I read this and wanted to let it fester in me before I commented. This was one of my most anticipated releases, particularly so because the way rom had seemed to truly dedicate every ounce of brain power into swimming-- I wanted to know how water can consume someone so deeply. I was not disappointed. Reading through really takes you into the rough waves of the ocean, or riding the aftershock tide being in the deep end of the pool as someone canonballs in. Your head goes above and under and above and under the water, constantly bobbing and reminding you that you need to take a breath in between plunges, lest water fills your lungs.
Did I ever swim competitively? God no. Did I ever do any competitive sports? Nope. But I can tell that this clearly embodies the constant weight and stress of dedicating yourself to a sport that scrutinizes your body, your comparison, your mind, your relationships to others. I always wondered what the kids that went to 6am swim meets experienced, and im reflecting on a lot of the past classmates I had that did just that. To compete is to prove yourself, which is beautiful and fulfilling, but so deeply humiliating and brutal.
Thinking about the beauty and horror of competitive sports is enthralling, and makes you even more bitter when you think about the gendering and degendering and transphobic festering that bites at it. Why the fuck should anyone be attacking athletes for something like gender identity when we already suspended our disbelief watching them perform superhuman feats? What sort of priority is that? So I really, really, really liked the swimdex. I recognized the story was referencing real world discussions but to see the last names of characters was awesome. This is barely a VN and more like the coolest presented essay I've ever seen. It even cites sources!! The intersection of gender, race, abuse, and sport is easy to acknowledge but also easy to glaze over, I liked that I had a room to sit down and open 10+ tabs to absorb real life experiences.
And all of this is doesn't address that the game is awesome as a game. The mixed media is awesome. The sound design is awesome. The pacing is awesome. I was always going into history to see what I could chew on, and enjoying the waves lapping at my screen.
Anyways. I would like to play in the pool with you all. I would like to go to the shallow end where I can still stand and we can pretend to be mermaids, and we each have a special power. I think your tail would be silver and your power would be empathy.