CHAPTER 4: SYSBA'S ROUTE IS NOW AVAILABLE

Chapter 5 - Part Two

Hello everyone... it's here. It's finally here! Chapter 5, pt. 2 is now out, and is 250k words of new content, meaning The Exile is now over 1 million words!

This release was... rough, to say the least, but it's all in the rear-view mirror now, thankfully. As some of you may know, this is the final chapter of the public demo. I'll make a post later on detailing what the future development of The Exile will be, but for now I just want to take in a deep breath and relax (as I fix what inevitable bugs pop up with release, that is).

Avg. Play length: 114k -> 135k Total Wordcount: 818k -> 1 mil

Some Notes:

You have to replay the entire game. Your old saves won't work. Please, for the love of the gods, do not use them. I know it's tedious to replay the entire demo sometimes, but the new release will not work properly otherwise.

I HIGHLY recommend saving at the beginning of when Esmerelda goes to visit Marcelle, or where the old demo ended. This is because when I do bug fixes (and I will have to do bug fixes), all saves that were on the file I updated cease to work properly. Saving at the scene with Esmerelda is the closest to the new content that you can save w/o having to worry about losing your save progress frequently near release. (Though I will update Chapter 5, pt. 1 at some point)

DO NOT spread info you got by code diving. Please and thank you! :)

Preferably send bugs + typos to the Discord. Otherwise, feel free to send them here! Also, keep an eye out for broken symbols next to choices! (It would help if you tell me what chapter it's in as well :))

There are two versions of The Exile on Dashingdon. The right one has [Current] next to it. The reason there are two is b/c for some reason or another, I couldn't get into my old account, and I couldn't reset the password, and it was just... a whole mess. So I couldn't delete the old demo when I uploaded the new one on my new account. Just keep this in mind if you're trying to look The Exile up right into a search engine as opposed to going through links on the Tumblr or Forum!

Play Chapter 5, Pt. 2!

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

are you in college?

i am in pain

Do you ever notice yourself getting bad again…like, you know you’re not doing work that needs to be done, you know you’re not cleaning, you know you’re not taking care of yourself…you know all the things you need to do to start trying to feel better. But you just can’t. And you’re left feeling like shit bc you thought you were getting better but here we are

Mark your calendars, babes! The initial demo for Signal Hill will be releasing at noon EST on Sunday, March 12th, 2023!

Get ready for an 83,000 word romp through the post-apocalyptic utopia of Signal Hill. In the first release of the demo, you'll...

Create a character with a unique set of skills and an array of customization options

Develop their identity, with 8 different identities you can earn that will change how you play the game

Choose their style, with over 130 clothing options to really nail your post-apocalyptic style

Explore the city's neighbourhoods, full of lush descriptions, interesting locals, and unique local character

Get shot, get high, get an unwanted amputation

Meet most of the major characters

This demo has been a long time in the works, and I've put a ton of effort into making sure it's the best representation of the final product it can possibly be. I'm so excited to share it with y'all and start this journey for real!

Follow my itch.io to get alerted as soon as it's released!

concept: a death god that is actually surprisingly supportive and on the side of the good guys, supporting actions and promoting policies that will lead to the kingdom growing and thriving instead of being destroyed, because the more the kingdom grows, the more people there are, and the more people there are the more people will eventually  die, and when you’re an immortal god of death, you know there’s no need to rush. you’ll get them all in the end

The Artpunk Manifesto

created by Lucas Rose for ArtpunkINTL

When I tell you I am SO excited to romance Jost😩 My commander's about to lose it for this angry snake lady. She wants to stab me? Totally Acceptable!! Where would you like to hit first, take your PICK madame! You like to write and document your travels?? Ohoho excuse me while I PURCHASE EVERY NICE JOURNAL IN PRYTHIAN.🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ Darlin has a big storm coming for her in the shape of a 👏🏼 very👏🏼 huggable👏🏼 and👏🏼 loving 👏🏼 Gorgon Commander Thank You Very Much

Every Jost romancer has this energy and I can't even pretend I'm any different when I'm the exact same in any IF that is not my own 😔 Scary women with hidden, soft depths are a universal weakness. And they do deserve a bit of stabbing... as a treat <3

Game-Changing Sites for Writers

A recent search for a specific type of site to help me build new characters led me down a rabbit hole. Normally, that would make me much less productive, but I have found a treasure trove of websites for writers.

Bring Characters/Places to Life

There are a few different places you can use to create a picture of something entirely new. I love this site for making character pictures as references, instead of stock photos or whatever pops up on Google Images.

thispersondoesnotexist: every time you reload the page, this site generates a headshot of someone who doesn't exist. This is great if you're thinking about a character's personality or age and don't have specifics for their facial features yet.

Night Cafe: this is an AI art generator that takes your text prompt and generates an image for it. I tried it for various scenery, like "forest" or "cottage." It takes a minute for your requested photo to load, but no more than maybe five for the program to finish the picture.

Art Breeder: this website has endless images of people, places, and general things. Users can blend photos to create something new and curious visitors can browse/download those images without creating an account. (But if you do want to make an account to create your own, it's free!)

Find Random Places on Earth

You might prefer to set a story in a real-life environment so you can reference that place's weather, seasons, small-town vibe, or whatever you like. If that's the case, try:

MapCrunch: the homepage generates a new location each day and gives the location/GPS info in the top left of the screen. To see more images from previous days, hit "Gallery" in the top left.

Atlas Obscura: hover over or tap the "Places" tab, then hit "Random Place." A new page will load with a randomly generated location on the planet, provide a Google Maps link, and tell you a little bit about the place.

Random World Cities: this site makes randomly selected lists of global cities. Six appear for each search, although you'll have to look them up to find more information about each place. You can also use the site to have it select countries, US cities or US states too.

Vary Your Wording

Thesauruses are great, but these websites have some pretty cool perspectives on finding just the right words for stories.

Describing Words: tell this website which word you want to stop repeating and it will give you tons of alternative words that mean the same thing. It typically has way more options than other sites I use.

Reverse Dictionary: type what you need a word for in Reverse Dictionary's search box and it will give you tons of words that closely match what you want. It also lists the words in order of relevancy, starting with a word that most accurately describes what you typed. (There's also an option to get definitions for search results!)

Tip of My Tongue: this website is phenomenal. It lets you search for that word you can't quite place by a letter in it, the definition, what it sounds like, or even its scrambled letters. A long list of potential options will appear on the right side of the screen for every search.

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Hope this helps when you need a hand during your next writing session 💛

IT’S HERE

Case Three: Chapter One (“A Love Story”) is available to play here!

This is a story-driven chapter, so sit back and enjoy the ride 😉 

As always, feedback is appreciated. Let me know your thoughts about the chapter - I’d love to hear it!

For coding errors, please let me know which line the error occurs at (ChoiceScript should display it in their error message).

Reblogs, as always, are more than welcome ✨