#bethroned meta

[barracuda-shark-games]

Thinking more about the MC’s PTSD, I can imagine that moving straight into a palace after over a decade on the battlefield would make the MC feel far more unsettled than if they were in active battle.

I can see their spouse and some of the other characters being very confused as to why the MC seems to despise the luxury that now constantly surrounds them

Absolutely! I think the hypervigilant symptom of PTSD would especially clash with suddenly moving into a safe and luxurious palace.

Hypervigilance and exhaustion are the two symptoms I want to explore the most. I think we get a lot of representation of PTSD involving self-harm and nightmares, and those are legitimate symptoms. But, especially for PTSD from long combat, I think the exhaustion element is too often overlooked in media and it's a BIG one. I get why it doesn't get much representation in fiction -- it's not exciting. But it's real, and I think that an IF is a perfect avenue to explore it.

I think some players expect more self-harm and violent reactions, and the more aggressive symptoms will be present through hypervigilance, but self-harm and self-loathing aren't going to be major themes for the MC for this story. It's going to look a lot more like the third phase of General Adaptation Syndrome.

[maribat-central]

Marinette as the Daughter of...

The different MariBat AUs where Marinette has different (bio) parents:

Updated Feb 4, 2020

Arthur Curry/ Aquaman

Princess of Atlantis

Pamela Isley/ Poison Ivy

Ladybug’s Mom

Hostage Situation

Dick Grayson/Nightwing

Marinette=Mar’i

Clark Kent / Superman

Blood of Steel

Ladybug in Smallville

Ladybug in Gotham (and Space)

Ladybug (Not) in Paris

Bonus: Diana Prince & Clark Kent 

The Amazonian Kryptonian

Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman

Bethroned AU Daughter of Diana Untold Truth

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow

Marinette’s Favorite My Queen

Harleen Quinzel/ Harley Quinn

Marie Margaret Quinzel Au

Hugo Strange

A Strange Meeting Surprises Switching Classes (and Leaving Destruction Behind)

Bruce Wayne/ Batman

Bio!Dad Bruce

Five Boys the BatFamily scared off

*Lady Noire in Gotham

Marinette vs Santa

Marinette vs Santa :the Rematch

Marinette vs Santa: The Final Round

Of Blood and Bonds

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke & Lady Shiva

Meta: Adaptability

[gousenhq-blog]

Estimada ALEXIS HIETALA:

Comienza un nuevo año y con esto inicia un nuevo ciclo académico. Los jóvenes talentos que comenzaron su travesía hace un par de meses ya se encuentran a la mitad de su primer año como estudiantes de Gousen, mientras quienes nos acompañan desde más tiempo están a medio camino de terminar otro año de estudios.

La dirección de Gousen Academy espera que en este nuevo semestre puedas lograr tus metas y demostrar el artista que ya eres.

Que tengas un excelente inicio de clases, se despide cordialmente,

— DATOS OOC:

SEUDÓNIMO: – Jen

EDAD: – 21

PAÍS: – México

TEMAS QUE TE INCOMODAN: – Self-harming, racismo, incesto, misoginia.

NIVEL DE ACTIVIDAD: – siendo honestos, entre 6 y 7, pero se incrementa durante los fines de semana.

CLAVE: – 

— DATOS OC:

Recuerden quitar los paréntesis a la hora de responder.

PRIMER ACTO: Background.

NOMBRE: – Alexis Hietala

EDAD: – 19 años

CIUDAD, PAÍS (nacimiento): – Tampere, Finlandia.

ANTECEDENTES FAMILIARES: – Padre: músico. Madre: enfermera. Abuela materna: la mejor cocinera de Tampere (según Alex )

¿PROBLEMAS DE SALUD?: – No.

FACE CLAIM: – Giorgia Whigham

SEGUNDO ACTO: The Awakening.

¿CUÁL ES SU ESPECIALIDAD?: – Programa musical, división clásica, piano.

¿CÓMO O POR QUÉ COMENZÓ A PRACTICAR SU TALENTO?: – Su historia con la música probablemente empieza desde su nacimiento, pero no fue sino hasta los 4 años cuando su abuela la encontró improvisando frente a un viejo piano vertical con tal fluidez que dejó en claro que el talento musical corría por sus venas muy a pesar de los deseos de su madre, así que no les quedó más remedio que cultivarlo.

¿CÓMO O POR QUÉ SE INTERESÓ EN GOUSEN ACADEMY?: – Estaba en un momento personal bastante complicado y a punto de arruinar sus estudios profesionales hasta que un antiguo profesor le habló sobre Gousen y le sugirió buscar su admisión.

¿CUÁLES SON SUS PLANES COMO ARTISTA?: – Su plan máximo es crear música que pueda conectar con las personas, no le importa si es ella como pianista, compositora o productora. Aunque probablemente termine buscando un lugar en la filarmónica de su ciudad natal justo como se lo prometió a su abuela.

¿CÓMO FUE SU EXPERIENCIA DURANTE LAS AUDICIONES?: – Fue todo un caos. Alex llegó a Viena el mismo día de su segunda evaluación y, como siempre ha sido muy despistada, terminó perdida y a punto de perder su presentación en vivo. Sin embargo, con un poco de suerte fue capaz de encontrar el salón justo antes de que dieran por cancelada su audición. Tras la presentación de su más reciente composición, tuvo algunos problemas para controlar lo que decía durante la entrevista, aunque fue su falta de filtro lo que le confirmó a los examinadores la pasión musical que ardía dentro de ella.

TERCER ACTO: Welcome to Gousen.

¿EN QUÉ COMPAÑÍA SE ENCUENTRA Y POR QUÉ INGRESÓ?: – Leonhardt. Si bien cree que Weigand y su filosofía podrían adaptarse mejor a la manera en que ve la música y el arte en general, lo cierto es que antes de partir a Viena le prometió a su abuela que se mantendría en el lado clásico y, por mucho que a veces sienta que eso la limita, Alex está más que dispuesta a cumplir con su palabra.

¿CUÁLES SON SUS METAS COMO ESTUDIANTE?: – Si le preguntas de frente dirá que tener un solo en la graduación que le permita mostrar su talento en el piano. Sin embargo, no puede negar que hay una espinita muy clavada en su interior que le hace imaginar lo genial que sería escribir algo para el teatro musical. Después de todo, lo suyo siempre ha sido transmitir emociones y conectar con la gente a través de la música.

ANTECEDENTES DEL ESTUDIANTE:

Alex comenzó a estudiar piano junto con su abuela materna, con quien solía pasar las tardes durante los largos turnos de su madre en el hospital y a los seis años ingresó al programa de educación musical básica en la Academia de Música de Tampere. Más tarde combinó su formación educativa con sus estudios en el Conservatorio de la ciudad donde su alma libre y creativa encontró su máximo apoyo y probablemente habría buscado su ingreso temprano al programa de estudios profesionales de música de la TAMK de no ser por la repentina enfermedad que postró a su madre en una cama de hospital y que obligó a Alex a poner en pausa sus planes. Nunca se había preguntado porqué su abuela sentía tanto desdén por el rock y sus semejantes hasta que un día apareció en su puerta Toumas Hietala. Sí, éseToumas Hietala: el guitarrista y líder de Bethroned, la banda de heavy metal más importante del país y una de las más famosas de todo el mundo, según dicen, un genio musical en toda la extensión de la palabra. El hombre con el que su madre había tenido un “encuentro casual” y que no se había enterado de su existencia hasta ese momento. Desde entonces, la vida de Alex se tornó un desastre: su madre murió, y terminó bajo la tutela de un hombre con quien, a pesar de tener la mayor similitud de todas, seguía siendo un completo desconocido. Pronto sus calificaciones comenzaron a bajar, dejó de componer, de tocar el piano y seguramente se hubiera hundido en el hoyo más grande que hubiera podido cavar a su alrededor de no ser por su abuela y sus antiguos profesores del Conservatorio, quienes la instaron a cambiar de aires y buscar un nuevo lugar para su formación, lo que eventualmente la llevaría a audicionar para el ingreso a Gousen en donde está a punto de iniciar su tercer año. A pesar de su falta de afinidad con la compañía en la que ingresó, es una estudiante enfocada y tenaz, de carácter relajado y afable. A menudo se ve inmersa en la composición de piezas que combinan lo clásico con lo moderno, en especial el rock y el metal, siendo ésta su principal forma de pasar el tiempo. A diferencia de otros estudiantes, para ella la música es una parte de su vida que fluye naturalmente y que desearía mantener libre, así que rara vez la verás estresada por ello, lo que básicamente la vuelve una extraña dicotomía andante que puede entretenerte o frustrarte a niveles insospechados. En ocasiones da la impresión de que no se toma su formación en serio, cosa más lejana de la realidad, pues ha sido la música lo que se ha convertido en el eje alrededor del cual intenta poner en orden el caos en los demás aspectos de su vida.

[barracuda-shark-games]

If MC goes all brutally ruthless and lets say kills a lot of his family would Sadie be disappointed in us. I need some ghost/dream Sadie angst.

100%, Sadie would be horrified. </3

Sadie also actually loved their father, Duke Clairmont, and was forgiving of him. (Of course, they do have a forgiving and patient nature.)

There may be some dream Sadie angst in the story, depending on the path your MC takes.

[barracuda-shark-games]

Omg just thought of this question. Feel free to ignore it. I always ask for a scenario/reaction ask with this question bt i know those can be tedious and time consuming. But i did wonder tho.

In the type of scenario especially specific to this IF this is probably exactly spoiler territory. So let me reframe my question lmao.

I wanted to ask what the ROs thought of the fact they need to hide their relationship with MC and sneak around for like... forever but i feel like that might come up in the story anyway.

So instead do the ROs get jealous when they start developing feelings for the MC? Seeing them around other pesky flirty nobles or their spouse? And who is the most likely to get in their feels about something like that?

I'll keep most of my answer vague and just answer how each of the ROs would react to the MC being flirted with in front of them. :)

Jocosa (the advisor): She'd have a really sweet smile and smoothly interject by one-upping the other person's flirtations (especially if they were a noble), not even realizing she's turning it into a game. The MC would be taken aback because she's not usually an openly flirty person, but jealousy kind of brings that side out of her haha.

Amis (the bodyguard): He wears his heart on his sleeve and would be most open with is jealousy, though that doesn't necessarily mean he'd feel the most jealousy. He wouldn't interfere, though, he just would be unable to hide the frown on his face and later would express his insecurity to the MC.

Larkin (the priest): He would become very attentive towards the MC, reading their body language to make sure whether or not they are uncomfortable. If he sensed their discomfort, he would find a way to change the subject or to give the MC an escape opportunity. It wouldn't even occur to him to be jealous, because his primary concern would be the MC's comfort.

I haven't done the sneak peeks for the remaining three so I don't want to give away too much about their personalities yet. I will say though that the two who would get the most in their feels about their jealousy would be the spymaster and the knight. Both would just handle it differently. The noblewoman would straight up be amused and even teasing about it; she doesn't really have a jealous bone in her body.

The rest of my answer is minor spoilers territory so I'll put it below a cut!

Of the six ROs, two of them already know about the emperor's/empress's existing relationship. In addition, two others know that the emperor/empress is gay. The remaining two aren't as familiar with the emperor/empress. The bodyguard is one of the people who isn't as familiar, and so he will definitely agonize over his burgeoning feelings more.

[barracuda-shark-games]

Just want you to know I'm torn between wanting to be a badass fem knight commander, and being married to a bad ass empress (I'm assuming the emperor/empress is always opposite sex/gender of the PC), even if no romance occurs. Really quick, is the emperor/empress solely a politician? do they have any combat skills?

Ooh, good question!

I don't mind answering this: Emperor/Empress Wilmot is NOT adept in combat.

If you want some badass female warrior rep, I def recommend playing female so you can be the rep you want to see.

There are some badass female characters with combat-training though, including a huntress who can become one of your mentors once you're in the Empire. One of the female ROs is also a badass trained combatant, but I don't want to give away too much.

[barracuda-shark-games]

Very much have enjoyed what you’ve released of the game so far and am looking forwards to more!

Also, I can imagine that as part of the MC’s PTSD of having lead a war their whole adult life, is that they will struggle with being thrust back into royal finery. Such as beds being far too soft

All they know is war and it’ll be very hard to break out of it

Definitely, especially considering that they've been at war since they turned 18! They haven't had an opportunity to grow as a person and figure themselves out.

One of the facets of PTSD, especially wartime PTSD, that I'm exploring with the MC is the psychological attachment to the dangerous situations that inform their trauma. It's almost like your body can become addicted to the fight or flight feeling, the adrenaline rush of danger -- it becomes familiar to the point that not having having it feels alien and wrong. This is going to be a pretty major struggle for the MC, but they won't be in it alone if they allow others in.

Thank you for the message!

[barracuda-shark-games]

Q&A - The Priest (Larkin)

In case you missed it, on Friday (10/4) I posted a sneak peek into Brother Larkin, head priest of the Sunrise Temple and one of six romanceable NPCs in Bethroned. He will make his first appearance in Chapter 1.

As promised, here are answers to some of the questions I have received since then, presented below the cut. The answers are free of story spoilers and mostly pertain to fun details. That said, questions that contain lore spoilers will be preceded by a warning.

Enjoy!

Spoiler-free answers:

Do you have a faceclaim for Larkin?

Not precisely, but in my head he probably most closely resembles a young Mahershala Ali. Also, this artwork may not look exactly like him (he dresses more modestly and obviously does not have golden eyes), but damn if it doesn't tap into his vibe. Posts that remind me of him are tagged #insp: larkin.

Where would Larkin fall on the McDonald's alignment chart?

I simply cannot imagine him being on that chart. He would fall outside of the chart. He would be the one driving the chanting kids to McDonald's, no questions asked.

What's his D&D alignment?

Neutral good.

If Larkin was an animal, what would he be?

An elephant: kind, wise, gentle, social, ritualistic, and empathetic.

What is Larkin like in a relationship?

He is very attentive and observant. He's a very generous lover. He's pretty good at gauging the comfort levels and preferences of people around him (he kind of has to be for his job), so he strikes a delicate balance between being overbearing and distant. And he is, of course, a hopeless romantic. He loves love! He especially loves expressing his love and tailoring that expression for his loved one. He isn't very self-conscious as a lover because of how devoted he is. He approaches his relationship much like he approaches his faith.

Minor spoilers answers:

Does Larkin have any hobbies?

Yes! Larkin's favorite hobby is painting, and whether his canvas is a sheet or a face, he's rather good at it. During cermonies and festivals, other priests and priestesses will often approach him to do their makeup because he's so good at it. He also really enjoys getting involved in sports, even though he sucks at them. He loves the community and camaraderie of it, and fully believes in the power of doing things with mediocrity; what matters is that you enjoy yourself. Similarly, he LOVES to sing, but he's tragically tone deaf so he will usually spare others from his voice. This does not stop him from belting it out when he's alone, however.

Has Larkin already broken his celibacy oath or would the MC be the first one for him to break it for?

Larkin is not a virgin (and you don't have to be a virgin to join the church; in fact, you can't take the oath until you're 25 and the church even lightly encourages people to get it out of their system before they take the oath so they can know what they're giving up), but he has remained celibate since he took his oath. So yes, MC would be the first person he'd break it for, should he choose to do so. :)

When he realizes he's falling for the MC, what's the first thought that comes to his mind?

The very first thing that hits him when he realizes his feelings is an overwhelming sense of excitement and gratitude. He's always longed for someone to love. Then he's hit by the anxiety of what this means for his faith and his oath. The anxiety is there and it's big, but it's not enough to dim the joy he feels, and that makes him feel a little bit guilty. So in other words, he feels anxious... but not as anxious as he should, and that bothers him more than his feelings ever could.

[barracuda-shark-games]

I hate the family for that deal they forced MC, but at the same time I can't imagine MC automatically turned off 'soldier mode' and started treating these people as friends and allies....

Oh yeah, definitely. MC has the least experience interacting with other nobles, and was a bit of a black sheep in their family. Growing up, their siblings were the only family members they really got along with at all. (You get a glimpse into interactions with extended family if you choose the broken nose trait.)

When it comes to the family dynamics, I personally think that the brunt of fault lies on their father. He was certainly no role model for how you treat people, particularly how you treat family.

[barracuda-shark-games]

While I'm eager to find out more about the ROs and the emperor/empress, right now I'm rather curious about Joscelin. Judging by MC's inner monologue and some of the answers in the blog, they have a good relationship with him.

Will we see him again before being shipped to the empire? Does he have Opinions™ about his youngest sibling's marriage to their former enemy?

Also, now that I think about it... I really want to see his perspective of the existing sibling dynamics between him, Eda and MC. We already know Eda's thoughts— in her POV her situation is very much a classic middle child syndrome scenario where the oldest carries the most responsibility, the youngest is given more leeway to be themselves and the middle one tries to find their place between them. As the MC, we know this is bullshit, so I hope we get to know him a little more to see if he has the same view as her...

Really good questions and insight! In childhood, Joscelin, Eda, and the MC were all very close. You may have gotten some glimpses in flashbacks, particularly if you chose either the burn scars or broken nose trait. Joscelin has always been more accepting of his role than both Eda and the MC -- if anything, the MC may have more in common with Eda, who used to rope them into pranking their older brother, though it was all in good fun and he was always good-humored about it. He very much tries to live up to the 'noble' part of being noble-blooded.

The MC has had virtually no correspondence with Joscelin throughout the war, which might be a sore spot for them. They also unfortunately don't get to see him before being married off. He appears to be far less opinionated about the marriage arrangement than Eda is, and you'll get a chance to see more of her less-filtered opinions in chapter 1.

That being said, there will be written correspondence with Joscelin throughout the story, and the MC will get to see him again during the latter half of it. He'll become a pretty big part of the story's second half, in fact. (There will also be more flashbacks into the MC's childhood, so everyone should get some more insight into him regardless of the trait backstories they got.)

Thank you for the question!

[barracuda-shark-games]

Q&A - The Bodyguard (Amis)

In chapter 1, players will meet 3 of 6 major characters in Bethroned with whom the MC will develop a relationship. Whether that relationship is platonic, romantic, or hostile in nature will depend on players' choices.

In case you missed it, a sneak peek into the first of those three characters, Amis the Bodyguard, dropped on Friday.

As promised, here are answers to some of the questions I have received since then, presented below the cut. The answers are free of story spoilers and mostly pertain to fun details. That said, questions that contain lore spoilers will be preceded by a warning.

Enjoy!

Spoiler-free answers:

Do you have a Pinterest board for Amis?

I do, but it's private because I mostly use it for my own inspiration. Pinterest is littered with a lot of AI art (of which I'm not fond) and its users can be bad about crediting artists; if I were to make it public, I'd want to make sure artists are credited, and I usually don't vet it when I'm simply saving an image to a board for inspiration and not to share. That being said, here are some credited images that kind of evoke him His appearance (note: his eyes are hazel) His armor (source: Loras Tyrell in GoT; specifically the cloak motif) Additionally, sometimes I reblog posts on tumblr that remind me of my characters. For Amis, you'd find any such posts tagged as #insp: amis.

Where would Amis fall on the McDonald's Alignment Chart?

He'd be somewhere between the kids shouting "McDonald's! McDonald's! McDonald's!" and the parent saying "We have food at home." Leaning more towards "McDonald's!" chanting, of course.

What's his D&D alignment?

Neutral good.

If Amis was an animal, what would he be?

A sea otter: cute, but capable of vicious brutality.

How does Amis best give and receive comfort?

When giving comfort, Amis prioritizes being physically present first, and offering the comfort of touch second. When he sees someone he cares for hurting, his immediate instinct is to hug them tight, but he's able to repress the urge in order to gauge what they're comfortable with. It physically pains him when he can't be present when someone needs him. Similarly, Amis feels comforted by presence and touch; it helps ground him more than words can. He especially feels comforted by having someone pet/play with his hair.

How would Amis react to a shy MC just nervously asking for a kiss while blushing up a storm and avoiding making eye contact with him?

If they'd never kissed before: He would break out into a delighted smile and reach for their hand. Once given, he'd bring their hand to his lips while bowing, looking at their face the whole time. If they proceeded to say that's not what they meant by a kiss, then he would gently ask them to look him in his eyes and ask him again. He'd want to see that they really want it. If they'd kissed before: He would reach out and gently tilt their head towards him and trace the bottom of their lip fondly. "Always," he'd say with a smile before softly meeting their lips with his own.

How would Amis react to a MC who is off in their own little world just playing with his hand before slotting both their hands together and holding it, just looking happy with themselves and not noticing that Amis was watching them?

He'd have a huge smile on his face and end up squeezing their hand without thinking about it. He'd be lost in his own little world, captivated by the MC.

Minor lore spoilers:

What would romanced Amis say if the MC asked him, "Would you still love me if I was a worm?"

(Assuming they meant if they were turned into a worm.) He would frown at the thought and say, "I would be really sad if you turned into a worm..." Then his eyes would light up. "Oh! But I'd know just where to take you. My sister owns a beautiful vineyard in Korcome and the soil would be so rich and wonderful for your needs! They get a decent amount of rain there, too." After a pause, he'd add, "Worms like rain, right?"

Can you tell us more about Amis' homeland?

Amis grew up in Korcome, which was absorbed into the Dawn Empire 7 years before the game takes place. Korcome is famed for its vineyards; it's soil is amazing for growing grapes. It's also known for its olive trees. Aesthetically speaking, its best real-world analogue is Greece. Korcome was never a kingdom or empire; it's always been a society bound by barons and wealthy land owners with alliances and their own private militaries. Basically, before joining the Dawn Empire, Korcome operated like feudalism only without a central figure. This contributed to instability and corruption at every level; crime guilds run rampant in Korcomian's biggest cities. This is, in part, why even the barons and baronesses of Korcome were eager to be absorbed into the Dawn Empire -- they knew that they would be able to hold onto their titles and deeds while being able to benefit from the Sun Throne's protection and leadership.

What does he do in most of his free time?

Amis really enjoys baking, and he's quite good at it. He's especially talented at baking sweet treats! He doesn't get much opportunity to bake, however, seeing as he doesn't have his own kitchen and the royal kitchens are often busy. Instead, he mostly spends his free time reading new cookbooks, and writing letters to his mom and sisters back in Korcome. He also likes to go out into the city and peruse bakeries and market stalls for inspiration.

What are his thoughts on the war and the MC's betrothal?

Amis doesn't really know much about the war so he doesn't have much of an opinion. He's just glad it's over. Similarly, he doesn't know much about the betrothal or how noble alliances work. If he doesn't understand of have firsthand knowledge about something, he's unlikely to develop a strong opinion on it.

How does Amis feel about the Dawn Empire?

He likes the Dawn Empire well enough, especially because things have become safer back home for his mom and sisters. The stability has been such a relief; it's part of why he was happy to join the Dawnguard.

Has Amis ever been in love before? How much experience does he have?

Amis develops crushes quite easily, but he's never been in love. He's had a few relationships in his time, but none have lasted particularly long. He prefers committed relationships to casual flings.

Job title aside, if he could save only one, would he choose the MC or the world?

Ohhh now this is a tough one. I'm going to have to say it depends on whether or not his mom and sisters are still around. If he didn't have his family to worry about and he was in love with the MC, he would absolutely choose the MC.

[barracuda-shark-games]

Hii!!! First i want to say congratsss for ur demo, i already played it and i really like it ❤. It's really good and i can't wait for the next update!!! But really, when i checked the list of ROs. I'm actually little sad because our spouse is not there. So i want to know why??? We need to marry our royal spouse, but if we want to have romance then we need to cheat on our spouse right??? Oh how old is our spouse again? That's all! Well, have a nice day and pardon my english. ❤

Hello! Thank you so much for your feedback. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. (Also, your English is perfectly fine <3)

Now THAT is a good question, and I'm glad you asked. The MC's spouse is 29 years old, so a year younger than the MC. In their world it's controversial for nobles, especially rulers, to go unmarried for that long, so that will definitely come up in the narrative.

The rest of the answer is a bit of a spoiler, which I will supply below the cut. It will be revealed early in the story, so it's not necessarily a major spoiler, but some readers might prefer to be kept in the dark. It is also quite central to the story I'm telling, and it's related to why the player's gender is restricted to male or female. ;)

I wanted to tell a story that explores the various nuances of what a "loveless" political marriage could look like -- both the positives and the negatives. In this particular case, a romantic relationship with the spouse is not possible because the spouse is gay; this is part of why they have put off marriage for so long, but the pressure has been real. You will soon also discover that they have a secret lover, and you are able to develop platonic relationships with both the spouse and their lover. Through your choices and interactions, you get to decide whether those relationships are close or distant, positive or negative.

You'll even be able to, for instance, pursue a friendship with your spouse's partner but a rivalry with your spouse. You can mix it up! It's up to you and what kind of character you want to play.

Due to the spouse's own relationship, they are completely fine with the MC pursuing relationships elsewhere... on the condition that it's kept under the radar, like the spouse's relationship.

Another note: While homosexuality and bisexuality are not criminalized in this world, and same-sex couples are allowed to marry, that freedom doesn't extend to those of noble birth due to the expectation of preserving bloodlines and securing political alliances via marriage. This will also be explored more in detail, and an MC with enough power and sway may be able to change things... it all depends on how you play!

[barracuda-shark-games]

A bunch of questions about religion in this game: Do the MC's religious beliefs come up? Is there a state religion or highly prevalent religion, in either our own country or the one we're marrying into, and are they different or the same? Is MC expected to follow these beliefs? Did the MC ever even have a chance to think about religion and their personal beliefs? What about atheism? How prevalent is it, if people have even thought of it at all? Are atheists persecuted in any way? Is there any physical proof of gods' existence? Also, since there's a priest RO: What happens if our beliefs differ from those of the priest, if that's even an option? Would they still be an RO option, or locked out?

Great questions! I plan to include a codex that will unlock in chapter 1 and answer some of these questions more in-depth. Here's what I can tell you now though:

Religion will come up a lot in this game, but there's only one faith that really gets explored, and it revolves around worship of their Sun. That is the predominant faith on their continent, which includes both Arevikland (MC's homeland) and the Dawn Empire (their future spouse's homeland).

Some players may have already unlocked content that allowed them to set how their character feels about their faith already; whether they are practicing, and to what degree, or whether they've lost their faith or never really believed it at all. (Similarly, some players may have unlocked content already that lets them set their MC's sexuality, if they want; in the prologue, reading scrolls and books gets you some sneak peaks into some of the lore and history of the story!)

Religious persecution doesn't exist in their world, because the Sun is ultimately viewed as a neutral force. The Sun doesn't discriminate; it bestows it's light on everyone. The Sun is also present in everyone's world -- so it's not like there are people who don't believe in it. It's just a question of whether you worship it or not.

The priest RO worships the Sun, of course, but he doesn't mind at all if the MC doesn't share his faith, and being an atheist does not lock you out of romancing him. Your MC's faith or lack of it will create unique conversations with him, so it could be fun to try multiple playthroughs to see how your dynamic with him changes, but I wouldn't say that any path is better than the other; there's just some neat flavor distinctions.

(Also, fun fact: the priest and the mysterious noblewoman are the only two gender-locked ROs, with the priest being a gay man and the noblewoman being a lesbian. The rest of the ROs are bi/pan!)

Thanks for the message!

[barracuda-shark-games]

Ah, was the reason my MC's relationship with Sadie was perceived negatively because it was a same-sex relationship and MC is a noble? I thought it was just because MC's family didn't care about the MC. Would it be perceived differently if it wasn't same-sex?

Good question! In the case of Sadie, the relationship is viewed negatively no matter what because their society frowns on nobles having relations with commoners. So, classism!

Ironically, while marriage between same-sex nobles is frowned upon, society will typically turn a blind eye towards same-sex extramarital affairs between nobles, as long as it isn't interfering with marriage alliances. Diversity win? /jk

Mild potential lore spoiler that some players may already have uncovered:

There is actually a historical record of a rumored relationship between a past queen of Arevikland and the then-duchess of Somerled, which some players may have uncovered early if they chose to read a book by the river.

[barracuda-shark-games]

https://www.tumblr.com/barracuda-shark-games/763968079118123008/maybe-this-will-be-an-option-in-the-game-but-if?source=share

Thank you so much for answering this ask with both platonic and romantic relationship between mc and characters

You're welcome. ♥

I want to emphasize that this game will prioritize platonic relationships as well as romantic ones. This also means that romancing a character won't lock you out of content for other characters.

I'm planning to implement a 'platonic soulmate' option late-game for anyone who wants a certain character to appear where a romanced character normally would during a dramatic scene. Otherwise, the game will default to, in order based on whether or not the relationship is high: Wilmot (imperator), Ailbe (if they are in the story at that point), or whichever character would naturally be there for that scene.

[barracuda-shark-games]

Reading the ask about MC being relieved and optimistic about the marriage, made me think of the opposite, could the marriage being seen like a prison sentence/hostage situation? It's clear that the emperor/empress wants to secure the peace: 1 taking the king's child as precaution and safe net to deter the king from betraying the peace treaty; 2 eliminate the most dangerous Commander of the enemy (MC). But from MC's perspective they'll be sent alone in the enemy country after they've fought and killed thousands (as the head of the army) of their people, peasants and nobility alike, so MC's reception will most likely be horrible if not murderous. Also the king does not give a da*n if MC lives or dies, so he might very well let them be killed for one of his whims.

Absolutely! It is a lot like a prison sentence (or maybe trading cages, in their case). Though I will say, the MC won't be entirely alone and will have a retainer from Arevikland (just might not be their ideal candidate). Those details will come up early in chapter 1.

Ultimately, the emperor/empress is in a very similar situation as the MC. This marriage isn't something they would want for themselves, either, and not just because of the war.