catandthewell-if

[catandthewell-if]

Updated Testing Demo Link: LINK

Notes: - Updated/Finished(?)/Fully Added Character Creation - Added a bit of Chapter 1

[catandthewell-if]

22 for all the ROs?

Sure! For reference for everyone else, 22 is about pet names!

Alice/Alex - LOVES to use pet names and LOVES when pet names are used for them. Their pet names are more classic ones like my love, my beloved, dear, etc.

Olivia/Oliver - Enjoys using pet names for other people. Very indifferent about people using pet names for them, though. They could take it or leave it. Their favored pet names are more casual sounding ones like babe. They also like to come up with different nicknames/pet names for people and use those instead.

Isabelle - Is pretty indifferent to pet names, but they just roll off of her tongue naturally. She doesn't mind if you want to use a pet name for her. She finds it cute. The one pet name she likes to use the most is, ironically, my heart. She's also partial to more poetic pet names like my sun, my moon, etc.

Fenrir - Don't even try it. He doesn't get it. He'll have no idea you're trying to talk to him and if you ask him to use a pet name for you he'll just go "but that's not your name 🤨". He's trying his best, okay?

Mysterious Figure - Doesn't actively use pet names, but they will if you ask. Also doesn't mind if you want to call them a pet name. They don't have any favored ones either. You can just tell them what you want to be called and they'll do it.

[catandthewell-if]

oc asks that reveal more than you think

Do they sleep with a stuffed animal? If they have multiple, who’s the favorite?

Can they take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child?

Ask them to describe their love interest.

Do they look good in red?

Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech! Will they give one, and what about?

Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.

Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

Do they empathize with non-sentient things (dolls, plants, books…)?

What age do they most want to be right now?

They’ve won the lottery. Spend, or save?

Do they like romance in the books they read (or in the book they’re in)?

Name one thing their parents taught them.

Would they agree with the term ‘guilty pleasure’? Do they have any?

What would they consider a waste of time– other than school or work?

If money wasn’t a limit, what would they wear?

Do they like children?

Kissing: tongue or no tongue?

Do they study before tests? Practice before job interviews?

What do they like that nobody else does?

What would it take for them to break up with someone? What would be the last straw?

Do they like being called pet names? Do they call other people pet names? What’s their go-to?

Stability or novelty?

Honesty or charity?

Safety or possibility?

Talent or effort?

Forgiveness or vengeance (or…)?

Would they date a fixer-upper?

What recurring dreams do they have?

What would they do if they knew it would be forgiven?

[catandthewell-if]

[catandthewell-if]

When I write a cliffhanger but have no idea how to get my character out of it.

[catandthewell-if]

Fields of Asphodel is now on sale!

Descend to the Underworld and live among myths as the deity of spring!

Fields of Asphodel is a 1.3 million-word interactive novel by JJ Laurier. It's entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Forced into an arranged marriage with the God of the Dead, only you can decide what to make of your new life. Befriend misfit deities, repel giant attacks, find the culprit behind the river goddess's mysterious illness, and use your powers to nudge Fate in your favor! Decide what kind of deity you want to be—whether you'll answer prayers, how you'll develop your powers, and what role you'll take in governance.

Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bi, asexual, or poly.

Play as neurodivergent or neurotypical.

Take on the powers of spring and life.

Find love and friendship among the gods of the ancient Greek Underworld.

Develop your abilities and hobbies, and choose the kind of life you want to live.

Grow a garden in the Underworld.

Defend the realm, advise the King, and solve a mystery.

Make a new home, or seize the opportunity to return to your old one.

Can you bring light to the darkest of realms?

---------------------------------------------------------

I am delighted to announce that the wait is finally over. Fields of Asphodel is now available on Steam, the CoG Website, via the Hosted Games Omnibus app, and anywhere else Hosted Games are sold! For the next week, it's on sale for $7.99 (USD), so get it before the price goes up to $11.99!

Thank you all so much for your support through the game's development; it's what made this possible. A special shout-out to my Patrons, to the Discord server crew, and to @gncrezan, who not only makes regular and amazing art related to the game, but who drew the beautiful cover image as well.

If you enjoyed Fields of Asphodel, please consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice. It really does make a difference!

[catandthewell-if]

Currently working on a pre-part 1 demo survey (👀 iykyk) and I got reminded of that Cobalt Snakes stan from the First Impressions survey.

Since this game is so big, there wasn't enough space on the poll feature for everyone so I had to outsource my polls to Google Forms LMAO. Anyway, all of the surveys are completely anonymous, so I genuinely have no idea who they are or if their full form was even 100% Cobalt Snakes, but I love them so much and it really motivates me because of how genuinely happy and excited they seem.

Lowkey that's kind of what I want for my writing, you know? Like I want to make something that you guys really like and want to talk about and theorize over and make fan content for and gush over and all of that stuff. That's probably like one of the best things as a creator is seeing just how much everyone likes and enjoys what you put out.

Anyway, I have most of the baseline coding done, so a super short test demo might be on the horizon soon... 👀

[catandthewell-if]

could you answer the voices question for this blog too please?

Sure! I love doing these! I think they're super fun!

This is the post anon is referring to, BTW! (LINK)

Under the cut, as usual!

Alice: Laura Stahl (Alear - Fire Emblem Heroes)

Alex: Brandon McInnis (Alear - Fire Emblem Heroes)

Olivia: Amber Lee Conners (Furina - Genshin Impact)

Oliver: Griffin Burns (Childe/Tartaglia - Genshin Impact)

Isabelle: Brittany Lauda (Chiori - Genshin Impact)

Fenrir: Nazeeh Tarsha (Alhaitham - Genshin Impact)

Mystery Figure: Tara Platt (Flame Emperor - Fire Emblem Heroes)

[catandthewell-if]

The worst thing about having more than one IF that take place in all different worlds is trying to find names that haven't been used LMAO

[catandthewell-if]

It's better to focus on only one WIP (or two at most)… otherwise you'll get stuck in a loop and never finish any of these projects started.

If you feel like you're a bit tired of this one IF, or have a momentary lack of motivation, you can focus on writing other things for fun - fanfics, short stories, whatever you like and is not another WIP! Or write something from that WIP's universe but not related to MC and the plot at all.

It's probably easier said than done.... but worth a try. Good luck!

I know I really should work on the novella series since it'll be a quick write that I need out before I start working on these bigger projects (cough @magussanctorium-if cough), I'm just putting it off because I don't want to code LMAO

[catandthewell-if]

me, when I come up with a really cool new idea for an IF but I already have 3 going at once with 1 in the wings and I can't ever be normal and chill about anything ever

[catandthewell-if]

So Apple is going to make joining patreons on the iOS app 30% more expensive starting from November.

Please make sure you join any patreons on the web because this is a scam and I hate Apple oml. Be free from whatever capitalism bs this is. 🙄

[catandthewell-if]

Just curious to see what others like/prefer!

For those who don't know the difference between Third Person Limited and Third Person Omniscient:

Limited is more subjective. It tends to follow one character through the whole book/chapter and you see only that character's thoughts. Most books and games told in Third Person use this style. It's the most commonly used and probably what you think of when you hear Third Person.

Omniscient is more objective. It's told by an external source who can dive into any character's thoughts at any time/"head-hop". The narrator also tends to know what will happen so phrases like "little did they know, the worst was yet to come" is Third Person Omniscient. Pride and Prejudice is probably one of the most well known pieces that uses Third Person Omniscient.

[catandthewell-if]

Just seeing what the opinions are. No guarantees for anything! ^^

[catandthewell-if]

I tried out some new things for the character customization code. Let me know if it works or it's like totally broken. The stat page should also reflect the choices picked.

Link

[catandthewell-if]

I tried out some new things for the character customization code. Let me know if it works or it's like totally broken. The stat page should also reflect the choices picked.

Link

[catandthewell-if]

Sector 7, or Schai, depending on who you are. An otherwise barren dry desert on which nothing grows with a busy bustling tourist city as its main focus. A city of indulgence, excess, and sin, the shiny glittering lights hide the dark truth behind the City of Wonders. Many will do anything to get out of the gutter and different groups often take advantage of that. So when two strange people approach you, offering a lifetime's worth of payment for protecting someone and going to find a special cup that may or may not actually exist, who are you to say no?

Chalice of the Scales is the first book in the Turnwheel of the Twelve Saga. It will be a shorter smaller game with the total amount of words read during each play through being about 40k, which is about the size of a novella or 80 pages front and back in a real book. It's inspired by different sources including Dungeons and Dragons and JRPGs/RPGs. The focus will be mostly on storytelling and adventure, but romance will also play a rather big part. While it leans more towards storytelling, there will be a decent amount of stat-based gameplay/mechanics as well.

You play as a Sector 7 Bodyguard for Hire. That means you're poor as dirt. You're approached by two mysterious hooded figures who offer to pay you a lifetime's worth of money in exchange for you to protect your Charge and find the Chalice of the Scales. You, obviously, accept thinking it's an easy job. Turns out, it's anything but. Now you have to create a group to set out and the Scales' Relic, which hasn't been seen in over 1000 years, while also trying to make sure no one dies.

Genre: Adventure, Romance, Fantasy Post-Apocalyptic

Rating: 18+

Tracked Tag: #chalice of the scales

Status: In Development (Outlining)

Demo || Romance Options || FAQ || Ask Guidelines || Tag Navigation || World Lore || Current Anonymous Survey Form || The Full Saga || Dev's Main Blog ||

Create and customize your bodyguard for hire. Choose their gender, pronouns, appearance, and personality and more.

Protect your Charge and make sure he isn't killed or kidnapped by the assassins after him while trying to find the lost Relic.

Explore Sector 7 of Astelle, also called Schai. Traverse dry barren deserts, smog filled cities, and the Great Divide on your quest.

Do research and follow leads to find out where the Chalice is located. Fight back against Relic Hunters and other groups to safely deliver the Chalice to its Warden.

Romance any of your 6 companions: Merlion - Your Charge, Astor - The Guardian, Elise - The Cleric, Bran - The Relic Hunter, Korone - The Navigator, or Starling - The Assassin.

Build your relationships with others in the group and find out their stories. A good relationship with someone may unlock different choices during gameplay.

One final question... Where is the Warden?

Merlion Corwell (he/him) - Your Charge. Two mysterious hooded people paid you quite well in advance to protect him and find the Relic. A fairly easy job, in hindsight. Now if only he would stop wandering off and getting into trouble.

Astor Wryth (he/him) - The Guardian. A real-life Guardian, like from the legends. Structured and well-put together, he's very adept with his abilities as a Guardian, but is very out of touch with his Warden.

Elise Fairthing (she/her) - The Cleric. A sweet and energetic Cleric who decided to join you on your quest after you crash her trip. She possesses a decent amount of knowledge and history about the Twelve.

Bran Noire (they/them) - The Relic Hunter. A shoddy Relic Hunter who let themself get captured by you. Rather irksome and arrogant, they're bold, loud, brash, and are, unfortunately, a fantastic shot.

Korone Noire (they/them) - The Navigator. A stoic and Machiavellian Navigator who knows the land of Schai like the back of their hand. Despite being quiet and thoughtful, they are somehow related to Bran.

Starling Rhise (she/her) - The Assassin. A woman once your enemy, now your (reluctant) ally. Calm and intelligent, she possesses an adventurous spirit and a grudge that won't go away anytime soon.