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Your art is amazing and it's really close to how I have been imagining Lester! I especially love the depth of expression, very visceral and appealing at the same time.

Thank you so much for your kind words and high praise. I am very glad to hear you've been enjoying the story and the choices within it so far. It was really important to me to make all of the different paths feel distinct and equally meaningful.  It's been a lot of work, I can tell you that much, but knowing that people go back and check out different choices makes it worth it for sure.

Yeah, I'm ace myself and have been frustrated with the lack of nuance in relationships in some other games as well. Often there ends up being a binary of "I have no interest in this character at all" and "I want to immediately kiss, sleep with and marry this character" and it's just so reductive. So that was very imporant to me to avoid. I'm happy to know that the effort is being appreciated! :)

Thanks again for your lovely comment and your stunning artwork!

If you mean what I think you mean, I think that's just a misunderstanding:

“This here is Kaz. She’s one of my oldest and very calm. Nothing fazes her anymore.”

A light-brown peregrine falcon sits rigidly on a perch, clicking her beak as Azlean begins to fasten the leash to his glove and then the field jess around Kaz’s anklet. Without needing to give a command, Kaz climbs onto Az’Lean’s glove and he holds the field jess between his fingers to make sure she stays there.

“This here is $playername,” Az’Lean says and holds his left arm with Kaz on it out in front of you. Pitch black eyes stare at up you and Kaz slowly tilts her head to the side.

The falcon's name is Kaz, and he is introducing the MC to the falcon in that sentence, not the other way around. Though I see why it might not be entirely clear. I might go and reword that sentence at some point.

I can totally imagine Az'Lean (if he's on good terms with MC) starting to grow even fonder of owls! It'd be difficult not to associate them with each other, I think.

Hey there! There's not really a guide, but it's not too complicated, so I can just tell you how it works real quick: 

There are three routes, A (humanity), B (the fae), C (neutral), and the split happens towards the end of Chapter 6 during the conversation with Vynn. If you want to experiment, it'd be good to make a safe file before that point.

To get route A, you need to have a good relationship with Az'Lean, and during that conversation with Vynn, decide to support humanity above all else, which includes being willing to betray Maeve.

To get route B, you need to have a good relationship with Maeve, NOT tell Az'Lean the truth about you, and during that conversation with Vynn, decide to support the fae above all else.

To get route C, you need to have at least a neutral relationship with Maeve, and during that conversation with Vynn, decide that picking one side over the other isn't the answer, and that you'd rather find a different solution.

That's all there really is to it. Then, in Chapter 10 those three routes branch again based on the character you are closest to (so that would then be 15 routes in total you could end up on).

First of all, thank you so much for your indepth comments. There's no greater honour than having someone engage with your work on such a level. Your perspective is giving me something to think about, and that's very helpful when it comes to improving my storytelling. Also, awesome that you're graduating grad school!

I find it so interesting that your perspective is perhaps the complete opposite of some of the other readers. I've gotten comments about how clearly humanity is in the wrong because they are colonisers stealing the fae's native land, taking their resources, etc. I'm not going to offer up any arguments either way - I want to facilitate the debate, not sway it with 'authorial intent'. 

It's just so fun to see the different responses to the same story. Of course, depending on what route you play you'll get different information and it'll inform your view, but also, depending on your view, different routes will open up to you. I noticed you said "1. try to resolve the conflict peacefully and 2.prioritizing the protection of the kingdom" but of course there's also option 3: side with the fae. I wonder if you just didn't mention it, or if you didn't unlock that option because it didn't align with your MCs opinions.

As for the route split feeling sudden, depending on how you played your MC, there's some truth to that. If I had more time, I think it'd be worth expanding on it. That's the main criticism I've been getting in general - that there just aren't enough choices for what players would like to do, or for how they would like to characterise the MC. 

Moving on, I wonder if I should point out any misconceptions you have... If it's because you simply haven't come across that information in your playthrough, then it'd ruin the point if I tried informing you about it now. Though I think Maeve did mention early on that most fae aren't a part of either of the two courts, but rather acting as individuals. If that wasn't clear I think it's be worth pointing out again.

I will say, I do hope every route/ending will end up being satisfying in its own right. You can only get the big picture by playing through multiple routes, there's no getting around that, but I do hope every route will at least be internally coherent. It's sometimes difficult to keep track of everything I now, and everything a reader of a particular route knows.

Either way, I hope you'll continue enjoying where this story goes in the future!

Well, gender and pronouns are two separate options, so it's possible you misclicked something. Also, be careful during the intermission after Chapter 1: it contains the option to change pronouns, so that's also something you could have accidentally clicked on. If it happened only once I'd think it might be a bug, but it sounds like it's constant? If you aren't too far in the story, restarting might be the easiest solution. I'll still take a look and see if I can find anything that might be a bug though.

Oh, now I know which scene you mean. Yes, there's an if-statement there that might not be showing up correctly, I'll look into it. Thanks for letting me know!

Hmm, I need a bit more info than that. Do you mean the scene where Thianne pulls the MC aside and warns them about the oath? Az'Lean isn't present at the end of that scene, so I'm not sure what you mean by 'was supposed to say something to Az'Lean afterwards'. Or do you mean something else?

Haha, I was expecting a worse question than that! I will say, you're not the first one to comment on it either. To be honest, when I first wrote that line, I wasn't thinking much of it, but then I read it back and went "Hmm... That's kind of... More suggestive than I meant it to be, but it works." So yes, the double meaning is more or less intentional. However, Az'Lean himself is really only thinking about the kingdom, he's too repressed to notice the way it comes across. He's just trying to sound threatening, which does play into his dominant aura, as you said. Maybe he'll figure it all out eventually ;)

Your English is absolutely fine by the way! No need to worry about that :)

I've actually gotten a report about that before, but I haven't been able to recreate it. It doesn't do that for me, when I test it the box is always centred in the middle of the screen. So I haven't quite figured out what causes that yet. I've been thinking it might be an issue in how it interacts with fullscreen, or perhaps it might be browser dependant. The last user who reported this issue was using Firefox, could you tell me what browser you are using, and if you're running the game in fullscreen or not?

I'm glad I was able to improve your day a little bit, that's really my ultimate goal :)

Thanks for letting me know!

Yeah, an MC that spends any amount of time with Maeve will slip into the "is accepting of fae" category pretty quickly, so that is probably what is happening here (on B and C routes, at least). But I'm happy to hear you are enjoying the scenes with Maeve! ;)

Let me try answering your questions:

It is technically possible to pursue any of the five characters on any route, but that doesn't mean it'll always end well. And yes, on the A route, it'll be difficult to spend any time with Maeve (for obvious reasons) so their dynamic here takes a bit of a different turn... So to answer: yes, it is possible to romance her even if you're enemies, but it won't be a very traditional sort of romance progression.

To your second question: First the story splits into A, B, C, and then it splits again depending on which character you are focusing on, so there are 15 routes in total (like A-Vynn, or B-Maeve, or C-Lester, for example). As for different endings, there will be 20.

Thank you so much for your wonderful comment! That is some very high praise, and it makes me so happy to know how much enjoyment I was able to bring to you with my writing. Makes all the hard work worth it!

How about now? Ask and you shall receive! :p

Thank you so much for your lovely comment! Agreed, changelings are really interesting and there's so much you can do with them as a concept and as an analogy. Glad you're enjoying it so far!

I don't think you need to worry about that too much. Like I said, there's some difficult to achieving a peaceful resolution, but the stats matter less than the individual decisions. And yes, not every disagreement has negative consequences - it would turn into just sucking up to every character otherwise. But it's hidden for a reason - I want there to be some uncertainty to it, so that you have to think things through a bit ;)

Yes, that about sums it up! And yes, that works as a rule of thumb.

Az'Lean is being honest there, he respects your decision either way and it doesn't change his relationship stat. However, he will take note of whether you have similar views to him or not (this is one of those hiddens stats I mentioned earlier), and let's say if you disagree with him multiple times, there might be a threshold where it does negatively impact the relationship.

That's difficult to answer. In theory, you can pursue someone no matter what side you are on. So you can side with the fae and still go for Az'Lean, but meeting the requirements is a bit harder (since you're relationship might not rise as high if you say and do a lot of things he doesn't like). Also, it might not turn out well from a story perspective. You can't secretly work against him and expect your relationship to go well, haha. That doesn't have to mean a break-up though. You will get an ending with him, it might just not be a happy one.

Always happy to answer!

I'll try my best to explain without spoiling too much. It is similar to what you just wrote: There might be an important moment where your MC has to convince someone, and if they are very dishonest, they might not succeed because no one believes them. On the flip side, there might be an important moment where your MC has to come up with a convincing lie, but if they've always told the truth, they might fail at that. 

Now, what does that mean for endings? I think getting one of the 'peace' endings should have some difficulty to it, but the personality traits aren't the deciding factor. They might make it easier/more difficult, but they don't lock you out of anything. What's more important is the actual choices you make in specific situations.

To your second question, yes you can increase your relationship with characters even if you don't spend time with them, but it is much more difficult. There's three ways to increase (or decrease) your relationship with the characters: 1) dialogue choices in the main story (like when you first meet them), 2) spending time with them when given the opportunity to (like asking them to dance), 3) major decisions (like whether to set the mabs to lethal or not).

For example, it could very well be that you made some choices Vynn liked, and some they didn't like, so if you don't spend time with them, it might just stay roughly the same as it started. It's totally fine to just focus on one character if you want to see all of Maeve's scenes for example.

Yeahhh, you're not supposed to be able to get that route without having good rapport with Maeve. Not sure what's broken there, I'll have a look at it. Thanks for letting me know!

Oh, that choice has nothing to do with the personality description changing. It actually changes in the scene before you make that choice about how MC reacts, and even then it only changes depending on other choices you have made throughout the story. I checked and I don't see anything that could be bugged about it, so I think unless there's something wrong with your safe file, it is working as intended. 

Now to your questions:

2) The main story will be released on itch for free. However, there will be some epilogue chapters (mainly focusing on romance) that will be exclusive to Patreon and/or paid DLC. I want to strike a balance between everyone being able to reach an ending to their story, while also providing something more for those that are willing to spend some money on it.

3) The personality stats serve two functions. They change some of the flavour text about your character, and they are relevant to get certain endings. However, they never determine which choices you can take, for example, a dishonest person can choose to tell the truth, or an honest person can choose to lie. So in your example, no, the stat has nothing to do with that choice. 

The relationship stats are more important. They determine which routes you can go down, which factions you can align yourself with, who you can form a partnership with, and more. 

Aside from personality and relationship stats there are also a few hidden stats, but they're hidden for a reason.

I am glad you like it!  Sorry, but it was a design choice to not have a back button, and at this point it would be a lot of work to add it back and make sure all of the stat changes still work, so it's unlikely that I will do that.

Right now, the plan is 15 chapters for the main story, plus 2 epilogue chapters. 

Your English is great, and I did in fact see your feedback! Thank you for your comment, I like that there are things you enjoy but also things you were able to critique. These sorts of comments are very helpful to improve my writing.

Some other readers have offered similar criticisms before. I completely acknowledge that more choices/customisation is something a lot of people would like, but at this point I probably won't change any of that for this particular story.

 One reason is simply because I'm just too far into it at this point and would rather finish it than start changing things. It would simply be too much effort. Another reason is that I honestly prefer having an MC that is a bit more pre-established and not a complete blank slate. I asked the members of my Patreon about their opinion regarding that at some point, and the majority agreed or didn't care, so I decided to leave it like that. For me as a writer, it's easier to take something like character development into consideration if the MC is not too variable, but I get that readers have their own imagination and expectations.

In the end, it all comes down to how much time I have. I think the reasons why most IFs are eventually abandoned or take a decade to get finished is because writers bite of more than they can chew. Still, your feedback is very valuable, and I'll take it into consideration for future chapters/projects!  

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, that's some high praise! I am glad that you're enjoying it!

Aww, thank you so much for your kind words! I am so happy to hear that you've been enjoying it, and that the story was able to reach you on an emotional level. It's comments like these that really motivate me to keep writing every day. Thank you for cheering me on!

All of my saves still work, so I'm not sure what the issue is. Sorry, I wish I could help!

Thank you! Yes, I was writing her with autistic traits in mind, so I am very happy to hear I was able to convey that adequately

Happy to hear that you like it! (Az'Lean's pronounced like "Aslan" just with an "ee" sound, so like "Asleen")

Thank you, glad you liked it! Lester's dance scene is one of my favourites as well, haha!

Oops, thanks for letting me know!

No, unfortunately Cillian won't be an RO, though I am glad people are interested in him. Depending on your choices, you can at the very least become friends with him though!

Oh yes, that's a bug. Thanks for letting me know!

Without saying too much: yes, unless you decide to fully support the fae (because it wouldn't make much sense for a spy to reveal themself)

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Regarding your question, the MC's personality can change throughout the entirety of the story, you're never locked into only one set of personality traits. Though of course if you have an overwhelming amount of points leaning towards 'stoic', it might take quite a few decisions that go against that before it leans more towards 'emotional'.

I'll keep this guide as brief and spoiler free as possible. There are four possible mentors:

Lady Westwale: She'll teach you how to use a spear, as well as water divination. To impress her, you should 1) observe and remain silent, 2) express that your ideal knight is calm, 3) work together, and 4) remain steadfast.

Sir Asperame: He'll teach you how to use a rapier, as well as fire magic. To impress him, you should 1) volunteer to go first, 2) express that your ideal knight is passionate, 3) work together, and 4) forget dodging.

Chev Minne: They'll teach you how to use a sword and shield, as well as healing magic. To impress them, you should 1) observe and remain silent, 2) express that your ideal knight is tough, 3) work alone, and 4) remain steadfast.

Sir Stahlvart: He'll teach you how to use twin daggers, as well as illusion magic. To impress him, you should 1) volunteer to go first, 2) express that your ideal knight is flexible, 3) work alone, and 4) forget dodging.

The second choice is the most important one.

Your main weapon (and magic) depends on the mentor you get. There are opportunities to train with different weapons/learn different magic later on, but you'll always keep your favoured weapon. 

If you want to get a sword, you can get a sword and shield from Chev Minne, or a rapier from Sir Asperame. Let me know if you explicitly want to know what choices you need to pick for that.

Oh wow, that's quite the coincidence

Thanks for letting me know!

Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

There really aren't enough games (or stories in general) that have QPRs, or even asexual relationships, as on option. I'm ace myself, and there have been many times where I lost interest in otherwise great games because of it. It's usually all about pursuing a certain character, but then you suddenly don't get any choices when it comes to actually establishing what your partnership with them looks like! Very frustrating, and something I absolutely want to avoid. It's important to me that it is entirely up to the player to decide what their partnership looks like.

That is weird. Maybe it's something in your browser settings that's blocking it or clearing your cache. Have you tried using a different browser? You can also use the 'safe to disk' option.