Hope ya'll are having a good Saturday! One day early for once, wow~ Early because my mom is visiting tomorrow so gotta make sure I get this posted. Got a pretty big update today so I hope you guys enjoy! Just to preface, school is starting soon! The next update may be a little delayed or smaller than normal, so if that's the case, just know that it's for me to adjust to the new schedule.

First off, let's start with something business wise, you can totally skip over it if you're not interested!

1) Looking for a CHIBI artist

So I really just HATE drawing chibis. They're a waste of time for me even though I think some can be really cute. As such, I'm looking for an artist that would be willing to create some images that we could use commercially for keychains, pillows, shirts, etc.

Requirements:

-18 years or older

-Have a flexible schedule

-Reliable and available on short notice

-Can meet deadlines

-Operate on a fixed price

-Allow the purchased art to be used for commercial purposes including but not limited to merchandise and use in-game

-Cannot resell the images/products once created for Parival, LLC

If you're interested, please send us an email at parivalgames@gmail.com with your portfolio, prices, age, and hours of availability.

Please do not feel discredited if you're not hired!

2) Plot Progress

God dang the plot is coming along fantastically! We're about 90% finished with the common route at this point and are working on the love interest routes. All of the routes tug at my heartstrings, and I'm sure everyone will find something they love and hate about each route. I'm really hoping you'll all be able to enjoy them nonetheless. To get a feel for the full story, I'd recommend playing at least 2-3 of the 4 routes. Some character aspects are only revealed in their specific route, and some revealed in the other routes. You'll have plenty of game time!

Speaking about the game, since a lot of the characters have been updated, when the full game is out, we'll release an updated demo with the new character sprites as well as updated CGs and plot. That way people who play the demo aren't extremely confused when the characters change from the demo to full game.

Another thing about the demo, one of my friends played it and he just so happens to be a smaller youtube channel. I even offered up some of my commentary during the play-through about what will change, what will stay, how things developed, etc. If you're interested in watching, I'll post another update for when the video is out, just in case you would all like to know my perspective about the game and demo and what not!

3) Character Interviews

If you're interested in asking the characters anything, feel free to fill out this form:  https://goo.gl/forms/FZybtIrnTrfP2H4t2 (You can fill out more than one.)

NOT POKE

-SIDE CHARACTER: Who the fuck is Lucas?  

PARA: Minami’s younger best friend from high school (who we also ship with Mido).

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PRAYFORDEATH

-JUN: How heartbroken were you after Rei left?

JUN: “I think heartbroken is the wrong word. More like--heart shattered? There were so many pieces, I didn’t even know where to start. I remember coming back to that empty apartment and not even recognizing it. Without Rei’s things it was just--a box with no personality. But I was determined--determined to make amends. So, I picked up the room and I put all those pieces in a bag and carried them with me. Hoping that one day I would--have some kind of pattern to rebuild it. But yeah--it hurt. It still does.”  

AIDEN: “Oh fuck, how melodramatic.”  

JUN: “You’ve never been dumped, you mutt!”  

AIDEN: “And you’ve never been a widower!”  

REI: “‘Kay, you two get your dicks off the pity table and at least try to play nice.”

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TWINS LOVER

-LEO/GRIFF: What do you two like the most about Rei?

LEO: “Man, that’s such a hard question because I was so attracted to him the moment I saw him on TV. I don’t even know why. I guess it’s just because he’s so beautiful--not to mention sexy. And then to find out he’s fun, open-minded, willing to play around, but also super smart...He’s kind of what I want to be when I’m his age.”

REI “Really? I’m only four years older than you.”

LEO “Shut up, I’ve got a lot of growing up to do!”

GRIFFITH: “He’s a smart, attractive, sexy man who knows what he wants. The thing about Rei is that he’s not that easy to get close to, kind of has a hard shell. Once you get under that, he really is--like Leo said--someone you can have fun with and tease. Plus, we’re interested in the same things. Oh, and I really kind of like that he’s a screamer.”

REI: “Yeah okay, thanks for that.”

JUN: “We all know that, dove. Why bother trying to hide it now?”

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DJAX

-JUN: Who gave you your first orgasm?

JUN: “Unfortunately, not Rei--but I’d like to think that my orgasms began with him. Your move Djax. Who gave you yours?”

-DEVS: Describe your first kiss.

PARA: Germs shall never prevail.

QUILL: NEVER BEEN KISSED.

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NOTNIGHT

-AIDEN: Will you be my daddy? Please.

AIDEN: “Why is this a thing? First Rei, now someone I don’t even know.”  

From a distance.  
JUN “And you’re still four asses short of the record!”   

AIDEN “Fuck off, Jun! We’re supposed to stay in character!”

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DUCKYMOMO

-JUN: What is your favorite memory of you and Rei?

JUN: “Oh--the ramen shop. Now that brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

REI: “Good or bad?”

JUN: “Both, honestly--but mostly good. Anyway, Rei and I had a bit of a cat and mouse thing going--he being the cat of course--and when we got over ourselves, I decided to overdo it a little.”

REI “A little? It was a 12 course meal at $450 a plate!”

JUN “Don’t mind him, he would’ve complained if I hadn’t gone all out for our anniversary. But back to my story, we finished this massively awful dinner that cost a fortune and we were still hungry. Of course, I didn’t want to admit it. My stomach kept growling in the car, so on the way home, we passed this no name hole-in-the-wall noodle shop.”

REI “Best ramen ever by the way.”

JUN “It really was. Spent the next, what--2 hours?--stuffing our face and getting wasted on Sake. Not to mention what happened when we got home. All around excellent night.”

-DEV: Do you plan to release a Beta version of the game where you can pay for early access of the game?

PARA: This was available for some of the Kickstarter tiers. We are not going to open early access beta otherwise unless it it absolutely necessary.

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THERM

-AIDEN: What's the toughest part of your job?

AIDEN: “In general, the toughest part was getting started. Going through training took a lot of physical and mental endurance. I like the idea of putting away the bad guys--but I don’t care too much for the paperwork. It’s a good thing I can pawn some of it off on my interns.”

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MOCHII

-LEO/GRIFF: If you have nobody to fuck, will you fuck your brother, Leo

GRIFFITH: “This idea that we sleep with everyone is totally overrated. It’s not like we need a warm body every second of the day.”

LEO: “I do!”

GRIFFITH: “Yes, Leo and I always share a bed--”

LEO: “Sometimes with more than just us--”

Sighs.

GRIFFITH: “But Leo, at least to me, is not my last resort. He’s not someone I turn to just because I can’t find someone else.”

LEO: “Aww, I love you too big b--little bro!”

-DEV (Prayfordeath too): When the official game will be released, where we can buy it?

PARA: If we stay on schedule, the game should be released Summer 2019. It’ll be available on itch.io and then steam later on. We’ll most likely release it for $13-$20 depending on the final word count, #of CGs, and #of BGs.

--

RAI

-AIDEN: What breed of dog is your favorite?

AIDEN: “For me, it’s not about the breed, but it is about the dog--a dog to be specific. His name was Cobalt, a Great Dane. I’m kind of ashamed to admit, but when I was little, he used to let me ride on his back whenever we’d go on a walk.”

-DEV: What do you do to destress yourself?

PARA: When am I not stressed? Between everything, it’s always worry or stress over something. Plus with school starting, that’s another thing on my plate. Not to mention this uni does some stupid thing and adds an extra lecture called a drill that isn’t worth a credit but’s mandatory to attend so that’s great. If anything, I guess the down time between writing and drawing is the only time I have to destress--which is my sleeping and eating time. So yeah--sleeping and eating.

QUILL: To be honest, stress is part of the end game and, without it, I wouldn’t be as creative or productive. It’s like those papers that aren’t due for weeks, but you always put them off until the night before. For me, that’s not just a cliche; that was the norm. And looking back on it, I finally have a reason for the madness: I’m a writing junkie. I love the thrill of deadlines and the responsibility of putting words to paper. Writing IS my stress relief; I never feel more at ease--or more like my true self. My stress is my relief and my relief m stress.

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CREATE

-REI: What was the biggest lesson you learned from your childhood, or growing up in general?

REI: “Self-reliance is the best reliance. You don’t need to know the details.”

-DEV: Was it difficult finding inspiration for, or coming up with, the love interest characters?

PARA: Not really, it was all a team effort and eventually the characters just grew to what they are now and they continue to grow. I think we’ve created a dynamic array of characters that it’s almost inevitable that they’re drawn to each other in certain ways and whether that’s love or hate or because of it, it makes for interesting pairings.

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BLUE

-LEO/GRIFF: Who's the alpha twin?

LEO: “Everyone knows it’s me!”

GRIFFITH: “--I’ll just let him have this moment. He does look down on me sometimes.”

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ERRORCRAB

-JUN: What do you like most about Rei?

JUN: “What do I like most about Rei? Well, I like his expression when my di--”

REI: “Jun! These answers are supposed to be age 16+, not rated 18+.”

Sulking.

JUN: “No one told me that when I came in. Fine--ask me what I don’t like instead.”

--

EMIL

-REI: Would you stab me if I say "please"?

REI: “What’s in it for me? I’m not really into knife play.”

--

A (not so) MYSTERIOUS WALKING CAT

-MINAMI: If you could know the absolute and truthful answer to one question what you ask and why that?

MINAMI: “Hmm--I’d want to know what it means to be happy. If I’m happy with A, B, C, D and E, but not happy with F, does that make me unhappy? Oh, sorry! I’m taking a dual-credit psych course this semester, so it’s kind of stuck in my mind.”

-DEV: How long have you been practicing digital art/what is the most difficult part of drawing digitally/what is your favorite part? (for para) and have you worked on any other vns/how did you come across 1stD (for editor)

PARA: I think it’s been like a year and a half since I started doing specifically regular digital art. I did pixel art before but other than that I stuck to traditional (which I hate now). The most difficult part is being able to figure out what to freaking draw or how I want to draw something. It’s always hard to start a character or an artwork and then get halfway through and decide to scrap it. My favorite thing is being able to create things that I like and learning how to improve skills I already have. I’m gonna try to learn how to digitally paint as well.

QUILL: No, no others VNs, but when it comes to dynamic stories, the basic principles are the same no matter the genre or platform. I’ve written novels, short stories and screenplays, so it’s just a matter of learning the formatting. I, like perhaps most of you reading, happened upon 1st Degree while visiting Kickstarter.

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UNKNOWN (AKA A MYSTERIOUS WANDERING CAT AGAIN)

-ALL CHARACTERS: What is your kink?

JUN: “Alright, I get to pick who starts the group thera--chat I mean. Let’s see, how about the cute little one with the pink hair.”

MINAMI: “Do you even know my name?”

JUN: “Yes, pink-haired boy. Stop stalling.”

MINAMI: “Rude! Ugh, well, I guess I like the sticky stuff.”

GRIFFITH: “It’s all sticky, what does that even mean?”

LEO: “Details, details, details!”

MINAMI: “Oh you know--like whipped cream and maybe some chocolate.”

LEO: “What!? Inside!?”

JUN: “Eh--been there done that, boring. Next~! You, the detective mutt.”

REI: “Jun, for the last time, his name is Aiden.”

JUN: “And ‘Ai’-don’t care. What’s your kink?”

AIDEN: “Anywhere but the bedroom.”

LEO: “Ooh~ Detective’s got a little secret~”

MINAMI: “Where else could you do it?”

JUN: “Yawn. Not entertaining enough. Next, how about you brats? One or the other, I don’t care.”

[Leo and Griffith lean heads near each other and start to whisper as if working through the oh-so-many choices at their disposal.]

LEO: “Well, I enjoy public places. Let’s see--what’s our count now Griff? 10 rooms?”

GRIFFITH: “Add a zero if you’re counting places not in the uni.”

LEO: “Oh yeah~ Those were fun.”

JUN: “--Borderline interesting.”

GRIFFITH: “I also don’t mind a bit of heavy play.”

LEO: “Yeah and it fucking hurts sometimes!”

JUN: “Well that would be the point. And with that gorgeous answer--you’re next, dove.”

REI: “You already know I’m a sadist.”

Teasing.

JUN: “I do believe you mean masochist sweetheart. After all, I did have to slap you around a few times. And you seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.”

Flustered.

REI: “But that was--!!”

JUN: “Uh-uh--it’s okay to admit it. Your secret’s safe with us.”

LEO: “Not really.”

Arms crossed.  

AIDEN: “Alright Mr. Sex God, why don’t you wow us with your kink of wonder since ours are so--’boring’.”

MINAMI: “Yeah! What is it?”

JUN: “Oh, don’t worry, I will. I just had to tease Rei first. Let’s just say I’m up for anything, but my favorite is being a DM.”

MINAMI: “What’s a DM?”

LEO: “You mean like for that game?”

GRIFFITH: “He means a dungeon master. Basically in charge of an orgy.”

JUN: “Just like I’m in charge of this panel. So, who’s taking their clothes off first?”

ALL: “I’m leaving.”

JUN: “No! It’s going to be fun! Come on!”

4) Mido Update!

Okay, so Mido is my freaking son and I think he's adorable. Buuuut, I felt he needed a little upgrade. He's still a quirky little sweetheart, and WOW would you look at that! Doesn't have hands in his pocket. (Seriously, if I can hide a hand, I will.)

I really just wanted to make him fit in with the rest of the 3/4 sprites. To be honest, I wasn't going to redesign him until like--Wednesday night. Originally, this update was going to have two new characters, but like, I totally ship Mido and Lucas, so I thought why not have them in an update together!

Without further ado, this is Mido's new sprite!

5) New Side Character: Lucas

Finally a new character! This is Lucas, he's Minami's best friend and also younger than him (still 18 though). Lucas practices Judo and is the vice president at their high school. Although they don't have much interaction in the main story, in the background, Mido and Lucas are having problems starting their relationship and you may even find Mido asking Rei about relationships at some point in the game! (Don't hecking mess with my ships okay)

Don't you dare hecking mess with my beautiful innocent bois.

Look how pure they are.

6) Questions

1) Thoughts on updated Mido and new Lucas?

2) What would you like to see next update? A new character or more outfits?

3) What kind of merchandise would you like to purchase with Chibi images?

4) Would you be interested in watching the video of me and my friend going through the demo and giving thoughts on it?

5) How do you like the interviews? Are they interesting or do you just skim over the answers?

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Thanks again for reading and I hope you liked the update! If you have the time, please feel free to respond to the questions section! As always, if you have any questions, please send an email to parivalgames@gmail.com

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Feel free to join our discord! You can chat with me and the other devs, as well as a bunch of other weirdos~ Previews are also posted earlier on our discord!

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Remember, we have a ko-fi! Any money will go towards furthering the game, buying merchandise, and maybe even going towards an optional narrator if we get enough~