TWISTED LOVE: RED STRING is an 18+ Dark Interactive Fiction.
Love should save you. This one ruins you.
Demo
You are an heir of the Morixian Empire.
You had everything: power, status, family, and a future laid out for you.
Until you found love.
In the palace, love is never simple. It’s a game, sometimes a curse, that can cost everything.
You will face hard choices that will shape not just your fate, but the fate of those around you.
Important Content Note:
The MC is gender-locked female and will experience pregnancy during the story.
✨ Features:
Morally complex characters
A protagonist shaped by your decisions
Romance that challenges you or breaks you
A rich cast of characters: lovers, enemies, friends, family.
Political intrigue, betrayal, and cursed devotion
Atmospheric storytelling with fantasy elements
Optional poly routes (unlocked through specific choices)
Decide what fate awaits you. Explore the different paths for you, influence the plot’s progression, and your ending.
(Please keep in mind this is a very dark story with heavy themes and may not be suitable for everyone!!)
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⚠️ Trigger Warnings (themes explored in this game):
Emotional manipulation & toxic relationships
Violence, blood, and psychological distress
Infidelity (explicit and implied)
Power imbalance in relationships
Guilt, shame, and moral ambiguity
Haunting/supernatural elements
Death (including major and minor characters)
Explicit sexual content (fade-to-black and detailed)
Implied or referenced suicide and self-harm
And many more, these warnings can also be enabled before each chapter.
Please play with care. Your well-being matters more than any game.
💔 Every path is carved in blood. Whether you pursue love, revenge, or survival… you will pay a price.
💞 Renwei – House Chen'morith (Main RO) he/him
"You once told me you would love me forever."
The only son of High Lord Haldir, Renwei was born into power as the heir to a powerful House that has served the Empire for generations.
But with you, he is just Renwei. You are the only one he allows himself to feel for, truly feel.
He is your first love, with him, love feels inevitable. Fated. Like every path leads back to his side. But sometimes, love asks more than you’re willing to give.
Either way, no matter how far you run or how high the walls around you, his love always finds you.
He is your main romance route and is central to your story, no matter which path you take.
The Emperor - House Mor'vaelion he/him
Pragmatic, Intimidating, Calculating
“You were born for this. Not to be sheltered from hardship, nor indulged with the comforts others enjoy. But to serve the Empire, in whatever way it needs you most.”
Your father, the Emperor of the Morixian Empire. He always puts the Empire above all else, even at the expense of his relationship with his family. You’ve spent your whole life chasing his approval, learning to navigate his cold judgments and harsh expectations. Whether you have earned it or not… is another matter.
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The Empress - House Rin'shai she/her
Protective, Composed, Perceptive
"Her very birth is her worth, and I will not have anyone suggest otherwise."
Your mother, the Empress of the Morixian Empire. She is known for being a kind and gracious woman. She has always endured quietly and fulfilled her duty without complaint. But when it comes to protecting you, she is merciless. She’ll smile at her enemies… then ruin them for touching what’s hers.
✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
High Consort Feira - House Vel'mireth she/her
Ambitious, Ruthless, Manipulative
“Everything I have, I earned, and everything he is, I made. I won’t let anyone take that from us, especially not you.”
The mother of Crown Prince Junareth, she rose to power with the birth of her son. Now, her every move is focused on shaping him into her legacy. To her, you’re not family. You’re a threat.
✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
Crown Prince Junareth - House Mor'vaelion he/him
Deceitful, Insecure, Ambitious
“You know how I am with everyone else. All the pretending it's exhausting. But with you… I don't have to.”
Your elder brother. The only son of High Consort Feira and the Emperor’s heir apparent, Junareth’s position is far from secure. He trains relentlessly, desperate to prove he’s worthy of the title. Despite the complicated ties between your mothers, he shares a rare bond with you.
✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
Second Princess Kaeli - House Mor'vaelion she/her
Distant, Repressed, Adaptable
“I stopped expecting kindness a long time ago."
Your older sister. Officially, she is an heir of the Morixian Empire. In truth, she is a living reminder of a scandal that the Emperor cannot erase. She hides her pain behind a calm facade. Though she keeps others at arm’s length, she survives the palace by observing and adapting when necessary.
And more to come...
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🖤Other Romance Options
There are others…
As the story unfolds, so will the hearts around you.
Some you will meet early. Others will only reveal themselves under specific choices or circumstances. Not every love is meant to last.
You may break hearts. You may have yours broken. You may even lose someone before ever realising how much they meant.
At this point, only Renwei is confirmed as a romanceable character.
As for the rest, that’s something you’ll have to uncover for yourself, as listing every possible romance upfront would risk spoiling key plot moments. They are best left discovered through your choices.
Hi, do you have a progress update on the demo? I saw that the demo said that it would be updated in April, does that mean it'll be soon?
So.. to be the bearer of bad news. My laptop ended up crashing, and I lost two months' worth of progress. I didn't have a seperate back up cause, well... Twine automatically saves, didn't think I needed one.. rookie mistake. It deleted Twine's backups too, basically wiping everything as if the game didn't exist.
Luckily, I still had the version I uploaded onto Itchio, but you can see the problem with that... It's not up to date. This whole thing has just been a bit demotivating, but worry not, I will still be continuing. I can't give a deadline, because who knows what can happen, but I will try to at least give something sometime in June.
Hi, I just played your demo and loved it!! I love female MC IFs, so this immediately caught my eye.
Btw I had an issue with saving after chapter 1 started. It seemed to not register where I was in the game, so would just take me back to the beginning of chapter 1 when I tried to load a save. The same thing happened with the back button, it would skip all the way back instead of to the previous page.
Thank you so much for playing!
I’ve seen a few people mention issues with saving and the back button in Chapter 1, so I wanted to explain what’s going on.
The saving issue in Chapter 1 is happening because of how Twine handles saves. It saves by passage, and in this chapter, I use a lot of <<replace>> macros inside a single passage instead of creating new ones. I did this to keep the writing and code more organised and to avoid having a huge number of tiny passages to manage. The downside is that when you load a save, the game returns you to the start of that passage, not the exact point you were at, and the back button can also jump farther back than expected.
Unfortunately, this is how Chapter 1 is currently built, so this behaviour will stay the same for that chapter. However, I’ll be structuring things differently from Chapter 2 onward to avoid this problem.
P.S - The back button is mainly there for testing purposes, so it may change or be removed in future updates.
When I was deciding between Twine or ChoiceScript I eventually settled on Twine for a variety of reasons. I also question my life decisions. :,)
No regrets though. I would still make the same choice now. But man is it difficult. Is it worse starting from scratch vs having learned a different one? Like, does that previous knowledge carry over at all?
Oh, also! If you need any help with Twine I have some resources. I started using it a bit over a year ago and have used it on and off since, but I am by no means good at it lol. That does mean I have done a lot of googling and at least know what to look for though! I use Sugarcube. ^-^
I actually started with Twine first, but I became overwhelmed instantly and was recommended Choicescript. It was still hard for me as someone with no experience, but I managed to get the basics down in a week's time and complete the first chapter of my IF. Then Uni started, and I started doing major rewrites.
Fun fact: 'Twisted Love: Red String' originally started as an Ancient Chinese romance story, as it was based on a book I wrote when I was younger (terrible but close to my heart). Now it's more of a fantasy with some other elements sprinkled in.
If that wasn’t enough, I got ambitious with all the features I added to my IF, and it became harder to get ChoiceScript to do what I wanted. So I tackled Twine again. It was a big learning curve, but like you, I don’t regret it. It’s actually letting me be more creative while expanding my programming knowledge. Although it is tough using both Twine and ChoiceScript, since I’m still working on my other IF, 'Protocol R.E.D', and trying not to get certain things confused.
Ps. I also use Sugarcube aswell, so I appreciate any resources you may have.
Protocol R.E.D: The Aftermath is an 18+ Dark Psychological Sci-Fi Thriller
Demo
You don’t remember everything.
The pieces you do have are confusing and painful.
Something happened...something that changed you.
Are you even you anymore?
After being trapped in a lab your whole life, you finally step outside.
But the world you dreamed of is gone.
All that remains is the aftermath.
Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of psychological distress, emotional abuse, medical experimentation, confinement, hallucinations, body horror, and many more.
Just wanted to know how the pregnancy is going to work
Thank you! As for the pregnancy stuff, I don’t have all the details nailed down quite yet, since it’s going to happen later in the 'IF' and I'm still working through a few different ideas on what I want.
That said, I debated whether I should reveal this or not since it’s technically a spoiler, but for plot reasons, your first child will always be Renwei’s.
I’m keeping the rest under wraps for now, but I’m glad to see many people are looking forward to it.
If you don't mind answering it... How will the poly routes work? How many people will be involved (i.e. 3 including MC)? Will they all be involved with each other or a V-poly? And how many different poly options will we have?
I'll be seated for the demo hehe
There aren't any locked-in poly routes, as relationships are shaped entirely by your choices and how you interact with each character.
You're free to romance all the romanceable characters as they appear. Some relationships will be easier to balance together, while others may become more complicated depending on who else you're involved with.
Most characters are primarily interested in you, not necessarily each other. While there are a few who might develop feelings for one another, those dynamics tend to be more complicated and, in most cases, unhealthy.
Your choices do have consequences, so it’s up to you whether you want to risk it.
Will we get to face slap the horrid people? Like the Female Lead/MC sounds really easy to lead into the wrong path, but once she gets into the right path, can we make those bad people feel sorry for themselves? show them why roses are so red- if you will.
Oh totally! The MC might start off a little naive, but don't worry, you can shape her to be as ruthless or as kind as you want her to be.
Want to punish someone just for standing in your way? Go for it.
Feel like forgiving someone who literally just tried to kill you? Yup, that’s on the table too.
OMG, I’m so excited AAAAAAAAAAA! This is going to be so angsty and heart-wrenching, and I am 100% here for it! Seriously, don’t pay attention to that last anon. every IFs and their stories isn’t going to be for everyone, and that’s totally okay. Everyone has different tastes, (and it’s not good manners to complain just because something doesn’t match your preferences. 🫵) Your concept? It’s exactly my taste. And I know I’m not the only one, it will resonate with the right readers. The premise has me hooked! I absolutely love obsessive love, complex family dynamics, a female-centered protagonist, and pregnancy plotlines. I seriously can’t wait to see where this goes. Please, please stick to your vision. You’re the writer and the artist here, and this is your story, not anyone else’s. It’s great to take suggestions when you want to, but don’t feel pressured to change your vision just to appease someone else’s tastes. If you try to cater to everyone, it won’t be fun for you to write or code anymore. And honestly? We want you to enjoy this process too! I’ve got your back 💪💪💪 and I know a lot of others do too! We’re here to support you, offer help if you need it (like spotting writing or coding issues), and most importantly to enjoy the journey you’re taking us on. There are boundaries between us the readers and the creator, and it’s important to respect those. This story is yours, and we’re just lucky enough to be along for the ride. So, my dear author: don’t falter. Keep going. I’m 100% behind you and I know many others are too. I really love this idea, and I’m counting down the days to the demo! 😩🥰✨✨✨
Also can you tell me more about the relationship between Mc and the main RO? I’m so like FERAL about them! Like how they met and facts so and on 🤭
Okay, but on a serious note, AAAA thank you so much!! 😭 And to everyone who has sent such encouraging and wonderful messages, it means the world.
As for the MC and Renwei, you’re in for some pain. The good kind...maybe...no promises. Their first meeting actually happens in the first chapter, so you won’t have to wait too long to meet the source of your future emotional damage love.
I know you said you're keeping romances hidden but question, if I'm a WLW romancer, should I get my hopes up or expect males only?
There will definitely be WLW involved.😊
It will take a little while, and be a new experience for the MC, but how soon she realises and handles it will be up to you.
Ugfhhdfh 😤 lately EVERY time I find an IF where MC is royal it's female locked!!!! I thought this time would be different, but NO.
It's just unfair and damn discrimination. There are plenty of games like this with female MCs and I haven't seen one with a male MC.
I totally get where you’re coming from, and I know it can be frustrating. I chose to gender-lock the MC as female because the story explores themes like gender discrimination and pregnancy, which are pretty central to the narrative. I'm still figuring out how I’d even approach those topics with a male MC.
That said, I am open to suggestions, and if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
