soulmatesinc-if

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Writing this scene has sorted out so many things in my head about the flow of this update, it's actually wild.

#soulmatesinc if #s powell #mc is going through it

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mc who was enjoying the silence suddenly noticing at wyatt out the corner of their staring at them:

help 😂 someone get them brown contacts asap!!!

#soulmatesinc if #asks

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Presented without context

#soulmatesinc if #a wyatt #skill issue

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Does Nicholas have a crush on MC? is that what Wyatt alludes too when he grins at them? if yes then what does wyatt think of that...

Oh, you picked up on that, fantastic! Nicholas is a big flirt, and under the right circumstances, he takes a particular interest in MC, not in small part because he can sort of sense some ulterior motive, which excites him. It's not a huge crush exactly but it could have grown into one given time. It takes a keen eye to detect a vibe like that, and Wyatt just happens to have it.

They were a bit (begrudgingly) impressed with Nicholas and thought MC was adorable for not noticing it.

if they've been flirting, wyatt lowkey likes it when mc gets attention as long as it's clear that it's not a competition lmao

#soulmatesinc if #asks #a wyatt

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Oh my god why is wyatt so cute

probably because of their teenage dream to become an actor 😅

#soulmatesinc if #asks #a wyatt

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idk if i just rly lack braincells but WHAT was wyatt gonna ask mc at the park ? do you want me to walk you home ?

well…

yes

#soulmatesinc if #asks #a wyatt #well drive rather than walk but the idea is the same

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And since I've been very excited after polishing a few bits of the game, and also in light of some questions I've gotten, here are some brief ramblings about the stats. It's just how the High Performance MC is the star of the company, and then the High Teamwork MC is the darling amongst the coworkers, and the High Ethics MC faces all this exciting tension in the relationships with the cast 😩

#soulmatesinc if #tbd

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Just happy that I finally tended to a scene that was not to my liking and showed restraint by not putting a when I catch you Ricky joke here ↑ ✌

#soulmatesinc if #organizational #no escaping a backrooms joke though!

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Merry Crisis Public release

The latest chapter (27th Dec) is AVAILABLE right now for EVERYONE! :) I'm sorry that it took longer than I thought it would, but I'm so excited to finally share it and can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Crowdsourced playlist | Ko-fi / Support me

Features: 

The lead-up to the Nat surprise (!)

Visit a columbarium with your family (to commemorate your grandparents 👴👵 and relive some childhood memories!) <Flesh out your MC's family life>

OR: Skip the columbarium family trip and have lunch with Qiu (at their workplace 💼; or lunch with Shay (includes an optional boxing 🥊 session and the potential to meet someone dear to them🍲).

Meet Qiu or Shay at a 'winter'-themed  funfair/carnival in the evening (or save it for a future Nat date)🧸🎄🍻 <win stuffed animals, drink mulled wine, sit on the lawn and... experience... snow(?)>

Bonus scenes at night if you choose not to go to the funfair (e.g. board games with Joony, write a song if you're a musician etc.) 

Wordcount: 67k (this brings the total wordcount to ~220k words!)

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :)

And as always, a big thank you to all my beta-testers and ko-fi supporters and everyone who has continued to play and leave lovely messages <3

#even more games #oh here we go

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In the corridors of power, whispers echo louder than the truth.

Working for Sterling Dynamics sounds like a great idea, with the constantly rising stocks and the glorifying public opinion. Having the ear of the current boss is just the cherry on top.

But, of course, nothing is as good as it seems.

Your boss (and friend) goes missing, in the middle of the day, a news that reaches the public before it reaches you. If that wasn't bad enough, his absence has made you acutely aware just how many people hated you within the company. And to top it all off, his brother is making a play for the throne.

You definitely don't get paid enough for this.

Choose your name, gender, and appearance.

Customize your character's personality and past- decide how you got where you are.

Make choices that affect the plot, other characters, and the company!

Manage the company in your friend's absence. Or try to, at least.

Romance one of four characters- your friend, your boss, your ex, or the investigator!

Bennett Sterling [He/Him]

Your boss. Uptight and professional to the end. Everyone insists he is a robot, and honestly, some days you really do believe it. Other days, you think you can see behind the mask, see who he actually is- someone who has no idea who they are supposed to be.

Samuel/Samantha Wallace [He/Him or She/Her]

Your best friend. Quite possibly the only sane person in this entire company. Charming, quirky and sarcastic- you get on like a house on fire. You've been with each other for as long as you can remember, always half wrapped up in the other. So why does it seem like they're pulling away?

Aster/Esther King [He/Him or She/Her]

Your ex. You haven't talked to each other for more than half a decade, now, for which the fault lies mostly on their shoulders. You made promises to stay friends and keep in touch when you broke up, but neither of you spared a thought to the other after the 'amicable' breakup. That's what you choose to believe, anyway.

Dorothy Williams [She/Her]

The investigator. You don't know each other that well just yet, unless to five background checks you ordered on her count. She seems nice, professional, and calm. Hired by Bennett's family, you don't exactly get a say in her being there, but her personality makes it easy to forget she hasn't always been a part of your group.

CHARACTER PROFILES!

DEMO out now!

#even more games #woo this was a fun read #tired [in corporate]

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Hey! Just wanted to say, I love this IF. There are such different choices provided, and I like that you can tackle problems from two completely different ends.

That must make coding difficult for you, though, or at least longer, since you have to write what are essentially two different chapters for one, and then change flavour text later on accordingly. How do you plan this? Is there a process, or do you just decide as your write?

Ah, my turmoil has paid off, I see! 😅 (I kid, I kid)

There is actually a process, albeit a tad chaotic one. First, there is an idea, a fun setting to thrust the player in (e.g. playing a video game in the office). Then I outline who the souls to be matched are and what is at the core of this pairing, then jot down what will be tackled alongside with regards to MC and other cast members. Then I start listing the ways a pairing like that can be brought in the vicinity of each other and sift through it to see which ideas lend themselves to fun playthroughs in terms of using powers and interacting with other characters. You're right that it is quite a bit of work, but it is also fun to twist the plot and lean into all kinds of whacky and emotionally charged scenarios 😏

Thank you for such a curious question, anon!

#soulmatesinc if #asks

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I love this IF so much its so cozy like a warm bath in terms of premise and gameplay, although based on how I can't predict at all how things will go I feel like it might get nerve wracking soon as the other ROs come into play. Im so seriously looking forward to the update, your work is amazing and this game has so much potential I can see myself replaying it till I get every route and convo iteration :)

Thank you, that's such a lovely sentiment! The story is definitely winding up around MC but maybe it is a consolation that they will still be doing their job matchmaking anyway and even bringing the ROs alongside on the respective outings? yes, even romero

#soulmatesinc if #asks #someone better try doing the video game character creation run without wyatt #cause it holds one of the game's most elite (read silly) jokes so far

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ngl, because I’m playing with a m!wyatt i keep assuming his first name is wyatt and going ‘who tf is this andrew dude????’

this was in my inbox for a bit but I just find it so funny 😅 Wyatt is the character most particular about the allowed forms of their first name, so calling them Wyatt is just the safest option for the uninitiated

#soulmatesinc if #asks #a wyatt

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Progress update

I emerge victorious at the finish line of a (self-imposed) work certification and can finally ramp up the work on the update. The silver lining: during the time of manual scouring I was thinking of the game like a sailor ashore thinks of the sea and that tide of inspiration led me to resolve not one but two scenes in a much more fun (<-contested) way than I planned originally. Romero got a power-up as a result of it, too, and boy will that be interesting for our MC 🙂

Thank you for reading!

#soulmatesinc if #organizational

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i don't know if you've watched la la land, but i've been obsessed with associating 'a lovely night' (great song if you haven't listened to it) with a funny scene of wyatt maybe walking the mc home after work or something, and they decide to be a little cheeky shit about it (like they are with everything else lmao) ,,,,, something about the whole tone of the song and it's teasing undertones just screams wyatt to me 😭😭

I'm not a musical gal myself but I just watched it on youtube, anon, and I'm vibing with it! Wyatt is definitely the type of person to try something corny if a mood strikes them, and they have just the charm and empathy (lmao) to pull it off. They also gladly go along with MC-initiated tomfoolery 😄

#soulmatesinc if #asks #a wyatt

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✶ INTERACTIVE FICTION RECS ✶

✶ Project Hadea - @nyehilismwriting (wip)

✶ The Exile - @exilethegame (wip)

✶ Vendetta - @vendetta-if (wip)

✶ When Twilight Strikes - @evertidings (wip)

✶ The Northern Passage - @northern-passage (wip)

✶ Merry Crisis - @merrycrisis-if (wip)

✶ Diaspora - @diasporatheblog (wip)

✶ Infamous - @infamous-if (wip)

✶ Fields of Asphodel - @chrysanthemumgames (wip)

✶ Eyes of Shan - @eyesofshan-if (wip)

✶ A Comedy of Manors - @sviyaginthegreat (wip)

✶ Wolf Set Free - @wolfsetfree-if (wip)

✶ Honor Amongst Thieves - @leoneliterary (wip)

✶ Thicker Than - @barbwritesstuff (wip)

✶ Soulmates Inc. - @soulmatesinc-if (wip)

✶ Crown of Ashes and Flames - @coeluvr (wip)

✶ Virtue's End - @virtues-end (wip)

✶ You Live and Fern - @beetlebethwrites (wip)

✶ Attollo - @attollogame (wip)

✶ Wayfarer - @idrellegames (wip)

✶ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - An affair of the heart - @doriana-gray-games (wip)

✶ Superstitions 1, 2 - @13leaguestories

✶ Seven Days in Purgatory (I don't think this one is ever getting finished, but it has a special place in my heart)

⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣ ✶

VN'S

✶ A Date with Death - @twoandahalfstudios

✶ 14 Days With You - @14dayswithyou (wip)

✶ Blooming Panic - @robobarbie

✶ ERROR143

✶ The Good People - @moiraimyths (wip)

✶ Our Life: Beginnings & Always - @gb-patch

✶ Our Life: Now & Forever - @gb-patch (wip)

⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣ ✶

#even more games #thank you! glad you're enjoying the game #a wonderful list here!

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this may me kind of a spoilery ask so please feel free to ignore but if it's okay: we have a general idea about how most of the ROs feel about soulmates (I don't think it was hinted what Sam thinks about them) but will their view of it change trough the story? And will that depend on if they're romanced by the MC or trough our choices in the story? Or do they have a "set characther arc" they will go trough because of the story events?

Well, Sam doesn't think about soulmates at all, so in a way, they are the most open-minded of the bunch! But in general, each RO views the subject at their own angle and under different plot circumstances. All three are affected by the soulmate concept, and that plays into our exploration of the topic to different degrees: is it even real, to what point can this system dictate our affection? What are soul-links? Yes, the choice to romance either of the ROs impacts their view but they have predispositions, sometimes (Romero) quite firm ones. Still, your interactions with the souls influence their position as well regardless of the romance. You can agree to disagree, too!

#soulmatesinc if #asks