The In-Between - Tumblr Posts

Hi lovelies! ♥

I'm an author of traditional and interactive fiction, and I'm currently working on two projects in ChoiceScript. One is a science-based apocalyptic horror, while the other is a romantic drama set in Naples, Italy. This blog will mostly be about my works in progress!

I have, however, already published a short introspective drama in ChoiceScript, which can be found here.

I will soon set up a page for each of them on here, but in the meantime, here is a brief introduction:

After Dark

While the heavy industry is more active than ever, the effects of global warming are evident, with higher temperatures, dying bees, and animals acting weird. After Dark is a scientifically accurate apocalyptic horror. You’re tired of zombies rising from the ground for no reason? You don’t believe in ghosts? Glittering vampires aren’t for you? Then you have to try one of the three different stories that unfold in After Dark. When a global pandemic starts to transform people into dangerous monsters, which path will you choose? Will you fight for humanity? Will you stay for your family? Or will you run away in search of a better future?

The In-Between

You’re an introverted college student, studying modern languages at a famous university based in Naples. You live a seemingly ordinary life with your parent and younger sibling, as no one knows the truth about your past side business—a dark, illegal one. You thought you had finally escaped that world, but when your younger sibling falls seriously ill, your only hope is your wealthy ex-lover: an attractive mobster, charming and dangerous in equal parts...

Tell me, which one appeals to you most? 😁

Hiii, hope you are well!!! First i want to say that i really really love your two demos. And i hope i'm not being annoying or rude for saying this. But for The In-Between, i still don't know who supposed to be the RO. Or it's my bad that i miss about this information entirely. Or is it suppose to be a secret? I mean we have met good and evil Ale, Chiara and her friend, Cinzia. But after 6 chapter, i just can't see the romance part for MC. When i think that i want to romance the good Ale, then i read the scene and his POV that he like or at least have an interest in Chiara and Cinzia. When i want to romance evil Ale, it just look like he want to use us really and the relationship percentage start from 5% and not many choices that can increase it. And Chiara obviously say that she has a crush to evil Ale. Then who likes MC??? Maybe it's my fate to be single in reality and fantasy world 😂😂😂. Jk, i mean it's ok too to have a story without much romance and more focus to the MC illegal business instead if that's ur goal (*Cough... but maybe you can reduce the POV of other characters regarding their successful romance stories like Good Ale and Cinzia, i'm being petty i know. Forget it lol). It's ur IF afterall so i'm not gonna criticize ur work and just continue to like and read it. Thanks for share ur WIP with us!!! And sorry for my bad english. Have a nice day. ❤

Hi!!! Absolutely no problem at all, in fact, your question made me laugh super hard because it's so legitimate, but I didn't think it could be that much of a nuisance, I'm so sorry!

I'll tell you the reason straight away: this story actually began as a drama-romance novel, so it is designed for a slower build-up than traditional interactive fiction. This is also why the narrator is omniscient!

I'm not going to tell you yet who the romantic interests are (I love reading the guesses about it!) however, know that one will be crystal clear by chapter 10, the other by chapter 11. I can't wait to hear what you all will think about them, I have some strong opinions about the ROs 😆

I'm about to publish the roadmap for the next updates, so check the blog in a few minutes if you're curious about it!

Thanks for the question, and don't apologize for your English (what other languages do you speak? Maybe we have some in common ☺). Until next time, have a nice day you too!! ♥

Roadmap: Next Updates

Here are the dates of the upcoming updates for After Dark and The In-Between! Plus... a little surprise coming soon... 👀

(P.s.: If you already know my WIPs, I'm sorry if updates are less frequent than you would like—I get it, really. Unfortunately, I work two jobs and it's tough to juggle everything. Patrons support is indispensable, so if you can afford it, please consider supporting my literary projects. Thank you! ♥)

[Image description: table with next updates dates. After Dark, chapter 3 day 5, patrons only: 30-31 August, free: 29-30 September. The In-Between, chapters 7 and 8, patrons only: 11 August, free: 24 August. Prologue of unnamed project, patrons only, mid-september/mid-october.]

The new update is on Patreon in early access!

Chapters 7 and 8 contribute 6k words, for a total of about 24k words!

Go check out what is happening to MC, their friends, and their... not-so-friends? 👀

[ Patreon ][ Discord ][ Public Demo ]

Chapters 7 and 8 are now free to read for everyone!

Click on "Public Demo" to read them! ♥

The new update is on Patreon in early access!

Chapters 7 and 8 contribute 6k words, for a total of about 24k words!

Go check out what is happening to MC, their friends, and their... not-so-friends? 👀

[ Patreon ][ Discord ][ Public Demo ]

happy for after dark readers but when will you update the in between?? 😭

Hey! The In-Between update will come out in about a week for patrons, about three weeks for the free one. I will post the updated road map tomorrow! ☺

Roadmap: September-October Updates

So, this schedule probably sounds a little bit crazy, but I'm sure I can handle it! However, always take these dates as flexible, and if there are any hiccups I will let you know via Patreon/Discord/Tumblr as usual. ☺ Patrons support is indispensable, so if you can afford it, please consider supporting my literary projects on here. Thank you! ♥

[Image description: Next Updates. The In-Between Chapter 9: patrons only 10 September, free 24 September; Chapter 10: patrons only 10 October, free 25 October. After Dark Chapter 3 Day 5 Part 1: free 28 September; Chapter 3 Day 5 Part 2: patrons only 30 September, free 16 October; TBA: patrons only 30 October. "H.A." Prologue: patrons only 19 September.]

Would you save your younger sibling by falling back into a life of crime you desperately wanted to escape?

Or would you rather let your past stay buried and risk losing them forever?

Starting tomorrow, it's going to be three big weeks for my patrons!

First up is The In-Between update, followed by the new Patreon-exclusive next week (which I’m dying to share more about!!), and then the After Dark update the week after that.

I'm totally exhausted but also super excited! (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)♡

When will the explicit scenes be introduced in the demo? This is amazing so far! I’m really enjoying it 😁

Hi! Thank you ♥ I'm going to guess you're talking about The In-Between, but correct me if I'm wrong!

If we're talking about generic explicit scenes, they start in Chapter 12. That's actually a pivotal chapter, so whatever you're looking for in the plot--it's probably going to happen (or concluding, or starting) in Chapter 12!

If your question revolves more around MC-related explicit scenes, then you'll have to wait for Chapter 14--but I'm going to add that it's going to be a drama-filled explicit chapter, so it could be not everyone's cup of tea!

Hi! The in between interactive novel is honestly amazing! I love how you added different levels of Italian also. I am bilingual and this was truly amazing to see, as primarily I use English now it was awesome to read some parts in Italian ❤️ what made you want to add Italian elements to it?

I'm really happy to hear that. I was hoping someone might appreciate this feature!

The In-Between is set in Italy, more specifically around (and inside) a famous university in Naples. I started writing this story as a novel in Italian when I was attending it, and I had really LOTS of free hours between classes. There was no crime drama in real life, though :D

When I started translating it into English, I was a bit sad to lose all those cultural references, nuances of meaning, etc.—actually impossible to translate into English. Having studied translation and cultural mediation, however, I realised that I could turn the novel into a textual adventure, thus making it possible for different translations and/or linguistic additions otherwise unfeasible in traditional fiction. Et voila, here is the end result. Well, the result in progress, actually ☺

Which choice script do you think will be release first? After dark or The in between? It’s amazing how you are able to do the two objects at once, must get intense at times but they are both so far, really good! You can see how much work, love and care for put into them ❤️

Hey! Thanks so much for the compliments. It means a lot to me!

I'm actually working on two and a half projects right now. Tomorrow, I'll be releasing the prologue for Hope Abides, an LGBT-themed Patreon exclusive. It's a big project that I'm taking quite seriously, so it won't have regular updates like After Dark and The In-Between (for now, at least).

Between those two, The In-Between is probably the one I'll finish first, even though it's newer. The reason is simple: it's more of an interactive book than a narrative game, so the code doesn't take me a lot of time. After Dark, on the other hand, took me months of work just to fine-tune the code! The latter is strongly focused on the game-like management experience, where you have to survive, build relationships, and regain control of your future. Every little interaction requires lots of code, bugs pop up all the time, and there's always something to fix or improve... So yeah, The In-Between is the most likely to be finished first! ☺

What would your favourite choice of the games interactive stories be? Would you have a favourite type? Romance, Fantasy etc. and did any of the inspire you with the ones you are currently writing? 😁

Oh boy! This is going to be a long answer, brace yourself lol

Let me start by saying that I have a degree in English literature (in fact, I'm going to do a PhD on it), so reading, in general, is one of the core activities of my life.

As for text adventures, even if not from Choice of Games Ltd., I'd like to mention a few inspirations: my passion first came from the original Choose Your Own Adventure series, and I still remember which numbers obsessed me as a child: Mountain Survival #28, The Dragons' Den #33, and more than any other, Space Patrol #22! (The latter may have also fueled my unhealthy obsession with Star Trek TOS, actually). For those unfamiliar with this fantastic book series, the genres of the three books I mentioned are, respectively, adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi. This gives you an idea of how varied my tastes are...

Later on, I discovered interactive fictions and text adventures. Dude, it was a dream come true. I started with Adventure ('76, never finished it, of course) and Zork ('79, never finished that either… of course. How damn hard were they?!). Then Mystery Mansion ('78), Castle Adventure ('82), and too many, many others. I'm a sucker for Sorcery! from inkle, and I deeply loved Magium (RIP Chris, you won't be forgotten). For my Italian-speaking friends, I also really enjoyed the Fra Tenebra e Abisso series (although its current status is unknown).

But back to CoG-related things. I've read a lot, and I'd probably be faster telling you what I didn't like! As you may have figured out by now, I don't have any particular genre preferences as long as a story is well-written, though horror-thriller stories usually grab my attention more easily.

Important note: I've read a lot of stories and, with a few exceptions, I liked most of them. To avoid writing a too-long list, here are the published stories that really impressed me:

A Crown of Sorcery and Steel,

A Midsummer Night's Choice,

Blood for Poppies,

Blood Moon,

Broadway: 1849,

Choice of the Cat,

Choice of the Vampire,

Donor,

Doomsday on Demand (1 and 2),

Gilded Rails,

Golden Rose: Book One,

Jazz Age,

Lies Under Ice,

Life of a Mercenary,

Life of a Space Force Captain,

MetaHuman Inc.,

Noblesse Oblige,

Paradox Factor,

The Evertree Saga (all four books),

Rent-a-Vice,

Revolution Diabolique,

Siege of Treboulain,

Tally Ho,

The Daily Blackmail,

The Dragon and the Djinn,

The Fernweh Saga: Book One,

The Fog Knows Your Name,

The Gray Painter,

The Grim and I,

The Ghost and the Golem,

The Lost Heir,

The Midnight Saga: The Monster,

The Parenting Simulator,

The Play's the Thing,

The Soul Stone War (1 and 2),

The War for the West,

Tudor Intrigue,

Vampire Regent,

Vampire: The Masquerade (all of them),

Way Walkers: University (1 and 2),

Welcome to Moreytown,

Werewolves: Haven Raising,

Zombie Exodus,

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven.

And now, onto works in progress! There aren’t that many because I barely have time to follow my own (heh…), so here, in alphabetical order, are the ones I'm following with the most interest:

Adoriel's Tears (@adoriels-tears-if),

A Father's Love (@kal-down),

Crown of Ashes and Flames (@coeluvr),

Dawn Chorus (@dawnchorus-if)

Disenchanted (@disenchantedif),

Dragon's Edged (@dragonedged-if),

Elysium (@elysiumcircusif),

Fallen Lights (@fallenlightsif),

For King and Country (@forkingandcountry-if),

From The Ashes We Rise (@kal-down),

Hubris (@hubris-the-if-game),

Kingdoms and Empires (@kingdoms-and-empires),

Return to Misty Cove (@fluorescent-if),

The Abyssal Song (@ri-writes-if),

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - An affair of the heart (@doriana-gray-games),

The Lonely Shore (@thelonelyshore-if),

The King's Hound (@the-kingshound),

The Reaper Watches Me (@thereaperwatchesme),

The Bureau (@thebureau),

The Unseelie (@theunseelieif),

Van Helsing (@vanhelsing-if),

When Life Gives You Lemons (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if).

Okay, that was… a lot. As for direct inspirations, I don't have any direct ones, but I can say I felt like writing a post-apocalyptic story after reading Doomsday on Demand! Other than that, I guess the collection of narrative, text adventures, and interactive fiction I've read have led me to where I am now.

Damn, it took me hours to write this answer. I hope it's satisfying at least! Thanks for asking ☺

Hey! In the novel the in between, what genders are the actual love interest? I know for the interactive novel you can select preferred gender but I was curious what you had assigned them in the novel ( would love to read just am not sure where to buy it from ) thank you ❤️

This is so sweet, thank you! I never actually published the novel in Italian I straight up converted it into an interactive fiction in English, but I really appreciate the thought.

I started writing the novel in 2017, and coming from a rather homophobic environment, the first thing that struck me about that university was how open-minded it was. I had already published a fiction book, and I was about to release a second one, an LGBT-themed drama set in the last century. But this time, I thought, why not write a story with non-cishet characters living in a setting that reflects my everyday life… and actually make it work! At the same time, though, I didn’t want that to be the main focus. It had to be a drama novel, yes, but of a different kind...

The protagonist in the original novel is Nicola, a skinny, introverted guy. He meets Alessandro at university, who’s super friendly, and Chiara, who’s also really outgoing. But soon after, another Alessandro shows up (this is kind of a joke since Alessandro is such a common name—think of something like Liam or Noah in the U.S.).

From this point on, there are spoilers under the cut. If you'd rather avoid them, you can stop here! Otherwise, if you want to get to the conclusion, there’s a gif marking the end of the spoilers—just scroll down to the cat image!

Nicola’s old acquaintance Alessandro not only got him involved in something dangerous, but he’s also his ex-boyfriend, the one who cheated on him. Nicola, who’s gay, broke up with him, and by the time he starts university, he’s single. Alessandro, on the other hand, is bi/pan and keeps seeing Mirko, the guy he cheated on Nicola with, but it’s more of a convenience thing than anything else.

Meanwhile, the other Alessandro is straight and has a huge crush on Chiara, but eventually ends up with Cinzia, Chiara’s childhood friend. Chiara, who’s also straight, was dating Gio, but she’s got a crush on the other Alessandro.

*confused noises*

...So yeah, it’s kind of a mess (YA college drama everyone?), but it only serves as a backdrop to the family drama and the themes of freedom that gradually take center stage in the story.

That said, this is just one version of the story, and it’s now a lot more accessible! It’s a bit tricky to tweak some of the parts that are kind of “hard-wired” into the concept of “I’m a young gay man in the closet,” but I’m doing my best to put those behaviors on MC's inherent shyness and introversion instead.

I hope this answers your question! Thanks again for your interest ♥

Ehy ciao!! Ma che bello trovare autori italiani di interactive fiction qui su tumblr, mi sento l’unica italiana ad apprezzare questo genere di libri 🥲 Ho visto il reblog del tuo libro su interact-if e ho detto “wait a second… ma quella è Napoli” e sono andata subito sul tuo Tumblr a controllare se effettivamente lo fosse. Vado subito a leggere ✨

Ammetto che questo messaggio mi ha fatto ridere più del dovuto!

Nel caso fossi curiosa riguardo la genesi e le meccaniche di TIB, le ho spiegate nelle risposte ad alcune altre domande (tag #readers mail sul mio blog).

Spero che possa essere di tuo gradimento!

Do you have a timeframe of the after dark and the in between will be finished? Or are you just going with the flow? I read and re read both of them they are very interesting and had me hooked!

Hi, thank you for asking! I'm glad you're enjoying them ☺

"In theory, I have a timeframe for both, but to be honest, I’m re-evaluating the composition of After Dark (three separate routes in the first book from the start). The writing and coding for it is really complex, especially considering the multitude of side things you can do with the phone, the collectables, the individual scenes with RO characters, and so on.

For The In-Between, the situation is a bit simpler because it’s more of a novel than a game, but there are still some things to consider when you add interactivity into the mix. To give you a practical example, the original story up to this point consists of 17,747 words. The IF version consists of 27,606 words! So you can imagine what I mean lol

There’s a bit of personal ranting after the cut, so if you’re not in the mood for various unnecessary complaints, you can stop here! ♥

Also, over the past few years, I’ve had a string of bad luck, one thing after another—losses, health issues, bureaucratic problems. It’s been a real mess, and I’ve had to juggle all of it while constantly working (at least) two jobs, earning a degree, and taking extra university courses. Honestly, I’m surprised I’ve managed to get... even the little that I’ve accomplished done, lol. Things haven’t really improved much (I have degenerative health issues, so it’s not like they’re going to get better), and I won’t have any more free time with the PhD and everything. But mentally, I feel stable enough to keep working on my projects. I just hope I can finish them before the next family tragedy, or at least find the catharsis I need through writing.

Sorry for the unnecessary personal rant, but I think it did me good to put it in writing, so thank you for giving me the chance to do so! ☺

How tf did I miss you are the author of Long Weekend??? I loved this game! And I love the in between as well, the story is just so unique!

Also a setting not in the america <3 love italy, need to visit again.

How kind of you to say that, thank you!! A Long Weekend got quite a bit of criticism for being too realistic and dramatic, so when I receive compliments about it, it kind of heals my heart a little, lol.

I'm really happy that you're also enjoying The In-Between! I don't know if you've ever visited Naples during your travels, but all the places mentioned are real :)

woah holy shit, YOU'RE the author of A Long Weekend??? Omg, that was one of the first if games I ever played!! It was so long ago, and I was wondering like a week ago where it was and who wrote it! I really liked A Long Weekend, it felt like a very good introduction into a new obsession

Thank you so much, it’s so nice to read something like that—I’m speechless 😭

Since your message is anonymous, I can’t tell if you follow me or have already interacted with some of my posts, so I'm sorry if this is something you already know—but have you seen my work in progress The In-Between? It’s not exactly the same thing as A Long Weekend, but it’s a drama IF with romantic elements, so you might like it!

Hey friends, remember that the next free update of The In-Between will be online tomorrow!

Don't miss Chapter 9 in just 24 hours ♥

Wanna read more? Remember that patrons receive TIB updates about ten days earlier!

For "in between" I have few questions!

Does the ex like their current partner as much as they like Chiara, a girl they just met? Lol I have to say, theirs is a very deep love 🤣🤣

Will it be possible to have a platonic route?

Did MC and the ex-current-partner already know each other, before the cheating happened? Did they knew that Alessandro/a was in a relationship when they got together?

Hi! So, let's see...

Question 1:

I'm not sure I understand it, who do you mean by 'ex'?

(I started writing a more detailed reply but realized I was probably adding a few spoilers, so I scrapped it and went for something simpler…)

Here are all the current relationships as of Chapter 8:

Ale 1 (friend) <-[flirt]-> Cinzia

Ale 1 (friend) —[crush]-> Chiara

Chiara —[crush]-> Ale 2 (bad guy)

Chiara’s unnamed ex —[crush]-> Chiara

Chiara —[hurt from]-> Chiara’s unnamed ex

Ale 2 —[???]-> MC

Ale 2 <-[???]-> Mirko/Mika

MC —[disdain]-> Ale 2

I'm thinking of creating an in-game character index because I'm starting to need diagrams to explain the relationships, lol!

Question 2:

If by 'platonic route' you mean a relationship without sex, yes, it's possible. If you mean finishing the game without any romantic relationship, that's also possible. However, it's implied that MC does have sexual encounters outside of their main (possible) relationship, even though they're not explicit in the SFW version of the story.

Question 3:

MC's relationships are intentionally mysterious and foggy right now, but that’s all part of the plot! Things will get more understandable soon, I promise ♥