welcome to blackwood university.

hi, i'm leo (she/they/he) and this is the dev blog for blackwood, an interactive fiction.

[blackwood-if]

“so tell me, what exactly happened that night?”

as a student at blackwood university, there are many things that are expected of you. adaptability. drive. the ability to work under pressure. these traits are what make up a blackwood raven.

they’re also what make up a murderer.

so look. things might have gotten out of hand this semester. so out of hand that you’ve landed yourself in a police station, getting questioned about the murder of one of your best friends.

you and your friends may or may not have murdered someone. one of your best friends to be exact. as an investigation begins, will you be able to keep what you did under wraps? or will you end your fourth year behind bars?

fully customizable mc! all the good stuff!

(un)willingly participate in a murder!

(un)willingly cover up said murder!

help your friends work through their guilt! or just let them spiral!

dynamic relationships that change based on your decisions. romance one of your friends or destroy every one of your relationships, the choice is up to you.

and more!

aliya irwin [ she/her ] - that girl that everyone on campus knows because not only is she hot but she is also absolutely terrifying. she knows almost everything about everyone. has a reputation as an alpha bitch, but that couldn’t be more wrong. hot girl with a heart of gold. older than baz by three minutes. business major.

cade rivas [ he/him ] - with the leather jacket and cigarettes, cade couldn’t seem more like a classic bad boy. he may have been one when you first met him, but these days he reminds you more of a tired dad than james dean. chronic flirt. acting major.

charlie burke [ they/them ] - life of the party. seems like they know basically every person on campus. charlie kind of reminds you of a puppy, in a way. excitable, playful, and perpetually happy. hot nerd with commitment issues. computer science major.

kai da silva [ gender cus. ] - the token jock. captain of the lacrosse team and top of their class. extremely loyal and passionate, kai is the one to trust to make rational decisions. the mom friend and the only one of your friends that is truly responsible. life science major.

sebastian “baz” irwin [ he/him ] - quiet and reserved, baz makes an unlikely addition to your group. almost always lost in his own thoughts. the complete opposite of his twin, he prefers to be the observer, whether it's playing photographer on the outskirts of party or, well, murder. film major.

sunita "sunny" saelim [ she/they ] - five feet and two inches of whoop ass. sunny lives up to her name with her endless optimism and bright personality. however, she burns hot like the sun too. fuck with them or their friends and they won’t hesitate to instigate a fight.

blackwood will be rated 18+ due to explicit content.

inspired by the secret history, if we were villians, seance (2021), elite, how to get away with murder.

demo / ro info / locations / pinterest

[blackwood-if]

hii Cade anon here :) is it okay i ask for “well, how do i look?”  instead? thank you!

yes of course!

cade + "well, how do i look?"

aliya giggles in the background as you wipe away the access lipstick away with your thumb. cade on the other hand barely moves at the touch, aside from a light fluttering of his eyelids.

using her god given gifts aliya had somehow convinced cade to let you two test out some make up on him, which, somewhere along the way had turned into you doing his make up while aliya snapped pictures and watched on the sidelines. not that you really minded, as she had a tendency to be a little domineering anyways.

"are you almost done?" cade grumbles from under you. his eyebrows are pinched ever so slightly, but besides that, his face is relaxed. it's something you rarely get to see, since cade has been the epitome of stressed these days.

"yeah, you can open your eyes now." you say and he follows your instructions. aliya lets out a cackle behind you and you can hear the telltale snaps of her camera behind you.

"well, how do i look?" he asks, but not before striking a pose for his one man army of paparazzi.

"you look like a bratz reject." aliya is struggling to catch her breath as she wipes tears from her eyes. she flips her phone over and cade leans towards her to scrutinize the photos.

"i think it's more of like, an avant-garde statement?" you try to supply helpfully as cade turns his seat towards you. he looks dumb with the make up caked on, sure, but he's no less charismatic.

"alright, alright. you've had your fun. it's my turn now."

[blackwood-if]

i'm a person with a life and not a content machine <3

Girl no one said you were a content machine

buddy if you want to read a demo go somewhere else because i do not have one and i'm gonna take as long as i want since i'm the one providing you with free content that i make in my free time. if you want to play something so bad maybe you should write something

[blackwood-if]

“ you were going to leave without saying goodbye? ”  for Cade?

thank you for the ask! this one can be found here!

[blackwood-if]

Hmmm shot in the dark but: “ are you… smelling me? ”  with Kai, pretty please?

kai + "are you... smelling me?"

kai jerks awake again as they nod off. they begin to straighten out, but seem to remember that the lack of room and deflate back into a crouch. kai had drawn the short straw for this leg of the road trip and ended up sandwiched between you and charlie in the back seat. it was almost comical seeing them shoved in the tiny seat, head almost brushing the ceiling. you also couldn't help but feel bad, it was obviously an uncomfortable place to be, and unlike charlie, kai was never one to complain.

"you can sleep on my shoulder, if you want?" you offer, giving them a small smile. with a small nod of acceptance kai contorts themselves until their head is resting on your shoulder. it still doesn't look comfortable, but you're sure it's a step up from waking up every ten minutes.

eventually kai's breathing evens out and you sneak a glance over at their sleeping form. their hair tickles your cheek as you turn your head. you've never really been this close to kai, and definitely not for this long. you've come to notice that they smell, well, nice. if it's a scent or just the way they smell, you're not sure, but it's earthy. it smells like something, but you can't put your finger on it. pine, maybe? or it could just be the grass from the lacrosse field.

"are you... smelling me?" you hear in a quiet voice, and you tense. kai's eyes aren't open, but there's a small smile on their face. you purse your lips as you try to come up with an answer that doesn't make you sound like a creep. you decide on the truth.

"you smell good." you admit with a slight shrug that causes kai's head to bob up and down with your shoulders. "i've been trying to figure out what it is."

"it's a perfume. i'll show you when we get back to campus." they say, shifting again to get comfortable, assumably to continue their nap. "but you're going to need to sniff a bit quieter or i'm going to have to use charlie as a pillow instead."

[blackwood-if]

Don't let anons like that get to you.

I've been trying to write for a few years and I'm my own worst enemy. Good on you for putting yourself out there, I can't even do that! Also I still follow writers that haven't been active for almost 3 years. I have no problem waiting until YOU are ready ❤

thank you for the support :) honestly it's no bother and i feel the same way i'm willing to wait however long it takes for a writer to put something out! like writing is hard and i totally understand that. i just find it funny though like how dare i take so long to put out the free content that anon wants to read

[blackwood-if]

Okay i just saw this blog pop up and there’s no demo out and you’ve been active for almost 2 years??

One of those “writers” who don’t even want to write is what i’m getting from you rn 😭

yes i've been active for almost two years and in those two years i've been a full time university student with a job, moved across world twice, started writing on choicescript and then lost all my progress and started writing on twine and not to mention learning how to code on twine... i'm a person with a life and not a content machine <3 if you don't want to wait then don't follow me lmao

[blackwood-if]

writing an if was a bold move for me since my mortal enemy is thorough and concise outlines

[blackwood-if]

i'm looking to commission some character portraits of the gang! if you're an artist taking commissions or if you know of an artist please send them my way :)

[blackwood-if]

“ is… that my shirt you’re wearing? ”  for cade please?

i did something similar to this here!

[blackwood-if]

hmmm maybe "you’ve been so quiet. what’s on your mind?" or "why are you looking at me like that?" for baz pls!!

baz + "why are you looking at me like that?"

if you were looking to actually get any work done while you were studying, baz was probably the best person to choose as a partner. not really one for gossip, it was hard to really get him distracted. his work required him to be plugged in, always so concentrated on whatever he was doing that you swear you've seen his nose brush his laptop screen.

right now was one of those times. it was funny seeing him during his process, nose scrunched up in thought as he edits his current project. you can practically hear his thoughts from across the table. he fiddles with the cord of his headphones, rolling the wire in between his fingers. you wonder-

"why are you looking at me like that?" baz's voice snaps you out of your thoughts, startling you. you almost drop your pen as you scramble to collect your thoughts. what's a not creepy explanation for staring at someone? his blue eyes peer over the edge of his laptop, a bashful expression painted on his features.

"you were just thinking very... loudly." is what you settle on. which isn't entirely a lie; it was his state of deep thought that distracted you. you just omitted the fact that you were admiring him. it was for both your sakes; you were sure that baz wouldn't know how to reply to that if you had said it in the first place.

"sorry," his cheeks flush as he readjusts his headphones. "i'll try to think quieter, i guess." and just like that he's gone, lost back in his world of editing and whatever it is that he does.

and you go back to admiring.

[blackwood-if]

Could we get “would you run away with me?" with Sunny please????

sunny + "would you run away with me?"

one thing that you liked about sunny was the she was comfortable with silence. she's content to just sit in your room or lay at the foot of your bed and simply be in your presence. she never felt any need to force conversation to fill the quiet.

and that's what the two of you were doing right now. she had come over at the end of her shift and it had started with a lively conversation about the new girl that she thought she saw baz with, but it quickly dwindled down. now, she was sprawled out on the floor, scrolling through her phone.

"would you run away with me?" cuts through the silence, almost startling you. you peer over the edge of your bed as she looks up expectantly at you.

"what?" you ask, not entirely sure if you had just imagined her speaking.

"would you run away with me?" she repeats, and you know she's totally serious. you contemplate for a moment, then shrug.

"yeah, sure. why not?" you reply, and sunny looks offended.

"just 'sure?' wow, i thought our relationship ran deeper than that." she holds her hand over her heart in mock offence as you laugh.

"well, what would you have said?" she sits up, placing her chin on the edge of your bed just so, meeting your eyes.

"i would have said 'absolutely, i would follow you to the end of the earth' or 'you would have to cut off my legs to stop me' or something as equally poetic." you roll your eyes and push her face off the edge of the bed as she giggles.

"sure, shakespeare."

[blackwood-if]

For Kai “is… that my shirt you’re wearing?" Maybe 👀

kai + "is... that my shirt you're wearing?"

when you asked kai to help you train for the next game, you knew it would be strenuous, sure, but this was an entirely different story. you were pretty sure that you'd never regain feeling in your legs again. you squint up as the sun, sprawled out on the field as kai rustles through their things behind you. the grass feels nice on your bare skin, and you take a moment to reconnect with nature after what might have been the most intense work out of your life. you begin feeling around you for the rest of your clothes. you had ditched the jersey and sweater you were wearing at some point, unable to bare both the heat of the sun and the exercise. kai had done the same, something about "working on your level" or some kind of other motivational thing that you were too delirious to remember at the moment.

your hand finally hits cloth and you barely give it a second look. you use it to wipe off the sheen of sweat that remained on your face and pull it on. kai cocks an eyebrow at you while you unsteadily rise to your feet, shooting them a look in the process. you turn and scan the grass for your sweater next, and that's when you hear a snort behind you.

"is that my shirt you're wearing?" they ask, and you look down incredulously.

"no, i'm pretty sure this is mine." you wave a hand to dismiss their comment, not even bothering to turn around.

"so your last name is da silva now?" they reply sarcastically, and that finally gives you pause. you pull off the jersey and flip it over. sure enough, da silva is emblazoned over the back, right above a massive 14.

"haha," you ball up the jersey and toss it back to them, ignoring the heat rising in your cheeks. "if i didn't know any better, i would think that you were hitting on me." you say in a desperate attempt to deflect.

"maybe, maybe not," kai shrugs, pulling the jersey over their head, barely concealing the smirk on their face. "no comment there."

[blackwood-if]

i'll get back to answering asks and working on the demo soon! i was traveling and now i'm moving back to my home country in like a week so things have been a bit hectic for me lately

[blackwood-if]

so we can play someone who unintentionally killed one of their best friends. Can MC then get panic attacks? Because MC didn't want to kill one of his best friends..

yes that's possible! there's going to be different options of how mc can handle or not handle their grief, or if they feel any at all

[blackwood-if]

Can't wait for the Demo 😻

thank you so much !! i'm excited to get it out soon !!

[blackwood-if]

Ooooohh! “you were going to leave without saying goodbye?” Or “promise me?” For Cade 👉🏻👈🏻💞

cade + "you were going to leave without saying goodbye?"

you feel the bed next to you shift. admittedly you're still quite drunk, but the movement was enough to stir you out of your sleep. through bleary eyes, the clock blinks 4:27am in a blinding florescent red. you turn over and see cade standing at your door, pulling on his shoes.

"you were going to leave without saying goodbye?" your question is quiet, but by the way that he turns in your direction, you're certain he's heard it.

"i didn't want to wake you up..." he trails off, rubbing his arm sheepishly. his tone is not something you hear from him often. it's devoid of any teasing. a rare early morning treat, you suppose. "if you don't get enough sleep, you'll definitely be hungover by morning."

"it is morning," you reply, patting the recently vacated spot next to you. "you should stay. you were drinking too." the night is still blurry, but you remember having one too many shots at aliya's sorority party and cade walking you all the way home. you think you can also vaguely remember him carefully undoing your shoelaces and putting you to bed.

"okay." he agrees, no fight as he takes off his boots once more and makes his way back towards you. another early morning treat. usually he needs at few more exchanges before he every actually agrees to anything.

he stretches out next to you, careful to keep his distance between the two of you. he's even gone as far as to lay on top of the blankets. if you were more awake, you might have laughed about how cautious he was being.

"thank you for staying with me." you mutter, eyes fluttering closed once more. even though your eyes are shut, you can still feel his gaze on you.

"always." he says, so quiet you almost miss it.