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Hello, here's an update.
Love Corp has been shelved for now. What that means is whatever I was pursuing to make I'm dropping in favor of a new idea. I have to let go of certain things to make room for new. I'll avoid getting too blabby about why... This is very personal to share at all.
The current version of the story I'm working on is both a total recycle, reskin and rebirth of all the work I've done so far. I'm using my original novella Mammoth to give me a rough basis and I've also used Tarot to inform many higher decisions. I have a loose outline instead of one that's very clear. The outline doesn't talk about specific things that must happen... It is a general vibe for the different parts of a story.. cards said there are 4 parts of 3. in total, that's 12 parts ~ it was 12 cards... 3 cards could be an act with a start, middle and end.. This is how I read it personally.
I'll share what I've been up to artisitcally then. For the most part I've been teaching myself how to program.. I've been experimenting with raylib.. and I don't have much to share because I've made very little.. my art at this time is whatever I can draw to a raylib window... that isn't very fancy... but I did make a simple tarot card picker.
I've been thinking alot abt vampires....lesbian vampires to be specific... and obsessively read abt the bathory family~ the alleged serial killer. I personally don't believe she was a mass murderer~ and I believe~ or want to believe~ she was the victim of a huge call out. Back then, it was criminal to be gay.... so naturally, gay was pinned on the villains to assist in villifying the transgressive erotic...
Bathory 'bathed in the virgin's blood to retain her youth' ~ these sorts of devilish dreams concocted from obsessed fans is ripe for literature inspiration.
Before I decied to change gears with the story, I made a single test sprite of Twigs. This might be the last time I'll call her twigs because in the new version of the story she has the name 'Ecchi'. At least that's what it is right now that I'm rolling with. I decided this today so that's very fresh...
ok... The story this time around will take place in one location. i consulted heavily with Tarot last night to seal these decisions in stone... Things like... a 4:3 640x480 resolution. This was combatted against an abnormal 11:14 resolution... Tarot spoke highly in favor of 640x480 over the other options. To someone else it might seem trivial or overly picky but to me it's important. It's a strict rule.
About the single location... This is a place I want to realize in 3d~ I dont think it's possible otherwise~ The family of interest lives in Apophenia Castle.
apophenia
This is very rough blockout I did today to express some feelings... It is in essence, a fantasy crossbreeding of a castle, a mansion and an oil rig. I am not sure how to complete this realization but I'll be slowly progressing.
I said oil rig because the purpose of this industrial complex aside from housing a royal family is to mine tea/tar from the ground. This tar is separated and pumped away by the pumps on the side~ all of which is powered by a large windmil on the otherside. The tar left over is incinerated and exhumed thru the pipes above... I believe that plume tower also functions as a clock tower but might scrap that detail.
The surrounding area is a marsh / swamp. it's several fields of tarpits that have wilting black flowers and two types of trees. Palm trees and cyprus trees... These large fields are a special type of farm that contributes to the families wealth and wellbeing.
One thing Ecchi remembers when she was little was learning how to count by counting the points on a palm tree leaf.
15 in total.
I'm writing this half thinking things through again while also remember what I already wrote earlier...
My plan is to write it and not look back and not worry about plots and over working an outline (like I did many times in past).
I did some writing today, some brainstorming and some character dialog.
example
when she was in her 100s, a wide variety of unusual experiences happened to her
this led to her to believe
that what she was being told by her parents was only a small section
they only told her about things they could explain
and all that which was inexplicable
one aught not to talk about
When she heard 'a mouse' knock back thrice
she was instructed to forget about it
and when a mysterious girl stepped into her room from the window
and stared at her
the red eyes peering down
and her soaked panties even visable thru the dim moon light
this put her into an even more troublesome situation
you mustnt grant it any beingingness
Ecchi has become suspicious
deeply
that she has a function in her dna blocks
that allows her to see things that her sisters are unable
which sets her apart
but in a way that makes it difficult to fully integrate
thus she is a random access, to be used at the expense of the rest
for whatever they desire and need...
Ecchi tried to argue.
"Maybe that's why I'm having these experiences because things are being written to me without my consent... and taken away... someone is sending me this information right? That would explain why Aviv and Tsulia can't relate. They know everything that goes on internally..."
Although,
Ecchia tried to find consolation
she was unable to do so via any of the real family members
she had to confide in her only some-what unbiased friend
the System Butler named Comma
Comma "M'lady....."
Comma "You are not the only one of your stature in this family.. Have you consulted with Lewdette?"
Ecchi "I can't trust her. She will take everything I say and repeat it verbatim to Mother and Father."
Comma "in otherwords, you don't know if she has also experienced things but kept mum about it."
Ecchi "I'm sure everyone has experiences they can't explain & and keep to themselves... but I find it suspicious we aren't supposed to question and grant it no beingingness... it freaks me out. I'm scared. Sometimes I feel like I receive packages that are not from the family. It's from an outside force."
Comma "And if this was something to be worried about. What do you think the worst outcome could be?"
Ecchi "I don't know. I'm just uncomfortable."
Comma "Well here's a tip. If the worst outcome would be, somehow the loss of property, a lose face scenario, or trouble with the stakes we have in the super-festival....these are reasons to feel concern......"
Ecchi "I don't care about any of those things."
In terms of designing the characters I've been studying victorian era garbs... 1500/1600s... dresses, ruffs, bumrolls etc... Using old paintings as reference as well as some early 1900s american maid designs... i have some sketches but they aren't on my computer.
rng told me no more than 7 characters (including mc)
thats rly hard to stick to
when i got 4 servants named clock, arm, memory and sound.
so the method might be how I made the twigs sprite
dpixed + gimp + krita workflow.
dpixed is the most fun I have painting digitally so I might do the sketches in it.
i dont expect myself to make anything peppery Hd and fresh
so im gnna lean into the gritty a little to see if I can bang out a cast of characters with consistency and alot of inspiration.