🌈 Dear Diary, We Created a Plot Hole! (A Slice-of-Life Fantasy Adventure set in the Philippines) ~ [UPDATED Aug 31 | 608,000 words]

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The day after you and your twin rewrote your mother’s unfinished bedtime story, you quickly find out why she never finished it. You have unleashed a plot hole—a portal to different story worlds—and now the villains from the stories you’ve written have become real. They’re here to crash your school fieldtrip, and they’re here to finish your mother’s story for good.

Grab your plot armor and join your twin and friends in a meta-fictional adventure! Explore different story worlds—from fantasy and sci-fi, to mythology and mystery. Will you discover the truth behind your mother’s story? Or will villains, plot twists, and character development prevent you from getting your happily ever after?

Dear Diary, We Created a Plot Hole! is written as a love letter to all the kids-at-heart out there, who’d like to revisit their childhood and reimagine it as one big fantasy adventure.

It’s a light-hearted and whimsical slice-of-life, but the story also aims to explore, deconstruct, and reconstruct the themes about growing up and the more serious tropes about what it means to be a character in a story (such as character deaths and the abundance of orphan protagonists).

Volume 1 of DDWCaPH! is set in a fictional city in the Philippines, but later volumes will each feature a different genre and story world to explore.

If you like episodic shows and stories with a deeper overarching mystery, then this story is just for you!


features

:star: Create a completely unique character!

With over 200+ character traits available for you and your twin that each affect the story in their own way, you can be anything you want!

You can be a stoic cuddlebug with a sweet tooth, a competitive and precocious yet manipulative crybaby, or be an aspiring astronaut-slash-demigod while developing your own secret language with your twin!

Check out this Twin Character Template to see a preview of some of the things you can customize!

:star: Explore different story worlds!

Choose from 8 origin story genres: Fantasy, Fairytales, Sci-Fi, Mythology, Horror/Supernatural, Mystery, Superheroes, and Adventure!

Pilot a flying school bus, join a pirate gang, and solve the mystery of your mother’s secrets, as you complete side-quests and fight legendary monsters alongside your army of adorable animal companions (while singing to a musical)!

:star: Retcon the narrative with your magical locket’s powers!

Use your magical locket’s powers to retcon your mother’s bedtime story! Develop telepathy/empathy powers, and find out what effects your choices have on the story! Keep track of your choices, as well as your treasure collection and secrets you’ve discovered with your inventory and personal diary!

What other powers and abilities will you unlock?

:star: Inevitable puppy love (and friendship) subplots!

Develop friendships and crushes with your classmates and other companions as you travel through enchanted forests, post-apocalyptic colonies, and maybe even the underworld.

:star: See how your choices compare to others!

At the end of the demo, you will be able to see the percentage of readers who picked the same choices as you!

demo link

:rainbow: Dear Diary, We Created a Plot Hole! (Ver. 2.1.5.41 - Updated Aug. 31, 2024)

Current word count including code: ~608,000
Average words per playthrough: ~129,000

I also made a 50k word sidequel story for DDWCaPH!

If you are getting a little impatient with exploring the story worlds, or are curious to know what you can expect later in the story, check out In Auctorem Credimus!

Please note that IAC contains heavy spoilers for DDWCaPH! and is told from an adult’s perspective. It’ll also be updated in the future to include more side stories.

Check out this post for more information!


characters

Your Family

Your Twin: Your 12-year-old opposite-sex twin sibling. Your twin has a customizable appearance and personality depending on several variables, but they will always have a different opinion about your mother. You and your twin will be 13 years old by the end of the story.

Mommy Maggie: Your mother. She’s the reason you and your twin love bedtime stories so much. She started writing her own bedtime story where you are the two main characters, but she never finished it. She left you and your twin when you turned 5 years old to work abroad, or at least, that’s what she said. She promised to return when you turned 9, but she never did.

Your Father: Your father was always busy going on adventures when you were younger, but he still hasn’t returned from his last expedition. Your mother seems reluctant to tell you the truth about where he is now, but she seems to be very sure of one thing: that he loves both of you.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Robert: Your mother’s estranged sister and your auntie’s husband. Your mother left you with them before she went abroad. They were reluctant at first, but eventually they grew to love you as their own children.

Kuya Patrick/Ate Patricia: Your 17-year-old cousin. They may be a little irresponsible at times, but they treat their twin cousins as their own siblings, mostly because they grew up as an only child. Ever since the twins’ mother left, they’ve been the one telling them bedtime stories, although they’ve been busy with school work recently.

They may seem like a gentle giant at first glance, but anyone who messes with their little ‘goobers’ will quickly learn to regret it.


Crush Options

The available crush options are currently: Wayne, Roselyna, JM, Lily, Brandon/Beatrice, Cordelia, and Chamyrrha.

You won’t meet Cordelia until Volume 2, and Chamyrrha until Volume 5. At least two more crush options will be revealed later.

I’m calling them crush options because the characters are still too young to be in an official relationship. Characters who like the MC back will be referred to as a “mutual crush”.

If puppy love is not your thing, each character has a friendship route which has similar scenes, so you won’t miss out on anything.


You can check the character page to learn more about the characters. More information can also be found in the MC’s diary in-game! (Click here for a mobile friendly version)


tumblr

DDWCaPH! now has a Tumblr! Follow the blog for updates, information about the characters, and other fun stuff!

Follow the In Auctorem Credimus sideblog for spoilers and other sneak peeks!


discord server


faq strip

The FAQ can be found here!

A guide to discovering all the trinkets and secrets can be found here!

If I haven’t answered your question, feel free to send me a question here in the thread, through PM, or through the Tumblr askbox!


feedback

If you enjoyed it (or hated it), I’d really appreciate it if you drop me a like and some feedback (here or through PM). It encourages me to keep doing what I’m doing. :heart:

Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, I’ll try to consider each feedback. I can’t solve what I’m not aware of, after all!

Survey

When you finish the demo, you will see a code that you can submit to a survey. I’ll be sharing the data collected at the end of the demo, where you’ll see the percentage of people who picked the same choices as you. It’s not necessary to submit a code, but you can submit as many codes as you want. I would greatly appreciate it!

Here’s the link again if you missed it!

400 Likes

i remember playing the previous demos before and i’m really liking everything so far.

While the previous demos gave me the taste of the thought process and feelings of my MC (and to an extent, their friends), this version makes me feel more intuned with my MC.

i also like that the MC has a lot more interactions with their twin, their friends (well 3 out of 4 of them) and some other characters that weren’t in the previous demos like their mother, their teacher and their classmates.

Edit: is it okay to post fanart here?

8 Likes

Thanks for the feedback! :slightly_smiling_face:

I’m glad you like the new demo! And yup, I had a lot of fun developing both the new and old characters, and they have a lot more personality now. Who was your favorite character so far?

Please do! :blush:

2 Likes

i don’t know if i have a favorite character yet but i would love to be friends with Roselyna and i’m excited to meet Lily.

Some fanart:


Remy (left) and Ryan (right)
Picrew by haruaki

30 Likes

Hi, I just wanted to ask if you still needed testers? I didn’t play the original demo but this sounds absolutely fascinating. I look forward to hearing more about this game!

1 Like

Heyo if you still need testers im down i haven’t played the original demo but this seems fun to play.

1 Like

The original demo is still on dashingdon so you can try it

1 Like

If you still need tester I’ll test

2 Likes

I haven’t read the first demo- though I am about to see if I can track it down on Dashingdon to try- but I’d love to test if you have an available spot.

1 Like

@Abe Omg I love them so much! Thank you for sharing them! :blush:

I can’t wait to finish Chapter 2 so I can introduce Lily! She’s a very complex character even if she doesn’t sound like that at first, and there’s actually a plot-related reason she’s the last to be introduced. Also, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to be friends with Roselyna. Hehe.


I appreciate everyone who has expressed interest so far, and I’ve already sent the link to them. There’s still plenty of spots left!

I didn’t link the old demo because I’ll admit that it wasn’t very good, and it’s not really representative of the story anymore since I did a total rewrite.

2 Likes

You have the best stat screen I ever seen, absolutely gorgeous. I would like to choose our gender and name earlier ( I confused because I don’t know if this/that will decide my MC name/gender )

2 Likes

@Buraida_Zubair Hi! Are you talking about the old demo? I can give you the link to the new one if you want!

@Manaxaggd Aww, thanks. It’s even more better now! I’ve addressed this in the new demo–do you want the link too?

Uhh i might be intrested

1 Like

i guess i never mentioned the stats screen before but i really do love how it looks. With the font used for the headers and the particular stats you used really did match with the RPG-like style you were going for.

i also like the inclusion of traits per (well for the lack of a better word) category. You know i mentioned this before but it does make it easier for me to visualize about my MC and their twin.


You also did a good job in writing the kid characters as kids and creating a rather fun atmosphere. It's rather refreshing.
5 Likes

I’d be interested in giving feedback if you still need someone!

1 Like

All of the characters really feel real, and I love all the different ways it’s possible to interact with them. The way you react with your twin feels really natural. The stats and the enter and exit texts for various characters really add to the feeling of the game. It’s really interesting and unique.

1 Like

@Abe has said what I would, so she speaks for both of us … thank you for a refreshing story.

I also really like the (temporary) cover art… I would consider making it permanent.

2 Likes

Yeah, so you know that handwriting choice? I’m actually planning to make 4 different headers for each style! :smile:

And it’s fun writing their dialogue! One of my biggest problems in writing is actually including the action/dialogue beats since I can easily just have walls of dialogue. (It’s even harder to do with all the constant branching/merging.)

MC’s voice took me quite a while to pin down because of the different personalities, but I think all of them sound consistent so far.


@feather_light Thanks for the feedback! Do you have a favorite character so far?

Also, I’m interested to hear your (and everyone else’s) MCs and their relationship with each other!


@Eiwynn Thank you for gracing me with your presence! :blush:

I might use it somewhere else, but I actually have a WIP of the cover art in the demo. I guess it doesn’t hurt to post it here too.

WIP Cover Art (Very mild spoilers)


Also, quick update: There’s only 2 slots left! I can increase it, but I’ll have to wait for the first round of feedback first.

5 Likes

I haven’t played the (older version) game, but i’d like to be a beta tester if you still have a spot!

1 Like

Well I do love talking about my favorites and my MC soooo…

My personal favorite is Wayne so far. Haikus, teasing, might be crushing on my best hug-friend for life… what’s not to like? Roselyna’s a close second. I mean… hugs. JM’s cool, but not the type of character I usually prefer. He’s not unlikable, just not my cup of tea.

I’ve somehow already managed to find myself two sets of twins I’m rather attached to in my playthroughs. Maddie (the MC) and Mason, and Luke (the MC) and Reyna. (If I have time later today I’ll try my hand at some fan art).

Maddie’s more of the shy type. She’s the younger twin, and her and Mason are really close. She’s a rule follower and extremely organized. Loves Roselyna’s hugs with a passion, and doesn’t see Wayne’s appeal. She’s still waiting for her Mama to come home. Her stuffed puppy’s name is Sparky, and her brother’s is Stormy.

Luke on the other hand is an extravert. He’s the older twin, and has a love-hate relationship with Reyna. He’s always been fairly independent, and not a big fan of hugs. Totally on board with Wayne’s attitude, but JM isn’t his favorite person… He threw out his Mom’s family picture, and doesn’t bother checking his texts. His dino’s name is Luke Jr., and his sister’s is Belladona.

If I do get around to that art, I’ll make sure to share it :wink:

1 Like