I have gotten SO much work done on this thing since last we spoke, my friends. And I have some exciting new things to share with you.

Let's get right down to it. I am 8 scenes away from finishing this next build, which will be end of Sunday through Wednesday of the next week. The build AFTER this will be Thursday through Sunday.

Most of these 8 scenes are already scripted. I just need to shoot them and score them, then bug test them. There are 2 scenes that are partially or mostly written, and one extra scene that I thought up recently that is not written yet. 

I have mostly been spending this time working on getting the texting system to look and feel good. Previously, it was really blocky text that was hard to read, and you just kind of sat there until the convo was over. Now, the text looks much better, I introduced response choices so you can pick what you say once in a while, and the girls can even send you PICS! THAT'S RIGHT! PICS! That's gotta be the best part. I nailed the resolutions of the pics in portrait and landscape that would fit in the texting system on the first goddamn try. So I'm absolutely PSYCHED about that.

I've been trying to think up more Patreon extras to reward people for supporting the project, and it turns out the audio file from Nook was a huge success. Everyone loved getting to hear her voice, and more importantly, confirmation that she's okay. I'll have to commission more of these soon. Maybe Aoibheann with her soft Northern Irish accent, or Wither with her cute broken English might be next. I've had other ideas, like getting a handwritten letter from River, or a mysterious contact from an unrevealed character. The Patrons have also come up with several new, amazing designs for characters that I'm determined to put into the game at some point. I'll detail those here.

First, we have Venrae, a short, felinesque little hardbody with an aggressive personality. Tomboyish, agile, and fond of teasing.

At first glance, you might think she has a lot in common with our beloved Jade, but you'd only be partially right. Venrae's style is more of a hit-and-run style, and she has fun catching people off-guard.

Next, who would have guessed... another Goblin! This community never seems to get tired of Goblins, and wanted to put together another short stack for the masses. This year's model is named Nichiri. Don't let those big, innocent teal eyes fool you. She's a little shit. The community was in Discord with me when we came up with her idea, and there ended up being two versions of her. The above is her casual form. The below is her formal form. 

The Discord community loved her so much that I'm determined to get her in the game at some point. 

Finally, we have our most recent character, one that the Discord dreamed up only about a week ago, and everyone is going absolutely APESHIT over her. One of the users said that his only weaknesses were Onis and Lolis. My remark was, "See, now you're making me want to combine those two things." The discussion devolved into excited ideas, and well... Amanozako was born.

At first, I was very distressed, as I couldn't find the signature Kanabo or the giant prayer bead necklace. I also didn't quite find the super long Tengu sandles, either, but then I saw the giant nodachi and magatama necklace and went, 'YESSSSS.'

These are all just ideas right now, and will most likely make their way into the game as optional character routes. I ended up having one of the mainstream characters set up as sort of a point-of-contact for nonhumans who aren't students, who are kind of stuck in this world. It's a great setup for after we get through the Janitor and Security arc into the Counselor arc of the game, because then, Aurum will be working for the World's Crossing Academy itself and have his own office. But we have a LONG way to go before we get there, so one step at a time.

As the game expands and all these cool new character ideas come up, I realize it may take me longer and longer to release updates. At this point, I am considering taking contributions from fellow writers, or even adding another person to Team EmberWings to help me work on the game by writing scenes for side characters. I'm still on the fence about this, but if anyone is interested in this, is familiar with Atom, and especially if you have experience with StudioNEO, drop me a line and let's talk. More frequent updates is a HUGE goal of mine.

Thank you all for your patience! I hope this build has enough content to keep everyone satisfied for a little while. I'm hoping to release it soon. Just gotta finish these scenes. I welcome any questions and ideas!

-Vic