#lovingdecaysask

[linglyum]

!! SPOILERS FOR LOVING DECAYS BELOW THE CUT !! 

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Hello hello! This is my second ask, I’m just so curious about the game. I hope you don’t mind the amount of questions, please feel free to skip over any if it’s excessive!

What I really love about Chaoxiang’s character is that he’s very nuanced. I like seeing how messy and contradictory his actions, behavior, and feelings can be, just like we are irl! Like, despite his more hidden violent and perverse side, he still feels authentically kind (in his own weird way) based on his interactions in the game, especially with Jane Avery in Ending 3. It makes me wonder how much of the gentle personality Chao displays to those around him during his normal day to day is genuine? Does he often have to put up a front when interacting with others (aside from the obvious unethical stuff haha) and is he a people’s person, or does he prefer to keep to himself? He defs has some form of a facade and tweaks some of his personality depending on the person (like when he tries to appeal to us lol), but at the same time it doesn’t feel like he’s completely apathetic underneath or faking most of his more positive interactions/feelings with us and others. That’s all the more reason why I’m curious if I’m losing chess to a dog and misreading his character. Is the dog secretly a grandmaster lmao? We also see moments of his mask slip throughout the story before he controls himself, so I also wonder what he’s like when he is being his base, most authentic self without having to think judgement or external factors. 

Relating to that, I’m really curious how he views some of the other side characters in the story, especially Geraldine (I have a huge soft spot for her) and Saira since their relationship is strained!

Is he always feeling and thinking that intensely towards our MC like shown in ending 4, but it’s suppressed and hidden? Or does he only turn into a complete freak when something triggers it first and is otherwise chill? Is there even a chill for him lmao?

What are some of the more questionable things he has done behind the MC’s back either before or after he met them that aren’t mentioned in the game? I think of him stealing our lanyard (of all things) a lot affectionately…twirling my hair giggling do not save me I am right where I want to be. 

Much love, I hope your break is going well! All of your works have been amazing, shaking in my boots with excitement to play Viricidal when I have time. Looking forward to seeing your future projects/plans come to fruition and succeed! (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)‪‪❤︎‬

THANK YOU!! I really appreciate your kind words 🩷

How genuine is Chao's personality and kindness in his day-to-day life?

It's actually quite genuine! In normal scenarios, Chao's naturally a passionate but calm person. He's introverted, and many would consider him private.

However, he's still a confident man and can be chatty with others. Not the type to slink away in social settings most of the time, and he is eager to help.

Chao's day-to-day kindness is genuine and something that's just part of his personality, but it definitely has had its clashes and exceptions when mixed with his morbid side.

This complicated combination of cruelty and kindness is exactly what you saw in Ending 3. You read his character correctly!

What does Chao think of the other characters?

Chao respects Geraldine. He doesn't know how to handle the attention from her sometimes, but he has a soft spot for her as well.

Chao is cautious of Saira. He is curious about them and wonders about their breaking point, considering their nonchalance. There is gratitude for keeping what they saw to themselves, though (as far as he knows).

Does Chao always think that intensely of MC, like in Ending 4?

Yeah, it's just suppressed. Consider also the adrenaline and sexual arousal in Ending 4.

He's a chill person in general, but also a very intense one deep down. Depends on how you see it!

What are other questionable things Chao did behind MC's back?

Keeping this a secret for future content ;)

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This was a fun ask to think about, and I really appreciate the amount of thought you put into my characters! Thank you again for your kind wishes, and I hope you enjoy VRCD too!

[linglyum]

Heeey!! I really love you vns especially Loving Decays (it was the one that introduced me to ur works). Enjoyed the details and all—I especially like how really it felt. I can just feel the love put into this😭😭

But I have some questions though it's alright if you don't answer if it's like spoilers for future stuff or something:

(Slight spoilers)

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What was Chao's childhood like? Ik he mentioned his parents (or parent?) once, that they chat but that's about it. It makes one wonder how or why Chao became like that🤔

What was the mistake Chao did that let Jane learn about the MC? Was it similar to what happened to Saira?

Lastly, just how long has Chao been stalking us? I feel like it's at least a year or some since he saw us when we were in high school.

If you don't want to answer any (I understand why), can we have an alphabet for the pink boi (SFW or NSFW, Idc what)

That's about it and again, I love this game so much. It's such a rare find—what I rlly love was the dialogues between Chao and the MC. Yk how he mentioned that he doesn't like blood then he's suddenly interested in MC's job😭😭😭 I was like wtf?? And there are other small things too and just damn..

It also doesn't help that I have a working story with an MC who's also an embalmer.

Anyways I hope you the best of luck to your future and current vns. I'll be patiently waiting for more Viricidal content. But remember to take breaks too!❤️‍🩹 Burnout is horrible😔

Thank you so much!! ♡♡

⚠️ spoiler warning

What was Chao's childhood like?

I'm keeping this answer for now, as I'm still polishing it and considering revealing it in possible future LD content!

What was the mistake Chao did that made Jane know about MC?

Oooh I was waiting for someone to ask this!!

This is quite sloppy of Chao, but I imagine it to be a wrongfully sent message or a slip of the tongue during a conversation. Keeping it vague for now as well, just in case I want to show it in future content ;)

How long has Chao been stalking MC?

Around a few months!

No, he didn't see you at highschool; He first saw you during your highschool reunion with Owen, which was a few months before the events of the game.

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YESSSS it always makes me happy to hear when people notice the details in my games!! It means a lot to me so thank you again, and I wish you luck on your story as well (embalmer MCs for the win) 🩷🩷

And don't worry, I'm very interested in making an SFW/NSFW alphabet for Chao! I have two other asks in my inbox about it, but I haven't answered them since I'm not finished yet </3

[linglyum]

Hi!!! I absolutely adore your work on loving decays, your characterizations for both Chao and Owen but especially MC are amazing, I reallg like how naturally Chao and MC's conversations flow because they're both such!!!! Interesting!!!! And equally strange!!!!! People!!!! Well maybe Chao is a little stranger but I digress; anyways, I asked this on twitter as well because I wasn't aware of your tumblr then but !! What was your inspiration for Loving Decay? Preservation as a symbol for love is quite fascinating and I'd argue that it's a really interesting and refreshing contrast from the cannibalism metaphor. Also, I wonder what drew Chao to botany specifically instead of say, preserving living creatures like insects or animals or even becoming a mortician himself? And tangentially I wonder what his stance on kids would be, like would he be interested in observing how his and mcs traits combine and manifest in a different human being altogether? I don't know much about plants but I was thinking in line of like, grafting plants or is horticulture(?) Not in his jurisdiction

Also I found it quite tragic how Jane acknowledged her guardian figure role in Chao's life (the mother's instinct dialogue) and yet Owen I presume knew nothing about him :( it feels like neither Owen nor Chao got to get a proper closure regarding Jane....

Sorry for such a long ask😔 I hope ur having a good break!!!!!

Thank you so much, you're too kind! 😭🩷

⚠️ spoiler warning for the end of this ask and my answer (after "----")

What was my inspiration for Loving Decays?

Concept: It was a mix of lots of things! I played around with many combinations of different but not-so-different professions. Life and death was also a concept I wanted to explore. From that, I chose the botanical curator x mortician pair.

Visuals: Pinterest, but especially the juxtaposition between a cold surgical aesthetic and a soft flowery one.

I also really like games with distinct visual feels, like Obscura, Reanimated Heart, Therapy with Dr. Albert Krueger, to name some.

Writing, Coding, Music: I wanted LD to have a consistent, hard-hitting feel where every scene and line matters, so movies/video media in general was an inspiration.

My writing style is also inspired by Disco Elysium, albeit less abstract. I like that balance between grounded and colorful.

Why botany specifically?

From my perspective as a developer, the visuals of plants inspired me the most, and I'm slightly more familiar with flora than fauna.

From Chao's perspective, it is simply what he likes. He enjoys the calm of plants, and the curiousness of studying something that can't tell you anything about itself.

What is his stance on his children?

Check out this and this! And yes, he'll be interested in observing how his and MC's traits would combine, if the child is biologically theirs.

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I would say that Jane was more of a complicated mentor figure than a guardian figure if we're talking about semantics here, but I agree that that line can be blurred in many situations!

All three of them are tragic in their own ways, and neither Chao nor Owen got proper closures in the traditional sense.

Thank you so much for your ask! Really enjoyed answering this <3

[linglyum]

Hi Ling, hope you're doing okay! 🥹💗

I was really wondering how would Chao be as a father? Would he want kids or adopt?

Will he give the love, care and support a child needs? Or would he just not want kids?

Hello, you too!

It would take a lot of mental and relationship stuff to happen before Chao would want kids, but if he and MC are secure enough, he'll be willing to have kids. If MC doesn't, then he doesn't mind either.

Both having a biological child and adoption are fine by him.

He'd try his best to be a loving father! Though how true it can be depends on many things. For details on how he'd be to his children, you can see this post.

Thank you! <33

[linglyum]

HiiI! I absolutely loved Loving Decays. Story was so complex and emotional, it was completely different from any other visual novel I’ve played. Your art, the plot, and the character writing are amazing. Characters felt so detailed, not black nor white, so alive and they were flawed in a beautiful and complex way that it was hard to justify their actions but it was hard not to sympathize them either, even the mc was written with such layers.

After i got all the ending I have a few questions about Owen's arc, i'd be really happy if you could share your thoughts on this <3 :

Owen repeatedly says that he hates mc but it really felt like he want to convince himself? He usually seems so reserved but in that scene all his emotions just burst out. Maybe he did develop real feelings for mc over time and when she confessed she couldn't help him with his mother, it destroyed him. It felt like he had deep confliciting feelings about mc and his mother. I wonder if he wanted to believe his mother hated him just to make her death and his absence in her final moments easier to bear? And maybe at the ending 3 he snapped not just because of his mother, but because the only person he trusted and had feelings for betrayed him, choosing mother's murderer side? His mother had twisted way to show her hate (love) and i think Owen adopted it too. Maybe repeating "I hate you" was his way of coping that pain deep inside,  leading him to want to destroy her and bury his feelings with her forever?

I know there won't be a continuation for Owen's story which makes me a little sad but i guess that is exactly how it's supposed to be. It leaves the story painfully beautiful and complete... Thank you so much for this experience!

Thank you so much; I really appreciate it!! :)

⚠️spoiler warning for LD ⚠️

About Owen's reaction in Ending 3

You're correct! Especially about him wanting to believe his mother hated him just to make her death easier. I've been waiting for someone to ask about it here.

That's why, if you choose to forgive Owen, and Chao says that Jane loved him, he ends up extremely agitated.

It completely ripped apart the wound he had tried to close since childhood by thinking that his mother simply didn't love him. It made things much easier to understand and push away.

I have my own answer on whether what Chao said was the truth, but I would rather keep it open to player interpretations. It's a meaningful exercise to see how you perceive Chao's, Owen's, Jane's, and MC's characters.

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About Owen's "I hate you."

And, yes, of course. He also snapped because of his friend's betrayal. Whether Owen had a possible romantic interest in MC is up to player headcanon, but he did have genuine care for MC.

His finally being hateful, something Jane doubted he could truly be, was also like a final nod to how he's finally reflecting his mother.

When he chokes MC, the censor on his face turned to Jane's, too! A small detail that many miss ;)

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I hope to one day be able to show more of Owen's past, or other fates he could've had, too. If it comes true, I hope you'll stick around to see it!

Thank you for your ask and support <3 Always happy to see Owen fans.

[linglyum]

(This is a resend, I had some small changes I needed to make. Please forgive me! Ignore the first attempt!)

Hello! I am a really big fan of Loving Decays (I even have an AU for my oc for it) and I've played the game and all it's endings so many times that every single ending and dialogue is engraved in my head (💔) I love this game so much and it's actually my most favourite Visual Novel that I have EVER played. I'm usually a very shy and anxious person so I distance myself from anything social online but I gathered enough courage to send you this question. :)

SPOILERS!

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In E3 (Was it? I keep mixing the endings up sometimes) we get a scene with a dying Jane and Chao in the hospital, Jane pokes at Chao with "Scared I'll kill that babe of yours?" And Chao reacts quite negatively to it.

Hypothetically as a theory, what if Jane made sure that before she died, there was already a hitman secretly hired by her to kill MC? And maybe in the short time after Jane dies, that hitman has already finished the job? How would Chao and Owen react? Would Owen be the one that would uncover the mystery of Jane and MCs death and since Chao wouldn't know what happened either (The hitman was SECRETLY hired), they would both discover it?

So basically: What if MC was killed by Janes hitman, basically Jane dragging MC down with her? What would Chao and Owen do?

I told my friends about this visual novel and even they love Chao and the game itself ALOT! Thank you for gracing us with this masterpiece!

LOVE FROM SAUDI ARABIA!! <3 🇸🇦

HELLOOO thank you so much! It's always an honor to hear when LD is someone's favorite (ㅅ´ ˘ `) I really appreciate it!

⚠️spoiler warning for LD ⚠️

What if Jane sent someone to kill MC?

Yes, the hospital flashback was in Ending 3!

Chao would go crazy.

He'd connect the dots fast enough regarding who did it, and be crushed with guilt for everything that had happened. Everything he did would now be a waste, only mere hours away from fulfilling his first official meeting with MC, too, since the time frame between Jane's death and their meeting isn't even 24 hours apart.

The guilt will come from Jane's death, MC's death, and his feeling like he failed his plan, and deep down, to Owen, as well.

Despite not yet knowing MC much during this stage, it is exactly that unexplored possibility that will haunt him too.

As for Owen, he'd be less aware at first.

It would be a double blow. Losing his mother, and now his old friend, who's supposed to be handling her funeral. (He'd know, since Chao has probably sent the letter to the funeral home in Jane's name before discovering about MC's death).

When Owen starts overthinking about the coincidence and the bad feeling about the two deaths, that's when he'll start being vigilant.

If he asks around the funeral home, Ash can tell him about MC's previously planned meeting with a certain curator.

And when Owen searches for and recognizes that man's face, let's just say it would lead to an extremely destructive turn of events for both of them. One I'd like to leave to your imagination for now.

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Thank you for your kind words and for sharing LD with your friends! Love from the other side of Asia <3

[linglyum]

i know ur busy working on viricidal (i cant wait btw) but earlier today i also had the thought to ask if, if chao ever had children, would he treat them in a similar or more controlling manner to his partner/the mc? would he treat them differently? would he even HAVE a relationship with his children at all, if he had kids? would his relationship with his kids change his relationship with his partner/mc at all? if so, how?

What would Chao be like with his children?

I'll answer this question within the framework of the different circumstances in which Chao can have children with MC, and the different consequences they carry:

⚠️ Spoiler warning for LD! ⚠️

If MC doesn't know Chao's real side

Chao prefers the security of marriage before having kids, and he would rather not marry if he still feels like MC doesn't know his real side yet.

But things can always happen, like (temporary) contentment, an overeager MC, a Chao who would rather run away from his guilt, etc. They're flawed and human, after all.

Let's say they do marry and have children, and MC still doesn't know about what Chao did at all. Eventually, a repressed Chao will realize having children is a responsibility he really wasn't ready for.

He'd still try, but it would quickly devolve, as things do when someone is simply not ready to become a parent or doesn't want to become one anymore once they realize it's too much.

He can't help but feel uneasy because MC's attention is now divided, too. He would be even more possessive and insecure in his relationship.

The extent of the psychological effects this would have on Chao would be devastating, but too lengthy to explain here, soooo moving on.

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If MC knows and accepts Chao's real side

This is the prerequisite to what I'd say is the closest you can get to a normal, happy family with Chao and MC.

Chao wouldn't be a controlling father in the traditional sense, as he'd love to see his children's individuality. However, he'd be protective to a fault.

He will also never ever reveal his past activities (or maybe still-current ones, if the MC keeps enabling him) to his children.

Having children could either strengthen or weaken his relationship with MC. If both Chao and MC are content in their love, then all can be well.

But instability and obsession are also still a given in their relationship's nature, which is why I wouldn't say their relationship can't be disturbed when you add children to the equation.

And, if it's an Ending 3 and/or unresolved guilt situation on MC's end, it can easily be like Chao's aforementioned and eventual breakdown, just with them now.

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I hope this answers your question! Thank you for your ask <33

[linglyum]

What flower(s) would you associate LD characters with and why

What flowers do I associate LD characters with?

Chaoxiang: The heart's undertaker (for obvious reasons!) and the lily of the valley, for its deceivingly beautiful look and round silhouette.

Owen: Foxglove, representing healing and harm.

Jane: Oleander, representing danger and beauty.

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They're all toxic plants, and are the ones used to make the censor for Jane and Owen's faces (Images of pressed oleander and foxglove, respectively).

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Others:

Ash: Yellow poppy for optimism.

Geraldine: Lavender for calm and a classic soothing scent.

Saira: Snapdragon for secrets and resilience.