Persephone's (Gothic) Insights

Back by (un)popular demand, here's a short review of Doom: the Dark Ages (2025); i.e., from a trans woman's perspective, but also that of a Gothic ludologist, sex worker/pornographic historian, art director, author and activist: someone raised on Doom (1993) who grew to increasingly dislike Doom Eternal (2020) as and after she came out of the closet (re: " No Girls or Trans People Allowed "). In short, "fuck id, free Palestine." But if you need more information than that , please keep reading! Note: This piece explores bigotry in games, which I've gotten back into researching now that my book series is completed . For a current example of said research, read " Karl Jobst: Still Racist (and Fash), in 2025 "; the same arguments therein also apply to id Studios and Hugo Martin, et al . Also, I recorded myself reading this review and giving additional context ahead of time; click here to see that . The shooter as we know it is tied to Capitalism an...

Volume Three/the sixth book for my book,  Sex Positivity , is officially live!  Go to my website's 1-page promo  and pick up a copy for free (it's non-profit)! While you're there, you can also learn about the other three volumes, project history and logo design. Volume Three was the final book volume in my book series, which means that Sex Positivity is now officially live in its entirety ! Note: A SFW version of the series promo is on this blog . (model and artist: Harmony Corrupted and Persephone van der Waard ) Please note, this is only the book announcement; i.e., I'll have a separate full announcement for  Sex Positivity  (and new editions uploaded for the other five books*) slated for June 1st! Until then, give Volume Three a read and share it with your friends! *Update 5/10/2025: I released the final editions for all of the book volumes today. (model and artist: Maybel & Jackie and Persephone van der Waard ) ***   Persephone van der Waard is th...

This interview is for "Hailing Hellions," a Q&A series where I interview sex workers (or ex-sex workers) who have modeled for me and my  Sex Positivity*  book project. Today's guest is Tyler and Husband ! This is the SFW version;  click here  for the SFW-version interview compendium! *The longer title being  Sex Positivity versus Sex Coercion, or Gothic Communism: Liberating Sex Work under Capitalism through Iconoclastic Art  (2023). Part of an overarching movement that connects sex positivity to what I call "Gothic (gay-anarcho) Communism,"  Sex Positivity  essentially provides a hybrid; i.e., one established between academic (Gothic, queer, game and Marxist) theories, and wherein  applied  theory towards  universal  liberation is achieved by challenging Capitalist Realism (the inability to imagine a world beyond Capitalism) at a grassroots level. To it, Gothic Communism specifically occurs through direct mutual worker act...

In 2021,  Karl Jobst  was exposed on Reddit for having ties to fascist speedrunner,  RWhiteGoose  (who was publicly banned in 2018 by GDQ for his openly Nazi views;  source : Dopefishblog's "Why Banning Nazis Is Good, Actually," 2019). Karl not only never apologized for this; he's still racist (and fash) in 2025, meaning in ways that others—including various racial minorities— won't  investigate. I want to document  that  collective issue among the wider gaming community; i.e., despite my gender oppression (and trans emasculation trading male privilege for male  alienation ), I still have relative  white privilege in regards to racial privilege. So I'll blow the whistle on Karl—not to "cancel" him (as he states), but document his racism and fascist ties for research purposes (also, not even RWhiteGoose was canceled, because his own channel is still up). We'll also examine various people orbiting Karl—his friends, but also his fren...