Asexual Positivity in a Game About Sexy Demons

I can pinpoint the moment when I started down the path to identifying the way I do now: an 18+ visual novel about incubi and succubi helped me realise that I was ace. It sounds quite ironic, but I promise it’s a positive story, as opposed to my having played a game with such terribly-written erotic scenes that I was put off the idea of sex forever (which, while that isn’t really how sexuality works, would be a reasonable response to some of the bad erotica out there). No, the game in question, Cute Demon Crashers, which I played for the first time back in 2015, is a sweet, gentle, fun little interactive story of loneliness and love demons, and one of the first pieces of media to explicitly say to me “you should only have sex if you want to.” Much of the world runs on the assumption that everyone does want to, which filters down into our fiction in many forms both benign and insidious. It was an assumption I had adopted into my own mindset and my own relationship, and it was an assumption that this indie game helped me realise did not fit me.

Read the whole piece over on The Asexual!

Cute Demon Crashers Set to Return with Cute, Comfy and Consensual Queer Content

I don’t normally seek out erotic visual novels, but if I did, I doubt I’d leap to describe them as “delightful.” But Sugarscript’s Cute Demon Crashers  proved the exception in both of these, by not only getting me to play a sexy dating sim but leaving me with a warm fuzzy feeling that (you’d think) would be uncharacteristic of the genre. If you look at the creators’ mission statement, though, you’ll realize that was the point:

In our team, we felt there was a need of consent and safe spaces in 18+ VNs for women, and NaNoRenO 2015 was the perfect excuse to make a game to fit those needs!

Consent and comfort is a massive, integral part of Cute Demon Crashers. College student Claire (who the player can rename) accidentally summons three incubi and one succubus who sense that she’s lonely, and over the course of the game she can bond with them and learn about them, and, if she wants to, pick one to have sex with that night. Whichever adorable sexy demon she picks, the ensuing sex scene is sweet, gentle, sometimes funny, and each demon is lovely in their own unique way. Because consent is an integral part of the development team’s mission, it’s an integral part of the gameplay: plenty of options pop up throughout the scene, with Claire’s lovers asking her if she wants to do this, or that, or stop. And indeed, a big stop button is available in the corner of the screen at all times. If you hit the button or want to back down, the demons never make Claire feel bad about it, and they do everything they can to make sure she’s physically and emotionally comfortable throughout the whole process.

There are no bad ends in this visual novel. It’s entirely about having a good time and exploring sexuality in a fun, safe, and comfortable way, with the magical love demon aspect managing to be adorable rather than skeevy like it could be. The whole game was a delightful and fun experience, which is why I’m super excited that Sugarscript has announced that they’re working on a “Side B” sequel/spinoff for the game.

Jump to Lady Geek Girl and Friends for the full post!

Interactive Incubus Intimacy, and the Unexpected Sweetness of Cute Demon Crashers

Well, this is incredibly embarrassing, but I’m here to talk about a smut game.

It’s entirely bizarre to even watch those words appear on a screen, by my own hands. I never actively seek sex-based literature or fiction out, and while I’m okay with it appearing, so often movie or television sex scenes are tasteless, pointless, or a vaguely gross combination of both, and book ones all too often throw around descriptions like “groin swollen with want” (which is not even a healthy-sounding combination of words, let alone an arousing one).

And this isn’t even to start to speak of sex scenes and sex-based games, which is an awkward and terrible behemoth unto itself, which I (fortunately) haven’t had much to do with, out of both my inability to stay focussed on interactive media and the whole ‘run in the opposite direction (or at least, install every censor patch known to man) when smut is brought into the mix’ thing. Yet, here I am, talking about a smut game, nay, even recommending one. What happened? Sugarscript’s Cute Demon Crashers happened.