Eh the comparisons aren’t so bad, would say those are natural even when the this project draws much from the other one, if people want to live their own fanfic fantasies let em, among them me that I for sure will! Cheers for the amazing project!
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Great update. I particularly liked how Clara showed a hidden side if the MC goes with her in the end of chapter 4. Although super nice ROs like her aren’t usually my favorite ROs, there’s a kind of protectiveness and “gentlewoman” aura about her that I really like and which that scene kind of underscored. What would have been really nice was to also be given the opportunity for the MC to call her his “knight in shining armor” after that scene, because she kind of plays that role there.
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Sorry to hear that you got hacked and your files deleted… 
Will you continue writing for this game? I’m going to be so sad if my favorite IF is discontinued
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They got hacked? I didn’t see anything on here about that
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It was mentioned in another topic.
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Oh that’s really concerning, one can get hacked very easily these days, all the support to you writer, we hope you didn’t lose too much content as that sucks and the project is too interesting for it to disappear!
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What devastating news, I’m so sorry. I think this story has great pacing and prose that even many published authors are unable to compete with. It is purposeful, direct, but not blunt or bland. There is enough description to imagine the world, but not overwhelmingly so that you get lost in it.
This is also the last time I remember laughing reading an IF since the Jolly Good series, as it has given us things like: “You remain stranded on the sidewalk like an evolutionary misstep.”
I absolutely adore this work and wish you inspiration and strength.
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Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement! Reading your comments means so much to me after such a nightmare scenario. To answer the big question, no, I am not quitting! While it was devastating to lose thousands of words of progress, I’m choosing to look at this setback as an opportunity to refine my writing and take a fresh look at my old plot ideas.
Here is a quick status update on where things stand…
- In my last progress update, I mentioned having a 3k-word prologue completed. Since that was lost, I had to rewrite the entire thing from memory. That’s what the new mini-update is. It includes the brand-new rewritten prologue along with a few minor edits, which added about 4k in total without code.
- I unfortunately lost the entire reworked romance counter that I had built for the stats. I’ll be rebuilding that for the next update while focusing heavily on pushing out brand-new story content.
The prologue is written in a voice that, to me, sounds very different from the rest of my writing. Whereas the previously released content was mostly lighthearted and dramedic, this new addition will most likely read as a lot more visceral and dark. At least, that’s what I hope.
Thank you, and I’m always eager to hear your thoughts.
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OMG YES?? I could physically feel the suffocating disgust of my MC when his dad had the freaking chicken grease on his chin. Bleurgh!
Thanks for writing! So happy to get any tidbits at all
Edited to ask: have you ever considered writing in anything thriller/horror? I can smell the potential
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No, I have not, haha… It’s not a genre I’m confident I can deliver in.
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This sounds like a really fun premise! I especially like the early-2000s fashion-media setting and the idea of playing a male protagonist in a predominantly female industry. The different romance routes also seem varied enough to give the story plenty of replay value.
Vivienne and Elise sound particularly interesting to me because the professional tension could make their relationships develop more naturally over time. I also like that the protagonist can either adapt to the world of Aureum or question whether that world is worth becoming part of.
For a first interactive fiction project, this is an ambitious concept. I’d definitely be interested in seeing how the character relationships and office politics develop in the full story. Best of luck with the project!
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I am glad to hear you’ve taken a positive spin on what happened. I doubt you’d just never write another Interactive story over this, but I am happy to hear that this did not kill the motivation for this story. I hope the ideas keep coming for you.
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Hi, I decided to give this a shot and I had a lot of fun! Definitely keep going with this im excited to see where it goes
I ended up playing quite a fun MC that at first was into Viv, then bantered with Elise all the way into feelings and has not yet clocked that Clara or Serena might have ever been/are interested in some way.
I also hope you let me keep Leander… if neither of them want to be a single parent to that boy then by god im keeping him… My MC is blond, the boy could pass
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I can see you’ve got a knack for the grotesque.
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Thought I’d post these stats every couple months. I did not expect Elise to be winning by a landslide, but I didn’t expect Clara to be losing even more!
Even if you don’t write any lengthy feedback (I would love, love, love if you do, but no pressure…), please vote for these characters in just a couple clicks! I won’t be changing any plans for how much more I invest in any single character, as they are all written with equal focus in mind, but I do think it’s fun to feel out my readers. And for you to see too!
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