Updated now!
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Woohoo, letās goooo 
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The sound I made when I realized youād updated can never be repeated by woman or animal. Sorry this is going to be disjointed, itās really too late to start writing something this long but Iām going to anyway.
Error messages;
Summary
I donāt know if itās my browser (Chrome) or what but when I tried to load any of my saved games from the start screen it gave me the usual āUnsaved progress will be lost if you continue. Are you sure you want to load this game?ā but when I clicked OK a thing in the corner popped up saying āThe game has updated. Restarting chapter.ā and starts a new game. I think the problem must be on my end if itās not everyone but Iām not sure what. Iāve certainly save scummed enough to know it is saving my games and they can be loaded. Anyone have any ideas? When chapter eight/nine/ten goes up I donāt really want to play through the entire game just to get to the update. However just getting to chapter one isnāt so bad so I did that for the characters Iāve already made.
I have no idea how coding works so I donāt know if this is useful but on my laptop I got
chapter1 line 5090:invalid indent, expected at least one line in āifā true block
after asking Kaya about the protests after meeting her again in the recording studio.
For whatever reason, it worked fine on my phone. The save on the laptop was straight, the one that worked was a lesbian trying to romance Kaya, if that helps? The one that worked had a third response listed, so maybe theyāre different sections of code?
The screen after choosing āSend her a look right backā at the dinner with the cast I tried to click on āView other charactersā and this popped up.
choicescript_stats line 1343: Non-existent variable āmet_simonā
Once I clicked āokayā the box closed but it wouldnāt let me select any other choice and I had to refresh and load the saved game to get back to where I was. Oddly, I had no problem reloading a saved game in this case. I then checked and AFAICT you get the same error message if you try to get into the āother charactersā section at any point in the game. This one also shows up on my phone, for what thatās worth. Both times I got the error message I was trying to access the page after I had, in fact, met Simon.
I died inside slightly at the Neil Young appearance. I knew from the writing that it was going to be A Known Person but I am so glad all my MCs are nice girls who stop for hitchhikers. (At this point in the story. Once the murders ramp up thatās gonna change real fast.) How have they never been in the same room together? We have like eight friends in common. I did notice that if youāre straight or bi but donāt pick any of the flirt choices he writes a song about you but doesnāt if youāre lesbian. Iām uncertain if he has really excellent gaydar or something got auto-checked for straight/bi characters that shouldnāt have been. And I didnāt clock it the first time but uh, does our front door not lock right? Elliot just walked in.
Iām pretty concerned about Leon. I had never heard of trimar but from the Wikipedia page it doesnāt even sound fun. Theyāre rockers in the late 60s so doing heroic amounts of drugs isnāt necessarily remarkable but I canāt help thinking about Janis in aboutā¦ thirty months, if Iām doing the math correctly.
THEREāS GOING TO BE A PBS DOCUMENTARY I mean of course there is but-!!! I love the newspaper articles and future documentaries and backstage gossip on chat shows. Itās so good at expanding the world and fixing the game in our RL universe. It helps so much to make it feel real, because so much of it is.
I was thinking this chapter about how different fame, even Beatles level fame, was before the internet. I donāt think it would be plausible now for anyone to just not know that a restaurant was owned by the parents of one of the most famous musicians in the US. It would be on his wiki page that his parents own a restaurant, someone would get curious about which one and once that information is out there thereās no getting it back. I assume heās not going out much but still. Weird thought that a bunch of people are eating pizza made by the equivalent of John Lennon and might never know.
I hate the cliffhanger by which I mean it was perfect. Get away from Kaya! Thatās going to be my girlfriend in a couple of chapters!
RO specific thoughts;
Summary
Iām surprised by how the Vince path is turning out. Not in a bad way but when I just had the prologue to judge by he seemed the simplest, least dramatic option. What is his malfunction? Does his mother know he hasnāt spoken to the MC since they slept together? Iām not getting the vibe she would be cool with that.
I do feel for him if MCās a lesbian. You can tell heās still crazy into her but knows heās got 0 chance and isnāt going to make it weird by trying.
Penn is very sweet and itās interesting seeing him when heās- well, no, heās still nervous but heās sure of his positions and heās going to make sure everyone hears them. Iām really looking forward to seeing him on set, especially if it turns out the MC is not so great an actress and needs a lot of help to not cause delays.
I was waiting to meet Dorinda before making a save for her and I now love her and she may be my new favorite. I canāt wait to actually talk to her alone. I also noticed that in terms of internal reaction sheās caused by far the most extreme reaction. With everyone else itās flirty fun or friendship turning into something else but MC really struggles to remain calm and normal around her. I sympathise.
Kaya is still a little opaque to me. Sheās not responding badly to being flirted with but sheās also not reallyā¦ responding. Sheās kind and thoughtful and smart and a little overwhelmed by her own success (Frank Zappa is her neighbor. How is this her life?) but sheās reserved enough that Iām not totally sure how to approach her.
Serial killer thoughts;
Summary
JSYK every time you formatted the screens so the text ended with something like āthe couch wasnāt emptyā or something similarly vaguely ominous I was braced for the next screen to start āThe dismembered arm slung over the back slowly dripped blood onto the torso resting on the soaked cushionsā. I am pretty sure this is deliberate and strongly approve of this level of trolling your readers.
I donāt know if the ampersand killer is going to be 1. Totally unrelated to the girls going missing in LA. 2. Related to some of/one group of the girls going missing in LA. Or 3. Responsible for all of the girls weāve been told are missing. Iām starting to wonder if thereās going to be two or more killers working together. Itās not unheard of for serial killers to work in pairs. The TateāLaBianca murders are going to happen in about 18 months right in the MCās neighborhood. It would be an obvious explanation for the & symbol and would allow you to set up a final fight for the MCās life after the (singular) killer has been caught/killed and she feels safe, a horror classic. I think thatās the plot of most of the Scream movies, now that Iām thinking about this.
Random thought;
Summary
We have to prompt the dickhead movie executive with Pennās last movie. That and the way the interaction with the mother showing people her daughterās photo was written makes me wonder if we (the players) are going to be expected to remember clues or if the game is keeping track of what information the MC has and will automatically apply it when called for. As in, if Lesley were to ask the MC āWhat did the photo look likeā will the MC automatically give him that information if we chose to stop and look or will the players be asked to remember and describe it themselves?
And finally if youāre taking opinions, Iām much happier with such a fast update with a couple of bugs than I would be with a perfect one that took six months. Itās kind of fun figuring out how to break the game. And I feel like Iām helping, which is nice.
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I donāt even know where to start; Iām gleaming right now. Thank you so much for getting back to me on everything, with all of your thoughts and reactions; itās so entertaining to read. I have so many thoughts of my own now! Iāll bullet point and respond to certain things that stand out throughout:
- I will correct the error messages at the end of the day! Just so Iām not forcing too many people to restart. I didnāt want to ask for beta-testers for Chapter 1, simply because I didnāt want to give people work just yet when I felt a personal level of responsibility to do the editing and testing myselfāwhich has ironically led to everyone else helping me, which I do admittedly feel bad aboutā¦
- The door does lock! I just read somewhere that before the Tate murders, there was a level of tranquility to the point, some people in Laurel Canyon felt safe enough to leave their doors unlocked. Hence forth by the end of Chapter 1, K locks the door.
- I initially had a comment between Tommy and Vince where Tommy uses pushing him out into the restaurant as a threatābut it didnāt work in the context of the repertoire. But I did think it added more context in the terms of his presence in the restaurant and the danger of it.
- All of your responses to the ROs are perfect. Iām chuffed! It is all going as I plannedā¦ (For now at least lol)
- In Chapter 1 there are clues! Some things you probably wouldnāt expect to be a clue, others are more obviousāI canāt tell if theyāre obvious because Iām writing the story, or in general theyāre just clichĆ©s, but only time will tell!
- And yeah, in regards to Chapter 1, I just so badly wanted to get it out of my hair, because I was beginning to resent it. Itās way better than it was, but it still needs some work bug-wise I am learning. Oops!
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AH! Update!! You have no idea how happy I am!
First of all, Yoko shoutout!!! Parallels are being drawn! I also rather like that Leon calls John āJohnnyā. Also I must admit I have NEVER in my life wanted to sleep with Neil Young ever. However I could NOT resist. You are enabling my worst tendencies. Also that Bob Dylan telegram, not only was it very Bob but I would have kept it for myself and framed it
In terms of the ROS: I said this verbatim in my other comment but theyāre all perfect and I truly mean it. I love love love how they connect with the MC, you can āfeelā the chemistry between her and all of them, I think you capture that very well and it also leaves me torn! Now I canāt pick between Dorinda and Pennā¦ once again youāre enabling me lol, I literally donāt know what Iām going to do when the others get introducedā¦ I did pick my MC is messy and a heartbreaker so in all fairness they all know what theyāre getting into lol. Looking forward to the drama but apologies to everyone in advance
I love Leon. I have to say walking in on him āmeditatingā made me care for him for some reason lol. Like damn you are a messā¦ How old is he again? Please say older than 27. I like Shiloh too and feel bad for essentially cucking him but such is life
I like the set up youāre doing for the serial killer part of the story. I have less to say about this because it wasnāt really the focus of this chapter but I think itās well done, and I especially liked talking to the missing girlās mother, humanizing the victims and their families, etc. Not only that, I also really liked the dinner conversation with Penn on In Cold Blood (a great book!)
Something minor I really liked was the prompt to enter Pennās filmās name to the producer, I thought it was fun!
Iām gonna stop here or Iāll go into a crazy long rant. If you ever need beta testers HMU! <3 <3 <3 <3
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Oh heck yeah, Iāve been looking forward to this! Time to speedrun a midterm so I can read this!
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about to ramble A LOT so bear with me. first of all, the end 
mom come pick me up iām scared!!! everyone on earth better leave my new bestie kaya ALONE in my beautiful house!!! i want no more ominous pictures or open doors or bad vibes because sheās actually everything soooo. blowing up the whole world if anything bad happens to her, especially at MCās house!! like how awful!!! then back at the start with bobby getting the picture and the freaky ass box. then that poor woman desperate for someone to have seen her daughter. then dorinda (who iām immediately obsessed with as well of course, GIRL i canāt believe you would think i would forget you!!!) telling us about even more girls. evil vibes are encroaching.
very swiftly Raising My Eyebrow hearing about kayaās friend and who sheās hanging out with as well but i suppose thatās neither here nor there for the momentā¦ and i also was very amused by pausing the conversation with kaya on the balcony to real quick go pull neil young in for a kiss goodbye. loving the gumption on him to write a whole song in a few hours about a woman he met for, like, maybe half an hour. Stanning. more people need to be writing songs about the MC. i am also in the perhaps small but mighty group who is electing to believe that george wrote something about herā¦
which, on this topicā¦ shiloh, donāt look at me when weāre talking about beatles cheating on their wives pls 
. but god bless yoko, we love a cinematic parallel combined with the realest thing anyoneās ever said. yāall ever watch the lindsay ellis video about yoko and the beatles? highly recommend if not. never really thought about everyone making fun of her all the time when i was a kid, but like literally what did she ever do except be a little weird, japanese, and with one of the most famous men of all time. like what the hell. the most famous men of all time are perfectly capable of breaking up their band themselves
furthermore, eric clapton, make no comments about situations which may or may not have occurred between george and myself To Me. but bring it up to him as much as you want though because someoneās gotta keep me on his mind. i mean, kaya turning our question about any big heartbreak back onto us, and then we can think about him. Throwing up, crying, etc. etc. the day we get an on screen appearance will be earth-shattering for the george affair girlies.
but onto other matters. i would die for penn. heās literally so precious to me. little sweetie pie blushing whenever we flirt and tease himā¦itās adorable. + being so, like, thoughtful and passionate about he does and says. Sorryyy iām ready to marry him Now. loved the scene at vinceās familyās restaurant. mostly observing and making a few comments here and there, and then penn asking how we are because weāre usually more talkative. girl helpā¦iām cookedā¦ and now iāve lost the plot and donāt know what else to say so iām just gonna cease yapping before it turns into a 5 page essay, the only through-line of which being how iām literally obsessed with this story lmfao.
tl;dr: itās incredible. iām in love with penn. if anything happens to kaya iām blowing up the earth. not feeling good about leonās life expectancy, or his respect for other peopleās time . truly loving the ominous atmosphere building both from the serial killer bits and the cult down the street from us among other things but also just. from the entertainment industry being foul and the way the mc reacts to it. now letās all hope that those survival skills on the stats page mean nothing and are just there to look pretty 
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- Thank you for noticing the parallels! I try to be super selective with the celebrities I mention. Iām trying to find room to drop a Lenny Bruce mention, which so far Iāve been unsuccessful, but all in good timeā¦
- Iām glad you love the ROs! Iām trying to ensure theyāre all different but interesting and enticing in their own ways. I have such a soft spot for all of them, so itās nice to know you do too.
- Leon is 26! So almost, but not quite. In my initial planning, he was even younger than thatāall of the band were, but the tonal shifts with the murders, and the general ages of musicians in the late '60s, caused for some minor tweaks.
- Iām glad! I want to set the scene and the general atmosphere before all the worldsāand, in places, charactersāintercept.
And by all means, rant as much as you like! I thoroughly enjoy reading your thoughts and Iām just so grateful. On the topic of gratefulness, thank you for volunteering yourself as a beta-tester! I will be sure to get back to you on that most definitely. My plan is to make a Google Form closer to the time of when Iāve finished writing Chapter 2, so Iāll pester you in another 2-3 months.
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This took me through the highs and lows of writing Chapter 1 all over again (in the best way). And Iām not just bearing with you, Iām right there with you!
- Chapter 1 has been such a wink to so many things I want to explore with Scapegoated, so itās just as exciting for me. Iām glad youāre excited at all, truly, because I was so nervous to release this chapter! Iām not sure that nervousness and doubt is ever really going to go away haha
- That YouTube video is on my watchlist! Iāll be sure to tune in while Iām eating my lunch in the morning tomorrow.
- The short scene with Eric Clapton was perfect because I was able to pay homage to Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds and Eric Clapton and George Harrisonās friendship all at once. It just worked perfectly!
- I posted an excerpt from an article I read to Tumblr which informed my decision to incorporate a George Harrison affair in Scapegoated at all. Iāll add it here:
'The inspiration behind āSomethingā was originally attributed to Harrisonās then-wife Pattie Boyd, āhe told me in a matter-of-fact way that he had written it for me,ā said Boyd in a book about her life. However, rumours about Harrisonās infidelity were rife at this point and it meant when BBC journalist David Wigg asked Harrison who the song was written for in 1969 the guitarist coyly answering, āMaybe Pattie, probably.ā
'Even Wigg wasnāt convinced, following up with an inquisitive āreally?ā question. Clearly, rumours of Boyd and Harrisonās loose relationship were beginning to be exposed and, not comfortable with the topic, the guitarist immediately moved the conversation away from the true muse of the song to a focus on the melody.
āāThe words are nothing, really,ā Harrison said in 1969. āThere are lots of songs like that in my head. I must get them down. Some people tell me that āSomethingā is one of the best things Iāve ever written. I donāt know. Maybe theyāre right, maybe theyāre wrong. Itās very flattering thoughā¦.Itās nice. Itās probably the nicest melody tune that Iāve written.āā
It does make me feel bad for Pattie, though.
- When only the Prologue was out, I did say a few times that Penn is one of my favourite ROs; at the time Vince was most popular. But upon the release of Chapter 1, I have noticed an insane shift and such a growing love for Penn. Iām intrigued to see if it will stick or persistently change with each release.
In general, thank you for reading, and Iām really glad youāre enjoying!
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This is genuinely the best game Iāve read so far on this platform and it isnāt even finished yet. I cannot tell you how much I absolutely adore everything about this. All the references to the greats of the late 60s, getting to know them personally, references to the great songs, just the way you have written about the era, the atmosphere, it feels like I am actually living in 1960s America when i read this. And all the dialogues are so well written, they all feel like real conversations where youāre getting to know these people on a deeper level. All the characters are sooo fleshed out. I genuinely love every single character to death. And the fact that you can flirt and sleep with Neil Young fuck me bro not like I have always wanted to kiss that beautiful bastard lmao. I love this so much. Thank you for making this. I cannot wait for the next updates.
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I actually canāt put my gratitude into enough wordsā¦ Thank you, truly. Thereās so much more I canāt wait to touch upon, and I just hope you love it all.
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How would you describe the skills, what does each skill do to help our mc?
great update! you are sure making it hard for my poor MC to choose between Penn vs Vince. SPOILER BELOW:
the scene of running into the mom looking for her missing daughter, then running into a hitch hiker (who is then revealed to be Neil Young) right after was creepy. but iām a curious cat, so i still picked him up and let him use the phone at my house lol! tbh iām glad you included it, and the scene about MC door not being locked. iāve watched movies set in the 60s/70s that involve murderers, so it seems like people in general were less cautious back then? (i panic if i leave my apartment and think i forgot to lock the doors lol) anyways, lots of foreshadowing for the murder mystery. even Penn talking about the movie/book made me go āhmmā. canāt wait to see how this story unfolds! (i hope our bestie Kaya doesnāt become the next target)
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I also saw your Pinterest board and had a look through your Pinterest account. I was wondering how you write THIS well and then I went through your book rec board and I can tell why. Incredible taste!! I aspire to be as great of a writer as you someday!!
Iām usually not really into genderlocked female stories because I myself am nonbinary and queer and, in my opinion, a lot of the times that kind of story tends to be written with a cishet womanās perspective in mind. However, I donāt feel like that with this one when I play a lesbian MC, which I appreciate. If anything, I look forward to see how the gender and race limitation of the MC will play into the overall narrative and interactions with other characters! Thanks for sharing your work, itās been really enjoyable and I canāt wait for more!
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General personality will be to shape interactions. Survival skills will be for interactions and scenes further on down the line that I donāt want to spoil just yet. The Prologue and Chapter 1 in subtle ways have opportunities to add to those skill sets, but they wonāt dictate any decisions and so forth at this point in the IF
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Hey! Thank you so much, Iām glad you liked it!
I wanted readers to be put in position where theyāre making a decision between general kindness and prioritising their safety, so Iām glad that turned those gears slightly.
I read somewhere that Laurel Canyon in the early days, in spite of the freak scene, used to be a space where they could leave their doors unlocked occasionally. It wasnāt until the Manson murders that stopped, so Iām speed-running it a little for MC.
In general, at this point historically, the Zodiac killings hadnāt started. Ted Bundy hadnāt started killing yet either. To those scales, the only thing of national shock that comes to mind really was the Boston Strangler. So, thereās a naiveness that was granted because there wasnāt the same awareness and learnedness as there is now.
Iām excited to get more into the Serial Killer aspect of the story. Itās brewing, but it really picks up in Chapter 2.
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Iām gonna cry, stop! I am super insecure about my writing, so this is really comforting to hear. Thank you!
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Iām really glad you like it!
There are so many limitations in attempting to write historically accurately, but with the '70s around the corner in this IF, the LGBTQ+ movement really is alive and moving in this period. I want there to be as much inclusion as I can muster because of the limitations in question, and I want the opportunity to make MC as diverse of a person as I can for all different readers. So Iām really glad you feel that way and Iām glad itās coming across at all. Thank you!
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Iāve lost my run like five times now with the game saying itās been updated and has to be restarted. Is it actually being updated so often or is it a bug?