stagnant

this is just a side blog for me to further be able to plan a game I’m working on as a side hobby/creative outlet (I’ve never made a game before and I am still working out the story and character building in my free time so this is mainly just for that)

main blog: @cranialbait

other socials:

—————

character masterlist

actual game stuff is under either of the two hashtags (not the deer, he’s just cutie)

This blog is still a work in progress in terms of structure and stuff like that bear with me

I don’t know why the values for the title screen are so inconsistent 😭 the blues I’m using show up on my tablet/phone but not my computer sighh

The daughter of a mechanic and a housewife, just two regular people. You would think she'd be adored by the little church biddies, with how modest her dress is, and her perfect attendance at Sunday service AND the women's ministry. But proper young ladies don't adorn themselves with death… Proper young ladies don't ask for details of the hunt, nor for the scraps the hunter's can't sell… Tattered pelts.. Teeth?? A young lady like herself is better off giving her husband and son a kiss on the check then tending to dinner.

Tonight is venison.

///

I've sort of jumped around with some ideas for Sable for a while but I think I've nailed down how I want to handle her character more as of late hehe

Some key themes for her!!

gender expression -- Sable is definitely meant to be a foil of Saoirse => She dresses very feminine/modest in a more Christian lady way than Saoirse's "I prefer baggy clothes and lots of layers to give me a more masculine frame" sort of style. Additionally, she keeps her hair very long and ONLY has her lobes pierced (in comparison to Saoirse with a facial piercing). The use of piercings for her character is very purposeful, as even though I love giving a character some gauges and a heavy piercing setup, I feel that her convictions/straight-laced nature would make her more inclined to just her lobes being pierced. I just want to draw attention to this because its a very meaningful decision for her character imo (I say this while having 8 piercings lol)

conformity -- similar deal like with her earrings; She follows the same social standards as everyone else, but just.. differently. The town is based around hunting so there's obviously some furs and teeth jewelry making the rounds, and as natural as they are its still very dark and macabre to adorn oneself with them (I have several bone pieces and REALLY REALLY want a coyote tail or racoon tail guys ((I don't entirely know of the ethicality of coyote tails though tbh))

but much of her character work is a commentary on the church/southern church culture and stuff like that (once again, not hating on anyone who is apart of it unless you think people shouldn't have rights and shit like that)

my partner also gave me the idea of having her 'symbolic animal' of sorts be a possum to further play into this theming for her; like they're harmless little guys, but people still think they're diseased and weird little freaks ((theres also one specific road nearby that is covered in possums people have hit :( ))

religion -- I cant get too into the specific because of major spoilers but once again her character is a commentary on the church (mainly through the eyes of someone who has never really been to church or had any strong convictions, some of the shit I hear from my partner who went to a southern Baptist afterschool program (and has experience with calvinism) is just baffling to me

(also hi baby if you see this i love you :) )

A young woman living alone in her late-father's hunting lodge, in the town she grew up in. She is the PC/Protagonist of Stagnant, tasked with gathering the rest of his things--on behalf of her mother--after news of his death. Upon her return, she sees some familiar faces (most of which are hidden behind hand-fans and wrinkled smiles).

She is, and will be, nothing more than her father's daughter.

///

Saoirse is an incredibly important character for me, as alot of her character is inspired by my own life and relationships; so I've been using her as a creative outlet to process some personal stuff

Some themes I'm exploring with her character!!

gender expression -- she grew up in a religious school in a small town, and had to wear uniforms (skirts) and keep her hair very long and such **(more on this in a second). But she grew up forced into this box of hyper-femininity/conservative dress, so as she gets older she begins to dress more masculinely (by comparison), and cut her hair much shorter. A formative moment for me was cutting off my hair at 14, I had a pixie cut for so long that I get weirded out when I realize how long it is now (just my collarbone but still, I would cut it myself with fabric scissors because it was a nightmare trying to get a haircut scheduled. And let me tell you I was BAD at cutting it and often gave myself the most fuckass bangs but it was very freeing and gave me a feeling of control over my autonomy). Around that time I was also exploring my gender/gender expression as well, so having that for her to some degree means alot to me

Southern religious culture -- most of my inspiration/references for this are not my own--in the sense that I have never been a religious person, and only went to a Methodist church as a young child when I slept at my grandparents house. I have no ill-will towards anyone who does find comfort in religion as an individual, but I have seen/met several people who have been fucked over by organized (Christian) religions so I'm a bit critical of it tbh (I've seen many use religion for control, and that is more of my angle with it here. I love the feeling of community it offers, but not at the expense of telling people they don't deserve to exist). But for Stagnant, I'm considering having them grow up in a Baptist/Southern Baptist as I personally know people with experience in both so research would be easier, and it feels fitting for the story I'm trying to tell. I don't really know what else to say other than I've always felt odd about religious culture in the Deep South because you can't hop on the highway without seeing a giant sign saying FORGIVE MY SINS JESUS, its just jarring even though I've lived here my whole life lol

family dynamics -- this one is a bit more personal inspiration for me. The inspiration here comes from a mix of my own father being a jackass who I hate more than anything, and the weird family dynamics that come from being apart of a Deep Southern family, ESPECIALLY as a woman/AFAB. Like the generational trauma that has been passed down on my mom's side ALONE is insane.

E.X. My mom found out she had a secret-half-sister when she was in college (said half-sister was also a coke addict); her father and (full) brother got into a fist-fight because they were both interested in the same woman; my mom grew up with one set of Baptist grandparents for a while, and they had a set meal each day (like fish on Wednesday, meatloaf Monday, sort of thing) and now she hates brussel sprouts; her step-mom was nice up until she married my mom's father, then she proceeded to be very cold to them--its also speculated that my mom's father killed her; she was super close with her step-grandma until she unfortunately died; there's rumors that one set of grandparents were in a lavender marriage (they're divorced currently); her dad was raised by his grandfather, because his mom was a teen, and his half-sister was sent away to a boarding school as a young girl; I could go on lmao… And this is the lighter stuff too,,

Concept art again for a figure I refer more to as “the doe”; she’s going to be the final boss and is like. Very symbolic for a few key concepts/themes of the game (nature, the church, etc)

I was thinking of her as some non physical force, some sort of predator or smth that hunts specific people down (ie. Saoirse during the game)

I might also have her show up in a human form to fuck with Saoirse some but have her human design reflect almost a more socially accepted version of Saoirse

Some inspo I have for her comes from “terror on the mountain” and “gray dog” (haven’t finished reading it but oh my god I love this book)

Rough concept sketch to show the sort of opposing vibes I want sable and Saoirse to have with eachother (masculine v feminine, religious v agnostic, etc)

Sable concept !

The animal I’m basing her off of is a possum because I want her to be a very ostracized character despite her being very sociable, goes to church every Sunday, what have you; but her manner of dress and “improper” interests sort of makes her not fit in in the town

And my partner suggested a possum for her because while they’re super sweet and harmless a lot of people consider them pests and disgusting

But with her manner of dress she wears very modest clothing, keeps her hair long, but she accessorizes with like locally sourced furs and teeth and stuff (bc I love locally sourced animal teeth/bone jewelry hehe)

young Saoirse concept art

Im thinking of having her go to like a religious school or smth, because its set in like a small, fantasy, southern/Appalachian inspired town so she would have to wear like a uniform or smth

Which for her character I want to explore like gender and gender roles/dynamics so growing up she’s obvi more feminine but as an adult she dresses more masculinely

each character will have their name as a hashtag to find posts specifically about them on my blog :> additionally each character will have an in depth thread about their characterization and such (linked) — this is just a surface level summary of each

Saoirse

A young woman living on her own in her late father’s cabin. The PC and protagonist of the game, tasked with returning to her home town and clearing out her father’s old hunting lodge. She sees some familiar faces (most of which are seen mid gossip due to her return, and the recent death of her father—who seemed to go down the deep end after his separation from his wife (Saoirse’s mother)).

Sable

The daughter of the town’s mechanic and a housewife. You’d think she’d be well liked by even the nastiest of church ladies, with how modest she dresses and her nearly perfect attendance at Sunday service and women’s ministry. But proper ladies don’t adorn themselves with pelts and… teeth.. Proper ladies don’t talk to the men about the nasty parts of the hunt, they just give their husbands and sons a kiss on the cheek and tend to dinner. Tonight is venison.

The Doe