Group leader and group caregiver. He helps keep everyone organized, in-line, and getting to places on-time, and that translates to the regressors as well.
The most emotionally in-touch of the group. Everyone else has a level of difficulty expressing or recognizing how they feel, so Jinu tends to be the best at consoling or comforting.
Caregiver burnout. Because he's the most emotionally available, he also bares the brunt of the weight of the group's feelings. There are some days where he's exhausted and just... can't.
Caregiving helps him feel like he's "making up" for abandoning his family, in a way. He feels an obligation to do it, but it also provides a bit of comfort for himself.
"No, hey- get that out of your mouth. We don't eat that."
"Please just eat the vegetables, we're in public. Please, I beg."
The tiger and the bird are his cg sidekicks
Baby
Caregiver-leaning flip. Yes his name is ironic, yes people have relentlessly pointed it out, he knows.
Doesn't quite have the same amount of tact as Jinu. His ability to comfort begins and ends at stiff, silent hugs, pats on the shoulder, or sitting next to the person with a sympathetic/constipated look on his face.
He means well, he feels bad you're upset, but has no idea how to convey that.
However, he has figured out a loophole! Gift-giving is significantly easier, so he brings snacks or stuffed animals or anything else he thinks kids are supposed to like. Bam, job done.
The infantilizing persona he plays has (much to his embarrassment) played into his actual regression more than once, and he's very annoyed by that. The hot sauce game? Bottle in his hands, sitting in a high chair, wearing soft, giant clothes? I mean come on, how could they expect him to stay big like that?
(he was the only one to regress during that entire gameshow. he gets teased about it)
Little age is 4, no higher no lower. He usually just follows around the nearest adult chewing on his sleeve or something. Not super talkative, and has a very judgemental stare.
Blankie baby
Abby
I've seen in a couple places the headcanon that Gwi-ma can either make his demons feel too much (like Jinu) or almost nothing depending on what would hurt them the most, so I'm gonna role with that premise here.
Abby would usually be a very feeling, expressive person, but has most of what he feels repressed by Gwi-ma so he can be the most effective idol possible. But occasionally, those repressed emotions will come through anyway or be forced on him as a punishment, and this is generally what leads to him regressing. He becomes overwhelmed by everything he doesn't usually feel all at once, and his headspace and ability to cope with it all nose-dives into the floor.
Spends most of his time regressed either inconsolable or exhausted. Lots of nap time and soothing.
Very very rarely the emotions that come through will be positive, and then he's a pretty normal, happy kid. He becomes energetic and talkative, and tries to get the others to play tag, hide and seek, and other active games with him.
Has one favourite stuffed animal from a fan meet, it's a floppy dog, and he brings it around everywhere.
Age range 8-12 or 2-3, with no in-between. The more difficult the emotions, the more likely he is to be younger.
Romance
Babiiii little babi
I don't know why but he has itty bitty vibes to me. Age range 1-2.
Regresses second-most of the whole group.
His favourite caregiver to be around is Baby, and he is extremely clingy. As in, cries if left alone for even a moment clingy.
Abandonment issues
Despite having a young regression age, he's not a huge fan of pacis (that's Baby's thing) and generally insists on drinking bottles by himself. He just needs to be leaning against or on top of someone and he'll be content.
Playing with his hair is the fastest way to get him to sleep.
He also makes frequent lullaby requests (tugging on shirt and making vague melodic humming sounds until Jinu or whoever gets the hint), even if he isn't sleepy. He just likes to hear them.
Doesn't say too many words, but is very vocal. Lots of humming, popping sounds, or little noises.
Babysitter, and a very sweet one, but doesn't feel confident enough to call himself a proper caregiver.
Lots of nicknames when he's in charge.
It is impossible for him to regress if someone else is small around him.
Mystery
Regresses the most often of the group. Surprise!
His biggest tell is in his eyes. He gets a very wide, doe-eyed look about him when he's regressed. His bangs make that (intentionally) easy to hide so
Second biggest tell is fidgeting and holding objects like they're precious stones, very gently and carefully, and feeling them for the texture.
3-6 age range
Really ought to have a chewie or a pacifier or literally anything to stop him from chewing on his nails and fingers, but he absolutely refuses to use one.
Two modes: narrates everything going on around him and won't stop talking or doesn't make a single sound.
Baby sign
Doesn't take any form of perceived rejection very well. Shrinks under scrutiny or even a slightly unpleasant look.
His regression triggers are very small, unassuming things like being overwhelmed at fan meets, being given something that makes him feel like a kid, the activities on game shows (surprisingly not on Play Games with Us), etc. None of the Saja boys know what will trigger it or when, sometimes Mystery just pokes them on the shoulder to let them know.
Doesn't remember 90% of what he does while regressed. Just wakes up slightly more rested than usual with vague memories of calm.
Biggest negative trigger is being overwhelmed. I get the feeling his voices would be quite loud, so very busy, loud human world places would overlap in a bad way.
Silent, protective older brother babysitter. Firm comforting hand on the shoulder to ground them, pretty no-nonsense.
I love forced agere where the little acts out only to be met with an ever patient, gentle and immovable force.
Like you've been kidnapped, and you have tried everything to escape but it soon becomes clear that this is impossible. So you just become angry instead, fighting your captor at every turn. You scream. You kick and hit. You try to break things. You throw your food.
And every single time, your captor just picks you up and places you in the same damn corner, neutral face, neutral voice, and says "five minutes."
Of course, you don't stay in one place. You run only to be picked up and placed back in the corner, the timer restarting, "five minutes." And again and again and again. Until you've exhausted yourself. Meanwhile, your captor has not shown an inkling of anger or impatience. They could do this all day.
You're a wreck, sitting slumped in the corner, face red and blotchy, hardly keeping your eyes open, and they haven't even done anything to you.
You almost want them to finally lose their patience, to shout at you, to hurt you, so that you can be proved correct. So that you can tell yourself they really are cruel and terrible and you were right to fight them all along. It does not make sense to you that someone would keep you hostage to take care of you. This gentleness is foreign to you. It has to be fake.
Finally, you've stayed in the corner for the full five minutes. They walk over to you, and kneel down.
"Do you know why I had to put you in the corner?" They ask.
You do not respond, but they don't mind.
"I had to put you in the corner because you kicked me. We must use gentle hands in this house. Do you understand?"
You nod faintly.
"I would like you to say sorry now."
"S'rry." You mumble, but it's enough.
"Good girl! Thank you, sweetheart. Let's go and have our lunch now, hm?"
A caregiver who understands you're only little and you will need time to adjust, of course. You're only misbehaving because you are lost and confused. You've been lacking structure and guidance for so long. They can see the little one underneath all the bravado, the one begging to be loved.
----
This form of punishment just makes more sense to me. Because eventually, you would learn that you can never win. That caregiver will never lose their patience or give up on you, no matter how badly you behave. Acting out is just pointless.
I see a lot of "Simon meeting Grace and Rocky, and immediately body slams Grace to the floor". I see a lot of "Simon meeting Grace and Rocky and believing that he'd dead/Grace is an angel". There's nothing wrong with either option, both are equally fun to play around with.
But you know what I want to see?
Simon behaving.
Simon cooperating, following every 'command' (aka, Grace asking Simon to let them help). Simon staying in the med bay. Letting Armando patch his wounds. Answering Grace and Rocky's questions even if it makes him uncomfortable. Simon being willing to do anything they ask, no matter how scared or confused he is.
Bonus points if they pull him from the SM-13 and keep it on board. They actually just want to study it, but Simon is fully convinced that it's an unspoken threat. 'Behave, or we'll put you back.'
Give me a Simon who spent the last days of his 'life' fighting those who were giving him orders. Days battling, days growling and snarling and snapping at anything that got too close. Give me a Simon who's tired. Who just wants to be left alone, but who suddenly has this guy asking him all kinds of uncomfortable questions about what happened to him. Who's terrified of Rocky, but lets the alien watch him sleep because heck, he wouldn't trust himself either.
Give me a broken abused shelter dog of a man, who bows his head and follows the one holding the leash because he's too exhausted to fight a losing battle anymore. A Simon who doesn't realize that Grace isn't holding any leash. Give me a Simon who, despite Grace's best efforts, responds to any and all requests with a meek "Yes, Sir." because he doesn't want to know what these strangers will do to him if he doesn't address them with proper respect.
He doesn't want to go back. He never wants to go back. And he'll do whatever these strangers want to ensure they never have a reason to punish him. The first time he breaks, the first time he says no to someone, Simon is screaming, crying, tucking himself into a corner as tightly as he can, all while begging Grace and Rocky not to send him back. And that's when Grace realizes.
The fastest way to accomplish The Project is to cease being afraid of The Project. The Project cannot maim you. The Project cannot kill you. The Project is more afraid of you than you are of it. It is okay if The Project turns out differently from how it was in your head, and it is okay if it has flaws. You are capable of engaging with The Project.
There are entire, textured 3D models of the cafe, speakeasy, and cave system that we use for scene layout and background setup. I can't share those with you right now, but here are some top down reference drawings of mine we've used to create those models.
(These are for the animated series and are a bit different from the layout of the maps for the comic.)
Wizards of the Coast: gnolls are brutal and violent beasts, theyâre dumb as rocks, the only thing they love more than murdering unsuspecting adventurers is eating them afterwards
Me: okay but what if some of them were, you know, chill, like they were just dudes? Theyâre still people, surely they canât all be evil as a rule, I donât like the implications of that
Wizards of the Coast: no they LOVE murder and theyâre super evil. In fact, their god is really a demon, and all of them are also demon-possessed? They live in abandoned ruins and stuff because they canât build their own villages or create anything, all they know how to do is steal and destroy. Also donât feel bad about killing the baby ones when youâre clearing out a settlement, theyâd for sure grow up to be evil no matter what, itâs fine
Me: cool that sucks, anyway I made a gnoll, sheâs nice and her name is Sweet Pea
I love 1) having elaborate imaginary arguments, 2) creating characters out of pure spite for disappointing lore, and 3) hyenas
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