thank you for reading!!
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First of all, I gasped at the white-out silhouette shot of Anita where her mantis shape became so visible !!! incredible foreshadowing there and I was kicking myself for not noticing earlier.
ha ha!! im glad you noticed what anita's bug was meant to be. i don't see many people point it out, but yes, she is based off of a european mantis.
Secondly, I feel super seen by this in such a strange way -- like surface matters aside; I think this level of callousness will say enough about me as is -- but I don't think many queers who were young and on the internet haven't been groomed like Anita has. In fact, anecdotally, it's a repeat occurrence for most of us.
Thing is, for me and my brain chemicals, that ended up manifesting as moral OCD, compounded with still being a teenager during quarantine -- Sunny was the internal monologue instead of another 'me' like Anita.
yeah... it's not an uncommon experience and it sucks that it even needs to be said.
also, a lot of people who have commented on this game have said that at some points in their lives, they were sunny or had an internal sunny-style monologue. you're definitely not alone. in my case, i did have an internal sunny-style monologue at a certain point in my life, and it made me physically and mentally unwell. you need to chase her out of your brain with raid or something LOL
on your talk about using transgressive art as a coping mechanism and stuff... i think whether its helpful/hurtful is dependent on the individual. i'm no psych, so i can only speak from what i know... but some people find a lot of catharsis and strength from sharing that art — because they can connect with others who might've gone through similar. others might find that art violating and dehumanizing because of their own experiences. there's no one-size-fits-all solution, because people's responses to traumatic events vary. ( there's also a conversation to be had about the view that you need to have had a traumatic experience to justify making transgressive art in the first place... but i think that's outside of the scope of this visual novel. )
what i can 100% agree on is that as you said, algorithms have weaponised this discussion, which makes it very hard for people to talk about their experiences and their relationships to this type of art in a constructive way. too many people are obsessed with internet gotchas and reactionary labels. at the very least, i'd like for people on all sides of this discussion to treat each other with empathy, maturity and respect.
thank you again for playing! i'm glad my game could leave an impact on you.