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empireofpearls-if · 9 months

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Time seemed to slow down as your muscles coiled, every fiber of your being honed in on that one moment. As the ball reached its apex, you launched yourself into the air, a burst of controlled power. Your arm swung back, and with a thunderous crack, your hand connected with the ball. You could almost hear the collective intake of breath from the crowd. The ball rocketed downward, a streak of white lightning aimed unerringly for the opposing court. The ball hit the floor with a triumphant thud, a resounding echo of victory. In that fleeting instant, you felt invincible. And you were.

Is there a better match than you and volleyball?

You, arguably the most promising spiker of your generation, led your highschool team to victory by winning against your ex-bestfriend slash rival, Nikita.

You couldn't believe you won a volleyball scholarship for the university of your dreams; and maybe you were right not to. An anonymous source convinced the university that you partook in doping and steroid use, which led them to drop you.

With no options left due to the allegations, you decided to accept a scholarship to a minor university with an unknown and lacking volleyball club, the Boarwood Titans. What's worse is that you are now forced to become a battery with your childhood rival, Nikita being the setter and you the spiker.

Can you work together with your rival to lead your team to the victor? Or will hate prevail? And will you find out who really spread the rumors against you?

A fully customisable main character, including gender, pronouns, personality, looks, jersey number, playing style, and many more!

Choices that impact the story throughout, including your team's ranking and dynamic, your reputation as a spiker, your grades, your fame, and more.

Choose between 7 romance options - figure out the love/hate relationship with your rival, fall in love with your childhood best -friend, fall back in love with your ex, the coach's child, a dedicated supporter, a mysterious med student, and the team's ex-spiker whose place you took.

Solve a mystery: who is the anonymous source hellbent on ruining your dreams?

Content suitable for 18+ readers, such as sexual themes, substance (steroids, drugs and alcohol) use, explicit language and themes, and violence.

Nikita Raymond [RO, F/M/NB]: Once your training buddy and now your rival, you wonder if the infamous "Tiger" is the one behind the allegations.There is no place for love between you two. They hate you as much as you hate them; but you'll have to to put that aside if you want to win. Can you?

Klaus/Klara Padel [RO, F/M/NB]: A stern and strict figure in your team, they're especially wary of you ever since you took their spot as a spiker. They've since made it their personal goal to make your stay at the university a living hell. They want to get their spot back, and they've got the motivation. Part of them hopes you'll be able to impress them and show them you deserve their spot, but until then, you'll have to suffer.

Jeremiah/Jerilynn Blake [RO, FtM/MtF]: The team's sweetheart, they're loved by everybody, and for a good reason. Always sporting a smile on their face and snacks in their hand, they quickly become one of your closest friends at Boarwood University.

Bree [RO, F/M/NB]: Your best-friend and setter in your old team. They quit volleyball but still enrolled at Boarwood to be with you. A constant in your life since you were little, you'll find that Nikita's presence will create tension between you two. What's really going on between them?

Andrea [RO, F/M/NB]: Despite being the Boarwood Titans' most dedicated supporter, their stoic and hot-and-cold behaviour confuses you. They take an interest in you, only to ignore you for days. What's really up with this myserious med student?

Angelina/Angelo [RO, F/M/NB]: Your charming ex. Things get messy when you find out your least favourite ex is at Boarwood, and they seem dedicated to not making you forget the past you had, and not in a positive way. Oh boy, spotting them at one of your games might cause either the win of the century or your life's biggest blunder.

Meet a wide cast of characters, including your classmates, teammates, opponents, and more!

-monaco & clessidra <3

#love me some sport themed if #interactive novel #choice of games #volleyball

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empireofpearls-if · 9 months

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Love and Leases is an 18+ interactive novel. Set in Chicago. With focus on relationships, drama, healing. Inspired by 2 Broke Girls, Happy Endings. Ready to sign your lease?

You had it all going for you, didn't you?

A loving fiancé, a wonderful older sister who understood you when others couldn't, a best friend who had been your ride or die since you were in diapers together. A beautiful apartment, not to mention the cutest dog you have ever dreamed of.

Of course, nothing stays good forever. In fact, that is when everything decided to come crashing down.

That fiancé, wonderful sister, perfect apartment. Gone within an hour. That adorable dog, stolen by your now former fiancé. That left you with one option.

You were intent on heading back home to pick up the pieces of your now shattered life. Your best friend had a different plan, that required your position at a leasing office. What happened next is still a blur in your mind. Yet somehow your stuck signing a lease and staying for another year.

This is your chance to start over, start a new career or continue to work at the local leasing office, stake your claim in the city that will be your home for the foreseeable future. Fall for someone, or make new friends? Get revenge/make amends with your past, get back your dog? Will you be going back home once the year is up? Or will you be signing a new lease with someone else?

Love and Leases is a slice-of-life interactive story. Where drama, romance, betrayal intertwines to create your story. Rate 18+ for explicit language, sexual themes, drug/alcohol use and more.

Features

❥ Customize your MC, appearance, personality, and history with some of the characters.

❥ Choose a new career, will you strike out on your own or work with some of your acquaintances?

❥ Romance one or more character, will you find comfort in familiar gaze of a friend, pick up the pieces of a relationship of your past? Or do you just think the landlord is hot?

❥ Fix or fracture not only your relationships but those of the people around you. Mend siblings fall out, break up an ex and their significant other, your choice.

❥ Get back your dog!?

Romances

❥ The Best Friend: Cameron “Cam” Clarke [M] – Cam has always been by your side; you have known each other since you were in diapers. Always clinging to one another’s familiarity. He’s protective, and loyal. Some would say he dives headfirst without thinking, according to Cam it's always thought out. His "impulsiveness" is part of his charm. He could care less about others, but one look in your direction is all it takes to soften him up. Cam is confident, sarcastic, and some would say rude. Yet never to you. You can’t help noticing how he looks at you, has it always been this adoringly? Cam works as a photographer.

Route – Friends to lovers.

❥ Noisy Neighbor 1: Gage/Garnet Kim [M or F] – G was one of your closest friends in college, now just a sore reminder of the bad choices you’ve made. G was your educational rival in every sense of the word. Each of you always trying to one up the other. Each of you were always trying to one up the other. G has always had a sharp tongue, and stood out as a lone wolf. They're stoic, detached, and a bit closed-off. Regardless, Cam was able to soften their touch exterior. Getting close to one another was inevitable. Your chemistry to hard to deny. That was until a fight one night at the dorms. Now G barely looks your way. No witty comment, no stolen glances when they thought you weren't looking. Can you fix the fracture in y our relationship? G works as a veterinarian.

Route- Enemies|Rival to lovers. You can decide whether G was just a friend or an ex. Love Triangle.

❥ Noisy Neighbor 2: Kara Clarke [F] - Kara is the younger sister of Cam and your ex-fiancé. She knows what she wants and how to get it. She got the best attributes of her siblings, loyalty and undeniable charm. She is spunky, outspoken, confident, and mainly competitive. That could be the reason she's now vying for your position at the leasing office.

Route- Love Triangle, Dark Secret

❥ The Writer: Markus | Marie Wilkens [M or F] – M is the ideal type to bring home to your parents, or to your friends, or anywhere. M is sweet, considerate, and extremely overworking. Always lacking sleep, that doesn’t dampen their smile. Yet from time to time you notice a sadness that doesn’t belong to their kind face. Not to mention that glimmer of mischief in their eyes. golden retriever

Route- Oblivious to love

❥ The Delivery guy [redacted] : Isaac Allen [M or NB] - I is the resident flirt/jokester. Are you having a bad day? Well, you better believe they have a well timed comment/joke ready to make you blush or laugh. They regularly forget things. Isaac is constantly working either their delivery job or their other job they keep secret. Though you've never met prior, you can swear you've seen them before. Will you be the one who finally gets Isaac to give love a chance?

Route- Fear of Commitment, Double Life

❥ The Landlord: Ardent Pine [M] - You know the last person on Earth you would ever want to be stuck with, yeah that’s Ardent. He is rude, inconsiderate, self-entitled. Everyone has a bad word to say about Ardent. Even his cat (who is the cause of the scars on his arms). Since seeing you something about you has just rubbed him the wrong way, always quick to throw a snide comment your way. Ardent is the type who you could argue with about anything, wanting to pull his hair out afterwards. Surely, he can’t be that bad right? There must be a good bone in him somewhere, are you willing to find it, and find what has hardened his heart? resident dilf

Route- Villainous Crush

Reblogs would be appreciated <3

#keeping an eye 👀#if wip #slice of life #love and leases

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empireofpearls-if · 9 months

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what are the character’s favorite activities? is a game, or physical activity, art, etc? excited for this game, i’m looking forward to trying out a woman MC pretending to be a man in Mughal court

Akbar loves swimming, flying kites and due to a certain event spends a lot time in the palace library.

Raquiya enjoys and is great at a lot of artistic things but no longer indulges in any of them because she takes her duties and position as an Empress more seriously.

Mahira is great at chess, but she's afraid to ask anyone else to play with her, except for her handmaid, who is a complete novice.

Arslan doesn't necessarily enjoy it but he has picked up sword-fighting. He also has a secret poetry book, though your fate is sealed if you ever find it.

N's favorite past time is archary and just walking around alone in a nearby forrest.

H loves gossiping, going to fairs, attending local festivals and was rarely ever home before starting work.

#answered asks #ro: akbar #ro: raqaiya #ro: mahira #ro: arslan #ro: n #ro: h #ro facts #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 9 months

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Is this if still alive?

It is, lol. I was stuck with a bunch of assignments and finals, so I had little time to check up on this blog and I didn't receive any asks in the meantime, so I'm genuinely worried the interest in this is dead 🫣

#answered asks #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale #I've fully started working on the demo #No way to tell when it comes out tho

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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I'm going to for the badass fighter!mc be it female or male, lmao. Can I ask another thing? What is the norm for same-gender couples? something expected to happen always with discretion and closed doors? only people with power can indulge? frowned upon? maybe something that can get you executed?

I actually have no idea because I'm pretty sure my country and it's historical records are guilty of the biggest case of queer erasure. So I won't ever find any evidence of gay people on any history textbooks, nevermind how they were treated. But with all the other problems the Mughal society had I can wager a guess that it was just as bad as you expect and frowned upon by nobles and peasants alike. Execution might not be off the cards either. But at the same time, they seemed to treat trans women better than they do today, so who knows

At the end of the day, EoP is a fictional story and I've yet to decide how historically "accurate" I will be in this regard.

#answered asks #historical #queer rep (or lack thereof)#empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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What is exactly the role of mc? and do they know how to fight?

Birbal is a part of an elite group of courtiers who help the Emperor as advisors, warriors, entertainers and whatnot. In reality he was Akbar's closest confidant and the main commander of the army, so cannon MC is one of the best fighters around.

But in-game I aged Birbal down by about 20 years, meaning MC wouldn't be that badass from the start and your main ability will be choosable, so you can still have above average sword fighting skills if you wish. Other than that everyone in Akbar's team is expected to at least be able to hold their own in a fight in case of emergency, so it's impossible for MC to be completely defenseless.

#answered asks #mc asks #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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Hiiii! Could you please tell me which of the ro's would like to have children?

In general, every single one of them is open to having children, doesn't mean they'll all be good parents though.

If it's about having children specifically with Birbal then the unethical status of their relationship might play a part. Still Akbar and H are willing, Mahira is unsure, Raquiya and Arslan will let you know early on there is no chance (Though Arslan really wants to be a dad) and N will soon be your legal spouse so there's no problem there.

#answered asks #ro: akbar #ro: raqaiya #ro: mahira #ro: arslan #ro: n #ro: h #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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It’s been six years since the horror you experienced while camping with your friends just after college graduation. Six years since a maniac tore through the campground killing everyone they encountered and in the end only you and one other remained. You don’t remember what exactly happened towards the end, your therapist says that you blocked it all out, but when the authorities finally arrived they found you and your girlfriend barricaded in one of the small cabins half starved and huddled together to fight the cold.

It took years of therapy before you managed to finally put the worst of it behind you and move on. Unfortunately your girlfriend was not able to manage the same and was sent to a psychiatric hospital after she attempted to kill her neighbor. Since then you have not heard anything from her being blocked from seeing or speaking to her for both your sakes.

Now, six years later, you have moved to a small town hidden away deep in the mountains after acing the interview of a lifetime. Your new employer has big plans for the small town of Rock Gate and it is up to you as one of the new locations heads of staff to help see it through. For almost four years you have helped to oversee the massive expansion into the area, but it’s starting again. People are dying.

Overnight the town is cut off from the outside world, the murder rate skyrockets, and the town panics. Friends and neighbors turn on each other as they seek someone to blame. The residents see danger in every shadow and everything spirals out of control. While everyone around you panics, something inside you solidifies and you realize that you are not afraid, you have survived before, and you will again.

Play as a Cis or Trans woman, with full customization over your physical appearance, your wardrobe, which kind of vehicle you drive, and even what kind of weapon you use to survive.

Explore a town driven to darkness by a killer and try to survive the chaos.

Discover the supernatural world hidden beneath the skin of civilization as the madness drives its inhabitants from the shadows.

Find romance amidst the insanity with one of several ROs.

Learn the truth about what happened six years ago.

Fight, Kill, Survive

Jannie Smith | Your Ex 🚩 The only other survivor of the massacre six years ago, you haven’t seen Jannie in five years, not since she was locked away from the world after attempting to kill her neighbor during a flashback. So when she shows up in Rock Gate working as a barista it comes as the shock of a lifetime. Despite the time apart she seems to still be infatuated with you and you quickly learn that despite her pleasant exterior something much darker is lurking within her soul, something that may be your undoing. Appearance: Jannie is rather tall for a woman coming in at 6’5” and now has an athletic physique, whereas she was very lanky six years ago. Naturally dark blond she prefers to keep her waist length hair dyed a deep, almost blood red. Her green eyes always seem to twinkle when she sees you, but remain dead when she has to interact with others, and you only ever see her smile when you are close, her strangely long canines prominently visible when she does. Tropes: Second Chance, Bad Girl, I Have a Secret, Red Flag

Kory Kane | Your Boss Rigid, cold, and uncompromising, your boss is regarded with fear at best, and hatred at worst, by most of your co-workers. Kory never has a nice thing to say for a job well done, expecting every employee to simply do their job. She tends to keep her life outside of work private from everyone else but after a chance run-in with her outside of the bounds of your job you learn that she is a caring, if somewhat restrained individual. Appearance: Coming in at a diminutive 5’2” Kory is easily the shortest of your co-workers, which probably contributes to her workplace attitude. Her make-up is always perfect, her shoulder length salt and pepper hair is always immaculate and held in a tight bun when at work, and she always wears perfectly fitted suits on the job. Her beautiful hazel eyes rarely show any emotion but when she gets the chance to talk about her hobbies they seem to light up the room. Tropes: Friends-to-Lovers, Fucking the Boss, Forbidden Love

Devon Low | Your Co-worker The bane of your existence, your worst enemy, a never ending nightmare. Devon Low has been nothing but trouble for you since the new office opened. It seems like she hated you from the very moment you met and has done little to change that impression in the four years the site has been operating. Normally a sweet, good natured woman when interacting with everyone other than yourself her attitude turns completely frosty as soon as she notices you in the room. Appearance: With her curvy build, bright smile, and hip length pink hair Devon is the office darling. Her deep, ocean blue eyes seem to take in far more than others can see and she sometimes appears distracted by things you can not witness. Devon tends to wear more casual attire that hugs her 5’11” body and despite your bosses repeated attempts to have her appear more professional Devon has resisted every attempt. Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, Opposites Attract, Childhood Sweethearts

Laura Kingston | Your Neighbor Born and raised in Rock Gate, Laura has been your neighbor since you moved to town for work. From the moment she showed up at your door with a smile and freshly baked cookies the two of you have been the best of friends, spending nearly every free moment together. It’s not uncommon for one of you to simply walk into the other's home without knocking, or to pick the other up from work for lunch. You have yet to tell Laura about what happened to you six years ago but she has witnessed several of your issues with PTSD and has guessed that something happened, but has yet to ask. Appearance: Laura is one of the more unique people you know with her pin-up sense of style, odd eyes, tiny frame, and pointed ears. Standing at 5’7” Laura is always ready with a smile and a kind word to cheer you up. Her heterochromatic purple and blue eyes seem to be constantly twinkling with mischief from behind the fringe of her bright blue pin-up hairstyle. Laura has more tattoos and piercings than anyone else in town which sets her apart even more. Tropes: Friends-to-Lovers, Forbidden Romance, Paranormal Romance

#love the concept #will wait patiently #if wip #interactive fiction

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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H sounds like a sweet ro!!!! Even if we don't romance, can mc have a friendship with them? I want to treat them nicely and scold at anyone who makes fun of them!!!

Of course, every ro is a potential friend. In fact it is H's first instinct to try and befriend anyone they meet, though the methods are questionable. They'll love nothing more than someone treating them nicely!

#answered asks #ro: h #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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Introducing A New RO

Hamza/Hira (gender-selectable)

They are temporarily filling in as a stable hand for the royal palace, in place of their father who recently fell sick. Not really popular among their peers as they're fully unfit for the job and frequently make mistakes, even the horses seem to dislike them. But they don't really take it to heart. Incredibly grateful to still hold the job, they are trying their best and are very eager to please, even if that means shameless and equally meaningless flirting. Despite the effort, they very much stick out like a sore thump even among other workers, nevermind the nobles and royals. It's ok though, they don't mind being the butt of the joke now and again. Same age as Birbal.

Check the pinned post for appearance.

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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Hi dear author,

(Hopefully this won’t turn out to be rude or weird or anything.)

The setting and characters of the story seems really interesting! And from the introduction and a few asks I saw, the characters of your work is based on real historical figures? I’m not familiar with Mughal history but I’m interested in learning more!

If it’s not too much trouble, can you recommend some media that can help us understand the historical context better? Like documentaries, movies, books etc. anything really.

Thank you!

It's not rude at all, I'm happy to help 😊 Huge rambling under the cut.

There's a lot of media that romanticize the era but I don't think they're that great for historical accuracies. You can probably find 4 different shows and movies titled Jodha-Akbar, depicting the love story of Akbar and his favorite wife. There's also a really old film called Mughal-e-Azam, another romantic story featuring Jodha and Akbar's son. We have children's books named along the lines of Akbar and Birbal, which are mostly fun riddles and stories of Birbal's wit.

A few of good historical books that actually document events from the Mughal Empire are Baburnama, Humayun Nama and Akbarnama. They chronicle the reigns of these Emperors and were written by og Emperor Babur himself, Gulbadan Begum (Humayun's sister) and Abul Fazl (one of Akbar's nine gems) respectively.

I'm not aware of any documentaries that were made in our area, truthfully this subcontinent doesn't seem too big on historical accuracy and we just get over-the-top fantastical retellings, which I personally love but UK apparently did a doc called The Great Mughals, I guess you can check that out.

Another interesting thing I've noticed is that Akbar has been portrayed as both a good and a bad guy, even in works where the main theme is his love for Jodha. So he's honestly a fictional character at this point. Anyway I hope this helped.

#answered asks #history #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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Introducing A New RO

Hamza/Hira (gender-selectable)

They are temporarily filling in as a stable hand for the royal palace, in place of their father who recently fell sick. Not really popular among their peers as they're fully unfit for the job and frequently make mistakes, even the horses seem to dislike them. But they don't really take it to heart. Incredibly grateful to still hold the job, they are trying their best and are very eager to please, even if that means shameless and equally meaningless flirting. Despite the effort, they very much stick out like a sore thump even among other workers, nevermind the nobles and royals. It's ok though, they don't mind being the butt of the joke now and again. Same age as Birbal.

Check the pinned post for appearance.

#new ro #ro: h #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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Progress Update... kinda

Hi, I'm doing great now health-wise. The reason I've been quiet is because I have zero spoiler-free or sfw asks remaining. I'm bored so please send asks 😭

I've also written dialogues for the prologue and I don't hate it. There currently 4.7k words but there's zero choices because (welp minor spoiler below)

The prologue describes one of the only major battles fought by Emperor Humayun and his unexpected death soon afterward. It's a pov and I think most of you will be able to guess whose it's going to be. So, yeah there's no appearance of Birbal yet.

I want the demo to be at least two chapters and we are still very far away from that. That's about it.

PS: The next post will introduce a sixth RO.

#progress update?#im so bored #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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So how jelly will Arslan be with mc who has a mentor-student relationship with Bairam? hahaha, I wanna bully him with teasing touches and bold words (;

Very jelly. You'll be able to torment him as much as you want with this 😈

#answered asks #ro: arslan #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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I have a few nsfw asks that I haven't answered but I feel I should address this. It's not like I don't welcome these asks but I feel uncomfortable answering them while all the involved characters are still minors. Sorry if this is weird but I hope you guys understand.

I'm saving all the asks and will answer them when when the demo is out and five in-game years have passed.

#regarding nsfw asks #you can still ask them #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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And the relationship with Bairam changes if mc is female or male too? or maybe the flavor text? Is so fun learning all these little things about your game!!!

Bairam is like busiest man in the empire, or at least he acts like it. So he doesn't really have the time to ponder on such frivolous things as someone's gender.

But, no! Of course he thinks f!Birbal is inferior. Most interactions with Bairam will be brief though because he truly has a lot on his plate but if you irk him, he won't shy away from being extra mean to female identifying MCs.

#answered asks #bairam #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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empireofpearls-if · 10 months

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What type of relationship can have mc with Bairam Khan? Does it change if mc is a childhood friend of Akbar?

I'm going to try to avoid spoilers as much as I can, so here we go.

The relationship between Bairam and mc can vary a lot depending on choices. They can have a genuine mentor-student dynamic or it can be astronomically bad. I will just drop this here, Bairam is the at the epicenter of some of the worst things this game will have to offer and I will give out more in detailed tw when the demo comes out. Whatever bad thing that can happen will be easily avoidable and if you're just able to earn his respect, without posing a threat, no harm will be done 🙂.

About the second part, yes you are onto something. Bairam mostly won't care what background you come from as he trusted Humayun's judgement but let's just say one particular background will forever tie him to the mc.

Edit: Forgot to add that his attitude towards you also depends on whether or not you romance his son. No matter how much he likes or respects you, getting his approval on this won't be easy.

#answered asks #bairam #don't make bairam hate you #empire of pearls #empire of pearls: a mughal tale

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