OUROBOROS (WIP) [Updated 12th June 2023] [NEW! discord + tumblr + patreon]

[hyperbolou]

Answering the posts above!

@Radiantbliss , @RenataC , @Kaleroin :') you are sweeter than honey. Thank you!

@AdmiralLynx89 Re: an alt route in the beginning, it is something that I have considered and I feel excited about writing it out so… Hmm! You just might have convinced me. I’m adding it to my list! It is a good way for reluctant MC’s to dig their heels in, and it would give a good glimpse of what the clergy are capable of now.

This tidbit about your MC is very inspiring!! I want to lean into that social awkwardness more in writing. Y will have steam coming out of their ears, and a constant blush

Sassing the clergy, eh? snickers You will certainly have the chance to! (only later, the leaders of that damned cult are elusive and vicious! I have a fun ‘mission’ set in Oakwerth planned )

@FatedFlame Oh :> This is so thoughtful and extensive I am just turning entirely heart-shaped. Thank you so much!

I can absolutely see what you mean, re: tidying up of the first paragraph. I will try it out when I sit down to go through edits. Clicking the next-button a lot is true too, and I think I am a bit guilty of taking the advice of ‘a choice/next-button every 3-400 words’ entirely too seriously. I’ll keep it in mind. :>

@FatedFlame

BRUH YOU KNOW HOW TO WRITEEEEEEEE

:sobs: You too! Your WIP is like ambrosia to me, the first one that hooked me when I first started browsing this forum. I think it’s my only bookmark here lol. Thank you and ditto! It means a lot coming from you. Delighted that my stat page changes gave you an idea

Ah quicktest <3 thank you for sharing that!

In fact, thanks for sharing all of it, it was a wonderful read. Hope you have a great day/night! (And thanks for making me hum to MJ’s beat it all day now

I’ll answer @Dahariel out here as it involves a lil sneak peek. Bell isn’t very nice at all, I agree!

A jerk for sure!

(If Lena&Bell interests anyone as characters, I highly recommend Swordheart by T. Kingfisher (goodreads.com) , which inspired Bell’s sword-form and is just a delightful book in general. For any aro/ace’s that would be interested, it is fairly problematic when it comes to the FMC’s past husband, just beware.)

Now, an update on progress: This chapter is taking me very much longer than I had hoped for, but at the same time, I’m solving a lot of problems and plot-bunnies as I go. I wrote about 8k story-words on the second draft, and around 13k in planning alone. I’m still writing at a speed of about 3.5 existential crises per minute, but progress is being made and it is a very welcomed distraction to hang out with my characters. Life has been very humbling lately and it is taking a toll on me… My mom was hospitalized last week for heart failure (She is home and OK now!) but it was a very distressing time that I need to process. I will still be taking a bit of a hands-off approach to social media tied to Ouroboros for a bit longer, but I am working on it in the background. For the update to go live I need to finish

• An additional set of split RO-scenes (Y and S already started) for a branching in Lena’s scene. A sneak peek of Y:

• A flashback scene to 2 A.R (when the contract between the Hedge and the Serpent clergy was signed) where MC is back with all the people they used to know, including
  
• Rewriting of the first draft that comes after, because the context has changed, again. It is time-consuming and mind-numbing work to change the minor details, but I am slowly getting through it and I think it will be worth it.
• coding that draft
• stat fixes and some line-editing

I know it’s been two months since last (and mainly technical) update, but I’d hate to give out content I don’t feel finished with. Thank you for sticking around even though the wait is long! <3 I hope you have a great day or night, wherever you are.

Oh, and here’s a sketch of F!Auryn that I made a while back but forgot to share.

[Valixon]

No worries family and yourself always comes first and foremost and I believe I can safely say for not just myself but for others that we love your story and look forward to seeing what you next unveil for us all to see.

[hyperbolou]

I wanted to poke my head in to give a quick update on progress! I’m rising from my tomb and brushing the cobwebs off, so to speak. After a couple of turbulent months of me teetering on the edge of burnout, juggling work and a fragile family, August has finally been kind to me. I have managed to write consistently, even if the quantity isn’t massive, and I’m in the final stages of incorporating a new intro-path that allows for MC to get on their worst behavior. You got me! It completely transforms how your MC arrives to the Hedge, and how they are introduced to the crew, hopefully giving you reluctant MC’s a more solid base for your hesitation. (The angst is killing me. It was tough to write, but I like it!)

The rest of the update is a collection of unfinished scenes that takes us all the way to the end of act 1 and into the woods, but since I work on the scenes out of order depending on what I feel like that day, I don’t have a big update to announce yet. I don’t post much about Ouroboros on tumblr or here anymore, simply because I am too easily influenced by your wishes and suggestions. (They are all amazing, tbh.) I’m trying to be aware of scope-creep and keep the beginning of the story streamlined, even though I have an abundance of cool choices and consequences that I want to work in. I’m allowing myself to just mull these things over, to find priorities and merges that work with the plot I have already thought out and not morphing it into this whole new thing with other, shinier scenes. It’s harder than it sounds :')
I will be back to answer questions and such once the update is out, until then I will live my happiest hermit life and write from the shadows – just so you know that even if there aren’t any official updates, I’m still working on this project. It’s so dear to me. You can always find me shitposting on tumblr too, I do answer some questions sometimes, when I feel like it I do it publicly, but I’m more prone to answering private DM’s or non-anon asks.

Here's some random sneak peeks

:>

Anyway, I need your help. I’m so unused to sharing my work like this, I find myself doubting every step.
I can either finish the new path (I can do that before monday no problem), or just finish the whole chunky update (I’d say a quarter at my current speed), or the last option that I feel is feasible; finish the next two scenes along with the new path, the flashback scene and Lena’s visit and post that as an update (where it’s possible that some plot events might change when the rest of the scenes are finished, depending on how much foreshadowing I want to include lmao)
I keep thinking one is better than the other, but I never come to a conclusion. What do you think?

• Post the new prologue path alone
• Let it sit with the rest of the update
• Finish the next immediate scenes (the flashback and Lena’s scene) along with the new path and post that

Edit to add: I’m leaving the poll up for about a week, but wow! Thank you for all the voting!

I hope you have a great day/night, take care of yourself

---

Ok, polls closed! 188 of you, holy shit? Thank you so much for voting, and for showing interest even though I’m doing the Worst Job Possible of being approachable on social media. You really helped me put my head on straight, to focus on what I do best: keep on keepin’ on. I cannot wait to share the next part with you!

:>

[kneesama]

I don’t think I am able to exactly follow the plot so far. But I think I understand it enough to say THIS SEEMS SO EXCITING!

I really enjoy all of the characters that have been introduced so far, and all of the responses to my choices seem to be accurate. Nothing feels like my selection was pointless. Also a side note - I have never played a choice script game and been interested in all of the RO’s. Normally there’s only one that I jive with. But all of the routes are interesting and the characters seem likable in some capacity. Gonna have some tough time choosing? Is it spoilers if I ask if you plan to add choices that hard lock a route or if the relationships the mc pursues will be based on stats? (I’m sure someone has already asked sorry)

[hyperbolou]

@kneesama

I don’t think I am able to exactly follow the plot so far.

Totally understandable, considering there’s only been some meager setup so far, and more about establishing the MC in this universe! From MC’s standpoint, the plot is currently about finding out what happened to L, why MC is being dragged into it; tangentially on what has being going on in Oakwerth, what MC’s connection is to that and what Oakwerth’s connection is to the Release (and to Lena (the last living heir to the fallen crown) and the Serpent clergy (Which you don’t know much about but I can say that they were advisors to the royal family before the fall, when they were renowned God-banes and not the frenetic cult they are nowadays. Every RO’s story ties into the plot at some level, and they all have different paths to finding the truth (and MC is at the core of it). There is a lot to unravel, as you can see… Steam whistles out of my ears when I think too hard on it. It is going to be a clusterfuck until the pieces of the puzzle start falling into place, lol.

Re: romance lock, I’m going to be real with you chief, I don’t know yet. Right now I write it with an action-response mechanic, meaning that when it’s time for a romance scene you will see variations of:

The subsequent scenes will draw from that choice, so it’s a “soft-lock” I guess? I think a romance lock is the most sensible approach down the line, but for now I’m kind of just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. Stats will be used, but more in determining MC acts/feels.

Anyway :') Your review was a sight for sore eyes, I tell you. Thank you so much for the boost in confidence — when I’m hip-high in the swamps of this story, it doesn’t make sense to me either, but the appreciation people show for it are like lanterns guiding my way through the slough.

(Also make sure to cast your vote, I’m closing the poll tomorrow!)

[VoiD]

Really good so far… and I’m pretty picky when it comes to WIP/hosted games. Looking forward to the next update.

[hyperbolou]

A little sneak peek that I shared on tumblr just now, and a passage that really warms my heart. MC’s and L’s relationship is something I hold so dear

Progress has been really good for the past month, so unless something terrible happens I’m still on schedule to release the update in November. :> Hope autumn is treating you well!

[Cingulum_diaboli]

Aaaa Thank you for sneak peek, I’m so glad the progress is going well.

Now I feel I want to read the demo again. This is one of those that never bores me.

[Radishbread]

This is such an aesthetically lovely WIP. I’m such a sucker for lush, overgrown environments. Even despite the obvious dangers of the world, there’s such a rich sense of life and love that pervades every environmental descriptor. The characters are wonderful, of course, but I find myself really thirsting for more of this WIP just so that I can see/learn more of the world all the characters share!

[hyperbolou]

@Cingulum_diaboli Thank you for leaving a comment that is so nice! :') And no one is happier than me, that the progress is going so well lately, trust. I love writing this story and can’t wait to share more with you (even though I’m trembling in my boots haha)

@Radishbread Ah, can you hear the sound of me melting? Because I am. This comment made my day Thank you! Writing out the environment for Ouro has been a real treat.

Speaking of ‘Ouro’, I have fallen into the deadliest of writer traps I have taken to calling the world in Ouroboros ‘Ouro’ so much now (it didn’t really have a name before… Just ‘the forest’ or ‘anvil’) that I feel like I might keep it. And by keeping it, I feel weird having the title be Ouroboros. To be fair, I never intended for Ouroboros to be the final title. Have I said Ouroboros enough to make you hate it too now? The very first title was even worse— Melodies from the maw of the beast. Lmfao.
Right now the alternate title I’m feeling is Echo, which isn’t too much of a change, at least thematically. I’m still mulling it over, but don’t get spooked if you see the title changing!

[Valixon]

Lol well what ever the final name may become i will admit that its current title has a place in my heart

[AdmiralLynx89]

I took “Ouroboros” to be a name symbolic of the cost of immortality, even if that cost was a far off (very far off) eventuality.

How old is the longest lived person in their world, for instance? Have they noticed anything concerning that they worry about happening to the younger masses that were changed without much say in their own fates? With a title like Ouroboros, it isn’t hard to imagine there being some kind of consequence somewhere down the line.

A newer, better name wouldn’t diminish the divinity-tier writing of this world, and story, though. Have at it, because that is your right as the author.

[hyperbolou]

@Valixon well that does make my heart swell! It has such a big place in my heart too, so much so that it felt natural naming the actual world after it – I can’t explain why I have started to hate the actual phonetic sound of Ouroboros. It just sounds so grating. But then again, I say Ouroboros like three times a day. It gets weird after a while.

And I did make a nice header for that name the other day;

So who knows. It might just be that the word sits weird in my mouth at the moment. I am having a very fun and flirty fling with the word Echo. It might pass

@AdmiralLynx89 YOU!! I’m sorry for my late reply but ever since I read your reply I have chuckled at it while doing some home improvement projects. I didn’t know how to reply… Other than mentally (and not so severely, just a little bit) waterboarding you and screaming ‘what do you know about my plot!!!’
I can’t say too much without giving it all away, but the person you speak of is very much in MC’s vicinity. Lol.
The title is thematically important, you are right about that. I do think Echo echoes () that as well. Agh! How will I ever choose!!!

And thank you for your kind words <3 They keep me going, without a doubt. I hope you have an awesome day!

[Valixon]

You know it might sound weird or not a good combination but if you cant settle on one of them why not a combination of both?

[AdmiralLynx89]

@hyperbolou

‘what do you know about my plot!!!’

At this point, we might just be sharing a braincell. It was an interesting thing to ponder, though, given that the water was discovered by someone before it became a known, and previously “controlled” substance subject to study, and experimentation, if the implications about the kells remain what they are.

If nothing else, that it was seemingly controlled at all for a time implies someone understood the complete uncertainty of what they’d stumbled across, and I infer they must’ve thought about the best way to introduce it responsibly, before the big water geyser boom that irreversibly altered pretty much everything about their world.

[hyperbolou]

@valixon, yeah of some sort! I think I’ll either name the actual world ecco/echo and keep the Ouroboros name or the other way around. I might ask for some help with a poll if I can’t settle on it myself

@ladyumbreon discovered by someone, put there by someone, but has also always been there in one form or another!

@AdmiralLynx89

and I infer they must’ve thought about the best way to introduce it responsibly,

Yeah, a big point of contention. Before the Release the well was protected by two greater parties-- Rivens church (the elder druids) and the royals of Oakwerth (guided by the Serpent clergy), leading to weird instances of the two different faiths meshing in ways that could be seen as either blackmailing or bribery. They once settled on a compromise that benefitted them both, even though their reasons were at odds with each other. The truth coming out would be bad for both, for different reasons. Don’t know how much more I can say because, in a game where everything is in some way connected to the water, the water is surprisingly a big plot point lol. I never know how much I should say in these replies, but it’s so much fun seeing theories and ponderings!

@AdmiralLynx89

we might just be sharing a braincell.

Well, I’m about to sit down for my writing session so…

Hope y’all have a great weekend!

[hyperbolou]

Hello! Coming in hot with the last progress update before the actual update (barring some sneak peeks mayhaps) :> As you know, it’s NaNoWriMo, and I’m participating in it with this update. Writing and editing the first half of the update has been going great, but the second half is having the same pacing issues I encountered back when I struggled with the Lena scene, SO, I have taken it upon myself to toss things around a bit for nano and rewrite the plot juust a touch, give it some more oomph.

Take a peek if you don’t mind being a lil’ spoiled:

I’m feeling pretty excited about it! It would only replace some of the slower scenes towards the end of the update, but this being interactive fiction, they might still be in there if I can find the time and energy to finish those too-- if not for this update, maybe the next. I know some of you have yearned to knock out the RO’s in the training yard, or meeting Farhad at the tavern.

In other news, in October I passed the longest I have ever written on a single project; over 105k (across planning and writing, mind)! I don’t even mind my brain being keelhauled against my very rough, very limited experience as a writer anymore, because I am so excited to see how this story grows and changes. Thank you to everyone who sends me encouragement and are still interested, if it weren’t for you this project would probably be collecting dust in a drawer somewhere. :>
I hope you had a great Halloween, and that you have a great November beyond it!

Demo update ETA: end of November. Pray for me.

[Van1llaPudd1ng]

@hyperbolou

Demo update ETA: end of November.

OMG! Cannot wait, I missed the world and characters!

@hyperbolou

Pray for me.