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in body(s) and in name(s) and in heart, i hope there's more understanding, day by day

yowch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! can't let that go to waste. second half is NASTY!!!!! LOVE IT!

thank you for sharing with the world

loved there's a zine included! this was such a fun romp. i adored the way the highlighted text was used, really awesome for a first vn! can really tell your passion for zines as well. thanks for sharing!

unbelievably charming, i just adore the monochrome palette. it's used beautifully and really adds to the fairytale charm. great great great work!

love love love this. adored the use of photos here and the fun placements of the text. still loving your SFX uses!!! really punches hard, i'm such a huge fan of the entire structure of these little peeks into aria's life.

smh new players have got to learn how to strafe or just take the hit

🙏

hark, fair day for raining inside!

i couldn't have done anything without my musician jeanie and illustrator mayhem. it is both of their first times composing or drawing for a game- thank you for shoutouts to the music!!

but- no words can describe the honor and deep appreciation in you going out of the way to go swimming, taking those same damp steps as us, to immerse yourselves with these thoughts and share them back with us. and really, i'm seriously moved. i'm floating, joy soaring. this is ultimately what i hope for. despite worries of time passing by or passions dashed, i'm grateful knowing our dreams to let them be washed away by the water were able to be truly realized too, for a moment, with you to feel it too.

i'm also grateful to know despite the current, you embraced the chlorine burn, the distortions in reflections, the reminder how strange that tears taste like salt. i would say its a metaphor that i was scared to drop a swimmer reading this into the deep end, but i desperately wanted to have faith in the reader- and i dearly thank you for showing that in kind back. you took away the single thing i hoped others would- and even a step further, taking a towel with you i hope.

it's so humbling and really does bring tears.

thank you for sharing. thank you for writing such flowing words back. your poem is so wonderful- fateful how the home that isn't a home calls to us just the same. the sunlight hooked into the glassy eyes of your daily catch always seem prettier when skimming off its scales. thank you for swimming with us.

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v jrne zl FBHY ba zl fyrrir (be ng yrnfg jnxr hc gb arj frpgvbaf bs gur fpevcg pbzcyrgrq gb zl pbzcyrgr zlfgrel). OHG NPGHNYYL. v unq vg qensgrq bhg ba zl bja inthryl ohg gura gevpxfgre sbk qvq vg svefg fb v whfg guerj zl unaqf hc naq qbir va. lbh'er gur svefg gb zragvba vg bhgevtug! v'z ernyyl nz tynq vg pbzrf guebhtu. zbfg bs gur jevgvat fglyr vf zbqryrq nsgre n ybg bs jung v yvxr bs J. Q. Tnfgre punenpgre dhvexf...... h tbg zr.... :Q yby

how many ways can we shape and mold and tinker and commit to ourselves the promises we gave to a person we barely recognize now? i wonder. i wonder.

you have no idea how nervous i had been feeling the entire process in knowing i would be writing in almost erratic fashion. these set me hugely at ease, especially knowing the swimdex can truly be a useful tool. i'm satisfied every time i see it talked about ahaha

thank you so much for reading!!! thank you from the team to you!!!

oof. my nose still hurts.

i'm very glad this work exists. i thought i was familiar enough with other IF of what i'd expect but no. oh no.

dearly appreciate how the visual novel engine and medium was even brought in as metatext. this game inspires me, and seeks what it wanted to and with a deft hand, clever presentation and sharp pace.

WOW. i almost don't want to say too much. like a true rare glimpse into- let's say a mirror :)

i'd say the less you know, the better. like dreams.

still, on a technical level i was pleased to see a lot of the engine presentation is in your grasp, i'm really looking forward to see what you do once you feel comfortable getting even more experimental. fantastic work!

BIG THANK THANK THANK :'D

still stunned and humbled hearing it reads like a poem!! and i am super pleased the footage did what it sought to >:D

it was so clear that we wanted water to pervade every sense of this project. character meld into each other, thoughts mix into words into thoughts. warbly sounds and all- i'm glad it felt cohesive regardless.

very very thankful!! this team rules and i'm glad it shows!!

very proud of this team. it's so encouraging and stunning to hear it felt powerful, and pleased this could impress. thank YOU for reading and listening to these stories!!

so much of the APK version wouldn't be possible without your help and support.

:') your words mean so much!!! i'd shake you if i could. it's all the world to know the team could reach you and their work really comes through. thank you and thank you.

i wonder where "dedication" ranks on a scoreboard. it's weird, isn't it. thank you so much for reading!

we're all cheering you on and hoping the water stays comfortable >:D

seriously humbled. i'm so happy and grateful all these little details made it to you. steal away and pleeeeease >:D

ended up picking that title, it's basically EXACTLY what i hope to connect others to. THANK YOU!

everybody should be playing just for the joy of doing the screening, it's just really delightful. but augh!!!!!!!! green lady in my bed, ohhh you tempt me so.

i was super lucky to play for pals who adored every aspect of this and said it was so clear the two of you had a vision and truly polished it to shine. i can't help but agree, even down to the sound design- particular and moody. great work and seriously deserving of all the praise here in the comments.

really normal over the bespoke clicking sounds, nice work, awesome story, the glossary rules

in a place where you can ask as many "what if"s as you want, what if you refuse to make a choice? what if sarah. sarah wait. help help HEEELP HELP!!!!! HEEEEELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what a wonderful work, so many details that make me stop and point and go WOAH. i can't believe how hard i laughed at some lines, and then like 20 minutes later had to stand up and pace around to stop tears from coming.

graye is just so endearing... nonbinary love! the swim scene definitely gets it. augh. my heart.

i can't believe that last chapter. wow. perfectly horrible.

seriously impressive and incredibly enjoyable, one of my favorites to share.

very natural dialogue and super stylish scenes, LOVE this triangle!! very tense!!!

wan wan!!!!!!!!!!

snowy save me.

this is chockful and brimming to the seams with love with its history, pulling beautifully at my heartstrings. reading this was like falling into a storybook, and i loved how this especially played with the idea of purity and how even that can start to corrupt someone. there's a saying along the lines of you can never not worship, be it a god or otherwise; to desire purity is to be doomed to a life of always having dirty hands.

being in elysande's head while exploring aldith's new, dangerous world in this body she may find undesirable was beautifully haunting and scary, i loved it!!

this one's real special. this is absolutely scoring points on the sfx and music. i was definitely tearing up hearing Frog Friend Jams' piano, it's just so beautiful!!!! obsessed with how certain NPCs are portrayed in the art style, and the pure focus on the main characters. the mixed media even considers the careful lighting of certain time eras... 100% impressing me, i just love the direction and oozing, hazy, dreaming world this brings us into. this did NOT feel like a week, that's right!

wonderfully characterized, mystical storytelling, charmingly in-depth artwork, just a wow.mp3

but that's all just a story i heard from the fisherman.

absolutely loved hearing the thoughts and progression of individual tracks. thank you!! hannah route yes!!!

my GOODNESS. last scenes are super effective at 3am i'll tell you what.

just opening up this game is a box of surprises and delightful little treats. from plot to art to tension to music to action to- i think we all know what we think of that freaking awesome doom dungeons but WOW. WOW.

powerhouse of a team, AMAZING PROPS TO EVERYONE- this is such a cohesive and horrifyingly impressive show of work and talent and synergy.

the testerrrr

just a girl | want her to win | en garde | only point

this waved wistfully at me from the window and didn't look back as i watched the bus pull away from the stop and take a century to disappear before i realize i was supposed to go with it.

this basically knocked me out. Halt! i'm blown away by the absolute life breathed into the music and the pull that i feel when i hear the bouts get intense. the personal touches in the spritework and the technical detail of the art as a whole are just perfect.

on the topic of sports, the costs- literal costs -to doing sports is something obvious but not truly examined to this kind of personal level. i was not happy looking up how much a foil was priced!

this is really a one of a kind story that holds its inspirations and emotions close to heart. i could go on and on. i'm gonna be thinking of this forever. sports.

WOW. impressed how effective little decisions added up into this harrowing story. avery makes me laugh so much, even despite her perfectness. you can truly sense she's holding back... i just want poor esther to have a little break... tunip...!!!! amazing this was made in a week, hits all the notes.

STUNNED by the art, it's so moody and looks amazing with the game's color palette. truly makes that ending stand out. short but bites! i love this, will def have to keep on eye on what you make in the future!!

my stress levels go up every time van talks to elexis :'D watching van fight just for her own identity is just heartbreaking. i've never seen a work like this, it truly helps me learn important and personal perspectives and feelings, thank you for sharing. i hope the fresh air feels free.

congrats on your first vn!

incredibly happy to know the team's work has come through, thank you!!!!!!!!

wow. truly amazed how carefully this was crafted. the heat to the pool is a powerful, heartbreaking contrast. amazing!

movie night! film time! screen yay! in another world, we'll watch even the moon.

the less you know the better. a wonderful time. i hope you keep creating.

thankful. grateful. floating. what can i even say :')

one of the biggest worries i had about this project as a whole was its presentation that was less traditional form of a enjoyable narrative and more like a super complicated and meta tedtalk. jokes aside- i am truly humbled all these emotions and points come through, especially in exploring the swimdex, and that the team's efforts to share their stories could reach you.

at the shallow end maybe we can imagine the tails but there could be flakes of silver, glimmering green, grey and iridescent purple, and bright cheerful yellow-gold that dot the floor.

AWESOME. loved getting to follow rachel through this tragic but heartful story. clark kinda drives me up a wall but he's allowed to. seriously great work for a first VN, please keep it up!

THANK YOU SO MUCH / LET'S ALL VOMIT TO MAKE DRY MODE. i am so sincerely grateful for the help and the work is better with it in it ;-;

thank you for reading and for taking in all of the feelings. it means so much.

moved you'd take the time to write a reply like this, thank you and thank you. stepping forward with more hope!