ᴘʀᴏɴᴏᴜɴꜱ‣ They/Them
ʙᴜɪʟᴅ‣ 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳
ꜱɪɢɴ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ‣ Yes (it helps when they go nonverbal, + talking with 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡)
ꜰᴏʀᴍᴇʀ ᴊᴏʙ‣ Vehicle Technician
ᴏʀɪɢɪɴ‣ 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺, they left everything behind, including their papa
𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 has had top surgery (𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵) but hasn't had HRT
They bleach their hair (its natural colour is a rich dark brown; they started bleaching it after they fled their colony)
𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 always tries to treat 𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐓 with respect & autonomy… even when they disagree with her choices (she's a fully sentient, maybe even sapient, being in their eyes)
They set their room's “viewing screen” to 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦, they also decorated their room with souvenirs & knickknacks
𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 has a lot of scars, both from basic training at their home colony (which they sucked at) & their time on the run (they also have an abdominal scar from when their appendix was removed)
They're touch-averse, especially with strangers (+ incoming contact is also much worse for them)
“𝐖𝐢𝐳” is a nickname their papa gave them; 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 uses it whenever they're interacting with people they don't know
Despite being a pacifist, they accidentally killed a raider during the 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙏𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 rescue (thinking about it makes them feel sick… they fled their mandatory military service specifically because they DIDN'T want to hurt anyone)
So far 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 has enjoyed being a part of the 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 crew; they get along with everyone to varying degrees (𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡 still grinds their nerves) but are closest with 𝐙𝐞𝐫𝐨 & 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧
They're a fairly timid person, which makes everything they've done to protect 𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐓 extremely out of character (but she's worth every ounce of discomfort they experience)
𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 decided to gather the entire 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 crew & inform them about 𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐓'𝐬 existence (+ telling them all their real name)
…
𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 means “𝐽𝑜𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑠” (English)
𝐋𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 means “𝐿𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟” (Greek)
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𝐈𝐅: @valiant-if
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Picrew used:
🌟 Hi! I made this for my friends to enjoy. Be sure to check out the different colors so you don't miss any options, and beware of blood! ✧(
Finally, Chapter 1 of the demo is complete, and now I release it all to you!
In this first chapter, you'll get to:
establish some initial traits of your main character through a character creator
experience your first run-in with the crew of the SS Valiant and decide how you react to it
learn a little bit about your dynamic with the AI riding shotgun in your head
find a solution to a teensy little problem you encounter
and learn a little bit about the crew you'll be with for the foreseeable future
A couple of things before you get reading, starting with content warnings!
First of all, I don't have the chapter headings with the content warnings set up the way I want them yet. That being said, the only content warning(s) for the first chapter is/are as follows! (This list is subject to be updated if anyone brings anything to my attention that I might have overlooked.)
Non-graphic violence
Secondly!
Please note that this is a work-in-progress which I'm working on completely solo. I've done my absolute best to release a clean and working draft for all of you, but I'm not perfect. If you notice any bugs, typos, mispellings, or anything generally weird, feel free to send me an ask or a message here on Tumblr. (Comments on Itch are disabled because it's very difficult for me to manage messages on multiple platforms, so I'm secluding them here for now.)
In the same vein, I try my best to do my research, be inclusive, and appropriately represent people in my works, but I make mistakes as everyone does. Don't hesitate to let me know if you find something inadvertently offensive or misrepresentative and I'll do my best to make changes!
Upcoming & Planned Content
In the next chapter, you'll:
establish some back-story options for your character
learn more about how your character ended up where they are now
gain some more insight into to the crew you've found yourself with
potentially get into and out of trouble on a small mining colony
officially or unofficially join a mercenary crew
Other Planned Features
These features may come with the next update or at some point in the future that has not yet been determined.
additional character creation options
hard-of-hearing and non-verbal options
dedicated chapter heading pages with a list of content warnings
a journal with discovered codex entries and relationship overviews
the option to change your pronouns at any time from the settings menu
a list of preset characters created by you, the community
Sometimes Anton just lingers too long in my head and i have to restrain a goofy smile during work or people will ask questions
I just love imagining cute cuddles and hugs with him, twirling my hair and trying not to smile🥰
My mc is super clingy in a relationship, they're just touch starved and love physical contact with Anton but they're stupid shy while doing it
Anton's thoughts? What about the other Ros what's their reactions to this Mc
I really love this if game the characters and plot is sooooo goooood💖💜
hi, anon! Thanks for waiting so patiently for me to answer this ask!
I'm so glad you like Anton, and I can understand why. Tbh, one of the first things that comes to mind whenever I think of his character concept is that dude probably gives amazing hugs. 😊
Anton is very much a caretaker type of person, so he pairs well with this type of MC. In a relationship, he's comfortable letting MC set the pace for interaction and will kind of go with the flow with their needs. There would always be a sliver of worry in the back of his mind as to whether or not trauma influenced how the MC expresses themself in a relationship—he knows more than a few people for whom that's the case—but he would never ask outright.
For Sonia, it depends on how deep their relationship is. She's not super comfortable with too much physical contact or a clingy person unless she has known them for a long time. Early in a relationship, she might unintentionally wall herself off from a clingy and/or super physical MC. Later in a relationship, there would already be boundaries and expectations set out between her and the MC, at her insistence if not their own. Once she's used to it, she's pretty comfortable with it. As for the shyness factor, she doesn't approach shy or bold MCs much differently.
Zero tends to also be on the clingy and physical side herself, so she would have no issues with a clingy MC. She would find the shyness very adorable, and it would be very difficult for her not to tease the MC about it.
Path's reaction to a very physical and cuddly MC entirely depends on the context and manner of the physical touch. Early in a relationship, he sometimes doesn't mind cuddling, but he feels a little weird about it when things are too emotional. He's in the top three least compatible with a clingy MC because he doesn't know how to deal with it and it can make him a little uncomfortable. He finds the shyness funny, and, unlike Zero, will make no attempts not to tease the MC about it. Deep into a relationship, MC would have already peeled back his layers and discovered the reasons for all his weird quirks when it comes to relationships, so theoretically boundaries have already been discussed and set so that everyone is comfortable.
Kiran is oblivious about the romantic implications of a shy, clingy, and touchy MC until a straightforward conversation has been had about it. She's extremely adaptable, though, so once things are out in the open, they are comfortable with this type of MC but don't necessarily have any strong feelings for or against their type of behaviors.
Yulia is one of the other top three contenders for incompatibility with a clingy MC, but as long as any clingy behavior doesn't come between her and her work she can generally roll with it. She loves general physical touch with a partner and would find a lot of pluses in that. As far as the shyness, she doesn't have strong feelings about it one way or the other. Some people are just shy and she doesn't have much more of an opinion about it beyond that.
Hex pairs well with a clingy and cuddly MC for many of the same reasons as Anton. The main difference is that Hex is a go-with-the-flow kind of person in general, including in how he approaches relationships, so he adjusts to different types of partners extremely well. He's a little prone to teasing a shy MC, but only in a flirtatious manner and not with the intent of embarrassing them in front of other people.
A2 is the third in the top three least compatible with a clingy MC, at least early in a relationship. Once she's close with them, she actually loves it. The cuddly physical touch is fine with her at any stage, but only in private; she abhors public displays of affection. She doesn't understand a shy MC—it seems childish to her—but she wouldn't call attention to it or put them down for it.
There aren't that many of you yet, but welcome! I've decided to keep a semi-regular update schedule for this project. I probably won't update quite as often as I do with my main project, Ninelives, but I want to keep in touch enough about this one that people aren't left wondering.
And, aside from the intro, this is really the first post on this blog! I wanted to talk a little bit more about this project besides what's covered in the intro post.
This is very important, so I moved this to the top! Valiant will have its comedy and its light-hearted moments, but it will also be dealing with a lot of dark and heavy subjects. My goal is to be very diligent about the content warnings, with the option to see them at the beginning of each chapter, so that readers can easily avoid potentially triggering content. The floor is always open to send me feedback about content that needs a proper warning if it doesn't already exist. Please do not be afraid to approach me about this!
Also, please feel free to send me asks about the project! Since this is an 18+ project, nsfw asks are okay, but I reserve the right to not answer any asks I am not comfortable with.
I want to touch on why I consider it "episodic." At the end of the day, Valiant does have an overarching plot, but the general flow of the story is a little more relaxed, akin to watching a tv series, for example. The characters interactions will also be slightly inspired by RPGs like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Divinity: Original Sin II, Baldur's Gate 3, etc. There will be smaller ventures and scenes that mostly serve to advance character relationships and stories. These will happen between (and occasionally during) the larger story beats.
I also want to talk a bit about how character relationships will work. My plan is for you to be able to explore friendship/rivalry routes. Unlike my main project (where I really only focus on positive relationship progression), you may not get along with or even like some of the characters in the story. Some of these characters might do things that you consider reprehensible or unforgiveable, so let this serve as your warning that it might not be wise to get too attached too early if this is a problem for you.
Character relationships are a huge focus, but romance is entirely optional. Personal character stories won't be locked behind romantic interactions—you'll be able to pursue them with platonic friendship/rivalry as well.
For those who are interested in the romantic interactions, let it be known that there are quite a few possible poly routes. FWB is also something that can be pursued. My plan is to have several different initiation points throughout the story, which will inevitably vary from character to character, so you might be able to initiate something quickly or have a slow-burn.
Because of the number of characters and the planned size of the overarching plot, this is an ambitious work. It will probably take a long time to complete, but the goal is to have a large number of variables for high replayability.
The project will be in Twine, in case I didn't yet mention that.
So when will the demo be available? I don't want to make a promises on an exact date. What I can tell you is that I've already been working on the prologue, which explores 4 major introductory routes to the story. The total word count right now is at about 7k words (working on just one route), which is likely to more than quadruple by the time the prologue is done.
I already have a very basic Twine layout, using a public template built by another author. I've made some minor changes, but the layout is functional and won't be a major focus for a long time, which means you'll see the writing long before you'll see any UI changes. (As a bonus, this particular template is mobile friendly, so you'll be able to enjoy Valiant on mobile when the time comes.)
As is my modus operandi, editing and revision will be done as I go. Unlike with my main project, however, this project is being built from a solid and detailed project outline, so it is less likely to undergo any major rewrites.
I think that's about all I have to cover for the time being, but, again, feel free to send me any asks about this project, whether you want to know more about a particular character, more about the mechanics of the game, more about the universe, etc. I'm more than open to talking about it!
