#gacha games

[prokopetz]

"But I have to play gacha games, I'm easily bored and need a constant stream of new and updated content or I lose interest" just get into open source roguelikes like a normal person.

[cruelangel94]

Artist By TRY方言

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

*BREAKS DOWN THE FUCKING DOOR*

SHADOW MILK COOKIE AND SILENT SALT COOKIE ARE NARRATIVE FOILS!!!!!!! THEY ARE MEANT TO BE DIRECT REFLECTIONS OF EACHOTHER, SPECIFICALLY IN HOW THEY VIEW THEIR RESPECTIVE CORRUPTIONS!!!!!!!!!!! AND I WILL PROVE IT TO YOU IN THIS ESSAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

The parallels between them are kinda hard to describe without just listing shit but bear with me- first of all, I think it's really important to note the way we're introduced to both of them, because the contrast is VERY strong. While he wasn't the first Beast to become playable, Shadow Milk was still the first Beast to get properly introduced, while Silent Salt was introduced last. So they're already book ending all of the Beast Yeast shit, but then there's ALSO the fact that Shadow Milk Cookie is introduced when the Beasts are escaping the Silver Tree, while Silent Salt's entire introduction is basically just the story of how they were trapped there in the first place. Shmilk is introduced first by breaking out of jail while Silent is introduced last by putting everyone in jail.

Jumping off of that, you can already tell from how they're introduced that they have VASTLY different oppinions on their time in the Silver Tree, and if that wasn't enough Shadow Milk literally screams about wanting the witches dead for putting him in there later on in I thiiiink episode 2? Quote "MAY THEY BURN IN THE OVEN", this bitch wants those motherfuckers to SUFFER. Honestly, I'd even go as far as to say Shmilk is the angriest out of all the Beasts about their imprisonment, given the fact that he's the only one to express any active rage about it. Shmilk and Silent Salt have complete opposite views on their time in the Silver Tree.

Now, putting a pin in the Silver Tree stuff, let's move on to another massive parallel between them- their corruptions. Like first of all, obviously Salt corrupted last and Shmilk is heavily implied to have corrupted first, so once again they're book ending the Beasts. But even further than that, the way they treat their corruption is VERY different. Silent Salt obviously fucking hates himself for it. He views himself as a failure, renaming himself out of shame and then coming to Elder Faerie in complete shambles and literally asking Elder to kill him. Then, he locks himself and the other Beasts in the Silver Tree, hoping that the 5 of them will just rot in there forever. When that doesn't work and they all escape, instead of doing. Anything, really. He locks himself up in a tomb in the hopes that no one will ever come looking for him. He's fucking MISERABLE. Meanwhile, Shmilk fucking LOVES being the villain. He plays himself up, he puts on little shows, he revels in causing chaos, and he completely buries any evidence of who he used to be, even from us the players. He is Shadow Milk Cookie, and you will fear his name!

The only thing Shmilk and Silent have in common post-corruption is that they constantly vilify themselves on purpose. While the other Beasts' actions mostly speak for themselves, Shadow Milk REALLY plays up the evil factor. He makes it clear that he is the bad guy, that he is not to be sympathized with. The only time he paints himself in a sympathetic light is during the puppet show he puts on about the Beasts getting trapped, which Imo is more evidence that he REALLY hated that fuckin tree but I digress. This purposeful vilification is why Pure Vanilla gets to him so fucking much, because PV is willing to completely ignore all of it and forgive him on account of being. Jesus. And Shmilk can't fuckin stand that.

Meanwhile, Silent Salt doesn't have a lot of in game evidence of this beyond the stories that got passed down about him, but his wiki makes it VERY clear that he views himself as beyond redemption. I mean look at this shit-

I have no clue WHY he's the only character with a customized wiki like this, but he is, and oooohhhhh boy does it say a lot about him. Oh boy. He does NOT want you looking any deeper into who he is or why he's like this, he wants to be viewed as lost cause. He does not want your sympathy. WHICH IS A LOT LIKE SHMILK!!!!

Overall, these two are clearly meant to intentionally parallel each other. They're not only the beginning and the end of the Beasts corruption, but also the beginning and the end of their imprisonment. They both make themselves out to be one dimensionally evil villains, just for very different reasons. They're both medieval themed. But what I find the MOST interesting about these parallels is how it ties in thematically with what tore the Beasts down in the first place; the fact that they were created to be just their job and nothing else.

BECAUSE LIKE OKAY HEAR ME OUT!!!!!!! Shadow Milk Cookie is clearly DEEPLY affected by the way he was treated as the Fount. From what little we know about his backstory, the reason he corrupted is because cookies wouldn't listen to him. He failed at his job because nobody wanted to hear the truth, they only wanted sweet lies, and I think it's probably safe to say that people fuckin HATED him for the things he said. It's possible that the reason he corrupted first is that he was the only virtue nobody liked. All of the Beasts were screwed over from the start, but his position as the Fount of Knowledge, fittingly, made him the most likely to realize how inherently fucked their existences were.

Now, post-corruption, he's an absolute control freak. He's clearly trying to take the reigns of his life back, forge an identity for himself through any means necessary. Choosing a name for himself and making sure that everyone he encounters KNOWS IT. Controlling the narrative through lies and manipulation. Shapeshifting constantly. Taking his personhood by force. Nobody gets to choose who he is but him, not the other cookies, not his fellow Virtues, not even the witches. The need for control, to be his own person outside of the Fount of Knowledge, also makes his clear rage at being locked in that fuck ass tree make a LOT of sense! Because, from his perspective, he's been forced into a role he didn't want since his creation, and the minute he starts trying to find a place outside of that role, expressing his anger and resentment at being put in that position at all, he's locked in sensory deprivation hell for thousands of years and LITERALLY FUCKING REPLACED!!!!!!! It's another attempted blow at his personhood, another form of objectification. He's the only Beast to express clear, unbridled rage at their imprisonment because he's the only one expressly motivated by how awfully the virtues have been treated for their entire existence.

Can you tell I have a lot of feelings about Shadow Milk Cookie-

Anyway, let's look at Silent Salt now. The Salt of Solidarity had arguably the best job out of all the virtues. He was the only one who's job allowed him to be viewed as an actual person by the cookies around him. As the virtue of Solidarity, his job was literally to Show Solidarity to everyone, no matter who they were. You can't do that if you're supposed to be an untouchable god, it's just not possible. Because of this, he was the one to face the least amount of objectification while actively working as a Virtue, allowing him to have an overall positive view of his job that most of the others didn't get. But that doesn't mean he was completely free of of that objectification. Because not only does he still go by exclusively his job title like all the other virtues, but he also integrated his job so deeply into his personality that he had no idea how to live without it. He never actually viewed HIMSELF as an independent person. He doesn't think he needs to be. So, when the Virtue DehumanizationTM from other cookies catches up to him, painting him as a tyrant and taking away his support network, he doesn't have any sort of identity left. He loses everything, including himself. Only Silence remains.

Then, after his corruption, he's just. Completely given up. He's so horrified that he failed he asks his boyfriend to kill him where he stands. Taking on a new name not as a show of his personhood, but as a mark of shame. Shame that he failed his job, that he isn't the Salt of Solidarity anymore. Again, he's the only Beast to have his corrupted virtue in his name. He's an empty husk of a cookie, a walking corpse, and, as a final act of sacrifice, he seals both himself and the rest of the beasts away in the Silver Tree. He doesn't believe they deserve anything else, he thinks they deserve to suffer eternally for what they did, for their failure to serve cookie kind. The fact that the tree created new virtues in their place only solidifies the fact that he had no plans on ever letting himself or his former colleagues free. No plans to maybe, one day, get them all help. Find new purposes. In his mind, they were only their roles, and now that they can no longer perform those roles they're all as good as dead anyway.

All of this also makes him an amazing antagonist for White Lily btw. Like this essay isn't abt her but all of this is VERY thematically appropriate given her Dark Enchantress shit and I'm very excited to see where the story goes.

ANYWAY. When I write it all out like that, the parallels become REALLY obvious, don't they? But the real kicker here is that they both- directly or indirectly- tore the others goals and senses of self directly out from under them. Shadow Milk may not be aware of the full extent of the damage he did to Salt and the Kala Namak, but that doesn't change the fact that, thanks to Black Sapphire's presence, he was still the Beast with the most direct involvement in their downfall. Meanwhile Silent Salt, who viewed himself and the other virtues as nothing outside of their jobs, ripped Shadow Milk's independence and identity away from him, replacing him with a new virtue like you would a broken microwave. They caused eachothers worst nightmares to come true.

So uh. In conclusion. CookieRun's storytelling is fucking amazing. Shadow Milk and Silent Salt are narrative foils and you cannot convince me otherwise. And uh. These two make me physically ill. Okay bye-

Tag list:

@pufthebirb

@magpies-are-really-cool

[mifluffy-thoughts]

Abt the whole Valko thing, I wrote something in the official server that I’m gonna post here as well jic something happens.

Honestly my main worry is the legal side of things as there was a VERY small but vocal group that got the Chinese state involved. I feel like the pressure was more political/legal than because of money.

Honestly this is messed up an all sides imo. This isn’t the first time that one of infold’s games got sent downhill due to political reasons. Lads’ predecessor (MLQC) had an issue in 2021 where one of the VAs was fired due to an accidental political message. I doubt he knew that what he said would result in him being fired, but Chinese laws would have destroyed the company had they not fired him. This drama resulted in a large percentage of people leaving the game and all of the VAs quitting the game (two in good graces with the company, two in bad graces) and being replaced. The game went steadily until they had to make the change to partial voice acting, but still did not make enough money. The game went EOS this March.

Right now, the issue, just like last time, is the lack of communication from infold. Rather than fully explaining their decision with something as simple as “Due to legal matters we cannot move forward with Valko” they try to keep it vague. Now the community is split between people blaming infold and people blaming the CN girlies when I feel like it’s more nuanced than that.

Yes infold is an greedy company but unlike most of their decisions this doesn’t feel like it was done purely because of money. Their office building was sent literal manure which is a huge health hazard and people were wishing death to them via the chrysanthemums. There were news reports on them, a detail in-game that was there for a while was suddenly the main point of attention. But they could and should have done more. Their PR team is shit

There are some CN girlies who are celebrating Valko’s removal, but others are grieving just like us. The people who harassed infold were very few, but even 10 can raise an eyebrow. Blaming all of them will be just as toxic and cruel when the vast majority are actual well adjusted people

Rather than placing the blame onto one group (CN Girlies, Infold, etc) it’s important for us to work together to try and solve this. Send emails, sign petitions, write posts, etc. Don’t spread hate.

But above ALL else make sure to focus on yourselves. I sincerely doubt this issue will be solved in the next 24h. If this really stresses you out then take a step back from social media (especially twt, it’s a dumpster fire over there. Saw one person call another brain dead for liking Valko and blamed both Valko and infold for all of this. I will not be including them in the sources to not cause unnecessary drama). Take care of yourselves, drink water, go to sleep, cry if you need to, engage in other hobbies, etc. Your mental health is more important than this game. If you can’t take action without worsening your own mental health then don’t

Lads will not reach EOS any time soon. They were able to keep MLQC running for 5 years, I know they’ll try their best to keep it alive from a functionality point of view.

Infold, if you’re somehow reading this, a small update could calm things down. Legally, idk how much you can say, but even a simple “Dear Hunters, We cannot discuss all of our reasons behind everything due to current legal matters. We apologize for any stress caused by our recent announcement. Here’s a code for (idk how much I personally think 50 pulls in dias in case ppl wanna spend it on something else)”. And if you can say more, PLEASE say more. The biggest issue right now is your vagueness tearing the community apart. We do not want a repeat of MLQC

Sources:

https://x.com/femvier/status/2071996190158155812?s=61

https://www.reddit.com/r/otomegames/comments/1rg7gnb/mr_love_queens_choice_end_of_service_announcement/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Love:_Queen%27s_Choice

https://x.com/poissoness_/status/2071969818702684221?s=61

https://x.com/wintercyra/status/2071935580171067764?s=61

https://x.com/bytestix/status/2071599339068170662?s=61

https://x.com/hypocd/status/2071953915185189367?s=61

https://x.com/syluslove/status/2071946921359392987?s=61

https://x.com/xavsuki/status/2071959865266729394?s=46&t=fumM6N6g-z5exnoC24y-7g

[reaperpie]

Full art on X

[na-na-namine]

As someone who used to play a lot of visual novels, and at the risk of generalizing too much, about half of gacha games out there are essentially serialized VNs with some gameplay tacked on.

Games like Arknights, Reverse:1999, Path to Nowhere, and Nikke are perhaps the most obvious examples of this. Higher budget gachas like Honkai Impact 3rd, ZZZ, and PGR style their cutscenes like VNs but with 3D animated character portraits. Fate Grand Order and Heaven Burns Red are both, at least partially, written by two of the most famous VN authors of all time.

What all of these gachas have in common are putting out novel length stories about gay women and men on a near monthly basis. Especially Chinese gachas where queerphobic CCP laws mean writers need to get more creative and subtle about queer subtext.

The primary demographic upon which these games glean their revenue from, the typical dudebro gacha gamer rolling for their waifus, don’t realize they’re playing a VN because they’re often skipping or blitzing through the dialogue. And if i said this is usually a gendered divide then it wouldn’t be far from the truth, especially with a casual look at gacha Youtubers, social media, forums, subreddits, etc.

It’s because of this why arguments about yuri subtext pandering to straight men or the misassumption held by some women/queer/progressive players that those chuds are in a position of good faith is giving them too much credit.

I’m not saying this is an absolute certainty, but "man who rolls for their wife and only watches character build breakdowns" is the classic gacha game demographic. It’s why mihoyo was able to get away with writing kiamei and bronseele for well over a decade - this demographic doesn’t care about reading into things too deeply.

Lately, you can tell it’s always the same demographic because it’s always queer shipping and theorycrafting SPECIFICALLY that gets their jimmies riled up. And it’s these same chuds that complain about "yuri slop tourists" even when it’s yuri fans that have been around from the start or are involved in the art/writing team. I’ve been noticing Umamusume’s been going through this right now and it’s just really visible. The same homophobic and queerphobic arguments being made again and again to quash shipping culture and literary fan analysis.

As a reminder to my fellow girls and gays, himejoshis, fujoshis, and yumejoshis : They don’t engage with the text. They don’t read between the lines. Guys like them are surface level and do not possess any complex interiority. What you think is the bare minimum is still more than they can handle.

[himesbakery]

· · ────── ꒰ Phainon ꒱ ────── · ·

· · ☆ ☆ contents . . . fluff ⸝⸝ alternative universe ⸝⸝ college ⸝⸝ relationship ⸝⸝ yearning ⸝⸝ wholesome ⸝⸝ cute ☆

ֶָ֢ ꮽ ݁ Headcanons with yearning Phainon ㅤꨄ︎

ֶָ֢ ꮽ ݁ and as your boyfriend x femreader pt1.

· · ────── ꒰ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ꒱ ────── · ·

ྀི༷♡ ˚ִִ𓈒꒱ 𝅄 ˚ ׅ yearningphainon!! who sits in class, but never really stays there, not his mind. His gaze drifts far beyond the lecture slides, his professor, past the scribbled notes in his notebook, settling somewhere outside the window where the world feels softer—warmer. Chin resting in his palm, a tilt of his head as he watches the trees sway lazily under the gentle breeze, gaze shifted towards the sky, stretched wide and clear, and somehow…it all reminds him of you. You never really leave his mind. Not when he’s supposed to be listening. Not when he’s supposed to be focusing. Not even when he tries. Instead, Phainon always finds himself thinking, endlessly…hopelessly about you. About how he could take you out after class, somewhere quiet and pretty, somewhere that matches the warmth and softness of the day. Maybe a café tucked away on a corner street, or a park where the sunlight filters just right through the trees. He can’t help but image the way you’d smile, the way you’d laugh, the way your hand would feel in his. Or maybe…he could surprise you. Show up to your class with your favourite drink in one hand and snacks in the other, setting them down in front of you with that shy, boyish smile of his. He loved doing that—loved watching the way your eyes light up, like it’s something much bigger than it really is. And by the time the lecture ends, he hasn’t written a single useful note. But he sure has planned an entire day around you.

ྀི༷♡ ˚ִִ𓈒꒱ 𝅄 ˚ ׅ yearningphainon!! who falls asleep at his desk, surrounded by pieces of you. Sheets of paper scattered everywhere, half-finished letters, ink smudged in places where his hand lingered far too long. Each one addressed to you, each one filled with words he never quite manages to say out loud. Phainon writes them on nights when everything feels so heavy, when everything is pressed down against his chest. When missing you just feels…unreasonable, because he just saw you today, but still…something in his chest aches so persistently. Something that refuses to quiet down. Because how could he not miss you? You are the reason he breathes, the reason he smiles, the reason his days shine so brightly and end so warmly. And so…he writes. Slowly. Carefully. Pouring every thought, every feeling, every small moment into those sheets of paper. His handwriting grows messier the sleepier he gets, eyes dropping, head dipping forward as he tries to stay awake just a little longer, enough to finish one more sentence. But he never does. He falls asleep like that, pen still in his hand, cheek pressed against the paper, surrounded by unfinished confessions. And when morning slips by, he stirs, blinking slowly…only to realise he can’t remember what he was trying to say. So, he sights softly and starts again. Because even if his mind forgets, his heart never does.

ྀི༷♡ ˚ִִ𓈒꒱ 𝅄 ˚ ׅ yearningphainon!! who thinks about you so much it borders on being absolutely ridiculous. To anyone else, it might look a little…excessive, well…it is. The way he zones out mid-conversation. The way he smiles at nothing. The way your name seems to slip into his thoughts at the most random moments. But to him, it’s simple. You’re just…always there, always been there. Like a constant presence in the back of his mind, warm and familiar, like a second home he never really leaves. You are the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up, still half-asleep, reaching for his phone just to see if you’ve texted. And the last thing on his mind before he drifts off, replaying the smallest details of your day together. And yet, despite all of that, he’s careful. Gentle. Phainon knows when to step back, when to give you space, especially when things get overwhelming. During exams, he holds himself back, even when every part of him wants to talk to you, to hear your voice, to stay connected. Because the last thing he wants…is to become too much. So instead, he waits. Patient. Soft. Always matching your pace, your energy. He never pushes, never pulls too hard. He’s just there…exactly where you need him to be.

ྀི༷♡ ˚ִִ𓈒꒱ 𝅄 ˚ ׅ yearningphainon!! who finds comfort in something as simple as holding your hand. It’s his favourite thing to do, more than anything else. The way your fingers fit so naturally between his, delicate and warm against his skin, it grounds him in a way nothing else really can. Because sometimes…he can’t quite seem to believe that you are real. That you are here. Sitting beside him. Choosing him. Over and over again. There’s this quiet insecurity he doesn’t talk about, one he wishes he could but Phainon would never burden you, never. It’s the kind of insecurity that lingers in the back of his mind—wondering if he’s doing enough for you, if he’s ever too much for you…or if one day, you might just decide that he isn’t what you need anymore. And when those thoughts creep in, his grip tightens just slightly. Not enough to hurt—just enough to reassure himself that you are still here. But when you turn to him, press a soft, gentle kiss to his cheek. Murmuring something so sweet, something so affectionate, something so certain. And just like that, all his doubts fade away. Because how could he ever question you, when you love him so openly?

ྀི༷♡ ˚ִִ𓈒꒱ 𝅄 ˚ ׅ yearningphainon!! who can never quite resist kissing you the moment he sees you. It’s instinct at this point. Priminal. The second his eyes land on you, something in him melts, something warm and overwhelming, and before he can even think about it, he’s already leaning in. Kisses scattered across your face like it’s second nature to him. The corner of your eyes. Your cheeks. The bridge of your nose. Your jaw—his favourite spot, where he always lingers just a second longer. Each kiss lingering longer than the previous one. It’s his way of saying “I missed you,” without actually ever saying it. But of course, Phainon can’t help teasing you. He lets his lips hover just an inch of yours, brushing the corner instead, barely there, just enough to make you react. To make you pout, to make you whine ever so softly, to make you look up at him like that. And he loves it. Loves knowing that you want him just as much as he wants you. But the second you turn away, sulking, pretending to ignore him? He immediately falters. Because Phainon’s weak for you. Always has been. And he can’t exactly deny you for that long. So it doesn’t really take long before he’s pulling you back in, one hand at your waist, the other gently cupping your face, pressing soft, hurried kisses to your lips like he’s making up for lost time. Until they slow down, tasting the sweet lip tint you used today, letting his tongue smear over your lips, memorising and savouring every inch of you. Tongue molding into yours the second you let him pass through your parted lips. He can’t help but sigh into it, melting into you, relishing in how sweet and warm you taste. He’s so close to pushing you against the nearest surface but he resists, telling himself that he should enjoy this moment instead of craving, needing more.

🧸 I loveee star rail…y’all don’t get it 🥺

🍰 a sweet treat for @dearlysaes for working so hard on their exams <3