0.10.0 Behind the Scenes and 0.11.0 Preview

Hi, perverts! My cough is lingering very unpleasantly, and I've been struggling with some pretty severe anxiety, so I'm gonna try and take it easy this week so that I'm able to keep my work on this project consistent. That means that this release will probably be pretty focused on stuff chosen by my Center of Attention patrons.

The current poll up for $5 patrons is a bit higher-level: I'm looking for feedback on how I should be setting art priorities, which scenes should get art, and what my balance of effort should be between art and writing. As a result of that chat, you may see some shifts in what ends up in releases.

Here are some thoughts on update 10 and a preview of update 11!

Indigenous Myths

So as I mentioned in a recent behind-the-scenes post, Lovecraft was super racist. Beyond that, horror in general has a problem with colonialism (see "savage jungle cannibals") and indigenous American folks in particular (see "built on an Indian graveyard"). Indigenous folks are simultaneously considered to be brutal and "uncivilized", but also as hoarders of ancient, secret, dangerous magic.

I knew as soon as I decided to write a horror story in New England that dealt with ancient horror and family histories that I would need to confront horror's problem with indigenous folks without either erasing or demonizing them. I'm super white, though, so I didn't want to risk fucking up the portrayal of a real group. That's why I appropriated the Misqat/Misquat from the Cthulhu mythos (they're the hypothesized root of the Miskatonic River).

Of course, making up a fictional tribe to fit the needs of your story is also super problematic. I've done my best to do research and situate them in a historical and cultural context, but I've probably made some mistakes there. 

It's important to me that they not be portrayed as "primitive" or as some special source of wisdom. I'm also wary about the history that resulted in them still being around Barrowport after the genocide and forced migration that removed most real-world tribes from that area. I don't want to imply that the Misqat survived because they're special or better than other tribes; they were just in the right circumstances to make it through the initial wave of colonization, and lucky to not get caught up in later attempts at genocide.

The Great Flying Head is a real-life mythological figure It's Iroquois, originating a bit further north than the Misqat, but I figure it's reasonable for it to be a problem in Barrowport as well.  The approach you use to trick it, should you take that route, is similar to actual legends. I was not, however, able to find a credible source of what happens when you try to fuck it.

Next Release

The upcoming release will have a play scene where you get Theresa off with your hands while she's in bondage. It'll also have new visual customizations for her: accessories like a nose hook and a collar, and a choice of a number of pubic hair styles. That will come with another polish pass on a lot of Theresa's art. 

Beyond that, I'll focus on any bugs that come in. I may get a start on fleshing out the Reform Institute, but that will likely end up in Update 12.

Thank you all for your support! As always, please share any feedback you have here in the comments, via a Patreon message, or in an email to: phanes@phanes.me