Echo Project - Tumblr Posts

Hey so like you've been at echo for a bit right? So how come we cant see any of the landscapes behind you? Do you log a green screen where ever you go? Seems kinda... Stupid. Oh!!!! and!!!! before i forget!!!! Do not die while wanting to live!!!! You'll come back as a fucked up simulacrum of yourself and attach your killer and or nearest person.

What do you mean? I totally don't use a green screen!

Also if I came back after dying (wow, big oof if I do), I'd probably be attached to one of my friends like Lye, Cal, or Olk! Which would be great! I can play pranks on them forever!

Actual answer: Backgrounds are hard! Both to make and on my computer! Whenever I include a background, the render probably took a lot longer than I can afford to spend time on. Since I've gotten a lot of asks recently and I want to respond to them all, I focus on the important parts and nix the backgrounds unless they're important to the response or I have one already made that won't take long to reuse (such as this space background which I used in my earlier spaceship render). Reduces both the creation time and render time.

If you guys would prefer, I can try to include more backgrounds (for roleplay or just artistic reasons), but this might slow down the response time a bit on asks (which is already as slow as molasses in an ice age).

WHY DOES SYD HAVE SO MUCH RIZZ IN THIS SHOT?!?!

It's not fair! Nobody I've seen of the alive Echo cast has this kinda rizz (yet, I'm still reading).

Like if I saw this from across the bar, I'd be questioning whether or not I'm high enough level to tame this beast.

Hey so there's this otter named Chase Hunter-- Went by "PuebloOtter CO 2016" at one point---- was a Journalist---- And lived in echo at one point!!!! and revisited in 2015 too! Assuming he's still alive and all, try to reach out to him! Again- Assuming he's still alive and the internet works in echo. He might even be in echo right now.

Uhhhh........

I don't think I'm gonna find him, irl or online. Also why is Google giving me demonic script? Is this like the Zerg rush command or something?

For funsies, the edited screen. Thanks for the cursed Chunter image @ivanisly-kun. This totally isn't the most unnerving thing I've done with Photoshop before.

What- What do you MEAN "User doesnt want to be found" Is Chase *DEAD?* is this just echo fuckery or---- uh- Look at all the other tabs!!! ! Who Cares if the user "doesnt wish to be found" What does "user" even mean? like the possessed or actual chrome users? I mean- uh... Try other Browsing engines-- If it spits out the same response then its 110% Echo fuckery!!!! So yeah you should go kill The Spirit of echo-- Theres a Dam somewhere up a road somewhere, If theres still enough water try flooding the town? Do it??? I mean if there's still people living there you'll kill them but one of thems local folk might be a rapist serial killer maybe. (If he is even alive)

So...I tried a few different browsers.....

And uh...I think I got a computer virus or something...

Anyone know an good solution for this one?

AHHHH!

L: Civil, what did you do?

Nothing! I was just...browsing the internet! Some nice people online told me I should look for this one guy from Echo!

L: You turned off your anti-curse and anti-virus protection didn't you? So you could 'find the real results'?

Maybe....

hey questioning about your echo situation. go to the motel. its like somewhat safe there i guess. its a shelter. also if you hear a constant buzzing and or low hum get away from there oh and also dont feel sad ever or mad ever or any negative emotion ever you stupid stupid idiot. that feeds the curse or spirit or godlike entity. btw whoever mailed you mailed you to echo. it is just now occurring to me that you can not go home without magic or whatever because i do not believe the town named echo exists within a deserted desert area somewhere in southwestern America. so unless someone ships you back to whence you came you are stuck in echo and or that world.

Huh, you know, I swore I had seen Echo on this map earlier.

I don't have a local map either so it may take me a second to find this motel. My service is spotty out here so searching it up is a no-go at the moment, but I'll see if I can make my way to it.

Headcanon time! I've heard some stuff that Echo is based on a Utah city known as Echo and an Arizona city known as Nothing (literally, it's Nothing, AZ). My headcanon is that Nothing, or at least a place near Nothing is where Echo would be, especially since Lake Alamo out there could be Lake Emma, and the Prescott Railway is mentioned, which would make sense with nearby Prescott. Tis' why Civ is holding a map of Yavapai county, where Prescott, Lake Alamo, Nothing, and presumably Echo are.

I need to go out here one day IRL and take a bunch of photos of the area that would match with descriptions within the VN itself. Like the Nothing sign, Lake Alamo, heck I might even find a mine out there!

Echo is a shithole, do you see any roads? if you went into the mines at one point you must be on a road correct? Unless you... just... got lost. But! the Motel is nearby the diner! I think? Maybe if you stand on... uh... what was their name? Eh- Whomever the boring looking white cat necromancer, Speaking of, its such a stupid job/skill to have. the only good thing it can do is slavery of like cadavers or something. And i dont think the families of those skeletons appreciate them(?) using their dead family members for Manual labor!

I wandered around a bit, and while I've been seeing a few buildings, I haven't seen a soul. However, I did follow a larger road I found and it lead me back to a few buildings which I assume is the 'center' of Echo?

Is this the motel you were talking about? It's the only motel-like building I found.

Also Lye's job is actually kinda cool! She's the Assistant to the City Medical Examiner and Necromancy Investigator. They do all the dead body stuff and sometimes can ask the corpse questions about what happened! They also are the people on call whenever necromantic entities start harassing the city or nearby areas. They don't do the 'cadaver raising' that often, more like the magic of life and death.

Which is why I was excited to bring her the first time! I thought she'd help us find any ghosts or cool entities! But I think she just had an aura that scared them off. That's why I came alone this time! Totally not a terrible idea!

It was brought to my attention that the place looks quite...clean for the time period I was trying to show. Here's a new one with a bit more refuse and a funner nighttime lighting.

As a note, I haven't read Arches, so if there's some specific detail from Arches that I'm missing, that's why. A lot of this is just top-of-my-head and what I could get from a single screenshot from the VN from the background behind Leo. I won't lie in saying I made a few creative choices that may not align perfectly.

Echo is a shithole, do you see any roads? if you went into the mines at one point you must be on a road correct? Unless you... just... got lost. But! the Motel is nearby the diner! I think? Maybe if you stand on... uh... what was their name? Eh- Whomever the boring looking white cat necromancer, Speaking of, its such a stupid job/skill to have. the only good thing it can do is slavery of like cadavers or something. And i dont think the families of those skeletons appreciate them(?) using their dead family members for Manual labor!

I wandered around a bit, and while I've been seeing a few buildings, I haven't seen a soul. However, I did follow a larger road I found and it lead me back to a few buildings which I assume is the 'center' of Echo?

Is this the motel you were talking about? It's the only motel-like building I found.

Also Lye's job is actually kinda cool! She's the Assistant to the City Medical Examiner and Necromancy Investigator. They do all the dead body stuff and sometimes can ask the corpse questions about what happened! They also are the people on call whenever necromantic entities start harassing the city or nearby areas. They don't do the 'cadaver raising' that often, more like the magic of life and death.

Which is why I was excited to bring her the first time! I thought she'd help us find any ghosts or cool entities! But I think she just had an aura that scared them off. That's why I came alone this time! Totally not a terrible idea!

Idk if this has been done before but...

If Echo characters had dnd classes what would you think they'd be?

I had! It was a reblog and was very type-casted.

Also note: I play Pathfinder currently which has a few more classes than 5th edition DND. I've included some equivalents.

Chase: Investigator. High passive perception but dumped charisma. Can see lots of things but is also too dumb to put it all together until it's too late. Alt: Witch with Sam as his patron and he casts hexes and madness-inducing enchantment magic. DND equivalent: Inquisitor rogue or archfey warlock.

Flynn: Swashbuckler. He would want to be the swarmy fighter who insults you, stabs you, then trips you, in that order. Optional: archetype into Gunslinger since he stays strapped. DND equivalent: Swashbuckler rogue or battlemaster fighter.

TJ: Cleric. This one's easy. Only difference is he's definitely got a high Dex and plays a race with extra movement speed so he's the fastest cleric around. Also plays passively, so he prob focuses on healing and buff spells since he wouldn't like hurting things.

Leo: Champion. Focuses on all the 'protect my friends' abilities, but actually mainly uses them on Chase's character. Optional: archetype into Gunslinger since he stays strapped. DND equivalent: ancients paladin with stuff like the shield blocking fighting style to reduce damage to an ally.

Carl: Ranger. It's s stretch, but ranger is the most superhero-like (a la tolkiens elf rangers) but also don't take up the spotlight. Also if any classes smoke weed, it'd be ranger or druid. Honorable mention: if he plays any caster and focuses on clouds and air magic. Alt: kineticist specialized in air abilities for flying and clouds. Honorable DND mention: spore druid.

Jenna: Rogue. A surprisingly outspoken and well moralled one. I know the least about her so this one's just a guess.

Other peeps:

Kudzu: monk with rogue archetype. Sneaky boi who can fight sounds about right. Definitely is the character who has to deal with the rest of the party's shenanigans.

Clint: Oracle. Cursed with forbidden knowledge trying to use it to save the future. Makes him look crazy but he's actually on to something. DND equivalent: cleric or warlock, both are roleplayed as their magic being a powerful curse.

Uhuh, Uhuh, What do you mean ask the corpse's questions? Is it the recently deceased? Can they revive people who just died? resurrect even? Before the brainmatter dies? oh, right. echo. The motel doesnt look ruined and theres a lack of graffiti and decay, and since you haven't seen a single soul- not even around town... it must be after 2015 but before 2020, somewhere inbetween? or maybe this is the concept of echo you are currently in? Boiled down to "cursed ghost town-mining town with lake"? Or maybe its an illusion? and you are bumbling around unaware of your actual position? I dont know! The windows on the motel rooms are smaller than i remember and are using a two segment design (i forget all window types and will continue forgetting because windows are boring and id rather look outside the window than at it!!!) go, look inside one of the windows Civ. oh right one last question, do you or anyone you know have the ability or knowledge of how to control electricity? Outside of tech of course. And if so, How fine is their control? Can they only fire lightning bolts? Or can they manipulate the atoms that hold objects together? Can they disintegrate them with a wave of their hand? And how far is their control? Is it only when they touch a object? Or can they use it up to x amount of miles? Do you know anyone who can do this? Anyone at all?

Note: I have updated the previous image so that it reflects a run-down version of the Echo motel.

It's rather dark in here. All I see is old motel furniture, some of its broken and none of the lights or faucets seem to work.

Maybe Lye was right about exploring this all alone. I think I'll wait until morning in my truck.

To answer your other questions, I do know a few, they're called technomancers! They do a lot of work in like IT and many work at my electric provider. They don't tend to do the 'theatrical' magic like lightning bolts and stuff, though I know they can! I think they mostly do all the normal managing and lineman work, which includes a bit of magic when a system's being temperamental, but also a bunch of know-how on how to keep the grid working. They really like doing the 'shocking handshake' prank a lot.

I know 2 personally, but I have called the electric company several times for work information. Sometimes a client wants to install an EV charger, and we gotta coordinate if that's possible for the grid at that area. That's when I call them up. The 2 I know are some friends, though I doubt they're at the 'lightning bolts' state just yet.

Also the raising thing is mostly like 'just died and we can bring them back'. Raising after they've been dead a while typically just animates the corpse, its not typically them, but if there's parts of their brain left, I think Lye can get like a couple questions out of it before the magic...like...breaks it or something? I don't have any magic so I know like nothing about it.

oh right I remember now, how are you doing civ? its been like... 4 1/2 months? are you still in echo? have you fixed your clunker? have you killed god? (on your lonesome) have you remembered? where did that friend of yours go?

Note: Anon sent an ask saying they meant so say weeks, not months in this ask.

Umm, I don't remember how long its been. I thought I'd just been here a day or two, but everythings just so dead and empty. How long's it been for you?

I...I think I'm gonna get outta here, I got my truck to turn over so I'm just gonna get out of here. I can't get over this feeling that something's been watching me since the motel.

Maybe Lye was right. I probably shouldn't have come alone.

oh and what have you been eating in echo? Surely you have not been eating any of the sand... I heard witches cursed all sand! or something--- maybe that doesnt count in this horrible place?

Wha....um....why would I...eat the sand?

I'm not dumb, I brought food with me, mostly sandwich stuff, crackers, and dry stuff since I wasn't sure if lighting a fire would be okay.

hey civ i have some top of the shelf prime facts of echo... somebody died in the mines once! the pipes were made of lead until 2000 something! oh and you should check your left rear tire wink wink ;]

I had heard of the mines thing! But I didn't see any bodies when I was exploring it last time I was here and explored those, though I didn't go too far so maybe I missed it.

Also on lead pipes! They aren't dangerous as long as they don't corrode. Many cities around the US still use lead pipes from old days (modern pipes can't use lead, instead they're typically ductile iron or PVC), you just gotta keep things that corrode lead out of the water and you don't have any issues. Though for Echo, I'm gonna assume they are corroded. Good thing I brought water with me.

Also I'll check my tire in a minute, let me finish my sandwich. It was fine a second ago when I crawled into the bed.

civ... you are not fooling anybody... that sand isnt sand at all.... its fabric... civ... civ the fabrics getting moldy.... civ...

Hey, so I couldn't think of how to respond to some of these, so I made a larger response, since it feels like I'm being assaulted by strange apparitions from Echo.

Come on man, I just want to eat my sandwich!

So civ, You seem to have gotten your car up and running correct? You should be free to leave now. By-the-by, Wheres The Feline?

Yeah, I'm gonna get out of here. Don't know why someone said something about my rear left tire, it seems fine to me.

Also Lye is back at home (I thought she was scaring away all the ghosts so I came alone), and probably a lot more worried since the rent day's coming soon.

Civ I must wonder, why did you decide to go to Echo? Surely there are better places to explore right?

It was nearby where I live and I had read a news article recently about some ghost towns and the things they could be hiding. Plus I just wanted to get away from civilization for a minute and explore some ruined places since they're actually like really cool.

There are plenty of other explorable places, national parks, monuments, rivers, sure. But sometimes a ghost town just has a certain strange allure, ya know?

However I will note that now that my exploration is kinda over due to being a bit skeeved out now, I can't seem to get anywhere. I feel like I've been on this road for hours and haven't gone anywhere.

(Also I'm being safe and stopping to text this since: 1, thats dangerous to text and drive and 2, I'm getting pretty spotty signal)

Rescue

I wrote a bit of a story for this art piece below:

Driving in the night, Civ tried his best to leave the town of Echo, but no amount of driving on the old rural highway seemed to get him any farther from the ghost town. The truck's headlights illuminated the road ahead, and the moon lit up the terrain which never seemed to change.

Exhaustion brought Civ to a halt. Pulling to the side of the road, paranoia of the strange creature came back to him, but at this rate, he knew it'd either get him or he'd drive off the road. Neither were desirable options.

Pulling to the side of the highway, the truck engine turned off. Civ took a moment to enjoy the silence of the desert night, the only solace he had for a moment. He looked around, scanning the horizon for the gangly creature he had seen. FInding nothing, he decided to step out of the vehicle to relieve himself, at least giving himself an additional feeling of comfort.

As he stepped out, his heart froze. He looked around frantically until his eyes nailed onto a figure in the distance.

Tall, gangly, with long arms and long legs, a burned body and horrible visage of only three holes where its face should be, the figure stood only a few hundred feet down the highway.

Civ froze, staring at the creature. A moment later it seem to both teleport and vanish as well as shoot towards him. He raised his arms in a flinch.

Instead of the sound of his own flesh being rended, he heard a flash of sparks and thwip noise like a cord being cinched. He opened his eyes, peeking between his raised arms to see the remains of a portal falling and a tall, white-furred cat raising a magical barrier made of violet and magenta light. In its cone sat the halted but still moving creature, its burned skin lit up horrifically in the magical light.

"Lye!" Civ exclaimed.

The feline did not respond, focusing entirely on holding back the creature. She reached down with a hand, waving it into another incantation. Her hand shot forward, blasting an intense wave of violet energy at the creature, blasting it backwards down the highway a hundred feet.

The magical barrier fell, and Lye turned to Civ. He could finally see her glowing red eyes, and could feel her anger even from ten feet away. She approached him at a sprint, the creature in the distance standing back up.

Civ held his hands up, expecting the cat to claw him, but she instead grabbed one of his raised paws, her claws sinking in only slightly. A moment later, she pulled a scroll from her coat and gripped it, making it erupt in magenta flames.

As the scroll burned, Civ saw the creature in the distance vanish again, and he braced for it to appear next to them.

Instead, the world went violet with another snapping noise.

As the light died down, his eyes adjusted, and Civ found himself in the warmly-lit living room of his home. Lye still stood with glowing eyes, but no creature appeared in his sight. The eyes of his feline friend slowly died down to their normal selves, but an intense anger was still roiling in them.

"CIV!" she began.

She didn't continue as he pulled her into a hug. The otter gripped hard and shook, both shock and fear making it hard for Civ to remain standing. The typically-touch averse Lye let him hold on and she held him from falling down.

"You owe me."

Thank you note:

Thanks all for reading! I thought this piece deserved a bit of a write-up to go with it, to kinda explain my thought process with Civ trying to leave Echo after some exploration (AKA: Tumblr Asks, thanks to everyone who pushed along the little narrative I had going).

The asks I had gotten helped create a fun little narrative, and I enjoyed the ride quite a lot. I hadn't intended to make a self-insert story with Echo, and had just kinda joked with the first post about Echo. It had just meant to be a piece of fanart but it went way farther than I expected since then. That original post is currently my most popular post, and I'm sure many of you guys found my little art spot due to it, so I appreciate everyone who started there and followed me as I made more and more art and pieces.

This is an interesting AU, where both the events of Echo occurred, but also happen in a world where magic and stuff like the Socket Head Man would be more likely to exist. It probably has a few issues with how stuff interacts and definitely raises questions, but it's a fun setting to be in.

This isn't the end in any way. I still intend to make fanart of Echo as well as other stuff, but just note that any further asks supposing of Civ being in Echo will be met with a confused response as he has escaped Echo thanks to Lye (and a bit of powerful outside magic). Tho who knows, Civ's a bit dumb and may try and go back thinking he's 'prepared' and intends to explore more.

I also aim to put a pause on it here so I can properly make my way through more of Echo's endings, as well as get into Arches and The Smoke Room.

Thanks again to everyone who's reblogged and liked my stuff! I promise many more renders in the future!

Whats wrong with cryptids???

Uhhh, apologies if I've insulted any cryptids who follow me.

But I won't lie in saying that interactions with cryptids don't seem to be great ones. Take this instance for example.

I mean, if there are friendly ones out there, maybe then I'd be fine, but up until now, I've only seen them portrayed in horror movies, and having interacted with a single real one that tried to kill me, I'm not in particular good tidings with cryptids.

Feel free to prove me wrong with a friendly cryptid tho.

OG question

Adastran Sunset

Ya know, I thought getting abducted by aliens would be much worse, but this ain't half bad.

There may still be a bit of anal probing tho, lmao.

HOLY HECK! I FREAKING COOKED WITH THIS ONE! I am honestly stunned by how well this came out. This is likely one of my best pieces ever. It took a lot of work (and a cancelled DND session (Don't worry, I was sick and used the time to instead do this)), so I'm so happy it came out so well.

I was also excited to make another fanart of something. I'd read Adastra quite a while ago, but when the inspiration hits, ya know ya have to seize it. I know there's some sequels or something, but I haven't gotten around to them.

I have a lot of opinions on Adastra, so feel free to ask if you wanna lend me your ear.

What are those Adastra opinions you mentioned, otter boy?

Well, I was kinda opening up the floor a bit, since I wasn't gonna just impose my own takes on yall.

There's quite a few things you could bring up, so feel free to send me some asks on particular takes.

Here's some teasers/starters of my thoughts:

FVN protags are idiots, but also insanely smart

Amicus is given a lot of leeway and forgiveness

Cassius has some valid points

Space god has a lot of implications in master/servant relationships given sci-fi empires (this is my favorite)

Your Adastra fit...

Why thank you! I was told that this'll make me look more inconspicuous during my stay (which I've been told should be only a short while), but I expect it's having the opposite effect.

I don't mind though. More attention is just a little bit politically useful.