bottom” and bi/pan men as anything other than “dom protector.” Why can’t we also have a buff hyper masculine gay character, or an androgynous bi one?!? The fetishization and heteronormitivity is off the charts.

It might not be about fetish, but I think it’s a way to project onto male characters in a gay relationship as a woman. You don’t want any girls threatening the ‘bottom’ status, cause it’s a fantasy. And people have this idea that “if you’re a gay top why not just top cis women too? Any (redacted) is a goal!” And that is actually just homophobia. Like I refuse to believe she isn’t into her fair share of yaoi, and I’m not shaming her for that it’s nothing to be ashamed of. But tropes like that feed into your work. It happens to all artists and writers super into anime. The tops are masculine so attracted to femininity of any gender, all the men are into men, any men can be shipped together, and all the women are into men, but they get in the way and compete with the bottom. That’s your traditional yaoi formula.

It comes down to power, thinking attraction to men means submission to them, and attraction to women is about dominating them. This is why a basic level feminist education is so important. It can really help free you from being confined into concepts like this. Sometimes “gay is okay” “kink is so crazy and funny!” isn’t enough to leave that heteronormative conservative mindset. You have to go deeper.

Idk. To me Asmodeus is our buff masc gay, and Angel Dust is our fem bisexual. To me that makes sense.

Stolas is effeminate? How? He wears grey, red, suits, capes, all very typical royal wear. He’s not feminine at all he’s vibrant and masc, but just very pathetic and wimpy. That’s sortve okay for me, i feel stolas’ story makes more sense if he’s queer and is still questioning, Angel I don’t mind either way, fizz I think his story has more of a dark layer with the robots if he is gay. And probably had to pretend to be bisexual to cater to a wider market. He is the only one who’s shown discomfort/disgust at women coming on to him (if you count those gross robot clients) and good for him. Gay men deserve empowering stories too.

And do you also notice how…Angel is fine with sleeping with women for a twenty and has before, Stolas had to sleep with a woman, fizz robots are abused by women while conscious. The heck is that about.

How would Viv react to meeting a straight femboy I wonder. Do you notice how lesbophobic that is too? Liking women and not being feminine have zero requirement to go hand in hand. Some trans men are effeminate and straight. Some gay couples are fem 4 fem and masc 4 masc. There are femme 4 femme lesbians. That heteronormative way of thinking and obsession with monogamy is so Christian core and is so outdated.

They have to fit the fetishistic formula of twinky maiden and dom masc protector? Idk where you’re getting that anon /s

It's interesting that you say what Sonic fans want equals bad press, but I am curious now, what IS it that fans want? And what does "everyone outside the cult" want? Personally I'd argue proper momentum physics reinstated as a core element of Sonic gameplay seems to be the most consistent direction fans seem to want (due to the amount of fangames made attempting it), but tbf I don't think I'm as in-tune with the Sonic community as you are. I could be wrong about that.

I'm digging so deep in my inbox now I don't even remember what "what Sonic fans want equals bad press" is in reference to. Probably just in reference to how insular the wants, needs, and desires Sonic fans can be. Sometimes they want things that don't actually matter.

I think people "outside the cult" just want a good game. And by that I mean: a game with smooth, polished controls, a strong visual identity, and one that doesn't fall apart if you look at it funny.

Like compare Sonic Frontiers to Super Mario Odyssey and what do you get?

Super Mario Odyssey is a game where all the mechanics sing the same song. Everything feeds into everything else in a simple, clear, obvious loop. Mario's movement is always consistent and player-driven. You rarely if ever lose control. Every single world is visually distinct, creative, and colorful, while maintaining the same overall aesthetic. It is unquestionably a Mario game, as even new mechanics fit like a glove into the ongoing evolution of this franchise. Nothing ever feels out of place.

Sonic Frontiers is a game where half the worlds look identical, and there's clutter awkwardly dumped on top of everything. All of the cyberspace levels reuse existing level designs but beat all the personality out of them by recycling generic aesthetics. Sonic feels stiff and heavy, and after decades of not being able to get Sonic's controls to feel good, Sega just gives you a bunch of ability toggles and acceleration sliders and expects you to figure it out yourself. No matter what you pick, it's not hard to break the game's physics systems, either intentionally or more often by accident. Yet another attempt to add combat depth just proves how little anyone at Sega understands what's supposed to make Sonic the Hedgehog special or unique, instead falling back to "shonen anime hero" tropes.

People "outside the cult" want a Super Mario Odyssey level Sonic game, and that doesn't mean they want Cappy transformations or a food volcano level. They want a coherent, polished, enjoyable game that feels like it was made by people who weren't just duct taping table scraps together that they fished out of the garbage at the last second.

Sonic fans will stand up and say "I liked [xyz] about Sonic Frontiers" but that's not what this is about, because those same people would also be happy with a coherent, polished, enjoyable game that feels like it was made by people who weren't just duct taping table scraps together.

It's the same argument I used to use back in the day when I was getting people defending Sonic 06 on my Youtube video: You want better games, don't you? Some people are too busy sifting through the weeds and have no concept of the big picture.

Everybody should be happy with a good product, in or outside of the cult. But Sonic games are more often made for the cult than not.

original thief series basso & garrett :)

ngl, it's about quality over quantity for me. an npc can have a total of three minutes of screen time, but if they have a cool name, they can live rent free in my head and I'll spend several hours trying to decipher drawable features from a blurry screenshot of pixels

there is a vague hint of a story here, and that's because every time I try to play thi4f, I get incredibly frustrated with how Not Fun the game play is. like, is the story good? well. but it has a PLAGUE. that should've given it instant 'I'll replay this once a year' status in my heart, but the game play sucks so bad that I've never finished it. I can't believe Not Fun gameplay beat out my obsession with narrative plagues.

anyway, the idea is basically if the original era had a game with a plague centric narrative and some other stuff I liked out of thi4f thrown into a narrative blender, with a heavy dash of horror thrown in because some parts of the thief games were scarier to me than entire dedicated horror genre games.

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app

I think if I were really going to insert Harrow into the Ace Attorney setting tho, she'd be a defense attorney. One with an even more extreme philosophy than any in the game so far. She specialises in sentencing trials and plea bargains, representing guilty clients.

She knows that the falsely accused aren't the only ones who need someone in their corner when it feels like the world has turned its back. She learned that a long time ago, from a childhood.... friend. Someone she owes more than she could ever possibly repay, who believed in her and forgave her even when they both knew she didn't deserve it.

i can fully understand the gripes with certain misogynistic tropes/writing issues that are present in the execution of some of cersei’s writing, but i will never understand the “she should have a redemption arc” or “she should be more likeable/less morally dark” perspective. that is not what her character is or has to be to make it great. wanting more female anti-heroes or “redemption arcs” with moral greyness and complexity of the level that asoiaf gives to primarily male characters is entirely understandable, but do some of you people even like cersei as a character, like at its core? like this is not about criticising the execution of certain things when it comes to this character, this is about taking issue with her as a villain fundamentally, which i just do not agree with at all

As I talked about in this post, I think Wish's plot would have been more emotionally engaging and complete with the inclusion of the star as a shapeshifter boyo, and Asha becoming a star like him to remain with him. SO here's her design!

I wanted a natural hairstyle rather than her braids to try and get a look like a nebula, and also because I suck at drawing braids and I didn't want to butcher them. I did my best to research Amazigh dress and went for a design I found pretty, though I'm not sure how accurate it actually is. The reference I found had tassels, and I thought to replace them with little star-shaped ornamentation. Maybe they're still tassels and just funky, idk.

The notes in the piece, transcribed:

Based on blue stars, rather than yellow stars like the OG star

Her freckles glow

Her brown eyes have an added golden gradient, and possibly glow in the dark?

Genesius/Starboy, for comparison:

Candela Obscura is very fun in terms of horror, because I have never been particularly bothered by horror, but when I have been, I'm always like, is this because of how I react in particular or because of how effective the visuals or the atmosphere are? And that's kind of hard to differentiate in the genre people most often consume horror in (film) and for me, who reads books very visually, it can be hard in that format as well.

With Candela it's like, this is deeply unsettling despite there being no visuals beyond the general set and the action being dictated to me while mechanics are happening, which is something that can take absolutely you out of the atmosphere of the thing. Even if you're used to the actual play format, a mechanics heavy scene especially without notable GM guiding is going to remind you that you are watching people play a game. There's a lot to say about how this show's cast have phenomenal grasp of the genre and the atmosphere, but even then, it is a hard line to manage, and they are doing it masterfully. And that's what makes it so fun as a concept! Candela has very effective storytelling, but it's also a lot easier to see the edges of the story, because the "man behind the curtain" of the story so to speak is on full display.

Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying that I really have confirmed I have no issue with horror, because I passed out instantly upon going to bed and then let a lab tech take my blood this morning without even thinking of making some eldritch monster joke. Which is, not gonna lie, a little bit wild to me.

i'm gonna be real i have been struggling to edit recently and i can't tell if i'm just finally hitting burnout after 3 fucking years or if i'm just too busy to settle into the groove. hoping it's the latter

not even gonna tag this properly bc i don't wanna get Involved but i do have some Thoughts i need to get out into the void so here we go

(aaa quick edit: CW for mention/discussion of Boothill leaks)

2024 reads / storygraph

Lord of the Empty Isles

sci-fi/fantasy

set on a supposedly utopian planet recovering from a climate crisis, where bonds between people are able to be seen and manipulated (by some people)

follows a young man whose brother was cursed and killed by an infamous outlaw 5 years ago, and he’s finally able to curse him back - but it rebounds, as he’s somehow fatebound to the outlaw

to find a cure and save them both they have to team up, and he quickly finds out that the resources the outlaw is stealing go to the thousands of people neglected on prison planets, and he has to go against what he thought was right to help them

no romance, aroace MC, focus on platonic relationships

arc from netgalley, out june 6

yes they’re all evil and horrible yes they’re all human and sympathetic yes none of this is new information yes people are inexplicably acting like it is yes it’s annoying to see such surface level takes like ooohhh people have nuances yes it’s even more annoying that apparently that’s necessary to clarify even at this point four fucking seasons in yes i am going to kill myself in the head

2320.

Everyone's white when there's work to be done just not when it comes time to pay

ngl the way some of y’all goyim on here are using the word “zionist” right now reminds me an awful lot of how americans in media and news and propaganda used the word “communist” during the Red Scare and its more than a bit concerning