Unlocking Aza-chan

So the main writing block I've been having is that I just don't like Azathoth. I don't like 4chan apologists who refuse to see the hateful rhetoric of anonymous groups as "just jokes bro." It drives me up a wall.

But at the same time, the fact that it drives me up a wall makes it high octane rocket fuel for this examination of the societal ills of the 21st century, and where they're rooted. So... what now?

I think I figured out the trick -- make Aza-chan a reluctant participant in that system.

On some level, Aza-chan knows this is horrible. She feels terrible when homophobia and transphobia are tossed around casually. If she's an apologist it's because she's scared -- intimidated by Cthulhu, by anonymous. And scared that she's enabling this horror and feels she can't and shouldn't do anything about it because Cthulhu loves and trusts her so much, and defying him would mean everything was a lie...

So I'm revising the Aza-chan intro scene to hint harder at "I know this is bad but please stop poking holes in my defensive justifications." That way she's absolutely not a willing participant and doesn't think it's all fun and games -- the "fun and games" excuse is a smokescreen she's terrified to peek behind.

Hopefully this helps me get past the block and get back into writing for the game. Between day job and retirement stuff and my ongoing disability issues it's been difficult. Recently in particular, my usual support structure wasn't available and I couldn't sit for a week -- and there's only so much game dev I can do from bed, even if I feel like doing game dev from bed, which I really didn't.

This is a weird time in my life, but I'm navigating it as best I can. I appreciate your support -- because it is entirely optional and voluntary and I recognize that.

More to come.