Backstage Pass #60 (Patreon)

On this edition of Backstage Pass, I'll be talking about...

The development of Dielle's personality! Or should I say purrsonality?

Believe it or not, I actually had no clue what I wanted Dielle to be like before her appearance in Chapter 3. I knew that I wanted her and Rune to eventually be a couple, but their dynamic was something that mystified me for a long time. For a while I was content just drawing them being cute together, and thought to myself "I'll figure it out later". After all, the personalities for the rest of the main cast fell in place pretty easily, surely Dielle would get there eventually!

And so time passed. I had thoughts about Rune and Dielle having a kid together during the main plot,

Having a huge fight because Rune cheated on Dielle,

And pretty quickly lot of time passed. Suddenly I was starting to approach the end of Chapter 2, with Dielle and Inigo's introduction right on the horizon. I quickly tried turning the little rusty gears in my brain, and if you know me, you know I really like looking to musicals and other media for inspiration. I liked characters who were bold and tested boundaries, so it's really funny looking back at these demos I did featuring Dielle in her bad girl phase.

Still having a soft spot for Rune, of course, and being worried about her wellbeing.

But I loved the ice queen archetype, and (very) briefly thought about an almost enemies-to-lovers arc with her and Rune.

Needless to say, I didn't jive with it lmao. In between me trying to figure out her personality, I still drew stuff related to their planned breakup arc.

And I don't think it's a big spoiler to say this, but I definitely don't plan on having a breakup arc anymore!

And without the ice queen aesthetic, I felt once again stranded in what I wanted for Dielle's personality. I love writing sassy characters, but I felt like my "nice" characters were pretty one-note. I kept doodling ideas for potential future arcs, but still felt as directionless as when I started.

In a last ditch effort, just a few pages away from the end of Chapter 2, I asked my partner how she'd feel about trying out collaborative storytelling in the form of roleplay to help me figure out Dielle's personality. She thought it was a fun idea, and the TSSB/OBT crossover story Cats on a Hot Tin Roof was born!

This single-handedly saved Dielle's personality, as it gave me the opportunity to explore her in a story setting that wasn't just a one-off doodle. And reading it again, I think you could definitely pick up on it being a less polished version of the Dielle we know today! I definitely don't think modern Dielle is nearly as jumpy as she was portrayed here (and in the sequel story), though the cat cafe scene certainly inspired her little fun quirks she has in the comic! It helped add a little dimension to her. From there I was able to get a good grasp on her bit by bit- like how she's excitable,

Sometimes silly,

And sometimes a bit sassy!

And nowadays I can confidently say she's one of my favorite characters to write! Now, what will the future hold for her and Rune?