#development features

[abandoned-quiche]

I LOVE ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS BTW. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR HATE FOR THEM ON MY POST

[harmonysanreads]

Hello! I recently saw your Vampire!Alhaitham headcanons floating around again, and since I just finished 3.2 not that long ago and have a certain feeble scholar on the mind, what are your thoughts on Vampire!Anaxa if you have any?

Would be similar or different from Alhaitham in your opinion?

If Vampire!Alhaitham is one who’d much rather pull the strings from the safety of the shadows, Vampire!Anaxa is someone who’d parade in the sun with his head held high, if only to spite the people praying for his demise.

He’s a paragon of truth, his desire to answer the question of what exactly he is, is far hungrier than the instincts he has to battle with all day. Outwardly, he looks quite like a stereotypical vampire — thin figure, pale complexion and a temperament that seems to hint that he has spent a millennia divorced from human society. The only thing, and a rather crucial thing at that, which he appears to be missing is that untamable thirst for fresh blood.

Contrary to the impression he gives, he’s actually lived among humans for quite some time as a scholar and he often thanks his ‘control over the bloodlust’ in assisting him to not blow his cover up. Not that he's fond of this charade, but the benefits of enduring humankind's nauseating presence kept him sane enough. Perhaps arrogance crawled to occupy the space of where his heart should’ve been beating, as when his belief of ultimate self control was put to the test, he refused to accept it.

“But you were a human once, weren't you?” the whisper of a road sporting the garments of mystery, intent on making him lose his way for eternity. A cool finger glides over the line of his jaw, its chill very different than his own.

Anaxa forces himself to swallow, that metallic tang insistent on his tongue — not willing to believe that he was a tad too late to conceal the ungraceful drool.

“You and I, we’re both rejected by this world, shackled in the shadows. Why not quit this pouting game and team up with me instead?” as if dissatisfied by the level of atrocity in your words, you amp it up by poking at the bloody fang peeking from his lips. He responds in kind by biting down, hard ; you seem just the tiny bit amused.

“Curse you…” it's a futile exclamation, laughable at that and that is exactly how you respond. Despite his talons clinging around your neck and a fresh wound marring the skin where your artery thrums, you appear not the tiniest bit fazed. It steals his breath away.

“Look at you,” you coo, extending your palm as if to cradle his face but brush past it instead, dizzying him. “Salivating just from one taste. You’re not as immune to this bloodthirst as you’d like to believe, you wouldn't survive an hour if any of those humans found you like this. I can offer you protection and you can be my little toy. Is there any deal better than this?”

Don't listen, don't listen, don't listen. That is the whisper that weaves poison, enchants desperate souls into pawning their remaining spark. A creature neither foolish nor wise. “I’d rather burn at the stake than entertain your schemes.” comes his sibilant retort.

“Ah ah ah.” you chastise, as if he's nothing but a child who knows little about how this world works. “But you still haven't found the answer to what you are, why you're like this.” you glance towards the trail of blood oozing from his bite, a flick of your fingers and within a blink, the scene disappears.

“What if I told you… that I know the answers you seek?”

A road that will lead him nowhere, a serpent disguising as a flower. And he, the Fool that will chase the mirage, despite knowing that nothing awaits him but doom.

[interact-if]

Our second edition of the Black History Month Author Spotlight series features beloved author, C.C. Hill (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if)!

(CC is an absolute institution. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s than by doing a feature of the slice-of-life romance queen herself? CC is one the most inspiring, supportive IF writers out there, and it was a great honor to pick her brain! Read on for pandemic-setting feel good stories and Creole-based spells!)

Author: C.C. Hill

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Games: When Life Gives You Lemons (Slice-of-Life)

Synopsis: You play as an MC starting a new life in a small town called Lemon. It’s a story about self-discovery, love, and parenthood—a comfort story where the love interests want to sweep you off your feet.

Games: The Midnight Saga (Horror)

Synopsis: After finding yourself trapped in another dimension, you and your friends must fight for survival and defeat the monsters that lurk in the shadows. Make sure to grab a weapon as your quiet Halloween night turns into an out-of-this-world adventure!

Quote from the interview:

What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

Read on for the full interview!

Tell me more about yourself! What are some things new readers or long-time readers might not know about you?

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Can you tell me a bit about what you’re working on right now and your journey into interactive fiction? What inspired the game/story you’re currently writing?

I'm working on so many things it should be illegal for my brain to operate this way. But mainly, When Life Gives You Lemons. My plan is to focus on the final part in March, do some beta testing, and submit it to Hosted Games in April for my birthday month.

I'm also under contract with Heart’s Choice, writing Spices of the Heart, with hopes of completing it this year. On top of that, I’m working on publishing my first visual novel, The Wedding. It’s close to completion, and I have the third quarter of 2025 planned for publication.

I only started writing interactive fiction in 2020. When the pandemic hit, I needed something to keep my brain occupied, and five years later, I’ve published three games and still have a ton of projects in progress.What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

How has your identity, heritage/background, upbringing, or personal experiences influenced your storytelling or writing process? OR How does your work feature aspects of your identity / experience?

My first game, The Midnight Saga, was heavily inspired by my background and where I'm from. The story itself is based on an old Haitian folklore about not staying outside after midnight—if you do, the Keeper of Midnight will eat you. I took that idea and built the characters around it.

I even managed to include some spells written in Haitian Creole. It was a lot of fun to write, and even though Book 2 is currently on hiatus, this story has a special place in my heart because it was my first game. The characters are a representation of my people and the struggles they’ve gone through. I’m really happy that it was my debut story.

What are some of the most rewarding or challenging aspects of writing Interactive Fiction for you?

For me, it’s branching and being able to write an MC and other characters in a way that readers can truly connect with. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of feel-good romance and slice-of-life stories, and I’m starting to feel like this is my comfort zone—and I want to stay here forever.

I never want to create a romance option that is inherently bad or purposely deceitful. My biggest challenge is writing characters who are flawed and complex—where readers can love them or hate them—but making sure they aren’t just villains for the sake of it. They’re simply existing in the world they were created in.

What does your writing process look like? Any rituals or habits? Any tips, tricks, philosophies or approaches that have worked very well for you?

My writing process is a mess. My brain gets pulled in so many directions. When I get an idea, I have to code it, shape it, and give it life—otherwise, it’s going to bug me forever. That’s why I end up with so many WIPs. I need to see them through, at least to a short demo, to see if they make sense.

My desk is also full of notes, and I basically write on anything—pieces of napkins, tissue boxes, whatever is nearby. One weird habit I have is that some of the best changes I’ve made to my games, those "spark" moments, happen when I’m in the shower. It’s weird and strange, but it works.

What’re you excited to tackle/implement/work on next? Or anything you’re looking forward to in the year ahead?

Keep writing romance and feel-good slice-of-life stories. Get When Life Gives You Lemons published this year. Focus on doing this full-time. Publish my visual novel.

Overall, just stay busy and be productive.

If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?

To the readers—us authors don’t have all the answers. Sometimes, we start writing a story and end up forgetting certain plots or characters, which is easy to do when writing interactive fiction. So yes, we often write ourselves into a corner and just put a period there so the story can progress.

To the authors—write stories you love, something you would want to read. It makes it easier to keep going because if it’s a story you love, you’ll want to see how it ends, and that will push you to persevere.

This-or-that segment: (red = CC's pick)

Coffee or tea?

Early mornings or late nights?

Angsty or Cozy romances?  

Steady progress or frenzied binge-writing followed by periods of calm?

Introvert or extrovert?

Plotter or pantser?

[dragonita-arts]

Do you like dragons?

Do you want to create your own?

[lynn-tged-posting]

frontera siblings

original

[elodieunderglass]

I haven’t watched Dungeon Meshi, but I always enjoy the dashboard osmosis experience and have a peculiar visual memory. Here is what I believe Dungeon Meshi to be mostly about. No complicating experiences with the text, or indeed character references, fed into this extremely clear vision, which I believe I torrented directly from the astral plane at the same time as the creator was logged on

[hauntingyourself]

Something inspired by Lay down in the tall grass by timber timbre because this song has been rattling my brains for a while

[eyra]

it is my firm conviction that tagging is a courtesy that should be managed at the author's discretion - it is not a requirement from AO3 and therefore it's not something that a reader should expect or demand.

[isuggestforcefem]

https://www.tumblr.com/isuggestforcefem/782383791093301248?source=share

What about intersex people? Their relationship with their agab can be a lot more complicated.

In some cases, intersex people start developing traits opposite of their agab, usually when they hit puberty. If they took steps towards preventing their body into developing into something they don't want, wouldn't that be the same as transitioning?

In other cases, intersex people might have different genitalia from what they're expected to have. I'm not aware of how gender is assigned in these cases, but if they tried to align the mismatched pieces of themselves with their agab, would they still be cis? Even if they started taking hormones or got surgeries to become who they wanted to be?

They'll often face the same experiences and obstacles as trans people, regardless of whether they align with their agab or something else. Especially in the case of intersex people, who don't align with the sex "binary," their agab is often just a word on a document to try and categorize them in a system that doesn't make the effort to acknowledge their existence.

Shouldn't we let them decide whether or not they were transitioning, rather than defining them as "not really trans" for trying to be their agab? Shouldn't their own experiences and feelings about what they went through give them the validation to define themselves?

Well you see generally if you take steps to align yourself with your assigned gender you’re probably cis.

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Starting to think many don't really know what a filler episode is if they think all of these are filler. A filler episode isn't just a one-off story, but normally something that just feels like it is utterly forgettable and disposable and mainly there to fill out the schedule because the writers didn't have any better ideas. Episodes like Move Along Home, The Storyteller, Second Sight, The Muse, Let He Who Is Without Sin, Resurrection, Profit and Lace, etc. The type of episodes many will just skip on a rewatch.

[nishitanis-left-nut]

im not that great at analyzing characters and reading into subtext and all that but tumblr has opened my eyes and made me think more about majimas queerness and then i remembered Hannya-Man and its like. its not even subtext the text is hitting you over the head with The Implications.

[nosferatu-del-fanart]

I accidentally pressed down arrow and apparently you can input negative years. My age? I was not born. Now let me in. XD

[interact-if]

Writing Spotlight: The Golden Rose

We interviewed @anathemafiction, author of the IF, The Golden Rose, Book 1. It’s a game that delivers everything it sets out to do, with its sweeping, ambitious scope and beautiful, intricate detail. It was an honor to pick her brain about bringing such a rich, complex, and truly immersive world (and its wonderful characters) to life.

In one of my favorite quotes in the interview, she writes:

[…] We Portuguese sometimes still call ourselves Lusitanos, and it always saddened me to some extent. That loss of history, of identity, is one of the major driving forces behind the Rose. What if there's a world where it's Rome that's forgotten? Where Latin is forbidden so that the languages born from it, the kingdoms, and the civilizations never came to be?

Without further ado, here’s the full interview!

What drew you to interactive fiction as a storytelling medium?

The very nature of it. I'm a big fan of RPGs, where you can shape your character and make key decisions in your adventure, and, of course, I'm also a big fan of books and literature in general. So, when I encountered my first IF game (Choice of Dragon), I was instantly hooked.

It's the perfect blend of two of my passions — storytelling and player agency. The fact that it's entirely text-based gives a kind of freedom and depth that's hard to match in other gaming media simply because the only budget it needs is the author's time and effort. It's quite literally, corny as it sounds, fuelled by your imagination.

2. Is there a part of your background—personal, cultural, professional—that finds its way into your work?

In a land that is today a region of Portugal, there used to be an agglomeration of tribes collectively known as Lusitanos. They were eventually conquered by the Roman Empire, but not before putting up such a fight that even Roman generals acknowledged their spirit. Their culture was largely eradicated, and the pieces that weren't were assimilated into the empire. We Portuguese sometimes still call ourselves Lusitanos, and it always saddened me to some extent.

That loss of history, of identity, is one of the major driving forces behind the Rose. What if there's a world where it's Rome that's forgotten? Where Latin is forbidden so that the languages born from it, the kingdoms, and the civilizations never came to be?

I'm also fascinated by the Catholic Church and its monopoly over some of the wealthiest, most powerful kingdoms of Europe. The Pope was the king of kings, so to speak, and all that power, that opulence, was born from something as simple and as human as faith.

That control, that God-like power, not only over the body but the very mind of its subjects, is another big part of the story I'm writing.

So, in summary, my cultural background was and is a major influence on this IF.

3. What does your writing process look like?

I'm what's generally called a pant-ser; I like going where inspiration takes me. Still, in a project as big as The Rose, I did write a general outline, and I have a very clear idea of where I want the plot to go and the major story beats that will get me there.

But the in-betweens are often left blank. I think, even if I tried to plan every single detail beforehand, I wouldn't be able to. Even the scenes and chapters that I have planned, I'm always open to changes or deviations from the outline. If a character, a situation, or, especially, the MC decides to surprise me, I kind of roll with it.

To be honest, most of my favorite scenes, dialogues, and even characters that I've written were born as a sudden inspiration and not from the pages of an outline.

But as for my actual writing process, it goes like this: I go chapter by chapter, and I always begin by handwriting the first draft. I don't know why, but handwriting, when it comes to just getting the ideas out of your head, with no finesse, no grammar checks, just the pure chaos of materializing your thoughts into tangible words, is the best medium for me.

After that, I write the second draft on the computer. There, I fill in all the choices and paths I didn't write in the first draft, and, of course, beautify the text, make the dialogue fit the characters, discard or expand on rudimentary ideas, etc. Basically, it's where I write the text that'll appear in the game.

This juxtaposition between the first draft and the second allows me to rethink story beats, adjust the progression of the characters' relationships, postpone scenes, etc. Basically, it allows me to think about where the chapter is going.

The third step is to put it all in code and make it playable. As I go through the Word document, I make minor edits here and there, but nothing major.

The actual editing is made later, in what I call a 'deep edit.' I usually do this when I finish writing the following chapter because looking at a text with fresh eyes allows you to spot mistakes much better than if you do it right away.

4. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone just starting out in interactive fiction?

To follow up on the last question, I will say that you need to know yourself. Just as I operate better without a clear, bullet-proof plan, other people thrive with a structured outline, a character glossary 20k words long, chapter charts, and multicolored graphics. My advice is that before you embark on such a complex and often big project as an IF game, you should know your own writing process, and the only way for you to know that is if you write.

I'd say start with short stories or small fables, but honestly, just write anything. Dive right in, and with time, you'll begin to know yourself as a writer.

When you know yourself and your own style, then begin the IF. You'll never be truly 100% prepared — we're always learning and adjusting. I'm not the same writer I was when I first started The Rose, and I won't be what I am now when I finish this second book. We're constantly evolving, so allow yourself space to fail and fall short of expectations. This is, after all, a marathon, not a sprint.

5. What’s a common mistake you see in interactive storytelling, and do you have any tips on how to avoid it?

Not so much a mistake but a misconception. I think people, especially those with little to no experience writing (or any creative hobby), believe that it's an inspiration-based activity. That you write whenever you feel like it.

This is completely wrong. If I only wrote whenever I felt inspired to, I wouldn't have made it past the third chapter of book one.

Some days — most days — you won't feel like writing. You sit at your desk, and you do it. You have to face it like a job, almost. You clock in, do your work, and leave. Does this mean I have no joy in writing? Of course not. I get really into it once I begin, but it's not every day that I wake up and want to leap for my pen.

Sometimes, I'd rather go out hiking with my dog, meet a friend for coffee, or watch another episode of whatever show I'm watching. But, when writing IF, you often will have to make these sacrifices, and, many times, you won't even be blessed with inspiration, so that sacrifice is made easier.

This is made even worse in IF. Due to the nature of the medium, you will get days where you're stuck writing repeating passages or paths you're not entirely interested in. You will want to pull the hair out of your head. You'll have to clench your teeth and do it — otherwise, you won't make it to the fun, rewarding bits where everything comes together.

It's not an exaggeration when people say, 'writing is hard.' Anyone can do it. Very few actually do. I think it's less about talent and more about commitment.

End of interview

—

A big thanks once again to Anathema for her insightful answers, and @veswrites-if for taking the time to coordinate the interview. Hope that this was a fun and interesting read.

Stay tuned for more of these interviews, both for the Writing Spotlight AND for Pride Month!!

[valiantsilver]

I am unfortunately not much of an artist (yet) so I have no way of demonstrating this concept but a character design idea I am very much enamoured with for the life series is having every lifer be some sort of animal hybrid or mystical creature or monster, except martyn who is Just A Normal Guy. like there’s wolf-man ren and cleo who’s a zombie (obviously) and like, tango who’s some sort of demon/blaze/whateverthefuck, and martyn is also there in his crocs. I just think its a neat idea

[swordmaid]

finallyyyyy getting around to starting shri’iia’s refs and very interesting to see how her features changed from my first ref sheet of her that I did last year (just after artfight ended) vs to now

originally her features were more rounded n quite soft but I’ve made them sharper, n some of her features got significantly smaller like her eyes and lips n I think that fits her vibes better. her nose got more hooked and sharper too - which is not so clear on the ref 🥲 but I do like that changes! she looks more striking to me 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️