u/Miss_Nyxa

Okay, so I just discovered this game existed about 20 minutes ago (watched a video about it on YT), and I have some things to say.

First of all, Expie/XP (dunno how to spell it's name) is the most adorable cave spelunker ever. I haven't felt such an immense attachment to a little guy on a mission in a long time, but he is very much the one thing I want to play the game for.

Which brings me to the game itself.

I'm gonna say it now: I have a very intense love-hate vibe with this game. Though I feel "love-distress" would be a better description.

On one hand, it's visually stunning. Pretty pixel art, interesting mechanics, cool mini games (I use that term loosely), very accurate medical stats with a basis in fact (as far as I know), and of course, the aforementioned adorable little guy on a mission.

But on the other hand, this game is terrifying to me. Balancing a bunch of health stats with technology that you have no idea how to use. The various gruesome injuries we have to watch our little spelunker endure during inevitable jump miscalculations or what have you. The idea of listening to said spelunker whine and whimper as he bleeds out on a cliff edge or drowns in water. The sound flashbangs that would definitely terrify anyone with audio processing issues. The list goes on.

Just the idea of all of that stuff makes my head spin and my stomach churn. I'm already not a fan of medical horror, so I'm probably not gonna play the game at all.

But I did want to just come here to say that this game is damn impressive. Beautiful, horrifying, and plays with one's brain in more ways than one. Definitely gonna keep up with it.

In the wake of a conversation with a friend who has quite frankly one of the most banger clown cosplays of all time, I'm planning to create a sort of clown persona. Perhaps for a small Tumblr side account. No clue yet.

In any event, I need some advice on how to curate a cutesy, fun, slightly cheeky clowncore look for this persona.

Basic concept: My character is called Ditzy Giggles, a bubbly, artistic, slightly airheaded clown girl who likes to perform, tell stories, and yap to anyone who will listen.

What I need: Clothes recommendations and makeup recommendations to solidify the clown look. And maybe a wig or two.

I'll also do some research on some clowncore personalities in the coming days, so if anyone wants to recommend their personal favorite pastel-colored performers, by all means, go ahead!

(rewritten from a yt comment)

I recently found out that Co09 flip side was basically the hateful spite project made for the sole purpose of tearing into the community for the Jeckole ship.

And I had one thing to say:

Really?

Seriously, what kind of game dev gets mad at people for liking their characters to the point where they want them to find happiness in their toxic lives?

Judge me all you want, but after the shit that Nicole's been through, I kinda feel bad for her. Imagine being in her shoes for a second.

Never being able to make genuine connections because of constant moves across the country, watching your dad off himself, being harassed by male and female classmates alike, getting preyed on by predatory teachers (paid and employed by a principal who does nothing but enable them), and having to live with the fact that there is effectively no one you can turn to for support or even a tiny bit of comfort.

That whole experience is soul crushing to anyone with even a trace of empathy in their brain. There is a genuine tragedy surrounding Nicole in this game, and it's completely ignored and overshadowed by offensive humor and barely-disguised fetish content. This game series would genuinely be a psychological horror visual novel series if it focused on Nicole's past and how all of the harassment she went through affected her. It's kinda sad that it doesn't.

And considering that Jecka was the only one who was even able to withstand Nicole's behavior and bothered to hang out with her in any sense just adds another layer of tragedy to the whole thing.

It's no wonder people ship the two so much, they're the only ones who are consistently there for each other despite everything. In a weird twist of fucked up irony, these two have the only (somewhat) positive relationship in the game. They annoy each other, they get each other into trouble, they cuss each other out and insult each other, but at the end of the day, they're each still the only thing the other has.

It's kinda heartbreaking when you think about it.

The Brawl Stars playable character roster has a TON of pathetic male characters paired up with strong female characters.

Think about it for a sec!

Shelly and Colt are performers, and Shelly is definitely more capable and tougher, while Colt is a self-obsessed idiot who gets himself into ridiculous situations where he needs to be rescued by other female characters (Shelly mostly, but also Najia in her intro animation).

Fang and Buster are stupidly reckless and get themselves into crazy situations (usually involving Juju's products), and usually end up getting hurt thanks to their own hubris (Demons vs. Angels event and Gigi's introduction video). Also, Fang seems to show some level of attraction to Janet in the MHA collab announcement animation.

Draco is hopelessly lovesick for Lumi, and it's very clear from the animations we see with them interacting that she is more competent and capable in combat situations than Draco.

Chester is a jokester who usually gets what's coming to him from Mandy if no one else.

Jae-Yong is an overworked office drone who is often rivaling Melodie at the karaoke bar AND is (supposedly) the boyfriend of Pam, one of if not THE strongest female character personality-wise.

Emz is crushing on Poco (not confirmed to be dating as far as I know), and it's stated in his in-game bio that he may not be the greatest musician.

Lola is a diva who's working with a silent co-star and a boom mic monkey with an inflated ego, and I'm dead certain that both irritate her on occasion (one more than the other, probably).

Those are just the ones off the top of my head, of course. There could very well be other examples, and I'd love to hear them if so. Honestly, we need more pathetic male characters in the media.