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I'm really glad you appreciated my comment :) this has given me a lot to chew on as I work on fleshing out my setting. as much as I like writing, I'm very much a novice and I haven't ever really completed a project bigger than a short story, so it would be pretty ambitious for me to attempt something on the scale you're doing. 

it does give me some insight and some ideas on how to better approach these dynamics in my work in the future. and you're definitely right; the more small choices IF has, the less they tend to be meaningful or impactful. they're fun, but it makes sense that time could be better spent towards providing a more consistent kind of depth instead. I like the idea of locking in traits a lot to manage that. and I hadn't considered at all how the personality traits would pair or intersect, I was thinking about them piecemeal, so that's another good angle to be aware of.

hmm...ok ok!! thank you very much for the advice. I have similar goals as a writer I think, so it's super helpful. 

be well and looking forward to the next update <3

I've seen others say that the relationship takes a hit if you tell them to seek closure instead of finding out the truth in the scene at the party. good place to start, if you did that.

this is probably the best story in this format I've read on the site. I've been bingeing a lot of them lately.

initially, I was kinda disappointed, because this isn't a game that relies on a wide assortment of choices to provide flavor in conversation. in general, you won't have more than three, and though there's nothing wrong with a slimmer selection objectively, I really enjoy that kind of dynamic approach to dialogue and actions. sticking around for a few chapters was plenty to show me why, though: the game is extremely reactive in terms of character traits. it's by a wide margin the best job I've seen at really seamlessly integrating your chosen personality into the story. though I enjoyed making choices when I could after the personality traits were locked in, it's largely giving you a say in things that are important rather than the idle minute to minute and just giving you the content that you want in-between. it's honestly really impressive. I made my character and she acted EXACTLY how I would've wanted her to, and with a way deeper granularity and way more consistency than I think could have been pulled off without stopping for choices every time your character speaks, which makes it a better and smoother read. either that, or I just lucked into a particularly well written personality, which I think is, y'know, unlikely. I think I prefer this style a lot more now. I just hadn't seen it done this well before. 

I really enjoy the characters, the world-building feels fresh even when it's building on tropes, the slow-burn romance doesn't feel too obtrusive or too out of the way like it can often in this format, so everything just feels really well balanced and there's always something interesting going on. another thing I enjoyed was that the game offers you a lot of choices where the outcome is going to only be presented at a later date, so there's no rewinding because you picked a bad option unless you're dedicated, and I think there are few strictly bad options anyway. a lot of it is deciding direction or priority. I like that you're encouraged to live with your consequences. I got just enough information to have to chew my lip over it at least once a chapter.

that reactivity is definitely the thing that impresses me the most, though, because the general good writing aside, I wrote a few sample scenes in harlowe after playing this to see how it feels and that is SO MUCH WORK. so I have a lot of respect for it. you must have written these scenes like four or five times over in some places. 

great work :) I'm really looking forward to see more, and although ofc please don't feel pressured to answer, I'd love any advice you have to offer on how you've approached that reactivity I'm enjoying so much, or in general? I might write my own sometime. also, you made me cry. thanks, and sorry for the wall of text <3