Like She Had Wings [action/urban fantasy][GxG/B/X]

[noeinan]

This looks awesome! Gotta comment so it gets added to my watched threads. ^_^

[kitsubasa]

Thank you, Daikiraikimi! : D

Hey, so if anyone's interested in giving some feedback-- I've been finishing up the design for Moth, the skeleton guy from the prior page (not his real name, but the best alias he could come up with on short notice for dealing with Art and co). I'm torn over whether I should decorate his face coverings, or leave them plain.

Anyone got a preference? Plain, rope+skull, just rope, or just skull? Thoughts would be greatly appreciated since I'm torn and I want to get the new designs finished soon so I can get back to 100% writing focus, haha.

[Gabylc]

I do like the skulls, they look a bit like a mouth and I think it's a good idea. I don't really know about the rope though...

[noeinan]

I like the third one best.

[kitsubasa]

@Daikiraikimi+Gabylc-- A belated thanks for the feedback on Moth! I also asked for opinions over on my Tumblr, and the overall verdict was for one of the ones with the skull design. I like it with the rope (for authorial/iconographical reasons) and so he's going to have design numero uno. His sprite should be coming soon, huzzah!

On a more general note: we've got some outfit changes finished up! Two changes of clothes for Art are done:

The first is an outfit she borrows off someone else, hence the move from her usual colour scheme. While the lower half isn't visible here, it's a flounce-y dress. In-verse it was purchased in the vampire mountains so it's meant to be roughly in line with Lucretia's outfit-- a slightly archaic high-fashion thing which, while clearly from the modern day, you definitely wouldn't get away with in public.

The second is curtains with a pull tied around the waist to keep them closed. How did this poor, unfortunate soul end up wearing curtains?

I'm in an expository kind of mood, so here might be a nice place to talk about (oh no!) Art as a feeemale protagonist. I know that when I'm looking around at games with lady protags, one of the things that'll interest me or turn me off right away is the handling of said character, and I also know I haven't said much about Art herself as of yet, just a bunch about the rest of the cast.

Unlike a lot of romance-type game leads, I've tried to make Art an extremely defined and individual character. The choices you make throughout LSHW don't so much decide her personality as decide which aspect of it is most pronounced in a situation. At her most basic level, Art is impulsive, adventurous and inconsiderate. She'll bluster into situations she doesn't fully understand and do whatever seems best in the moment, sometimes hurting people in the process. She tries not to look back or think too hard about her actions because she knows that there were a lot of bad decisions involved in making them, but her lack of self-reflection only feeds into more mistakes down the road. She's a very fallible woman, and a large part of LSHW's routes is Art learning how to take responsibility to stop her cycle of impulsivity continuing.

Looking past her most public traits Art in an intimate situation is a creature of uncertainty and anxiety. She's used to living large, so relating to people on a small scale can be difficult for her. This is most evident in the routes where Art romances other characters. She thinks of herself as a flashbang kind of person, and people asking to stay attached to her for longer periods of time in romantic relationships makes her self-conscious. All the faults she knows she has suddenly seem like major concerns, issues she'll be held accountable for, and the thought of that terrifies her, but never quite enough to scare her away from love. On the flipside, her attitude toward sex is very relaxed-- 'don't ask for it but don't turn it down' is probably the best summation (on that note-- I'm running with a Bioware-esque approach to sex in this game. Foreplay with fade to black, essentially. I'm no good at writing it and largely uninterested in trying to, so there you have it).

Lastly, on the off-chance anyone is wondering about it, since she's kind of... tomboyish, to say the least... Art isn't opposed to being classically feminine or anything, it just isn't something she strives to be. That whole impulsivity thing? If she doesn't feel a drive to get dressed up, she won't. And she doesn't feel that drive often. Like, if you invited her to a wedding, probably? Or if you offered to do her make-up for her, then she'd totally take you up on the offer. The other thing is that if she makes an effort herself on a whim she just starts feeling bummed out because she's got these partial dentures and this big ol' hole in her face and her hair is really ratty and Milla's gonna show her up anyway... look, it's just not a priority, and if she made it one, it wouldn't end well. Let's go punch something. : D

[kitsubasa]

It's time for mooore outfits!

First up, a couple of demon Art's alternate ensembles.

And then a few of the love interest sets!

I quite like this line up, since it highlights the differences between the main romance options available. Out of curiosity, does anyone have any preference between them so far? Among my friends who follow my work on the game, Doc and Garnet seem equally appreciated, while Milla lags behind a bit, and I wonder if that holds true here, as well. : )

[Flowers from Nowhere]

I really like your art. The characters are so distinctive!