--The hungry mouth of Bridehall Manor lets out its clarion call. You have been compelled to answer.
CHAPTER 1.5 OUT NOW!
You play as the youngest child of the Simonson family, born out of infidelity-- a perfect Victorian scandal. Due to your unfortunate birth circumstances, your parents have decided to send you away to take up a position as household manager at the remote Bridehall Manor after the previous one's untimely (and altogether strange) passing. You expect your time in the mansion in the Catskills of New York to be uneventful and isolating.
You'd be wrong.
The longer you stay at Bridehall, the more secrets you find hidden behind its mahogany doors, beneath its ornate wallpaper, under its rich hardwood floors, and especially within the denizens of the house themselves.
Just be careful not to drown in the deep, deep black of its shadows.
+ Customize your MC-- what's their attitude towards society? How do they feel about working at Bridehall? What are their thoughts on the supernatural?
+ Also, choose your gender,* interests, personality, name, and more.
+ Discover more about the (troubling) history of Bridehall and the people that have lived in it.
+ Experience the world's most uncomfortable carriage ride.
+ Romance 1 of 5 ROs-- the matriarch, the minister-in-training, the runner-up, the major, or the phantom.
+ Befriend those who live there, or make enemies. Connection is a fragile thing, especially in a place like Bridehall.
+ Blood sacrifices! If you're into that sort of thing.
TW: Gore (not extremely descriptive), mentions of infidelity, violence, brief suggestive content, mentions of animal death, mentions of drug use. This IF is recommended for those 16+
================================================*Disclaimer: Because this IF is inspired by the 1880s, gender roles are still sort of a thing. There is an option to play as femme/masc non-binary, but based on your presentation, that affects how you are treated in society and some additional world aspects. However, there will not be any transphobia/intentional misgendering in this IF. It's just not something I want to write. I'm not non-binary myself, so I'm very open to suggestions on things to change relating to this topic.
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🌑Harriet Margrave -- the matriarch -- (she/her) {FMCs only}
| Assured. Respectable. Intimidating. The wife of Amos Margrave, although she doesn't like it when people bring it up. She runs the house, some might say with an iron fist. She seems to have taken a dangerous liking to you.
| However, beneath her strong, cool exterior, she's not all that she seems-- you catch glimpses of something dark and curious lurking. It's up to you to decide whether it should never see the light of day or, perhaps, to be consumed entirely by it.
| Harriet is in her late 40s, with ash brown hair always kept in a neat, complex updo and deep blue eyes that shift with tones of green in different lights. She has a light but rosy complexion and stands at around 5'7. She tends to wear a lot of black, as if she's in perpetual mourning, although she doesn't mind an occasional blue accent.
"Low and deep
Spake in mine ear her voice: "And didst thou dream,
This could be buried? This could be sleep?
And love be thrall to death! Nay, whatso seem,
Have faith, dear heart; this is the thing that is!"
Thereon I woke, and on my lips her kiss." -- snippet of Assurance (1887) by Emma Lazarus
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🌒Ansel Margrave -- the minister-in-training -- (he/him)
| Flighty. Devout. Gentle. A hopeful future Methodist minister, he's recently been plagued by supernatural visions (or so he says,) and your arrival and the circumstances surrounding it do nothing to calm his worries. You may be able to reassure him otherwise.
| As you get to know him, he may reveal that he has far better reasons to be afraid than you might think. Will you walk with him through his troubles, or leave him to wander the solemn corridors of Bridehall on his own?
| Ansel is in his early 20s, and he looks much like his mother with his ashy brown hair and pale complexion, although due to its lack of rosiness it sometimes borders on ghostly. He'd like to dress more vibrantly but fears reprisal from his clerical peers, thus, he usually sticks to muted greens and browns. He stands at around 5'9, and wears spectacles.
"In solitude profound,
As shadows fall, what memories,
Thick as dew-drops on sun-risen meadows
Troop around thee!" -- snippet of Night In Egypt (1880) by George Vaughan
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🌓Cecil/ia Blumenthal -- the runner-up -- (gender selectable, he/him or she/her)
| Independent. Scrappy. Creative. C's been working at Bridehall for practically their whole life, climbing the ranks until they could finally reach the position of head butler/housekeeper they deserved-- until you came along. In their eyes, you have everything you want on a silver platter, and how much work have you done to get it? None. In short, they've got a real bone to pick with you. Will you play into the feud, or maybe try to change their feelings? Honestly, best of luck on that one.
| Because of how long they've been at Bridehall, C knows more about its history and secrets than they let on. Much, much more.
| C is in their mid-20's, with shiny brown curls that F!C keeps in an artfully rushed bun and M!C keeps just a bit too long. They have coffee-brown eyes and warm, tanned skin dotted with freckles. They stand at 5'6. They prefer to dress for convenience rather than style, but they always wear a tarnished silver brooch in the shape of a bird-- F!C pins it to her collar, while M!C pins it to his lapel.
"I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night.
Til it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine." -- snippet of A Poison Tree (1794) by William Blake
================================================🌔 Marshall Ward -- the major -- (he/they)
| Outgoing. Empathetic. Perfectionist. A new arrival at Bridehall like you, he's an old family friend of the Margraves who plans to stay for the autumn. He's the perfect picture of polite society-- porcelain smiles and impeccable manners. Despite the divide between him as a guest and you as the help, he insists on making a connection with you. One that may be a bit too strong for his own good.
| Now, you don't know much about the military yourself, but it is a bit odd that a non-retired military officer was permitted leave for an entire season, and whenever you ask questions surrounding his arrival, you only get heavy silence in return. It's as if there's a tight wire of secrecy underlying his sunny veneer, and the more you press, the more it's likely to snap.
| Marshall is in his early 30s, with short, coily black hair and an impeccably combed mustache. They have light tan skin and have a small scar running across their cheek, and he stands at 6'2. He is very meticulous in the way he dresses and is particularly fond of red ties with embroidered patterns on them.
"Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred. -- snippet of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1854) by Lord Alfred Tennyson
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🌕Annabelle -- the phantom -- (she/her)
| Mysterious. Quiet. Ethereal. Every so often, out of the corner of your eye or the reflection in a mirror, you catch a glimpse of her. Is she even real, or is she simply a product of your own mind, spiraling ever deeper into instability? Whatever she is, you feel an indescribable, intangible pull to her that may become very hard to resist.
| Annabelle is inextricably linked to the house and its history. If you dig to learn more about her, you may unearth the very roots that Bridehall stands on. Roots that it would very much like to keep underground.
| Annabelle appears to be in her mid-20s, although the semi-translucent, filmy aspect to her makes it a bit hard to tell. She has very dark skin that glitters and shines under moonlight, and she seems to be perpetually wet, as if she had just been thrown in a pond. She wears a pale pink dress a decade or so out of date, and stands at about 5'3.
"For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling-- my darling-- my life and my bride, In her sepulchre there by the sea-- In her tomb by the sounding sea. -- snippet of Annabel Lee (1849) by Edgar Allan Poe
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i can NOT believe you've never received any nsfw alphabet requests for any of your characters, so here i am on my way to change that and ask for a harriet one please and thank you 😋
Very attentive-- always asking the MC if they need something to drink or eat, and how they're feeling. She loves having the cooks make her a little snack board with various sweet and savory treats for her and the MC to enjoy afterwards, if they're amenable.
B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)
Harriet is very proud of her shoulders, she feels like they make her look stately and powerful. On her partner, she’s a sucker for pretty eyes.
C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)
She really hates mess, so she's not fond of getting it anywhere that can't be easily wiped off.
D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
She finds circus performers weirdly hot. She would rather die than admit this.
E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)
Due to her age she’s certainly the most experienced out of the rest of the ROs. She knows how to treat a woman, and she definitely knows what she’s doing in the bedroom.
F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)
Anything where she can be physically above or on top of the MC.
G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)
She’s not deathly serious, but she’s certainly not the kind to laugh during sex.
H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)
This goes for pretty much every character, y’all, it’s the Victorian era, no such thing as a shaven bush here. However she’s not a person who grows a ton of body hair in general, so it’s a modest bush.
I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)
She is certainly passionate, but in a more subdued, quietly powerful way. Big fan of intense eye contact during sex. She likes to feel as connected to the MC as possible, but not in a needy or desperate way.
J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)
She doesn’t do it insanely often, but when she does, she likes to make an event of it. Candles, velvet robe, and a door that stays locked for a good half hour or more.
K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)
Very into being scratched up. She likes having physical reminders of her and the MC's time together.
L = Location (favorite places to do the do)
Anywhere where she knows she won't be interrupted. Specifically, on days when her husband is occupied, his study is a favorite place for her to do horrible things to the MC.
M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)
She loves when the MC gets a little snippy-- any backtalk or disobedience from the MC to her throughout the day is a surefire way to ensure a loooong night.
N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)
Blindfolding or sensory restriction on her is a hard no, she also wouldn’t feel comfortable doing anything voyeuristic.
O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)
She’s definitely a receiver first. She loves nothing more than to stare down at the MC while they work, and to give a little pull on their hair to remind them who’s really in charge. She doesn’t hesitate to give though, and she’s certainly skilled enough to leave the MC quite pleased.
P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)
She's typically very slow and sensual with it, almost agonizingly so.
Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)
She doesn't believe in quickies. If she's gonna have sex, she's gonna do it "right," in her mind.
R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
She knows what she likes, but if the MC has something fun to propose, she’s down to test it out.
S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)
She doesn't come easily. Because of this, she doesn't expect to go multiple rounds herself, but to her, as many times she can make the MC come, the better.
T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)
She owns a few different kinds of toys, and while she doesn't use them extremely often, she would at the MC's request. If any of you know the Victorian treatment for "hysteria," you'll understand what I mean when I say she'd happy to be the doctor in that scenario.
U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
A lot. She will tease the MC until they beg if she pleases.
V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)
She's not very loud, but she is going to be talking to the MC in a sultry tone the whole time. Occasionally she'll let out a dignified, quiet moan.
W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)
It takes her a long time to say the MC's first name during sex. To her, referring to them by their given name is extremely intimate and personal.
X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)
For obvious reasons I can't show anything explicit, but here's a swimsuit model picture that's pretty close:
The only difference is that Harriet has stretch marks on her upper thighs and her shoulders are a bit more squared off.
Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)
Not as high as it used to be, but she's still happy to engage with the MC if they are in the mood and she isn't, as long as they can pay her back when she is.
Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
She rarely sleeps normally, much less after sex. In fact, she feels very productive after, often completing any small tasks she had to do earlier. However, if the MC wants to sleep, she's not opposed to winding down with them.
Hi, Jam! This question is actually coding related, so bear with me, please! I've noticed you code on Harlowe, I believe? That's what I gathered from previous asks.
Do you have any tips? I'm also starting to find my way around Harlowe in order to code a silly little game, and any help would be appreciated. Also, I love your game! <3
Thank you anon!
I'm certainly not an expert coder by any means, but I'll give you as many tips as I can. First, in my experience, once you code something in Harlowe, it can be extremely hard to convert it to other coding styles like Sugarcube or Chapbook. So once you've got it, you kind of have to stick with it.
Harlowe is also more rudimentary than other coding styles, and to be completely honest the guide to using it that is on Twine didn't really help me a lot 😭 Old forums are going to be your best friend in finding extremely specific info on coding stuff.
Lastly, Harlowe relies really heavily on variables as a story mechanic, and as your game progresses and branches off, you'll have a lot of them to deal with. Make sure you have all of them put in a document somewhere where you can keep track of them and what they mean (i didn't do this for a while and it was so extremely confusing don't be like me)
Anyways long post but I hope some of that helped and I hope you enjoy the next chapter 💗
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I really appreciate that the MC's family really seems to care about them (even if they're an absolute social menace) 😅
#OurBastard♡♡♡
Yess thank you! I really wanted to subvert the hated half-sibling trope I’ve seen in lots of media before. Like, why have beef with someone just because your parent decided to be shitty and cheat on your other parent?? It’s not that kid’s fault??
idk if this can be answered without spoilers, but! Is there something you're especially excited to write/for your readers to find out?
Also, will we get to see MCs family in-story? 👀
There's one scene that's a major branching point in the middle-end of the story that I'm SUPER excited for-- seriously it's gonna be a killer scene wink wink 🤭
And yes! I may or may not have said this before but at the end of each chapter the MC will receive a letter from one of their family members :)
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If this helps, dark grey is better on the eyes than pure black ! Or offset white / light grey text so it's not so contrasting !
Ooo I like this idea! Thank you for the suggestion anon, I'll test that out and post a snippet of it later and put it to a poll to see what a broad spectrum of readers think about the grey.
Are there any type of nsfw or regular scenarios/ask that you are uncomfortable with?
Not really-- I wouldn't answer any asks about my personal life, but any questions about the story/characters are on the table! Obviously I wouldn't give any answers that reveal major future plot points though, I have to keep you guys guessing somehow lol.
I haven't been getting as many asks as usual, and I just wanted to remind everyone that they are very much open and I'm ready to answer any questions you guys have about the story/characters :) Also I'm still new to this whole IF thing so a question for all of you-- Would you say it's normal for writers to post non-story canon stuff about their characters without getting asked? Just curious!
Hi! I was wondering if you could add a night mode/dark background to the story on itch? I usually read at night and the white bright background makes my eyes hurt. 😅
Hi, anons! I'm working on an option to switch between the two currently (it's a lot trickier when using Harlowe). It was actually dark mode originally, but I changed it because an anon said the white text on the black background hurt their eyes 😭 That'll be fixed by the next update or probably sooner!
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Oops, I'm a bit late-- I'm not really a holiday person, but here's how I think the RO's would celebrate the late winter holidays:
Harriet is a bit of a scrooge when it comes to Christmas and the like. She thinks all the fanfare is a waste of time. She partakes in the festivities mostly for her family's sake, but she actually does enjoy painting ornaments to put on the tree. She gets a bit teary-eyed seeing the ones her kids made when they were toddlers hung up front and center.
Ansel loves Christmas. Not just for religious reasons, but he adores seeing the house all decorated for the holiday. He also enjoys presenting his rendition of Hark The Herald Angels Sing to his mother for the 5th time, with Phoebe singing the soprano part to accompany him. The only thing he doesn't like is the strong pine smell coming off the tree. He tries not to stand close to it for too long.
C is non-practicing Jewish. Veeeery non-practicing. For them it's an intentional choice-- they've got a... complicated relationship with religion/religious holidays due to their family history. The only winter holiday they celebrate is New Year's, where they and the other downstairs staff have their own little party. They think it's fun to partake in the superstitions of the new year. If you asked them, they'd tell you it's all a farce-- but you'll never catch them wearing old clothes on the 1st for fear of bad luck.
Marshall takes it upon himself to make most of the Christmas dinner at his house-- they believe in taking the load off the staff at their house on holidays. Does it always go well? Absolutely not, most times his parents have to step in to ensure the house doesn't get burned down. His family also always prepares a plate for his brother-- just as a tribute to him, even though he won't be coming home.
Annabelle wasn't the biggest fan of Christmas. She hated the lengthy church services she had to go to, and she always fell asleep during midnight mass. She did enjoy the holiday parties, however-- dressing up with her sisters, dancing with suitors, and the champagne her mother scolded her for indulging in were the only things that got her through the cold dark winter months.
