Model Citizens: Unmasked (WIP - Update March 11, 2022)

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I’m always willing to jump in and offer a bit that makes you question everything you thought about someone up until this point, :wink: It’s what I’m here for.

I’m happy you like them! It’s always really fun to dive into the little societies that these people have created, and especially how they interact and clash with each other. (Ex. Mambo is most notably a doctor for villains, but there’s another doctor who serves mostly heroes who he interacts with a lot, and the two of them create a sorta neutral ground territory.)

As for team-based property damage? Oh… there’s definitely been a lot of that. And there may be more coming in the future, ahaha.

There’s a couple of sort of underground groups, that consist of heroes or villains who have teamed up either to create a sorta territory area for other heroes or villains to be or for a common goal. (Again, I can point to Mambo as an example, he runs his own little clinic but the area around there is generally considered a no-fight zone between villains, with that rule enforced by Tango, Foxtrot, and a couple others who all work under him.)

As for the exes- They have met each other under their respective masks… I wouldn’t say that they’re necessarily ‘friends’ (Valkyrie thinks that Harbinger holds back too much during fights and that he could do so much more if he wasn’t as weak-willed, while Harbinger is generally disgusted by Valkyrie’s willingness to kill for her goals.) As for whether or not they recognize each other? Not at all… but that has to do with a major plot point that should be introduced… relatively soon? Not in the next update, but definitely by the end of the first case. As for whether or not they’ll ever find out about each other’s identities? Well… It’s complicated. And again has to do with that li’l old plot point I mentioned before hand. Yep! I think a while ago I mentioned that if you went with Ricky and either fight with Alexander Bright or take a drink then the MC will ask how Ricky got the tickets… His response changes slightly depending on who you’re Ex is- so either of them would’ve gone to the party but then canceled their reservation when they found out the MC was gonna be there. (Raf through his powers, and Lucy through Foxtrot’s info.)

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So foxtrot knows about Lucy’s past and reluctance to reunite with the MC? Lucy skips out on the party because foxtrot let’s her know the MC will be there?

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The answer to the spoiler question is yes.

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JEEZ can you stop making Lucy more likable? I dont think I can handle this much drama :cold_sweat:

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Since there are doctors who work with heroes and villains, would there be costume designers who do the same, kind of like Edna Mode from The Incredibles? Or would there be a lot of heroes and villains who’d prefer to go the DIY route? (For the latter, I’d imagine people who work for Nickelport’s fabric stores would get really suspicious whenever someone comes in and buys a lot of spandex, black fabric, or that really flashy costume satin when it’s nowhere near Halloween)

Right, I forgot about the way Ricky got the invites!

Also, I just replayed and I like how you added the options to make an explicitly trans MC and to fill in your MC’s gender! :o

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Foxtrot knows most of it. There are still some things Lucy keeps a secret from them but the two have become very close friends over the years (she’d probably list them as her best friend if asked, and Foxtrot would do the same).

But she has entrusted them with most of her past, including the fact that she’s reluctant to reunite with the MC, yes. (And like @Urban said, the answer is yes. She was having Foxtrot scout out the event before she went, and when they got wind about the MC trying to get a ticket they let her know, which is why she’s not there if you’re married to her.)

It’s okay, It’s okay. I’ll my best to ease you into the drama.

(… Although that’s a blatant lie. I mean, the game literally starts with an explosion. The only ‘ease’ into it you get is a clock.)

Definitely depends on the hero/villain- there are a few who will outsource their costume work to those more linked into the heroic/villainous society (I mean, costume repairs/tailoring are a big, albeit dangerous business. You gotta be good at keeping secrets.)

A few more organized group (Such as Mambo and his employees, and a lovely gang of people that you’ll first hear about in the next update called the Honeybees, as well as other such organizations) will have internal sources that they can access for their own uniforms.

The most common for those newer to the scene is to make their own costume. So almost everyone (unless they’ve got some kinda more experienced mentor who can show them where the underground tailors are and who to trust) has at least one costume that they put together either with just some homemade stuff (like Oppenheimer, who wears a red hoodie she’s painted over, some tinted aviator googles, and a handkerchief) or will have stitched it together with fabric that they’ve bought (Red Light, who is known as being new on the scene, did this. So his current costume is homemade.) Most of the times they grow out of this since the tailors just have better experience and better equipment for making more protective costumes.

A few… especially out-there villains have been known to kidnap famous tailors and force them to design and create their own costume to the villains specifications. (coughcoughLikewisecoughcough)

So, yes, there have been a few… suspect purchases that the poor cashiers have wondered whether or not they’ve just made a sale to a hero, a villain, or… some kinda entertainer.

It’s anybody’s guess, really.

Oh, yay! I’m glad you liked them!

I wanted to add it in a while ago but I also wanted to wait until I made a couple of behind-the-scenes revisions just to fix my own headache whenever I reread the code. But, yeah! I wanted to do them and I figured, well, it’ll probably make someone somewhere happy and it’s no skin off my back so why not just put it in now?

But, yeah! I’m happy you liked them! :grin:

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Also what is that Lucy can’t trust foxtrot with that concerns the MC?

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Ah, but that contains the deadly spoiler. So I’m afraid I cannot share.

Let’s just say that what she can’t share and what’s put the MC into their situation in Nickelport have similar roots.

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…Oh @RenaB you just have to fuel my liking toward Lucy more do you?

And here I thought foxtrot and oppenheimer just another character, i have been understimate them. you really made them all fleshed out :astonished:

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I haven’t used my tablet in like three months so I’ve started doodling some stuff to get used to it again. I don’t remember whether or not you ever described Valkyrie and Harbinger’s costumes. I meant to draw both of them but then Valkyrie ended up being a really long doodle…

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I based her costume a bit off recreations of viking shield maiden armor and a bit off Wonder Woman’s costume in the new movie (which I heard was really good but still haven’t had the chance to watch yet :cry:)

I think eventually I want to clean this up and color it and also do an accompanying Harbinger

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It’s one of the many things I am here for, yes. :smile:

I’ve put… probably too much thought into some of the minor characters. Heck, they have their own backstories, personal relations, goals and ambitions that will admittedly probably never make it into the actual game itself. (Though it does make me consider writing some kinda spin-off novel or more short stories like I did for Morgan Sharp and the gang.)

But, yeah, Foxtrot and Oppenheimer both fall into this category… kinda, Oppenheimer less so because the MC can actually find out quite a bit about her in the second case (which will be the Oppenheimer case). Foxtrot, Tango (to an admittedly lesser extent), and Mambo definitely do, though. (As well as two others who are in their little group that I’ve fleshed out some more, called Charleston and Rhumba.)

I do this kinda thing mostly cause it’s fun for me, honestly. I love fleshing out characters, thinking out their goals, their fears, their wants and weaknesses. It’s become something of a favorite passtime.

:scream: She looks so good what the heck, how is that just a doodle…? I absolutely adore the viking feeling to her costume it looks amazing!!

It looks really, really cool and I definitely get that kinda viking feel from it!

(On a semi-unrelated sidenote: I also really want to see Wonder Woman, but haven’t had the time :anguished: )

I would love to see him if you do ever decide to do so! :grin:

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I’m really glad you like it! I haven’t gotten started on Harbinger yet bc I’m a bit stumped on his costume :frowning: What do you have in mind for it?

I also started on a what-started-as-a-doodle-but-has-since-become…-not-a-doodle piece of V, which is also part of why I haven’t gotten started on Harbinger yet. It’s not even close to done yet, but I also made a little playlist of music that reminds me of them to listen to while I work (Is this a party mix or a bank heist mix? It’s a bit hard to tell with V)

(Also after thinking about it for a while, Trouble by Neon Jungle could so work pretty well for Valkyrie)

And speaking of music… A more rambunctious MC romanced to Ricky? :wink:

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So… what have I missed?

V was a Likewise-shaped red herring this whole time? :astonished: So who’s the guy confronting Valkyrie or is he just a random ne’er-do-well that probably doesn’t not have anything to do with the plot of Unmasked? I feel like I’m late to the party… :disappointed_relieved:

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Harbinger’s costume is a bit more subdued- he focuses more on stealth then intimidation or showmanship like Valkyrie does. As a result, his costume can be boiled down to pretty much an all black bodysuit with minimal armor (he usually can see the attack before it comes, so he puts more focus on being able to move fast and avoid whatever is coming rather than bother with trying to block it and get into a conflict), he wears a detachable cape with a hood that’s mostly used to disorient others, and his mask covers the entire face, pull-over style. (Think Spiderman or Deadpool style). The one sorta splash of decoration is that the space over his right eye is outlined in a sorta silvery fabric, with branching vines crawling around to the back of his head. (Kind of like a modified Eye of Horus - ish).

Hope that helps some!

Sorry his costume isn’t quite as fun as Valkyrie’s ahah.

But that’s the best kind of doodle. :wink:

I love these as well. And your timing was especially perfect since I spent all day yesterday on the road… so you gave me something to listen to! :grin:

Welcome back!

Hmm… Uh… Well the first few things that come to mind are: Guessing who’s gonna die, talking about a few of the possible endings for the MC, the MC’s previous job/how they came to work for Finley, There are hospitals for villains and heroes only, there’s also a sorta secret underground society for villains and heroes, Lucy’s perspective and the new hypothesis that V is Foxtrot. I’m sure there’s more to this that I’ll be adding but until then, here you go!

As for your spoiler q’s:

Or is Foxtrot a V-shaped red herring? Or is Likewise a Foxtrot-shaped red herring? Anything is possible until the final truth is revealed. :grin:

The random guy was just a random guy who’s probably gonna be stuck in Mambo’s intensive care unit for a while now. Sadly even if he did have anything to do with the plot of Unmasked it woulda have to had been something he did in the past 'cause we all know he isn’t getting up again for a while.
Oh! I should mention though that the others were not just random people. You’ll get to interact with them more… depending on who was your divorcee and how much you pursue the divorcee’s story. (Foxtrot is more tied in with Lucy’s story, Mambo is more tied in with Raf’s.)

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Am I crazy to think that the MC is somehow responsible/the reason for the ex being a villain? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Sounds like I’ve missed quite a bit. Well, at least for now, it makes sense that V would be Foxtrot, since they were at the party and if I remember correctly V is a redhead and when I hear fox I tend to automatically think of red foxes. V’s personality also makes me think of a fox. I’m getting the feeling that if Likewise hasn’t been in the story yet, they’ve been a very subtle Chekhov’s gun. I suppose you plan to torture me with not-answers and more questions. :stuck_out_tongue:

The others did have names, unlike random guy and I could only draw two conclusions; that’s Likewise or it isn’t. Didn’t seem very Likewise-y though, but maybe I have unrealistic expectations. :blush:

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I’m pretty sure that it’d be fairly difficult to be considered crazy when you’re talking about a world where people fly, melt, faze in and out of existence, punch holes through walls, and see the future all on a regular basis.

All fun things to be revealed in-text eventually! :smile:

You’d be correct on the not-answers and more questions tidbit. :wink: I mean, that is essentially my secondary job as the author of this thing. So, as I must say, you’ll see!

Ahaha, Likewise isn’t quite as… preachy as he was. It’d be very hypocritical if they were. Likewise… doesn’t really have appear to have a rhyme or reason to what they do, whenever they’re talked about a lot of people tend to fear Likewise simply because, unlike most villains or even heroes, they don’t really have an M.O. There’s no specific target of theirs, no specific way in which they execute whatever it is, there’s… almost nothing similar between one Likewise occurrence and the last. The only thing people seem to be able to count on is that whatever it is they do, and however it is they do it, there’s gonna be a show.

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@RenaB oh my god. That Lucy’s perspective shorts just twisted my heart in all sorts of ways! I NEED MOAR ANGST :joy:. Do more Lucy shorts please hahaha.

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Seconded. Actually I just want more stuff on the Ex in general ;A;

Especially if feelings about the MC are involved :3c

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That helps a lot! And I was kinda hoping he’d have a cape :smiley: It’s 2017, I think it’s about time for caps and cloaks to come back in style. Been busy today so haven’t gotten to start on him but managed to figure out how I wanna do the lineart for V after playing around with custom brushes (at least I hope so… still a bit unsure of how it looks)

Also, will the MC (romanced to him) get the chance to ask how the cat’s doing?

Also been listening to Postmodern Jukebox tonight and found a couple songs that reminded me of some characters

I already have their cover of “Oops! …I Did It Again” on the playlist for V. Not sure about how the lyrics fit, but I just kinda thought it would be a song they’d like. Regarding Britney Spears songs, I think Toxic would fit better, lyric-wise, but I feel like the cover is too slow to fit in with the rest of the playlist :frowning:

And on the topic of Britney Spears, Womanizer is for Ricky. Obviously. (In the beginning before the MC and Ricky warm up to each other, anyway)

And for not-Britney Spears, Closer sounds like a good fit for the MC and either of the exes. (‘Moved to the city in a broke down car And four years, no calls Now you’re looking pretty in a hotel bar’)

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