Public Updates (CogDemos, Itchio and VNs)

[Knightstorm]

New IF: Stagebound (Prologue + Chapter 1)

Summary:

Love is the greatest weapon of all, but its absence is not peace.

At the age of twelve, your parents’ abuse couldn’t be concealed any longer. Now—a year later—you’re in a new home, still reeling from the unfairness of it all. A nasty habit that destroys delicate skin helps, but so does playing your well-loved guitar to escape a world that scares you. Exceptional talent, but an inability to fit in, you're left instilled with mistrust beneath a layer of yearning for something you’ve never had. Taking a desperate approach to change your life, you sign up for Stagebound; Britain's largest singing competition.

Young and scared, you reveal something you can’t take back, only to deal with the aftermath your whole career. An outstanding career as a guitarist in a band consisting of people you didn't know before the competition; people your age who will struggle alongside you as you navigate the music industry for many years. The strongest bonds break the loudest... can you really trust the people you didn't get to choose?

Consists of III acts spanning 3 chapters each.
Act I: The Stagebound competition and the aftermath spanning a year later.
Act II: The band breaking into the US market and dealing with all things Hollywood.
Act III: Reunion album and tour years down the line.

Features:

- Customise your MC! From looks to personality to behaviours, make a character with a predetermined backstory your own.
- Struggle with all aspects of fame, or embrace the rockstar lifestyle and shower in the attention.
- Keep the peace or stir the drama! With bandmates like these things are sure to stay interesting.
- Fight against the constraints of the industry. Queer or otherwise unconventional? Your path to self-expression won't be easy but no less worthwhile.
- Your horrific public past haunts you. Will you fall into a rabbit-hole of vices or find healthier ways to cope?

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: After Dark (Code Revamp 2)

A/N: I'm back from England, and this month too I somehow managed to post the monthly update on schedule! (Okay, a few hours late, but still.) How I managed it, I honestly don’t know. Sooner or later I'm going to need to take a proper vacation, because my brain is seriously starting to short-circuit between my main job, my second job, research work, and writing. Just look at the absurd number of bug fixes, eek!

Still, I'm happy to announce that this was the last Code Revamp, at least for now. I couldn't add new scenes, but the notebook is finally functional, and there’s been quite a lot of rewording and reworking.

Spoiler: Devlog

- Fixed a major issue with the internal save system that could lead to irreversible corruption after loading twice.
- Fixed a bug in the internal save system when loading after a specific type of death.
Refined some wording in the internal save system.
- Added a fallback to prevent a potential game-breaking issue in the collectibles system.
- Added a fallback to prevent a potential game-breaking bug while reading news.
- Reduced the hunger threshold required for MC to agree to stop and eat lunch while traveling.
- Adjusted the amount of energy restored by resting on Day 1 due to a duplicated value.
- Restored a timer in an early-game conversation that was never properly initialized.
- Fixed an issue where relationship rejection was not properly recorded when both Kay and Divya turned MC down.
- Fixed (hopefully) an issue affecting Michael's romance path.
- Attempted to further bulletproof the Michael romance bug. Hopefully this fix finally did the trick!
- Reworded various scenes and choices.
Revised one of the short clue scenes during online browsing.
- Fixed a bug that prevented MC from entering two of the cars in the parking lot.
- Fixed a mismatch between Michael's described action and the item received when the player lies about having water.
- Fixed variables that incorrectly read the phone's battery percentage, previously allowing the time to be checked even when the phone was fully discharged.
- Fixed an issue with the battery icon at specific charge percentages.
- Fixed a potential over-drain issue with portable chargers.
- Updated the warning message regarding images.
- Fixed a bug that prevented images from being disabled after being enabled through the settings menu.
- Fixed a bug where an MtF MC could not correctly display certain text strings due to incorrect flag usage.
- Fixed several bugs related to the Few of Aorta card game.
- Fixed a bug where the card Korrigans (f2c_5) was not properly removed from the deck after being played.
- Fixed a possible high-score tracking issue in the mobile spelling bee game.
- Corrected an incorrect score assignment for a word in spelling bee variant #2.
- Added tracking for incorrect inputs in the spelling bee game so that the game now correctly progresses after wrong answers.
- Fixed an issue involving correct answers in the spelling bee game.
- Fixed a phone number randomization error.
- Fixed a bug that allowed MC of any orientation to kiss Divya (under the right astral alignment, perhaps.)
- Fixed a bug that gave Divya a duplicate line of dialogue after a potential kiss. (You flustered her too much.)
- Fixed a bug where MC couldn't properly share their hearing issue with Divya and Max during Day 5 if they hadn't previously discussed it with Abigail, Michael, or Kay.
- It is now more difficult to satisfy Michael during his assessment of MC's personality on Day 5.
- Fixed an issue where MC's explanation of their hearing condition wasn't always correct.
Fixed a bug that prevented returning to the main submenu after selecting certain lunch options on Day 5.
- Fixed several instances where object interaction descriptions were reversed depending on whether MC was carrying the backpack.
- Fixed several bugs related to Charisma trait checks.
- Fixed several string interpolation bugs.
- If MC abandons the backpack, they will now automatically keep their wallet, documents, and other paper items. (They're all stored in a waterproof pouch, after all! Aren't they?)
- Fixed a critical bug where a specific backpack weight could turn the first post-river fight into a near-instakill.
- Fixed a bug where MC's attack description failed to display during the post-river encounter if MC was armed while Divya was not.
- Fixed a bug where choosing certain characters in the wrong order during the courtyard escape caused the available time to increase instead of decrease.
- Fixed several overlapping stat checks that could produce unintentionally awkward paragraphs under specific relationship values.
- Reduced the amount of affection Michael can gain toward MC in certain situations.
- During the courtyard escape, MC could previously send Michael away and stay behind to fight even while unarmed. This was obviously a bug! MC can now only do so while armed, though a new option has been added for reluctantly leaving Michael behind due to lacking a weapon.
- Fixed a bug where discussing MC's hearing or vision issue with Kay was no longer properly remembered during Day 5.
- Fixed a bug that prevented proper conversation progression during the guard shifts at the end of Day 5.
- Fixed a bug that prevented the timer from progressing correctly if MC claimed to have never used a payphone before.
- Fixed several fog-navigation bugs during Day 6.
- Fixed a bug where MC's analysis of the diner exterior would not display correctly when approaching from the west without a scouting background.
- Fixed several string display bugs involving specific rounded numerical values.
- Abigail's responses during Day 6 are no longer purely random and are now influenced by her relationship with MC (unless a critical failure occurs, in which case she will always refuse).
- Fixed an issue where it was impossible to become atheist or agnostic after previously identifying as religious.
- Fixed a bug in the corpse-cleaning duty drawing scene where MC's reaction wasn't displayed correctly when Kay started the draw.
- Fixed a game-breaking bug that could occur if MC had fewer than 50 Heart when Kay returned.
- Fixed a large number of verb and pronoun issues involving nonbinary Max.
- Slightly adjusted the visibility threshold for certain scenes when physical education is MC's favorite subject.
- Fixed several bugs in the diner kitchen scene; now MC can't bypass food-carrying restrictions anymore.
- Fixed several bugs related to the potential love confession during Day 6.
- Fixed a critical bug that could break the game if MC offered Kay 10 cigarettes on Day 6 without actually having enough.
- Changed the unlock conditions for Divya's "about us" conversation at the end of Day 6 and reworded some of her responses.
- If MC is passionate about cars, this is now mentioned in the Stats screen.
- Fixed several minor bugs.
- Corrected a frankly embarrassing number of typos!

(Under spoiler due to length)

 

[Knightstorm]

New VN: Unquiet Grey

You can't save him.

...But what if you could see him again?
Unquiet Grey, a heartbreaking timeloop romance visual novel, is now released on Steam!

Summary:

You wake up by the side of the road with a headache and a stranger's jacket.

You don’t recognise it. You don’t recognise the man whose ID you find in the pocket, either.

So why does an older version of you stare back when you turn on his phone?

...And why is she smiling beside him?

It features:

- A heartbreaking tale of love and grief.
- Gorgeous art by @asrikins.
- Original Soundtrack.
- A silver-haired sweetheart to love over and over and over. Ɏꝋᵾ ȼⱥꞥ'ⱦ ꞩⱥꝟē ħīᵯ. Ƀᵾⱦ ⱦħⱥⱦ'ꞩ ꝋҟⱥɏ.
- A cute doggo.
- You can change both characters' names if u want.
- Also it's free!!!!!

 

[Knightstorm]

New IF: With Bruised Blood (Prologue + Chapter 1)

Summary:

Who will you turn into?

A murder investigation swallows your charming, east coast city of Norwich, Maine, when your best friend, along with three others, goes missing. You, a college junior at Neumann University, are the prime suspect. Even worse, you find yourself with the same, strange symptoms she had before she disappeared.

This game is intended for mature audiences (18+) and includes references to and interactions with darker subjects such as: racism, sexism, violence, body horror, etc.

Features:

- Choose your gender and pronouns; Play as female, non-binary, or male -- cis or trans.
- Choose your appearance and style.
- Befriend, romance, or antagonize the cast. It's up to you.
- 4 romance options + 1 mystery RO.
- Make choices that will test your relationships and morality.
- Navigate a vampiric transformation.
- Investigate mysteries.
- Try not to drop out of college.

Characters:

- Angelina Lecrone (she/her)
You've know her since the first grade, and have been inseperable ever since. She's rich, moody, and strong-willed, which makes her an expert at bossing you around.

She has long, slightly wavy dark brown hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. She's 6'2" ft tall.

romanceable by women.

- Harrison Lee (he/him)
Your bestfriend's boyfriend, known to most as the school's star quarterback. Many are intimidated by his large stature, before he tells his first stupid joke and they realize he wouldn't hurt a fly--not unless it's in the way of his touchdown.

He has tan skin, curly, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. He's 6 ft tall.

romanceable by any gender.

- Elizabeth (he/him)
A contractor of the Hounds, an influential and secretive organization of vampires. He is just as secretive as an individual, prefering to keep most forms of expression to a minimum.

He has brown skin, dark brown eyes, and short, coily black hair with a white streak in the front. He stands at 5'8".

romanceable by any gender.

- Kitty (she/her)
Kitty is among the elite members of the Hounds. Self-assured and cunning, charming and dangerous in equal measure, she is not one to underestimate.

She has brown skin, black eyes, and short, wavy black hair. She is 5'3".

romanceable by any gender.

- ??? (??/???)
A secret

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: The Six That Thrive (Chapter 7)

A/N: Hi Lovelies,

Can you believe it, Chapter Seven after a full year. I am just so grateful! Hopefully, Chapter Seven has a reasonable amount of content, and I can continue adding more and more as the story progresses! I know a few people will have questions about Chapter Eight, and I do have a complete outline written out, and I need to transform that into actual pages for writing. I also mentioned and am currently in the process of writing NBD, which has been so long since I've picked that story up, but I feel in a relatively good place to start again with that.

EDITS TO CHAPTER SEVEN

ALL EDITS MADE HAVE BEEN DONE SO THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RESTART THE ENTIRE STORY TO FULLY UTILIZE THEM.

NEW TO THE STORY:

- 3 DIFFERENT BREAKAWAY PATHS - WITH THREE DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPERIENCE THE CHAPTER
- TWO NEW LOVE INTERESTS
- UPDATED MC PROFILE (CAN CHANGE A FEW THINGS APPEARANCE WISE)
- UPDATED CHARACTER PROFILES

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Vestiges of The Hallowing (Chapter 4 Part 1)

It is finally here! 26k words of new content, two big branchings, and all sorts of shenanigans you can get up to! play

What's New:

- Attempt to find answers to what exactly happened the day before.
- Examine a lot of documents.
- Start unraveling the mystery behind the incidents in the city.
- Spend some quality time with the two newcomers to the guild.
- Have a tasty snack.

 

[ozekia]

New IF: With Bruised Blood (Prologue + Chapter 1)

Summary:

Who will you turn into?

A murder investigation swallows your charming, east coast city of Norwich, Maine, when your best friend, along with three others, goes missing. You, a college junior at Neumann University, are the prime suspect. Even worse, you find yourself with the same, strange symptoms she had before she disappeared.

This game is intended for mature audiences (18+) and includes references to and interactions with darker subjects such as: racism, sexism, violence, body horror, etc.

Features:

- Choose your gender and pronouns; Play as female, non-binary, or male -- cis or trans.
- Choose your appearance and style.
- Befriend, romance, or antagonize the cast. It's up to you.
- 4 romance options + 1 mystery RO.
- Make choices that will test your relationships and morality.
- Navigate a vampiric transformation.
- Investigate mysteries.
- Try not to drop out of college.

Characters:

- Angelina Lecrone (she/her)
You've know her since the first grade, and have been inseperable ever since. She's rich, moody, and strong-willed, which makes her an expert at bossing you around.

She has long, slightly wavy dark brown hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. She's 6'2" ft tall.

romanceable by women.

- Harrison Lee (he/him)
Your bestfriend's boyfriend, known to most as the school's star quarterback. Many are intimidated by his large stature, before he tells his first stupid joke and they realize he wouldn't hurt a fly--not unless it's in the way of his touchdown.

He has tan skin, curly, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. He's 6 ft tall.

romanceable by any gender.

- Elizabeth (he/him)
A contractor of the Hounds, an influential and secretive organization of vampires. He is just as secretive as an individual, prefering to keep most forms of expression to a minimum.

He has brown skin, dark brown eyes, and short, coily black hair with a white streak in the front. He stands at 5'8".

romanceable by any gender.

- Kitty (she/her)
Kitty is among the elite members of the Hounds. Self-assured and cunning, charming and dangerous in equal measure, she is not one to underestimate.

She has brown skin, black eyes, and short, wavy black hair. She is 5'3".

romanceable by any gender.

- ??? (??/???)
A secret

Really wish angelina can be romance any gender

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Costa Sul (Chapter 1)

In this chapter, you’ll:

- Meet Ambrósio.
- Moon an entire street.
- Fight for a taxi (and your life).
- Meet the cast and dive into their history with Guppy.
- Unlock deeper customization for your MC.
- Arrive at Costa Sul.

Some notes about the story:

In some parts, this chapter is heavier on descriptions than the rest of the story will be, so some scenes might have fewer choices than usual.

Don't worry, it will balance out as we go, pinky promise

And yes, you read it right; this is the full chapter one. I decided to release the whole of chapter one in one go and push the RO reunions to chapter two instead.

Updates:

- Dark mode is now even darker.
- Hazel added to the eye colors.
- Monolid added to the eye shapes.
- Stats and profile page added.

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Romance of The Damned (Chapter 2 Part 3)

A/N: The third and final part of Chapter 2 is officially up, ready to drag our protagonist kicking and screaming out of his comfortable isolation and into the broader school ecosystem.

With this update, the full WIP now sits at a rather intimidating 53,000 words with code, and roughly 49,000 words without. I somehow managed to write this segment in just over a week (roughly), which either means I have finally conquered my ChoiceScript demons, or I am currently running on a dangerous mixture of caffeine and sheer, unadulterated spite.

If Part Two was about dismantling the protagonist’s ego in the dark, Part Three is about exposing him to the blinding, terrifying reality of the daytime. In order to save the club from administrative execution (and to save himself from scrubbing algae out of the school pool), our resident cynic is forced to do the one thing he hates most: recruit a living, breathing human being.

Naturally, he fails spectacularly. But the universe has a terrible sense of humor, and the void in the clubroom inevitably gets filled anyway. Expect the arrival of someone whose terrifyingly cheerful, extroverted aura is practically a biological hazard to everyone involved. Putting her in a room with Kanashiro is, frankly, a recipe for a catastrophic climate disaster.

You will also get a glimpse of the athletic wing’s hierarchy. Let’s just say that while our cultural club elites prefer to execute people with weaponized etiquette and logical paradoxes, there are certain “daytime ghosts” wandering the campus who prefer a much more physical, blunt-force approach to establishing dominance. Stay out of the alleyways, folks.

(P.S. The protagonist is still at the absolute bottom of the food chain. Even below the cat.)

 

[Knightstorm]

New IF: The Beast of Gévaudan (Prologue + Chapter 1)

Summary:

For nearly three years, a mysterious creature has terrorised the region of Gévaudan. Described by survivors as wolf-like and relentless, it kills indiscriminately, taking men, women and children alike, leaving behind only what the strongest could stomach. Many have taken up arms, from simple farmers and hunters to soldiers and even nobles hungry for glory.

None have succeeded.

To this day the mystery remains. Is it a wolf? A hyena? A werewolf? A wizard, or simply a human murderer? Somewhere between folklore and nightmare, between cautionary tale and genuine terror, the Beast of Gévaudan still eludes all.

Only one person knows the truth.

You.

Why?

Because you are the Beast of Gévaudan.

Setting:

An 18th century interactive fiction set in rural France, while inspired by the real historical legend it is not an accurate historical one.

Play as a werewolf navigating grief, secrets, and survival in a world that would destroy you if it knew what you were. The Church and the Third Estate cast long shadows here, but misogyny, homophobia, racism and transphobia, while rooted in that history, have been deliberately pushed to the back. The fights were fought but the scars remain.

Overall Features:

- Play as a werewolf who is struggling with control over its form.
- Full character customisation: pronouns & gender, hair color and texture, height, skin color, personality (between 4 possible), your job (between Blacksmith and Doctor), and more...
- A reverse thriller at its core: you are the killer. You are what everyone is hunting. How long can you keep this up?
- Navigate the politics of 18th century France: the Church, the Nobility, the Tiers État, and what it means to survive in a country on a verge of revolution, that was never built for people like you in the first place.
- Branching narrative shaped by your choices: what you do, who you trust, what you hide.
- Themes of grief, identity, redemption, found family, social and economical class, faith, and the particular terror of being known.
- Four romanceable characters all with their own secrets, or, if that’s not your thing, play the friend route.

---

17k words without the codes!

Anyway, in this chapter:

- Have a fun walk in the woods! nothing to see there.
- Personnalise the Beast of Gévaudan (mandatory bath scene my beloved).
- Work a little (gotta pay the bills right).
- Meet Lou.
- I also added the lil romantic snippets i wrote to get a hold on each romance, figured you guys might like it :]

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Before The Incident

Features:

- Relax with your teammates
- Take an exam
- Reminisce on your adventures
- Learn more about the MC
- Torture Ib or have an incredible dream (?)
- Meet new characters suggested by readers like you!
- Hang out with Syo
- Hang out with AB
- Hang out with H
- Tenth's hangout is still in development, will be there in the next update!

The update itself is a whopping 74k words! Making BTI around 414k words!

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Loving Starless Skies (Chapter 1 Part 2)

A/N: It goes on until the end of customizing the Sentinel's appearance.

To further celebrate the game turning 1 year old, I have made a small compilation of side stories originally made for Ko-fi. I will gradually add more stories to the compilation document.

You can find the compilation doc here in Ellipsus.

Happy Anniversary! I hope you enjoy reading the side stories!

 

[Knightstorm]

New IF: Inland Ocean (Prologue + Chapter 1)

Summary:

Eleven years ago, the Mallory expedition set out to pierce through the unreachable heart of the Inland Ocean, the body of water which sits at the center of the world. They failed. You were the sole survivor of the Mallory, found as an infant in the womb of a dying castaway.

Now, you live in the coastal town of Azalea Point with your adoptive mother, but the shadow of the infinite north hangs over you still. Determine the shape of your life as you grow into adulthood and uncover the hidden secrets awakened by the Mallory all those years ago.

 

[Knightstorm]

New IF: Blue Blooded

What would you do, if you knew how it would all end?



Your story begins where you die, and your fate is far more grim than the pretty fables recounted in books of fantasy and enchantment. With your untimely demise comes the world's end, all whilst you lock gazes with the person who caused it.
But before you can proceed, you are thrown back to the beginning— back to day zero, in a tranquil village on the outskirts of a kingdom where magic vibrates in the very air and power is worn as a royal mantle.

The day the herald’s prophecy comes to fruition, a knight arrives to your village, bearing the emblem of the Crown. By will of the Crown, you are forced to join the blue-bloods who are flocked like cattle into a carriage drawn by horses. You and your neighbor are taken from your homes to be trained within the imperial stronghold.
Despite your predicament, there's something itching the back of your mind… Your neighbor’s eyes oddly remind you of something.

BLUE-BLOODED is a romance, low-fantasy, and mystery interactive fiction set in a medieval world of magic, power, and vengeance. Unveil the secrets lurking in the shadows and behind the throne, and shape the fate of both your own life and the world.



- A customizable MC— from gender (non-binary inclusive) and sexuality, to appearance and personality!
- Choose to pursue a cast of complex RO’s (gender-locked & gender-selectable).
- ...Or simply build up (or down) your relationships with the various characters you will encounter on your journey.
- Make decisions that MATTER and break the fourth wall.
- Get taken from your family, live at the Crown’s mercy (or attempt to escape), and train your skills in the royal stronghold.
- Choose your path to unlocking your true abilities.
- Unveil the secrets lurking in the shadows of your neighbor’s past and the throne— or don’t.
- Dictate the fate of the world and save it from inevitable perish— or don’t!



The Neighbor (m/f)
With a posture ever still as a statue, the soft glow of the furnace illuminated the cold features of a face seemingly void of emotion, “Home? Such an empty word holds no bearing to me.”
VALENS, your neighbor, the true protagonist. Although you grew up side-by-side and possess a similar inclination for magic, their elusive nature and standoffish personality had barred you from ever growing close, despite having saved your life once. And yet, they seem oh so familiar...


The Knight (m)
The gallant knight is praying before the altar. He turns to you, with fingers interlocked and a smile, “Repentance is just about your own salvation, it never saves the one you wronged.”
CALDER is strikingly handsome; like those valorous princes from tales of old, who gallop in on white steeds and save the damsel in distress. His eyes are as his heart: easy-to-read and kind, and yet his fierce loyalty to the throne trumps all. Although he may treat you with compassion, do not be fooled: his devotion forever lies elsewhere.


The Companion (m/f/nb)
With a furrowed brow and wide eyes, they held your gaze carefully, almost as though they were seeing a ghost. They laid their hand atop your own, “I had three visions of you— where you died, are about to die, or are dying.”
Although you don’t meet SIBYL in the most favorable of conditions, they have an air about them that makes you feel like all will be well. Despite being blind in their left eye and plagued— or, by some standards, gifted— with visions of possible futures, they always maintain a positive disposition. Even if it is at the cost of their own happiness.


The Crown (m/f)
The midnight air was cool and crisp, the kind that burnt your throat if inhaled too sharply. But nothing compared to their piercing look from upon the throne. A smirk danced on their lips, “Tell me, what shade of blood would you dye my blade?”
With their brother mysteriously falling ill and unrest seizing the kingdom, ERIS is forced to ascend the throne and rule with an iron grip. Merciless and conniving, they turn out to be a feared and rarely a loved ruler. It is rumored that there exists a gentleness within the hard exterior. Their true nature and intentions remain unknown.

 

[Knightstorm]

New IF: Ascendant

Summary:

Is there anything more profoundly human than to cry?

Orphaned from a young age, you do what you must to survive. But what happens when something sinister disrupts the mundanity of your everyday life?

You begin as a child born to a native mother and a colonist father. Although you are shaped by both cultures, neither has always been eager to claim you.

Amidst war and an ongoing colonisation, you must find your place within the Kingdom of Yawa, or die trying.

Ascendant is an Epic-Fantasy inspired by the ancient Kingdom of Majapahit. This interactive fiction also draws inspiration from ancient manuscripts (such as Pararaton and Negarakertagama,) colonisation and local Southeast Asian folklore, but is otherwise entirely fictional in nature, and therefore, does not contain 100% historical accuracy.​

Features:

- Play out your backstory.
- Play as female, male, or nonbinary.
- Decide the fate of those around you.
- Face the consequences of your own actions.
- Play as one of the mythological races based on Southeast Asian folklore.
- Romance your companions.
- Or have short (and long) flings.
- Delve into the magical Kingdom of Yawa and discover its secrets.
- Uncover your family's secrets.

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Valiant

A/N: Hi, everyone!

Another trying several months for so many reasons, but I'm still here! Since the last update to the public demo, the game has 55k words of new content. Here's a quick breakdown on what's new:

• New Story Content:
- Arrive and get your first glimpse of Halcyon
- Part ways with your rescued guest... for now.
- Meet Ebrahim, one of the Valiant's regular business contacts.
- Try to get some information from him with Anton and Switch by your side or alone if you'd prefer.
- Or attempt a more casual conversation with him—though, how casual can a conversation truly be with a person like him?
- Or get the hell out of there before you say something you'll regret.
(If you choose to leave or end the conversation with Ebrahim earlier, the demo will end sooner for you.)

• New Short Story Content:
I've added two new short stories that were previously supporter exclusive.
- Like Breathing
- featuring CAIT
- That's Not My Name
- featuring ???

- Though you can probably figure out who this is if you've been paying attention.

• Other Things of Note:
- By request, I have changed the mobile portrait maximum threshold from 420px to 480px. This should make Valiant easier to read on larger mobile devices.
→I tested this on my own device to make sure I made the change correctly and I didn't find any problems. If you have any issues related to the width of the text on your device, however, please let me know so I can take another look.

- General bug, spelling, and grammar fixes throughout.
→In particular, a coding error preventing players from advancing after performing research in their room should be fixed.
→A few other specific errors pertaining specifically to links have been fixed.

- The codex system is still available in "testing" mode. Reminder: this means it is available to be viewed from the beginning of the game. However, since the codex is meant to become available only officially at the start of Chapter 3, some information may not appear correctly if you view it before that. The best time to look at the codex is still at the end of Chapter 2/beginning of Chapter 3.

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Sunbound: Icaris' Final Flight

Features:

- Sparky creation. Name, pronouns, sexuality, gender identity, some background, and Sparky after disbandment.
- Feature article on the group before they head onto the second half of their reunion special.
- Look into the pain points of being an ICARIS member and the complicated relationships between the members.
- Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this short prologue. Let me know if you come across any bugs or issues, or if you have any questions, suggestions, or simply want to encourage me! My inbox is open and I try to answer all the questions as quickly as possible.

Other Notes:

- This was posted to cheat the system so the anniversary of the game is July 7 like ICARIS’ anniversary, so on that note happy 14th year anniversary to ICARIS too!
- Start portion is a placeholder. I plan to format it in a way that fits the universe more but currently stuck on how to do certain choices.
- No stat page yet. Haven’t decided on how to do it yet and there wasn’t enough stat variable changes to warrant a stat page at this point in time.
- Name choices are all from known idols from western pop, kpop, jpop, ppop, and tpop!

 

[Knightstorm]

(Not So) New IF: Replica

Summary:

Welcome Replica into a future of Earth, but it is not the one that used to exist. That Earth is a myth long gone.

No, this Earth is changed.

In centuries bygone, an asteroid smashed into the moon, throwing pieces of its debris straight into the Earth’s orbit. Not only has the night become a floor to stars slowly dying over the years, but the tides on Earth changed, too.

You remember the statistics, so many species died out, ones you would never get to touch, or see...but as it ever goes, those humans survived—would you even be here if they had not? Did Mother Earth grieve further to know they had lived; did she detest you too for what you have done, for what the Makers created you for?

Perhaps it is a shame then, that so many groups of humans survived; taking to ground, or burrowing into mountainsides, protecting themselves from the hostility arising in an Earth they had once been choking slowly to death.

Now it is the Earth’s turn to do it back.

Due to the change of the moon’s pull, an imbalance formed; you have spied some of the craters, the scars littering half the wasteland of Earth, all the way up from your window in the barracks of Cogwheel. You have gazed upon the aftermath of when those tectonic plates completely ripped apart the earth; re-forming everything that once existed.

No, indeed, you would never truly know what Earth used to be like, Replica.

Lots of places around Earth are considered inhabitable because of the scars made by the moon and all the changes that followed. Isn’t it just a perfect excuse to keep you locked up, the Makers’ leash around you tight?

But you cannot deny how the Death-of-the-Moon, and its cold body falling to ground, weakened Earth’s natural magnetic shield, and brought down more of the solar wind and radiation from both sun and space.

Maybe the demise of Earth will come from a very different source...for in Earth’s new weakness…when the moon’s wound caused a ripple...it...alerted other minds unknown, deep within the dark depths of space.

Oh indeed, it touched upon the solar echolocation of the Star-Dragons, you have come to know them well, Replica—a type of alien dragon—your mind races, overwhelmed, so much data spilling out of your broken and corrupt memory core.

You know the Star-Dragons well, you even think such dragons spoken about in old Earth myths could have been Star-Dragons. But these alien dragons...ever since discovering the ailing Earth, have had no issue with adding humans to their diet. Not only this, they have wished, since Earth became so weak, to use it as a resource.

This is known from the records kept by the Cogwheel Defence Unit—CDU—the place of your old job. Over the years, through death and slaughter of humans, Star-Dragons have picked at the Earth, taking flight back to space with the pieces.

To where, and to what purpose, is unknown.

And is that not slightly terrifying: the unknown?

But what you do know, the purpose of you at least, is that the threat of the Star-Dragons is still very real. You know this danger, for within the cold, sparks cackle off the ends of your knotted wires in response. But it is too much to think of your bloody encounters when you are…so broken right now. The only order you can make in your memory core is the vague understanding of how the Star-Dragons appeared so abruptly over Earth, and how they leave in the same manner.

This is because the Star-Dragons know how to jump through space, and can warp wyrm-holes to their will. Eventually, through centuries of on-and-off war, humans even learnt that these wyrm-holes may be the Star-Dragons trying to replicate some aspects of blackholes.

But who really knows?

Like tracking sun spots, little blacked-out circles have been spotted like mould around the edges of these wyrm-holes—eggs. Star-Dragon eggs. A perfect place to preserve them. Perhaps even to prolong their lives; in the funny way time warps the closer you get to the dark mass of the unknown.

And hanging right above you is a wyrm-hole the Star-Dragons left behind over twenty years ago. It changed everything, and Earth has come to call it The Eye.

The Eye: a singular churning ring of darkness left up within Earth’s orbit, now a nest left so close…are the eggs left there nearly ready to hatch…you cannot remember how much of a solar cycle has passed, but if Cogwheel knows, the CDU will be swarming with activity.

You cannot see it right now; your vision is damaged, you do not believe you will survive long enough to get it repaired, but you sense that wyrm-hole hovering. A strange sort of pressure rises within you, making your fizzled and exposed wires spark.

Something up in the wyrm-hole…it calls to you.

And it is this very circular mass of darkness that has allowed these dragons to come and go as they please much more quickly than ever before.

The Star-Dragons, while they want to take Earth apart, they need to make it last; to prolong their new resource until its depletion. That is the only guess you can make on why this war dance has lasted so long.

The only upside to The Eye is the small warning it gives when in use. The Eye pulses with energy, cackling with red lightning when a Star-Dragon is making their journey through, from whatever point in space they dwell, and into your skies.

You were made to fight these dragons from a distant galaxy.

But...you failed.

The Makers, they made you in the perfect image of humans; one glance and no one would ever know under your skin graft wires twist.

And you used to be the best and most advanced Replica of your kind, until you broke; the Makers performing experiments to make you more powerful and formidable. They wanted more than you were willing to give...because Replica, you thought you might have gained a heartbeat, and who knows, perhaps a soul resides within the wires of your body.

But, in the end, what use can a weapon be when it has emotions?

No matter that you were thrown into the landfill, or how you escaped the Cogwheel city dominating the continent for miles, eating into the mountains, you cannot go on...

Could you have saved this world? Maybe, maybe not. Because if you do live, it could equally destroy this world.

So, perhaps, this is really for the best.

After all, you carry a dark secret inside that the Makers want back. If they catch up to you, would you unleash all that cold-blooded training, becoming the Replica they always wanted? Or would it be the end of you?

 

[Knightstorm]

(Not So New) Update: Your Loving Test Subject

A/N: I'll be spending the next month focusing on Artfight. Might do some script writing here and there, but all my art efforts are going towards the battle!
If you haven't already, you should totally fill out my hitlist! I yearn to draw yanderes and lots of fun expressions this year

Now, something I must confess about this update is that its the one that makes me the most nervous. Even back when I was first outlining the story, I was worried about what people might think of the direction it would go in.
However I'm hoping it won't put people off too much since I've put a lot of hints in, and some people have even figured out a part of it
So hopefully my worries are unfounded and people like the day!

 

[Knightstorm]

Update: Big Bad Dogs (Shift 3)

A/N: You guys have NO idea how massive this update turned out to be or how many Red Bulls I had to chug just to stay awake while finishing it. xD But it is officially here, and I can finally go to sleep!

Thank you so much for your kind comments and all the love you’ve shown me. We have such an incredible community, and I never thought this VN would be so appreciated. I truly don't have the words to express how grateful I am to all of you. Your patience and support during this update delay mean the world to me. <3

I loved writing every single second of this update, and I tried to make it as long as possible for you guys. I really hope it brings you a ton of joy! :3

SHIFT 3 INCLUDES:

- 160,000+ WORDS.
- WITH PROBABLY 30,000+ WORDS OF ADDITIONAL CONTENT.
- 3 POINT AND CLICK MECHANICS. (BB's workplace, Lane's apartment, Mad Dog convenience)
- NEW BACKGROUNDS .
- NEW SPRITES/CGS.
- 6 DIFFERENT WAYS TO START THE SHIFT.
- GUIDE HERE!!!

PLEASE NOTE:

I want to sincerely apologize, but the endings for the Neutral routes (both Amelia and the Drunk Route) are not included in this release. While the scenes do exist, I wasn't happy with their current quality and couldn't polish them in time. I want to make them the best they can be, so I will be reworking them for an upcoming smaller update!

I took the liberty of delaying them because this shift is already incredibly long, even without those two routes. Rather than rushing them out, I’d much prefer to take my time and deliver high-quality content where the characters don't feel out of character. Please forgive the delay!

The good news is you can still play the beginnings of these Neutral routes right now. Plus, BB's route and Lane's Route #1 are 100% fully playable from start to finish. (Just keep in mind that Lane's Route #2 leads into the Neutral route, so its ending is delayed as well).

Thank you so much for understanding!