Verenne Multibot and impending Lorebook Update!

Phew, okay! The Verenne Multibot is done for all my JAI buddies, because I do fully understand that other platforms aren't everyone's cup of tea (and tbh, I really like JLLM). For my ST and Chub buddies, I updated the Sandbox with the multibot greeting so you can play the scenario too! In fact, I've added all the greetings/scenarios I've written so far, including for each Target Character, so you can play them all from the Sandbox if you wish.

In terms of bot progress, I am waiting on Eury's final art right now while I chip away at his definition. In the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun with Alt ideas. Perhaps I'll just give in and write my festival Alts, releasing them while I wait. I have cute ideas for that for all four currently released characters. 

My main focus right now is actually the lorebook though. I've started working on Anbar (I'll probably add it to the Setting page today) and also really want to finalize Zeus and Hera. Not just for cleanliness but also because I feel they add a ton to the story.

I'm also defining the Church of Theia and Theia herself right now, ties into Anbar quite a bit. So look forward to Lorebook 2.0.0 soon!In other news, I've spruced up the website's navigation a bit. Sleek symbols now instead of big ugly buttons! Also added the multibot to all pertinent character pages. C: Expect more small fiddlies like that.

Aris is here!

 So Aris is finally done! Well... the bot is. Still haven't gotten around to his profile yet, whoops! 

This concludes the Verenne bots (until Stretchgoals maybe). I'll experiment with making a little multibot of them, especially for JanitorAI, using their Lorebook definitions. I also still need to integrate their magic in the lorebook. So... expect version 1.2.1 soon.

I moved Eurylochus to the WIP section and left Boreas in the planned section, but to be honest, either of them might manifest next. I'll also have to clean up the lorebook entries of Zeus and Hera and finish the one for Icarius while I work on the last two bois. So there might be a brief lull while I catch up to the bots with the lorebook, much like there was a bot hiatus happening when I started working on the lorebook.

Sandbox and Lorebook up!

 

Alright, the Sandbox and Lorebook are finally on this website, too! Or, uh, linked on this website. I'm not quite sure yet if the picture function of carrd works well with ST cards, so I'll get to updating the collection once I had time to test that. 

We also have an actual progress box now where you can follow along to see what's currently actively in the works and planned next and stuff. Be aware that I might always end up having a sudden inspiration boost and finish a bot up in a six hour frenzy even though that one wasn't supposed to be on the WIP list yet - but the Progress Box genuinely reflects what my plans are at least. 

And there can be breaks as I indulge a different target of my hyperfocus, like my lorebook creation guide, my preset experiments or Ranchworld. Or I want to give myself a little break and do something easy, like lorebook tweaks or writing notes for future alt ideas. 

You might be wondering what "Stretchgoal NPCs" are supposed to be? Well, honestly, the main cast of target characters is where my ideas started. But not where they ended. My favorites in Otome Isekai stories have always been the smaller side characters and secondary male leads. I'd kind of really like to add a few characters at least in the lorebook - aides, knight captains, a lady in waiting. Whenever I work on stories, this kind of "feature creep" is pretty typical for me. So many ideas, and then I get lost in some details instead of ever getting the basic skeleton done.

Well, not this time! I've sectioned off a lot of these extras into a "Stretchgoal" category, meaning that I'll write and define them only once I'm done with the core cast - or close enough to done that I need the extras to keep my flow intact. Ideally, I won't touch any of these characters until there's no more than 1 target character and 2-3 Major NPCs left.Maybe I should link my master document here eventually. Might be fun for people to look at...

Artist found!!!

 So as an artist myself, I always felt guilty about using AI-generated art for this series. But my budget is tiny and I had a very specific style in mind, so the leap to commissions was... difficult. I originally planned on eventually replacing all art with selfdrawn pieces, but I really struggle to get to the style I want. 

Enter Raven, who advertised commissions on one of the many Discord servers I'm in.Raven's style is amazing! Very much what I was looking for! I! Am! In! LOVE!Eurycholus is the first target character to get his own actually artis drawn portrait/card! I am super excited, because bespoke art means I can hopefully get some nuances into the characters that were lost before, and I adore having a unified style! 

On a sidenote, Hephaestus is finished and published now! You can grab his ST Card from Chub or chat with him on JAI now! C:Aris is probably next, I'm nearly done with him and already testing as I go. I'm really looking forward to that, because with his completion, the Verennian court's cast will be concluded enough to have a comprehensive play experience if you want to start at the Princess' arrival there or her wedding. 

After Aris I might take a moment to clean up and smoothe out Zeus and Hera, then move on to Rhyddel, then circle around to Gebein.

Website Launch!

 

Yaaaay the website is mostly up and functional! Even got the Trigger Warning accordeons to work, heck yeah!

Still need to actually put in the actual current progress stuff, find a good spot for the lorebook and sandbox and fill out the profiles I haven't yet. But just like the rest, I'll do that piecemeal over the next few days. For now I am hyped to have a good scaffolding going!

I think Hephaestus is ready to go. He just needs an intro, maybe another small nudge in one area, then he should be fine. So nervous about this - Chloe is making NUMBERS (at least for my norm), and now I worry a bit that Heph will he a letdown after her.

But no point in worrying about that. I can only make what I like and wait and see if others agree. Some will, I'm sure.