One of my favorite entries so far. Definitely made me think a lot about the world around me and how I engage with it.
It might seem juvenile in comparison but reading Annie's experiences navigating the arbitrary window of socially "acceptable" artistic expression Sunny set up, I was reminded of the process of migrating to the US and applying for a green card that I went through last year. Then, I was legally advised to scrub my socials completely clean of things that could potentially set off someone from border security or the Department of Homeland Security.
I had to softblock a friend that happened to be a hacktivist, delete pro-Palestine posts off Bsky and Insta, and delete any allusions of me being transgender - never entirely knowing what was "acceptable" and what wasn't. It's easy to see how online fandom policing and migration regimes on a macro-level really are just two sides of the same authoritarian coin, especially so in an internet with eroding anonymity ran by Thiel, Musk, and Zuckerberg.
Of course, I was aware of this on some level but as someone who has only ever been on the peripheries of fandom this VN did a really good job emphasizing that.
Another thing I thought about while playing is that while I was never someone to police others in fandom spaces like this, I've definitely impulsively cut off friends out of nowhere for giving me the "ick" in even a more benign way or out of fear that their preferences would reflect negatively on me. So while the terror that Annie experiences isn't relatable to me per se, I did feel guilt for cutting off people in my life out of the blue.
Some other things I enjoyed about the VN were its art style and curation of sound effects. I do think it felt a little contrived that Annie wouldn't just return to her house in walking distance. Also, Sunny having bad breath/not brushing her teeth might've detracted a bit from her scariness tbh - I think she would've been even more terrifying if she was completely presentable to her workplace and just acted insane at home/online.
No notes otherwise, this was great.