Thank you for such kind words. I’ve come back to look at your comment many times in the months since you left it because it makes me so happy. I was too shy until now to reply. 
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed my writing and playing the game!
Honestly, this is the stuff that helps writers keep writing. Thank you!
A mini-game by Leia Talon, set in the same world as TMP.
Their Majesties’ Pleasure UPDATE!
Their Majesties’ Pleasure received an update last week. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, as I realized after it was released that I probably made the tests too easy. As I went back in to fiddle with code, I also added extra details to the content.
What you can expect in the updated game:
Regarding the testing thresholds: I feel like I initially made the game too easy, which meant players missed out on what I feel are some of the more interesting things that happen toward the end of the game. It’s a tricky balance making the tests easy enough for a player to achieve their goals but challenging enough that the other paths still get found. For those who enjoy time with the Fae, there’s an ending option to fight on the side of the Fae against the kingdom’s troops which is one of my favorite scenes in the game, and I think it was mostly hidden by the too-easy testing choices, as were a few other scenes.
I hope I’ve found a happy place where the game offers enough challenge and also plenty of enjoyment. If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear it!
Thank you to everyone who has played TMP! 
Exciting news! Today I shared a reading from Their Majesties’ Pleasure at an online event for the British Fantasy Society. This was the first time they’ve had a reading from an interactive fiction novel!
It was super fun, and the presenter and audience were all interested in IF as a concept. I’m honored and humbled to have a part in sharing it with them!
I edited the excerpt so it flowed for the reading, taking out the choices and bringing the poem from the end of the game into a scene in chapter 3. (For those who are wondering, if you want Javier to recite the full poem of Nenaria’s Lament to you in the game, you have to romance him and ask him to read you poetry at the end of TMP.)
The full excerpt, including a fun scene with the Rogue where he recites Nenaria’s Lament and the lore behind it, can be read on my blog. I hope you enjoy! 
I’m really sorry for the late reply, as you can see, I’m not exactly a social butterfly either. 
I actually came here because I started another TMP playthrough again (after finishing second run of Kyle Marquis’ Werewolf the Apocalypse: The Book of Hungry Names, which I was looking forward to for months, and feeling a lil bit of CoG withdrawal now 
). Starting the story again feels like putting on a comfy pair of slippers and I can’t wait where it takes me. As I’m typing this right now, I’m going for the honey-nut bread! Following your April’s update, I can’t wait to check out Javier’s route (one of two ROs I missed last time). 
Last week, I got myself this game as a weekend treat (I had previously played the free chapters while trying to decide which of the HC games I wanted to buy).
In my first playthrough, I started by pursuing Julian (I don’t remember what my reasoning was), before being won over to the idea of an MC/Julian/Javier poly route. Before I knew it, though, my plucky diplomatic MC, Renata, was accidentally stringing along all three male love interests. Usually, I start most games focusing on fairly cautious/reserved choices, but Renata gradually became more and more bold. That is, when she was bargaining with Edenia, she was too timid to offer a kiss, but later with Galen, she had no issue with it.
Plot-wise, I was very pleased with Renata’s ability to win over the king and negotiate peace with the wilds. She’s a natural diplomat. I’m curious about some of the achievements I saw, and how things would pan out for an MC with different skills. She talked her way into a knighthood and achieved basically all of her goals.
Romance-wise, I fumbled a bit. I think. I’m not sure exactly when things went off the rails. I guess there’s supposed to be one point for each love interest when the MC makes a love confession to turn a flirtation into an endgame relationship. For some reason, I fumbled Julian’s confession (during the nap scene after the first confrontation with the king). I guess I thought that to get the triad ending, I’d need to confess to both of them at the same time.
Then, when I got Javier’s confession scene, I was sure that I was on track for a poly ending. There’s a choice to tell Javier that the MC is interested in Julian, too, and I picked that one, which seemed to go well. But I guess it was checking a different variable, or something, because at the very end of the game, Renata rode off to meet Javier, and Julian just kind of… wished her luck, I guess.
I’m still planning on playing again to get Edenia’s route, but maybe after that, I’ll try for the poly ending. I’m a bit curious about how the two of them react.
Last time I played, I was aiming for the Edenia/Galen poly route, but I ended up with just Galen somehow.
Oh, I was planning to aim for Edenia for my second playthrough. I wonder what ending I’ll get.
I’ve never had a problem when I was aiming for one particular character, only when I attempted a poly route.
First of all, @Hazel, thanks for giving TMP a try! Because there are so many poly options, the romance possibilities are broad and it was a tricky thing to code.
The last chapter checks which ROs you’ve committed to and gives you a single ending or an ending choice based on those. Basically, you have to formally commit to each RO you want to be with in order for those variables to be set. Commitment opportunities are with each person separately. There will also be a chance to tell them if you care for anyone else. Unless, of course, you’re romancing Lissa, which is a monogamous route.
Thanks for commenting here and sharing your experience! I’m curious to hear how your other playthroughs go!
I finished my second playthrough! I named my nonbinary MC Vervaine, because I was planning to romance the Darkwood Queen. Then Lissa happened. It was only supposed to be one dance!
Behold Vervaine, the knight with the worst fencing skills in history:
Stealthy. Stubborn. Bold, but honorable. Serendipity fluctuated up and down a lot. Sometimes things gets worse before they get better.
You can really tell that they were gonna defect to the Fae, but then had to scramble to get their knighthood stat up. Would the king really accept a consort for the princess who wasn’t even a knight?
For my next trick, I’m gonna try to fail the treaty while romancing Galen and see what happens. But not before next weekend.
Unrelated: achievements from my first playthrough.
