Sol's are a way of showing their thoughts and displaying their mood without having to acknowledge either openly.
They have a lot of tells, though the differences between them are both varied and slight, and only those that know them well could distinguish between every form they take.
There are the more obvious ones, like humming when they're absorbed in their thoughts or how their leg starts jumping when they get anxious, and there are the more subtle ones that have a wider variety of meaning; them drumming their fingers along things—their thigh, their arm, a table—happens both when they're bored or distracted, and also when they're upset. A lighter mood has the fingers falling in a line after each other, a clearer, slower sound, whereas when their mood dips, it becomes more akin to a jumbled tapping.
And the more upset they get, the more destructive their motions become and the harder it is for someone unfamiliar to pinpoint the exact mood on display. Them tugging on the ends of their hair often reads as just restless, or impatient, or agitated, but it's something that only shows when they're deeply troubled by a thought of theirs, has their mind stuck on something and can't move away from it.
Picking at things is similar, and it only appears when they're deeply upset—pulling at threads or stitching, chipping off paint from their tokens, even digging at their skin, at old scars or new scabs, all are forms their distress takes, and all are things that care should be taken with when addressing.
—
Khiita's are both a force of long-standing habit, and a way to ground herself.
She touches her jewelry often, little adjustments to reposition a bracelet and make it so a gemstone faces out, able to be viewed, admired. Winds her necklace around until the clasp sits hidden under hair, the pendants on display. Twists her earrings, straightens them, untangles the longer ones so they fall correctly—habits ingrained in her her entire life, emulated from her mother.
A lifetime of appearing composed, capable, lifetimes more of absorbing it from others around her, so much that it's become second nature. Her acting on it fluctuates between deliberate and subconscious, the movements and the impulse she gets to act on them debatable if they're of her own accord—if you're merely the newest star, the most recent inhabitant, then what is truly your own?
It can go beyond simple adjustment, too; there are times she'll move in a certain way, have the metals brush together, chime out. For the most part, she just likes the sound, finds whimsy in it in such an otherwise drab world, but there are other, louder times where it's needed—where it helps distract her, stalls her thoughts and the tunnels they create. Where the sound forces them to slow, to cease the loop and focus on only one thing: the clink of delicate metal, the tinkling of bells, the hollow clacking of small beads bumping together.
A way to reset a mind that is always going, one that never rests.
—
Flor's are a way to settle their nerves, to reorder—and redirect—their thoughts.
It always involves their hands in some way; wringing them, clasping them together, idly toying with their fingers. Curling the ring finger of one around its opposite, bending and straightening their fingers in quick succession, rubbing a thumb along the index beside it—each are different ways to help catalogue their thoughts. A motion that can—that will—be repeated later, when they have a moment to themself and can look back, reflect.
A complex way of organizing all that they pick up on, but it's one they'd never be able to explain to another, never be able to point out each cue and create a guide for—it's all instinctive, and the very idea of trying to force the thoughts to surface will only ensure that they never rise again.
It's also something that's only really noticeable when they're sitting, with nothing to otherwise occupy their hands. When they stand, they have a tendency to clasp their hands behind their back, palm wrapped securely around a wrist. A subconscious way to stop fidgeting so much, though one that directly correlates to their comfort levels; it's less often to appear the more comfortable they are and the more assured they feel in someone's presence.
—
And Cían's is ultimately a way to soothe himself, though it manifests differently depending on his emotional state.
Every form of it relates to the ring he always wears; when he's contemplative, relaxed, the ring gets twisted around his finger slowly, sporadically, aligning with the way his thoughts will ebb and flow. When he's upset, his hands will fist, his thumb tucking into his palm; his nail will dig into the metal of the band, finding and following the small, thin scratch on its underside and wearing it down just that little bit further. The ring turns jerkily this way but never fully, only a half-twisting, back-and-forth motion.
These forms only show themselves either in private, when he's by himself and not having his every move scrutinized, or when he's in the company of someone he trusts and feels at ease around, where he can allow himself to react as he would naturally.
There are times, too, when he's neither preoccupied nor upset and is instead just seeking a reminder of its presence—his touch will naturally drift to the ring and rest there, not moving or twisting or digging at it and simply letting it be. It's a comfort like no other to him, a form of connection that's remained long after its former bearer has passed on.
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Sol’s way is simple; unhurried, a fluidity in how they speak that comes as easy as their step.
Their words spill over into the next, meld together, one smooth flow of thought running into the next. Pieces will get left out, sentences halved, reorganized, but it’s never choppy; there’s never any rush to be heard or to speak before they forget. It’s simply a natural extension of how they think.
There are times, though, that their speech slows, that the melding ceases and things become thoughtful, deliberate, a little less flippant. A breath, or a pause before speaking again, a need to be intentional, to get their point across. To quiet and be seen as more than someone impudent, careless.
It never lasts long, flash of a smile chasing away darker thoughts and freeing any cause for worry. A lean in, a staged whisper, and they can allow themself to act senseless again, satisfied that they were, for once, heard.
—
Khiita is intention above all else; leading, guiding, careful little footsteps directing one to the conclusion she wishes to arrive at.
There's a tendency to leave things open. For her voice to rise into a question, plain statements to be re-examined as something more. Everything is a curiosity to her, so why not take advantage of it at every possible opportunity. To push and prod—sometimes gently, other times far more abruptly—until they either acquiesce or leave
It shows itself in how she delivers, how she presents herself. Quiet enough that those favored enough to converse with her are forced to lean in, to focus, but still clear as a struck bell, still lasting. Melodic, lulling, a way to distract their mind so she can see for herself what she believes to be the truth: instinctive reactions.
In it lies a formality, though, her own desires to dance around things stretching out her sentences into something more thoughtful, more winding, but it's a habit she's slowly breaking. One that dissolves even further when in company she appreciates.
—
Flor considers things deeply; more so than many others. Their speech is slow, rhythmic, though at times it halts, stutters, a difficulty in translating exactly what they think—and everything they feel—into something as humblingly inadequate as words.
There are long pauses. Many of them scattered throughout a conversation and many more stacked atop each other; a reprieve granted to themself, a step away to either process quickly or push fully aside, to be examined closer another time.
They trail off often, a distracted mind chasing down too many thoughts, trying to rein them into tenable order. Just as likely, they speak without meaning to, quiet asides intended only for their ears, but their voice has a way of carrying.
But with all things that they are, there is sincerity in their speech. It bleeds through without warning, an earnestness presented to whoever they engage with: that everyone is equally worthy of their time and interest.
—
Cían is sharp; rough edges peeking out, a propensity to share what's on his mind if he's pushed far enough, and to share it exactly as scathingly as he thinks it.
He's blunt, clipped. His speech—when he's actually moved enough to engage—is final, conveying only the surface of his annoyance and obscuring any useful tell about his deeper, more personal reactions.
He speaks in false questions often, voice lowering into something snide when he's feeling blasé, but otherwise, he remains firmly dry. Flat. A keeping of his distance in tone and in person, wary of letting any too close. A guard that is difficult—if not impossible—for him to drop.
And he drags out conversation without meaning too, a refusal to easily give what another wants to hear and a deeper reluctance to dip into uneasy silence. Perhaps it’s why he can never truly turn away from something, whether it’s a request or a challenge; he doesn’t want to be alone again so soon.
I haven’t done one of these in a while, but there hasn’t really been much to update on ! Writing has been slow due to focus on other projects taking priority, but progress is being made.
I’d have to comb through all the files the writing is split across for an exact wordcount, but the update sits at around ~48k, and will likely grow another 15-20k before I actually consider it done + ready—for a frame of reference, just the beginning of Chapter Three already pushed over 40k on its own, so this chapter is shaping up to be a long one.
That said, I’m still deciding on whether to keep the update cut where it is now, or push through until—and then include—the end of the chapter; it’ll depend on how long the endings themselves wind up being in their entirety (of which, as mentioned a while back, there are currently 12+ versions), but I’m leaning towards pushing through + updating with the entirety of Chapter Three.
There’s not much to share ~writing-wise~ that’s not overly spoilery, but I’ve still included two small snippets from the chapter endings below the cut !
fog log #36 - general update / break (august 13.22)
It’s been a minute since an actual fog log log, and it’s going to be a minute longer until there’s an ‘upcoming update’ one. More to the point, there’s been some medical emergency stuff happening with my sister in the last week, and I won’t be able to put any time towards actively working on the update for the next ~few months as I’ll be taking care of her until she recovers. I’ll try to keep the blog itself relatively active, but any writing will be on a complete hold.
Flor’s birthday is upcoming (next week, happy early birthday to them!), but with the halt on progress, the full celebration of it will be postponed; I really want there to be actual scenes to choose from re: their POVs, and as of the game’s standing now without the final part of the act, there aren’t many available.
To make up for it, I have some posts scheduled for the day of (August 17th) with snippets that were never shared or posted here; they revolve around their daily life in Treles, as well as around their relationship / life back home with a Mydras MC (both romantically and platonically). Hopefully these act as good substitutions until their birthday can actually be celebrated.
And with FOG progress being on hold, I figured I could share some things from / ramble a bit about the update below the cut—spoilers ahead!
general
There are two main paths the chapter splits into, stemming around the choice (or ‘choice’, for Sedruadal MCs) made at the end of the last update—whether Treles was entered alone or with Khiita / Flor’s help. The paths will rejoin by the end of it, but the branch itself will have lasting (and IMO, fun) consequences for MC for the rest of the game, particularly revolving around their ‘cover’ and what it may become
sol
The only thing that can really be shared with Sol’s route—beyond the inevitable conclusion to them (potentially) trespassing where they shouldn’t have—is that what’s been simmering in the background of their relationship with a romanced augur will finally have a chance to be forced into light and acted upon—one of a few things that can be impulsively acted on with them
khiita
Khiita is a bit of an interesting case with the update. The latter half of the chapter has a heavy involvement from + focus on her and Flor, that much has been said from the very beginning; what’s still up in the air is whether her preview scene will end up staying in this chapter like initially planned, or instead be moved to Chapter 4 or 5, where it has equal potential. Regardless, those who have accepted her or Flor’s help are in for a very busy day, and those on her romanced route will have a similar opportunity that those on Sol’s do
flor
It’s a Flor-heavy chapter! It's not a spoiler or a surprise, but they really are the star focus of it. Them (and their partner) have a prominent role throughout the chapter, and are the ultimate deciders of a very important fate for the augur + their goals. There’s also the full reunion scene with Mydras MCs to look forward to (some of which was shared here), as well as a smaller, equally sweet moment for non-past MCs to have a chance at getting to know them better
cían
Cían’s official introduction into the game! Finally, but also a fair amount of time spent with him in general. There’s a spot for his (first) intimate / explicit scene near the end of the chapter, though I’m unsure it’ll make it into the released version of the update (i.e, it won’t). FOG—at least, the COG / dashingdon version—isn’t marked as an 18+ game, which is where the hesitation lies. The tentative plan is to keep it from this version of the game, and later add it in with FOG’s move to Twine (which will be marked as 18+). As it stands, his conversation with the augur that leads to this ends with an awkward goodnight instead, which is still painfully on brand for him.
fog log #30 - update coming! +special announcement (10.02.2021)
It’s been awhile since one of these (and also a day late from when I usually post them), but that was mostly because there was nothing new to talk about, and now there is! The game will be updating on Monday, October 4th !!
This is a notice that the update contains some potentially upsetting scenes, and to please remember to read the updated content warnings if you are sensitive to that type of material!
On top of the update and following in Khiita and Flor’s footsteps, Sol’s real-world birthday is being celebrated on Thursday, October 7th! Their birthday is (in-universe // real-world):
10 of Priests, Wintercrown // October 7th
As usual, the birthday special itself will be posted on the actual day, but if there are any Sol-related questions, comments, prompt lists, etc etc in the days leading up, feel free to send them in !
Small notice: The last chapters in the main game (mostly the Interlude and Chapter One) have been updated a few times throughout the past couple months to add in additional stat changes / to fix spelling mistakes, so you should check your saves in advance to catch back up!
Second, smaller notice: Adding to the above, this is a reminder that the image dividers (example below) between chapters in the main game signify the start of a new one, and are where you’re meant to leave your most recent save so as to avoid getting it reset to the beginning of a previous chapter whenever the files are updated.
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For those that missed it, the game updated with the first part of Chapter Three earlier this week! Sol’s birthday special was also posted yesterday!
This week was spent working on the birthday prompts, fixing the bugs / general mistakes from the update, and mostly just taking a break from the main game. The prompts + special are a good way to de-stress for me, and I always end up really enjoying doing them.
This upcoming week will be spent mostly on catching up on asks, finishing or at least making progress on some secondary FOG-related projects, and outlining the next part of Chapter Three.
Chapter Three, depending on length / what additions get made to it, will be split into either two or three parts, but I’m aiming for a smaller section of the next part to be out early—I’d like for Cían to actually be introduced in the game before the end of the year / his birthday special, so that’s become my new priority! He’s planned to appear much sooner for those that are on Khiita’s ending to the update than those on Sol’s, so Khiita’s branch of the chapter will likely be focused on first.
To those that are new to the blog / game, there’s the links + tags section in the header that includes some important posts as well as the link to the secondary/side-blog for the game, which is where a lot of miscellaneous + tagged reblogs for the ROs go. It also lists out all the tags I use on the blog, including the recently added fognomenon and augur, which are the content and MC tags respectively!
On a final note, I don’t do these update posts every week anymore! Pretty much only when there’s been significant progress made to the game / I have something to share, but I do try to keep them to Friday or the weekend!
Small note: Thank you to everyone who sent in prompts for Sol’s birthday! Since their birthday is now over, I won’t be answering more, so please don’t send any in!
A short list of bug fixes / changes made to the recent update is below:
A variable being set incorrectly / missing entirely in two separate scenes that end up in a fight with Sol is no longer set wrong / missing! It resulted in a weird continuity issue of Sol seeming to teleport in and out of the caravan in the midday road scenes, but they (thankfully) no longer possess this ability
Variables that my editing-melted brain set false instead of true have become the opposite, meaning missing chunks of Flor and Khiita’s conversation should now magically be there
I remembered how to use the enter key! Missing sentence fragments (like Sol asking MC if they can swim) should no longer be stuck to a single personality version of the conversation
General spelling mistakes were corrected. These hands are very, very good at pressing the wrong keys
This month was mostly taking a break from heavy writing after the game updated a few weeks back, but I did draft up the small update planned to go out before December—it’s pretty short and only encompasses one branch from the end of the last update, but it’ll also bring Cían into the game, so win-lose.
In other news, the one-year anniversary of the first demo is coming up next month! November 14th to be exact, and while I do have something planned for the day itself (and hopefully the days leading up, depending on time), it’s nothing as wide-appealing or 'exciting' as the birthday specials. Hopefully it’ll still be interesting to some though !
Smaller note, but there’s also the announcement of an announcement going out on November 3rd
I’d say I’m still hovering just over half-way done, since I didn’t have any time to work on the game this last week in between moving + unpacking. I’m all done with that, though, so my attention is fully on the game again.
I’ve gone so far off the outline it’s not even funny, so there won’t be the counter at the end. To give you an idea of what I mean, what was meant to be a short, non-consequential conversation with Sol has turned into something that has about six different ways it could end.
Some are harder to get than others, and it’s the first time you get to see how MC’s actions / choices so far have been affecting those around them, for good or for bad. Khiita’s version of this conversation goes a similar way, though hers comes with an added bonus of learning something new about her—something she's so far kept hidden.
Sometime this upcoming week, the ‘surprise’ announcement for the next special should go up, if I have the time. If not, it’ll go up the week after.
Under the cut is three spoilers from the chapter: one for Sol, one for Khiita, and a general one:
