gonzague-if

[gonzague-if]

Update on the Patreon situation

Good news everyone lol. I relaunched and unlaunched the page a couple of weeks ago, as asked, and it looks like it solved the problem and no one has been charged again since.

I still haven't heard back from the people who were charged tho. If you were charged, I would really appreciate a reply, even if you don't want a refund, please let me know, through patreon if you can, or an ask (off anon so I can reply privately) or dm on any of my writing blogs (@oscarwrites @eight-years-revolution or @gonzague-if ).

Thanks!

[gonzague-if]

I've finally received a response from Patreon regarding my page, after having to ask them for an update on the issue. And I received the very fun response that they can't do anything and I have to relaunch my page and unlaunch it again in the hopes it'll fix the problem lol.

So this is a heads up, I'll be relaunching my page and unlaunching it again as soon as I can. In theory no one should be affected but the 3 people still concerned, but please be on the lookout of any unexpected charges and try to unsubscribe if you haven't yet, it would really help.

I'm also still waiting for an answer from the 4 people who have been charged so far to pay them back. If for some reason you can't reply to my messages on patreon, please dm me here with your patreon username if you're one of the people who have been charged since october.

[gonzague-if]

Patreon page issue

Hey guys, I've just realized something weird is happening with my Patreon page. It's still down or it's supposed to be, but after receiving a concerning email from Patreon, it looks like I've been receiving earnings from my page again since October 2024???

So if you are still subscribed to my page somehow, please unsuscribe if you can and I'll try to contact Patreon and figure out what's going on tomorrow.

[gonzague-if]

Patreon page issue

Hey guys, I've just realized something weird is happening with my Patreon page. It's still down or it's supposed to be, but after receiving a concerning email from Patreon, it looks like I've been receiving earnings from my page again since October 2024???

So if you are still subscribed to my page somehow, please unsuscribe if you can and I'll try to contact Patreon and figure out what's going on tomorrow.

[gonzague-if]

Patreon page issue

Hey guys, I've just realized something weird is happening with my Patreon page. It's still down or it's supposed to be, but after receiving a concerning email from Patreon, it looks like I've been receiving earnings from my page again since October 2024???

So if you are still subscribed to my page somehow, please unsuscribe if you can and I'll try to contact Patreon and figure out what's going on tomorrow.

[gonzague-if]

Patreon page issue

Hey guys, I've just realized something weird is happening with my Patreon page. It's still down or it's supposed to be, but after receiving a concerning email from Patreon, it looks like I've been receiving earnings from my page again since October 2024???

So if you are still subscribed to my page somehow, please unsuscribe if you can and I'll try to contact Patreon and figure out what's going on tomorrow.

[gonzague-if]

I love your art style (from the official portraits)! Since you’re an artist too, did you consider making a visual novel, or just including character sprites in-game? I've seen the latter in an interactive fiction twine game before.

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy the portraits. :)

Yes, I have thought about making a vn, and I still think about it tbh. But while I’m fairly confident drawing characters, scenery is a whole other story. I would still like to give it a go someday, but I don’t really have any story idea that would fit a vn right now.

Including character sprites in an if is interesting but the formatting would be quite complicated if I wanted it to still work on mobile. Still, that’s something to consider!

[gonzague-if]

Some @gonzague-if art of Aurore and Nevers early in their courtship. The original novel never gave much information about their first meeting, except that Nevers had a castle or estate near Tarrides 🤔

Considering how earnest and friendly Nevers is portrayed in the game, it's easy to see how he winds up charming someone as reserved and cautious as Aurore. Also, Nevers is confirmed to be drawn to clever people, and Aurore is very well read and educated despite being raised in such a secluded environment. I could easily picture their romance playing out like something out of a storybook. It's such a shame it doesn't have a happy ending for the both of them 😢.

[gonzague-if]

Some more @gonzague-if fanart of my Prince Médée as a young girl with her childhood dog, a Cane Corso named Argus.

I headcanon that even though Médée spent most of her life scheming and deceiving others, she does have a fondness for dogs because of their loyalty and honesty with affection. An Italian mastiff breed like Cane Corso seems the most likely dog breed the Gonzague family might own, as they possess a noble and imposing bearing, and the breed can trace it's ancestry back to ancient Rome. They're intelligent and can be trained as guard or hunting dogs, and they're good with children if properly socialized. It's easy to see why Médée loved that dog as a child, especially since she didn't get much affection from her own family growing up. Sadly, Argus wound up getting put down by her father after the dog bite him in an attempt to protect Médée. 😭She was just a child of only 13, and she lost her best friend and only protector!!! No wonder Médée's other attempts to protect herself end in tragedy.

Although her fondness for dogs could also explain why Médée is so drawn to Nevers and Peyrolles 🤔. Nevers does have big friendly dog vibes, and considering his skills as a swordsman, we know he's very protective and dangerous. Peyrolles is fiercely loyal and devoted to Gonzague, and likewise would also go to whatever means to protect them. If Médée is also good at charming dogs as she is at charming people, this could also work to her advantage when she was courting Aurore. As I recall in the novel, the Marquis de Caylus also kept guard dogs 🤔. Getting the dogs to recognize and trust herself and Peyrolles could not only work in winning over the Marquis but also give her an advantage later on with her schemes.

I could see Médée possibly getting a Cane Corso again as an adult. Adopting a puppy so she can train the dog early on to socialize and protect herself and her household. Possibly even Médée gifting the puppy to Aurore after they marry to help her cope with her grief, and keep her wife safe when Médée has to leave their home for "business trips." Although it is interesting to imagine Peyrolles having to help take care of the dog too, in addition to their regular duties. Not to mention, the dog could be another potential obstacle for Lagardère when he comes seeking revenge. Then again, Henri is a well-known womanizer🤔. He probably has experienced dealing with guard dogs while sneaking into a Lady's room and escaping from an angry husband or father afterward when they try to sick the hounds on him.

[gonzague-if]

I'm getting too emotionally invested in @gonzague-if that I've decided to go develope Headcanons about my Prince Médée's family. I've even come up with concept designs and created a family tree charting their relationship dynamics with each other.

I've given Médée's younger brother Philippe the full name of Gonzague from the Le Bossu novel to tell him apart from his sister. Also, I headcanon if little Philippe had survived to adulthood, he would look very much like the novel version Gonzague. Despite the fact Philippe was on the track to turning into an abusive POS like his father, I headcanon Médée didn't actually want him to die. They probably got along when they were young children considering how close in age they were, but Médée is probably the only one old enough to remember those times. Also, even with Philippe being their father's favorite and heir doesn't necessarily mean he was free from his father's abuse. Philippe had to learn that behavior somewhere, and I wouldn't be surprised if the former Prince used harsh corporal punishment on his heir if the boy showed weakness, even if Philippe wasn't punished as often as Médée. Also, considering their father was a firm believer in only the strong survive, I wouldn't be surprised if he pitted his own children against each other to see which is stronger. Médée figured out early on that her father sees her and her brother more as valuable chess pieces rather than his children, so she doesn't care about winning his approval, she just tries to succeed just enough to avoid punishment. Philippe, however, was still young enough to care about his father's opinion. So he gets very jealous and angry when his bastard half-sister gets praised by his father for being clever when she gets better marks on their arithmetic studies, or when the girl he has a crush seems more interested in spending time with his older sister because Médée is the "cool fashionable teenager," while Philippe is still at that awkward preteen phase and bigger than most of the other kids. So he lashes out at his sister physically because acknowledging his emotions and insecurities is weakness.

Considering the previous Prince of Gonzague, didn't seem to grieve the death of his only son but instead made Médée his heir by forcing her to literally replace her brother, even giving her Philippe's name and raising her as a boy. It is safe to assume he was an absolute bastard. Which seemed fitting considering out of his children his illegitimate daughter is the one who physically resembles him the most. Médée inherited his nose, square face shape, and height. While Philippe had his father's dark curly hair and eyes, he had softer features and a rounder face like his mother. Médée despises the fact that she looks so much like him, even long after her father's death. Even though she inherited her blonde wavy hair from her mother, it started darkening as she got older. So Médée will often have Peyrolles help her lighten her hair regularly. Most people at court assume it's just for fashion since blonde hair was in vogue at the time. In reality Médée does it because she hates how much she is forcefully reminded of her father whenever she catches a glimpse of her reflection with darker hair, especially when wearing suits. He's dead now she made damn sure of it! Her father can no longer hurt her or control her life again!

It probably shouldn't have surprised Médée that her father was also controlling with her birth mother as well, a fact she didn't learn until after her father's death when she found some letters in her father's personal effects. Until then Médée never knew anything about her mother, except that she inherited her eye and hair color from her. Apparently, her birth mother was a Mezzo-soprano opera singer from Vienna named Laura, whom her father became enamored with after watching her perform Dafne for the court in Mantua during his youth. It seems that despite the fact her father despised "weakness," he was also a hypocrite, considering how pathetically in love he was with her mother from his letters. Especially since from her mother's responses Médée could figure out her mother was politely indifferent at best to her father's affections before gradually starting to resent and despise him. Considering how competitive the theater can be, actors and opera singers can be just as scheming and cut throat as the nobility at Versailles, except their poisoning and assination attempts are usually only on stage. Apparently Médée likely inherited her cunning and charisma from her birth mother as the Austrian Prima Donna earned her spot not just for her musical talents but also knowing how to plot and recruit alliances to get ahead. Unfortunately, Laura's ambitions to secure a Nobleman sugar daddy backfired, and she wound up with a possessive and controlling Baby Daddy instead. If the Prince's attempts to woo his golden haired songbird wouldn't make her love him, he has other means to get her to agree to become his mistress. His title and influence give him enough strength to threaten to ruin Laura's career she tries to leave him, and being unable to outright rejects the Prince for fear of her lively hood...well an unplanned pregnancy would shackle her to him as well as any chains. Her mother does eventually escape her father and flee the country but unfortunately had to leave baby Médée behind. Early in her opera career Médée's mother was often cast in "breech roles," where a female performer would play a male character, which not only seems to be a trait Médée inherited but helped her avoid being found after fleeing the county.

As for the late Princesse de Gonzague, we unfortunately don't know much about her other than she was a gambling addict and died shortly after giving birth to her son (although considering how Médée's father was it's a reasonable suspicion that his wife didn't die from complications from child birth like most people assume). It can be safe guess she was not happy being married to such an awful man, and like most noble women from this time period, she probably left the raising and care for young Médée to a nurse or nanny. I do headcanon that Médée's stepmother also had lighter hair, partly because it would be easier for her father to pass her off as Philippe if his wife had a similar hair color. Also, I think it's funny if Médée's father had a fondness towards beautiful blonde women, but they always wind up hating him😂.

[gonzague-if]

Some more @gonzague-if fanart based on this heartbreaking scene from the demo featuring Nevers, my Prince Médée, and anguished kisses in the rain.

"You did not have the will to back away anymore. You were too tempted to let his voice, his gentle words lull your anger to sleep. Maybe if he just touched you, maybe if he kissed you, you could forgive him? But forgiving him would not change anything. He had ruined you. Still, you had to try. It was your last chance. You grabbed the collar of his waistcoat and pulled him to your level, letting his mouth crash against yours. Nevers hummed in surprise against your lips, yet he was prompt to respond, his fingers wrapping around your waist, hauling you close. You moved against him jerkily, sloppily, grabbing fabric and pulling again and again. His tongue was all too happy to meet yours when you pushed your way past his soft lips. He was so warm, against your mouth and against your stomach when you curved your spine to fit better against him. You kissed him hard and he responded tenderly, his fingers gently caressing you through the fabric of your shirt, slipping under your waistcoat. You were ashamed of the pitiful whimper that escaped your lips while your skin burned under his touch. In response, a deep moan made its way from his lungs to his mouth, resonating throughout your entire body, making you shiver under the heavy rain falling on both of you.That was when his lips parted from you. You chased after him.

“No... No..” He said, his voice husky. “I should not... I..."

His hands took a firm hold of your arms, locking you in place as he moved away. Refusing you.

“I am sorry, I am so sorry,” he muttered weakly.

And that settled it. There was no forgiving. No way back. No path forward. Fate had been sealed."

[gonzague-if]

Peyrolles may have the most sexual experience out of the main characters. They are confident and directive in the bedroom.

More than Chartres?? :o I thought he was the resident libertine/hedonist!

Well… now that I think about it they may not have *more* experience per say, it’s hard to compare. But let’s say they have more knowledge and skill than him.

[gonzague-if]

I've been replaying the @gonzague-if lately and thinking if my MC Médée had stayed a Princess instead of poisoning her brother as children, she would have accumulated a much higher body count as a black widow (she does still wind up poisoning her brother and father after killing her first husband).

She'd probably still wind up recruiting Peyrolles via blackmail like she does in game shortly after the death of her first husband 🤔 although over the years Peyrolles proves to be more loyal and devoted to Médée than any of her husbands. She does still meet and befriend both Charters and Nevers and even been intimate with them both at various times. Charters still has a friends with benefits dynamic with Médée, but Nevers is too honorable a man to seduce a married woman.

Médée and Nevers do wind up becoming lovers after the death of her 2nd husband. Unfortunately, the relationship doesn't last despite the fact Médée genuinely loves Nevers they both have different beliefs when it comes to marriage. Nevers still holds the idealized romantic notion that marriage should be for love, while Médée learned from painful first-hand experiences that marriage is rarely based on affection but more of a business arrangement. Eventually Médée wound up accepting another man's proposal, but Nevers would always be the one that got away. After the sudden death of her 3rd husband (which Médée didn't cause this time) she found herself indebt again after discovering her husband hid the fact he lost most of their fortune in some secret business schemes that failed. So, while she's still in mourning and trying to figure out what to do, she meets Aurore and winds up catching the interests of the Marquis de Caylus.

Médée is a very attractive woman from a noble family, well connected, and not only is she still of child bearing age to potentially give him a son, the Marquis could also use her keen business sense to increase his wealth. Both Aurore and Nevers try desperately to discourage Médée from accepting the Marquis marriage proposal fearing for her safety, yet not realizing that Médée is already plotting the Marquis demise first...until she learns Nevers has another reason to not want Médée to become de Caylus new bride. Like the fact he and Aurore are secretly married and have a child together.

Apparently, it wasn't awkward enough that Médée's ex lover is now her son in law but Surprise! She's a step-grandmother now, and de Caylus' wealth goes to Aurore and her daughter now! Looks like Médée is not going to be the only widow anymore.

[gonzague-if]

Mild spoilers, but would Gonzague, after killing Nevers, have moments where the guilt could potentially eat away at them like Lady Macbeth?

It seems a kind of fitting irony that someone like Gonzague who has survived and succeeded by their cunning and ruthlessness slowly losing their mind haunted by the guilt, possibly literally if Nevers still shows up in game as a ghost.

Hiiii, sorry for this very very late answer.

To be entirely honest with you, I've never read Macbeth so I can't really compare lol. (I might have to eventually tho, I do like the couple of Shakespeare plays I've read.)

But depending on the relationship Gonzague had with Nevers and your choices, Gonzague can have a downward spiral because of their guilt and might completely lose it, yes. I can't say exactly what form it'll take yet but that is definitely in the cards.

[gonzague-if]

Hi, I just played what's available on Itch and it's so good???? Ravenous for more. I also just want to say thank you so so so much for including intersex as a choice. It means so much to me.

Thank you anon <333

[gonzague-if]

Hi hope all is well, I'm a new fan currently reading your IF and I was just wondering about character descriptions? There's a few flirt/romance choices and I just want to know more about the characters before selecting my choices? Like a mini character description that other IF's have about their personality and appearance? I came on your tumblr page to find any information about the characters, but it seems the category is crossed out? Sorry if this is a bother, just need a bit of clarification

Hi, sorry for this very belated response lol. I don't know if it'll still be useful, but indeed I have yet to make a characters page mostly because I wanted to do some art for a couple more characters before I design the page.

I don't think I have extensive descriptions of the character's personality on the blog, but I have some artwork for a few of them that you can find throught the offical art tag with a short description of each of them to go along.

You can also learn more about the characters through questions that have been asked about them. Each of them have their own tag. I have a list of tags on this post.

As for fanart, I've been blessed with a few of both MC and the other characters, you can find them with the gonzague fanart tag.

Lastly, I would like to add that early flirt options won't be the only way to start a romance with the characters (although if you want to experience the disaster that is Nevers' romance you'll have to get on that pretty early on in the game). There'll be other opportunities later on, so if you feel like you don't know the characters well enough to choose now, you can absolutely skip those and wait for later ones.

[gonzague-if]

What does Aurore think of a female MC? Particularly in terms of them being in charge of their household, having freedom, being able to do “unladylike” things like wearing masculine clothing & fencing.

At the very least, she feels respect and some measure of envy. She craves the same kind of freedom. Not necessarily wearing masculine clothes or fencing (although if she ever tries she might find a taste for it, who knows), but having no man to answer to is something she never thought possible and a female Gonzague proves her wrong. It could almost convince her to condone murder…

And depending on that Gonzague’s behavior and actions, she also finds that particularly attractive. Because of her experiences with her father, she’s very wary of men and a female Gonzague might have an easier time romancing her.