Stories that left you disappointed for a reason

[SasariRomanii]

Shoutout to The Abyssal author, seriously he’s perfected his craft. I remember being so hyped about the story, and then he just made a rewrite then disappeared. Comes a drops a few Patreon posts which is great work dangling the update over their heads to keep them subbed. Knows exactly what they are doing.

Yep will be gone for a couple of more months. no update on their rewrite, the title that made them popular in the first place and will rake in about £300 per month in patreon (from what I can see on their page)
*
Another one those was Love & Leases which I used to read, went off due to family issue and would be away, nothing since on their tumblr but making a mint on Patreon

Scams. Scams everywhere

But seriously what kinda people still sub to these a55holes Patreon??? They keep supporting these scam authors and that'll only make it worse. Like okay it's their money but they're clearly financially irresponsible and very gullible.

 

[game_hunt3r]

Bro, Lost In Your Eyes is a hot mess.

It's fun if you just want a completely non-serious, massive harem mash fest--but if you actually want your choices to matter (such as who you like and who you don't), read something literate, be monogamous, or even be left the hell alone, you're **** out of luck.

Everyone wants to sleep with you, and each other.

You will always be attracted to somebody even if you never choose to be, and everything is written like the author is constantly edging themselves so it's all pervy as hell and horny.
I remember the first time I played, I just wanted my character to stay on the route of the childhood best friend and look for them, while becoming stronger. And it made the little vampire dude who came out of nowhere and was shown in a POV to be a plant, a depressed, masochistic mess--even though I wasn't mean to him, I just didn't care. And people meant to be my characters life-long friends were telling them it was time to move on from their entire reason for existing (the best friend) and be kinder to the horny vampire guy because he liked my MC.

Like, girl what??? How about, no??? That guy needs an exorcism.
And so does the author whenever they write about John/Elizabeth. Because every time my cold character is forced into blushing and simpering over this boring *** doctor while they act like a dom with no boundaries, I can't help but think, "Get a job!! Stay away from her!!"

 

[God]

Scams. Scams everywhere

But seriously what kinda people still sub to these a55holes Patreon??? They keep supporting these scam authors and that'll only make it worse. Like okay it's their money but they're clearly financially irresponsible and very gullible.

Probably people who forgot about that sub, that’s how it is with big companies. They’re probably subbed to multiple Patreons and forgot about this. It happens.

 

[yourstalkeroutside]

went off due to family issue and would be away, nothing since on their tumblr

Just like the Children of the Gods writer with their new project. At some point you just need to say yeah, I can't do this and officially cancel something rather than ghosting.

 

[Re336]

Bro, Lost In Your Eyes is a hot mess.

It's fun if you just want a completely non-serious, massive harem mash fest--but if you actually want your choices to matter (such as who you like and who you don't), read something literate, be monogamous, or even be left the hell alone, you're **** out of luck.

Everyone wants to sleep with you, and each other.

You will always be attracted to somebody even if you never choose to be, and everything is written like the author is constantly edging themselves so it's all pervy as hell and horny.
I remember the first time I played, I just wanted my character to stay on the route of the childhood best friend and look for them, while becoming stronger. And it made the little vampire dude who came out of nowhere and was shown in a POV to be a plant, a depressed, masochistic mess--even though I wasn't mean to him, I just didn't care. And people meant to be my characters life-long friends were telling them it was time to move on from their entire reason for existing (the best friend) and be kinder to the horny vampire guy because he liked my MC.

Like, girl what??? How about, no??? That guy needs an exorcism.
And so does the author whenever they write about John/Elizabeth. Because every time my cold character is forced into blushing and simpering over this boring *** doctor while they act like a dom with no boundaries, I can't help but think, "Get a job!! Stay away from her!!"

Yeah this is my main problem with this IF too. Gosh I hate every RO in this story and I hate Blaine the most. The author constantly forces him onto MC and treats it like "haha oops that was an accident" and I can't be mad about it. This character just breach MC's boundaries and everyone around them are treating it like a joke? Every character is always on Blaine's side. Like give MC some space. Their childhood best friend just died ffs.
And about that side story I mentioned above, it's basically about Blaine being eager to get into MC's pants again and if you reject his advances, Vale will say something like "You're too good for MC" to Blaine. Then he flirts with Blaine. I swear every character is always on Blaine's side.

 

[game_hunt3r]

And about that side story I mentioned above, it's basically about Blaine being eager to get into MC's pants again and if you reject his advances, Vale will say something like "You're too good for MC" to Blaine. Then he flirts with Blaine. I swear every character is always on Blaine's side.

Damn. Sounds like a self-insert for the author lol

 

[Vanya]

This character just breach MC's boundaries and everyone around them are treating it like a joke? Every character is always on Blaine's side. Like give MC some space.

I think in one of Blaine's pov they say our mentor or whoever he is (and who of course we need to be simping over too even tho he's not a RO and, in my case, I chose I didn't like but whatever) needs us to be in love with Blaine to save our race or something. I guess that's the author's excuse for them to always push MC's boundaries.

I read the first two chapters again and this time I said no to Blaine multiple times and tried to push them away and nothing changes. I told them I was not in love and in the next scene they asked me if our mission was a date! I just can't with this wip

about that side story I mentioned above, it's basically about Blaine being eager to get into MC's pants again and if you reject his advances, Vale will say something like "You're too good for MC" to Blaine. Then he flirts with Blaine. I swear every character is always on Blaine's side

Ew! I'm happy I didn't read it! And of course our MC is not good enough for the perfect little romances who are all over eachother more than they are over us. I guess this is a trend in a lot of wips lately.

Oh and the author apparently did a rewrite of the first chapters and is doing one for the last one too, idk, but whatever, I'm so over this wip I guess I'm not even gonna try it again.

Damn. Sounds like a self-insert for the author lol

I was about to post my reply saying the same thing when you beat me to it lol I guess that's why everyone and their dogs like Blaine so much and is always on their side, also why they're so perfect and all the other RO are always over them making them blush and whatever. OMG I hate this wip so much! lol

 

[MalloryV]

Didn't Vale also have a crush on Blaine based on that one side story? I don't know if it's still out there somewhere, this whole IF feels like a fever dream to me actually.
This IF feels very trope-y to me. John is the alpha daddy type that turns everyone into a blushing mess. No matter your personality.
Meanwhile Blaine is too submissive, MC always act too dominant around them.
I might be remembering things wrong tho since I dropped this IF quite some time ago.
I don't think the author takes the story too seriously either considering the choices we can choose lol. No matter the choice, somehow the author always makes it sound somewhat pervy/sexual

As far as I remember, V doesn't have a crush on Blaine but they likes to flirt and make everyone uncomfortable. They also flirts with the MC, for example.

But it must be said that the author at least takes criticism and responds by listening to concerns. That's more than some authors do.

 

[Re336]

As far as I remember, V doesn't have a crush on Blaine but they likes to flirt and make everyone uncomfortable. They also flirts with the MC, for example.

But it must be said that the author at least takes criticism and responds by listening to concerns. That's more than some authors do.

Thanks for the correction!
And yeah the author does listen to criticism! I did remember bringing up about MC's unreasonably mean reactions towards Blaine and the author promised to improve on that part. I dropped this IF a long time ago though, so I don't know if author ever made that change

 

[lena990]

But seriously what kinda people still sub to these a55holes Patreon??? They keep supporting these scam authors and that'll only make it worse. Like okay it's their money but they're clearly financially irresponsible and very gullible

A lot of people in this community are so guilable and 'just want to support author financially ' without getting anything back, zero spine and door mats. No wonder ROs can **** all over your route, MCs are stammering messes and we are supposed to be grateful as if author writing an premise is already impressive and they need pats on head.

Another theory is that a lot of people want to have constant steam of new IF to fiaxte on - they think by pouring the money, the author will have less worries in personal life and will write more lol, like some weird sort of encouragement

 

[Glitch]

I saw people

Spoiler

modding Aura C/ to romance male ROs as a m!MC

. But is there ever any real romance with the male ROs as a fem!MC to begin with ?

Last time I played, it ended with the party boarding a boat and the fem!MC kicking a perv into the water ( I think it was a choice ). Has anything substantial happened story/romance-wise since then ?

I didn’t drop the game because I disliked the story. I actually enjoyed it, even without much romance. Same way I enjoyed Sabres and Guns without pursuing any romance. What pushed me away was how the author responds to, and often encourages overly sexualized comments about the characters. It felt like pure fan service. Then I came across a thread here with more info about the author, and honestly, it made me even less inclined to pick it up again.

I know Aura C/ is meant to be more comedic and plays into exaggerated anime tropes, but some of the community comments just aren't it, similar to PoMA. Don’t even get me started on that one. I honestly can’t even summarize how I feel about it.

Also, the author often says he doesn’t know how to write romance from a fem!MC’s perspective ?
Tbh, I’ve never seen a female author say she can’t write romance for male players, either it's genderlocked MC/ROs or an all inclusive IF. Even Wayhaven, which was originally written with a female MC in mind, is still enjoyed by many men. I feel like IFs targeted at a female audience handle the possibility of a male MC better than the other way around.

Back to Aura C/ , Kosuke is supposed to be your childhood best friend, so the MC is meant to know him for a long time. But as a fem!MC, I didn’t feel any meaningful romance with him. I don’t know if it’s different with his fem!counterpart. If I remember right, he even betrayed us or omitted something, at one point and we just... were ok with it ? We couldn’t even be mad at him. The rivalmance with Jack was way better, and a good amount was written for it too, i still don’t understand why the author removed him from the ROs list.

The only actual romance that felt like some kind of one was the one with the lizard man, and I actually liked it. Apparently the romance depends on your training and style, is it the same for fem!ROs ? Also, I remember the author saying he got feedback on how to implement romancing all male ROs a while ago. Has that actually been worked on or implemented ?

---

Regarding Lost in Your ,

Spoiler

idk if you’ve played their other game, which was meant to be an April Fool’s joke.Basically, you collect fighters, the first RO you meet is a buff woman and — surprise, surprise — of course your character finds her attractive whether you do or not. The second ? a hunky man, I think his name was Thor ( he does look like him ). And yes, the MC is also head over heels for him, even if it’s to a lesser extent than for your first “Pokémon”. That’s all I remember.

I feel like the author might be writing mostly for their own tastes, which is totally valid, but the way they present things makes it hard for me to tell what kind of audience they’re aiming for. When they first showed up on the forum, their tone felt a lot more low-key. Maybe they just got more comfortable once they found their niche and audience, which, hey, good for them.

 

[yourstalkeroutside]

But is there ever any real romance with the male ROs as a fem!MC to begin with ?

No, but I could sleep around so that makes up for it.

 

[Vanya]

I feel like the author might be writing mostly for their own tastes, which is totally valid, but the way they present things makes it hard for me to tell what kind of audience they’re aiming for

Maybe the writer should just write a novel at this point. Idk, it might fit better than writing an IF since your choices don't matter anyway.

 

[pompompurin]

Also, the author often says he doesn’t know how to write romance from a fem!MC’s perspective ?
Tbh, I’ve never seen a female author say she can’t write romance for male players, either it's genderlocked MC/ROs or an all inclusive IF. Even Wayhaven, which was originally written with a female MC in mind, is still enjoyed by many men. I feel like IFs targeted at a female audience handle the possibility of a male MC better than the other way around.

Seeing authors (always of male genderlocked games) say this pisses me off to no end. It all comes down to men being considered the "default" / "normal" and women being considered somehow othered and difficult to understand. So these male authors internalize those beliefs and insist they somehow can't do it justice. If you can't write from a variety of different perspectives that's a genuine skill issue NGL, especially if you're going to write in a medium where the standard is inclusivity and customization. Or maybe they believe they'll somehow write a misogynistic portrayal of a female MC romance so they avoid it entirely instead of trying & being open to feedback. Or they think it's gay or some **** idk, which, like... get over yourself and your fragile masculinity and homophobia.

I will say that Wayhaven has gotten a lot of criticism for the MC being "feminized" and helpless so idk if it's the best example. But female authors typically have no problem writing the vice versa of what male authors complain about, that's for sure. Personally both Aura Clash and PoMA are not my cup of tea at all.

 

[Gone_Dead]

Seeing authors (always of male genderlocked games) say this pisses me off to no end. It all comes down to men being considered the "default" / "normal" and women being considered somehow othered and difficult to understand. So these male authors internalize those beliefs and insist they somehow can't do it justice. If you can't write from a variety of different perspectives that's a genuine skill issue NGL, especially if you're going to write in a medium where the standard is inclusivity and customization. Or maybe they believe they'll somehow write a misogynistic portrayal of a female MC romance so they avoid it entirely instead of trying & being open to feedback. Or they think it's gay or some **** idk, which, like... get over yourself and your fragile masculinity and homophobia.

I will say that Wayhaven has gotten a lot of criticism for the MC being "feminized" and helpless so idk if it's the best example. But female authors typically have no problem writing the vice versa of what male authors complain about, that's for sure. Personally both Aura Clash and PoMA are not my cup of tea at all.

No. I dont agree one bit. Does not knowing or wanting to write a female MC mean they are a bad author? Not at all. The best example is Infinity series. Women may not like it but idk why people think such stories are not good enough. And throwing around insults is not gonna help you or dumb down such stories as well. Its just that the gender centered stories you mention happen to be of the male variety. They're just good authors and they know what kind of story and MC they want to write. Labelling it as being homophobic and having a fragile masculinity just comes across as you hating on male centered mediums and authors. And your point on IF medium's standard being inclusivity and customization is just narrow sighted, Inclusivity and customization is just a part of the medium not the whole of it.

 

[Lovecraft]

Seeing authors (always of male genderlocked games) say this pisses me off to no end. It all comes down to men being considered the "default" / "normal" and women being considered somehow othered and difficult to understand. So these male authors internalize those beliefs and insist they somehow can't do it justice. If you can't write from a variety of different perspectives that's a genuine skill issue NGL, especially if you're going to write in a medium where the standard is inclusivity and customization. Or maybe they believe they'll somehow write a misogynistic portrayal of a female MC romance so they avoid it entirely instead of trying & being open to feedback. Or they think it's gay or some **** idk, which, like... get over yourself and your fragile masculinity and homophobia.

I will say that Wayhaven has gotten a lot of criticism for the MC being "feminized" and helpless so idk if it's the best example. But female authors typically have no problem writing the vice versa of what male authors complain about, that's for sure. Personally both Aura Clash and PoMA are not my cup of tea at all.

Honestly I don't understand by what you mean by this I've seen more IFs that are gender locked female then male. So why is it okay if the MC is gender locked female but homophobic if they are gender locked male ? And like what Gone_Dead said it doesn't matter if the story has in depth customization and its inclusive, those factors can only amplify an IFs excellence not make it good.

 

[seneya]

Honestly, Aura Clash or PoMA are not the kind of games that I play for romance. Would it have been nice to get more male RO content? Yeah, I guess, but at the end not every story has to focus on romance or even feature it in the first place. And while male MCs might get more content on that front, it's still not the main point of the game. AC is very tongue-in-cheek about it anyway, and I had fun making my (female) MC hit on everyone she could - and the presence of these options by itself shows that the author does remember that the fem!MC exists.
Could it be better? Sure, but I still remember times when just getting to play as a woman was not a given, or an afterthought. Anyone remember OG Baldur's Gate trilogy and Anomen?
At the end of the day I think there are more IFs that cater to the romance-focused crowd nowadays than there are those that don't. Doesn't mean all of IFs have to be this way. Like, sure, give feedback to the author, ask for options you want, but if you find yourself trying to make the story into something it was never meant to be then perhaps it was meant for a different audience in the first place.

 

[hTubman]

Seeing authors (always of male genderlocked games) say this pisses me off to no end. It all comes down to men being considered the "default" / "normal" and women being considered somehow othered and difficult to understand. So these male authors internalize those beliefs and insist they somehow can't do it justice. If you can't write from a variety of different perspectives that's a genuine skill issue NGL, especially if you're going to write in a medium where the standard is inclusivity and customization. Or maybe they believe they'll somehow write a misogynistic portrayal of a female MC romance so they avoid it entirely instead of trying & being open to feedback. Or they think it's gay or some **** idk, which, like... get over yourself and your fragile masculinity and homophobia.

I will say that Wayhaven has gotten a lot of criticism for the MC being "feminized" and helpless so idk if it's the best example. But female authors typically have no problem writing the vice versa of what male authors complain about, that's for sure. Personally both Aura Clash and PoMA are not my cup of tea at all.

Nah I dont agree. This isnt a professional service it's a hobbyist publisher. So saying skill issue is weird behaviour. There's no checklist to fill out*, and no team of writers. Its just one person writing more words than are in some completed book series. If they arent confident in the skills, it aint misogony. leave it alone.

-EDIT-
Oh I totally forgot about that sequel that was gonna be genderlocked female that got canned when the fans started hating in the authour. Now THAT was misogony

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* besides 'dont be a dick in your writing' rules

 

[Parallax]

And yeah the author does listen to criticism!

Listens but doesn't do anything about it, huh? Otherwise, they would have done something about the healer a long time ago. This character and the total lack of freedom in relationships with them is unacceptable in interactive fiction. A middle finger to the players.

 

[SasariRomanii]

Seeing authors (always of male genderlocked games) say this pisses me off to no end. It all comes down to men being considered the "default" / "normal" and women being considered somehow othered and difficult to understand. So these male authors internalize those beliefs and insist they somehow can't do it justice. If you can't write from a variety of different perspectives that's a genuine skill issue NGL, especially if you're going to write in a medium where the standard is inclusivity and customization. Or maybe they believe they'll somehow write a misogynistic portrayal of a female MC romance so they avoid it entirely instead of trying & being open to feedback. Or they think it's gay or some **** idk, which, like... get over yourself and your fragile masculinity and homophobia.

I will say that Wayhaven has gotten a lot of criticism for the MC being "feminized" and helpless so idk if it's the best example. But female authors typically have no problem writing the vice versa of what male authors complain about, that's for sure. Personally both Aura Clash and PoMA are not my cup of tea at all.

On the other hand, there are authors who have admitted they struggle with writing non-queer relationships as they can't quite relate to the experience (some even straight up say that it's weird, boring, too typical and uninteresting) such as Malin Ryden (Fallen Hero, on the CoG Forum), Kal Down (The King's Hound, on Tumblr), Rhapshie (Throne of Blood, Tumblr and forum), etc. Are they also suffering from skill issue? Do they also have some sort of irrational, radical fear and repulsion towards straight people for having doubts about writing something that is different to them?

I know we're talking about authors writing opposite gender MCs/characters, but methinks this hesitance to write about different experiences through different point of views is a universal struggle that to criticize one group of people for sticking with what they know is — to put it simply and not so nicely — moronic.

Btw. ALWAYS MALE GENDERLOCKED GAME WHERE? Are we on separate plane of reality??