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Right 😭😭😭 This has been quite a Year, that's for sure 😂 And yes, it was my first time participating in NanoWriMo in earnest, and I was surprised at how motivating it was, I really need to do it every year 😂 And OHH I'm really looking forward to seeing what you're planning to cook up!! 🥰🥰🥰

I hope that you have a good holiday, Kona (and I can't see what you're working on for next year as well!) 🥰 

Thank you so much for the kind words!! I'm really glad that you enjoyed it 😊 This game was a little out of my comfort zone as a dev (so I'm glad it was enjoyable) 😆 but I hope that you enjoy my other games if you decide to give them a try! 🥰🥰🥰 Thank you so much for playing! 

AW thank you so much for playing 😭😭😭 the VAs did SUCH a good job! Low key surprised you found this one before Karamu, but I hope you enjoy that one as well 👐👐👐 (And I'm hard at work on the third part 💪 I hope that you enjoy it when it releases!) 

(😂 that was a VERY fortunate coincidence!) 

THANK YOU FOR PLAYING, and ohhhh interesting theories 👀 I can't say anything, but I do love reading people's predictions 🤭 Thank you so much for the sweet comment 🤗 (and I hope the conclusion is interesting too! 🤭)

GOSH one of the best??? That's far too kind, thank you so much 😭😭😭 (and I wonder indeed 🤭 we'll have to see... I'm glad it's intriguing, though!) Thank you so much for playing 🥹💦

(Oh gosh, I'm so honored 😭😭😭 thank you so much for taking the time to play even though it's not your native language, and for taking the time to leave me a comment in English too 😭😭😭 I'm so touched!!)

Your comments are really too kind, thank you so much 🥹💦 I'm really happy that the game took you off guard in a good way 🤭🤭🤭 and that you played it all at once, even 🥹💦

(And oh I'm very glad!!! This was actually my first game that I've released for browser, I hope that I can release other games that can at least be partially played on browser too~ I'm happy to know that people look for these types of games and enjoy them 😊) 

Thank you so much for playing 😭 I really hope that the continuation is enjoyable too! 🤭

LMAOOOOOOOOOO the pain 😂😂😂

Oh gosh, thank you so much for leaving your thoughts 🥹💦 And not oversharing at all - in fact, I really appreciate you sharing your experience. To be honest I wasn't really expecting this story to hit on a very personal level for most of my audience, so it's really interesting to get the perspective of someone where the subject matter IS close to home. I'm really glad that it resonated with you (but not TOO much) - to be honest that's something I enjoy about stories, both reading and writing - it can help sometimes, to experience your problems through someone else's perspective 🤣 (sometimes I joke with my friends that writing is free therapy...) 

🤭🤭🤭 Hehe, what is happening indeed??? (At the very least I hope that people with marriage problems can play and be like "well dang at least my marriage problems aren't THIS bad" LOL) 

Thank you so much for playing and taking the time to comment 🥹💦 again, I really appreciate it so much!!! And I hope you enjoy the continuation as well~

¡Gracias por estar interesado en jugar a mi juego! Por desgracia, solo está disponible en inglés, lo siento mucho 😓. Otro de mis juegos, MindMindMind, estará disponible en español en las próximas semanas, ¡pero es el único de mis juegos que está disponible en español! 💦

Thank you for being interested in playing my game!! Unfortunately it's only available in English, I'm very sorry 😓 Another game of mine, MindMindMind, will be available in Spanish in the next couple weeks, but that's the only game of mine that's available in Spanish! 💦

===SPOILERS===

Hmm based on these I think you're missing either endings A or B! There's a walkthrough in the "Archives" section if you want to get those! 

OHHH this was an interesting read! (Gosh I was wondering what your code looks like, the ATL to actual "text" ratio is INSANE, no wonder your games are so animated...) And deuteragonist??? (VERY intriguing - I'm trying to figure out where this will go...) 

AWW thank you so much 😭 I really hope you enjoy it!!!

Oh gosh I'm really honored that you played even though it wasn't in your native language 🥹 (and I'm so glad you enjoyed it too!) 🤭🤭🤭 And very interesting theory, we'll see... 

THANK YOU AGAIN and I hope that you enjoy the rest 🥹🥹🥹

Oh thank you so much for playing, nef!! 😆 It was my first time making a game in Renpy so I was mostly just playing around and trying to see what was possible in the engine, I hope that I can improve on the presentation even more in the future 😆 And I'm glad that you liked the marriage theme - I think stories like this can be a little harder for people to get into compared to romances that focus on the "meet cute," but I found it fascinating to think about and write 🤔 

🤭 I'm happy it was a bit scary even though the "ball hasn't dropped" yet (I'm really excited to work on the visuals for the later parts 😆) Thank you again for playing and taking the time to leave your thoughts, I really appreciate it 🥹

Oh thank you so much!!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! 😊

There's very little in the range of "objectionable content" (i.e. blood, nud1ty) (a lot of the horror is psychological), but in general the subject matter is quite mature (marriage, relationship problems, grief, substance abuse, and so on), so I would say 16+ is accurate! 

When it started with a TOLKIEN QUOTE I knew it was going to be good (and such a fitting one...)

Overall regarding the actual production I'm legitimately speechless, OW was already a masterclass in renpy and yet this one managed to eclipse it in its first 45 minutes?! (well except for some of OW's MOST cinematic scenes, perhaps) The amount of art that is in this is already absolutely mental and more than that I'm really shocked by how inventive the visuals are (in terms of framing, movement, the use of text boxes/speech bubbles, and so on). There's so much movement in every single line, and while some of the scenes look a bit "comic-like" or "anime-like" a lot of them are also framed in ways that could only be accomplished in the medium of visual novels. I saw some of it previewed on socials but I'm still blown away by the end product.

The UI is very cool and stylish and suitably "horror," and the music choice is absolutely superb, as usual! As with all of Carrot's writing, I really love how poetic the prose sounds juxtaposed next to the colorful dialogue, it has so much character in the best way. (And random, but I kind of really like how american the setting feels, even moreso than OW, it has such a nostalgic feeling to me 😂)

======SPOILERS========

The intro scene went EXTREMELY HARD, it was one of the most cinematic intros to a VN that I've ever seen (that aren't like, pre-rendered cutscenes), and I also really love how it set the tone for the game while literally revealing NOTHING about the plot. Another scene that I really enjoyed in a COMPLETELY different vein was the "jumpscare" near the end of the demo 😂 the framing and the shot composition of it all reminded me so much of children's cartoons I watched growing up for some reason! 

Overall I think that the demo did a fantastic job of setting up the character dynamics and making you endeared to them (ofc to make their gruesome deaths all the more heartwrenching later on, I'm sure). The entire demo has such a nostalgic and heartwarming feeling as you recognize that all of these people, who have moved on with their adult lives, get to come back and just be kids again with their childhood friends. They're such a colorful cast of characters, from the snarky Ze to the sweet Cordy to Marsh, who seems like THE definition of himbo (and surprisingly, a very likeable jock 😂) Gum is also such a sweet and likeable protagonist as well, and I really loved seeing them play off of the various other members of the cast. I was the most surprised by Berek, since I didn't really have a good grasp of his personality from his bio or design (he gave me the impression of "the guy from the friend group who 'made it'"?) and I was really endeared by his little chats with Gum, which were my favorite part of the demo - it's clear that he truly cares about them.

Another thing that really surprised me was how well the whole cast seems to get along, and how well they also seem to be doing (did I have certain expectations? maybe) 😂 Gum is, of course, suffering from the blessing and curse of being a freelance artist - and I really enjoyed how both Cordy and Berek reached out to them in this regard - but this seemed to be the only major source of "drama" so far (there are some other things that I found a bit sus, like why Gum distanced themselves and how afraid they were at someone coming up the stairs... but there isn't quite enough information there to make any predictions).

Overall it was AMAZING, and I absolutely can't wait to see the rest of the first part! 

OHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!! I was curious how many people would take a peek at the warnings 😂 but I'm glad that the the plot isn't entirely clear even after reading them 🤭🤭🤭 Interesting theories...

(😂😂😂 Maybe it'll happen later on, who knows... 🤭) 

Thank you so much for playing and taking the time to leave your thoughts!! 🥰

GOSH I don't know what to say either, your praise is really TOO HIGH, I'm really not deserving 🥹 but thank you so much 🥹💦💦 I'm honestly really surprised that people engaged so strongly with this part of the story - I thought that it would be a bit of a hard thing for players to get into because the slow burn is quite extreme 🤧 so I'm so touched that people found it to be so emotionally engaging!! As a writer, nothing makes me happier, truly 🥹💦

And thank you so much, I'm really so glad that you liked Morgan ☺️ With him (and with the marriage between the MC and Morgan in general) I wanted to embody what love would look like after it evolved past a teenage crush - how it's changing yourself to fit your spouse, standing by them during their worst moments, accepting and forgiving their flaws, and so on. Out of all of the love interests that I've written (and the ones I'm planning to write as well), Morgan is the one that best embodies "love/devotion" to me, so I'm really touched that aspect of his character came across so strongly 🥹

Thank you so much for playing and taking the time to comment, it really made my day reading this! I'll continue to work hard on the updates too! 🥰

AHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭 Thank you so much for playing multiple games of mine, I'm so touched?!?! 😭😭😭 Your praise is TOO KIND, it really brings a smile to my face, truly 🥹 I'll work hard on my future projects as well!!! 

Oh gosh, thank you so much!!! That's so sweet of you to say 😭 I'm glad that you enjoyed the story, thank you for playing! 🥰

And ahhh I'm really happy to hear that 🥹 It was something that I thought of randomly while I was writing the script since it came up naturally in the writing process (them being a married couple and all) - at first I wasn't sure if it was something that players would care about since it's not a big part of the story at all 🤣 but I've gotten a few comments from people that appreciated it, so I'm really glad that I included it! 🥰 I'm on the ace spectrum myself so I definitely understand the feelings - in particular, when a supposedly self-insert game assumes that I'm really horny for the love interest 😭 it really takes me out of the experience. So I'm glad that you appreciated it 😆 (and I'll make a note of this to keep it in mind for future games, too!) 

Thank you for waiting!! It'll take a bit longer;  I decided to make the next update a bit larger than initially planned, and I'm also working on the endings in tandem just so there isn't that much time between the Day 5 update and the full game. I'm also waiting on a few assets that I'm not producing myself to be finished as well. I appreciate your patience! 

DKFJKD AWW 🥹🥹🥹 gosh thank you so much!!! 😭😭😭 I'm so glad that you were so invested in the characters and the story 🥹💦💦 I hope that the next parts don't have you crashing out too hard 😆 Thank you so much for playing and taking the time to comment! 🥰🥰🥰

Thank you!!! 🥹🥹 ☆(≧▽≦)☆ (AND FGHFG STRANGE HOWLS THAT CANNOT BE TRANSLATED 😂😂😂)

Thank you so much, that's so sweet of you to say!! 😭

THANK YOUUU SO MUCH I'm really happy with the art as well 🤭 (and I hope that the updates are interesting, hehe!) 

Thank you, the artist did such a good job!! 🤭

FGHHFGH THANK YOU 😳

Oh gosh thank you so much 😭😭😭 I'm really glad that you could relate to Yumeko in some ways (😅 for better or worse I based a lot of what the Doctor says off things I've heard myself...) And I'm glad you liked that ending, it's my favorite too!! ☺️ I only hope that everyone is able to find such control over their lives. Thank you again for playing, and for taking the time to leave your thoughts, I'm so touched 🥹 (and honored you found it inspiring!)

BAWLING AT MIDNIGHT GHFGHFGHF gosh thank you so much 😭 😭 😭 I'm so touched to hear that 🥹💦💦 and also that you found it relatable... I hope that you enjoy the full release, thank you again for playing 😭

(The base game will be free!! There will be a couple endings and some extra scenes that I'll put in a DLC but they won't change the story in a significant way, I want the free version to be a complete experience! ☺️)

THANK YOUUUUUU 🥹

FGHFGHFHFF OMG CARROT I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS, gosh thank you so much for playing 😭😭😭 

GAH THANK YOU SO MUCH, that's such high praise 😭 (especially regarding the cinematography from the person who makes literal movies in renpy 🤣 I have a ways to go...) And I'm happy that you felt like you were "drowning," that was absolutely the vibe that I was going for with this!! (until "you're never able to get out again.." 🤭 couldn't say it better myself...) 

I'm really glad that you could relate to so many parts of this 💦 It's quite a particular story that's a bit hard to "insert yourself" into, I think (I mean seriously who is going to 100% self-insert as a formerly popular author with a failing career and a crumbling marriage trapped on an island 🤣🤣🤣 even just the "already married" part  is specific enough 🤣) but I'm really glad that people can still empathize with the emotions/feelings of the character 🥹 And the "small moments of joy being strangled as everything unravels" is a perfect way to describe what I wanted to convey 🤔 how you slowly start to lose everything that makes you happy, even though you're trying to hold onto it. And I'm really glad you could empathize with both Harper and Morgan - I did want to paint a picture where neither side is "wrong" or 100% at fault and yet things still aren't working out (Oh 🤣 you're spot on with that! Almost all of the defaults are set to my own headcanon MC except for the ace toggle - I headcanon Harper as ace too, but I thought that not enough people would know what allosexual meant to set ace as the default 🤣)

🥹🥹🥹 THANK YOU FOR LEAVING YOUR THOUGHTS I REALLY LOVED READING THEM (honestly I'm so honored that people like this story so much 💦) I hope that the endings are just as intriguing!! (I won't say fun 🤣)

(And again, thank you so much for playing, even with the subject matter 💦💦💦 I'm really glad that you're doing (mildly) better now 😢💦🫂)

OH gosh thank you so much 😭 That's extremely high praise!!! (I'll put my comments under a spoiler tag in case anyone comes down here without playing the game first):

=======SPOILERS========

That's a very interesting interpretation, and I don't think that I've seen anyone really focus on that facet of it (I'm really glad you did)! 🤔 I purposefully left Geist's existence a bit vague so that players could interpret him freely - however, I did base his behavior off of some "friendships" that I've had in the past (the term used very loosely 🤣) and how abusive partners seek to break down and isolate you to make you dependent on them. Your interpretation is very true also - after going through these experiences, their words can haunt you for a long time, shattering your self-confidence long after they're gone 🤔

I'm so glad that you enjoyed it and that you saw your own experience in it too 🥹🥹🥹 I'm so touched!!! (And I'm glad you're out of that toxicity now 😭) Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts too, I loved reading them! 

A Geist fan!!! 😆 Aww I'm so honored that you came back to play again, and you played my other game too 😭 thank you!!!

Not yet, sorry! 💦 I'll probably update the game later this year and then release it in full early next year. I'll post update posts here, or you can sign up for my mailing list  to get notified when it happens! 

OHH it's surprising to find someone who likes both love interests 😂 Honestly I think you have a point, Kalei is definitely the more lovable love interest but sometimes you just want someone who will chill with you in your darker/quiet moments and Geist is definitely there for that (for better or worse 😂) Thank you so much for playing!!! 🥰

SOBBING aww 😭😭😭 I'm so touched, thank you 🥺 I'm so glad that the game resonated with you 😭 I'm really happy you enjoyed it and I hope that you enjoy the full game!! 🥰

¡Lamentablemente no, lamento las molestias!

OH I am so glad to hear that 😊 🙏 🙏 I'm really glad you enjoyed it, thank you for playing!! 😆  

GOSH THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHHH 🥹 honestly I'm just honored that you made time to play!!! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it 😭 I'll work hard on the full release!! (and 👀 we'll see...)