October 2022 - Q&A Session (Part 1) (Patreon)

Hey guys 👋 Thank you so much for all the awesome questions you guys sent in for the Q&A session for the month! I had a blast answering them all, and some of the answers ended up being longer than I first expected them to be, so I'll be dividing all the answers into two different posts so it won't get too long!

Well, while I continue answering the second half of the questions, please enjoy the answers for the first part!

"We all know how Ash reacts to an affectionate MC now, but what about after being romanced? Is it less embarrassing or is she still nervous?"

They would still be a bit nervous and embarrassed in the beginning since they have crushed on MC for such a long time. They need some time to get used to openly romantic gestures from MC 🥺 But as time goes on, they’ll become more comfortable and confident, and would even not mind if your MC is comfortable with public displays of affection.

"How long did you have the idea of "Vendetta" in your head before you started writing?"

Hmm 🤔 I would say maybe around 1 month, especially in thinking out the characters, plot, and conflict and resolution. But the main concept itself (playing as a child of an ex-criminal vigilante and a superhero in a world with superpowers) has always been there for like, maybe a year or so 😆.

"Anything in particular that made you take the plunge and start writing?"

I’m really not sure what exactly finally pushed me to finally take the leap and start writing an IF, but I’ve been code-diving IFs and other WIPs not long after I first entered the IF community (which I think was around August last year) and might have picked up a lot of ChoiceScript coding unknowingly by doing so. 

I’ve always wanted to try making one, I just need a pretty solidly planned out story, and I’ve finally gotten one. And then one night, I just decided to download VSCode and ChoiceScript and write out the Prologue and Chapter 1 in around a week 😄 

I tested them myself a number of times before finally deciding to post it on Dashingdon and post the intro post in the CoG Forum and Tumblr. How surprised I was when I woke up the next morning to find hundreds of notifications on my Tumblr blog and all the positive comments on the forum thread 😊

"What made you focus on the theme of revenge?"

Simply because I love a good revenge story. One of the reasons I’m a sucker for revenge stories is, of course, because of the angst and the drama 😆 Another important reason, at least for me, is the catharsis at the end when the protagonist finally gets what they’ve been searching for--either it’s justice or a painful death (or maybe even a quick death if your MC wants to) for the killer, and it’s something that I want and intend to deliver in this story. 

Revenge-driven stories also mostly give leeway for more ruthless and grey protagonists to shine without getting excessively judged by the readers (in fact, sometimes, the viewers/readers are cheering for them, like John Wick or The Corleones from Godfather Series).

"Have you had any previous experience writing before Vendetta?"

I don’t have any serious experience writing stories before Vendetta, other than writing two short stories for my elective creative writing class back in college 😅 (I think I still have one of the two short stories on my computer; it's a sci-fi story. Let me know if you guys want to see it, I can definitely post it here as something extra 😆) and some scripts for some film projects in school and college. 

I’ve always loved reading novels and been interested in writing my own story ever since I was in elementary school but never had the time to actually sit down and write stuff since I was really busy with schoolwork.

"Have you scrapped any ideas/concepts for Vendetta and if then why?"

It’s not exactly a scrapped idea, but I did entertain the thought of reversing the roles of Viktor and Yvette for a second (so, Viktor is the charming superhero and Yvette is the vigilante, granted Viktor would’ve tried to get in contact with MC sooner than Yvette currently is in the story because he's still Viktor who's family-oriented). 

But in the end, I feel like those don’t really match the characters and personalities that I have in mind for them and I think the tropes of a dead-beat father and a single mother are just too… overused and stereotypical 😅 So, I returned back to the original concept I had.

"Why did you decide to make Yvette one of the most unlikeable characters ever made?"

Haha 😆 I know most readers really hate Yvette with a passion (some even to the point of wanting MC to hit her), which actually took me by surprise a bit. I did expect her to be disliked, but not really hated to this degree 😂 

Not that I mind or anything; I’m actually kinda flattered that you guys are really invested in the story and characters I’ve written! 😁 But myself, personally, I’ve always felt… detached, neutral, and even sometimes pity for her, even if I know that what she did to MC is horrible. I think it’s maybe because I kinda know some of her true feelings and thoughts deep down, even those she couldn’t admit to herself 😅

"Do you find it tiring to write?"

It can be really tiring at times, mostly also from coding and writing out all the variations and flavour texts. Like writing out all the choices of responses when talking to Ash for example (sometimes I had to write out at least 4 flirting options and another 4 non-flirting responses). 

I think one of the most tiring ones so far is writing out the 8 different fight scenes. I spent days writing them all out and because they were all variations of the same scene, it felt like I was not moving forward at all during those days (even though I knew it was not true and that I was actually making progress, as evidenced by the increasing wordcount). 

That’s why I have decided to take little breaks in between chapters or future major/big updates to prevent burnout and just wind down and relax while also catching up on delivering Patreon stuff and just flexing my creative muscles on other stuff, like making Artbreeders, curating playlists for the characters, and writing side stories (it can feel freeing at times writing them and not having to worry about coding flavour texts and variations every passage or so 😂).

"Any particular reason that our family is of a Russian background?"

No really particular reason, I think, other than my admiration of the Russian language. I’ve often tried to play Russian or of Russian descent MCs in other IFs before, and since I’m writing my own story this time, I decided to just make MC’s paternal side of the family Russian (and also make sure to accommodate Russian and Slavic naming conventions too). In fact, Luka is actually one of the very first MCs I’ve always tried to play as in most other IFs 😄

"Would you say that the main antagonist of Vendetta is evil, good or more morally gray?"

I would say the killer is morally grey. In another world, they might be a better person than they are now, but events and circumstances that have happened to them don’t permit it to happen. As much as they want to picture themself to be a rational person, they are still actually one of the most emotional characters in the story who holds their personal grudges tightly to their heart. 

They might seem to really want to make the superhero scene better (even though in a questionable way, I feel like 😆). There's also the motive behind it that they may not want to think about deeply 🤐 Is it truly for the greater good of the city or do they have a more personal reason that they might not want to admit…? I guess you’ll be able to form your own opinions on in time 😔

"Did you ever consider any other powers for the MC? Why did you decide on gravikinesis and umbrakinesis? How did you decide on the powers for the ROs and other side characters?"

When I first came up and planned the story, I didn’t really have any other superpowers in mind for MC. I chose Umbrakinesis and Gravikinesis because those two are some of my favorites that I also feel are a bit underrepresented in media and other stories. Plus, they are really flexible and can be used in a lot of different ways. 

But as I write the story, I start to become more interested in other powers as well, such as Haemokinesis (blood manipulation). In fact, right now, the more definite plan for the spin-off is that the MC will be a haemokinetic like Jackal 😉 

Meanwhile, for the ROs and side characters, some just come naturally with their personalities, such as:

• A hot-headed pyrokinetic named literally after the burning residue, Ash 😂 
• Smart and calculated Rin with their precognition helping them lead their family in the future by making the best possible choices and 
• Commanding and authoritative Grandpa with his compulsion power ruling the family with an iron fist 
• Yvette with her empathy and illusion-based powers further enabling her narcissistic tendencies. 

Others, just pop up in my mind somehow when planning them, such as Viktor and his power-duplicating ability and Luka with his teleportation power, for example. Some are slightly affected by story reasons, such as Cara and her doppelgänger ability. The rest is a mix of those reasons above, such as Santana with their clairtelepathy ability (which helps them as a detective but also might be useful for story reasons). 

Skylar is the only one I have the hardest time finding the right ones for. I want them to have a much more unique ability while still also pertaining some of the classic superhero qualities, so I ended up giving them density control and flight (which is a classic).

"Could MC ever reach a point where the Morozov family would kill them to protect their interests? Who would be sent do it?"

I’m not really sure what you really meant by MC reaching a point where their family would kill them to keep their interest safe. Do you mean if MC becomes a vigilante and turns against their own family? Or MC is just so ruthless in killing people that it starts to affect the Morozov as a whole? 

But, I think there is no way, not even the slightest chance, that Luka and Grandpa (and Ash) will be able to kill MC. For them, family is number one and the most important thing for them, especially after going through such tragedy after tragedy of losing their family members until there are only three (four if you count Ash) in their family left 😔 

Same thing for MC too. I know the MC can feel pretty customizable in personalities and motivations, but there are certain key points/cornerstones that all MCs will have in common no matter what, and one of them is that MC will never be able to turn against their own family, even if they end up becoming a vigilante or a superhero. 

But, let’s say that in this impossible universe, the Morozov decides to kill MC to protect their interest, they would most likely send Jackal to do it and Luka would make sure his boyfriend knows that he wants it done as quickly and painlessly as possible for MC. Ash would sooner die than kill MC; they might as well leave the Family for good if they ever find out that Grandpa or Luka ordered MC's death. 😢

"What criminal activities do the Morozovs refuse to partake in?"

Right now, the thing I can think of for sure is human trafficking, for any purposes you can name: organ harvesting, forced prostitution, and all other truly nasty and deplorable stuff, just nope. 

They used to deal some drugs (not really focused solely on it like some cartels and drug lords are), but now, they don’t really do it anymore. Some lower members still do it on their own on a really small scale (usually beneath Luka or Grandpa's notice), but it’s mostly frowned upon and if they start to become a problem, enforcers will be sent to deal with them. 

MC’s family (and the Aikawas) are now mostly focused on financial crime (such as money laundering) and their still lucrative, half-legal operations, such as the Casino and using blackmail, extortion, and threats to make sure the businesses they invest in flourish.

"Will we ever be able to fight alongside Jackal?"

Maybe… 🤔😉 I would really love to write that and I would try my very best to make it happen! 😁

"Will the MC be able to engage in a hobby?"

Right now, it’s not really planned since MC will be really busy helping investigate and hunt down the killer while also hanging out with some ROs and some side characters 😄 But, you are free to headcanon, of course.

"What are the RO's favorite foods? Will we be able to cook it for them?"

Ash: (Cara’s) Shepherd Pie is one of their favorites of all time, but they are usually not that picky about food (and would probably love any food MC cooks for them 🥰)

Rin: Have quite a lot and they secretly enjoy cooking and can be a food snob sometimes😆 But some of them are good ol’ ramen, katsudon, and taiyaki.

Santana: Like Ash, they are not picky about food and enjoy all kinds of food, but they do sometimes miss their grandma’s homemade Paella.

Skylar: Not as snobby about food as Rin despite their privileged upbringing 😆 But they do enjoy and indulge in some good and expensive steak and some high-end desserts occasionally.

As for whether MC will be able to cook those for them in the story… not sure yet 🤔 I would love to include scenes like that but only if they feel natural and not forced. 😄

"What character ended up majorly different from what you originally planned?"

I don’t think a lot of characters end up really different from how they were planned in my head, but also, some of them do end up being a bit different in little ways as I get to know them more while writing them and their interactions out. 

For example, Ash at the very, very early stage of planning was supposed to be more tsundere-like to MC but also more yandere-ish inside at the same time (the last one is still up for debate because some readers still find them yandere-ish after all 😆), but other than that, nothing really changed; they are still as ruthless and devoted as I first planned and pictured them to be. 

Rin was supposed to be more serious, fitting more into the serious, smart, and stoic archetype, but I ended up adding a layer beneath that they don’t really show to most people, which is they are actually quite flirtatious and playful inside (the playfulness might be from growing up and spending a lot of time around Takashi 😂). 

Jackal was supposed to be more stoic as well, but as I write out his character, he ends up being more of a chaotic and troublemaker gremlin who thrives on flustering poor Luka (Don’t get fooled by his deadpan face!).