#pull the trigger piglet…………

[nephyria]

Hi, genuine question here.

This witch game kickstarter. Putting aside the whole "inspired by HP" thing (not because it is not bad, this is a fair complaint, but because it became a known fact a fair bit into the reblog chain), but why does everyone act like it _must_ have something to do with Disco Elysium? Simply due to the "witch looks for a cat" part like in the Alps witch tweet? Which seems like a trope-y coincidence, if anything? Is it just a joke?

Hi I honestly thought it was related bc I was having a nervous breakdown due to Having The Entire Country’s Public Funding Cut By A Tyrant King, Including Mine, so I saw that, screenshotted it, thought “I need to nap before I do something stupid to myself” & then I napped. and Well. WELL. I MADE A POINT NOT TO TAG IT. I MADE A POINT TO NEVER EVEN SAY THE PHRASE!!! THOUGHT IT WAS HIDDEN FROM SEARCH. MY LUCK IS IN SHAMBLES.

TL;DR - it IS just a coincidence ❤️ the MCs just looked similar ❤️ the phrase “witch looking for her cat in the alps” is no longer a cozy game trope to the internet, but a Memetic Concept ❤️ she’s a stand-in for people who don’t like Dark Or Complex Content, but their media illiteracy keeps them from making Cozy derivatives or comparisons that Work

To answer the 1st half of your question :) it’s bc the Infamous Tweet timeline (2020) and the Potential Game Development Timeline (2023-2025, so 2-ish years of development, initially I thought it was from late-2020-2025) lined up very suspiciously, and the potential main characters looked uncannily similar at a glance, just tweaked enough for the copyright not to get stripped off like a sheet. And like. It is indeed a Young Witch in the not-Alps Looking For Her (presumably dead) mom’s Cat. It’s very generic and it’s a platformer not a narrative RPG with a unique skill system, but that seems exactly like the kind of thing the cozy games genre would do. because it’s more marketable to kids and stuff that way. But the dev team tripped over the trope on their own, they didn’t base it on the tweet.

Which leads to THE SECOND PART. OF YOUR QUESTION.

Young Witch Looking For Her (Neighbor’s) Cat In The Alps is basically a meme phrase around the internet at this point. It’s used when someone who doesn’t understand why a Boring Game in a Setting Full Of Serious Conflict would do well, and tries to take a central element that they liked from the game and make it Cozy™. This ends up completely missing the central point of the original thing, its genre, its audience, the gameplay, and the interplay between all those things, and then is upset bc nobody liked their idea, which is often attributed (or misattributed) to misogyny in the games/media sphere. it’s also used when people watch/play/read a piece of media, get squicked out by the primary draw of that media, and go “hey I’ll just recommend this other, cozier option” that ends up being nothing at all like the original media.

Often times it’s presumed that a female audience doesn’t want a gritty, emotionally fraught story with stakes and consequences. or complexity. Or fighting. as I understand it Mattel used this strat massively with Transformers and Barbie.

so as an example of that 2nd one. Someone might say “I liked the gameplay of Red Dead Redemption 2, but I didn’t like playing as a problematic white man at the end of the Wild West Era who kills people for money, and has to grapple with the horrible and appalling things that people did in that time” and you’re like oh yeah that’s a fair criticism. I too would not enjoy that storyline, particularly if I were marginalized in similar ways that—“It should be like Barbie Horse Adventure instead,” they say. And you say Beg Pardon?

and they say, “Yeah it should be like if Barbie Horse Adventure got remade in the modern era with RDR2-style mechanics. And you win races and ribbons. Actually I’ll be recommending anyone who liked RDR2, but not that Shitty Stuff, Barbie Horse Adventure or games like it instead.” So you didn’t like the public server stuff either? “No I don’t like robbing people or PVP :( but you should be able to play with friends :)” I. How are they at all similar, you wonder. “Oh my god. not every main character has to be a man.”

Like yeah. Maybe a modern Barbie Horse Adventure would be cool. I think kids would like it. I would never in a million years compare it with RDR2. Until now I guess.

Mentioning it to friends, you wouldn’t say “do you think consumer misogyny and media illiteracy, combined with conflict avoidance and overall societal stress, is creating a snake that eats its own tail? Haha jokes right?”

You would say. “So I had an idea for a game. It’s like RDR2, but what if. instead of playing another white guy doing crimes for money. it’s about a Young Witch In The Alps Looking For Her Neighbor’s Cat.”

[somepinkthing]

Yeah I knew MC wasn't a self insert for me the moment sylus told us to shoot him with that do-it-you-won't attitude and then she didn't. Because me personally? Immediately pulling the trigger. Like its not even abt killing him atp its about pride. He literally said I triple dog dare u and ur not gonna shoot him?? Girl give me the gun

[gauntletqueen]

Tried hard to give these classics the production value they deserve (first and second post by @iguanamouth)

[bace-jeleren]

I've experienced some godawful earworms in my lifetime, but all of them have been blown out of the water by "man to woman, woman to man, man to woman, peeenis to vaginaaaaaaaaa".

[fell-contract]

i was not born for modern work culture under capitalism, i was born to argue with other chronically online gay people about whether in the zone or blackout is the best britney album and where the born this way singles campaign went wrong

[the-uncanny-dag]

They're making the young witch in the Alps game real & it's inspired by Harry Potter

[final-act]

nerve damage

[seasononesam]

Over there. Over there. 

[serregon]

book Sauron fans suffer more than jesus

[rabiesram]

in my 'what if i gave up art forever' era because this some bullshit

[writeouswriter]

I always say how I love psychologically torturing my characters until I create a genuinely devastating backstory for one and feel so bad it's like I'm clicking the mean dialogue in a video game, I'm like I can't do that, that's illegal

[time-being]

VoteBlues act like they just invented extortion, but they're so bad at it.

I especially love the ones who take themselves hostage to get me to forget who is currently committing genocide.

[corkyviolet]

FELLOW TRAVELERS — White Nights, 1x07

[pacific-coast-hockey]

I mean honestly this org goes off sometimes. If Aaron Dell takes us to the first round of the AHL playoffs all by his lonesome, we'll have to rebrand him from world's okayest goalie to world's goatedest goalie.

[ockissweek]

do you think it's worth adding that it's oc-only and OCxCanon is not allowed on the main post mini faq? Seems like a very common confusion

it has always been in the FAQ

however i will also add it to the mini-FAQ, seeing as people just don't bother to read

[seasononesam]

Stackednatural- 120/327

Asylum (1x10) November 22nd, 2005