Muddled Thoughts of Someone Who Loves Fiction

It's been quite a while since I last released a public demo update for The Eternal Library. I wanted to wait until I had enough new material to make it worth your while, and I'm happy to report it's finally time!

This update gives you access to the story up through chapter six, which includes approximately 38,000 words of new material. Current word counts are as follows:

Public Demo: 218k Patreon Demo: 245k

Play The Eternal Library Public Demo on CoGDemos!

If you want access to the first half of chapter seven, which is approximately 27,000 words more, you can become a Patreon member and get instant access. Chapter seven is juicy and wonderful, and it might be a while before it's available to the public demo.

That said, this free public update carries a lot of weight on its own and I'm thrilled for you to read it!

I've been writing this WIP a bit slower than my previous projects. It's so nice to go at my own pace, chipping away at it without stressing over deadlines. My work-life balance is wonderful and it makes me enjoy the story that much more. I'm not rushing through nor sacrificing time I should be spending with family. Though this means it takes longer to complete each chapter, it's well worth it to avoid burnout and maintain my love of this story!

New material includes:

Prince Kedrick's return, with Dorian and his team (which might include the MC).

Time with Gemma, Marienna, Collin, Dorian, or Sevitas, depending on the RO.

The return of Prince La'rast.

A very happy Princess Khanna.

Diplomatic strategy.

A chance to help Prince Collin win over the court.

A fiasco at a feast.

Court intrigue.

And much more!

As always, please let me know if you find typos, bugs, or continuity errors. I do an editing pass but don't have time to play through the game every time I update, so I absolutely appreciate knowing if I've missed something or messed up. You can report errors here or on the CoG forum.

Play The Eternal Library Public Demo for FREE!

I hope you enjoy the demo update! ☺️

If you know anyone who might enjoy it, please share this with them! 👑

Thanks so much for following along as I write The Eternal Library! 🙌

🌺 Leia 🌺

This chapter adds another 45k words of content, bringing the grand total to 230k words.

I can’t express how excited I am to be releasing this chapter! Not only does it feel like the culmination of my original concept, but also a brand new beginning. ❤️

As previously mentioned, there’s going to be a longer period between this and chapter 7. The next two months will be a struggle for me, and I’m happy to be able to share this chapter with you now. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I can finally release all the asks I’ve been holding onto, lol. I won’t discuss big spoilers for a few days, but some of the asks may give hints. Be sure to mute the tag #chapter 6 spoilers if you want absolutely no hints.

Without further ado…

Hey… um… it's done.

Hi everyone! I mentioned before that the chapters are geting too big for me to be beta testing all by myself. With Chapter 4-2 in it's final strentch, I would like to start looking for some testers.

I'll be looking for a handful of people to cover as many different branches as possible. Ideally between 6 and 10. You don't need to have any pior experience, but you will need a COG Forum account (or be willing to make one) as that is where I'll be conducting the beta test. I am primarily looking for people to help catch bugs and continuity errors, as well as provide stat information for balancing purposes, but of course typo/grammer reports are always welcome. There are also some specific scenes and paths that I will need tested, so I may ask people to test wih specific variables/choices.

Below is a form to apply. Most of the questions are simply some basic questions about what routes you play. None of the answers will disqualify you from testing. It's just a way for me to select testers that will cover a variety of different paths.

The form will be open for one week, (Until April 10th) at which point I will be contacting everyone who gets selected. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

"Some people carry the sword. Some carry the shield. Some change the course of history with these. But you... You might be the first to change everything with only words and a drink in your hand."

That's it, everyone, we can call a date.

Next Thursday, March 19th, the overhauled, updated TBOTA is coming out!

With almost 200,000 words of additional content.

A whole new main plotline.

New spirit gifts, overhauled romance system, random patron encounters, a personality system of 30 traits, and so much more.

I'll go into all of it properly in the release post, but OMFG, we are finally here.

Spending the next week finishing the last file and doing thorough playtests, and then that's it :)

Thank you for your patience.

DEMO

Update Wordcount: 87,699 words Total Wordcount: 422,981 words

Howdy, everyone! Part one of Chapter 4 is (finally) here!! In a very real way this is the calm before the storm. Part 2 (which will add another. um. roughly 135k words) should be along in the coming weeks, after a short break to rest my brain from today <3 Thank you, as always, for your patience, and I hope you enjoy!

In this update, you can:

Attend a party!

Play beanbags!

Meet loads of new friends!

Talk to your (less-than-a-week-old) friends!

Sneak away for a private moment!

Very few content warning updates for this part of the chapter; but the few that have been added can be found here. There is a character builder that should be up to date, for those who don't want to replay the entire game to get to the new content.

​Night IV of Bride of Shadows is now available to play on Itch! This update actually includes the second half of Night III in addition to Night IV, adding around 30,000 fresh, hot words of gameplay. Enjoy some banter with Serax and intimate moments with Valdricht, all while delving deeper into the mysterious world in your dreams.

[Play for Free on Itch] [Follow on Patreon]

Bride of Shadows is a text-based interactive novel and a WIP. There are four chapters available on the public build, with around 60,000 words of content. It is a dark fantasy for adult readers who enjoy story rich tales and toxic males. Please mind the content warnings.

Housekeeping

It's way past my bedtime. Here is some stuff mostly for patrons who see this before my posts tomorrow:

Shadewalker Edition is updated! I'll be making an alternate link this weekend for users who need it.

Fated Mates excerpt will be posted tomorrow evening. When I was writing my schedule I kinda forgot I had a whole chapter launch scheduled for today, and I haven't had time to transcribe and edit the excerpt yet. I've added a cool fork wherein even if you asked Valdricht to marry you, you can still let him debauch you in the morning. Just don't expect him to be rushing you the the altar, you degenerate.

I'll be posting some longform excerpts of Dark Maiden and Fated Mates to Patreon next week. These will be free for followers to give everyone an idea of what the Dark Maiden and Fated Mates routes are like.

The sexy content in the public build update is time sensitive. Next week I will be transitioning Bride of Shadows to Mature, a step down from Adult. This means that explicit encounters will become fade-to-black, however sensual scenes will remain intact. I don't think I'll have to change any of the language or violence levels, but I'll double check with the guidelines and let you guys know.

Note, this is only for the public build, Patreon versions aren't affected by this. Once the changes are made, UK players should be able to access Bride of Shadows on Itch again. Users can play the uncensored version of Night IV on Itch until February 9th.

Odysseus: Regret it why?

Cassandra: You won’t believe me if I tell you. If I prophecy, nobody believes me. That is my curse.

Odysseus: … I’m Nobody. Fill me in. 

*A couple of months later* 

Odysseus: HELLO PENELOPE, I AM HERE PRECISELY ON TIME AND NOT YEARS LATE incidentally I rescued and adopted a Trojan seer while I was away, she’s great, got me home really fast, Cassandra this is your new mother who’s not going to treat you like shit. 

Penelope: … I’m going to need more details, but okay, sure. 

Do you love love? Does your OC feel the same? Look no further for an excuse to talk about everything romance! Plus there's a few about aromanticism in there! I tried to make the questions applicable to most relationships, but you want something a bit more poly-focused, here’s a link to my polycule dynamics game. Remember to send an ask to the person you reblog it from to make sure everyone gets to play!

😍Do they like romance? Have they always hated the idea, or are they a swooning hopeless romantic?

❤️How do they feel about the concept of “love”? What does it mean to them?

❓Have they ever questioned the idea of what “love” is? Where did it lead them?

💞How many times have they been in love?

💭What’s their most formative memory about love or romance? It can be good or bad.

💖What’s the easiest part of love for them?

🖤What’s the hardest part of love for them?

💝What do they want the most from a romantic relationship? Is it what they need?

👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨Do they prefer a steady partnership or casual dating? Neither?

🥰Who are they in love with right now, if anyone?

🔥Who was their first love? How did it turn out?

💋How romantic do they expect their partner(s) to be in a relationship? Is it a deal-breaker if expectations aren’t met?

💓How romantic are they in a relationship? Does it depend on the partner, or are they moon-eyed with anyone?

💌Which “traditionally romantic” acts (love poetry, flowers, etc.) do they love the most? Would they rather receive this kind of affection, or give it to someone else?

💐Which “traditionally romantic” acts (love poetry, flowers, etc.) do they hate more than anything? When it’s directed at them, or when they’re expected to give it to others?

💟What is the dating culture in their society like? Do they participate in it?

💯What’s their idea of a perfect date?

⏳Have they ever tried speed-dating? How did it go?

📱Have they ever tried dating apps? How did it go?

💍Are they expected by their society to date and/or marry? How do they feel about it?

💜Do they have a “type” of person they tend to date?

📃Do they have high standards about who they date? Low standards?

🧀What’s their cheesiest romantic fantasy? Do they want to recreate it in real life?

💘Do they often “make the first move” when it comes to love? Or are they waiting for the object(s) of their affection to pick up the hints they’re dropping?

📢Are they able to confess romantic feelings easily, or do they clam up at the mere prospect?

💦Is it super obvious when they have feelings for someone, or are they a master at hiding it?

💗What’s the longest amount of time they’ve ever pined after someone?

🤍Have they ever been on either side of an “unrequited love” situation? How did it turn out?

🏃‍♂️Is anybody their “one that got away”? Have they ever “gotten away” from someone else?

💔Have they ever had to break up with someone? Why?

🔂Have they ever broken up and then gotten back together with the same person? How many times? Did it work out in the end?

❌Have they ever been rejected after a confession of love? How did they handle it?

🚫Have they ever had to reject someone else’s feelings? How did it go?

🤏Have they ever had a romantic interest “stolen” before? Have they ever made a move on someone they knew a friend was interested in?

🤔Do they consider “having a crush” and “being in love” different things? Where’s the line?

🤥Have they ever lied to make a relationship more viable? Did it end well, or blow up in their face?

😳Have they ever been broken up with in a situation where it was kiiinda their fault? What was the issue?

🍨What are their methods for getting over a break-up?

🐸Do they tend to jump from one relationship to the next, quickly entering another as soon as the previous one ends? Why?

💡Have they ever been in love with the idea of someone instead of the actual person? What was the aftermath?

💛How important is being in a relationship to them?

📅Have they ever stayed in a relationship long past its expiration date? Why?

💥Did any of their relationships end catastrophically? What happened?

🤝Are they still friends with any of their ex-partners?

😲Have they ever been cheated on before? What happened?

👺Have they ever been the cheater? Were they ever found out?

1️⃣How do they feel about the concept of finding “The One”? Is it an aspiration or something they roll their eyes at?

👀How do they feel about the concept of “love at first sight”? Do they believe in it?

😨Do they have any “taboo” or unpopular opinions about love or romance?

💚Are they aromantic? Have they considered it?

✋Are they loveless? [for an aromantic perspective on lovelessness check out this essay]

💙Have they ever been in a queer-platonic relationship? Would they consider it?

💕Where do they draw the line between friendship and romance, if at all?

✊Do they practice relationship anarchy? [for more information about relationship anarchy, check out this guide]

🔢Are they polyamorous? Have they considered it?

💫How would they feel if, in a monogamous relationship, their partner asked them to try polyamory?

🗂️Do they have a hard time separating their romantic feelings from other kinds of love? Which ones?

⁉️Do they often feel like they’re “doing love wrong” in their relationships? Anything specific?

📈Do they often prioritize romance and love in their life? To the detriment of other relationships?

😡Are they a jealous partner?

👥Are they jealous of any of their friends’ or family members’ relationships?

😥Are they often left behind in love? Were they single and watching all their friends get married?

🤷‍♂️Would they be happy without romantic love in their life?

🚒How important is physical attraction to their romantic relationships?

👯‍♂️Are sex and romance conflated in their culture? How does this impact them?

🥴How often do they expect sex in a romantic relationship? Is it a deal-breaker if expectations aren’t met?

🙅‍♂️How would they feel about being in a sexless relationship?

👫Have they ever been in love with someone who was already in a relationship? How did it turn out?

📚Do they like romance as a genre? In books, movies, games, etc.?

✅Do they have a relationship they can look up to as a positive example of romantic love?

👎Do they have a relationship that’s a perfect example of “what not to do” in their life?

🤕What are their “hang-ups” or insecurities about love and romance?

👄Are they an effective communicator in their relationships?

🦸‍♂️Have they ever played match-maker with their friends or loved ones? How did it go?

🧐Have they ever been “match-made” by someone else? How did it go?

💒Is marriage an important consideration for them? Out of choice, necessity, social pressure?

👰Is marrying for love a rarity in their culture, or commonplace?

💎Would they want to propose to someone, or be proposed to?

🎉Do they want a huge showy proposal, or something more private?

🎁What’s their ideal wedding, on a scale of “courthouse wedding with 5 people maximum” to “100+ guests, massive ceremony, all-night reception”?

👗What sorts of clothes do married couples wear in their culture? Do they plan on wearing the traditional clothes, or doing something different?

🔓Have they ever had to break off an engagement? Why?

🏆What kind of love is prioritized in their society? Does it impact how they’re able to love?

🌹What’s considered “romantic” in their society? How does that impact their relationships?

👪How has their family influenced their ideas of romance and love?

🙋‍♀️How have their friends influenced their ideas of romance and love?

⛪How has their religion or faith influenced their ideas of romance and love?

🗺️What are some cultural customs surrounding love and romance that they practice?

👑Does their culture have any formal courting customs? Have they been taught how to properly court?

💄Are people pressured to fit a specific beauty standard in order to be “romantically viable”? How has this impacted their love life?

🙄Have they ever dated someone for their family’s sake? How did it go?

🤨Have they ever “pity dated” someone? Have they ever been “pity dated” by someone else?

🥣How does their culture view a “serial dater,” or someone who refuses to settle down?

➕Do they care about people’s “body count,” or how many relationships they’ve been in?

👶Would they ever be in a relationship with someone who already had children?

🤱If they ever ended up single with children, how would they feel about entering a new relationship?

🌑Would they date a widow? Would they date again if they were ever widowed?

✏️If they had the chance to erase one past romantic mistake, what would it be?

🩹Do they often give romantic advice to their friends or family? Is it good advice?