Foxglove Is An 18 + Interactive Fiction Novel Under Development That Will Feature, But Is Not Limited

--The hungry mouth of Bridehall Manor lets out its clarion call. You have been compelled to answer.

You play as the youngest child of the Simonson family, born out of infidelity-- a perfect Victorian scandal. Due to your unfortunate birth circumstances, your parents have decided to send you away to take up a position as head housekeeper/butler at the remote Bridehall Manor after the previous one's untimely (and altogether strange) passing. You expect your time in the mansion in the Catskills of New York to be uneventful and isolating.

You'd be wrong.

The longer you stay at Bridehall, the more secrets you find hidden behind its mahogany doors, beneath its ornate wallpaper, under its rich hardwood floors, and especially within the denizens of the house themselves.

Just be careful not to drown in the deep, deep black of its shadows.

+ Customize your MC-- what's their attitude towards society? How do they feel about working at Bridehall? What are their thoughts on the supernatural?

+ Also, choose your gender,* interests, personality, name, and more.

+ Discover more about the (troubling) history of Bridehall and the people that have lived in it.

+ Experience the world's most uncomfortable carriage ride.

+ Romance 1 of 5 ROs-- the matriarch, the minister-in-training, the runner-up, the major, or the phantom.

+ Befriend those who live there, or make enemies. Connection is a fragile thing, especially in a place like Bridehall.

+ Blood sacrifices! If you're into that sort of thing.

TW: Gore (not extremely descriptive), mentions of infidelity, violence, brief suggestive content, mentions of animal death, mentions of drug use. This IF is recommended for those 15+.

================================================*Disclaimer: Because this IF is inspired by the 1880s, gender roles are still sort of a thing. There is an option to play as femme/masc non-binary, but based on your presentation, that affects whether you are the housekeeper/butler and how you are treated in society. However, there will not be any transphobia/intentional misgendering in this IF. It's just not something I want to write. I'm not non-binary myself, so I'm very open to suggestions on things to change relating to this topic.

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🌑Harriet Margrave -- the matriarch -- (she/her) {FMCs only}

| Assured. Respectable. Intimidating. The wife of Amos Margrave, although she doesn't like it when people bring it up. She runs the house, some might say with an iron fist. She seems to have taken a dangerous liking to you.

| However, beneath her strong, cool exterior, she's not all that she seems-- you catch glimpses of something dark and curious lurking. It's up to you to decide whether it should never see the light of day or, perhaps, to be consumed entirely by it.

| Harriet is in her late 40s, with ash brown hair always kept in a neat, complex updo and deep blue eyes that shift with tones of green in different lights. She has a light but rosy complexion and stands at around 5'7. She tends to wear a lot of black, as if she's in perpetual mourning, although she doesn't mind an occasional blue accent.

"Low and deep Spake in mine ear her voice: "And didst thou dream, This could be buried? This could be sleep? And love be thrall to death! Nay, whatso seem, Have faith, dear heart; this is the thing that is!" Thereon I woke, and on my lips her kiss." -- snippet of Assurance (1887) by Emma Lazarus

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🌒Ansel Margrave -- the minister-in-training -- (he/him)

| Flighty. Devout. Gentle. A hopeful future Methodist minister, he's recently been plagued by supernatural visions (or so he says,) and your arrival and the circumstances surrounding it do nothing to calm his worries. You may be able to reassure him otherwise.

| As you get to know him, he may reveal that he has far better reasons to be afraid than you might think. Will you walk with him through his troubles, or leave him to wander the solemn corridors of Bridehall on his own?

| Ansel is in his early 20s, and he looks much like his mother with his ashy brown hair and pale complexion, although due to its lack of rosiness it sometimes borders on ghostly. He'd like to dress more vibrantly but fears reprisal from his clerical peers, thus, he usually sticks to muted greens and browns. He stands at around 5'9, and wears spectacles.

"In solitude profound, As shadows fall, what memories, Thick as dew-drops on sun-risen meadows Troop around thee!" -- snippet of Night In Egypt (1880) by George Vaughan

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🌓Cecil/ia Blumenthal -- the runner-up -- (he/him or she/her)(corresponds to the MC's gender)

| Independent. Scrappy. Creative. C's been working at Bridehall for practically their whole life, climbing the ranks until they could finally reach the position of head butler/housekeeper they deserved-- until you came along. In their eyes, you have everything you want on a silver platter, and how much work have you done to get it? None. In short, they've got a real bone to pick with you. Will you play into the feud, or maybe try to change their feelings? Honestly, best of luck on that one.

| Because of how long they've been at Bridehall, C knows more about its history and secrets than they let on. Much, much more.

| C is in their mid-20's, with shiny brown curls that F!C keeps in an artfully rushed bun and M!C keeps just a bit too long. They have coffee-brown eyes and warm, tanned skin dotted with freckles. They stand at 5'6. They prefer to dress for convenience rather than style, but they always wear a tarnished silver brooch in the shape of a bird-- F!C pins it to her collar, while M!C pins it to his lapel.

"I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I waterd it in fears, Night & morning with my tears: And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles. And it grew both day and night. Til it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine." -- snippet of A Poison Tree (1794) by William Blake

================================================🌔 Marshall Ward -- the major -- (he/they)

| Outgoing. Empathetic. Perfectionist. A new arrival at Bridehall like you, he's an old family friend of the Margraves who plans to stay for the autumn. He's the perfect picture of polite society-- porcelain smiles and impeccable manners. Despite the divide between him as a guest and you as the help, he insists on making a connection with you. One that may be a bit too strong for his own good.

| Now, you don't know much about the military yourself, but it is a bit odd that a non-retired military officer was permitted leave for an entire season, and whenever you ask questions surrounding his arrival, you only get heavy silence in return. It's as if there's a tight wire of secrecy underlying his sunny veneer, and the more you press, the more it's likely to snap.

| Marshall is in his early 30s, with pushed-back blonde hair and an impeccably combed mustache. They have light skin and have a small scar running across their cheek, and he stands at 6'2. He is very meticulous in the way he dresses and is particularly fond of red ties with embroidered patterns on them.

"Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell. They that had fought so well Came through the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred. -- snippet of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1854) by Lord Alfred Tennyson ================================================

🌕Annabelle -- the phantom -- (she/her)

| Mysterious. Quiet. Ethereal. Every so often, out of the corner of your eye or the reflection in a mirror, you catch a glimpse of her. Is she even real, or is she simply a product of your own mind, spiraling ever deeper into instability? Whatever she is, you feel an indescribable, intangible pull to her that may become very hard to resist.

| Annabelle is inextricably linked to the house and its history. If you dig to learn more about her, you may unearth the very roots that Bridehall stands on. Roots that it would very much like to keep underground.

| Annabelle appears to be in her mid-20s, although the semi-translucent, filmy aspect to her makes it a bit hard to tell. She has very dark skin that glitters and shines under moonlight, and she seems to be perpetually wet, as if she had just been thrown in a pond. She wears a pale pink dress a decade or so out of date, and stands at about 5'3.

"For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling-- my darling-- my life and my bride, In her sepulchre there by the sea-- In her tomb by the sounding sea. -- snippet of Annabel Lee (1849) by Edgar Allan Poe

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Wanting to make a story about dragons and another post apocalypse story. Why must my brain come up with ideas when I'm supposed to be doing important things, I must focus plss

👾 DEMO TBD 

Contra Spem Spiro is a 18+ sci-fi, dystopian romance interactive fiction that follows the MC as you fight to survive an alien invasion and the repercussions of trying to live in a doomed society. This story is intended for mature audiences and will contain scenes of violence/gore, sexual themes, drug use, discussions of mental health, and explicit language. The game is a work in progress and is currently being written.

👾 DESCRIPTION  

Your story starts off like any other. 

Your life was normal, until it wasn’t. Two years after the invasion ravaged the Earth, you’re struggling to find purpose. The lonely life of struggle and survival is not for you. You’d promised yourself that if there was ever a zombie apocalypse, or if climate change caused the planet to move towards uninhabitable, you’d end it. That was then. That was when hypotheticals existed. This is reality, and instead of dying, you lived against all odds and continue to do so. 

Why? You don’t know. You wake up fortunate to be alive. Everything between the sunrise and sunset is white noise. Insignificant.

Now, your normal shifts again. Now, you’re making a month’s long journey with a group of strangers, their faces unfamiliar except for the exhaustion in their eyes.

They have a plan, and you’re along for the ride. After all, still water is an infested one. You learned that the hard way.

This is not a story of heroes and villains, or of good triumphing over evil. This is a story of people: the kinds worth living for, and the kinds you wish were dead. This story, your story, is one of survival.

👾 FEATURES

Customize your MC! Play as male, female, or nonbinary. You can determine their appearance and personality, updating it (voluntarily and, uh, involuntarily) as the story progresses. Are they charming or intimidating? Do they use their fists to solve problems, or their keen mind and deductive reasoning? Can they talk their way out of trouble, or do they avoid it in the first place? 

Become an asset to your group. The perfect team has balance. Choose your MC’s strengths and weaknesses; develop them as you see fit. Make decisions that change the lives of your found family, or sit on the sidelines and watch chaos unfold. Do you believe in fate, or will you change your future by force?

Engage in romance, or keep it purely platonic between 5 love interests, with one poly option available. Looking for quick hookups? We have two of those. And yes, you can romance an alien. I don’t judge.

Survive. Easier said than done.

👾 ROMANCE OPTIONS

For each of the romanceable characters, there will be options to increase flirtation, friendship, or antagonism. 

♡ Ayana Tsosie/Adriel Tsosie

The Strong, Soft-Spoken Leader (F/M)

Ayana is 5′11. Adriel is 6′3.

Age: 29

Before the invasion, A pursued a career in medicine at the expense of leaving their family, members of the Navajo tribe. Compassionate, intelligent, tactical, and ambitious, you have no doubt that A is a natural born leader who would have thrived as a physician. Despite their warm, welcoming demeanor, A is reluctant to pursue close relationships for fear of it interfering with their sense of responsibility to the group. Help A relieve their burden by taking on a share of the authority, or encourage them to throw caution to the wind every once in a while.

“Optimism without realism is naivety. And that will get us killed. I can’t let that happen.”

♡ Cecelia Quinn/Chase Quinn

The Go-With-The-Flow Girl/Boy Next Door (F/M)

Cecelia is 5′4. Chase is 5′10.

Age: 20

Always up for a laugh, C isn’t interested in the doom and gloom. Their adulthood barely began before the invasion happened, meaning they’re still clinging to what were supposed to be the “best years of my life.” That doesn’t mean they lack competence. C is damn good with technology, (and stick and poke tattoos!), able to rig up electricity seemingly from their back pocket. They take their friendships seriously, and will be the first to defend you when trouble comes knocking. Oh, and did I mention they used to work in a bakery? “Fuck, I miss baked bread.”

*C is demisexual, so although MC can flirt with them from the beginning, it takes a high friendship for them to reciprocate any romantic/sexual feelings.

♡ Veronica Moiarty/Vincent Moiarty

The Insomniatic Anti-Hero (F/M)

Veronica is 5′9. Vincent is 6′0.

Age: 25

Even if V wanted to tell you about themselves, they couldn’t. Having been attacked by an alien those short years ago, they woke up with no memory and a nasty scar on their arm. Others marveled at how they were able to survive such an injury, but V would say that death felt like the better option. Jaded, vengeful, and hot-headed, V isn’t known for their kind words or sensitivity. In fact, who needs enemies when V is there with a scathing comment and a proverbial shove into the mud? You want to hate them, you should hate them. Of course, you don’t.

“What about this conversation makes you think I want to talk to you?”

*Because of V’s canon romantic interest in Z, if you romance V only, they will slowly shift their romantic affection from Z to MC in a realistic manner. The two will always be close friends, but when romancing V alone, MC will eventually become the sole source of their interest. 

♡ Zero Chevalier

The Quiet, Cat-Like Con Artist (F/M)

F!Z is 5′10. M!Z is 6′1.

Age: 24

Quiet, stealthy, and quick to lash out when cornered, Z prefers the shadows to the spotlight. Why say many words when few will suffice? They made a living from con-to-con, using subterfuge and their knack for making themselves invisible to outwit their marks. Z dislikes violence as a whole and is known to have a weak stomach, though they’ll deny being an empath if asked. Z slouches too much, eats too little, and can be found staring off into the void or engrossed in their sketchbook. You’re drawn to their mystery, their light, melodic voice, and their dry humor.  

“Can you all keep it down? You’re interrupting my sulking.”  

*Z is the most oblivious of the romance options. Seriously, it’s like flirting with a brick wall. Romancing Z isn’t for the impatient, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. If romancing Z only, you will notice that V will take longer to warm up to MC because of their jealousy. In time, they will get over their feelings for Z and will come to support their relationship.

♡ Xa'eks/Xa’veed

From Nion 8, With Love (F/M)

Xa'eks is 6′5.  Xa’veed is 6′9.

Age: ???

Personal Information: ???

Is X going to eat you? Is it bad that you wouldn’t mind?

“C keeps trying to tell me what a “ticking tock” is. Please explain to them that I do not care.”

∞ POLY ROUTE 

Initiate a polyamorous relationship between MC, V and Z. To romance both V and Z, you must first romance V. 

It doesn’t take 20/20 vision to see that V has feelings for Z. It would be a bit embarrassing to watch if Z wasn’t known to be heartbreakingly oblivious. It’s like Z hasn’t looked in a mirror a day in their life. Anyways, if romancing V is a boss-fight, then Z is the final boss in a game’s 3 part saga. So you need reinforcements.

MC can flirt with both V and Z. MC will have to begin a romantic/sexual fling with V first, admit their feelings for Z, and encourage V to come clean and admit their own. The two of you can then pull Z into your relationship. Three emotionally stunted peas in a pod. Isn’t it beautiful? ♡

👾 OTHER CHARACTERS

Hayden Graham (They/Them)

Age: 26. Height: 5′3.

Don’t call them a girl, and you can keep your kneecaps.

Rebellious, witty, and charismatic, Hayden is a force to be reckoned with.

Roccio Marcellus (She/Her)

Age: 21. Height: 5′8

Will put on a full face of makeup to kick alien ass. 

Voted Most Likely to Bring Her Music Player to a Deserted Island.

Elijah Crane (He/Him)

Age: 17. Height: 5′11

There’s no calculus in the apocalypse. Fine by him.

“If I’m gonna die anyway, at least let me try tequila before I go!”

And many more!

Note: This post will be updated as I progress through its development. Feel free to ask any questions regarding the plot, any trigger warnings, the romance options, or the MC themselves. 

Reblogs are greatly appreciated! Thank you all so much for your interest and support ♡ ♡

All my love,

Cheye (she/her) 🫰

The joys of writing fantasy is nothing has the be realistic. The bane of my existence is the need to have things be accurate enough and getting nitty gritty about stuff.

Combat can be people hitting each other with sticks and vibes but I'm here trying to determine which weapons are used on horseback and how formation looks. They are fighting on the backs of dragons in a world of magic and mystery, what am I doing this to myself for? 😒

Anyways, lances are pretty cool but what else is there? From what I gather you just ram your lance and then whip out your side arm, which makes sense but also I guess I thought there'd be 30 or so different mounted weapons to choose from.

reblogging the demo link after adding ~3k words, several months after disappearing is very funny to me, okay? okay.

Unwilling Souls (dashingdon.com)

(im wearing clown makeup rn)

Worldbuilding Snippet: How to Get Magic

In the world of Talea there are two main ways for humans to attain magic.

The most common way is to get bind your soul to an familiar. A familiar is an incomplete being of pure magic, their forms are unstable and will eventually fizzle out of existence like a spark of ember in the wind. You act as their host, anchoring them to you. In turn they become apart of you, and you are able to harness their magic. It is a great honor to be deemed worthy by an familiar, at least most people hope you and bound to one because it deemed you worthy. Regardless of the reason why you are bound to one, an familiar is a life long companion; aside from practice a large part of using this joint power is getting along with your familiar. The better the bond, the more stably you can use the magic. This is especially important if you are bound with a particularly powerful familiar.

The much rarer way is to be imbued with magic by a more powerful being. May it be dragons, nyms, the Aasha or perhaps even the Imowu themselves, magic acquired in this manner tends to be more wild and unpredictable and come with less than desirable side effects. It is also debated whether any human who acquires power in this way is still fully human after the fact.

There is a 'secret' third way though. A human carefully handcrafted by the gods themselves, birthed or torn apart and remade some time after; a human made in such a manner is something to be feared. As far as humanity knows this has happened only once, and the scars it had left on existence itself have still jot healed.

The work of Nocifer

Hey hi!

In case you don't know me, I'm known in other places as Bl00dragon, though here I've taken the name of Nocifer. I'm a writer of interactive fiction, I work so far in Choicescript mostly on two works in progress which I intend to submit to Choice of Game for the Hosted Games label.

I've made this Tumblr account to post about my work and give some visibility for updates and sometimes silly or lore stuff.

I have two main works:

The Wight King: A story about a recently awakened undead warrior, stricken with the curse of the Wight King, risen weakened and without memories, they fight for their life as they strive to discover their purpose in this new world. Aided by an ally of circumstance on the road to the throne of the dead.

Ro list

Choice of Games Forum

The Wight King(WIP) - Chapter 6 added (12/01/2023)

word count: 101k <details><summary>Update log</summary>Update(06/03/2018): Big update since the revamping. Some informations below may be o

Shattered - Oblivion: You are a powerful elven warlock, brought low and on the verge of death, saved in extremis by the kindness of strangers, you are given a second chance at life. The warlock's peace is short-lived however, as the shadows of their past catches up to them in the form of an inquisition, searching for the grimoire they possess. Survive on the run, long enough to reclaim what once was yours, and triumph over your pursuers.

RO list

Choice of Games Forum

(WIP, 96k words) Shattered : Oblivion - CHAPTER 4 UPDATE (01/04/2024)

Hello there, welcome to the WIP thread for the demo of Shattered. <details><summary>Content Warning</summary>This game features very graphi

Please go check them out! I'd love to hear more feedback about my work and everyone is welcome to come talk about them!

Completely sober in the club googling worst medieval executions