Update:
Chapter 7 is finally drafted! 
Life has been BUSY and progress on Ink and Intrigue has been slow of late. That said, I’ve been chipping away at chapter seven and I’m really happy with how it has turned out! As of now, chapter seven weighs in at nearly 31,000 words. Chances of me adding words in revisions are high. (I nearly always add more in revisions.)
I’ll be starting chapter eight today. I have a decent outline and a bunch of notes so now I just have to turn those into prose and choices and paths to follow, and since we’re getting into the end of the game I have to tie up all the loose ends. I’ve planned for nine chapters, though I might tag a short tenth on as an epilogue. We’ll see.
I hope you’re all having a good weekend! 
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Ink and Intrigue Update:
Progress is happening! Yesterday I completed a first pass of edits for chapters 7 and 8. I cut about 1000 words off chapter 7 and added a bit to chapter 8.
Here are the current word counts rounded to nearest hundred:
Ch 1: 16400
Ch 2: 26100
Ch 3: 45700
Ch 4: 20200
Ch 5: 24000
Ch 6: 29400
Ch 7: 30000
Ch 8: 11800
As you can see, there’s quite a bit of variation in chapter length. I’d originally planned for eight chapters, but decided for two shorter chapters at the end instead.
Total word count so far is ~182,000. It’s possible that the game comes in under 200k, which was my goal as I set out on this, but also possible that I’ll end up adding words in revisions and beta testing.
200k or less is the sweet spot I’m aiming to hit as a writer for word count. I know some CoG games get super long and I have huge respect for those authors. Seriously. Amazing stuff! But keeping my games closer to 200k means I can write more stories and complete games in a reasonable amount of time, especially considering I write in my “free time” and there’s not a lot of that these days.
So, what’s next? Well, I still need to write chapter nine, do multiple rounds of revisions, beta testing, and a read-through before and after it goes to the copy editor. All that takes time, which means we’re still a ways off but getting closer!
Thanks for reading my update! I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!
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Y’all, I’m drafting the last chapter of this game and it’s so exciting!!!
I can see the ending. It’s so close I can taste it! 
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Ahhhhhhhhhhh I’m excited too! I can’t wait to play the whole thing!
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I can’t wait for you to play it! 
I still have 10,000 or so words to write, plus revisions, but beta testing is in the-not-so-distant future and I’m so excited to share the full story with you!
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Yay! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the demo and I can’t wait for you to be able to play the whole game!
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Ink and Intrigue Update:
I’ve finished a complete draft of Ink and Intrigue! 
Beta testing is around the corner! Booyah!!!
Writing the last chapter was so much easier than writing the climax. Chapter seven took me forever to write. Chapter nine was a fresh ocean breeze.
A few notes:
When I outlined this game I had planned to include poly options, but it became apparent that it didn’t fit the characters. I had also planned to write a poly spice scene at the end of the game, but instead went super intimate with it. That’s what the characters were telling me to do, so I leaned into it.
If you’re someone who likes poly options, you’re not alone. I often choose them when they’re available, and I had a lot of fun writing poly relationships into Their Majesties’ Pleasure. I do plan to write poly options in other games, but it just didn’t fit for this one.
I hope you’ll enjoy the contrast between TMP and Ink and Intrigue, and that you’ll take the chance to develop deep friendships with the other ROs alongside whichever intimate romance your PC chooses to pursue.
Friendship and romance options:
- Romance is strictly optional. You can go through this game with friendships only.
- There is a variable to hide all options that lead to spicy scenes.
- There is a chance to try out different relationships in the beginning of the game before committing to an RO in chapter six.
- There are many opportunities to build trust with the characters.
There’s a lot of fun to be had and playful moments abound, but this story reaches deep. The PC can create friendships and love that will last an immortal lifetime.
I welcome questions, if you have any, and I’m super excited to share the full game with you!
Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in Ink and Intrigue! We’re getting close, y’all. 
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Hooray! I’m so excited! And I think it’s great that this game allows relationships to develop in somewhat different ways than TMP did - it’ll be its own distinct experience.
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Ah, but I have the most important question of all! You give us these spicy scenes but have you included the spiciest action of all: handholding?!
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Yes. Definitely.
I’m so glad you feel this way. It’s definitely got a distinct flavor, though you’ll recognize familiar themes. 
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Hooray, that’s amazing that you’ve reached such a big milestone! I’m excited to return to this, and to see how it’s developed since I played it a while back (which feels like ages ago but is actually not very long ago?? what is time). A small thing I really enjoyed about TMP was that I could befriend some of the characters and the friendships as well as the romances felt meaningful, so I’m looking forward to that aspect as well! 
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Thank you! This is something I really try to focus on. I like stories that have camaraderie and a crew of friends going on adventures. The romances are important (obviously) but I think the friendships can be just as integral to the overall experience.
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Really excited that the beta testing has started - I hope you get lots of useful feedback from it!
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Thank you! I’m super grateful to everyone who chooses to help out with beta feedback. I had tons of helpful feedback during the demo testing, and the beta testing for TMP was amazing too!
Shout out to everyone who volunteers to beta test! I appreciate you!
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Quick Update:
I’m working my way through the beta feedback and just want to say how much I appreciate the notes I receive. Those of you taking time to help me catch typos, point out places that need more description, and suggest options you’d like to see help to paint in the details that are missing. Thank you!!!
I also love the notes when you tell me what you liked!
For those of you who don’t have time to beta test, no worries at all. I appreciate you checking in on my updates.
I hope everyone has an excellent week!
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Exciting Update!
Do you want to be able to join Kai on his quest? Soon, you’ll be able to! 
I’m writing a MAJOR bit of narrative as an alternate path for chapters 6 and 7 so you can go with Kai and Teo on the mission to Kai’s world. This requires quite a bit of work, plus additions to the rest of the game to reflect going on the mission. Going on Kai’s quest is a test, so if you want to go you need either high prowess or a high relationship stat with Kai so he trusts you enough to take you along.
I’ve received some amazing beta feedback and am doing my best to keep up with that while drafting this new section. If y’all could hold off on further playthroughs until the next update is live, that will give you a chance to play with Kai’s quest in the mix! I’m hoping to have it ready early next week. Wish me luck.
If you’re not beta testing, all this update means is that the finished game will have more awesomeness and you can go to a different world and kick some ass. Kai’s world is basically a dystopian parallel world to ours, so in this side quest, guns and swords co-exist.
With portals, anything is possible! 
I hope you have an excellent weekend!
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Hells yeah! I’m a right simp for Kai, and I’ve been itching for this chance since i first read about him! 
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Kai is amazing and I hope you love the added storyline!
I’m nearly 13000 words into writing Kai’s mission and this branch gets so intense! I’m telling you. Gah! I can’t wait to share it with you.
I’m right in the middle of writing absolute mayhem. I better get back to it so I don’t leave the Kai, Teo, the PC, and their team stuck between a firefight and the building they’re blowing up, which they’re currently still inside. 
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The cover art is so beautiful!
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