The download link is in the attachment below.
Damn!! That title is long!! Anyway, this is a concept I wanted to make for a long time but wasn't sure how to approach it. The idea of using Sophie came to me some days ago. I have quite a few very sexy characters that are idle. So it occurred to me that instead of creating new characters why not make use of the ones I already have? Once I thought of Sophie and how she would behave in this kind of scenario the story came to me on their own in my head. So I decided to just do it!... and it came out pretty good (I think).
The friendzone theme is something I've seldom seen in NTR, at least not from the artists I follow (I follow mainly Japanese artists though), I wonder why? I think it has enormous potential for NTR stories with maybe some netorase vibes. I mean it's brutal when your crush ignores you or even worse, she treats you as one of her besties with the added advantage of all the advice your male perspective can bring her in her relationships with the real males she's interested. She doesn't see you as a lover, or even worse, she doesn't see you as a man, you're just one more of the gals in her group. You're her emotional outlet, or even worse, you're someone she can take advantage of... She might chat with you, hug you, hold hands with you even kiss you (on the cheek)... but anything sexual... Impossible!! No way!! No chance in the world!!... I think you get the idea.
Anyway, this story is thought of as a mini Mystery NTR story. It has two parts. What is published here is the Mystery part, in which you're "blind". Then it will come the Exposure or Revelation part (still unsure how to call it), in which you'll see what Sophie was up to at the time of the messages.
The Mystery part is what I'm publishing here. The exposure part will look something like this (the image is just referential and won't be part of the final release, I did it just to see how it would look):

But I'm thinking of maybe also including some "middle ground". Something in which you can kind of see what's happening without being sure. Or maybe being sure, but not catching the details. Something like this:

I might publish the "middle ground" part (blurred images) on Twitter and BlueSky as soon as I finish the renders (little by little). That way you can track my advance. Maybe publish it later on Pixiv. Then when it's finished I'll publish the complete work (Mystery, middle ground, and Exposure) here on Patreon.
The Mystery part and maybe the "middle ground" will be public in the future, but you have Early Access to the Mystery part here. I don't know if the whole thing will be public in the future, but if it is, you will still have early access here.
IMPORTANT: This work is still lacking the outcome. That is because I'm unsure if maybe it will be best for you to see the outcome after going through both the Mystery and the Exposure parts. Let me know what you think. I'll start with the renders for the outcome and maybe publish them in a few days, but I think the Mystery part is solid as it is, and leaving the outcome in the air might even help your imagination to run wild at what could happen in the end.
Tell me what you think of this story. Does it have that Mystery NTR feeling you vote so eagerly for in the poll? It might not have the obvious hints of a Visual Novel, but there are some subtle (or maybe not so subtle) hints here and there. You might have to read between the lines... like literally because the time of the messages are between the lines (LOL). It's easy to overlook and you don't have to pay attention at the time and hours, but it's something I paid special attention to, so if you want some extra feeling of anxiety that comes from trying to woo someone in a chat, that might help.
Finally, I have to say that, even though Sophie's personality is very different from Kanon, she's also such a tease!!... just in a different way. I think she has the potential to steal your heart (as Kanon did). I hope she does.
I hope you like it. I'm always open to comments and ideas, so your comments are welcome.