Would it be totally completely awful to make Gina/Griffith gender-selectable?
Is wanting to do parliament going to be like flavor text, or will it actually have an impact on the story?
1 Like
It does have an effect on the plot and opens up an extra option, as well as extra scenes for MC. But it’s not suddenly going to turn the story into something focused entirely on politics.
@CSI I’ve thought about this too. The problem is, since my male and female scenes are mostly different, it will take a lot of extra writing. Basically it adds two more branches to an already very branchey story.
I’ll also have to write extra scenes to acknowledge how strange this close friendship between MC and their opposite gender friend is in this society. There are lots of tiny variables too, for example, in the Prologue Male MC and Griffith on the cheating route go for a walk and encounter Virtue, who is crushing on Griffith. I’ll have to rewrite a lot of that, because Virtue crushing on Ginevra will be something completely different (in that era.) And that’s just one example, there are plenty more.
So, basically, I am strongly considering it. But it’s quite a lot of work, and I’m not going to do it now or in the next two or three months. I might do it next time I do a big edit.
9 Likes
Question how important do you want the political route to be in the future? Will it remain like you said adding extra options, or will it became a major part of the story. Or do you wish for the story to stay focused on romance?
2 Likes
It’s quite important. About in the same way choosing who to romance is important. It does not become the whole plot, but it does affect your scenes, give you different scenes and can affect your ending. It can diverge from the plot at times, it can end on a different branch, but I am not writing an entirely different main plot for the politics, business, revenge, fun and marriage routes. The story will only be finished in 2045 if I do that lol.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it, but you don’t have to romance anyone. You can also choose to just befriend them. Or hate them. There will be friendship routes and scenes.
But all the RO’s have important roles in the plot, so you are going to see them a lot.
5 Likes
I totally understand! It does already seem branchy and it’s not like I have any skills in that area (especially with the coding etc, Omg). If it happens: amazing, I’ll drop my haunted earl for Griffith. If not, I’ll take all the other red flag ROs 
2 Likes
Haha, I also have no skills with coding. My code is utterly basic, you’ll pick it up fast!
And I’ll confess, Griffith is definitely one of three RO’s I would romance. I do like friends to lovers and he’s very handsome in my head lol. (Ginevra is gorgeous too.) So I really get it. I just want to focus on getting a chapter or two out and fixing the glaring faults in my story before I do more revising. Otherwise I might get stuck in rewriting hell and never progress the story.
2 Likes
snicker My least favorite trope. “I’ve known you since we were in diapers, ewwww get away.”
4 Likes
Haha! Different strokes! For me the appeal in friends to lovers (if done well) is actually kind of shameful. I like being fictionally adored. And friends to lovers gives you that. It’s all about stroking my fictional ego, really. Yeah, shame on me. I also like having five lovers worship me because of my perfection lol.
…but only in fiction.
9 Likes
Speaking of Griffith/Ginevra, there was a point where the game called them by the wrong name (I think in the carriage part). I can try to find it again.
1 Like
Oh dear, I thought I’d fixed all the pronoun Griffith/Ginevra related issues. I’ll hunt it down myself, no worries. But I’m not going to update yet, every time I fix a spelling mistake my WIP jumps to the front of the CogDemos page. I don’t want people thinking there’s an update and to read through everything again for nothing. (Plus I’ve already made quite a few changes to the Prologue and Chapter One that hasn’t been tested yet. So better that I wait.)
1 Like
I know what you mean, I hope the politics options means I can become the proto-suffragette and abandon everything to live with my 10 cats, who lounge around me as I write political leaflets barely anyone reads…
1 Like
My MC would prefer horses to cats, but cats work too. 
2 Likes
It’s hard to do research and remember everything.
Here are useful links I’ve found over the years, sorry you might not need them, this is not me correcting something, but maybe they’ll be interesting for you to read sometime?
Ye Olde News — A Guide to Historically Accurate Regency-Era Names - helpful to me when I chose MC names, but might be useful for you if need NPC names.
Regency Peerage and Precedence: A Primer by Kristen Koster - has the exact lists of precedency.
Blog | Regency History - all the stuff @Lan explained perfectly, but with added tables
Blog | Regency History - the exception to the rule of title etiquette
The bible of obscure regency information - articles on everything and anything, e.g. postal service, medicine, and my fav. the dictionary of the vulgar tongue… - https://www.kristenkoster.com/resources-links/regency-resources/
Btw, if you ever need a regency fact checker, can I please volunteer?
I’m British? Does that help? 
14 Likes
Can I just say how much I appreciate those links?
5 Likes
I don’t suppose you need a regency fact checker?
I’m also obsessed with the history of makeup? Would that help anyone?
3 Likes
Not right now, sadly, although I’d need some resources on cravats. 
3 Likes
Oh wow, a Regency fact checker would be amazing <3 It’s incredibly sweet of you to offer. But only if you really want to.
And being British definitely helps. I feel kind of cheeky that I’m writing about Britain without being British.
Thank you so much for the links as well, I read some Regency blogs but not this! And this looks incredible. I’m going to curl up and do some bed time reading now!
3 Likes
Why did you delete your message? It was so good! (I’m sorry but people can read edits…) I too would wish to create an ugly visage, I will become the Mary Bennet of MCs! Glasses, spouting offputting lectures!
@Kwartel Some people enjoy writing. I enjoy re-reading Jane Austen and and historical facts, e.g. candles > status + economic wealth that we could only understand through our energy bill usage + access to say energy efficiency…there’s an article to explain somewhere…I’m going to need to start gathering links on a page somewhere…I’m going to create a topic…
3 Likes
That’s amazing! I love learning new things - right now I’m delving into Regency foods and how differently they must have tasted versus what we eat because of dirty water, rotting meat etc. Also health remedies of the Regency era - the poor apparently ate spiders on bread as a remedy. Eurgh. And some kept goats on their balconies to ward off illnesses (I’ve already written a short story about an eccentric Duke’s health goat lol.)
But all the interesting facts in the world won’t make me a good editor or fact checker. Or British 
I write for a living (but in a completely different field and language) and I’ve always had the greatest respect for sub editors and experts who can do what I can’t do well and nitpick, fix, and fact check.
Can I ask what spurred on your fascination with the Regency era and makeup?
Also, I wish I’d seen @Garagos’ post!
2 Likes