raddixie

[raddixie]

Sometimes, I have this urge to kiss my mind for backing up all the stuff I wrote. But then I remember that i have to redo everything I did, which makes me feel so down.

Yeah, sadly, all the files that related to my IF got deleted. And now I'm sitting down contemplating cause my laptop is no longer in my possession. However, I promise I'll find a way to work on it again. But until then, I want you guys to be patient with me ):

In reward for waiting so long for this, I'm going to post snippets (the ones I was dying for yall to read) soon. Cause that's the only thing I can do until I get my laptop back.

[raddixie]

Like we don’t already deal with enough crap :) This is honestly ridiculous. We shouldn’t be told how to spend our own money. If you can, please reblog and share this. and make sure to check the links, too. The least we can do is push back against this kind of control over us as consumers and creators.

Regarding Steam, Adult Content Bans, and Making an 18+ Game

Hey guys;

There’s been a major shift in the gaming scene recently that could have some very serious consequences for queer creators and the adult content they make and unfortunately, TCM is (what I fear) a pretty prime target.  I know no one likes reading long blog posts but please at least skim the following write up. A lot's going on and frankly, I'm very, very anxious for TCM. Bear with me, the situation is complex.

What Happened:

Steam, the largest videogame marketplace in the world, caved to pressure from payment processors like Mastercard and Visa to delist games and effectively censor content that goes against the TOS of the payment processor.  This is incredibly shitty.

Visa and Mastercard now have direct say in what content is “objectionable” on the world’s largest gaming marketplace.  They are the entities that get to decide what art is “degenerate” and what art is suitable for their advertisers.

Adult content has long been a target of Mastercard, which has been constantly putting pressure on companies like Etsy, OnlyFans, Patreon, Pornhub, Fansly, and more for multiple years now to deplatform and censor not only real-life content featuring real people, but also overtly fictional and drawn content as well.

LGBT+ art is a prime target for being slandered as deviant; we’ve seen it throughout our history, and this is only becoming more evident as queer sex workers, content creators, and artists are getting financially deplatformed all across the internet.

Several ultraconservative groups are behind the pressure on Mastercard, including swerf and terf clubs.

This goes beyond region or payment method.  It doesn’t matter how you pay for Steam games; once a game is delisted, it cannot be purchased via any method. 

Since this change to Steam’s TOS and as of this writing, over 80 adult games have been delisted, and I’d like to take a second to emphasize what this means.  Being delisted on Steam is the same as having a game functionally permabanned.  Delisting means that anyone who has the game can still access it, but the title is taken off the marketplace completely, and new players will never see it or be able to access it.

Steam is effectively being held at gunpoint.  Without the ability to accept payments from the two largest, most duopolistic processors in the world, its continued resistance would likely destroy them as a marketplace. This attack on Steam gives Mastercard and Visa an unprecedented amount of power over gaming as a whole and has already had huge consequences.  This sets a disturbing and wholly unfair precedent of disproportionately silencing queer and/or politically charged art.

What’s shocking about this is that in the past, Steam has worked to maintain a high level of neutrality in its content offerings.  As long as games were rated properly and appropriate themes were disclosed during the rating process, Steam generally let explicit content slide even if their content was questionable to some.  The problem now lies in the fact that corporate overlords have now taken the power to decide what is and is not artistic expression, and historically, that does not bode well for anyone challenging or commenting on the status quo.  If you’re queer like me, you know you challenge the status quo by simply existing.

The Future is Unknowable

Unfortunately, it just got a lot murkier for me and for TCM.  Because TCM’s queer leanings, its focus on sexualized men and monster fucking, the game will certainly be seen as transgressive to any remotely conservative leaning weirdo looking for a power trip.  I don’t know if we’re on the chopping block and there’s literally no way to prepare.

I’ve heard several people mention Itch.io as an alternative, and, firstly, please understand that I adore Itch.  Itch is where TCM got its initial start and early community from, and I owe a lot to Itch’s commitment to its devs and the freedom to produce whatever content they want.  The problem is that if payment processors put pressure on Itch, too, they will be forced to acquiesce.  I can’t stress enough that Steam is astronomically larger and more powerful than Itch- and if they didn’t have the resources or independence to hold to their ideals in the face of pressure from Mastercard, Itch won’t either.  At this point, it's less of a criticism or doomerism on my part and simply an ugly, unfair fact.

This kind of uncertainty alone is enough to stagnate a lot of business in any industry.  This puts the burden on me to either pre-emptively censor the game myself or to cope with the immense financial instability of going forward with unclear and/or unfair guidelines that- once again- disproportionately target queer creators.   

We saw it with the widespread tariff confusion earlier this year that had a pronounced effect on global commerce.  Stephanie Sterling elaborates on the burden of uncertainty in this video about YouTube’s unclear and inconsistent demonetization rules and the clamps it puts on artistic content.  She’s a lot more articulate than I am and paints a really robust picture about why having vague content policies- like the ones Mastercard is pushing- throws a wrench in the whole creative cycle, especially for artists hoping to make a living via their art.

What This Means for TCM

Honestly, this could mean a lot of things, and unfortunately, I just don’t know what the road ahead will look like in 6 months.  Or even next week.  Because I really value transparency, I wanted to lay the situation out for y'all so you can hopefully see where I’m coming from and why this is so incredibly devastating to hear about.

I invested a ton of money into making this game.  More than that, it's been about five years of my life with no other projects on deck, building this game and community from the ground up.  I believe in this project, and I believe in queer adult entertainment that’s inclusive and fun and sexy.  I really do.  

But if I get financially deplatformed, I can’t create.

Essentially, I planned to invest my own money up front, offer the base game (Amir, Mori, and Akello’s full routes) for free, and then make DLC in the form of additional character routes and charge money for those to recoup costs and eventually get me out of the hole.  I hoped that people would really enjoy the base game, get a feel for my writing style and Atlas’ art, and hopefully find that a paid DLC for another character is a worthwhile purchase.  Now, I’m reevaluating how I want to move forward, and I wanted y'all to be a part of that 1) because I need you to see what factors I’m dealing with and 2) I’d like to give as much of a heads up as possible if plans change.

So, right now, the game is in a state called “Early Access”.  This tells players that the game is still in development, still getting updates, and generally taking player feedback/bug reports into account as development furthers.  Once the game is “completed,” I was going to take it out of Early Access and into “Fully Released”.  

One option I’m now considering is charging for the game once it hits that fully released state.  

People who already have the game will not be affected by this at all.  You’ll get the Full Release without having to pay.  (Anyone who has the game in their Steam Library before the changeover will get the Full Release for free.).  The Full Release won’t have significant content changes but will probably have minor bug fixes, polish, things of that nature.  I’m not sure what price point I would set it at.  But like most options, there are pros and cons to this- namely, I made it clear that I wanted to keep this chunk of the game free, but I’m worried that might not be possible.  The benefit to structuring things this way is that I may be able to recoup some of the development costs before a potential delisting, which would essentially terminate my ability to make extra content like I’d intended.

Talking Numbers

I would like to share my budget with you so that you can see the figures I’m looking at.  Again, my ultimate goal here is gaining yall’s understanding first.  I know it’s disappointing to talk money and numbers when we’re all surviving out there, but things are getting dire.  (Note that these numbers are general but close estimates.)

Artwork includes: Sprites, CGs, Logo Design, Menu, GUI/UX assets and implementation, other In-Game Assets, Commissions for birthday posts/special occasions, Trailers, Animations, Capsule Artwork, etc

Ads, Hosting, and Business Misc includes: Ad runs on websites like Furaffinity and Tumblr, Hosting and Domain fees, Business Name Registration, Studio Peaches logo

Custom Music includes: 6 custom-performed and recorded tracks exclusive for TCM

Equipment/Tools includes: Software licenses, computer hardware, graphic design tools.

The game does pull in some money on the regular, and I cannot stress enough how grateful I am for my patrons, kickstarter supporters, and for my itch donors because your generosity and loyalty have helped add some stability to this situation, and I’ve gotten good at making your every dime count.

And just for transparency, here’s what the Kickstarter ended up looking like:

Now, with Kickstarter, I have to emphasize that these numbers don’t represent failure- this was pretty much what I expected going in.  Kickstarter is a great way to raise awareness of projects, and in that respect, the TCM Kickstarter was very successful, even if I cut it perhaps a little closer than I had intended.

So, now you can kind of start to see where the stress is growing.  Over the past five-ish years, I’ve invested close to twenty thousand dollars into this project, and although I have wonderful patrons, backers and itch donors, I’ve barely put a dent in that debt.  This is what game development costs for a game of TCM’s quality.  Currently, I pay Atlas commission rates for their work, but I had hoped to be able to actually employ them.  I personally have never been paid for the time and labor I’ve put into this game, and I work on it about 30 hours a week, every week. 

TLDR

To recap, there are several reasons I’m taking the time to write this up today:

Prepare TCM community for the possibility of changes coming to the plans going forward

Inform the community of some very alarming developments happening on gaming platforms

Help show the community just how much game development costs, and how imperative it is to find a financially viable future for this project.

Prayer circle we don’t get delisted

The bottom line is:  TCM needs to make money if it is going to continue being developed. If the game gets delisted and deplatformed, I might need to make serious changes to keep this project alive.  I may need to make serious changes to mitigate what’s already happening to adult games.  

Things are scary out there for artists and especially for queer artists.  I have absolutely no idea what the future holds for TCM and no idea how much worse things are going to get before they get better.  Transparency has always been a priority for me, so definitely expect updates and announcements as things evolve and change over the coming months. Just please understand that I may have to pivot or change tact depending on what Mastercard decides is a violation of their content guidelines. 

For better and for worse, nothing is set in stone today, but that does mean I’ll need to continue monitoring the situation closely, and I’ll do my best to keep everyone informed of TCM’s development with as much notice as I can.

Finally, I encourage all of you to do further research into this on your own.  I encourage you to sign the petition that the ACLU has been circulating as a first step towards fighting this unfair hold payment processors have on our content.  I encourage you to talk to performers excommunicated from OnlyFans and Patreon for having “objectionable” material. I encourage you to talk to Furries who were booted from Fansly for being incorrectly labelled as deviants with bestiality kinks.  I especially encourage you to look into the oppressive, hateful groups pushing for this kind of artistic suppression and pressuring Visa and Mastercard to tighten (comprised largely of swerf, terf, and bog-standard conservative purity politics).  Send angry emails, support your favorite creators, and cultivate safe online spaces for queer adult content.

As always, please hit me up with any questions you might have- I can be reached in all the usual places:  Here on Tumblr @tricitymonsters, on discord @pockatuck or via the TCM server, or even email if you have something longer to send > tricitymonsters@gmail.com

Some source links for you:

ACLU Petition: https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy PCgamer Article Breaking the Story: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/steam-introduces-new-rule-prohibiting-certain-kinds-of-adult-content-that-might-make-visa-or-mastercard-unhappy-financial-deplatforming-in-action/

VICE Article that was pulled that lists the groups behind the push: https://web.archive.org/web/20250719204151/https://www.vice.com/en/article/group-behind-steam-censorship-policies-have-powerful-allies-and-targeted-popular-games-with-outlandish-claims/

[raddixie]

Having a sister who constantly reads books and has an immaculate imagination that I lack, she keeps reading my first drafts and constantly offers insights that I appreciate. She also gave me a few ways to break down some of the tension that I wanted to build. Not that I'm rewriting at all, but i did add some juicy scenes here and there. That made me EXCITED.

[raddixie]

Okay, yall. Inspiration has hit me, and now I'm back on writing the smut side story. I'll also answer some of the ROs asks.

[raddixie]

Me vs writer block. I NEED SOMETHING

[raddixie]

LINK TO THE GAME. Prologue. 2200 words on average playthrough. Ko-Fi

Welcome to Kitin City, the historic Rose City, where changes take place! We hope you enjoy you stay. WARNING! Deaths have occurred due to civilians falling off the edges of the cloud, please make sure to stay within city bounds.

Two millennia ago, The Rose Revolution took down the barriers between the Three Nations. Today, the historic Kitin City is the bustling city center of magic and technology, and you are the heir to the biggest and oldest Magical Technology company in the All Realms—Betta Corporation.

With dizzying gaps in your memory, a dead mother and a dead roommate each with their deadly secrets, and a threat of black roses, you must navigate the golden politics of the city, uncover the secrets to your past, and deal with the never-ending chase with Death. Will you be Rosy, or will you be Golden?

Customizable play character with gender, sexuality, and pronouns choice amongst others.

Romance any (or many) of the romantic options. Go for a romantic route, a strictly sexual route, or simply manipulate them all into doing your bidding. Careful, you won’t be the only dishonest one here.

Find the secrets to your past and the catalytic Rose War.

Develop a set of magical and nonmagical skills.

Choose your own personality. Be as dramatic, stoic, or awkward as you want to be.

Interact with a large cast of characters. Choose to either be friendly, antagonistic, or deceitful.

Choose which side of the approaching storm you prefer to be on… or perhaps you want to only serve yourself.

AURELIUS/AURELIA “AURI” SANGUINE (M/F). A reckless vampire with a throne of thorns.

Sanguine is one of the only two familiar faces on this odd floating city you are forced to inhabit. Charming and reckless, Sanguine is the very definition of wildfire. They are a paradox—a blood-drinker who wants to save people, royalty that likes to walk amongst the degenerates, and a reckless being with fear coursing through their veins. There is no telling what it’ll take to wake the cold-blooded killer in them. Tag | Pinterest | Route Pinterest Section | Playlist (soon)

JOAQUIN SANCHEZ (M). A timid gunsmith human with unwavering faith.

Sanchez spends most of his time in his lab creating weapons than using his magic. Friendly and awkward, with an easy-going dimpled smile that makes others adore him, his gentle and meek nature makes him seem like a pushover. A devout follower of The Last God, he believes that all will be well in time. Behind his nervous grins and timid shrugs, however, lies a desperation that dictates his every move. Tag | Pinterest | Route Pinterest Section | Playlist (soon)

LIGHT HAFEEZ (M/F). A stern Cursegiver whose hands are stained black.

Hafeez is a Cursegiver, a Dead Agent that can travel the space between the living and the dead. As a Cursegiver, they are tasked to harm the living on behalf of the dead. They are irritable and unwilling to trust new people, but loyal to a fault when their loyalties are won over. Cold and intimidating, Hafeez can be a powerful ally but a deadly enemy. There is no forgiving bone in their body for those who hurt the people they love. Tag | Pinterest | Route Pinterest Section | Playlist (soon)

OLIVER/OLIVIA “OLI” DESCOTEAUX (M/F). A dignified Selkie noble with a bruised heart.

Descoteaux is a stranger on this realm, but takes the customs and cultures in stride with a perfectly placed smile and willing and curious personality. Diplomatic, calm, and firm are three words often used to describe them—a mediator through and through. But there is a strong and quiet magic humming under their white skin, begging to be let out. Their quiet, slightly intimidating nature makes it hard for others to understand what they truly think and feel. Tag | Pinterest | Route Pinterest Section | Playlist (soon)

RAQUEL ATAWID (F). An elusive Fae who never tells the full truth.

Atawid is mysterious and calculating, and not much is known about her history and her background even though she is popular amongst the people on this cloud. With sharp eyes and an even sharper tongue, she skillfully leads conversations and uses what she learns to earn any advantage she can… and when push comes to shove, she has magic that is unrivalled amongst the Rosy-Folk of this realm. No one knows where her loyalties truly lie. Tag | Pinterest | Route Pinterest Section | Playlist (soon)

Pinterest Board. Playlists (soon). Other links to be updated once available.

[raddixie]

Are you accepting ro asks?

While I have not been answering some asks now (im procrastinating), I do answer ROs asks yeah.

[raddixie]

I'm in a constant fight with my ADHD. And I'm not even sure who's winning XD.

[raddixie]

I have two wolves inside me. One telling me to keep writing and the other one telling how tempting other plots are. And thoughts are thoughting. On another note, Nova is going out of control /j

[raddixie]

If you have not joined my discord server yet, here's the link again. We are chill fellas (with frequent banter). Also, I'm looking for an excuse to chat. PLEASE COME CHAT. I also post occasional snippets there (I'm bribing, is it even working?)

[raddixie]

Hey everyone! The announcement was already sent in my discord server, but im going to post it here ( I totally forgot to) just so you know what's up!. Just wanted to give a quick update about False Grace. The IF isn’t canceled! in fact, I’m still super excited about it. but it will be going through some changes. I’ve been reevaluating parts of the story, the characters, and structure, and there’s a lot I want to improve before moving forward.

That said, progress is going to be slow for now because I’m currently focusing on a jam project! Once that wraps up, I’ll be turning more attention back to False Grace. but in the meantime, things will be a bit quiet.

Also, I’m starting to realize that I can’t do this alone. I’m currently looking for designers, artists, UI/UX folks, programmers, sound designers, composers. basically anyone who wants to help building the jam project.

If you are interested (or know someone who is), please DM and do not hesitate!

[raddixie]

I'm cursed!!!! I rewrote the same six scenes for one of the asks. and every time, I get busy, and the page refreshes itself, and everything I wrote vanishes just like that.

[raddixie]

I've written more in the past two days than I wrote in weeks!!! This is such a relief cause I've been really procrastinating

[raddixie]

If you haven't joined in, please come in. I promise I don't bite (I do, but with a lot of consent /j)

ITS HAPPENING!!! join the server losers <3

[raddixie]

ITS HAPPENING!!! join the server losers <3

[raddixie]

OHHHHH also, the bottom x bottom route is DELICIOUS!!! PFFTT EJXIEJSHE

Since u mentioned Hadrian being a subby bottom, can I ask for the other ROs preferences? (honestly had no idea Hadrian was a bottom, my MC and him arr currently doing that "and they were both bottoms" meme)

Ohhhh, that's an interesting question! This is an NSFW so I'll answer right after the cut

Hadrain:

Hadrian is definitely a sub! No matter the preference, whether he's topping or bottoming. If he tops, he will be a sercive top where he'd focus on whatever his partner asks of him. And in case for bottoming, he enjoys it the most (whether with a dom female/afab mc or with a dom male/amab mc). And that's how hadrian prefers it. In my smut side story, you'd be able to see that and navigate his sexual needs. (he's also a delicate person. BELIEVE IT)

Nova:

Nova is definitely a dom! She likes to dominate and lead their partner no matter the gender. She's a strap-on girly and can also peg male/amab MCs. And ofc female/afab MCs. Even if she's the one at the receiving end, she's still controlling and leading it.

Fenric:

Fenric is a switch. If he likes someone, he doesn't care how it's done. As long as it's built on trust. He definitely not much of a freak XD, but he's down to experiment (with lots of consent and research)

Lira:

Sweet sweeeeet Lira. She's vanilla, but she also would like some light dom/sub elements. Sometimes, she'd be enjoying being praised and maybe choking a bit. But she's mostly into love making than plain rough sex.

Elias:

He's a freak mf. He's a dom and isn't shy to admit it. He's the possessive and obsessed kind. He'd be down to any play as long as it's done right. He definitely would be into a sub mc and would hardly agree to give up control.

Selen:

Selen is a dom, but she can be a sub with the right person. She rarely trusts anybody, so in the IF, you got to have a high trust meter to unlock the sub selen choice hehe.

[raddixie]

Since u mentioned Hadrian being a subby bottom, can I ask for the other ROs preferences? (honestly had no idea Hadrian was a bottom, my MC and him arr currently doing that "and they were both bottoms" meme)

Ohhhh, that's an interesting question! This is an NSFW so I'll answer right after the cut

Hadrain:

Hadrian is definitely a sub! No matter the preference, whether he's topping or bottoming. If he tops, he will be a sercive top where he'd focus on whatever his partner asks of him. And in case for bottoming, he enjoys it the most (whether with a dom female/afab mc or with a dom male/amab mc). And that's how hadrian prefers it. In my smut side story, you'd be able to see that and navigate his sexual needs. (he's also a delicate person. BELIEVE IT)

Nova:

Nova is definitely a dom! She likes to dominate and lead their partner no matter the gender. She's a strap-on girly and can also peg male/amab MCs. And ofc female/afab MCs. Even if she's the one at the receiving end, she's still controlling and leading it.

Fenric:

Fenric is a switch. If he likes someone, he doesn't care how it's done. As long as it's built on trust. He definitely not much of a freak XD, but he's down to experiment (with lots of consent and research)

Lira:

Sweet sweeeeet Lira. She's vanilla, but she also would like some light dom/sub elements. Sometimes, she'd be enjoying being praised and maybe choking a bit. But she's mostly into love making than plain rough sex.

Elias:

He's a freak mf. He's a dom and isn't shy to admit it. He's the possessive and obsessed kind. He'd be down to any play as long as it's done right. He definitely would be into a sub mc and would hardly agree to give up control.

Selen:

Selen is a dom, but she can be a sub with the right person. She rarely trusts anybody, so in the IF, you got to have a high trust meter to unlock the sub selen choice hehe.