Feels like that would just make Rayyan feel justified, though, wouldn’t it?
2 Likes
Besides my mc would, if anything, become more driven just to prove R wrong. And, much like R, my mc is intensely focused on going pro.
1 Like
I’ve been silently following this story for a while, but there comes a time when even my laziness has to yield before the growing sense of guilt because I’m enjoying something so much without even a thank you to the author. So: thank you, author!
First of all: the characters. They’re a joy to be around, and I’m planning to have multiple playthroughs so I can experience all of the possible interactions with them. You’ve also checked every favorite RO trope in my personal checklist (enemies-to-allies-to-friends-to-lovers? Check. Childhood-friends-to-lovers? Check. Star-crossed lovers? Also check!) so I might be a little biased in my opinions. I think you deserve a lot of praise for all the variations you’re implementing with the dialogue trees, and personally I really liked how you expanded our choices compared to the earlier releases. You’re giving us players a lot of room in defining our MC and their attitude towards the world around them.
Secondly: tennis. PE was the bane of my school career, and yet somehow I’m here getting all worked up at every fictional match while I have two other tabs opened to google the rules and the terminology. You deserve all the praise you’ve been getting for how you write the matches: they feel intense and hard-fought even when my character is passing every check, the game-y parts are perfectly integrated in the flow of the narrative, and every opponent feels unique. You’re doing a lot of work on this, and it shows.
I should probably add that this comes from someone who chose a S/V playstyle for his MC because “big WHACK scores points” sounded easy enough to picture for a tennis noob, so maybe take it with a grain of salt. (I’m really not doing a great job at this “objective review” stuff)
Thirdly, and most importantly: you’re tugging at my heartstrings, and not just with the ROs. Every time I finish playing one of your updates I get hit by this wave of nostalgia for something that I’ve never really lived. My university experience couldn’t have been more different from the one that my MC is going through, and yet I find nuggets of my year abroad in your writing. I think it’s the mix between the echoes of what I lived and the power fantasy of the archetypal “cool kid” experience that gets me. All this to say that I think you’ve managed to capture something universal in your writing, and that’s what makes your stories so memorable. It’s most definitely not what I expected when I started playing, but it has been a very welcome surprise. I can’t wait to play more (and suffer more).
Finally, a tiny little bit of nitpicking because I can’t just heap praise after praise on you, can I?
-
Rayyan’s outburst at the end of the chapter for being paired with us feels a bit sudden if we won the double against Tobin and Deepal. I understand where he comes from, I like the tension it creates with our MC and frankly I can hardly fault him for feeling the way he does, but it does contrast a bit with what he tells us after winning the double.
Maybe he should be more of an ass (affectionate) after the match and should underline that yes, we’re talented and we played well, but most of the merit for the victory was still his and we have a bit/a lot to learn before we’re in his league? The impression I got while I was playing was that he was doing most of the difficult shots and the near-impossible saves, plus we even had a game where it’s said that our MC doesn’t even touch the ball, so don’t entirely fault him for getting angry at the pairing. Again: it’s not his reaction that I find weird, it’s what he says despite praising us just three pages before.
I’ve only played once, though, so I’m not entirely sure how much of this is due to my MC’s playstyle or to the fact that I was romancing Rayyan, though (Serve-and-Volleyer, S/V 44, finesse 35, strength 31, offensive 65 and tricky 53, chose to “Complement Rayyan’s baseline steadiness by going up to the net” as tactic.) -
There’s a bug if we select the “is it edible?” choice when we find the century eggs in our locker after winning the Devil’s Dozen (which I didn’t screenshot because again, lazy, but it said that there was a missing variable “eggslike” or something like that. Next time I’ll take proper notes, I promise)
-
During the Thursday night party, if we choose to play beer pong as the first option, Guillaume is referred to as “Guillaume” before he’s properly introduced to us. Again, I should have taken a screenshot, sorry!
-
As an Italian, thank you for letting me express my opinion on pineapple pizza, and thank you for letting me choose how strongly my MC feels about it (very strongly, thank you very much, I have a national stereotype to live up to).
Whelp, what started as “ugh, I can’t keep squatting on all her hard work” turned into a mini-essay. I hope you don’t mind. It is one of my three favorite WIP on here, after all.
9 Likes
Pizza is a MEAT-DELIVERY medium!
1 Like
But sweet and sour meat is the best meat!
2 Likes
I have played a couple of play throughs and have not yet figured out how to be partnered with Tobin as my fonal doubles partner. I have one both of my matches. Only my match with Tobin, and only my match with Rayyan. I can’t recall the coaches ever pairing me up with Tobin as my doubles partner. Am I missing something?
Love the game, by the way. Great characters, both the RO’s and all of the others. Wish I could romance Daniella/Diego, they would be my perfect go to. Fantastic game play in the matches. Looking forwatd to hopefully meeting my mom and hashing some stuff out.
1 Like
Someone posted the how-to above. If you want to be partnered directly with Tobin (do not pass Rayyan, do not collect a little diva bitch) instead of trying to get switched later, you need to lose to Jacks, win the doubles with Tobin, lose the doubles with Rayyan, IIRC.
2 Likes
Absolutely! There will be a point in the upcoming story where I’ve already planned for MC to potentially get really burnt out from the constant adrenaline-pumping “do or die” mode theyre in if they’ve been going absolutely all out for everything previously, and realizing like shucks I’m only halfway through the first sem of the first year of college.
The constant matches/training grind will eventually start to take a toll on them, not to mention midterms. There wont be an option to quit the team, but there will be an option (well, will it even be a choice?) to just be physically and mentally exhausted.
They do feel bad, they just prioritize their tennis over interpersonal guilt.
@Gloomcat - all in all I’m really glad you enjoyed the IF, and thanks for the message 
@idonotlikeusernames hahaha oh yeah absolutely. Personally, the only thing I like more than a enemies-to-lovers arc (where they have diametrically opposed goals) is a rivals-to-lovers arc where there’s tension because they have the same ultimate goal and are both egging each other on to greater heights.
Finally, @Bracco, thank you so much for leaving this lovely comment, it means more than I can ever express properly to get these little messages from folks who enjoyed reading/playing and yours absolutely made my day.
This honestly makes me so happy because ever since I read my first COG I felt it had so much potential as a medium to portray the inner world/mental and emotional and even interpersonal choices that athletes encounter–more so than a traditional sports game, and I’ve been dreaming about writing this IF ever since.
Yay! Haha I count it as a win when I manage to get yall to make multiple playthroughs for the characters and branches!
Good!! Nothing worse than winning in a game without having to fight for it! 
Oh dont worry, this is absolutely how Emerson would describe it as well hahaha.
Aww. Now you’re tugging at my heartstrings!!
And on the suggestions/feedback- thank you so much! Will fix these. To respond to the point that it seems jarring that Rayyan would compliment MC after the doubles match only to flip out when partnered with MC: I’ll try to leave more of a hint so Rayyan’s response doesnt come out of the blue! But the idea is that Rayyan can see that MC is good, talented, but still unpolished–and Rayyan would rather not have to “coddle a greenhorn”.
It’s also really funny to me that the pineapple pizza moment was a matter of national pride for you–I too cannot abide by it!! We are on the same page
Finally, I loveeeddd the mini-essay!! Stealing glances at it to craft this long reply kept me happy throughout my workday!
@swilson50125 - as per @JBento’s advice, there’s no way to get paired with Rayyan if you’ve won every challenge match to date. You’re just too good for coaches to give up the chance to pair Tobin and Deepal! 
there’s a bit of ego-inflation for you!
Hahaha, actually, you’re the first person to have said that!
Yay! Im glad this is something you’re intrigued about
7 Likes
Now now, vegetables are allowed too, and I’m sidestepping the whole “but a tomato is a fruit!” discussion.
May I suggest melon and ham as a food-police approved alternative?
The fact is that in Merry Crisis I was prepared for all the feels and the ruminations about displacement and “what is home?”. Here I got sucker-punched out of the blue when I was expecting team drama at the most.
Oh, Rayyan’s reasoning is very clear, I believe; what doesn’t entirely convince me is merely the pacing that we experience as readers (again, because we get two apparently opposite messages in the space of three pages).
…on the other hand, you could also leave it as it is now to encourage the “wtf?!?” reaction of your readers and, consequently, our MCs’ anger. Rayyan isn’t the best communicator, after all, and I’m sure there’s going to be a great payoff in the next chapter for a RO-Rayyan (cue Horny Angry Tango).
I’m enjoying myself a bit too much thinking about structure and pacing in a story that is someone else’s. Sorry.
That’s because you and I are civilized people.
(I’m joking, of course. People are free to like whatever they do, but sometimes it’s fun to play along with the stereotype)
Yay! Awkward finger guns I made my part in another strike against capitalism!
5 Likes
This game is still alive right ?
1 Like
Duh? Progress has been steady. I don’t know why you assumed a game would die when the author’s still active on their blog and this thread isn’t even a month cold.
9 Likes
Just follow her tumblr so you won’t miss anything
2 Likes
Hahaha yes, it’s not dead, Im working a bit more on Merry Crisis at the moment so I can bang out an update, but once that’s done it’ll be full steam ahead for CT:OS! I usually take less time for a MC update anyway!
And yup, if you want the occasional question answered, and very infrequent updates on progress, you can follow me on tumblr! See the links in the intro post! 
21 Likes
oh good, I though it is discontinued since it is quite empty, just make sure the topic will not be closed
1 Like
I’m here to simultaneously support the author and pineapple on pizza. I will self sacrifice and eat all the pineapple pizza to save everyone else from it. I’m just a nice person. 
11 Likes
You are so nice to save civilization from the evils of pineapple pizza. If you need an assistant, please let me know.
6 Likes
Hahahaha i appreciate the support
Staunchly in the anti pineapples on pizza gang though✋️
7 Likes
That’s ok, it’s not your fault you have bad taste.
10 Likes
HAHAHA. Watch out or I’m adding an intelligence -10 consequence to selecting the “I like pineapples on pizza” option.
27 Likes
:: whispers like the devil in the ears :: dooo itttt :: snickers :: sorry couldnt resist ::
2 Likes