anathemafiction

Lingering Glance

Let us begin!!!!!

The first page of many 😋

Progress Report

It's... Saturday?

I'm sorry for the delay! Yesterday's afternoon got unexpectedly busy, and when I finally had time to sit down, I found my brain was too tired to string together any sort of coherent sentence. 

In any case, last week went so well! I announced that I finished coding Chapter One, and that was the big accomplishment of the week. 😄 I took a few days off writing altogether, but when I picked up the pen on Friday, my mind... took off to other pastures. I was str...

Alpha Build

Hello!

So, here's the complete Chapter One! As before, this is work subject to change — I still have to receive feedback from my testers and do a deep editing after I'm done writing Chapter 2. I've found it's best not to touch a chapter for a while before I go back for the final rounds of editing. It helps me look at things with fresh eyes.

So, you may encounter typos, the occasional phrases stuck together, or page_breaks in the wrong places. It'll be polished!

But enough ...

Need — Lance & Rafael (Mature)

He has that look in his eyes.

When you arrive, Lance looks out the window, but you can see from his profile and the absent way that his fingers move across the strings of his lyre that his mind is far away. One knee bent under the other, your bard perches on the windowsill like a great, rare bird with beautiful blue plumage and a vest made of gold.

His quiet song fills the four walls of his bedroom, mingling with the fading shadows of dawn. You stop on the thresho...

Finished Coding Chapter One!

It is done...

Excluding command lines (or code, if you will), the chapter stands at a staggering 184,712 words — making it the biggest chapter I have ever written. This is due to having to write so many variations depending on past choices and stances. I have a feeling this phenomenon will keep happening from now on, but that's exactly what makes Interaction Fiction so unique...

Progress Report

What a week!

The editing and coding have been going extremely well!!!! Maybe I underestimated my past self, or my standards suddenly dropped, but I find that I don't have to edit and change that much after all. I've been having so much fun reading all the different paths and choices that sometimes I forget I'm supposed to be analyzing them with a critical eye 😄.

But distractions aside, I made great progress. There are only 23 pages left for me to edit and code before I'm done w...

Deep Devotion — Part 2

Your fingers tread through the dark strands of his hair. He had let it loose for you, the usual leather cord that ties it wrapped around your wrist.

His hair is full of knots and salt, and he grunts every time you untangled one. But even in its unkemptness, you feel its silkiness and see the healthy shine. You frown as you come across another twist. If only he took better care of it, it could be as smooth and soft as a noblewoman's undergarments.

The Pirate King h...

Rafael Borja

Rafael Borja by the amazing Morim (Twitter| Tumblr).

The True End

The rewrite is done!!!!!!

Or, should I say, rewrite and expansion because, by The Golden Rose's God, I added a lot. Today I wrote just over 1k words, thus marking the official end of Chapter One!!!

And while today's word count was small, this last part of the chapter is not. The chapter grew ...

Deep Devotion — Part One

He melts like a puddle in your hands.

"Lord in Heaven," Hadrian groans, closing his eyes as his shoulders slop down. His head rests on your lap while his large arms wrap around each of your bent knees, bringing them closer to his sides. "That feels so good."

You smile, massaging his scalp. You twirl a strand of hair around a finger and pull gently. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed," you say, letting go of it to drag your nails across the sides of his head. Hadrian...

Sneak Peek

Just two more items on my checklist to go!!!! 🥳🥳🥳

The Reason path is done, and so is one of the last variations I needed to finish. Two more labels and the chapter will finally, finally be complete. ♡

(I know my organization method is atrocious, but hey, it works! 😄)

2023-03-06 17:19:30 +0000 UTC View Post

Progress Report

A little later than usual!

I apologize. Today has been full of appointments and obligations — although I still managed to squeeze in almost 2k words. 😋

This week was almost as productive as the last. Unfortunately, I didn't have as much time to write as before, but I still made substantial progress. The rewrite is all but done!!! It would be done if I could control myself, but alas, I cannot therefore here we are. There's a choice that happens, and well, a certain blue-eyed m...

Writing

The first draft

The second draft

After the final round of editing

Such is the pain (and pleasure) of the writing art. (´༎ຶ ͜ʖ ༎ຶ )♡

(Also, please enjoy these beautiful m...

Decisions, decisions

I want to write a small choice where Romanus can think about some of the characters — a sort of spring-to-mind kind of deal, where a name just refuses to leave your head — but I'm afraid it'll mess up the pace of the scene. It's the wind-down of the chapter, so I don't think it's out of place, but...

Ahhh, I'm so conflicted! 😩

I think I'll write it and add it and specifically ask for feedback about it later. It's always easier to erase than to create, after all, if a little...

Progress Report

Friday already!

Time goes by too fast, especially when one is busy. And busy I've been! I managed to write, again, every single weekday — Wednesday was dedicated to the Patreon scenarios for next month, however. They were honestly so fun to write. Right now, I'm writing fast-paced, high-stakes scenes in the game itself, so it feels great to take a creative break from that and just write a bit about the ROs. Try a few different atmospheres, and play around with some dialogue.

Alt...

Lingering Glance

"Oh, God... Oh, my Lord." Joan's moans get your attention. She's splattered on the ground, her spear nowhere to be seen. She's moving her upper body as if trying to rise, but her elbows keep slipping and losing strength, and blood pools around her legs.

You walk closer. Joan sees you through the haze of pain. "Oh, God. God," she cries more desperately. She looks away from you, jaw clenched tight, hands trying to drag her body on the ground.

But she can get nowhere. Her left leg is...

My Valentine — Part Two

Just a quick note: These are all deep in their romance routes, and I’ll use most (if not all) of these gifts in the game itself.

-

A hand covers your eyes.

You jerk in surprise but swallow the gasp that almost makes it past your lips. Your world is forcefully plunged into darkness, but you recognize this palm at once. "Who would launch such a terrible assault?" you ask, grabbing onto the invading hand with a smil...

Spicy Voting

What characters would you like to see featured in next month's mature scenario? Also, if you have any suggestions as to what the theme might be, feel free to share them! I could use a little inspiration on this. 😋

All characters will eventually have their spot, and your suggestions may apply to any of them — and Harian and Alessa too, in the future. 

Thank you! ♡

Progress Report

Another great week!

I was able to write pretty much every day — except on the weekend, of course, when I rest and recharge. And while my rhythm wasn't as fast as I'd liked due to the lack of a first draft to build on, it was still nothing to scoff at! I averaged about 2k words a day, making this final third of the chapter almost 17k words.

When I started the re-write last Thursday, things were going so fast that I thought I'd be almost done by now but alas, I severely underestim...

Delirium – Hadrian & Alessa (Mature)

His mind is gone.

All he can feel is you. You and your gasps, you and your skin, you and your flesh. Lord in Heaven, you. Hadrian can't close his eyes because your face is right below his, and Hadrian drinks in the sight like a famished man at a banquet.

Your mouth hangs slacked open, and your eyes look glazed, and part of him, a distant part that's still capable of thought, is proud that he's the one who made you like this. He's the one that has your nai...

Lance Silverthread

Lance by the amazing SBeep (Tumblr | Twitter). He looks fantastic. 😭 It's really, really close to how I imagine him. 💖💖

Progress Report

Friday!

And yet again, I'm here to report a successful week! I finished coding 2/3 of Chapter One, but, as some of you are aware, I wasn't happy with the direction I took for the last third. I had planned for it to go one way, but one night in bed, a new idea sprung to mind and... I didn't want to ignore it. 

So, I set out to re-write it, and I'm so, SO GLAD that I did!!! I started yesterday, but with only two writing sessions, I already love the new material...

Oh, no...

I wrote a... charged "flirting" option with Captain Cynthia and... I liked it. I like their twisted dynamic. 😩

Romanus: *looms really close to whisper near Cynthia's mouth as a half-intimidation, half-unsettling tactic*

Also Romanus:

My Valentine — Part One

"Loveday?"

"That's, uh. That's what I heard."

"What is it, exactly?"

Hadrian scratches the back of his neck. "I suppose it's a day about love?"

You can't help but smile. "Really? I thought it was about war."

Hadrian blinks and then gives an awkward laugh. "Ah, good one," he says, fingers now fiddling with his cross. He stands tall before you, but there's something uncertain in the slope of his shoulders and the way his eyes keep glancing at anywh...

Alpha Build

Here is the link to the Alpha built! Before you click, I want to say a few words:

First, this isn't the entirety of chapter one! There's still the last quarter missing — I realized as I coded that I want that last part to go another way. It'll have ramifications for the entire first half of the book, and, honestly, what I wrote before just doesn't... feel right. 

So, I'll be re-writing it and uploading the last part as soon as possible! But I still wanted to put this out. ð...

Sneak Peek

Be careful what you tell Alessa, for she will use the information against you...

A cheeky romanced Alessa. 😋

Here is a snippet of what Alessa may say if she doesn't have a good relationship with you. She can be so cruel when she wants. (Romanus here is self-conscious about their scar).

The dialogue tree cycle

Me keeping track of all the paths and variations

When they finally merge together

(It's so satisfying 😭 Home stretch now!)

Progress Report

February, the second month of the year.

And so we meet once again. This week went perfectly! I was able to work on the Rose almost every weekday, and so the Word pages went flying. I just finished working for today, and I'm 39 pages from being done!!!!!!

This last stretch is one full of variation based on relationships and choices, so it takes a little bit longer to code — I have to keep breaking sentences and paragraphs into *if statements, which, in turn, make...

A burning at the center of your palm

Ahhhh, that Corruption run...

I'm still planting seeds, but I can't wait until the branches reach high in the sky.

Progress Report

Friday be upon thee.

And part of me is so glad to see this week coming to an end. It started very well. I was working on coding and editing as much as I could, and making good progress at that — the Summary is, yet again, even larger. My new favorite question (that's in the "Small Choices" group) is this one:

I didn't think I'd have to use a variable to track whether Romanus likes rain ...