itch.io

Hi Hopelight2000! Thank you so much for the kind words about the writing!!

I've been so entrenched into LGBTQIA+ media, that the overwhelmingly positive response to the "gay dads" and similar genuinely baffled me! For all the inclusivity and diversity within interactive fiction, the community is both very progressive but also flawed. I am very happy that readers adore that characters are naturally and casually queer in my story, as much as it saddens me that it's not more common!

I'd written paragraphs more, but I will stop myself here, haha! :) I have a lot of thoughts on the story's setting and its attitude towards gender and sexuality, but I'll keep those for a future date.

Thank you so much for supporting my work! I would love nothing more but to please you with another update, believe me!! Much love!

Hi Egel_Wegel! I am very sorry to have been a source of great distress to you -- I personally barely have the heart and stomach to support WIPs but end up getting swept into it anyway...!

I truly appreciate all your kind works, and that is such extremely high flattery that I struggle to believe you on it! Cheers!

As for your questions;

1. Yes, it is a passion project! A disclaimer that I do truly believe that authors should be compensated for their creative works. It is personally important to me to share my story with as many people as possible. I love reading and writing stories, and I love that everyone and anyone can access them. The downside to this, unfortunately, is that real life distracts me from this passion of mine, even when I want to do nothing but focus on it. The best way would be to find a way to support myself financially, but I'm stubborn about not receiving donations or tips despite paying 50-300% additional commercial fees on all the artwork I commission.

I've really, really thought about using a donation platform in the past, donating a majority of the profits to charities I care about, and keeping as much as I need to cover taxes + pay for a nice cup of coffee. The moment I accept money for this game, though, I really worry that it will change it for me!

2. The discord is closed for now, sorry! I want to make it available when I am more active again.

Tumblr is the best way to keep updated. You don't need an account to view posts, and you can always submit questions anonymously! I post infrequently, but that is the first place I write anything. Check in every few months to see if I say something of note there!

Itch.io is the best for actually content updates since I also write update posts here when anything of substance is added. More insignificant ones or insights to the lore or characters are on the blog.

3. I plan it to release the work on a chapter-basis! On a tangential note, I don't plan on making this a series; I want a complete work that I can keep adding updates towards, similar to the development of Stardew Valley post-release. I hate this comparison since I feel unworthy, but that is the model of development I want to strive towards. Updates until completion, and updates even afterwards! 

As for your critiques:

1. You're absolutely right! At the initial release, the codex and stats page were the most rushed aspects that I added as placeholders. The story itself was the focal point. Of course I should've known how important those things were to the experience.

Next time, I will aim to implement the wonderful character art into the game, but I need to really consider how to make a pleasing character and worldbuilding codex!!! That will take me forever.

2. I just answered the previous comment in detail about music with your post in mind! There is definitely a lot to consider regarding actually doing it correctly. When I add it, I will be very careful with it.

3. BAH, so on the nose, but maybe I'll add it just for you!!

Thank you so much for your detailed comment, and I hope I answered it all with as much enthusiasm,Pibk! <3

Hi Kuejena! Updates are extremely slow, and I only have myself overthinking about the plot and lore to blame for it!! Thank you so much for the comment!

You make me nervous!! Please let me know if you ever got a chance to read it!

Hi dollface444! Thank you so much for bringing my attention to music. I have thought an inordinate amount about commissioning a composer, but I have reservations. I want a soundtrack that is suited for the long-term without getting grating, and for it to not be too distracting for readers. That requires a lot of consideration!

I had made the decision that it was important it was to me to have a nearly pure text-based IF. I'm a minimalist! Text-based IFs are charming to me; I don't want to detract from what makes it unique from visual novels in the first place. I love pure text interactive fiction because it feels like a book that is "interactive" more than it is a game.

Still, my mind is very open to adding music -- and like I said, I've thought about the idea way more than I'd like. When I change my mind, I will have to credit you for it!!

Please excuse my rambling. I've always wanted to mention it! 

I am so glad that there are people who are actually taking a look at the website; I wasn't sure if it was actually very useful, so it's super gratifying to hear you mention it!!

Thank you again for the lovely lovely comment!

Thank you so much, Bat -- and join the club, haha!!

Haha you can't say that without having played it yet!! Please let me know what you thought of it when you get a chance! 🫶

Thank you thank you thank you so much, hamgyuus!!!

l0rnia, I am so stunned!! I can hardly sift through my own writing, so it's amazing to hear you sat through it three times, that's just! Thank you so much for loving my work and for supporting me, I hope you'll continue to keep an eye out!

Yuuxiiii thank you so so much for your enthusiasm I love it!!! I am so happy you like my writing!

Remember to read it and let me know your thoughts! :) Thank you so much for considering my work!

Hi w6rm! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know your thoughts — I'm so delighted that you think that the options are varied and that you loved the storytelling and characters! Those are definitely the main things I'm looking out for. Thank you again and I hope you'll continue to stay updated!

Hi ursqlf! Thanks for letting me know. I think that only happens when you choose to skip transitions, am I correct? I'll investigate it — so sorry for the inconvenience!

Do you mind if you let me know what device you're using? Sometimes my code can be a little messed up depending on the screen size and aspect ratio, so I want to test out what it looks like. Thank you so much for reporting it!

I'm really really glad you think so Rae! Thank you so much!!

THANK YOU APOLLO!!!! <3

Thank you so much for the kind words, LsYpx!! :)

It's an old joke now I'm sure, but I'm keeping it! Thank you so much, Beetlethebat!!

Thank you so much, Insomniacbandit!! I am so happy you liked it and extremely flattered. I am not sure if anyone told you before that you give out great compliments — I have to take notes because I'm usually not very good at that myself!

I'm not sure if it's a story that is just personal or private to you, but if you ever choose to publish or share it with the world, please don't forget to let me know! I'd love to see what you've written!! (And to know what you mean when you say you only just found out?)

Much love to you!!

Calicol, I've never heard anyone say my writing did that -- you had me reading back on my work and trying to understand how you saw it in there! You helped me fall in love with my own writing again, which I confess is very hard at times. Thank you so much for your words, and I hope you'll keep supporting my work ❤️

CrustyOldPete, you should definitely look up more Twine games on the platform! There is a tag for it if you are unaware... there are so many more remarkable writing you have yet to see, I highly encourage you go out for it! Tbr writing is as, if not much better than the one you see in my work!

I am still so honored to hear glowing praise from another writer -- thank you so much for letting me know your thoughts!

Hello Fate_Weave,

Your words are so touching!! I figured it would be hard to digest for some; I'm glad you ended up liking it! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write, I can't express my gratitude enough ♥️♥️ it's a open secret that writers LOVE your energy when you write your enthusiasm about their work!!

killermooch, you have no idea how much I feel the same way about my own writing -- wishing I wrote more! Thanks again for playing and for your kind words!

Hi undeadDreamer, sorry for the confusion towards the end; it's not supposed to be understood very well as it is hinting at something we aren't supposed to know yet, if youre referring to what I think you are! 

I believe feedback on how you wish your MC can respond is extremely helpful, and I'm happy to include that option in the game!

I have also received a question about how other people view MC... I might change the character profile to be in the style of viewing yourself the way you might view other characters, and the description varies on a combination of characteristics. This sounds pretty ambitious but exciting, but I am keen on incorporating it!

Thank you so much for your detailed thoughts and the time you spent reading, I really really appreciate it!

Thank you Lady kai!! I love the art as well!

Hi OminGod, I am happy to incite these feelings in you! I hope you'll express them through your main character as I do want to incorporate that vengeance into their characterization. Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts!

Hello erimm, sorry for the late reply and thanks for playing!! In the future, I'll actually add some kind of option to get rid of them, but for now, I hope you'll excuse it! Thank you so much!

Super late reply, but I meant for it to flashbang 3 AM readers! Only half-joking :) thanks for playing, Autumnal-Cinders!

It's not abandoned, but it was on hiatus for a long time. Sorry!

Sorry for the delay, Abyssal!

THANK YOU LADY KAI!

I'm so glad it conveyed those vibes! Thank you so much, MyKawaiiPanda!

Ahh, thank you Yorbb! I don't want to disappoint you!

Thank you so much, (redacted)! (Didn't want to refer to you ever)

The original art is so charming, but I wanted to have unique art for even different gender presentations of the ROs, hence new art! They looked quite same-y, as I was scraping some money just to be able to get new commissions at all.

I'm glad you liked then new design, hwhy2!! Thanks for your kind comment!

Thank you, Clover!!

Hello Spiritual-Chemistry! It's just new art for now. The art is actually quite old, commissioned back when I was actively working on the IF. I previously wanted to hold onto it until Chapter 2 came out. However, since I went on hiatus and returned, I've decided to release it.

Thanks for all your patience!

Ahh I'm glad you liked the character creation! It took some time and effort to create it (I was scratching my head to make unique descriptions for each appearance option), but it was all worth it and I'm so glad! Thank you so much, BeeHorn!

Oh! Thanks to you, I found out that Lana Del Rey indeed had a song called Salvatore! I will have to give it a listen, thank you so much tea for that and for the praise! :)

Thank you so much, Ria!!