anathemafiction

Lingering Glance

As I've just finished coding Hadrian's section, here are a few passages that I liked:

• If you broke up with Hadrian in Chapter 6, you should be careful with your jokes, for feelings don't vanish immediately, and some wounds are still bleeding. 

• But here's a passage of a happier (and more assertive) Hadrian. 😋

2023-01-26 15:30:13 +0000 UTC View Post

Circles — Hadrian & Alessa

Beginning

The sun does not burn but warms the skin like a blanket made of honey. The rays come down from between brittle tree branches, naked and twisting but of deep brown color. They have no leaves because Fall demands it, not because the tree lacks strength.

The wind too can barely be called so. It brushes your hair with the gentleness of a child’s wandering fingers, seeking, curious, the shape of that which it does not yet know. New. Fresh. That is how you f...

No rest on the Lord's Day

Today, I edited and coded 28 Word pages! 

I hunkered down and focused, and 28 pages went by in the blink of an eye. Obviously, I know all days can't be as good as this one — I had the whole afternoon free, after all. I'm not always so lucky — but even so, it feels fantastic. 

The game is growing and growing!!!! Sorry, there's not much more purpose to this post except to share my excitement. 😄 Have a lovely Sunday! ♡

Progress Report

Yet another week that I spent looking at variables. 

The more decisions and choices from Book One I come across, the more the Summary grows. I also understand now why Hosted Games only implements a save system when the sequel is submitted — I've been updating so many variables and numbers in Book One! I have a feeling that, until at least half of Book Two, I'll keep changing and rearranging things. It's really good you don't have save files yet because otherwise, they'd be comple...

Spicy Q&A — Part Two (Mature)

• Alain taking Romanus against a wall.

His hands are everywhere.

If you didn't know better, you'd think he's grown an extra pair of limbs because there's no way only two palms are holding you. Alain gropes your thighs, fingers digging into the soft flesh to spread your legs wide. But then his nails are racking over your back, following the curve of your spine to grab at your ass while a thumb plunges into your mouth. The fingertip presses on your tongue as five ...

Lieutenant Vallen

The bubbly Vallen by the wonderful Hetti (Twitter). I love the Red Guard's armor so much! ♡♡

Progress Report

Coding, coding, coding!

Honestly, I think I can only see in *if statements and percentages increase or decrease. 😄 Right now, I'm deep in editing and coding Hadrian's part of the chapter, and I know I keep saying this, but there really is a lot of variation! I hope you take advantage of the Summary and try different builds because I think some of the conversations are worth reading. 

I know it may be hard to be hostile with Hadrian if you normally romance or befriend him, ...

Q&A — Part Three

• Does Ysabella have a favorite breed or coloring for horses?

The most common horse breed Ysabella knows and is accustomed to is the Andalusian horse which, as the name suggests, is native to the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

They're beautiful and elegant, with long, wavy manes and shiny coats of hair, and Ysabella adores the way their long lashes frame the intelligence gleaming in their eyes.

However, the one horse she absolutely fell in love with was n...

It's a rollercoaster

Editing the parts where Romanus is feeling self-conscious about their scar

Them flinching when Hadrian or Alessa look at their cheek

"I look like a freak."

...

And then readi...

Sneak Peek

I've been tweaking the Summary... 🤭

It's honestly so fun to see me mentioning little choices and decisions that Romanus could have made in Book One. Of course, the big choices I knew would be mentioned, but as I wrote the first draft, I found myself referencing several events that may seem minor. And some of them are! But keeping track of them, seeing them mentioned or characters talking ab...

Progress Report

We dip our toes in the calm, still waters of yet another fresh year. 

I hope you all had an amazing time on New Year! And that these first, tentative January days have been as mild as a gentle breeze. The sun rises cold, and night eats too much of the day,  but still, it's hard not to feel optimistic, isn't it? There's something about beginnings — or, I suppose, ends — that has a way of inspiring you. 

May 2023 be better than the year before, in whatever aspect ...

Lingering Glance

Just a collection of small teasers of some of my favorite passages from the Prologue. 😋

-

You've once heard a traveler with a dark, bushy beard, a strong nose, and clothes the likes of which you had never seen before, speak about lights blazing with all the colors of creation on the night sky.

"Up North," he had said, "where the land is made of ice, and even God has trouble reaching it."

-

"It's a bear's," Sancha expl...

December Q&A — Part Two

• Hadrian, why did you pick a sword as your primary weapon, and is there a story of how you obtained it?

Hadrian scratches the back of his head. "It was what the Templars trained me in. Ever since I entered the Order as a squire, we always used blunt swords for our training. I didn't really have a choice, but it's not like I needed it. I was good with the sword, so..." Hadrian shrugs. "I never looked at any other options."

He pauses then, and looks up, eyes wand...

Merry Christmas 🎄

I hope you all have a wonderful, blissful, and full of love Christmas. This is my favorite time of the year because it reminds me of what truly matters and what my happiness relies on. 

And I just wanted to take a moment to thank every one of you, sincerely, for caring about this story I'm writing and the world I've built. I don't think I show enough how much it really means to me — because, ironically, even though I'm a writer, I've never been very good at expressing myself thro...

*if (Blink= true)

How I feel after writing the most simple, most beginner-level, absolutely basic line of code:

Spicy Q&A — Part One (Mature)

• Hadrian getting pampered by Romanus.

He's hot and heavy in your palm.

You take a moment to simply hold him, marveling at the weight, your fingers set at the base of his manhood. You feel it twist, see his Adam's apple bob, and decide then, to take pity on him. Beginning slow, you wrap your fingers around his length, your hand deep in his pants, and smile at the muffled groan from above.

"Lord in Heaven," Hadrian whispers, voice hoarse and tight and delic...

Progress Report

Another good week!!!

With the holidays approaching, I feared I would have my 'Rose time' shortened, but the opposite is true! I have tunnel vision at this point. I wanna get this done!

Speaking of done, thus I finished the Prologue. It's completely edited, and apart from typos or small inconsistencies that I may have missed, I won't be coming back to it. It's at the stage (or close to it) as to when I submit the game to Hosted Games - and that's such a wonderful thought to have! 2022-12-16 17:21:57 +0000 UTC View Post

The Turn of a Year — Hadrian & Alessa

The night is a cold one. You see your breath spread before you in the phantom form of a white mist. But as much as the inn at your back tempts you inside with its big hearth and warm wine and boisterous laughter, you don’t heed its call.

The night is a cold one. But never before have you seen such a beautiful sky. Dark and moonless but in its place, so shine the stars. Endless, innumerable, and so far away. So very close. Your breath is a white mist before you, and you can barely feel...

Grabbed that scene by the horns!!!

This may be a silly post to make but I'm happy, so I just wanted to share it with you all! Do you remember that scene I was having a bit of trouble with? It wasn't bad, but something was missing and it was driving me up the walls.

Well, I'm officially back on the ground because I figured it out! I re-wrote it, and finally, FINALLY, it works! I'm happy with it 🥳

Ysabella Theer

Our charming Lady Ysabella drawn to life by the wonderful Hetti (Twitter). She looks so beautiful. ♡♡

Progress Report

What a week!!!!!

It's unfortunate how underwhelming it is to say: I kept editing. Because, yes, that's what I did, but I feel like I did so much more. I edited, I fixed, I added, I changed. I pretty much got the Prologue to a point I can say that I'm proud of what I've created.

I didn't quite finish! I still have a character to add to the relationship page, plus a few more hundred lines to edit. But I'm at the final scene of the Prologue — where all the paths converge — so it ...

Sneak Peek

As his top lip lifts in the same expression of horse-like disdain Billy used on you countless times before, you don't try to fight the fondness that spreads in your chest. "Hey," you whisper in a gentle tone, carefully brushing his coarse mane away from his eyes. 

Billy's ears twitch, and his eyelids flutter once more, slowly but surely coming out from the realm of sleep. You smile as you let your fingers roam over his muzzle, feeling the ridges of his long cheek and the softer, bu...

December Q&A — Part One

• Is there anything in their life that the ROs regret?

Hadrian regrets not leaving the Templars sooner. But some nights, when the shadows are deep, and silence lingers like a thorn digging into his side. The kind of nights that have Hadrian lying awake in his cold bed not knowing what tomorrow might bring. Not knowing what the past was all for. Not knowing if the future is worth the trouble.

Those nights when freedom weighs a thousand tons and l...

Not so Bashful Anymore

Hadrian greeting you:

Hadrian greeting you if you picked the option that encourages him to be bolder:

Saucy Queries

Okay, so, I've been having a lot of fun answering your questions for this month's Q&A, and that got me thinking: why not extend the event to the mature scenario as well? Are there any... brazen questions you have for the ROs? Maybe a little snippet you'd like to see with a particular character?

Feel free to ask away! Or suggest or... well, you get my point.

I've never done this, so I don't know how well it'll go! Don't worry, though, if this isn't something you're interested i...

Progress Report

Another week, another gathering.

Is it just me or is time flying as if a large, starving predator is rushing after it? I can't believe we're in the last month of the year — 2022 has both felt extremely long and maddening short.

But that's not what matters! Yesterday I started editing, and, Lord, does the prologue need it. 😄 It's amazing the number of errors that you don't catch when you're first writing and coding a text. It's like your eyes glaze over what's incredibly glari...

Lingering Glance

Regarding this.

You smirk at Hadrian. "Forgive us," you say, turning then to wink at Alessa. "I couldn't tear her arms from around my neck. She may look lean, but there's a hidden strength in those muscles."

You lean over, bringing your mouth near her ear. "Someone was especially clingy this morrow."

You don't look at Hadrian. It's not him you're interested in. Your eyes...

It is Done

I finished Chapter One!!!!!!

Standing at 135k words, this isn't my biggest chapter yet — the Harbor, in the first book, still holds that trophy — but it's certainly amongst the top 5. I just had so much fun playing with the different variations in your relationships, as well as with a crucial past choice in Book One that it completely outgrew what I had...

I love Them 😭

Writing Hadrian being protective of you:

Writing Alessa trying (and failing) to hide her affection for you:

Favorite Killing Accessory

Someone sent me an ask on Tumblr asking what is the most popular weapon choice amongst the players, and I realized that I have absolutely no idea.

So, just to satisfy my pesky curiosity — and because I always find it fun to click on a survey — what's your favorite weapon in the game? What is the one you use the most or the one that's canon for your Romanus?

Thank you!! ♡