Weekly Update (8-11-2025)

First things first, I posted a poll for count-tier regarding the possibility of a new choice in the latest chapter. This one will only be open until the 14th.

Had kind of a rough week last week, which is annoying for break, but irl stuff happens when it wants to, heh. Still got some reading in. I do miss reading. It would be hard to express just how much reading I did in my youth. These days, I'm quite picky and I also read even faster than I did back then (500 page books hold up about a day :X), so it's frustratingly rarely worth the investment of finding something good for how quickly I burn through it. Starting things has a lot of inertia to me, so I really appreciate being able to sink 40-50+ hours into something once I do get into it. Anyway, read some fun books at a friend's recommendation.

As far as what else I want to do... My typing arm has been sore for a few months, despite going to the chiropractor (if I've never mentioned, I'm a one-handed typist). I've been trying to avoid action games to let it recover better, but there are a few of those I'd like to play. For now, I've ended up revisiting Kamidori Alchemy Meister, which is an old favorite vn/srpg of mine. I will in fact be revisiting my favorite route rather than the one I haven't played. :X

On another note, it's obviously a long way off, but I've recently had my first real ideas about the next project I want to work on. There's a bit more in-depth discussion on the patron channel on discord, but I'll share a brief desc here.

My overall inspiration is that I've always felt that Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest's premise of "You're a non-evil prince under an evil king in a kingdom with dark aesthetics/overall reputation locked in a war with a more traditionally good kingdom" is one of the greatest story ideas ever wasted. And there's nothing to get inspiration from like a good idea being wasted, heh.

So, my thinking is along these lines: I'll be taking the core of the concept and doing something more interesting with it. Similar setup, but you're instead playing as a more generally competent and capable prince (unsure yet if crown prince or not, this is a very early-stage idea). The protagonist isn't exactly thrilled that his father is a tyrant, but also isn't an idiot. So, he knows he needs to make a name for himself in the war to build support for his intended coup.

The game likely starts off with you leading the invasion of a small kingdom or significant enemy city, then demanding the governorship of it as a base of power to start to build up. So, overall, we get to the ruler rpg aspects faster, and it definitely will still be one since I like this genre a lot. XD From there, we get to lots of intrigue and politicking (various internal factions you can ally with/betray etc., plus potentially some larger paths shaped by the choice to shift toward more traditionally heroic versus more of a dark savior willing to use intrigue and ruthlessness. And, of course, romance will be important. =P

I have some more specific thoughts than this, but it's an early-stage idea so still very much in flux. Despite how far off it is, I am very happy to finally have something I can actually see myself doing. My creative process benefits from an idea having a lot of time to marinate.

Anyway, one last thing before I go back to alchemy: Another rather excellent commissioned piece by Gaiachild that I've been meaning to share!