Hello again everyone, I really love coming through here and reading the theories from the regulars and I've grown to greatly respect the opinions and persepctives of some of the familiar faces. This drought has driven me to try to create my own glimpse into the void and I've been trying to do some research but I think you dedicated folks are the only ones that have the answers I'm looking for.
I think it's safe to say that a lot of us are here because these characters have burned their mark into our souls. Whether it's the unfiltered antics, Sel's unique writing flair or just the fact we've spent so damn many hours with them, they're here to stay and there's nothing we can do about it.
I caught up to the current patches late last year. My patience for soaking up lore and digging through the game for theories didn't last long so in short order their silent voices faded from my day to day, leaving behind an unsettling hollow within.
As time passed, that vacuous hole gathered within it the arrogance that I too, had a story to tell. That I could dust off an old setting in my fantasies and explore the intersection of intimacy, philosophy and agency on my own terms and in my own style. Sel did it at such a seemingly small budget, so why couldn't I? I dove deep into outlining and foundational work and lo and behold, something tangible, workable sits in my One Note, waiting for a path forward. However, as I researched the practical elements of stepping into the ring, something became abundantly clear.
Lessons in Love is a statistical anomaly. We're all familiar with the gameplay issues, the grinding, the reset puzzles and the ego trips. Beyond that lies the generic visuals, the stock animations, the boner-killing sex scenes and the unavoidable absurdity of the HAPPY events. This is something that should not exist. I love it for these things, as do many of us here but it's 2025 now and the rules seem to have changed.
If I follow this path will there be an audience at the other end? Am I taking inspiration from the wrong place? Does this corner of the internet still have any patience left for this aesthetic, or would I have to jump on the Daz Filatoon bandwagon to be taken seriously? Assuming my hubris is actually just premature confidence, can a linguistic style and depth of topic chasing the coattails of works like LiL and Subahibi carry a work such that it will find it's audience no matter the aesthetics?
I know I should be simply continuing the writing grind using placeholder visuals if I have to. However, I'd like to start planting the seeds for the visuals in this work soon so the persepctive from those uniquely dedicated to one of it's core inspirations is incredibly welcome.
Thanks to any who take the time to share their thoughts. Take care of yourselves and have a HAPPY "Fanfest"
P.S. - If anyone found that attempt at a Pareidolia Mall map useful or thinks it would be worth keeping around if I find a way to clean it up, I could see if I can cook something up.
