Thru the Riff is an 18+ interactive fiction revolving around music and the paranormal. It follows you, a journalist working for Star-Dust Magazine, in your newest gig of “interviewing” the members of the “hottest rock band” around, MANHUNT. You’ll work to uncover the bands secrets in your own… creative ways, and find out the truths as to why their stardom is surrounded by scandal.
Content Warnings: violence, foul language, suggestive themes, substance abuse, possession and other paranormal related themes, and more.
You’ve spent the past three years of your life trying to climb the corporate ladder at Star-Dust Magazine, a magazine focusing on the secrets and personal lives of the biggest bands and musicians of your time. You were hired as a journalist alongside your best friend, and have worked on countless jobs and interviews together, most of them being your best work despite your bosses trepidation.
However, your most recent jobs have seemingly all ended as busts, your boss describing them as “fluff pieces” rather than the raw, true pieces that she wants. She’s given you an ultimatum: give her something truly fitting for Star-Dust, or she’ll refer you to a different career path.
Seemingly at rock bottom, you’re given a golden opportunity — MANHUNT, one of the biggest rock bands around, has gone viral for a scandal revolving around one of the members volatile departure from the band. It’s the perfect opportunity to use the bands mystery to your advantage.
The bad news? MANHUNT has never accepted written or filmed interviews that they can’t control, and they’ve refused countless interview invitations from Star-Dust in the past. The good news? Now with their rhythm guitarist very publicly leaving the band, they have to open auditions to replace her.
If only things could be as simple as they seem.
Customize your main characters gender, pronouns, physical appearance, personality and views. As well as choose their skill and interest in music, and their belief in the occult. Do they like the kind of music MANHUNT creates? Can they play any instruments themselves? Do they believe in any sort of occult or spiritual beings? How do those questions tie together? Only one way to find out.
Audition to join the band! MANHUNT needs a new rhythm guitarist, and you see this as the perfect opportunity to get an insider look on the band. Will you be genuine or secretive with your audition? Meet your future bandmates and impress or disappoint them.
Choose from four romance options; MANHUNT’s distant lead singer who has more secrets than they let on, MANHUNT’s drummer who has integrated you into the band without complaint, your guitar tech who has taken a special interest in you, or your best friend who has tagged along for the job.
Develop friendships with the rest of the band and help or destroy MANHUNT’s public image.
Oh, and don’t forget to write your piece for Star-Dust, your job literally depends on it. Find out as much as you can. Find out too much. Don’t get hurt.
Maxim / Maxine “Max” Hawke (RO, gender selectable) — The rather broody lead singer of MANHUNT. Max is the perfect fit for a rockstar, broody in their personal life but an all-out force of energy on stage, wooing crowds of thousands (and mortifying their parents) without issue. As personable as they appear to be on stage, they seem like they want nothing to do with you. It’ll be difficult getting close to them, especially with how odd they seem to be acting offstage.
Roman / Romona Woods (RO, gender selectable) — MANHUNT’s drummer who has a roguish appearance with a heart of gold. They may not look like the most approachable of people, but they’ll surprise you with their boundless energy and bubbly social skills. They’re the most accepting of your arrival to the band so far and are genuinely excited to get to know you.
Beck Moreau (RO, they/them) — Your own personal guitar tech! Well, not technically yours as they used to be Willa’s tech before she left but, regardless they’re tagging along to MANHUNT’s shows and maintaining your equipment for you. They’re loud and can be pretty irritating, and they seem to have a special interest in pushing your buttons. Can you handle the headache they give you?
Gabriel / Gabrielle Moretti (RO, gender selectable) — Your quiet, kind hearted best friend from your childhood. The two of you have been thick as thieves since you were young, and somehow you found yourselves tackling the same career path in adulthood. They’re kind and have been there for you throughout your struggles working for Star-Dust. They decided to come along with you on your newest job to “keep you safe” but, is that really… it?
… and be prepared to meet the rest of the band!
Finn Kellett (he/him), MANHUNT’s perpetually tired manager, Nex Warren (he/they), MANHUNT’s apathetic bassist who couldn’t care less about your arrival, Juliet Beckford (she/her), MANHUNT’s energetic lead guitarist who has a special interest in the unknown, and Willa Perez (she/her), MANHUNT’s rhythm guitarist before you came along, of whom you know very little about.
Author’s Note: Thru the Riff is a passion project of mine (Wil) and Elliot’s, so development will be entirely based on our free time and understanding of how to create our first interactive fiction. We hope you’ll enjoy what we create!
I wanted to write my own OC ask questions and here they are! Feel free to use them.
🔴 Red- What is a trait your OC has that those around them don't see very often? Is it seen by a rare few or completely overlooked?
🟠 Orange- What is a trait your OC hides about themself from others? Do they refuse to acknowledge it or begrudgingly accept it?
🟡 Yellow- What is something your OC wants but knows they can never have? How does it feel to never get this specific desire?
🟢 Green- What is considered a weakness in your OC that is actually a strength? What is a strength in your character that can be twisted into a weakness?
🔵 Blue- How would your OC spend a single day of interrupted peace? Where would they go or who would they be with?
🟣 Purple- What is something that your OC could not live without? What keeps them grounded in the worst of times?
⚪️ White- When was a moment in your OC's life that they felt the most vulnerable and exposed? Were they alone or surrounded?
⚫️ Black- When was a moment in your OC's life that they felt the most in control and secure? Was it gained through negative or positive means?
🎱 8 Ball- What situation was your OC lucky to escape from or get out of? What or who helped them unexpectedly?
🔮 Crystal Ball- What kind of future does your OC want to have? What would they do to make it real?
🪩 Disco Ball- What was an achievement that your OC felt worthy of celebrating? Was it a personal victory or a big impact on everyone around them?
⚽️ Soccer Ball- Who is someone that your OC believes in and roots for? Are they private about their admiration or do they make it well known?
GENRE: slice of life, humourous, romance, superhero
Seven years ago, you had uprooted your life after graduating and made a big move — away from everything and everyone you knew — to settle in the quiet city of Assay together with your partner. Things hadn't been easy, but the two of you made it work together. Not too long ago, everything had seemed to be coming together on the grand stage of life.
Until you had woken up one day with superpowers.
Contrary to popular belief, obtaining superpowers did not magically make everything better — in fact, it had made things worse. After multiple setbacks, your life is starting to feel more like a sitcom whose audience has packed up and gone home. One out of five stars. Would not recommend. And the only one still left watching is you.
Still, life goes on in your tiny studio apartment. Start a full time job again, strike up relationships with new co-workers and neighbours, and beat up a villain or two to keep the city safe. Oh, and perhaps find some love along the way too.
Will you be able to do it all, hero?
⚠️ content warnings: some violence, optional explicit scenes and the author's godawful sense of humour
craft both your mc's civilian identity and vigilante persona
choose from 1 of 5 superpowers — animal shapeshifting, electricity, persuasion, future sight, invisibility — all of which come with their own unique and exclusive scenes
fight a whole host of different villains and criminals to keep the city of Assay safe! — or not, and watch how public perception of you changes
keep your identity secret from the various parties trying to unmask you
build relationships with the neighbours living with you at Ivy Apartments or remain a recluse
kindle a romance with four romance options — your hard-headed police ex, an aloof and sardonic doctor, the easily flustered colleague or your new next door neighbour
and most importantly... pay your rent on time
Ronan Foster [m/f] — 34
The life of a vigilante comes with its fair share of scrapes and bruises and broken bones. Although their bedside manner has much room for improvement, there is no one better for mending your injuries than the "good" Doctor — a loner surgeon with the Midas hands who's willing to keep your identity a secret. As long as you can cough up, of course. Now, if only they would be willing to lower those exorbitant medical fees, just a little...
Li Lin [m/f] — 25
The tenant who has just moved into the apartment beside yours. Well mannered and mildly reclusive, you don't know much about them aside from these facts: that they are studying to be a software engineer, they moved to Assay to take care of their grandparents, and they make a mean bowl of chilli oil wontons. Still, with the way that every appliance in their apartment seems intent on breaking down at the most inopportune moments, it seems like you'll have no choice but to help your new neighbour out...
Hayden/Hayley Dayvis [m/f] — 31
A sharp, hard-headed police lieutenant who is determined to rein in the chaos happening in Assay City — and that includes bringing a certain spandex-ed vigilante to justice. Unfortunate, considering that they were also once your college sweetheart and life partner all rolled into one. But all that changed two years ago with a messy separation worthy of a TS hit song. It almost feels as though they can't stand the very sight of you now. Can that spark between the two of you be rekindled once again?
Scott/Stelle Barnes [m/f] — 33
Your colleague at your newest job whom you share desks with. Easily flustered but cheerful and warm-hearted, S is quick to make you feel welcome in the office. While they're an ordinary office worker with an ordinary 9 to 5 job, their admiration for your vigilante identity is just a little over the top. With you regularly running from your computer to take extended "bathroom breaks", will S catch on to your real identity?
Such Happy Campers is an interactive horror/romance novel made in Choicescript.
status: Chapter 1 is fully coded [17.000 words w/o code, last updated feb 12th]
You are an employee of the Cloverleaf program. Your job is to organize and oversee their seasonal vacation for kids from low-income backgrounds and troubled homes. This summer, said vacation will be hosted at the rustic Camp Solace, a cabin campsite situated right next to the picturesque Lake Solace and flanked by acres of woodland.
Camp Solace is idyllic, calm and far removed from the bustle of civilization.
But you're not alone in this! Working alongside you are Basil Laurier, the free-spirited scion of the wealthiest local family, Anita Merrick, the smart but skittish university student intern, and the Malak siblings, both skilled and experienced teachers.
Now go take care of those happy little campers.
Customize your MC’s name, appearance, outfit and apartment!
Be a good camp counselor and protect the kids in your care!
Romance a charismatic heir, a chronically sleep-deprived psychology student, a temperamental musician or a reserved martial arts instructor!
Get to know your team and form lasting friendships!
Uncover the lakes long-forgotten secrets and save Camp Solace from the horrors that are slowly closing in on you.
Can you tell us a fun fact about each ro? Maybe something personal about them?
elliot & I love having an excuse to delve into the characters <3
Max: they’ve intentionally gone zero contact with their family ever since they moved out. their parents were very vehemently against them picking music as their career path, and were openly against them joining a band. they started to receive letters from their parents when the band got popular, but has ignored them
R: they have one (1) tattoo! it was a stick and poke that they did themselves on their upper thigh. it was a hastily done job to cover up scars, but they seem more proud of it than anything! the tattoo is a shaky collection of spider webs!
Beck: they can play the rhythm guitar piece to every single one of manhunts songs. they already knew how to play guitar, and they pretty much perfected it when they were hired as willas guitar tech. they would often help willa practice her parts in the songs, and can now unintentionally play her parts perfectly. they have no intention of trying out for the band though
G: they used to keep a box filled with stuff from yours and their childhood! Various memories and mysteries lay within that box. if only they could remember where they buried it...
aaand because I couldn’t help myself, here’s a fun fact for each of the band members as well!
Finn: he’s a dad! for now, this is a sort of “fun fact” since his family hasn’t been mentioned yet, but I plan to bring them up in later chapters. but yeah, he’s a father of four — three of which are his and one of which is adopted. he’s a fantastic father despite how busy his job as manhunts manager keeps him, and he has a close relationship with all of his children
Nex: he used to be the singer for the band. back when it first formed, he played bass and sang. it’s not until max was brought into the band that he decided to stick to just playing bass and sometimes acting as backup vocals
Juliet: she has a glass eye! although, she tends to shut down or completely ignore the question when asked about it. she is more than happy to show you her glass eye collection though! she’s collected various random and strange eyes that she'll pull out to either throw at her best friend or to get a laugh from the group.
Willa: thanks to her dads wanting her to know various languages, she is somewhat fluent in the english sign language as well as spanish sign language! it was also rumoured that she has a soft spot for a cat that was often seen around.
Hellooo! Another admin posting but this time it's me!! Elliot, the coder <3 it makes me so happy to y'all so interested in this??? Please keep sending in asks, especially for the characters we love to see them and answer them!!
But, it's nice to interact with you guys!! Hopefully I can figure out this coding in time to get a demo for you guys asap! I'm sure you all are going to love the characters as much as we do 🩷
um i'm sorry but are you going to tell us about the side project?? i'm dying over here... :(
Ohhh omg yes of course! Since I’m a sucker for band and music related fiction, it’s yet another music related fiction project. The rough concept I had in mind (without giving too much away) is a story revolving around mc who is part of a new rock band in the 80s that has yet to gain traction or any sort of notoriety or reputation. It’s definitely got some “on the road to fame” sort of vibes, but deals less with actual fame and more with what it’s like to be in a band before that
Time to gift G an actual ring! While on my knees! 💍 💍❤️❤️💍💍
They would be very happy 🫶 and very emotional. They’d probably cry, ngl. They’re so attached to the plastic ring kid!mc got them, so imagine their reaction to adult!mc getting them a real, expensive one
Well! It’s definitely been a while. Although completely unintentional, ttr has definitely taken a backseat in my life these past few months. Progress has been very slow, unfortunately, but I’m hoping to push through with writing progress in March, and work with Elliot on coding before the summer hits.
Very rough but hopeful estimate is to have the demo released sometime this summer. I’m very thankful for everyone’s patience & amazing support even with the radio silence here <3
Max: definitely acts of service. they’re not an openly affectionate individual so they rarely express their care verbally, it’s just not something they feel comfortable doing. but when it comes to doing things for someone they care about? no hesitation. even if it’s something small or something unexpected, they’ll show their love in doing things for you
R: a mix of words of affirmation and quality time. you’ll be in no shortage of compliments and endearments when you’re around R. they can be very affectionate with people they’re close to, and even with people they don’t know at all (as shown by how affectionate they act with fans). they’re the RO that will say “I love you” the most and are not afraid to say it. but they also appreciate spending quality time together as well. it’s primarily because they’re very physically affectionate and will enjoy spending time just laying or sitting together
Beck: words of affirmation and physical touch. they don’t often use words of affirmation, but boy do they love to hear it used on them. they love when pet names are used for them, and a genuine “I love you” said to them will always leave their heart skipping a beat. the way they often show care, however, is through physical touch. they never force it, but they show their love through gentle touches and chaste kisses. hugs, playing with your hair, holding hands, etc., they enjoy to do all
G: oh definitely quality time. there is nothing they enjoy more than spending time with just the mc. they’ve done it practically their entire life and hope to continue it well into their future. they appreciate all the big and little moments they get to spend with the mc, and your presence around them is enough to make them feel at home
Not going to say too much on it but, I may be working on a side project every now and then while I’m working on thru the riff. I was struck with inspiration for yet another band related IF that I might make a little passion project on the side
You've been ice skating as long as you can remember.
Your mother is well known in the community as one of the most talented skaters in her generation, and you and your brother had quickly followed in her footsteps.
The two of you are called 'prodigies', something that inflates your brother's ego more than needed, and you're both due to preform in the qualifying competitions and make your way to nationals.
Everything has been going perfect for you your whole career, nothing will go wrong now, right?
Wrong, apparently. Because two months before the first competition is set to take place your brother suffers a nasty fall and acquires an injury that prevents him from ever skating again.
You swear off of competitive ice skating and the following competition out of solidarity, but it appears quitting something you've done your whole life isn't easy, especially if someone is trying to prevent you from doing so in the first place.
A customizable main character, including gender, pronouns, personality, physical appearance, family relationships, college major, part time job, and more.
Decide how you acted inside the rink, were you cocky and arrogant? Shy and modest? Stoic and competitive?
Choose between four romantic options - decide if your best friend's loyalty to you goes deeper than friendship, try to figure out your self proclaimed rival's mixed signals, indulge or ignore the newbie ice skater who seems determined to get to know you, or rekindle an old relationship* with your coach's son.
Deal with your families reaction to you choosing to give up ice skating. Will you focus on your sister's and mom's support or how the decision negatively impacts your brother and mother?
Demo TBA, NSFW asks okay!
Noel Watanabe [RO, they/them]: Since your first meeting when you were both 12, where the judges scored you one point higher than them, Noel has claimed themselves as your 'rival'. They certainly play the part— well sometimes. Between bringing you food after practice and completely ignoring you, their hot-and-cold personality practically gives you whiplash. When they heard you were quitting the sport, they were enraged. Will you dig deeper into your relationship with your so called rival?
Hallie/Harlow Mitchell [RO, gender selectable]: After deciding to take a gap year against their parents wishes, H finds themselves spending their (would be) fall semester in Illinois. You first run into them, quite literally. A blur of bright orange knocking you flat on your back isn't he way you were looking to get your mind off of your problems but it worked. And if it hadn't the sound of H profusely apologizing certainly did. They seem to follow you everywhere you allow them to after that. Will their attempts to motivate you to skate again lead to something more?
Sadie/Spencer Williams [RO, gender selectable]: Your best friend since your first year in middle school. They've seen all the parts of you that you keep hidden from others, for better or for worse. While never picking up ice skating themselves S has never missed one of your games as long as they've known you. S has always been loyal and supportive of you, almost to a fault, but that all changes when you tell them you're giving up skating. Will you find out why your normally laid back best friend is passionate about getting you to skate again?
Valerio 'Val' Diaz [RO, he/him]: Coach Diaz had introduced the two of you after your third lesson, convinced you would become quick friends. He was right, of course, at least for a while. Valerio was obliviously quite a bright kid; helping you with homework during breaks at practice, studying with you before lunch, spending your sleepovers going over multiplication tables rather than telling secrets. It was something you'd always admired about him until— well, you'd rather not get into it. Your old friend seems to think otherwise, if the speed he comes back into your life after hearing about your plans to quit skating is anything to go by. Will you be able to forgive and let your old friend (or more) back into your life?
Meet a wide cast of characters, including other competitive ice skaters, coworkers, classmates, your siblings' friends, and more!
*Valerio has both an exes to lovers and friends to lovers route available depending on player choices
