Did a study of Mike Mignola's style with my favourite worsties from @exilethegame

We know mages were expelled from plaithus but before they were were they allowed to serve in the army? Considering that plaithus is v military focused but simultaneously harbored a growing fear of mages I was just wondering what that looked like in practice :P also if they were what happened to the ones in the army when the mages were expelled? It’s sort of similar to what is present day happening w general distain for mythosi however there are some differences for sure re: cultural beliefs about mages v mythosi, Just thought I’d ask! I hope you have a lovely day

CW: Bias

There were some mages + sorcerers who were allowed into the army, yes, but the only ones that were of any use magically are those who specialize in elemental magic. This is because A.) it's the most obviously offensive form of magic and B.) Any other form of magic that could be used "offensively" would be done so in a way that Plaithus frowned upon, even back then.

For example, Vethna can perform pretty much every form of Illusory and Pathomancy magic, but the method of using that in a way that's combative is morally questionable to Plaithus as it involves invading someone's literal mind to warp them into doing what you want (yes... we all see the irony and hypocrisy).

So only a small percentage of the mages + sorcerers were really in the military and using their magic. The rest who might join strictly could only use physical combat, but the problem with that is when one is in a life/death situation, they'll do anything to save their life, including using questionable magic. This did result in some very questionable things happening in war. Like magic-users being forced to use the blood of their fallen peers to strengthen their own magic to survive, which the media and military of Plaithus did not like.

It's one of those things were people started pointing at Plaithian magic-users and saying, "Look, they're just like the blood-magic users in Vygrand. They're all the same," and implying things about the "inherent" violent and bloody nature of magic and magic-users. When an actual war broke out with Vygrand, that bias and judgment was just strengthened in tenfold, and tensions were so high it really didn't take much swaying from the military to encourage the general public to be complacent with the magic-users removal.

So, by the time magic-users were kicked out of Plaithus "entirely", there were already banned from being in the military, and any that were in it were discharged

Plaithus wasn't always a magic-fearing country. It was a pretty recent development that happened in the last 100 years, give or take, maybe even less than. And yes, what's happening with natural-born mythosi in-game is pretty much just an exact repeat of what happened with the magic-users, which is why Trystan is so unsettled by it. This has happened before, and it's happening again, and everyone knows exactly what road it's heading down.

Hi! I know you're in the middle of a rewrite/rescript as you port the game to twine, would you prefer new readers wait until you finish that to read? or just play through it twice? I found this game the other day and it looked really interesting! I wouldn't mind playing through it twice but i wanted to see if you had any preference before i started. (I also understand that a million words takes a long time to edit and script so entirely no pressure if waiting is your preference :D)

Go ahead and read! The hope is that Chapters 1-3 will for sure be posted this summer, but there's still a good few months 'til then, so there's plenty of time to read the first version. Plus, I think the second version will be different enough that hopefully replaying the game won't be a bore despite it's length 😅

Hi, after talking to Sy and we can pick who to go to, but Vethna and Amilia are greyed out for me. Are their scenes not written yet or is my relationship with them too low? (I only got around just now to finish the demo, so sorry if this has been asked before!)

Your affinity must be too low with them! For Amilia + Vethna, you need 54 and 56 affinity with them respectively to unlock the options!

so will Twine have the relationship stat meter as well or will there be another thing there to show our relationships with the characters?

It'll have a relationship stat meter! Each character also will have a codex page connected to them that updates re. their relationship with MC + follows major plot points that are connected to them!

romanced nikke wouldnt also just let mc eat shit? im surprised at his restraint...

askjfdk he'll catch MC but he'll also probably throw them over his shoulder and terrorize them a little too <3

How does Nikke feel about Sabir being 1 inch taller than him? Even better, a Nikke/Sabir/MC poly where MC is significantly more than 6 feet tall and so Nikke is shorter than both of his partners😆Would he secretly be salty about being the smallest one in the relationship?

I think the only time it would ever piss him off is if Sabir or MC were like "haha you're the shortest one here lololol" and only THEN Nikke would be like "okay now wait a minute--"

But in general I don't see him really caring about being shorter!

Hi, if it's not too spoilery and if you're comfortable, could we get a small sneak peek on what the poly dynamics are going to look like? And also, why does Nikke seem to dislike the kind and genuine commander so much more than the other personality types?

Hmm... I'm not gonna write mini scenes but I can summarize the vibes--

Nikke + Vethna: MC + Vethna being cute and in love, constantly getting into oddly sexually tense arguments with Nikke, and then both looking at each other like "Hey... what if we... ya know <3" and Nikke just being along for the ride before emotions smack him in the face. / OR / MC + Vethna still being cute and in love, MC + Nikke being friends, Vethna + Nikke having weird sexual tension, MC being like "you guys should kiss" and holding both their hands. CW: That being said, there absolutely is a super angsty element once it comes to the idea of Nikke joining the relationship as an equal, particularly w/ Vethna re. their cultural upbringing. So prepare for some emotional bumps there that aren't really in the other polys.

Nikke + Sabir: Nikke flirts with MC because BANTER and he thinks it's funny to piss Sabir off. Sabir being hopelessly into MC and fuming over Nikke. MC being like "you guys should kiss" and Nikke being like "yeah we should" and Sabir going "ahaha WHAT???" (Very much giving "I want two boyfriends and I want my boyfriends to be boyfriends")

Sabir + Vethna: MC owning two little purse dogs who refuse to get along and are petty with each other. It's pretty much Vethna + Sabir both being hopelessly into MC and MC being like "I have TWO hands and also you two are literally the same person why don't you go get manicures together and shop or something???"

So they're all closed triads!

Regarding Nikke: He doesn't like MC, so when MC is generally more diplomatic to him, it feels condescending to him. It's pretty much just the fact MC is more of the bigger person when they're genuine, which pisses Nikke of because he wants to fight w/ MC, not be friendly, or even tolerable. So he likes Aggressive + Sarcastic MCs more off the bat, but he'll change and open up more as their relationship changes!

if no one has asked this, what would the ROs do if the mc just ran and leapt at them? who's catching them and who's letting them eat dirt?

I feel like I've answered this once, in a blue moon... *stares whimsically at the horrific tumblr archive*

LOVERS Catches you <3: Nikke, Sabir, Jost, Syfyn Tries... fails: Vethna, Amilia Watches MC eat dirt: Freedom (had no idea wtf MC was doing) FRIENDS Catches you: Sabir, Syfyn Tries... fails: Amilia Steps aside at the last minute and watches MC die: Jost, Nikke, Vethna, Freedom (still has no idea wtf MC is doing)

happy 3 year (+1 month) anniversary to the exile! this is probably my favorite if of all time and I’m super grateful to have witnessed the progress of this story all the way back in 2021 to now. I hope you’re doing well/taking care of yourself!

Ah!! Thank you! It's so weird to think it's been that long 😭

I'm super grateful for everyone who's read the story, whether y'all have been here since the beginning or are new <3

Hi Pheo! So, I heard the Gorgon MC can actually bite Nikke in a fight? Absolutely feral. How does you get this option? 🤔

Hello!

Okay so-- first things first, I know there are multiple ways to get the bite, but there's so much variation here that I have a hard time combing through everything. That being said, I did find what I believe to be two fool-proof ways to get the bite. They're super niche, though, and they work if:

A.) Your MC has Strength and Strategy as their two highest stats OR B.) Your MC is VERY TALL, and has Strategy as one of their two HIGHEST stats, and strength as one of their two LOWEST stats (this method should work for werewolves too, but it doesn't have as much cultural flirtation as the gorgon bite scene does)

Like I said, I believe there are other ways, but these were the only two I could easily find. So!

1.) Choose the physical romantic path for the fight 2.) Choose any of the fight options, then "Wait for him to come to you." 3 [METHOD A:] Choose "Dodge him" IF your dexterity is not one of your two highest combat skills -> Choose charisma + flirt choice "You sure you wouldn't want to do anything else...?" IF charisma is not one of your two highest combat skills -> Bite him! (Alternatively, Nikke can bite you if you pick "This is your chance to bring it home" IF charisma is one of your highest two stats.) 3 [METHOD B:] Choose "Duck" IF strategy is one of your two highest stats -> Choose run at him IF strength is not one of your two highest stats AND if MC's height is "very tall" -> Bite him! (Works for werewolves too)

With all of this being said, as I rewrite fight scenes I am actively making guides for them as I write, so hopefully this won't be a problem in the future 😭

Hihi! This has been one of the BEST ifs I've ever read!!! Although i do have a question can we expect any updates soon? I'm totally fine with waiting this is just one of my absolute favorites! The writing, the RO's the characters everything😭

Hello! Thank you for the kind words :)

As for an update, all I'll say is-- I'm working on it! Re. the rewrite Chapters 1 + 2 are finished and 3 is about halfway done. I don't want to announce an actual "release date" because I haven't been able to work on things consistently w/ school. However, my thoughts are to just release Chapters 1-3 when they're done on the Twine demo for public release, and then update it again when Chapters 4 + 5 are done.

For a little peek of how things have changed, there's the mythosi sub-variants being added for MC, and then some scenes have completely different branches than before. For example, Jaime's encounter in Chapter 1 has 3-4 completely different endings now, which I think is pretty fun! And the Jost/Nikke battle has been completely overhauled to be a lot more dynamic/convoluted... (and of course there are now some Jost flirt options <3)

But I'm glad you enjoy the game so much! I can't overstate how thankful I am for those of you who have been willing to wait for so long. I know things are slow moving but we'll get there! Eventually!

Ngl I thought the coffee guy was an old man 💀

He is!

will there be flings/one-off romance chances?

Yup! Right now there's only ~3 planned, though. But we'll see! :) You technically might've already met one of them!

Is there anything that could stop Marcelle from carrying out her plan? on a personal level, not something rendering her plan impossible to carry out.

if not, was there ever a time when she could've been swayed from this path?

... I don't want to get too spoilery into her character, so I'll just settle with saying in her youth, Marcelle was a surprisingly open person. She was stubborn, but she was always willing to listen to those around her and be flexible as a monarch. Whether that's the same now or not... 🤷🏻

Question, possibly a bit spoilery- is there a way to get something other than the murderer achievement during the flashback in the dashingdon demo? I seem to just continually be getting that one and idk if there's anything different.

That part of the story is linear-- you'll always get the murderer achievement! It's impossible to do anything but "snap" in the flashback.

Would you say Marcelle is a Lady Macbeth type of character? Or maybe Emeline is?

Mmmm... Marcelle, no. Because Lady Macbeth has a sort of breakdown that Marcelle truly would never have, and I don't think their reasonings match up very well. Marcelle isn't obsessed with power, or strength at all, and if confronted with someone like Lady Macbeth she'd probably just be repulsed and unimpressed. Emeline... mmm.... I'll just say there could be some resemblances... but I can't get into what without spoiling.

Granted, you could probably predict how Emeline and her could be similar.