10th October 2024
Hello, sorry for not posting for a while, I've been busy with uni and out of ideas to make blog posts about. But recently I've been playing an RPGmaker game called Black Souls. It's dark souls, if it was a hentai game and based on Brother's Grimm fairy tales.
Without spoliers, the main plot of the game is that there is a fog spread throughout the fairytale land of Elysium, that drains it's inhabitants of souls and turns them into demonbeasts. There are many heroines thoughout the land you can recruit, but they are not immune to this fate. If left unrecruited or if certain events happen in game, they will become demonbeasts representitive of their personality traits/flaws or their state of mind when turning. Think of Madoka Magica's witches or Fear and Hunger's moonscorch.
I will be going through some of my favorite designs and Heroines. Warning for spoilers.
Victoria can be fought if you make love to her at Hotel Poseidon twice or in the true Holy Forest in ending C. She has a very translucent, almost etheral look to her, she also lacks most of her original features, except her hair, her body looking like it's made of energy. In Judeo-Christian folklore Succubi are shapeshifters, able to tailor their appearance to their victims desires or even shift between being a Succubi or Incubi. Her horns look unusual, being very long and thin, almost like antennae. This could be in reference to the headband she wore while disguised as a maid.
Her garish colour scheme is a result of Succubi being worshippers of the God Mary Sue. But why? Mary Sue is named after the Mary Sue character trope, an all powerful, usually a self insert, perfect character. Because they are usually made by small children, they tend to have a bright and garish colour scheme of neons and rainbows.
The true Holy Forest is an eyesore, and Old Rotten Burg isn't much better (arguably worse due to the constant cackling from the Succubi.) Both places are a sensory overload, just like how Succubi operate, overwhelming the victim with pleasure to drain their souls. The only thing stopping the Holy Forest from becoming said eyesore is Mary Sue's divine blessing. Victoria is the same case, an innocent veneer over a freak of nature. A true worshipper of Mary Sue.
Next we have Goose
Unlike Victoria, Goose corresponds to an actual fairy tale, that being the Golden Goose. Though in game she's more of a Robin Hood type, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. However the spread of the fog has resulted in money becoming worthless, so she seeks to distribute souls instead. Goose will turn if left unrecruited after she steals your souls that were deposited in the Holy Forest. What's interesting is that Goose is one of the few characters that is genuinely heroic or trying to right the wrongs of the grim world of Elysium. With that being said, her beastly appearance would represent her becoming one of the exact monsters she hated.
One interesting detail is that Goose lacks bird like wings and legs in this state. This will mean she will be unable to land, and only able to glide. Her occupation as a noble bandit would have her constantly fleeing, unable to stay in the same place for too long. Sure she has her hideout in the Sea of Trash, but theres still high chances of it being raided by demonbeasts or whatever is or deems itself to be Elysium's law enforcement. So as a consequence, the fog robbed her of being able to rest.
Up after Goose, is Dorothy the witch
Dorothy of course, is reference to Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ. In this game however, she was once a the Wizard of OZ, having reincarnated several times in order to take over the world, though this time she chose to take the form of a woman. Strangely, Dorothy will only turn if you recruit her, then kill her at the Hotel Posiedon, being able to withstand the fog if left unrecruited.
Her demonbeast form has no human features, she's reduced to nothing but shadow underneath her wizard robes. After being betrayed by the one she loves the most, she gives up on being human and turns. I have two theories regarding her demonbeast form's appearance. One is that this is what she looked like when she was Oz. Before the fight is initiated, she states that it was a mistake to reincarnate as a woman. As a result the fog grants her a twisted version of her original male self to enact revenge. On the other hand, her demonbeast form could represent her giving up her humanity completely. Her flesh and blood cast away for a shadowy mass of pure power.
Finally, we have Jeanne
Jeanne is based off the historical figure Joan of Arc/Jeanne D'Arc, being a holy knight. Jeanne will turn if you commit ten sins. If this occurs, she will part amicably with Grimm, leaving the holy forest. She can then be found at the Lost Empire, contuning the fight against Cinderella and the fog alone. Despite being a demonbeast, her soul is still pure, though her dialougue during her battle implies she's driven mad by her constant fight and betrayal by the cruel world of Elysium.
In her demonbeast form, she appears to have a male torso. This being the fog's perversion of real Joan of Arc's crossdressing. However her human features end there, the rest of her body being more angelic. Her hair completely drowns out her face (justice is supposed to be blind after all.) She resembles a Seraph, with large wings, a more humanoid appearance, and her face covered. Seraphim would sit amongst the first heirarchy of angels, next to the throne of God. They would help maintain perfect order, like Jeanne's tireless quest to slay the demonbeasts and restore order to the realm. Ironically enough by being a demonbeast, she is closer to the real god of the realm, Mary Sue. The name Seraph comes from the hebrew word Saraph, which means burning. Its a bit of stretch but she could resemble a Seraph in reference to Joan of Arc being burned at the stake.
Thank you for reading. If you are interested in playing Black Souls, you can buy it on DLSite or download it for free here.
backI will list my sources below:
Succubi Seraphim