[WIP] Sanguine Sky [369k words] [Update: 23 May 2026]

[LiliArch]

@jjc73

IF MC is going after innocent, I will cut out, unless its a choice on that part.

My issue is more in the camp of if the MC is the murderer, I’d want the game to indicate that to me before I get invested in the murder mystery, because if the game’s going to pull a “surprise! It was you all along!” without, say, giving the MC significant memory lapses or something that would make it look like there’s something going on there from the start instead of just having it come out of blue (or the MC knows they’re chasing themself and needs to obstruct the investigation while pretending otherwise, that would be fun), I’m just going to feel the game wasted my time.

I don’t mind secret-villain-MCs, I just want the game to set correct expectations when coming in.

[Anna_B]

I don’t mind a game where the MC intentionally did something wrong. I don’t mind a game where the MC unintentionally did something wrong, and doesn’t know it. I do mind if the MC intentionally did something wrong, but I don’t know about it going into it.

[aesopsfables]

I get the feeling perfectly well, to be clear! My comment wasn’t meant to yuck anyone’s yum or, on the flip side, make anyone feel like I was telling them they had to like the possibility.

I am also, obviously, not the author. I cannot say for sure that MC is the killer. Maybe the MC is possessed (which… frankly seems very likely considering that one scene in the orphanage). Maybe we’re framed. Maybe our sister is the killer. Maybe we have no relation to the killer but the killer is taking advantage of us or what entity might be inside us for XYZ reasons. Maybe we actually have no relation to the killings at all and our issues are a different plot. Who knows!

We can only do guesswork on the exact nature of what’s going on at the moment. But I’m not really sure how many people on COG check the author’s Tumblr. And since the murders and the idea that MC might be involved in them was being debated, I just wanted to throw out that the MC likely isn’t going to be the greatest person based on the author’s responses. Just as a heads-up for others :]

That’s all! You guys are fully right to not like something :] and my comment was definitely not intended as a ‘well it makes perfect sense so you have to like it or not play the game’.

[jjc73]

I should read latest updates. I was waiting a bit before I did. Hence why this is watched.

[strangerr]

Gonna preface this by saying I created an account just to comment lmao.

This demo is actually so good, went through my first runthrough in two sittings because I was so excited to continue. What I love so far is the diversity in how the MC can react, I often get frustrated with huge cases of “I would NOT say that” in previous books, but I was so pleasantly surprised to only find one or two moments in the entire demo that made me think that. (Also I’m not sure whether this is unique to my playthrough or whether its permament, but the MC slowly going loopy is written so well.) The writing is detailed but not purple prose-y, and I love the dialogue. Also I’m super picky when it comes to RO’s amd sometimes find I don’t like a single one, but I’m genuinely excited to see what goes down on Isaac and Kyle’s routes.

Please please take good care of your health author and make sure to take breaks if needed, thanks for putting this out!

[reyn.ag]

This demo is pretty good, exceptionally high quality work and very engaging. It is definitely an improvement of other similar WIPs of the same genre but of course there are some good and bad I’ve seen based on one playthrough.

Cons:
Repetitive Tropes - Young Detective in a small town, supernatural Feds come in, investigate a murder, the detective has to work with the other agents, your boss introduces you to the feds, etc. It is very very repetitive as I’ve seen this trope happen many many many times in WIPs all over, a reason why I am not a fan of the supernatural mystery genre.

Pacing - The pacing of the story is extremely slow and tedious, while the writing quality is undoubtedly high the fact is not much happens aside from talking and investigating a bit, no major plot points are visited enough to warrant my interest, it just feels like a cop show.

High Quantity if Characters - There are too many characters, from a whopping 7 Romance Interests and side characters.

Genre Fatigue - The same way Hollywood movies have given us Superhero Fatigue, a lot of novels and WIPs have given me Supernatural Detective fatigue, its all the same and I’ve seen elements of it in this story as well.

Pros:
Interesting Characters: The characters are very human and interesting, they’re not just generic archetypes but actually feel humanized, from K being overworked, L being lonely, M being conflicted, R being very aggressive, the characters feel more interesting

POV Switch: Having different POVs made it interesting, it humanizes the characters even more. I definitely like that aspect of showing how other characters also have their own lives and opinions.

Adult Problems: Unlike other stories where the problems feel childish in this story your MC and other ROs actually have side characters in their lives, personal drama and some kind of back story that affects you. The addition of having characters like Parker and Norma adds more fuel to the fire and makes it interesting

Writing Quality - The writing quality is extremely detailed and clear, very professional and high quality, its just the slow story that bored me but the writing itself is pretty polished.

No Stat Checks - This alone is a Pro, stat checks are so annoying. Just give us a good story and good characters, not an RPG haha. I appreciate this part.

Summary: I think the story has potential for sure, I’m just unsure on how it would go from a story and character perspective, the plot is boring for me, I’m here for the characters not another murder mystery, I can already guess it would be a vampire, werewolf, angel or demon doing some blood voodoo sacrifice goat demon stuff, I’ve seen it plenty of times.

I’d like to see more character interactions, conflicts, and action drama, something that won’t be boring since I do enjoy how the world feels very much alive with side characters getting involved in the story well as plot devices. Shame there’s no poly or triangle romance, that would be pretty good.

[MoonLantern]

This was amazing! It’s very well written, all characters are 3 dimensional and I’m very invested in the MC’s story, arc and background! I finished this in 2 days because I was that invested.

Please keep working on this, I cannot wait to play the real version.

[Eyesofshadow]

I am absolutely obsessed. The many mysteries to solve and theorize, the complex characters, the romance (I chose M and they have stolen my heart) and the spiral the MC is drowning in. I love it all! Your writing is so well done and provokes the imagination in the best way to really ingratiate yourself into the story and really see from MC’s perspective! The small choices that make you have complete control over MC makes them feel real and unique. I like the pacing as well, you don’t drag on the day by day but let the reader learn the setting of this world and set up your character to live in it. I like the slower moments too, you really let us feel out a scene, a moment, a memory, and then react and build upon it. Letting the story be dark usually needs this kind of pacing.

Anyway, phenomenal work, I eagerly await updates and will hopefully be able to browse your Patreon!

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Caught up on the update, and I really love the story so far!

M is still my favorite so far (with I being a close second), and I can’t wait for the mystery to unravel!

Best wishes to your health!

[nuna]

I love being able to play an actually stressed out adult who has no time for the ‘quirks’ of the people around her lol. I love the investigative journey we have experienced so far! Everything relates to each other in some way and I’m feeling really immersed in it, you have a wonderful ‘show don’t tell’ method of writing. I wonder what the deal with her dreams is all about, but me thinks the stress and humanity meters are somewhat related to that Looking forward to your updates, but please take care of yourself first! Hope everything goes well with your consultation, sending you lots of

[AChubbyBlackCat]

I am curious, what are people thinking the detective is? My initial guess was something related to Caine, the First Murderer, but I’m not so certain of it anymore.

[LiliArch]

I think a fallen angel.

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Neat! And any theories on what kind of supernatural critters certain ROs are?

[Xepheris]

I was getting vampire vibes from R, especially in the secret scene if you resist their mind powers

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Noticed some small errors in the public version of the demo. One is grammatical and another is a curious repeat of a phrase.

Here the tense of “return” doesn’t sound right when. It feels as though it should be “returns”. Section: When the Detective takes up the offer to join S in their room

Here with Morgan the phrase “precisely one step away” repeats itself 3 times. Source: When the Detective receives information from Paul (having picked the option to sleep with him) and Morgan interrupts

I believe it should be “[…] how his words don’t entirely […]” instead of “doesn’t”. It sounds a bit odd when I say it out loud.

@whizumi

[LiliArch]

@AChubbyBlackCat

And any theories on what kind of supernatural critters certain ROs are?

Had to replay keeping an eye on that, because I’m mainly interested in the plot, but.
[T] is giving me werewolf (or maybe some werefeline) vibes, what with smelling faint traces of blood and all, and I’m kinda-sorta wishful-thinking that [M] is fae, although I have no real basis on that apart from the name and the vague feeling of something off. If I had to guess, [I] would be… siren? Nixie? Some kind of ghost? [R] just feels like a jerk and I can get nothing else when my mind clocks out on that. Also thinking that [S] may have some connection to the MC’s background. But I admit my MC is too grumpy to deal with them and I don’t like any of the team members so if there were hints in their scenes I missed them.

Mostly I’m just thinking that if [K] is the rudest person the MC has met, they haven’t met any actually rude people.

[Malcarius]

@AChubbyBlackCat

Neat! And any theories on what kind of supernatural critters certain ROs are?

I’ll second R having vampire vibes . T and M I have no idea. I’m pretty sure I, and S and the MC are all archangels. We had 3 archangels confronting the MC in the prologue. Given the MC’s flashbacks of having something torn off of them by the creator as well as them missing something from their shoulders/back in the prologue, it seems likely that the MC once had wings. I’m guessing they were one of the other archangels, Uriel is my best guess. The archangel of truth, it would make sense that they’d end up being a detective in a future life. There’s a line in the prologue when the MC walks away from Lucifer that is repeated when walking away from S at the orphanage. And I has “history” with S. So, I’m pretty sure S is old Satan and I might be Raphael. Raphael was giving off “I’m going to be important later” vibes in the prologue but, honestly, that’s 100% a guess on my part.

Edit: And I just found the Established Rivals path and I feel very vindicated.

Anyway, more importantly. I found a couple of bugs/grammar issues.

bugs!

Chapter 2, dialogue with S. There is a double of up text.

Chapter 3, Dialogue with S. I’m pretty sure both romance options increase boldness.
Stats before selecting a choice

And after