AStays: Afterlight Stays

Hello! I go by AStays and I have a Visual Novel called Afterlight Stays that you can find on Itch.io.

This is my Tumblr page where I’ll post works and thoughts about AS that is more permanent and doesn’t work well with TikTok’s formatting. If you’re from Tiktok, hello and thank you for hopping over here! And if you’re discovering me for the first time on here and you like VNs, I hope you’ll consider staying and giving AS a chance!

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Also, please give the courtesy of time to answer any questions you may have. I’d like to give the most thought out answer I can ^^

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If I don’t answer, there’s a possibility that it’s a question that will be answered in the game! 👀

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Links to important pages -

Afterlight Stays’ Itch.io Page

My/Afterlight Stays’ Tiktok

I just had a couple of questions but feel free to ignore if youre not comfortable !!

1. Are you okay with nsfw headcannons/art for damon and is the vn going to stay completely sfw ? :D

2. How would damon feel about an MC whose into lolita fashion, would he ever dress up in that manner if the MC asked ?

3. How would Damon feel about an MC whose super big on physical affection ?

1. An important question. I think I want to make this an entirely separate post, so I will answer this in the next one.

2. Damon would like that MC has a strong sense of style (+ this applies to other styles too!) . In general, I think he will always want to learn about the things his loved ones enjoy and would dive head first into whatever it is.

He would love to try wearing it as well, just to match MC when they wanted to. Damon would need help though, otherwise he would unintentionally take on an outfit that’s way too ambitious for him —because it looks good and fail to foresee that it compromises his comfort.

3. That would be perfect! Damon significantly holds back from physical touch but he really likes it. If MC ever admits or shows they like physical affection, gone are the days of him being cool about it!

rolling back to damon being asked to join different clubs, how popular is he in general? would you think he was also categorized by some people as a, "hallway crush"? 👀

Previously referring to this question:

Damon has had varying popularity in his life. Being asked to join clubs started near his last years of high school— which was the height of it and completely fizzled out when he went to college.

He’s a good-looking guy. With how many people that knew him, it was inevitable some would like him 👀

I struggle to call him a hallway crush? I feel like being a ‘hallway crush’ is about the appeal of seeing someone you like but never speaking or knowing too much about them.

Of course, it would be impossible for him to have an interaction with everyone, but more often than not, most people would have at least spoken to him once. There’s not much mystique with him. He’s a talker. Either that talking would help people realize it’s a fleeting crush or make that crush worse. 😅

When college hit, it was too big of a pond to be popular anymore and he significantly dialed back on trying to know everyone in exchange for working part-time alongside his education. Gone are the campus crushes, but not the crushes. I imagine only the location of it changed…

Damon is ethnically hispanic! If I were to be more specific he would be 75/25 % hispanic and mixed asian.

He visually and characteristically takes from some lovely people who exist in my life so I think it’s fair that he is canonically those ethnicities as well.

A few questions ahead! ^—^

1 - How would Damon react to an overly mellow MC? Being a hugger and cuddler to heart.

2 - If MC were the obvious, yearning type where the signs are basically screaming, would he take the chance or wait?

3 - How would he react if MC made a drawing of him, song or poem? or if he found the three somehow…

4 - What is Damon's favorite bug?

1. Damon tries his best to gauge how people around him are feeling. With a mellow MC he would be even more attentive to seeing how they feel or react.

He’s also someone who loves physical touch (it’s the love language he likes most!). Generally he doesn’t fully initiate it because he knows that some people dislike being touched but he always makes it blatant when he is offering it, so a shy/mellow MC would never run short of hugs!

2. Damon isn’t afraid of taking his chances. If he doesn’t act based on his own feelings and figures out MC’s first, he would confront them about it.

That relationship is immediately changing the moment he figures out he likes you or you like him 😭

There is only one thing/exception to why he wouldn’t immediately ask out MC, and that is if they’re going through a tough time. If they’re sad, overwhelmed, or anything adjacent, Damon would choose to confess at a time when they’re happier and less troubled.

It’s not that he thinks you’re incapable of being in a relationship during that time, but rather it’s because he loves you that he chooses to wait and would want you to make the choice when your heart is not in trouble.

3. Damon has never gotten anything like that before. He would be very shocked and touched by the gesture. If he found any of the three by accident, he would bring it up to MC, apologize for finding it, and make it clear that he loves it. If possible, he’d ask to keep it and would look over it/listen to the song/read over the words everytime he needed the strength to do something.

4. His favorite is rollie pollies! Well, they don’t actually count as bugs but you could never convince him that they aren’t. 👀 I can already hear the rant he would have. They are also called pill bugs so what up with that?!

Damon is such a sweetheart too, I love the way you portrayed his character this is becoming one of my favourite vns at the moment ⭐️

I had an ask, as a person who LOVES cats and genuinely ends up trying to pet any i see on the streets...(biggest flex i rarely get rejected LOL)

1. How would Damon be around an MC that is genuinely a cat or any type of animal magnet?

2.if MC held a cat for him to pet/feed while in their arms/lap would it make him feel slightly better?

3.if Damon was an animal, what would he be?

And do nor forget to stay hydrated, have a great day!!

Thank you ❤️

1. The moment he figures it out, it would be inevitable before he brought up his issue with animals not liking him and ask MC what their secret was.

2. He would be overjoyed. That is probably the sweetest thing anyone could do. For someone to remember that fact and go out of their way to help him live a moment he’d never otherwise have, he would think about it forever.

Inevitably, it would hang at the back of his mind that the cat is only tolerating him because he has MC with him, but he will take any win over none!

Trust that he will find some way to repay that kindness in the future.

3. A dog! I’ve had a few people tell me Damon reminds them of one, more specifically a golden retriever! ❤️❤️

I think an introduction on Damon is long overdue 👀

You know that Damon has been a friend to MC for 5 months, but how do the two really get to know each other?

It’s seems the only good thing those friends offered was getting a chance to meet Damon. He first starts as a friend of a friend, someone you never heard of until 5 months ago.

The relationship takes its time to solidify. At times, it would be a pretty shaky growth. You’d go periods without speaking to each other but would naturally find your way back when Damon confessed to moving near your city and wondering what the place had to offer.

The two of you went sightseeing— with you being the guide, of course. It was the first time the two of you hung out without your mutual friends and was the first spark that led to more one-on-one hangouts.

Eventually, you saw and spoke to Damon more than any of your friends in a short amount of time. Although you asked everyone to hang out, he was often the one to show up. Little by little, your plans went from constantly being cancelled to adding extra things to do during the day.

This thing you two grew with time and constant care began to become something special.

was he ever fond of sports maybe as a kid or when he was younger?

Damon loved sports as a kid and I’d go to say he would enjoy many of them now in a casual game against friends.

It was always more of a general enjoyment rather than him latching onto anything specific. He often hopped from one sport to another based on whatever sports team asked him to join first that year.

Damon often got scouted by the coaches to join because he looked liked the perfect player and knew that when he was a part of something he tried his best— and that usually equated to him doing well.

They often got the kids already on the team to persuade him to join, in the disguise of being his friend. That tactic had the highest success rate to getting Damon to accept and actually STAY when he felt he had a friend on the team. But this fact is eventually what spoiled his enjoyment of sports once he realized what was going on (it really hurt him as a kid but he would have never admitted it). 😭

Later in his school years, he starts joining non-sports related extracurriculars as a needed break and he never looks back. It definitely threw some people off when it began. ^^

considering we all have seen his muscles from you teasing his future sprites and your sketches, how much can damon carry?

Before and after the apocalypse occurs Damon is able to carry a lot. I don’t have an exact number but it’s more of a matter of endurance.

He can carry MC easily, like if he needed to pick them up if they were tired from a hangout but now, he’s strong enough to carry someone for hours without needing a break.

I’m sad to say AS does not have a discord. I don’t think I could juggle watching over one while I’m working on the story + also having a Tiktok and Tumblr (kudos to the devs who can! ❤️). Since I’m working on my own, I think it would be too much for me to handle.

Love love love your game btw!! (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠)

I’m assuming you mean MC is saying it as a joke?

I was wondering, was there anything that inspired you to make Afterlight Stays? Like shows, games, or movies?

I love the demo so far and can’t wait for more!!

Well, if I’m being truthful, the main reason is a very dumb one… ^^ In general, I wanted to make a VN because the genre as a whole has given me so many great games and stories to learn about.

But what pushed me into the concept of making a zombie visual novel was because of the VN, Don’t Eat the Cashier. There’s a character in the game named David, who at a first glance I thought was a zombie (I was mildly sad that he wasn’t). His route emotionally impacted me and that’s what made me decide that I wanted 1. An emotional VN and 2. A VN about zombies

I don’t fully understand my reason either, but I know that’s where it all began 😭 I’m sorry it’s not the most graceful answer.

However, I will say that I am a lover of The Last of Us and Train to Busan! Two zombie media that are very emotional and have pointed Afterlight Stays in the direction I wish to take it in future updates!

A question! How would Damon react if MC slipped up and was like filming a video and dragged Damon into it and said "my boyfriend" like pre-dating? >:]

Genuinely, I think his mind couldn’t process it while MC is filming. He’d be too shocked to say anything but would go along with the video if he gets caught in the spur of the moment.

As the current game goes, he’s in the headspace that he and MC are friends and he’s yet to be given a reason to think there’s more (if you flirted with him during karaoke, that was the first time lol)

He’s prone to overthinking. I think a pre-dating stage would make Damon go crazy, especially in that scenario.

does damon have any pet peeves?

what's one fear damon has that isn't zombie apocalypse related?

what helps damon calm down after a stressful day?

from his likes, you mentioned that he loves anything free (especially food). does he have a favorite food per chance?

what's his favorite animal, and is there a reason for it?

questions for you astays 🖌️ .ᐟ

considering afterlight stays is your first visual novel. (congratulations!!) have you ever experienced any difficulties when using ren'py?

what's something a fan noticed about AS that made you think, "i can't believe someone caught that?"?

what's your favorite thing about writing damon?

Oh jeez a lot of questions! I’d be happy to answer ^^

1. Damon dislikes not having an answer to something when asked. Even if he doesn’t bother you with the question again, he’ll search it up himself so he knows the answer.

2. The uncertainty of the future.

3. A call! A long conversation with a friend does him a lot of good, especially if it’s been a bad day.

4. Answered here! v

5. Two answers, one is a cat because its his goal to eventually find one that likes him and second, which is a guilty favorite, are bugs 😭 because they are one of the few things that don’t immediately run from him.

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1. All the buttons and visual aspects. I had a specific time where I was trying to configure how to make all the months options where it asks for your birthday to fit on the screen. I was quite frustrated for a while and gave up a few times ☠️

2. I wouldn’t say I couldn’t believe it, because I believe you all would be smart to find certain stuff but someone noticed that on the skintones, the hands have a metal band around their ring finger, and yes it’s reference Damon’s gift for you!

There are more secrets and hinted at things that people have yet to notice or they have noticed and i have no clue about it. Some of it leans towards spoilers so if you do acknowledge it, I’d probably feign ignorance 👀

A month and 10 days in and I was less than prepared to already be celebrating 😭 I haven’t even made an information post to talk about Damon on here.

how long did it take you to finish the prologue for afterlight stays?

The prologue took me around 3-4 months I believe?

I had a lot of free time from February to April so compared to as I am now, it’s not a good frame of reference if anyone is trying to guess when the next update comes out ☠️

How many years old is Damon? Is he younger or older than us?

If he is in university or was, what major did he take?

If MC was a shy type, would he be more protective type or would he be trying to push out them more?

What love language does he have or what type does he feel loved most when he receives?

What mbti type is he?

Of course, I’d love to answer! ^^

1. I’m not specific on it but he’s in his 20s, and because you and his meet through the same friends, you and him are the same age!

2. Damon strikes me as someone who didn’t know what he’d go towards for uni so he remains undeclared for a while. Ultimately, he settles for being a finance major 👀

3. Because of the events that occur in the demo, he’s generally already protective of MC. I think Damon would try his best to gauge what a shy MC would prefer. If they’re content with being reserved, Damon would ultimately respect that but if MC wanted to be more out there, he’d help out where he could.

4. Words of affirmation! For him personally, he feels most loved through physical touch though.

5. I’ve answered this on my Tiktok, His mbti type is Enfp!

If he knew MC’s type, he would search up if the two of you were compatible 👀

If he is compatible:

And if not: