The Patreon Demo Has Been Updated With Over 40k Words.

spending the entire day writing one paragraph

The person I reblogged this from deserves to be happy

I tried to scroll past this. I really did

I appreciate the behind-the-scenes we get into your worldbuilding. It's fun getting to learn random history trivia that must've come from hours of research and Wikipedia rabbit holing, and you seem to be enjoying yourself. Thanks for all the work you put into the game, it really shows!

Awww! Thank you so much!

To be honest, a daily occurrence I have with my friends and family is me bouncing into a room and starting with the line:

'Pub quiz fact for you, did you know...'

The nice thing now is that I have a whole bunch of folks other than my long-suffering nearest and dearest to plague with random bits of antiquated trivia!

For example:

In a textual sources sense it is believed by some that the Werewolf is a largely French originating creature. They had some rather terrifying problems with wolf attacks throughout their history, and this is reflected in their folklore. See the Beast of Gévaudan for a good example.

It's stated in the Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore that:

'Although Gervase of Tilbury wrote in 1211 that werewolves were common throughout England, the examples he then gave are all French'.

However, while I was off looking up two entirely different creatures, namely one 'Raw Head' and one 'Bloody Bones', I came across this extract from around 1550:

Or put a difference betwene their Grādmothers tale of Bloudy bone, Raw head, Bloudelesse and Ware woulf, and the Churches Doctrine of Hell and the Deuill.

John Rastell - A treatise intitled, Beware of M.Iewel. Vol 3

I definitely want to find out more about Bloodless whatever they may be, and interesting that Rastell uses the Werewolf in a similar context of Grandmother's tales as very English figures of Raw Head and Bloody Bones. Does imply, though certainly not in any way prove, that there might be more of a werewolf tradition here than previously suspected.

Heart of Battle is out now!

Battle for love as a gladiator in this epic romance of swords and sandals!

Heart of Battle is a 255,000-word interactive gladiator romance by Fay Ikin, where your choices control the story. It’s entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

As a prisoner of Coritan City, you had two options: rot in a dungeon or battle in the gladiatorial arena. You chose to fight—and as a star gladiator, you have the power to sway public opinion as nobody else does.

The city is divided, ruled by the glittering Illustrious who use their wealth and status to maintain their power over the struggling masses. A lucky few have access to magic as well: it can be used to heal, but it can also be used as a weapon, or to reinforce the bars of prisons.

Below them, rumors of revolution simmer—and nowhere more strongly than among the gladiators. Former soldiers, political prisoners, and prisoners of war now bide their time, plotting to rise up. Some just hope to escape to their own freedom; others want to bring down the entire oppressive system. Yet others seek to work within the hierarchy, currying favor among the Illustrious in the hopes of having their freedom bought by a wealthy patron.

In this treacherous web of alliances that you must navigate, the one certainty is your own heart. Will you find love with a gentle healer, haunted by a tragic past? A wealthy patron who could promise you a life of luxury? Or even one of your fellow gladiators, whose muscles and martial skill you admire through every battle: a fervent ex-revolutionary now condemned to the same servitude as you, or a bold daring warrior who seeks fame and glory.

What skills will you bring to the battlefield: domineering strength, agile cunning or force of personality? Will you accept your fate and build a reputation as a respectable, honorable fighter, relying on the aristocrats to free you? Or will you throw in with the rebels? Victory can mean a better life for you and your beloved—but what will you do if you find yourself on the opposite side of a gladiatorial match from the one you love? Or on the opposite side of a revolution?

Play as male, female, or non-binary; trans or cis; gay, straight, bi, demisexual, asexual, or aromantic.

Romance a gentle healer; a glory-hound gladiator; a wealthy patron; or an ex-revolutionary.

Choose your weapon: fight with sword, mace, bow, daggers, or bladed gauntlet.

Negotiate your way through relationships with your superiors, walk the balance of power between gladiators and guards, and clash with a bitter rival.

Win battles with honor, or scheme and cheat to take down your enemies.

Incite a riot—or even a revolution!

hi hi!! i hope everyone has had a wonderful last couple of days of the year. i’ve seen so much growth and love for this project over the past couple of months so as a gift to all of you, i’ve written a new year’s eve special that will release publicly january 7, 2023 (before noon EST). it is already up for those on the midnight tier on patreon and will be released sometime on sunday for the twilight tier. only those in those tiers will have access to page until the story is released for the public. 

WHAT TO EXPECT.

soft moments with each of the ros, platonic and romantic available

a chance to see what the gang is up to outside of chaotic caine business

less bickering between A and Blane than usual (you won’t believe me until you see it i’m sure)

overall tooth-rotting fluff

thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me this year. it’s unimaginable how much support this story has gotten and the positive reception it’s received. never did i ever think something like this would be possible. i hope you enjoy the short when it comes out <33

Yes. this is amazing.

Me n the girls sitting upon the shattered corpse of a false god

Apartment 502 is a 18+ slice-of-life romantic drama inspired by shows like New Girl and Friends.

Content warnings include: explicit language, sexual themes, substance use, violence.

Moving from your small home town to New York City was supposed to be a dream. You were supposed to start your new life with your long-distance partner and dive headfirst into full-on adulthood. Everything was supposed to be perfect. How can you not love being in your mid-twenties in the Big Apple?

That is until your put-together, white collar partner dumps you the same day you arrive.

Fun.

Essentially homeless and and determined to make the life you dreamed of, you take a last-minute offer to move into the spare bedroom in Apartment 502. Now, you're twenty-five and living with three other longtime best friends with their own drama and messy interpersonal relationships. Parties, late-night pizza runs, drama, fights, heartbreak, betrayals...maybe the life you want won't be as easy as you first thought.

Will you find romance in the city that never sleeps?

**Apartment 502 is a romance, angst, and drama-centered story **

design your mc from clothing style to appearance to pronouns, gender identity, name, looks, and more.

choose 1 of 5 jobs that grant you different scenes and different people: (artist/musician, news anchor, writer, teacher, bartender )

curate your MCs personality and how they react to all the hijinks Apt. 502 has to offer, especially the drama that ensues. Style your MC's room and their aesthetic style.

navigate angsty and dark dramas that weave your roommates in a a narrative that can either save their friendship, or break them apart.

engage in a romance with 1 of 6 characters: one of your roommates, your ex, your neighbor or work rival.

Ruin relationships or mend them. Center yourself around the roommates and become part of the core group.

Follow Apartment 502 throughtout MC's first year as a roommate: from holidays, to birthdays, to everything in-between.

Atlas/Athena [f/m] - 1 of 3 roommates. A is the elusive and isolated musician who makes a living writing songs for others and doing gigs down at the local bar. A is quiet, nonchalant, and prefers their isolation. After getting their heart broken by their high school sweetheart, A has swore off love and vowed to focus solely on their career. A has no room for love, and they make it clear.

Appearance: Olive, freckled skin. Atlas has shaggy brown hair that falls in front of their eyes in a wolf-cut with bleached white dyed pieces at the bottom. Athena's brown and white hair falls down her back with black, straight-cut blunt bangs. They usually wear all black and have a variety of piercings.

Cal/Calliope [f/m] - 1 of 3 roommates. Cal is the ultra nice, slightly uptight, easily flustered college professor who is currently dating their longtime partner...that everyone seems to hate. Cal seems very in love with them and is oblivious to their best friends' irritation, but is that all a ruse?

Appearance: Cal has golden blonde hair. Cal's hair is curly fluffy while Calliope's falls down in soft ringlets around her face. Pale skin and green eyes. C dresses down, wearing basic clothes like button-downs and plain dresses.

Levi/Lani [f/m] - 1 of 3 roommates. L is boisterous, arrogant, and the comedian of the group. L makes their money as an influencer and uses their abundance of free time to pick up all kinds of people. L doesn't believe anyone can get them to settle down, especially considering they've never been in love..nor believe it exists.

Note: you can only romance L by starting a purely physical relationship first.

Appearance: Russet brown skin and long black hair that falls down their back and tied in a messy bun. L usually wears a white, billowy button down tucked into black slacks with an abundance of rings.

Garrett/Gaia [f/m] - Your neighbor. G is friendly but distant, always looking down at their phone when they see you. They seem disinterested in the happenings of Apartment 502. You can't help but wonder more about them...and their young child.

Appearance: Brown skin and curly black hair. G usually has headphones on, and Garett's hair is cut into a curly undercut while Gaia's is primed in a slick bun. They're usually dressed in a pristine black turtle neck and matching black pants.

Rainn [f/m] - your perfect, financially-stable lawyer ex. You thought what you and Rainn had was special, until they abruptly dump you the same day you were set to move in. The worst part? They live in the same building.

Oddly enough, Rainn doesn't seem to be acting like someone who should be completely moved on...

Appearance: Rain either has a severe black bob or black slicked back hair and usually seen in a pantsuit or business-casual clothes. They have tan skin and bright blue eyes.

Mason/Mona [f/m]- your old academic rival...who is now your co-worker. What are the chances you two ended up in the same place? M seems to have a lot of fun making things harder for you at your new job, especially considering you guys are competing for the affection of your boss. Tch.

Appearance: Long or short dyed dark white hair and tan skin with bright brown eyes. (M's outfit is dependent on job of choice.)

DEMO TBA

OK, so I was messing around with chatGPT is an AI model that’s truly terrifying (try it here), and I made it write haikus for me. I’m not sure if this is amusing or scary, but it’s also ironic that in the process of registering an account with ChatGPT I was asked to identify photos with chimneys to prove that I’m not a bot, and failed 3 times.

College Tennis

Out on the green court, Racket swings with precision, Ball flies through the air.

Merry Crisis

Merry Christmas cheer, Suddenly disappears, Crisis on the rise.