#soullkea

[cerberus-writes]

What about 'dance with me?' for Lux?

50 years late to answering this! Decided to knock this out in a quick little writing sprint, I’ll probably go back and realise it’s full of spelling / grammar errors and awkward expressions later on but for now, enjoy!

They've left the music on again. It's a habit of theirs, you've come to realise -- Lux and Mallory have never been comfortable with the silence, though the two show it differently. You've never asked either why, but you can hazard a guess: out on the field, in the dead of night, the silence is all-encompassing. You could get lost in it, if you're not careful.

The portable speaker isn’t really the best in terms of quality and the music comes out a little tinny, but it's enough to fill the silence, enough to make the four walls of the crappy motel room feel a little less hollow. You're all used to the feeling, having grown into the habit of making an emergency pit-stop for the team to catch their breath and lick their wounds, but it's nice to notice the little things sometimes. Makes you feel less burnt out.

Makes you less worried that one day, your luck's going to run out. How many times can you stitch a body back together again before it falls apart?

"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice interrupts your daze. The springs of the bed squeak.

You look up. Lux has moved from their perch at the end of the bed, where they were sitting to change a bandage on their arm. Nothing too gnarly, but they'd gotten a little too close for comfort in a previous scuffle. Your gaze turns critical -- are they still favouring that arm? Was it worse than you thought?

To your silence, they arch a brow. "You're doing it again."

"Huh?"

"Overthinking." Their expression is wry, but their voice remains low. Gentle. "You and our dear doctor both, always lost in your heads."

You blink. Register the comment. "Hey now-"

"It isn't always a bad thing." Lux is quick to raise their hands, a faux surrender, though you think they’re more amused by your defensiveness than anything. "But it's really not doing you any favours right now."

Somewhere in the background, the music's changed -- it's something a little slower, the lowest of the bass notes struggling to be picked up over the speaker. Not that it's at the forefront of your attention right now anyway; you're more distracted by the way Lux reaches out and tugs gently on your wrist instead, pulling you up.

"Dance with me instead?"

[anya-dev]

Ive followed this game for a bit, and just recently gotten around to reading chapter 4. I could go on about how amazing it was and how much I adore all the characters but I just wanna say- I LOVE the music. Like when I started the game back up I just sat there on the 'load/start game' screen and listened to the music. It almost feels criminal that I forgot how genuinely awe-inspiring it is. Its so calming, but can also be just the right amount of intense?? 10/10, could and do listen for hours

Ah this is so lovely to hear, thank you so much! I spent a lot of time trying to get the music right, so I’m really thrilled it’s additive and not distracting within the game. 

Normally I’d answer this privately but at all times I want to gush about the artist behind most of the music. Youssoupha Sidibe is an absolutely incredible Kora player from Senegal. I highly recommend the whole Sacred Sound album – I believe it’s on Spotify now. 

[lureofthegallowsgame]

//Spoilers for one of the new/introduced ros

But seriously, o m g. Not only do we get the treat of a poly with eli and warren, but possibly a 4 person poly??? You really do spoil us. my seer definitely has that much love to go around, but can the others handle it?? 👀

Including the poly route was important to me, so I’m glad everyone is excited, too. There’s one more in addition to Eli/Warren and the four-person route, and I’m excited to share that when the time comes!

Honestly, I’m starting to feel sorry for the people who have completionist runs. The series is growing in terms of variables/routes/development so replaying will be a consuming task, but I like to think it’ll be worth it in the end. :)

[the-passenger-if]

I found your wip yesterday and decided to try it out. Honestly? The best decision I ever made. I literally stayed up the entire night reading it, by the time I finished it the sun was coming up through my window. Roach is an absolute gremlin, a literal rat and they have my whole heart for it (one comment tho, Ive been reading your old blog posts and they've never called my newman 'pet' in game?? Is that something they say based on certain stats? Or just on the blog. Curious.)Jonny lives in my mind rent free too tbh hes such a cute dork??? And the end of the demo had me in TEARS,, when (spoilers for chap 5 end) roach came up to newman like 'I thought.. I thought you..' I was deadass crying I was like

!!CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT LOOK AT HIM CARING!!

But anyways just wanted to share my newfound love for this game. Its easily one of my new favorites and I cannot wait to see more from you!!

Ha thanks, Soulkea :)

 I know that I changed some stuff, but I think Roach only calls you ‘pet’ if you 1) are in a romantic relationship with them, and 2) aren’t treating them as if they were a lesser creature/trying to police what they do.

[cerberus-writes]

Whats the ros favorite weather?? On that same subject, how would they each spend their days off? I demand answers wise one

Ooooh love this !!

Mal is fond of weather on the warmer side  — suns out guns out, as they say, and is a typically outdoorsy person? Spends his free time on long walks with his dog, likes to go hiking (which is....ngl a risky activity considering monsters LMAO), but also has days where he just lies on the sofa and eats ice cream and watches old reruns of shows bc his legs hurt too much to move.

Raine likes a cloudy sort of day, the type with that sort of autumn briskness to the air. More of an indoorsy type than the other two, perfectly content to sit down and read a book by the window with a mug of hot chocolate. Might bake or knit something in their free time. Is undeniably better with the latter, their cookies tend to be somewhat hit or miss if left to their own devices.

Lux goes absolutely wild for a thunderstorm. If stuck indoors, will sit at the window and watch the rain outside. Might pester someone to play board games with them because they get restless, or might decide to run around in the rain. Depending on whether they’ve got the day after free as well bc the transformation is going to leave them super sore, miiight decide to vanish into the nearby river to annoy the local fauna.

[cerberus-writes]

Honestly the fact the ros where dnd ocs is just the funniest thing to me, but it has me even more excited to meet them! I don't know how much you wanna give away right now, but if you wanna, could we get their names? I can't wait for them all to own my whole heart, as im sure they will ( honestly they already have)

me, gathering my dnd ocs into my arms before promptly yeeting them into hell: be free, my gremlins, There are three ROs, two of which can have their gender decided by the player! I do have character blurbs typed up, so I’m happy to share!! Originally I had all three variable, but as I properly started planning in the...five days that passed between my impulsive decision to announce this & now, it’s down to two shkjdhf RO blurbs under the cut!

Mallory (he/him, trans male). One of the Vanguard's deadliest hunters, or so his reputation goes. He certainly doesn't look it, to the untrained eye — he’s always dressed in oversized and brightly coloured sweaters, always handing out snacks to coworkers, his voice too cheery, too playful for someone who's in this deep. You've heard the rumors, though. You know what those hands can do; you've heard the speculation of what happened to his last team. Raine (gender/pronouns set by player). The Vanguard's newest doctor. That being said, they've been practicing as a healer for some years now — it's just that not many want to work with the Vanguard's hunters. It's tough work, constantly patching up people whose entire job seems to involve getting themselves all torn up. Whatever good cheer Mallory possesses seems to have been drained completely from their older sibling; Raine is always polite, always willing to help, but you don't recall having seen them laugh in quite some time. Lux (gender/pronouns set by player). A fellow field agent that you occasionally work with. Admittedly, Lux specialises in protection; you, not so much. They're bold, brash, and terrifyingly fearless. You've seen them go out of their way to take down beasts thrice their size without flinching, even though you both know they're not supposed to. The Vanguard likes to keep a tight rein on those with such persuasive abilities — most, understandably, try to avoid the birdcage of such agencies such as this. No one really wants to be used as a mouthpiece for an organisation they don't believe in.

[lureofthegallowsgame]

Ive read a 𝘭𝘰𝘵 of interactive fiction, but this is a demo I keep coming back to. When I first found it I was like??? How can it be so good??? I literally fell in love with all 3 ros and thats NEVER happened. I always hyper fixate on 1-MAYBE 2. But never all of them. (Def looking forward to the poly, when I was scrolling through the asks and saw it as a future option I about SCREAMED) Not only good characters, but also good story building?? As a fellow lore whore I love seeing authors (1/?)

I was so excited to get these messages! It’s always incredible to me that people like the demo enough to replay it and support the blog, even two years in the making when content is sporadic, because I love this little world. Sharing it with you guys is just as rewarding as writing it! Which is why the lore asks make me so happy.

Thank you for the incredibly sweet asks (the ones you sent later are my favorite, too) and for sharing your experience with me. I love seeing how you guys react! Seeing what certain scenes, asks, or even ROs you have feelings about is honestly very inspiring. :)

As for Eli, I also have a soft spot for them. Definitely an underrated RO but they get plenty of love in the Discord. Even if they aren’t particularly receptive to it. <3

[cerberus-writes]

Lux can tackle me ANY day tbh. Also your love for sharp teef is very valid, theyre just 💕💖💞❤💞💕💖💕

Question tho: has there ever been incidents or mishaps with mals sharp tail? I can just imagine him getting a little too excited and accidentally cutting something with it or like getting it stuck in a desk

I’m a simple person, I see sharp teeth and I go 😍 Oh, way too many times. He’s gotten more careful over the years, but it’s absolutely a hazard when he gets too excited about something, and Raine’s learnt to keep paperwork out of Mal’s way when that happens! Within the city, or when he knows he’s going to be in a busy place with too many people, he tends to wear what is essentially a lightweight glove / sheath over the bladed part, just so he doesn’t accidentally hurt anyone. Most chimaeras descended from demons (aka Mallory and Raine, or even the mc if you so choose!) have sharper horns and tails than their elemental counterparts! Most of them choose to blunt the tips to prevent accidental injury to themselves or anyone around them, and it’s a painless procedure at the ends of the horns / blades. Mal just finds it too useful on the field to get rid of it, so he’d rather take the risk!