Thank you so much! I’m struggling a little bit with how detailed to make the character creator, because no reasonable amount of questions can get at all of the variables set in Cakes and Ale, so I have to fudge it a little bit.
At the same time, it does seem a little weird that you don’t get asked about the specific level of your relationship with various clubmates and associates. I sort of assume most people will import a save–but I’m not sure.
This was delightful. Jolly Good is one of my absolute favorites and I had forgotten just how much I missed these characters and the tone of this story 
it’s truly a one of a kind. Thank you for sharing, I was willing to wait patiently forever for Tea and Scones but it’s such nice surprise to get a little demo in the meanwhile!
Splendid demo! I’ve been replaying Cakes and Ale the past few days and I’m so happy to see the progress you’ve made on Tea and Scones.
Jumping straight into the character creator sent me for a loop, but not in a bad way. Hearing the narratior for the series years speak in new words and phrases with the same familiar cadence and humor years after the first installment came out felt a bit like coming home.
Thanks, and thanks to everyone who’s been playing.
You would think maintaining a consistent narrative voice after this five year gap would be the hardest part, but I think I just talk like that now after spending almost three million words in this world.
My current plan is to slowly release the demo in small 10,000 word chunks week by week on the Patreon and get a lot of feedback that way.
This is interesting because I only ever released anything at the totally completed beta point in my past three games, and having the opportunity to get feedback a little earlier is helpful and actually a lot of fun, more than I even thought.
P.S. what character are you going replay first? Which love interest, and which sponsor, and are you club president? And who are you buddies with? I need metrics!
My girlie is a god-mode cheater, so she’s weirdly amazing at anything (thank you for that, I know failing can be fun but I stress so easily). Fitzie as love interest, but Starling is either a second playthrough option, a love triangle or maybe even leaving Fitzie for him. Not sure, will have to meet the man first! And see what are our options, of course.
She’s the club president and Fitzie is the vice-president because I just go along with whatever he wants (my poor MC…). Also the reason why Haze is my sponsor.
I don’t remember if she has a BFF but I think she got along well with most of the cast?
First? I’m not sure yet - either the completely incompetent, kind-hearted ditz who has fallen for Fitzie without knowing it (she ended up among the Spuds), or the intelligent but lazy Garden Clubber who’s been in love with Vyv since college. Neither is president. The first likes everyone, the second likes Pilcrow, Uncle Chum, the Noble Gases generally, and anyone who is making her life easier at the moment. Starling is going to get the cut direct, though, you better believe it.
Unfortunately, if your sponsor is the Garden Club, you must be president; the only sponsor non-presidents get is the Spud Nuggets!
Ah, maybe I forgot where that one ended up. She must be president in spite of herself.
I’m so excited to be back in the world!! The ko-fi and the patreon have been great additions to this thread and it feels so good to step back into the actual prose. My main MC is a teary, tender-hearted pushover, a sucker for Fitzie, and Tabby’s new old best friend in the world! He ended up with Haze as a sponsor and he is, of course, club president. I’ve spent a lot of time looking for ways to maintain a high Soothing stat while still raising enough Scandal to trigger more rebellious plotlines, resulting a type of guy who thinks that the last thing he wants is to upset the status quo but is ultimately delighted by the ways his new valet ruffles everyone’s feathers – rather than giving Tabby a foil, I think it’s interesting to see these two grow in similar ways throughout the story. Which makes it all the more exciting to be sending him home, where status quo (seemingly) reigns supreme!
Me too, and it’s super weird to have people who are not me back in the world! This is good.
I believe the next chunk (releasing tomorrow!) will involve the five sponsors in some more detail, so that will remind people a bit more about who they are, and what the stakes are for pleasing them. I can’t wait to see what people think of it!
I’ve just released a new version of the (short) public demo of Tea and Scones with the character creator and prologue with bug fixes, prose polishing, and little adjustments. Thanks to all those eagle-eyed readers. I hope you enjoy it and that it whets your appetite for more. It’s at This Fine Location., and it is blessedly free for all to enjoy.
And for patreon supporters at the demo level, I have just released another chunk of chapter one, because it is Friday. This slice will allow you to play right through to the end of the club meeting. This is the first time I’m showing any of this material. It includes I believe something like fifteen different ridiculous original poems in it somewhere in there that can be written to celebrate your sponsor, with varying degrees of effectiveness.
More to come!
Difficult to decide! But I think I am going to be Rupert “Soots” Cowper-Cooper. Sadly he has a horrible chimney phobia. He’s club president, and the Noble Gases are now beholden to The Well-Bred Ladies’ Garden Club. He’s romantically involved with his maid, Vice President Fitzie. A while back he was involved in a scandal—something about a joyride.
If I know your writing, I know that Spud Nuggets is going to be a lot of fun too—but I think I’ll probably do everything else first!!
Albert Croft, now President of the Noble Gases and romantically intertwined with his Vice President Gilberto; sponsored by the Royal Adventurers’ Brigade (glad to see what the Colonel is doing after the X debacle near the Ritornello). Not sure what you meant by buddies, though, I believe I have a positive relationship with everyone last I checked.
I have progress to report! I have finished Chapter 7d (Chapter Seven is the one with a completely different chapter for each romantic interest–7d is Vyv’s chapter.) It turned out to be a behemoth of a chapter–307,000 words. But it’s done, and it’s super weird and lovely and delicate and a lot like Vyv. I think you’ll like it.
A lot of emotion and adventure and romance here, for people who want to get closer to Vyv.
Now I have to debug it, which will take a while, and then it will get editing.
And then comes Fitzie’s chapter, which I have been–I don’t want to say putting off, but let us say letting germinate in my mind as I come up with the way I want to do it.
At any rate, as always, my current progress is up in the first post of this thread, along with word count, and some other enticing links.
The beta playthrough of Chapter One, by the way, is available to patrons here. Two full paths through are playable. And the character creator and the short prologue are free, free, free here.. Enjoy.
For those interested in a new advice column that will accept and respond to questions that occur to the well-to-do person about town here in 1935, you are certainly in luck.
The only question is which character from the Jolly Good world will be operating this endeavor?
I’ve opened up a poll for those who are free members. Make your voice heard.
I mean, I know who I want to win.
I’ve already voted on this, but wanted you to know that I think Fitzie just may be my FAVORITE ro of all time…screw that, he’s probably my fav character period. 
Let his route germinate all you need, man! Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I feel like the only believable answers to this are Fitzie under a pseudonym causing untold chaos, Aunt Matilda chastisements, or Pilcrow actually helpful advice.
3 posts were merged into an existing topic: “Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale”—Get yourself in and out of another fine mess!
I’m happy to say that Chapter 7d (the Vyv chapter) is done, debugged, and off to the editor!
Next up is the hotly anticipated Fitzie chapter, which should be a blast to write. I feel like I’ve just spent months hanging out with Vyv, and now it’s time to spend months in close proximity with Fitzie.
(If you are interested in what my step-by-step process is when sketching out a new chapter, I’ve written up a short and free thinger here in which I lay out the steps I take when I lay down one chapter and prepare to take up a new one.)
I’m excited to get into a Fitzie frame of mind.
Edit:
And the results surprise nobody. May will be “Fitzie Explains it All for a Nominal Fee.”
