Just wanted to reiterate that this WIP lives rent-free in my head.
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Thank you. I am very happy to hear that 
Also, I made a banner. I was doodling a bit and then it turned into… something. My graphic design skills are non-existent so it’s only temporary lol. Does anyone know how to centre images?
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On forum? I’m not sure you can. But I like the image.
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Intellectual MC would fit nicely with the “I don’t mind shopping for things other than dressess” type response.
Oh, that reminds me of something, is there going to be an option for more tailored clothing that’s not seen as transgressive? I am not a lace person, but it sounds like going to a tailor’s shop instead of the modiste is only for trans(ftm)/queer female characters and not just an option for girls that don’t like lace and flounces.
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I’ve not given fashion too much thought, though I do want to give MC’s a chance to choose their outfit for big occasions and also add a style of clothing they prefer to wear in the character creator at the beginning. People will comment on MC’s style if it’s seen as fashionable or not and they can win or lose ton approval for it. That should cover it, hopefully.
I don’t have any other modiste or tailor shop visits planned atm, (except for two specific branches that most people probably won’t see, but I’ve not fully plotted out the chapter scenes past chapter five so it may happen.) I absolutely relate to not wanting to wear frills lol.
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Would also be nice to just go, I legitimately do not give a fuck about this and all I want to do is make money doing important shit
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Trust me, that is already an option XD
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I finally got around to playing the update, and it’s nice to be in London proper and trying (and failing miserably) to make my boy respectable and incredibly popular to get revenge on his ex.
It was just too hard to resist chatting with the witty (but unmarried) commoner or dancing with a scandalous widow who was desperately in need of basic human decency.
Esther was very sweet too, along with the scene of helping her off the tree. There’s some awkwardness though over pursuing her as a jilted MC, what with my MC being rather traumatized at how his ex broke and betrayed their engagement, albeit the potential drama is tantalizing.
The males were fairly memorable too, my favorites being Christian and Lancelot, the former because of just how much of a stereotypical byronic male lead he seemed to be, and the hilarity of the MC potentially realizing they’re just as susceptible as their sister to mysterious brooding men and fantasizing about what caused his dark temperament, if it was some terrible curse, or worse, being German. As well as Lancelot’s obnoxiously overbearing, yet kind, chivalry and the comedy that comes with it.
One odd issue I encountered though while reading the newspaper is that one of the articles calls McCawley Christiana rather than Alexandra, was that intentional or a different person?
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She used to be Christiana when I conceived her, but it felt weird having a Christian and a Christiana. So she became Alexandra, but I still sometimes think of her as Christiana. That one must have slipped the editing net, sorry!
Oh shame, you’re trying to make MC respectable. That’s very difficult in the first two chapters! That scandal meter doesn’t drop. But it’ll get easier.
I’m glad you like the RO’s, they all have their own arcs, hopefully they’ll just get better.
Thanks for the review, really appreciate it! And happy to see my first reviewer ever again <3
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Not gonna lie I have an extremely hard time remembering names and who exactly is who if they’re not in scene and mentioned in passing, have you considered adding a people of interest sort of thing in the menu stat area ? If not that’s cool but it would be helpful I think
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Yeah, that’s a good idea! I also want to add a kind of short Regency primer, explaining the basics of the era and its norms for those who are unfamilliar with it.
…I feel so unorganized. Most authors seem to present their first chapters with everything fully formed and ready, all stats and info perfectly thought out. With me, well, it’s very much a WIP and many things need to be worked on.
Thank you to those who are on the journey with me though, helping with great suggestions to make it better. I really appreciate it!
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Cool! I understand that it’s not really a big priority when you’re trying to get the story sorted so sometimes the information part tends to get neglected but as I said it would be really helpful , anyway thanks for listening to the suggestion 
!
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So, I tried this wip as a fan of history and Dickens, and I was pleasantly surprised.
The reactivity to the MC’s gender was a welcome feature. I was afraid it wouldn’t impact the personality of the MCs or the way the world treated them, and that wasn’t the case. A male MC being perturbed at Lancelot treating a “youth” like himself the same way as his “damsel” sister was a bit of realism I liked. Whether you’re bucking societal trends or not, the MC should still have a Regency era mindset rather than a 2025 one.
The ROs feel distinctly human and I am hopeful for friendship routes with many of them, including Griffith, whom, to his disappointment, my MC sees as a brother/closest friend.
I’m definitely interested in seeing my MC pursue Esther despite not having a penny to his name. (He’s genuinely taken by her, but I’m sure society will still paint him as a golddigger).
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Mentioning being a Dickens fan for a regency romance is not what I was expecting! That’s not a bad thing, but usually it’s Jane Austen and Bridgerton fans that gravitate towards these types of stories
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I’m open to exploring different genres. Things get better when they blend together. 
Edit: And my wife loves watching K dramas and has me watching with her at times. I found I enjoyed a few. They’re not Bridgerton, but they do have a few similar themes.
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I’m so glad you liked it. We’re not going full Dickens, but I’m definitely going to delve into bleaker subjects too, so I hope you enjoy that.
Esther is a cinnamon roll and deserves all the love. You’ll get a lot more of her in the upcoming chapter!
And yeah, I’m focusing strongly on writing different scenes for male, female and gay and straight experiences (also working on trans scenes as we speak.) It’s a lot more writing but I really like it. Times were too different then, it would be strange.
Well, it’s not all fluff and romance. I didn’t call it Season of Shadows because of alliteration.
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Truly in love with this WIP already. I mostly always play cis fem or nb MCs but yours is the first IF where I’m interested in playing as a man, so you should feel proud of what you have created.
Do you have any sort of social media where you post updates? I’m not sure how to follow your progress and get announced when you drop new chapters.
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Hey, thank you! I’m so glad you like it! (I always play as a man even though I’m not one, I’m not sure why I do that but it’s fun being someone completely different!)
I’ll confess, I didn’t really think about updating anywhere except the forum. I’m not very fond of social media. (I don’t mind Reddit and Tumblr, though I don’t have a page on Tumblr because I think I’ll get sucked into asks about Lancelot’s favourite toe instead of writing lol.)
But I just opened a Discord server where I’ll post updates. https://discord.gg/5jH6fuSC I’ll add the link to the front page too.
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Played this the other day and really enjoyed it; love the humor, characters, snippets of letters at the beginning of chapters, and the opportunity to do some money-making and politicking, as well as touch on some darker/more serious aspects of the setting. The amount of branching is ambitious and I’m impressed how balanced and interesting all the paths are.
All of the cast is great, but I’m especially fond of our Aunt and Linden (and it’s surely nothing to do with liking L-names). He’s obviously more calculating than he lets on.
Some thoughts:
- I think it would be nice to have a who’s who in the stats page, especially since there are a lot of Lords floating around.
- There were a few times I wished we could have a bit more control over how we react, like when we autonomously talk to Iris outside the dress shop or stammer when interacting with Alexandra.
“Well,” Alexandra murmurs, reaching your side as though it were the most natural thing in the world. “Did you miss me? You used to stare so terribly when you were sixteen. Has that innocence survived London?”
You stammer. You hadn’t expected this.
- You can center an image (or anything) on the forum by using
<div align="center"></div>
Like so.
Some notes:
How do you feel about taking part in The Season, and being romanced again?
This is from the beetle route. Have we always already been romanced? I don’t remember that being stated anywhere, but I might have missed it.
“I spy with my little eye,” Griffith says brightly, “something green.”
Did I Spy exist back then? After doing some cursory research, the name might have been in use, but might have been used at the time to refer to Hide and Seek. You don’t have to stick to history, of course.
“Not the ones in my books. But all right then, he set on them like a doomed Spartan warrior protecting his love who he hasn’t seen for seven years after she’s been captured by an evil villain! So strong.”
You’re not sure whether that metaphor works either,
Technically, isn’t it a simile?
I don’t know how much accuracy you’re going for, but the titles are wrong in a bunch of places.
Details (disregard if you're doing your own thing with titles)
Titled characters should generally be (the) [Rank] (of) [Peerage] or informally, [Lord/Lady] [Peerage]. Never [Rank] [Name] or [Lord/Lady] [Name]. Ranks and the Lord/Lady affixes precede the name of the peerage, not the person’s given name.
For example, if John Smith is the 7th Earl of Gnarlyroot then:
- John Smith, 7th Earl of Gnarlyroot (correct)
- The Earl of Gnarlyroot (correct)
- Lord Gnarlyroot (informal, but correct)
- Earl Gnarlyroot (incorrect; you can’t add or drop the of from titles)
- Earl John Smith, Earl John, Earl Smith (all very wrong)
- Lord John Smith, Lord John, Lord Smith (also all very wrong and imply he holds a lower station)
Some peers have a peerage that is identical to their surname (which I suspect contributes to this very common confusion in media), but when it’s used in the noble title it’s referring to the peerage.
(There’s also a practice where the heir apparent to a high-ranking noble who doesn’t have a subsidiary title might be styled as Lord [Surname], as if his (grand)father held the title Baron [Surname].)
Lancelot Linden
The Pompous Idiot? - Viscount Lancelot Linden (31)
If his viscounty is called ‘Linden’, he should be Lancelot Linden, The Viscount Linden.
Lord Lancelot Linden coos over them with much delight
Lord Linden
We speak, of course, of Lord Lancelot Linden, that noted connoisseur of cravats and chaos,
Lord Linden
William Blevins
The Rebellious Heir - Marquess William Blevin (23)
Did you mean Blevins?
Assuming the title is Marquess (of?) Blevins, he’d be William Blevins, Marquess Blevins. (No ‘the’, as it’s a courtesy title and he is not the Marquess Blevins - his father is.)
Not sure how closely you want to hew to real history, but during the Regency, the Duke of Norfolk’s heir apparent would take the courtesy title Earl of Surrey. Of course you don’t need to be restricted by real life.
Marquess William Blevins, son of the formidable Duke of Norfolk
Marquess Blevins
Another face you recognize, Marquess William Blevins.
Marquess Blevins
“This is my stepbrother Marquess William Blevins,” Esther says.
Marquess Blevins
Bellamy Faulkner
“Aren’t you lucky?” Marquess Bellamy Faulkner whispers, a teasing grin on his handsome face.
the Marquess of Abergavenny, though it might flow better just to use his name here
“Oh, you must have heard!” Lady Westingham exclaims, her voice dripping with the satisfaction of someone delivering particularly delicious news. “Lord Faulkner has all but jilted Miss Wrexford! And they were engaged.”
Lord Abergavenny
Lord Bellamy’s new marble balcony collapsed during a dinner (von Kessler was leaning on it).
If this is Faulkner, it’d be Lord Abergavenny.
Levi North
The Brooding Baron - Baron Levi North (24)
Is he Scottish? If so the rules for addressing him change. But assuming he’s not and his title is Baron (of?) North, he’d be styled Levi North, (n)th Baron North but referred to as The Lord North.
(Barons are a bit weird; if you’re referring to the person [as opposed to the title itself] in speech or in writing, you use Lord [Barony Name] not Baron [Barony Name]. You can refer to a Baroness (who is a baroness in her own right) as Baroness [Barony Name], because you can’t have a title system without complicated and arbitrary rules!) [src]
“Baron Levi North,” your aunt, who has found you on the edge of the dance floor again whispers.
(the) Lord North
Christan von Kessler
Is his title Earl Von Kessler?
The Haunted Noble - Earl Christian von Kessler (28)
Should be Christan von Kessler, Earl von Kessler, assuming that’s the name of his title.
Von is a nobility particle, so it’s a bit odd and unprecedented if you look at the names of earldoms, but it’s fiction.
In general, I find it a little odd nearly all the noble characters have titles derived from their surnames. But it makes sense to me as a way to reduce the cognitive load in a game already full of a lot of names.
Untitled children of high ranked peers are generally styled [Lord/Lady] [Forename] [Surname]. The surname is optional, but the forename isn’t because [Lord/Lady] [Surname] would imply they held a (courtesy) title themselves.
What is high-ranked is complicated (because of course it is), but generally speaking unmarried daughters of dukes, marquesses and earls; younger sons of dukes and marquesses; and eldest sons of dukes, marquesses, and earls who don’t possess a courtesy title are styled as Lord/Lady [Forename] [Surname].
Everyone else is plain old Miss/Mister in speech.
Esther Daughtry
You both turn to watch, as do most of the people in the room, as Lady Daughtry shuffles forward.
Lady Esther (Daughtry)
“Poor Lady Daughtry,” Griffith says.
Lady Esther
Lady Daughtry looks equally alarmed. But she turns and drops yet another curtsey. "Mr Wrexford, mister Haines
Lady Esther (Daughtry)
“These scones are far more comforting than those men out there,” Lady Daughtry says.
Lady Esther (Daughtry)
Male PC (probably applies to female PC as well) and Hester
As the son of a viscount, the PC would be referred to as Sir and Mister.
“Your son, Lord Sebastian, to my daughter.
just PC name here, probably
You shoot Griffith one last pained glance as the music starts and offer your hand to Miss Schofield.
“It seems fate has conspired to bring us together, my lord,” she says breathily.
Sir
As you pass one another in the figures, Miss Schofield starts to simper at you. "Lord Wrexford, have you heard that Lady Mountjoy’s daughter is to wed the Earl of Westcott?
Mister [PC surname]
“My lords, I am so sorry, I did not mean for Charlotte to bother noblemen with my silly little predicament.”
Sirs, though she might not be aware of their rank/gotten it wrong
“You need not bother with too much proprietary with me my lord,”
Sir
“My lady,” he says with a slight bow, “I return your purse and your dignity intact. Do keep a firmer grip on both.”
Madam, though he might intentionally be getting it wrong and putting on airs?
The Honourable mr Sebastian Wrexford
I’m not positive on this one and don’t quite remember the context, but I think it’d just be The Honourable [Forename] [Surname]
“As do you, my Lord,” your still new valet says with the tiniest hint of approval.
Sir
“Come, my lord. Let us find you a place to recover before anyone decides you are part of the landscaping.”
Sir
Alexandra McCawley
What happens to married/divorced women is complex due to the way husbands’ (courtesy) titles interact with wives’ courtesy styles, so I can’t speak to Alexandra McCrawley’s proper forms of address without knowing what titles she/her father/ex-husband(s) hold. But it does seem to be inconsistent:
“They’re making up nonsense about you and the already too much maligned Mrs McCawley.
“Lady McCawley? Dancing?”
Hopefully that was kind of helpful? It’s all pretty heinously complex, but having been down the rabbit hole myself I’d recommend Forms of address in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia and UsefulNotes / Knight Fever - TV Tropes if you’d like to read more about it.
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Thank you so much, I’m quite amazed by the length and effort of your reply!
I’m ashamed to say I did actually research what you’re supposed to call members of the peerage, but I didn’t really follow through on sticking to it. (Well, I forgot, and I was too excited to post to recheck that everything was correct 
I’ve mentioned this before, but I am the worst editor in the world. I have major enthusiasm when it comes to writing, but painstakingly checking afterwards - you don’t want me at the helm for that. They made me do quality control at work when the actual QC was pregnant - and I was just flabbergasted that they would entrust this to me. I am bad at it! Lucky for me, nothing did go wrong for those few months. A miracle.)
Thank you for the other corrections too, with those I did not have a clue I was mucking up. I did check whether I Spy was a thing, and the conclusion was ‘sort of but different.’ I figured I’d just go with what we know and not confuse people.
I am doing a pretty big edit specifically focused on giving MC more agency. I’ve also added personality stats to help with that. It’ll be done and posted when I post Chapter Two, which should be in a few weeks. I’ll definitely add your corrections too. Thank you so much and uh, any chance you want to be my editor for free?=P
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