I'm throwing this on alt cuz I just can't bring myself to put this on my main itch, but this one really fucked with me (in a good way). The UI and sound design was great. The story was great. The art was great. First look into this year's TYVN2 entries and wow, what a start. Disgusting and gross and uncomfortable and weird in all the best ways.
Anyways, sorta spoilers below:
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Never been through anything this extreme but I've been pretty adjacent in terms of experiences, in fandom spaces especially.
And the last few years have been really questioning whether or not what I've been through was normal. The more friends I make the more I start to question all my previous friendships, and if they were "toxic".
I think seeing something like that, the exact language being used, put in a game to play? Just like, seeing that type of social panopticon abuse shit (including in my current main fan/online space), and seeing how it mirrored my own experiences with someone(s) I'm friends with... and just like, seeing it from an outsider's perspective and seeing all my intrusive thoughts spelled out like that. That hit really hard. (Also the tumblr esque discourse sections were so fucking funny like omg the TRENCHESSSS...)
Anyways, I've been seriously questioning whether or not what I went through could qualify as "abuse", and I still can't bring myself to call it that. But it was just so familiar. I feel like if I tell people what this person did to me, it really won't matter. Cuz of similar reasons to Anita, and the type of art I like, it wouldn't matter that I was abused and manipulated and am scared of being doxxed. I really relate to her as an online figure even if I don't have a fraction of the audience she does.
I'm someone who uses a lot of fucked up art and writing in private to process and cope with the bullshit abuse I got put through and has a lot of shame for it, and really wishes I could just stop. I don't know right from wrong these days cuz of OCD and anxiety so it feels like I never have the answer to what I think is "okay" or not. I keep my online presence as clean as possible while still engaging in more accepting spaces + retracting from people like Sunny to maintain some peace of mind, esp as a "fandom artist" (even tho that's not even most of what I do or care about these days lol)
Anyways... I feel a little less alone. Sorry for venting in itch.io comment section in public LOOOOL. Not any more brave or safe, but a little less alone. This was too fucking real. Played this with a friend and our reactions ranged from "YOOOO" to "oh...." whole time.
10/10 I don't think I could play this ever again (positive)