Status Update #55 - March 29, 2026

Bonjour~! Was kind of a slow week, but this changes nothing in terms of my aspirations for a release date. I'm thinking next week I'll begin posting the checklist of work that remains to be done along with these status updates as I would like to be tradition in the leadup to any release. I'm not as far along with the writing as I'd like to be, but I think I'll be able to totally dedicate myself to it in the month of April. As for the next bonus scene, it will probably be out on the 1st or the 2nd; this is a hard deadline and I have no doubts about making it this go around.

Today's preview features a character everyone has presumably been expecting to see; Tomo Ivavenko, husband of Katia and father of Priscilla and Melina. As people may have picked up on, Tomo is not held in the highest of esteem by Duvessa for a multitude of reasons. That being said, I think it's my job as a writer to present him (and everyone else) in a way that lets you make up your own mind about people rather than deferring to the opining of our narrator.

I thought I'd do something a bit different this week; I can only assume a decent number of the people who like the game are political intrigue junkies like me, so I figured it might be a good idea to occasionally recommend media I've consumed lately that scratches the itch (albeit likely without the graphic sex scenes :/ ). I just finished listening to the first book of the Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon, and am now on to the second. These historical fiction novels deal with what was a real life succession crisis in medieval France, and were actually a big inspiration behind GRRM's creation of ASOIAF/Game of Thrones. I found the first book gripping, surprisingly easy to follow, and incredibly efficient from a storytelling POV. It was basically all-killer-no-filler, which is what I always strive for myself as a writer. Anyone who enjoys the middle age-era scheming in Jezebel would probably like these as well.

I'm also playing through Suikoden II in full for the first time; this is a classic JRPG series with stories based on epic political struggles and wars, anchored by the concept of recruiting over a hundred different characters to serve in your rebel army. The core gameplay loop is super fun, and even I am shocked at how invested I've been in the story. There are a bunch of fascinating twists, and you really start to get invested in the war effort and put yourself in the protagonist's shoes. Both this one and the first entry get my recommendations as well, especially if you already enjoy JRPG's the likes of Final Fantasy and so on.

OK, that's all for this week; see you next time for the first checklist counting down to the release!