morbethgames

[morbethgames]

An Update On Things

Hello everybody, I'm writing this to give an update on things. So, you may have noticed that I stopped posting Love In Stasis. You may be thinking to yourself, "Why did you stop working on it?"

I didn't! It's done!

Unfortunately, it wasn't getting the reception here that I was hoping for, and with a good two months of consistent chapters, I think that's a fair run. So, I'm going over revisions now and making major changes to it. Primarily, it's not going to be in third person omniscient anymore, and is instead going to switch first person POV's. I think it'll be a great way to explore the story and let me be even more descriptive with character's emotions and thoughts. I'm going to be looking to publish it once revisions and edits and beta reading is done. Unfortunately, that does mean I have to take what little of it there is available off Patreon and Tumblr.

It's my first ever officially finished project, and I honestly am very proud of that. The first draft ended up being 89k words and around 400 pages (after setting it to 5.5 x 8.5 margins). I have paused payments on the patreon. It was one thing when I was putting out content regularly, but now that I'm not really sure what I'm doing with the patreon, I don't feel comfortable collecting people's money.

I've been thinking, and I'm not sure I'm going to do all the side stories I was planning for The Bureau, however I WILL finish it. I am going to finish it. I just hope the knowledge that I've fully completed a project is enough to show people I have the dedication to do so. I'll admit, it was much easier writing static fiction. I started Love In Stasis in later October, so it took about 5 and a half months for me to write the first draft of it. That's pretty good in my book (no pun intended).

I even have thoughts of a follow up book in mind: Love In Motion.

Thank you for your patience with The Bureau. I'm gonna reign in the scope a little bit, cut down on some of the side stories (though I'd be open to adding them in later as free DLC or something) and get it done after the revisions to my novel.

Stay Brilliant,

Vi

[morbethgames]

Love In Stasis Chapter 11 + FREE AU Side Story on Patreon

Hey guys, Love In Stasis has now not only reached past the tenth chapter mark, but it's now over 100 pages! If you haven't check it out, I highly encourage you to do so. Not only that, but I have another small announcement.

I know I haven't had an update about how The Bureau is going for a while, so as a treat, I'm making one of the old AU stories available to read for all members. It's a short story focused around if Kate and Marcus Jareau survived that night, and what the following interrogation would've looked like. You can find it in the Collections tab under AU Extra Scenes. All you need to do is be a free member; doesn't cost anything. I hope you enjoy!

Stay Brilliant,

-Vi

[morbethgames]

Love In Stasis Chapter 10 is Out!

💋🩸⏳ Love in Stasis⏳🩸💋 has now reached it's tenth chapter!

That makes it a total of a little over 40k words of WLW, Murder Mystery goodness. If that sounds like your cup of tea, go on and head over to my Patreon, or the first three chapters are free and linked below for anyone who hasn't read them yet! It's only $5 to have access to all 40k words of the story so far as it stands, and I'm planning chapters at the very least every other week, if not every week. You also gain access to the other tens-of-thousands of words I've written for other projects over the past couple years, so if you enjoy this story, you might be interested in checking those out as well! Thank you for your support as always!

-> Patreon <-

Love in Stasis Chapter 1 : Love in Stasis Chapter 2

Love in Stasis Chapter 3 

[morbethgames]

Have you seen dashingdon is closing? Will the bureau be uploaded anywhere else?

Hey everyone, just to respond to this along with the few other messages I got relating to this; I will be uploading The Bureau to the new cogdemos site, but I want to do it with a new update, which I will hopefully be able to get out before then. If not, then I'll just have to upload it without a new update, but I figured I'd leave it for a bit longer. Just a heads up, with cogdemos, I believe you have to have an account to save and load game progress, so keep that in mind.

But yes, don't worry, I'll get Bureau up and running on the new site.

[morbethgames]

The Blackout (The Operative/Wrath of an Empire)

Benjamin Hewitt used to love the snow. Loved the sound it made as the leather boots his mother had gifted moved through it. He loved that bite that nipped at his nose. He loved snowball fights with his two sisters as they yelled at him for stealing one of their toys. The winter wonderland that always greeted their home was his to explore. 

He thought it would last forever.

He wished that wonder had stayed, hoped that it wasn't tainted. But now, when he thought of the white reaper that danced around him, he only could see the frozen faces of friends, innocents, and animals. Waking up each morning and shaking the body of a fellow only to realize the reaper lay with him that night and took his breath. 

That reaper had taken his mother when the war came to their home. He found them all there. Why did it spare him each time when it took so many he cared for? Now it mocked him with memories and gifts it once bestowed.

That was oh so long ago.

Hewitt watched the snow flutter in his hands before turning it over and letting it blow away from him.

In front of him, the four bodies lay motionless under the snow. They were in a partially dug ditch, the ground frozen solid by the long winter storms that raged across Parem. One of those storms was still swirling above them like an ancient predator seeking to sweep them away.

But here, the snow buried its own. Why not him?

Major Hewitt sighed, brushing a layer of snow that had settled on his hat. He turned, a frown creasing his forehead as the platoon leader of the 2nd platoon walked over, saluting him. 

"Building secured Sir, but we found something in the shelter underneath," Lieutenant Grace Mallory said, her dull blue eyes coldly watching him.

"Thank you, Lieutenant dismissed," Hewitt said, waving his hand as he stared over at the building. 

Observation post Echo was a large, partially above-ground bunker with multiple lines of sight for the automatic turrets sticking out on its side. It also had an attached tower that could see for miles in clear weather. 

His men had secured the facility, several outposts had lost communications in the previous hours. They had to wait for the storm to clear before it was safe for shuttle flights to check on them. 

Hewitt stepped through the metal doorway, the door swinging shut with a loud bang before locking. The gunmetal gray hallways led to the various bunker defensive systems. Operating gun controls, camera systems and other control consoles took up the first rooms. 

Something was not right. 

The heating was off, water frozen in cups, and food was frostbitten as they passed by the small kitchen. Hewitt stopped, counting the plates and cups that littered the several tables. Obviously, whatever happened made the men leave their meals uneaten. 

Nearly fifty men manned this post. And now not a single soul apart from the four outside being buried by the snow. 

Commonwealth soldiers saluted him as he passed, their bright armor giving them an almost heavenly appearance, seeming to glow in the lights. Their large needle rifles were at the ready, and even they seemed put off.

He walked back into the hallway before stopping, his eyes tracing the long marks along the wall. They looked like claw marks, the metal was torn open like paper. 

"What could do something like that?" Lieutenant Mallory wondered aloud, running her own fingers along it.

"How did it even get in? The facility seemed sealed when we arrived," Hewitt said, gesturing for one of the soldiers, "find Lieutenant Gormly, tell him to have his platoon sweep the perimeter and the outer building again."

The soldier saluted before rushing outside.

"This is what we wanted you to see," Lieutenant Mallory said as they descended downstairs to the underground sections, "we found one body, it was in an interesting shape."

They led him to the bottom of the stairs, quickly turning and heading to one of the officer's quarters. 

Hewitt stared at the body pinned to the wall by a large pipe, a pool of blood below it. The concrete where the pipe had struck had cracked. What in the name of mother Earth could do that?

"It looks like something fired out of a cannon," Malloy wondered, her fingers exploring the cracks running up the wall, "maybe a combat bot?"

"Imperials don't use those," Hewitt reminded her, shaking his head. Only their own forces used ai intensive ground combat systems, after the Imperial Forge incident, their adversaries have been extremely cautious in their implementation of ai military assets. 

"Maybe they gave it a try," Malloy said, shrugging, "either way my guess is something got in here and the boys chased it out into the forest. We should try and catch up to them."

"That doesn't make any sense," Hewitt said, crossing his arms. Whatever got in here made it through the bunker, why wasn't there more of a fight? The number of men between it and this room alone should of been a nightmare of bullets and armored troops—instead, only a few bodies.

"Patterson was the commander," Hewitt stated rather then asked. Patterson was a competent enough XO. His aggression would explain why he set out after the intruder, "do we have an idea of where they were heading?"

Malloy nodded, pulling out a data pad and handing it to Hewitt, who scrutinized it. It was a personal log, damaged but unlocked and functioning. He pressed play.

He listened to the first sentence, garbled audio making him grimace. He skipped to the last entry. Not even four hours ago.

"Captain Patterson reporting. We were attacked by some creature and took only one casualty. but the damn thing hacked our systems and downloaded all known information on our defenses. We've been unable to contact any other posts, we are setting out towards the airfield twenty miles south of here in the morning, I will leave four of my men to seal the compound and guard it. Hopefully, we can warn-" The message abruptly ended.

Twelve hours. They had time to catch up then. 

"Malloy! Tell our shuttle to head to the airfield and sound the alarm, then have reinforcements get to us. We will trek south to catch up to Patterson and his troops."

Malloy hesitated for the barest moment before saluting, rushing off to inform the shuttle pilots.

Fifteen minutes later all soldiers were assembled outside the bunker. Hewitt ordered them to proceed south at double pace to catch up to Patterson and his men. He arranged for Gormly's platoon to stay ahead of the man group, with orders to suppress and withdraw to the main force if engaged.

As the shuttle took off and faded into the distance, Hewitt wondered if he was making the right decision, but he knew time was of the essence. He made a call, and he would live with it for the rest of his life. However long that is. He thought with a grimace.

For the first twenty minutes, all was silent. Until Gormly requested his presence. 

He found the lieutenant standing in front of a large pine tree, the man's round face visible now that his helmet was off as he inspected something on the tree. 

It was only when Hewitt got close that he realized what he thought was another soldier leaning against the tree, was a corpse. A headless corpse.

"Ours?" Hewitt asked uneasily, looking at the soldiers in defensive positions around them, "or-"

"One of Patterson's men," Gormly responded in his usual gruff manner, "his armor is untouched, notice the cut to his neck, something sharp went clean through it. I guess he was at the back of the group, poor bastard never even got noticed. Tracks all lead south." 

"Keep your squads close to each other, we don't know what we are dealing with."

Gormly's platoon continued ahead, reporting more and more tracks of Patterson's men. It was clear the longer the trek went, Patterson clumped his men closer and closer until they were all within a few feet of each other, moving enmass south.

"First platoon reporting contact!" the short-range radio burst to life suddenly, sporadic gunfire echoing close ahead of them before Gormly's gruff voice cut in, "cease fire! Friendlies!" 

Hewitt moved towards First platoon, several soldiers accompanying him.

Soldiers were tending to a soldier on the ground, a bullet wound in his shoulder. Another soldier was standing a ways away, eyes wide, seeming in a daze, his armor wasn't like the others, his was cracked and barely functioning. 

"He's one of Patterson, he was running when he stumbled on squad three," he said matter of factly, turning to the wounded trooper, "you gonna live Harris?" 

"Yes Sir," the soldier gave him a thumbs up before pointing at the new soldier, "come here."

The soldier took a hesitant step forward, almost stumbling, "I'm so sorry I thought-"

"Whats your name trooper?" Hewitt asked, arms crossed, he didn't care, no one was killed, he just need information fast.

He didn't respond, swaying on his feet. It almost looked like he was drunk. 

"Where is Patterson?" Hewitt demanded, looking behind him he noticed a small bloom of smoke in the distance, followed by an explosion rumbling through the air.

"Camp," the man croaked, pointing behind him.

"Show us." 

The walk was short, Hewitt followed Gormly's platoon as Vincent led them to a small clearing. Hewitt's heart sank as a lump formed in his throat.

"Mother of," Gormly trailed off before spinning around, "sweep the area now!" 

Soldiers quicking split into search teams, cautiously moving ahead.

In front of them in the clearing sat a large camp. It was destroyed. Tents lay scattered, fires still smoldering. Bodies littered the area. Hewitt slowly moved forward, soldiers ahead of him checking the collapsed tents and the more intact bodies. 

He passed two bodies still kneeling, their hands palm up and their heads removed. 

Feet stuck out of the snow by one tent with a hand sticking out of another.

"What the fuck does this?" Gormly muttered, crouching down next to one of the arms, "what exploded?"

"It wasn't from the camp," Hewitt said, his heart pounding in his ears as he reached a realization, pointing towards the smoke still a short distance off, "Gormly you don't think?" 

"The shuttle?" Gormly's eyes widened, "no, they wouldn't land without direct orders!"

Mallory's platoon was reaching the clearing when Hewitt gave her the order to investigate the smoke, "withdraw to our position here right away if engaged." He stressed those instructions, as their situation was getting worse by the second. 

They found Patterson's body towards the middle of the camp, his head shoved deep into a camp fires coals, small pockets of fire creeping up his back. There were drag marks leading up to his body.

When they pulled him out his face was unrecognizable. His skull had been smashed badly, with cracks spreading down the forehead, eyes and mouth shattered. Hewitt hoped that he had been dead when whatever it was had dragged him to the fire.

"Mark the location for recovery teams, " Hewitt instructed, slowly looking around before stopping. High above in one of the trees a body was slung over the branches, body smoking as if it had been burnt. He withdrew his sidearm, aiming and firing a single shot just above the body.

The clearing went silent, soldiers on alert and looking towards him, confused. 

Nothing happened. Hewitt frowned, he could of sworn he saw something.

"Major this is second platoon reporting," Mallory's voice came over the short-range communications, "its the shuttle, its in another clearing a quarter of a kilometer ahead, bodies here. Seems like they tried to perform a pickup when something or someone caught them." 

Damn. This was bad, he had alerted the nearby outposts that they were out here. But without the shuttle warning the airfield, would they bother checking? Surely they would. He hoped.

"Sir we might have something here, there seems to-" Mallory's voice cut in as the wind began to pick up.

"Say again 2nd platoon we seem to be having issues with the storm," a communications operator said next to Hewitt, the young man straining to hear as the wind picked up even more, causing the both of them to brace themselves.

"Contact!" the words hung in the air, as Hewitt's eyes went wide, he knew it. 

Whatever had taken out Patterson was still around. And they were the next target.

"First platoon and third platoon move up to support second, double time!" Hewitt ordered, "Operator see if you can get any information from second, and tell them we are coming from North of their position!"

The silence caused Hewitt to turn, the comms operator was dead, his head opened up like a red flower as crimson flowed over the snow. 

"Contact rear!" A soldier shouted, firing up into the trees before a shot hit him, sending him flying.

Sharpshooter. 

Hewitt dove behind cover as he spotted a shimmer high in the trees, "suppressing fire on those trees! Aim high!" 

Soldiers at the rear of the two platoons began firing into the treetops. Hewitt watched as sparks lit up on one branch. And for the briefest moment, he saw a soldier of some kind, a blue and white ghost.

"Contact fro-" The soldiers heading towards second's position went flying backwards, crimson spraying across snow like paint on a canvas. 

Hewitt scrambled back, drawing his sidearm and firing as a formless shimmer dashed through his men. Heads and limbs falling motionless to the ground.

Gormly fired his shotgun at it as he emerged chasing after it, several soldiers following. 

The thing briefly appeared, a humanoid form of metal seeming to weave between the bullets, a long blade lashing out, nearly cutting a man in two. When bullets did hit it they seemed to bounce harmlessly off, or just stagger it. 

Gormly scrambled back, narrowly avoiding the blade.

Mallory soon emerged behind him, bleeding from a severe gash but still in the fight. 

Hewitt tossed his pistol aside, grabbing up a rifle and prying the amputated hand from it. 

Gormly fired a shot point blank, the things blade flying from its grasp. 

In the blink of an eye it grabbed his leg, swinging him like a child swings a doll and slamming him against a tree. The sickly crack made Hewitt's blood run cold as Gormly's bent body hit the snow. 

Hewitt fired all his rifles ammo, picking up another and another.

It just didn't care.

Mallory was next, and it grabbed her by the face, blue energy suddenly arcing from its wrist. 

There were screams. 

Even as Hewitt desperately fired, trying to distract it somehow, it still held her as her body smoked and twisted in its grip.

It let go of her, her face charred beyond recognition. A deathly silence fell across the massacre, it was only them now. 

Hewitt crouched, his hand searching a fallen soldiers belt, his fingers grasping around his only chance.

It turned, the shimmering vanishing and finally letting him see his foe. It was human, or at least he thought, a metal suit with soulless eyes stared at him.

It took a step, its weight crunching down into a body. It paused, looking down in some sick fascination. This was his chance. 

Hewitt pulled the pin, waiting a moment before throwing it. He dove to the side, covering his head. 

There was an explosion, fragments flying up.

Hewitt's brief smile of victory vanished as the thing took another step, black scorch marks now painting its armor.

"No," Hewitt muttered as he slowly got up, "what the hell are you? Why?"

The thing tilted its head before raising its arm. The was a sound, followed by a pain in his chest. Hewitt looked down, staring at the small dart in his chest. His world began to spin, before darkness took him.

There were sounds. The wind weaving through trees. The crunching a something moving through snow. Was it his imagination? Was he dreaming? Was he dead?

Am I dead? He wondered. Trying to open his eyes or move had no results. 

He had come so far. They all had. Now to die in the forest, with no one knowing what happened.

How can that be how this ends?

He didn't know how much time had passed. All Hewitt had was the cold, that cold feeling creeping more and more through him was the only thing he had. Until even that began to fade. Replaced by warmth. And a voice.

"Sir?"

Hewitt, blinked, harsh light burning his eyes as he blinked again and again. And with each time the world began to reform.

"Sir, can you hear me?" He put a face to the voice, a tall woman of dark complexion smiled at him, her uniform was that of a nurse. Frankly, to Hewitt, it was like being woken by an angel. 

Hewitt nodded a confirmation to her, his throat burning as he swallowed. 

"How long?"

"Its been three days since you were brought in."

Three days. He had to warn the outposts, the airfield. 

"I need to contact my superiors," Hewitt rasped, trying to sit up, the nurse gently tried to keep him lying down, "please, all my men." 

"That wont be necessary Major," A new voice spoke up as a man walked into the room, Hewitt knew the uniform, "please give us a moment nurse."

The woman nodded, smiling at Hewitt before walking out of the room. The man watched her leave, his smile vanishing as he turned back to Hewitt.

"My name is Issac, I am with the Commonwealth's Intelligence Burea. I know you've had a rough few days so I will be straightforward. From this moment you are hereby discharged from the army. In fact we are already on a transport taking you home. Your pension will remain intact. But, if you ever mention something of what you think happened there. Well, lets just say I am a lot less friendly on repeat visits." The man said, smiling again.

"But, my soldiers, they deserve-" Hewitt started.

"They served the Commonwealth well. Accidents do happen though, he paused, stretching dramatically, "I think I am going to let you get some rest. Do keep what I said in mind. And I do mean this in the most caring way, I hope we don't have to meet again. Enjoy retirement."

He turned and walked away, leaving Hewitt alone.

Several days later Imperial forces would launch a full scale invasion of the planet. And no one would remember the blackout that proceeded it.

[morbethgames]

The Eternal Library: a Romantasy Retelling IF (WIP)

What if Cinderella and the prince grew up together?

What if the king was the evil one?

What if the missing piece wasn’t a glass slipper, but ancient memories buried in your soul?

Fight for forbidden love in a cruel kingdom and forge alliances with the heir to the crown.

Buried beneath the sprawling castle at the heart of Minare is a room most think is legend: the Library of Souls. As a member of the royal cleaning staff—and one with Fae-blood—sneaking into the Eternal Library is a dangerous idea, but you risk it for a ritual that gives you the skills of your warrior ancestor and a mission that spans lifetimes.

Destiny calls your warrior spirit to wake.

Assassins are infiltrating the castle.

The kingdom is ripe for change, and it needs your help.

Your soul has waited lifetimes for the chance to put things right.

Now, it’s time.

Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bi; asexual; monogamous or polyamorous.

Romance or befriend a scholarly prince, a down-to-earth princess, a scarred soldier, a soft-spoken spy, a sweet-hearted maid, or a Fae warrior-mage. (3 male ROs, 3 female ROs.)

This is a SLOW BURN ROMANCE. Optional explicit scenes will be offered at the end of the game, but it’ll be a while before we get to those. Enjoy the secret glances and deep yearning until then. ❤️

This is a standalone story set in the same world as Their Majesties’ Pleasure and Ink and Intrigue. You do not need to have played either of those games to enjoy this one.

Public demo wordcount is currently at 40,000.

Play the ETERNAL LIBRARY DEMO for Free!

Join the conversation on the CoG forum thread.

Subscribe to my Patreon for bonus scenes and exclusive art! ❤️‍🔥

[morbethgames]

The Recoding of The Bureau is Finished

I’m done recoding the game. All in all, it was honestly about what I expected to be slimmed off once I got a good look at some of the scenes. As I expected, 90% of that were from the first 3 chapters. I am a mix of emotions after arduously spending hours upon hours replacing gender variables one at a time by hand. Which unfortunately, I couldn’t think of another way for doing it, because all of the characters were using the same gender variables instead of independent ones for each character.

I’m relieved it’s done. Disappointed in myself that I had to do it at all. Irritated that some people decided to put the game on blast for it rather than give actionable suggestions on how to fix it. Excited to finally be able to continue writing both the extra scenes that need to be written and the main story. I honestly don’t know which one I’m going to continue with first.

Please leave feedback.

There are still no doubt one or two spots with maybe 1-2k words each that could be slimmed down, but that would require a lot of work for very little payoff. So yes, I’m comfortable saying, the game is almost 400k words long in total. 85k words per playthrough. That’s not including the extra scenes in the stats screen, because randomtest doesn’t go in the stats screen (to my knowledge at least, someone can correct me if I’m wrong). So you still have to play the game roughly 5 times and choose different choices to see everything it has to offer.

Is the game smaller? A bit, yeah. Is it 100-150k? It’s more than double that.

Now, that doesn’t say anything for the state of some of the writing. If I have to read someone nodding, or smiling, or ‘slightly’, ‘a bit’, or ‘a little’ something in my own work again, I’m gonna jump out a window. Obviously, back when I started writing this, I was very much influenced by Wayhaven. I’ve since grown out of that idea. Since the game has taken on an identity of its own, and while I will forever be grateful to that series and continue to support it, there’s gonna be some changes in the final version of this game. Less of what I said above, less ellipses, and the flirting (especially in the beginning) will seem much more down to earth and believable for the setting it’s in, with a bit of wiggle room since this is still very much a YA game.

Please leave feedback.

The rewrite will not be happening until the first draft of the game is fully finished. I refuse to get stuck in a rewrite phase, mostly because I would just find it way too boring.

My patreon will continue to have static fiction on it, as well as sneak peeks into upcoming stuff. In case you’ve been missing it, Love In Stasis is up to Chapter 6 at this point, with more to come. I’m also thinking about potentially starting a horror static fiction.

I’ll be relying on people to playtest this new version of the game to tell me about any continuity errors, and gender errors, any anything errors. So please, play the demo. Let me know if you notice anything. I think if I’ve proved anything at this point, it’s that I act and fix things based on feedback.

And pettiness.

But mostly feedback.

Please leave feedback.

Last thing I’ll say; I’m gonna stop saying I’m bad at coding. Someone who’s bad at coding wouldn’t have been able to implement the text boxes and fine tune them. Someone who’s bad at coding wouldn’t have been able to code Golden Eyes. Someone who’s bad at coding wouldn’t have been able to slim down the game that much from where it was. So it’s time I give myself the credit of someone who at least knows what they’re doing. I’m not adept at it, but I’m certainly not bad at it either.

I’m still expecting the game to end up over 500k words when all is said and done. It will not be one million words, but I’m actually kind of happy about that. This is proof I’m still working on this game, and the next time it updates, it will have new content. Thanks for those that are patient and stick around, your support does still genuinely mean a lot.

Please leave feedback.

Stay Brilliant,

-Vi

P.S. Please leave feedback.

🛡️Patreon | Forum Page | Demo Link🛡️

[morbethgames]

Chapter 4 of Love in Stasis is out on Patreon!

Hey everyone, just wanted to do a sort of weekly announcement that Chapter 4 of Love in Stasis, the serialized online novel, is now out on Patreon for the $5 a month tier!

With everything that happened in the previous chapter, Luz is taken to the police station for questioning. Meanwhile, Madeline has to somehow try and come to grips with what happened to her the previous night.

Along with Love in Stasis, be sure to stay caught up on the latest The Bureau news over at Patreon as well! I tend to do updates here too, but sometimes Patrons get exclusive progress updates.

I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on the first three chapters and beyond of Love in Stasis (though I may not be able to answer asks which contain spoilers from anything past chapter 3, unless they're vague enough of course).

Thank you so much for the support!

Patreon : Love in Stasis Chapter 1 :

Love in Stasis Chapter 2 :

Love in Stasis Chapter 3 : The Bureau Current Demo

[morbethgames]

Public Update WLGYLemons

This is the update with everything I've worked on this month. There are quite a few unfinished scenes, but I'm happy with the progress I've made. The unfinished scenes are marked, and for some, I've already started the intros to set the tone.

There are so many scenes I still want to add to earlier chapters of Lemon, but I'll tackle that next month.

Please report any bugs, typos, or errors you come across. As of now, the game is around 530,000 words, and I haven't even added all the endings I want yet! 😭

Lastly, keep in mind that the Patreon version does not offer a huge amount of extra content—just a little.

Thank you all for your support. 💕

[morbethgames]

Halloween Special, Current Projects, New Patreon Content

I am so sorry about the radio silence as of late. Between the stuff earlier this week (yes, that stuff), dealing with deaths of people, and university; I've been very busy and mentally drained. However, the good news is, you can play the mini game of The Bureau, "Witchy Woman" right now! The link is at the bottom of this post! Eventually I'll integrate it into the main game, or put it out as potential free DLC or something, but for now there are no stats and it's not tied to choices from the base game.

Tonight is a special case. The MCT has been called in as a favor after finishing up our most recent case. A friend of Kris's reached out, and the local P.D. has let the MCT take the lead on this one. A house party in the beginning of October up in Maine has turned sour. A party-goer has been reported deceased.

We just finished a job, but in this line of work, there's always another case to solve. So here I am, approaching the residence with my team, about to find out exactly what happened on this cold, damp night.

Because it's not part of a bigger game or story, and the only pacing I had to worry about was that of the investigation, this is much more freeflow than other investigations in the main story. Go back and forth between the crime scene, the perimeter of the house, interrogations, and more! The more you discover evidence, the more new options will unlock in conversations, and you have an evidence log in the stats section that updates every time you find out something relevant to the case.

I'm only promoting this now, even though it's been done for a couple of weeks, because it was part of a Jam and I didn't think it would be fair if I got votes from a community built over a few years when others in the Jam would not have had that same benefit. I wanted it to be an even playing field, even if it meant holding out for a bit. So, I apologize for making you all wait.

There are still things I'd like to do for this game, things I'll end up adding, but it is at the very least ready to play. It's 40k words, so have at it!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right, next up, something I'd like to announce. I'm working on a serialized fiction that I'm (hopefully) planning to turn into a book. The first 3 chapters are going to be posted for free, both here on my blog and on my Patreon, though not quite yet. Chapters after that will be released on Patreon for the people who pay the $5 tier.

I'll be honest, it has been extremely cathartic to go from writing an IF where the chapters are all pretty much the length of a book themselves, to writing an actual book where a chapter is about 4k words. It's a very nice breath of fresh air, and it by no means, entails that I will stop working on Bureau. In fact, it may even help speed up rate of production, funnily enough. Having something to keep my mind turning while having writer's block about a scene in the IF will help me constantly generate ideas, and that's really nice to think about.

A small college town is rocked by a horrific murder. In wake of the events, a couple of friends begin investigating this personal tragedy, determined to get to the bottom of what happened at the Scribe City college. The lesson is quickly thrust upon them that loss leads to pain, but pain is temporary, and loss can be forever. So what comes after the pain? They need to explore that journey together, and in the process, navigate the complicated things feelings that have started to bloom.

The book (serialized fiction for now) , called Love In Stasis, is going to be a 'WLW romance small town college murder mystery'. You will explore the relationships that these characters have and continue to form, and just how messy things get when tragedy sparks love. I have almost 25k words done for it, about six and a half chapters, and I'm going to try to get 50k words done with it by the end of the month. A writing challenge that's totally not tied to the name of any organizations.

If this works out, I could reward patrons with static fiction while not having to worry about providing everyone with constant things tied to the IF itself, and I could work on The Bureau at a pace I'm very comfortable with.

I'm still learning as a writer. I'm still learning new things I like, and how I like to produce content. All I know is that I like producing art in the form of writing, and I most certainly will not stop doing that anytime soon, and now that the Halloween Special is done, I will be getting back to the base game.

Which will start with a complete recoding of the gender variables. I've already started on that process, so no more multiple versions of each chapter. One version. One set of gender variables. Much more condensed coding and script. So, people out there who said that wasn't going to change, I just have to say what I'd said all along. My coding was indeed bad. However I will also say something else I've said all along. I do take criticism.

That being said I'm never using multi-replace and you can't make me. I like being able to read what I'm writing.

More to come in the near future.

Stay Brilliant,

-Vi

https://cogdemos.ink/play/viisbae/the-bureau-halloween-special-witchy-woman

Patreon Link

[morbethgames]

Love the story but I think I encountered a major bug? I went to talk to the coroner's office but during the debriefing with elizabeth at the end she brings up Jacob and confiscating a USB, which didn't happen on my playthrough. Its very confusing.

Will definitely look into this. Thank you for the report!

[morbethgames]

i just wanna say i REALLY appreciate how you've written MC trauma responses. especially when we can respond poorly to loud, aggressive noises (i.e. Hawks slamming the car door in chapter 2) but also react JUST AS AGGRESSIVELY in an argument (i.e. the Hawks argument in chapter 3/4 (i cant remember which one it is exactly))

as someone who grew up having a LOT of arguments with my parents and such, flinching at ANY loud noises, but also just being a genuinely loud and outgoing person, i feel very seen and represented? i suppose.

so far ive only played Hawks route but im planning on playing the rest of them soon

Thank you for the kind words! The different responses to trauma was definitely one of the things I want to highlight in the game, and there will be even more than what is being seen. And obviously trauma and triggers can vary in many different ways. Some people freeze up, some people lash out, some people dissociate, etc. So I'm glad people are finding the current ways it's written in a satisfactory manner!

[morbethgames]

Welcome to Havenbrook! You're going to love it here... not!

[morbethgames]

New Chapter Released!

Hello, everyone! 💗

Chapter 4 brings you approximately 55k words in total.

LINK

So, in this update:

Start your journey to Vesphire! With Fadiya, Naima, and... your newly appointed not so happy guard. Rest assured that the others will join you in due time.

Along the road you will be able to speak to many people and discover many new things. Or perhaps you will see something from the past if fortune favors you.

Pick your very own animal companion! Try to think of names for the little one.

Most importantly, if you wish to then you can: shatter relationships, heal them, shed tears, let jealousy consume you, and perhaps even share a bed with someone. Be who you are.

At the end, you will reach your former home that looks so different yet so familiar. And have an odd... dream?

Thank you all for your patience and support, I hope you enjoy this new chapter. 💗

For those that are unfamiliar with the game :

Crown of Ashes and Flames is a fantasy interactive fiction game on pc and mobile. You play as the only remaining member of the royal family of Vesphire; living in the home of the man who took away everything from you.

The game is safe for those 17 and older and there are many content warnings. Make sure to read them before playing it.

Like the premise so far? Check out the pinned post and give it a try!

If you enjoyed the game, please reblog! One of the things that makes me happy is seeing others enjoy what I have created. Let me know your thoughts and rate the game as well. 💗

[morbethgames]

Hey friends, I've finally updated After Dark!

It's currently available in early access on Patreon. If you're a patron, you can play it immediately!

I know it’s been a while since the last update, and I want to thank each one of you for your patience and support. This update is a big one, and I’m so excited for you all to experience it!

Here's what awaits you:

A ton of new content — this update brings more than 50,000 words!

New features and enhancements to make the game more dynamic and inclusive.

Improvements and bug fixes to make your experience smoother and more enjoyable.

I'll post a devlog in half an hour, so you can read everything in more detail on there! ♥

About the future: As previously said, moving forward you can expect more frequent updates, with fresh content and improvements rolling out monthly. I'm committed to making this game the best it can be!

[ Patreon ][ Discord ][ Public Demo ]

[morbethgames]

Patreon demo has been updated with Niall's bath scenes.

The update added almost 25k words to the word count, making the Patreon demo around 90k words long (it's a direct continuation of the game, it starts where the public demo ended).

Thank you so much for the kind messages, feedback, reblogs, likes, and for all your support! 💛

In the update, you can:

Learn more about Niall and his abilities 👀

Bathe. Finally. You're grimy.

Quinn is there too. Sort of.

[morbethgames]

Happy Full Moon!

And guess what? There are werewolves this full moon. It's just like old times.

Here's the link to the new and improved:

Thicker Than Demo

I hope you like it!

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Update Blog:

I’m back! I’m so glad I managed to write a good amount this month. Last month was rough. I didn’t talk about it much, but I was feeling pretty rotten about writing less than 10,000 words. This month? 29,657! That’s more like it! Back on the money. I’m feeling just a wee bit epic right now.

This month, I started chipping into Chapter Eleven giving myself a (much needed) break from the romance scenes of Chapter Ten. While I love writing romance routes, when they all happen all at once it can feel very overwhelming.

Chapter Eleven is all about gathering allies for the big final showdown. I want the scenes to feel very political and for the relationships and choices you’ve made throughout the game to really start to pay off. If you have any feedback or ideas, please let me know.

As always, thank you for all your help and support. I don’t think this game would’ve got very far without the enthusiasm of the people in my inbox.

💙

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Update Details:

As of the 19th of August 2024

Continued work on Chapter Eleven

Focused of the hunters’ and the werewolves’ scenes

Additional Words: 29,657 (excluding commands)

Total Word Count: 379,262 (excluding commands)

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If you would like weekly updates, please consider becoming a member of my KoFi page for $5 Australian which is... $3.34 USD. Wow! That's the cheapest vampires on the block! Line up for you budget bloodsuckers!