Fates Weekly Update #14

Hey, folks. Chief is back from his vacation. For the first time in months, I got a decent amount of sleep. Twelve hours on two of the days and ten on another. I had completely forgotten what being awake felt like. It is an amazing feeling! I hope you all are enjoying your holidays as well. Most of the team is still gone, so today’s update is yet again sparse. I had intended to talk about effects for sprites, but the artist is on vacation and there is only so much I can bumble my way through before I sound like a nutter. Anyone who has been with me during the early days knows that I have no drawing talent. Even my stick figures are ugly. But that’s why I don’t work alone anymore!

Wordcount: 3315; I did manage to snag a few hours after family time and knocked out two scenes. Last week, I started on Kika’s route and quickly realized that I had a rather adorable storyline on my hands. This week (and next) I’m devoting my energies into Zuri, the unofficial main heroine of the universe in the series. I only got to get a couple of the early scenes done, but I’m liking how things are turning out so far. Zuri is a strong believe in the core draemon warrior beliefs. Protect the innocent, never betray a friend, never allow greed or pride blind you, and always follow your heart. While she has had moments in her past that have made her waiver (your scene with Stan causing a flashback to one in her mind), it has never been nearly the same as when she fell in love with Natalie. The more of the universe Natalie shows her, the more she wonders if there is a place for a warrior in the universe… if there is a place for her. The only thing she knows in the world twisting and changing around her is that a young investigator needs her protection from the monsters she fears they might become.

-I showed her lineart a few days ago, but I think now would be a good time to show one of the support characters, Eve. Like the other minotaur, Eve is also a doctor who will support Natalie’s operations into deep space. Poor Doctor Stan is losing his job as Natalie’s personal physician… maybe… Dr. Eve is there mostly to help keep Faye running strong for a little while longer since she won’t stay put. Eve might have her own route, though that depends on the volunteer writer.

Eve, Faye's doctor
Eve, Faye’s doctor

-Backgrounds: We’ve had a small snafu with the backgrounds and they were a bit delayed while things shuffled around. We are not quite back on track, but things are once more headed in the right direction.

-A few updates ago, I showed and talked about Natalie’s younger sister, Name. As the first couple CG are getting completed, I am once again agreeing with Yoi for Red Rose that their dress uniforms are really impractical with the pencil skirt. As someone who has to wear military dress uniforms, I can tell you from experience that they rarely are what I would take into a prolonged expedition. This was one of the reasons why two additional uniforms were designed for fleet usage, one of which is seen in Reborn. The reason I’m bringing this up is because Name is the only person to wear the dress uniform and… well… it is a bit awkward. The CG isn’t completely done, so I will have to wait until next weekly to show off the exact details…well… as long as you all remember that things are works in progress…

Random tangent: The Katajion Defense Forces uniforms have evolved in different ways over the years. I’ve always tried to push hard that they be designed with their role in mind. If I would never dream of wearing it into battle, then a different design needs to be thought up. While the dress uniform for girls in Red Rose wasn’t the most practical design, it was designed for an office setting. It was drawn shorter than the original design for it, but I’m not too overbearing on artists and give a fair bit of freedom. I know I might be losing fans for it, but mini-skirts and tube tops will never be military uniforms in any of my Rising Angels stories. Civilian outfits are a bit more lenient and depend on the character. Characters have… ya know… personalities and different tastes.

That’s it for this week. New Years is coming up, so you all know what that means! That’s right, Chief is going to be staying at home writing. I hope you all have a much more festive holiday planed than I do! Until next week, Chief out!

 

Doing a video of the post since it is the holidays. This song is a tradition.