nightmaresyndicate

[nightmaresyndicate]

Long time no see, blog of mine. So a rehaul happened because I hate how a lot of things line up. I'm gonna dedicate some time between commissions to reading and note taking on my own notes and see what happens. But for now... I have the 9 'books' planned out and what events tie into them.

I have some fun notes on how my Pillars are symbolic, and I have some fun ideas for revamping some big things with their creature designs.

I need to figure out if Siali getting their medallions is uh, insta-death or like... what.

May be like a next day thing. I'M JUST KINDA idk the idea of like PURIFICATION and seeing them for what they really are is kinda mmm, tired for me personally. I dunno.

I'm still soccerballing ideas around! We'll see!!

But I have a VERY clear outline, and I rehauled all the NPCs of mine and god I'm just happy with the direction I'm going.

Even if I never DO anything with this, writing it all out and talking about it will be fun at least.

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Revisiting Keyith, I need to find his updates… I drew Manis but I don’t know if I uploaded it…..

Where did I go wrong with getting bored of my own story…? I feel like I should be working on this shit rather than fucking reading all the comics I have been.

BUT WHOOPS I HIT BLOOCKS AND HATE MY ART AND WRITING TOO OFTEN.

I forget everything about Key-ith actually… he has his soul/power trapped in that skull but he can’t find the key to it and he doesn’t remember much about himself when he was a realm guardian/destroyer so he just aimlessly looks for and collects keys. Including the key to escape the dream realm which is what Felix has Siali hunting down. Key-ith constantly bugs her and scares hr because he has the gut feeling what she’s doing there is WRONG and OFF.

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Moving things so I know where they’re at for faster reference.

I still really love the shapes I use for the panels on the thumbnails, I’m really glad he frist 30 pages DON’T… FUCKING CHANGE EVERY TIME I WRITE NIGHTMARE SYNDICATE…

It’s been since highschool and I still love these shapes UGH. I still have my old PSDs where I vectored these shapes out too so I might be able to utilize those. Especially since the prologue is 14 pages or something? I have some GOOD panels for my art back then tbh *w*’‘ all garbage now!

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Need to renew my celtx subscription sometime. We’ll see.

Smells like organization, I like this.

So I outlined major players in the comic. I’m going to redo a LOT of my prethought out things actually and revamp most of the comic. GOOD. JOB. ME.

so the second picture shows what they fold out into. uwu!!! some previews of stupid info I dein important to me. Then I’m color coding my book segment notes on items, monster encounters, situations and major discussions so I can figure my pacing and move shit around and balance my books by seing it VISUALLY in size…

Then I litrally have written nothing, I’m tired and I am still trying to find out ehat is a good opening line. I think I like my original.

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Just keep thinking about Paper Eleven.

Also like I have Manis my weird anteater fox and I'm just....what it that wasn't a cataclysmic bitch, but actually Ovid. But how did Ovid get trapped in a weird creature body. Does his weird creature scenario give birth to Inanis or drag all The Pillars into it...

Be like a void or something. I'm legit trying to do this writing shit.i have to do something with my anxiety energy ✨✨

Also like Ovid being forced to be stuck in that creature for the rest of his life is oof. Or him getting out and like waging hell on Felix. Alters my endings as well.

Kinda keep thinking if when he behead Mira it does something in Felix's favor. Or if when he tries to banish Felix it activate a hex or something.... Hmm. Idfk. I'm tired. I can't focus in reality so 🤙✨✨

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Keep idly thinking about how much Vel adores Cor. She thinks he so amazing and interesting and has this baby crush on him. But also like I keep thinking of how she actually likes Felix and thinks he's just playing mysterious and hard to get.

Like...she's so genuinely interested in the Kraz men and I just lose my mind at how Cor is all strained forced smiles and Felix is all grimaced teeth...

But she asks Felix a lot of personal questions about him, his mother she knows nothing about and his dad... And I just keep wanting to draw her asking why he's so angry with his dad it seems. She wants to like fix their relationship but like??? IMPOSSIBLE, GIRL...

I just wanna draw Felix having to deal with his trauma every time she goes into this hero worship vein. Just the day his mom died to save his life because his dsd chose so, and he didn't know it, is the day his dad went from an exciting figure to see, to a soulless bastard.

And just Vel sitting in his workshop asking about his life and what it's like to work with one of the main Pillars, and Felix zoning out and replying simply "my father is not the man you think he is."

LOVE IT.

[nightmaresyndicate]

Five endings.

Mark and I have discussed the main ending BEING Felix winning.

Pivotal moment is Felix and Siali facing off. Siali has become unhinged. She's seeing everything through the guise it's a hallucination. Her grasp on reality has shifted. She's starting to have less care over her own well being. Everything is just a dream. She's broken like all the kids ans teens before her. Felix is at his limit of her refusing to play his game. He's become the monster.

Ending 1 - neutral, maybe canonical final - Siali goes to stab the blade between his chest plating and he knocks her aside and obtains the key to the door. Siali is passed out, and Felix runs to the "exit" where then he makes his way to Ovid. He challenges Ovid who only makes comments to Felix about his mother, why he kept him around, how he's fascinating and yet a total disappointment. Felix goes to kill him ans succeeds and he's so proud until he realizes while Ovid is disintegrating by peeling off bits of himself, he's laughing. Felix is asked what he thinks holds the world together. The realization hits that Ovid keeps things in balance. The topic of balance a constant discussion and mention amongst The Pillars. We see everything crack and crumble into a void as Ovid and Felix talk a bit more. Ultimately the last shot is Dario and Deva orbiting eachother in space, symbolizing we're back to square one OR fate is permanent ans a time loop is restarting.

Ending 2 - bad - Probably similar. Maybe Felix dies. Siali becomes the Black Queen; overtaken by dreams, nightmares and darkness. Ovid killed Felix because he no longer found him worthy of attention.

Ending 3 - neutral/good - Siali meeting Ovid. The door takes her to him versus Alphard and all that nonsense. Siali visibly shaken by the pure size and awe of Ovid who questions her about her experiences. I'm not sure all the details of it but it's an interesting mark to entertain. He probably returns her home. Maybe wipes her memory after saying humans are truly his greatest work. She thinks, much like the beginning pages, it was a weird dream. She can't find her pet, but she finds SOMETHING on her desk that tells us it was real.

Ending 4 - bad, other contestant for canonical final - Siali stabs Felix between his rib plating and he goes down. She escapes heaving and gulping air as she runs. She finds Alphard and gets home. She wakes up on her floor, physically sprawled out of her closet, half in, half out. Dirt caked on her and blood under her nails, eyes looking haunted. Tries to pull herself up by her desk chair and knocks it to the floor spotting her pet dead in her room, as her mother suddenly slams the door open at the noise. We find Siali has only been gone a few days in our time and her family can't get her to speak. She goes to an institution to make sure she's okay and find out what happened. She's in her room at night sitting on the bed, knees drawn up zoned out. Her light begins to flicker and when she looks up at it it goes out, Felix takes her from under the bed and drags her back to Inanis. When the light comes back on, she's gone. Classic horror movie ending, ans it's ambiguity leaves it open to play with.

Ending 5 - good - Siali just....gets out. No death. No freak outs. She gets out, still covered in dirt and blood and her mom freaks out asking what happened and where she was. She doesn't talk about it or brushes it off like yeah mom.i smoked some weed and got lost...something stupid. But ultimately Siali is fine. Felix is dead. Ovid is something she doesn't know about. Thankful in that knowledge.

I'm tired but I love the idea of pick your own ending so much at this point.

[nightmaresyndicate]

Felix was made earlier than I thought.

First final illustration was made June 2005. That means he was made during school like I thought, and that means he was made in like... March-May...

THIS IS THE LONG FIGURE FOR ME MAN....

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November 2005, like... the 10th... is when I solidified Felix’s design, but I’m like hunting WHEN I made him and it’s HILARIOUS to keep digging...

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I'm laughing so hard because Felix being the pillar of destruction is actually what comes to mind....omg...

EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH TURNS TO SUCK.

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Changes in names I love so far:

Lyrinx was the name of the Nightmare pocket Ovid made to banish people and Felix’s nightmares to. Now called Inanis. Latin for void kinda.

I’m renaming Moose to something Mace, with accents. It’s basically cat.

Bo-Nez to Mr. Arcadia.

Swiegley to Swingley. Spelling is easier on my brain.

Key-ith to Manis.

Meophurs to Cor fro Felix’s dad.

Limaphaye to Linnaeus for Siali’s last name.

I’m having a good ol’ time.

I wrote out LOCATIONS for the comic today. I’m running through all my old writing and deleting 90% of it honestly. I’m trying to understand a lot of my goals with the story honestly. The ending is written down in note form, I’m plugging in boss fights, big psychological episodes, I’m designating what monsters show up when, what I need to design and when events line up, intros, outros, lots of stuff. I’m pleased...

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I think I’m going to make a running joke with Rot’s middle name. Because I never know what it stands for, so I’m like he can just make jokes about

 MYKAHLIA MONROE ROTTENBURG.

MYKAHLIA MARIA ROTTENBURG

MYKAHLIA MORTEMER ROTTENBURG

MYKAHLIA MONTEZUMA ROTTENBURG

MYKAHLIA MARVIN ROTTENBURG

Because he doesn’t even know what it stands for lmfao

[nightmaresyndicate]

[Hierarchy || Cast and Social Constructs]

Doyen - Ovid. Leader of all leaders. Based on the phoenix so his rule never truly ends. Even when killed he will return from a single fracture of his essence.

Seers - Two beings kept as Ovid’s right hand [wo]men. Cor was intended to be a new Seer. Sometimes they rotate if one upsets or pissed Ovid off. If they slack in their duties or if someone excels in a task catching Ovid’s eye - he’ll rotate. Seeing as life is endless for them unless another otherworld being takes them out... it’s always laid back and seen as experience to make one wiser and a resting period for past seers. Highest honor.

Gods; Gods are paired for creating perfect children to create new benefits to the world and disperse workload. Gods do not procreate via any sexual exchange. It’s really stupid how it works and I am gonna gloss over it entirely. Needless to say the success rate is low as to why their numbers stay stagnant.

Gods of the World - Gods in charge of things directly influencing humanity are top tier gods. The highest of honors.

Cor is the God of Night and Sleep. His job brings comfort to struggled days and discontented minds. He’s one of the highest ranks. Cor was to be promoted to Seer.

Lumalurri is Cor’s intended mate and Goddess of the Sun. Bringing forth light to the dark earth, she is one of the highest ranks there is and a current Seer. Mother to Aleks.

Vel is the Goddess of Fortune. She was the intended mate for Felix after he showed promise creating the dream beads. There was hope he’d ease into his role and take his father’s place, so that he could become a Seer, but Felix had other plans. The arrangement was called off once he created nightmares. Vel is important for keeping the balance of hope and prosperity of the world and gifting those who feel lost, with hope and warming sensations when they need it most.

Aleks is the Goddess of Fertility. Being both sexual and non. Would be an equivalent of ‘Mother Earth’ but does not approve of such a name. brash, if not a bit mischievous, she takes delight in creating new life and species. Fascinated always with humans and their science, she loves giving them things to toy with.

Gods of the Under World - Gods in charge of dealing with the despairing tones of emotions for humanity. Working in the shadows to deal with loss and karmic balance of the universe all functionality exists.

Siteria is the Goddess of Passing. A grim reaper type she collects the souls evacuated from bodies as they pass, or delivers the final rip to remove them. She is a stoic being, and soft spoken. She has an adoration for those around her, but she does not hate her existence nor job. She is mostly a messenger since she does not deliver final judgement - and prefers it that way. She is the guide to passing. Often praised as a good spirit when loved ones die hoping for a “safe journey” along side her. She is one of few Gods invisible to the eyes of humanity, but animals can feel her presence, this is for her mistake of falling in love with a human girl. Iota cast this punishment, as well as punishing the human with a damned soul for ‘seducing’ a God. Siteria has never forgiven Iota for this.

Iota is the God of Judgement. He is millenia younger than his counterpart Siteria. He is often pegged as unjust in his cold judgement of damned or not. He is unwavering in his opinions based on lives and choices. The sum of your parts determines his choice. He has never been mated to anyone, yet finds Vel to be one of the most beautiful beings, and hates Felix for reacting as he has to their arrangement.

Felix is the God of Dreams and Nightmares. For the former he’d be a God of the World, but for the latter he became a God of the Under World. We all know Felix is hated though.

Humans are the highest tier under Gods. Humans give off an aura and energy that the Gods somehow thrive off of.

Tricksters are one of the most respected underlings to the Gods. They are part of the checks and balances system. Tricksters garner a lot of respect for this reason. Often being life of parties as well as benevolent fun beings for the most part.

Silge is the so called “Lord of All Tricksters”; he would be an equivalent of Loki so to speak.

Halflings would be the first things on the lower side of the scale. Felix isn’t even considered a half ling. Half beings are the equivalent of a demi-god so to speak. Ones maybe gifted with longer life and longevity. People put out to do good on earth with their other world ambition and determination. Put among humanity in hopes to perpetuate good in the species.

Servants of any kind. Recreational or for tending to them hand and foot. Rot falls in this category. He aspired to be a trickster and gave up due to needing to be born into the role. When he tried on his own whims, he upset one of the Gods and received banishment.

Nymphs are the bottom tier. Creatures. Shape shifters. Sirens. Conniving creatures set on crashing humanity. Over a time period they’ve become almost extinct. Gods have tried to destroy all of them after The Grand Fall event. [The war of the Great Beast] and any remaining choose to stay hidden in creature forms be in in deep jungles, oceans, and secluded areas away from the humanity they prior tried to snuff out and claim ownership of themselves. Originally nymphs aimed to enslave them I suppose, to bide and barter their way up the ladder of the social constructs. Various tricksters and gods noticed though such as Siteria...

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[Names || Terms]

Siali Linnaeus - Based on initial designs, she was a nightmare seer and had white on white eyes: See-all - Siali. Last name finally became something not made up is Latin on a Swedish name.

Felix’s family name: Kraz - Kraz is the name of the foot star in Corvus the constellation. Following the subtle crow theme in Nightmare Syndicate.

Felix - Has the most unfortunate luck and is also catlike, thus the original joke creation of his name. I also love names with X’s in them.

Mira - Felix’s mother is named after a red star in the constellation Cetus, the sea monster. Her monster form is based HEAVILY on angler fish and eels. Felix’s monster form is also based heavily on millipedes - so it still pulls from her eel/snake influence there.

Cor - Felix’s father is named after a star in the constellation Noctua, the [little] owl. Fitting for the god of night.

Ovid Ardea - Father of the gods. They call him a Doyen; base definition is literally the best at what he do.

Ovid - father of modern day mythology traced back in a lot of sources.

Ardea - means fire. Ovid’s motif is based around death and rebirth; the sake of the phoenix I’m going to work into his design.

Mykahlia M. Röttenburg - LITERALLY DIDN’T GIVE A SINGLE SHIT. I liked how his name sounded, I named him Rot originally and BAM THERE YOU GO. It happened.

I have no idea what the M stands for and neither does he. He just knows his mama always said his full name and he never questioned it.

Lumalurri was originally named Lurabella, or Lumabella - beautiful light. She is the Goddess of the Sun so it was only right.

Vel is named after the basic star names in the constellation Vela, the sails. Sailing towards fortune.

Aleks is named after a star cluster in the constellation Crater the Cup. Being a Goddess of Fertility a cup is usually a symbol of such!

Siteria is named of mixing letters for Arietis which is a star in the constellation Aries. Rams are often seem as symbols of death, being she’s a reaper of sorts that fit.

Iota is named - come back to this.

Silge is named for a star in the constellation something. The Hare I think. Gliese.