the lonely shore

i'm theo (he/him), and this is my dev blog for my interactive fiction wip The Lonely Shore

[thelonelyshore-if]

Meet me at the cabin. Please.

You weren’t sure what to make of it. A cryptic late night text sent from your younger sibling, begging you to meet up at your family’s old lake home. The plea for help was as concerning as it was confusing. As far as you knew, neither of you had set foot in the cabin in a decade. You had your hesitations, but Willow seemed desperate. You couldn’t help but oblige.

Everything goes downhill fast when Willow's research into childhood ghost stories lands you in a town that doesn't exist. A town where people go missing at an alarming rate, where things that aren't quite human run businesses with hungry eyes, where time runs differently.

A town you can't leave. 

Something about Easthaven is wrong. A supernatural fog permeates the town, so thick you could choke…but you’re one of the only people who seems to notice it. You’re quick to realize the fog keeps the residents ignorant, keeps them passive, keeps them trapped. When people who have long since gone missing start coming back home, you realize Easthaven’s mysteries go deeper than you could have ever imagined.

Explore the magic and the horrors of the small town of Easthaven, team up with the few others who can see through the fog, and do everything you can to make your way back home.

The Lonely Shore is an 18+ supernatural horror story (and mystery) inspired by works such as Midnight Mass, The Mist, Scarlet Hollow, and Gravity Falls. A story about how sometimes places can feel like people, how easy it is to do terrible things for those we love, and how small towns have a way of eating you alive.

FEATURES:

Play as male, female, or nonbinary; trans or cis. Choose up to two sets of pronouns or input your own. Customize your appearance and develop your personality throughout the game. 

Romance or befriend a cast of characters. Options for ace and aro routes, as well as three polyamorous paths.

Customize Willow, your younger sibling. Select their gender and determine what your relationship with them is. Will you rebuild a broken relationship? Or let a good one go down in flames?

Explore the world of Easthaven, a town that exists outside of time, separated completely from the rest of the world. A place where tragedy is mundane and death is around every corner. Encounter the Fog, the source of all of Easthaven’s horrors.

Build up to one of five distinct magic styles as your character comes to life; including necromancy, clairvoyance, manipulating the Fog, becoming something monstrous–or suppressing your magic instead, having it come out in uncontrollable bursts.

Solve the mystery of the Returned: citizens who have been missing for months, years, decades but who have recently started coming back home.

CHARACTERS:

Jaylen 'Jay' Jones (M/F)

A veterinarian-in-training and member of the town's Search & Rescue team who has seen Easthaven's horrors firsthand. A kindhearted but wary person who cares more about keeping people safe than they do about solving the town's mysteries. They're tired of losing people.

Yasmin Bakir-King (F)

The local librarian, a fiercely clever widow with very little patience for nonsense. Very outgoing, she's one of the most well-known figures in town. She starts the story unaware of Easthaven's dangers but very quickly gets thrust into the middle of the town's latest mystery.

Amir/Amara "Croft" (M/F)

A reclusive, ill-tempered horror author who just so happens to be the town's latest newcomer…until you show up. Croft came to town with their share of secrets, and there's nothing in the world they want more than to escape Easthaven.

Beck Dawn (genderfluid)

Fun-loving and reckless, Beck is an adrenaline junkie who can't seem to stay out of danger…despite being completely unaware of the town's secrets. A magnet for trouble, it's no surprise Beck lands right in the middle of Easthaven's latest mystery.

Ravi Singh (M)

Easthaven's local mortician. Ravi is easygoing and quick to laugh; though sometimes his humor leans towards the macabre. But his easy smiles don't cover up his almost chilling comfort with the Fog; nor do they get rid of the pile of skeletons in his closet.

Perri Loveless (M/F/NB)

Runs one of Easthaven's three radio stations. In the day they play music, and at night they host a supernatural-themed call in radio show, The Lonely Shore. Perri is an enthusiastic (if a bit awkward) person whose theories tend towards the unbelievable. It's unfortunate that, despite all of their theories, Perri has no idea what's actually going on in Easthaven.

And…

"Willow" (M/F/NB)

Your little sibling. Flighty, impulsive, and outgoing; their fascination with the occult is what lands you in Easthaven. Your relationship can range from best friends to sworn enemies. Will they be able to save you from the mess they've made?

LINKS:

DEMO | ROs | Content Warnings | Extras | Discord | Magic FAQ | Patreon

( current wordcount : 565,671 without code )

[thelonelyshore-if]

me writing some skeptic dialogue i really like: :D

me, realizing that maybe 3 people will see it: D:

[thelonelyshore-if]

ravi singh how i've missed you

[thelonelyshore-if]

me writing some skeptic dialogue i really like: :D

me, realizing that maybe 3 people will see it: D:

[thelonelyshore-if]

haha it should be a worm

wereworm MC out here to kick ass and take names

[thelonelyshore-if]

With the beast type magic will we get to pick the shape it takes? Is it a werewolf type thing? Sorry if any of this is spoilers but I'm so curious

There will be a specific shape it takes, though I might let the player decide some aesthetic details!! I haven't fully decided yet c:

[thelonelyshore-if]

I get the feeling that Jay’s friendship is the only thing keeping Ravi somewhat normal, and I for one am thankful they’re doing their part to keep the vibes in town from being even worse.

this very well might be true. jay's out here protecting easthaven in more ways than one.

[esoterics-if]

✦ DEMO ✦ FAQ ✦ CREW ✦

Demo Release -> September 2026

There are dangers in these here waters.

Out at sea there's a certain level of monotony that plagues the minds of even the most hardened of sailors. Day in and day out the horizon stays the same as it was the day before, with your daily tasks as cyclical as the sun rising over the sea. It takes a special kind of person to not to go mad out here where boredom feasts on the mind, and hunger strips chews on sunburnt flesh.

As an enemy of the law this reality is not one just born of simple greed, but necessity. You must be vigilant as the world does its best to grind you beneath its heal and drown you within its hallowed waters. Be careful of those you wrong, for there are many, and keep track of the nights before your stores run out. All of this suffering and more sustained in the name of one thing:

Freedom.

You are over half a decade into this life when a peculiar sound closes in around you. Is it be the savage and desperate rumblings of revenge? The secretive whispers of tender alliances? Or, perhaps, it's the crazed mutterings of new discoveries.

Change is coming. Perform your duties as a first mate to one of the most famed pirate crews of the era and stretch your reach out to a keep a crew of over three dozen people - your family - safe.

Because without them you won't survive what comes next.

The Cost of Freedom is a character-driven and story-focused dark adventure novel inspired by works like Dredge and Uncharted. Filled with harrowing decisions, blossoming relationships, and inescapable mystery, this novel is one that that is best enjoyed with multiple playthroughs to experience the entire story. Warnings for suspense with heavy depictions of violence, blood, and gore. Includes explicit language, sexually suggestive scenes, and drug and alcohol use. Contains scenes with instances of sexism, queerphobia and racism. Rated 18+. While inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy, The Cost of Freedom makes no claims over being entirely historically accurate.

FEATURES

Play as male, female, or nonbinary; trans or cis. Be straight, gay, or bi, with an ace option.

Customize Quartermaster Darsena's first name, appearance, experience, and personality. Choose one of four backgrounds that affect your stats and gain traits that change how you look at the world, or how the world looks at you.

Continue the longstanding relationships with the members of the Ademaro Crew and your captain, Domenico Ademaro, a man whom you've known as a brother for the majority of your life.

Choose between one of four romance routes and find love despite the threats closing in around you.

Explore a world rife with mystery, drama, and danger. There are things yet to be discovered, even with all of your years out at sea.

Have an adventure that will be spoken of long after the last true pirates dock their ships. The type of story that will be passed down through generations with everchanging details and exaggerations but even those will never be more interesting than the real thing.

THE CREW

The Quartermaster, Darsena (MC)

Darsena's been the right hand of their brother's captaincy since its conception, providing both support and opposition to his decisions. In charge of the provisions, equipment, and morale, Darsena holds the line between a successful venture and a disastrous one.

The Captain, Domenico Ademaro (M)

The captain of La Dulcina before that was even her name, Domenico is a natural-born leader with a strong magnetic personality and even stronger penchant for aggravating those around him. Rumors about his never-ending luck and inability to die follow wherever he goes; some people are even calling him "God's Favored Son".

♥ The Boatswain, Evrim Ergeshov/Ergeshova (M or F)

The quiet bosun in charge of the myriad of ropes holding La Dulcina together. Their silence should not be mistaken for reservation, but instead as a precautionary measure for the fire that burns hot inside. There's not much they don't know about the goings on of the ship, even if they don't always want to involve themselves in whatever shenanigans are occurring.

♥♥ The Navigator, Lovell Barnett (M)

An undeniable genius, Lovell is responsible for getting La Dulcina from one destination to the other, though this work does not come without its hiccups. Professionalism and results are his strong suit, not companionship and niceties. Not that Lovell has ever advertised at possessing the latter.

♥♥ The Helmsman, Celestin Chassur (Genderqueer)

A chance addition when La Dulcina was first marked traitor that has paid back in spades. Celestin is a disarming and polite in all the right ways, with a wealth of patience that never seems to end. Their cool head in stressful situations has saved the crew in countless scenarios.

♥ The Surgeon, Seshen (M)

A skilled flirt and an even more skilled medic, Seshen keeps the crew of La Dulcina alive through buckshot, steel, and illness. His roguish demeanor often begets doubt, but its a confidence backed up by results. People say he's always willing to help, but others only believe that only to be true for the people he likes.

♥ The Cook, Rosario de Torres (F)

As the newest addition to the crew, Rosario was not so foolish to think that a life filled with piracy would be an easy one. It's her determination that has allowed herself to slot into the lives of La Dulcina's crew, even if there is a certain loneliness to being the only stranger in a ship filled with family.

... And more.

@if-news-again

@interact-if

[thelonelyshore-if]

I just played through the demo and omg its amazing! The characters are compelling and the mystery is fascinating <3

Ahhhh thank you omg!! I'm so glad you had fun ^.^ I can't wait to dig even deeper into the mystery <3

[thelonelyshore-if]

only thing worse than the fog is small business owners

hjkbdstjbdghjk so true

[thelonelyshore-if]

Ooo, I don't trust Kirby an inch. Bro knows far too much, and considering the fog flings the gas station around like a baseball, I'm assuming Kirby (aside from being beyond mysterious and probably mystical and therefore possessing far more information than he lets on and potentially nor even being human, etc etc) has such humor about all of this. It's fun to him, it is hilarious. He's probably playing fucking gta 6 on that gameboy, I bet. There's no way he's not what I call the merchant, where in a video game you meet them on thr road, on a cliff, on a mountain, then you travel to hell and there their cart is, and now you have fucking questions. He's got something in league with the fog, maybe even the lake, too (intermediary? The mud?) But damn. He sets off all the alarms.

nooooooo he's just a normal small business owner don't bully him he's just a typical guy 😭😭😭😭😭😭 there's nothing weird about him at all his chill vibes and inexplicable friendship with Ravi aren't weird at all!!!!! please choose kindness!!!!

( for legal reasons, this is /j. im obsessed with this ask this is so so so good omg )

[thelonelyshore-if]

thinking about the deleted ravi punch scene again...

thinking about my plots and plans for his date...

these things are completely unrelated

[thelonelyshore-if]

For any future projects past Neverland are you considering Twine or a different engine? You're one of the best Choicescript authors who can code as well as they write but I'm worried with how the world is turning right now that COG will restrict and limit what authors are able to write again. I worry about HG authors having to scrap a game and lose hours of time and compensation due to this. I do not trust any companies not to pivot to meet the demands of fascism.

I have no current plans to switch engines; though it's not something I'd completely write off if necessity willed it.

I absolutely understand your concerns. Especially with Neverland, which will be much more explicit than TLS, I've had the thought that it might not be approved for publishing. Same goes for some of the horror content in TLS.

There are a number of reasons I plan on sticking with Hosted Games (ease of coding & built-in audience/publisher being the big ones), and it would be genuinely heartbreaking for a story to be rejected based on content...

But, if that were to happen (and I really hope it doesn't!), I'd look at switching over to Twine. I know that would be a lengthy process, but these games mean the world to me, and I wouldn't be willing to scrap them!

[thelonelyshore-if]

I literally can't stop replaying your IF, it's starting to freak me out, especially since I literally have weird half-awake delirious dreams about it at like three in the morning (totally not mostly about Ravi, nuh uh) for some reason lol.

Anyways, as I'm literally on my tenth or so playthrough, I really gotta complete your work here - I haven't ever seen anything like it ! :]

Ahhhh omg i'm so glad you're having such a good time that you're willing to replay it so much!! ten playthroughs is soooo flattering; it's genuinely so touching to know people are enjoying my story so much ^.^

I'm very eager to get more out to y'all. TLS means everything to me haha <3

[helsex]

Guy who is touch starved but emotionally repressed goading you into punching him for completely normal reasons

[thelonelyshore-if]

My friends don't play IF (despite my best efforts), but from what I've told them even they know you as the author who lets people be weird and freaky about everything. So thank you for letting us be weird and freaky about everything. I love it. And I love the lake even more. Mmmmph, yeah, fill my holes right up with your wet, wet water.

hell yeah. a reputation i am honored to have <3

[thelonelyshore-if]

Knowing that Willow likes Yasmin and all I can imagine is Croft and Willow glaring at each other while leaning on the back of Yasmin's chair and a Yasmin-romancing MC on her lap. Presumably in Perri's studio for the latest mystery feature: "Why is Yasmin catnip to outsiders?"

Lmao I love this!! Yasmin simply has an irresistible presence; outsiders see somebody cool and composed and are like please Jesus be my friend!!!!

[swadloom]

STOP saying the otherworldly powers are corrupting my mind godddddd. You literally wish you were us. I mean us. I mean me.