October 2023 Newsflash #1 (Patreon)

I've been working on the Royal Affairs expanded epilogue this fortnight! Here's a track from my Royal Affairs playlist - I've been listening to the playlist constantly to get back in the Royal Affairs zone.

A quick note that for Sneak Preview subscribers the October Q&A post is up and open, and I'll be continuing to update it with answers until the end of the month; Honor Bound Chapter 3 is of course up if you haven't played it yet! The October Bonus Supplement poll will also be open for Bonus Supplement subscribers until next the 18th, when I'll post the winning story.

(Speaking of stories, yesterday I was finding it hard to focus and feeling in need of something self-indulgent and wrote a very steamy short story about Fabien and the Teranese President spontaneously hooking up; the rivals-with-benefits fortysomethings I didn't know I needed?? I'll be adding it to the November story poll...)

Now for the news!

If you remember from back in August, the epilogue is all about going on holiday with your siblings and potentially planning a wedding or eloping. Well, in what I've written so far, the MC has arrived at their destination - New Belmir City in Teran.

Writing this epilogue is a very different kind of challenge! I've always admired game writers who write direct sequels with the same MC, and this is like a little glimpse into that kind of writing. I've set it up so that you can invite one of your friends or romantic partners with you (or two, if you're in a triad), so all the scenes are very, very branched, with unique conversations and interactions depending who's with you. It can feel very slow working like that because I'll have done two days' work and look how far through I am through the chronology of the epilogue, and realise it's only been a couple of scenes in terms of playthrough! But: it's also been delightful returning to the Royal Affairs characters and figuring out where they're at, how they're feeling, and what they've been up to (another thing that's very dependent on earlier choices!)

Royal Affairs expanded epilogue wordcount: 32864

Royal Affairs expanded epilogue fortnight's wordcount: 23876

Behind the scenes:

Baldur's Gate 3 continues apace. I love the characters and interactions, they feel so delightfully real and fleshed out!

I read Pageboy, Elliot Page's memoir, and Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt, both extremely different books. Pageboy was a difficult read for a lot of it but very interesting. Brainwyrms is horrifyingly revolting in a very well-written way and I would definitely not recommend it if you're not interested in intense, gory, horror and taboo sexual practices! I read it in an afternoon and it is... definitely sticking with me. I do recommend it if you're into extreme horror! (I'm not sure I really am... but it was still a very powerful read) Compared to it, The Others of Edenwell by Verity Holloway, a World War I horror about a haunted wellness retreat in the east of England, was pretty gentle - though still unsettling and heartwrenching.

Apparently I was in the mood for very intense books this fortnight?!

Sneak peek:

It's so hard to find something that isn't so branching that it would be unreadable for this, but! Here, have a heated Dominique kiss:

Dominique kisses up the side of your neck, pausing at your hairline where the skin is soft and sensitive, then draws back and leans in again to meet your mouth. $!{dominique_he}@{dominique_singular 's|'re} always enthusiastic, and this time is no exception, but there's a greater sense of lingering, savoring: ${dominique_he} @{dominique_singular takes|take} ${dominique_his} time before opening ${dominique_his} mouth to deepen the kiss. When ${dominique_he} eventually @{dominique_singular draws|draw} away again, ${dominique_his} cheeks are heavily flushed.

"Want to help me get out of this?" ${dominique_he} @{dominique_singular says|say}, gesturing to ${dominique_his} clothes.

My favourite bit:

Really all of these are my favourites, but I really enjoyed writing snapshots of life after Royal Affairs. Here's one about going to Gessner University with a romanced Beaumont and Trevelyan:

Gessner is a stately city whose ancient university colleges and grounds dominate the streets. You were assigned a suite large enough to entertain a decently-sized party, and are allowed to be served dinners there rather than in the banquet hall should you wish. The studying is harder work than at Archambault, and you're given more freedom to make mistakes, but it's gone well enough.

Beaumont and Trevelyan have been there too, of course, and you've spent a great deal of time together: staying up late studying, getting involved in spirited debates, poring close over books in the library, visiting smoky bars and less than salubrious theaters when Beaumont can be dragged away from ${beaumont_his} work.

While you do not have shared rooms, you stay over often enough that you have toiletries and clothes in each other's places, and have settled into something that makes Beaumont lean silently against you during lectures, ${beaumont_his} side warm against yours, and Trevelyan give you tight hugs or come bursting in to tell you excitedly about something ${trevelyan_he}@{trevelyan_singular 's|'ve} just read.

I hope October is going well for you. See you next week!