August 2026 Writer Support Thread

[Cat-Toes]

Thank you @myeraland for starting this month’s thread, and for linking those discussions. My goals for this month are relatively small as I’m still trying to ease back into routine.

1. Write around 30k this month across chapter 5, patreon, and misc. writing.
2. Fix my realtionship stats screen.
3. Try to clear out some of my Tumblr ask box

Replies Regarding RO Talk

@Hamartia

I’m super interested about this. Most of the discussion I get on my thread is on worldbuilding and plot speculation, though ROs are definitely the third most popular topic, and early on I definitely had a lot of comments suggesting I add new ROs.

I don’t get a lot of traction on the forum, and it’s mostly just the same loyal handful of readers being like “great update” or “hope you’re doing okay” with occasional questions about how to pass certain checks or access specifiic scenes. But my Tumblr is quite a lot of worldbuilding questions and questions about MC’s family which I think it funny because I’m actively marketing my game as a romance, but a lot of readers seem way more interested in the politics or the side characters. That to say, like you, I am curious as to what factors contribute to what readers decide to focus on in their discussions of certain games.

@Omeg

Still, I’m tempted to write a story that’s all about trains or quasars, without any romance, just as a palate cleanser.

I say go for it. Even if you never share it with anyone, I think it would be worth making just for your own enjoyment.

@poison_mara

I hate writing romance and I won’t write romance

I love writing romance, but honestly Mara, I respect you a lot for this. I think there are a lot of people who would be a lot happier if they stopped writing romance as well.

@Omeg

There are blogs full of detailed profiles of every love interest in the game, with verbose descriptions of their eye colors and long posts that explore their deep traumas and the MCs role in overcoming their rich inner struggles…and no demo to be seen.

I think this is starting to die down a bit actually, as I’ve seen more and more readers saying they won’t follow demoless projects anymore. People certaitly still do it, but I don’t think it brings in popularity like it did a few years ago.

@Jaybirdy

As for ROs… I think the best way to approach them (and one I have failed at sometimes myself, admittedly) is to just write a solid character.

I whole heartedly agree with this. If a character is multidimensional with clear (to the author at least) motivations then I think a good romance arc will come naturally from what is already there. That’s what I try to do for my own characters at least. (Also for what it’s worth, I adore the romances in BotL.)

@poison_mara

I hate HATE when games shove characters and assume that you love them. It is cheap. It is bad design and destroy pace.

I’m kind of torn about this. I do think in 90% of cases, there should be options to dislike characters, especially ROs. Still I do think with more defined MC’s there is a place for differentiating between players not liking a character vs MC is very attached to this person. I just think it needs to be done sparingly and with intention. I also wouldn’t do this for attraction unless it’s very important for the plot.

@poison_mara

If you are nasty and mean. A NPC should say go romance your own hand. bye.

Hard agree. I think ROs should have their own agency to reject the MC if the MC is either consistently a jerk as you point out, or just does something that is completely out of allignment with the ROs moral philosophy.