#GVH Alvin

[sharonaparadox]

[Image: fanart of Reed and Alvin from Goodbye Volcano High in a simplified rounded style with dot eyes, both smiling as they stand together and hold hands. End description.]

by Zarla, posted with permission

[heliosharbour]

HAPPY HATCHDAY REED !!!

[rustybottlecap]

I have a theory about the bts of Goodbye Volcano High that may be reaching but I may as well get out of my head.

There is this character, a raptor called Alvin, who is the boyfriend of Reed, and shows up briefly in a couple of shots from time to time:

And there is this other character, that was going to be a protagonist but was scrapped at some point during production, a liopleurodon named Leo, who was going to be a close friend to Reed (and we know would have been gay or bi because he was potentially going to end up with Sage).

Both have blue bodies, dark purple hair, violet-grey-ish eyes, long beaks, grey trousers, and are very close to Reed.

Could it be that Alvin is a (very) repurposed Leo? That the basic idea of Leo's design was used for Alvin? Am I desesperate to believe Leo lives on in the game?

Maybe.

[nrxia]

More GVH irl...

Turns out stuff I post on a community page doesn't carry over to my personal page. Good to know.

[hiaad]

a song goes out to Reed x Alvin

[wormdramafever]

Vampire Survivors MOD to play as Goodbye Volcano High characters!!

By Jospehvan, there are two packs with 10 characters each:

The first pack has the dinogang as their Legends & Lore personas (Fey, Jeff the Chef, Olly, Linea, Maia, Sydd, Keph, and an original one for Stella) as well as Mango and Leo.

The second pack includes side and background characters: Nick, Curtis, Trent, Abby, Smoker Dino, Ms. Roberts, LJ, Alvin, Claire, and that one goth parasaurolophus.

Now go kill all the bad guys!!!

[runningpsychic]

Why Goodbye Volcano High resonates with me as...

...a musician

As a musician, it's hard not to immediately identify with Fang. What musician doesn't want their music to be heard, to play at music festivals, and have music as their career. I can wax poetic about how music is about self expression and it doesn't matter if I have an audience, but in the end, I still want my music to be heard, and enjoyed. And Fang is on track to making this their entire career.

Making music has been a minor hobby for me. Even as a kid, I knew there's almost no chance I can make it as a musician, so I went down the route of being a software engineer instead. It's such a minor part of my life that I don't even bother identifying as a musician, I just fool around with instruments. But something about GVH ignited that passion in me, and during my first playthrough, I wrote six songs inspired by themes in the game. Even if I'll stay an amateur, I want to make the most from life, and not let the fire die. (See last section)

All that said, I felt very bad for Fang throughout the game. I know how tough the life of a full time musician is. The industry is just completely screwed. And unlike me, Fang doesn't have another option other than music. The game also drives it in that Fang's friends all have viable career paths, while Fang doesn't. But then, the meteor throws an interesting wrench into this, as now Fang is the only one who achieved their dreams. I'm not sure what the point of this paragraph is besides fuck capitalism, give musicians a living wage.

...an enby

Fang really made me more comfortable about being non-binary. It's amazing seeing enby representation that doesn't feel shoehorned in, or merely an afterthought. It's actually integral to the story. Both Fang and Sage struggle having their parents take their identities seriously, and that mirrors my own fears of not being taken seriously as an enby myself, which leads me to only come out as non-binary to my closest friends, and just remain a binary trans woman to everyone else.

It's honestly amazing to see everyone in Caldera Bay being accepting of the queer cast, like being queer isn't a big deal at all. And that's how it should be. Everyone just calls Fang by their name and pronouns (except their parents of course), and no one seems to mind that Reed brought Alvin to prom. This really makes me feel more comfortable about my identity, and I feel proud to be queer. We don't owe them normal.

...an immigrant

It's so rare to see stories about the intersection of being trans and being an immigrant, so when I read Rosa's story, I felt it must've been written by someone who also has first hand experience. There's a distinct feel from my family that me being trans is a "western" thing, not something they could ever understand. Or worse, that I'm being corrupted by "the west" in some way by moving there. There's so much extended family I can never see again because I'm now an abomination of the family tree.

I find it really difficult to talk about this as I fear I'd be misread as being racist for suggesting that my home country is more queerphobic or something, but that isn't my point. I just want to tell my story, and my experience of being alienated for both culture and gender, in both my origin and destination countries, is one that most folks can't emphasize with. (Venba also does do a good job with the culture part, so you should check that out too)

There's a separate rant about how this brand of queerphobia was actually planted by Christian missionaries and not at all "traditional culture", but that's for another time.

...someone struggling with mental health

I've been obsessed with the game for months since I played it. I went through what everyone calls "Dino depression", but I think it really helped me, and it was the game I needed to play at this moment in my life. I struggle with depression and burnout. At times it can be hard to know what the point is, or feel that any of this is worth it. The first few weeks after the game, I actually felt more depressed, as I thought about what the point of life is if it all is temporary anyway, and what I would do if a meteor were to hit in 8 months. And I was scared, because I felt like my life wasn't under my control. Over time, I've learned to think about it more positively. If life is temporary, then it's up to me to make the most of it. If life has no meaning, it's up to me to make my own meaning. I have amazing friends around me, and I still have tons of music to make.

[popart-vvv]

This is a PSA...

FUCK THAT STUPID "PARODY" OF GOODBYE VOLCANO HIGH!

Why? Why?!

It was made by members of 4chan, the worst site on the internet BY FAR! The complete opposite of KO_OP--filled with right-wing rhetoric and intolerant of any piece of media that dares to be different! If you like the "parody game" and its related products, then you're saying that you support 4chan, warranting a block from me.

2. Lazy and unambitious design. GVH is all-around unique; high schoolers having to deal with the lead up to a cataclysmic event, deciding how to spend their time up to that event, and every character is an anthropomorphic dino. Plus, the game is a blend of rhythm and cinematic adventure, a novel choice in game design. Plus, the characters are all written like believable teens with understandable issues (the effects of the impending meteor, for instance), with plenty of non-forced conflict.

The OTHER game, meanwhile... stole the designs of the main characters and appropriated them into high school drama cliches, plus, the design for the main teacher blatantly rips off an Adult Swim character, for some reason. The worst part is the main character, though! It's just some muscly guy with a blank face! No eyes, mouth, hair, NOTHING ON THE HEAD! Goddammit, seriously, that is the WORST character design I have ever seen in my life!

Plus, THAT game is just another throwaway dating sim VN that can NEVER reach GVH's level.

3. LGBT ERASURE! THIS. IS. WHY. YOU SHOULD NOT LIKE THE GAME!

GVH's main characters are queer one way or another: Fang is non-binary, Rosa is a transgender woman, Sage is a transgender man, and it's possible for Fang to enter a relationship with Naomi. Reed is also hinted to be in a relationship with a male classmate, Alvin. Plus, there is some subtext regarding the pairings of Trish/Rosa and Sage/Stella, as well as in Naser's arc.

Meanwhile... THAT game is basically a vehicle by its creators to espouse 4chan bullshit. Fang is an enby when you first meet them, but their "happy ending" has the player character convince them to detransition. RED FLAG! RED FLAG! And the only endings where they stay an enby are the ones that don't give them any respect! This is bad messaging! Apparently, they're saying that the only way to find happiness in life is to throw away your queer identity! FUCK THAT SHIT!

Again, that is huge disrespect towards a likeable representation of an enby.

Note: Rosa, Sage, and Naomi's queer characteristics were envisioned DURING the rewrite, so it was after THAT game was revealed. Make of that what you will.

4. It blatantly disrespects KO_OP, and frankly, the company does not deserve it.

Goodbye Volcano High was released in August of last year, but it was actually revealed as far back as summer 2020. It was VASTLY different back then--it was more like a traditional visual novel, except with the same anthropomorphic dinos and unique designs. By the time GVH was released, it had gone through a huge story rewrite, resulting in the final product.

Unfortunately, there's a whole backstory in the development of GVH.

2020 was when COVID-19 was ravaging the world, and KO_OP's workers were struggling with the disease, putting a major dent in the game's production and delaying it for a while.

Also, the rewrite started not long after the game was revealed. Admittedly, this was due to a mistake on KO_OP's part in their choice of a writing crew, but the writing team was replaced, so good on them.

Also during development, they were harassed by 4chan and other unsavory people, culminating in THAT game. Basically, there's an undercurrent of PTSD--on the KO_OP Discord, if you bring up THAT game or any other hugely offensive content, you'll get a warning or a ban. Is it any wonder they hate THAT game?

Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, KO_OP should be admired for withstanding all that crap and releasing GVH three years after its initial announcement, the payoff being that it has its own dedicated fanbase and was nominated in three major awards ceremonies. Like GLAAD!

5. Real-World Events

Probably the worst part is that THAT game has a fanbase, even after a terribly heartbreaking event in February.

Two words: Nex Benedict.

Seriously, to still support that game, even in light of similar tragedies... That's inhumane.

*sigh*

I know this kind of post may not be your cup of tea, but I needed to get this off my chest. I love this game so much... It pains me to see that a supportive game, alongside its fans and creators, is being unfairly targeted by terrible people.

I stand by what I said in this post. I did my research before making this essay. That said, if there are any inaccuracies in here, I apologize.

However, I will not tolerate anyone who tries to argue in support of THAT game. If they do that, they get reported/blocked.

Sincerely, popart-vvv.

[pidgey-draws]

Basic headcanon personality for Alvin, the love interest of Reed in GVH.

[wolfnanaki]

how many GVH ships you have seen so far?

the real reason for me shipping Reed with Alvin it's because I was struggling to find a ship which suits me. I was planning on shipping Sam with Trish until I found that he's based on a real person and it's a good thing I did research on the wiki. I could ship Sage with Ralsei from Deltarune not because of them having big glasses but I see similarity to each other. one thing for sure that shipping is not an easy job

as someone who likes human x anthro ships I won't be shipping human characters from other fandoms with GVH characters for the most obvious reason but also out of respect for the KOOP team

So far, I haven't seen a whole lot of GVH ships at all. I guess the crowd that would speculate about such things hasn't found this game yet. And yeah, good on you for leaving the humans out. 👍

[nrxia]

GVH irl

[popart-vvv]

GVH Character Playlists: Reed

Now for Reed, the drummer in Worm Drama and someone I feel a connection with because I'm a drummer myself.

My Explanation: Similar to Fang, Reed would listen to a lot of alternative and hard rock, particularly from the 90s and especially from bands with talented drummers. Seriously, I think his favorite real-world drummers would be Dave Grohl and Travis Barker.

Feeling This: Phat drum patterns, plus lustful-yet-lamenting lyrics that Reed would identify with.

Everlong: His bonfire song.

Do I Wanna Know?: So there's Alvin, Reed's maybe-boyfriend. This song could be Reed obsessing over if Alvin likes him back.

Take Me Out: Same.

No One Knows: Reed's also a bit of a stoner, so maybe he could relate to this song as well.

Purple Haze: Two things--1. Psychedelia. 2. "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy!"