Tiny Update 2 (and Sneak Peek)

Everyone... I don't know if I'm going to make it...

I am so, so close to updating this month's alpha build! But with how things are going and how work has been stacking--I plum forgot I have a reading for my book this month, on top of all of the other deadlines I've got floating around, and I didn't even remember to bring a copy of my book with me so what am I going to read from gfljgfdg--I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to whip up the next chapter of Riel and Trouble's Murder Story in time! I am going to try my very, very best, but I'm just putting it out there that I might need an extra day or two... I'm supposed to be relaxing, but I've been working harder than ever in order to squeeze in time to relax! Every time my partner is like, "Hey, I can take a day off from work and we can go look at the tide pools!" I'm like "HAHAHA THAT'S GREAT *looks nervously at growing work pile*" 😅😂

Along with everything else, so far I've cleaned up pretty much all of the bugs reported for the alpha build up to this point; I spent a while setting up the new quickstart system I referenced in my last update post, and it's all fine and working; I made some much needed tweaks to previous stuff in past chapters; I threw in some new music and sounds while I was at it; and I'm spitting out new content for Chapter 7 (it is appropriately gross and not suitable for people who don't like eels, lampreys, leeches, or basically horrible things). Once I get through this next batch of scenes, we should be good to go on that front! I even modified ChoiceScript's CSS to make my homebrew version of the game all pretty with different colors and fonts, but sadly, I don't think there's any way to share that version with you all, since I can't figure out how to compile the game properly...

GLRGJRGLJRERERUOIE WHY CAN'T IT BE PRETTY LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME

Unless you think it's hideous, in which case it's probably better that I'm the only one who has to see it--

Another small thing I thought people might enjoy: you can have shorter versions of your first name as nicknames now, especially for those Brightburners who have long mouthfuls of given names! Basically, there are three versions of these types of nicknames now at play in ShoH:

• Chase's nickname for the MC. This is typically "sunshine" unless you tell him to change it to something else or quit it altogether, leading him to refer to you by your preferred nickname (say "sweetheart" or something) or your first name only. Typically, only Chase uses this one.
• Say your character's first name is "Althea." If you talk to Trouble during one of his days off and you're good and friendly with him, he'll ask to start calling you by a shortened version of your name, such as "Thea." (Or "A", "Al," something like that.) If you agree to this, he and other characters might start referring to you as "Thea" in more familiar contexts, though not always (such as during missions or work). 
• If you attended the Circle with Red and were close to him, he may have a different "short" name for you, or the same one as Trouble's, or nothing at all and just your first name; you pick. So while Trouble may call you "Thea," Red may privately refer to you as "Ally" or what have you, some nickname you might have gotten in your schooldays--but only if you pick that option. Otherwise, it will default to your first name! 

Just another way to freshen up the MC's interactions with people and demonstrate familiarity in certain characters in another subtle way!

Okay, I should get back to work; the alpha build update will hopefully be up shortly! And if I'm a day or two late on that short story, I'm very sorry; I hope you'll accept a surprise character card reveal as my humble offering instead! 🙏😉