Hey guys! The public update is now live! 🥳 The update brings 27K new words (excluding codes) into the demo, bringing the overall word count to 384K words!
Some new stuff to expect from the update (without spoilers 🤭):
Some changes and options additions in Ash's Hangout.
A whole new section and new scenes added at the end of Ash's Hangout.
A (promised) brunch with Rin 😉
Just a word of warning, I did change one or two variables in the previous iteration of Chapter 7, so if you're using an old save file, there's a small chance it might give some error. But hopefully it doesn't. Of course, the safer way would be to play with a new, clean save (either playing from the beginning or use the quickstart to get to Chapter 6 immediately).
Anyway, I'll start answering spoiler asks regarding the update in a day or two 😉 And when I answer them, I'll make sure to tag them with the #chapter 7 spoiler tag.
If you do enjoy the story, please consider checking out my Patreon or Ko-Fi pages for more exclusive contents and to help support my work 😊
I created a perfect visual of my Saeran de Winter, MC of “Creme de la creme” (and also the teacher in an off-canon walkthrough of “Royal Affairs”), amazing interactive novels by @hpowellsmith.
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Saeran is smart and observant, good at accepting the rules of the game... and also figuring out the way to bend rules they don’t like. They’re caring, supportive, and protective for those they’re close with, aren't afraid to get on someone's bad side for them, but won’t care much for everyone else. Though they prefer to avoid any damage to anyone even if it requires more effort, if saving everyone isn’t possible... well, charity begins at home. They know where their loyalty lies and would choose to save one person they love over a hundred people they don't know.
They can be rebellious, especially when they feel mistreated, but they have good manners and know how to be prim and proper if required. It's not easy to make them lose their temper, because the angrier they are in the inside, the sweeter and more courteous they become on the outside.
They’re good with poker face, and they can be really cheeky. Like teasing someone in a way that makes a person wonder if Saeran taunts them or blatantly flirts with them, making it look like they privately smile to their own thoughts rather than openly tease, and that's what baffles people the most, with a mix of annoyed and amused. Especially Blaise with whom Saeran has really explosive hot and cold chemistry and would make a perfect couple. But they married Hartmann, yeah, it's... complicated. There's crush and chemistry, and there's love and responsibility. They have very different but equally strong feelings for both, and they would choose both if they could. At least hopefully they will be able to help Hartmann and Blaise become friends again.
(more text about their personality, appearance, and sexuality ahead, and beware some vague spoilers to "Blood money" after the second picture)
Depending on the situation, they can be very soft and quiet, with very careful movements, or they can be loud and gesture wildly. In an ideal world, an ideal comfort zone, Saeran would be a softie. In reality, they often have to be assertive to carry their point or protect themselves from being bossed around and manipulated, but it doesn't come easy, they're much less self-assured than they appear. But also they're careful and prefer to avoid reckless promises and decisions using persuading (and subtle manipulation if needed).
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They're panromantic sex-positive asexual, meaning they don't really want or need to get physical, but don't feel unsafe or uncomfortable about it either, so they're okay with being intimate with their partner when the partner needs it or the mood takes them. It doesn't give them much physical pleasure (if any) but the emotional response they get from their partner and the vulnerability they're trusted with are worth it.
Despite their love for teasing people with their maybe-taunts-maybe-flirt, they aren't actually flirty and become more genuine and confiding with people they care for, but not seductive. They aim to touch the soul, not body. For example, they didn't try to flirt with Hartmann at all - they were here for him when he needed it, they nudged him when he felt lost and they took care of him when he forgot to take care of himself, they even gave his mother a piece of their mind. But they never flirted. Actually, it was Hartmann who demanded to know if they have any feelings for him. As for blatant flirting with Blaise, well, Blaise got what he deserved, no one bullies Saeran and goes unpunished. :D
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Saeran prefers to appear androgynous and wears neither too masculine nor too feminine clothes, or a combination of both, but they aren’t overly bothered, so if some event would require a specific dressing code, they would just... actually, they would probably find a way around the code and add some non-conventional details. Like "you told me to wear a dress and i'm wearing it, but you never told me not to wear jodhpurs and a hat with it". This event actually occurred in their teenage years, they even sewed the whole night so that the hem of the dress could be raised with ribbons in the front for jodhpurs to be visible. After that, they were left to their own fashion devices and became less chaotic in their outfits since they had no more need to be rebellious and carry their point :)
They’re pretty tall and very thin, not curvy at all, and pale as fuck, especially in “Blood money” game (again, by hpowellsmith, because i will never not play games they make) where Saeran is really unhealthy pale in comparison to their family with much healthier appearance, due to *cough* constant blood loss *cough* and going in and out of the underworld which takes a toll. Come to think of it, i might try to create Fuchsia and Otavia as well because i have very strong and mixed feelings about them...
And here i forgot to mention that Saeran is one of my three permanent MCs who i integrate into different settings because i love them so much that i just can’t get enough of them. They started as MC of “Mysteries of baroque” (even though i only scratched the surface of their personality back then), then "CDLC", with an AU appearance in "Royal affairs", and then "Blood money" (with another surname, but still them). Probably not the last one, if the setting will fit them.
Speaking about “Blood money”, behold a person who got themselves into a big stinky mess because after all that they've accomplished, all that they have won by being careful and cunning, they let the momentary pang of pride and envy get the better of them. And now they're on the losing side because initially they've worked their ass out to help the winning side win, and as the cherry on top, the person that has feelings for them is working (thanks to them) for the side they just betrayed. Really, Saeran. And here i thought you were smart. Really, i stopped yesterday somewhere after that and now i’m scared to continue playing because i high key expect the consequences of Saeran’s decisions to bite their ass off, and very soon.
It’s almost surprising those exist, but I love choose your own adventure games and those are pretty great! And also cheap. Keep in mind that all of those are entirely text based!
Crème de la Crème, Choice of Games on Steam. An elite school, a mystery, the hard job of keeping your grades up, various more or less secret societies!
The Fog knows your Name, Choice of Games on Steam. A mysterious death (but is it really?), a hidden danger, your death is an actual ending and the oppurtunity to visit an animal centre!
Psy High, Choice of Games on Steam. Superpowers, mysterious behaviour of classmates, the ability to join the dark side!
It has a prequel, taking place in a summer camp and some of the endings you can get there? Really dark if you think about it! Say goodbye to the normal world forever.
Honourably mention:
Sixth Grade Detective, Choice of Games on Steam. What the title says: you are a kid acting as a private investigator! Surprisingly many secrets to find out, many small story lines, you can join the bad guys and be a money greedy asshole!
Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the inactivity. A lot has been going on in my personal life. First, a close relative of mine passed away not too long ago and I decided to take a little break to mourn and process. And then, once I started working on the update again, I found out that I had to overhaul the coding for the Hangout system despite my best to try salvage it. So, yeah, suffice to say it's been pretty stressful couple of months.
I'm so happy and relieved to be able to finally start sharing the update I've been working on. This update is a big one, bringing 27K new words into the demo, bringing the overall word count to 384K words!
Some new stuff to expect from the update (without spoilers 🤭):
Some changes and options additions in Ash's Hangout.
A whole new section and new scenes added at the end of Ash's Hangout.
A (promised) brunch with Rin 😉
The early access to the update is now available in my Patreon and Ko-Fi. There are other goodies also coming to my Patreon and Ko-Fi in the next few days in addition to all the stuff that has been posted in previous months. So, if you're interested or simply want to support my work, please, do check the pages out 🥰
As always, for those waiting for the public update, it'll be released on August 20 😊 So, mark your calendar 😁
Also, I'll start answering asks again tomorrow (since it's already 4 AM where I am at the time of writing this post 😅).
How would Viktor and Grandpa react to young MC trying to make legs-like stilts with shadows to be as tall as them.
That is such a funny image 😂 Viktor would be so worried though 😭 He’d stay close and reach out with his arms open, trying to coax MC to jump into his arms instead of the floor or other furniture.
Viktor: “MC, what are you doing?! Get down from there. How about this, I can carry you on my shoulders instead and you can feel how it is to be even taller than me and Uncle Luka.”
MC: “Deal!” [jumps into Viktor’s arms and immediately tries to climb onto Viktor’s shoulders]
Grandpa, on the other hand, would just be amused and chuckling at his grandkid’s antics.
Grandpa: “Patience, MC. One day, you’ll grow just as tall as your father or even more.”
Viktor: “Uh… Yeah, listen to Deda. You’ll have a chance to grow tall naturally as you age, especially if you eat your greens.”
Grandpa: [nods approvingly] “And look at you, such an amazing display of your ability. Just imagine how stronger you can be if you keep training and—”
Viktor: “Okay… Don’t listen to Deda anymore.”
Viktor: [hisses to Grandpa] “Stop encouraging them to do something dangerous with their powers!”
Honestly I can imagine how creepy it must’ve been when mc’s powers manifested. Especially if it was the umbra that appeared first
Yes 😭 I think I’ve talked about this before, but Viktor ended up sleeping with at least one light open to prevent him getting spooked whenever MC came to him to ask for help with something in the middle of the night.
The first time it happened, MC had a nightmare and went to Viktor. He was greeted with MC’s glowing eyes in his face, causing him to yell in surprise which in turn caused little MC to cry even more.
Little MC waking up in the middle of the night be like:
Hello everyone! 👋 It's finally time for the public update! 😁 This update brings in 24K of new words, bringing Chapter 6 wordcount in total to 89.4K words and the total demo wordcount to 325.3K words! This update brings Chapter 6 to a neat close, which is important because to me, Chapter 6 is like the end of the first arc of the book.
Not only that, but I have also added a few major coding functions with this update, namely, a skip chapter function, and an autosave and reload function. I'm aware that my demo is getting longer, so I assume a skip chapter function might be a welcome addition.
It took me a long time to plan and figure out how to implement these systems, but in the end, after a lot of personal testing, I have finally managed to make them work.
WARNING: It's highly advised that you either play from the beginning with clean saves (or try out the new skip chapter function). I messed with some of the old variables as well, including Santana's and Skylar's default relationship values. Do not reload the saves to avoid potential future errors.
What's to expect from the new update:
Dropping Rin off to their apartment (and maybe, if you've been a good boy/girl, you can get a little smooch 😘)
Have an angsty talk with Uncle Luka 😥
But don't worry, there are potential wholesome moments too (if you choose them, of course 😉)
Another POV of the killer 😈 To see more on how they think and what they know so far.
Brand new skip chapter function! (Currently only for Chapter 6)
An autosave and reload function! (Currently only for Chapter 6)
Plus some new little stuff added in previous chapters.
New stuff added to previous chapters:
Chapter 2: Add proper introduction scene with Ivan and Boris, the twin bodyguards, highlighting their different personalities and their relationship with MC and Ash. They have changed quite a lot and become more fleshed out compared to the first time I wrote them.
Chapter 4: For MCs who said yes to Yvette when she asked them whether they are interested in becoming a Superhero, you now have the option to accept her guidance and reconnect with her or reject her guidance but still have a choice whether to reconnect with her or not. This is in contrast to how those who said yes was forced to reconnect with her.
Chapter 6: Meddle, fix, and add some background variables. Another reason to play from the beginning and to not load old saves.
Also, I have a side story just released on both Patreon and Ko-Fi and a spicy one coming really soon! I'm also still opening ideas/suggestions for this month's side stories until November 11th and then after that, we'll have our polls! So if you're also interested in supporting me while also getting these exclusive contents, please do consider becoming a member! 💖🥰
