sanddusted-wisteria - Tumblr blog

sanddusted-wisteria · 3 months ago

Note

"(Maybe later we can get into a whole thing about whiteness being the standard for beauty in My Time games & how that's informed by contemporary attitudes)"

ur right and u should say it

Hoooooo buddy, let's get into it. This is probably gonna be a bit rambling but go off ig.

DISCLAIMER: Obviously, I love the My Time games and Pathea as well, but that doesn't mean that we can't also have meaningful, critical discourse surrounding those games. (I'm literally halfway through a massive Logan fic right now) Engaging with the media we love critically helps us to understand ourselves and the world around us better.

I'm focusing mostly on Sandrock here, as it's been a hot minute since I played Portia, but I will reference it here and there. Rambling below the cut :)

So when I say whiteness is the standard for beauty in My Time games and that it's informed by contemporary attitudes, what does that really mean? Well, consider for a moment all the different books and magazines you've read, music you've listened to, movies and tv shows you've watched. How many times have you seen blonde hair and blue eyes shoved to the forefront of the narrative, or highlighted as especially attractive? Now compare that to how many times you've ever heard anyone romanticize brown eyes. This is a small example, but once you start to notice it, you can't really un-notice it anymore.

We as a culture, have a tendency to value "white traits" as the standard for what we consider beautiful. Blue eyes, light or blonde colored hair, small noses, thin yet plump lips, and of course, pale complexions. If you want a more in-depth analysis on how colonialism has influenced beauty standards around the world, check out this thesis.

Obviously, since these games are set in a solarpunk, post-apocalyptic world, we can't go through and identify the ethnicities and races of characters with 100% certainty, so I'm not even going to try. What I'm looking at is the physical features alone, as well as which romance characters are given the most attention by Pathea, and then of course which are given the most attention by fans. It should be fairly well-established by this point that Pathea does take a lot of fan feedback into account & will actively shape their games around fan preferences, as we've seen so far with Evershine's development. So there's a lot of interaction between the global fanbase for the games and the creative minds actually behind them, meaning that I'm not here to point blame at any single party, or to really point blame at all. Ultimately, these games are just that: games, and while it's good exercise and practice to engage with them critically, if you find yourself upset by this, I'd recommend spending your time worrying about real-world action instead.

But onto the My Time games! Which characters tend to hold the most prominence here? The romanceables, of course. So let's break it down. In My Time at Portia, there is a total of 28 characters the player could possibly marry. 28!! Comparatively, Sandrock has 21. Of the 28 characters in Portia, we see a few discernible ethnic traits with the septuplets, Lucy, Mint, Petra, Sonia, Aadit, Remington, and Xiu. Of these more diverse characters, the darkest skin-tone we find is Petra's. Now, out of all these characters, which ones tend to get the most screentime and the most love from fans? Over the years, lots of names will pop up, but far and away the most popular candidates are Arlo, Gust, Aadit, and Mint.

Now let's look at Sandrock. I will say, Sandrock does a much better job with diversity, both in skin tone and facial feature variations. However, consider who gets the most romance content and screentime in the game: Logan and Fang for sure, followed by Unsuur and Nia, to the point where at times, it feels like the game is trying to tell you that either Logan, Fang, or Nia are the "canon" options. Which makes sense, but I also find it pretty wild that characters like Heidi and Justice - who, because of their roles, have arguably, just as strong claims to being "canon" but are not treated as such.

Consider the two architects we get to interact with across the games: Heidi and Gust. Of the two, Gust is the wildly more popular option with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and mean disposition. In contrast, Heidi is heavily involved in the Sandrock storyline, and without her, the town would never have been able to recover the way it does in-game. It would make sense, then, that Heidi and the Builder would share a much more profound bond simply based on the relationship inherent to their roles. In Portia, if Gust and Albert were not present, it stands to reason the town could probably still get on fine with just their builder. Not so for Sandrock. It's a similar concept with Justice. Without him as Sheriff, Sandrock doesn't survive. But if Arlo weren't in Portia, again, the Builder can fill in that gap decently enough.

Despite being so critical to the story and Sandrock's infrastructure, Heidi and Justice simply aren't given a proportional amount of screentime and romance content. Heidi is the architect who works with the Builder the most, and Justice is literally the Builder's Civil Corps superior and comrade. There's a lot of potential there for relationship-building and compelling dynamics. In short, they're not treated as viable candidates when compared to Logan, Fang, and Nia (also wild since Nia spends a majority of the game not in Sandrock). And it's not like they're not interesting characters either. Heidi, while friendly and fun at first, is also shown to be extremely competent and has a healthy temper (and the right hook to match, hoo mama). She's shown to be complex, trying to juggle her own sense of what is right with what her mentors have been telling her is right. Her story is about getting back to her roots and trusting her own instincts and judgements despite having better opportunities back in Atara.

Justice as well is an interesting character, struggling with his insecurities and trying to fill his old mentor's shoes while also trying to keep Sandrock safe on a shoestring budget. He's consistently shown to be incredibly resourceful and creative, with an incredibly strong sense of, well, justice. He even takes his own name upon joining the Civil Corps! (It used to be Maurice, thanks Viv). He's shown to have faults in his treatment of Unsuur as just some weird kid, and you as the Builder get to help him come to understand Unsuur better, which creates a really sweet moment in-game. (To all the fic writers who insist on putting Justice down to favor Unsuur, y'all can catch me outside)

But for all these qualities, Heidi and Justice just don't seem to resonate with fans, and it really begs the question: Would they be more popular if they were designed more like Logan, Nia, or Fang? If they had more "white" features, would they get more screentime from Pathea? Would they get more attention from fans? Of course, we can't say for certain if that would change anything, but judging by the way I've seen fans treat these characters (Justice especially in builder x unsuur fics) I'm inclined to think that yes, if they were whiter, they'd be more popular. Side note here: Yes I realize Fang comes from Seesai, the in-game analog to irl China so it's not like he's not ethnic, but look at his sperm donor. Blonde hair, blue eyes.

As we've established, there's a very reciprocal relationship between the fandom and Pathea. Fans got to vote for which characters will become core romanceables in Evershine, as well as which Sandrock characters would make cameos in the game. And which characters do we see absolutely blowing up across the Evershine socials? Avery, Ragnar, and to a degree, Stev. Hardly any news is coming out about Waylan, but until the game actually releases, there's only so much we can read into the romance options at this point.

My whole point with this essay is to show that, while characters in My Time games are becoming more diverse and well-fleshed out thanks to Pathea, we as the fans are also reinforcing a pattern of creation and storytelling that heavily favors whiteness as a standard of beauty. I think it's awesome to see Pathea taking so much fan feedback for the games, but as a creative myself, I think it wouldn't hurt them either to stand on business and make creative choices that favor a diverse, interesting cast of characters over which ones are the most fuckable according to horny people on the internet. (It's a similar phenomenon to what happened with Wyll's character in Baldur's Gate 3) We can all do better; we should all do better, and that begins with taking a critical look at the media we consume and the way we engage with that media.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. I'd love to hear y'all's opinions on this as well!

#pop offffffff 👏👏👏#you’re right and you should SAY IT #Pathea also seems to get stuck in a positive feedback loop constantly w LIs #where they don’t give the “““less popular””” ones any content #and then no one feels any motivation to go for them #and then Pathea shrugs and says “well there’s no reason to make content for them then”#they still haven’t learned their lesson 3 games in now #and that def contributes to the favoring of the whiter LIs #and that’s why I hope modding will be accessible like they say it will for mtae bc I wanna mod more story content for the noncore LIs 😤

34 notes · View notes

sanddusted-wisteria · 3 months ago

Text

Shooting the Breeze, Shooting the Leaves [oneshot]

F/Builder/Qi, pre-relationship fluff

Warnings: None

Summary:

The no-nonsense director of the Research Center, Mr. Science Man, who barely goes outside at all…what the hell would he want to do outside of his lab? But, for the lack of options, Wis figured that she just might try something random and new. She figured that soon enough, Qi would comment on how he’d want “more variation” for his “experiments,” i.e. “I am bored. May we do something else, please?”

Also on AO3

A/N: i swear one day i'll be able to work on a multichapter fic without having to disappear for at least 6 months laskdfjdkfdrj

today's not that day, but it's the first time in a while that i've had something complete to share. enjoy this fairly hastily written one! :>

------------

Wis didn’t really know why she thought bringing Qi to the Game Center was a good idea.

She was looking for a way to mix up their hangout sessions a bit this time (or as Qi calls them, their “social interaction field studies”). There were only so many times they could talk by the oasis, or talk in Wis’s garden, or talk in the saloon over lunch, or talk as they stargazed from Qi’s roof… But at the same time, there really wasn’t much in Sandrock to do.

Or at least, nothing that Qi would want to do.

Or more accurately, nothing that Wis thinks Qi would want to do.

The no-nonsense director of the Research Center, Mr. Science Man, who barely goes outside at all…what the hell would he want to do outside of his lab?

But, for the lack of options, Wis figured that she just might try something random and new. She figured that soon enough, Qi would comment on how he’d want “more variation” for his “experiments,” i.e. “I am bored. May we do something else, please?”

The closest option she saw to the Research Center was the Golden Goose. Just right across the street. She ruled out Whack-a-Mole right away (as funny as it would be to see him play it, he’d probably flat-out refuse), so maybe one of the games inside would be a better shot.

Qi didn’t complain, much to her relief, only noting how they were deviating from their usual routine. In hindsight, it was also kinda dumb going straight for the Space Pilferers machine with Director “Spacecase” Qi in tow, but still, not any sign or signal of displeasure, or even reluctance.

They put a couple gols in the slot and fired up the game, silly music and peppy sound effects punctuating their frantic claw grabbing. Wis’s nerves fizzled out as she got more and more into the game, but even so, she still found herself on the losing end.

“Ugh… Ugh! I keep missing!” she huffed. The timer ran out, and lights flashed on Qi’s side of the machine. Wis looked up and saw their scores. 2700 - 5100. “How the hell's your score that high?!”

Qi raised an eyebrow. “Huh? I don't believe I'm under any kind of performance-enhancing conditions.”

“You still won, though.”

“Hm. Indeed I have. Interesting...I figured your work would intuitively cause you to have faster reflexes than me.” Qi put a hand to his chin, his brow furrowing.

Wis pursed her lips. Was this another one of Qi’s backhanded insults? She knew him long enough now to know that they were never really intentional, just an unfortunate consequence with the very particular way he spoke.

Qi either didn’t notice, or he brushed it aside, still mired in thought. But his eyes quickly lit up again, and he turned back to Wis.

“Why not play another round? Allow me to observe your play technique, and I may be able to offer suggestions for improvement.”

Wis blinked. She still felt a little weird for dragging him here. And now she was keeping him here even longer. “A…are you sure? Didn’t think you’d be so invested…”

But Qi merely pushed in his glasses. “You want to improve your performance, yes? This entertainment device is a simple task of physical reflexes. If you find your current performance lacking, then we must first determine points of failure or weakness. And then we address them. Very standard scientific and engineering thought process.”

Sounded just about on par for Qi. If it was something he wanted to talk about, he could always tie it back to science somehow. But what really caught Wis’s attention was how…he was doing this for her sake? Yeah, it was something small and dumb as maybe getting a couple extra tokens for the prize counter, but it still felt a little…beneath Qi.

It felt weirder still to think that, given how only a month or two ago, Wis would always grumble about how everything seemed to be beneath the director.

She shrugged. “I mean…sure, why not?” It’d be more awkward to decline.

Qi nodded, moving to stand by the side of the machine, facing Wis. “Play as you normally would. And pay me no mind. We’ll get the best results that way.”

Wis gave him a nod in return, and pulled another set of gols to insert into the slot. She took a deep breath as the machine whirred to life again, trying to ignore the intangible itch of Qi’s gaze on her as the targets appeared again.

…She always thought his stare had an odd intensity to it.

She whipped her head to and fro, trying to catch sight of the biggest targets as soon as they appeared, in order to get the best catch at snagging them.

Suddenly, she felt a soft pressure on the sides of her head.

She sucked in a sharp breath, her shoulders jolting into a hunch.

“Keep your head stationary. Utilize your peripheral vision more.”

Qi was directly behind her now, hands steadying her head, his voice lowered ever so slightly.

Wis was finding it rather difficult now to keep her focus on the targets.

“Don’t mind me,” said Qi again, completely matter-of-factly, but still with that unusual softness to it. “Concentrate on the task.”

Had Wis ever heard him like this before? So…careful (she daren’t think ‘gentle’).

Halfway through the time limit. Despite the blatant distraction, she was getting more points now. Qi’s advice really was working.

Warmth covered the hand on the controller. Oh no, never mind. Another distraction.

“Adjust your grip on the controller,” murmured(?!) Qi. “This position should allow for more efficient control.”

Wis wasn’t in control of her hands anymore. She felt Qi adjust the position of her fingers as she robotically kept sweeping up targets. The game was now background noise, supplanted now by all the alarm bells in Wis’s head going off at once, and every inch of her freezing up. What was happening?!

“...I don’t believe a harder grip on the device will help your performance, Wisteria.”

Her odd panic-trance state was broken by the loud ding-ding-ding-ing of the time up sound.

“Hm. Look at that. Significant improvement in score.”

Wis blinked, then looked back over her shoulder to see Qi, looking up at the score panel with that reserved half-smile on his face. Not his cocky smirks or his near-manic grins. The one that looked the most truly pleased.

He caught her looking back at him and raised an eyebrow. “What? Improvement! …Or was it not enough to pass your threshold of acceptable results?”

“Uh—! N-no!” Wis stammered. “Yeah! I did better! It…it helped. Uh. So. Thanks.”

Qi nodded. “Of course. Always a pleasure to solve another scientific inquiry. As I hypothesized, it wasn’t an issue with your raw reflexes. I anticipated your physical capabilities would already be more than enough to handle a mere…toy such as this.”

Wis let out a chuckle, quickly getting her bearings back. “Well…we’re not really done yet, are we?”

Qi frowned. “We’re…not?”

“Gotta really put our conclusion to the test, don’t we?” Wis gestured to the machine. “Another round, you vs. me again. Let’s see if we’re evenly matched.” And also hopefully to shake whatever that was from her memory.

To her surprise, Qi barked out a laugh, a smile once again making itself at home on his face. “I suppose you’re right. Well, in the spirit of inquiry…”

A few more gols in the slot, another loop of that tinny-sounding music, and another go at space pilfering.

There were no complaints this time, no banter, nothing. Just Wis and Qi, both now at their absolute A-game. Two bodies, eerily still. Two sets of dark eyes, darting from corner to corner. Two hands, clutched and always at the ready. And…

“...I won!”

Flashing lights on the left side of the booth heralded Wis’s victory.

Qi let out a snort. “Just barely.”

5200 - 5000. Just one hit more from Wis.

She held out a hand with a grin. “Guess we can call that ‘good game,’ then?”

“Indeed we can.” Qi’s hand grasped hers in a solid shake. It felt less…alarming than before. Probably because Wis knew it would happen this time.

Brushing any weird thoughts aside, she turned to the small stack of prize tokens that they had accrued over the three rounds. She never really used the Game Center that often, so there wasn’t really a point in trying to save these up for one of the super expensive prizes.

She made her way over to the prize counter in the back (fixing a glare in response to Catori’s silent, cheeky grin), looking over the small prizes.

“Anything you want? Don’t think I’ll save these, so let’s just cash them out now.”

“Why would I want anything from here?” Qi said with a frown. “Unless the entrepreneur has any relics in stock.”

“Even if I could get my hands on any, Director,” Catori replied with a wry smile. “Don’t think they’ll be worth a measly 22 tokens.”

Qi fired something back about the monetary value of the tokens as Wis looked over the prizes some more. In the end, she handed over all her tokens (well, she only needed 20, but what good were 2 tokens?) for a small book with a bright green cover.

Just as Qi was making his way out the door, she quickly hustled after him, holding out the book to him.

Qi looked down at it, and his brow furrowed a little. “A…growing guide? Why would you need something like this? I thought you already had a broad knowledge base on plant care and horticulture.”

Wis smiled. “Not for me, for you! Your houseplants still look sad. And you won’t let me take care of them, so…”

“I don’t need this any more than you do. And I thought I already said I didn’t want anything.”

“Hey, you were the one who made me get better at the game. You earned most of the tokens anyways. So the prize goes to you! And maybe you don’t need it, but your plants do.”

Qi still didn’t move to take it. Wis tsked and lightly shook it in front of him. “C’mon. Or else you know I’m just gonna keep nagging you about them.”

“I still don’t see why on Earth this is necessary…” Qi mumbled, reaching out to take the book anyhow.

Wis only chuckled. Maybe there was still hope yet for his poor plants.

The rest of the day was pleasant, if not fairly uneventful. Qi declared yet another “success” with his “social interaction experiments,” and they both went home satisfied.

Work picked up again for Wis soon after, and she quickly forgot all about the Game Center and the growing manual. But a week later, when she finally had time to head into town and hang out with Qi at the Research Center a bit, she quickly noticed something a bit different.

His lab was as messy as ever, always filled with papers and books and experiment apparatus. But Wis had seen the place enough times to notice something new amidst the chaos. Qi’s plants, all moved around, off his shelves and out of his stairwell, gathered underneath the windows on the side wall, where the sun was brightest. A discarded pair of scissors, a little bottle of (probably homemade) plant nutrient blend, a variety of pots in different sizes.

Qi, who’d turned around to greet her, quickly caught her eye on the little menagerie of green, and just as quickly shuffled something around on his desk.

Not fast enough, though. Wis caught an unmistakable bit of green poking out of the pile of papers that Qi had just unceremoniously shoved something into.

He cleared his throat, the same way he always did whenever he wanted to swiftly change topics (most often related to certain obscure topics that he’s still certain no one’s ever heard of), and quickly got down to the business of pleasantries and a fresh cup of tea.

Wis knew how it went with him by now. She’d say nothing, call no attention to it. All her words would be spoken by the coyness curved into her smile, and the softness that drooped over her gaze. She knew Qi would understand, somehow. He’d always avoid her eyes whenever this kinda thing happened.

Qi delved into a ramble about what had gripped his interest in work this week, and Wis felt the tension in her shoulders ease up as she listened, nodding along between sips of tea. All the while, Qi’s slowly-renewing plants sat at the corner of her vision, their peaceful greenery lighting up the metallic floor of the lab.

Wis felt a soft smile building on her lips, both watching and hearing the enthusiasm building in Qi’s voice, and at the notion of him and his plants. With Qi, just like his plant right now, she always felt like she was turning over a new leaf. A new diagram, a new idea, a new topic to get lost in, a new tidbit of knowledge about each other…it had been that way from the start.

And if the plants were on the way to flourishing, well…what did that mean, then, for Wis and Qi?

…

On second thought, maybe it’d be best not to think about that too hard.

#randomly got bit by the writing bug tonite #my time at sandrock #mtas #mtas qi #mtas wisteria #shady's fics

8 notes · View notes