fateunwritten-if

[fateunwritten-if]

I'm so happy to see you back to the IF community I've been following your story since the start! & I can't wait for the demo! Now that you've returned, are there any IFs you are looking forward to personally? Thank youx

Dear anon, thank you so much for the welcome back and for keeping our story in your heart all this time, we're working hard on the demo and bringing our intro back to life! There're so many new IFs we came back to it's hard to name them all, but there's some we're looking forward to as well: @evertidings — When we received a similar ask back in 2021, we mentioned 'When Twilight Strikes', and it's still one of our favorites! An amazing author. @guardian-of-time-if — A super hooking demo, we love Tzesar, highly rec! @neondreams-if — A very new IF, amazing concept and we couldn't wait to play the demo. Big congrats on the well deserved mile stone<3 @suevi-if — Their demo weaves together such a beautifully intricate world and story, always excited to read more! @bloodlines-if — Extremely compelling ROs, can't wait for more! @fateunwritten-if — Unique premise and excellent writing, an all-in-1 @cosmic-writes-if — Incredible customization and exciting plot @if-mirrormine — Beautiful aesthetic and a haunting story, what more can we ask for @woesoftheirwretched-if — So dark and REAL, an amazing cast and concept @spoiledblogif — HYPE WITH EVERY LORE DROP, THANK YOU FOR FEEDING US @night-market-if — Characters have so much LIFE in them, and we love Gabriel @ri-writes-if — Heart wrenching, their words convey MC's turmoil so well incredible @debauchery-if — Tackle a very real concept with a riveting cast and writing! @if-underourskins — MORE RO PROPAGANDA PLEASE WE LOVE YOUR WORK @acatslifeif — On hiatus but super excited for whats in store! @featherofdarkness-if — On hiatus but an incredibly unique mix of concepts & style @oneshot-if — Loved the prologue and looking forward to more! @leoneliterary — An addicting read and an equally addicting playlist, love love love @ataleofcrowns — We've been keeping up for years now, for good reason! @whentherewasatime-if — Very recent discovery, GOLDMINE, you will prevail @bloodandiron-if — Incredibly hyped for the demo, hooking plot, we want to interact with the ROs so badly (EYEING YOU D-6) There's so many more we'd like to mention because all these authors are such inspirations and have amazing talent. The community is seriously thriving, so we'd love to reconnect with the community and support them!

[fateunwritten-if]

Hey anon, with all due respect, maybe take a step back.

They aren’t “wasting time” by sharing bonus snippets. They’re engaging with the community, keeping their creativity flowing, and giving us little gifts to enjoy while they work on their bigger project. Writing a game, especially an IF, isn’t just about sprinting to the finish line, just to dust your hands off. It’s about balance and pacing. Snippets don’t delay updates. But a burnout does.

If they want to post a sneak peek or a AU where everyone’s a barista? That’s their call, you can scroll past, you have free will...use it. But coming into someone’s creative space with passive-aggressive comments? Come on...that’s not support at all.

To @loveschoice-if: your writing is phenomenal, and your snippets do matter. Share them if you want to. We’ll be here. 🫶

If you're really struggling to find the time to write the game, I think it's best not to waste it on writing bonus snippets/scenes. I'd really prefer a real update sooner.

Anyway I really enjoyed the demo you have amazing writing style. I can't wait to interact with our Boss Man more :)

Hey anon,

Thanks for enjoying the demo! I do think there may be a bit of confusion regarding my previous post that I’d like to clear up.

Me writing little snippets and scenes won’t take time away from writing the actual game because the first one requires a lot less time and brainpower. So regardless of me writing snippets, the timeline of me posting the next update won’t change. I just figured snippets would be a good way to keep the account alive while I’m not answering questions/actively updating you on the game.

I appreciate your input though! I won’t post snippets if it’s not something that you guys would be interested in reading, so I’ll take this into consideration!

[fateunwritten-if]

Regarding Steam, Adult Content Bans, and Making an 18+ Game

Hey guys;

There’s been a major shift in the gaming scene recently that could have some very serious consequences for queer creators and the adult content they make and unfortunately, TCM is (what I fear) a pretty prime target.  I know no one likes reading long blog posts but please at least skim the following write up. A lot's going on and frankly, I'm very, very anxious for TCM. Bear with me, the situation is complex.

What Happened:

Steam, the largest videogame marketplace in the world, caved to pressure from payment processors like Mastercard and Visa to delist games and effectively censor content that goes against the TOS of the payment processor.  This is incredibly shitty.

Visa and Mastercard now have direct say in what content is “objectionable” on the world’s largest gaming marketplace.  They are the entities that get to decide what art is “degenerate” and what art is suitable for their advertisers.

Adult content has long been a target of Mastercard, which has been constantly putting pressure on companies like Etsy, OnlyFans, Patreon, Pornhub, Fansly, and more for multiple years now to deplatform and censor not only real-life content featuring real people, but also overtly fictional and drawn content as well.

LGBT+ art is a prime target for being slandered as deviant; we’ve seen it throughout our history, and this is only becoming more evident as queer sex workers, content creators, and artists are getting financially deplatformed all across the internet.

Several ultraconservative groups are behind the pressure on Mastercard, including swerf and terf clubs.

This goes beyond region or payment method.  It doesn’t matter how you pay for Steam games; once a game is delisted, it cannot be purchased via any method. 

Since this change to Steam’s TOS and as of this writing, over 80 adult games have been delisted, and I’d like to take a second to emphasize what this means.  Being delisted on Steam is the same as having a game functionally permabanned.  Delisting means that anyone who has the game can still access it, but the title is taken off the marketplace completely, and new players will never see it or be able to access it.

Steam is effectively being held at gunpoint.  Without the ability to accept payments from the two largest, most duopolistic processors in the world, its continued resistance would likely destroy them as a marketplace. This attack on Steam gives Mastercard and Visa an unprecedented amount of power over gaming as a whole and has already had huge consequences.  This sets a disturbing and wholly unfair precedent of disproportionately silencing queer and/or politically charged art.

What’s shocking about this is that in the past, Steam has worked to maintain a high level of neutrality in its content offerings.  As long as games were rated properly and appropriate themes were disclosed during the rating process, Steam generally let explicit content slide even if their content was questionable to some.  The problem now lies in the fact that corporate overlords have now taken the power to decide what is and is not artistic expression, and historically, that does not bode well for anyone challenging or commenting on the status quo.  If you’re queer like me, you know you challenge the status quo by simply existing.

The Future is Unknowable

Unfortunately, it just got a lot murkier for me and for TCM.  Because TCM’s queer leanings, its focus on sexualized men and monster fucking, the game will certainly be seen as transgressive to any remotely conservative leaning weirdo looking for a power trip.  I don’t know if we’re on the chopping block and there’s literally no way to prepare.

I’ve heard several people mention Itch.io as an alternative, and, firstly, please understand that I adore Itch.  Itch is where TCM got its initial start and early community from, and I owe a lot to Itch’s commitment to its devs and the freedom to produce whatever content they want.  The problem is that if payment processors put pressure on Itch, too, they will be forced to acquiesce.  I can’t stress enough that Steam is astronomically larger and more powerful than Itch- and if they didn’t have the resources or independence to hold to their ideals in the face of pressure from Mastercard, Itch won’t either.  At this point, it's less of a criticism or doomerism on my part and simply an ugly, unfair fact.

This kind of uncertainty alone is enough to stagnate a lot of business in any industry.  This puts the burden on me to either pre-emptively censor the game myself or to cope with the immense financial instability of going forward with unclear and/or unfair guidelines that- once again- disproportionately target queer creators.   

We saw it with the widespread tariff confusion earlier this year that had a pronounced effect on global commerce.  Stephanie Sterling elaborates on the burden of uncertainty in this video about YouTube’s unclear and inconsistent demonetization rules and the clamps it puts on artistic content.  She’s a lot more articulate than I am and paints a really robust picture about why having vague content policies- like the ones Mastercard is pushing- throws a wrench in the whole creative cycle, especially for artists hoping to make a living via their art.

What This Means for TCM

Honestly, this could mean a lot of things, and unfortunately, I just don’t know what the road ahead will look like in 6 months.  Or even next week.  Because I really value transparency, I wanted to lay the situation out for y'all so you can hopefully see where I’m coming from and why this is so incredibly devastating to hear about.

I invested a ton of money into making this game.  More than that, it's been about five years of my life with no other projects on deck, building this game and community from the ground up.  I believe in this project, and I believe in queer adult entertainment that’s inclusive and fun and sexy.  I really do.  

But if I get financially deplatformed, I can’t create.

Essentially, I planned to invest my own money up front, offer the base game (Amir, Mori, and Akello’s full routes) for free, and then make DLC in the form of additional character routes and charge money for those to recoup costs and eventually get me out of the hole.  I hoped that people would really enjoy the base game, get a feel for my writing style and Atlas’ art, and hopefully find that a paid DLC for another character is a worthwhile purchase.  Now, I’m reevaluating how I want to move forward, and I wanted y'all to be a part of that 1) because I need you to see what factors I’m dealing with and 2) I’d like to give as much of a heads up as possible if plans change.

So, right now, the game is in a state called “Early Access”.  This tells players that the game is still in development, still getting updates, and generally taking player feedback/bug reports into account as development furthers.  Once the game is “completed,” I was going to take it out of Early Access and into “Fully Released”.  

One option I’m now considering is charging for the game once it hits that fully released state.  

People who already have the game will not be affected by this at all.  You’ll get the Full Release without having to pay.  (Anyone who has the game in their Steam Library before the changeover will get the Full Release for free.).  The Full Release won’t have significant content changes but will probably have minor bug fixes, polish, things of that nature.  I’m not sure what price point I would set it at.  But like most options, there are pros and cons to this- namely, I made it clear that I wanted to keep this chunk of the game free, but I’m worried that might not be possible.  The benefit to structuring things this way is that I may be able to recoup some of the development costs before a potential delisting, which would essentially terminate my ability to make extra content like I’d intended.

Talking Numbers

I would like to share my budget with you so that you can see the figures I’m looking at.  Again, my ultimate goal here is gaining yall’s understanding first.  I know it’s disappointing to talk money and numbers when we’re all surviving out there, but things are getting dire.  (Note that these numbers are general but close estimates.)

Artwork includes: Sprites, CGs, Logo Design, Menu, GUI/UX assets and implementation, other In-Game Assets, Commissions for birthday posts/special occasions, Trailers, Animations, Capsule Artwork, etc

Ads, Hosting, and Business Misc includes: Ad runs on websites like Furaffinity and Tumblr, Hosting and Domain fees, Business Name Registration, Studio Peaches logo

Custom Music includes: 6 custom-performed and recorded tracks exclusive for TCM

Equipment/Tools includes: Software licenses, computer hardware, graphic design tools.

The game does pull in some money on the regular, and I cannot stress enough how grateful I am for my patrons, kickstarter supporters, and for my itch donors because your generosity and loyalty have helped add some stability to this situation, and I’ve gotten good at making your every dime count.

And just for transparency, here’s what the Kickstarter ended up looking like:

Now, with Kickstarter, I have to emphasize that these numbers don’t represent failure- this was pretty much what I expected going in.  Kickstarter is a great way to raise awareness of projects, and in that respect, the TCM Kickstarter was very successful, even if I cut it perhaps a little closer than I had intended.

So, now you can kind of start to see where the stress is growing.  Over the past five-ish years, I’ve invested close to twenty thousand dollars into this project, and although I have wonderful patrons, backers and itch donors, I’ve barely put a dent in that debt.  This is what game development costs for a game of TCM’s quality.  Currently, I pay Atlas commission rates for their work, but I had hoped to be able to actually employ them.  I personally have never been paid for the time and labor I’ve put into this game, and I work on it about 30 hours a week, every week. 

TLDR

To recap, there are several reasons I’m taking the time to write this up today:

Prepare TCM community for the possibility of changes coming to the plans going forward

Inform the community of some very alarming developments happening on gaming platforms

Help show the community just how much game development costs, and how imperative it is to find a financially viable future for this project.

Prayer circle we don’t get delisted

The bottom line is:  TCM needs to make money if it is going to continue being developed. If the game gets delisted and deplatformed, I might need to make serious changes to keep this project alive.  I may need to make serious changes to mitigate what’s already happening to adult games.  

Things are scary out there for artists and especially for queer artists.  I have absolutely no idea what the future holds for TCM and no idea how much worse things are going to get before they get better.  Transparency has always been a priority for me, so definitely expect updates and announcements as things evolve and change over the coming months. Just please understand that I may have to pivot or change tact depending on what Mastercard decides is a violation of their content guidelines. 

For better and for worse, nothing is set in stone today, but that does mean I’ll need to continue monitoring the situation closely, and I’ll do my best to keep everyone informed of TCM’s development with as much notice as I can.

Finally, I encourage all of you to do further research into this on your own.  I encourage you to sign the petition that the ACLU has been circulating as a first step towards fighting this unfair hold payment processors have on our content.  I encourage you to talk to performers excommunicated from OnlyFans and Patreon for having “objectionable” material. I encourage you to talk to Furries who were booted from Fansly for being incorrectly labelled as deviants with bestiality kinks.  I especially encourage you to look into the oppressive, hateful groups pushing for this kind of artistic suppression and pressuring Visa and Mastercard to tighten (comprised largely of swerf, terf, and bog-standard conservative purity politics).  Send angry emails, support your favorite creators, and cultivate safe online spaces for queer adult content.

As always, please hit me up with any questions you might have- I can be reached in all the usual places:  Here on Tumblr @tricitymonsters, on discord @pockatuck or via the TCM server, or even email if you have something longer to send > tricitymonsters@gmail.com

Some source links for you:

ACLU Petition: https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy PCgamer Article Breaking the Story: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/steam-introduces-new-rule-prohibiting-certain-kinds-of-adult-content-that-might-make-visa-or-mastercard-unhappy-financial-deplatforming-in-action/

VICE Article that was pulled that lists the groups behind the push: https://web.archive.org/web/20250719204151/https://www.vice.com/en/article/group-behind-steam-censorship-policies-have-powerful-allies-and-targeted-popular-games-with-outlandish-claims/

[fateunwritten-if]

This might be a bit random and not related to my IF, but I’m totally crashing out right now because I’m trying to reserve a super exclusive venue (aka: Villa d’Este) for our wedding, even though it’s still a year and a half away. The place is so in demand they’re basically booked solid.

I’m trying really hard to stay peaceful and calm… but yeah, not really working. edit: I’ve been looking into other venues just in case this doesn’t work out. I do have a pretty large budget, so it’s not like I’m out of options, I can settle for another beautiful place if I have to. But this one is my dream.

[fateunwritten-if]

Congrats on mpreg

[fateunwritten-if]

The only con of having multiple side accounts is straight up forgetting they exist. Like... Who is running this? Not me, apparently.

Don’t worry, I am working on the IF's, it’s just giving “8 months of radio silence followed by a sudden ‘HEY GUYS CHAPTER 4 JUST DROPPED!!’ like I didn’t ghost everyone like a dad going out for milk.”

I promise it’s coming. Slowly. BUT it's coming!

[fateunwritten-if]

CONGRATS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!!!

THANK YOU ML!!!

[fateunwritten-if]

God I can't with these mpreg asks cause imagine them giving birth like how female hyenas give birth like RIP 🌚

I just googled what hyena birth looks like....

[fateunwritten-if]

MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG MPREG

CUT ME SOME SLACK I JUST GOT ENGAGED 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[fateunwritten-if]

Hi. Quick question. So. When exactly in the story does Ivan get pregnant?

Now hear me out before you block me.

I just feel like there are certain undercurrent, that suggest Ivan is, at the very least, spiritually with child by the time Chapter 2 ends.

It just makes sense.

Imagine the angst. The societal fallout. The theological panic. The logistics. Please advise. I am terrified and serious and not at all well. Thank you for your time.

this has GOT to be a CIA torture method

[fateunwritten-if]

I enjoyed the demo, but there was one thing that felt off(?) to me.

The first interaction with Ivan has the MC required to lash out and stating that they hate the relationship they were forced into and the second has MC feeling uncomfortable with being around him. But the third gives MC the option to intentionally seeking Ivan out with casual, relaxed conversation and to flirt with him. The (possible) third interaction kind of gives me whiplash when compared to the previously established feelings MC has for Ivan.

Can you elaborate more on their relationship and why it would be possible for MC to have such a sudden change in demeanor?

Thank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

You’re absolutely right to notice the tonal shift in the interactions with Ivan, and I want to acknowledge that it can feel a bit jarring in the current build. That’s actually something I’ve been working on refining because there’s a bit of backstory to how those scenes evolved.

In the original demo, I received a lot of backlash from readers who felt that the MC was being “forced” into liking Ivan. The structure of the early scenes unintentionally gave the impression that romance with him was the default, or worse, that the MC’s autonomy was being brushed aside. That was never my intent, so I restructured those early moments to be more centered on the MC’s discomfort, frustration, and the power imbalance more clearly.

But! In doing that, I may have overcorrected a bit without fully smoothing the emotional arc. That third scene, where the MC can optionally seek out Ivan or even flirt, isn’t meant to eliminate the earlier tension. It’s meant to offer player choice, where MC can: • Continue to be cold or distant • Begin softening toward him (genuinely or strategically) • Or explore a mix of conflicting emotions

That said, you’re completely right: the leap from resentment to casual/flirty needs more connective tissue. I’m planning to add more internal narration to bridge those feeling. I don’t want to invalidate the early discomfort, but rather show how complicated and even contradictory relationships can be, especially when power, trauma, and choice are involved.

I’m really grateful for your note! Feedback like this helps me catch these parts that aren’t quite landing. Please feel free to share more if anything else feels off!

[fateunwritten-if]

mpreg ask number 57

NO STOP PLEASE

[fateunwritten-if]

WHY?! WHY DO I KEEP GETTING IVAN MPREG ASK?!!

[fateunwritten-if]

Sorry if you’ve already answered this, but what do all the ROs look like?

Hi!! I've answered this before but don't worry about it! I understand it kind of gets buried in all the post and content! I'm in the process of finding possible face claims for everyone but luckily @stephschoices has drawn the characters!!!!

Heres the link to that!

How she drew them is almost exactly (like perfectly) how I see them! And also here is their heights!!

[fateunwritten-if]

GENRES: Psychological Horror, Supernatural Thriller, Mystery, Apocalyptic Drama

CONTENT WARNINGS: Guilt, suicide, mental breakdowns, religious themes, emotional manipulation, death, violence (non-graphic), mass hysteria, existential dread, mild body horror, cult behavior, and scenes of intense psychological unease.

(This story is dark and introspective. Reader discretion is advised.)

You are a nobody. A citizen in a city crumbling under its own sins—violence, apathy, corruption, faith lost and power abused.

And then… He arrives.

They call Him The Second. He’s calm. Soft-spoken. He doesn’t threaten. But in every place He appears, people begin to break. Confess. Kill. Vanish. Not because He harms them, but because they see themselves… too clearly.

Some worship Him. Others fear Him. But one thing is certain: He is not here to save. He is the second coming of sin.

Customizable MC (you) with customizable reactions

Multiple perspectives (brief playable flashbacks of others affected by Him)

Dynamic morality system (not “good” or “bad”, just what you can live with)

Unreliable narration

Foreshadowing, hidden clues, and optional deep dives into lore

HIM

“I am not your savior. I am the consequence you summoned.”

The mysterious man at the center of it all.

Always calm, eerily kind.

Appears across the city at random.

His presence alone causes breakdowns, death, or revelation.

No one knows His real name—or what He wants.

He is either divine... or the final product of human sin.

Detective Jonah Voss

“You’re telling me the guy walks in, says nothing, and a man with no priors just hangs himself?”

A grizzled, chain-smoking detective assigned to investigate the deaths linked to Him.

Sarcastic, skeptical, and tired of everything.

Hides his guilt well—until He arrives.

Reluctant to believe in anything… but slowly realizing he may be part of something far bigger.

Sister Mercy

“You’re all asking the wrong question. It’s not who He is. It’s who we made Him into.”

A young nun who believes He is a divine reckoning.

Soft-spoken, poetic, unsettlingly wise beyond her years.

Acts as a spiritual guide—or a manipulator. You decide.

She may know more than she’s letting on.

Silas Wren

“I recorded it. Him. I saw it happen. And I’m telling you—he’s not human.”

A conspiracy podcaster-turned-doomsday prophet.

Obsessed with finding patterns, messages, proof.

Claims he caught The Second on video—but no one who watches it survives.

Loud, manic, strangely charming.

Dr. Elaine Marrow

“The phenomenon is psychological. Mass hysteria. Projected guilt. Explainable.”

A clinical psychologist brought in to consult with authorities.

Believes there’s a scientific explanation for the deaths.

Rational to a fault—but beginning to fray.

Has a personal reason to deny the supernatural.

Amari & Ruth (The Twins)

“He loves us. That’s why we see Him everywhere.”

Teenage twin girls who follow Him from city to city.

Claim He speaks to them in dreams.

Their eerily synchronized behavior unnerves everyone.

One seems sweet. One seems cruel. Both know more than they should.

Father Isaac Rowe

“I preached forgiveness for thirty years. Now I wonder if I just taught people how to lie to God.”

A once-popular televangelist now disgraced.

Obsessed with redemption—and terrified of what The Second means.

Wants to face Him. Needs to.

But his past is catching up.

ASK ARE WELCOME @interact-if

[fateunwritten-if]

OMGGGGGGG CONGRATULATIONS ON UR ENGAGEMENT!!! I lwk just found ur page and IF but I already love everything abt ur page and ur literally one of the sweetest IF creators alive (and I just found ur page mind you) and I'm so disappointed I didn't find ur page earlier. I'm really just happy for u, I love seeing happy couples it shows me there's still some joy in the world!!! I hope the wedding is just as amazing and special! Plus, ur living my dream of being engaged at 20😭😭 I'm really happy for u. And now I'm rambling, I'm so sorry! Anyways enjoy ur day! I hope u have a healthy and happy life, both u and ur fiancee!!!

AHHH STOP 😭😭💖 This was the sweetest message ever, I’m literally smiling like an idiot reading this. Thank you SO much for all the love, especially when you just found my page?? That’s the kindest thing ever, I totally get the rambling because I do the exact same thing when I’m excited (so you're in good company 😌).

It means the world to hear you say all this, I promise I’ll take all this love with me straight to the wedding planning board lol. Sending you a big hug and all the good energy right back!

[fateunwritten-if]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU, I HOPE MANY BLESSINGS FOR YOU AND YOUR FIANCÉE! YOU DESERVED IT AFTER THE SHIT YOU BEEN THROUGH.

There is no need to rush on the writing. Just take in the moment. After all, you're just got engaged, one of the best things life has to offer. (Note: I SWEAR IF YOU DM/SPAM THE FUCK OUT OF ME "Not everyone has to be engaged to be happy." I KNOW!!! Amelia is engaged to a guy who will make her happy, like how happy she makes him. I'm just happy for her.) So just take the moment in, and spend it with your loved ones because you only live once.

Okay, that's I gotta say!

P.S.: I enjoy your if very much, but no rush. I'm nothing if not patient.

Awww thank you so much 🥹

I honestly got a little emotional reading your message. It really means a lot coming from you, especially knowing everything I’ve been through.

I’m still kind of in shock, but in the happiest way. I feel really lucky right now and your words just made it even more special.

Thank you for being so kind and supportive. Love you for that 💛