EnSpey

Artist. Most of the time. More specifically IF obsessed artist. She/her. Age somewhere between legally allowed to rent a car and not able to get senior discounts | Commissions Open!

[wings-of-ink]

GOD-CURSED CHAPTER 7 PUBLIC UPDATE IS LIVE!!!

A new part of your adventure awaits!

Your saves might be broken. There will be no need to report this as an error. Updates made to the game file will cause this. There is a skip feature that lets you fast-track to the beginning of Chapter 6. I'm trying my hardest to keep things from breaking, but it is part of the development process.

The warnings list has been updated in the game, please review before reading.

There are some huge reveals in this chapter. Feel free to send in asks if you want to comment or if you have questions. Note that I cannot answer everything and will take measures to keep the reveals secret so other people can enjoy the surprises when they read.

Link

As always, if you find anything game-breaking, please let me know asap (DM, ask, etc.). I'll be watching my feeds as closely as I can today to address any major issues that might interrupt your reading.

Typos/grammar/spelling issues should go to the error report form linked in the game and on my pinned post. Other bugs can either go to the error report or my inbox. I am slowly working on a full-game spelling and grammar review, but... There are a lot of words here, so it's taking a while, lol.

Happy reading!

[enspey]

Hi. I was wondering if you still take commissions. Your art is fantastic.

I am so sorry this took so long to answer. Yes, I do still take commissions. I haven’t put up a new pinned post because I haven’t updated the art on it and can’t decide which art to display. The prices have not changed, they are the same as they were before.

[apt502-if]

The demo is finally here~ :> It was a labor of love and I'm so glad I can share it now. This episode is the final September episode and marks the end of the "setup" portion of the story. I hope everyone enjoys it :>

TOTAL WORDS: 375,864

Andi has returned and things are settling in MC's life. We're finally introduced to G and things only get more complicated for our beloved MC!

The episode is 73,000 words. I shaved a couple of thousand words so it can flow better.

I've changed a few minor details. Sam remains G's sibling no matter how hold they are. I just don't believe G would have kids right now so it felt off to me to make G a single parent at this point in their life and career.

I realized the stats for the jobs work much better if they're given their own status (ex. strict vs lenient for teachers, camera shy or not for news anchor, stuff like that!) The only problem is that I have yet to figure them out for all of them. The blanket job stats simply don't apply well to every job so I still need to work on that. For now they've remained the same until I can figure out how I'd like those to be measured across the jobs.

I did my best to fix the errors but this demo is huge! I am sure I'm going to need beta testers because there's so many variables and changes that I have to keep track of especially between job routes that it's not possible for me to not miss anything. I will figure that out soon :>

Thank you to people and other writers who messaged me and gave me tips, tricks and coding advice to make it easier for me. It helped a bunch :>

Play Apt. 502 here.

[ataleofcrowns]

New Chapter Released!

Hello again! Hope the end of the year is going well for you ❄️

We're leaving Marabad behind for a pilgrimage to the mountains! But before we leave, there's a couple of things for the Crown to take care of first:

R's belated birthday gift, with options to customize your Crown's hobbies and variations for romance and for friendship--as well as a chance to get to know R better, though it's entirely optional on a friendship route

For those on R's friendship route, if you choose not to get to know R better, you may have a run-in with a certain steward instead...

Variations depending on how you chose to handle Keeper Bazo last chapter

A and X romance routes having late night encounters, which may end up very differently depending on where you stand with them

Variations depending on what happened to Yekbûn in your playthrough

Variations depending on how you chose to handle the peri trader and your relationship with Kham

Choices to further shape your Crown's psyche regarding their grief and trauma. Are they on the road to healing, or are they falling back on unhealthy coping mechanisms? The options you get here will depend on a choice you made all the way back in CH6!

D romancers, you'll find their romance scenes at the end of the chapter, when the Crown has finally embarked on the pilgrimage and they're away from the eyes of the court at long last

And of course the pilgrimage itself... which draws more attention than the Crown may be comfortable with

Thank you for all your patience and support, I hope you enjoy the new chapter with the start of winter 💖

For those that are unfamiliar with the game

A Tale of Crowns is a high fantasy romance story, told in the form of a text-based interactive novel with choice mechanics. The setting is inspired by Kurdish culture as well as other historical settings in the Middle East such as Ancient Persia, but it also draws heavily from other cultures and countries in the region.

Your character is native to Arsur, a vast empire overseen by a single ruler known as the Crown. Unlike traditional monarchies, however, the title is not inherited through blood. Whenever the Crown dies, their famed golden eyes pass on to the one chosen by the Spirits of this world to be the new Crown. In this story, your MC takes on that role.

There are four different love interests to choose from, whose genders will be customized to suit the preferences of your Crown. You can find more info about them on the blog page!

Also note that this current version of the game is safe for those 16 years and older.

Like the premise so far? Play it and give it a try! The entire game is free!

If you enjoyed the game, please reblog! Share it with your friends! Recognition and reader interaction is just about the only thing I get in return for creating it ❤️

[when-life-gives-you-lemons-if]

Spices of the Heart! Update is live. 6 chapters! 354k words, and so much smut!!!

[fir-fireweed]

Cantata Chapter 4 is LIVE!

Chapter 4 is 55k words, bringing the total word count to 135k.

One more time for those in the back… your saves will not work! Even if the game allows you to upload your save, you will face game-breaking bugs, missed scenes, and incorrect variables and customization. It will break your story experience and my sanity if you come at me with a bug report because you didn’t start over. 🫵 Start over from the beginning!

Oh yeah, and Tellus is alive and Bayram is back!

Enjoy!

[enspey]

I was so happy to get to do this commission for a dear friend. She truly is one of the most beautiful people. And I just *love* getting to draw mermaids. I really do need more excuses to do so! A really fun piece to work on.

Sidenote: I haven’t been dead! I swear I am not dead! I know my posting of work has slowed down. Commissions are open. While yes, I do a lot of my own characters for IFs (that pesky IF obsession persists), I can and do accept commissions outside of the IF world. Including personal portraits like this.

[wings-of-ink]

Public Demo of God-Cursed through Chapter 6 Available

Link: Your Saves are Broken, I'm sorry.

It's here! It's finally here!

Quick Notes:

Asks: feel free to send in questions or comments about new content. If Asks contain spoilers, I will do what I did for the last update and make a separate post so I can hide spoilers. I'll tag you in the post, if applicable.

I will be traveling for a few hours today; however, I'll be available after to provide support for anything that went wrong while I was out.

I'm hoping it goes smoothly since the Early Access went well minus a few hiccups; however, I have made updates since that released and there's always the risk that I've exploded something...

If you find something game-breaking, feel free to message me right away either to the inbox or via DM.

Spelling/grammar/typo reports should go to the form linked in the game to prevent repeats to the inbox.

Bugs can still be reported via the Ask inbox.

So, with that out of the way, what can you expect?

All content through Chapter 6! It's likely that I will continue to make corrections and even some addendums (flavor-text and the like), but it's all there content-wise.

Some corrections to grammar, code, and the like (corrections are still ongoing from earlier chapters).

Patch in Chapter 5 for Zahn's moment with the MC before they split off for a bit.

New segment for the ending of Chapter 5 that fleshes out what was cut due to time constraints for the last update.

Several revelations.

703k Words including code and all variations, codex, etc... (The previous demo contained around 481942 words for perspective.)

A heartwarming reunion with your family and friends.

Two spicy moments with one demigod.

A mysterious fortune card (tarot) reading which changes depending on your choices.

Perhaps a little smooch from someone?

And probably a few bugs too...

I sincerely hope that you enjoy the next part of your journey. This chapter focuses on building your relationships to all of these ROs and giving your MC a bit of a break (but not too much of one). Events are still catching up to them and there's no shortage of things to worry about.

Chapter 7 will be written next and will be a little more linear, so my hope is to have it out before the end of the year.

Take care, and happy reading!

~Lunan ^_^

[enspey]

Commissions Open

I said I would open commissions after my birthday. It’s been a couple weeks and I am keeping to my word. Commissions are back to being open. I’ll be looking to rework my former pinned post to look shiny and updated. For now it won’t be pinned, but prices haven’t changed. Rules are still the same. No changes. No notes. If you have any questions feel free to message me.

Edit: Forgot I took down the banner with prices 😶

It’s going to get update and there will be a new pinned post to go around. But yeah this is the price list. To expand on the NSFW, it’s not a moral thing, I just don’t like drawing *bits*. So suggestive is fine. In the new intro I’ll post some examples for those unfamiliar with the “nsfw” stuff I have done.

[guardian-of-time-if]

Alright Everyone! The public update of Guardian of Time is finally here! I did some last minute bugs testing, and everything seems to be running smoothly.

In this update you can:

Learn how to use your dragon powers

Attend a funeral

Take a personality quiz

Have an argument with Tzesar (or don't)

Meet a new RO

And More.

Some changes to previous chapters:

New quickstart feature that lets you skip ahead to new content

Fixed some typos across all chapters

Igor and Amalia's relationships can now be selected separately in chapter 3. (Not in Patreon Build.)

If you find any typos or bugs, please report them by using the bug report form which can be acessed either here or in the intro post.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and enjoy the new chapter!

[xekstrin]

[stjohnstarling]

(x)

[genderkoolaid]

[wings-of-ink]

The pushback will take time. Don't lose steam just yet. If you're like me and phones make you anxious, take advantage of the scripts that are floating around or write your own. Use the same one for every call and drag it out. Do laundry or dishes while you have them on speakerphone or are on the commute to work (hands-free of course drive safe or else!).

Also remember that it's pretty likely that the person you're talking to also doesn't want censorship. You can be firm with your complaint, but don't beat up the person on the other end of the line. Even tell them that you're not mad at them if you do get worked up.

[stjohnstarling]

I hate to go through this all over again. On July 23rd, Itch.io, one of the most popular platforms for hosting queer and adult independent media, went through a large-scale crackdown on adult content.

This was primarily aimed at games, but novels and comics were hit in the process. Most adult content has been de-listed from the site's search, and some creators were banned without warning. Any funds banned creators have not been paid are currently being withheld by Itch.io.

This crackdown was done, as it always is, because of payment processors like Mastercard and Visa threatening to pull their services.

The payment processors caved to an influence campaign by Australian extremist anti-pornography group Collective Shout, who have been inundating Visa and Mastercard with calls to force video game platforms to stop hosting adult content - which, of course, includes anything queer.

Collective Shout claim to have sent in 1000 emails to get this result, but there are a WAY more than a thousand of us. We need as many people as possible to make as much noise as we can!

Below the cut are numbers and scripts, all you need to do is follow the step by step guide.

Graphic, contact info, alt text, and script by voiddebris on Bluesky, also available collected in a handy document:

Anti-Censorship Campaign

⊘Anti-Censorship Campaign ⊘ ⟡ Complaint Letter Template Customer Complaint Dept, This message is to lodge an official complaint about

Paypal:

Phone (US): 1-888-221-1161

Phone (outside US): 1-402-935-2050

Hours: 6am - 6pm PT

Online (for non-users or logged out - UK bc US site ONLY allows logged in users)

Mastercard:

Phone (US): 1-800-627-8372

Phone (outside US): 1-636-722-7111

Online form

Visa:

Phone (US): 1-800-847-2911

Non-US numbers

Online form

Script:

Customer Complaint Dept, This message is to lodge an official complaint about the ongoing rampant restrictions your company has placed on legal sales made by legitimate businesses. These restrictions are not only counter to the concept of freedom of speech and expression, but they harm consumers, businesses, and they harm your company’s bottom line. The following actions are absolutely necessary to protect the freedoms of your client base and the sustainability of legitimate business practices: 1. Remove from your Terms of Service any mention barring the use of your service for sale and purchase of legal products. 2. Contact Steam (Valve), Itch.io, and any other company you have previously put pressure on to retract your content restrictions. Put in place protections to prevent such restrictions from being put in place in the future without ample warning and time to contest them. If these changes aren't made then I, along with many others will be forced to seek other options for processing payments. Sincerely, A Concerned Customer

***

OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO

Sign this petition from the ACLU:

Mastercard: Sex Work is Work. End Your Unjust Policy.

Mastercard's new policy unfairly targets the adult content industry, making sex workers more vulnerable, especially Black trans women. It mu

Americans - contact your representatives about payment processors acting as censors! You can find your reps’ contact information on 5calls.org.

Script, from here:

Hello Representative/Senator [LAST NAME], -or- Hello office of Representative/Senator [LAST NAME], My name is [YOUR FIRST NAME/SCREEN NAME] and I am one of your constituents. I am calling today to express my concerns with technological censorship. Legal and legitimate adult entertainment is being banned in this country. These bans are not by legislators, but by payment processors like Mastercard and Visa. Mastercard and Visa are improperly creating legislation online through their user and merchant policies. They are banning creator and user access to content that is legal and legitimate. They are inciting fear and panic to encourage censorship. Please take a stand against this impermissible censorship. This is a direct attack on an adult's right to legal content. No one but the legislative branch should be allowed to create legislation. Please support the Federal Trade Commission in their stand against technological censorship to protect the first amendment. Thank you for taking the time to listen today.

[stjohnstarling]

UPDATE: Apparently it is Stripe specifically putting the pressure on Itch.io:

“The open case we have with Stripe right now is probably most critical right now. They apparently are or will be making a determination on the eligibility of our entire platform soon. Do what you want with that information”

Contact info for Stripe can be found here and here:

[phone] (San Francisco HQ)

Stripe: [email protected]

Stripe Complaint Submission Form

354 Oyster Point Boulevard, South San Francisco, California, 94080

More info below the cut!

Americans, I also encourage you to file a complains against these companies with the Better Business Bureau!

How to File a Complaint with the Better Business Bureau (and Alternatives)

In this article what types of complaints the BBB accepts, how to file your complaint with the BBB, and alternatives to the BBB.

And here is a website to help Americans contact their representatives:

#StopCensoringGames - Save your right to adult creative works before it's too late.

RISE UP, GAMERS! Payment providers shouldn't tell you what games you can buy. Let's regulate VISA/MasterCard/PayPal.

Australians can register a concern about Collective Shout's wrongful listing as a charity:

Collective shout's profile + ABN

Raise a concern with the ACNC

[fuzzynecromancer]

Just to clarify, there's a bill that would STOP credit card companies from controlling who's allowed to spend money on porn or "risque" (read: queer) content. If you don't think big business should be able to tell you what to spend your own damn money on, call your senators and reps to let them know! It's the Fair Access to Banking Act, H.R.987 in the House, S.410 in the Senate.

[emmaubler]

Banks and credit cards should not be in the business of making moral judgments about what their customers spend their money on. Their job is to facilitate transactions, period. If it's not illegal, then they should have no say on who buys guns or porn or junk food or any other thing somebody might decide is objectionable.

[bacchanal-if]

If you live in the US and have any interest in seeing this h*rny interactive fiction published and attainable, please contact your representative in support of this bill. It takes under a minute. Find Your Rep.

[chrysanthemumgames]

Chapter Five - Public Release

Hello everyone!

As promised, it is now 7 July where I'm from, so the public release of Blood of the Living's fifth chapter is here. It adds 98,000 words to the demo.

In the update, you can:

Have a brief encounter with someone important to Hermes

Spend some quality time with your RO/PO

Some of them may even have something important to confess

Maybe hang out with your parents (or just your dad, if you prefer)

I hope you all enjoy it. As always, I welcome your feedback. Have a lovely week!

[thewoodshungers-if]

The Woods Hungers - Chapter 4 Release

Chapter 4 - Act 1 Finale

Word Count + Code = 96.3K Words

[PLAY HERE]

Chapter 4

You finally reached Millvale! The only thing left to do was to find The Witch that could possibly lift Caine's curse and THEN grovel for help. But first, you had to delve into The Woods to search for her, fight whoever had gotten in your way, and then... survive the encounter (optional).

In this chapter, you get to:

Shop in the morning market with Ylfa

Have an unlikely (or was it likely?) reunion

Fight a duel

Encounter the local cryptid

Eat some nice stew?

Any likes and comments were greatly appreciated!I'm BEGGING you to send in asks about your thoughts or just to share some memes (and feel free to leave a few comments on the itch.io page too!).

Thank you for following the development of The Woods Hungers! Can't wait for the next release!

[enspey]

I finally finished it! Sort of? Maybe? I have been “done” for over a week but I keep “tweaking” things. At this rate I could just end up never finished in an infinite loop of tweaks. So I am going to force myself to say finished. Commit to it. Post it.

For those that don’t know, this is Andrei from @aprismaticodyssey’s Agents of Lucifer) and my MC Valery. Drawing them together, realizing they have the same hair color 🤣 It’s hard to do ROs because I always worry I won’t capture them perfectly. My MCs are easy because they look how I want to look. But ROs? I want them as close to canon as I can, because I’m a nerd. I did make some adjustments here because I got super inspired by corset vest for men. 100/10 recommend looking up men’s corsets 🥵 Since An is model like I figured they would wear something like that. This is just one headcanon people will have to rip from my cold dead fingers. I also wanted to see her with her hair down, as opposed to her hair up and ready for battle look I did in her solo debut. She’s just always going to look super casual next to him.

Anyway, I keep seeing things that frustrate me, but I want to be done. So don’t tell me if you see flaws. 😭

I do love this pair. Valery lives for boldly flirting and flustering/annoying this man. He’s trying to be all proper and stoic and she’s just…..not letting him. Though when he does clap back at her it usually leaves her stuttering, so he gets her back.

Enjoy. Go read Agents of Lucifer. You don’t have to go for An, all of the ROs are snacks. I’m just biased because I’ve been fangirling for this RO since the IF’s inception. Yeah I’ve been following along for a long time. Worth it. Love seeing how far the IF has come and continues to grow. ♥️

[enspey]

I feel like I'm out of the loop, has something happened in the IF community that I've missed? I don't want to support someone or something that's upsetting people the way you described

It’s an amalgamation of my feelings and thoughts. I don’t tend to go to authors directly and even less as anon. I’ve walked away from countless IFs for various reasons without a peep and unless you talk to me all the time wouldn’t even know it. Most of the time I feel minor disappointment and carry on. Like a first date that doesn’t work out. We’re not compatible. Moving on. Plenty of IFs out there.

I finally got to feel what it is to be so in love with the work only to discover that I can’t keep following. I processed. Felt hurt. Felt anger. Felt dismissed. Felt insulted. Friends who were kind enough to listen to me endlessly rant can attest to those feelings. At the end of the day, it wasn’t personal for the author. And it just hit me like a ton of bricks. It made me introspective of some of the anons I’ve crossed over the years in the IF community. And even mocked and ridiculed anons. Because it always felt so silly people getting so emotional over an author and their work. Foolish me now, eh?

My post wasn’t a declaration of hurt against a specific author, even tho yes it was rooted there at the start. It was realizing so many other readers out there have reached out to authors all over the community. Often in hurt and coming out angry. I had never been in love with an IF so much I felt that much hurt until now. Disappointment, sure. But not hurt. It took feeling it to have empathy for those that have lashed out. And my post was more for them. To let them know it’s okay to feel that hurt. To have that hurt come out in anger. And that even if it hurts to walk away, that it’s better to do just that than scream at the authors.

And in that regard I think a lot of authors if they are around long enough, will fall into having done this. Where they will cause hurt inadvertently to their readers. They aren’t writing stories for individuals, but individuals will fall in love, and get hurt on the journey. It’s not a slam on the authors. It’s the nature of the beast. Nor is this a call for authors to not be dismissive of emotional anons. It’s more a call of understanding from one hurt person to another faceless person out there, to move on and that it’s healthier that way. Because at the end of the day, you will miss the IF, but the author will not miss you and that is just the way of it. That I see, I understand, I feel the feelings now too, but it’s better to go gracefully and find something else to love. I can now say that from a place of better understanding. And maybe I will try not be such an asshole in comments mocking anons for their “silly obsession”. Have more empathy for them from one reader to another.