HTML Inner Empire [v1.7] [Defiant Explorer]

[Defiant Explorer]

I agree that her trauma shouldn't define who she is, and indeed if survivor Selene were to walk around in a perpetual state of suffering it would be quite tiresome, and probably wouldn't work very well for her survival chances either. I guess the issue that i was having was that i looked at the hunters as if they were just another "branch" of the republic's military, and in that case I'd imagine that a person that went through what survivor Selene went through would have flashbacks, or at least some level of discomfort being next to men that reminded her of those who hurt her. But as i said, it may be the case that i saw a connection between the hunters and the military that shouldn't be there, i thought their armor looked similar, but it clearly isn't based on their silhouettes.

What's interesting here is not the sheer difference in armor and the associations it can make for Selene, but the fact that most players (judging by the context of posts about it) consider rape to be the basis of Survivor's trauma. Why else would she be worried about the hunters' not-so-much resemblance to soldiers, for example?

Well, when I work with this Origin, I divide her trauma into 4 components, in descending order:

1. The murder of her mother, younger brother, and sister.
2. Separation from her twin sister Sylvana and the unknown of her fate.
3. Gang rape by soldiers.
4. The unknown fate of her father and, in general, the loss of her home and everything that was dear and familiar to her.

As you can see, rape is only in 3rd place. The fate of her sister Sylvana worries her more, otherwise, Selene would not have gone to the “lion's den”, across the Republic to its capital, in search of her. Getting lost along the way and ending up where the game begins.

Thus, the main traumatic experience is the killing of most of her family. This is like a hole in her soul, unhealable. But at the same time, it's a foregone fact, and dwelling on it is not allowed by the personality I've prescribed for her. If it were otherwise, Selene would most likely be crammed into some hole, staying in a paralyzing depression. And you can't write a story with such a character... There needs a character who can act.

Then there's the desire to find her sister, which is her main driving motive. And that's why she joins the troupe. Sargon promises to help. In time.

The rape is also part of the trauma. But not the dominant one. Survivor has a number of lines that make her more suspicious and distrustful to people. But not always, not with everyone, and not all the time. As for her being open or closed to sexual encounters, that's entirely on the player's side. The game allows you to avoid all sex scenes without exception. It doesn't break the story.

Finally, her father's fate is also of concern to her. Some of the dialog in this Origin shows this. While Selene has some clarity about Sylvana's fate, she knows nothing at all about her father's fate. But at the same time, thinking about it all the time is pretty pointless for her. Therefore, the motive to find her sister becomes dominant and determines her actions.

 

[Rinalivi]

What's interesting here is not the sheer difference in armor and the associations it can make for Selene, but the fact that most players (judging by the context of posts about it) consider rape to be the basis of Survivor's trauma. Why else would she be worried about the hunters' not-so-much resemblance to soldiers, for example?

Well, when I work with this Origin, I divide her trauma into 4 components, in descending order:

1. The murder of her mother, younger brother, and sister.
2. Separation from her twin sister Sylvana and the unknown of her fate.
3. Gang rape by soldiers.
4. The unknown fate of her father and, in general, the loss of her home and everything that was dear and familiar to her.

As you can see, rape is only in 3rd place. The fate of her sister Sylvana worries her more, otherwise, Selene would not have gone to the “lion's den”, across the Republic to its capital, in search of her. Getting lost along the way and ending up where the game begins.

Thus, the main traumatic experience is the killing of most of her family. This is like a hole in her soul, unhealable. But at the same time, it's a foregone fact, and dwelling on it is not allowed by the personality I've prescribed for her. If it were otherwise, Selene would most likely be crammed into some hole, staying in a paralyzing depression. And you can't write a story with such a character... There needs a character who can act.

Then there's the desire to find her sister, which is her main driving motive. And that's why she joins the troupe. Sargon promises to help. In time.

The rape is also part of the trauma. But not the dominant one. Survivor has a number of lines that make her more suspicious and distrustful to people. But not always, not with everyone, and not all the time. As for her being open or closed to sexual encounters, that's entirely on the player's side. The game allows you to avoid all sex scenes without exception. It doesn't break the story.

Finally, her father's fate is also of concern to her. Some of the dialog in this Origin shows this. While Selene has some clarity about Sylvana's fate, she knows nothing at all about her father's fate. But at the same time, thinking about it all the time is pretty pointless for her. Therefore, the motive to find her sister becomes dominant and determines her actions.

That's a very fair point, I completely ignored the fact that she was on a journey to the capital of the republic when she got lost. Which is a huge step for someone who went through what she went through, therefore the simple "resemblance" of a soldier from the republic wouldn't have that big of an impact on her like i initially believed it would have.

 

[Defiant Explorer]

That's a very fair point, I completely ignored the fact that she was on a journey to the capital of the republic when she got lost. Which is a huge step for someone who went through what she went through, therefore the simple "resemblance" of a soldier from the republic wouldn't have that big of an impact on her like i initially believed it would have.

All in all, something tells me Selene Survivor will feel uncomfortable the next time she sees a soldier or guard in standardized Republic iron armor. But of course, she must meet them first. And the story just hasn't gotten to that point.

 

[CarlH]

To be fair, the symptoms i'm thinking of are also quite subtle and easy to overlook.

Well, now I'm bound to go back and look, ain't I? Any hints - hot flashes, tender breasts, mood swings?

Based on the conversation with Murella as she is suffering from period cramps, our Selene is pretty much ovulating sometime in the early days of the adventure (provided she has a regular and average cycle). So a pregnancy wouldn't be out of the question by now.

 

[ffive]

Well, now I'm bound to go back and look, ain't I? Any hints - hot flashes, tender breasts, mood swings?

I don't remember/looked if there's more, but the one i spotted (in the script) was Selene throwing up which she chalked up to poor food quality she's scavenged while stuck on the little island, after jumper attack. Note, this won't happen for all pregnant Selenes, just the ones who had it happen early enough for effects to start to kick in. So she might be pregnant even if you don't get that little bit.

 

[CarlH]

Ahh, I see. Thanks. I gotta be promiscous even faster! Got it.

 

[Defiant Explorer]

Well, now I'm bound to go back and look, ain't I? Any hints - hot flashes, tender breasts, mood swings?

ffive is correct.

There are only two tiny manifestations. In the first one, the game only checks if variable pregnancy = true. This isn't very realistic because Selene could have had sex 10 minutes before and who knows? But the "signal" itself could very well come off as a trivial physical activity expression, so it's a minor thing. In the second case, the game not only checks the pregnancy variable but also the time factor (at least 10 game days, if I remember correctly). But there the manifestation is more prominent. Although, strictly speaking, the time is still too short, so this too can be considered not very realistic as well.

In general and overall, Selene will most likely realize whether or not she's pregnant at the beginning of Chapter 3, after the time skip of 1 or 2 in-game months between chapters. And of course, other factors could play a role, like one remedy that makes a pregnant Selene today not pregnant tomorrow, and she did not even notice it, because the pregnancy was at the very beginning. That's the territory of randomness, not guarantees. To completely rule it out, don't take various poisonous things.

 

[CarlH]

To completely rule it out, don't take various poisonous things

That's smart advice in general, whether working on a baby bump or not