If you ever wanted to see Richard Nixon or any of the other US presidents get their comeuppance for the way they used the war on drugs to kill and imprison detractors, minorities, and addicts, you’re gonna LOVE to hear that Philippine ex-President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested for crimes against humanity. His policy and stance on drug use killed between 12,000 and 30,000 Filipinos.
Police took him into custody on orders of the ICC, which has been investigating the massive killings that happened under the former presiden
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.”
sorry but if you’re doing choice feminism I will be reminding you of the consequences of your choices. yeah you choose to wear makeup, and the mica for the glitter in there was mined by child slaves, but it’s justified if it’s to make you feel like a bad bitch. the talc thing will probably give you cancer at a higher rate than your cis male peers but you can’t just go into work bald-faced, that’s nuts, what if you have acne!!! what if OTHER WOMEN think you’re TRANSSEXUAL??? it’d be nuts of you to ally and align yourself with, like, people who get killed by cis men for Looking Wrong, so cancer’s really the safer bet isn’t it! no more shein hauls because of tariffs? damn, that’s crazy, here’s 20 alternative websites for fast fashion that uses sweatshop labor. and the clothes will still disintegrate in a month so it won’t feel too different. It’s keeping you safe though, it keeps you comfortable, you’re gonna get a raise at work, and you’re hashtag Valid for it.
[time traveling back to the late 1800s] oooo a whole Carolina parakeet on your hat? good to see that you’re taking care of yourself despite your material oppression. Those girls wearing the audubonettes mean well but it’s not like it does anything under capitalism, does it? just makes them look drab and puritanical, it’s like virtue signaling. and people are mean to them :( you can care about birds and still look hot, y’know? you deserve it femme 🩷
pro gamer tip: you can make caltrops by welding 4 nails together, with 3 forming a stable triangular base and the 4th sticking upwards. these can be deployed against enemy vehicles and personnel.
improved caltrops can be made by swapping out the nails for thin, strong steel pipe, formed and sharpened into a spike at the topmost edge, and with a hole drilled at the bases. this design releases air from enemy vehicle tires at a constant rate, and prevents tires from shredding. this may be preferred to prevent loss of control of the enemy vehicle, particularly if it has captured an allied faction.
these are maybe one of the most underutilized consumables in a lot of TTRPGs even though they’re cheap as hell to buy or make, and throwing down like 5 or 10 of them in a strategic place like a doorway or driveway (? idk what it’s called when it’s made for horses and carts. a carriageway?) can make it totally intraversable, especially for enemies with low dex/int who are more focused on attacking or intimidating your allies. Tell your friends!!!!!!
what if, instead of being a witch in the alps looking for her cat, you were an undying time traveler, searching for your shithead gay uncle who needs to do war crimes to live. bc his partner misses him. and there was a dating sim.
A lot of people are in relationships to fuck around and a lot of people are in relationships bc they want a life partner, but I think a lot more people are in relationships bc the state of the world is terrifying, and clinging to a partner who’s familiar is the closest they can get to feeling a positive emotion consistently
