I’ll just give it a try, no one ever has to know…
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Support what I do by subscribing on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/SebastianSB
My Let’s Play channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sebastiansb/videos
Adastra Let’s Play: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5dr1EHvfwpM2UJ8Sfp7SXPg9ndQ80_kE
Echo Let’s Play: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5dr1EHvfwpO5QULCovu2V4IjssofAxYu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SebastianSB
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/269QfMEbkb
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Play Adastra: https://echoproject.itch.io/adastra
Echo Project’s other games: https://echoproject.itch.io/
Support Echo Project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EchoGame/
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Thumbnail art by RossCiaco.
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Timecodes:
0:00 Furry Culture
7:13 Asking Questions
29:07 The Panopticon
44:07 Neferu
52:43 Amicus Comes Out
1:02:46 The First Trial
1:15:28 Reverse Dating Sim
1:27:08 The Second Trial
1:36:51 Avia Pox
1:42:23 The Third Trial
1:46:35 Marco’s Coming Out
2:01:42 The Coup
2:20:41 Die in the Closet
2:25:13 Happily Ever After
2:35:27 Character Designs
2:39:39 Fate is Bullshit
2:58:18 San Francisco
3:10:34 Credits
source
I didn't get the "post Adastra depression" thing back then because I knew all the major plot points of the story while me and Howly were working on Adastra.
I commend it to you because with thus essay I got to find out iconography and analogies that I never thought about, so it kinda felt like I myself was finally experiencing Adastra!
I am so very happy and thankful for all the furry Fandom's love for our IP and even tho I don't reply to my @'s on twitter, I always check out every single Adastra fanart fans make.
Either way, Amicus should be a bottom 24/7 and no I won't accept any counter arguments, good night!
I really really loved this video, and while I'm not gay.. I'm a nsfw furry artist.. so that's kind of a secret to keep aswell I guess!
(until now! check me out @kaislair)
Honestly I’m just so happy that I found this man through the Beastars video and 1: Congrats on coming out and 2: I will make sure that the suffering incurred by this project isn’t in vain.❤
Jesus cannot stop thinking about this game.
Parents are def controlling your actions if they want to. The thing that you get inserted into you is definately doing it. And the future Marco sees is A.I generated images and i'm sure of that. They leave you on earth to possibly destroy or collonialise it in hope of some fucking jpegs. And Amicus believes in it and you cannot stop him from doing so.
Fuck
Why did i watch this
I got jumpscared by the disco elisium posters on 46:17 lol
Well done on making me love this story even more than I already did and on making me bawl my eyes out toward the end.
Thanks for an awesome video
not gay but i truly love ur insight into the daily struggles (understatement) of being LGB. i helps me understand from your pov how it is and why pride is so important. i know death/ violence is a looming threat to the community but for some reason hearing about the little things really hurts more. i might be backwards….ive always been supportive but those details really break my heart. i tell them to those around me in hopes theyll understand/ be supportive too. thank u for sharing
Remember the flowers is a good furry vn you should take a look if you never did
3:06:32
The first time ive seen this proposal comic from purp, I checked both twitter and Affinity tho but no luck, could you link it if possible to it or is it in the website that I missed it accidentally. Great video!
thank you sincerely for letting me experience adastra again through a new lens, this VN (and echo project, overall) definitely changed my life and i love seeing it's success
thanks for showing me this game, ill definitely come back once im finished
Looks like I have to watch Adastra
Fantastic video! A lot of this is stuff I had never even considered before, and while I would still say I have a couple issues with how certain aspects of the plot were handled (the main romance between Amicus & Marco never really "grabbed" me in the same way that it did for the majority of people for one thing, which probably hurt my apprecation of it in the long run) this video did a perfect job of making me re-evaluate my perspective on the narrative and its meaning, especially in terms of how it pertains to its sister project Echo and the themes it shares with THAT game.
Speaking of which, I'd honestly love to see you do a video like this on Echo going in-depth into that games themes and whatnot; I've seen a few people do reviews & there was that one Marble Blast video that has a part midway that segues into a brief spiel on why you should play it, but the fact that nobody's done a video digging into the real meat of the VN's many overlapping themes is a damn shame considering just how rich it is in that regard.
Dude, such amazing work on this whole video! I can't imagine how much work went into planning, recording, and polishing this and meeting your self imposed deadline. Adastra holds a special place in my heart, and you provided me with entirely new insights into that make it all the more enriching. Thanks man 🙂
Dickhead, made me cry at the end. 10/10 will probably watch again
I really enjoyed watching your adastra let's play and this video essay was also just amazing! All the topics you bring up and talk about are presented so so well. While many aspects about being LGBTQ+ don't apply to me personally i truely love learning about them and being able to understand other people better, understanding others struggles gives me the opportunity to help them if they are in need.
It's great that you help many people learn about themselves and others and their problems. I hope many many people see this video and get just as much joy and information out of it as me!
c:
As a gay man. I guess without these visual novels. I don't think would be able to appreciate and love myself.
Morenatsu was the first one I found when I was discovering myself and who I am. My whole identity, and I'm so happy with who I am now, thanks to Morenatsu I was… fine by being gay.
And I'm glad to find more people get these kinds of appreciations on themselves and who they are thanks to… furry visual novels heh
When I first found Keith through his Witness playthrough I never imagined he'd be making video essays about gay furries a few years later. Lol. But honestly he could talk about any topic at all and it would be interesting.
Guilty, but I could barely work at first because the video is just too good to not pay full attention, congratulations on it. Please rest well after this and another project, and thanks again for reminding me of that somberness post-Adastra, but in a good way haha.
you had me in " You not gonna get this content out of jacob geller "
When I played Adastra and got to the *scene*, I was still crying from the proposal. I chose to bottom because I was like "MY BOY DESERVES THIS ASS" 🤣🤣🤣
Alright, this is going to be long because Adastra holds a strong grip on my heart as a whole so forgive me. (Also probably going to update this as more and more memories flood back through my mind.)
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One thing I always really loved about Adastra is how it treats it’s reader with full respect, since I’m so used to media telling me information which can make the story feel like homework, or the opposite where they brush past important information in order to stay simple and accessible to a wide audience.
Adastra though, just lets things happen naturally, the characters, motivations, questions and the like, feel… real. Like what’s happening and what I’m reading is how people would react given the circumstances.
I also enjoy that Marco is just a piece in the whole puzzle, he doesn’t feel like the “main character” like things are happening around him and people have their own thoughts under the surface. They don’t just trust and lore dump everything onto him just because he’s who the player see’s the world from, often times characters withhold information from you in a pretty understandable way.
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I remember sometimes seeing fan art of Amicus a few years back and just thinking, “Aww that character has a great design.” and nothing else. I eventually heard that he was from a visual novel game called adastra and that the ending supposedly made people sad, and that was about it. I didn’t pick up adastra for its material on hot gay furries, I just wanted to read a visual novel that is at least competent enough in its story to make people cry, though I have never cried while playing, reading, or watching something I wanted to see what the hubbub was about. Also it had a cute wolf character in it, so what’s the worst that could’ve happened.
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I then cried and felt really out of it for like a week after finishing it, never in my life has something had such a grip on my heart that I bawled to the point of not being able to see the screen through my tears when farewell started to play and the scene shifted.
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Thoughts of my life as a whole, decisions and secrets about my feelings that I’ve hidden even from myself, all pouring out at once. I sat there self reflecting and feeling sad wondering if what I felt was real or not, and how even though this story would shift my life, I would never be able to really express it to anyone. Adastra also gave me a deeper appreciation for VN’s as a whole and the stories that they could show.
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I haven’t even finished watching/listening to this video yet, 17:45 in to be exact, but your words and hearing the music again made me remember and feel so much again.
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Alright going back to the video now, this is kinda just for me to get it off my chest and also for me to return to in the future.
Holy cow, that ending hit like a truck. My own experiences have been… complex, for a long time thinking of myself as a gay-leaning bisexual man and then gradually realising that "man" was increasingly inaccurate, and coming out to more than my family and friends has been something I've been working on at this point for years. Dying in the closet terrifies me. I am, in some sense, a nihilist, an absurdist, even a pessimist, and it would be inaccurate to call the leap that I am willing to make a leap of faith, but I must make that leap, even if it is hopeless or meaningless to anyone but me. Life is that leap and I must live.
On a tangentially related note: Maybe I'll make the strange sprawling New Weird-inspired furry novel/comic thing I'm working on into a visual novel or a Twine whosit. Who knows. Could be a fun time.
im about 4 hours deep into adastra but i promise ill come back keith
Omfg this video was good
Hello (non binary and local gay furry here) this video was an absolute banger I loved it! and gave me chills during most of the video and this never happens when I watch stuff like. this video I say very much rivaled the beaststars one and won because this video was so well crafted and analyzed the novel so well and kept the audience so well engaged and entertained which for a video of this length is tough. But as someone who grew up religious the amount of trauma form some of the stuff like the watchers and the homophobia and other things written into it that really left me shook the most and when I first was reading it on a whim I didn't think that was gonna be when I came to terms with me being gay and this and your other beaststars vid really helped me and probably many more come to terms with who they are and how they feel about life and all of this coming from what seemed like a smutty dumb visual novel is unreal so I cannot thank you (and the echo project) for helping out this small part of the community
Btw the part when you zoomed in and said "REPUBLICANS" I was dying and felt like I was watching hbommer guy
All this to say I really enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy the convention and I'm glad you were able to finally come out even if it was a little later than others <3
What was I thinking about when I chose top or bottom? I was still reeling from the implications of the parents arranging the whole relationship and was just not in the mood for a sex scene so I saved and chose one at random going through it quickly to get back to the story. And after finishing the game and stewing for a bit I realized I realized amicus really isn’t my type and actively annoys me so I never went back to read it.
I think my favorite scene in the game is still the scene where Marco and Amicus come out to each other. While it is ultimately a much quieter and subtle scene compared to everything else in the game, it was the first time while playing Adastra that it really hit me that this was a story made by a gay man for gay men; and is speaking to my own lived experiences and emotions as a gay man.
It was something that felt so liberating and I'll always thank the game for allowing me that, since so much mainstream media feels like gay work done by straight people for straight people or by gay people for straight people. To have something that isn't just a basic dating sim or porn comic with a plot to get the sex scenes going, it just fulfilled this need I hadn't quite realized I needed.
based
Engagment done
Where can I find these comics?
Finding this video was, an amazing experience… i don't think i can come up with words that can describe the emotional roller coaster i went through these 3 hours and 14 minutes.
I think its funny that today of all days i found your video
Before i continue i dont want to make you feel any burden, i came out as bi at 14 and trans at 25 (i am 28 now)
I dont really know where to start and i will try to make the story short
But ever since i came out as trans i've felt like i was forcing myself to wait, trying to "comprehend other people" like
Ok maybe my family is not ready to use he/him
Maybe i just have to wait to transition, maybe people are not comfortable with the "new" me yet
Maybe if i take a little time
Just a bit longer for the right moment and take that first step
Today was the day i felt like i was crumbling down, i felt trapped but i couldnt put my thoughts into words
I always struggled with that
Then i saw this video
I got exited, i cried, i punched a fictional cat, and then the conclusion
I cried some more
There is never going to be a right time
Those words were what i needed to hear today
Thank you
I hate visual novels. I only played one that I liked (it was about depression, therapy, and helping others). Most of them loose me. But this happens in movies, series and books too.
The story builds up, a relationship between loveable characters is forming and then.. sex.
And I loose every connection to the character I liked. I hate that it is everywhere. I ruins so many good storys for me.
And that's why I love these cliche romantic animes. They breake me in tears all the time. Because I can relate. No sex, no "horny" stuff. Just love, romantic or queer platonic love as I see it. Because that's what I feel towards my friends.
What I want to say.. is that this story seems very good written and impactful. I would love to have an alternative version without all the sex stuff. Hard to find..
Thanks for the video Keith. I saw the little text note about ace repulsive peeps like me c:
This video appeared on my recomended while i was replaying Adastra. Did Cassius plug my room?
great video about a beautiful game. this was my first vn and i feel like i wont ever be able to get as invested in a new one as i did with adastra. i guess only time will tell but im glad that i learned a lot of lessons from the story and from your perspective
The only reason I know this game is because someone told me "Play it, it's sad" – they were fucking right qwq
It's so strange recognizing these moderately known furry stories (and 18+ no less) be highlighted on a feature length dissection. This video gonna be a banger
I played Adastra a long time ago, finished it and had to deal with the post-Adastra depression. After watching this video, like getting hit by a truck, the feels hit me again but harder this time.
I love this video. Thank you for making it
Great, I had to stop your video after the introduction, to download and play through Adastra, just to get back and finish your video. Not only did this stupid visual novel emotionally wreck me, but regoing through it through your video did remotionally wreck me again. Why did I do this to myself? Now I can't stop thinking about the story, the themes and the characters, and if I know me, I will be thinking about this forever like I did for Night in the Woods.
That being said, it's a wonderful video and thank you for making me play the game.
I watched the first 7 minutes of this video and despite having known about this vn for a while I have been glued to it the past 6 hours. Thank you for recommending it to me and I will be back when I'm finished!
Ps Really loved your legosi video and it isn't an overstatement to say that it is the exact reason I have been making a more earnest effort to participate in the fandom! That video really meant a lot to me <3
nice
Well, I'm happy I got to watch this Video. I didn't want to write a comment when I didn't even finish it completely.
Adastra is a really great Visual Novel, no doubt about it. Though I struggle to remember my experience with it.
This Video kinda served as a reminder for me.
They were times when this Novel really got to me and of course, made me cry. Adastra was my form of escapism,
and unfortunately some Visual Novels still are. Just reading this gives me mixed emotions. Sometimes, it's
happiness, anger, sadness or just flat out depression. You want these characters to succeed while fate just keeps fucking up there lifes.
The dread they feel when there secret is about to be discovered is so well done!
But, I don't really need to say it. Mostly because the 3+ hours Video explained all of it in detail :3.
It's been awhile since I could finish such a long Video while being entertained again, and again.
Seriously, the amount of effort put into this must have been massive!
So, thank you. Thank you for all the hard work that went into this and giving me a good reminder to get out of my comfort zone again.
my envy grows along with the collection of comics behind you
Just downloaded for my android easy and free, I'll be back thank you!
Amazing video