31st March, Midnight

Hello, and welcome to my personal page where I discuss everything subculture and fun.

You may know me as the Japanese subculture media blogger who once ran Mimidoshima. Or you might know me for my visual novels as the writer for Prof. Lily or my own solo text adventure games. Or you might even have stumbled across my numerous text dumps on niche media on Twitter or this very site.

Whether you are familiar with my writings or not, let me take the opportunity to (re)introduce myself.

Obligatory Biographical Info

I'm a Chinese Indonesian who has studied abroad in many different countries. I majored in Fiction Writing for my BA and later went on to study International Relations for my MSc. My pronouns are they/them.

I enjoy writing and thinking about video games, visual novels, anime, movies, and books. Most of the articles I've read are responses to how provocative these media tend to be. By the way, when I write in lowercase, it's unedited and more like a quick first draft. But when I write with normal capitalization and punctuation, that's me taking the writing project seriously.

I also like to read political and economic theory from time to time. Lately, I've been particularly interested in Marxist, Left Hegelian, degrowth, and abolitionist discourses.

My favorite works are constantly changing, but as of this writing they are NonStories, It's a MyGo!!!!!, Drag-On Dragoon 3, Void Stranger, and Seabed.

I am also a frequent collaborator with Amelie Doree, a YouTube essayist who makes radical videos on visual novels. Speaking of which, if anyone is interested in collaborating with someone who has too much to say about Japanese media, hit me up.

Why I Write

I write about niche media most of the time. I recognize that the works I write about tend to be inaccessible, whether due to language, lack of controls and context, or just plain disinterest.

I'm always impressed that there are people out there doing great work with little to no attention. I don't think it's a shame that they're not considered masterpieces because niche titles have a ceiling. Rather, I am overwhelmed that they have made very specific games catered for very specific people, and I want to understand where they are coming from.

My curiosity about these works has gotten the better of me: I started making interactive fiction and visual novels, so I can understand these artists on a deeper level. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I wasn't just a critic but someone who wanted to create very specific experiences for people who were looking for the same thing. I treasure the fact that we could make something that only entertained a select audience.

And it makes me especially sad when I don't get it. It made me think that the world is bigger than I like to admit. There are so many different tastes that I want to understand them and learn why certain works appeal to them. I don't want to reject them. I want to be closer to them.

This is an impossible task because the world of aesthetics is constantly expanding. There will be works that pass me by, works that frustrate me, and works that I cannot access, but I must remain accepting and never try to reject works at face value unless it is actually reprehensible.

So I write: I write not for some grand task like "translating" works to reach as many people as possible, but for the selfish reason of being in the headspace of the creators as they make their niche media. I, too, want to make something inaccessible that will be dug up and loved by some intrepid wanderer looking for something outside the mainstream that can save them.

I'm still a wanderer. I'm just looking for something to leave something behind for other wanderers to pick up, so they realize they're not alone. There are other interesting works out there to be discovered and I want to join that cadre.

Selected Nonfiction

If you are unfamiliar with my nonfiction writing, here's what I think are my best articles:

I also write reviews on interactive fiction at IFDB once in a while.

Selected Games

I'm slowly building up a portfolio of games. Here's a few:

Selected Translations

Most people don't realize this, but I'm also a fan translator working in the Touhou space.

Side Accounts and Miscellaneous Info

I have a semi-public and awfully active Discord server that discusses Japanese media forever. You can contact me on Twitter or Tumblr. Don't be surprised if I don't invite you -- I have to make sure that you're a good fit for the community.

Conclusion

This is a meaty introduction post, but I felt like it was necessary. I want to make an effort to pursue more projects that I want to do and I want the people following me to be on the same page as I am.

I don't think a post like this would clarify everything, but I want to show that I'm an active writer who's always trying to expand my horizons and learn something new every day. If you've made it this far, you should probably follow me and recommend me new math rock music to listen to.

As for me, I'm going to hallucinate about cute girls quoting Wittgenstein to each other. See you later!