To Be ASPEC-Ted

Revamped blog for the interactive fiction game To Be ASPEC-Ted. friendship simulator / high science fantasy / lunarpunk

[tobeaspected]

[TO BE ASPEC-TED] [WIP INTERACTIVE FICTION] [REVAMPING DEMO] [FRIENDSHIP SIM] [LUNAR PUNK]

You Seem To Have A Hankering... For Friendship!

To Be ASPECted is a text-based adventure taking place in the distant future where humankind has colonized the moon and brought metropolis to its oceans floors.

We follow our protagonist, YOU - THE READER, as you stay in the lunar city of LA LALANDE. Stay in the QUEEN ANNE'S ACE tavern, own and operated by a squad of lovely Aros and Aces. Come talk to the many of the tavern's guests and patrons. You'll never know when you'll meet a new friend this side of the moon!

Inspired by Tumblr’s annual arowrimo, To Be ASPEC-Ted sought to be a friendship simulator similar to Homestuck’s FriendSim and PesterQuest with an obvious focus on Aro and Ace characters, lunar punk iconography, and more.

~ [CUSTOM PRONOUNS] - Player is able to choose between many different pronouns and even use neo pronouns as well! Player will also be able to change these at any time alla Dark Souls 2. (No coffin though)

~ [CUSTOM SEXUALITY] - Player is free to express their identity with the help of the QUILTBAG acronym. Could help your character get closer to others as you talk with them over a drink at the Queen Anne's Ace.

~ [MANY FRIENDSHIPS] - Experience the ever increasing cast of characters first hand! Girls, gays, theys -- meet the colorful residents of the Queen Anne's Ace and join them in their day to day lives on the lunar colony of La Lalande.

~ [LA LALANDE] - Take part in the adventure part of "text adventure" and explore La Lalande. Trek through the lunar forests or play hide and seek in the moonstone quarries. It's quite alright if you play by yourself, there'll always be someone there.

VOLUME ONE: The Beau & the Bard

[7 OF CLUBS] ♧ [THE BARTENDER] (m)

BEAU, the flirtaious barkeeper, always busy attending to the patrons of the Queen Anne's Ace. Yet, he always has time to discuss a multitude of topics with friends and strangers alike. If he hasn't told you about his favorite beverages to make, get ready for an earful. While being a succubus certainly has its advantages, Beau prides himself on having great skill in the concoctions he creates. Come on by and ask Beau the real difference between shaken and stirred.

[8 OF SPADES] ♤ [THE POET] (m)

BEAN, the quiet writer, always sits alone at the dimly lit corner of the Queen Anne's Ace. Although it may seem he values his privacy more than others, one may come to find this poet to be quite fond of making new friends. Is it to gain more material for his prose? Is it due to his personal vice of procrastination? Is it a self-insert? Who knows? Get to know the wordsmith capable of summoning springs of vine with his words.

[DEMO] | [UPD8S] | [BEAU] | [BEAN] | [MISC]

[pokimoko]

It's Aro-Spec Awareness Week again my friends, and that means it's time for more silly little critters! (You can find last year's here.) ✨Keep up the amazing work, fellow aros✨

[tobeaspected]

Honest, but also funny question: would y'all be okay with a pegging joke in TBA?

Yes

No

Voting ended onFeb 20, 2023

[tobeaspected]

So for context, the scene in question is when MC asks Beau for a drink. He'll respond with "Kinda pegged you as the thirsty sort" to which I want to have MC respond with something like "I'll try anything once." This would be the extent of it.

[tobeaspected]

Honest, but also funny question: would y'all be okay with a pegging joke in TBA?

Yes

No

Voting ended onFeb 20, 2023

[tobeaspected]

Um so... I thought it just started out linear, but then suddenly I get to an ending screen after not making a single choice. There was only ever one option on each page. What am I missing? Or maybe it doesn't work on mobile?

Hi, yes. So the demo I've linked is VERY out of date and very different from what I have. Much of TBA is in progress still. The polls used feature the actual choices that will be written in the future. They were kind of my way of sharing what I have been working on and share the behind the scenes of TBA.

So yes, the demo only has that one ending which will be changed once I've finished planning / writing out the different endings. Hope this answers your questions about this. Also hope you weren't too disappointed by the lack of choices. I will give more endings to the demo eventually. Thank you for reaching out!

[tobeaspected]

The Flirting Ending (ending one out of many others lol) 🖤💚♣️♠️♦️💚🖤

This is the Flirt Ending lol

No choices after this lol

Voting ended onFeb 10, 2023

After choosing the Flirt option when ordering a beverage, Beau will react taken aback, feeling a bit awkward at the reciprocation. Here is where the reader will learn the Beau is not only aromantic, but also in a polycule with the other bartender Mark and Matt(I forgot his name and am too lazy to look it up shh!)

I'm thinking of adding Beau apologizing about the previous attempts at flirting, I just think it'd be a neat scene for me to write. This would also be an ending marked down as plotted! Yay!(exhausted)

I will add another polls for the rest of the branches tomorrow. Let's see how much I can get plotted out before then!

[the-aesthetician-writes]

What kind of stuff do y'all want to see from me?

Characters/ OC Stuff (Character Intro/Memes/etc)

World-building/ Hermetics/ etc

Snippets/ Last Sentence/ etc

Graphics/ Chapter Art/ Moodboard/ Character Art/ etc

Journal Entries/ Stream of Consciousness Writing/ "Worked on XYZ today"/ etc

Anything, I'm good!

Something Else Entirely (comments pls)

None of These (comment pls?)

Voting ended onFeb 6, 2023

[tobeaspected]

Ask For A Drink Branch 🖤💚♣️♠️♦️💚🖤

Plain Water

Adult Beverage

Flirt

Forget the Drink, Give This Guy A Stern Talking To!

Voting ended onFeb 6, 2023

Being the more established of the "Wave Down" branches, most of these options have been plotted out and either lead to their own ending or spiral back to the other drink choices. This was the point where I was feeling overwhelmed with the possible amount of endings to give TBA. To remedy this, I had some decisions just loop themselves back into the main story. Hopefully, y'all will like it.

The plain water ending has more content than the rest, seeing as it's very straight forward interaction with more details about Beau and his life on La Lalande.

The adult beverage choice is meant to highlight Beau's bartending skills and has a little mini-game where MC helps him create a drink.

The Stern Talking To Ending is more in reaction to the flirting done by Beau, I've given the reader the option to have MC call him out on it and it perhaps makes Beau more or less likely to be your friend.

The Flirt path is not as planned, but I created to highlight Beau's aromanticism and him being polyamorous.

[tobeaspected]

Wave Down Bartender Route 🖤💚♣️♠️♦️💚🖤

Ask for a Drink

Ask for a Meal

Ask for a Room

Sarcasm

Voting ended onFeb 5, 2023

Choosing to wave down Beau leads to these options, the section for this has been plotted and written. This leads to four different branches, the drink branch is more developed than the rest of the four. The room and sarcasm branches aren't developed at all.

However, the room branch does have some content I wanted to discuss. Since Beau flirts early on in the route, I thought (if its wanted) I can add a short romance scene. I think in favor of keeping it a friendship, this should be a shorter route. Hopefully this lets people want to explore the other routes.

[tobeaspected]

-

[tobeaspected]

Beau Route<strong>🖤💚♣️♠️♦️💚🖤</strong>

Remain Seated

Wave Down Bartender

Voting ended onFeb 4, 2023

This is a minor decision, but both are done and written. They mainly lead to different interactions and plot doesn't delve far from each other.

I also tried adding this poll below my previous post but wouldn't work, so we'll how that pans out.

[tobeaspected]

Hey All! 🖤💚♣️♠️♦️💚🖤

I was hoping to surprise you all with an update system for To Be Aspec-ted. Using polls, I was hoping to show the progress of each branch as well as offer up the choice of which branch should be focused on first to the followers of TBA. I mean, I'm still going to be working on need things for TBA, but thought this would be a fun experiment. Hope to see you guys voting!

[tobeaspected]

IT FEBRUARY! ♠️💚♣️♦️♠️

Hey, all! New Year, New Opportunity for TBA.

I know I dropped the ball on this one, but I'd figured I should retry at least this year. I think I've grew in terms of my writing and can now focus enough on finishing To Be Aspec-ted. Also, with the use of the polls, I think I can figure out a way to make updates to TBA a bit more interactive. We'll see how it goes, but I'm very excited to work on this again.

A little update on what I have done in terms of work and writing for TBA tomorrow and the real fun with polls can begin :)

Thank you all for your support and still being around. Means a lot.

-TA

[ demo ] ♠️ [ neocities cite ]

[tobeaspected]

AN UPDATE

[DECEMBER 08] | [THURSDAY] | [2022]

Hey All!

As previously mentioned, I have started work on an HTML version of To Be ASPEC-Ted. This is purely archival reasons. In the case Twine doesn't become future proof, I would like to have a place I can reference past TBA content. It's a bit bare bones, but I'll be honest, working on the site has kinda boosted my self-esteem. I was impressed by how lovely the styling rendered out.

I would also like to ask for a favor for those still interested in my little Interactive Fiction. If you've read my previous ramblings from about a week ago, the HTML version of the Protag won't be customizable. While the Protag's pronouns will have to be singular they/them, I had an idea to 'raffle off' the Protag's name for the HTML version.

I would preface this by stating please don't give me rude or obviously offensive names. Another rule to the naming of the Protag would be to make sure it's four letters long. It's a naming gimmick that's become my irrationally favorite writing quirk (and if you squint really hard at some of my other work, it's there as well).

So if anyone would like to be responsible for giving our lunar explorer a name today(or at all), feel free to message/inbox me anytime. Hope y'all are having a safe and warm holiday season!

[the-aesthetician-writes]

Hello from 2022 - An Update

(almost 2023, yikes! my bad!)

So I have quite the expected update to provide. I am very disappointed in myself to share that I have significantly dropped the ball on all my WIPs. It's so crazy how 2020 lasted for like three years and hasn't shown signs of slowing down.

In any case, I have found myself wanting to write again (after almost a two year pause). I've been sick recently so, not exactly the best scenario to wake up when wanting to write again. I have a few updates on WIPs past and future. But before I do that I do have a some new observations about the writing process that I wanted to share.

Recently, I have heard of this new process of writing called the Kitchen Timer Method. It's not the Pomato Method, nor is it anything too revolutionary in terms of writing methods. Put simply, the Kitchen Timer Method consists of an isolated bracket of time devoted solely to writing. This can range from an hour to ten minutes, whatever time it is, you're supposed to be writing. What has gotten me to try to latest trend is that the Kitchen Timer Method is the use of a writing journal that is to be treated separate from the current writing project. The writing journal comes in whenever one feels stumped or distracted by real life to focus on the intended project. This allows you to train yourself to slowly ween yourself off of your writer's block and get you to write something!

Among (us) other things, writer's block has definitely played a role in my recent absence from Tumblr (as well as my writing) and I feel like this recent method is especially more forgiving when compared to others. With the Kitchen Timer Method, its more focused on getting you to write and get some version of routine into your muscle memory. So if target word counts or percentages is something that perhaps keeps you away from your writing, I highly suggest the Kitchen Timer Method. I will attempt to revisit this topic again later, perhaps tomorrow, depending on my progress. The main point I wanted to make with this originally was that I will be using my sideblog @thebybyebiline for journal portions of my writing sprints using the Kitchen Timer Method.

Now, an update on a few current WIPs and IFs:

I have worked slightly on @thehuntersacethetic . I made a barely working demo using GameMaker. Game design was always something I have been wanting to explore, should be no surprise given the amount of IFs I have started. However, development on the GameMaker version of THAT is of course on hiatus because coding is hard as fuck. Any future installments regarding THAT will most likely be in an Interactive Fiction medium(Twine, ChoiceScript, etc). The very early demo link will be below, hope y'all enjoy the color yellow!

misterman9000 studio

Creator of: The Hunter's Ace-Thetic (ver0.000000001)

The project I am most eager to work on again is @bybyebitheway , I would like to write more than the first chapter to something just once and I feel like with what BTW was supposed to be originally, the Kitchen Timer Method will help this project along just smoothly. Having the chapter art sitting in my desktop for a couple months has also helped.

In regards to my aro baby, @tobeaspected , I will try to work on this at least twice a month, but there might not be consistent updates if I want to finish work on BTW. Another update regarding TBA, I might decide on creating TBA entirely on HTML. Twine is great and all, but severely buggy. Given the amount of time in between pauses for my projects, I would like them found the way I've left them. My experiences on creating IFs with Twine have made me paranoid at its unpredictability, but I won't deny it is a good tool to use. Maybe I will simply add a side website similar to BTW and have the same content on there. (sidenote: the MC will have to be unisex in the HTML versions since my skills are faulty and my patience for Javascript is wafer thin).

Thank you for taking the time to read this, hope y'all had a great weekend!

-TA

[the-aesthetician-writes]

An Update On Life & AroWriMo

[ monday ] | [ starry ] | [03.142022]

Hi All!

So this update is long overdue. I'd like to first apologize for practically vanishing again for the third time this decade. I, like many of us living through the 2020s, have struggled to get their works out and even worked on at all. However, I just wanted to reassure those following my WIPs that I will continue to work on them. Below will be an itemized list of things I have been able to do since the start of January.

@thehuntersacethetic

I have started working on the basics in terms of ChoiceScript. The characters are mostly developed, good with character dynamics. I plan on working on scenes for the first arc of The Hunter's Ace-Thetic. I am debating on whether to include puzzle elements for different paths of the story.

Character Intros should come out in a few weeks.

@bybyebitheway

I have begun doing more character work and began plotting the first two arcs. I have decided with the amount of attention being put into other WIPs to try for a chapter a week. I would like to eventually get to two chapters a week. I just enjoy this world and its characters are too important to me to give up, so expect that in a few days.

@tobeaspected

I managed to plot most of the different branches of To Be Aspec-ted.

I have a definitive number of endings: 8.

I had Covid while working on this for AroWriMo, so while I was hoping to get at least one new ending for this year, I ended up barely writing one.

I do plan on having some kind of weekly progress update for TBA.

Similar to BTW, the goal is to have one ending done (in either the planning or writing process) by the end of each week.

I would also like to retroactively add this weekly update to BTW content as well.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

I hope you all like what's to come!

-TA

[interact-if]

February is Black History Month!

This month is all about celebrating black authors. We want to highlight the experiences and hard work done by these authors in creating for the IF community.

Here are our month’s featured authors, please check out their works and join us in supporting them.

Clam, author of Trails Lead Home and Metanoia 

Trails Lead Home is a fantasy game with an emphasis on relationships and starting anew. The aim is to hopefully make the player’s choices matter in some way and to affect the characters and world around them. The end goal is to create a story that tells the tale of new found family and learning to be okay with starting one’s life over. 

Read more about Trails Lead Home [here] and Metanoia [here]

Trails Lead Home Demo | Discord | Metanoia Old Demo | 

Tags: Fantasy

Christabel, author of A Royal Vacation

Being the only child of the president of the united state of America has never been easy but what happens when you cause a disaster intentionally or unintentionally.

Well it’s your mess and you have to fix it.

Elections are just around the corner and you went and caused a big mess. Sadly the fact that americans see you as some sort of perfect demi god doesn’t even help.

Your hate or rather dislike for the british heir caused this..

You’ve always had this dislike for the british heir and this dislike has made you avoid them for a long time.

But what happens when you get dragged to an occasion and end up meeting the heir there..

You lose it well you actually don’t but that’s not how the media and your enemies see it..

Now it’s up to you and the person you hate the most alongside some other people to solve this national disaster but you’re not the only one with problems the heir also has a truckload of them considering the fact that his uncle the regent has refused to vacate the throne even after the heir has now come of age. Now you guys not only have to solve a national disaster but also help the prince ascend the throne and solve some murders in between.

Read more about A Royal Vacation [here]

A Royal Vacation Demo TBA

Tags: Romance, Comedy, Mystery, 16+

Jade, author of Redwood

Congratulations! You have just received an acceptance letter from one of the most elite universities in the modern world.

Yet, due to sudden unforeseen circumstances, your college fund has been drained of all resources. However, you suddenly have a benefactor who is willing to pay for your college fund, but there is one catch.

You have to pledge for one of the universities’ controversial ‘Houses’. However, everything powerful harbours secrets, the question is, are you willing to uncover them?

Read more about Redwood [here]

Redwood Demo TBA | Author’s Ko-fi |  

Tags: Romance, Mystery, 16+

Lou, author of Ascendance

You’re an ordinary college student who is simply trying to make it through your college days and graduate. Your life isn’t eventful and you don’t particularly excel at anything. On what looks like an ordinary day, something completely out of character happens in the middle of a lecture. Are you ready to ascend, or will you turn your back on the unknown?

Read more about Ascendance [here]!

Ascendance demo | Author’s Ko-fi

Tags: 16+, Fantasy

Mila, author of Golden

You’re from the big city of Lehsa, you’re returning home to begin your postgraduate studies after being away for three years. On your return, Lehsa is as you remember it; vibrant, bustling, modern - yet the city holds so many secrets.

Ones you are unaware of, ones you are now immersed in whether you like it or not.

You enter a world you never knew existed. You discover that supernatural creatures are not just a ploy to frighten children at night. They’re real. Even more so when a set of angry supernaturals make you their main target.

And even worse, your father — the mayor — knew all about it.

Maybe you aren’t just the ‘mayor’s kid’ after all.

Who knew a birthmark could hold so much meaning? 

Read more about Golden [here]

Golden Demo | Discord | Author’s Ko-fi

Tags: Modern Fantasy

Pretty Ink, author of College Craze

Sugardale U: Work Hard. Play Harder.

Welcome to Sugardale, a mid-sized college town and home of  prestigious Sugardale University. You play as an incoming female freshman, ready to make your mark in the world. Choose to study hard, work off campus, or party every weekend. Manage your grades, followers and bank account as you meet and interact with the 15 (and counting!) unique characters of Sugardale. Create your own story and get into steamy situations, all while helping (or sabotaging) your friends, keeping secrets and revealing mysteries about the town’s shady happenings

Read more about College Craze [here]

College Craze Demo | Patreon | Discord

Tags: 18+, Adult Dating Sim, Life Simulation, NSFW

Summore, author of A Trial of Horror

All you wanted was a break. Just a day when your life wasn’t filled with worrying about when your next essay was due or if you had a night shift with your sleazy co-worker who just won’t take no for an answer. Hell, you were so desperate for some downtime that you would be happy with just an HOUR of peace.  

One day, your friend Tama recommends an experimental VR game called “Little Trails of Horror” to destress. As someone who survived their very own horror movie, you figure that there isn’t anything that you haven’t seen that would shake you to your core. It also helps that there is an incentive of 10,000 dollars for participating. You decide to sign up, imaging that there were worst things that you could be doing on a Friday night. What you anticipated was cheesy graphics, with too much gore and too many jump scares. Not a darkness that seems too natural and a breath on the back of your neck that feels too warm.

Now stuck within these games with no way to leave without completing the objectives, your only worry now is to survive and find a way to break this vicious cycle. But every time you get even close to doing that or finding someone with answers, they die on you. Will you be able to escape for good or continue to be dragged from mission to mission, or worse?

Read more about A Trial of Horror [here]

A Trial of Horror Demo TBA | Discord | Beta Testing Application 

Tags: 18+, Dark Fantasy, Thriller