Slime Feet And Its Raw Trans Intimacy In The Face Of History

14 1月 2025

slime feet begins by listing what it is and what the content warnings are like: it's "body horror", it's "extravagant foot fetishism", and it's also "sloppy messy lesbian cybersex".

But at the very end, the game reveals its thesis before the game properly begins:

slime feet is about you knowing i love you

This is the latest visual novel by Nadia Nova, a prolific trans femme creator who explores sexuality and trans intimacy in her works like Hopeless Junction. Made for the Videotome jam "Waiting", this is a short title that will probably take the player as long as it takes to read this article, but I think it's worth excavating a few themes in the title.

The story follows Estelle, who was returning from an expedition when the airlock gate and entry hatch broke down on her. Despite wearing as much protection as possible, she was exposed to the Miasma, an "amorphous cloud of dark but transparent mist" that will enter her body, discolor it (though she is already dark-skinned so it would be difficult to see), and break down the muscles and bones, and eventually dissolve her internal organs. Fortunately, this miasma is not contagious, but there is so little research on it she is quarantined from the outside world. She's been assigned by her team to write "End Entries" in which she can report her symptoms for future study.

But while the player will read these reports after each day, the bulk of the game involves reading the chat logs between Estelle and Abbi. These are small, private conversations that are recorded in the log (they point out that the Overseer can read them), but they stop caring about procedures: they start sexting each other, commenting on how Estelle is turning into a blue slime girl, and how much Abbi wants to stick her dick into Estelle.

The eroticism of their relationship plays on the macabre of regression into death. While the symptoms are indeed terrible, Estelle and Abbi try to make the most of what little time and erotic energy they have together. Instead of seeing the symptoms as a clock ticking down to her death, Estelle reframes them as a series of sexual fetishes for Abbi, who used to write the End Entries reports and knows all about these symptoms, to get into:

estelle: Lmao maybe i should film this and you can sell the record and be rich

abbi: Wtf come on

estelle: Seriously!! Il squirt all over the place all squishy style

abbi: Omg Estelle what's with you today!!

estelle: Haha are you etting flustered? Do you have that kink?

abbi: What no

estelle: You should. Ill help you. you never stroked to some slime girl hentai??

abbi: Omg

abbi: I don't know! Maybe!

estelle: Lmaaao tbhIf i ignore the dread of death i think its kinda fun

Estelle turns her disability into an erotic fantasy that she and Abbi can indulge in. Fingering herself "makes m feel like im still in control of my body", and this is something Abbi agrees with too. The pleasure of masturbation is something both characters can still control, even in this terrible situation. They can joke about this and even get turned on. It may be morbid, but it is also very hot and reaffirming.

The obvious real world parallel will be long-distance relationships between disabled people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I think the story at its core is about "you knowing i love you". On the fourth day, Estelle's writing deteriorates and she "just woje up crying like shit today". Abbi has not been able to get clearance to be with Estelle. The only channel of communication is this chat interface: they can cyber, give "digital hugs", and get each other off. Their words heal each other's wounds. This is raw intimacy, made all the more raw by the filter that separates them. All they have is language and their imagination about fucking each other to make each other realize that they know they love each other.

The Videotome ADV engine is a perfect fit for the story. I've made a game in another Videotome engine, so I'm familiar with its strengths and limitations. They are easy to write in, accessible on web browsers, and provide a kind of grungy retro aesthetic using CRT filters and simple white text on black backgrounds. slime feet turns the engine into a series of chat logs, with washed-out images of screens and blue skeleton hands. There are no portraits like you might find in another visual novel. It's all text, somber guitar strumming, and visuals that don't represent concrete scenes but rather abstract emotions like longing and loneliness.

This aesthetic reinforces the intimacy between the two characters: their love for each other can only appear in this medium of hastily written text messages and sparse images. The player has to imagine what it is like to write so much and yet so little into these words. When the inevitable happens, it's less a goodbye and more a continuation of their resolve to be together.

I found this visual novel touching. With just a few words, slime feet is able to express so much about how love and desire will not overturn death, but it makes people remember that they are wanted:

estelle: it made me feel warm abbi: Me too.

This goes against how we usually think about death, especially in these turbulent times. Desiring someone sexually, physically, and mentally is a better way to remember someone than a cold report on their contributions to the advancement of science. Language cannot convey the warmth that someone can radiate. Death is not an end state, but a memory of someone's warmth that is worth preserving.

I resonate with this work because warmth keeps me alive. I don't see much hope in the direction of history; there are mornings when I feel nihilistic and wonder if anything is worth doing at all. Everyone is tired, some more than others. History keeps moving, people keep dying, and we can only communicate in broken texts and images. But in the end, the warmth of loved ones brings me back to my senses.

Where can there be such warmth? slime feet reminds us that even the sexts, shitposts, and cybers we send each other are not simply silly messages but warm little embers that remind people that they can be loved, desired, and wanted. It's a beautiful lesson that is worth keeping close to our hearts.