I mean, you’re translating. That’s the fun part. I’m a conlanger, I actually like language…
Wow, color me intrigued 
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hey yall, i’m sort of toying around with making an interactive fic based off an idea i’ve been writing off/on for a bit, just wanted to see if people were interested in it before i committed fully to anything.
the fic’s called If I Had a Heart, the story is set in Norway in the 8th-9th century; it could technically be seen as a historical sort of thing, though i see it more as a fantasy. A mix of both, maybe. you’d play as a nomadic bounty hunter / mercenary of sorts, whose essentially harassed by an oracle who sends you on a glorified goose chase to find the Norns, so you can cut your string of fate and avoid your early and inevitable death (and maybe the end of the world).
the mc would be fully customizable, from their hair color, length and style to the style and color of their warpaint.
when it comes to love interests, i’m planning on adding nine, two of which were actual people in history, though my version of them. four of them are male, three of them are female, and two have a customizable gender, including nonbinary options. most of them will be bisexual, but some of them will be fully gay or straight. so far, i have three written out
fleshed out r/os
one, THE ORACLE - Odd Sokolfsson, male, 26 can be romanced by both genders
Odd lives up to his name. He is the oracle in the first village you wander upon on your adventure, and he’s the one who tells you to cut the strings of fate.
He is charming in his own way to some, and weird to most. He is soft spoken yet his words deal more damage than a weapon ever could. He speaks to you as if you were old friends, and he may know more than he lets on.
He stands a little below average, at 5’6” ft / 167 cm. He has short, mousy brown hair which is cut awkwardly, in an almost saxon priest fashion, and uneven. It has a white stripe going through the bangs. It has little sticks and flowers tangled into it. His skin is tanned and freckly, and smooth, thanks to his seidr. His eyes are icy green, surrounding by a thick layer of brown lashes. He is clean shaven.
two, THE WARMAIDEN - Frida Katladottir, female, 29, can be romanced by both genders
The self proclaimed protector of Odd, though you’re sure he can protect himself.
She is a spitfire, truly. She is fierce and loyal to her town and to her people, true to her word and her promises. She owes Odd a great debt, which is why she is swore herself as his protector, and will not let anyone or anything touch him. After becoming close, she begins to act this way with you, too.
She towers above most women, and most men as well, standing at 6’4” ft / 193 cm. Her hair is long and ashy blonde, half up and half down, with many braids running through it, and a majority tied into a ponytail which rests upon her shoulder. Her skin is pale, with a multitude of scars littering it. Her eyes are a striking stormy gray.
three, THE HERSIR - Ubba Ragnarsson, male, 31, can be romanced by males
Yes, you read it right. Ubba, son of Ragnar Lothbrok himself. You meet the legendary viking in the middle of a battlefield, a bond between you immediately formed via death.
He is stoic and brave, almost bear-like. He is soft when it comes to some, including you (if male). He has a great responsibility on his shoulders, to continue his father’s legacy and to continue leading the Heathen Army into greatness.
Ubba is a bear of a man, standing at 6’6” ft / 198 cm. His hair is pure, inky black and somewhat long, tied back messily into a half-braid half-bun mess. He has dark stubble on his chin and above his upper lip. His skin is marked by scars and is tanned. His eyes are as green as grass.
ubba is so not historically accurate but idc i love him
wip r/os
- the king killer (m, 36, any)
- the saxon poet (m/f/nb, 27, any)
- the jarl’s daughter (f, 22, f only)
- the reincarnation (m/f/nb, 30, any)
- more soon
even though i may not end up writing it, i have a tumblr for it here. still setting it up:]
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You gave all the ages for the ROs, but do you have a set age for the MC?
I’ll rate from 1-4 (1 being the one that peaks my interests and 4 being meh).
- God Among us
- Time Warden
- Obligatory Fantasy Arch
- Veil Fall (Mainly for the gender-lock)
Basically backwards of the list.
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mhm, they’re gonna be twenty five. if anyone has a problem with the age gaps, i might tweak their age and some of the r/o’s ages
There’s a problem with age gaps? Never heard about it here - it mainly shows up in jokes about “old millionaire with hot young wife says she had married him for love alone”.
Plenty of people are uncomfortable with any gap over 10 years. At 25 there would be one that’s 11 years, so people may avoid that route. I personally have no issue with it.
Finally, an older male ro!
I’ll can’t wait for the wip!
Thought another partner over or of age of consent was a given in relationships. My personal preference was always someone older than me and someone who acts like that and I must admit, it’s hard to find something like this in CoGs. Vampires and other magical beings don’t really do it for me - especially when they start going all Twilight on my mc.
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personally i’m a sucker for age gaps, as long as it’s not 25+ years. i’ll probably keep the ages as they are now tbh
also, wanted to know if anyone was interested in poly routes? i have a few ideas for combinations:]
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I’d never say no to poly route options (even if I don’t end up going on a poly route).
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I’m a little nervous to post this, but I have something I’ve been worldbuilding for a while - though not much is written yet. The genre is high fantasy, set in an as of yet unnamed world much like Earth, but in a Pangaea type of way. The tentative title is Twice Mooncursed. I will freely admit that my main inspirations for this story have been The Elder Scrolls (when I was worldbuilding, I thought to myself: can I make this weirder?), Final Fantasy (crystals!), and maybe a bit of Pillars of Eternity (I’m conlanging too!).
Concept:
You and your mother live in the middle of the continent. She lives as an immortal feudal liege seeking revenge on two of her one-time students. These two students imprisoned her in crystal stasis for nearly 800 years, and though she was not aware during that time, she burns cold with the desire for vengeance. Incidentally, these two students mostly-not-on-purpose turned each other into the first vampire and wereanimal (making each other ageless in the process) in a magical ritual. (You currently do not know how your mother is immortal when she is neither a wereanimal nor a vampire.) You have recently learned of your mother’s plans for revenge: a ritual that will kill the first vampire and first wereanimal - and in the process, kill everyone else who is mooncursed. But your mother doesn’t care about that. Will you be able to stop her? Or are you going to support her plans?
You will be able to play as male, female, or non-binary; you will be able to romance at least 4 different gender characters (polyamory will be an option as well); you can visit at least the three major cities (the Crystal City, Zhuaré Gairal; the Flying City, Nalastr; and the Amphibious City, Aìs è Teso); you can use solar/elemental magic, or star magic, or martial skill, or your wits, or a combination of those four to defeat your evil mother; or you can join her plans on the evil route.
Would anyone be interested in playing this? I don’t have a demo ready yet, but here is the current starting scene:
First Scene
You study the map on the table. One of your mother’s servants retrieved it last year, when he visited the Earth Nexus and traded a minor archeological relic for it.
[A map of the Great Continent. Six elemental nexuses form a hexagon around the edges: from the north, a volcano for the Fire Nexus; from the north-east, a barren wasteland for the Death Nexus: from the east, an enormous city-crystal for the Earth Nexus; from the south, an underwater maelstrom for the Water Nexus; from the south-west, the tumorous mass for the Life Nexus; and in the west, an unmoving stormcloud for the Air Nexus.
There are five great cities in this world. The three largest are the Crystal City, located within the Earth Nexus; the Amphibious City, located above and below the shoreline near the Water Nexus; and the Flying City, a six-tiered platform near the Air Nexus. The lesser cities are the Flower City, between the Earth and Water nexuses, and the Animal City, between the Air and Water nexuses. There are countless villages, all too small to be marked on a map.]
You, your mother, and the servants live in her fortress, located in the middle of the continent - away from prying eyes - and within the ruins of the Forgotten Empire. Your mother, Zéosanth, was once a scholar of the Earth Nexus’s previous civilization, but that was nearly a thousand years ago. Her main academic focus was star magic, which has strict rules but nearly limitless potential. However, her two students betrayed her and became the first vampire and werewolf before trapping her in crystal for nearly 800 years.
She’s had almost 200 years to plan her revenge, but you plan on stopping it.
Romance Options
Séotel: 24. From the Crystal City. Androgynous. They are the only child of Nìunalth, the 600-year old vampiric and sometimes ruler of the Crystal City. Séotel is passionate, if a bit impulsive. Their interests include mushrooms, watching and performing theater, and pottery.
Lueyil: 24. From the Crystal City. Male. He, like the player character, has a less than stellar mother. Séotel, his friend, wishes he would testify against her to get her exiled from Zhuaré Gairal, but he has thus far refused. His interests include watching theater, rocks and crystals, and architecture.
(If you romance Séotel or Lueyil, you may have a chance to start a triad with them; or if you don’t you can try to matchmake them.)
Kaaue: 25. From the Amphibious City. Agender. As a wereshark, they’re part of Teso’s Wereanimal Family, which fights for control of the city against Teso’s Vampire Family. Most are not actually related by blood, and so it is with Kaaue, who is, by all factors, a new initiate in way over their head. Their interests include fishing (as a human), fishing (as a shark), and cooking.
Yezdzan: 21. From the Flying City. Female. Skilled at Life magic, but due to birth, mid-tier in Nalastr’s Solar Hierarchy. She resents this, and is also troubled by the status of the laborers on the ground below, all of whom have no chance of ever living on the actual flying tiers. Her interests include music, playing music, and running.
I’d like to add two more romance options (so there’s two for each major city) but I’ll have to come up with the characters first. As a note, the ROs are all currently in their early/mid-twenties because the player character is also 24.
Pronounciation Guide
Place names:
Aìs è Teso: /ai sɛ təsʌ/ or “ah-ee say tuh-soh”
Nalastr: /nalastr/ or “nah-lahs-ter”
Zhuaré Gairal: /ʒuaɾe gaɪ̯ɾal/ or “zhoo-ah-ray guy-rahl”
Character names:
Kaaue: /ka:ɯə/ or “kaah-oo-uh” (“ah” should be held long)
Lueyil: /lɯəjɪl/ or “loo-uh-yihl”
Nìunalth: /niɯnalθ/ or “nee-oo-nahlth”
Séotel: /seɤtəl/ or “say-oh-tuhl”
Yezdzan: /jɛzd͡zan/ or “yez-dzahn”
Zéosanth: /zeɤsanθ/ or “zay-oh-sahnth”
32 Likes
I’d like to see this come into fruition.
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Damn this is good
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Intriguing Concept, I look forward to it.
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War brews in the galaxy. In this sci-fi fantasy adventure, quietly work as an interpreter in a neutral space station assisted by a crew of diverse misfits. Welcome diplomats of the three major factions of the galaxy into your space station for tension-filled negotiations, where you act as a neutral interpreter and have the chance to subtly edit the meaning, tone, and intent of the diplomats’ words in order to stave off an impending galactic war for as long as possible. The fate of trillions is in your hands, and you’re not being paid nearly enough for your work.
Galactic Factions
- The Autarchs, who speak the language Fleschette
- Apolitical Free Trade Association (AFTA) members, who speak the languages Pingrit and Lojit
- The Crescent worlders, who speak dialects of Scythe
Faction and Language Details
Autarch
The Autarchs (oh-tarks) spout platitudes of unity, strength, harmony, and artistic expression, but they achieve these through staunch authoritarianism. The Autarchs enjoy the greatest amount of political power in the galaxy by conquering and reeducating entire solar systems to follow their traditions. They value the aesthetics of art and beauty above all else, though their definitions of such are quite strict.
Those born and raised in Autarch systems speak Fleschette, a language governed by strict rules around grammar and register. Autarch linguists argue that the language enhances (rather than stifles) self-expression because the confinement of the rules inspires greater creativity in its use. Most speakers flit seamlessly between truth and metaphor and expect you to assume the most charitable interpretation.
Autarchs tend to dislike speaking any language other than Fleschette for cultural reasons; they view Fleschette as the perfect example of what a language should be.
Apolitical Free Trade Association (AFTA)
Explicitly political despite the name, AFTA is radically libertarian in its ideals. They tend to form companies and organisations rather than colonies, and as such there are AFTA members in practically every system in the galaxy. Given the choice between acquiring greater political power and greater purchasing power, they’ll pick the one that gives their people greater choice. Everyone is obligated to live their lives the way they choose, given that it adds value to AFTA.
AFTA boasts of how it coined the language Pingrit, also known as GSL (the Galaxy’s Second Language). Similar to Pidgin from historical records on Earth, Pingrit is a simplified trade language with a limited but pragmatic vocabulary. Pingrit was originally a constructed language, but has evolved over time to a combination of constructed and natural language. All languages in the game are substituted with English, but the default is always assumed to be Pingrit.
Because of Pingrit’s limited, imprecise vocabulary, a more complex form of Pingrit was constructed by AFTA linguists for the purpose of drafting legal documentation. This is called Lojit, a punishingly precise language similar to computer code that some say removes all ambiguity in speech. Despite the lofty ideals, it does not in fact remove all ambiguity, hence the continued need for lawyers. Some scholars tried to start a movement to replace Pingrit with Lojit entirely, but this was abandoned because it takes about seven years of intensive study to become even passably fluent in Lojit.
Crescent
Spiritual, free, and community-driven, Crescent worlds consist of Earth-like planets that support massive agricultural operations. Most Crescent farmers never leave where they were born, content with the community they’ve developed on a local level and having no greater aspirations to explore the galaxy. That said, despite its roots in spiritualism and naturalism, Crescent has made major footprints by fielding missions to solar systems offering promising new worlds to terraform. They need a lot of land, and they’re not afraid to fight for it.
Crescent worlders speak dialects of Scythe, a colloquial everyday language with hundreds of thousands of variations. It’s a hodge-podge language that developed wholly naturally over many different systems and has very few set-in-stone rules. Its dictionaries are either very short or exceedingly large depending on whether the linguist intends to list the few universal Scythe terms or capture the staggeringly vast colloquial vocabularies across the many Crescent worlds.
Crescent worlders generally dislike the role that Pingrit has taken as the de facto language of trade. They view it as a language that stifles the imagination by trying to reduce human experience into a small sample of key phrases.
Other Factions
There are hundreds of other factions in the galaxy each with their own languages and traditions which might pop up every now and then throughout the story. The main character speaks Fleschette, Pingrit, Lojit, and Scythe with relative fluency, and the study of languages and linguistics gives them an edge when gaining conversational fluency with other bespoke languages, but it’s not possible to know them all. As such, most conversations in the game are in Pingrit.
Ansible Stations
Ansibles are faster-than-light communication devices that transmit messages through the use of large but mostly-unoccupied space stations. Right now, Ansible Station 24 is occupied by a crew of eight: a hydroponics priest, an astronaut, a station engineer, an ansible operator, a combat drone, a maintenance robot, a landlord, and a political interpreter. It’s a quiet life when the politicians aren’t screaming at each other in the conference room.
Ansible Station Details
Ansibles act similarly to telegrams from historical Earth records, in that they offer nigh-instantaneous communication but are fiddly and difficult to use, and they are very limited in the kinds of information that they can transmit. Operating them requires specialised engineers and equipment constructed outside of planetary atmospheres. There are only about 350 of them throughout the galaxy, and together they provide a web of connections across a vast network that effectively reaches every colonised solar system.
The stations hold a special role in galactic politics as well, acting as neutral stations unaligned with any faction, which means important political conferences are almost always held at an Ansible station.
Life aboard one of the stations is warm, cozy, and comfortable, with vast libraries to explore and opulent furnishing to lounge in. There are no windows; it was a priority to hide the stations from the reality of the uncaring chill of the void outside.
Ansible Station 24 was originally built in a low traffic area, until Crescent worlders terraformed three planets around a nearby solar system. AFTA traders moved in quickly to capitalise on the immigration boom, and the Autarchs jealously set up bases on moons and asteroids, searching for a way to take power for themselves.
Romance Options
- June (f, 26), a growth priest
- Miller (m, 39), the station’s manager
- Nightcrawler (nb, ~90), a maintenance robot
- Dahlia (f, 38), a spacefaring courtesan
- August (m, 25), a spacefaring interpreter
- Minoa (nb, 20), an alien Autarch princeps
Romance Option Details
June (f, 26)
June is a Crescent “growth priest” who manages the station’s hydroponics. She grows the food in a dedicated agricultural block. Unlike most growth priests, she has moved on from the Crescent community in which she was born. Her reasons are undisclosed.
Miller (m, 39)
Miller won the rights to oversee the management of Ansible Station 24 in a bitter AFTA court case after his father’s death, a case that took fifteen years and his entire self-made fortune to win. Pushing 40 and now having only the station to his name, he has resolved to stay on as manager for the near future while he figures out what to do with his life.
Nightcrawler (nb, ~90)
The maintenance robot of 24 has stewarded the station for the better part of a century and has seen an innumerable amount of people come and go. Desperate for any semblance of connection, they’ve begun reading up on human philosophy and culture in an effort to strike up conversations and entice people not to hop off the station the moment their contract ends. They haven’t been successful yet.
Dahlia (f, 38)
As an independently-operating AFTA courtesan, Dahlia arrives at the station early in the game as a companion to some haughty Autarch politician. Fascinated with the station and its weird, tiny culture, she befriends the station’s interpreter and asks to keep in touch in her travels. Throughout the game, the interpreter has the option to share a long-distance correspondence with Dahlia as she explores the galaxy. Like the interpreter, she also has a desire to ensure galactic peace, and is also in a unique position to subtly tip the scales.
August (m, 25)
Early in the game, the interpreter meets August, another interpreter who works for the Crescent worlds. A proponent (and practitioner) of free love and communal living, he is deeply uncomfortable working in space, but his talents as a polyglot have taken him down a path he never anticipated. He sees a bit of himself in the interpreter, who also isn’t fully satisfied with their lot in life, and seeks to keep up a correspondence with them throughout the game as he is ferried across the galaxy wherever Crescent worlders are in need of an interpreter like him.
Minoa (nb, 20)
Humans aren’t the only sentient species in the galaxy, nor the only ones with political power. The Operators, as they’re called, designed the original Ansibles and constructed Ansible Station 0 many thousands of years before humans arrived. Very few Operators remain, but one Operator family holds a prominent position in the Autarch hierarchy. The noble princeps Minoa made a pilgrimage to Ansible Station 24 with their family when they were young and reaches out to the station many years later during the game’s events, unprompted, curious of what became of it. The interpreter has the option to maintain a correspondence with the princeps throughout the game.
Other Characters
- Maverick (m, 45), an astronaut
- Linda (f, 65), an engineer
- Crete (nb, 50), an alien ansible operator
- Goliath (nb, ~10), a freed Autarch defense drone
Other Character Details
Maverick (m, 45)
The station sometimes needs someone to go out on space walks or take shuttles to and from satellite stations nearby. This falls to Maverick, a rough, reckless space cowboy who constantly skirts the regulations of his AFTA union. He has a wife and kids on an AFTA colony whom he loves dearly and speaks to every day on the ansible.
Linda (f, 65)
Some people are naturally talented at engineering. Others have trained their whole lives. Linda’s both. She puts on airs of a ditzy wine aunt, but when she needs to make a calculation with lives on the line, she goes into a frightening trance, coming up with the right numbers faster than you can punch them into a computer.
Crete (nb, 50)
Most Ansible Stations have an Operator on staff, and 24 is no exception. Crete is a strange, multi-tentacled hulking alien with a chip on their shoulder and a permanent scowl. Convincing them that you need to use the ansible is a major undertaking. Maverick can smooth-talk Crete pretty reliably, but the interpreter, despite their knowledge of languages, really struggles to get through to them.
Goliath (nb, ~10)
Goliath is a beautifully ornate (but seriously deadly) Autarch defense drone commissioned for use on 24 when it became clear it was becoming a major hub for political negotiations. Goliath’s function is to be so intimidating that they dissuade any assassination attempts. Miller purchased Goliath outright, at massive personal cost, to ensure they were privately owned rather than subject to the Autarch’s regulations. Goliath has a soft spot for Miller, for freeing them, and for the interpreter, for being the only one aside from Miller willing to speak to them as an equal.
34 Likes
I was already excited about the idea of this game, but the detail you’ve already put into the linguistics has my wordy little heart fluttering with joy. Please ignore the part of me that wants to beg you to write it quickly and take all the time you need to make it as amazing as I know it has the potential to be.
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Yay, I can finally work for sci - fi China! That’s everything I’ve ever wanted and, like, I’m serious. Or is it inspired by Star Trek?
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Daaaang, keeping an eye on this
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