Yes. But only if they don’t take it too far. The image I embedded a few posts back shows of the basic rules and lock in points. There is time to pull yourself out of the destructive route, so long as you don’t linger there too long. Stay till chapter 5, or manage to lock yourself out of two individual routes, and you’re very much stuck.
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can you possible give a line or two from the ROs that show how they act in romance? That way it can help people out (If they’re like me I mean but don’t want to go through the drama) so they can choose if they’re stuck between two or three. Like maybe a random sentence they would say if we had reacted to them. Something like that.
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I have to say, that is one well-thought out romance system. I look forward to seeing it be executed in-game 
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The Reacts Page on tumblr is a pretty good sampler for everyone’s romance styles, the good and the bad. I hope to eventually structure things in such a way that readers can get a pretty good impression of the residents by the end of chapter 2, on the ‘will my personality gel with x or not?’ front. That still needs refining at the second though. On the writing front I’m integrating the new systems currently, which is allowing me to go back and tweak quite a lot of the story, the next update will be markedly different but will still be the same story. Expect things to have changed. Once that is down I’ll try to put together a ‘sample pack’ come blurb that gives a more detailed preview of the characters so readers can go in a touch more informed, but for now best to head over to tumblr.
@edelclere Thank You so much! It’s been about three weeks in the making by this point, well… not just the romance system, I’ve been drafting new systems and structures for every aspect of the story, predominantly using game theory from various GDC talks and design texts I have scattered about. I highly recommend the talk by Alexis Kennedy about choice architecture, it’s both funny and fascinating.
Still as fun as it is to design all this, implementing it is the next step. Time to see if the boat floats. There’s a detailed public post over on my Patreon that shows the implementation process for the games memory system if folks are interested.
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The new system’s implementation is coming along nicely, and I’m taking the opportunity to tighten up the prose while I go.
This comes from the prologue if the Main Character badly injures themselves while carrying K back from the marsh:
All pronouns are set to my typical testing set
Preview - Prologue Spoilers
“What do you think?” Peidyn asks, watching us both with a guarded expression.
Anadora pauses a while, letting her hands and eyes linger on the injury just a little bit longer, before turning to address Peidyn. “What did you apply to it earlier?” she replies.
Peidyn lists off the three salves and two tisanes she presented me with after we’d cleaned the wound. Anadora listens closely, marking each one with professional approval. She asks for the salves again, along with another she explains is derived from the Cleavers plant, to help stem the bleeding.
“You must stay off your feet for the next few days,” she explains to me as she goes about applying the salves. “You need to give the flesh time to bond back together, then you must not undertake any strenuous tasks for a few months at least.”
I pale. “Months-?!”
“Alright,” Peidyn says, handing Anadora fresh bandages when needed. “We’ll move you and your nephew into the spare downstairs room.”
I turn to her, alarmed. “But we’re only paid up till-”
She dismisses my protest with a brisk wave of her hand. “We’ll sort it out in the spring.”
Leila plops her chin on my shoulder, previous distress giving way to a teasing smile. “No work for you!” She grins. “We can babysit Henry for you! He can come out on the boat with us!”
Lars sighs loudly. “Did anyone notice how I just got volunteered for that?”
“Hey! You already volunteered to knit the lad a scarf! What’s a bit of extra company on the boat compared to that?”
While the siblings bicker, Peidyn tidies away the medicinal matter, and Ana ties the bandage securely to my leg once more.
“There’s no point in protesting, Marian,” the former tells me, sending a warm, if smug grin over her shoulder. “We’re not exactly the type of folk to throw you out in the cold, you know.”
Anadora chuckles. “That we most certainly are not.”
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slams desk p’s hand in marriage pls! Ahem anywhooo, i love this wip so much. I’m really into horror stories and the whole swamp mystery is giving me lovecraftian vibes. 
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Thank you so much @Elsee!
Though I think I’ll try and stay away from Cthulhu if that’s alright, there’s more than enough to be scared of in the Mire without existential tentacle horrors creeping in on the peripheries. 
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I’m so excited for more! Having a dependent character adds a lot more realism and stress that I surprisingly liked. I’m very curious as to how the story evolves, particularly the folklore and myths. I can already tell that there’s more to the PC and I really can’t wait to see just what it is and their place within the lore.
You’ve done a superb job with story and I’m looking forward to more of your work! Happy writing!!
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I agree! the kid is a great addition since they’re very much a developed/ing character rather than just a tag along. Also love everyone’s affection towards them too, and how ro’s like Anadora (my favorite) seem to naturally take on a caring role.
As for the story itself, it feels like we’re looking through a keyhole trying to see the whole room if that makes sense. There’s an atmosphere of something ominous going on that can’t be placed, yet.
Love the story and can’t wait to see how it develops!
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@Miyel_M Thank you so much! We love a bit of protective stress don’t we? As for the folklore and myths, expect them to appear steadily at the peripheries as the story progresses. Hints and rumours that seep into the everyday, until, perhaps they’re not just stories after all…
@Relic I love that analogy! And that’s exactly the vibe I want to capture. Slow, crawling dread just out of the corner of your eye, waiting, patient, snaking into the light one tendrilled shadow at a time.
And yay for Ana! If folks haven’t seen it yet I got sent the most gorgeous bit of fanart featuring Anadora over on tumblr:
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Hello all!
I have just updated the content warning section to include Birth and Birth Complications.
This will not initially crop up in the story until Chapter 2, and will only occur in that chapter for a certain group of readers. I do not aim to use the subject gratuitously or in a way that unnecessarily offends the reader.
For detailed information, please read the spoiler section in the principle post at the top of the forum.
Please contact me either in this forum space or through the site’s private messaging if you have concerns or questions about this matter.
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Hello @Catt! Does it mean that we have new content? Or was it just a heads up for what is coming?
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It’s for what’s coming. My Beta readers and I thought it better to get the warning in as soon as possible so folks were prepared.
Sorry to everyone that content updates are so slow right now. Dealing with a personal tragedy, the death of a dear friend last Thursday. I’m still working away at the story, but I’m also trying to ease my schedule enough so as not to be overwhelmed. It’s pretty rough right now. The mood swings are hitting me real hard. One minute everything’s fine, the next it’s all I can do not to curl up in a foetal position and cry my heart out…
It’ll get easier to bear in time, but things are still pretty raw right now. Working actually helps, it keeps my mind off of the spiralling grief.
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Sorry to hear that. All our best wishes to you. Take care of yourself first. We can wait for as long as it take. Your mental & physical health is more important. Hope you have a wonderful day & big hugs
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I know what it is like to lose someone close to you. If you ever need someone to talk to, I’d be more then happy to help. First and foremost, please take care of yourself. If you need to take a break from writing until you get yourself in a better state of mind, we’ll all understand. Remember, you come first.
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Sorry for the loss. No, it’s okay I was just wondering if I understood your post the right way. No pressure with the updates. Take your time, try to recover and try not to overextend yourself.
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Sorry for your loss. Take the time to recover, we can wait.
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Take all the time you need to grieve; your mental health comes first. It’s hard losing a loved one, so be extra gentle with yourself. Sorry for your loss 
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I am a little confused by this scene:
• My MC stubbornly refused to tell P about falling into the water.
• So P’s reaction seems weird here (at least to me) I know that falling into the water doesn’t necessarily mean they were hurt but they way that P was reacting to the injury seemed as though they have already seen it, however this would be the first time even hearing about it much less seen it? Perhaps I’m missing something?
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Peyton/Peidyn help the Main Character with Keldan/Kelda as they haul them into the lodging house, in this situation that’s when they’d have seen the injury. A lot of the vagueness of this scene gets tidied up in the updated prologue (which is not available yet but will hopefully be up before Christmas).
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