wolfsbane-if

[wolfsbane-if]

Hello again, just wanna put out a quick thing to acknowledge the messages I've been getting asking where I am/if I'm okay etc.

As I'm sure is true of a lot of people these days, I've been having my ups and downs and I'm kind of exhausted, but I want to confirm that I am indeed okay.

And yes, although it hasn't been as much as I'd like, I am still writing. I think Wolfsbane's current word count is roughly 40-50% higher than that of the public demo.

My life's seen a lot of changes since I first started writing IF, especially over the past year, and I know there are still more changes yet to come. But what hasn't changed is the fact that Wolfsbane is still a work I'm proud of as well as a story very dear to me, and one I hope to be able to finish someday.

I appreciate the well wishes, and I'm honoured that my writing is still something that is thought about these days, even despite my lack of public activity for an extended period of time. That my work could have that kind of lasting impact means a lot.

Thank you all for your kindness and patience, and I'm wishing you all the best in return.

[wolfsbane-if]

Alrighty, I think all of the main links should be working again now, but please let me know if you find one I missed. My thanks to everyone who alerted me to the issue and provided solutions!

[wolfsbane-if]

Hi! The new demo link isn't working…choice of Games updated and apparently it breaks all links so maybe that's why? Anyway, I love your work!!

Thanks for the heads up! I'll look into it and try to get it working again soon

[wolfsbane-if]

Love this one! Am glad it's available again. Definitely going to do some replays. Thanks for rehosting it!

Hey! Sorry for the delay replying; for some reason I didn't have a notification on my inbox

And thank you so much! I'm happy you're having a good time with Wolfsbane so far. Enjoy your replays!

[wolfsbane-if]

Apologies for the delay on this one, but Wolfsbane is now up on CoGDemos! The demo still ends at the conclusion of chapter four as before, although chapter four itself has seen a few minor additions since the DashingDon version so it's not exactly the same

A link to the demo can be found here

[wolfsbane-if]

Hey! I know you haven't updated the demo in a long time. But dashingdon is going down, so authors need to move the demo to another site. Or it'll become inaccesible.

You obviously have no obligation to port it (most are going to cogdemos), but it would be a shame to be unable to replay wolfsbane again.

Have a good day!

Thank you for the heads up - I just saw the news myself. I'll take a look at the alternatives available and make a post sharing new links once I've got everything sorted. Apologies in advance if my works happen to become temporarily unavailable in the interim, but I do intend for it to be temporary.

Much love to Dashingdon for giving authors like me the opportunity to share our work for so many years and for hosting many of the games that inspired me; you were an integral part to my journey as a writer.

[wolfsbane-if]

tempted to make Garamond an inch taller. as a treat.

[wolfsbane-if]

I've played the demo like 2-3 times already and gotta say.. I'm the biggest sucker of werewolf/vampire IFs. Keep up the good work!

I'm happy you're enjoying the demo, and I'm pleased to be able to say that writing's been going pretty well over the last few days especially! I'll do my best to keep it up ^^

[wolfsbane-if]

Hello again, and no worries. I know it was coming from a genuine place and I always appreciate having the opportunity to learn something new.

Thanks for reading, and I'm happy you're enjoying Wolfsbane!

Hey just so you know, the two wolves meme originated from a racist invention falsely attributed to many indigenous folk! no need to publish this ask, just thought you should know! Love the if and its premise btw!

Thanks for the heads up! This prompted me to do some research, and here's what I found:

More specifically, the "wolf you feed grows stronger" story (or, at least, the most popular version) most likely originated with Christian pastor Billy Graham in the 1960s and 70s, who first falsely attributed it to Inuit people, then changed it to Cherokee after being publicly ridiculed. The wording has also changed over time to omit most of the details, such as the colour of the wolves involved or the fact that there were ever physical wolves at all.

In my research, the general consensus I've seen is that, while you should not share the original story unironically, the meme version is A) dunking on the original concept and its author by taking the moral to ridiculous and/or nonsensical places, and B) so far removed from its original context and wording that it's often treated as a separate thing entirely, with many of the affected people looking on the meme-fied versions neutrally or even favourably.

If my understanding here is incorrect, however, then I apologise and will refrain from referencing it in the future.

[wolfsbane-if]

Hey just so you know, the two wolves meme originated from a racist invention falsely attributed to many indigenous folk! no need to publish this ask, just thought you should know! Love the if and its premise btw!

Thanks for the heads up! This prompted me to do some research, and here's what I found:

More specifically, the "wolf you feed grows stronger" story (or, at least, the most popular version) most likely originated with Christian pastor Billy Graham in the 1960s and 70s, who first falsely attributed it to Inuit people, then changed it to Cherokee after being publicly ridiculed. The wording has also changed over time to omit most of the details, such as the colour of the wolves involved or the fact that there were ever physical wolves at all.

In my research, the general consensus I've seen is that, while you should not share the original story unironically, the meme version is A) dunking on the original concept and its author by taking the moral to ridiculous and/or nonsensical places, and B) so far removed from its original context and wording that it's often treated as a separate thing entirely, with many of the affected people looking on the meme-fied versions neutrally or even favourably.

If my understanding here is incorrect, however, then I apologise and will refrain from referencing it in the future.

[wolfsbane-if]

Looking forward to the full game, very much enjoying my pack of two wolves and a bat. Don't worry about them, they're a wolf on the inside

Inside you there are two three wolves. One is a bat.

[wolfsbane-if]

Just found your WIP, and a lot of your writing is very similar to the ideas I've had about writing an IF and haven't seen anywhere else. I'm torn between being happy that there's someone with such a similar approach to me and a little sad that you got into writing them first lmao. Either way, I'm loving the demo so far and I'll look forward to more!

Happy you're enjoying the demo!

If this is a "two cakes" situation, then I'd encourage you to go ahead and write your ideas down even though you feel they may be similar to mine. IFs have a tendency of morphing and evolving as they're being written, and we as authors all have our own individual styles, experiences, and preferences that deeply influence our work, so I imagine that the end result could end up looking very different from mine despite having a similar starting point. I don't necessarily think you're "too late" to share your story just because I started mine first.

If you ultimately decide you'd rather not commit to writing an IF when a similar one already exists, though, or worry that having read my work will influence yours to a degree you're not comfortable with, then I wish you the best of luck in discovering a new idea to pursue that you feel more sure of. Being an IF author is a lot of work and you should feel passionate about that work, whatever it ends up being.

[wolfsbane-if]

Did you ever think about using AIs like GPT, Claude, Gemini (all free) to help you in writing your book? They could help you in writing a scene, for example.

No, never. And I never will.

Even if I could somehow guarantee the training data used by the program was sourced ethically, the whole point of writing is that I'm telling my story. I may be taking forever to finish it, but I can at least stand by the fact that this is wholly my work and every element has been carefully crafted with artistic vision and intent - something computers lack. I think that to do otherwise would be a disservice to both myself and the overall work.

[wolfsbane-if]

AWOOOOOOOOO 🐺🐺

[wolfsbane-if]

Hello dear ☺️ I hope you are doing well. Just reaching out to know if you intend to resume the story or if you have abandoned the project altogether? I read the four chapters available at least 7 times already and everytime I am hoping for an update of the story. I know that writing a complete story is a tremendous amount of love, time and sweat but it is always frustrating and sad to start something promising and so enticing as a faithful reader for finally never get the end of it. I support u.

Hello, and thank you for enjoying Wolfsbane

I haven't abandoned the project, I've just decided not to update the public version of the demo until the entire first draft is complete. Unfortunately I have no idea when that might be, but rest assured that Wolfsbane - the version in my docs, that is - has seen progress since its last update

[wolfsbane-if]

Wolfsbane FAQ

For anyone who can't access the FAQ page through the Tumblr mobile app, I've copied and pasted it below:

1. Where can I play the game?

Right here!

2. Is there a Discord server for Wolfsbane?

Nope! Wolfsbane doesn’t have a Discord server or CoG forum thread associated with it; all info and content will be shared right here.

3. How often does it update?

Wolfsbane was initially updated on a per-chapter basis, but my plan now is to hopefully finish the first draft of the game before updating the public demo again. Wolfsbane was last updated on June 28th, 2022, and currently contains the prologue and first four chapters.

4. Regarding asking about future events, plot points, choices, or outcomes:

As a general rule, I don’t discuss future game content before it happens in the game itself. I’m the sort of author who feels a story out as I write it, and the nature of WIPs means that things are very subject to change and I don’t yet know what all I’ll be able to deliver on, so I prefer to not publicly commit to anything ahead of time. For that reason, I’d prefer to not receive any questions asking if a certain event/outcome will happen, if the MC will be able to make a certain choice, or if a character will ever do or experience a particular action or feeling. I don’t have an answer for asks of this nature because I simply don’t know, and even if I have an idea in place, I’d rather not discuss it before it appears in the story proper, lest things change from how I’ve envisioned them along the way. While questions about future happenings in the game are off limits, however, I alternatively welcome asks regarding general worldbuilding, hypothetical scenarios, and characters and events as they were in the past or are in the present. Asks about worldbuilding are tagged #Wolfsbane Worldbuilding Thank you for understanding!

5. Who are the ROs?

So far, no one. I feel that the label of RO carries with it certain connotations, such as each character getting a similar amount of spotlight, development, and time with the MC; but Wolfsbane is not primarily a romance story and I don’t know if looking at the characters through that lens would be beneficial for setting expectations. My intent is for Wolfsbane to be a story about characters and their experiences rather than a dating sim about love interests, and for now my focus is on developing those arcs asymmetrically and without romance being the intended culmination. Elements of romance and romantic feelings are touched on throughout the story, but not in the way that is typical for IFs.

6. Is Wolfsbane genderlocked?

Nope! The MC isn’t locked to a specific gender; there just isn’t an option to specify it in-game because it hasn’t actually come up at all. I’ll be sure to include a choice of male, female, or nonbinary if/when it becomes relevant, but feel free to imagine your Wolfsbane however you please.

7. How tall is Garamond?

Height chart can be found here!

8. Do you accept NSFW asks?

I don’t necessarily mind asks with NSFW topics, although I do ask that they please be actual questions I can discuss as opposed to just sharing NSFW thoughts/fantasies. I’d also prefer they be kept in line with the content level of Wolfsbane itself (eg: sex is mentioned but never particularly detailed). If you’d like to filter NSFW content out for yourself, the tag I use is #nsfwolfsbane.

[wolfsbane-if]

Figured I'd let you know in case you weren't already aware, but your link to the FAQ doesn't lead anywhere. Just takes you back to the blog itself. I was looking for information about Mc's gender, which as it turns out you'd already answered previously, while also linking to the FAQ stating that it was on that page. Both that link, and the one in your pinned post has the same result as I already mentioned.

Hey, thanks for reaching out. I'm assuming you're using the Tumblr mobile app? If that's the case, it's not a broken link but rather a limitation of Tumblr's coding. For whatever reason, secondary blog pages aren't properly supported in the current version of the app and trying to access one does indeed just refresh the blog as you described.

I'll see about putting together an app-friendly version of the FAQ when I can, but in the meantime you can still access the FAQ on mobile by copying and pasting this URL into a mobile web browser of your choice:

https://wolfsbane-if.tumblr.com/faq