toothache

devblog for the in-progress interactive fiction game toothache.

[if-toothache]

An Abridged Guide To Surviving College:

Keep your head down. The less attention drawn to you, the better.

Ignore everything out of the ordinary. If you saw something, no you didn't. You just imagined it.

If steps #1 and #2 fail, start running.

Whatever do, don't fail your finals.

A centuries-old prophecy foretold of an evil that would snuff the light from the world and bring forth the end of times. Pure, unstoppable evil would reign supreme. Humanity would be powerless. Reality would crumple like paper. Standard horrific stuff.

When your family heard of this, they did the opposite of what any sane people would do. Instead of fostering talent or strengthening their numbers, they started a search for any and all children with magical potential. If the evil couldn't be stopped, their thought process was that it could at least be be contained.

Decades later, you and your adoptive siblings are Tupperware to the apocalypse – living vessels to the Princes of Hell. Prisons made from flesh and blood may be the strongest of shackles, but they are also the most vulnerable. Someone or something has started hunting you all down, and there's only a matter of time before you're next.

A customizable MC, including gender, appearance, and personality

Character-driven story, with potential allies, enemies, and friends

The opportunity to find romance while trying really hard not to die

Uncontrollable magical power right at your fingertips

DEMO | ROMANTIC OPTIONS | PLAYLISTS

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Does anyone in the cast dad sneeze?

Ashton, 100%. He sneezes like a cannon, and then tries to pretend nothing happened.

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ASHTON KILLING NON LIVING THINGS LMAOOOO

He's a man of many talents!

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Me 🤝 Ashton

Immediately killing every plant we've ever had like some kind of a superpower

(It especially sucks for me because my grandpa is a very talented horticulturist and landscaper and constantly gifts me beautiful lovingly raised plants that I kill by glancing at)

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that! If it makes you feel any better, Ashton's at a level where he can't even be trusted around plastic plants. They somehow end up with the same fate as their live counterparts XD

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hi!! i hope you’re doing alright, v v excited to meet the characters in your story (love the personalities of the siblings already!!) also love the idea of a demon stuck in our head we can talk to! the potential of enemies, to grudgingly respecting each other, to possibly caring for each other? so good!

if it hadn’t been asked, could you give some random facts about the ROs? like facts that probably would never show up in the story but are just interesting!

Oh, I've been waiting for this, haha

Ashton is woefully ignorant of how terrible he is at taking care of anything. This includes himself, of course, but he has a real untapped talent for killing any plant he's ever owned. The speed is just incredible.

Jiwon has zero preferences when it comes to music. They can go from bubblegum pop to classical to indie to psychedelic rock all back to back on the same playlist, and they wouldn't even bat an eye.

Siyu is very, very good at impressions. She has a knack for being imitate voices after hearing them briefly, and while she attributes most of it to having good hearing, her vocal control is amazing. Theoretically could pull off a Sesame Street voiceover, but would never in a million years do one.

Levi hates being called old. He doesn't outwardly react to being called ancient, and won't ever admit that he dislikes it but he gets so annoyed. When he sulks, he sulks hard.

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little announcement

Hello everyone, and happy May 4th! Many of you probably noticed I dropped off the map in February, and I’d like to apologize for the lack of advance notice – I was completely blindsided by some of my recurring health problems coming back full blast, and it was difficult for me to muster the energy to keep my blog running and school managed all at the same time.

On the bright side, being glued to my computer had the benefit of giving me a whole lot of time to write and code. And you probably guessed it by that sentence, but that means the demo is practically ready to be released! Hooray for little victories XD

Hope everyone is staying happy and healthy! I’ll be catching up on the backlog of asks I have for the next couple of days, but if anyone wants to send anything in or even offer prompts, I’ll be more than happy to do my best to answer them.

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The shameful moment when mc thinks the filthiest things of Lev and him reading their mind, no secrets there : , )

👁👄👁

This might be helpful.

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Hey, I really love the name of your IF. If it’s not too spoilery, what’s the meaning behind it? Thanks :)

Haha, thank you! The reason behind the title is actually a spoiler, so I'll keep it under wraps. (Your hint is that it has to do with the MC.)

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Could you share a random lore fact from your wip? <3

An excerpt from the Compendium:

The word “supernatural” is an umbrella term for anything distinctly non-human. Beings that have walked the world long before mankind and those that will continue to exist long afterwards, they are creatures beyond reality. A singular name and a strong enough belief is enough to breathe life into even the shadows in the corner of your eye.

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May i ask for one fluff fact for each RO? I'll give you my lunch in exchange 🍟🍔

You can keep your lunch XD I'll give you the facts for free.

Ashton claims he hates when people touch his hair but he gets all melt-y when someone he likes ruffles his hair or does the scalp scratch thing. He's a pretty physically affectionate person (despite what his demeanor may suggest.)

Jiwon is your biggest supporter. It doesn't matter if you light the kitchen on fire cooking and serve them charcoal, they'll eat the entire meal happily and compliment you. They're down to join you in activities or cheer you on from the sidelines.

Siyu finds you in all sorts of little things. In songs, in gift shops, while on walks, she'll see or hear something that'll remind her of you in some way. Maybe it's a particular lyric, a falling leaf, or even something shimmery and tucked away. She'll think of you somehow.

Levi laughs with you. Never at you. (Okay sometimes at you.) It's just easy to be with him and talk to him. He's always been there, and he's always been having fun with you.

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I know this is pretty late, but happy new year to you author!🎉

Still Jan. 1st for me. Happy new year to you too!

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Hello! I just took a break from drawing and suddenly this random thought just popped in my head! First, I'm just so so SO excited to befriend the lovely little demon inside our MC's head! So I was wondering if our siblings and the other princes have a good relationship with one another? It would be a catastrophe if they don't get along since...well...they share a body and all that ^^;

I hope your drawing went well! Hm, I can say that you are a special case; Levi willingly goes along with you and treats you as more of an equal. The others aren’t so lucky.

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Hi :) I’m really excited for the game!! I wanted to know, do you have a favorite RO? And what are your favorite things about each of them? Thanks !!

I do not have a favorite RO. I like them all equally Jiwon and I personally think that each of them have their good sides and bad sides Jiwon which makes it impossible to choose it's Jiwon.

When it comes to Ashton, as weird as it sounds I admire his attitude. He's been doing what he loves and is incredibly dedicated and he's never compromised on what he wants to accomplish. (Also, he can get a little bitchy, and who am I to say I don't appreciate that in a man?)

For Jiwon it has to be their calm attitude. The world could be ending and they'd hardly flinch. They're very mature, if that's even the right word. Confident perhaps? The aura of someone that's experienced and seen enough to not flinch.

Siyu is hard to pick from, but I think it has to be her heart. She's really a good person, and she’s rock solid when it comes to following her morals. Personally, the ability to do what's right is an admirable trait by any standard. In a way I suppose she's the most hero-like out of all the ROs.

Levi has a few, but my favorite part is that even after all that time, he's the most human. As much as he's a literal demon, he's curious and he's learned. He's grown. His experiences still shape him, and he's not willing to admit that (yet) but he feels as much as anyone else does.

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Jiwon is really suspicious 🤨 with the MBTI and RO’s description I’m onto them 🤨

Whatever gave you that idea? :)

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Ashton seems like a annoying nerd and I'm into that

It’s cute! He gets easily excited over the smallest things.

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I wonder what is Leviathan jealous of I mean you can’t be the embodiment of envy without being jealous of something 

Many things. He’s lived a long life.

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Sorry if this is a weird thing to say but Daniela being Chinese-Argentinian has me like !!!!! bc I'd never ever seen Asian-Argentinians represented in IF (or anywhere tbh) so it makes me really happy :') I already loved her just from what you'd been saying about her in asks and this made my opinion of her skyrocket dramatically. Daniela best character, 11/10, la mejor de todas, I don't care if she's a harbinger of the end times or whatever, she's still my bestie

Not weird at all! I'm super glad that you found rep in my IF. She's a great sister (and might even be your favorite sibling, haha.)