Yet despite these obstacles, both characters find happiness with each other: they support each other’s individual trans experiences and enjoy each other’s company - in and out of bed.įor Nova, uplifting characters doesn’t mean setting them in an alternate world where the conditions of being trans don’t exist.
A notable example comes in can you say my name again?, which follows Laina, a trans bunny girl, who lets trans girl Pisti stay the night after being kicked out by her transphobic family.īoth characters face hardship - Laina struggles with anxiety and Pisti is figuring out how to live after being kicked out. Instead, Nova’s visual style might better be described as a euphoric trans aesthetic, which uplifts her characters in various ways. There’s not necessarily a deeper meaning behind it. Nova tells me that this sense of fantasy is always in the background for her characters, but largely it’s just her preferred art style. “Feeling represented in a positive way is extremely valuable for trans people, especially when they're still sorting everything out regarding their gender- so just being able to show this feels like I'm doing a good thing.” “I love showing the more complicated sides of this kind of interaction.”įor decades, furry communities have experimented with gender and sexual identity, heightening the sense of fantastical possibility within a grounded setting. It isn't intended to remove or hide the negatives, but to build on top of it and focus on the good parts instead,” Nova says. It makes me happy to focus on gender euphoria and acceptance instead. “It is more enjoyable for me - and presumably for the readers - to show trans positivity. Part of this stems from Nova’s candid willingness to draw from her own experiences, but it also comes from allowing her characters’ emotions to intersect with their sexualities.Ībove all, Nova wants her stories to uplift trans characters rather than focus on their hardships. In all her games, even the smallest ones, there is a relatable depth to the characters and their situations. That’s what makes Nova’s work so special. “I love showing the more complicated sides of this kind of interaction.” Make it euphoric “As much as horny things are great, things like these can easily be overlooked for the sake of wanting to make the sexiest story possible,” Nova says. Her stories are far deeper and more thought-provoking than saucy genre labels might suggest. Whether you came to play her games because they were hot or because they feature cute trans characters, you are in for a surprise. There are other trans erotica games on itch.io, but few are as emotionally intimate and vulnerable as Nova’s work. “As niche it may be, there is most certainly a demand for trans furry erotica,” Nova tells Inverse. Nova’s work fills a unique niche on itch.io - sexually explicit visual novels featuring furry transgender gay characters. She isn’t interested in following controversy or trends, instead choosing to dive deep into the characters she creates. Nova has been a prominent developer of queer independent games for the past half-decade now, producing 11 games and three comics. It follows two new lovers isolated together amid the end of the world. This is Nadia Nova’s most recent game, 2021’s doomsday dreamgirl. I didn’t have to crave for reason or belonging, because feeling my heart pound in my chest had my veins pump the rush of lust and love.” For that one ephemeral moment, everything was right. It was too easy, just erasing the whole world. I kept filling my lungs with the cool air with sharp gasps, my head being thrown back as the little I could see from my dark room was lost in a blur. “Her gaze was unable to even stay locked onto me, just clawing my hips as she let out the most delicate and pathetic moans I’d ever heard. They rip off each other’s clothes and moan loudly to drown out the noise just outside their elongated isolation quarters - the sounds of screams at the end of the world. Their crotches press together and they kiss. The protagonist pulls on the hair of their lover, Addie.