I think the company supplies you with a copy editor although don’t quote me on that
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So basically when writing dialogue between two people. You have to write it as basically separate paragraphs right. Like if I’m transcribing how my friends and I talk to each other.
“So I was walking the other day with James and I saw the dumbest fucking driver I’ve ever see-“ I said before being interrupted.
“Dude totally blew past a stop sign with people crossing in the sidewalk.” James interjected, cutting me off in his excitement.
“So yeah, that’s what happened.” I said, a bit miffed that my story was cut short.
Basically, if two or more people are talking. To make it easy to understand when the dialogue’s switching between them.
Here’s another example:
“Normally the only thing people here catch on a regular basis is sunburn,” I comment, and Oisin grins at me.
“Well, Gianna, maybe I’m special.”
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Ohhh I see now!! Thanks, I understand
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I think that’s only for when you publish through choice of, and this is gonna be a hosted
But I wishhh haha
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Hey guys, the first half of chapter 4 is up for public access now! 59k words added in this one. Boy oh boy. That’s longer than the entire first chapter! This game is like a snowball, every chapter somehow gets bigger. I also added some stylish discography stuff in the stat menu and overall, I’m just really proud. And I wanna thank the supporters on Patreon who got early access to this chapter and helped me weed out the bugs.
As per usual, I’m grateful for any further bug reports!
Gonna put the link here to save you guys the scrolling. I hope you guys enjoy.
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The speed with which I clicked this topic when I saw the updated title…
(Old saves looks to be broken, for those who wonder)
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Haha that’s wonderful!
And yes, I’m afraid so. Since I made changes to the older chapters and to the stat screen, the older saves broke. I just hope this doesn’t happen every time I add to the discography now 
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Well, I’m not the author, but I can say something about my own experiences with this.
Because that part of the game is always a little hard to get through, because I was in just about the same situation, the first time I read it.
And if you haven’t experienced having another person make you their own lifeline, their only emotional support, the only thing keeping them over water, as they go through incontrollable mood-swings, self-harm, and suicide attempts, to the point where you have internalized the responsibility, and feel afraid of having any reasonable boundaries, in case that will somehow cause the other person to spiral into death, and you have been drained of energy until you yourself is depressed and suicidal from sheer stress and pressure, then you cannot understand how insanely hard it can be.
I certainly did not understand, before it happened to me.
Did the PC handle it in the best possible way?
No, definitely not. But, it is really hard to set those firm boundaries and cut contact (I couldn’t do it, despite knowing intellectually that it would be the right thing for my own mental health). The PC is still just a kid, and Zima is being manipulative in that phone call (for understandable reasons, and not out of malice), in a way that at least to me made it clear that they would not have respected the PC boundaries.
Zima was clinging so hard to that one relationship for emotional support, that they might never have been able to find ways to support themselves and move on to a healthier life, if they still had the PC.
So, as much as it hurts me to say it, cutting the connection at that point, where the PC was away from them, and they were still in the grasp of some sort of support network, was the best for both of them.
Even if the PC did so, in a somewhat shitty way.
(And I totally get why it would read as a betrayal. Because that is definitely whst it felt like to consider it)
And I don’t really know, I see plenty of issues in young Zima, and well, older Zima is in a better place, where they are better able to regulate their emotion, but they still react quite strongly and spontaneously to things.
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Thanks, you pretty much summed up exactly what I’m trying to convey! Of course I understand either viewpoint, but at the end of the day, MC and Zima were two very troubled adolescents who had formed a very complicated friendship. These types of connections are intense and very messy, and there’s usually no party who hasn’t done something they, in hindsight, could have handled WAYYY better. Again thanks, your thoughts are pretty much exactly my own!!
Re: Zima’s diagnosis. I’ve been vague on this, and I never said they didn’t have BPD. That is because up to a certain point in the story, I just want to leave that open to readers’ interpretation. (Edit: also, I’m not a psychologist, and am merely writing what I know, so my judgement isn’t the end all be all, even in regards to my own characters. They feel way too alive to me haha) I should say though, that the only diagnosis Zima has had was the one they got as a teen, which… is actually something other than BPD. I haven’t name dropped that yet because it’s an in-game conversation waiting to happen. Now, youth diagnoses are often flawed as the personality is still developing and don’t always describe the person’s illness in the exactly accurate way. I know that’s all a little opaque but I don’t want to label Zima with such a wide-spanning term at this point. I write them as having several, layered problems that return to haunt them, creating a certain diffuse situation that confuses Zima themselves. But from my POV, it actually wasn’t BPD I saw them with, even though the comparison may come naturally given some their behaviors.
I agree that adult Zima handles their emotions much better than adolescent Zima, buuut they have gained more demons throughout the years. Some of what they’re struggling with is already hinted at. Sometimes it’s blink and you miss it, sometimes it’s very casually mentioned by Zima themselves. But they are, indeed, struggling, despite MC not being close enough to receive the whole story. That might change very soon though, i.e. reveals are approaching even in the second half of this chapter.
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I personally see one of the issues with our MC. She is really oblivious with people at times.
Hilariously slow sometimes.
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You mean in general?
That might well be my underlying desire to write MC as slightly socially impaired even if the autism label doesn’t get selected by the player. If it ruins the character, I’ll have to look into it again and make some changes… although I can’t deny that I like writing them that way, and it allows for some nice narrative turns.
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Haven’t gotten to any new content yet because I’m giving it a proper reread but there is a pronoun error with male Lin/male MC after the pool scene at his party (with stevie crush if that matters)
Eagerly raising his head, he chases the touch of my mouth, and I grant him a second kiss. This one lasts longer. When my teeth scrape her lower lip, she lets out the neediest whine I’ve ever heard. “Oh, hell,” he whispers.
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Thank you! Filing this one away to fix later…. I don’t wanna break people’s saves by updating right in this phase where they’re playing as it just came out. Hope I remember haha
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Honestly, I like it as it is. Even if the PC isn’t explicitly autistic, I do like that we can head canon them that way. I think the story is stronger for having the PC be the way they are.
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It’s a great story beat and a way to organically explain why, even an MC who shows infinite patience and loves their friends and the band could also fuel the resentment fire.
Stevie having to go: “that’s a smiley face sweetie” when we’re 28 will start to feel old. Combine that with the stress of another album and probably our second US Tour…
@girlfromthecrypt do you plan to have the band play during the Super Bowl?
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I’d just like to say I find it awesome that there’s options for unrequited crushes from the RO’s. Playing a gay autistic and absolutely fkn clueless male MC while being crushed on by Stevie and fem Zima is genuinely the most fun I’ve had with romance in IFs in a while lololol
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Peak is back on the menu
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The lore drop cliffhanger… nouuuhhhh…
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Thank you so much author for the update!!! Love u and your stories:face_blowing_a_kiss:
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absolutely devoured this update, really great stuff
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