#gildedbirdcagestoryasks

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Your fingers threaten to do so, even now, but you recall Orion telling you there’s certain things you can only do when you’re young. That things lose their innocence as you get older.

You hear Alek, but you are not doing a very good job at listening. His face is awfully close to yours, in a way that could mean something when you’re older. The way Orion warned you. The way your novels sometimes end.

I'm not sure if you take requests for snippets, but if so could we please get a flashback of Orion having these talks with MC/warning them? It sounds like it would be both cute and funny with how sheltered the MC is! I understand if it's not possible though, so please don't feel pressured :)

So sorry to answer this so late- holidays are always so busy! Snippet down below- may not be exactly how it will be in the story but it’ll be something like this. Set around when MC is 15 and Orion is 14 with a crushing Orion because I can’t help myself. TW for slight alluding to sexual harassment/abuse. Please read at your own discretion and health. MDNI

You wake with a start.

It was not a very good day- filled with glares, comments, and shoves disguised poorly as accidents. It appeared such things couldn’t help but bleed into the night as well- into your very dreams. With such things invading your room, you fear there may never be an escape from the torment. No haven from this hate.

As quickly as you think there is no where to go, you remind yourself that of course there is. You could go to the kitchens in your wing that houses Orion. Grumpy with you as he may oft be, he was still a much happier option than being alone. He would never lay a hand on you and it has seemed like ages since he’s uttered a truly hateful word to you- whether that be because he found you more agreeable these days or because he was sick of Alek in his ear, you may never know.

You fling blankets off of you, rush to the window, and fling the curtains in a similar fashion. Outside the window, the sky was pitch black and the only light to cover the world is a rather full and bright moon.

Well… even better, you think to yourself. Likely Orion still sleeps and it’s been an awful long time since you’ve had a sleepover with anyone. The poison of the day, try as it might to get you in the night, could not get you when such a wonderfully genius idea manifests itself.

You arrange the curtains back to sorts and spin away from the window, the skirt of your nightgown expanding momentarily around you as you do, and set your sights on the door to exit your room and begin to roam through the empty halls.

The halls are silent, save the thumping of your bare feet, and you are grateful for this. People would only ruin the beautiful mood you’ve put yourself in with your brilliant idea and you simply can not, will not, stand for it. It’s a shame Alek isn’t home for you to share your idea, you hadn’t had a sleepover with him in so long either. Alek and Orion’s lives seem too busy for such things any more while you… well, you just seemed to float from one day to the next. Unchanging.

Time has robbed you of sleepovers, days where you would play all day, and days where it seemed all you had was each other. Now Alek leaves home more than he stays, puts his life in danger, and has become quite set on becoming the commander of the army one day. When you are most lonely and sad, he assures you in letters that someday you’ll understand. That if he could do it all from home he would. That it hurts him to leave you so. You wish you could tell him how hollowing it can be to one day feel like you were the center of someone’s world and the next realize you aren’t. But you are being unreasonable, Orion has told you many a time, and a country does not simply protect itself.

Orion, while in no great danger, similarly is too busy to entertain you. He minds you less and less occupying a corner in his kitchens but he is lost in the flurry of the work and he has no time to listen to what kind of bug you saw and what patterns it held, the way you got stuck trying to find a good hiding place for a game that you, Alek, and Orion no longer play, or how the sparks from the fireplace cracked so loud and reached so far you scrambled away so quickly with a fit of giggles lest it set you ablaze. How heartbreaking it was to make sounds at people but they never truly hear. Orion has his dreams of being the best chef in the castle, no, the country, he tells you, and he must work his hardest each day to achieve that. No noble wouldn’t know his name.

But look at you, making your own eyes water when you have set yourself on no one ruining your mood or idea. It seems you cannot let your guard down even against your own thoughts.

You enter Orion’s domain, the kitchens his room is attached to, and it’s as you’ve always known it. Orion runs a tight ship and the only imperfect, messy piece is the corner dedicated just for you that he allows no one to touch. Projects you start but never finish decorate it and you have to pry yourself from the idea of just setting up camp right then and there for the day. Sleepover, you remind yourself.

Opening the door, you smile at how very Orion this room is- as it ought to be seeing it is his. The moon shines it’s light through his window giving you the ability to see how tidy and very grownup the room is, not even a spare sock to be seen. Very different from your own room that you couldn’t care less if everything looked prim and proper. Dark blue, his favorite color since before you met him, is found everywhere here and adds to his air of sophistication.

The only childish thing that spoils the room can be found on his desk, in bright colors that betray the somber room. Your heart awkwardly beats at the sight… they were pictures you’ve drawn just for him, poems you wrote and stories from when you figured yourself an accomplished author, lyrics you wrote that you thought rather charming. Something unnameable warmed in you as you stared at it- it was not lost on you that in Orion’s busy, tidy, controlled, and uniform life he somehow found a corner just for you and no one else to have in his two most lived in places.

Unsure if he would have wanted you to see that he still kept the things you’ve given him over the years, you turn to his bed where he sure enough is sleeping, unaware of your entering.

The brown hair he’s been growing out is splattered across his pillow and messy as he sleeps on his side, facing the window, and he cuddles a pillow tightly to himself. His scars from his occupation shine like silver in the moonlight on his arms around the pillow. While mostly covered in a blanket, you can see his bare back, also scarred, and wonder why he is allowed to wear less clothes as time marches on but you must wear more. Thankfully, Orion does not wear nothing and you can see the waistband of sleep pants.

You come across your first hurdle here… normally, you would not have any problems with simply waking him up but he seems so peaceful here, so deeply asleep with his small snores here and there, that you fear you would feel guilty getting in the way of that. You cannot lay yourself quietly at his back due to how he sleeps and his bed is not as large as yours to find a place for yourself. Maybe at one time you could but Orion has grown too tall, unfortunately.

Troubling, indeed.

Well… Orion, you, and the pillow obviously can’t fit so you become resolved to remove the offending pillow. Crawling onto his bed, you pull at the pillow until it is set free, launch it somewhere in the room, and wiggle yourself in it’s place and you are immediately warm and comfortable.

Orion, in his sleep, seems perfectly unaware that the pillow has vanished and his strong arms wrap around you quite tightly. There’s something about the hold that makes you feel feverish and makes it hard to breathe… but you feel safe, nonetheless. Bad dreams can’t afflict you here.

Getting a good look at his face, your eyes are drawn to the crease his eyebrows create. Even in sleep, Orion finds a way to somehow have a scowl about him. Inching your hands to it, you can’t help but press at it and attempt to massage it away. You used to be skeptical when Alek’s mother would say that if you had your face a certain way it would get stuck like that… but now you think she may have been telling the truth.

Orion grumbles at your attentions, stretches his legs, tightening his arms about you more somehow, and opens his eyes a smidge and looks at you. You have been caught, which really should not come as a shock to you. Really, you can’t just touch someone’s face as you are and think they wouldn’t feel it.

Staring at you bleary-eyed, Orion plucks your hand away from his brow and places it on his chest, near his heart you dare say, before closing his eyes and placing his arms back around you just so… rubbing soothingly at knots that are not there.

You have no opportunity to make anything of it before his eyes shoot back open, wide, and he gasps- untangling himself and falling to the floor with a thud that causes you to wince.

He takes the blankets with him, pulls them up to cover his chest, and says, “What in God’s name are you doing in my room?”

His tone makes you feel as though, perhaps, your idea was not as brilliant as you thought.

“I… I was having bad dreams from the day and I thought-“ you begin.

Orion cuts you off. “I’m quite certain you weren’t thinking anything. My God, did anyone see you enter here?”

He gets up then and fetches a shirt to put on while you feel like you should get up and flee. Lock yourself up in your room. Hide away from your friend’s ire.

“I was not seen, I was not heard… I’m sorry, Orion, I just… I had a bad day that became a bad night and wanted to be with someone. Have a sleepover like we used to. Remember?”

You want to add that you don’t understand his anger, it never mattered before. Why would something as small as a sleepover matter now?

Still facing away from you, you hear Orion take a very slow, very large intake of air and expel it equally as slow. You recognize it, it happens often enough. It’s the kind of breath Orion breathes when he is trying to find his patience with you. You place your hands in your lap, fiddling with your thumbs, and look down at them feeling quite chastised.

You hear him walk back to the bed and you glance at him through your lashes, more so peeking at him. Orion’s stare goes from your exposed shoulder where your nightgown has shifted to your exposed legs- the kerfuffle had set your nightgown out of sorts without you realizing. Carefully, avoiding touching your skin, he fixes your sleeve and then grabs the hem of your nightgown to pull it back over your legs. As an extra layer, he throws the blanket about you to cover you up. You didn’t think you were so chastised that you were shaking… you figure he must have thought if you were shivering that you were cold with how he was covering you.

Orion kneels on the ground in front of the bed and seems to have a hard time looking you in the eye. “I need you to understand we’re not little anymore.”

Well, that was silly. Obviously you knew that. He and Alek have become like trees in the last year or so.

“I know,” you respond, confused why he would say that.

He takes another calming breath. “No, you don’t. I need you to understand we’re not children anymore.”

That bothers you. “Yes we are. Alek’s mother still calls us children. She wouldn’t do that if we were grown up.”

He looks you in the eye now and you can tell you’re still not hearing him the way he wants you to.

“We are not children, MC, and we’re not grownups either. We’re awkwardly in the middle but I need you to understand that it still means something. You cannot… sneak into a man’s room, especially one seen as a servant, in the middle of the night in just a nightgown.”

“What else should I wear for a sleepover? This is what I’ve always worn.”

Orion runs his hands through his hair. He looks a mixture of embarrassed and frustrated and you’re not sure why.

“We can’t have sleepovers anymore, MC, and when I say that I mean that you and I can’t. You and Alek can’t. Those days are over and gone. It means something different now.”

You feel your lip quiver at the mention of your days of fun, of being around them whenever you so choose, being over. Gone.

You feel that wall you thought of earlier begin to add more bricks between you and Orion. Maybe even Alek too. This knowledge that they’re so privy to while you stay infantile to them. You are older than Orion and yet that can’t be. They move on, they run, while you seem to never be able to move on beyond a crawl.

“Don’t do that,” Orion says, sounding a little taken aback by your apparent heartbreak and hurt.

“You’re just being cruel, the way Alek says you like to be in some misguided way.” You say, sniffles finding their way into the sentence.

You can almost see him cursing Alek.

“Maybe I am being cruel but I’m doing what no one else will do and telling you the way of the world. I would give anything for this to be someone else’s job but I can’t let you be ignorant any longer. It’s dangerous now to let you continue on this way. Everyone can treat you like a baby who says a word wrong but never corrects them because they find it cute but I won’t do that to you.” Orion says with great feeling.

Deep down, you know he is not intentionally being cruel the way he was when you first met. It was unfair to accuse him of it. Orion is pulling weight in your life that he shouldn’t have to.

He sees you are listening now.

“People like you are sold to the highest bidder when they’re young and I don’t think you’ll be safe from it for forever. And even if you are… there’s people out there, evil people, who will take advantage of you not knowing… things. You need to know how it is. Between people.”

“Things lose their innocence as we get older,” Orion continues. “That’s why you can’t have sleepovers anymore or be seen with us in just a nightgown. I know, Alek knows, that you sneaking into our beds means nothing… but anyone else? Anyone who would catch you doing that would think you did mean something. That you did something. That you’re- that we- anyways, you just can’t do that, okay?”

No, it wasn’t okay and you didn’t understand.

“Okay,” you say quietly, sadly.

Orion sighs heavily, his frustration moving from you to himself. “I- I don’t think I can explain the ins and the outs to you of what I want you to know. I thought I could but it’s… awkward and embarrassing, all right? Just… know that you can’t go sleeping with- next- know that you can’t have sleepovers anymore with me or Alek. And you tell us if someone tries to get you to, okay? You don’t agree, you don’t say anything, you just run as fast as you can to me or Alek’s family.”

He moves to tip your chin to make sure you’re looking at him, that you’re still listening. All you can do is nod your head. You understand he needs you to know this is important, and you do, but you don’t understand at all. You still feel rather unfairly chastised when you don’t know what you’ve done wrong… just that you have done wrong.

Orion drops his hand like it burns and looks embarrassed still, a rarity that you can’t even enjoy because you feel so down and ashamed.

“I’ll see if I can get a book or something so you can learn. Or maybe writing it would be easier on me and then you can burn it. I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. For now, you need to go back to your room before everyone wakes up. Go back to sleep. No more coming here at night.”

You come out the the blanket cocoon and head to the door, wordlessly doing as he asks. Orion seems restless at your silence.

Before you can leave, Orion grabs the crook of your elbow and pulls you back to face him.

“I didn’t want to- I didn’t mean to- why don’t I make your favorite for breakfast? And- and we’ll play that game I hate. The one where we have to draw something and the other guesses. The one you’re so good at. I’ll even make your favorite dessert for when you win.”

It’s awkward, him being so kind. You appreciate him trying.

You give him your best smile but even you know it doesn’t reach your eyes. “Okay.”

But you don’t leave your room that day. Today you hide away in your room, door firmly locked, and stay with your books and drawings that you wear as armor against growing up. At things changing. At your friends going upwards and onwards. At all the unknowns and things you’re ignorant to.

You will face the world on another day.

On this day, you cry.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

The game will actually take place over the course of the MC’s life (currently writing where MC and Alek are about three years old)

Oh interesting, I didn't realise that! I love when IFs start from childhood so you can really build up the MC’s background. How much of the game do you think will take place before the King tells the MC she has to get married?

Quite a bit of the game will be occurring before MC reaches the age where they’re forced into picking a spouse- I plan on having this be quite a lengthy project which some people might really enjoy and some people might not. I really want you to be able to flesh out how your MC is before reaching that adulthood before even meeting the suitors.

The downside of this is it will be a while before you get to meet the suitors because I really want to have you have full control of who your MC becomes and if you would immediately catch their eye or not based on the life you’ve lived. This section, being the main part of the story, will be quite long as well to organically build the relationships and feel that the love or bond developed with the new comers is genuine and not something rushed and unbelievable.

And, not to sound like a broken record, but the game will continue on after marriage (or another ending that cannot be mentioned) so that you can actually play through what the relationship between the MC and the RO and make decisions. I really don’t want marriage to be the end of your MC’s story or for it to all feel rushed in the epilogue. There is only one route you can take that won’t result in a lengthy epilogue.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Hello! I see that some of the ROs have platonic/romantic specified… does that mean some aren’t romantic?

Hello! Some have the option to not be romantic. Here is more of a breakdown:

Alek: Alek is, above all else, MC’s friend and that trumps the romantic love they feel for the MC. Alek is a firm believer that the MC doesn’t or could not feel the same way they do so they are after the MC’s hand in marriage so that MC has someone they know and trust- someone that has their best interest at heart. They are a completely platonic route and a romantic route- totally up to how you play your MC. There will also be a poly route for them with Orion.

Orion: Orion is not a platonic option primarily due to not being a suitor and having no station. Orion has a romantic route and a poly route with Alek. Orion can remain just your friend, it’s important to note, there is just no ending for that.

Cyrus: Cyrus is a completely a romantic route only.

Irvine: Irvine is a bit of a different case with what your options are. Irvine wants your hand whichever way they can have it- friends or lovers. Irvine will be a completely platonic option and I’m not fully sure what best to call their “romantic” option. Irvine loves people but does not fall in love with people, falling somewhere into the aromantic spectrum, however they do not fall into the asexual spectrum and do have sexual desires. If the MC falls in love with them, that’s okay, but that’s not something they can reciprocate in the same way and they would hope the MC would understand that they love them but are not in love with them. Friends with benefits would massively undermine the MC’s relationship with Irvine but I’m at loss for better words for it.

Blaire: Blaire is purely a romantic option. Similarly to Orion, they can remain just your friend but there is no specified ending for the MC in that.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

MC is currently set to female but my hope is to be able to change that to selectable. I’m still working on getting comfortable with coding so focusing on one is easiest on me right now while I learn. I am used to writing about characters in IF gender neutrally so I apologize for any confusion by saying child vs daughter. Another hardship is that when I started plotting and planning all this, so much of what I have set was catered to how society treats women and the standards that are there so it will take time for me to be able to incorporate those same things if a character is male for example.

I know you've gotten a few negative/pushy asks about it, but I just wanted to chime in on the other side to say that I'm excited to see an IF with a female MC! That's actually what hooked me on your IF despite there being no demo yet. Especially because it sounds like some of the way she's been treated is due to her gender (being married off so her husband can rule instead of her), and I don't see much of that in IF that is specific to a female MC.

You'll get complaints, but at the end of the day this is your story and it's up to you how you want to write it. I've seen other authors get derailed by extra coding (like how a male MC would probably be treated differently), and end up losing steam for their project, so please don't take on too much trying to add in all reader requests, especially if it doesn't fit the story/setting. Most IFs have a gender choice MC anyway, so it's not like readers who want that aren't already catered to.

Thank you for this! It’s actually been very comforting to me as I have really struggled to find a way to cater to everyone but, in the end, I’m sorry to say that the story is so built around the MC being female and the treatment around that… I don’t think I could write it the same if the MC were to be born male.

This is not to say that the MC has to identify as female- there will be gender identity options to identify as non-binary or male but the MC will be set in stone as AFAB.

I’m sorry to anyone who this disappoints and I understand if that’s a deal breaker. I will be updating the pinned post to reflect this.

My next project I want to do will be more modern day and have very different options for gender.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I saw a random IF post from you and went wait... lemme check it out. And then read the premise and went hmmm.... ok...

Saw the RO list and went omg yayyyyyy..

Then saw MC is gender set and i died.

Totally get why, honestly, it's just a bummer when it looks so good! I shall be waiting with bated breathe for the future just in case.

Good luck with writing and coding! 💜😇

I’m so sorry! I promise I have a post saved on how all of the pronouns and everything work in choicescript to look at and reference! I will definitely prioritize this seeing that it is a bummer or a deal breaker for people- definitely not my intention and I want anyone interested to have a chance to hopefully enjoy my work.

Right now I have choices and everything down for what I know how to code and the variables and such is to come next. So much is subject to change right now because I’m still learning but could have a demo out soon so people can see if they like my writing or not. Please continue to check in :)

Thank you so much for your interest!

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Thank you for answering about the "oblivious/unintentional" romantics points! This is exactly what I wanted to know!

On another note, if MC gets married to Irvine where would they live? I assume with the others ROs, MC will keep living in the Castle...? Will we see the marriage or it'll be more an epilogue thing (obv I know this is very much a WIP and things will/can change!)? Will MC's living condition improve with the arrival of the suitors?

I’m so happy I was able to answer your question!

If the MC marries any of the suitors, they would live in the castle as the heirs to the throne. It’s actually ironic that whoever the MC marries out of the suitors, the King has all the time in the world for them to make sure when he’s gone that they rule the way he wants them to.

For the non-suitors… well, that I’m gonna have to do my best to keep under lock and key lol

My plan is to treat the epilogue much like the story- you’re going to see so many stages in the MC’s growing up throughout the years that I want to show the epilogue throughout the years too. I guess it will be less of an epilogue and more of still just the story. I hope you guys enjoy lengthy IFs lol

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Can you tell more about the Poly Alek and Orion? Can they have feelings for each other? I know the MC is set to be female, why not try to make more gender-neutral? (After all in your introductory post is written "Play as the child... (and not daughter...)"

Hello!

Alek and Orion will not have romantic feelings for each other if you go down the poly route. They would each have a romantic relationship with the MC, but not each other. They remain close friends.

MC is currently set to female but my hope is to be able to change that to selectable. I’m still working on getting comfortable with coding so focusing on one is easiest on me right now while I learn. I am used to writing about characters in IF gender neutrally so I apologize for any confusion by saying child vs daughter. Another hardship is that when I started plotting and planning all this, so much of what I have set was catered to how society treats women and the standards that are there so it will take time for me to be able to incorporate those same things if a character is male for example.

I appreciate everyone’s patience while I work on the gender settings that will be applicable for MC

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Hi! Will there be option to rise "romantic points" that aren't bold or shy flirting? Can the ROs fall for MC even if MC doesn't directly flirt with them? Sorry Idk how to explain better...

For example if you ever played/heard of "Bastard of Camelot" in this IF, MC can "cluelessy flirt" with the ROs. MC can be crushing on the ROs but be clueless about it, like the ROs smile at MC and their heart beats faster, they have butterflies in their stomach, but they don't realize why yet.

In "Shepherds of Haven" instead, the ROs can fall in love with MC, even if MC isn't romantically or sexually interested in them and doesn't directly flirt with them. MC can "gain romantic points" in two ways: 1 bold/shy flirting; 2 with non romantic but important actions/words etc for the ROs. For example if MC helps the ROs while they are having an hard time, or if MC listens/incourages/scolds/gives them a needed reality check etc (for one of them is teaching them to read, since no one before ever volunteered, nor actually spended that much time helping them instead of using that information against them to hurt or ridiculize them).

Hello!

Those are both IFs I adore!

There will be shy, bold, and oblivious options for your MC to intentionally get romance points with the ROs. As for how the ROs can feel about the MC… there’s definitely personalities and actions that will entice them more than others and that will have them feel a certain type of way about the MC.

Alek, Blaire, and Orion I can confirm can have feelings for the MC regardless of if the MC has feelings for them or does anything intentional based on your choices and actions.

Cyrus, if you don’t focus on him, he will more or less fade into the background. I may have said this before but it’s very all or nothing with his route. He will only love the MC in the scenario that he’s spent a lot of time with the MC. He’s also quite shallow when you meet him he can already be a fan of the MC if they’re conventionally attractive so that would be kind of as close as unintentional points go with him. Important to note that he’s not shallow for forever and that’s not to say he isn’t attracted to MCs that are not conventionally attractive. He goes through quite a bit of character growth in his route only

Irvine is aro but I won’t leave him out because this does apply to him as well. There are MCs and actions he is more inclined to like. This will present this with being genuine with the MC rather than masking to get what he wants. There’s definitely MCs that he’ll be happier with trying to persuade to marry him. There could be a point where he sees that MC could be the only real person he could ever see being a true partner to him depending on your MC and actions that is not tied to how your MC feels or acts to get points with him.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Oooh! I just read the anon ask about MC escaping and I was thinking, what if Alek wouldn't disappear because MC now works as a maid/cook/gardner for his family or in some trusted person's inn etc? Covering well their traks like forging documents that say that MC is an orphan etc? If MC did menage to leave the castle when younger, what would the king have done now that he needs MC to get married?

So Alek’s family technically lives in the castle. His father commands the army, ultimately something Alek will also do which is why he’s a candidate as a suitor, so there is a close professional relationship with the King (at one time it was also a close personal relationship but Alek’s father can’t support the way the MC is treated and has lost like all respect for the King as a result) there that kind of requires that they don’t have their own home. Because Alek and his mother do travel with Fero (families are given the choice to join their loved ones in the military) that’s what causes Alek to have bouts of being at the castle and prolonged times of being away it also works so they don’t have to pay staff or like get robbed lol

The thought of entrusting MC to someone does cross their mind but there is still the worry of safety. If the person were to find out who the MC is, there’s danger of extortion there. The people that knew of the Queen also loved her deeply so if they found out who the MC was they may not be better than anyone in the castle. There’s also no way for them to know if it actually is something the King would care about so there’s the fear that all parties involved, including the MC, get punished severely.

If the MC escaped in their youth, the King would care as soon as it dawned on him that he needs them to get married and have children. There would be a manhunt for the MC with an insane reward. If anyone even a little bit looked like the Queen they would be turned in out of pure greed to get the reward. Because the King wouldn’t know the MC’s face very well other than that they look like their mother, the King would likely use Orion, Alek, or a member of Alek’s family to verify. There would be leverage to make sure they wouldn’t lie, such as threatening their lives or imprisonment/torture if he thinks they’re not being honest. If the MC has died or had not been found, the search would be ongoing until the King dies knowing he was cheated.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Since MC isn't well known and few people know her appearance, if she managed to escape the castle with Alek someone's help, could she just disappear, and live a quiet life (maybe she learned to cook, or is a good herbalist/florist etc.), or the king would stop at nothing to have her back and in the end he would manage to capture her? If she escaped earlier when the king wasn't yet interested, would anyone inform him quickly, or would they wait searching for her first, too afraid of the king's reaction? In this case would the escape be successful?

Alek has spent years of his life trying to figure out a way that he could get the MC out of there, he actually runs them all by his father, but they struggle figuring out how it could be done safely more so than successfully. Even with his absence, the King is aware that if MC went missing and Alek was no where to be found- likely they’re together.

The MC’s face is virtually unknown by people so they could just blend in but the problem becomes that the ROs, aside from Orion, are recognizable. Alek, for example, is very well known that there’s so few places he could go (within and outside the country) without being recognized so if he was with someone, people would hear and talk about it.

Escape probably isn’t something the MC would think about until they were older. If MC escaped on their own, they would likely end up dead one way or another. They would have nowhere to go, wouldn’t know where to go, and have nothing to their name. If they were to survive, they would probably fall victim to… really bad situations. The MC just isn’t worldly enough to know if they’re being tricked or scammed. Escape is something they like to think about in theory but MC would know that in practice it wouldn’t work out for them on their own.

The King wouldn’t care even if he were informed when the MC is young. Nobody really mentions the MC to him out of fear (Fero, Alek’s father, is really the only one who does) so they would look for MC and then decide if they should say anything or not. If MC were to disappear after he has decided they need to get married, there would be a manhunt- he will not tolerate the betrayal of what he demands of them.

Content warning for references to suicide under the read more, please read at your own discretion and health, MDNI

Mentions of suicidal thoughts will come up in the story for those that have MC’s that would think of that. There will be an opportunity to share that vulnerability with the ROs. For Alek/Orion in particular this is the time where they would really be thinking of things to make life different for the MC, consequences be damned.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

So which Ro's is more protective of Mc? Bc I just imagine my Mc being shy and afraid of everyone. Especially not knowing what to do? Also do they even know how to like talk and read? Since it sounds like no one really raised or took care of them.

Most to least protective would be:

Orion > Alek > Cyrus > Irvine > Blaire

Orion only trumps Alek because he’s a little more extreme in it.

Alek basically has protecting the MC in his blood as his father is the very first person to protect the MC on the day of their birth and his family is the first time the MC has felt any kind of loved.

Cyrus ranks third only if romanced. He’s pretty up there because once he does finally feel things, he takes it very seriously. If he’s not romanced he’d actually be last.

Irvine is protective but values peace a lot so he struggles acting on it. Irvine actually had a pretty hard upbringing as well and is a bit of a black sheep in the family being as kind and peaceful as he is so to some extent he kind of just thinks that’s how life is and could be how families work.

Blaire is protective I just think she has a hard time grasping that it could happen. She spent her life loved and was also was under the impression that the MC was so sheltered out of love. I think for Blaire she feels very strongly about it behind closed doors but doesn’t know what to do to fix or make things better in the moment whereas other ROs take some kind of action.

MC does know how to read and write. Talking was limited when they were young- a lot of that has to do with people not talking to them much. Alek’s family does what they can when they can for the MC. Young Alek is pretty insistent to his parents that the MC needs to read and write to be able to correspond with him when he can’t be at the castle so they would actually hire someone themselves to give the MC some education. The MC’s vocabulary really takes off when Orion enters the scene because she has someone around all the time to talk to.

Anything the MC knows really comes from Alek’s family, Alek, Orion, or learning from books or trial and error in doing something. MC’s education on anything is limited to only things that interest them (like hobbies) which is why MC is so unequipped to rule in any way

[gildedbirdcage-if]

So theoretically Irvine would be ok if MC loves and is in a relationship with another RO...? Like for example Alek?

Irvine would be perfectly okay with it. Irvine has no bad blood on his side with any of the ROs.

I do flip flop a lot on if another RO would be okay with it, however. Alek in particular feels like Irvine is using the MC as a means to an end and doesn’t know if Irvine can really even be trusted because Irvine doesn’t mind putting on a mask to get to his overall goal. Orion would fall into the same camp.

Cyrus wouldn’t humor it at all- if he’s in love with you, you are his first love and the first… anything he takes very seriously. If the MC is in love with Irvine he especially wouldn’t humor it. It’s very… if he can’t have all of you then he gets none of you with him. If he’s not in love with the MC he would probably consider the physical aspect only.

Blaire I think would be the only RO to be okay with the arrangement. Honestly having Blaire as a close confidant only benefits Irvine as she’s incredibly, genuinely likable and doesn’t have to act like he does. He’d be eager to be her friend and have her happy with the MC.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Do all the Ro's know how our dad treated Mc? Bc obviously the friends ones I believe would know. But what about the strangers or have they heard rumors? Bc I feel like a lot of people wouldn't know about Mc bc dad doesn't care about us and we ment nothing. 🥲

Only Alek and Orion know about it and the extent- the other ROs will learn about it or pick up on it and ask.

MC has never left the castle’s grounds so they truly are unknown to the world outside those walls. Nobody outside the gates would ever know who they are except for those who work at the castle and even then they never really talk. Another classic theme that contributes to this is that a majority fear your father more than they care about you.

As far as anyone not in the castle knows, you were taken care of and protected. Tales likely got twisted in your fathers favor regarding your isolation- people warping it to be something sweet or that you’re something precious to the king. These tales get pushed further as he doesn’t seek marriage out for you until later when most royalty has marriages secured as early as their youth and then marry once they reach adulthood. The general consensus on that would be that it’s hard for him to “let you go” not that it’s just he forgot it’s something he has to do for his bloodline to keep the crown.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

So about the king, from what you said he was negletful, but was he cruel? Since MC is female, does he sees a strong resemblens with the Queen? What does he plans to do with the succession? Does he want to skip MC and hand over the Kingdom to possible future grandchildren?

Gonna put this info under a read more with a content warning of child neglect/abuse so please read at your own discretion

I believe the king is both neglectful and cruel, or maybe saying that he is neglectful to the point of cruelty.

The king was in love with the Queen to the point of like obsession, to be honest. Point blank he did not want children at all but station demands it of him and more importantly his wife, the Queen, wanted you and he would never have refused her anything. You were a convenient thing to appease his advisors and wife. Furthermore, the Queen was beloved by the people and your birth taking her away makes the people around you, generally, unkind as well so few call him out.

I cannot stress enough the neglect that comes from the king. Slight spoiler, but once the attendants realize the Queen has died the MC is haphazardly just put on a table while they try to resuscitate. The king busts into the room, eyes only for the Queen, and deludes himself into thinking she’s fine and begins to attack anyone who comes near her. This is also kind of the moment you see that the people fear the king more than they will ever care for you.

Fero, Alek’s father, is the only reason the MC makes it out alive that day.

The common theme of your childhood is that you are neglected to the point that people may forget that you’re there at all, more so when you’re like 6+, and you may go hungry or unbathed. If it weren’t for portraits, you would barely know what your father looks like. MC is basically unsupervised but trapped in the castle’s walls.

The MC does look very similar to their mother, at least shares key features, and the king can’t stand to look at you for it so some of the neglect is due to that but a lot of that is just pure resentment because he didn’t want you but he did was her (your mother).

It’s only when the King is up there in years, when you’re in your mid-twenties, that it’s brought to his attention that he really needs to think about succession. Because he cared not to be around you, still doesn’t, you are not in any way prepared or fit to rule anything. You should have been preparing your whole life for the role but you’ve kind of just been running wild within the castle walls and really only doing what you care to do.

The king, with the Queen gone, cares about nothing but his reign and he’ll be damned to hand the crown to a distant relative. Like it or not, you are the only blood he has. The suitors are people he personally approved to really be the only ones he could see running the show or would have the training/education to kind of competently rule fairly. The only time he really sets his sights on you is when he needs to use you as a pawn in his game.

Truthfully the only kind thing he’s done for you is give you a small power of choice.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Excited for when you’re ready to release the demo! When you’re more comfortable with coding and can have the MC’s gender be selectable, will the ROs gender also be selectable?

I’m excited, too! I’ve been hard at work writing to hopefully have the first demo release out soon!

For plot purposes, the suitors will have to be the opposite gender of whichever gender your MC is. The suitors are approved by your father, the King, with the intention of having the MC produce a child to continue the bloodline. Part of the reason the pressure to marry comes out of nowhere later in the MC’s life is because he realizes he can’t live forever and that (by his own fault) the MC’s isolation makes it unlikely that they would ever get married in a way that best benefits the kingdom. He cares about little else.

Orion and Blaire would be the only ROs to be gender selectable as they are not considered suitors or contenders by the King for the MCs hand.

[gildedbirdcage-if]

Since we only get 1 female LI, can we just do a lesbian route or is MC set as bi?

Thank you for this ask!

I would actually really like to add at least one more female RO who is already a planned character but I do need to flesh out tropes and route details. As work progresses, I may even add two if it all flows well.

MC’s sexuality will be totally up to you! Nothing set in stone. Similarly to what I want to do with gender identity, sexuality can be something MC battles with putting a name to throughout their life. I really hold it near to my heart to make these something that are realistic rather than just a single selection and that’s all it gets

If your MC is bi, gay, lesbian, pan, straight, aromantic, or asexual that will be something that is fully recognized and can be shared with characters.