Yep
1 Like
Iām not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but it just fills me with so much joy whenever I see the overflowing relationship bar with Nick. Heās honestly my favorite character and I canāt help but grin at the 157%.
39 Likes
same. i was honestly surprised that the bar went over 100 and for a second, thought something is wrong
7 Likes
I donāt know why exactly, but I found the writing style of this storyā¦unique, and more compelling than usual. Everything just felt so smoothly transitioned into and the sarcastic dialogue choices were so on point. I personally find communicating sarcasm extremely hard in written form, so if anyone has any tips, Iād really appreciate them.
11 Likes
iām HUGELY enjoying this game - iāve had a few issues with the interface, but thatās more due to my phone system and my overprotective anti-tracking/anti-cookie add-ons than anything else. this is genuinely one of the most well-polished and well-executed IF stories iāve come across; not only does the writing feel engaging, funny, and responsive to how i play, but the story itself is gripping and holds strong as a story in its own right (not just a vehicle for romance) which i am a hugely appreciative of. iām also not a fan of superhero plots in general, so the fact that iāve been playing and replaying this so ardently is really a testimonial to how sincerely enjoyable it is.
something i really love as well is how much the game prioritises your relationship with your brother. i forgot entirely about romance in my first playthrough (and got sniped by glitch nonetheless, not that iām complaining) in favour of really just enjoying how strong and well-written the sibling dynamic felt, including the ability to embrace the more complex and nuanced sides of having a sibling. not to mention the complexity and glorious messiness available in how button feels about each! individual! family! member!! i feel SPOILED.
i also really appreciate the different ways button can view their condition. iām someone who lives with a fair few mental quirks (seeing touretteās mentioned by name in the game made me do the spiderman pointing meme) and, again, the grasp of nuance and the many ways someone can feel about living with something that is, when it comes down to it, damn inconvenient and something that marks you as Obviously Other, feels really well thought-out, deep, and something that i really appreciate.
the one glaring issue i (and the several friends i showed the game to and have been comparing notes with) have had, honestly, is the age gap(s) between button and some of the other ROs. while, obviously, this is a work of fiction, it strikes me as really uncomfortable and strange to have an age gap of ten years between rosy and button. iād love to go down rosyās route (who wouldnāt want to unwrap such a deliciously tightly-bound parcel, with all those glimmers of genuine humanity and care poking through the wrapping?), but the simple fact is that rosy is half-again buttonās age and their instructor to boot. the fact that rosy, a fully-mature 30 yr old in a position of power over button, a 20yr old who is both one of their students and, later, reporting to rosy as theirā¦senior/commanding officer, i suppose?, would possibly end up in a relationship with button despite no shortage of attractive people closer to rosyās age running around the place ā¦ it feels creepy, and predatory, and makes my skin crawl, which is obviously not the intention. it mars an otherwise delightful potential dynamic and a really fun and complex character by turning them into someone whose reputation would make me cross the street to avoid them.
even grayson, who, on paper, is the most tailor-made-for-me RO possible, feels hard to enjoy when you consider that he would have known button since they were, what, two-thirds his age? and, again, is a fully mature adult in a position of (albeit far less direct) power over the much younger rookie button. my co-readers and i are all in the middle range between the age gaps between button and grayson, and all of us felt uneasy about that as well. both of these characters are so easy to love, but itās really hard to ignore the given ages. the age gap between my adult younger brother and i is a year less than the age gap between button and grayson & nick, but the idea of considering any of his friends in a romantic or sexual light turns my stomach.
and on that note, the potential romance between sally and nick: it skeeves me out that buttonās adult older brother would potentially be interested in someone a even younger than button, the younger sibling that he practically raised.
i, honestly, feel like itās such a shame to have this hinder enjoyment, especially when it doesnāt seemt hat hard to solve. why not have button be ambiguously aged between, say, 20 to 23, readerās choice? say they took a gap year, or were held back a grade, or attended a few years of normie college after highschool, or something along those lines, or just leave it to reader interpretation? why not have rosy be in their mid-twenties, and just act far older than they seem? (which also gives the option of tasty tasty potential scenes of seeing someone who acts a decade older than they really are suddenly seem painfully like their real, younger age in a moment of vulnerability). why not decrease the gap between the older cast members and sally & button a little?
i canāt see any huge narrative reason why not - you could argue that rosy, nick and grayson would be too young to be in their position, sure, but nick and grayson are both exceptionally powered individuals (and the narrative keeps flirting with the idea of unity beingā¦kind of cavalier about the value of individual human life); and as for rosy, i mean, plenty of universities/colleges hire older students or recent alumni as tutors, even disregarding that they evidently are pretty exceptional in their own right and, similarly, might have a lack of experience compared to older agents overlooked in favour of their skills.
i apologise if this comes off as overly solicitous or sanctimonious - i am obsessed with this novel, and eagerly awaiting updates (nice cliffhanger, by the way - totally didnāt obliterate my productivity in the middle of my work day when i finished chapter 8 on my break or anything, absolutely not) - and i literally created an account on this forum for the express purpose of both gushing about it and complimenting the genuinely outstanding writing and plot, and for offering constructive criticism on what is probably my new favourite IF novel. i (and at least one of my friends) are already setting aside funds to throw at the finished product. iām halfheartedly trying to talk myself out of joining the patreon. this story rules.
8 Likes
Some people like age gaps in fiction. And some people, in real life, have perfectly healthy relationships even with years between them. My best friendās parents have thirteen years between them, but they have the healthiest marriage Iāve ever seen.
Unless the relationship is being written in an unhealthy way, then thereās no reason to assume itās going to innately be unhealthy. And if it is unhealthy, well, again, itās fiction; sometimes people explore uncomfortable subjects with fictional characters because it helps them better learn to deal with their real discomfort in their real life. Others, still, want to explore something thatās seen as taboo in a way that doesnāt harm any real person. Neither of these approaches are wrong.
In the words of wisdom from years of old; if something is uncomfortable for you to read, then donāt read it.
56 Likes
If I remember correctly, I think the author mentioned on their Tumblr that part of the reason for the varying ages and Rosy specifically was to accommodate older IF readers who, as players, may feel uncomfortable romancing a younger character.
Iāll try to find the link where they explain.
Edit: Found the links! There might be more, but hopefully this can provide more insight.
28 Likes
hey, thank you! i greatly appreciate you having gone out of your way to find these links; it provides a really interesting reasoning and i feel a lot more comfortable knowing it.
6 Likes
iām well aware, thanks! there are situations in fiction where i also enjoy exploring the dynamic of age gaps, and i know of plenty of people in real life who are perfectly happy with significant age gaps between them and their partner/spouse. itās not an inherently bad thing. iām also no stranger to wanting to use fiction to explore offputting or potentially taboo topics, and doing so can absolutely be cathartic and healthy.
to be more specific, my issue arises mostly from the youth of the character of button. i wouldnāt feel uncomfortable at all if it was, say, a six or ten year age gap where button was in their late 20s or early 30s. itās more just that someone whoās 20 is still immature, regardless of how adult they behave. their frontal lobes are still all squishy and stuff. the mentor/mentee dynamic that i mentioned as well is something that, imo, can be fun to explore in fiction; itās the combination of the difference in psychological & psychosocial maturity that, combined with the age gap, turns me off personally.
iām also pretty happy to play and replay various routes of this game and just ignore the aspects iām uncomfortable with; iām clever enough to work out that if i donāt enjoy the idea of something when the opportunity arises, i probably wonāt like either it if i venture further down that path. i wanted to post this here since itās a forum for the demo, and i enjoyed the game intensely enough to want to offer both compliments on what is a sincerely enjoyable game, and feedback on something that i and a my friends found detracted from our experience and kept us from fully enjoying everything the game has to offer. iām not placing any expectation on the author to actually act on my post; nor am i condemning it. i expressed how the inclusion of the age gaps and power imbalance made the game feel, on first run-through and without prior knowledge (as provided by another person in this thread!), unpleasant or offputting to some readers and biased perception of certain characters in a way that was obviously not desired, which i assume would be something the author is interested in hearing. theyāre under no obligation to incorporate my advice, respond to it, or even read it, honestly.
as an addendum, i had some issues sending this post, so iām hoping it goes through this time. while iāve been waging war on my internet, the reply someone else provided to this topic also has changed how i feel about the points i raised above, so itās worth mentioning that as well.
10 Likes
Iām still desperately waiting for the announce of the author getting new beta-readers/players/testers/lab rats and nothing 
.
Our dear author forgot about us on Cog 
ā¦
7 Likes
Jesus, thereās so much L-word being thrown around when having a crush on Gray itās putting me off. I couldāve sworn it wasnāt like this before, is this a new edit?? I know theyāve known each other for long, but theyāre not even together. Seems too early to use the word āLoveā so much. Not only that, to put him above Nick in how much MC āLovesā him?
8 Likes
omg that cliffhanger I loved it
2 Likes
Does anyone know how to get the greyed out āI already suspectedā option for Kent/Kenna? I canāt figure it out.
1 Like
Chapter 2:
ā¢Have Glitch share Intel on āNoxā with you. When asking about how long the two have been partners, pick the option: āIs there something Glitchās not telling me?ā
ā¢After that, when prompting Glitch to explain Noxās callsign, choose: āHmm. Interesting strategy for an empath.ā
Chapter 4:
ā¢Have Glitch pick you up from the hospital. When K mentions Antigone being in the car, choose: āWhat the HELL is this Mentās deal?ā
Chapter 5:
ā¢Have Sally attempt a vision about K.
ā¢Do research on K. When learning about the tragedy in the Zarneki family, choose: āIām surprised that [K] wanted to join Unity after they failed to save [their] mother.ā
ā¢When Nick asks you why youāre so interested in K, choose: ā[K] helped me escape even though we barely know each other. No oneās that altruisticāI need to figure out what [theyāre] up to.ā
ā¢Meet with Sally after trying to get in contact with K. When Sally inquiries about your efforts, choose: āI donāt get this guy, Sally. As soon as I think I have [them] figured out, I learn something new which completely upsets my prior understanding.ā (You have to be romantically interested in K for this.)
ā¢Or, as an alternative, instead of meeting with Sally, you can meet with Glitch at the cafe. Confess about your mind blindness and Nick being with you. Then choose: āSpeaking of [K], do you have any idea why [they] didnāt mention that [they] could read my mind that morning?ā (Youāll be even more suspicious if your Interpersonal is high enough.)
ā¢If Glitch or K try to talk with you after leaving the elevator, your suspicion is increased.
And thatās pretty much it. 
37 Likes
Hey, thanks so much!! This was a huge help. Youāre a lifesaver.
3 Likes
Just wanted to point a few typos I encountered, one was the | the real official file of Kenna a pronoun mistake | and the second one was | when weāre creating our alter-ego with Sally |
1 Like
I just want to pop in to this thread and say that Iām really enjoying the story and canāt wait to see where itās going!
2 Likes
I guess he was crushing on him so hard and so long, interacting with him regularly enough (Gray= our Baby Nickās bff) being basically incapable to actually have a chance with Gray ( let me remind you of the awkward car scene, which was bussin, I was squirming overwhelmed with the āsubtleā signs of rejection) he just ended up stuck with unrequited love.
Yeah,they have been in close contact for years. So close that MC knows what cookies does bae like, what little thing he borrowed from Nick months ago and unnecessary stuff etc. And I kinda imagine Gray was nice enough pretend to be blind and be kind to him. Not Nick lvl kind, but kind. Like MC had some hella time to catch feelings. He might be an RO anyway, but poor MC adored him just blindly in a way Sally adores Nick. We know they both have their firm reasons tho( Ķ”Ā°Š· Ķ”Ā°)
Letās not forget he may think what heās feeling is loveā¦maybe thatās too twisted
Of course thatās just my feelings on MC actually crushing on Grayson. And no hard feelings HAHA
11 Likes
I just feel way too uncomfortable with people saying they love someone so quickly, and also people that say theyāre in love when theyāre not even dating. I wish there was an option of not saying it or thinking it at all. Especially seeing as I picked the option of āburying my feelingsā right at the start. I just donāt relate at all lol. Iāve crushed on friends for extended periods of time, never thought I was in love with 'em.
17 Likes
Obviously, since the demoās longer and the relationship can progress, there are more instances that mention how Button feels about him, but not more instances in the sense that there are places in earlier scenes that didnāt previously have it that are now including it.
Also, keep in mind that 1. romantic love and familial love are not the same thing, 2. some Buttons donāt love Nick at all (How? Idk. But yāall do you lol), and 3. while the authorās really accommodating/tries to include a ton of variations, she has to write and code any variations she does include; beyond even that though, these are her characters and she has her own vision of what different relationships look like. Button isnāt you, you just get to go into Buttonās world and see things through Buttonās eyes/mind.
Plus, there are definitely other ROs you can choose if Buttonās intense feelings for Gray are super off-putting, and while I canāt speak on the Sally route because I only go for males, Iāve tried all the other ROs *except for Noh because 1. I donāt know if itās even at that point yet and 2. I think you have to have a Button that hates Nick for that to trigger annnndd again, HOW? and theyāre all great and offer different dynamics.
36 Likes