Absolutely agree, one of the best WIPs, can’t wait for the full release!
About all characters being male, its probably because you chose “attracted to male”, so all the RO options genders set to what you choose. But I’m sure we will meet more incredible different individuals in the story that will balance everything out, this was just the beginning after all.
About being turned and still being human and immortal - as I understand you still become kind of druna, but the mutation does not take place and you’re considered very unique because your body maintains the human physic which is very rare.
But again that’s what I got from the lore and story, I hope its right and I’m curious as well about your other questions.
yes, i chose “attracted to male” because my mc is only attracted to men. i was just saying that i wish we could set the ros gender instead of them being playersexual. but it’s not a big deal tho! i understand that it can be a lot of work!
@emjay, it makes me so happy to hear that! And haha, I know the feeling. I love all of them too!
Re: selecting the ro’s gender, slides this across the table, why don’t you try that on for size?
It’s not entirely polished, but since I figured out that you can post more than one game on dashingdon lol, I don’t see the harm in sharing! I will make a post with the polished update+patch-notes later on, hopefully this week, but as I’m currently hosting family it will have to wait. There’s mostly technical changes in the demo above, but a few new choices too.
Your Q's!
As of now, no. The early bits of part one is just to allow for some “love at first sight” if you wish for it. The romance initiates with key choices, none of which we have reached yet.
I’m grinning at this Q. I really want changes in the MC’s personality to be reflected upon, both wider changes in personality and in out-of-character choices they may make. However, I’m still at Mt. Stupid on the learning curve of this whole ordeal, so I don’t want to promise more than I can deliver! Right now, I am still balancing personality points, and without correctly reflecting what the MC is like now, I can’t take for granted how they behave and therefore can’t have their surroundings react to it. I think that will fall into place as the story grows longer and deeper. phrasing
Yes, there was a point where everyone was mortal and only selected people had the power of immortality. The MC had access to the water before the Release in different ways depending on your chosen origin.
Only drinking the water would result in becoming a druna, where you either go through metamorphosis into the various forms druna can take, or you don’t and keep your human features. Being a ‘human’ is mostly aesthetical, as you are still classified as changed and therefore, druna. Becoming a blood-kell is also technically becoming a druna since you are imbibing the water. It is a more involved process though, that came about through the discovery that the water can change the conditions of metamorphosis under certain set circumstances. Like Id, for example. Also, blood-kells were initially created to be assassins, to replace/enhance the mercenaries work. Like a race of super-soldiers. But now I’m getting into spoiler territory lmao. Anyway!
So like @Van1llaPudd1ng so kindly filled in (and thank you for your kind words ), every living thing became immortal when the well’s waters spread, and technically druna – that is how the Serpent clergy explains it; it’s a narcissistic naming that implies that everything has reached apotheosis and become druids in a physical rather than philosophical sense. That bit probably won’t make any sense now, but it will become clearer as the story goes lol. It’s complicated!
@Valixon Ack I’m so happy to see you :> I’m so glad you are enjoying it! I know I’m terrible at catching those unmarked variables But I’m weeding them out one by one! Thank you for taking the time to comment
maybe you can make a hidden past personality stat. if I’m not mistaken, that’s what the author of The Exile did. it’s probably a lot of work tho, since you’ll be tracking a past and present personality stats.
so blood-kells are created? does that mean blood-kell mc was created to be an assassin?
also, i have a few follow-up questions. sorry i hope I’m not annoying you but I’m just really interested in your world!
Summary
we know that auryn and S are druna (went through metamorphosis), but what about the other ros? what was id before they turned to mist? that happened after the Release, right?
when did mc and leith first met? was it before mc became immortal or after?
is there any factor that determines whether someone goes through metamorphosis or keeps their human features?
are glowing eyes, white eyes, green hair etc. a product of metamorphosis? also, can glowing eyes be any color?
also, thank you for letting us set the ros gender! however, can you make it so that it doesn’t affect our orientation? like my mc is still straight but it says on the stat page that she’s bisexual. i just like having a balanced ratio of male and female characters and not looking like my mc has a reverse harem and also that way it will limit my mc’s options
oh and here's some feedback!
i loved the branch where id manhandles you when you try to escape both times but i just feel like the scene if you choose to finally agree to come with him is kinda lacking? the scene where you share a horse with them (idk if you get your own horse if you agree to come from the start, my mc always try to escape at first and then relent). i just feel like there could be so much sexual or romantic tension in there (for those who want to go on id’s route) bc of the closeness when sharing a horse, like you get to be so close to each other, you’re practically touching
Pretty much. It will be a lot of work to set up, but once you’ve got it established, all you have to do there is set tags for the flavor text to ‘compare’ the values set by present vs past MC stats. Simplicity itself once the code skeleton is in place.
The prologue, and first chapter don’t need to be overhauled to reflect this, either; there’ll be plenty of time to dream/reminisce about the MC’s past as the story goes on. We might even be able to have a dream that starts this process soon since several MC’s are wound up, and annoyed about being relocated back to town. Remembering how things were as a hunter before the “incident” could be a segue to some MC’s being able to mellow out a touch. (Mine is still going to try escaping, nice as the room is. We’ll just have to see how he feels after cooling his head.)
So far, Id is pretty much the only one who might already know there’s a difference, but I don’t see them commenting on it until they feel like the MC won’t just blow them off about it. That sets the stage for it being a later discussion very neatly.
Truly, other than a couple flavor options to make the short trip into town the longest few miles Id’s ever had to drag someone, there isn’t much reason to adjust what we have so far any further. In regards to setting up the tags, stats, and variables for the MC, and how the world perceives them, at least.
Id was human before they turned to mist! Y looks human too. And yes, there was a second cataclysmic event after the release, when the beasts became more aggressive. You will hear about it more in the story, but that was when L and MC’s squad died and Id was turned into mist. It was a violent period of time.
As @yb_minhee said - yep! It’s also a bit up to reader interpretation, depending on MC’s origin and whatnot. For example, a captain of the guard would become immortal sooner than the healer in my mind. But generally, they have known each other for a long time.
For now, I can only shrug my shoulders and say ‘yes’ without any specificity; I haven’t dived that deep into technicalities yet! It’s not load-bearing information for now.
They are! :]
I will try to rearrange so that you can be straight!
You mean when you choose to finally sit horseback? Instead of making a run for it? I see. Hmm. I will look over it! I definitely didn’t give it as much attention as I did with the other option. Thank you for the feedback :>
@LadyUmbreon89 and emjay, about the hidden personality: Oh I love this idea, comparing stats. I’m def gonna research it and use it in some capacity. I love the Exile (I am currently reading it!) and the way they weave backstory flashbacks with different POV’s… It’s just beautiful.
There won’t be such a heavy emphasis on flashbacks in Ouro, but I’m taking it step by step, seeing where the story takes me. I know you all want to make life hard for the hedge guard as well, but at some point I’m gonna take your MC by the ear and drag them into the upcoming adventure (if the serpent clergy doesn’t do it for me)! snorts buncha brats…
For some reason, the escapee MC’s are both the most fun to think of and the hardest to write. Wish me luck!
A dream, or a thoughtful walk, there’s something already planned in this spirit!
I hope I got everything there, heh. Thanks for all your interest! :>
Ah I forgot the update lmao. Copy pasted from the tumblr post for your convenience:
writers update (21/4/2022)
Can’t believe the audacity time has. Already thursday! It was no big surprise to me that writing progress on Ouro slowed to a halt this week, as easter did not allow for any substantial writing other than a few character blurbs and asks answered on here. Today is the first day I get to sit down and go through the demo-update (there is still some polishing to be done and variations to put in, but there is a link on the forum if you want to take a peek).
This week I’m working on:
pushing out the patch for the prologue + a post with the patchnotes. This shouldn’t take me too long if everything goes smoothly, I’m aiming to have it out by next week. When it’s out, I’m gonna brave discord again and see if I can’t make a tiny server for beta-readers (if there is any interest)
revisiting my outlines and fleshing them out more succinctly. My planning now…
It’s not even close to enough if I want to write confidently. Sometimes I curse myself for having so many RO’s and important characters, but it will be damn worth it in the end.
write a tiny something for Ouro everyday, even if it’s just a paragraph, or a sentence. As soon as I’m feeling up for it, I’m challenging myself with a writing sprint to kickstart momentum. I look forward to that! I have done them in the past and it always has me looking back at the writing like “…I wrote that?” (lovingly and derogatory)
All in all, progress is being made even if it’s disjointed and all over the place right now. I’m on my knees begging the universe for some continuity as my routine has been shredded to pieces lately (and I don’t do well when that happens lol).
I think the main part of why I’m stressing so much is because I had aimed to have a chunk of writing out with the demo-update, but that is just not going to happen as I’m still unsure of how to handle certain variables. So I’m letting go of that idea and I’m resetting the clock, so to speak. But that’s about it!
You can now enter your own pronouns or choose neo-pronouns from a list of them. (I was feeling so overwhelmed by this for a while but @CC_Hill came to my rescue and I can’t say thank you enough!!! :happy sobs:)
You can now change appearance at any time in the game, via the settings.
You can now change gender and pronouns at any time in the game, via the settings.
You can now toggle unicode-hints on/off at any time in the settings, it will also show up in the beginning of the game once I feel it’s substantial enough. Beware that for now it’s very sparse.
Bald head available for L, bald head or the option to wear a scarf or a veil available for MC.
L can now be non-binary with they/them pronouns.
Input text for hair color and eyes available. For eyes, this defaults in having unusual eyes.
You can now choose the RO’s genders as you meet them . Beware that this, for now, results in you having no listed orientation.
Added ‘ordinary’ as a body-type.
New names for MC.
Known issues:
The conversation you have when meeting Y, if you are dragged to Riven, needs an overhaul still. I’m contemplating placing in some exposition on the Serpent clergy, but if I do, I’d like to fit that into the path where you go to Riven by free will as well; it’s complicated, and I need a little time to think it over.
I have yet to add even more struggle for Id if your MC really doesn’t want to go to Riven. It’s coming as soon as I figure what way to go about it – either another path, or another set of choices.
Please be aware that while there is some new writing in what you have already seen, this is a patch and not an update; an update with another chapter is coming as soon as I work out the kinks in my outline and learn more about coding consequences for choices. I’m still learning choicescript so I’m very unsure of many things. I’m picking up steam though!
Wonderful work! That might be “just a patch” but it is still a massive overhaul in terms of content variety. A story growing wider is still growing, even if it seems like there isn’t a lot of payoff now, the level of customization you’re aiming for is mind-bogglingly diverse for a first time project.
It is sincerely awesome! Make sure you’re taking time for you away from your project, too; it is all too easy to fall into the false perception that you must always outdo yourself, or always deliver a certain ‘minimum’ for it to be considered a step forward. All steps no matter how small count!
Awww “Please don’t make me go” is a sweet choice to say and it calms the scene down. Great job!
I still prefer Id and the MC fighting and pissing each other off . Their relationship is just way too funny that way and Id has an excuse to keep calling the MC feral later haha
i think i found a bug! in this scene, mc still says that they haven’t decided whether they’re going even if they burned the letter earlier
She nods resolutely at you, pointing to the canoe by your rickety dock. She then goes back to tear a bite of her fish with her long teeth. Chewing, she points at you with brows raised, as if asking if you are ready.
"I haven’t decided if I’m going yet." You answer, crossing your arms.
in terms with wearing a veil, did the mc wore it when Id just whisked them from their home? cause if they’re already wearing it, i dont think a blood kell would need a hood to hide their features. also, would we be able to sort of take the veil off from time to time and also be able to customize our hair still?
@LadyUmbreon89 you make me smile You are right, and it’s a lot to get used to haha. But i’m still chugging along, sloow and steady. (Though I do take breaks to get my arse obliterated in Elden Ring still )
I will be holding this close to heart <3 I am very very guilty of being an overachiever, ha. Thank you for making such a thoughtful post. You are a gem!
@Frieza I’m so glad you liked that choice!! Thank you <3 And pffft, long live feral gremlin MC
@emjay Hmm! Didn’t think of that. I will have a look Thank you!
@ZaxCulprintt That makes me so happy! Thank you for taking the time telling me
@yb_minhee Heya! Yes, that is what I intended. I thought that the hood that you raise in Riven is more of a cloak with a larger hood that conceals MC’s eyes in shadow, whereas the veil is more hiding the hair and mouth from view, if that makes sense? But I will keep this in mind, I can see how it breaks immersion if it’s not explained or changed.
Re: customizing the hair beneath; yes! I have thought of that. It will happen in the next section of customization where you will get to choose skin-color and scars/tats. As for taking the veil off, I haven’t had one of those moments yet in writing, but they will be there! If it happens before the next customization scene, you will be able to pick your haircolor then. :>
Now, the update this week is nothing to speak of: I’m progressing very slowly currently (as one does when they have written themselves into a corner. ahem), but going over my outline while considering future variables has been very fun! As I said on tumblr, I’m pausing the weekly updates now that the prologue and chapter one is out and patched, and I’ll just make a post as soon as I have anything substantial to share. I hope you have a good week and I’ll se you around! <3
@honeylou
This has been on my “To Read” list since you posted it. After getting around to it I can say it was definitely worth the wait and I look forward to the next update with great interest!
I really like your writing, its complimentary to the lovely sense of the world and atmosphere around it.
I hope you are doing well as this world weighs on authors time and sanity like you wouldn’t believe (or rather I’m sure you are very aware) so keep chipping away at your next step for this awesome project!
Oh wow, @spytim that makes me all giddy! I’m a huge fan of the operative so ah, a bit starstruck too! Thank you for your kind words!
Right on the money I always get like this whenever I start a new writing project, but paired with it being in a new medium and in the public eye to boot, I’m nervously chewing on my lips far more than necessary. It’s exciting, but in the same way parachuting is exciting. I fear for my sanity at times
), every living thing became immortal when the well’s waters spread, and technically druna – that is how the Serpent clergy explains it; it’s a narcissistic naming that implies that everything has reached apotheosis and become druids in a physical rather than philosophical sense. That bit probably won’t make any sense now, but it will become clearer as the story goes lol. It’s complicated!
But I’m weeding them out one by one! Thank you for taking the time to comment 
and also that way it will limit my mc’s options
You are right, and it’s a lot to get used to haha. But i’m still chugging along, sloow and steady. (Though I do take breaks to get my arse obliterated in Elden Ring still 
)
Thank you!