𝓝𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓰𝓲𝓬 ʜᴏʏᴀ ジ

nearly 200k words 🥲

has a soft lock in (the first lock in infamous!) (but soft?!)

smut

has the most stat dependent dialogue in any chapter

the most plot info ever revealed so far!

The most thorough playtests I’ve ever had to do for a chapter! In the homestretch rn! the surprise drop is right around the corner and im positively buzzing (even if my fingers hurt from playtesting the past 2 weeks)

"No weapons on the premises, so no arrows." "Oh, good." You fake a relieved sigh. "And here I thought you haven't read the house rules. But aren't you too old to be a cherub?"

Yeah I said something similar yesterday but we can NOT let what happened to Renee Good cloud what happened to everyone else at the hands of these SS Demons!!!

The above screenshot reads:

A Black man was killed by ICE (off duty) in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. And like Renee Good, he was an American citizen. But most people have not heard about Keith Porter. I need y'all to realize this. Black people experience this lack of visibility all the time when it comes to being victims. (Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com)

The second screenshot above reads:

Renee Nicole Good wasn't the first killed by ICE... In 2025, ICE murdered: Silverio Villegas Gonzalez Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez Genry Ruiz Guillén Serawit Gezahagn Dejane Maksym Chernyak Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez Brayan Garzón-Rayo Nhon Ngoc Nguyen Marie Ange Blaise Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado Jesus Molina-Veya Johnny Noviello Isidro Pérez Tien Xuan Phan Chaofeng Ge Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas Oscar Rascon Duarte Norlan Guzman-Fuentes Miguel Ángel García Medina Johnny Noviello Santos Banegas Reyes Ismael Ayala-Uribe Norlan Guzman-Fuentes Miguel Ángel García Medina Huabing Xie Leo Cruz-Silva Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh Josué Castro Rivera Gabriel Garcia Aviles Kai Yin Wong Francisco Gaspar-Andrés Pete Sumalo Montejo Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani Jean Wilson Brutus Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir Delvin Francisco Rodriguez Nenko Stanev Gantchev In 2026, ICE has murdered 2 people: Keith Porter [New years eve 2025] Renee Nicole Good -From the ICE_Raids Community on Reddit

And to all of our lovely WWC Followers, particularly those in the United States:

Take care. Take care of each other, your community, yourselves.

Travel in groups and make sure your loved ones know where you are. And absolutely know your rights.

And even in troubled times, try to find a spark of hope, creativity and comfort and hold onto it. For even joy is resistance.

Resources

Immigrant Defense Project

City of Mpls website: Know Your Rights (Minnesota)

For those who can support:

I've included the verified GoFundMe for Keith Porter's daughters.

Keith Porter's family GoFundme

CHAPTER FOUR IS NOW LIVE!

what you can expect in this update:

what the fuck is going on between your RA and that strange violet-eyed boy.

have a sweet moment with M in the evening.

walk down memory lane to 2016, when life was simpler and you still knew W.

finally get your class schedule.

attend professor carstairs’s memorable first lecture.

get ready for the temu version of a bacchanalia.

punch a creep a̴̢̩͖̯̙̅̃̈n̷̞̗͌̚d̴̢͙̱͔͗͑̚͜ ̴̧̳͈͙̯͕̩̗̻͍̒̈́͗̀̊̚͘̚m̶̘̘̭̰̣̙̺̂͌͌̄͠ą̷͈̈́͒͑̔y̸̥̬̜̗͇̖͉͔͆̆̒͘͝b̵̙͔͕̅̂͑̑̒̾̔͠ę̸̡̱͍͈͇̩͙͖̍̈́͆̄̊̅̕ ̵͇̖̠̿e̶͔̙͝v̴̧̡̛̤̝͕̬͙͈̩̝̅̉̃͛͘ȅ̸̛̖̻n̴̢͕̝̲̝̤̠̐͗̉̽̈́̊̃͊̕ ̷̢̧̡͕̜͉͙̖̉͋̎̇͗̍͠e̶͍̹̮̘̻̝̰͔̣͋̀á̷̬͂̎̒̈́̂̉t̶̠̙̖͉̄ ̷͖̗͓̋̃̈̈́̑̎̀̇h̴͍̅̉̋͋̅͋ȋ̴̬͓̔͝m̶̺͇̟̲͈̠͕̲͐͐̏̾͋̋̏͜͠.̴̩̩͚̞̝̱̱̆̃̕̕͠

why tf is everyone acting so strange? pt. 1

better call animal control before a bison kills you.

Ţ̶͙̣͓̲͎́͗Ḩ̵̧̳̺̜̰͛͒ͅË̴͔͍͓͉̹̫̼͚͕̖́̃̌̓́͋̌̑̕ ̷̧̱̭̉̆͒͝͝C̷̲͚̩̈́͂͂̃̀̐̊͑̚Î̴̛̼͇̫̩͒̄̆̓̔̿̍͠R̵̢͖̫͕̊̀̀͆̓̂̍͝ͅC̵̜̥͕̟̪͍̘̠̠̞̽̒̔̋̍L̴͇̇̃̿Ȩ̴͓͉͕̜̻͉̿̐̾ ̵̨͈̞̙̇̓̒̾͜I̴̭̜̫̻̓̆̊̊ͅS̵̨̛̍̆̍͆̍̓͐͘ ̶̨̳̲̈́̃̓͝͠C̴̡̢͍̝̻̃́͛̀̈́͑͌͠͠Ö̶̖̳̼̺̹́͂̂̓̎͗͠͠Ḿ̶̖͕̫̹̘͚̣̀̓͒̕͜͠P̸̢͖̌̾̏̃̾͛̇͘͜L̵̡͕̙̟͈̩͐̈ͅE̷̟̹̖̾͊̂̓͗T̴̙̮̯͚̲͐̉Ȅ̷̼̈́̅͗̓͌͑́͒͝

our beta readers have done an amazing job weeding the errors and bugs out, but if you do find some regardless, simply send it to the bug detectors channel in my discord server, and we’ll be fixing it.

as usual, a huge thank you to my big sib and collaboration partner, @albywritesfiction, for being an absolute beast when it comes to coding whatever bs i end up writing. they were also the reason the demo could be released sooner because of the sheer promptness with which they handled the errors and bugs detected.

and of course, another shoutout to my girlfriend, @timefall-if, who is the reason i was motivated enough to finish chapter four and continue writing after being bogged down by a myriad of issues that prevented me from being productive. i love you, and i hope you like the update as well ♡

Public Build Update: Night VI

All of the content for the original version of Bride of Shadows is now available to play on the public build. You may need to start a new save game as some coding has changed. This update adds an additional 60,000 words of content across six story branches. Some branches are longer than others. This update is only applicable to players playing the public version of Bride of Shadows, patrons have already played this content.

As we'll soon be transitioning to the rework, I've left the option for Heretic players on the NSFW route to see how the pregnancy tailoring feature will work in the Patreon Edition.

[Play Bride of Shadows Interactive Romance]

Rework Coming Soon

This will be the final update for this version of Bride of Shadows. You have until June 14th to play the original content. June 15th will be the public launch of the Bride of Shadows rework. I'll give a brief overview of what it includes.

Updated interface

Streamlined narrative

New personality traits system

New romance system

New language learning system

Integrated codex

Narrative tailoring for a broad range of body types and physical traits

And much more

The public build will contain the Classic story route:

The standard Bride of Shadows storyline. Build a romantic and sexual relationship with Serax and Valdricht, explore Nazralt, conceive a child, and go on a journey of self-discovery. MMF or MFM explicit content available. Ideal for dark fantasy erotic romance enjoyers or dark fantasy-curious readers.

This story route will have a lot of parallels to the original Bride of Shadows story, although with a faster paced narrative that emphasizes early relationship building over the existential angst. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of angst. I'll be posting more about the rework as the release date approaches.

Why rework Bride of Shadows?

Lots of reasons. First and foremost, Bride of Shadows is my first interactive novel and my first experience with programming. I made a lot of rookie mistakes that made the game increasingly difficult to write and code as the narrative progressed, hence why the Prologue and Nights 1-3 took me two months to write and release, whereas Night 5 took a month and Night 6 took two (and 60,000 words) just to get halfway through the overall narrative I wanted to tell for that night.

My original vision for Bride of Shadows was to have an interactive novel with multiple updates each month and I intend to get back to that plan with the new, streamlined story routes. The new routes will offer fewer branching choices, however much more space for personality and romance tailoring within the linear narrative. You can think of it as reading an erotic romance novel where the broad story beats are set, but you design your MC, how she reacts to the plot, and how she interacts with the love interests.

The rework has been written with lots of constructive feedback and guidance from Darksinger & Duskweaver tier patrons, ensuring that the new narratives hit all the right notes for fans of the original Bride of Shadows while not being so cumbersome that the updates take more than two weeks to complete.

If you want to start playing the rework now, the first two nights of the Dark Maiden and Fated Mates routes are available on Patreon. Night II of Classic will be out this evening. There are new updates every week.

Dark Maiden Route - Patreon Exclusive ★ Everything in the classic route, but darker. The choices are limited. Serax and Valdricht will expect the MC's complete submission and do not speak her language. Love looks a lot like Stockholm's syndrome. MMF only. Ideal for veteran dark romance readers.

Fated Mates Route - Patreon Exclusive ★ Contains everything in the classic storyline, but the MC will experience an intense, monogamous mate bond with Valdricht. Serax and Valdricht will not be romantically involved. Your MC can develop a friendship or antagonistic relationship with Serax. MF only. Ideal for dark fantasy aficionados who prefer monogamy.

Aside from the additional routes and early access, the Patreon Edition will have a few extra features such as pregnancy tailoring and in-game alternate POVs. I'll be doing a more comprehensive breakdown when the rework officially launches on June 15th.

Variety/2023

(List Subject to Change as Updates Unfold)

(Gifs created by @austinbutlermischief)

Key:

Pre-Production = ✒️

Filmed = 🎥

Release Date Announced: 📆

Released = ✅️

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Eddington - Also Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone (Director: Ari Aster) 🎥

Caught Stealing - Also Starring: Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Vincent D'Onofrio, Regina King (Director: Darren Aronofsky) 🎥 📆 (Release Date: August 29, 2025)

City On Fire ✒️

American Speed Also Starring: Tom Holland ✒️

The Barrier (Director: Edward Berger) ✒️

American Psycho (Director: Luca ✒️ Guadagnino)

Deep Cuts - Also Starring: Saoirse Ronan (Director: Sean Durkin)

Enemies - Also Starring: Jeremy Allen White (Director: Henry Dunham) ✒️

⌈⌖ the retreat ⌖⌉

⭅ previous chapter

Summary: Following the last chapter Lorena tries to run from Gale, who stands his ground making his feelings and objectives for the future clear.

Pairing: Gale Cleven x Lorena (black fem oc)

Warnings:  Adult content minors DNI

Tropes: Slow Burn, opposites attract, forbidden love

Word Count: ~1.4K

[Bride of Shadows Interactive Novel]

Night V of Bride of Shadows is now available on Itch for your reading pleasure. This update adds 45,000 words of new content and brings the average playthrough to 52,000 words. Some things you can do in Night V:

Take a bath.

Steal a kiss. 

Meet a unicorn.

Learn the true nature of reality.

Night V has five (naturally) unique endings depending on your alignment with The Weaver and which RO you're most bonded with. There are no unbearable cliffhangers. 

Stay tuned for some Night V related polls, a new map, and sneak peeks of Night VI.

[Play Bride of Shadows for Free] [Patreon Edition]

The Patreon for Bride of Shadows is live! All that whinging yesterday and it only took a few hours for them to approve it.

What's in The Nightborn Edition?

Right now, not a lot of extra stuff apart from Night V of the Zealot route. When I started writing Bride of Shadows, my aim was to avoid paywalling the story. I know from experience that there's no better time for romantic escapism than when you don't have money. So instead of clipping Bound/Unbound modes from the free version or stopping it after x amount of nights, I opted to make a version with early releases and fan-chosen extras. Each month, we're going to have polls on things like additional tendencies, story branches, and features that will be exclusive to The Nightborn Edition. Your version will have a lot of extra choices and even a few unique story lines.

I took the liberty of adding one much-requested feature to the new edition, and that is a brand new Bound Mode which has an MFM-poly story line and an optional Valdricht only route*. In this mode, Valdricht and Serax will have a platonic maker/progeny relationship. Starting in Night VI or VII (depending on your route) Bound mode players will be able to choose whether to try to juggle the passions of both ROs, or go deep down the Valdricht rabbit hole. Or you can make two save games and do both.

This Sunday we'll have our first poll relating to some baby stuff and I'll be posting an excerpt. Apart from that, I'll be pretty hands-off for the next few days as I focus on finishing the Heretic Night V route. As soon as that is done and edited, it'll be added to The Nightborn Edition as an early release. Then we'll have some polls that will let you shape Night VI and the upcoming NSFW content. I'm dying to write the NSFW Zealot scenes.

The extra content aside, the Patreon will go a long way toward helping me to write Bride of Shadows full-time, which means more content, more quickly, for everyone.

What if I can't/don't want to subscribe to Patreon?

The Nightborn Edition will be available on Steam once the Bride of Shadows IF is complete. I don't have a date on that, it will be dependent on whether I'll be able to write full-time this year. If there is a subscription service similar to Patreon that works in your country, let me know and I'll see about setting up an account.

For everyone else, the free Bride of Shadows updates will be one week after each Patreon update. They'll still have all the content I'd initially planned, including the NSFW stuff!

I donated on Ko-Fi, can I have a free month?

You sure can! In fact, I've already sent messages to everyone who gave a Ko-Fi donation. You should have a link waiting for you that will give you one or more free months of Darksinger membership, depending on how much you donated. If the value of your free months doesn't meet or exceed the amount of your Ko-Fi donation, let me know because I may have sent you the wrong link. Likewise, if you didn't get a message, let me know. I might still use Ko-Fi in the future, either for alternate memberships or goal funding, but for the time being Patreon isn't as temperamental with payments and NSFW content so I'll be focusing on that.

I am one of the two people who donated on Itch.

First of all, you're wonderful. Second, feel free to message me for a link to a free month of the Patreon or the March Nightborn password if you aren't able to do Patreon.

The Patreon page looks so boring and plain.

I KNOW! But I'm not allowed to make it look pretty until I finish Heretic Night V and the new Elovyr map. It's a rule I made because I know I'll sink at least a full day into making it look fancy. Also, The Nightborn Edition store page is basically identical to the regular game. It's driving me insane, too, but that's gotta wait. Writing always comes first.

Final Note

Please remember that the new edition is a work-in-progress and that the extra content will be added as patrons begin voting on it. Right now, it's very similar to the free version, with only the new Zealot night and some hidden variables. The Heretic route is under construction to make some updates for the new Bound mode and will not be playable until the Heretic Night V update next week.

Thanks for reading and supporting my writing. Even if you aren't able to subscribe to Patreon, I appreciate you just following me, chatting about the story, and sharing it with others who might enjoy it. I am grateful every day to be able to write and share Bride of Shadows with you.

-Mortish

Introducing a Flashback

Through Sensory Triggers A sound, smell, or physical sensation can catapult a character into a memory. Example: The faint scent of jasmine wafted through the open window, pulling her back to her grandmother’s garden. She could almost feel the warm sun on her back as they planted flowers together, her grandmother’s laugh ringing in her ears. Sensory cues are especially effective because they feel immediate and relatable.

Using an Object or Photo Physical items are natural prompts for reminiscing. Example: He picked up the crumpled letter, its edges worn with age. As his eyes scanned the familiar handwriting, the years fell away. He was 16 again, reading those very words for the first time.

Dialogue That Sparks a Memory A conversation can easily lead to a flashback when a particular word or phrase resonates. Example: “You always overthink everything,” she said, laughing. He froze. Those were the exact words his father had thrown at him that night, before slamming the door and leaving for good.

A Character’s Internal Reflection This works well in introspective or emotional scenes. Example: As she stared at the divorce papers, her mind drifted to the first time they’d met.

A Sudden Triggering Event High-emotion events often cause memories to resurface. Example: The screech of tires on asphalt sent a cold shiver down her spine. In a heartbeat, she was back on that icy road, watching headlights careen toward her father’s car.

Dream or Hallucination For a more surreal tone, a dream or hallucination can segue into a flashback. Example: The dream unfolded like a reel of film, showing her the beachside house they’d once called home. She saw herself, small and wide-eyed, chasing the waves as her father’s voice called out in laughter.

Abrupt, Emotional Break For intense moments, an abrupt flashback can mimic a real-life flood of memory. Example: The argument escalated, he slammed his fist on the table. The sound echoed in her ears, morphing into the memory of her father’s hand hitting the dining room table, his voice booming in anger.

Ways to End a Flashback

Tie Back to the Trigger Return to the sensory cue or object that initiated the flashback. Example: The scent of jasmine faded, and she blinked, back in her office. The garden was gone, replaced by the gray walls and the cold glow of her computer screen.

Return to Present Action Use a sharp, present-day event to jolt the character back. Example: “Hey, are you even listening?” Her coworker’s voice snapped her out of the memory. She turned, realizing she’d been staring at the clock for minutes. OR “Are you okay?” His voice cut through the silence, pulling her out of the memory. She nodded quickly, hiding her unease.

Reinforce the Emotional Impact Show how the flashback has affected the character’s current emotions or decisions. Example: The memory left her hands trembling. She wiped her eyes quickly, unwilling to let the tears win this time. She had a meeting to face.

Transition with a Parallel Action Use a seamless flow between the past and present through similar actions or emotions. Example: In the memory, she had dropped the vase, its shattering echoing in the quiet house. Back in the present, her hand hovered over a similar vase on the shelf. She hesitated, her breath shallow, before carefully setting it down as if the past might repeat itself.\

Narrative Reflection Let the character or narrator explicitly acknowledge the memory and its significance. Example: She exhaled, shaking off the memory like dust from an old book. It didn’t matter anymore, she told herself, but her heart still felt heavy.

Step into the tragic and fleeting existence of a Vestal of Dawn—a priestess bound by sacred vows of purity and an unwavering devotion to scripture. But when the sun goddess abandons you, your faith shatters. In your darkest moment, a tempting offer arises. A new covenant. A second chance at life... but at a cost.

You have until winter's end to seduce a dangerous immortal and bear his child—or risk losing everything.

Bride of Shadows is a mature interactive dark fantasy romance available for free on Itch.

Night IV Update

The Zealot route is now available for Night IV. It's fairly similar to the non-intimacy Heretic route, but there is no NSFW option and some different conversations. Give her time, she'll get there.

I've fixed the issue where your Weaver alignment wasn't correctly registering.

I've added popups to the codex as well as a new codex entry for a few of the Elodari gods/goddesses. There are a lot more to list and these are only the teachings the MC was brought up to believe. They may not align with beliefs in other regions or sects.

I've also updated the content warning for more clarity. I worry I've lured in readers who are expecting this to be a different type of story than it is and I hope this will dissuade readers from continuing if they're not comfortable with dark romances, dislike pregnancy romances, and dislike submissive MCs. If that's you, up ahead is a whole minefield of things you will not enjoy. Turn back!

Current Word Count: 101059!!! Average Playthrough: 41,000

We're working our way into novel-length territory for just the first four nights!

[[Play Bride of Shadows]] [[Ko-Fi]]