#but they also didn't see covid coming so joke's on them. loser

[nyehilismwriting]

sentinel - going forward

hiiii everyone. I know things have been quiet for a long time on the sentinel front, and I wanted to make a (long-overdue) post explaining where I’m at & what I’m thinking.

for some background, I started writing sentinel two years ago (and damn does that give me heart palpitations) during the summer I graduated, with no plan but a handful of vague ideas and concepts. I was unemployed, hadn’t written anything longer than a couple of thousand words in years, and i had no real idea where I was going with it.

i’ve learned a lot since then,  about coding & writing, about this community, and about myself. I originally planned to use the twine port as an opportunity to rewrite parts, maybe fix up one or two things, and generally polish the content that’s currently available, but the further I got into it, the more it seemed like so much was broken, pointless, or just plain bad it hardly seemed worth it.

I still love this story; I still love these characters. I still want to write this game, but in order to make it into what I think it needs to be, I need to go right back to the beginning. I’ve mentioned various times on this blog that I’m doing rewrites, messing with code and so on; all of that is true, but I don’t think I’ve ever emphasised the extent to which I’m overhauling it.

twine gives me a lot more creative freedom, and has encouraged me to think outside the usual formula when it comes to my writing. one of the biggest aspects of sentinel that I struggle with, as it stands, is the urban fantasy aspect - I’m a fantasy author by nature, and I think I rooted too much of sentinel in the real world, where I’d much prefer to lean into the surrealist/horror elements. plot-wise, it was never intended to be a monster of a game, but I got too caught up in sideplots and twists that I lost sight of the overall premise, which in turn had me losing interest in the game as a whole.

I’m reluctant to call this a hiatus, since functionally there is no difference to you guys: there hasn’t been any new content for a long time, but rest assured I am still working on and thinking about this story. I just need time to dig out the aspects that made me passionate about it in the first place, and to find a way to bring them into the light. it will be a long time before there’s any new content to speak of - I’ll keep posting snippets & prompts every now and then, and drop notes and excerpts as I feel like it, but I hope this has eased some concerns about this project being abandoned. it isn’t - it’s just gone insane so i’ve locked it in the attic and married a pretty new wip. don’t worry about it.

in summary: sentinel isn’t abandoned, but in order to create the game I really think it could be, and deserves to be, I have to go back to the drawing board and readjust my paradigm and all kinds of other fun words for, essentially, starting again. the choicescript demo will remain as is, and I’m too far off to give a timeline on what happens next: whether I drop a demo of the rewrite, or just try to get the game complete before release, I don’t know yet.

thank you all for your patience and support. I know it’s been a long time, and it’ll be even longer still, but I hope it will be worth it. ❤❤❤

[marichat-verse]

The Wedding Dress

Long time no see huh. Okay so my university usually extends exams and requirement deadlines until January (if we have any outstanding reqs), so I just technically finished my semester a week ago. And then I got sick (not COVID, thankfully, even though I've had COVID a year ago), it's most likely just a cold. A lot of people are getting sick in the Philippines especially during this time where the weather is cold and there's a surge of omicron cases. I'm getting better now so hopefully I'd be getting back to those requests.

Anyway, I didn't want to leave you guys without something so I pulled this out of my Wattpad book. You can check it out there, my username is @sipnalita, but I might be reposting some of my stories from there to here, especially the ones I really like. I also think some people prefer Tumblr over Wattpad since there are a lot more active users here imo.

Anyway, here's some Leo.

Your POV

"Percyyyy," I whined as I lay on my bunk. I stared at the ceiling with a bored expression.

"(Y/nnnnn)," my brother whined back, lying on his bunk equally bored.

"I wanna do something," I said.

"Swordfight at the arena?" He asked, but his voice still sounded bored.

"We always do that," I said. "I mean, maybe it would be a real challenge if we like, had to fight monsters on our weddings or something..."

I suddenly sat up and gasped as an idea struck my head. Percy looked at me curiously.

"How about a bet?" I offered. A smirk played on his lips.

"I'm listening."

"Let's go to the Aphrodite cabin. You borrow a tuxedo, I borrow a wedding dress. Then let's swordfight. Loser has to call the other your majesty for a week."

"That's stupid," he said. "I like it. Better start practicing your curtsies."

"Still not too late for you to back out, Perce."

We raced to the Aphrodite cabin where we were greeted by a confused Piper.

"I need a wedding dress."

"I need a tuxedo."

"I need an explanation," Piper said.

"It's for a bet," I said.

"Although don't expect them to come back in one piece," Percy added.

"Except the wedding dress," I interjected. "It will be fine as day while I slice the tuxedo to shreds."

"What?" Piper said.

"We have a bet. We have to spar with wedding clothes."

"Why?" Piper asked again.

"Because we're bored."

Piper shrugged and motioned for us to come in. She handed me a wedding gown with a weapon holder at the waist. She then handed Percy a navy blue velvet tuxedo and a matching tie.

"Can I have a tiara?" I asked.

"Why would you need a tiara?"

"I think it would compliment the dress," I stated. "It would also compliment me when I win and Percy gets to call me your majesty all week."

Piper rolled her eyes playfully and handed me a silver tiara with faux diamonds.

"You can keep those clothes," she said. "Our closet conjures clothes based on the wearer, so technically they're meant for you guys."

"Thanks, Pipes!" We said in unison.

We raced to the arena holding our wedding outfits in paper bags. Once we got the arena, we changed our clothes in the shower room. Thankfully, the arena was empty today, so no one else was here to watch us.

"Prepare to lose, Jackson," I said. "Or... Blofis? I don't know, did you change your last name when your mom and Paul got married?"

"Let's stick with Jackson for now," he said. "It's cringy enough when Poseidon makes dad jokes by calling me Jackson. I'd rather not give him the opportunity to call me blowfish."

I laughed as I positioned to battle stance. Percy did the same. We raced forward and our weapons clashed with each other. This went on for a while.

Soon enough, the hem of my dress was uneven. Some threads were loose. A few holes have been sliced open as well, but it was still looking pretty good. My tiara was lopsided but overall still on my head. One of Percy's pant legs were ripped up to just below his knee. One of his sleeves was also ripped to his mid arm. His tie was loose but still intact. A few threads hung loose and a few holes were sliced open. Damn, the Aphrodite kids' fabric is strong.

We continued to spar for about half an hour when some people found us.

Leo's POV

"Wow, you really redesigned the entire Mount Olympus?" I looked at Annabeth astonished.

"I wouldn't say entire Mount Olympus. Just most them. The main temple is almost still the same, but I expanded the interior throne room to accommodate more gods. Then I designed the roads and infrastructures and temples and... Okay maybe 99% of Mount Olympus," she smiled shyly, but I could see the pride glinting in her eyes.

Hephaestus kids got along really well with the Athena kids, mostly because they understand engineering just like us. They also understand weaponry the way we do. Sometimes, they would pitch in design ideas for our projects.

We were walking to Bunker 9 because I wanted to show her some blue prints I made for the expansion of Camp Half-Blood. Ever since she saw Camp Jupiter, Annabeth wanted to expand this camp so we could maybe build a mini city of our own.

Anyway, we walked past the arena and heard sparring.

"Weird," I commented. "The arena's supposed to be empty today."

We heard Percy and (y/n) sassing each other as their weapons clanged together.

"They probably got bored," Annabeth said. "Come on, let's see if our seaweed brains want to join us."

"What the—?" Annabeth muttered as she entered the arena. My eyes widened at the sight before us.

My girlfriend was sparring with her brother in a tattered wedding dress. Annabeth's boyfriend, likewise, was sparring with his sister in a torn up tuxedo.

"Percy, what in Hades name?" Annabeth said.

Percy didn't look at us, but he obviously heard Annabeth. "Long story."

"How long of a story?"

"Let me win this bet first." He swung at (y/n)'s head at which she ducked gracefully.

"As if, Blowfish," she said.

Chiron then entered the arena. "I thought no one was scheduled for the arena today?"

"They said it's a long story," I told him.

Chiron looked at the sparring Poseidon kids and sighed. "Children of Poseidon... Always have to be extra."

I looked at him curiously. "Did you just say extra?"

"Yes, Valdez."

"You know slang?"

"I keep up with the times, Valdez. I have to train generations after generations of demigods after all."

I nodded in agreement and went back to watching (y/n) and Percy.

"Are any of you supposed to be getting married today?" Chiron asked me and Annabeth. We looked at him with wide eyes.

"NO!"

"NUH-UH!"

"Nope."

"Nopity nope."

"Uh-uh."

"Nooope."

Chiron chuckled at our panic. "I was just asking. I can officiate, after all."

We looked at him surprised and laughed nervously. Of course I wanted to marry (y/n), and I'm pretty sure Annabeth wanted to marry Percy just as much. But we were still young and we still had to finish our final year in high school. Then we had to go to college in New Rome. Then I had to make her the engagement ring, then we had a lot of planning to do, then apartment hunting... Oh gods, I hope (y/n) doesn't leave me.

My thoughts were cut off when (y/n) cheered as she disarmed Percy.

"No fair," Percy said. "I was, um, distracted! By Annabeth!"

"Leave me out of it, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said.

"So what," (y/n) said. "My boyfriend's there and I didn't get distracted. Just admit it Percy, you lost."

(Y/n) walked over to us and gave me a quick kiss.

"I'll get you next time, (y/n)," Percy said as he walked up to Annabeth.

"That's your majesty to you," (y/n) said as she straightened her back and fixed her lopsided tiara.

Percy rolled his eyes and bowed mockingly. "Yes, your majesty. Terribly sorry, your majesty."

We walked out of the arena and headed to Bunker 9. Annabeth explained to Chiron about the changes she planned for the camp. Percy still wore his torn up tuxedo. He was holding Annabeth's hand as he stared at his rambling girlfriend lovingly. Gods, he really loved that girl.

I slung my arm around (y/n) who was still wearing her torn up dress.

"Remind me why you didn't change your clothes before we left the arena?" I asked her.

"Because they're comfy and I feel pretty," she said.

"But the dress is torn up."

"Then I feel like a pretty and badass queen."

I chuckled and kissed her nose. "You're my pretty and badass queen."

She smiled at me and wrapped an arm around me waist. "I love you, Leo. You realize that you'll also have to learn to fight in a tux, right?"

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Because," she said playfully, "what if there are monsters at our wedding?"

"Our wedding?" My heart fluttered at those words.

"Were you planning on marrying someone else?" She asked.

"No, no," I said. "I just never thought you'd wanna marry me."

She shook her head and giggled. "Why wouldn't I wanna marry you? I love you!"

I stopped in my tracks and gave her a kiss. Her arm wrapped around my shoulder while her free hand cupped my cheek. My arm snaked around her waist as my free hand pressed the back of her head, deepening the kiss.

We pulled away after what seemed like ages. "Come on, Guppy," I said. "We better catch up with them."

I gave her a piggyback ride and we raced after them. Gods, I love this girl so much.