Elegy IFs

THE CAST:

Refs for RO skin tones can be found here!

Felix (he/she, bigender + bisexual): Curt, blunt, and too tired to deal with this mess, Felix really had no reason to suspect the lab next to gas station he works night shifts at had anything to hide. It’s not like the screams he heard coming from that direction were anything more than some kids messing around late at night, right? Besides, she'd met some of the employees of Vicelie Labs, and aside from the occasional lingering scent of blood, they seemed like just fine people. 

Okay, so maybe she did have a sneaking suspicion something was up. Not like he could do anything about it. Not until you show up, at least, crashing through the gas station door in such a tizzy you’d nearly run into it.

Tall and lanky, Felix often has a scowl spread across her face. He has tawny brown skin, dark brown eyes, and poorly bleached hair with quite a bit of jet black root growth. His hair is styled into a shaggy wolf cut, and of course one can’t forget the shitty stubble she’s refused to shave since it grew in. Felix has a body that might often be described as scrawny, or perhaps even gangly. A strong gust of wind could knock him over. Felix is most often seen in casual clothes; hoodies, band shirts, and jeans make up the majority of her wardrobe. Has several piercings; a bridge, septum, both nostrils, snake bites, and two eyebrow piercings side by side. She stands at 5’11” tall. Felix is trans no matter what. He will always use both he and she pronouns interchangeably. Please do not use they/them to refer to her.

Dr. Eden Neal (gender selectable, M/F/NB): Kind, but awkward. A doctor who didn’t know what they were getting into when applying for a job with Vicelie Labs. Fresh out of med school, the harsh reality of the labs was too much for them. They were assigned to examine you, and though it was hard to trust them at first (and even now) they were essential in your escape. 

While Eden seems to be a kind soul, your bitter side can’t help but wonder if their assistance in your escape was some cruel joke.

Combined with their soft, rounded features, Eden’s dark hair is in long braids, often pulled back out of their face into a ponytail. They have large golden brown eyes with thick eyelashes, and their skin is a deep brown, with a hint of a cool undertone. More soft than muscle, though they still have some tone and definition to their arms and back. It’s not easy work lifting and moving those heavy vats around the lab, after all. Eden is most typically seen in a lab coat, though they lean a bit more business casual once they start meeting up with you for check-ins after your escape. They stand at 5’4”, regardless of gender. Eden is black, with dark skin.

Sable (gender selectable, M/F/NB): A bit of an outcast, Sable is an extremely shy mortician, and one of your (limited) options for getting the flesh you so desperately crave. They spot you sneaking into the morgue one night, half lucid and drunk with the need for blood and flesh on your tongue. They offer to cut a deal with you — they’ll give you all the scraps and leftovers that they can get away with, so long as you give them any information you’ve picked up about the consequences of using cosmic magic. 

Are they seeking power, or just simply curious about the consequences of magic from a biological standpoint?

Sable is one of the tallest RO’s, standing at 6’2” regardless of gender. They have a bright shock of long, curly ginger hair, and their near ghostly pallor is covered in freckles and beauty marks. Most notably, they have beauty marks to the right of their bottom lip, as well as underneath their left eye. They have a long, roman nose with a prominent bridge and blue eyes. Their body is on the heavier side, with a soft stomach and thick thighs. Sable doesn’t dress to impress as they’re mostly surrounded by dead bodies, typically wearing neutral colored slacks and skirts. They occasionally spice things up with an interesting vest or tie, but are much too scared to stand out to do so often. They have circle glasses. Sable is plus size, with a pear shaped figure.

Eris (gender selectable, M/F/NB): A hired killer, and the only other option you have for sating your hunger besides Sable. You meet Eris as you’re hiding away from Vicelie Labs in Eden's apartment, drawn to the smell of blood from them finishing up one of their “contracts” in the apartment next door. It’s a mess of guts and gore, and you can’t stop yourself from indulging. After a moment of awareness, you go to turn tail and run, only to find Eris still there. They have an offer for you — they’ll kill for you, and you can have at their fresh meat. Certainly an offer that’s hard to pass up, considering your current predicament.

Perpetually masked, you’re actually not certain what Eris looks like behind it. From what you can see, they’re very sturdy. All you can see besides their build is their hair, occasionally peeking out from beneath their hood. It falls to Eris’ wide shoulders, and from what you’ve seen is a dark brown. They stand at 6'0" tall, regardless of gender.

???: You’ve only heard of them in passing at the lab — someone who goes after rogue assets, like you. According to Eden, they’re after you, and with a vengeance.

as i said above, nemisi is NOT CANCELED! yay. i’ve put a lot of love into it, and while it’s not at a state i’m happy with any more, i’m working on actually outlining it in a way that won’t overwhelm me.

my problem/roadblock with nemisi (aside from irl stuff) came in the form of me having no prior experience with twine or branching narratives and wanting to make something too ambitious for a first project!! dont do that guys. i got overwhelmed after posting about it during an (admittedly unmedicated manic episode lol) and the outline was a MESS!!! a complete mess. hence why i’m struggling through restructuring it.

i mentioned my side project @sanguineshadow-if because this was the focus of my brainstorming when i couldn’t think about nemisi because it made me so anxious i got sick. it’s much, MUCH smaller in scale both mechnically and stakes wise (for MC). it no longer makes me nearly as anxious/overwhelmed to handle, and i think having my other project cooking in the background these past several months helped with that.

while i am absolutely not abandoning my pride and joy nemisi, i do want to be transparent in that i’ll most likely be focusing on the side project at least for a bit. i believe the experience a smaller project might give me will do wonders for how i go about tackling nemisi. part of my anxiety came from delivering a subpar game.

originally i did say mc's jaw is more like a snakes and while i still like the idea i've also been toying around with the aspect of it being more... eel like. i kinda wanna give them a pharyngeal jaw and maybe lean into the deep sea/general aquatic-ish type of mutations for mc. dunno how exactly i wanna work it in yet but some form of bioluminescence to lure in prey could be fun! i'm also probably just gonna give them slightly reflective eyes in the dark as well no matter what.

i finally moved after a long period of being depressed (being gay/trans in a rural town is NOT fun) and lacking motivation for any creative processes. im moving AGAIN though, so i probably won't be able to post much for the next 2 weeks until then, but after that expect me to be annoying you all with updates.

i've also finally got used to my work/volunteer schedule on top of schooling, so i'm much less stressed out and have some time cut out of most days that i can write. i've actually been writing/plotting a bit for nemisi in my free time already. i work better writing physical notes, and i've nearly filled half a notebook with planned restructures/notes.