#single choice questions: 25

[felassan]

Some follow up posts following the recent Bloomberg [article]. Rest of post under cut due to length.

Jason Schreier: "One element of the Dragon Age story that I want to emphasize: If the team had known in 2021 (after the single-player pivot) that they'd ship in Oct 2024, it'd be a much different game. Instead they were always under the impression they had to finish in 6-12 months, which led to all sorts of problems. This happened with Suicide Squad, too, and countless other games that seemed to be in development for years but in reality were just delayed half a dozen times, offering the team little opportunity to plan or make smart long-term decisions" [source, two]

Jason Schreier re: this Reddit post which is titled 'To the DA devs after that Bloomberg article': "I suspected that hearing the whole story behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard's tumultuous development would lead to a lot of fans expressing empathy for the people in the trenches [link]" [source]

Blair Thorburn: "the worst part is that those issues were called out almost immediately, and the choice was made to push on. this strategy backed the team into an impossible situation from the start, and it was a miracle we shipped at all, nevermind shipping at the quality we did. our narrative team were heroes." [source]

Jo Berry: "Having seen the circumstances under which they were trying to create... I mean, I only came in right at the end and it was still -- holy shit." [source]

Brian J. Audette, rt'ing the article: "Reposting without comment except: I refute that we made a bad or compromised game. We made the best version of what we released, warts and all. I'm damn proud of it and the team. We couldn't have made a _better_ Dragon Age, only a _different_ one." [source] "Still the best reviewed game I ever worked on in a 25+ year career." [source]

John Epler: "my career up to this point has been largely motivated by spite and the good news is it seems I am in no danger of running out" [source]

John Epler: "still the truest thing I've ever posted" [source] John Epler [prior post]: "sorry one last DA thing, i just want to say, once again, that the team did some incredibly herculean shit to get this game done. they deserve all the kudos and credit in the world. i've never seen people work so hard or care so much. grateful to know them all." [source]

Also:

User: "I guess my big question is why did the game get an 83 on metacritic with all these problems." Jason Schreier: "Sometimes reviewers just don't align with general reception. Fallout New Vegas got an 84 while Fallout 4 got an 87" [source]

User: "Christ. Second major BioWare game in a row to inspire an investigative "what the hell went wrong?" piece from Schreier." Jason Schreier: "third" [source]

A user queried the part of the article that stated the Mass Effect team overhauling DA:TV's ending, mentioning that this seems unfair to say.

Jason Schreier: "Well, the ME team steered it and, most importantly, got the resources to make it happen. But I see your point and obviously in game dev, credit is always a funky thing." [source]

Following the Suicide Squad post above:

User: "the difference being that suicide squad's live service push was determined by studio leadership, whereas the dragon age decisions came from outside bioware right?" Jason Schreier: "I don't think it's quite that simple. If you run a studio owned by a company whose execs are coming in with powerpoint presentations about how live-service is the future, it might be "your choice" what kind of game to pitch but what's really going to secure you a budget?" [source]

[questions-about-blorbos]

This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send any Blorbo-related question you want to our inbox and we’ll make a poll on which people can vote with their own Blorbos in minds

[pitchsidestories]

aurora II Mapi León x Reader

masterlist | word count: 1190

summary: Mapi and reader getting engaged under the northern lights.

author's note: dear readers, this cute oneshot was requested and we hope you'll like it as much as we did writing the story. 🫶🏻🫶🏻

„Oh, Mapi, you know you didn’t need to.”, you began, your voice full of emotions.  

In your slightly shaky hands, you held the opened envelope in which there was an invitation to see the Northern lights. A childhood dream was laying in your palms.

It was coming true, and you were going to see that natural wonder with no other than the person you loved the most. A single tear ran down your cheek as an incredible feeling of gratitude spread through you.

The Spaniard pressed a featherlight kiss to the place where your cheek was still a bit wet.  “But I wanted to. I know you always wanted to do that, and you deserve it after the year you’ve had.”

For a brief moment, your face darkened; the last few months of the 2024/25 football season had been really tough for you. While Mapi and Irene were fit enough to play in the starting eleven again, you were demoted to the substitutes' bench again, after having grown in the role of defender and been indispensable to the team for many months.

Obviously, you were happy for the two, yet it hurt to be only considered the second choice once more.

“Thank you, amor.”, you whispered gratefully.

“You’re welcome.”, she replied.

“I simply can’t wait for that.”, you hummed excitedly. Something magical at the end of the year was just what you needed, a small winter miracle.

“Luckily, you don’t have to wait for long.”, Mapi reminded you softly.

‘But you're going to be so cold!’ you realised, and there was a hint of a guilty conscience in your voice.

“You can keep me warm.”, the defender responded with an amused smile on her lips.

“I promise I’ll.”, you grinned at your girlfriend.

“Also I already bought us matching sweaters.”,Mapi confessed sheepishly

“You did?”, you asked her touched by such a thoughtful and admittable, cheesy gesture.

“I did.”, she confirmed smirking.

“Maria Pilar, you’re the softest human with tattoos I’ve ever met, I swear.”, you said.

“My tattoos have nothing to do with that.”, the fellow football player laughed.

The weeks had flown by.

Still, it felt to you like a dream when Mapi and you were looking up to the night sky in the northern parts of Scandinavia. The northern lights above your heads.

“Yes.”, she agreed solemnly. With curious eyes the defender turned her head to look at you.  “Is it just like you imagined?”

“No, it’s even better.”, you admitted.

“It’s?”, Mapi questioned happily.

You quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek: “Yes, because you’re here with me.“

“You’re so sweet.“, your girlfriend smiled, her cheeks red from the cold.

“Also this feels so good right now. We’re only half way through the season but it’s already been an exhausting one for sure.“

“I know. And that’s why you’re not supposed to think about football here.“, Mapi reminded you gently.

You nodded gingerly. Of course she was right, this was not the time or place to think about football when you finally got to see this remarkable light display with your own eyes. “Sorry.“

Silently, you both watched on for a moment, taking everything in. You still couldn’t believe this was all real. It was almost verging on overwhelming.

“Y/n?”, Mapi said suddenly into the night.

“Hm?”, you replied without taking your eyes off the sky.

“I need to ask you something.“

Finally you turned towards her and what you saw, made the northern lights pale in comparison. There was no way to top this, yet Mapi found away.

The defender kneeled in front of you, holding a delicate golden ring in a little box.

“Oh my god!”, you whispered, incapable of stringing more words together.

“I haven’t asked yet.“, Mapi chuckled.

You shook your head in disbelief: “Well, you already got down on one knee in the freezing cold and pulled out a ring from your jacket so this is pretty self-explanatory!”

“So… Can I get an answer then?”

“Without asking? Hm…“, you teased her.

Mapi shot you a look: “You just said I didn’t have to.“

“It’s a yes, amor.“, you finally answered. You couldn’t contain the smile spreading across your face when you pulled Mapi up from the snowy ground and kissed her.

“You will be my wife?”, she asked as if she needed confirmation that you knew what you had just agreed to.

“Yes, and you’ll be mine.“

She beamed at you happily: “I will be. Even in the cold… Can we go inside now?”

“Of course, I can’t let my fiancée freeze any longer.“, you nodded with a laugh and led her inside your rented cabin.

“Thank you.“, your fiancée said, rubbing her hands together to warm them back up once she was inside.

“You’re welcome. Do you want me to make you some hot chocolate?”, you suggested once you saw how badly Mapi was shivering.

“Yes, please.“

While she took off her boots and winter jacket, you disappeared into the small rustic kitchen only to return with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate a few minutes later. You had even added mini marshmallows. Carefully, you handed Mapi a mug and watched her take a sip.

“Better?”

“A lot.“

“Good.“, you sighed relieved.

“That’s all I ever wanted.”, the defender realized gratefully.  

“A hot chocolate under the northern lights?”, you asked her amused.

“With my future wife.”, she added proudly. Her words made you feel suddenly very hot, so you had to pull off the scarf.

Despite the rather chaotic proposal you heard yourself saying. “Feels like a dream.”

“It does, huh?”

“Yes, I don’t want to wake up from it yet.”, you confessed.

The fireplace crackled in the background.

“You don’t have to. That’s our life right now.”, Mapi reassured you, the Spaniard gently touched your chin and turned it towards her so that you could look into her hungry eyes.

They and her waiting lips were the invitation you needed, both of your mouths touching in perfect unison, the kiss was perfect, bittersweet, you could still taste the hot chocolate in it.

Then she leant her forehead against yours, her sentence sounded full of promise. “Love you, future wifey.”

“Te amo.”, you whispered gently in your fiancées mother tongue.

“I know.”, Mapi chuckled, her lips escaping a protesting sound once you got up to light some candles and turned out the big lights, so it was even cozier than before.

“Isn’t this perfect.”, the Spaniard admired.

“It’s plus we can see the northern lights from our beds.”, you pointed excitedly to the glass ceiling which gave a picturesque view of the night sky above your heads.

“Nice, right?”, she grinned, as you both laid down on the soft mattress.

“Yes, it’s an amazing place to make..”, you started blushing.

“Love?”, Mapi finished the sentence for you with a teasing look on her face.

“Yes.”, you bit your lips while your fiancée began to leave small kisses all over your body.

Aurora, the blush of dawn would be here soon, but you two had only eyes for each other as you made love under the most beautiful sky you’ve ever seen.

if you enjoyed this story reblogs, comments and likes are always appreciated !

Christmas/Winter Oneshots

[countrydionysia]

2024 Rural Dionysia Announcement

Io! The time of the year has come again for the Rural Dionysia!

How to participate

The Rural Dionysia is meant to be a smaller competition than its urban counterpart, as such, we have selected only 3 categories:

Freestyle poetry

Modern hymns

“Complete the fragment”

Freestyle poetry

Your poem can be about any chosen topic (myth, personal experience etc.) in any written format. It doesn't have to be religious in nature.

Modern hymn

An hymn must sing the praises of a deity of your choice. Unlike the "freestyle poetry", your work must be of religious nature to fit in this category.

Complete the Fragment

Each year, we choose a fragment from an Ancient Greek poet to work with. The challenge is that the initial fragment must be included somewhere in your piece in its original order. This means you can fill the gaps however you want, but you can’t switch the order of the words in your piece or remove words from the original fragment.

Here is the fragment selected for this 2024 edition:

Fragment 113 by Alcaeus (trans. David A. Campbell; Loeb 142)

…kiss…(they) began…knowledge…sits…are…mortal

Here is the Greek text for reference. Note that because the word "they" is implied, it will be acceptable to keep or modify this word.

If in doubt for any of these categories, remember that you can check submissions from the previous years to get an idea of how others have done before.

Submitting your piece

Please submit your piece through submissions on this blog. All entries must be tagged for the category they are being submitted to. but you can only choose 1 category per piece and each person may only submit 1 entry per category each year.

Entries must also be tagged for potentially triggering content and squicks. If your entry needs a trigger warning, kindly add them at the end of your submission and we will take care of adding them in. Check the rules below for further information about submissions.

Calendar of the event

Nov. 16: Official announcement and opening of submissions. Dec. 17: Final submission day. Dec. 18: Vote opening. Dec. 25: Vote closing. Dec. 25-26: Announcement of the winners!

No worries though! We will be posting reminders about each step when the time comes.

General rules

Roleplay and fanfic are not acceptable submissions. This is a religious festival, please respect our faith and do not submit an entry if you are roleplaying or writing fanfiction.

Unlike with the City Dionysia, entries do not necessarily have to be about specific deities or Hellenic polytheism except for the “Modern Hymn” category, which has to be dedicated to one or many gods of your choice.

There are no meter restrictions. This is up to the writer.

All stories, myths, and poems must be entered using the submissions button.

All entries must be tagged for the category they are being submitted to. Entries must also be tagged for potentially triggering content and squicks.

An entry may only be submitted to a single category.

Each person may only submit one entry per category each year.

Winners for each category will be decided by popular vote.

Admins of this blog cannot participate, for obvious reasons. As for now, this includes @thegrapeandthefig @verdantlyviolet

Questions about the rules? Check the blog for past answers, your answer might be in there. And if it's not, simply submit an ask. We'll answer in the best delays possible.

[porcupine-girl]

Reminder to everyone who teaches students age 18+ in the United States:

It is NOT LEGAL to offer ANY INCENTIVE for a person to either vote or register to vote in an election with any federal positions on the ballot. I don’t know if it’s actually been tested in court, but this is generally assumed to include offering extra credit!

Do not offer extra credit for voting or registering to vote (and definitely don’t require it)!

HOWEVER. Things that ARE totally legal that I encourage you to do:

Remind your students of registration, absentee, and early voting deadlines.

Provide links to the necessary sites to do these (and warn against fake links).

Be available to answer questions about the registration or voting processes

Don’t have anything due on Election Day (and maybe the day after) and if you can, cancel class that day.

When I was in high school one of our teachers became a notary just so she could register students to vote when they turned 18 (I don’t know anything about that process).

Offer extra credit for (or if it’s relevant to the class, create assignments requiring) things like explaining/researching the registration or voting process, going to a polling station and writing observations (no photos!), researching candidates or issues, etc. Things that make it easy for them to just register/vote while they’re there, but they don’t have to.

Things that are legal but tbh I don’t encourage you to do unless it’s relevant to the class you’re teaching and you’re totally sure your school has your back if parents complain:

Tell them who/what you think they should vote for (or you’re voting for) and why

However, if any issues are relevant to your class obviously you can work them in in relevant ways. Just be careful of parents or students who think you’ve “got an agenda” - personally I always stick to the facts and let students draw their own conclusions.

For example: In our development chapter we cover prenatal development, and I’m careful to mention several facts that I could skip but that directly oppose anti-abortion taking points, such as the fact that you aren’t pregnant until you’re 2-4 weeks pregnant, there is no “heartbeat” at six weeks, only an electrical pulse, and as far as we can tell fetuses cannot feel pain until myelination of their nerves starts around 25-27 weeks. I’ve noticed some students who look pleased that I’ve mentioned these things as well as students who are clearly surprised by them. I never mention abortion, and anyone trying to claim I’m pushing a pro-choice agenda would be hard pressed to demonstrate that I’m doing anything other than conveying the scientifically-supported facts of prenatal development.

It’s an unfortunate fact that it can be dangerous for teachers at any level to give any indication that we aren’t apolitical beings, but you know and I know that just getting people to register and vote (especially young people), without a single word about who to vote for, benefits the left more than the right.

They know it too, but I’d like to see a parent complain about my providing links to voting registration without admitting they just don’t want people with every right to vote to actually do it.

[kaysfanficcorner]

The Camgirl and the Millionaire, Part 3

Pairing: Harry Castillo x Camgirl Reader

Summary: Things get more complicated.

Author's Note: Well here we are. I had so much fun writing this chapter and I am incredibly proud of it. These two have captured my heart and I cannot wait to see this little story through to the end. Harry and his camgirl have been the highlight of my summer so far. Thank you for being along for the ride, and please enjoy one of the most explicit things I've written to date.

New note, 6/25: Also, I went back and made one small edit to part 2. In it, Harry said it was June. For the outline I have planned I needed to move things up two months to August, so now I just made Harry make a vague reference to it being summer. You’ll understand when part 4 comes out!

Warnings: Alcohol consumption; Mentions of THC consumption; Cursing; Flirting; Spoilers for Jaws 1975; Lying, which I assure you hurts to write just as much as it hurts to read; Angst; Fluff; SMUT in the form of unprotected sex, oral, cum eating, anal if you squint; Harry is uncut and baby gravy free; A lot of feelings; Reader is thic; Reader is sort of goth; Reader has pierced nipples; Reader is a sex worker; I gave Harry an appendix scar, don't ask me why

18+, Minors DNI

Ao3

*****

Harry can’t quite believe himself, feeling legitimately nervous as he waits for you near the entrance, but still inside the events venue. Women don’t tend to make him nervous, not at this stage of his life at least. Somehow, someway, you make him incredibly nervous. Perhaps it’s because you’re nothing like anyone he’s ever felt attracted to before. With you everything feels strangely different. So different that he let himself go during the concert, not giving a single damn if anyone who he may know was paying any attention to him or not. But now, after coming down from his multiple highs, Harry’s sure he’d overdone it and he’s sure people will be talking come Monday morning. The question is, though, should he really care all that much?

Shortly after you both agreed to get food together, you declared that you needed to use the restroom and grab your things from the employee area in the back. You explained how you and Vanessa were able to get into the event in the first place with the help of that guy, Charles was it? The venue’s owner, evidently. Apparently Vanessa is usually at these events as an employee, which is in all honesty not much of a surprise. It all makes sense. As he stands there thinking about it, the puzzle pieces of how his evening ended up going in this direction have started clicking together. You’re not from this walk of life and you certainly would have never attended this event without the promise of the musical guest. Harry was only able to meet you due to some wild stroke of fate. Or luck. He’s not sure which. 

Harry himself doesn’t care, but your lack of status makes things even more scandalous when he really thinks about it. He knows that his brow must be riddled with worry as you’re approaching him once again, looking much more casual than you had when you walked away. When he really sees you, though, the worry in him fades away. 

 You’ve lost about three inches to the tasteful black Jimmy Choos you’d been wearing, which you’ve now replaced with short ankle-high black socks and a pair of black and white checkered Vans. The classic slip ons, a shoe Harry hasn’t noticed anyone wearing in a long while. He supposes that they are still popular if you’re wearing them, but most of the people he interacts with on a regular basis would not go for skateboarding shoes even in the most dire of circumstances. It’s an intriguing choice, much like the rest of you.

Your hair is back to being drawn up from your neck and shoulders, though the look is much messier than the bun Harry had ruined in the heat of the moment. You’ve got a black sweater slung over your forearm, and the straps of the heels are looped through your index and middle fingers on that same hand. Your free hand comes to rest on his arm as you move in beside him. Somehow being shorter makes you even more adorable to Harry, and he’s once again thanking himself for taking the plunge to enhance his own appearance. Your height difference is exactly what he imagined for himself when the surgery was possibly just a disastrous idea. At his true height the two of you would be nearly eye to eye.

“There you are,” you say with a little grin. “I bid farewell to the lovers back there so I’m good to go when you are. Van says you better not murder me or kidnap me, or she’s gonna come after you. I told her I’d be fine with the latter and she better not try to save me and ruin our good time.”

Harry nearly chokes at the suggestion, the very notion of it shocking, but your giggle at his reaction is enough to calm him. “You really aren’t like other girls,” he says, at a loss for more to say than that. 

“The highest compliment a girl can receive,” you agree, leaning into him slightly.

Harry looks around the room, noticing a few eyes on them, and he’s suddenly wildly ready to leave. His driver should be pulling up any minute, but he hasn’t heard the ding of a text or felt the vibration of a notification in his pocket yet. His eyes narrow a little as he regards you seriously.

“Listen, I want you to know that I don’t normally behave like that when I’ve only just met someone. I don’t know if I’ve ever behaved like that, actually. I apologize if I came on too strong on dancing with you, or singing those crass lyrics.” Harry says this with a self conscious little pit in his stomach. 

A moment ago he felt very confident that dancing with you in such an erotic way had been the right call, but suddenly he’s not so sure. It’s not enough to throw him off his game completely, but thinking back on how sultry the last hour and a half of his life has been, in a very public place, a wave of true embarrassment surges through him. People like Harry aren’t supposed to act like that, at a charity event no less. He finishes the water in another large gulp, mostly as a way to avoid looking at you directly while you respond. He could really use the next liquid he consumes to have an alcohol content. 

The look you send him is clearly one of gratitude. “Harry, you were great. You are great. I appreciate your concern for me, but I truly had the time of my life with you out there. I wouldn’t be standing here right now if you made me uncomfortable. No apology needed.”

What a relief washes over him. “As long as you felt safe and respected,” Harry adds, nodding once.

You’re nodding in return, smiling unfalteringly. “I felt very safe and very respected. A little worshiped, even. Singing those lyrics was absolutely the right call and at your handsiest you were still very respectful. Thank you for being a gentleman. That’s rarer than you may think these days.”

“Mhm, I’m aware that men in general suck,” he agrees, looking around the room nervously again. 

Now that his integrity has been cleared up with you, he’s not so sure it will be for anyone else who was paying attention to him tonight. As Harry glances around, he catches the gaze of a haughty looking blonde woman whom he knows he went out with once, but can’t possibly recall the name of. Cynthia? Cheryl? Something with a C? Harry remembers thinking it was a fitting letter because she’d certainly been a bit of a cunt, the way she’d spoken down to their waitress being enough evidence of that. Someone like her is the antithesis of what Harry wants in a life long partner. 

The unpleasant woman notices Harry looking and frowns deeply at him, clearly still scorned by his rejection. Then she sees you, how closely you’re pressed to him, and she gives you a once over which suggests exactly what she thinks of you. Her eyes land on your worn pair of streetwear shoes for a long moment, and her upper lip curls in an ugly sneer. 

“Some women suck too, though,” he says with distaste, frowning a little. “Wait, that sounds sexist. What I mean to say is: I think most people suck.”

“Sucking as a person encompasses all genders,” you agree.

Your gaze follows his to the woman across the room, and Harry watches your brow raise, but then to his great surprise you blow the woman a kiss and lean into Harry even more as you lift up on your tiptoes to place a chaste peck to his neatly trimmed jaw. He’s certain it was one of his gray patches, and his chest swells a little. Normally he’d be horrified that you just did that, but seeing the other woman huff and walk off strikes a chord within him and that warmth he felt spreading through him earlier on in the evening comes back. 

What a curious feeling. 

Once you’ve clearly had your fun you ignore the woman completely, looking back at Harry with a sugary sweet smile on your lips as you rub your bare shoulder into his upper arm. “I may have some money compared to most but I’m not one of these stuffy broads. Maybe I’m wrong with this read, but I don’t think you would be hanging out with me if I was.”

“You’re not wrong,” Harry breathes, pleased to know that you’re actually seeing him. That feels new for some reason. “I have a feeling that people like her are going to talk, because we definitely gave them something to talk about…” he trails off, a smile creeping onto his lips as he remembers how your body fit against his so well. 

“See, that’s the spirit! We had fun, so fuck those other people. And your reputation is safe with me. I’m not going to run off and tell the ‘who’s who’ that Harry Castillo is an incredibly sexy dancer. Or that his hands were all over me and it was the most amazing I've felt in another’s company since I can’t remember when. Or that his lips are addictive. I won’t even say that he’s quite handsome. Very bite-able.” 

As you say that last bit, you’re leaning over to gently nibble at his shoulder through the white dress shirt. Harry could care less that you probably just stained it red with rouge. He’s never met a girl who wants to openly gnaw on him before, and his stomach flutters in response to it. 

Harry’s shaking his head, wanting to reassure you that he wasn’t thinking about you like that. “It’s not you I’m worried about when it comes to my reputation, it’s the rest of these sharks. I’m sure at least one of them caught a whiff of blood in the water.”

You grin widely, laughing. “Yeah, well, my favorite character in Jaws is Captain Quint, so let the bastards try and take a chomp at you while I’m around.”

His left brow raises curiously. “Doesn’t the captain get eaten by the shark at the end of that movie?”

“That’s neither here nor there, but if it would make you feel better I’ll change my favorite to Sheriff Brody,” you giggle, then you change the subject. “Is our ride here yet?”

At that moment, Harry feels a vibration against his right thigh a barely audible ding goes off. “Actually, I think it is.”

*****

Harry links arms with you as the two of you descend the stairs leading down to the sidewalk, and the feeling of guilt slowly eating away at your gut gets a little worse. You really like this guy, and starting things out with a lie feels like it’s suddenly a huge mistake. But what if you come clean and he ends the night before you’re ready for it to end? Isn’t it best to see the rest of this night through and then see where things go with him after that? There’s still a good chance that he’ll disappear from your life after tonight and then you will have embarrassed yourself for no reason. And, again, it’s not that you’re embarrassed about your profession, but you’re starting to feel embarrassed for being a liar and a coward. That stings a lot, especially when the spark you’re experiencing with Harry feels like it's not nothing. 

Apparently you got so lost feeling guilty and anxious just now, that you completely missed the fact that you and Harry have made it down to the crowded curb. As well as the fact that your favorite musician is no less than twenty feet away as he gets ready to climb into his limo, surely off to some club or afterparty. You also hadn’t realized that you've been staring directly at the handsome celebrity, or that you’re wearing a displeased look on your face, until Harry looks at you with an expression of worry on his own.

What Harry doesn’t realize is that you’re deeply displeased with yourself at this moment, but he must think it has something to do with him. He seems a little self conscious as he looks over at the famous man climbing into the white stretch, frowning as his chocolate eyes meet yours once more. “You know, I can probably find out what party he’s going to.”

Your eyes widen, shocked that he thinks you’re worried about that . “I didn’t even notice him, Harry. I was distracted by something else.” 

“What is it? You seem upset all of the sudden.”

This is it. Your chance to tell the truth. Do it, do it, do i-

“The heels killed my feet,” you lie, adding a wince for effect, though your feet really do ache.

  Apparently lying is just your fucking thing now, you think, shame filling you for a moment. Coward.

“ Oh ,” he looks utterly relieved, and you can’t help but wonder how he can be so confident at one moment and almost vulnerable at the next. It makes you wonder if he’s been a little deprived of certain things emotionally in his life, thinking that makes two of you if it’s an accurate read. 

Just then a sleek black car pulls up behind the leaving limo, and Harry’s opening the door to the back seat for you. “Let’s keep those feet off the ground, then”

“Are you planning to sweep me off of them, Harry?” You flirt effortlessly, feeling a sense of calm wash over you again when he grins handsomely in response, fingers slipping in between yours. That’s it, just get your groove back.

“If you’ll let me,” Harry says, the air of if completely honest. 

As he guides you down into the leather seat, your hands remain joined. He leans down to kiss your knuckles once before letting your hand fall down into your lap. Then the door shuts, and a moment later the door on the other side opens. You’re grinning at him as he slides in beside you. Literally right beside you, not just in the other seat. He’s even using that weird middle seatbelt that no one likes, body pressed closely to yours as you buckle yourself in too. 

*****

Soon the two of you are instead seated across from one another in a twenty-four seven diner splitting a whole cheesesteak and a couple of cheap beers. Both of you remark that neither of you really eats food like this anymore, and that you’ll both regret it when you feel like shit the next day. But damn does it taste amazing. It also helps that you both took some generous hits on the dab pen again before entering the restaurant, making the greasy subs all the more alluring. 

You’re grinning at him between bites and sips, practically moaning. “I’m so glad that they put cheese wiz on this the real Philly way. Fuck, I’m in heaven.”

He nods in agreement, chewing a hefty chomp of his own. “This is very delicious, which means it could definitely kill me. Are you from the Philadelphia area, then?”

“No, the Baltimore area. A dinky town outside of the city. Close enough to Philly, though. I still know a good cheesesteak when I taste one. I just know a good crabcake better.”

“I knew your accent was from one of the two. Philly didn’t feel right though.” 

You smirk, “It’s the weird ‘o’ thing we do, isn’t it? I’ve never been able to shake that.”

Harry shrugs into another bite of his sandwich. “I think it’s cute.”

Downing the rest of your beer, you’re blushing as you tell him, “Well I like your voice a lot. It’s handsome and smooth, like rich caramel in my ears.”

Harry snorts into his own beer, shaking his head with a cartoonish grimace. “Caramel in your ears doesn’t sound pleasant. Come on, Miss author . Is that the sexiest thing you could come up with?” 

“It sounded like a good phrase in my head,” you’re forcing yourself to laugh, ignoring the sick jolt of anxiety he just caused. There are a few bites of cheesesteak left on your plate, but your appetite is long gone.

Harry seems to notice how fake it sounds, frowning. “You know what? I’m going to quit teasing you about that. We don’t have to talk about your writing unless you bring it up. That was rude of me. Shit . I’m not doing a very good job of earning that trust we talked about, am I?”

Deflect, deflect, deflect. Be fucking cool about it. “It’s okay. I’m not that upset. I’ll admit that wasn’t one of my better turns of phrase, but I can’t help it that amber is the color of your energy, Harry.” Joking as an attempt to re-lighten the mood, you’re grinning when he makes a scrunched face at the reference. But then that lovely face of his morphs into a relieved smile, and your anxiety settles.

“You’re too funny,” he chuckles. “I like your sense of humor. It’s refreshing.”

With a fake scoff, you’re feigning surprise. “You mean to tell me that blondie from the venue back there wasn’t a funny person? I never would have guessed.”

“Shocking, I know,” he agrees, grin handsome as ever. 

A wave of emotion rolls over you when you take a moment to really look at his face, at how beautiful he is and how lucky you feel to be here with him in this moment. The need to speak from the heart strikes you, and you let yourself go a little. “I’m having a really good time with you tonight, Harry. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think meeting you is the thing I’ll cherish more than the actual concert.”

“I feel similarly,” Harry says, reaching a hand across the table for you. You slip yours into his easily, and he gives a gentle squeeze. “Do you want me to take you home to your place after this?” Harry asks, eyes darkening a little as he waits for your answer. He looks both nervous and hopeful.

You reply honestly, “If I say no, that I’d like to go home with you instead, will you think I’m an easy slut? I don’t make a habit of going home with strange men, usually.”

Harry shakes his head fervently, laughing. “If anything I’m worried that you think I’m an easy slut. I typically go on a couple of dates before I bring someone home. I’m not twenty-five anymore.”

“Me neither. I can’t explain it, but this feels different for me. You feel different. You keep saying I’m not like most girls, but you’re not like most guys. Do things feel different for you tonight, Harry?”

He nods, “They do. You’re more than welcome to come home with me, if it’s truly what you want.”

“It’s what I want,” you say honestly, scared of what telling the truth in this regard means considering how much you’ve lied about everything else. Every time you’ve had the opportunity to come clean before it’s too late, fear has halted your mouth. Nothing’s stopping your wicked, traitorous tongue this time around, though.

“I like you a lot, Harry.” Confessing this with real emotion behind your words, you’re willingly making this more complicated. It’s as if you’re suddenly uncaring of the consequences you may eventually face for it, stepping blindly into a situation that simply can’t end well because you have to see where it goes regardless. You desperately need Harry Castillo to know exactly what he does to you, and for you to understand what you do to him. You need it more than you need to breathe. 

“I like you too,” Harry agrees, smiling at you genuinely as he wipes his hands and discards with his napkin on the empty plate. He downs the rest of his beer, eyes darkening as the slice of lime slides down the neck of the bottle with the final drops of golden liquid. The way he looks at you feels almost predatory for a moment, like he’s deciding when to pounce. 

“Now, tell me,” he says your name, letting it melt ever so slowly on his stupidly alluring tongue, “if this were one of your stories, what would happen next when we finally establish that the two main characters like each other?"

*****

Harry’s tongue is buried so deeply in your cunt that the end of his broad nose is simultaneously and unceremoniously kneading into the sensitive, swollen nub begging for attention just above your wanting slit. It occurs to you that you very well could get off from his nose if he keeps this up any longer but just when you think that, his appendages disappear, and the airy chill on your soaked mound is enough to sober you up a little. You’ve half a mind to complain that he stopped, beginning to prop yourself up on your elbows to look down at him. 

But then there’s a swift, nonpainful swat to your inner left thigh.

“Lay back down,” Harry commands, growling in a voice dripping with a dominating tone that could send you off to the other side if you let it. “Nowhere near done tasting you yet.” 

 You’re on the kitchen island in Harry’s insanely lavish apartment, the skirt of your red dress pushed up over your waist to expose the lower half of you. Your black thong is hanging from the faucet on the kitchen sink, where it landed perfectly when Harry threw it behind his head without looking. You’d wanted to laugh at the bullseye, but Harry’s determination to get between your legs stopped you from being silly. Instead, you let him spread you, wailing and moaning as he proceeded to eat you out better than you’ve ever had it in your entire life. That you can confidently say, and you’ve had a handful of mouths bring pleasure to your body over the years.

Harry’s a pro beyond pros, knowing every little nuance to a woman’s most sacred of needs. 

He proves that when you follow his orders, laying back down to give him full access. His tongue runs from the base of your slit slowly up to your aching clit, stopping to swirl around it a few times before suckling lightly. Then he stops abruptly, repeating the entire pattern all over again. Each time he shows extra attention to your engorged nub, your body heats up even more and the cries of elation spewing from your wanton mouth echo through the apartment’s high ceilings.

Harry Castillo is secretly a madman, you’re sure of it, and his sexual vigor is right up your alley. The man is still fully dressed. You have no idea what his dick looks like, or the rest of that surely inviting body, and he hasn’t even seen your tits yet. They are still firmly secured in the bodice of your dress. 

Upon entering the apartment, Harry told you that if he didn’t get a taste of your pussy before the two of you did anything else, then he was liable to explode. 

Hearing him say that as he effortlessly lifted your ass up onto the gorgeously finished wood countertop? That made you start to fall for Harry Castillo before he ever put his mouth to your flesh. 

“Been thinking about this all night, sweetheart. Ever since we danced,” Harry says into your folds, hot breath and facial hair causing your back to arch in anticipation. He’s practically nuzzling your vagina with his entire face, spreading your wetness and his own saliva all over himself. You keep yourself neatly trimmed and waxed at all times thanks to your secret profession, and Harry seems to appreciate this immensely. “It’s even better than I imagined. So pretty and soft and wet for me, aren’t you?”

“All for you,” you breathe, pushing your hips forward to try and coax his mouth back onto you. “ Please , Harry,” you’re begging, voice husky and needy, “I was about to cum before you stopped.”

The chuckle Harry lets out is low and handsome, nearly sending you over the edge with the very sound of it. You feel his hands grip your thighs, spreading them even more. Then his tongue starts trailing each of your labia majora, one after the other. 

“I’m well aware of that, sweetheart. I just wasn’t ready for you to cum yet.” A kiss to your inner thigh. “Soon, though, I promise. Just be patient for a little longer.” A kiss to the opposite thigh. “Let me take care of you how you deserve to be taken care of.”

Then, without warning, two of his thick fingers enter you at once. They wiggle about a few times, getting fully coated in your fluids, and then he’s pumping slowly.

Wide-eyed, your head tilts up so you can look to where he’s seated between your legs on the footstool he’d pulled up when this encounter began. “ Harry ,” you breathe.

“Yes?” He asks, grinning devilishly up at you.

“You’re amazing,” you say dreamily, grinning widely to yourself as your head lay back down. 

Soon your orgasm is steadily building again, core tingling from the combination of his fingers curling sharply into your g-spot, and the darting flicks from left to right of Harry’s expert tongue. This time he doesn’t deny you, boring into your clit with more intensity as a third finger finds your entrance.

“Let go for me, sweetheart. Show me what you can do,” Harry coos lasciviously, then digs into his meal with a ferocity which finally tips you all the way over the edge.

Grunting and shaking, your body convulses with your hands braced against the countertop. It’s as if you’re trying to push all of yourself into Harry as the orgasm rocks through you, and then suddenly everything feels too sensitive and you’re hissing at him to lay off a little bit. 

He does, and as you breathe heavily in the aftermath of your bliss, he trails kisses all over your stomach before laying his head down on your belly button. Hands shakily prying themselves from the wood, you snake them into Harry’s soft brown hair and begin to comb your fingers through it. 

“You were so lovely,” he remarks, voice almost dreamy. “You came so beautifully for me, sweetheart.”

Your own voice sounds throaty, almost foreign to yourself. This isn’t like the fake voice you put on for work, this is real sexual tranquility. “Thank you, Harry. That might be my best orgasm to date. Not joking. I’ve received oral from a handful of people and I’ve never felt anything remotely close to what you just did."

“Well I will always try to ensure that your next one is still your best to date, then.” 

Fuck. He’s talking like this isn’t going to be a one night thing. And after the tonguing of a lifetime, you know you don’t want it to be either. You’re so royally fucked, and he hasn’t even actually fucked you yet.

Realizing this, you begin to sit up a little, causing Harry to lift up from your belly and look at you curiously. So you quickly explain, “I need you, Harry. All of you.” 

Harry stands, lifting you to sit up more with your ass sliding off the edge of the counter. He’ll have to clean that massive wet spot in the morning, but you pay that little mind as your bare feet touch the cool ground. Your knees begin to give out as your skirt falls to rest below them. Harry catches you easily as you wobble into him with a soft moan, and then without a word he’s sweeping you up into his arms bridal style. You’re a little nervous, given that you’re a few jean sizes up from someone like Vanessa, but he’s kissing you on the forehead as he easily carries you from the kitchen to the master bedroom with little strain.

There he lays you down on a bed of white satin, a bed so ridiculously huge that you can’t help but giggle at how tiny you feel laying in the center of it. 

Harry’s unbuttoning his shirt, smiling down at you fondly. “What’s funny?”

You’re shaking your head, laughing. “This bed is ginormous, Harry, and I haven’t called something ginormous since I was a kid. But it’s an appropriate adjective, this thing is cartoonishly big.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” He asks, smirking. His shirt is gone, now his undershirt. The body hidden beneath is one well maintained with diet and exercise, defined lean muscle tone showing you as much. Naturally tan, with dark body hair and an appendix scar, he looks so utterly beautiful to you. His hands are going for his belt, and suddenly you’re up on your knees, scooting forward towards the edge of the mattress. “Wait, please let me,” you ask sweetly, hands already reaching for the black leather strap and silver buckle as Harry’s hands instead move to find the zipper leading down the right side of your red dress. 

As you unbuckle him and slide the belt from its loops, discarding the thing to the side, Harry is simultaneously unzipping you. He lifts the fabric, tugging upwards, and your arms lift to accommodate the rising garment as it’s peeled from your body. Harry, aware of how nice the dress is, gently hangs it over the back of the stylish black accent chair across the room. As he turns to really take in your fully nude appearance, a warm smile so sweet crosses his features. There’s lust in the expression, sure, but his eyes wash over you several times and each time it looks as if he’s almost overwhelmed by what he sees. 

“I’ve never seen pierced nipples in real life before,” he remarks, mesmerized by them as he leans forward to cup both breasts in his hands. The pad of each thumb runs gently over the black barbells, stimulating the raised nubs of flesh nestled between. 

For a moment you’re self-conscious about them, frowning a little. “Are they too much? Ex-goth girl, remember? They’re a relic of the past, but I loved them too much to get rid of them. The lip and the eyebrow had to go, though.”

Shaking his head, Harry frowns a little too. “Please don’t be embarrassed. I love them. It’s just a little new for me, that’s all. Will I hurt you if I play with them?”

Relieved, you smile at him with a shake of the head. “No, as long as you’re careful not to yank too hard, obviously.”

Harry takes that as permission to dive in, and both his hands and his mouth spend a good few moments ravishing your ample breasts. Squeezing, pinching, licking, biting. 

“You’re so lovely,” Harry says your name, “what a prize you are. Though, I don’t entirely know what I did to win.” 

“As if you’re not a prize too,” you say, rolling your eyes a little as finally he moves his crotch back within reach. You make quick work of undoing his trousers, and then he helps you yank them down his legs, stepping out of them. Gripping the elastic waistband of his black boxer briefs, your movements are slow and deliberate as you pull down and forward. The trail of dark hair below his belly button is growing wider and thicker by the inch, trimmed neatly but still prominent. Slowly the base of him becomes visible, and then in one swift move his erection is springing free. 

A little gasp escapes your lips at the sight of him, not only pleased to see his foreskin still intact but truly shocked by his size. You’re not entirely sure how long he is, certainly long enough, but the massive girth of him is really what makes your mouth water. The anticipation of that thing stretching your walls is enough to make your core heat up again, ready for round two. 

“You like him?” Harry asks, smiling down at you as one of his hands strokes your hair. 

“I love him,” you agree, licking your lips as you lean forward to take him into your hand. Harry moans, hips bucking slightly. Having worked with an uncircumcised cock before, you know how to grip him and gently pull downwards, unveiling his swollen head and the delicious little bud of precum waiting for you. “Now this is a prize. You even get to unwrap it,” you say with a flirtatious giggle, adding, “and dare I say it's ginormous . There I go using that word twice in one night.”

When your tongue flicks out to lick that offered drop, Harry’s whole being seems to melt into you a little. Grinning, you widen and slowly take him into your mouth. Adding a little bit of pressure and suction, you slowly begin to work him in and out as the hand gripping him continues its rhythmic pumping. The little whimpers he’s making for you are music to your ears. 

“Oh shit , sweetheart, you’re doing great, keep going,” Harry’s encouraging, both hands in your hair now as his eyes slip closed and he throws his head back a little. “ Fuck .”

You’re gagging, trying your best to fit all of him down your throat as a bit of drool dribbles down your chin, when suddenly he’s stopping you. He’s pulled out and he’s trying to push you to lay down. He even leans down to lick at one of your pierced nipples, his hand resting between your breasts as he pushes. 

“Wait, I wasn’t done yet,” you pout, reaching for him again. 

Harry growls, a primal noise from a refined man such as he, and he’s urging you backwards onto the white bed more. As you lay out below him and the gorgeous man is crawling between your legs, they instinctively bend and come to wrap around his hips a little. Your hands come to rest in the middle of his back, fingers gripping in anticipation of what’s to come. Then you feel the tip of his cock pressing into your entrance and, still slick from Harry’s treatment of you in the kitchen, your cunt welcomes him into your body easily. 

A great cry escapes you as the width of his cock stretches you out considerably, the line of pain and pleasure blurred as your walls clench and squeeze, half trying to accommodate him and half trying to expel the painful intrusion. 

Three slow, gentle pumps are all it takes for Harry to enter you all the way to the hilt, and when his tip presses painfully into your cervix, the moan you let out is quite guttural. 

Then his lips are on yours, and your legs are hooking behind him at the ankles as he really begins to pound into you. His hands come to your ass, sliding below each cheek. With the leverage this gives him, Harry lifts your hips from the mattress completely. Thrust after thrust he’s relentless, and another orgasm is already starting to build deep within your needy core. 

“You’re going to make me cum again,” you whine between heavy breaths. Head lifting up to bite into his bicep, the need to cling to him for dear life has taken over completely. The only thing you have left to grab him with is your teeth, and so you do.

“That’s it, sweetheart,” Harry’s mouth is against your ear saying, “taking me so well like a good girl. I was right when I sang that to you earlier; Little pussy fits my dick so perfectly.” He pulls your ear lobe into his mouth, nibbling on the soft flesh as you writhe and whine for him. “You’re going to cum again, this time with my cock buried all the way inside you, sweetheart. Need to feel you contract around me. Then, if you’ll let me, I’m going to fill you up with mine.” 

Fearful, you practically start to push him off of you, terrified of the consequences if he were to cum in you. “I’m not on the pill! Or anything!” 

He stops thrusting for a moment, looking down at you seriously as he brushes hair from your eyes and kisses your forehead. “I had a vasectomy a few years ago. It was my forty-fifth birthday present to myself when I decided I definitely don’t want kids.” After he says that, he begins to slowly gyrate his hips into yours again, and you’re lifting to meet his movements in tandem. 

Then you kiss him with everything you’ve got. 

“ Fuck, Harry ,” you moan, “I think you might actually be fucking perfect for me.”

And with that, he fucks you until you’re practically braindead, completely stupified by his cock. You ride him a little, and then he’s on his knees taking you from behind off the edge of the bed. For a moment he migrates things to the bathroom, where he props you up on the sink and pounds into you standing up. 

Then it's back to the bed with your legs straight up his body, crossed ankles resting on his right shoulder. He’s holding them in place with his right hand, and his left is gripping into your thigh so hard you’re sure to have five small bruises where his fingers are indented into your smooth, damp skin. Harry’s done an expert job of edging you once more, changing positions each time you start to get close, his own stamina and restraint a marvel. It’s starting up again, though, and this time he’s not stopping to switch things around. 

“Close again, Harry,” you spout out through thick moans, a small part of you wanting him to prolong this more even though the rest of you is screaming in agony for release. 

“Go ahead,” he says sweetly, smiling as he kisses your calf and looks you right in the eyes. “Let me see that face while you cum for me. You look so beautiful stuffed with my cock, sweetheart. Show me .” 

Then he bites down on the same spot he just kissed, and your second orgasm overcomes you. Your muscles clench around him so hard, clinging to the very thing causing them to do so. Harry lets out a gorgeous sounding moan, leaning more of his weight into your legs as the pleasure of it seems to take hold of him. 

He’s parting your legs as you come down, twitching against him as he readjusts into a more basic missionary position. Your arms come to wrap around his neck, just as your legs move to wrap around his waist. Shortly after that, Harry’s own grunting cries of culminating ecstasy are ringing throughout the high ceilings of the bedroom. He’s convulsing against you and you’re instinctively cradling his head, peppering his cheeks and forehead with little kisses to guide him through it. A few more gentle pumps and he’s eventually sliding out of you with a great sigh. There’s almost instantly a distinct leaking sensation running down the crack of your ass. 

He’s kissing your forehead, then looking right into your eyes as he gets comfortable beside you. “You okay?”

“I’m great. How are you?

“I’m perfect, sweetheart. Just perfect.”

“Your body felt so good, Harry,” you’re sputtering out, grunting as your own body is again twitching in a brief aftershock of sexual bliss. “Everything felt so good.” 

Harry is nodding in agreement, looking up at the ceiling with this handsome little grin playing at the corner of his mouth. Shaking his head, his eyes are filled with wonder as if looking up at a star splattered night sky. He looks so youthful to you at that moment, de-aged ten years for a split second. “I haven’t had sex that great in- Fuck . I don’t know if I’ve ever had sex that great, and I thought I was having great sex pretty regularly. You’ve single handedly and irrevocably changed my life tonight. I hope you know that.”

You’re also looking up at the ceiling, deep breaths causing your breasts to rise and fall. What Harry just said is so true that it almost hurts to realize it. Things have changed, feeling suddenly like so much more than the one night stand you’d been anticipating. It doesn’t seem like the high endorphins is making you think this way, though. You’re well aware of what that feels like. Something about this night with Harry Castillo feels real. More real than anything you’ve ever felt with another. “Same goes for you, handsome. Ruined all other men for me in a single night together. It’s practically criminal.”

As you look over at Harry, his hair mussed and face flushed, a blush creeps into your cheeks at the notion that the wetness you feel running down you is actually him . Allowing him to finish inside was a genuinely new experience for you, and the thrill if it is so unlike what you were expecting. If anything you assumed it was going to feel gross. Cum always equalled babies in your book, so you never thought it would ever feel this amazing to know some of it is buried deep inside you and the rest of it is dripping onto the bed below. To know it’s the cum of this man in particular? That adds an extra layer to the feeling. 

It felt so different to embrace your lover in the heat of his orgasm, being so used to the empty, cold sensation of a pull-out and the inevitable warm spray to some other part of your body. There’s always been this sudden disconnect right before the moment of a man’s climax, but with Harry you got to ride it out with him, completely connected all the way up until the end. Connected in a way you never have been before, not even with a female partner. The notion of this stirs something deep within you, and your heart swells for the man placing kisses to your shoulder while he’s catching his breath. 

The most satisfying peacefulness washes over you as you tell him, “I’ve never let anyone cum inside me before.”

His brown eyes darken slightly, and Harry looks both surprised and a little pleased with himself. “Really?”

“Really,” you’re grinning, “I don’t want kids, so that shit was always very off limits. I’m not sure how to explain it in a way that you would understand, but that was very special for me. Thank you, Harry.” 

He leans over, grinning like a madman before kissing you passionately. “It was an honor to fill you up, sweetheart. I’d do that every single day if you’d let me.” 

*****

You and Harry ended up spending the entire weekend together against your better judgement. The longer time you spent in his company, the more the stupid fucking lie was hanging over your head. But your weekend with Harry proved to be downright magical, and the more the two of you got to know each other, the less easy it started to feel to come clean. You thought about doing it so many times, and each time your anxiety would stop you. What if he truly hates you after he learns the truth? He might not, you never know. But even after so many long talks and lovely sex and shared laughter, the truth is inevitably going to change the way he looks at you. The very thought of that sends your nervous system into an overload, and strikes a deep crack through your already straining heart.

Harry Castillo makes you feel the way the romantic novels that you most certainly do not write make you feel, and your greedy ass wasn’t about to go and fuck up what was turning out to be the best seventy-two hours of your life thus far. Morally gray as it may be, Harry could know the truth after your beautiful weekend together. You felt that you deserved at least that before you light the fuse that will blow this situation to hell whether you want it to or not. 

It’s as if you’re using your budding feelings for Harry to bargain with yourself for victory, but either way you’re liable to lose and deep down you know that.

The charity concert was on a Friday, so when the two of you woke up late into the morning on Saturday, Harry asked you if you wanted to stay for a while. He’d already taken the liberty of having his assistant drive over with a few different outfit options for you, and one swimsuit. All correct sizes, and all something you would have picked out for yourself, which gained Harry even more points in your book.  

‘A while’ started with french pressed coffee and a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and avocado toast, all made by Harry himself. Then ‘a while’ progressed into having sex again, this time on the living room couch, then once more on top of his washing machine after he’d started a load of laundry. You’d joked about how you could use another load too, and Harry ran with it. He ate his own cum out you while the machine whirled to life under your body, just before filling you up with even more of him. 

After that, the two of you went down to the lavish pool in Harry’s building. An over the top extravagant amenity with a gorgeous view of the city, and probably the nicest pool you’ve ever had the pleasure of swimming in. Once the two of you started to horseplay, however, things very quickly took a turn for the sexual once again. Harry’s finger had slipped inside of your tastefully high-waisted bathing suit under the water, and when his hidden erection pressed up against your bare leg, the pool was a thing of the past. 

That time he fucked you in his shower, bent over at the waist as hot water cascaded around your already enflamed body. When you begged him to take your ass in lue of your pussy, the man in question had moaned into your shoulder, “you’re a dream come true, sweetheart,” and he delivered what you asked for beautifully.

His assistant also brought you a small handful of basic beauty products to choose from. As you were later lathering on a serum nicer than any brand you’ve ever bought, even with your recently raised standards, it dawned on you that Harry probably spent at least five or six hundred dollars, if not more, on all of these things for you. That kind of casual spending, on you no less, made your head spin a little. 

You may pamper yourself all the time, but it’s wildly different when a man like Harry Castillo is the one doing the pampering.

In the evening Harry ordered takeout from his favorite place in Chinatown, and given that the both of you didn’t have a single bodily fluid left to give, the night was filled with conversation, snuggles, and soft touches. He let you pick out a movie, and the two of you fell asleep spooning on his couch (also ginormous, by the way) halfway through Bram Stoker’s Dracula from 1993.

On Sunday, after breakfast and one more go around in the oversized bed, Harry took you to the Central Park Zoo. His almost boyish energy around all of the animals was so endearing to you, especially when he lit up for you around the bats. Given that the winged animals played an integral role in the events which led to your dalliance with Harry, he felt the need to commemorate the weekend by purchasing you a stuffed one from the gift shop. You never even saw him go for the register, preoccupied by a rack of silly t-shirts. So when he presented it to you upon exiting, you’d thrown your arms around his neck and kissed him right there in the middle of central park. All the while your mind was screaming at you to tell him the truth, but you listened to your body instead. 

From there he took you to a ridiculously nice Italian restaurant, where he confessed to you over pasta that he’s never been in love and he’s scared that he never will be. That confession had shocked you, even more so when he quickly followed it up with a warning that if you said yes to what he was about to ask, then you were taking on the risk that he’s incapable of the feeling all together. The notion of him being incapable seemed silly, considering how affectionate he’d been with you thus far, but you kept that thought to yourself. 

Then Harry reached across the table, and the next confession came pouring out of him. He told you that he wanted to try to feel love, and he felt something with you that he honestly hadn’t before. Not love, not when you barely know each other, but that spark that they talk about in the movies. One little spark, but enough to grab his attention and hold it fast. 

After making your head spin with his honesty, he proceeded to say that the last couple of days truly meant a lot to him and, with the deepest sincerity in his chocolate eyes, Harry Castillo asked if you would let him see you again. Seriously, and exclusively. 

Your answer was the easiest one to give in the world, and yet instead of shining bright like the sun as it should have been, your heart suddenly felt much more like the moon hanging ominously over the city. While the front facing side of your heart swelled a bright, glorious red for the possibility of a relationship with this man, the side cast in shadow was already starting to shrivel and turn gray with guilt. 

*****

As you finish frantically pacing the floor and vividly telling a couch faring Vanessa everything about your weekend with Harry, sparing her the gorier sexual details, your stomach lurches and your heart sinks. While you’ve been wildly wrapping up the story, a great, ugly scowl has been slowly encompassing her normally beautiful features. There’s no hiding from your best friend, that’s just a fact. 

“Listen, I know what you’re going to say,” you try to diffuse, hands up.

“Listen my ass ,” she says your name sharply, stabbing you right where she wants to. 

You wince .

“I’m glad that got your attention, bitch.” With that, Vanessa pats the cushion beside her. “Sit down, your energy is stressing me the fuck out .”

“Sorry,” you say, complying.

“We are both grown-ups here, so I’m going to speak plainly.” Vanessa bores into you with her dark eyes, making your throat seize up. “You know what you need to do, or you’re going to fuck up what is potentially the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“I know,” you breathe, frowning. “I’m going to have to finish one of my novels and get it published."

Vanessa groans ferociously, hands clawing over her face. Then she whacks you in the head with a pink throw pillow. “No, you stupid slut! Tell him the fucking truth! If you let this go on too long the damage will be too severe to repair.”

“Yeah, I know that,” you say, hanging your head. You’re going to have to hit the bong several times in order to sleep tonight, the horrid pit in your stomach will make sure of that. “Fuck, Van. I really am stupid aren’t I?”

“You are. But I love you, and maybe if you handle this situation correctly then Daddy Warbucks will love you too,” she says, grinning a little as she uses the silly nickname. You can already tell she’s going to drive that into the grave with over-use. 

Her change in mood warms you, and the anxiety melts away a little. Feeling more like yourself, you send her one of your signature, Vanessa exclusive eyerolls. “Are we really going to call him that?”

“If you’re really going to date him I am,” Vanessa giggles. 

“What if he really can’t feel love, Van?” You ask her, frowning. 

Vanessa shrugs. “If that’s even a real thing. Sounds to me like he just hasn’t been in real love yet, not that he simply can’t feel it. But if it is true, then at least he was an interesting chapter of your life and a good lay. Date him for a few weeks before you worry about that, anyway. What if you’re the one who doesn’t end up loving him?”

As she says this, your phone buzzes against the coffee table. Reaching over to grab it, your eyes bulge a little at the name associated with the text notification. He just dropped you off a few hours ago, surely you’d assumed it would be a few days before you heard from him again. But here he is, making your heart flutter from the other side of the city. 

Harry Castillo: Two nights with you beside me and I’m spoiled rotten. You were right. This bed is ginormous. Sleep well, sweetheart. 

“I think he’s going to make not loving him incredibly difficult, Vanessa.”

*****

Monday morning Harry’s seated in his office doing the complete opposite of working. He’s on his phone, which makes him a hypocrite considering he recently instructed the management team to start cracking down on that with the associate employees. 

He simply can’t help it. You’re literally all he can think about, to the point that he’s a little worried that something is wrong with him. You’d responded to his text last night, but you haven’t said anything to him since and he’s fixating on whether or not it’s appropriate to text you again so soon if you haven’t texted him first.

Fucking cellphones, Harry thinks bitterly, chiding himself for behaving like a teenager as he sits the phone face down on the glass top protecting his cherry desk. He looks at his computer, opens an email, reads the first three words of the subject line, and then he’s picking up his phone again to check it despite the fact that he knows it hasn't gone off.

Nothing. He groans, feeling like an idiot as he reaches for a sip of coffee. He doesn’t put the phone back down, though, instead he pulls up his camera roll and the couple of photos of you he snuck over the weekend. 

The first is of you, in nothing but one of his black t-shirts and a lacy black thong, your back mostly to the camera as you sip on a mug of creamy coffee. You’re looking contently at the view from Harry’s kitchen window, sunlight streaming all over you. He loves your profile in that one, and the way the light accentuates your features. 

The next is a photo of your naked silhouette in the frosted glass of his shower. 

The third photo is of you at the zoo, happily captivated by the animals and paying no mind to the fact that Harry just had to capture how beautiful and carefree you looked in that moment. 

He’s never taken candid photos of a lover before, nor has he obsessed over receiving a text from one. He certainly never paid this much mind to when Lucy would or would not contact him, and he’d been prepared to marry the woman for Christ’s sake. 

Harry also never once called Lucy ‘sweetheart.’ Or any pet names, now that he thinks about it. Never a ‘baby,’ or a ‘honey.’ Not once. He would always greet her with a simple, somewhat awkward ‘hey you’, and he mostly just called her by her name. 

You come into his life and suddenly he’s throwing around the term of endearment like his life depends on it, and somehow not hearing from you yet is driving him mad with anxious energy. Harry Castillo is a man who is very rarely anxious. 

What is wrong with him? 

There were a lot of people at the charity event, and at the zoo. Maybe he’s coming down with something. Yes, surely he’s getting sick and that’s why his head’s not on straight.

Then the phone vibrates in his hands, and your name flashes just above the image of your grinning face. His heart leaps from his chest, breath hitching. He taps it before it can swoosh away with the rest of his notifications, and a feeling of calm washes over him as he reads the message.

You: Missing your avocado toast this morning. :(

It shows that you’re typing, and then a second message pops up. This one is a photo, however. In it, you’re wearing a black graphic t-shirt advertising what he’s certain is the band Type-O Negative . Your hair looks insane, adorably so, and you’re pouting cutely over a sad looking cup of yogurt.

Harry’s got half a mind to cancel his meeting and take you out for brunch, but before he can even think of a response to text you back with, his younger brother is barging into his office without knocking. He’s the only person besides their mother who can get away with that .

“What, Peter? I’m busy,” Harry says, not looking up from his phone. 

“You don’t seem very busy to me. Is that her you’re texting?” His brother’s voice is saying. 

Harry looks up sharply, glaring. Words aren’t necessary.

Peter grins, plopping himself into the chair across from Harry’s desk. He takes a long sip of his own black coffee, eyeing Harry the entire time. “I originally came in here to complain that I missed the surprise Bad Bunny show, which I’m very upset about. Charlotte being pregnant is ruining all my fun, but don’t you dare tell her I said that. Anyway, then I heard a rumor that you found yourself a new woman at the show, and that the two of you got to know each other very well on the dance floor. I just had to come hear all about it.”

Harry’s eyes narrow even more at his annoyance of a sibling. He loves him, but he could also strangle him at any given moment. “Get out of my office, Peter. I need to prep for the meeting at eleven.”

“Yeah cause you were doing that so dutifully before I walked in,” Peter laughs, taking another generous sip. “So is that her you’re texting, then? What’s she look like?”

Harry groans, “Yes, it’s her.” Then his eyes flick back down to the open text thread, and when they land on the adorable photo of you with your pathetic yogurt, the joyful little smile which creeps onto his lips simply can’t be helped. 

Peter’s jaw drops, “ Oh . Oh fuck , Harry. This is a wild development. I wasn’t expecting this today.”

Harry’s gaze moves back to his brother, eyebrow raising at the look on his face. “What on Earth are you talking about?”

Peter’s sharp laugh is one of disbelief. “She’s the one, man! I’m calling it. You’ve never looked like this before. Not once in my entire life have I seen that fucking look on your face. It’s the only explanation!”

“Bullshit, Peter,” Harry scoffs, looking away but not back down at your image. He has to consciously make himself not, knowing Peter would notice and use the impulse against him. “You know my opinion on that.”

“Whatever, big brother. Suit yourself. As the one of us who has fallen in love, I think I know what I’m talking about. But I’ll let you figure that shit out for yourself. Wait until Charlotte finds out, she’s going to go nuts.” As he says this, Peter is already getting up to leave. “See you in the conference room. Please actually prep for this though. I need you out there. Text her back and then think about her later. Trust me, it gets easier the more you get used to it. Love is fucking weird, man.”

“I am not in love with her,” Harry argues, shaking his head. If anything, what he’s feeling is infatuation more than anything else, right? 

“Keep telling yourself that, bro. And for the love of Christ, get your shit together for this meeting.” And with that, Peter is gone as quickly as he came. 

Harry looks around his large office, at his view of the city below, and wonders if there’s any validity to what his brother just said. Another vibration goes off in his hand, and the excitement he feels is like a jolt of caffeine straight to his heart. 

Only, it’s just his calendar reminder letting him know that his next meeting is in fifteen minutes. The deep disappointment he feels leads him to conclude that Peter doesn’t need to get Harry’s hopes up like that, but there’s a nonzero chance that his baby brother actually knows what he’s talking about for once.

*****

Next

Previous

Masterlist

*****

Taglist: @cheyxfu @notahappystan

[augustvandyne]

Reader finds out that Lucy needs a fake girl/boyfriend to take to her family bbq, reader steps up and offers to go with her. After a great night, Reader walks Lucy to her apartment door, where Lucy finally admits to herself that she likes reader and invites her inside. (R, is a cop also.)

Lucy Chen x Reader.

family barbecue

“Please!”

A begging Lucy grabs your attention.

It isn’t really anything new, because she begs for a lot of things, but you couldn’t help but listen when you heard the words family barbeque come out of her mouth.

You turn your head to see who she was begging, and you see Tim Bradford, her T.O.

It didn’t make sense to you about how or why she would ask Mr. Grumpy Officer Cupcake, but to each their own, right?

Wrong. Because he shoots her down – for the fourth time this week, you learn after Tim shoots her a glare – and a pout comes onto her face.

You see her look at Nolan, who immediately shakes his head no.

You’d known how her parents were, as the two of you frequently hung out together, but you’ve never met them. And maybe that was for the best, because you might be in jail for 25 to life for murder.

Lucy turns her head the slightest bit to see you, and she just shrugs, officially giving up.

You step forward a few feet, coming to her side.

“What’s this I hear about a family barbecue?” You lift your brows curiously.

She huffs and looks at you from the side, seemingly tired of talking about it already, because family talk stressed her out, and presence there is mandatory.

“My cousin is having a barbecue,” She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “It’s so stupid. Just— forget it.”

She turns to leave — most likely the break room so she can sit in misery for her lunch break — but you grab her by the arm to stop her.

“Hey, hey,” You look down at her. “Tell me about it. Please.”

You see her eyes shift to your lips from the close proximity, but think nothing of it.

She was just looking somewhere other than your eyes, and they just happened to land on your lips.. right?

“It’s a stupid family get together and a night or two ago my mom called me about it and so I said yeah I’ll come and for some reason I said I’d bring someone and I don’t have a— a someone,” She balls her fists up at her sides. “So now here I am, begging for someone to go with me and act as my boyfriend because I don’t want to look like a liar at this stupid barbecue that I don’t want to go to now because I’m single and I’ll be bullied and ridiculed the whole time if I show up without someone with me.”

“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy,” You put your hand on her shoulder at an attempt to calm her down. “Take a breath,” You breathe in and out with her.

“And Tim and John said no, so I’m out of options.”

“I’ll go with you.”

It was a simple statement. Four words. A promise.

And yet Lucy didn’t believe her ears.

“What?”

“I said I’ll go with you. I’ll act as your girlfriend.”

“No, I heard you. I just don’t understand why.”

“Because I know you, Luce,” You give a soft smile. “I know that you’ll end up going and hating yourself for it and I’ll end up running into you crying on Monday and I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it.”

Lucy wants to ask what you mean, but she doesn’t because you aren’t finished speaking.

“So I will go with you. I can’t let you go alone and be abused with questions from your parents. Especially since they already hate on you for your choice of job.”

“This means a lot to me,” She grabs your hand and squeezes softly, your heart skipping a beat. “You have no idea.”

“Just let me know what time. I’ll pick you up,” You smiled back at her and stepped a few feet back, going to find your TO.

She asked you to be there around twelve, and you were right on time. You even showed up with a bouquet of her favorite flowers.

You came to the door, which she insisted you didn’t need to do, but you did anyway, and proceeded to open the car door for her as well.

She attempts to hide her blush, and luckily you’re too busy trying to start the car that you don’t notice.

Lucy doesn’t really speak on the way to her cousins house, and you’re sure it’s due to nerves.

She only speaks once you get there, and it’s to warn you, once again, but you shut her down because you already know. You’re more than capable and more than willing to step in today and be whatever she needs to you to be.

You walk around your car and let Lucy out, already turning heads of her family members who were out front.

Once she was out of the car, her mother was on the two of you in an instant.

She must be a mind reader or something, because how did she know the two of you were there? Nobody had said anything.

“Hello. You must be Lucy’s..”

“Girlfriend,” The two of you say at the same time.

“Girlfriend,” She nods, her face unsure. “And how did you meet this.. girlfriend of yours?”

Her eyes are trained on your face, but her words are pointed at Lucy, and you can feel her shift beside you.

You move your hand to her back, giving her the confidence she needed.

She turns her head and sees you smiling at her with encouragement, and all of the sudden she’s able to tell her.

“We met at the station,” Lucy smiles giddily. “We’re in the same rookie group snd I liked her as soon as I met her. Really. Her eyes are gorgeous.. I could lost in them all day. And I know you hate when I talk about my work, but you asked, so.. when she was injured I rushed to the hospital and I just had to be there for her because I was in love with her and she needed me. I asked her out after that. And so.. here we are.”

You feel your breath leave your lungs because that was a true story. It’d happened only a few months ago, and although she didn’t ask you out, it still felt real because only now were you realizing the way she looked at you wasn’t in a friendship kind of way.

“That’s nice,” Vanessa cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable with the fact that her daughter was not only a cop but was now dating a woman.

“Mom—“

“Come on, your father and Alexandra are waiting. She invited you and it’s not nice to be late,” She grabbed Lucy’s arm and you walked behind her.

She looked uncomfortable but there was nothing you could do now.

You made a mental note to take her for slushies later to make her feel better.

Her mother takes the lead and you walk up to stand beside Lucy.

“I wish I could say I’ll get you out of here in an hour, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Yeah, definitely not,” She looks down sadly, and all you want to do is hold her because you never want to see her upset.

“Hey,” You grab her hand. “We’re gonna have fun, okay?”

“Okay,” A small smile comes onto her lips, and you pull her in for a hug.

“Come on,” Vanessa snapped at both of you and you have to keep yourself from getting heated with her.

“Come on,” Lucy mocked once Vanessa was out of earshot.

You snort and Lucy looks at you with those eyes, and that’s when you knew you were done for.

“Walk me to the door,” She requested, and your eyes are drawn to her blue raspberry stained lips.

“I was already planning on it,” You shrug nonchalantly, but you can’t help but notice the blush on her cheeks.

You open the door for her once again and let her lead the way to the apartment door.

Once stopped in front of her door, she unlocks it slowly, dreading the moment she had to say goodbye.

Because although she hated family events, being there with you made it more bearable, and she didn’t want to say goodbye just yet.

She opens the door and turns to you, “Do you want to come in?”

You think for a second about what would happen if you said yes, because you’re realizing that maybe you do like her more than a friend, but then you’re accepting the invitation and you’re shutting the door behind you, not a care in the world.

[oneknightstand-if]

One Knight Stand - King Arthur x Among Us Apocalyptic Road Trip (Interactive Fiction)

It's the end of the world... and you don't feel fine.

It's just another humdrum day as the weekend winds to its inevitable end. All is as expected. The pandemic has stretched on for a decade now. A new serial killer stalks the streets. And your completely normal club is waiting. Just another ordinary day.

Just ignore the sounds in your living room. Just ignore that shadow scuttling across the floor. Just ignore the lies of the 'friend' who's known you for years. He's lying. She's lying. That stranger on the street is lying. And the voices whispering in your mind are definitely lying.

Everyone is lying... especially the traitor who's infiltrated the group.

But that's fine...

Y̥͑̅̌̔̉ͯo̼̩̖̓ͪ̽͢ǔ̢͢͏̫͕͋'͎̬́͐ͥ᷇͢r̉͏͍̾᷉̓̓e͓͕ͦ̿᷅͆͠ l̜̻̈̅̃͢͞y̡̬͙̪̦̦ͧi̘᷅̓͒̐̍͑n̰͈᷅ͯͥͨ͜g̯᷾̒̑᷄̕͟ t̶̙͍̏͊᷈͠o̙̟ͦ̏̄ͭ͂o̥̮͆ͤ͐͝͠.̛͚̎᷇̍̕͜

Play the Beta Test

Update 5 : (10/25/24) Chapter 2 Part 3 (The Forest & the Warehouse)

Update 4 : (7/4/24) Chapter 2 Part 2   (Perfectly Normal Rest Stop)    Further Details Here

Update 3 : (2/2/24) Bug Fixes Galore!    Further Details Here

Update 2 : (1/16/24) Chapter 1 Part 3 (Fencing Club Route) Further Details Here

Update 1 : (11/16/23) Chapter 2 Part 1 (Camelot Dream Sequence) Further Details Here

**Sound Effect Alert: Turn Down Your Volume At Start of Game**

• Total Word Count: 900,000+ • Including Code: 1,227,000+ • Average Playthrough: ~70,000+ words • Average  if you play 'ask Adrian and Merlin five million questions around the city' and text message everyone:  Considerably longer

LINKS: Patreon | Choice of Games Feedback Thread

You're a Harbinger of the Apocalypse... or so it's been claimed. The destined reincarnation of a legendary hero from the time of Camelot. For the sake of the world, reclaim your past memories & powers and discover the true identities of yourself and your current companions.

For the sake of your survival, make certain that you're a member of the successful Greater Circle... because in the end, only thirteen are needed and it doesn't have to include you. The two previous Circles have failed and all their members paid the price for it...

...but third time's the charm, ̷r̸i̷g̵h̴t̶?

Everyone is lying. That most certainly includes you. And one is an enemy infiltrator who's entire purpose is to (murderously) sabotage this last and final circle. Who will you trust and who will you trick? The fate of both you and the world hangs in the balance.

Genres: Dark Urban Fantasy (with mystery/thriller/horror elements). The Camelot flashback sections are more High Fantasy.

Blog Tags:

Main: One Knight Stand, oneknightstand

General: oks-info, oks-update, oks-preview, oks-promo, oks-asks, oks-replies, oks-psa, oks-fanstuff, oks-logistics, oks-submission, oks-poll, oks-milestone

ROs: oks-ROs, oks-Merlin, oks-Adrian, oks-Percy, oks-Arthur, oks-Vivian, oks-Cassandra, oks-Gwen, oks-Lorelei, oks-Broderick, oks-404

Camelot: oks-Bedivere, oks-Dagonet, oks-Dindrane, oks-Dinadan, oks-Elaine, oks-Galahad, oks-Gawain, oks-Guinevere, oks-Kay, oks-Lamorak, oks-Lancelot, oks-Mordred, oks-Morgana, oks-Percival, oks-Excalibur

Others: oks-MC, oks-Camelot-MC, oks-Abe, oks-Asher, oks-Caleb, oks-Pestilence, oks-Saboteur

Play Among Us/Werewolf/Mafia/The Thing/The Mole/Danganronpa/Town of Salem/etc Arthurian lore style! (Also don't forget the apocalypse, that's kind of important)

Lovingly craft your character in intimate detail or slap down that [Randomly Generate Your Appearance] button like I do.

Choose your sad childhood background and your potentially even sadder (or more traumatic or more traumatically evil) deep, dark secret which must be hidden at all cost

Play one million questions around the city with not-so-random people or go "Screw this lore dump, I'm taking a nap!"

ᕕ(✿ ᐛ )ᕗ <- Merlin on their way to a six hour lecture because you had to ask every single question in their dialogue tree. I mean, there's an Achievement for doing that, so you do you.

Spend the entire time during this IF about Arthurian lore going "Who is Arthur and what's a Camels-a-lot?" (Yes, this a legit strategy to get through the game)

Figure out your previous Camelot reincarnation from amongst four different potential backgrounds (determined by your actions in the Camelot flashback sections). Or go "Nuts to this mystery!" and just wait to get your magic powers already. (Uh, you probably should still try and figure out who's trying to kill you, though)

Act like a saint, act like a psychopath, or randomly burst into song & dance like you're trapped in a Disney musical at the most inappropriate moments.

Survive the night... or die horribly and collect the Dead Ends like pokemon who give clues to what's happening in the greater narrative. (You won't be the only one... dying, that is)

Get randomly turned into a water fowl (I mean, it's Merlin, after all)

Look out that window... you know you want to.

Features creepy sound effects (which you can turn off from the main menu)

(Yes, this is basically Red Flag the Romance. Yes, there are ROs who can have a perfectly healthy relationship with you... and there are also ones who'll just kill you. Good luck figuring out who is who. Also platonic buddy versions are a go. Physical descriptions here. And heights here.)

MERLIN (M/F/NB) The nominal leader of  this motley crew and the only one who knows what's truly going on... or so they claim.

A shape shifting incubus who takes on the most appealing form of whoever is viewing them. Always elegant, always smiling, always for the greater good... a beautiful facade that hides a heart that's entirely inhuman.

Unlike the others, they will never directly lie to you... lies of omission don't count, right?

"Dear child, that's for me to know and for you to find out, as they are wont to say. Shall we try again?"

ADRIAN BENONI (M) A close friend, an unrequited crush, a passing acquaintance, a suspected stalker... the tone of your relationship may change, but what does not is that you've known this guy for years. A  familiar presence within a world that's suddenly become ever-so-strange.

But what darkness hides behind the ever amiable front that he always presents around you? Well...maybe not always. Why does he seem so desperate to like you even while keeping you an arm's length away?

"I'm sure that if we all just came together in solidarity that we— h-hey you don't have to laugh *that* hard about it!"

PERCY T. LONGSPEAR (M) Someone who marches to the sound of his own drum... on a different planet somewhere in a galaxy far, far away.

Most assuredly the most strangely perceptive of the group, if only anyone could understand exactly what he's saying. A potential soulmate to a very certain version of the MC.

Who his past reincarnation seems to be is so blatantly obvious that it's the very height of suspicion.

"Why did I come in through the vents? Why would I use a *door*?"

CASSANDRA DE VAUX (F) A detective who intercepted the group during an investigation of... well, it's not exactly complete chaos that you're leaving in your wake, is it?

No-nonsense when on the job, but playful during down times, she joined with little convincing or fanfare... but has she truly allied with the cause or is this just another sting operation to her?

And why does she seem so much more... wait what were we talking about again?

"Scintillating. Now please explain again from the top... you were doing *what* in the museum that night?"

GWYNETH REYNARD (F) A vivacious and sweetly cheerful member of the group that pulls off true optimism far better than certain other members... even if she wears that sunny disposition like a suit of armor.

You found her wandering in an abandoned nineteenth-century mental asylum. A perfectly normal place to meet. (After all, you were there too!) And certainly there's a completely sensible explanation for why she doesn't want to head back home as well.

"Oh, are we making claims on who we want to be now? Then I want to be Buttercup from the Princess Bride!"

LORELEI GUERRIER (F) An Olympic archer who is as unflappable as she is coolly distant. She has the rather laudable capability of beating down a lesser hellhound with nothing but a mop for a weapon.

Certainly her joining would be nothing but a boon to the group. Too bad she possesses nothing but cynicism and antipathy for the idea of chivalry and knights in shining armor.

But surely she's a champion of Camelot, right?

"The virtue of a knight? Someone that parades around in self indulgence, all for the glory of their own pride, while better people are left wanting. That's the true face of your so-called *chivalry*."

BRODERICK DOE (M) A grumpy, recalcitrant, and somewhat foulmouthed addition to the group. He really, really doesn't want to be here. He thinks you're all insane. (He may be right in certain instances.)

But someone has to keep an eye out during all this craziness, right?Especially if there's a kernel of truth to this apocalyptic nonsense.

Of course, there's no one in this city, this state, this country registered as 'Broderick Doe'.

"And let me be clear here... I don't trust a single one of you chucklefucks!"

̶̇̊͒̋͜4̸̼̕͜0̸͖̭̎͝4̴̹͈̍ ̸̯̱̦͓͑̑Ȩ̵̧̺̩̉̈́ŗ̸̔̄͊̍r̷̙̾̓̇o̷̧̩̻͇̽̊͗̋r̵̮̘̒̓ ̴̧̳̺͐̆̾̅N̵͕͐o̶̘͍͗t̴̫͋́̆̋ ̵͔͒͑͐F̵̹̍̈́̿ó̵̡̹͒͆ũ̴͈̠͘n̶̢̺̰̬̋ḑ̶̲͛̔͗̕ (???)

T̶O̵O̶ ̴L̷A̸T̸E̷ ̵T̴O̸O̵ ̷L̸A̵T̴E̶ ̴T̸O̶O̶ ̵L̴A̵T̸E̶ ̴T̸O̴O̷ ̶L̴A̴T̵E̶ ̴T̴O̷O̷ ̴L̶A̶T̴E̶ ̴T̸O̵O̶ ̶L̶A̸T̷E̴ ̵

CAMELOT ROMANCE OPTIONS (Currently sealed away, so you can only interact with them in dreams and flashbacks)

ARTHUR PENDRAGON (M) The Once and Future King, the doomed High King of Camelot who is fated to return at humanity's greatest moment of need and lead them in survival during the end times.

The ideal that always had a surprising streak of pragmatism to it. If only he would wake up. He's so very, very late you see. And things have spiraled wildly out of control in his absence.

A figure that's currently haunting your dreams.

"You think I missed my calling as a troubadour? Mayhaps... for what is politics but a form of mummery?"

VIVIAN (F) The third and current Lady of the Lake. One of the fae who is aligned with your side through blood oaths and promises as strong as compulsion.

One of the ones who sealed Merlin away and who remains bound at the very edge of the Veil even now. The tales never mentioned the part where she's a mari-morgan that drowns people, did they?

"Hear this song... come along... just drift a little closer, pretty thing of mine. Simply a step closer... merely a bit *deeper*."

Link to FAQ

[chaifootsteps]

something ive realized lowkey is how the characters in the hellaverse have consistently had their reasons for doing objectively bad things be chalked up to "i didn't mean to!" or "i had no choice!" or "i was traumatized!" or all three of those things (with the exception of sir pent which is just, "i was too cowardly to say anything!" when NO he ISNT, it was jack the fucking ripper who had tons of fake "i did it!" letters be sent into an overwhelmed police station?) and have kind of realized it mirrors vivs excuses she's made in public apologies to a t. and it makes me think she thinks the issue is that she made mistakes at all, rather then the WAY she went about holding herself accountable for them that didnt satisfy everyone. she just kind of made excuses honestly? like, "oh, i was a kid when i did that, (which usually almost always means she was over 18 btw and just considers 20 or 25 to be a kid)," or, "i was in a dark place! (again, over 18 and not really admitting what you did, just making excuses and justifications for it in the moment, when real maturity would be admitting it was never right or okay to feel compelled to be bigoted if you were in a vulnerable spot, even if you had bad experiences with a single person from that group of a wide variety of a minority of people,)" so now that people arent doing the same thing with these fictional characters that SHOULD be held accountable for drama and growth, its probably fucking her mind rn lol.

Oh, without question. This is exactly how Viv "apologizes," and how her favorite characters are allowed to apologize. The idea that you need to actually change, to take accountability, and most importantly, not do it again never seems to occur to Viv. It's just, "here's why I did it and why it's not bad that I will continue to do it, end of story."

[krysmcscience]

Please share/reblog this, I am in a bit of a bind! 😭

Okay, I never actually closed my commissions, but I've adjusted prices and added a bunch of new options, so...here goes nothin'.

As stated, I am in a bit of a bind - existing costs too much, so on top of launching a GoFundMe explaining why, I'm offering 10% off my (already tentative) commission prices on Ko-Fi until May. And, until at least June, I will be doubling the time I spend on a drawing (from two minutes up to four) for every dollar donated via the timed donation commission option!

Kindly note that if you copy-pasta the discount link anywhere else, that discount will still apply for anyone else who clicks it. (Please copy-pasta it somewhere else. I will be so grateful to you for the help in spreading this around.)

QUICK N' DIRTY PRICE BREAKDOWN, FROM SIMPLE N CHEAP TO DETAILED N PRICEY:

Silly lil sprites: $2 sketch > $4 ink > $5 colored > $8 color lineart. You can get 'em BIG for $5 more. (Allows for more and cleaner detail.) ~350px -> ~1000px

Cute n tiny: $3 sketch > $5 ink > $6 color > $10 color lineart. BIG = +$10 ~600px -> ~2000px BIGGER = +$15 ~600px -> ~2500px

Avatars/PFPs: $8 sketch > $13 ink > $15 color > $25 color lineart. BIG = +$10 400px -> 1500px

Framed Busts: $8 sketch > $13 ink > $15 color > $25 color lineart. BIG = +$10 400px -> 1500px

Half-body: $10 sketch > $17 ink > $20 color > $30 color lineart. BIG = +$15 ~1000px -> ~2500px

Full Chibi: $15 sketch > $25 ink > $30 color > $40 color lineart. BIG = +$10 ~800px -> ~2000px

Basic Full-Body: $20 sketch > $30 ink > $35 color > $45 color lineart. BIG = +$20 ~900px -> 3000px +Matching Bust: $6 sketch > $10 ink > $12 color > $20 color lineart. [Discounted from standard rate by ~25%!] BIG = +$10 ~400px -> ~1500px

Full-body: $25 sketch > $35 ink > $40 color > $50 color lineart. BIG = +$30 ~1500px -> 5000px

And if you just wanna help out but still wanna get a fun little something in return, there are the ~Timed Donation Drawings~

For every dollar you send my way with a prompt or character or what have you, I will draw exactly that as fast as I can for four minutes straight (two, after May). And, as you can see from the examples above, I can do quite a lot with that time when I'm not super concerned about pesky things like anatomy and composition! Also I might go crazy overboard and completely forget about time constraints altogether if I like your prompt enough~

And now, potential questions that might come up under the readmore, and my very serious answers to each one:

Q: Why is inking so expensive compared to sketching and coloring? A: Because it takes forever and I hate doing it. :)

Q: Why is colored lineart so expensive? A: Because it's a pain in the ass no matter which way I do it. :) [I either have to have the inking separated into multiple different layers, which slows down the inking process I already hate but makes the coloring process faster, or I have to apply the color to a single inking layer bit by tedious bit and then redo a bunch of sections over and over when I inevitably can't color it in perfectly every time.]

Q: Why are the busts the same price as the avatars when you're drawing slightly more of the character? A: Because I don't have to pay attention to making them fit nice and neat and cohesive into a 400x400 square. Also, you don't get to pick the pose for the busts - aside from the expression, I draw them all in the exact same pose. So there's a little discount built in for the reduction of buyer choice. :)

Q: Why only two dollars more to upgrade from avatars/busts to half-body drawings? A: Because they don't involve drawing legs. Most of what you're paying for in a full-body commission is the Krys Has To Draw Legs Tax. :)

Q: Is there that much of a difference between the different full-body options? A: If there wasn't, I wouldn't be charging less for the one that's easier and faster for me to draw. :) [The actual difference is that I don't have to draw proper eyes and also the anatomy is still kinda chibi-adjacent.]

Q: Why charge so little to add color? A: Because it doesn't take me very long and it's a process I actually enjoy doing. :3c

Q: Why is there no price listed for fully-rendered color with shading and lighting? A: You couldn't pay me to fully render most of my own characters, let alone someone else's. >.>;

Q: How much do backgrounds cost? A: They don't, because I don't offer them. I hate doing those, too. {:)

Q: Why have an example that features a background, then? A: Because I forgot to take it out and then didn't feel like fixing it, leave me alone... 🥲

Q: Do you offer a discount for multiple characters? A: I do, in fact! You'll be able to see the reduced price for them in the add-ons section of any commission listing. For the really cheap listings, though, the discount only applies for the fourth character onward. Because otherwise I'm drawing a lot of stuff for very little money, and that sucks for me, my free time, and my wallet. {:(

Q: What's the maximum number of characters I can get in one commission? A: Six total, otherwise I get overwhelmed and want to run into the ocean screaming. {:)

Q: What difference does the big sizing really make? A: For whatever I might draw for you, at a size of 350x350px at 300dpi, you could get a cute little sticker printed on a site like Redbubble. At around 600x600px, you could get that same image printed as a nice pin or button. At something closer to 2000x2000px, meanwhile, you could get it printed on a t-shirt or journal cover, instead, without having to blow it up and leave it looking pixelated. And the largest size I offer at around 5000x5000? That can print nice and neat on a whole-ass shower curtain. That's the difference the big sizing really makes. >:3c

Q: What are you willing to draw? A: Original characters (i.e. D&D parties, novel casts, fursonas, etc.), fan characters (i.e. Pokemon trainers, Homestuck trolls, Among Us beans crewmates/impostors, etc.), official characters (from cartoons, anime, comics, etc.), animals (I cannot guarantee quality here, though), and robots (I definitely cannot guarantee quality here). Suggestive/revealing outfits are fine, as is mild body horror (though I am still learning how to draw that, so keep that in mind if you want it). Queer and queer-coded characters are especially welcome! >w<

Q: What are you not willing to draw? A: Anything supporting extremism, fascism, bigotry, and so on. Basically, if it's right wing, I ain't drawing it; even satire against right wing trash is pushing it unless it's hyper-obvious. Also, no outright nudity and certainly no smut - I'm too ace for NSFW art, so if you want obvious kink/fetish stuff, no judgments from me whatsoever, but my commissions will not be a good option for you. {:) And while I'll happily draw a bit of body horror here or there, I will not draw actual gore. ........Oh, right, I also won't draw backgrounds. Fuck that shit. :)

Q: What about religious themes? A: I will consider those on a case by case basis. As long as whatever you're wanting me to draw isn't hateful towards any particular group of people, though (i.e. queer folks or other minorities), it should be fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Q: Can you go into better detail as to what you will or won't draw? A: If you're worried I won't draw something for you, you can just ask me directly. I don't bite. ...Usually. >:3c

Q: Can you give me a bigger discount if I tell you it's my birthday or my family member is sick or- A: No, next question. :)

Q: What if I have proof that it's my birthday or that my family member is sick or- A: You will get the appropriate congrats or condolences from me! ...And also my standard commission prices. :)

Q: Can I get a drawing from you in exchange for me sharing your work with my audience instead of- A: Pay me or eat shit. Exposure won't pay my bills. :)

Q: Hello, are you available for commissions? Please DM me and- A: Hi, yeah, and I know what an advance fee scam is already, so thanks but no thanks. If you're going to order a commission from me, then you get to do it directly through Ko-Fi using an actual payment method that's confirmed to exist. :)

Q: Could you please please please do a commission with full-rendering and a background for me? A: I would honestly rather eat glass. :)

Q: Why even offer inking and colored lineart if you don't like doing it when you could just offer colored sketches? A: Because attempting to show anyone what my brain interprets as an unfinished piece of art will immediately induce a perfectionism-induced hernia in me, and I would hope we'd all rather avoid that. {:)

Q: Can you draw something for me in a different art style? A: Can I? Yes. Will I? No. :)

Q: Why are your prices so high? A: Well, first of all, they're not - everyone is just so used to undervaluing artists and their work that it seems like the prices are high. And second of all, I'm basing said prices off of minimum hourly wage and the amount of time I expect any given drawing to take, so if you expect me to make less than minimum wage for a skill that took literal decades of time and effort for me to cultivate, you can go sit in a corner and think about how fucked up that is for a while. >:\

(That aside, the current commission prices aren't even fully accurate to the time it takes for me to draw, so they will be changing in May. Whether they go up or down is yet to be determined.)

Q: I'm too poor to get a commission from you, what do I do? A: Cry with me in the No Money Zone, I guess? And, I dunno...reblog this to help me out? That'd be nice. <:)

Q: Do you even like most of the artistic process??? A: My artistic process is 'have fun sketching, suffer through inking, and then continue to have fun coloring, before I typically end the process there so I don't have to suffer through rendering and backgrounds'. So...yes, actually! :D

Q: I feel like you're just making up random questions for shits and giggles at this point. A: That's not a question, but you might be right. ;)

Q: Is this stupid FAQ over yet? A: No, you're stuck in it with me for forever. >:]

Q: You're joking, right? A: Yes.

THE END!

[mikaelsonharem7]

Cheers to 25 🥂

NSFW

Warnings: choking, p in v, smut, spit

This is a gift to myself cause it’s my birthday today!! Also Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

“Come on, Lyric. It’s your 25th birthday; you have to do something.” My best friend said. Another year, and it’s another year of me not doing anything. I never did anything on my birthday. I just never felt in the spirit enough. But she was right; I am turning 25, and it’s a milestone birthday, so I let her convince me to go out.

 

“Fine. Where are we going?” I ask, finally giving in.

 

With a smirk on her face, she says, "Perfect! You were going anyway because I and Tay were going to kidnap you, but it’s a surprise, but just know you’ll love it.” Knowing her, I’m a little worried, not gonna lie, but YOLO. She then darts to my room and goes straight to my closet to pick out some clothes. The clothes here she’s picking out have me questioning the dress code because it was all mini dresses and I’m just like, this is definitely out of my comfort zone, but again I’m embracing the fun tonight. I then see her grab one of my duffel bags, and I stop her.

 

“Are we spending the night there?” I ask, growing more curious.

 

“It’s a day trip, but I’m just grabbing options.” She said with a smile.

 

After packing and picking up Tay, we finally take off on the road, and by the direction we’re going, I can tell we’re going towards Texas. I don’t know what I got myself into, but there’s something telling me that it’s going to be a very good night. After a 3-hour drive, we end up in Dallas, Texas, and we pull up into a nice hotel. Getting out and walking in the hotel is gorgeous, very modern looking, and clean. As we get to the check-in and we get our keys, I see that the key has a P on it and that normally it is for the penthouse. As we make our way to the penthouse suite, my heart is filled with joy and love that my best friend would do this for me on my birthday.

 

Turning to the both of them, I have tears in my eyes, and my best friend says,

 

“Don’t start. You deserve this, plus it’s your 25th; of course you know we gotta go big!!”

 

After getting settled and unpacked, we finally start to get ready. As I come out of the bathroom, I see Tay and my best friend laying out some options. They know that I’m not the type to show off my body because I am self-conscious. Yes, I bought them, but I never had the courage to wear them out, but I was really liking what they picked. After trying on some choices, I finally settled on a minidress, and I put a long-sleeve white bodysuit underneath. I also paired it with some cute tights and some platform pumps. It was out of my comfort zone, but I couldn’t lie; my body looked so good. The dress hugged my curves just right!

 

Once we were all dressed and cute, we headed down to the UBER and headed to the destination. As we pull up, I see that we are at a club, and it looks nice!!! After we make our way inside and head to our table, we sit down, and I scan the room and just take it all in. This is really not my scene, but I’m determined to make a night out of it. Ordering drinks, I order a blueberry pineapple mojito, and it was delicious. The club also had some finger foods, so we ordered some to share. Sitting down my finished drink, another one is placed in front of me, and I look at it confused. I didn’t order anything, so where did this come from? I lean over to ask my friends if they did, and they said no. Not taking a mystery drink, I take it back to the bar, and when I go to try and return it, the bartender directs my eyes to a section of the club. When I turn to see, my eyes widen. There in all his glory is Randy Orton.

 

Dressed in all black with a single gold Cuban around his neck, he looks so damn good. Turning my attention back to the bartender, I ask if she could remake the drink so that I had eyes on it. Understanding my point, she smiles and instantly remakes my drink. Wanting to test the waters, I stay at the bar and wait till he makes his next move. After a few minutes I feel a hand slide on the small of my back, and the most heavily scented perfume invades my presence. God, he looks and SMELLS so good.

 

“So you just take my drink without saying thank you?” I suddenly hear next to me.

 

Turning my head, I look at none other than the Viper himself. Seeing him in person is so much more satisfying than seeing him on TV. His blue eyes still noticeable in this dark club.

 

Wanting to play along, I say, “Well, it got you over here right. So I say my plan is working so far.” I have a slight smirk on my face as I take another sip.

Chuckling, Randy leans on the bar and looks at me.

“I noticed you and your friends when y'all walked in here, and I just wanted to get to know you. What brings y'all here? Are you from here?” Randy asks.

 

“Well…no, we’re from Louisiana, and it’s my 25th birthday today, so they dragged me out to celebrate.” I replied.

 

“Oh well, happy birthday! Is this the only thing you have planned tonight?” He asks

 

“So far, yes. This isn’t my scene, but my friends planned this, so I'm going to make the best of it. I don’t really celebrate my birthday, but I’m changing that.

 

"I will be honest; this isn’t my scene either. So I know this is forward, but would you like to come back to my hotel just to talk?" Randy invites as he looks me in the eyes. His eyes drop to my lips for a split second. 

 

Thinking to myself, I just say, “Why not?” Let me tell my best friend that I’m leaving.“

 

Walking over to my friend's table, I let them know that I’m leaving, and they asked with who. I show his picture and explain who he was, of course, save it, and say, Keep your location on if you need us.

 

Walking back to the bar, I let him know that we’re good to go, and we go out the back to his car and head back to his hotel. Once we get to the hotel, we will go up to where he is staying, of course, at the penthouse, and it is gorgeous. The floor-to-ceiling windows let you see the city below.

 

“So I take it that WWE pays very well, 'cause holy shit,” I turn to him after taking it all in.

Laughing, he replies, “I say they pay pretty well.”

“Can I get you something to drink? Water?”

 

I say yes, and he hands me a glass. I keep looking around, and I guess to please my curiosity, he offers to give me a tour. I, of course, say yes, and he walks me around the living room and shows me the balcony that wraps around the downstairs. He shows me to the gym that he has in suite, and of course, we end off with a mortgage look-around of the kitchen. To the stairs to check out the second floor. We make our way down this long highway, and he opens the door to this beautiful bedroom. The master was dark in color and cozy with a balcony overlooking the city.

 

Walking out to the balcony, you stare out at the city, and you sigh. Randy walks next to you, and you see that he has two champagne glasses. Smiling and taking the glass, you thank him.

 

“I want to make a toast to your 25th, and hopefully your birthday has been good so far, and I hope to make it better.” As we clink our glasses. We walk back inside and sit on the couch in the room. You both begin conversation back and forth. Mostly you, as you tell him you’re a fan. You ask him to try to get him to spill if he’ll turn on Cody, but he wasn’t budging. After a few more glasses of champagne, you both put your glasses down, and Randy just stares at you. Being bold, you ask what he meant by “hoping to make your birthday better.” Not saying anything, he reaches over and pulls you onto him. Your dress rising up as now you’re straddling his hips. You feel his hands cup your ass as he leans forward to kiss you. Letting out a moan when he squeezes your ass and you let out a gasp when he sends a slap to your right cheek.

 

Be suddenly picks you up and carries you to the bed. Laying you down, he kisses down your neck. Nipping here and there, making you yelp. He kisses down your chest, pulling the straps from your dress and pulling down the tights you were wearing. Leaving you in only the white bodysuit, Randy slithers in between your legs, kissing and nipping at your thighs, leaving tiny hickies in his wake. Getting to your center, he pulls on the snaps holding the bodysuit together, making them come undone. Looking up at you, he licks his lips and slowly takes a long lick. Eyes rolling back, and he continues. Licking. Sucking. Pulling. Your mind was running wild with pleasure as your body shook in his mouth. Trying to catch your breath, Randy doesn’t stop, and he adds a thick finger and then two. He curves his fingers, hitting that special spot, and you come undone once again, trapping his head between your thick thighs.

 

Coming up for air he kisses up your body, taking off your bodysuit in the process. Palming your plump breast, he takes a nipple in his mouth as a fingers toys with the other. Your hands continue to his shirt to pull it off, tossing it to the side, and you bring your hands down his chest, slightly scratching in the process. Your hands continued as you tried to get his pants off. Once they were off, you took his big cock in your hands, slowly stroking it, feeling him get harder. You surprise him by changing your positions, and now you’re on top. Kissing down his chest, you get to his hard cock. He had to be 6 inches, and he was thick. Making sure his eyes were on you, you stuck your tongue out and licked a line, and as you got to the tip, you wrapped your lips around the head and sucked. Hearing his moans sent shocks to your pussy, causing you to get wetter. Randy’s hand finds your head and slowly moves it down further till he reaches the back of your throat. Slightly gagging, you pull away, catching your breath before Randy does it again. Him hearing you gag on him only makes him harder. Pulling you from his cock, a trail of spit followed as it dropped to your tits.

 

“You look so good when you choke on my dick,” he growls.

 

Pulling you closer, he kisses you, making you moan in his mouth. He turns and lays you on your back as he settles in between your thighs. Grabbing his cock, he rubs it up and down your slit, teasing your clit. Your wetness coating his tip. He gently begins to slide in, going slowly as he stretches you. Pulling out and pushing in again, you feel your pussy tighten and release around him, and he makes a grunting sound. Leaning down, he captures your lips as he mumbles,

 

“You’re squeezing me, baby. You're going to make me cum before I can fulfill my promise.”

 

Your eyes close as you relax a bit, and Randy begins to stroke faster and harder. Moans and wet skin are the only sounds to be heard in the room. Randy’s hand finds your neck, giving it a tight squeeze. The pressure isn’t one of pain but one of pleasure, the lack of blood flow aiding in the pleasure.

 

“FFFF-FFUUCKKKK! Right there, right there. Please.” You beg as he keeps hitting that spot that made you see stars. Your body was shaking; sweat coated both of your skin. Spreading your legs wider, Randy begins to go faster and harder while he also begins to play with your clit. The combination of both sensations causes you to cum, and you squirt as he continues to fuck you.

 

“Good girl, that’s a good girl. Keep cumming for me.” Randy says as he feels your pussy continue to squeeze him. Feeling your pussy squeeze him triggers his own release, and he cums, filling you till both your juices are dripping out of you. Catching a much-needed breath, Randy slowly pulls out and collapses next to you. Pulling you closer, he wraps his arms around you, and after a while, you both fall asleep.

 

Sunlight shines on your face, waking you up from the best sleep you’ve ever had. Looking around, you forget where you are until the memories of last night begin to flood in. Jumping up, you begin to get dressed. Once dressed, you are about to walk out when you see a note on the nightstand. Flipping it open, you read:

 

Sorry I’m not there. We have a show tonight, and I had rehearsals. I'm not sure when you’re leaving, but I’d love to see you at the show tonight, so here are tickets. If you plan on coming, just text me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

-Randy

Reading the note again, you think about it and decide that you’re going to go and have fun.

And you were right. The show was great, and you even got to hang out with Randy before you told him you had to head back home. Reluctantly saying goodbye, he gives you one last lingering kiss that makes your knees weak. Before he lets you go, he says,

 

“You have my number now, so I’d like it if we kept in touch.”

 

Not able to form a sentence, you slowly nod and turn to leave before a repeat of last night happens in the locker room. As you and your friends get back on the road, they ask if you had a good birthday, and once again flashbacks hit you, and you begin to smile.

 

“Oh, she SMILING smiling; she got some dick!” Tay screams.

 

Shaking your head, you just look down at the note you kept with Randy’s number and say, “I don’t know what y’all are talking about.” A smirk playing on your lips. What a great way to start year 25.

[replicabetweenblogs]

19/1/25 CHAPTER 9 RELEASE.

5 endings at 3 different locations you can end up as your companions all split into different sides.. getting lost. Metaphorically or quite literally? What decisions have you made in the past to either bring chaos or calm into your so-called hideout..? Who will celebrate to see the long-awaited dawn, who will weep at the rising insanity of the leader carving down a bloody road to victory, and what painful truths will you finally discover?Where will you end up, who will you save, and who will you be in chapter 9?

133 303 words in total for ALL branches!

Between the 18k and 21k for a single playthrough!

Romance lock-in scenes for Ash and Ha!! Although they are locked behind one of the three exploration branches.

Specialize in your essence! If you are strong enough and are within the right branch for it, you can pick one of the few elements to focus on and develop your essence further.

Death

Angst

Depression

Screaming and crying people all around

Lily with a lighter

"Who gave Ha a gun?"

Two new annoying little brats to look after

The chapter is split between three different greater exploration areas, and you can end up depending on various variables and choices. Only one path contains all the companions while the other two may differ depending on decisions made.

~~ Updated dashingdon link (will be removed by the end of the month)

~~ NEW cogdemos.ink link

~~ Discuss the chapter on the forums!

~~ Coffee on Kofi!

~~Help me improve the chapter!!!

That. Was an unbelievably long road. This chapter is easily the most branchy one. A few WIP scenes are locked, but they are nothing big and I may still decide to scrap those before the chapter gets too overwhelmingly brancy. Aside of that, some more balancing I might have to do still regarding personality traits and stats, but I want to delve deeper into that once I've got more results in on my online feedback form, so right now you may not really notice alotta stat changes throughout chapter 9. But yes. Here it is!!

I really hope the returning readers of RBU will enjoy this one. It's an 130k word long apology letter for the hiatus!! Go and give Ha or Ash a kiss or two, play catch with a fireball with Lily, question your entire reality with Amethyst, and connect some dots regarding the final revelation. Again, I thank anyone who has been around here with me since the start and all the new readers I've been able to tell my story to (and who managed to get through the messy first few chapters). I really hope the long wait was worth this all.

Feel free to report bugs in the forum thread c: and I shall try and fix them asap. Also whenever you suspect of the game pushing you into the wrong branch by checking the wrong variables, or if you see any typos and misgendering.

The ASK box is open! For questions, guides, character asks and etc.

Have fun c: I am hoping to keep this flow going for chapter 10 as well, seeing as the end of RBU is nearing and 10 won't be a very long one. Here is hoping I may actually reach the epilogue before I slip back into a 50 year long hiatus <3

[back2bluesidex]

25 and Virgin - PJM (18+)

Pairing: Jimin X Fem!Reader

Theme: PWP, SMUT

Wordcount: 1.8k+

Summary: You are 25 and virgin but maybe your crush slash senior Park Jimin can change that tonight.

Warnings: Explicit sex, mentions of dying as a joke, a little bit of dirty talking, reader loses her virginity, sex on a balcony, oral sex (f. receiving), creampie, mentions of pain during sex, semi public sex, unprotected sex (wrap it!!), NSFW!! (let me know if there is more)

Minors are not allowed in this blog!!

A/N: Happy birthday to my home, Park Jimin. Can't believe he is 28? are you kidding me?

"Were you serious earlier?" His voice rings behind you through the balcony door. 

If it's not the cold wind of night then it's definitely the mellow, smooth voice of Park Jimin that causes chills to run down your spine. 

Especially when you know what he is asking about.

"About.. what?" You speak without looking at him so that the red flush of embarrassment is not visible to him. 

Jimin takes a few steps and comes to stand beside you. 

His eyes find your face and if you are not completely wrong then those dip down to your lips. 

"You know what I am talking about but still if you want to hear me saying it then…" he continues smugly, "are you really a virgin?" 

Your tongue gets caught between your teeth as you curse your childish coworkers for dragging you into the childish game of truth and dare. 

You knew something like this would happen. But you couldn't say no, since you joined only two months ago and rejecting to be a part of stupid games of team-dinner-turned-norebang sessions is certainly rude. You couldn't risk your image even before you get the chance of making it. 

However, you expected them to show you the same level of respect and not poke you into your private boundaries. 

Guess what? You were wrong. 

Because the very first question landed on you was "what's your favorite sex position?" 

God! You can’t mold it into words how embarrassed you were to tell them that you haven't had sex yet. It’s only your fingers and you. 

Yes, you know you could have lied easily but what if they tease you endlessly after that? How will you react around them? And honestly, not a single position came in your head at that time for you to answer so you ended up being brutally honest. 

All of these would not matter much. 

All of these wouldn't matter at all if your crush slash senior Park Jimin wasn't sitting right across from you, if you didn't see his beautiful eyes getting wider with your answer, if he wouldn't come to find you here in the balcony.

What must he be thinking? Something like, you aren't hot enough to be bedded? God! You just want this ground to split in half and sink into it.

Jimin nudges your arm with his elbow pulling you out of your brooding session.

"I asked you something?" His voice is soft, there is no sense of mockery in it. So you decide to answer honestly.

"Yes." You sigh, "yes, I am 25 and virgin." 

You close your eyes as soon as the sentence dies. 

Jimin smiles, taking a lingering look on your figure. He still doesn't understand how the fuck no one has fucked you yet? You are so damn beautiful and that body is something anyone would die to explore. Maybe he would too, only if he wasn’t so against fucking inexperienced people. 

"Y/N, it's alright. There's no need to be embarrassed. It's your life, you have the right to live however you want." He places a hand on your shoulder. 

If your heart takes up a faster pace, then you don't want to dwell on it.

"It's not my choice, Jimin. I just- I just never found anyone.. you know." You stare down at the cars rushing by through the busy streets of Seoul. 

“But you have had boyfriends, right?” Jimin asks, you somehow feel him standing closer than before. 

“One boyfriend back in highschool and we never pushed anything past foreplay and then I got busy with uni and internships. So.. stuff never happened. At this point it feels like no one would want a 25 year old virgin. Everyone would want a partner who at least has some experience.” you sigh again. 

“That’s not true. Anyone would want you and I am not saying this to comfort you, but from the perspective of a man.” Jimin squeezes your shoulder. 

You divert your eyes from the road below and look at him. 

Park Jimin is beautiful but he looks extra beautiful tonight standing here with you. 

His soft black hair falls onto his dark eyes, those soft plump lips invites you to bite them, his muscles and manly chest heave with every breath he takes. You lose yourself a little. You get drunk by him so much that you find your mouth running ahead of your mind.

“Anyone would? You too?” You take a tentative step towards him. 

A flash of playfulness flashes through his face, “I would love to, darling. But I don’t fuck virgins.” 

That’s it. That’s the rejection of a lifetime you have been waiting for. You took a step back just as you took it ahead. 

What were you even thinking? Popular Park Jimin would want to sleep with someone as inexperienced as you? How bold! Now your embarrassment has reached its peak. You are not only a virgin now but a rejected virgin. 

Fucking hell! You want to jump off this balcony, break your head and die. 

But before that you should apologize of your unnecessary boldness, “I’m so-” 

“I would love to eat you out though. Bet your untouched pussy tastes amazing.” Jimin cuts you off and cages you between your arms, “do you want me to eat you here in the balcony?”. 

Blood rushes to your cheeks and flood rushes to your cunt as you try to contemplate what Jimin is offering, “what-”

“Yes or no, Y/N?” Jimin cuts you off again. 

“Yes!” you reply without giving it another thought. You may not get this offer ever again. 

“Good girl.” Jimin smirks at you deviliously as he sinks down on his knees before you.

“But what if someone sees us?” your heart thumps in your chest. 

“Shut up and part your legs for me.” Jimin orders but there is no bite in his tone. You oblige readily. 

He hikes up your skirt and places a few kisses on your thighs. You feel yourself leaking more and more as he inches closer to your cunt. 

“Fuck. you smell so good, sweetheart!” Jimin sniffs your arousal through the cotton of your panty. 

If he says he had never thought of fucking you raw, then that will be a lie. The reality is that you caught his eyes the moment you were assigned under him. It’s been only two months so he couldn’t have his way with you yet. But he never imagined you would be a virgin and he would get a chance of tasting you like this. 

He would love to fuck you too but at first you need to have a basic experience, because he is way too wild for someone so inexperienced as you. 

“J-Jimin, please.” you mutter and Jimin swears it’s the sweetest thing he has ever heard.

“Be patient, sweetheart.” he replies before hiking your skirt further with one of his hands and tugging down your panty with another one. 

You knock the piece of cloth out of your ankles. 

Even though it’s dark on the balcony, Jimin can clearly see your glinting pussy under the moonlight. You are nothing short of divine. 

He grabs your left thigh and hooks it on his shoulder, parting your pussy deliciously for his eyes and mouth. 

And without so much as a breath, he dives down. 

The first drag if his tongue is slow and teasing, it knocks all of the available air out of your lungs. You see stars above your head. So, this is how it feels to have your cunt eaten?

Jimin hums at your taste and then grazes your clit with his teeth. Parting your folds with his fingers, he latches his plump lips to your nub and starts sucking wildly. 

“Oh-Oh Jim-Jimin'' You struggle to breathe, mind going numb in an instant. 

And then you feel his fingers probing into your entrance. He invades your walls with not one but two of his fingers at once.

“Fuckkkk” you curse. Your ears take in the lewd sound of your wet pussy being sucked, licked and fingered. 

Jimin is not doing any better. He knew you would taste delicious but he never imagined you would taste this addictive. 

His lips, tongue and fingers can’t get enough of you. Damn! His dick needs you. 

He needs to be inside you to insatiate the beast you just woke up by being this addictive. 

“Jimin-Jimin I may be-” you try to find your voice, your knuckles are going white with the dead grip you have on the balcony railing. 

Your eyes start rolling back but then you feel everything feeling low and empty. 

Jimin detaches his face from your core and looks up at you, “close? But we don’t have time for multiple orgasms. I need you to cum on my cock.” 

He stands up and starts undoing his belt. 

You don’t know whether you should praise his beauty, which has increased by tenfold as he is drenched in your juices or the taut muscle of his torso or the beautiful dick that springs out of his briefs ready to ruin you. 

Jimin grips your thigh again, encircles that around his torso and lines his cock in your entrance. 

“It will hurt a little in the beginning but soon it will feel good, okay?” He says softly, removing a lone strand of hair from your face.

“But I thought you don’t fuck virgins?” you huff. 

“You are fucking addicting, Y/N. I can’t control myself.” He breathes as he pushes the tip inside you. 

He is almost midway through your cunt when you feel a painful stretch, your face contorts as a result but you want him to go on. 

“You okay? Should I continue?” Jimin questions, you nod voicelessly. 

And within a few seconds he is completely in. He gives you the time to adjust before starting to move. 

Once you have managed yourself and the pain, you ask him to move. 

It’s painful, overwhelmingly so. But the way Jimin groans and grunts tells you that you have a weird power over him. 

“So fucking tight. Lord! You will be the death of me.” Jimin groans again as he thrusts slowly. 

Soon you feel the pain fading behind an immense pleasure. 

You moan out loud as Jimin gradually increases his pace. For a moment there are only sounds of heavy breathing, you two moaning each other’s names, cursing and skin slapping. Jimin’s dick feels amazing against the tight walls of your cunt, so much so that you start feeling heat in your stomach. 

“You are squeezing the hell out of me, Y/N!” Jimin growls again. 

“I-I’m close.” You say somehow.

“Cum on my cock baby. Creame it!” and you do. You cum and the orgasm is nothing you have had with the help of your fingers. 

“Fuck fuck fuck!” Jimin shouts in your neck as he cums inside you following your suite. His white hot semen runs down your thigh and drops on the floor. 

You are trying to find your breath and wit, when you heard Jimin say, “Round two at my place?”

Taglist:

@phenomenalgirl9 @variety-is-the-joy-of-life @soraviie @sukunabitch @chimchimmarie @coffeedepressionsoup @meowstake @vonvi-blog @nochuel @chimmisbae

[thealexchen]

Do you have like, an updated wishlist of what you wanna see for future protagonists/game elements/relationship dynamics for future Life Is Strange/Life is Strange-Like games?

I saw your original list and was curious since most of your ‘wishlist’ had come true

That's a great question and it got me thinking! DE's reception and Dontnod's spin on their narrative formula with Lost Records got me thinking about the future of their projects, instead. I was really impressed with how they innovated so much with Bloom & Rage while still making it familiar and cozy to long-time fans: the queer coming-of-age themes, slow pacing, nostalgia, and character-driven story are dialed up even more, but there's also no superpowers, no freeze-frame big choices except the very last one, no prominent parental figures in the story, no school setting, and no in-game journal or texts. So, my wishlist is going to omit those things and focus on hypotheticals for future Lost Records games.

This is still a tricky situation because the post-credits scene implies a direct sequel starring Swann, so it could just be "Kat and Swann hang out in the Abyss for 12 hours: the game." Maybe Lost Records could be structured like Arcane with two-season arcs in a larger universe. Or, it could be like Infinity Train, where a main character from a previous season becomes a supporting character in the next season to link the casts together. Either way, I think it's possible to keep the characters from Bloom & Rage while expanding the cast and setting.

MORE POC/POC RELATIONSHIPS, PLEASE. Dontnod has always paired POC with white people and their games are very white because of their settings. In reality, there are plenty of diverse small-town communities in the US! Nora lives in LA and Autumn lives in Atlanta as as adult, both of which have nearby suburbs that are very racially diverse. In the future, I'd really like to see them move away from the sticks.

Also, a protagonist of color whose story doesn't revolve entirely around racial trauma like in LiS2. I really appreciated that Nina Freeman and Desiree Cifre chose to explore the more insidious type of racism Autumn experienced in the internalized pressure to be the perfect Black girl in a town that would always judge her more harshly, even if I feel like her character was sidelined by the end.

More wlw and mlm actually existing together!! It's wild to me that in so many stories, the only queer characters are the protagonist and their love interest, when in reality, queer people flock together even before they realize they're queer! B&R nailed this aspect of how quickly the band met and connected with each other, and the riot grrrl themes of the story makes sense that they wouldn't have any close guy friends, but LiS1, BtS, and TC only had wlw and TMW and LiS2 only had mlm. In future games I would love to see an actual ensemble cast of queer people of all genders who get along. A chill platonic friendship between a lesbian and gay guy could be so fun and sweet.

In my last wishlist, I focused on the 21-25 age range. Bloom & Rage covers teenhood and forties, but what about the decades outside of those? I think a character in their thirties could be interesting because it represents that life stage where you're leaving your chaotic twenties and trying to settle into your life choices, but that can also be a difficult transition period. Swann, Autumn, and Nora are mostly settled by their forties in lives and careers they're satisfied with, and Autumn has made peace with her divorce. By contrast, maybe a character in their thirties has been trying for years to make a certain career work out and it just isn't working. Or they're facing a divorce, the birth of their first child, or contending with still being single in their thirties. Or, they're just reeling at how old they've gotten so fast! It could be an interesting headspace to explore. Plus, we've never gotten a game from a parent's perspective.

Another age range I'm curious about is the middle grade years (11-14). We had 9-year-old kids in Chris and Daniel from LiS2 and our fair share of teens and young adults, but less about those horrible years in middle school. This is a tougher sell because I'm sure nobody wants to relive those years, but it's also such a unique life stage and I think you could explore a range of personalities, maturity levels, and life struggles through a tween's eyes. Young Max and Chloe were unique and intriguing in Farewell, and I'd be curious to see how DN could tackle that age. Nora's twins look very young, like probably no older than 4 or 5, but it's possible Autumn's son could be 10 or older already by 2022.

DN has always been known for their genre mashups unique to video games, but I feel like they've been wanting to make a horror game for years and I think they should go for it! Pure horror might be out of place in LR game, but we have no idea what they could have planned. A horror sequence that isn't just another trippy nightmare could be really cool.

An actual nonbinary character would be awesome, and one who doesn't spend their entire screentime educating the audience about their identity and is a fully fleshed out and interesting character. Same for a character on the ace/aro spectrum. And I'd really like to see a confirmed neurodivergent character played by a neurodivergent actor.

Michel Koch likes to create protagonists that are somewhat similar to him, so we've gotten mostly quiet, introverted, artsy types who are a little nerdy. I think playing as an extraverted and less visibly awkward character could shake up the dialogue (just imagine 1995 Nora's dialogue trees 😂), and you can still make an artsy and visually interesting game with a protagonist who's more into science, tech, or other subjects. You could even be extra meta and make them a game dev! Plus, a science-minded person might be interested in actual lore for all the supernatural elements.

The dual timeline narrative in Bloom & Rage got me wondering if instead of playing as the same character in different life stages, what if we could play as members of a family in different generations? For example, one character in the "past" timeline and the character's child in the "present" timeline. I know generational trauma is the narrative buzzword of the decade, but it's less-explored ground in a video game. It might make the story too bloated, but it could be interesting. Again, we don't know anything about Autumn and Nora's kids, so that could be a chance to explore that.

Thank you for asking! This got really long, but I really want Lost Records to become DN's new flagship series and I think there's so much narrative potential!

[rainstormwrite]

The new update is now public.

Hello again, people!

That's it. This is the day.

The new update is now public.

(You're required to start a new playthrough if you don't want any game-breaking bugs, by the way.)

What's done:

All three routes are finished.

All the POVs are rewritten to be in the third person (they actually feel way better than I thought they would be).

Some parts of the first fight scene are fixed and clarified.

Some pronoun bugs are fixed.

What's planned:

…

Writing another update, obviously.

Word count:

Including command lines: 271245 Excluding command lines: 260837

But, I would ask you to temper your expectations in terms of the new content's single playthrough length. I'm going to paraphrase this from my previous post: the actual amount of content that was added with this new update is somewhere between 15 to 25 pages (approximately).

Even though the word count increased from 53k to 260k, the only event to happen in this update is one conversation/confrontation (ridiculous, I know). This is primarily due to the overwhelming amount of variable text that changes depending on your earlier choices and due to the number of routes you can take. If you're interested in the reasons for me to decide to do that, check out my previous post.

So, basically, each reader will experience the new content very differently but may not get as much satisfaction due to its shortness. If that is the case, I can only suggest you make another playthrough with different choices, but, if that's not your cup of tea, I would totally understand. But, overall, the game is very… how do I put it..? Multiple-playthroughs-friendly, I'd say.

Safe to say, the update will be incredibly polarizing, no doubt, but I'm always open to feedback.

And, even though I haven't found any bugs or inconsistencies, I am obviously aware that someone else may find them, so, if you are that someone, please report the bugs to me.

I think that's all regarding the update itself, so go ahead and play it. Hope you will like it!

PLAY THE UPDATE

Now, onto other interesting things…

From this point onward, I'm starting to take writing seriously, and that's why I've finally decided to open my Patreon page.

I've made a free introductory post there that explains what I'll be offering, but, right off the bat, I want to tell you that I can't offer you things that other creators are usually offering: Q&As and What-if scenarios. If we're talking about Q&As, I don't want to do them because I consider mystery to be a big part of my work, so I don't really want to wiggle around every question that people will ask me because it won't be fair to them and won't feel good to me. As for What-if scenarios, I don't want to write out some hypothetical scenarios when I can spend that time to progress the plot forward in the actual story. And, trust me, if I'm going to spread my attention too thin, I'm never going to finish this project… And I don't think you and I want that.

What I will provide, however, are progress updates, sneak peeks, early access, and monthly side stories, which the community will be able to choose by voting.

So, I'd advise you to read through the new update first, decide whether you're willing to put up with my approach to the content, and then consider subscribing if what I offer on Patreon is enough for you. If, after all that, you decide to become a member, I'll be very grateful to you. If not, I will still appreciate you being interested in my work and taking the time to read through it.

Thanks for tuning in, and have a pleasant day or a peaceful night!

[supernatural-recs]

Disclaimer: This is a library of fanfics. They belong to their respective owner (tagged next to the fic name).

Fics not under the 18+ header are still likely to contain 18+ material. Please read the fanfics warnings before proceeding.

Masterlist

Sam x Reader masterlist

Tropes

Age Gap

Old Man @kaleldobrev (One-shot) Summary: Dean never had a problem with the age gap between you two; not until now any way

Best Friends Brother

Best Friends Brother @queen-of-deans-booty (One-shot) Summary: You have a huge crush on your best friend’s brother, and you do everything you can to keep it from her. Does he like you back? Does he not? What will she think if you decide to pursue him? So many questions and not enough answers.

Enemies to Lovers

Fake Dating

Drunk

Girl's Night @thirdsaltyhunter (One-shot) Summary: Jody and Donna ask you for help on a hunt and you all get drunk and call your boyfriend while you're away

Friends with Benefits

F.W.B @deanwritings (Series) Summary: After walking in on Y/N following a fun encounter, Dean and Y/N decide it would be beneficial and much easier to use each other for their needs. But can they keep it just about sex?

Hurt/Comfort

IDiots @missmarveledsblog (One-shot) Summary: when reader becomes the victim of a entity Dean is forced to admit feeling that he thought he could keep away in fear of being hurt.

Every fucking time @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior (one-shot) Summary: You want to help Dean, but he knows you can't.

AUs

Coffee Shop AU

College AU

Sammy's New Babysitter @luci-in-trenchcoats (One-shot) Summary: The reader babysits her neighbor Sam last minute when his parents go to pick up his older brother from college. When they come home, she gets to meet the elder Winchester brother herself...

ABO

No match for you @holylulusworld (One-shot) Summary: Reader gets pregnant with Dean's pups only to find out he found a new omega.

Firefighter AU

Smoke Eater @zepskies (Series) Summary: Dean Winchester is the cocky, but well-respected Lieutenant at Firehouse 25. He leads by example, but he’s also known to break a few hearts. He’s starting to crave something he’s never had, though. Something stable. Something real. 

The Firefighter @luci-in-trenchcoats (mini-series) Summary: The reader winds up in a bad situation when she tries to do the right thing but when she meets the firefighter that rescued her, it turns out to be not so bad after all…

Pregnant

Not a lot, just forever @take-it-on-the-run (One-shot) Summary: After throwing up morning after morning, the reader discovers her illness isn't what she initially thought.

Single parent AU

Worlds Best Dad @luci-in-trenchcoats (series) Summary: One of the reader’s students has a problem and she confronts the girl’s father, Dean, about what’s going on. He owns up to his mistake and ends up asking the reader out to appease his daughter. The reader quickly becomes part of the Winchester’s lives and learns what that means as Dean gets a lesson of his own on how he might not be the world’s greatest dad, but he is a good one…

18+

Guessing Game @bunnysbrainrot (One-shot) Summary: Can your body tell the difference between the brothers? If you’re correct, you’ll be rewarded. If not, well…

Can't tie me down @writethelifeyouwant (Series) Summary: Y/N has no interest in being tied down by a mate, but she still needs help with her heats when they come around.

Jealousy @supernaturalistthings Summary: One night in a run down bar Dean Winchester has no choice but to reveal his true feelings

Roadhouse @supernaturalistthings (One-shot) Summary: You have had feelings for Dean Winchester for a while and never thought you guys would be more than friends but on a case Dean's jealousy gets the best of him and the truth comes out.

You've never what? @gallavichsreddie1128 (One-shot) Summary: Y/N has never rode anyone’s face before and Dean is shocked.

Don't be a tease @hintsofhoney (One-shot) Summary: A little teasing never hurt nobody... even if it is at dinner with Dean’s parents.

I could show you @hintsofhoney (One-shot) Summary: You decide to step out of your comfort zone and finally visit a sex shop in search of some new toys. The guy at the counter, Dean, offers to show you how some of them work instead of just telling you.

Need some help? @lucy-literates (One-shot) Summary: It’s your first time sleeping in Deans bed, you find out that morning wood does exist and are more than happy to help.

And... action @yunggoblin (One-shot) Summary: *This is based off of Season 5 Episode 8!* To pass Gabriel's next trick you, Sam and Dean have to shoot a porno.

The talk @avanatural (One-shot) Summary: Jack catches Dean and Y/N while they're being intimate. The Nephilim has a lot of questions about what he witnessed, and Dean takes it upon himself to answer at least the most important ones.

If you have any recommendations to be added to this list, please let me know.

If you are a writer and see one of your fanfics listed and want it removed please let me know.