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[wings-of-ink]

Update!

Hey everyone, just wanted to check in with you. I hope you all doing well!

Right now, I am feeling good about getting chapter 3 out by 4/30. It's a crunch for sure, but barring any disasters in the work itself or my personal life, I feel like it is doable. My aim is to get it to a point where it is release-worthy but will still need fine tuning after the fact. I generally like to edit things a couple times at least and have it play-tested, but I won't have time for all that. But, this is a work in progress, and I can always make improvements as I go. There are also a couple segments that I did not have time to add, but they're not pivotal to the story. I will add them if I find the time before the 30th (sorry to those who wanted to make a tasty cake for someone).

So far, I have gone through chapters 1 and 2 again and made some corrections to typos and grammar. I added a white hair option with some flavor text, and some other flavor text for purple eyes. The option to have your MC's hair turn grey (streaked or fully grey) from stress/illness was added, but I did not do it in the way I needed to, so if I have time, I'm going to fix that before release. I also updated some of the variable values of certain choices. A name bank was added for anyone who might struggle to come up with a name for their MC. I made all but one of them correspond to the marks. There's a wild card in there for the adventurous, lol. The codex was also updated.

Today, I am editing chapter 3. My very gracious boss encouraged me to take the day off, and I'm feeling pretty good, so I'm using this as an opportunity to get some serious work done.

If you're curious and don't mind my rambling about my life, you can read about my ordeal below!

I am feeling much better. I had a couple rough days in the past week, but mostly brought on by medication my dentist wanted me to take to stave off possible infection in a broken tooth. I had a less-than-stellar reaction to it, and it gave me insomnia and anxiety. Simply fantastic.

But, I had the root canal yesterday (got lucky and they had a cancelation so I was able to go in 5 days early). I am happy to report it was not bad at all. In fact, it may have been the easiest dental procedure aside from cleanings that I've ever had, lol. I was in and out within half an hour, and the endodontist numbed the fuck out of my mouth. The biggest pain was the drive there and back since I live so far away.

I chilled the whole day and took a glorious 2 hour nap, and have been sore but totally good. I even watched one of my favorite comfort-animes, Natsume Yuujinchou. If you are ever feeling poorly and down in the dumps or just need to relax, it is cute, a bit funny, and lighthearted - so I highly recommend it. So, all in all, I feel recharged and more than ready to see chapter 3 with fresh eyes!

Thank you to everyone who sent me encouraging messaging about the root canal. It really truly helped me show up for that appointment without feeling completely vulnerable. I was still anxious, because that is just what my brain do - I can't even see my GP without my hands shaking, lol. But, going into it knowing what your experiences have been helped so much.

Anyway, sorry for prattling! I'm going to get back to it now! ^_^

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Anon bout the MCs body type. I think i get it now. Thank you for responding! So, like, it comes down to trying to have a general description but leaving room for interpretation so as to make it more finite, which would be a lot of different variables to encode and figure out? I got itttt! Thank you for taking the time to explain for me! And for deciphering my many mistakes from typing lmfao.

Yes! That is a wonderful summation. I am so bad about taking the scenic route in my thoughts, lol. I need to hire you as a translator!

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If i could ask, imthe MC's bidy type descriptions seem to be rather slender based. Idk if its just cause of the descriptions, or if its cuase it aint translating into my brain well, but i wont lie when saying i was hoping to have a bit more of a chunky MC. But then again its also completely your story so i aint gonna make any demands or nothin. Just meaning to ask if there was like, a description for the body types withint thw story.

That may just be a fumble on my part with the wording and interpretation. One thing having an audience has taught me is that the way we all see the world and interpret things can be very different, and some things I am simply out of the loop on, lol.

I personally don't intend or see them being slender unless we're referencing the specific ones that mention lean or slender (with the athletic type also being more lean). My intent was that broad/sturdy, curvy, and voluptuous also includes MCs that are chunky in some manor. I didn't necessarily want to give an MC body option that was just "chunky," "thick," "heavy set," etc...when that's not all their body may be or the specific way a body can be these things. There were many ways I debated on to do this without having a list that was just too long.

The trick for the MC is finding enough descriptors without going overboard, but staying generalized enough that you can headcanon the look of your MC to a more specific extent (say, thick thighs or butt, heavy in the middle, double chin - whatever you please). Though that is my intent, interpretation is going to vary. I intentionally try to avoid specifics in certain areas so readers can write part of this story and world into their own minds.

MC appearance is one of those things that I want to be as organic as possible, but with regard that - due to the 2nd person perspective - it doesn't get naturally mentioned that often. With MCs of all shapes and sizes and colors, it's hard for me to cast that wide net and still keep things reasonable. It is something I will try to improve as I go, though.

Thank you for the ask, Anon! I appreciate your insight! I hope I was able to explain my intentions in a way that makes sense. If you have additional thoughts or questions, please let me know! ^_^

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Hiii!!

do you have any more intentions of adding extra things to the IF in the future that would require us restarting the story??

sorry if thus comes off of as rude, def not my intention. just curious!

That's not rude at all, my friend, no worries! I feel like there is a good chance that a restart will be recommended, but not necessarily required (not sure if that really helps answer, but it's still in the air for me as well). I will try to test that soon. I don't feel like there will be changes in the first chapters that will break a game going forward. I've mostly changed some for the "flavors" of particular things like hair color, an attitude towards Oswin and some variable values, but the original coding for these things remains untouched. I don't think you'll miss out on much. Once I can test this and the update releases, I will say for sure if a restart is required or not.

Thank you for the ask, Anon! ^_^

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Just a heads up!

I've encountered an issue that might delay chapter 3 by a bit, but I can't say for sure right now. I feel like this is the IF writer's curse, that as soon as you set a goal, something is going to pop up to stop you, lol. Anyway, I apparently need a root canal.

I'm not terribly thrilled with the idea, lol. I am hoping to get it ASAP next week. I have never had one before, and like many people, I have a lot of dental anxieties (at this point, I kinda just want the dentist to sneak up, club me unconscious, and do their work and turn me back out into the wild).

Thankfully, I am not in tremendous pain right now, but I will be if it's not taken care of soon.

As long as my discomfort is tolerable and my anxiety doesn't keep me from functioning, I think I can still get chapter 3 done on time - but it runs the risk of being less polished and tested.

Not to worry, because I know a few of you out there will, but I am taking care of myself first. The better I am mentally and physically, the better I can make something enjoyable for you all. I plan to continue pushing to get this done by the end of the month because of the Amare Games Festival. I've never really experienced any of the jams before, and wanted to join the party for my own sake. I want this for myself as well as for those of you looking forward to reading, but there will be other jams later if this one doesn't work out.

Anyway, I hope you all are doing well and none of your teeth are broken! LOL ^_^

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the new options you added like the white hair color and mc harboring feelings for oswin, they're not in the demo yet right? and do we have to restart the game when it gets updated?

Correct, the earliest those will be in is when chapter 3 is entered, which should be at the end of April - barring any disasters. A restart will be recommended. I don't think it would break anything too badly to not restart, but it's best not to tempt fate (especially as I am very much still getting the hang of this, lol).

Thank you for the ask! ^_^

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The more I think about confessing to oswin previously the more I like it. It would make for a lovely POV from him.

Like I said in my comment especially if MC still kinda likes him but has resigned themselves to not being his type or thinking he just doesn't see them like that.

Then MC starts hanging out with the other ROs and he witnesses a moment between them and get irritated with himself thinking about why he actually has NO DAMN reason to be annoyed.

Because sir you told us to basically fuck off 😒

Well i doubt you'd make it that he said that. He was probably just a cold asshole that said nothing could happen between us or he can't because he's a damn scaredy cat 😒

Mxm oswin pisses me off. This didn't even happen and I'm already upset.

Like dude why are you made that MC is spending time with other people. You rejected Us!!! 😭😤

Oh, my friend, your asks brought me much joy this morning!

I absolutely love the idea of a POV for Oswin with this. It would be a fitting way to see all the screwed up thoughts that were in his poor little kid/teen noggin.

Sometimes I feel like I've hurt Oswin enough, but then I get messages like this, and I'm like...did I? Did I hurt him enough? Maybe just a little more emotional baggage won't hurt, lol (well, it will, it will hurt a lot).

(Also, I lost my shit at your "This didn't even happen, and I'm already upset" line, lol!)

This situation also kinda makes me think that certain ROs would sense something odd with MC and Oswin and maybe point it out. Duri for sure. They wouldn't be mean about it, but maybe unintentionally rub it in....

In response to your Ask-amendment, lol, hellloooooo to you too! I am having a wonderful week and I hope you are too my lovely Liz!

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Biting anon here -chomp chomp- How ya doin' author dear? Drinkin' water? Eatin' well? I hope you are, cause you are #Ah-Mazing!!

Hello Bitey! Good to hear from you. ^_^ I hope you are well and your teeth are as sharp as ever!

I'm doing well and am fed and hydrated. I ran in my little wheel today too - I fell out, but it was still fun.

Keep chompin, Anon, because you are #Ah-Mazing too! 😁

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hey about having a childhood crush on Oswin I think it would be fun for an mc that confessed when they were younger were rejected/dismissed and then got over it with time (not being attracted to him anymore)

Ooh, that is also a good turn! *writes furiously*

Every time we discuss these things, this is what goes through my head, lol:

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You said you would add a MC that had a childhood crush on Oswin... What about someone that confessed at some point on their teens and was rejected or dismissed? I'm playing with a very foward mc that would definitely tell Oswin about having a crush when they were still friends. (then say it was all a joke after being rejected lol)

That's a good question, Anon. It crossed my mind when I implemented the other change. That would take more adjustments in areas where that choice becomes relevant, but it probably wouldn't be too hard. It would also make for a really fun flashback as we progress too...I will keep thinking on it and make some notes about what all I'd need to add for it to happen. I see it being a reality, but I won't say yes for sure and get any hopes up just to be on the safe side. Especially, as I am getting to the point where I'll be editing chapter 3 very soon, I may have time to wiggle it in...

I'll mull this over, Anon! Thank you for bringing it up, this would be a lot of fun to do! I've got it in my handy-dandy notebook for brainstorming. ^_^

If more of you are interested in this option, please chime in!

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Got another good segment done! Just one more small one, and then I'll be doing the little wrap up for chapter 3!

Keeping track of this one hurt my brain, I was juggling a few variations in a conversation. It wouldn't be so bad if I would plot the splits BEFORE I start writing and entering things, lol.

Ignore the weird way I track my passages, it makes sense in my head but it's not really super organized, but it helps me.

In other news, I discovered that the text document I use to dump literally everything (prose, code, notes to myself, plus a table to track variables) is over 500 pages. So, I think I'll be backing that up and starting a fresh one for the next few chapters...

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well, are safe, and content. ^_^

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It's your favorite person who can see into the future lol. Definitely don't have to answer this right away.

But how would the Ro's react to Mc handing them a positive pregnancy test? (Just found out yay 😅🙃😬 nervous/anxiety as fuck.)

Hello hello! I've missed you!

And a holy shit, congratulations, my friend! I have never been there myself, but I know many who have. Not an easy road to travel, but just take it in stride. Take good care of yourself and don't sweat those things that are out of your hands. ^_^

There's a related ask from quite a while back that I've linked below. Not precisely the same, but I feel like the reactions are pretty well on par with yours. I missed ??? when I first answer that one, so I have added that as well!

Thank you for the Ask! I have missed everyone, but chapter 3 really is trucking along and I can't wait to share it with you! ^_^

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omg thank you! now i can play an mc who's been pining for oswin all this time 🥹

You are very welcome, my friend! I can see the shock and awe on his face now, it's going to be a tasty moment! ^_^

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Just some updates on where we're headed now...

Chapter 3 is moving right along. I got some tedious bits done, which is a huge relief. I have also been giving a think on how chapters 3 and 4 flow together, and I'm making some changes to my original plan.

Chapter 3 is already pretty hefty, and I am nearly done with a huge segment that would provide a natural divide between it and chapter 4. I was hoping to leave chapter 3 in a more exciting fashion, but I think revamping the flow could still work in favor of the story and even out the sizes of these chapters.

Chapter 4 was going to end up shorter originally. This way, it would be more equal and contain a number of exciting things (including some ROs finally taking the stage). There's a small chance I could get chapter 4 done by the end of April, but that might be me being too optimistic...Chapter 4 will be mostly exposition - things happening that won't require a ton of coding (I think, lol), though there are a couple choices that divert the MC's path a little. If I can't get it done enough to release with chapter 3, then I think I can at least get it out not long after.

So, I'm going to wrap up what I have of chapter 3 and then get to editing and polishing. I expect more errors with this one, both coding and typos, but I'm going to try and get it to where those mistakes aren't as distracting for readers.

Below is how ch 3 looks now. Those three little passages on the right are the last ones for this section before I wrap it up!

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hello! so in the dinner scene after the meeting with ansar, the options regarding our feelings for oswin are 1) want to rekindle friendship, 2) keep our distance, 3) wait and see, and 4) our feelings are changing to something more than just the desire for friendship. could you possibly add one more where it says the mc has feelings for him for a long time now?

Wish granted, Anon!

I may need to shorten the link a bit, but it's in!

When I first did these, I thought, 'oh that 4th one will cover all those bases...' but it really doesn't for an MC that has held on to feelings for a long time. For the most part, this will be coded similar to option 4, but there will be some unique dialogue that will come up in later chapters when we start really getting into the relationship talks.

Thank you so much for the suggestion, Anon! It is just what I needed to get some creative juices going! ^_^

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How would the ROs react to a MC who is off in their own little world, just playing with the ROs' hand before just slotting their hands together and holding it while looking happy with themselves, completely clueless about the ROs watching them do this aswell?

Hello my friend and apologies for the delay in answering. My hands have been full with chapter 3, and I just couldn't tell how long it would take me to chew on your ask. I just had a breakthrough on a complicated part in the chapter so, I wanted to pop in for your answer before I got back to it!

Oswin: If this happened before there were clear romantic invitations between he and MC, he'd be totally floored and confused. He'd wonder if MC even realizes it's him that's there, but he'd allow MC to do as they pleased. He'd quite like seeing the MC having a moment of simple peace.

Zahn: Likely biting their lip. They are floored by how adorable MC is being and that they are holding hands. Zahn is scooting closer and closer until they're leaning into each other. They watch MC and get a little choked up about how easy this feels. How right it feels.

Duri: Grinning wickedly. Finds it cute in a teasing sort of way. They wonder what else might come of this. How long until MC snaps out of it. Can they get a little closer? Could they get into MC's lap for a snuggle? Would MC rest their sweet head on Duri's shoulder? Now they're the ones lost in a little world, floating around with only thoughts of MC.

Rune: Gladly surrenders their hand and adds their other, trailing soothing lines and circles around the back of MC's hand and up their arm. Rune knows all those sensitive little areas that are the most relaxing to touch, to further ease MC into their moment. Rune wants them to just wallow in the peace they're feeling, they've earned it.

???: Quietly smiling to himself. Perhaps he's even a bit envious, not remembering a time where his own mind could flit away so easily. Except for...maybe right now. He smiles more and rests his head on MC's shoulder, feeling a heaviness in his chest part from him just for the moment.

Thank you for the ask! I needed to think on a tender moment for a bit, lol. ^_^

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Hello Lunan!

A new reader of your God Cursed IF here 😁. I love love love love your IF !! Also I can't wait to find our more about Oswin and the othe ROs!! For now though I'm so boggled with Oswin 🫠. This is maybe spoiler territory and I understand if you cant answer it but did something happen in the past that makes Oswin avoid the MC or is he just awkward because he has feelings for the MC and dont know what to do with it. I love how we can tease him. Its my favourite part right now but that man is just so confusing with the hot and cold reaction😅😮‍💨

Hello and welcome, Anon! I am glad you found my story and are loving it!

Oswin is a pickle (spicy dill, I would imagine if I liked pickles, lol).

I can't answer your question with any specificity but I can tell you that there are layers to it and there is a couple (maybe a few...) things that have happened that have made Oswin into this goopy mess of a man. He'll level out eventually...probably.

I also live and breathe teasing and silly jokes (my spouse can attest to that), so you can expect more of it.

Thank you so much for the kind words and question, Anon! ^_^