#It’s twine so this one will stay on patreon

[doriana-gray-games]

New minigame ✨🌅

😔 I forgot to mention I have a new minigame out on patreon.

It’s basically a regency romance AU with (simpy) H and MC 😌✨

servant MC gets noticed by the master/mistress of the manor 👁️🫦👁️

“You are very good.” They lift a chess piece. The one you moved the morning before. The one you had been playing with a supposed stranger. One step at a time. “But soot and white marble… In a doomed battle, any would fall. Eventually.”

You had not known… It was a moments diversion, a fantasy of sorts—

It had been a long time.

And many matches.

And you had won each and every one.

Yet, their emerald eyes look to you now and seek your meeting gaze. And their smile is soft as they have you trapped. “Checkmate, Miss/mr/mx Holmes.”

[bodycountgame]

This is an odd kind of question but I’ve been seeing a bunch of ifs originally written in CS move over to twine (even this game made this change!!) and, as someone who isn’t on the dev-side of if games and has only been reading ifs for a little while, I was wondering if you could speak to why you chose to make this switch? Was it just personal preference? Could twine do things CS couldn’t? Was there something wrong with CS and COG that pushed people away? Obviously you can only speak to your own experience (and only if you’re comfortable answering!) but getting some perspective could help explain this larger trend I’ve been noticing

i feel like in general this has been hashed out a few times within the community so i can't speak for everyone but i had a few reasons for moving away from choicescript.

to be absolutely clear, these are just reasons for Me Personally and there are obviously plenty of reasons that someone might want to use choicescript that are all perfectly valid and choice of games as a platform still hosts some of my faaaaavourite IF games and writers, so absolutely 0 shade to those lovely people!

in terms of things that you can do in twine that you can't do in choicescript, there's more freedom with UI/design in twine, which is nice! i feel like the new UI (designed & built by @nyehilismwriting mwah mwah) really adds to the ~vibe~ of body count as a story.

in general, though, my concerns were more practical.

the main thing is that choicescript isn't an open source language, which has some implications for ~ownership~. it means that authors get a cut of the earnings of games published through hosted games (that i understand to be pretty decent based on industry standard but correct me if i'm wrong?) but it's a cut nonetheless. it also makes things like having a patreon a bit less secure - i think CoG have said that things like early access are fine on patreon as long as they'll eventually be released through hosted games, but i wanted to be able to write side stories etc that would (and have) stay/ed patreon exclusive and that wouldn't really have technically been allowed. i think most authors using patreon have done so without incident, but just that legality aspect made me nervous! since it's my aim for body count to be a free game in the end, i really rely/ied on the income that comes from patreon during the creation process.

i also had some issues personally with some of the messaging coming from CoG and the idea of my work being associated with another brand first and foremost rather than just with me as an independent author, i guess? there was talk about NFTs which i'm not into and i think that was the final straw that made me decide to take the plunge and move to twine, but actually looking back it was really a culmination of things. had a few bad experiences with the forums, generally just didn't ~feel right~.

ultimately for this project in particular i was like. well if i'm gonna write like a million words and invest years of my life into this thing i want to be able to do what i want with it, release it on my own terms, actually own it etc etc.

anyway, i hope that all makes sense! as i said up top, i can't speak for other authors and there are probably a lot of pros to using choicescript compared to twine as well, it's a perfectly valid choice, just not the right one for me :)

[whump-me]

Ashes: Chapter 12

Chapter 12 of Ashes, a dark and extremely whumpy Cinderella retelling where the handsome prince is a sadistic villain and his former bride is out to get her revenge… before he can choose a new victim at the ball.

Masterpost | Read the complete novel on Patreon

---

Mathilda and her daughters left for the ball together a week later. Violaine looked like a rare and elegant wildflower in her slim blue dress adorned with lacy accents. Aliette was a delectable puff pastry, with pink fabric that swirled around her like a dream whenever she moved.

Elle watched from the window until the carriage disappeared.

Then, dressed in her rags, she hobbled to the hearth to get started on the long list of chores Mathilda had left her for their time away.

She worked on the chores until the sun slipped below the horizon. Long enough to be sure they wouldn’t come back for something they had forgotten. Then, with the mopping half finished, she let the mop fall to the floor and limped upstairs to her attic room. There she felt blindly into the slit she had made in the covering of the straw mattress, and suffered the pokes and scrapes of the straw against her arm until she pulled out what she was looking for.

She had saved the quilt she had knotted into a rope.

Torin wouldn’t see. Mathilda had set him to watch the front door, and there he still stood, obedient as a loyal hound. She had a little time.

She tightened all the knots one by one, although she wasn’t entirely sure she cared if they gave out under her feet. Then she hung the rope out the window. She tried not to think about how she would manage to climb with feet that, a week after she had lost two toes, remained in constant agony. It wasn’t just the pain, either—her balance was off, leaving her constantly tripping over nothing. She didn’t know if her balance would ever be quite right again.

If she climbed down that rope, she would more than likely be guaranteeing it wouldn’t be—because there was a good chance she would fall to her death. And even if she did make it, what then? She would arrive at the ball in her rags—if she made it there at all.

And how would she make it there? On foot? The ball would be over before she arrived. She had been so busy with her dress that she had neglected to think that far ahead.

But the ball meant vengeance. It meant a taste of Alexandre’s blood. That was what her heart whispered to her, even as logic denied it. And if she couldn’t have that taste, she didn’t care what fate befell her. What was her alternative? To stay here and let her stepfamily carve pieces from her body one by one? Meekly accept her new role in life, like Torin had suggested?

No. She was not the meek, kindhearted princess anymore. And she would never again be her stepfamily’s obedient maid.

So be it. She would escape this time, or she would die in the attempt.

She slipped one leg out the window and found the knot. As the muscles in her foot contracted, a bolt of pain shot up from the stump of her missing toe all the way to her ankle. Her leg spasmed. With her other leg already halfway out the window, she clung to the windowsill until the worst of the pain had passed.

She slid her other foot down to the knot—

And it unraveled under her feet. The rope thickened as she clung to the windowsill with both hands, legs dangling. It grew smooth and slick—no knots, no grip, no hope of using it to guide her way down. When she shot a panicked, bewildered look over her shoulder and down, she saw something slick and green where the knotted fabric had been a second ago.

Then the rope moved.

The lower end of the rope reared up, crawled up her legs, slid onto her shoulder. It had a head. A snake’s head. Yellow eyes glared into hers. A forked tongue tasted the air.

Elle screamed.

The snake hissed, baring its fangs. With a shriek, Elle pulled herself back through the window. The snake followed, and twined around her to hold her in place. She stood rigid, arms and legs bound by the snake’s scaly body. The fangs hovered inches from her neck.

“Torin,” Elle spat.

As if he had been waiting for that cue, Torin strolled through the door of her attic room. At a gesture from him, the snake became a rope again. It still bound her just as tightly. She tested the knots. They didn’t give.

“It seems you didn’t listen to me when I advised you to accept your new role.” Torin’s face, as always, was as blank as a statue.

“How did you know?” she asked. “You may have magic, but you can’t watch everywhere at once.”

“Were you trying to get the ball?” Torin asked instead of answering. “What did you think you were going to do, showing up like that?” He gestured to her rags.

Elle bared her teeth at him. “Drive a knife through Alexandre’s heart. What else?”

“You would have been caught before you made it up the palace steps.” Torin shook his head. “The prince showed you mercy once before. You shouldn’t test his goodwill. He may not be as merciful a second time.”

“Mercy?” Elle gave a harsh laugh. “These months have been harder than any death would have been. He intended them to be.”

“Cleaning up after your stepfamily is worse than death to you? I didn’t think you were that much of a pampered princess.”

“Living in my childhood home again, but this time as someone who doesn’t belong there,” Elle corrected. “Serving as not only my stepfamily’s maid, but their entertainment, their scapegoat, and whatever else they need me to be. Living with the knowledge that not only did I fail, but everyone in the kingdom thinks me a traitor. Letting my stepfamily cut away pieces of me. Oh, and have you forgotten Alexandre’s regular torture sessions? I don’t see how you could, seeing as you’ve watched every one.”

“Perhaps the prince means to teach you a lesson,” Torin said.

“My stepmother said she was teaching me a lesson, too, when she ordered my stepsister to cut off my toes.” Elle shook her head. “Why do you insist on believing Alexandre has any motive but the hunger for cruelty?”

But she knew why.

She remembered Torin’s brief slip of the tongue, the brief slip of his mask.

She remembered his sister.

Torin set his jaw, a little life coming into his empty face. “The prince is capable of mercy,” he insisted. “He only hurts people as much as he has to.”

“Have you been down to his dungeons? I have. His appetite for cruelty is bottomless. It leaves no room for anything else.”

“He does what he does to you because he believes it necessary.”

Elle opened her mouth to unleash a torrent of fierce words. But a look in his eyes, no longer dead but filled with jagged shards of pain like broken glass, made her stop and take a breath. She tried to modulate her voice. “You’re afraid for her. Your sister.”

“He won’t hurt her unless he has to,” Torin said. “He won’t hurt her unless I fail him.”

“I thought I could bargain my way into his good graces, once,” said Elle, remembering all those nights in the dungeons. “You can see how well that turned out.”

“He won’t hurt her,” Torin repeated. “As long as I do what I have to do. You should do the same. Do what you have to do. Sooner or later, you’ll figure out none of us has any choice.” He glanced down at her feet, which were bleeding through their filthy bandages again. “I thought your latest punishment had finally gotten that through your head.”

She had been unusually obedient over the past week. She had done it so her stepfamily wouldn’t suspect she was plotting another escape. “If you thought that,” she said, “why were you watching so closely for me to sneak out? And you never answered my question—how were you watching two places at once?”

“I transformed the gnats in your room when we first arrived together from the palace,” said Torin. “I gave them spyglasses and human speech. They follow you wherever you go. When you hung that rope out your window tonight, one of them flew away to whisper in my ear.”

A shivery feeling of violation crawled over her, as if she were standing naked before him. He had always been watching her. Not just from the shadows where he lurked, but in her attic room—where, for all its discomforts, she had thought at least she was alone.

Then she frowned. “That can’t be right,” she said. “I’ve tried to escape before. Each time, I’ve come much closer than this. If you’d been watching me wherever I go, you could have stopped me long before you did.”

Torin’s face went blank again. “Your escape attempts came as close as the prince wanted them to.”

Those cold, crawling fingers squeezed at her heart. “I don’t understand.”

“My orders are to let you almost escape every so often,” said Torin. “The prince finds you more entertaining when you still have hope. All the more reason you should accept your fate. If you bore him, he’ll come around less often.”

All her near-escapes. All her failures that had left her at once furious with herself and determined to do better the next time. None of them had been real.

She had never really had any hope.

Her cheeks flamed. Her fingers clawed at the rope. Torin watched her impassively. “Maybe you’ll give up now that you know the truth,” he said. “Forget the ball. Finish your chores early and get a good night’s sleep.”

The rope thickened into a writhing snake again, and Elle shrank into herself—but the snake only uncoiled itself and slithered from the room. Elle was free.

As free as she had ever been with Torin watching her.

“Don’t make me do what I’ll have to do if you make it to the ball and the prince sees you—and he will see you.” Unexpectedly, Torin’s voice broke on the last word: “Please.”

A flash of jagged pain in his eyes. Then they went dull and empty again.

She met his blank gaze and tried to convince herself she still saw some flicker of life there.

“I have a better idea,” she said. “Let’s make a deal.”

---

Ask to be added or removed from taglist.

[idrellegames]

Wayfarer Dev Log 2022.05.03.

Hi friends,

It's go time, crunch month, etc.! April was another extremely month as I wrapped up drafting Episode 2. I wrote just shy of 90,000 words last month (...is that why I'm tired? Probably) and finished writing Episode 2's content, including all the new codex entries.

I have started coding the new material into the alpha build, beginning with a UI update to fix some background issues with menu navigation. This UI update will be released to the public build later in May with Patch 1.6.

The update will break the companion and faction profile displays (they will display the wrong information and you will be able to click on the ones you shouldn't have access to) until you hit the end of Episode 1. If you want the correct information displayed in your Episode 1 playthrough, you will need to start a new save file when the patch comes out.

The alpha version of Episode 2 will be complete sometime next week. It will be exclusively available on Patreon until its public release (date TBD).

Because I am coding a massive amount of material right now, I am not answering coding questions or Twine help for the first two weeks of May. My inbox will stay open for all other types of questions. 

✦ THE PUBLIC BUILD [VERSION 1.1.1.]

No updates to the public build. Patch 1.6. has a planned release for the second week of May.

✦ THE ALPHA BUILD [VERSION 1.1.2.]

I finished drafting Episode 2 Scenes 4 and 5, several codex entries, and began coding the new material. Episode 2's stats for total content word count are as follows:

Scene 1 [finished Nov. 2021]: 59k

Scene 2 [finished Dec. 2021]: 36k

Scene 3 [finished Jan. 2022]: 77k

Scene 4 [finished Apr. 2022]: 125k

Scene 5 [finished Apr. 2022]: 50k

Episode 2 Total Word Count: 347k

Average playthrough word count for the full episode is TBD.

✦ PLAYTESTER APPLICATIONS [CLOSED APRIL 30]

Playtester applications are closed! Thank you so much to everyone who applied. I received over 100 applications, so it will take some time to go through them. Chosen playtesters will be contacted via email by May 7.

✦ ON THIS BLOG

No Twine, coding, or interactive fiction writing tutorials were posted this month.

✦ ON PATREON

Two in-depth progress reports on Episode 2's development. [All tiers]

Weekly sneak peaks of new Episode 2 content. [All tiers]

Twine tutorial on SugarCube basics. This is a 40-paged PDF that goes over all the basic of using the SugarCube engine, such as story variables, conditional statements, JavaScript and TwineScript operators, and more. It comes with a downloadable Twine HTML file that provides sample code. You can either view it in a browser or pop it into the Twine editor to poke around the code and see how it works. [Apprentice tier and above]

If you’ve enjoyed Wayfarer, used my tutorials, or would like to support my work, please consider supporting me on Patreon. Patrons receive access to the alpha build, private channels in the Discord server, exclusive previews, bonus content, and other benefits.

Wayfarer is a passion project and creating it is a full-time commitment. Any little bit goes a long way to help me bring it to fruition.

If you aren’t in a position to support financially, reblogs, shares, ratings and comments, and spreading the word about the game are much appreciated and do a lot to help me out! 💕

[interact-if]

Taking the spotlight for Day 6... Lucirene!

Lucirene, author of An Angel’s Song

Latino Heritage Month Featured Author

In the forest of Bres an otherworldly sickness corrodes the soil and changes the creatures within. “A parting gift from the fallen angels”  say the citizens of the Hyaku Region and the mark on your hand confirms it.

Though the scent travelling in the air is sweet and enticing everyone knows better than to get closer. But the mark, it pulses, it burns, the pain spreading as fast as the corruption of the forest does.

Your masters are calling, and it seems like this time you cannot escape them.

An Angel’s Song Demo | Author’s Ko-fi | Author’s Patreon | Read more [here]

Tags: dark fantasy, romance

(INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!)

Q1: So, tell us a little bit about the projects you’re working on!

I have so many, but the only one public is An Angel’s Song. It’s, more than anything, a story about grief, loneliness and overcoming it all while navigating a hostile environment and discovering long lost secrets about the Divine and about the MC’s country. That one is very cathartic for me to make because of the themes, I feel like I’m working through a lot of feelings I didn’t even realize I had by writing it.

The next one is also an IF and it focuses on comedy, adventure and character interaction. It’s supposed to be more lighthearted, more fun, but knowing me… I don’t know if it’ll stay that way. Basically, it goes: A Captain’s boat falls prey to the storms and the strange creatures living under the sea, and they and their crew end up washing ashore an icy, snowy country. I already have the main cast written down and they have so much synergy, it’s amazing.

And the last one I’ll talk about (a traditional novel) actually happens in the same setting as my second IF, but many, many years before, when their local deity/guardian was born. It’s more of a romance-fantasy than anything, a love story between a Goddess and a half-dragon, however it also showcases many of the situations the people had to navigate and face before their country could become the place you’ll see in my second IF.

Q2: What excites you most about using interactive fiction? What are some of the biggest challenges?

What I like most definitely is how much freedom we have as authors. Of course, one is constrained by one’s ability to code but I think, for the most part, we can do so many things, reach an entirely new level of immersion that would not be possible with a regular novel. It’s amazing how sometimes I’m reading something and get so into it, feel so connected to the MC I feel dread when they do, panic when they have to make a choice that will clearly impact a lot of people in their world. With IF you can really feel like you’re part of the story.

Another thing I like is being able to explore other paths with my writing. Like for example, what if the MC had done this instead of that? How would that have affected their relationships, their world state? Writing branches is a lot of work, especially because they could change so many things, but it feels oddly satisfying when you do decide to include them. 

Challenges… Coding, mainly. I feel like a lot of new aspiring IF authors are a bit afraid of coding and I can understand that, especially since, had it not been for the help of the community, I would have taken way longer to actually start using Twine. Hopefully with time for resources come up and it becomes less daunting.

I don’t know if any other author feels the same way but, though I think branching is a blessing, it is also a curse. I can only write the same conversation so many times, I mean I know I’m writing it in different tones and sometimes with different results but it gets frustrating after a while because it feels like you’re stuck, like you’re not progressing at all.

Another one would definitely be finding a balance between reader interaction and just following your vision. Since it’s IF at times I feel like I have to meet a quota of branches or ways in which you can react, sometimes I also find it difficult to make the MC feel like a real person instead of a reader-insert. I’m working on that.

Q3: What has been something in your project you’ve had to do a weird amount of research for?

That’s a difficult one… I don’t know if I would consider it weird but I do tend to investigate a lot about fashion, especially when designing the main outfits of the characters. I spend hours trying to find out what colors were used back then, what they meant, who was allowed to use them. I have this little image with some palettes for kimonos depending on the season.

I also spend too much time coming up with names, especially for places. Like I look up names of places that already exist, what they mean, I try to investigate if the words that I want to use make sense, then I panic because I can’t find anything, but I think that’s usual for writers. I also spent more time than necessary researching for the name of a tree that you will see way later in the book, which no one will probably notice what the name of the tree means or what it symbolizes but it makes me happy.

Honestly, I feel like the amount of research I have had to do has not been particularly weird? If anything at times I think I should research more, even if some aspects of Japanese culture will not apply to Kyou.

Q4: Which of your characters is most like you? How?

The initial version of the MC from An Angel’s Song, which I miss dearly since they had more personality. They were autistic coded too, and I hope some traces of that still remain. Apart from that I feel like all of the characters from the main cast share something with me, even if their experiences are, of course, more dramatic than my own.

A lot of them have issues with a paternal figure or an absent mother, which also resonates with me. Some of Saori’s traits draw inspiration from ways in which I talked or acted before I became a little better at masking, before I became more self-aware. Hazuki being emotional and caring, K being a bit clingy but devoted, Masa having a temper yet loyal, Miwa being friendly but reluctant to open up beyond surface level information. I think those things describe me.

There’s also Rei but I don’t think I’m writing her book anytime soon. She’s someone that’s very family oriented, she’s a bit temperamental but she means well and she’s not afraid to speak her mind. Now that I think about it, maybe Rei is more the person I want to become.

Q5: Does your heritage influence your characters as you create them? (How? Why or why not?)

I’ve been living in Venezuela my whole life so I think so, even if most of the time I don’t even notice it. I believe that this happens especially in regards to relationships because people in Venezuela are very family oriented and also, from what I’ve experienced, they form strong bonds with their neighbors, which creates this strong sense of community —sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t, but my mom and her friends always make at least some friends in their neighborhoods and they gossip with some coffee about the happenings of the rest—. So when it comes to writing a character it is very important to me to make an emphasis on family relationships because those are a strong part of my culture, of my identity. 

In An Angel’s Song you have the main cast having issues or conflicting emotions about one or multiple members of their family, which influence their behavior and their outlook on life, but for the most part they are (or will be) able to form similar relationships with people that are not related to them, or to work towards restoring that relationship, transforming it into something healthier. 

In my other books family dynamics are also immensely important. For example, I’m going to mention Rei again because I love her. So, Rei has a sister named Rin, and they are both very close, even if they haven’t spent much time together. Their bond and trust in each other helps them overcome a lot of obstacles and they rely on each other when they need support or encouragement. Rei also has other people that she thinks of as siblings, and restoring that relationship with them is one of her main goals. There’s also this recurring guilt she feels at leaving her birth family and her home to explore, because to her, families are supposed to stay together.

Another aspect that I think influences my writing is religion, even if I wasn’t raised in a particularly religious household nor do I belong to any religion. Religion is a big deal in this country, we have so many events and holidays relating to religious figures. I remember when I was very young I loved going to one of the churches here because the Virgin of that town had a building filled with pretty clothes to dress her with. 

So, in that vein, I try to think about the character’s relationship with religion, do they believe in the Gods? Do they trust them? Do they follow local deities or prefer the main pantheon? How does this religion shape the way people interact with each other and the world? In regards to characters that are Venezuelan or Venezuelan-coded… I do have a few that are Venezuelan, but I don’t think I’m going to be releasing their stories soon, so I’ll keep it quiet for now.

Q6: What is something you love to see in interactive fiction?

People being passionate about their work! This isn’t something exclusive to IF, but it is something that I love seeing. I also like seeing the different ways people innovate within the genre. I feel like sometimes, especially with newer writers, there is this idea that an IF has to subscribe to a specific format and that’s simply not true. If you don’t want to use a stat system you don’t have to, if you want to add combat then go ahead, if you would prefer to write an MC that’s already pretty pre-established (which is something that I personally want to try) then there’s nothing stopping you and I encourage you to give it a go. IF is very versatile and it’s wrong to try and fit authors into a box, especially if they want to bring something new into our little corner of the internet.

Q7: Any advice to give?

In general, I advise people to have fun writing, to not worry so much about how good it is, about if people will like it. Writing, at the end of the day, ends up being a pretty solitary activity and having those thoughts in your head too long will make you spiral. Be kind to yourself, be open to feedback when it comes (and learn to distinguish constructive feedback from destructive feedback) and enjoy the exploration of your world and characters. 

You are not alone in all of this. If you can, join a group of writers you can talk with, exchange ideas, get feedback from or just exchange memes (the ultimate bonding experience). Don’t be afraid, you’re not alone.

[13leaguestories]

Dragon Warrior Cancellation

So, I have to say this. Now, before backing out again. The first time I remarked about continuing Dragon Warrior, I did it after conferring with myself. Which you’d think is good, your decisions should be first and foremost your own thoughts. Yea, no. Not me. Because for me it goes into a “you can do this” even when it's a clear “but I don’t want to.” And it takes for me to talk to other people to actually see and understand that. Like even while I type this, part of me wants to renege and say “just stay quiet and see if you can do it. Don’t make a decision yet.” Knowing that I can’t and I just don’t want to.

So, I’m going to force myself to be honest and say once and for all. I won’t be continuing Dragon Racer. If you want my excuses and mindset then keep reading. If you don’t give a flying fadoodle about that then stop at this paragraph. I know a lot of people will probably be disappointed and I feel that. Like, there’s nothing else I can say but I’m sorry. But I CANNOT continue this book in good conscience and tell you guys that it’ll be a great creation. I can’t. Now, the best case scenario is that I reuse these characters and basic plot and do something similar in the future. That’s a total possibility since it will be in the present and the issues I have with it now won’t be there. Plus … I love those dragons ...

So again, I’m sorry and I do hope you guys understand. But that is my final decision.

Excuses … excuses. I actually think I explained some of these points on Patreon. I don’t know.

Main thing is that Dragon Racer was my first IF and when writing it I went from a novel and screenwriting mindset to IF, thinking it would all be similar. It’s not, don’t let anyone tell you a novel and IF is similar in writing. I don’t like the pacing in some places, how I did the characters and especially how I did the romance. I like the dragons, that’s about it. Writing Dragon Racer taught me how I like to do IF’s and what I don’t like to do and I grew. The thing is, your previous works don’t grow with you.

Another thing is the world. Jiwenia is far more fleshed out and I’m in love with it, unlike Abauruth which has a lot of plot holes that I didn’t figure out until later. Omg the plot holes in Dragon Racer, I laugh at them all. I wanted to actually move Dragon Warrior into Jiwenia but it would be too confusing and so I could not. On that note as well, there’s a lot of things I would have to change to comfortably write Dragon Warrior and it would end up just being confusing and almost like an entirely different story. Rewriting it is on the same level as just making a new one because my brain will rewrite almost all of it.

The coding has nothing to do with it by the way. That’s such a small thing, even though I love the crap out of Twine. There’d be tons of bugs but it’s not the biggest “oh no!”

And honestly, my biggest is that I just don’t want to. A friend brought up closing a chapter of your life and I just resonate with that. Dragon Racer will always be my first IF book and a book that I’m extremely proud of but after realizing what I like about doing IF’s and what I don’t like, it’s not a book I want to keep coming back to and forcing myself to think about and write. I just don’t want to. And I think that should be enough.

So, yea. Again, I’m sorry to any of you dissatisfied but I truly do want to close that door and not have to sit and worry about this series. I don’t have much else to say but thanks for reading this far down, I hope you understand, and I hope you all continue to give the other works a chance.

[speakergame]

Twine Migration FAQ

When will the Twine version be released?

When Chapter 2 is complete. With luck, that will be this month; if not, it’ll be in April most likely.

Does this mean you’ll no longer be updating the dashingdon version of the demo?

Yes. Once the Twine version is public, I will no longer be updating the version on dashingdon and will be taking down the CoG forum thread. I’ll also be making a new masterpost with updated links and information.

How much will your game cost?

It will be completely free to play. There will be an option to donate through itch.io, as well as links to my ko-fi and patreon for those who would like to support me, but Speaker and all of its sequels and side-stories will be free. It’s playable in your browser, so you also don’t need to download anything to play.

How often will it be updated on itch.io?

Every month, just like I’ve been doing with the dashingdon demo.

Will it be released on Steam/Apple/Google Play/etc?

Since I am no longer releasing through Hosted Games, it will very likely not be released in the Apple Store or Google Play. However, if there’s a big enough demand for it, I may look into releasing it on Steam once the story is complete. But that won’t be for some time yet, so we’ll see about that when we get there.

Since you don’t have to follow CoG’s rules anymore, will anything change about the amount of swearing/future intimate scenes/etc?

Swearing, yes. There will likely be a bit more cussing than there was before. Especially from Li.

For the rest, I don’t know yet. I’m pretty sure there won’t be any intimate scenes in book 1 - and if there is, it won’t be until late in the game - so that’s not something that I’ll need to worry yet. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

What will this mean for patrons? Will the beta version stay on dashingdon or will it move to itch.io too?

I’m not sure yet. Patrons will continue to get the update a week (or more) before the public update, but I’ll need to figure out if it will be easier to maintain two versions on Twine/itch.io or to maintain one on itch and one on dashingdon. But since right now, the Twine version is closed and only available to patrons and betas, until that goes live patrons will get their updates there. I won’t have to figure out the logistics further than that until at least April, so that’s a problem for Future Rhi.

[attollogame]

Update 03.28.21-04.03.21

Hello darlings!! I hope, once again, that everyone had a good week! Make sure you're staying hydrated and all of that! I had an okay week myself; I finished off a legal assignment, finished studying for a final test, and sent half of my thesis discussion in on top of chapter writing so!! Exciting!

What was done this week

Chapter 2 is now at 29k overall; we are so, so close to the ending. I have to wrap up Pariah's scene, and then write your exciting espionage trip with none other than...Deadlock. Ho boy.

I worked with twine a bit! I now know how to change backgrounds and add music. A bit basic, but I'm pretty proud!! The aesthetic is *chefs kiss*

Part 1 of chapter 2 is in the process of being edited!

What will be done this upcoming week:

More chapter 2. I've been nailing about 1-1.5k a day on top of school work, so hopefully that can keep up.

The patreon story. I feel horrible delaying it, so as soon as I finish my test on tuesday that's a priority.

I hope you all have a lovely week (this upcoming one for me is super rainy, so yay!!) and take care!

[belliesandburps]

Something huge in the works

I’ve discovered a game changer for kink fic writing.  A lovely lil app called Twine.

What is Twine you might ask? 

Twine is a free branching narrative app which lets you create your own interactive stories like a “pick and choose your own adventure” type of deal.  I used to write those a LOT back in the day, but writing.com became shit when they decided the thing they were letting use for free would be even better if it WASN’T for free.

Well, fortunately, Twine IS free and it’s shockingly intuitive.

Just write out all your options with [[this]] and your chapter massages all get linked.  You can even interlink chapters if they have the same title (which you DO need to be careful about, since you don’t want to accidentally name the same chapters the same thing). 

So why am I bringing all this up now?

^That is a Twisted Wonderland interactive kink fic I’ve been working on, along with an MHA-themed one (a NSFW sort) for Patreon. 

When enough chapter passages and choices have been added, I’ll publish this for y’all to enjoy.  And rest assured, I’ll be updating this sucker constantly with more and more passages and choices.

So stay tuned for that!

And to my writer pals curious to try out themselves?  You can download Twine for free from their page here:

https://twinery.org//

@twistedtummies2​, I guarantee you’ll get some mileage outta this app too, both for tumblr AND FA.  ;)

Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that I’m done writing kink fic, far from it!  But this form is actually great for someone like me, who is constantly juggling between ideas in between commissions yet often struggles to finish one, due to long form writing being too long, and work kicking my ass.  So, in addition to the usual fics, this allows me to stop and go with any number of passages and chapters as I please. 

I’m pretty sure I don’t have ADHD, but I think the last fourteen months sorta kicked my brain in the brain-ass a few times, so it’s just a WEE bit harder to fully focus.  X’D

[divineinterventiongame]

Hi!

I just saw your poll as it appeared on the IF directory blog. I would be quite interested to hear the results of your questions as the topic is interesting to me.

But I did feel I should warn you that this:

“If I choose to stay in the CS format, I'm not sure I'd want to submit it to Hosted Games. If I set up a tip jar or patreon with pay-locked links to the full game instead of submitting, would you be willing to pay for the full game? (Please be honest, I will not judge u either way ajksndjkasndjk)”

It would be grounds for choice of games to sue, so please be careful! They own the programming language, and it can only be used if one pays their license or takes no money whatsoever in any form. Apparently, people who currently are getting paid on Patreon are going against their rules, but they are choosing not to act against most people because the games will, at a later point, appear on their stores. But if you are upfront with that never happening, they would have a good reason and a good case. This was just meant as a well-meaning warning to you. I have seen the management of choice of games acting quite shady for a while now and don’t want to see you get hurt.

Good luck!

yeah you aren't the first to bring this to my attention (lots of folks have commented about this in my comment section of the poll, thank you all for that!!)

this is where i'm kind of kicking myself in the ass for not putting more thought into how i worded the whole survey: i wanted to more gauge whether people would prefer just a tip jar with a perpetually open link to the dashingdon (kind of a 'if you enjoyed it feel free to leave me a tip' sort of deal) which.. i would HOPE doesn't flag COG's terms of service, esp considering dashingdon is an independently run site and they leave their code open to anyone. Like i'll double check but if that's against their TOS i.. wow. i'd absolutely leave fuck that.

the "paylock" or patreon options would be attached to other media (twine, ren'py, unity, etc.) and given people's response to the idea of patreon (and my own feelings about it) patreon is off the table now. so this question pretty much boils down to "would you prefer a tip jar for me and a completely free game or just a small fee for the game" now...

regardless, thanks for the heads up! i'll double check the TOS but frankly if they have issues with people monetizing dashingdon links then they shouldn't be relying on a third-party (who fronts out of pocket costs) anyway like that's ridiculous.

[springsaladgaming]

Progress Update 6/18/21

Happy Friday (or Saturday)! 

Some real-life stuff happened to me this week, as well as the minor setback of losing a couple of hours of work on Wednesday, so I didn’t get quite as much work done as I would have liked, but let’s get into what I did get done!

This week I dedicated my time to transferring over Chapter 1 into Twine. That involved adapting the coding, revamping some choices and their subsequent scenes to match the new personality stats, writing some new scene variations, and improving the overall narrative flow (in general, but also specifically around the appearance customization).

As a result, alpha Chapter 1 a la Twine is finished! I’m definitely happy with the changes I’ve made so far, and it will only get better from here.

I’ve also put out some feelers to some artist friends I have to see if they are interested in taking a commission for the art assets that I would like. I have two people currently making some mock-ups of what I’ve asked for to see if their style is what I want. Preliminary results look great, but if I decide their art style doesn’t work for me then I will start reaching out to other digital artists.

Moving Forward...

One of the real-life things that happened to me this week was learning that the owners of the house where I rent a room are looking to stop renting. This means I need to find a new place to live. Luckily, one of the house owners is someone I have known for more than twenty years; we have a good relationship, and he was generous to give me (and the other two tenants) six months of warning, so I have plenty of time to find a new place.

However, this does mean that I may have to cut down on my work time on some days so that I can spend more time apartment hunting and, eventually, moving. It also means that my rent, which has been very affordable for me these past seven years, is going to go up quite a bit. On my current income, I technically won’t be able to afford it. Luckily, I have enough money saved up to swing it until I can make changes to my income.

So that brings me back around to the topic of my writing and the likelihood of me opening a Patreon in the future. Part of the reason I always planned to open a Patreon is so I can really practice my passion as a writer while also earning an income for it. Even before learning that I would need to move out in six months, I was planning on finding an apartment within the next year or so. Opening a Patreon with structured bonuses will help me achieve that goal.

The only thing that has changed is that the timeline will be moving up. I’ve been dedicating my time almost exclusively to transferring the project to Twine and making sure that I have a workable demo. I’ve also been considering what tiers I will have and what kind of benefits those tiers will provide people with.

I do not have an exact launch date for my Patreon, but you can expect that it will launch within the next six months. Currently, I’m leaning toward the Twine demo being a Patreon-only thing, but I may decide to have a public version that is a little bit behind the Patreon-exclusive one. If I decide to go that route, the public version would likely not go past Chapter 5, though other coding tweaks may still take place.

TLDR; I’m moving soon and need to supplement my income to afford rent, so I will be launching my Patreon within the next six months.

One of the Patreon tiers is going to be for my other interactive fiction project, which I haven’t talked about hardly at all, but I will give some sneak peaks and additional information about it before the Patreon launch. What I can tell you right off the bat: it’s a sci-fi/fantasy story set in a fictional universe. It will have some action, adventure, and (small?) horror elements to it. Similar to Ninelives, the project is adapted from something I wrote in the past. (However, Ninelives is based loosely on a short story I wrote while this other project is based on a novel.) If it sounds like it might be up your alley, keep an eye out for an announcement post in the future.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Stay safe!

[whump-me]

Protector: Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Protector, a novella-length whump story about a ruthless superpowered assassin trained from childhood to kill, and the brother determined to save him from himself.

Masterpost | the Mind Games universe | Read the complete novel on Patreon

---

Bryce had bought the clothesline out of some vague sentiment that now that he was a real adult, with a house and an office job, he would dutifully hang up his laundry outside just like his parents had done. It had been five years, and he still went for the convenience of the clothes dryer every time.

Still, now he was glad he had bought it. It wasn’t as if he kept any other rope in the house.

He wrapped the clothesline around Zach’s prone form, threading it under the bedframe to bind his body to the mattress. One loop, then another, then another. The clothesline was a thick, scratchy twine that tore at his hands. It smelled faintly of mildew from its lonely years of hanging outside.

“I’m sorry,” he said to his unconscious brother. “I wish I had something softer.” He wrinkled his nose. “And something that smelled better.”

Zach twitched and muttered, but his eyes stayed closed. With the amount of medication in his system, he was likely to stay that way for a while.

When Bryce judged Zach’s torso, arms, and legs to all be sufficiently immobilized, he tied a knot in the twine. Then another. And a third, for good measure. He had just finished the fourth when the doorbell chimed.

He jumped, the twine slipping from his hands, like he had been caught robbing a bank. And technically speaking, he was doing something illegal. He had a prisoner in his house, drugged and restrained.

The doorbell rang again.

Bryce glanced down at Zach. Still unconscious.

He hurried out of the spare room and closed the door behind him before rushing to the front door. He straightened his hair, pasted a smile on his face, and threw the door open.

He didn’t know what he expected. Maybe a vacuum cleaner salesman, or a candidate for local office—was there an election coming up? Instead, he found himself face-to-face with Sonia and Teddy. His two closest friends. His two only friends, if he was being honest.

Sonia was carrying an oversized tote bag overflowing with food storage containers and foil bags of junk food. Teddy held a broom, a dustpan, and economy-size spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner, and wore a big lopsided Teddy smile. They both looked at Bryce expectantly.

Bryce blinked at them.

“Well?” asked Teddy. “Are you going to stand there staring, or are you going to invite us in?”

“You didn’t text,” Bryce said. What he really wanted to say was, What are you doing here?

“I didn’t think we needed to,” said Sonia, looking at him like he was one step in intelligence above an amoeba. “Considering we planned this days ago.”

“You said you needed help cleaning your spare room?…” Teddy prompted.

Oh. Right. He had said something about that, hadn’t he? And they had said something about helping him out. He had been so distracted by the news of Zach’s reappearance, he would have agreed to anything.

He was pretty sure he had just found the downside of having friends who cared enough to help him out with thankless chores.

“We tried to confirm with you earlier,” said Sonia. “But you’ve been out of contact for days.”

“We were actually a little worried,” Teddy added.

Now that they mentioned it, Bryce did think he remembered hearing his phone buzz while he was changing Zach’s bandages this morning. Or had it been last night? Or maybe both. When was the last time he had checked his phone, anyway?

He took it out and glanced down. Twenty-three unread messages.

Had he even remembered to call out of work?

“Sorry, guys,” he said, lowering his eyes with an abashed expression. “I came down with a cold. I’ve been feeling pretty out of it.” He gave a halfhearted cough into his elbow. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m still contagious, so maybe we should hold off until—”

Sonia rolled her eyes. “I was a master of faking sick to get out of school when I was a kid,” she said. “I know what a fake cough sounds like. You’re not getting out of cleaning that spare room that easily.” She held up the tote. “I brought snacks. I’ve got sweet or salty, junky or healthy, high-calorie or low-calorie, depending on where we are in the process and how much energy we need.”

“We also brought our boundless enthusiasm,” Teddy added with a big, cheesy thumbs-up. He patted his phone pocket. “And I made a cleaning playlist.”

Before Bryce could stop him, he shoved his way inside. Sonia followed in his wake.

Bryce, dazed, just stared.

He wasn’t used to this whole having-friends business.

He still wasn’t quite sure how it had happened. It had been a gradual softening on his part, after years of holding the world at bay, frozen into prickly silence by his guilt about Zach. When his therapist had told himself to “put himself out there,” he had made excuses for six months, then signed up for a local board game night like a big old dork. That was where he had met Sonia.

It turned out he wasn’t into board games, but he was into Sonia. In a romantic way, he had thought at first, but it hadn’t taken long for them to both decide they worked better as friends. She was the one who had introduced him to Teddy, and, well, it was impossible not to warm up to Teddy.

Sonia strode toward the spare room. Bryce unfroze from his daze too late when he saw her reaching for the doorknob.

He lunged forward in slow motion. “No—”

She opened the door.

And stood in the doorway, staring.

“Well,” she said in her customary deadpan, “this isn’t what I expected.”

Teddy appeared in over her shoulder. “Um…” he ventured. “It looks like you’ve done some cleaning without us. Great job!”

Bryce came up behind them. “It’s not what it looks like.”

Sonia looked over her shoulder at him. “It looks like you’ve got an unconscious man with a vague resemblance to you tied to the bed.”

“Okay,” said Bryce, “maybe it is what it looks like.”

In perfect unison, Sonia and Teddy turned to face him.

“You’re going to have to explain this one,” said Teddy.

Bryce took a deep breath.

“First of all,” he said, “you should probably know that I have a little brother.”

They were silent as he told the story of Zach. Of their childhood together. Of Zach’s disappearance, when Bryce had been in high school and Zach still in elementary. He sketched it out in the barest of detail—the way Zach had gone over to play with a friend down the street and had never come home—but he was sure they could read between the lines.

Bryce hadn’t been with him. He should have been. He should have known Zach was too young to go on his own. But Simon’s house had only been three blocks away, and Bryce didn’t want to spend his precious free afternoon playing with his baby brother and his brother’s baby friend…

Excuses. He knew better. He was sure Sonia and Teddy did, too.

But neither of them spoke the words of accusation he had feared. “And that’s him?” was all Sonia said, jerking her chin toward the figure in the bed.

“How did you find him after all these years?” Teddy asked, eyes wide.

“More pertinently,” said Sonia, “why is he tied to the bed?”

Bryce took a bigger breath this time. “That,” he said, “is where the story gets weird.”

He did his best to explain what the private investigator had relayed to him about the Enhanced, and about PERI. Their black-ops division. Their research on human subjects, and their breeding programs. With every word he said, Teddy’s eyes grew rounder, and Sonia’s narrower.

“You’re talking about a genuine government cover-up,” Teddy breathed when he was done. “Like, real tabloid Elvis’s-alien-baby stuff… but true.” He looked over his shoulder at Zach, as if trying to convince himself the man was still there.

“You’re pulling our leg,” Sonia said flatly. “Right?”

“There’s an unconscious man restrained in my spare room,” said Bryce. “Does it look like I’m joking around right now?”

“So this… PERI… they kidnapped your brother when he was a kid,” said Teddy slowly. “And now he’s back with you. You saved him.” All of a sudden, Teddy looked misty-eyed.

“Assuming all this is true,” said Sonia, “which is a big assumption… now you probably have a whole team of clandestine government agents after you.”

Bryce blinked.

“I hadn’t quite thought ahead that far,” he said faintly. “I had my hands full with the current problem.”

“Which is?” Sonia prompted.

“He’s badly injured, for one,” Bryce said. “And also—”

At that moment, a howl of impotent rage came from the spare room.

They all turned at once.

Zach’s eyes were open. His face was twisted in anger and panic as he strained in vain against the makeshift bonds. “Let me go,” he howled. “Let me go!”

“And also,” Bryce finished, “he’s not exactly happy about being rescued.”

---

Tagged: @sowhumpful

Ask to be added or removed from taglist.

[officialleehadan]

Escape Plan

Hello darlings! boy, today is dark and stormy. The wind sounds like an old bear growling over the rooftops, even over my Writing Weather thunderstorm mix.

Today's story was brought to you by Grace! Darling, I'm always so excited to see when someone has fallen in love with a series. Thank you so much for your support!

Prompt: Low and High

+++

It was good that Oriel met her father at the door when he came back in. A few quick words about how difficult the children were being settled his foul mood more than she dared hope. If he hadn’t been so angry about other things, it might not have worked. As it was, he waved her away and continued on with barely a growled word.

It took Oriel and Yahiva three more days to work out how to get the warriors out of the castle. It would have to be done flawlessly to manage at all.

When she went down into the dungeons to talk to them, it was Niceas and Roni who had borne the brunt of Elman’s ire and his torturer’s creativity. Niceas was badly burned down one side, and Roni huddled in a corner, dripping filthy water.

“Dropped him into a tub and weighted him,” Niceas told her as she smoothed balm down his face and Tavion helped get his side through the bars. “Thought he was dead when he came back up, but they pounded him ‘till he started to cough.”

“And you?” Oriel asked to distract him. She had to stand to reach his head even when he sat down for her.

“They have poured oil into my armor. It wasn’t boiling, they can’t risk us dying yet, but it was close enough,” he said mirthlessly. “Managed to keep it away from my face, but the rest of me wasn’t so lucky.”

“Can you run?” she asked urgently. It was sheer luck that burn-injuries were usually fatal and the torturers avoided them. Their plan hinged on the warriors being able to run.

“Not far,” he admitted. “Farther if our lives depend on it. Where are we going?”

“Siryee has a troop outside the castle, posing as farmers,” she told him, and knew the rest of the warriors were listening. “Clear the castle, get to them. She says by the orchards, and that you would know where,” the last was for Lovan, who nodded. “Get to them, lose your armor, and fade into the farmers.”

“And Maia?” They all knew that they would be taking he younger princess with them when they left. “She doesn’t look like one of ours.”

“I know,” that was a problem they had been working on for a while now. “She’s going to have a bag of chalk powder with her. Powder her skin pale. A cloak will cover the rest.”

“That will do,” Niceas said, more comfortable now that the balm was easing his pain. Oriel wiped her hands on a rag and tucked the balm into a crevice of his cell to use again later. He scooted until it was hidden behind him. “Will she be able to keep up with us? The orchards are a long way.”

“She’ll manage. She knows how important it is,” Oriel told him and left his cell to check on Roni, who was seated against the bars between him and Shan. The way the two warriors had their hands clasped, palm to palm through the bars told her more about them than words could say. For their sakes, she hoped they made sure the soldiers never saw their closeness. Her father’s torturer would use that against them if he got the chance.

“How are you doing?” she asked him gently when he looked up at her. Like the others, he rolled back his armor for her to check him over. His breathing was rough, but strong when she listened to his chest, and there were deep bruises on his back.

“Had better weeks,” he told her hoarsely. Oriel pretended she didn’t see the way Shan squeezed his hand just a little tighter. “When do we go?”

“Tomorrow night. Just hold on a little longer,” she told him softly, and brought a bottle of cordial, honey and chamomile, to ease his throat. He took small sips, but his breathing was better when he finished. “I won’t be able to come down tomorrow- I have to spend the day with the king.”

“Don’t risk his suspicion,” Lovan said from his cell. Oriel’s father had been continuing their attack on the River Lord until the Zaisi lost his voice from screaming. He was getting better at hurting them, even through their armor. “We know the price if you are discovered helping us.”

There was nothing else she could do for Roni, and she patted his knee gently and got to her feet. Shan caught her eye and nodded his thanks, twining his fingers together with Roni’s tightly. The half-drowned warrior managed a small smile for him, albeit a shaky one.

“I’m willing to risk the consequences,” Oriel told Lovan as she entered his cell with the cordial. She couldn’t do much about his injuries without it being obvious that they were getting help. All the same, she did what she could, even if that meant sneaking them enough food to keep up their strength. The balm for Niceas was a risk, but burns went foul so easily that it was worth it. “I can’t let him stay on the throne. No one else has a chance against him, but his magic won’t work on me.”

“If we’d known that, we would have tried to contact you before his forces made it to the castle,” Niceas muttered, which made Lovan chuckle hoarsely. Oriel smiled and checked Lovan over. “You’re immune to his magic?”

“My grandmother was Fae,” Oriel explained as she worked. “On my mother’s side. Most of the magic skipped me, although my sister has more, but human magic doesn’t work very well on either of us.”

“And the castle? You said you can fight him there.”

“There’s old magic on the walls. Father can’t use it, but I can.”

It was her one advantage. The magic there was from before humans held the castle, back when the Gook Folk and humans lived in peace together. These days, the Good Folk were almost a legend and humans were everywhere.

But the ancient enchantments on the castle remained, and they knew her.

“So you need to get him back to the castle,” Lovan murmured thoughtfully and closed his eyes. “How can we help?”

“First I help you,” Oriel said with a smile. “Get as much rest as you can. You escape tonight at moonrise.”

+++

Low and High:

The mountain kingdom has always envied the wealth of the lowland clans, and now the mad king of Kalman has decided that the time has come for conquest.

Crisis Conscience (Free on Patreon!)

Face the Storm (Subscriber Only!)

Whispered Words (Free on Patreon!)

Brace for What’s Coming (Subscriber Only!)

+++

More Stories!

+++

[thecleverdame]

The Oath - 12

Parings: Dark!Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader

Story Master List

Summary: After an unsuccessful escape attempt, the reader finds herself taken as a spoil of war. She ends up in the bed of a ruthless Alpha, the son of John Winchester, leader of the kingdom of Gilead. She struggles to conceal her true identity and navigate a society where being an Omega means nothing more than serving at the pleasure of powerful men.

Warnings: non-con, sexual assault, rape, attempted suicide, sexual slavery, branding, torture, ownership, voyeurism, anal play, smut, violence, and murder.

Sam is dark in this story. If any of the warnings are triggers for you, I would suggest skipping this one. Please read and heed all the warnings.

Beta: ilikaicalie

Support my Patreon and get access to exclusive stories.  CLICK HERE

-

Sam can feel you watching him. 

Since waking up from the dead those years ago all of his senses have been heightened. He can anticipate situations before they develop, read the expression on a man’s face to deduce if he’s lying. But this is something else. A dormant ability hidden in his Alpha that’s responding to the bond developing between you. He can feel it growing every day. He knows when you are near or far, like now as you watch him riding away on his horse. 

Despite the complications of being an Omega, you’ve proved to be less work than he initially anticipated. Yes, you’re often scared and appear lonely. But any Omega he came across would be all of those things and more. He sees your sadness, but you manage to not let it affect your ability to satisfy him so he honestly doesn’t care. It’s well worth the price to have you in his bed at night, rubbing your sweet scent over his skin and sucking his cock like you’re starving for it. 

You need him more every day and that’s the way he prefers to keep it. If anything happened to you, it’s unlikely he would ever find a match as well suited. Most Alphas never find an Omega that responds so favorably.

Hell, in this world many Alphas never find an Omega at all. 

“You don’t need to stay. I’ve recovered.” Sam affirms to Dean what they both already know.  

“I’m not here for you. I’m here because being on my own is mind-numbing. The men are unbearable and this new Omega might be the death of me. Plus dad is a week away, ten days at most. I’m dreading rejoining the troops.”

“It’s true. The more time we spend away from him, the harder the reunion.”

“Used to be weeks, then months. How long has it been this time?” Dean asks. 

“Eighteen months since I’ve seen him last,” Sam confirms. “Almost the same for you if I remember correctly.” 

“I’m not sure. At least a year. I don’t mind him as much as you.”

Sam and John have a widening rift that’s been growing since Sam was a child. As soon as Sam was old enough to say the word ‘no’ the disobedience began. After Sam’s change to the man he is now, Dean thought perhaps they would grow closer. Sam was rapidly becoming just as ruthless as his father. But then came the day Sam surpassed John in nearly every regard. 

Dean knows his brother keeps his actions in check. If he acted on his impulses, a monster would be unleashed. But Sam maintains a semblance of humanity and their father simply sees it as an opportunity. To have someone as smart and capable as Sam who is also willing to give merciless orders and gets his hands dirty when necessary is invaluable. 

“A few of dad’s men are already here,” Sam confirms. 

Two of John’s scouts arrived this morning. Now that they’ve confirmed safe passage, they’ll ride back for the largest garrison in the Winchester army. A hundred-thousand men will join up with Sam and Dean to create a force like nothing seen before. 

They’re unstoppable and they know it. 

“The sword maker arrived today,” Dean observes as they trot along the forest line. Both men scan the horizon, constantly vigilant of a possible impending attack. 

Sam looks to Dean. “I could use a new blade. And his brand.”

His brand. Sam plans to make his ownership permanent. He must believe in your allegiance if he’s willing to brand you with the Winchester crest. 

“I’ll have my Omega marked as well,” Dean adds and Sam turns to him with an inquisitive brow. 

“The blonde one that’s tried to kill you twice now?” 

“Best to have the family claim as soon as possible. I’ve heard reports of camps attacked and Omega’s being stolen and smuggled to the borders. We need her if we want to bargain.”

“She’s still wild?” Sam grins, watching Dean’s exasperation with amusement. 

“She’s a hard one to break. Every time I think I’ve gotten the best of her she tries something new.”

“How long do you think she’ll live once our father shows up?”

“Depends on if he truly needs her as a bargaining chip or if he’ll just use her to entertain the men. Nothing gets them as energized as a beheading.”

“True. You won’t be broken-hearted?”

“No, not in the least. As soon as I find another Omega she’s heading to the jailer.”

“Smart. Better to have her under lock and key.” Sam rides for some time in silence, watching the slow-moving cloud trails across the gray horizon. “You told my Omega I was going to give her to you. Then to the men.”

“Maybe, sounds like me.” Dean laughs it off. “What’s the problem.”

“She tried to slit her own throat. I think she’s passed it now, but you could have given me a warning. You know how they react. I’d like to keep her alive.” 

“It was a comment. She’s fragile.” Dean dismisses the idea that he acted rashly.  “I’m still not convinced she didn’t have a hand in poisoning you. We should at least interrogate her. We can’t let the culprit get away with an attempt on Sam Winchester’s life. It sends the wrong message. Someone needs to be an example of what happens if they come after one of us. A body or two should do the trick.” 

“And you think that person is my Omega?” 

“Your Omega?” Dean shoots him a look “Please, we both know you’d never give her up. You’re too deep in that wet little cunt to see straight.” 

“I see very clearly. Perhaps more than I have in a long time. I’m not sure I was ever truly satisfied before her. I thought the stories of destined matches were as much shit as you did but, now I...there’s something to it.”

“Have you been through a rut yet?” 

“No,”

“Then how can you know for sure?”

“Because after I fuck her I don’t have the itch. It’s been gone since the first time.” 

Every Alpha knows the feeling. An unsettled urgency in the gut that leaves a constant need for one more round to get it out. Betas do nothing for it. It’s the reason so many of them end up injured or worse by Alphas trying to find satisfaction. Omegas bring well-needed relief, but it’s not complete. 

“Seriously?” Dean raises an eyebrow, checking if his brother is indeed serious. “Tell me how a bastard as coldhearted as you ends up with a true mate? That’s the universe fucking the rest of us. You’ve always been fucking lucky.”

“I’m not sure I would call dying in the battlefield and losing my soul, lucky.” 

“Maybe it’s not luck, but it’s something.” Dean thinks on this while they ride further. “Do you remember what you were like before?”

“Not that different from now.”

“You wouldn’t recognize yourself. Do you remember when you killed your first man? You were sixteen and you cried for a week.”

“No, I didn’t...did I?” 

“You did. I wasn’t sure you’d ever pick up a sword again. You don’t remember, do you?”

“I can’t remember anything from before. Feelings mostly, about dad, you. I have a few specific memories but nothing more than that.” 

“When you were little you were a sweet kid. You’d go out and pick flowers for mom. Bouquets of small yellow flowers wrapped up with twine.”

“Stop it,” Sam looks away, shifting in the saddle. 

“Call it whatever you want, luck, destiny, but be prepared to put up a fight if you want to keep her after dad gets wind of it. You know how he is about the Omegas. And she’s a prize, he’ll want her to give to some loyal-”

“He can try.” Sam shrugs. “And he’ll fail to take her. He knows better than to cross me.”

“Maybe,” Dean surmises, watching as they come upon the camp. 

[saxxxology]

What Goes Bump in the Night - 14

PAIRING: Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader WARNINGS: a/b/o dynamics, Victorian social dynamics, allusions to non-consent and dubious consent, dominance/submission, slow burn with eventual smut, suspense/horror/gore themes.

THIS WORK IS 18+ ONLY. DO NOT REPOST MY WORK ON ANY OTHER SITES.

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SIXTEEN YEARS LATER...

“Jack? Jack, come downstairs, right now, please!”

The scrawny teenager trots down the stairs, fingers pulling at the bow tie around his neck. It’s lopsided, and he looks as if he’s been trying to fix it for a while. 

“I can’t do the bow,” he states bluntly. 

“Come here.” You motion for him to come closer and carefully do it up for him. He’s taller than you are by a good six inches, and you shake your head, wondering just how he’s managed to get so big in what feels like no time at all. “There.” You straighten the edges and smooth the lapels of his new jacket. “Where’s your father?”

“Upstairs,” Jack answers, reaching for the cup of tea you’ve prepared for him.

“I’ll find him,” you say, “and drink all of that, please, you’ve gotten into the habit of only drinking half and leaving the rest cold.”

You ignore the way he rolls his eyes and jog up the stairs, heading down into your bedroom to find your Alpha standing in front of the mirror, fumbling with a snug button on his shirt. His glasses are perched on the bridge of his nose, the glass meticulously polished. He’s got a few gray hairs, and his eyes are a little more crinkled at the edges, but he still looks as handsome as the day you first saw him.

“Almost ready?” you ask, running your hands over his back. “Jack’s getting antsy.”

Sam chuckles and turns to face you. “He’s been waiting long enough. It’s all he’s been talking about for the last week.”

“Are you going to tell him to stay out of the fight?” You lean against one of the bedposts. “After the one last year, I don’t want him getting in on that.”

The previous year’s fight had been the worst you’d ever seen. Sam and Dean both came home with cut lips, black eyes, and Dean’s left wrist had suffered a hairline fracture. Both men, although Alphas, were getting to the age where careless brawling was not an easy feat to accomplish, especially when the privilege of victory over two of the world’s foremost hunters was in the air to almost a hundred men.

“I won’t allow it.” Sam bends down to kiss you and takes your hand, leading you from the room. He takes the stairs slowly, careful not to strain the knee that’s still healing from a nasty hunt in Connecticut a couple of months before. “Jack, you ready?”

Jack nods, his usual crooked smile appearing on his face as he sets down the empty cup. He’s been waiting to go to his first hunter’s party ever since he turned sixteen, and with his uncle Dean hinting that there might be a pretty girl or two on the premises, he’s also been obsessed with his appearance. He’s a Beta, which all but eliminates his chances with Omegas, but Sam promises that there are plenty of other Beta girls to go around. His uncle’s there early, and you know that he’s made the excuse to leave so that he can avoid the “special conversation” that Sam’s going to give his son on the carriage ride to the party. 

“Come here.” You pull Jack into your arms and hug him tightly. “Stay out of trouble, and don’t leave the party unless you’re with your father, all right?”

“Mom—”

“Jack. Promise me.”

He sighs, giving you a small smile. “I promise.”

“Good.” You stretch up to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Both of you, home by midnight.”

Sam raises his eyebrows. “What, no curfew for Dean?”

“Dean’s lived by his own rules for as long as I’ve known him. He won’t change until he can’t walk anymore.” You pull Sam down into a deep, loving kiss that has Jack faking a gag until you part. 

“I’ll see you soon,” Sam murmurs, giving you another soft peck on the lips before grabbing his scarf and heading for the door. “C’mon, Jack. Don’t need to be late.”

The moment the front door is closed, you head for the library. Sam’s ordered a new book for you to read and for the first time in almost a month you’ll be alone for several hours to enjoy it. The library is nothing like it was nearly twenty years before. There’s more happy memories in that room alone than you can count. 

The parcel sits on the chess table, waiting to be opened. You undo the twine that holds it together and rip the brown paper off, exposing the cover of the brand new book.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

You’ve been wanting to get your hands on it for months now, and you can’t help but cuddle the book to your chest as you sink onto the couch. Sam, much to your jealousy, met the author before, at a conference in the city almost a year previously, and he’d come home with the hint that there was a new book in the works. 

The brand new cover makes a delightful cracking sound as you open it, and the pages feel velvet smooth under your fingertips. There’s a note tucked into the front cover, the writing small and neat.

For Y/N Winchester. With all my humble gratitude and blessings.     -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Your cheeks burn hot at the thought of one of the greatest authors of his time writing your name. Your name. Still blushing, you tuck the note back into the cover and settle back to read, thinking of all the ways you can thank your Alpha when he comes home. 

***

It’s past midnight when Sam, Jack, and Dean return home. You hear Sam bid his son goodnight, and then he’s slipping into your room, closing the door quietly and tiptoeing to the bathroom to wash up. He comes to bed only minutes later, pressing up close to you and draping an arm over your waist. 

“Good evening,” he breathes. “Did you like your present?”

“Mm.” You turn over and press your lips against his. You can taste whiskey, but he isn’t drunk. He hasn’t come home drunk ever since that first night years and years before. “I love it. He wrote a note for us.”

“Ahh, he remembered.” Sam chuckles. “When I met him I told him how much you enjoy his books and he said that he would write a note to you when he sent a copy to us.”

You smile and kiss the hollow of his throat. “How was the party?”

“The usual.” Sam grins. “Don’t worry, I told Jack to stay out of the fight. He met a girl. Margaret, but he calls her Maggie.”

Your eyes snap open. “And?”

“They went for a walk around the gardens, he was very polite.” Sam soothes your maternal worry with a gentle kiss. “He can tell you about it himself tomorrow.”

You snuggle close, smiling into his chest. “I feel like he’s growing up so fast.”

“I know.” Sam nuzzles the top of your head. “Let’s go to sleep, hmm?”

You sigh gratefully, allowing him to hug you to him with his chin resting on top of your head. “Good night, Alpha.”

Sam smiles, rubbing his palm up and down your back. “Good night, Omega.”

THE END

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[lindira]

Hello! Have you considered writing/reading interactive fiction? It got me out of the worst writing slump and the community is thriving, so I always stay motivated! The parent company is called Choice of Games but its label Hosted Games is better imo. The writing involves some coding but its honestly pretty simple once you start and it helps to look how others work (theres a way to 'code dive' for examples). Or there are WIP games on DashingDon which have a variety of genres, too. Im sorry your slump is so bad! I hope it gets better soon <3

(Hello, same COG Anon) Also, if you don't know where to start, I honestly suggest The Wayhaven Chronicles! It's the most famous IF game in the community: you play as a detective (which you completely customize down to the name, appearance, and personality - like all interactive fiction games) who is introduced to the supernatural and starts working with (and can even romance....) a team of vampires to hunt down a new enemy in their hometown of Wayhaven. There are two published books on Hosted Games and the third one is a public demo on DashingDon. The first chapters of all three are free to play, and I think you'll like it!

First, sorry for the delayed reply! I just moved across country a little over a week ago and still getting set up here.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into all of this when I have more time. I've thought about doing a little interactive writing, but didn't know anything about outlets for doing so, except for Twine. And then I only heard about that because applications to write for Bioware involve that program.

I often get big ideas for projects I'd like to start, especially ones that might allow me to make a little side gig out of it, like with Patreon or something. Aside from my big goal of publishing my novel and hopefully subsequent novels, I just really want to do something creative for work, rather than something that means nothing to me, y'know?

I have to get out of this rut I'm in first, though. I'll explore Choice of Games and other different storytelling media to see if they get me motivated some more. I'd like to try playing Dragon Age (Origins, maybe?) again because that's helped me in the past. I've been poking at old fanfic ideas too. I'll be able to make a bigger effort of it soon once I'm more settled here at my new home. I know the more I force myself to write, the easier it'll become over time, but I feel like I'm floundering and confused when taking those first few steps out of this hole I'm in. It's a hard process that is pretty daunting to begin all over again.

Anyway, thanks again, and I appreciate the help!