Aligned Zealot Bug Fix & Story Route Poll

First and foremost, this is to let you know that I've fixed a bug where the Aligned Zealot was routing onto the Unaligned Zealot's ending. In simple terms, if you ended Night V opting to consider Valdricht's offer and then you ended the first part of Night VI in a teahouse, you were affected. To make things easier, I've added a link to the ending landing page which will route you back to right before you go outside with Valdricht and onto the correct route.

This might come as a disappointment, because you'll notice the night ends kind of abruptly there. Let me show you why:

A couple of passages after you leave with Valdricht, the story diverges into eight different paths, largely dependent upon which game mode you're playing. This is just for one half of the Zealot route, and it's junctures like this that really bog down the story progress.

I'm beyond happy that Bride of Shadows has seen so much momentum so quickly, but one of the thorny issues I'm running into as someone who is writing an IF for the first time is that I really went overboard with the story routes. I think this level of complexity would be awesome for a shorter IF, but BoS is going to have 90+ nights and I can't feasibly advance the story at the pace I want to while adding this many different branches. So, before we figure out how to restructure, let's talk about some fundamentals.

The Logic Behind Writing an MMF

A big appeal for Nightborn players is the ability to have a monogamous romance. As I've been told a bunch of times, there aren't a lot of erotic romance IFs out there and I understand finding one you enjoy, but want to tweak to make it more traditional. MMF is pretty niche, but I've specifically designed the male leads so that they work well together, each having his own strengths and weaknesses and compensating for one another.

On the surface, Valdricht can seem perfect, especially if you're the type who loves the protective/possessive tall, dark, and handsome type. However, as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that a lot of his charm is as calculated as his "compromises." He's very his-way-or-the-highway, and can become quite overbearing for readers who want to have agency.

Initially, Serax is hard to pin down. He has moments of gentleness and attentiveness with the MC, but it's also apparent he's hiding things and often working an angle. He can be deceptive, bending the truth to suit his interests, and he has a past that some readers will likely find more objectionable than Valdricht's--and Valdricht was a literal warlord. Despite his flaws, Serax can be a lot more flexible than Valdricht, content to give the MC freedom to explore her new life, and even advocate on her behalf when Valdricht becomes overbearing.

Together with the MC, they make a great trio, with Valdricht as the steadfast leader, Serax bringing much-needed levity, and the MC as the emotional core of the group. At least, in the MMF storyline.

Why the MFM Route is Illogical

The MFM route poses a challenge. Valdricht and Serax aren't lovers, and instead find themselves fixated on the MC. This is complicated for a number of reasons, mainly in that Valdricht will always come out on top, at least early on. He desires the MC--she's his mate, and he's both very powerful and (maniacally) possessive. He also possesses knowledge that, if deployed early in the story, would make the MC (and likely many of the players) despise Serax. Serax was never written to be a love-at-first-sight love interest, but rather a slow burn, building your relationship with him steadily so that by the time you've seen the full scope of his darkness, you're inclined to love him in spite of it.

As such, Serax MF will be a hot mess of a story route, and I don't think it works until the midpoint of the story. I think the most natural branch for it would begin with opting to have his child, then Valdricht going through with his plan to end his life, leaving the MC and Serax alone together to face what's next. Without betraying who Valdricht is as a character, I can't write an MF Serax story where he's alive and just hanging around watching his progeny sleep with his mate. Trying to retroactively write the Serax MF on to a character who wasn't written for this sort of storyline is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.

If there were more time to develop the characters it could work, but this is ultimately a pregnancy romance and I'm not interested in delaying the sex/conception to allow for more character/romance development. My intention with this story was always to have the characters develop through this sort of cataclysmic change of parenthood.

As I've mentioned before, the MF Valdricht route is far more intuitive. It maps on very easily to the main story, as Valdricht already takes a dominant role in the trio. Serax would also be more inclined to stick around and have a supporting character role for a number of reasons, not least of all due to his craving for divine blood.

I've considered the idea of dividing the routes by allowing readers to select whether or not they want an MMF or MF storyline. I can write the MFM, but I think it'll feel forced, like I'm just writing it for the sake of kink, rather than what the characters would actually do. If Valdricht isn't inclined to have a sexual relationship with Serax before the addition of the MC, he certainly isn't going to start sharing his mate with Serax.

The Thing Some Players Are Scared to Say

Guys, I know this is a taboo subject in the Angelo-sphere but I'm Mexican and we don't do all that talking in circles so as not to offend people. I'm writing an MMF story, so it should be obvious that I like reading M/M, but not all readers do. I've talked to more than a dozen readers privately about this topic because they're too afraid to mention it publicly, but it's just a turn-off for them, and that's valid. Just like a lot of gay people don't find straight sex appealing, so too, do a lot of straight and even bi readers not find M/M sexual content appealing.

It's not an issue of prejudice, but one of preference, and I respect that. While I will say that this was always supposed to be an MMF story and that was clearly stated upfront, I understand a lot of readers started the story on Itch because there was an option to remove M/M sexual content via Bound Mode. As such, I'll be preserving that regardless of the final decisions for the update.

Heretic vs Zealot

This feels like the most taboo topic of all, but something I've mentioned many times. The addition of the Heretic route brought in a lot of readers who just don't like playing a religious heroine. The Heretic route is also more dramatic, giving the MC a compelling backstory for players who enjoy angst.

I have changes planned for both story lines, ones which I think will give them more parity, so that they don't feel like two different people. It will do away with the current distinction we have between Heretic and Zealot and give players a highly consequential and somewhat painful moral dilemma in the prologue.

Rather than creating wildly divergent storylines, I'll be relying on tendencies--your MC's personality, to dictate the tone and vibe of different scenes. Your bonds will be what unlock different options/interactions with the love interests.

None of these changes will mean that you won't be able to have a sassy/witty MC or a more tender/introverted MC. You will also have the key distinction of being able to play an MC who keeps her faith or has her faith broken. The first seven nights will still revolve around building your MC's personality and maximizing your bonds with your favorite partner.

The Logic Behind Streamlining Routes

I intend to aggressively streamline the story routes with the goal of being able to consistently produce new episodes in as little as a week and at most two weeks. That means that certain routes will inevitably be shelved. Note: I didn't say deleted.

My aim is to prioritize finishing the main storyline while adding a reasonable amount of diversity of choices, such that readers feel connected to their MC, the love interests, and their child/ren, and feel that they were able to make meaningful choices that impacted their unique tale. That's a tall order just running a single story route, but trying to juggle four + three different modes as I'm currently doing is insane.

I do not enjoy spending over a month to produce a single update. I know that there are other IFs that only update a couple times a year, but my brain isn't oriented for that style. One of the things I noticed as I've been writing the parallel storylines is that I really struggle with jumping from route to route and am inclined to write a single route to completion before moving to another. I will write much faster if I can focus on one route with a reasonable amount of variation, rather than writing one night, then going back and re-writing it for a different route, then going back and re-writing it for a different route, and then going back and re-writing it for a different route. It slays the momentum and ultimately makes me annoyed with the story, because I want to move forward but I keep getting pulled back to write the same night over again. And I don't want to be annoyed with this story because I love it.

Now, I hear you. You have a favorite route, and the audience is remarkably split on what their favorite route is, be it Unaligned Zealot, the NSFW Heretic, Standard Heretic, and Standard Zealot. My intention isn't to leave any players feeling like they got a raw deal with their favorite route being clipped, but rather to prioritize a single hybrid route, combining the best elements of the Zealot and Heretic routes with dynamic scenes that change based on your MC's unique personality.

By laser focusing on a single route, I can write it to completion and then circle back and add new routes once the main story is finished. Moreover, by the time we reach the end, readers will have a much clearer idea of what alternate routes they'd like to see. For example, one of the Serax MF routes I toyed with was what if the MC you played as was his actual mate, her soul returning to her body, much to The Weaver's chagrin. Or what if Valdricht and the MC crossed paths in Nazralt before her death? There are so many alternate storylines we could explore upon finishing the main story.

What's the Poll For?

The poll is to figure out which routes are most popular, in order to determine which storyline to structure the re-work on. I'll be running this once more when Night VI is complete, that way readers have a clear idea of which route they favor. As previously mentioned, I do intend to continue to offer a monogamy route for Valdricht. Serax will have to come in a later storyline. Unless I change who he is as a character, he will not be interested in an MF relationship with your MC until much later in the story.

For your reference:

Aligned Zealot -- Generally agrees with The Weaver and received an offer from Valdricht at the end of Night V.

Unaligned Zealot -- Generally resists The Weaver and ended Night V with a kiss.

NSFW Heretic -- Slept with Valdricht and Serax in Night V and spend the night in the woods.

Standard Heretic -- Went to Meyrrvik and received an offer from Valdricht at the end of Night V.

Which route do you feel has the best storyline?