By David Futrelle
Fans of the well-loved postapocalyptic video game The Last of Us are reeling over a massive leak of information about the game’s upcoming sequel that suggests the story will be taking an exceedingly dark turn that highlights the futility of a cycle of revenge and retribution.
You’ll have to look up the spoilers yourself; I don’t want to give any more plot details.
While many fans are upset with the new direction, an angry minority has decided to blame the game’s apparently much darker plot — and everything else they think is wrong with the still-unreleased sequel — on evil SJWs for “shoving as much diversity and woke agenda at the player as possible,” as the One Angry Gamer site awkwardly put it.
In particular, they’re targeting unnamed and possibly imaginary trans activists at Naughty Dog, the developer of the game, for making it (allegedly) too trans-friendly for the true fans.
Much of the ire centers around a new character named Abby, whom 4channers and others have decided is trans — or at least “trans-gendered-looking,” as One Angry Gamer has described her — because she’s small-breasted and a bit butch.
A writer at the right-wing culture war site Sausage Roll takes this argument further, arguing that the allegedly less-feminine character design in The Last of Us 2 is part of a devious plan to make the game “trans-friendly.”
“It seems … that the inclusion of gay and lesbian characters in the last three Naughty Dog games was not enough to appease the activists who are reportedly working at Naughty Dog,” wrote Sausage Roll’s Dianne Anders.
The Last of Us Part II gameplay footage leak confirms that the plot has some extreme trans rights ideologies, too. ….
Abby is the leader of [a] little gang; and, according to 4chan leaks, she is also a trans woman.
Has there ever been a less-credible source than “4chan leaks?”
The characters in The Last of Us Part II are designed in such a way to not make trans people feel uncomfortable. Every single new character introduced in the sequel does not have definitive feminine or masculine qualities.
Ellie and Dina, specifically, have been remodelled to look less feminine … .
According to an unnamed video game artist interviewed by Anders, it’s all the fault of trans women that the game’s characters don’t have massive, male-pleasing boobs. (Because what’s an apocalypse without boobs?)
“A trans woman can’t naturally grow large breasts, and not all trans people can afford implants,” the anonymous artist told Anders.
If you see a game where the women are a little less curvy, it’s not … because the game designers are worried about receiving backlash for sexualising women, it’s because they are worried about offending the trans community. …
That’s why you will see a lot of designers ‘nerfing the female form’ so to speak so that the difference between trans women and cis women is a little less noticeable.
Anders herself continues:
That might explain exactly what happened to the cis female characters in TheLast of Us Part II.
We can practically hear the gutteral cries from offended gamer dudes from around the world: TRANS WOMEN TOOK MUH BOOBIES!
This would ring true especially if one of the new protagonists is a trans woman because it would blur the line between cis and trans so people would perceive Abby simply as a female hero.
Given that she’s already seen as trans despite no evidence that she is actually trans, that seems a tad unlikely.
It’s striking how easy it is for people like Anders — and her 4chan “sources” — to conjure up a trans demon out of nothing. Because transphobia runs deep.
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That’s a big reach from them.
Because no cis women have ever presented as butch or had breasts smaller than DD. /s
Transphobia rots the brain
Donald Trump?
But #WeCanAlwaysTell, amirite? /s
Remind me why that’s a bad thing.
I’m actually surprised the author used the word “cis” here, usually transphobes claim it’s a slur.
Some trans gals grow big breasts, depending on their genetics etc. Possible TMI, mine are the largest in my family by a noticable margin.
@Dalillama
If you don’t mind me asking, are there any things I can do to try to maximize my own growth? I haven’t gotten on HRT yet but am hoping to in the future (my plans were somewhat interrupted by pandemic and other obligations).
…okay, but what if there was a post-apocalyptic story, or even post-post-apoc, where one of the characters non-het or non-cis or whatever, and they’re trying to hunt down artifacts of the pre-apocalypse LGBT community? Like imagine a gay guy who hasn’t even seen another human in six weeks, and he’s confronted with an old magazine or something and his mind suddenly reels with the realization, “there used to be so many human beings even rarities like me could fill an entire building.”
@Naglfar
Progesterone helps. Other than that it’s mostly down to luck.
It’s weird to me that people would assume that someone might not want to see all the female characters having cartoonishly sized boobs in their media because they’re jealous. Because I’m a cis woman with cartoonishly large natural boobs and while I have no problem with anyone finding breasts, including large ones attractive, I don’t love the boob based objectification that is so common.
@[email protected]
That actually sounds like an interesting game. I would play that.
@WWTH
I wonder if it’s a sort of projection from the inverse. Maybe some men are jealous of muscle bound male characters in video games so they project that women would be jealous of large breasted women in games? This is not only projected to trans* women, I recall some GamerGaters claiming that the reason feminists didn’t like misogynistic video games was because the women in those games were supposedly more attractive.
Queers of War?
@Alan Robertshaw
Metal Queer Solid?
Wildly off topic question, but does anyone know of a YouTube channel, or some other videos on some other platform that teaches flexibility training that you can do at home?
For some context, I’m a former diver with some natural flexibility, so I don’t need beginner stuff. I want something geared towards athletes in sports that require flexibility or dancers. I can almost, but not quite do the splits and can still get into a pike position but can’t hold it because it hurts. I used to be able to easily do the splits and pretty much nap in a pike position on the floor and I’d love to get that flexibility back. Anyone got ideas?
It’s possible I’m missing something obvious, but wouldn’t it take less processing power to animate slimmer characters, leaving more for environmental detail?
Off-topic– enlightening but depressing:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/masks-and-emasculation-why-some-men-refuse-to-take-safety-precautions/
I think if civilisation was collapsing a lot of woman would be dressing purely based on availability of clothing first, practicality second.. personal aesthetic preferences wouldn‘t really figure very highly. I know incels always imagine the women that will be at their mercy post-apocalypse will somehow still be wearing high-heels and cosmetics and still removing all their body hair, but I think they’d be lucky if we’d been able to wash in the previous month. “Butch” would be absolutely meaningless as a descriptor.
I suppose if you’re used to impossibly large breasts, a touch of realism feels like oppression?
@WWTH
I don’t even mind if there are women with big breasts in a comic or whatever, even though that’s not my personal preference. I take issue when every single woman has ridiculously big breasts (often at the same time being stick-thin otherwise). Also, impractical and revealing clothing can make me grind my teeth.
@Kevin
From what I’ve heard about people’s complaints on how horribly animations and suchcan treat (often already unrealistic) female anatomy, I don’t know how much of an issue that is.
If someone is able to cite 4 chan as a reliable source of information, her unnamed video game artist is probably in the same vein as her “black friend” – the one which allows her to make fucking racist jokes because, hey, he laughs at them ! You do not see him, but promise, he laughs !
It is seldomly a good sign when you begin to invoke imaginary persons as an argument…
I didn’t finish TLoU (really need to return to it at some point, because it’s very good). But I don’t remember huge bazongas featuring in that game. I mean, it’s a dark, emotionally gripping survival horror: jiggle physics would be a major thematic misstep, surely? I’ve avoided learning anything about the sequel, since I’ll want to play it, but I assume the tone is similar. If you’re playing a game about zombies, and thinking “this needs to be more horny”, you’ve got problems.
I probably ought to avoid this thread, in case of spoilers.
Speaking of jiggle physics (safe for work):
@wwth chief manatee, about a year or two ago I was trying to reconcile myself to the fact that my flexibility was probably knackered for good – but somewhat to my surprise, I’ve found that (while I definitely need to take it more carefully, with more of a warm-up) just doing the same old stretches I used to do I’ve very gradually improved again until my flexibility is almost what it was. (BUT! Dropping a couple of stretches that were demanding on the knees and replacing them with adapted, more knee-friendly alternatives, though)
So I haven’t got any useful specific suggestions, sorry! But I just wanted to say take it easy on yourself and go slowly and you might surprise yourself after a while ::sends large delivery of encouragement:: (as Arthur Daley might say, the world is your lobster. Which is not really relevant at all, but for some reason that phrase just came to mind, I dunno, it’s the lockdown getting to me, my mind keeps dribbling off on wobbly tangents like ancient TV shows …)
I also own comically huge breasts.
I hope to get a mastectomy someday.
Due to the pandemic and therefore being at home aside from doctor visits (can’t do a blood draw over the phone) or grocery shopping I haven’t worn a bra in about two months. Heaven.
As for how to get big boobs? Genetics. I take after my dad’s side of the family (double edged sword because breast cancer). Most of my cousins have the same huge tits I do.
And the way I see tits bounce in animation? That fucking hurts in real life! That’s why sports bras exist!
Also, I hate the AFAB people get called ’emotional’ when men regularly lose their shit just because a video game character has smaller boobs or wears a skort, FFS!
The boob thing is a bit of an issue for us trans* women, specifically those of us that began our hormones after having a testosterone-majority puberty. Not to get into TMI, but for me, I’m lucky to have the ability to purchase a bra within the relative size that a fair number of cis women need. This doesn’t mean I don’t have issues; my sternum and ribs flare out and at my size they’re not “full-looking.” Not that I’m too worried as they’ll keep growing and doing they’re thing.
It’s not the boobs these dudes would be worried about with me. It’s probably the fact that I’m a tall, slender, lesbian who wears minimum makeup, if any. I’m outspoken and clear about my boundaries and I’m on a personal quest to make the lives of my loved ones better and full of happiness. This chills transphobes. The thought of me being happy without their input scares them. It simply proves how irrelevant to the best of the people in this world they are. Their fears are justified by their own hands, grasping at straws. Afraid of a woman in a video game being transgender?! It’s a small fear compared to a reflection, displaying how tiny they truly are.
If this seems grandiose, it’s probably because my sis and I just finished rewatching the anime “Kill La Kill” which left me feeling pretty amazing. For the record, the show is about wearing clothing but in a very ‘anime-esque’ way that’s hard to describe via text. Suffice it to say, everyone in the show ends up naked. No, it’s not porn, just a fun little action romp about a girl befriending her outfit. And revenge. It’s got some squick, too, sadly. It is anime. What was I saying again?
Yet another conservative approaching the point.
@Kevin
That reminds me of a video game that Katamount brought to my attention a while ago. In Jurassic Park: Trespasser, to reduce rendering needs the character was only rendered as breasts and an arm.
@Mogwitch
I also imagine that due to not having time/skill to cut it, most people would have long (if not well maintained) hair, while part of butch aesthetic is usually short hair.
@Moggie
That video is weirdly satisfying, especially the part with the sand on the jello.
@ Naglfar:
I also imagine that due to not having time/skill to cut it, most people would have long (if not well maintained) hair
IDK, if the apocalypse conditions have people regularly holed up somewhere for hours or days while they wait for a storm/zombie horde/other threat to move on, I don’t see why some of them might not try cutting each other’s hair with scissors or a razor, if only to pass the time.
Faux Noise is trying hard
@WWTH
I tend to use the exercises by TheLeanMachines. They’ve got a fair mix, but they’re clearly labelled.
I’ll admit to turning the sound off, mind. Dislike exercising and really dislike someone chattering on while I’m doing it.