Five Figure Fanwork Exchange

Title: Lake of Voices

Media/Length: Visual Novel (a free one!! it's free!!!). It's roughly 88k, one play through will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. You can find it here on Steam, or here on itch.io. (nb: only for Windows and Mac; but Linux users could probably try it under Wine)

What is it?
A fantastical/atmospheric horror visual novel with multiple endings, optional romance paths, an intriguing story and loads of worldbuilding potential, and a really lovely soundtrack. The main character is Kikka, and she and her guard compatriot Bemelle are looking to try and get across the haunted lake. The Guide is the only one who knows how to navigate the maze of bridges linking the two sides of the lake; unfortunately, Margret has already booked his services for tonight and the Guide doesn't like taking too many across. Lu is a mystery waiting for you on the bridges - did he try to go it alone, or did the Guide leave him behind?

Why I love it:
I initially picked this up for treating purposes in another exchange but oh nooo, it pulled me in so hard. I feel like it has that effect. It's a really well-done, beautifully put together VN. It's well-written, the music is haunting, the art is pretty, and some of the characters (okay, mostly the Guide) have really ambiguous morals and motivations.

What I'll request:
More worldbuilding about the monsters in the lake and the lake itself. The Guide and Lu and their ultimate motivations. Everything Kikka, whom I love ❤️

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfill your requests?
There are tons of playthroughs on youtube that are pretty comprehensive, some with the narration read out by the player, some without. Here's a full Guide romance route starting here, and here's Lu's starting here. Lu has a separate ending starting here and there are these bonus events (the separate endings and the bonus events are unlocked once you finish all paths, which give more worldbuilding information to Guide and Lu as characters but are also mostly for funsies and not as serious).

Of course, you can also simply play it through yourself and make sure you pick the choices corresponding to the romance you want. Here's a walkthrough from the game devs!

Content warnings:
There's no on-screen violence but the text can get gory at times - on occasion it does lean into the horror aspects. Also, it's not possible to save everybody: some people will drown and be eaten by the monsters in the lake.