Tasia_Rin

Showing face in the marketplace isn't exactly parallel to any particular body part, though there are definitely some similarities. I know I've compared wearing a mask that covers the bottom of the face but not the eyes as like wearing a tank top that shows some side-boob (salacious, but technically not breaking any taboo). I'd hesitate to do a full 1:1 comparison, though, for the important reason that the vast majority of marketplace residents are temporary and have experience on the surface.

Using a not-perfect but hopefully-close example, covering your face in the market is a bit like covering your knees and shoulders when visiting the Vatican*. Lack of coverage is total normal in outside contexts (ie. Rome/the surface) and you can trust that basically everyone is familiar with outside contexts, but it still does stand out in the context as violating a cultural norm. So in the marketplace, while showing full face is taboo, it's widely known and acknowledged that it's normal in the wider world and most people have experience with that. Compare that with showing boob in public, where there are some contexts where it's acceptable, in general it's not acceptable.

That said, long-term and permanent residents can still end up getting weird about faces. Keir has a thing for eye contact and prefers face-to-face sex, and after living in the market for a while Griff developed a kink for giving facials, so it's not like there's no sexualization going on.

i was wondering what people can/cannot bring into the market with them?

I mean, basically the only things really stopping someone from bringing something into the market is physical logistics. It costs money to use the big tunnels that are used for things like furniture or larger crates since nobles control most access, and good luck bringing your 2005 Honda Civic in. There's no room.

And there are things that, like, marketplace regulars or locals just aren't going to tolerate if they see it. If you bring in explosives and people can tell they're explosives, they're gonna attempt to separate you and your explosives, because bombs are very dangerous when you live in Fancy Tunnels. But there's no rule saying "no bombs", just convention.

Francesco He'd be delighted to work out with his partner! But muscle building probably wouldn't be his forte - consider going to dance classes with him, or swimming together.

Keir Exercising for fun isn't something that Keir's ever thought of before, but he's not totally opposed to the idea. I think he'd be pretty interested in flexibility training, if someone told him that it was a thing!

Oleander He intentionally doesn't exercise in front of others, since he wants to give the impression that he's just naturally that buff. In the swan metaphor, he doesn't want people to see how hard he's paddling! But with someone he trusts and is around all the time, he'd be open to working out together.

You're right! Mugi chose the flowers behind the boys in the stickers for 1) the aesthetic, and 2) their meanings! Taken directly from her reasoning:

Francesco gets irises for faith, courage, valour, and regality (he's had event art with irises before, too!)

Cirrus gets lavender for purity and devotion (plus lavender shows up in his second chapter)

Keir gets poppies for remembrance, death, and peace

Oleander gets his namesake flower for protection, caution, and "tread carefully", so he does get one of his favourite flowers, at least

Lunar ichor is purported to be a panacea, so there is good reason for a lot of people to be interested in it! Everybody's got problems, people in the marketplace have even more, and lunar ichor can make a lot of them go away, whether as an inherent property of curing disease or because it's rare and valuable and currency is another great way of making problems go away.

Francesco Oh absolutely. As long as it's not a pet that's completely outrageous (like a tiger or something), he'd be very happy to accommodate. He might even be the one who's asking about it first!

Keir He's a classic "didn't want the cat" man, regardless of the type of pet being brought in.

Oleander While he's certainly not going to stop a partner from getting a pet, he will be clear about not taking responsibility for it, given the circumstances of his career. He would certainly love the critter, but he won't promise the ability to care for it if he isn't certain he can deliver.

Francesco A cheerful, popular student who keeps a wide social circle. He might be unaware of the fact that some of his friends are only in it for the money, though 😱

Keir He's from the wrong side of the tracks and hangs out with a bad crowd. But if you manage to peel back those layers, you'll find a heart of gold. He's a classic misunderstood bad boy.

Oleander He's not too juvenile about it, but he's a bit of a class clown! Always has something funny and clever to say, full of himself in only the way a teenage boy who has never really failed can be, not nice but does his best to get along with others.

Francesco He gets driven around, he doesn't do the driving. But when he's in the mood to sneak out, he'll take the scooter that's been left in the family garage, a dinky old Vespa from his father's young adult years. It's a bit inefficient, but it's got an undeniably adventurous charm. (Something something insert joke here about riding Vespa 😏)

Keir You'll normally see Keir riding on public transit with his headphones on when he has somewhere to be. But he does still have a motorbike from his more reckless youth, and he uses it when he needs to hustle or when he wants to make a strong first impression.

Oleander You see Oleander's car for the first time. It's small and sleek and would be uncharacteristically subtle for him, but you know for a fact that you cannot get that rich blue-green paintjob off the shelf. You slide into the passenger side. The seat is plush, and while you may not be an expert, the interior feels expensive.

He starts the car and it starts moving, the soft electric hum of the engine barely audible. He drives with smooth, easy confidence, as though the road belongs to him the same way every room does when he steps into it. Then, he turns to you and winks. Let's have some fun, that look seems to say.

He switches something on the steering wheel and the car seems to come to life. He puts his foot down and suddenly you're not gliding down city streets made for you, you're darting through the traffic, riding a rollercoaster with the city as a backdrop. You look at Oleander: he's grinning, clearly having a great time. The zippy little car feels playful as he drives.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the car pulls into a parking garage. The last minutes are smooth and quiet, letting the last of the thrill leave your system. It comes to a stop, and Oleander leaves the car, coming around to your side before you can step out yourself. "So, what do you think?" he asks, smiling like he already knows the answer.

(Ik this isn't a very lore accurate vesper)

<3

Francesco He's probably the one who cares the least — as long as he can trust Vesper to have good intentions, he doesn't care if they wear their mask or not. Besides, he's not exactly in a position to judge, is he? 😆

Keir It's weird. He grew up under the mountain, the mask convention is ingrained in him as something normal and expected, seeing someone treat it casually or dismissing it immediately marks them as an outsider.

Oleander While Oleander likes a good iconoclast and generally has the opinion of "Vesper can do whatever they want in their personal life, that's not my business (unless they want it to be)", carelessness and lack of interest in the market's culture and expectations while working are... not the strongest traits someone can bring to a merchant career?

(like ice-skating, swimming things like that...)

Hello, darling raccoon buddies! We've started getting messages from folks concerned about the ongoing financial censorship happening on Steam and Itchio. I've written up a statement from the team, which you can read here.

The full statement gives a short summary of what's happening and some ways you can help (and also a link to one of my favourite videos of all time, as a treat) and I strongly recommend checking it out, but here's a summary about how this is affecting us.

At time of writing, we're all okay and none of us are in trouble (I'm just a little annoyed that payment processors kicked this off while I'm still on vacation)

We haven't been removed or shadowbanned on either Steam or Itchio, as of time of writing. We're unsure if we're just lucky to have avoided the sweep or if the current version of Obscura isn't violating the "rules" payment processors have laid out

We're keeping an eye on alternative platforms such as DL Site and JAST, but for the moment we're not rushing to upload Obscura elsewhere

This situation has us a little spooked, though we're trying to keep our reactions measured. We're considering how we may have to change our future plans if payment processors don't back down

Best case scenario: the payment processors back down from their overreach and we're allowed to continue making Obscura how we want to

Worst case scenario: we're forced to change our plans for story beats like intimate scenes with the love interests and possibly tone down some routes' content