#different writing styles for each RO

[pressplay-if]

The player character I have in mind for Press Play is very different from the Such Happy Campers MC. They are far less of a clean slate. The Such Happy Campers MC can have different hobbies and varying childhood/past romantic experiences that can come up in conversations with the SHC ROs. However, the story of SHC is independent from the MC’s background. Whatever happens at the Camp Solace will happen regardless of whether MC has chosen to, say, be a martial artist or a painter in their free time.

By contrast, the Press Play MC’s story ties very closely to their past, especially their teenage years and time of crisis. Also, I think overall customization is far more important in Press Play than SHC. I’ve already started working on the first chapter which is lots and lots of character creation. So far, you can choose:

one of three family backgrounds for MC, all of which dysfunctional to some degree

a job MC used to do before they could support themselves through music (unemployment is also an option if your MC is too obsessed with their singing to hold down a job)

an item/gimmick for MC’s performances (MC can wear lots of eye-catching necklaces, a flower wreath, a cowboy hat, a bandana like Angel’s, multiple rings or always go on stage barefoot, which is a nod to Daisy Jones ofc)

MC’s style: they can either be unearthly/mysterious-looking or the attractive and approachable boy/girl/kid next door type (there’s a reason there’s only two options, and that reason is P. Zima… it’ll make sense, I promise)

whether MC emotes less than others

the general vibe and content/image of the band and their music, and their first couple songs

whether MC has stage fright

whether MC feels comfortable in noisy, crowded places (you can select for them to have sensory overload issues, general social anxiety issues or no issues with it at all)

how confident MC is about their performances

whether MC drinks alcohol, plus their favorite drink

That’s a lot to keep track of, and mind you, this is just the beginning. So I’m on track to finish this project in about a hundred years (sad laughter). Once the story will turn towards the MC’s hospitalization, I want to give at least three options for why MC is being treated: depression, severe social anxiety and both. I also want to give effective options for an autistic MC (since I’ve finally started feeling comfortable writing about that since I got my own diagnosis; I’ve mentioned this before in relation to Flo from SHC).  The Press Play romances are also going to be quite different, especially since I’m also considering a poly path for Press Play where the band can be… quite intimate with each other. That could include P. Zima and even Lincoln. It’d be a very different route than just all romances taken singularly, though. But given the story, I think it’d make a lot of sense (by contrast, in SHC, it really wouldn’t have). So that’s another thing I’d be writing for the first time, and I’m kind of excited for. 

Anyways, let me know your thoughts!

[louroth]

IT IS UPDATE TIME! For those of you who missed the dirty draft in the discord, the original play link has now been updated with 35 thousand words and two chapters sizzling with exposition, and heated rivalry. I'm so excited!

Here's what's new:

Before we start, it took some honest critique for something to click for me, plot wise. I have been meandering with the plot, partly because I had no idea what I was even doing, and part because I really wanted to meander around in this new medium. But, the plot I have planned is very high octane and epic in scale so I don’t want to bore you to death before we get to the good stuff.

So, don’t hunt me for sport when I tell you that (for the time being) I have removed the entire section of RO 101’s. I was so stubborn with shoehorning them in for the better part of a year, leading to writer's block and utter despair since it just wouldn’t fit; it wasn’t how you were supposed to learn about the RO’s. I have put them aside for now and tweaked Lenas scene once more so that it flows better- I am hemming and hawing over Id’s 101 because that one actually makes sense to have there, plotwise. It might go back in where it was, but I am still thinking about it.

Ok, for real this time though:

The scenes where you scream and your RO busts down the door Kool-Aid man style are there now.

A meeting with Oma and a blast from your [origin] past!

A whole chapter of lies and deceit, but it could literally be anyone lying. Careful who to trust.

Is that… [REDACTED]?? Surely not.

Another chapter where you get to choose your weapons and the way the Surge manifests with your hunter.

On topic of the surge, the magic in Ouro, it is now a default for all players; you can choose from 4 different classes. The Battlefrenzied Zealot, The Beastmaster, The Etherweaver or The Vox Psion. I had a terrible time writing the codexes for these classes, so some are partial and others missing, but if you continue you will experience them in actual action-scenes instead, weaponized. Don't forget to save! For now, each class comes with its own weapon, but I will add more whenever extra time strikes, or when the draft is done.  I am going to remind you as I remind myself: This draft will get rougher around the edges, a little bit messy, as I am going to try to just draft the whole thing without even looking back. It will make my life so much easier when it comes to figuring out key scenes and motivations. While I wrote quite slowly as I treated OUROBOROS as a hobby, now I am working on it, which means skipping content I cannot think of on the spot just to keep the ball rolling. If you don't want to read the alpha draft, please wait with reading until the edited twine demo is out. Thank you!!

Now, ENJOY!

[forkingandcountry-if]

What sort of things do you have planned out for flirting/romantic options? Where do you land on the spectrum from more classic RPG/Dragon Age style where there’s fairly linear romance dialogue for each character that gives characters more of a set dynamic and distinct feeling “route”, vs on the other end, multiple romantic dialogue options for each character like flirty vs coy, oblivious, tsundere, all things like that lol. Now that I type it out, it seems kinda like a breadth vs depth thing? 🤔

I suppose what I’m asking is, how big of a focus/priority is romance compared to other aspects of the game, how does it fit into your general design philosophy? (Hope this doesn’t come off as pushy, I just like hearing authors’ thought processes & knowing how to set my expectations going in 😊)

I say this always and it's never really popular but fundamentally I don't want For King and Country to be a romance game because that's not the intent in writing it, the intent is to write an interesting, challenging fantasy story following the life of a flawed and often underprepared protagonist (the MC) and part of life is romance and hence why I chose to write it with Romance Options, trysts, flirting etc.

Romances shouldn't be too linear because I'm hoping that the story itself isn't too linear and my fundamental design philosophy is that I want the romance to be a natural facet of the story as much as training and intrigue are rather than a completely separate thing, for as many possible routes of story there are I want to design opportunities to develop in the romance of a particular RO or ROs.

There will be multiple different romance options when it comes to each opportunity to flirt (and opportunities not to flirt at all) to go with the different possible types of MC and to that extent not all attempts at romance will work or result in increasing your romance status; being overly shy with an RO who dislikes people who aren't direct will be slower and different to a very direct MC.

So I'm not sure how that answered your question 😭 basically it's not like a giant deal but it gets the same amount of time and importance I dedicate to working on developing how I want to do fighting mechanics or lore.

[vendetta-if]

Little Update on What's Up and Coming on Patreon & Ko-Fi! 🎉

Hey guys 👋 Just realized it's been a while since I last make posts about what I've been posting on Patreon and Ko-Fi, so I figured out to just gather them all in this one update post to let you guys know!

First of all, we've actually got two character art commissions done last month, making the total character art currently available to four! 🤩 Last month, I commissioned a full-body art for Jackal and a half-body, fully-rendered portrait for Female Ash (with background too!) from two different artists with different styles. The months before that, I commissioned a portrait of Luka and Male Ash.

This month, I'm commissioning two more character art and I actually have a poll currently open for which RO would get a fully-rendered character portrait this time! Both the character art and the poll are available for those in the Morozov Ally tier.

I also have a Side Story and a Spicy Side Story for November up in both Patreon and Ko-Fi, and I've just recently opened Side Story Ideas Request for December. Once I've gathered the ideas/requests, we'll do a poll to choose which one you guys want to see the most for this month!

The ideas/requests, the poll, and the spicy sides story will be available to those in the Morozov Enforcer tier and above, while the normal side stories are available for those in the ECPD Officer tier and above.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I've written another two-part Extra Side Story and it is currently up on early access to all Patrons across all tiers! The extra side story is kind of a continuation of the previous one and it tells how Jackal and Luka finally got together after years of repressed feelings for each other. I've been having fun writing these backstories! 😁

If you guys are interested in supporting me while also getting some cool and exclusive stuff like above, please consider checking out my Patreon and Ko-Fi pages! 🥰💖

[Patreon] | [Ko-Fi]

[circuit-if]

Hey everyone! This is just a quick frequently asked questions post with a couple answers to repeated questions in my inbox. Hopefully this addresses them all, but if you have anything not included here just shoot me an ask and I'll get back to you if I can.

★ Circuit Content Warnings: Circuit is rated 18+ for the following: sexual themes, drug and alcohol use, explicit language, and violence. This blog is ALSO 18+.

★ Ask Guidelines: I'm willing to answer general asks surrounding the story, characters, and mechanics of the game and blog. I'm also willing to answer asks of the following (more specific) types - "how would [char] react to," prompts, and NSFW prompts. I'm NOT willing to answer any asks relating to self harm, SA, SH, or explicit asks about pregnancy. I also won't answer asks offering unsolicited and unwanted criticism or advertising your own work.

★ Romancing Multiple Characters: You can romance multiple different ROs, but there will be points where you need to choose. I advise choosing 1 per play through if you're interested in more than 1.

★ Can we choose our characters ____? Here are a couple things you can choose about your character thus far into the story. These may grow as the story progresses.

First and last name

Pronouns, including set she/her, he/him, and they/them as well as an option to enter your own pronouns.

Preferences pertaining to physical appearance, such as hair colour (dyed or natural, can dye a natural colour), hair length, hair style, clothing style, eye colour.

Team colours, primary and secondary

Car design

Pre-race habits

Racing nickname

However, there are a couple things coded into the game allowing it to naturally pick up on your characters actions and label your character as such. Here's a little info on that:

Based on actions/choices during races, your character can be labelled a wildcard, a patient and cautious prowler, or a vicious daredevil, which the world around will take note of and respond to your character with. You can actively manipulate which of the three you are during races, but you cannot manually choose.

Actions/choices made in the public eye impact how the world responds to your character. You can hate the press or love it, ignore your fans or cherish them. Again, you can actively manipulate which of them you are during press/fan interactions, but you cannot manually choose.

★ Can my character be [personality]? I try to be as inclusive with my personality options as possible, so I'm inclined to say yes. However, I can't promise that every option will pertain to an ultra specific personality. In that case, I always make sure to include neutral options that cater to a wide variety of characters.

★ Any Romances Besides the ROs? Yes, but these will not be nearly as fleshed out as the main four. These will take the role of flings and will be short, without any particularly happy endings.

★ Do we have to participate in a romance route to play the story? A large part of the story is romance, but it is not its centre, so no. You can be best friends with each of the ROs and that can be the extent of your relationship.

★ Character perspectives: I'm definitely willing to write character perspectives on certain situations that happen in the story, however that will likely stay reserved to a future patreon page.

★ Fanfiction: Sure, you can write fanfiction.

★ Fan art: Sure, you can create fan art, so long as art including my characters remains generally true to the physical appearance given, which can be found here for the ROs.

★ Can we ditch Roman? Absolutely.

[radiantcircle-if]

What are the ROs voices like?

anon, i must say, this was a hard question lol but i loved taking the time to answer it. i welcome anyone to imagine their voices sounding different than below, but these are the vibes i'm going with while i'm writing.

cesar's voice is low, husky, and tends to be flat. he tends to speak evenly and clearly. when he's mad, he speaks more evenly and clearly, enunciating each word like taking a bite out of it. he speaks faster in spanish but only just noticeably.

rafa's voice is more smooth than it is low, but he has a lot of control over his voice. he's an animated talker, will lower his voice into a ragged tone or go higher when he's really excited while talking. he sounds when speaking spanish.

deniz's voice isn't low but it's definitely not high. there's an ambiguous almost smoker-quality to it. although it wouldn't seem like it, their tone shifts a lot when they're talking; they have a natural rhythm to the way they talk. when they speak turkish, their voice is slightly lower.

gazi's voice is more soft than it is high. it's warm and sultry. the louder they speak, the lower their voice goes. they tend to speak more on the quiet and unhurried side, but when alone with their friends, they can shift into a more fast-talking hoarse new yorker style.

noel's voice is on the higher side and has an authoritative quality to it, especially when teaching. there's something about her voice that makes her always sound like she knows what she's talking about, a cool collectedness. sometimes, this slips away to reveal a simple sense of solitariness. not sad, but not happy...

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Either/Or

Hi! If you're not taking requests right now please ignore this, but I had an idea for a Sanders Sides fanfic. In a human au where Roman and Remus are twins and single parents, one family is visiting the other. However, Roman, dad of Patton and Logan, and Remus, dad of Janus and Virgil, have very different parenting styles. They spend the trip passive-aggressively competing to see who's the better parent. Love your writing :D – anon

Read on Ao3

Warnings: bad parenting, they try and compete and the kids aren't having it

Pairings: none

Word Count: 1609

Janus loves Uncle Roman, but he wishes he wasn't here with Patton and Logan. 'Cause whenever he and Papa are in the same room with all the kids, they start competing with each other.

      Patton loves going to visit his cousins!

Uncle Remus's house is so different from theirs, it's all cool artwork and big cozy beanbags, and Uncle Remus is so much fun! He takes them on trips to amusement parks and these really weird museums that Patton's never heard of before and they get to have all the junk food they want!

"Eating's important," Uncle Remus said one time when he was wondering whether it was okay to have a cookie before dinner, "the cookie you do eat is gonna be better for you than the vegetables you don't."

He runs from the car almost before Dad's parked it. Virgil's already outside and they run into each other in a big hug.

"You made it!"

"Of course we made it!"

"I missed you," Virgil mumbles, too quiet for anyone else to hear 'cause Virgil's kind of shy like that.

"I missed you too," Patton whispers back as Logan gets out of the car next.

"Logan," he hears Janus call, "put a leash on your brother!"

"After you," Logan says back, ruffling Virgil's hair as he walks by, "hi, Uncle Remus."

"Hey, Lolo! You look great. C'mon," he calls, raising his voice, "pizza and ice cream inside!"

"Really?" Patton peers over Virgil's shoulder. "Dad never lets us have both!"

Uncle Remus grins wider. "Well, it's my house, and I say if I get back there first, I'm eating all of it!"

They run shrieking inside.

    2.

Virgil stumbles downstairs, still rubbing his eyes. He must be really sleepy, 'cause he thinks he can smell pancakes.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Uncle Roman says, or at least he thinks he does, "come sit down before you fall over."

He mumbles something that could be 'good morning' back, grabbing onto one of the stools and sitting down. "Why's it smell like pancakes?"

"Probably 'cause I'm making them."

That wakes Virgil up right away, his eyes opening wide as he sits up. Uncle Roman waves at him with a spatula, an apron around his waist. He flips a pancake in the pan and it smells really, really good.

"Papa never makes pancakes."

"Well, that's because your papa is a disaster in the kitchen," Uncle Roman chuckles, tapping the edges of the pancake with the spatula, "and I have several burns to prove it."

"Wait, what did he do?"

Then his cousins show up and Uncle Roman makes pancakes for them too, and bacon, and real maple syrup! Not the cheap kind from the grocery store, real actual maple syrup!

Papa stumbles downstairs after a while to see them all eating pancakes and he squints at the way they all start laughing.

"What're you telling my kids, Ro?"

"Only the truth, Re, only the truth."

    3.

Logan likes visiting Uncle Remus, really, he does, but sometimes…

Sometimes it's weird.

Like now. They're watching a movie, just the four of them; Patton and Virgil had bedtime about an hour ago and so it's him, Janus, and Uncle Remus and Dad on the couch, watching something. Honestly, Logan's not really paying that much attention because he's too busy trying to figure out what the grown-ups are doing.

They keep making these little comments, about him and Janus, about Patton and Virgil, but not in that way where parents compete over whose kids are better. They keep saying things like how they're so proud of them for doing something, or how happy they were that they felt they could talk to them about stuff, or even what they've been doing at school, like looking out for the other kids or standing up to the teachers when they're doing something wrong.

He sneaks a look at Janus every now and then to confirm that he's hearing the same thing.

He is.

It's…it's not bad, because he can tell that both of them are genuinely really proud of their kids, and they're not trying to say the other one shouldn't be, but still.

It's weird.

    4.

Janus loves Uncle Roman, but he wishes he wasn't here with Patton and Logan.

'Cause whenever he and Papa are in the same room with all the kids, they start competing with each other.

Not like an obvious competition, not to anyone other than him, of course, but he knows what passive-aggressive comments sound like and it's certainly what they're doing.

"Oh, I was so proud when I heard about Logan sticking up for his classmate," Uncle Roman is saying, "the teacher said he'd never thought about what he was doing before and that I should be impressed by what a teenager Logan was becoming."

"That sounds like what Janus's teacher said about him last week." Papa chuckles. "Never thought I'd see the day where students actually managed to get some reform in their school for the better, and who was at the front? My little man."

"You know, Patton's teacher said that too. Apparently, he's like the classroom leader. All the other kids want to be his friend and he makes sure that everyone can play the games with their comfort levels."

"Virgil does that too. He has a box of fidget toys in his cubby that he lets the other kids fiddle with when they need to focus."

Janus slumps down into the couch, trying to disappear into the cushions. Logan's doing the same thing on the other side of Uncle Roman. They exchange a look.

"Dad?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Can we turn it up a little bit?"

"Of course, honey."

Thank god.

    5.

"Um, hey guys?"

Logan and Janus look up from their phones. Patton and Virgil stand at the entrance to the den, clutching each other's hands. Sugar, Patton's emotional support stuffie, swings from his other fist and Virgil's got his hand shoved deep into the pocket of his hoodie.

"What's going on," Logan asks, turning his phone off and holding out an arm, "what's the matter?"

"Come on," Janus calls too, opening his arms and sprawling over the beanbag, "sad little ones need cuddles."

"We're not sad," Patton mumbles, even as he crawls onto the beanbag for Janus cuddles, "we're—we're—"

"Worried," Virgil says.

Logan takes Virgil into the crook of his arm, letting him rest his head on his shoulder. He runs his fingers through Virgil's hair. "What are you worried about, little one?"

"Is Uncle Roman mad at Papa?"

Logan frowns, as does Janus. "I don't think so, Virgil, why do you ask?"

"They keep acting like it," Patton says, burrowing into Janus's embrace, "they keep—they keep saying things that make it sound like they're mad but then they don't look like they're mad. They keep talking about us too, are they mad at us?"

"No, sweetie," Janus murmurs, kissing his forehead and glancing at Logan, "they're not mad at us. They're…"

"They're being immature," Logan sighs, "that's what they're doing."

"But they're grown-ups."

"This may come as a shock to you," Janus says in a way where he knows it probably won't, "but grown-ups can be immature too."

"That's stupid."

"Yes, you'd think they'd know better."

"Dad has us apologize when we're immature," Patton says, "do you think they'd apologize to us?"

"Who's apologizing for what?"

    +1.

The little ones shrink into their older cousins' arms as Roman and Remus appear at the door. They notice immediately, of course, and part of them instinctively gentles at the sight of distress. Remus glances at Janus just as Roman looks to Logan.

Logan sighs. "You two are apologizing. To all of us."

"And to each other," Janus adds.

Roman blinks. "We are?"

"What did we do?"

"You've been competing this whole weekend," Janus says, huddling protectively around the little Patton bundle in his lap, "and the little ones are noticing."

"You keep trying to one-up each other and it's not cool." Logan lets Virgil squirm his head under his chin. "They came to get us 'cause they thought you were mad at each other or at us."

"Oh, little anomalies," Remus sighs, "we're not mad."

"We know that," Janus mutters, gesturing between himself and Logan, "but they don't."

"It needs to stop." Logan doesn't quite scowl at Roman, but it's close. "We love each other. You don't need to try and prove it. You're freaking us all out. We're not props to show who's better at what."

"You're supposed to be brothers." Janus nods pointedly to how he and Logan are comforting their cousins. "So be brothers."

The two of them look at the picture in the den for a moment. Then they turn to each other.

"You raised some great kids, Re," Roman murmurs, reaching out to clap Remus's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. So did you."

"Thanks."

"Alright, you little monsters," Remus declares, sitting in the middle of the floor, "get in here for apology cuddles."

"I'm here, I'm here," Roman says as the little gremlins start clamoring for both sets of cuddles, "c'mere—that's it. Hey there, bud."

Kisses press to foreheads, hugs and apologies alike as the six of them snuggle on the floor. Someone puts a movie on the screen and one by one, the children doze off. Over their sleeping heads, Roman and Remus exchange a smile.

What's better than this?

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[bacchanal-if]

This Month In Development

Exciting news! The first pass on scene 2 of chapter 1 has been sent off to testers!

Coding

A lot more code cleanup! I learn every day how to make things easier for myself

I can now get the individual value of each stat (before it was a bit confusing since everything is based on the meter, but now I have each value saved individually)

I can now sort stats based on their highest value

The stats are now capped so they can't go over or under the max and minimum numbers

Ellis' platonic relationship bar shows when you meet them in game

You can now set the ROs gender

I downloaded something called twine hacker which has made testing so much easier, as well as learned how to use the console to go straight to different passages

Writing (May Contain Spoilers)

The first draft for the breakfast scene is done and sent to testers!

The rough draft/outline for the final scene of chapter 1 has been written.

Current Wordcount: 9,922

Misc

Coy/Daring was replaced with Romantic/Pragmatic

I created a cheat sheet for myself, which may not sound exciting, but it helps me so much to have this reference on hand for the many options I've created. Trust me when I say that most of the options mean something and will be referenced later 😅 maybe not in every playthrough, but I try to keep the dialogue flowing

The option to set the MC's chest type has been moved up into the dressing room scene instead of later

Finished my first commission, and in two different writing styles!

Decided to have the option to read the entire story as if it were written in that era (or as close as I can get it)

I'm sure there is more I can't remember since this is an update for the entire month, but here you have it.

[theothersarshi]

So, one of my hobbies is looking at real estate websites and checking out the best and worst out there. I like seeing what crazy things people come up with.

I would like to take you on a ride. Today, it's not a good ride.

The first thing you need to know is that I live in Romania, so the real estate websites I look at tend to be Romanian. The best known is probably imobiliare.ro, which literally means "real estate dot ro".

The second thing you need to know is that Romanians tend to be home owners, not renters, unless they're students or young.

The third thing you need to know is that ther's a wide availability of offers for everything home-related, and it's not that expensive, but taste is in short supply.

That being said, I was looking at houses in Bucharest today. I found one that was built in 1999, 5 rooms, 3 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 balcony, 312.58 square meters total, built on 120 square meters on the surface. Selling price: 239,000 euros, which feels too cheap for such a big place in the capital (even if it's in an undesirable area).

Are you ready?

This is the place. Look at that building. Somebody went creative on it. It's like you bought your own plot of land, but missed the apartment block aesthetic and wanted to recreate it. Except maybe with some really weird choices regarding the... gables? Roof? I can't tell from here.

It's nice having a courtyard that you've cemented. It really cements the fact that this is your property and you can do whatever on it.

I'm more used to seeing this... cement marble mosaic or whatever indoors, in institutions. Schools, maybe?

Oh. Wait. They've added it indoors and I don't even. Why would you use it inside your house? Why do the stairs not have a railing? Why do the doors look like they miss the castle they were stolen from? Why is there an extra step next to the stairs? Why is there what appears to be a tiny door towards the *inside* of the stair? (Cupboard maybe?)

This will be a ride.

The kitchen! The owners went wild here. I'm not sure what they were going for, but they definitely got something. I wonder if the table truly matches the walls or if it's just an impression. I feel like every color here clashes with every other color.

I used to live in a place that had a similar kitchen, except the walls were shades of pink. I used to cry when cleaning it, because its colors showed under the grime.

The back of the chair has writing on it saying "back of a chair 1 person 6 pieces"

Where are the other 5 chairs? Don't answer that.

The bathroom! Huge. Blue, except for the cement. No cupboards. A toilet and a bidet. I think I'd feel awkward taking a bath there. It would feel like taking a bath in a disused storage room. Not sure why.

Going up the stairs, these people *really* don't believe in railings, but they at least have a desk to block your impending doom if you wander too close to the stairwell.

The cement mosaic stays and feels oppressive. I'm loathing it with a passion, but the Greek-style, waist-high decorative column on the left distracts me from the ugliness with confusion. There seems to be a bonsai on top.

Next to a mirror, someone who might be a silver Virgin Mary stares at us.

A photo taken from the opposite direction shows us more castle doors and shelves hold porcelains, mostly depicting animals.

This house feels disconnected. Like the rooms are probably their separate, individual places. These huge hallways are just meant to connect them. Maybe this place belongs to 5 separate people who each do their thing.

Maybe not.

Finally, a room.

This looks like granny's workout room. The pale blue walls, the watercolor painting in the gilded frame, the old-style, cheap, lacquered wardrobe... All it's missing is some stucco.

I wonder why they bought two identical smaller carpets when they could've bought a bigger one.

But at least it has wooden flooring! It doesn't look as uncomfortably cold and hard!

Another angle makes this room look entirely different. Almost like the wardrobe isn't hanging out on half the wall awkwardly. We see another framed watercolor and what seems to be an overly crowded table.

This bedroom doesn't contradict my theory that people might be living here separately. It's big enough that I can see someone hang in there whenever they're home. And there's the workout equipment. All it needs is a TV.

Never mind, it has a TV, too. (But no place where you might sit with a laptop.)

A picture of another bathroom, this one in black. It has a cupboard and a shower curtain and looks like it might be used on purpose.

Another room!

This one's blue. Blue-painted wooden floor, blue-ish carpets. Someone put some thought into making it comfortable and nice. It has shelves, and a wardrobe that stretches the whole length of the wall, and loads of light. I can even see a theme here, as each room seems to have some workout equipment.

While a breath of fresh air, it reminds me of camgirl aesthetic.

It's also the last room we get to see.

Except this one, unless it's a hallway. It has a ping-pong table! Neat. And loads of maps on the walls, presumably so the owners find someplace to run that's not this house.

A picture from the other side shows us more workout equipment. What even is this place?

More workout equipment. What is this, a gym with bedrooms attached? I've got nothing.

And that's about all the relevant pictures.

What can I say? The more I look at it, the more perplexing, ugly and uncomfortable it seems. It never ceases to baffle me that somebody chose to make it like this. Presumably they liked it, if they either lived there for 20 years or bought it and moved there at some point during that period.

You can see the listing here, with a few extra pics from different angles.

[collegetennisoriginstory]

hands down the best IF demo I’ve read (I think I’ve read literally them all) obviously the characters and RO paths are so amazing I love everyone, so MC for all routes

But the way a college sport is a simple idea ( in terms of realism) and you’ve made it so genuine with skill based choices even the tennis context is great , it’s such an enjoyable story (some IFs I don’t bother fleshing out an mc based for each choice our route) but my MCs are all different style players with different attitudes and even their ability level intentionally, you’ve just found that perfect way to make it enjoyable to do that

I love it so much and I can’t wait for the next update whenever it comes!🤩🥇

Oh my goodness, this was so so sweet, thank you so much. 💗 (you charmer!!!)

I'm thrilled that you love all the characters/ROs :) a lot of care went into writing them! It does seem like after this update, there seems to be a bit of polarisation between the Tobin and Rayyan camps though :P

I'd definitely be so interested to know about your different MCs and their playing styles/skills :D

[chillwildwave]

Hi, 4*town! I'm such a fan! And as a fan of you all, I was wondering: what is you guys' favorite thing about each other?

Robaire: Well, I'm so glad that you're a fan and this is a pretty difficult question if I do say so myself since there are so many things that makes me like each member for who they are: my favourite thing about each other is that we at least try to do something to keep us together like a set of brothers, an example being is when during that ritual, I told the rest of the group that we had to sing from the heart to help not just the "panda girl", but ourselves by working as a team, cause if we work together, the things we change around us gets bigger and bigger. C'est ce que j'aime dans mon groupe!

Aaron T: Wait, I didn't know we had another fan from thousands of others willing to ask us anything! But, hey, it is what it is. Anyway, I just adore the fact that we each have our own style of creativity when we're in the studio coming with new song titles and lyrics to release. I mean, I'm mostly the one who names the song while we discuss the lyrics as a way to improve our socialising in the studio, I'm very grateful for each member who has a creative mindset when we write so that we can all agree on one thing together!

Aaron Z: Oh, um, hey, I didn't expect you there as another 4townie with a question there! So, I'll answer it, I guess? Okay, I love how each member tries their hardest to push me outside of my comfort zone by having small talks with me as a reminder to let me know that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it. And since Ro was my friend for a long time, I love the fact that he supports me throughout my journey even though sometimes he tends to hide his overachieving side, I mean, during those days when his mother told me to do things that I didn't want to do at my previous label, that was when I saw Robaire as a rival but that's all changed now, all thanks to his support that was given, we'll continue to be great friends forvever!

Jesse: Hey there, I haven't seen you there, this question's got me feeling ecstatic, now, time to answer! I just love how enthusiastic Aaron T is, (even though his jokes are just a bore to my mind), for Tae Young, he's the reason as to why I call him my "little paintbrush" since he shares the same artistic traits as me although he's an ultimate animal nerd that he even let me stroke a dove for the first time, Robaire, me and him mostly did the songwriting for "1 True Love" since we both had similar experiences of true love, when we discussed about it, he's very well-spoken and is such a great listener in which he seems that he cares about what true love means to us, whether its having a boyfriend or being a father to his kids! Aaron Z, whenever he leads our dance practices, he's completely different as if he really cares about it, but when he isn't dancing, he's quite reserved and quiet that it was quite difficult to talk to him. When he does talk to me, he only smiles a bit and is very supportive when it came to helping others in situations.

Tae Young: Hey! What would I expect? A fan sending me a question this time, phew, this may take a while to think...

Now, what I love about each member is that we basically try our hardest to at least have our own sense of humour whenever jokes come running (I'm specifically talking about T!) although none of them seemed to be funny, we do have something that does make us laugh whenever funny things happen to one of us: for example, T was a hot mess with a load of shopping bags he got from the mall, I gotta be honest, that was actually funny to me as he was supposed to be in the studio as soon as he finished but it turned out that he was an hour late! (cause, you know what he's like, I don't need to explain anymore.)

[memento-morianon]

little note on pronouns

I've been using typical human gender pronouns to refer to all my characters thus far, but once i have done enough work on conlangs I actually plan to write the story with all the characters using pronouns from their own native languages.

Evarin, for example, is a trans woman. I usually go with "she/her/hers" when I talk about Evarin. but I am currently building the ancestral language shared by orcs and gnomes, which means Evarin's pronouns actually should be ri/ral/ros, actually.

and then Morianon is a special case, because during book 1 and part of book 2 I'll use elf pronouns for him, lining up with a masculine gender, but then once he connects with his quetzalin culture during book 2, he will change his pronouns to match with their genders instead. so instead of he/him/his, Morianon will go by a-xel/a-xos (standard pronoun and possessive pronoun only)

but only during the courting season (summer) because the quetzalin "genders" are actually just a courting label to tell which role each person takes during the courting season. a-xel means Morianon is a Dancer. outside of courting season, it's just xel/xos (standard adult quetzalin pronoun)

and Morianon is still cis gender the entire time! just in a different way.

(the x in this case is pronounced like a ch, as in check or chess. chel/choss(like cross) is how you pronounce the xel/xos pronoun)

eventually I will have all of the fantasy pronouns worked out lol, even if the rest of the language for each species goes unfinished. who knows, maybe some readers will really like the different pronoun styles! works out for people who also feel aligned with a binary gender but still want a pronoun shift, because Evarin is still using femme-presenting pronouns up there, just in a non-human language lol.

[ramonag-if]

Hey, I do not know how I missed your game for so long but I'm very glad to have found it now! It is written brilliantly, I came for the romance and stayed for both the romance and the engaging story. Everytime I thought I knew where it was going there was a new discovery to make. It also works so well with all the different choices you implemented - I had to stop several times to think about how my MC would react. That was especially interesting for me when meeting Salyra. I like to play MC as being really sweet and had planned to reunite with Salyra but I couldn't. My MC (and me) felt very conflicted about Salyra but eventually allowed herself to feel sad and angry and that was a character development in my MC that I did not expect but really liked! And I'm very happy that the Vinia family is there to show MC that there is a way for a family to be loving and affectionate without hurting those around you.

You really succeeded in capturing all those feelings, the lows were really hitting low but I adored the happy and fluffy moments, especially with the love interests, and it made me smile.

On topic of the romance: I loved it. My favourite was Irus, I didn't think I would be into the prince and wasn't going for him originally but... I was absolutely smitten. I loved to see how MC and Irus learn to trust each other and then the small sweet touches to the kisses (and more 😌) were so good. His romance is so well integrated and intertwined with the plot too. Oh and I also really liked that flirty MC is matched by his own bold energy. And even if they say it teasingly they absolutely mean to follow Irus to the end of time - it was really tugging at my heartstrings.

I also loved that you made it possible to interact with Crown several times, it was so sweet! I do have a wish here though: Could you make it possible to get another horse so that Crown will not be alone while travelling with MC and companions? Horses are herd animals and very social creatures, so I'd love for Crown to get a companion of his own. Also I know he is a fantasy horse and especially strong but I can't help thinking it would be nicer for him to not carry the weight of two people all the time (I did enjoy the riding scenes with Irus a lot though 💕). Also I'd like to add for the descriptions that a horse's nose is usually not wet except when they have been drinking or feeding on something wet. I don't want to overstep and I hope I didn't "horsegirl" too much but I wanted to share my thoughts on this, especially because I love that you made Crown not just a mount but a companion!

Thank you so much for sharing your work, your writing style is so good to read and I'm really engaged in the characters and story, I'm looking forward to read more. I'm sending greetings and wish you a nice day dear author! ☺️💐

Thank you so much for playing and I'm really happy that you're enjoying the game 😊

I'm so pleased that so many players who like playing sweet characters rethought the way they were going to treat Salyra. She is a very complicated character with a lot of baggage that's going to make you rethink your responses 😂

It's so strange to know that a lot of players weren't going to go for Irus as an RO because originally, he was the main RO in the story concept and so much of the plot initially revolved around him. He's probably the most fleshed-out but it's only since I love writing his character so much. I'm really glad you're enjoying his route!

Crown was never meant to be a recurring feature in the game. When I write that scene about Irus revealing his name, I think players suddenly fell in love and if it weren't for players asking for more scenes with Crown, I'd never have included so much interaction with him 😂 Thank you for the nose detail. I'm most definitely not a horse girl (I rode them a few times in high school) but I'm used to general pets like dogs and cats so I'm used to wet noses. Ill be fixing these during edits.

Thank you again for supporting the game and I'm really thankful for your kind words 💖

[thedeal-if]

DEMO RELEASE DATE! Announcements, what to expect, and many thanks!

DEMO RELEASE: May (Prologue + Chapter 1)

It's real, it's coming, and I'm so excited!

I'm a senior in college who's currently getting through (surprisingly, may I add) her last year in this, well, hell that is higher education (that, here in Spain, means I'm doing both my last four-month period, my internships, and the bachelor's degree thesis, and it's a lot, and I lose the will to live, sometimes /j). The Deal has been a delight and a dream to write, my two-year-old child. I'm sure everyone interested in the supernatural and in (hot) demons and angst will find it worth their time!

What I'm about to announce now is, of course, subject to change. I can't promise to have everything coded by May (not counting the prologue + chapter 1, that's personal, you WILL have that), BUT my plan would be to make the initial demo five chapters long, write and code the rest of the story, then gradually publish a chapter each week. I calculate five chapters would be about... 100k+ words? Maybe more, maybe less. The entire story is very tightly outlined up to Paradiso, the third part, but I can always get a new idea that changes everything, adds more content, or completely disregards a previous section. Given that I code everything properly... the PLAN is to publish a chapter each month! Chapter 1 in May, 2 in June, 3 in July, etc, etc.

Inferno is... going to be long. 24 chapters divided into two parts + prologue, and epilogue. I want to take the time to sincerely thank everyone for your support. Even just one like gives me a motivation boost!

What can you expect from the initial demo in May? Good question! You will:

Meet Josh and Villanelle. Determine the nature of your relationship with them (you can have a conscious or unrealized crush on them, be friends with them, or be 'meh' about them).

Discover THE MC nickname... 'Dot'!

Determine who your MC is, and the main traits that will make up your character. Every trait has its up and downs, a benefit and a disadvantage. Ex, outgoing Dot thrives and thinks clearer when surrounded by people, but they are at their darkest when they are by themselves.

Your Dot can be either: Impulsive or Cautious, Flirty or Shy (active romance only), Charming or Stoic, Sarcastic or Genuine, Outgoing or Introverted, Courageous or Cowardly, Rude or Friendly, Cynicism or Idealism, Team worker or Solo

Choose your physical attributes: Sex, gender, pronouns, hair (color, texture, style, length), eye shape and color, skin, build, whether you wear glasses (or not, or contacts), your facial hair or lack thereof, height, clothing preference, tattoos, scars, and piercings!

Choose who you were in high school. Chapter 1 offers three starting points that will gradually branch out and become more specific. Dot is a character too, and they will develop with time.

Each past will shape the way the story is narrated too! A more artistic MC will see the world differently, and their own inner world will be portrayed differently. Who you were, who you are, who you will be: it all has an impact on how you behave.

Explore your (negative) feelings about how your life has turned out four years after you were forced to become the head of the family

Meet the demon who is your boss... *shudders* William

Meet Chrissy, your sister!

If you play your cards right (or not) you can even meet one of the other ROs earlier than you normally would.

Seriously, thank you guys again for everything. If you ever want me to clarify anything about my satanic child or my characters I would be more than happy to answer, my ask thingy is open! Meanwhile, I will try my best to give you the best story I can give.

Probably going to update sometime in the near future to publish some moodboards that I made a while back. Just so you get the general vibe of each RO, a song that I think represents them and... the 'face claim' (plus Villanelle's birthday is coming up next week and I have something short and sweet prepared). Other than that... see you all in May!

[winterswrandomness]

I LOVE BIRDS. we know this. we know I love birds. "what's happened today, Ro?" you may be asking. WELL. I am looking into whether birds fly against or with the wind, and what that entails, because I'm writing a fic with a winged person. AND. AND the general conclusion I've found is that gliding/soaring birds (one of four categories of birds, put into those categories based on their wing shape and aspect ratio of their wings)

which, quick note that gliding/soaring flight seemed like the best option because the character's flight style is predominantly gliding with bursts of uplift - which is basically just a brief boost that comes back, and the rest of yhe time flying is spent gliding/soaring - so giving him the wing shape of a gliding/soaring bird made the most sense to me (also worth noting that each species, and I'd even maybe argue each individual bird, has a slightly different or varying flight style, with the four categories being very broad and generalized)

SO ANYWAY. flying against the wind. different flight styles will have different benefits and downsides, I assume - birds that fly against the wind get a greater updraft HOWEVER are generally slowed down thanks to the drag force. flying toward the wind lets the bird flap its wings less, with a trade off of lost speed.

anyway. birds <3

[fetabathwater]

for the Infamous asks: band name + album + songwriting + change + voice + storybeats

(or whichever of those you feel like answering, if any)

questions here!

Band name: How did they and the others come up with the band name? Has the name changed since it was founded?

Hasn't changed the band name since it was founded way back when with Seven. Back then it was a joke, after watching one too many scary movies and jumping when the home phone rang (it was a telemarketer...). Relentless Caller became a lil more fine tuned, someone actually looked up thesaraus dot com for the word, and then it all came together.

Albums: What are some of the albums the band has released? Are they a consistent style? What themes did they explore?

Definitely on the sliding scale of rock, and at least one attempt at heavy metal - which was fun! But the strain on the vocal chords due to not doing all the right things was not. Mostly containing songs to EPs, whilst one of the official album names are leaning harder on the poetic Troubled Paradise and Don't Bother to Knock way, Jen refers to 90% of the EPs as completely different names. Throatzilla. Lettuce Tossed. Material Girl 3.0. Bond Boy. She's a very serious artist.

Songwriting: What’s their process? Is it different than it was when they used to write songs with Seven?

Absolutely different from when writing with Seven, as then it was fun and bouncing ideas off each other and throwing food and smashing red bull two hours before a recording. It was all new and fun and bright. Since the vote, there has been like that liiiiiiittttllllleeeeee voice in the back of her head about being 'palatable' to an audience, and that they didn't want to take a risk. So probably her songwriting went that way. There is some other stuff buried in between the pages that are like wistful duets or the stuff she may actually want to do, but. Well. It's all about that image, baby!

Change: How has their personality changed since Seven left the band? Are those changes related to Seven leaving?

It's not so much that her personality changed, it's probably more along the lines that the public profile she presents really gets cemented that it kind of gets hard to switch it off. Throwing herself into the work as if to make it worthwhile...

Voice: What does their singing voice sound like? Do you have voiceclaims(s) for them?

Tia Carrere was the first voice that jumped to mind when playing, but I don't have a set voice at this stage...

Storybeats: If you could design one scene to happen in the story, what would it be? How would it change your character? What would make it so satisfying for the character arc?

Pfbfbfbbtbfbfbbttfffttt uh. Rooftop reconciliation scene? With the way that some scenes are set and being controlled by the BOTB media circus, an interview that hits too hard, being given a script to follow... Something off scene. Serenading the RO. Mini comp held one night while on the road. Like the buses break down.