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Alternate Boneworm development ideas? by Cowboypunk
A couple of people have noted that Boneworm is similar to the infectious fungus in The Last of Us. I didn't know anything about this game until it was mentioned, so looked up a bit of the lore and they're pretty dang similar (fairly unsurprising since they're both visually impactful fungus infections). I watched some play through of the game and it's largely another zombie apocalypse feel, with a lot of focus on survivor interactions/psychologies. By no means am I saying any of this bad, I'm just hoping to differentiate Defans Amis universe enough so that it doesn't feel associated even while using similar base concepts. I'm thinking in particular that I'm going to rework the mutations to be less ambiguous and have a more iconic/ominous/occult feeling, which would honestly help bolster the folksy-myth vibe I was hoping to push anyway, as well as better tie to the references and inspirations I have to Catholicism/saints.
Otherwise, I'm sure the writing, aesthetic and mood differentiates the comic fine, I'm just concerned that some base concepts don't feel quite their own yet. If you happen to have any feels on boneworm, I'd love to hear them~
Read more about Boneworm on my illustrated work doc! | Read the Defans Amis animated comic here!
Alternate Boneworm development ideas?
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I guess it's more or less based on Cordyceps and has a lot of general freaky mutations going on. That's about all I know lol. I'm not too worried about them seeming the same, but I'm interested in differentiating them just for my own personal comforts. Plus occult is good :D :p
They do as much as ordinary humans do! Which is quite a bit, really, we're generally not good alone. I've actually got a few communities planned with varying numbers of varyingly visible infected. Each one kind of has their own ideas about why they're together, what they need and what they should do.
Idk if boneworm really needs an mechanism to find more hosts, just because it's not at all picky about who's the host. If anything infected at any stage dies, boneworm will develop fruiting bodies in the corpse, and if any organism is near any dead infected, there's a good chance they'll get infected too. Trying to find an environment makes sense, though, maybe have something like a sensitivity to certain environmental factors? Or maybe just the fact that the fungus takes up so much space in the body and is so detrimental to sensory organs that things like safety and ready supplies end up becoming priority for the host? (I don't think I noted any of this in the doc, I'll add it later.)
Also thanks for the link, it was an interesting read, those parasitic worms are horrifying though oh god. Also also, funfact: the article mentioned horsehair worms in crickets, which I came across once at a creek when I was younger just as the worms were coming out. It was pretty crazy, you'd never guess that there was so much worm up in there.
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Hmm, well it's certainly some food for thought whatever the case. Can't wait to see what your communities of Boneworm survivors look like. I feel bad for them should Alette and Beau come across them and have ammunition to spare.
Depending on how "mystical" you want this to get I can certainly note you some ideas on some even harder to explain and downright magical seeming aspects of the fungus in rare cases. Or just give input on how to make some unique environments spawned by this event.
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Indeed! In as much as I have planned, at least most will be safe?? They may or may not be intentional deaths. I'll leave it that vague for now, its not for like another chapter or so lol
AND I WANT ALL KINDS OF MYSTICAL! People are just...like, confusingly and amazingly inclined to create and believe in mystical/metaphysical concepts, and it should really not be uncommon at all. Most of what I have planned so far revolves around people believing really unrealistic things as a mean of explaining the inexplicable and dealing with changes they don't understand or that weigh heavily on them. I will note you back in a moment and we can chat about ideas and stuff~ :3
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Unfortunately, I don't know anything about The Last of Us either.
Fortunately, I was going to ask a few more questions and I remembered what it was I wanted to talk about.
So is there any chance of pack mentality for those infected? That stage 3-4 there might happen now and again a collective mentality and they start living together even though they might not know why? Or maybe more the chance of highly infected (Stage 4) have this insatiable wanderlust caused by Boneworm so that the host indirectly seeks out uninfected hosts? Or even just to find the ideal environment for the Boneworm to continue flourishing after the host's demise. This is commonly seen in Cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) and ants.
It also might be worth looking into this article about parasites affecting behavioral patterns: Zombie Snail
However, this is not caused by a fungus, but a parasitic worm.
I'd love if Defans Amis took on even more of an occult feeling. I love stories rife with occult symbolism along with metaphoric and psychological interrelations.