Hello again, Power! I love seeing your name pop up in my notifications, like ooh she’s back! 🥹
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, I loved the idea of Ferret being the one who named him and being salty over it, heehee. No lie, I’ve skipped ahead to writing some of the epilogue just because I want those bittersweet moments with her, too!
Thanks again, it’s always a pleasure seeing you here! ❤️
To be honest, I didn’t feel I could write a trans character/MC authentically. The world of Viatica is incredibly restrictive and prohibitive, and notions of individuality, identity, and self expression simply do not exist. Faithfully writing a trans MC in such a setting was a task I didn’t feel equipped to do. This is my first time writing even a nonbinary character. I didn’t want to write it clumsily or in a way that was misrepresentative, so I chose not to include that option.
As far as saves, the game automatically saves your progress to your browser as you play, so you don’t have to do anything! As long as you don’t delete your cache, it’s saved, though it seems to lose the save after I make an update.
Welcome back, Cosmo! Thank you, THANK YOU for this hilarious and wonderful comment! 😂❤️
I’m glad you enjoyed Robin’s scene! I took a lot of care writing and rewriting it and I’m pleased with how it turned out. And I had a lot of fun writing mischievous Heron this chapter!
Hearing that I’ve inspired you is the best compliment! And a D&D campaign?! I am such a D&D nerd, I’d love to see it when it’s done, if you wouldn’t mind sharing. 😁 Thank you, again!
Hahaha, I can’t express enough how much I love this comment! 🥹😂 The fact that you went on a rant over something I wrote is just awesome and you are welcome to rant away! Your whole scenario with Disney World had me laughing!
Fun fact, the journals weren’t a part of the original novella. I conceived of them during the rewrite and they've really grown on me. I’m happy to hear that those characters and their stories resonated with you, too. A lore book would be a neat idea down the line, I honestly never thought about it. As far as setting, I loosely based it in the Sonoran Desert; I say loosely because I didn’t do as much research and homework as I probably should have, but since you guessed the general area I had in mind I guess I didn’t do half bad. 😅
Thank you for the comment, this really made my day! And feel free to reach out to me on tumblr or here!
Hello! There are 6 possible personas and they range from bold and assertive, to passive and meek. They are: Brawler, Pathfinder, Leader, Supporter, Observer, and Follower.
Ah, you’re correct, thanks for catching that! I’ll add it to my list of “things to correct AFTER I've pushed the bloody update live” because I’ve already caught 2 other things myself. 🤦🏻♀️ I swear, it’s the bane of my existence, lol.
As to your second question, it’s a romance choice for Robin since you technically haven’t met Ferret yet, but I can see how that’s confusing. I need to tweak that a bit.
Chapter 12 is the conclusion, yes, but there will also be an epilogue. I may release them together, haven’t decided on that yet. I have a few ideas swirling around in my brain for future projects but nothing concrete. But thank you for asking and for reading Viatica!
Hello! I just updated the game this morning so you may have to restart, I’m sorry. But normally, yes, it will save to the browser. Did you clear your cache, perhaps? That will erase the save. Or it may be because of the update. 🥴
Hello again! I don’t mind the lengthy reply, I enjoy conversing with you all! I highly recommend Anthem. It’s a short read, and you’ll definitely see parallels to this, lol.
Thanks for saying you’ll stick with me despite the saves! 🥹 This IF isn’t terribly long, so the inability to have multiple saves isn’t too bad. But any future ideas will probably be longer and more involved, so a different software would be best.
I have 3 decades worth of experience in writing 😅 but not necessarily in fiction like this. I’ve built a career in Marketing, PR and Communications, which has certainly helped. But said career and family kept me busy, and I haven’t written for myself in a very long time. It’s been a joy and a release to return to it, and I can’t express enough how this reception and encouragement has helped! ❤️
I’m sorry! Believe me, I asked myself the very same question when I was inflicting it on myself! 😭
But I’m happy to hear you loved the characters and that you felt such emotion for them. It means that it hit right, as painful as it was. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment! I appreciate it so much!
My kids want you to know I squealed and broke their eardrums when I read your review 😂
Thank you so much! ❤️ My apologies for chapter 10 but I’m glad to know you connected with the characters and that it hit the way I intended. I promise it gets better!
It’s been a joy writing this and I’m so happy you enjoyed reading it!
This was a great read! You pulled me in from the start, and I really felt the weight of the choices and moral dilemmas. Can’t wait to see what happens next!
Hello again, jujoebee! Love your name, by the way. 😁
By any chance, did you choose "multiple braids" for your hairstyle? I added that option in the last update and just realized I didn't account for it in earlier chapters, one of which is where you first start Lion's route. In that scene Lion either cradles your head or buries his hand in your hair, and I coded it differently depending on your hairstyle. If you had that hairstyle you wouldn't have been able to progress after that. Cause I'm an idiot, lol. I've accounted for that stat now and it will be fixed in the next update! My apologies!
Me: “Kids, go to bed. Mommy needs the computer for smut!”
Whew! That was a fun, steamy romp and I loved every moment of it! I appreciated the character of the MC and how self-sufficient, yet attentive and caring she was. Thank you for this gem!
The game does save to your browser, but Chapbook doesn’t offer a save function, I’m sorry. I may look into Harlowe or Sugarcube for future IFs. But I hope you will replay it as it’s not terribly long, and I hope you enjoy it many times over! Thank you!
The game saves directly to your browser as you play, so as long as you don’t clear your cache, you can pick up where you left off. I go into the save system in more detail in one of my dev logs if you’re curious. Thank you!
Hi! You shouldn’t have a problem, no matter what persona or choices you’re making. Sometimes there’s no word “Next” or choice to make, but the last sentence on the page is in fact the link.
Can you send me a screenshot as an example? And let me know whether you play in light or dark mode. If it’s a matter of the link not being clear, that info will help me troubleshoot and maybe change some fonts. Thank you!
Aww, thank you! It hasn’t been out long so you’re really not that late. I feel I’m late to the world of IFs myself, lol.
I’ve had several people tell me they found me through Scout. I've read Scout and very much enjoyed it! I’m also very impressed with the author for having put forth that story at a time when the world was going to pot and we all needed something good, and I wish I had discovered her story, and IFs in general, back then.
Thank you so much! I only published it a little over 2 months ago, so honestly you’re not really that late! My apologies for the last chapter, I knew it would be a rough one. I’m glad you’re enjoying the interactions; it was important to me that I include meaningful platonic moments, too.
Hello, and thank you! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the story!
I hear you. In all honesty, I didn’t know how to include that option in a way that felt immersive and not awkward. This is my first IF, as well as my first time writing non-binary characters. I wasn’t confident in my ability to portray gender nonconforming characters well, and I didn’t want to misrepresent anything. In my next IF I’ll definitely include more options!
Thank you so much! I know, I felt horrible writing that scene. 😭 But judging from all the comments it sounds like it hit the way it needed to. I’m glad you gave my story a try despite the save functionality. The story does actually save to your browser as you play, but I completely understand the inconvenience of not having multiple save slots. If I ever write a second IF I may explore the other Twine formats.
And I don’t mind the comparison at all, you’re actually right on the nose! When I wrote the original novella I was a big fan of dystopian fiction (still am, who am I kidding), and I was heavily influenced by 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Anthem. Hello to a fellow fan!
Marathoning Lion is never a bad thing. 😉 I’m so glad you’re enjoying the story and characters! I’m really glad you felt them endearing and relatable, especially on the platonic routes. That scene is one of my favorites! ❤️
And I know exactly what you mean about the age and feeling protective of them. I wrote the original novella at 19 and I couldn’t tell the story as well as I would have liked back then. Now I have a maturity in both my writing and experiences, and despite the fact that I’m now twice their age, I think I can write them better because of that.
Thank you so much, that is a wonderful compliment! ❤️ I’m glad my story resonated with you, and also that you saw the hope within it. Despite the harshness of The City and the tragedy in chapter 10, Viatica is ultimately about hope and I’m glad it came through like that. Thank you again!
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for this! ❤️ I am so humbled by and grateful for what you wrote!
Robin is the first non-binary character I’ve written and it was very important to me that they were represented well and with care, so it means so much for you to tell me that! My son, who has gone through his own gender identity journey, actually helped me a lot with Robin’s character.
I’m very glad you wrote this, especially after 20 days. Thank you!
Hello again. Try refreshing the page or clearing your cache. I think you got this error because I uploaded the game in the midst of your playthrough. Sorry for the trouble!
I know it was difficult but that fact that it moved you to tears is a wonderful compliment, thank you! And I’m glad you love Heron. He’s evolved so much from the original concept and I love writing him!
