The Radiant Circle

The Radiant Circle is a work-in-progress contemporary fantasy interactive novel with elemental magic, a heavy hand of romance, and a salt-sprinkle of mystery. The story is rated 18+ and may contain triggering content for some.

↪ introduction (updated 7/22/24) ⟢ demo (upcoming fall/winter)

You were born without any magic into a long lineage of sorcerers who serve the Night Circle—a division of the Radiant Circle, the central governing body that maintains order among sorcerers. Even now when you live outside of the magical community, you’re still required to report to the local leadership about the magic you still don’t have.

Of course, only after having accepted a life without magic, you awaken a latent magical power too great to be yours. Myths speak of such a sorcerer, a Resonant Soul capable of mastering all four elements, reincarnated throughout history to bring balance to the magic community. So little is truly known, but that can’t be you.

But what if it is?

Thankfully, as an investigative journalist, what you do best is hunt for the truth. To unravel the secrets of your soul, you’re forced back into the world of sorcery to navigate ancient rivalries and contend with those who may fear your newfound power and seek to bury it for good. 

Because while most didn't believe the myths to be true, others have been preparing for your return. Most of all? You four souls bonded to yours for eternity.

Play as the main character ⟢

Choose your name, appearance, gender, and sexuality.

Develop your personality as a harmonizer or disruptor—will you bring unity or will you bring destruction?

Gain mastery over elemental magic as the Resonant Soul—how much mastery in each element is up to you.

Travel the world while earning or losing influence through your decisions—will your reputation precede you or will you remain unknown?

Five romance options ⟢

Two pansexual men, one lesbian, and two gender-selectable romance options... and a hidden sixth romance option... with the potential for more to unlock later.

Four soulmates who will be revealed over the course of the story—your bonds, whether platonic or romantic, are yours to develop.

And if you don’t like romance, you can improve your friendships instead.

Or if you’re a misanthrope, deteriorate all your relationships to your liking.

Good endings? Check. Bad endings? Also check.

it's october 1! 🫣

i disappeared, but i'm not dead! in fact, i've been writing 💕

since i didn't feel very satisfied with my productivity in august, i decided to focus more on increasing productivity in september. my goal was to write at least 500 words a day everyday.

thankfully, i can say i definitely hit that goal, which means i wrote at least 15,000 words in september. (i wrote more than 500 words most days, but i stopped tracking after i hit that number.)

unfortunately, i also hit a few walls. some walls are easy to scale, and others are so tall that they seem insurmountable. as a writer, coming up against walls is rough. i got stuck (so many times lol), i worked in the wrong direction (and had to throw out thousands of precious words sobs), i created solutions for problems that didn't exist (yet--i firmly believe i will run into these problems and will need these solutions! just later...sometime...eventually...), and then finally i ran into a problem for which i didn't have a satisfying solution.

so that's where i am right now. 😭 since this is my first time writing an interactive story, i'm having to learn new skills along the way. or, in other words, find new solutions. problem is that sometimes a big project like this isn't the best way to learn something new! the struggle's real. but even words that are tossed were still written in the service of practicing, so they're never truly useless words. 😩 sure, it's super demoralizing to do so well writing words only to have to toss them to the side because after having practiced it more, i can see what could work better! but it's also really rewarding to earn that level-up.

it's september 1! 😩

so i said that i planned to continue trying to write an average of 500 words a day for august, but then i spent the first half of the month feeling depressed because living alone is deceptively difficult 😭 so i gave up having a goal to focus on self-care. thankfully, i'm in a much better headspace 💕

so in august i think i added around 2,000 words story-wise (i didn't keep track in an attempt to not feel so bad about a tiny number 🫣), but i also decided to add a major choice into the first plot beat of chapter one and that set me back a little. i also did some coding and moved my draft from gdocs to scrivener for the corkboard and color coding. in the end, the rest of my writing has mostly been spent on exploring the shared backstory between mc and all the ROs.

definitely the most fun i had this month was answering all of the great asks sent to me. i have a few more asks half-answered in my drafts so uh i guess expect more essays, and once i have those finished, i'll answer the newer asks i've got. thank you for sending them in 🥰

(i'm saving the nsfw asks for after demo release, which i'm planning to be the full first chapter. plan is still fall! but probably late fall.)

contemporary

so right now-ish. technology, fashion, media, etc., is all current. but in the story, the world in terms of current events fades into the background because the concerns of a sorcerer are first and foremost with the magical community.

no anon you are not dumb!! 😭😭😭

no one (except me) knows who your soulmates are right now lol they'll reveal themselves slowly to you through the narrative, and there will be some hints along the way.

answering this set about the mc as s/o in particular.

misses the mc easily: rafa, gazi (easily, super easily), deniz

how they act when mc isn't around:

rafa would feel bored without mc around, so he'd end up going through his days in a sense of ennui and he wouldn't care if anyone noticed. in fact, he'd want people to notice how much he missed mc. he'd tell mc that that he misses them. he'd be really responsive over text or quick to answer mc's call, but he'd also give mc room and wouldn't be too nosy. he'd also send voice notes knowing how sexy he sounds...if he can tempt mc into paying attention to him, he absolutely will do that.

gazi would get a little antsy when mc isn't around. they'd check their phone a little more normal to see if they've heard from mc, they'd get lost in their thoughts thinking of what mc's doing, they'd send more random pictures. gazi would ask if it was okay for them to call every night, would ask if mc wants to stay on the phone and fall asleep together (or do other phone activities that don't involve sleeping).

deniz would be more antisocial than usual. because not having mc around reminds them that they actually don't really like being alone when they don't have to be with you there. ...but mc isn't there, so they're just left a feeling of emptiness. outwardly, they'd act pretty indifferent, bury themself in work and acquiring a new temporary hobby or a new niche research interest to the point where others would notice, until mc returned. they wouldn't contact mc more than necessary when mc isn't around but would always confess to missing mc.

césar is entirely too busy to miss anything or anyone. for him, life always moves forward and there's no time to dwell on what--or who--isn't there. but mc is someone who makes him feel less busy, so mc not being around would be something that'd play in the back of his mind. he'd appreciate if mc kept in contact though, like a text will do to know mc's safe or a one minute conversation just to hear mc's voice. but otherwise he'd let mc set the frequency of contact.

dear anon you're not being dumb 💕

first, i wanna say that i was really inspired by the idea of different types of soulmates, and i want to explore what soulmates mean in as many ways as possible… so i've made it really complicated in order to do that 🙃 i'm probably the one being dumb here tbh

i'll write and post more on this at some point for sure, but i wanna get a demo out before writing too much lore/backstory.

for your first question:

simple answer is that mc doesn't need to meet the other four souls. mc doesn't need them at all. i'm not afraid to say mc is OP because mc is OP as fuck. but there's a caveat! all that power is locked up and mc has no way of knowing. the guardians are more likely to uncover their memories of their past, and after that, they usually have motivation to help guide mc toward awakening their magic.

for your second question:

mc bound to the four soulmates separately across hundreds of years, so they reincarnate separately from each other and separately from the mc. their individual souls are now always bound with the mc's soul, and because of that, their souls have a tendency to reincarnate around the same time and around the same place as the mc.

...and for the long answer nobody asked me to write...

the caveat and the more complicated answer is that mc doesn't have any magic and doesn't have their memories from their past lives when born. mc has no way of figuring out that they have magic or that they had any past lives or any soulmates. basically a human, mc has no pathway to becoming the high guardian/head of the radiant circle, let alone remembering they're op. that kinda power has to come with some restriction, and in this case, it's that it has to be unlocked and it's almost impossible for mc to unlock it alone.

on the other hand, the soulmates aren't born with their memories, but they are born with their magic. they're able to become important sorcerers without memories of their past lives, and so they have access to and every opportunity to encounter a way for their memories to unlock. once their memories unlock, it becomes easier for them to recognize the mc's soul even if mc hasn't awakened their magic and memory. they're also usually motivated to help mc awaken their true potential. they're also sometimes against it.

i tried to be more general rather than answer about mc but made a note if there's potential for mc to be their exception. answering the second question first...

believes in love at first sight: gazi

yep just gazi (atp) lmao now for the first question.

out of all of the ROs, gazi is probably the only one who is looking for relationships. they believe in love and want to be in love. they love love. they look for people who are fun to be around, supportive and responsive, and physically affectionate. they look for people they can trust, who can they be completely vulnerable and themself around, who love openly and honestly.

emotionally unavailable #1 césar looks for reliability, dependability. his plans for the night circle include him getting married, having/adopting kids, raising the next night luminary while raising the status of the night circle. if he's going to have a relationship, it likely won't be about love but about realizing his dream and goals. he needs someone at his side who has those dreams and goals as well and can be counted on to walk the path alongside him. if love happens past that, it happens (ofc it will happen with mc).

emotionally unavailable #2 rather than looking for a relationship, rafa tends to chase what's fun, interesting. if he's going to be in a relationship with someone, they'd have to be fun, they'd have to keep his attention and interest. he likes a little mystery. he likes trying to figure out an enigma. in his experience, he usually figures out people pretty fast, and then he gets bored and doesn't let them truly know him. if he falls in love, it'll be with someone who found a way to read him despite all that (and ofc mc knows how).

deniz isn't looking for relationship(s) but hopes that one day they'll find someone who is patient and understanding (or more than one someone, if they're lucky). they know they can get really into their work, that their tunnel vision and hyperfocus might make someone in a relationship with them feel lonely. they need someone who will get that about them and navigate that complexity together. if that means their partner also sees other partners, that's okay with them.

three words are VERY FEW words...👀

césar: challenging, intense, quiet. rafa: flirty, honest, raw. deniz: easy, lowkey, passionate. gazi: comfortable, electric, sweet. (deniz & gazi: adventurous, caring, complex.) noel: delicate, intellectual, demanding.

anon, i must say, this was a hard question lol but i loved taking the time to answer it. i welcome anyone to imagine their voices sounding different than below, but these are the vibes i'm going with while i'm writing.

cesar's voice is low, husky, and tends to be flat. he tends to speak evenly and clearly. when he's mad, he speaks more evenly and clearly, enunciating each word like taking a bite out of it. he speaks faster in spanish but only just noticeably.

rafa's voice is more smooth than it is low, but he has a lot of control over his voice. he's an animated talker, will lower his voice into a ragged tone or go higher when he's really excited while talking. he sounds when speaking spanish.

deniz's voice isn't low but it's definitely not high. there's an ambiguous almost smoker-quality to it. although it wouldn't seem like it, their tone shifts a lot when they're talking; they have a natural rhythm to the way they talk. when they speak turkish, their voice is slightly lower.

gazi's voice is more soft than it is high. it's warm and sultry. the louder they speak, the lower their voice goes. they tend to speak more on the quiet and unhurried side, but when alone with their friends, they can shift into a more fast-talking hoarse new yorker style.

thank you for the ask; this was really fun to think about and i had to think about this one for a few! sorry for taking so long to reply 💕

good at fixing relationships: gazi, rafa (depending on the relationship)

avoid fixing relationships: noel, deniz, rafa (most of the time)

https://gofund.me/198b6d57

One of the highest ranking earth sorcerers in the world, César is seen as the unofficial heir of the current Night Luminary—and he takes the role seriously. As your brother’s best friend, he has been a permanent fixture in your life as far as you remember—another persistent reminder of the magic that has remained inaccessible to you and the community that left you behind. He’s at least an attractive reminder, even if it’s unfortunate that his rare smirk proves that he knows it.

Family name: Pico

Circle: Night Circle

Magic: earth

Birth month: November

Birth place: Tijuana, MX (territory of the Kumeyaay Nation)

Education: bachelor's

Occupation: Archumbricar

Favorite place: desert

Favorite drink: beer

Favorite color: he doesn't have one, but he'll say it's brown if asked

Most prized possession: book collection

Handwriting: somewhat unserious looking, simple print

Always in bag: a book and business related paraphernalia

Family: he has a good relationship with his younger brother Rafa, and his father Alejandro and mother Tarhíata are proud of his influence in the Circle; on the other hand, he doesn't have much love for his uncle Tangaxoan or his cousin Eréndira, but he'd still kill for them

Friends: Arseau is his best friend, and he considers his younger brother Rafa a close friend and his guard Damianos an ally; he's not the type to let others know him well enough to call him a friend, though many might claim the title anyway, and you know he has never and will never consider you a friend

Appearance: amber eyes, dark brown hair in a short buzz cut, never clean-shaven, brown skin with a warm undertone, very tall (somewhere above 193cm/6'4"), muscular, lots of tattoos, wears earrings, usually dresses in a bespoke suit, favorite accessory is a simple necklace

Romance: solo-route (with a possible rivalry with his brother), back-and-forth (borderline love/hate), (possible first love), one of the slower burns

You find César's brooding demeanor and deep sense of duty to be intimidating, but you knew him before he became an Archumbricar—when he was just your brother's best friend who made you laugh when you were sad. Those who look up to him call him a hero, the master of his own destiny. His cards in the Major Arcana are the Emperor and the World.

The younger brother of César....and also his left hand man even though he doesn't take his position within the Night Circle very seriously. He doesn't take anything very seriously except his freedom. Especially his freedom to flirt his way into anyone's good graces.

Family name: Pico

Circle: Night Circle

Magic: fire

Birth month: May

Birth place: Tijuana, MX (territory of the Kumeyaay Nation)

Education: bachelor's

Occupation: High Justicar

Favorite place: the beach at noon on a sunny day

Favorite drink: Mexican Coke

Favorite color: burnt orange

Most prized possession: his collection of nose rings (it's actually his collection of sheet music and instruments, but you keep that secret for him)

Handwriting: slightly more sophisticated than a scribble due to laziness

Always in bag: no bag; he carries a wallet and a pocket knife

Family: he has a good relationship with his older brother César, and his father Alejandro and mother Tarhíata are proud of his influence in the Circle despite his seemingly low-effort nature

Friends: he doesn't consider anyone his best friend, but you are the closest he has to one; otherwise, he's close with his older brother César and Arseau, his brother's best friend; he considers anyone he meets and makes laugh a friend

Appearance: brown eyes, soft curly dark brown-black hair, sometimes has stubble, tan skin with a warm undertone, tall but not as tall as his brother (about 190cm/6'3"), lean, usually dresses in a vaguely skater/surfer/street style, switches between different nose rings but favors septum rings, often with sunglasses

Romance: solo-route (with a possible rivalry with his brother), friends to lovers (but he has always wanted more), slow burn

Rafa’s effortless charm never fails to bring a smile to your face or light up any room, but beneath his playful charisma he carries a deep sense of loneliness and a fear of rejection. His friends call him a charming playboy because of reputation for casual relationships and an explorer because of his desire for freedom in all things. His cards in the Major Arcana are the Fool and the Sun.