Berenzia- a kingdom ruled by a powerful, stern King. For most of his rule, most anyone would report that he was a fair man to those who relied on him and merciless to those who opposed him or wished harm to his kingdom. Itās said there was once a time where he had calmed, finally found himself beyond his role, and all was well. The people loved, practically worshipped, their soft, perfect, patient, and kind Queen but the King would tell anyone that it paled in comparison to his love for her. The King and Queen were truly one half to the same whole and envied by all. As with all things, it did not last. In a classic tale of tragedy, the King lost his beloved Queen and it is said that it was an event he could never recover from. Whisperings in the street and kingdomās borders would report that he lost his humanity the day the Queen died.
An event that coincides with your birth.
Play as the only child of Berenziaās king- from your isolated youth to your isolated adulthood. Youāre relatively safe from your fatherās ire until your mid-twenties as you must fulfill your duty and get advantageously married. Build your relationships with your childhood friends, your new suitors, and a new friend. Will you do your fatherās bidding or will you take destiny into your hands?
Gilded Birdcage is an 18+ interactive fiction not suited for minors. This interactive fiction will contain optional sexual content, suggestive themes, optional references to suicide, child neglect, abuse, deadnaming (gender selectable content), use of incorrect pronouns (gender selectable content), sexism, and death. This list will be updated as needed during content creation.
MC will be set to AFAB with options to explore gender identity. ROs down below will also not be gender selectable.
Aleksander āAlekā [M]:
Age: 25
Physical Description: 6ā4ā, ivory skin painted with freckles, red, loosely curled hair that reaches his nape, broad shoulders, thin waist, deceivingly strong despite appearance, crooked nose from a break, with warm, brown eyes.
Personality: Warm, affable, easy-going, energetic, extroverted, and impossible to not get along with. Makes anyone feel like theyāre the only person in the roomā¦ until you walk in. [ENFP-T]
Info: Your childhood friend since diapers, you were born only two days apart. Alek is your first, and closest, friend. There isnāt anything he wouldnāt do for you. He has loved you his whole life but will never act upon it, believing you could never feel the same. He enters the battle for your hand not because he hopes youāll see him as more than a friend, but to give you a friendly, familiar face to choose from. Heāll only ever have eyes for you. (Note: Can choose Alek for a platonic,romantic, or poly route)
Relationship to MC: Childhood friend, Suitor
Orion [M]:
Age: 24
Physical Description: 6ā2ā, tawny skin with small burn scars scattered on his forearms from cooking, stocky build, straight brown hair (loosely tied in a knot), with piercing green eyes.
Personality: Hardworking, sardonic, introverted, pessimistic, and pessimistic. [ISTJ-A]
Info: Orion began working in the castle at a very young age, thus being one of the only other children you had around growing up. Orion could not stand your demands or position and was, and always will be, quick to point out how the real world works. Despite his cold behavior, he does come around to like you as a person (friend or romantic) and will do anything to make thingsā¦ livable for you. You often spend time taking up space in his kitchen as a sanctuary of sorts. (Note: available for romantic and poly route)
Relationship to MC: (reluctant) Childhood friends, personal chef
Cyrus [M]:
Age: 29
Physical Description: 5ā10ā, chestnut skin, thin, black hair that falls in messy waves (reaches his shoulders), with dark brown (nearly black) eyes.
Info: An inconsequential prince (fourth born) from a bordering, allied kingdom. Takes life as it comes and never tries to be serious about anything. He has entered for your hand to continue his easy life with hopefully less people trying to control his actions. He is a flirt above all else, capturing every heart he desires, but never offers his own.
Relationship to MC: Stranger, suitor
Irvine [M]:
Age: 28
Physical Description: 6ā0ā, sun-kissed skin, straight, dark blonde hair that falls to his waist, muscular build, scar across his eyebrow and lip, with one gray eye and one brown eye.
Personality: Calm, sweet, patient, ambitious, peaceful, extroverted, and warm. [ENFJ-T]
Info: The second born prince from a country threatening to wage war against your own. He is hoping for a mutually beneficial marriage between the two of your to keep peace. Despises war and will do anything with minimal bloodshed to get it. Will promise you near anything if you give him your hand. Will wear whatever mask he needs to, as well. (Note: Available for platonic route or a strictly physical route)
Relationship to MC: Stranger, suitor
Blaire [F]:
Age: 23
Physical Description: 5ā2ā, deep umber skin tone, tightly curled (4B) black hair that reaches her jaw, thin build, with amber eyes.
Personality: Fun, mischievous, joyful, secretive, confident, conspiratorial, extroverted, playful, and a tease. [ENFJ-T]
Info: One of the latest nobles to hit the scene, her father is staying at the castle to work with the king to further himself as an advisor. Noticing you lack companionship, especially female, Blaireās father offers her up to spend her days with you. She is your first female friend and confidant. Happy to give you opinions on your suitors- youāve become her latest project and game.
Relationship to MC: Stranger
~Under Construction~
12/27/2024
- Updated that there will not be an option to not have the MC be AFAB- the story is so built around the treatment of being born female. There will be gender identity options as the MC grows up but there will be no option to be AMAB.
-Still working on if I will end the project with choicescipt or twine, but for now all demo is going to choicescript.
- I have about 6,000 words all typed out over four scenes and am hoping to have the demo up and going once I have the MC through toddler phase. So far I finished the MC being born.
-Questions are welcome! Including RO questions! :)
Will this all be one long game, or will it be a series? Like one part the MCās childhood/before the suitors, one part the romance, and another post marriage? It sounds like the last part in particular will be a lot of work with branching, if there are 3 different spouses/consorts available.
My goal is one game but I do get very wordy so it would be a long project if I choose to do thatā¦ the goal for now is one game (may need feedback if people dislike when IFs are lengthy or prefer it broken up) but if I were to split the project up it would be in two parts. Part one would be the childhood, teenage years, twenties and part two would be where all the suitors would be introduced, the wooing, marriage, etc etc
This is my favorite holidays so it has me thinking what the ROs would do for the MCā¦
Alek: I actually really struggled with this one because Alek is very romantic all the time that itās so hard to think of how he would up the anteā¦ Alek would low key be aghast that people donāt just bring home flowers at least once a week because they remind them of their partners eyes. I think Alek would just spend a quiet day/night at home with the MC and sample novelty stuff (like heart shaped cake/candy etc etc) with some candlelight. Cannot stress enough that this man likes to treat every day like itās Valentineās Day
Orion: Orion cracks me up. I can see him fully being pressured by his close friend in the kitchen to do something for the MC for Valentineās Day and him being like why would I do that and they would just keep the pressure on. Cut to Orion in his room burning the midnight oil, surrounded by tons of scrunched up tossed pieces of paper. Orion would deny it but he is a secret romance fan so he does have a lot of big romantic plans that he will deem as cringe and get irritated. He would want to do flowers, romantic dinners, love letters, and all that but in the end I think we would psyche himself out of any of it. He would likely make MCās favorite food but wouldnāt do anything typical. Similar to Alek, when in a relationship, he would regularly make declarations of love (verbally) mostly out of impulse so wouldnāt see it as something special.
Cyrus: This man has been around the block and none of it ever meant anything before when heās pulled out all the typical romantic stops. I think because of all that the going out, flowers, fancy dinners, etc etc as lost itās luster and itās kind of all made it seem cheap to him (which is his own fault). Valentineās Day (and by extension- any romantic occasion like an anniversary) is very relaxed and quiet. Cyrus would see that as the height of romance and the ultimate display of love- the enjoyment of there being nothing grand and just being with your partner and enjoying their presence. Truthfully I donāt see Cyrus wanting to do anything because of all that but if he sensed it was important to MC he would prefer some pretty food, stuff cut to look like roses for example, cuddling up with the MC, and talking quietly. Despite all the romantic stuff he now sees as cheap because he was using it for all the wrong reasons before, Cyrus does love a reason to whisper affectionately at the MC and say again how much he loves them and how he never imagined having this and how lucky he is.
Irvine: Irvine is aromantic so he wouldnāt use the holiday as itās normally interpreted and would use it as an opportunity to show everyone important to him his love (platonic). Assuming the MC is fully his partner and knows and accepts his identity and never hints that they wish he were different, Irvine would do more for MC than anyone else as they are the most important to him. He prior to meeting MC, he was pretty resigned to his masks and never having a true partner. He would absolutely have a heartfelt speech about it over a nice dinner and get MC something nice theyāve been wanting. If he and the MC have a sexual relationship , he may do something different or special lol
Blaire: Blaire would have a million and one ideas and be frazzled on what to do. For months she would be so out of it just trying to figure out which idea is best. Similar to Orion she would psyche herself out quite a bit and sheās an over thinker as it is. Someone would be talking to her and she would be zoning out wondering whatās the probability of wine getting dumped all over them if she and the MC had a nice dinner. Blaire loves the stars so ultimately I think she would enlist Alek to help her have like a bonfire situation so she and MC could have a night with the stars and be cuddled up looking at them and just spending time together. Friend or as a partner, Blaire does see the MC as their other half but sheās awkward with her feelings and words when it comes to serious things like this. She would want to just be with the MC for as long as the cold or fire will allow them to.
Apologies for the absence! Still hard at work writing and have some fun asks to work on answering. My 18 year old dog passed away and I needed some time. Excited to get back to work on more Gilded Birdcage content!
Play as your version of Sherlock Holmes in this romance detective game!
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
Ā AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART
Chapter 6.1 is out now!
Make an enemy of a friend and a lover out of an enemy. Solve the case of boredom. Have a pet birdāand best of all, play as a romantically and emotionally stunted genius detective!
Explore London in the late 1800s
Solve murders, hunt criminals, and possibly catch a thief
Adventures and tender moments with characters you know and love
Form deep relationships: friendly, antagonistic, sexual, and romantic
Choose your Sherlockās name, appearance, personality, and vice
Play as a man, woman, or non-binary.
Romance men, women, or both
The possible relationships:
John/Jane Watson - Dependable, kind, and loyalāa partner and a friend. The human embodiment of a golden retriever.
Gregory/Grace Lestrade - Sexy workaholic grump with a poorly hidden heart of gold. Will make sure you get home safe.
Irene/Irwin Adler - Charming scoundrel, clever schemer, and colossal schmuck. The flirty and fun rival of the century.
Hamish/Helena - This terribly haughty person of illustrious personage needs your help with a case. The gentleman/woman of your unachievable dreams.
Mini-romance-guideĀ (Chapter 1 and 2 ) (not updated)
ā¢ Game updated publicly: chapter 6 (part 1)
Feedback is very welcome!
| Demo | Warnings | CoG forum link | Discord link |Ā RO & NPC page | Patreon
I don't know if you specified which platform you will be using for your IF, but if it is CoG, then I've come to give you the heads up that dashingdom will be closing by the end of the month
Yes, my hope was to use dashingdon originally since everything Iāve written thus far has been in choicescript. Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing!
š HEART W/ ARROW - what traits do they look for in a relationship? do they believe in love at first sight?
Iāve sort of answered what draws them towards particular MCs in a previous ask so if that is what the traits means I think Iāve answered that beforeā¦
While I have my notebook outā¦ here are the currently planned customizations you will have for MC under the read more- list is subject to change and more may be added with time
- eye color
- hair color
- body type (selectable several times as the MC grows up)
Since MC grew up alone without teachers nor duties will we be able to choose more than one hobby for MC to be good or bad at? (I would love if MC could know everything about medicinal poisonous plants and be a good baker/cook thanks Orion wink wink š¤£)
MC will have major and minor hobbies to pick from and both will be something you can decide if theyāre bad or good at because itās funny to me lol
Listed under the read more are the hobbies/interests I have planned for MC at this current time so itās subject to change
-gardening
-medicine (all self taught from books so nothing crazy but does extend to poisons)
So with the Mc we know she wasn't taken care of by "father". So my question is what type of room she have? How did she dress? Also did Orion and Alek know how people treated her? Also did anyone ever hurt her? Sorry for many question don't be surprised if you get more when i think about them š
All very good questions!
So MC did stay in the part of the castle where Alekās family is housed for quite a while- there was a point where Alek and his mother stayed at the castle because he was too young for his whole family to travel together on military business. They took on a lot of the care MC needed. Alek is only two days older than MC so anything needed would have been on hand. Once MC is old enough to sleep on their own, change their own clothes, feed themselves, etc etc thatās when MC would be moved to the wing intended for them if the Queen had not died after childbirth. Some renovation needed because that space was untouched and meant for an infant.
Alekās parents are kind of complex with how they feel and what they do. Hindsight is 20/20 and thereās a lot of calls they make regarding the MC that seem to be the best they can do at that time but as years pass it can keep them up at night.
Alek does know how MC is treated,Orion initially did not. Alek has seen it first hand on several scales throughout their lives. Orion has an extreme bias when he comes in and believes what a lot of people do and that MC is a precious, privileged princess that gets everything without asking and lives in luxury. Orionās circumstances before going to the castle are extreme and makes his bias and hate stronger. Orionās childhood covers him realizing and seeing what the truth is.
TW for abuse under the read more, please read at your own discretion and health. MDNI
MC does get abused physically but itās usually in the form of how it can seem āaccidentalā. A lot of the abuse will come in the form of not giving them food, giving them rotted food, making sure their room is cold in the winter, etc etc. Alek is aware of all of this and thereās very little he can do about it- especially when theyāre young thereās very little his parents will let him do. Alek knows the MC is safe if heās around so he is around MC as much as possible. Heāll often refer to it as stealing the MC away
Orion becomes aware of it. At first he couldnāt care less due to his biases but as time goes on he sees that MCās life is really not what he expected. Orion in a lot of ways takes over being MCās protector. Itās why thereās a corner for MC in his kitchens, where he controls whoās near and can fire as he pleases. Life does get better with Orionās arrival regardless of his initial hate, however small.
As for how the ROs can feel about the MCā¦ thereās definitely personalities and actions that will entice them more than others and that will have them feel a certain type of way about the MC.
Can you give us any hints as to what type of personalities or actions the ROs prefer?
Gonna leave Alek out of this one because he is šš„° @ MC no matter what
Orion: Orion is a little like Alek with not being particularly fussed about how MC is- heās almost as bad as Alek in the sense that he pretty easily can crush on the MC. His interactions with the MC will just be a little different depending on how they are. If I had to say- heās most charmed by dreamer MCs that have interest in a creative outlet (baking, writing, drawing,etc)
Cyrus: Cyrus is very superficial so all MC needs to be at first to immediately catch his eye is to be conventionally attractive (Not required, this is just who he is. I actually love not conventionally attractive people for him most) but personality wise heās pretty captured by a genuine, fun, quirky MC. Heavy on the genuine
Irvine: A kind, genuine, caring MC for Irvine. If the MC is outwardly accepting as well that would catch his eye to have someone he can be real with
Blaire: Sheās pretty mischievous so a playful MC with a good sense of humor would be the one for her.
Hey, so I love like everything here, but I did have a few questions. Is it going to be on Itch.io or through hosted games? Will we be able to buy it when it's finished, or is it a chapter by chapter release? I know you've said before that this'll be a lengthy story, and that's part of why I'm so excited for it! , so I just wondered if it would be a demo only while you work on it or it would be posted chapter by chapter.
Hello! Iām so happy to hear that you like it!
Great question- for now itās up in the air. Iām working on learning both choicescript and twine and will make my decision soon on which it will be. The demo when it comes out will be in choicescript unless I transition to twine.
It will be something to purchase when itās a final product but I go back and forth on the accessibility vs the dollar. From what Iāve read hosted games takes a majority of the money from creators but it is convenient for mobile so I struggle with the choice of twine because you lose mobile for the most part.
I would release demo chapter by chapter and having the demo go to the halfway point. I definitely want it to get to the part where youāre certain which RO you prefer and which route you want to go in and experience those characters enough to make that call.
Since we only get 1 female LI, can we just do a lesbian route or is MC set as bi?
Thank you for this ask!
I would actually really like to add at least one more female RO who is already a planned character but I do need to flesh out tropes and route details. As work progresses, I may even add two if it all flows well.
MCās sexuality will be totally up to you! Nothing set in stone. Similarly to what I want to do with gender identity, sexuality can be something MC battles with putting a name to throughout their life. I really hold it near to my heart to make these something that are realistic rather than just a single selection and thatās all it gets
If your MC is bi, gay, lesbian, pan, straight, aromantic, or asexual that will be something that is fully recognized and can be shared with characters.
