CONTENT WARNINGS FOR: Gore & Depictions of Violence, Murder, Mentions & Depictions of the Dead, Mentions of Cannibalism, Mental Health Crises & Suicidal Ideation, Optional Sexual Content (NOT YET WRITTEN)
Tucked tightly against the coast, Agnus can hardly be called a city. While it may lack the stunning skylines of larger cities, it had beautiful forests and a picturesque scene of the distant mountains. Agnus was a quiet place that many called home, perhaps you can to…
Though as you settle in and start your new job, an old shadow from your home town returns. It all starts with a missing person, and a letter.
AGNUS is an active work-in-progress, things may change in the future and saves will break.
This story is a product of fiction and any similarity between real life people and events are coincidental. This is not an accurate portrayal of police work.
This work contains no generative AI, using this work to feed generative AI is prohibited.
FEATURES:
this list is currently a work in progress
A fully customizable protagonist, play as trans, cis or nb & select your own pronouns.
Develop 3 skills (The Mind, Eye, Tongue) to help you solve crime
Explore the City of Agnus, help out the residents & get adopted by a stray cat
Befriend & Romance two companions; A Fellow Detective or a Ghost from the Past... Or you can antagonize them
Remember to keep yourself sane
Currently there are only two Romance Options available in AGNUS. Romance for either RO is completely optional. At the moment a poly route with both ROs in not available.
The Detective:
Age: 27 yrs old
DOB: Feb 14th
You joined the force at a young age and worked hard to become eligible for the position at 25. This entire job is your passion, your livelihood. You’ve only been detective for 2 years until your life at home is uprooted and your forced to move to a city faraway.
Many were interested behind your motivation to become a detective, and your answer to that is simple. You’ve always wanted to be one… Was that always the case?
Path A: True Crime
You’ve always had a fascination for crime, towards the investigators and the criminals. You loved reading about how killers were caught, how their minds worked. Whether or not you found joy in the gory details is up to you.
There never was an exact moment when you realized that becoming detective was a dream, it was always there. But there were a couple of local cases that grabbed your attention...
Like the Terror of Greenwood.
Path B: Personal
You never had an interest in true crime growing up. You had a hobby the grown-ups constantly praised and you thought that this hobby was going to be your job. That all changed when you were 13.
The Terror of Greenwood, the man that killed your parent. You were a witness to that murder, you were the first one to discover the body...
And the last one to hear he got away.
The Stray:
A stray cat who wormed its way into your life. The cat is fully customizable and you can take a guess at its gender.
Blythe (M/F/NB)
A husk of a former human, a room stained in red. Long gone is the person who raised you, cried for you.
You still keep in contact with them, either through old photographs or the occasional text message. They still care for you.
No matter how strained.
No matter how dead.
Appearance: Blythe shares the same skin tone, hair texture and eye colour as the MC. Their hair started to grey early into raising the MC but it was once a deep brown.
Blythe stands at a tall height, taller MCs may have gotten their height from them.
A. Sinclair (M/F) [RO]
Ambrose/Amariah || CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)
Age: 30 yrs old
DOB: May 3rd
R. Larken (M/F) [RO]
Rade/Rivia || CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)
Age: 27 yrs old
DOB: Nov 27th
A ghost from the past…
R. Larken is often seen as a brash and blunt person who speaks in brutal honesty. They are incapable of lying and always strive to tell others the truth. However, they keep one secret, hidden deep in their heart.
Time changes people, how much can someone change in 10 years? And why did they disappear all those years ago…
Appearance: Both Rade and Rivia share the same piercings, tattoos and fashion sense.
As Rade) Standing at around 5’11 (180cm), Rade has a long slender body with a slightly broad chest. His skin is extremely pale, with eye-bags visibly lining his sharp hazel eyes. His thick wavy hair is dyed pitch black, and is cut into long messy layers. He has an undercut that is rarely seen, preferring an half-updo while working. His fringe often falls onto his face.
Rade often wears makeup but the amount he wears depends on the day. Often its just eyeliner.
As Rivia) Standing at around 5’10 (177cm), Rivia has a long slender body with slight curves, and a medium size chest. Her skin is extremely pale, with eye-bags visibly lining her sharp hazel eyes. Her thick wavy hair is dyed pitch black, and is cut into a messy bob, with slight layers. Her undercut is often seen, preferring to wear a ponytail when working. Her fringe is bluntly cut, framing her face.
Rivia often wears makeup with the amount changing per day. She often wears eyeliner and a deep red lipstick. She sometimes wears clothing that accentuate her curves.
Possible Tropes: Slowburn, Childhood ‘Friends’ to Lovers
Mrs. Popović (She/Her)
Age: 49 yrs old
DOB: Dec 1st
Julija Popović, who insists you call her Mrs. Popović, is your landlord and the mother of Teo Popović. Your currently renting a room in the recently furnished upstairs of her house. She’s seen as a kind, sometimes melancholic woman. Her past remains a mystery to you but the photos lining the walls tells a story.
Teo Popović (They/Them)
Age: 15 yrs old
DOB: June 10th
Teo Popović is the child of your landlord, Mrs Popović. Despite sharing the upstairs of Mrs Popović house, Teo refuses to acknowledge or respect you. However, respect can be gained and attachment can be found in the darkest of places.
Appearance: Teo is awkwardly tall for their age, standing at a rough 5’11 ().
More questions will be added as they're asked or when I think of them.
Last Updated: July 14th, 2026
What is this/whats an IF?
AGNUS is an interactive crime/horror novel coded in twine sugarcube.
IF specifically stands for Interactive Fiction, with games usually coded in twine or choicescript. Think Choose Your Own Adventure books!
Is this a standalone game?
Yes! I have no plans to make AGNUS a series or make other stories within this world. At most I may make extras featuring the ROs and side stories.
How customizable IS the Detective?
Very customizable. Currently all the code for the appearance is written out and implemented but I'm always down for suggestions or critiques.
If you think something is missing or needs improvement, shoot me an ask!
When does the story take place?
Mid 2010's. I don't have a specific year in mind.
Where is the city of Agnus located?
This is something I've been flip-flopping between but overall, I want the reader to decide where the city of Agnus is located. The only hints for its exact locations are the mountains, coastline and overall weather but many places in the world have that exact combo.
Also who's to say that the coastline isn't of a lake.
For real-world inspirations, Agnus is inspired by the cities I grew up in and visited, specifically Adelaide, South Australia. I love the mix of the more historical buildings and slightly modern ones.
When searching for inspiration I did find myself also leaning towards European towns (Austria, Germany etc) and a couple of North American places.
Poly Route? [UPDATED]
Future plans for a poly romance are confirmed but currently aren't my main priority. Poly route may be added once both ROs are introduced and interact with eachother.
my entire hurts so instead of continuing A. Sinclair's notes decided to site down and name some characters, aand some more research into police ranks to refresh my brain. (still not accurate)
forgot how annoying it is to name characters but i'm almost done with the more relevant ones (ignoring main antag)
✦ the first to fall in love loses (meet that loser)
(NOTE) The demo is here! I was supposed to release it on July 7 but the UI I had made was really bad so I had to start over and recode it. Chapter 1; part 1 (that’s where the most of the customization are) was supposed to be released alongside it but I didn’t have time to code it to the new template considering I am way past the deadline. Sorry for the delay and hope you enjoyed it
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL WHO HAD HELPED ME IN PLAY TESTING, FEEDBACK, AND BRAINSTORMING THIS STORY! YOU GUYS ARE GREAT 🫶
At the time of writing this, there are a total of 27 pages of physical notes for AGNUS (dear lord), and I'm still not done with the notes for the antagonist.
No progress has been made towards planning out the story because getting the main motive and history for the antagonist out of the way is the most important
For Progress;
Massive amount of development for antagonist has been made! Beyond final notes, the last thing I have to do is name them
That's all
Bonus Goals for this month;
LOCK TF IN and finish all of A. Sinclair's notes and document
Name characters, think of appearances (maybe)
Draft out the prologue (maybe)
Add Sinclair's intro and tidy up the features list
The same old cramped hands and brain hurting from brainstorming. I'll be back to fully planning out the story again in August if I manage to finish A. Sinclair in time.
May end up sketching out artwork of R. Larken and A. Sinclair as well, who knows. I do also want to dive back into pixel art and make custom icons for AGNUS.
on a less fortunate note, i'm going to be getting a ct scan done in the coming days. shouldn't impact my work on AGNUS? will update in august mayhaps
Also completely unrelated to AGNUS but I am working on a short story series cause I hate myself and want to get back into the flow of writing actual stories. May yap about them on my main: @pro-penlicker lol
At the time of writing this, there are a total of 27 pages of physical notes for AGNUS (dear lord), and I'm still not done with the notes for the antagonist.
No progress has been made towards planning out the story because getting the main motive and history for the antagonist out of the way is the most important
For Progress;
Massive amount of development for antagonist has been made! Beyond final notes, the last thing I have to do is name them
That's all
Bonus Goals for this month;
LOCK TF IN and finish all of A. Sinclair's notes and document
Name characters, think of appearances (maybe)
Draft out the prologue (maybe)
Add Sinclair's intro and tidy up the features list
The same old cramped hands and brain hurting from brainstorming. I'll be back to fully planning out the story again in August if I manage to finish A. Sinclair in time.
May end up sketching out artwork of R. Larken and A. Sinclair as well, who knows. I do also want to dive back into pixel art and make custom icons for AGNUS.
on a less fortunate note, i'm going to be getting a ct scan done in the coming days. shouldn't impact my work on AGNUS? will update in august mayhaps
Also completely unrelated to AGNUS but I am working on a short story series cause I hate myself and want to get back into the flow of writing actual stories. May yap about them on my main: @pro-penlicker lol
18+ interactive fiction story dealing with sensitive topics like abuse, self-harm and addiction (plus future optional sexual content). Read at your own discretion.
One of the major themes for this story is identity vs. conformity. As such it is not possible to play as anything other than male or female at the start with he/him and she/her pronouns. There will be opportunities later in the story to identify as trans or non-binary and adjust your body, name and pronouns accordingly. Be warned that such changes and queer relationships will elicit a reaction from characters in the story, but don't let that stop you from being yourself.
Love is the greatest weapon of all, but its absence is not peace.
At the age of twelve, your parents’ abuse couldn’t be concealed any longer. Now—a year later—you’re in a new home, still reeling from the unfairness of it all. A nasty habit that destroys delicate skin helps, but so does playing your well-loved guitar to escape a world that scares you. Exceptional talent, but an inability to fit in, you're left instilled with mistrust beneath a layer of yearning for something you’ve never had. Taking a desperate approach to change your life, you sign up for Stagebound; Britain's largest singing competition.
Young and scared, you reveal something you can’t take back, only to deal with the aftermath your whole career. An outstanding career as a guitarist in a band consisting of people you didn't know before the competition; people your age who will struggle alongside you as you navigate the music industry for many years. The strongest bonds break the loudest... can you really trust the people you didn't get to choose?
Consists of III acts spanning 3 chapters each.
Act I: The Stagebound competition and the aftermath spanning a year later.
Act II: The band breaking into the US market and dealing with all things Hollywood.
Act III: Reunion album and tour years down the line.
Customise your MC! From looks to personality to behaviours, make a character with a predetermined backstory your own.
Struggle with all aspects of fame, or embrace the rockstar lifestyle and shower in the attention.
Keep the peace or stir the drama! With bandmates like these things are sure to stay interesting.
Fight against the constraints of the industry. Queer or otherwise unconventional? Your path to self-expression won't be easy but no less worthwhile.
Your horrific public past haunts you. Will you fall into a rabbit-hole of vices or find healthier ways to cope?
Greylin/Greyson 'Grey' Charter [f/m]
"They told me I couldn’t, so I did it twice and took pics."
Outgoing and confident, Grey doesn't allow themself to go unnoticed. They chase good times unapologetically, but remain ambitious in all their pursuits. They're charismatic despite how stubborn they tend to be, and they work hard to conceal their unpleasant tendencies. They idolise performers who dominate the scene—wild, eccentric, impossible to ignore. Getting them on stage is easy. Getting them off, however…
As the lead singer and you as the guitarist, you could be a powerful duo—be it forged in friendship or rivalry. Either way, Grey can take you to the highest peaks, and the lowest valleys. The journey won't be easy, but if you make it you'd have someone that would believe in you till the end of time.
Finley Beckham-Barlowe [f/m]
"Music unlocks the soul; that's why it's called a key."
Closed-off and understated, Finley is used to getting overlooked. They fit the image of the cool bassist on stage, though the same easy-going attitude doesn’t quite carry off of it. Quiet by nature, they still voice their opinions without hesitation. They're also not one to conceal their emotions intentionally, and love music that convey feelings in a raw manner. Getting them on stage is of little issue, it’s the spectacle beyond performing that leaves them weary.
As the bassist they could be the rhythm to your melody or the chain to your freedom. They can guide as easily as they obstruct, and the dynamic between you would be a constant push and pull. Finding balance won't be easy, but if established, you'd have an anchor for life.
Bem Adeleke [f/m]
"There is strength in crying and in numbers… so crying about maths is the epitome of strength!"
Friendly and eager, Bem sets out to win people over. They're a natural mediator functioning as the backbone of the band, yet unfamiliar with the drums, they constantly scramble to keep up with the rest of you. They live in constant movement, much like the dance music they're drawn to, rarely slowing down to think about themself. Getting them on stage is the hard part; everything after is what they live for.
As your drummer they sit at your centre without meaning to, trying to be a steady baseline without matching the tempo required. When the beat does drop however, you know who'll break their back trying to catch it. But heartbeats are tricky and synchronization can't be forced. If developed naturally, it would mean two lives equally intertwined by the pace you've set.
Irene Svetla
Pop-star phenomenon and Britain's sweetheart, Irene was a contestant on Stagebound a decade before you. Winning the competition meant skyrocketing to fame in an event that still leaves her reeling. She's your self-imposed protector and can be your greatest ally as well as your biggest obstacle.
Zakari 'Zak' Hakim
Underground artist turned mainstream as hip-hop exploded in popularity and carried overseas. He knows the industry well and bears it with a grin. Zak grants you the most freedom but the least guidance, focused solely on increasing your reach even if it means stretching you thin in the process.
Chris Feldman
Veteran from the glory days of the seventies and eighties music scene, Feldman carries the scars of a rockstar with understated pride. When music shifted and his band became obsolete he took a backseat as a producer and manager instead. Feldman knows all about the hidden corners of the industry and the danger of vices. He's there to toughen you up, and give you the reality check you didn't ask for but might have needed.
Stagebound is a WIP slice-of-life/fame IF story with optional romance. Things are liable to change, bugs are likely to occur and typos will slip through. Feedback is always appreciated. Your thoughts matter. It helps me shape this story into the best it can be!
As an author I do not use, nor support the use of generative AI. I do not consent for my work to be used to train these models (though I doubt that matters).
in other news, im getting close to finalising my notes for the main antagonist! after that i'll get make to working on A because i miss them and i should work on them
appointment with my doctor next week as well, lets get it
