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A small portrait of my unnamed/The hound origin mc, Scarlette, a very sad huntsman.

His routes would be for Ais or Leader (gags).

In general, I think the unnamed pairs very well with Ais and makes the most sense dialogue wise, I think there are many ways in which this version of the mc would relate to Ais and why Ais would be so head over heels for them.

I made a wip of a lady for Vere. I wanted to base her around a melanistic fox because 1. It’s cute and 2. Vere doing a double take like 😍about mc with his neurons activated because he thinks he spotted a vixen would be fun

Kinda sad about Ais because he craves that connection so bad but he keeps giving it to folks who just wanna fuck and maybe be friends lol

The obvious reference is with Vere but we all know that. Actually nevermind, imagine being Ais and being attached to Vere and lowk wanting more and Vere is like "nah" because that's not what he signed up for (cool, cool) but then Vere turns right around and takes the MC on not one, not two, but three dates in one day after knowing them for about 48 hours.

And then the way I see it with the implications in the first demo, Ais and Leander slept together and Leander is such a manipulative sweet talker and Ais, despite his wisdom, did not have any pleasant experiences with humans combined with his terrible loneliness he's experienced and whatever he went through with his gang. So, it does make sense for him to buy into Lenders "look at me I'm not like the others" song and dance he does with anyone who is at a weak moment in their life.

1. Obviously playful. Very playful, can't sit still. Imagine how painful it truly was for him to be imprisoned and locked in a room when he had less freedoms.

2. All of the li's except for Ais (lol) feed the mc. Foxes feed their mates and bring them food. I'd imagine it would be very disrespectful if your mate rejected the food you so graciously gave them. He literally gets upset if the mc rejects the cookie. Accept the cookie. He thinks the mc is a potential mate.

3. "Don't let him show you his hole" yes this is an innuendo but I like to think this was literal (especially since Baselia already thinks Vere and mc slept together). Foxes dig holes and hide food there. I like to think that Vere has a secret hole he hides stuff in.

4. Possessive. Male foxes mark their territory during mating season. Vere marks the mc to deter competition and will probably know if mc is in danger.

5. @foxyannon's wonderful observation that Vere mangled up the soulless more than necessary as a gift to mc. Male foxes actually do gift their potential mates carcasses (to eat) as a courting tactic.

6. Male foxes are called dogs lol

7. The knot joke in the demo. He's got to have one idgaf

I noticed that the few traits we see of the red eyed person in the mc's room (in the preview) looked as familiar as the traveler in the very beginning of the demo.

I don't recall a confirmed death in the demo. Just that the souless stabbed him in the stomach and threw them to the side. Survivable enough.

I once saw a theory that I think was genius which is that Ais was the one who brought the mc to Kuras clinic, and that makes a ton of sense for so many reasons but I wanna focus on the fact that the wagon tipped over in the marshes near Ais' house, assuming he was near by.

So, it's possible that this traveler drunk from the spring to keep from dying. Ais has enough of a heart to do that. I interpret him as having a soft spot for the vulnerable (this is one iteration of oni mythology where they aren't malevolent, but helpful and protective).

I've noticed controversy about Ais' character in the preview which I've been surprised about. Ais is a consistent character thus far in my opinion. Because of common criticism I thought why not make my own case for Ais.

I believe the marketing of the game always had Ais as a dominant kind of character, and this was driven home in the demo. That was always supposed to be his archetype and that was always the appeal. So I was surprised when I saw people genuinely complaining about the way he was acting in the preview. If anyone finds it corny or a little cringe that's completely fair and I see where you're coming from, and to some extent can agree, it just doesn't necessarily mean that something is poorly written.

In addition, I saw some felt the mark was missed in comparison to the demo, and I disagree. He had the same short way that he speaks combined with the same demeanor as in the demo.

In his character card it says that he "lets his emotions rule him". We see that if he feels a certain way in the moment he will act on it. If he feels genuinely annoyed with the mc in the moment he's likely to express that. This is a major character flaw that I can see potential development in where he learns to actually have some self control, for his own sake and also being cognizant about the way he reacts to the people around him he cares about.

Some people expressed the distaste of Ais going to the brothel and the implication that he might have gotten services there. I somewhat agree and disagree. I agree in the way that if he were real, I'd be turned off and disgusted. But this is a fictional world where sex work and receiving those services aren't taboo or potentially inherently exploitative in a way that mimics the real world. In TS it seems like a gray area, rather than reprehensible which I think adds to the already questionable morality that Ais has, combined with the loneliness he said he hates. Even with all that said, if you hated this and don’t fw Ais anymore because of this scene that is justified.

Speaking of Ais' loneliness, a lot of people felt like the pacing was way too fast for the preview in general (it was) but I think for a character like Ais it can work. Remembering that he is lonely and craves connection which causes him to get attached far too easily; what was basically a confession to the mc toward the end of preview before he goes cold, makes sense for him to do. He felt like he was losing the mc, someone who at that point- did not know the full scope of how violent and brutal he can be, in addition to unpredictability as said in another character card:

This shows the viewers where Ais is mentally (ill), with how he is already attached and drawn to the mc- who wasn't so naïve to not point out that they only just met. By the end of the demo he becomes extremely distant towards the main character and tells them not to talk to him again unless they’re ready to drink from the spring. Probably because he doesn’t want the mc to be around him when he loses control of his own body to Ocudeus, who is possessing him. This is where that unpredictability comes in again, because just minutes prior, he was seeking out the mc.

I used character cards that RSS made years ago and I usually wouldn't use information that viewers would have to find outside of the immediate material, but from the little I know about these kinds of games, promo character cards are normal to introduce the character and reference, correct me if I'm wrong.

I also think part of the issues with many fans finding the characters have become inconsistent is the large time gap of canon content that puts a lot of fans in a position where we'll just kind of forget. I don’t think Ais was poorly written, I think the writing in the preview could have been better if this is what is what to be expected from his actual route, if you catch my vibe.

I'm not the least bit worried about the direction RSS is taking with Ais. He is the first character they made and he is front and center in almost every cover piece that's like... their golden child. I'm not saying writers can't fuck up their own characters because I've definitely seen some crazy character assassination before, I'm just saying that as of now, I'm not concerned about RSS doing that. now i'm dick riding. Whatever.

I heard of spoilers months prior from Kickstarter backers, before getting a chance to play the preview myself and from what people were saying I was concerned it was about to be too fast paced.

But after playing, it was fairly fast paced but it fit. Number one, it was a preview and might not actually be what is to be expected from the pacing in the final product. And number two, I think it's important to remember the kind of universe the story is set in and who the characters are. They're all kind of insane and really off so of course crushing on the mc crazy style is not off the table lmao.

Seriously, from everything we know about the characters over the years plus the demo I felt like the devs really delivered in character writing. I honestly was surprised by how good I thought the preview was, I liked that they threw in some horror elements.

I thought it would be fun to make an oc just for background noise or an extra love interest for Burn The Midnight Oil. I think it would be interesting if Dante had an RO that was also a hellhound, reflecting him in some sort of way but not too much.

His name is Lowell Hyde and he works for the SSF. None of his coworkers suspect he’s a hellhound, everyone just thinks he’s edgy.

I read that it’s unusual for hellhounds and werewolves to wear collars from Melli but I had to commit, maybe I’ll go back and change it later. I also made his jacket similar to Abraxas’ because of the SSF association I’d think Lowell would really like his personal space, Abraxas’ I mean lol.

I’ll toss around ideas undercut: