status: in development
Taiishi
There is a child who learned very early how to make himself small. Inside him lives something he never asked for — a monster, born from a pain he could not name. For a long time he believed the only way to survive was to fight it, to outrun it, to pretend it was not there.
Taiishi is the story of the day he stopped running — and let himself be held instead. It is quiet, it is sad, and it ends in an embrace. A world about the parts of ourselves we are most afraid to look at, and what happens when someone looks anyway.
cast
Characters
Taii carries the story. The Ache is not a villain — it is the shape his pain took when no one was looking. The third is kept hidden, on purpose.
places
Locations
A childhood bedroom that never quite let him grow up; the dark place beneath it where the monster lives; and the doorway between, where the hug finally happens.
timeline
Story
- 01 · beforeA child learns to take up as little space as possible.
- 02 · the monsterThe pain he can't name finally takes a shape.
- 03 · runningYears spent trying to outgrow something that grows too.
- 04 · the turningHe realizes the monster has his own face.
- 05 · the hugInstead of fighting it, he holds it. Hooray, hooray.
scenes
Gallery
Drop finished pages and key scenes into assets/worlds/taiishi/ and they appear here.
soundtrack
Music
A small, warm OST — lo-fi, tape hiss, a music box that's slightly out of tune. See the cassette on the right.
- track 01quiet room (theme)
- track 02the underneath
- track 03hooray, hooray
developer notes
Notes
This world started as something I wrote down so I wouldn't forget it. It's the most honest thing I've made. I'm building it slowly, on purpose — some doors stay closed until I'm ready to open them.
If this story touches something heavy for you, you're not alone. In Thailand you can call the Mental Health Hotline 1323 (24 hrs).