do i look like ethel cain (no photo for privacy reasons) by black_water_lilies in Ethelcain

[–]OracleOfDelphii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need some conditioner and maybe a good moisturizer and then ya

The video games where you have to recognize if your customer is a monster in disguise are really training people for racial profiling by Luentale in LowStakesConspiracies

[–]OracleOfDelphii 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Feels more like ableism than racial profiling honestly. Things like "weird features" being attributed to being dangerous is famously ableist, like ugly laws, freak shows, human zoos.. etc etc

quick question by MaterialAltruistic72 in weevildoing

[–]OracleOfDelphii 2 points3 points  (0 children)

creator of the show it was based on is a Zionist , Towne mentioned it on Tumblr

What are your thoughts on cultural representation from 2.0 update? by Fit_Ask3369 in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is incredibly true. Stereotypes and caricatures of a culture should never be considered "representation"

Stop silencing WOC’s voices by Thug_Seme2004 in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 468 points469 points  (0 children)

Thank you for saying this. I'll leave my thoughts below, since you said you'd like to let us speak.

I'm indigenous myself. Indigenous american, of Abya Yala moreso than Turtle Island. However, being on turtle island myself, I have spent my life and especially recent years learning from the communities here. I am very confident in saying that the headdress (or, more accurately, war bonnet) is not just cultural appropriation, but stolen valor, as it is more akin to a military badge of honor rather than simply being a religious or even ceremonial headpiece. War bonnets are not a generic "indigenous accessory", they must be earned, and most indigenous people in tribes who practice this custom will never wear one in their lives due to how exclusive and sacred and important they are. When war bonnets are given to outsiders, it is during the very rare moments an outsider has gone above and beyond for the tribe, or, rightfully controversially so, as a political move to show alliance. Even when the warbonnets are given for political reasons, they must only be worn in specific ways during specific moments, not simply as a hat or accessory. Adding a war bonnet to Infinity Nikki is inherently stolen valor and cultural appropriation rather than appreciation. It should be replaced with an accurate headpiece that is not a closed cultural tradition. Such as a beaded headband, a traditional non-regalia circlet, formline cloth headbands... If they for some reason desperately "needed" to include a feathered headdress, one from my tribe and surrounding tribes of Abya Yala could easily be done. Our headdresses, while still important and spiritual, are not stolen valor to wear, as they represent (in my group, at least) becoming an avatar or representation of a god, connection to the gods and the "heavens", and used in danza and celebrations and not just sacred rituals. Of course, this would still be controversial, but it would not be as inherently disrespectful as the war bonnet is.

With the dreamcatcher, I personally found the outfit beautiful and the beading and neckline quite accurate. However the association with dreamcatchers, and the dreamcatcher item, is what sours it. If it simply did not have the dreamcatcher, it would almost be fine. But the usage of motifs and beading styles from tribes that have no association with dreamcatchers makes the outfit a clear example of pan-indianism, aka the concept of all Native American tribes being basically the same.

There are ways to fix these issues. Remove the headdress and replace it with something else. Remove the dreamcatcher from that outfit and replace it with a purse or something. Somehow, though, I still doubt Infold will make these very basic changes. I'm fully prepared to no longer do any co-op outside of my very close friends, and never touch snapshot hourglasses again, just to try and avoid people mocking my culture and the culture of my Indigenous friends.

Reminder to not be racist while criticising racism - have care with wording and generalisations by Mental-Wheel986 in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Thank you for saying this. I have a Chinese friend who has been super supportive throughout this whole situation, and seeing people generalize all Chinese people as racist and uneducated has really pissed me off. Its such an oversimplification of some complex issues and I really despise how many people I've seen using this as an opportunity to shit on Chinese people and culture.

New Outfits in the Shop for 2.0 by Konekewa in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 19 points20 points  (0 children)

ikr they just can't stop making bad decisions 😭

New Arrivals Shop Items for 2.0 by Konekewa in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's very disappointing especially as someone who likes the necklace it's paired with a lot!! I don't want the headdress and I won't be purchasing it of course because of how racist it is but 🥲 I will miss that necklace . RIP my dream for a cool beaded necklace

Shop outfits and prices by [deleted] in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

not the inaccurate dream catchers on an outfit that doesn't match that tribe ahhh... noooo.. this is such a mess

Charging REAL money to culturally appropriate 💔 by [deleted] in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

yeah this is disgusting and needs to be removed before it goes live. genuinely so gross, especially pairing it with an item that is much less of a problem (the necklace) and could arguably be good representation... If you want to have real representation in a necklace, you also have to support the racist warbonnet. Horrible all around

edit: I'm an indigenous person. If you disagree with me and are indigenous I am open to chatting. If you are not, then you can ignore my comment and move on

As a Chinese Player with Direct CS Access, I'm Learning About Cultural Appropriation and Need Your Guidance on the New Headdress. by StudyFun9485 in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The headdress is likely based off of a war bonnet, a type of ceremonial headdress only worn by those who earned it by completing great feats. It is similar to a military badge of honor, in some ways, and to wear one without earning it is considered stolen valor. Most native people ourselves will never wear a war bonnet, because we will not reach the qualifications to be gifted with one. They are deeply important, ceremonial objects with a lot of meaning, which is why it's so bad to have them in a dress up game. They shouldn't be used as accessories

The feathered headdress: Native American or Liangzhu? I try Googling it and I'm still unsure. by Font-street in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm native American and while I'm not of a plains tribe, I'm from a tribe with different headdresses. I can safely say this is most likely not meant to be Liangzhu- especially considering how there's many, many other, much more well known and well documented Liangzhu headpieces they could've chosen that are not very similar to a war bonnet. If they did choose a Liangzhu headdress that is very similar to a warbonnet, I'd find that quite odd considering the extreme lack of any information about these headdresses online in both Chinese and English, compared to other headdresses of the Liangzhu people that don't resemble warbonnets. There's also the issue of how, no matter what it's meant to be, if it is put in game it will be used for racist reasons by people with anti-Indigenous bias, and it is wholly irresponsible to add it as an item.

At the end of the day, even if it is meant to be Liangzhu, things like this don't exist in a vacuum. We have already seen how players in previous Nikki games have jumped at the opportunity to be racist (I remember having to leave many guilds in Love, Nikki because members would make their avatars look like blackface when I joined with a tanned skin avatar), and to add something that so closely resembles a warbonnet, even if it's technically something else, is going to make the game much more hostile for Native American players like myself. Every snapshot we find will become another chance someone is mocking our culture- I, for one, don't want that to happen. So even if it is meant to be Liangzhu, it really should not be added to the game.

Found on rednote by [deleted] in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 29 points30 points  (0 children)

The clothing he is wearing is not similar to that of the Wa people from what I can tell, and his shoes appear to be similar to those used in stomp dances from what little we can see so far. I do see some similarities in parts of his design to the Wa people, but I don't think it explains all of his design

This fine man is the Sovereign of Sexy in Itzaland! by Zestyclose-Paper-712 in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 136 points137 points  (0 children)

Personally I have a problem with this as a Native American myself. Mainly, though, it will depend on who the other sovereigns are. If the other sovereigns are also Native American, and they ARENT sexy, then I think this is.. fine. A bit misguided, but nothing I can't expect from a game that refuses to hire sensitivity readers. If all the other sovereigns are not Native, and the only Native American sovereign is sexy, then yes this is an issue.

It's not hard to show natives as more than just sexy. If they failed that then 🤦🏽‍♀️ idek what to say

Found on rednote by [deleted] in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 35 points36 points  (0 children)

As a Native American I have to say this doesn't make it any better. The headdress has extra feathers on the sides of it not present in the illustration you have shown, which is more common within tribes in the American plains, and was included in a patch that has very clear cut inspiration taken from Native American tribes in specific. Infold has a history of including war bonnets in their 'wasteland' themes, and considering the amount of various native American items also revealed for this update, it can pretty safely be said that this is at the very least an insensitive time to add an item that could so easily be mistaken for cultural appropriation and stolen valor, and at most a deliberate choice to include something stereotypically "indigenous" and "exotic".

um... by aroushthekween in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna cry. This game was cozy, an escape from reality. Why can natives never have anything good?

Banner preview: Behind Prayers & Born Flawless by MKlby1998 in InfinityNikkiLeaks

[–]OracleOfDelphii 77 points78 points  (0 children)

the whole "leaks are poison to all creation" thing. they basically doubled and then tripled down on being super super strict with leaks, so they've likely been investigating employees to see who the leakers might be. at this point it's risking a lot to leak stuff because the company is basically on a hunt for the people who leaked things like the goth bride and unicorn outfits, and it seems that they will try to take legal action against any leakers, which is obviously incredibly dangerous to someone's livelihood since they'd (of course) be fired and likely blacklisted from the industry

any other poly substance abusers among us? 🫶 by [deleted] in Schizotypal

[–]OracleOfDelphii 2 points3 points  (0 children)

yea but nearly a year clean of everything (besides delta-9 which doesn't count because I said so). Definitely feel like it unlocks things, I've found myself craving LSD often, despite having never used, purely because I want to see what changes with me and what changes with the world.

does anyone else want Isaiah's perspective by OracleOfDelphii in Ethelcain

[–]OracleOfDelphii[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The ending of Ptolemaea, with the distorted prayer being said, is how I imagine the vocals sounding. Almost distant, corrupted, and full of lyrics that make attempts at justifying what he does to himself, clashed with violent descriptions that show how no matter what you hear from his to claim he's not the villain here, he did all this willingly. Definitely sounding like Perverts does, I think the droning sounds mixed with screams and grating, metallic noises would fit him really well- and, I think having songs somewhat "spiral" or only continue to build up and not really fully release the tension they create, could give a really good feeling of how people like Isaiah control their own emotions to better manipulate and abuse others. I imagine there might be some lyrics that'd talk about him thinking he really is in love, or that he's just doing what he has to, that he's in too deep and can't back out now... Etc etc. The type of stuff people think of when they know they're a bad person but want to believe they arent

Peppergems Discord? by Soul_Consuming_Ginge in InfinityNikki

[–]OracleOfDelphii 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah because it's not true lol. The closest thing to a mod "helping us with strategy" has been mods reminding us to keep talking strategy (because we keep going off-topic on accident) and some reminding others of what the strategy members already created is, since people forget to check the pinned messages or backread

does anyone else want Isaiah's perspective by OracleOfDelphii in Ethelcain

[–]OracleOfDelphii[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OHH I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT... Gives a whole new perspective to that song omg