#what makes a good rule is how interesting it is for players to either follow break or exploit them

[owlbean]

I kind of worry daggerheart streamlined so many mechanics to make it "narrative focused" that what rules are there are a bit too loose for me. At that point just make a roleplay group.

[thesecretestblogever]

In Which Joe Learns How to Make a Girl Come

premise: you’re married to anthony stolarz and you both decide to help a guy out and teach him the ways of the female body

pairing: reader x anthony stolarz x joseph woll

w.c. : 8k

warnings: 18+ MDNI; oral (f and m receiving), threesome, unprotected sex (breeding! kink), size!kink, inexperienced!Joe, established relationship (marriage to Stolarz)

You’d been happily married to Anthony Stolarz for five years now. You dated for 4 years before that - meeting in Philly and falling in love quickly. You followed him from Edmonton, to Anaheim, to Florida, and now Toronto. It was exhausting to pick up and move so often, but you’d do anything for him and you knew he would do the same. Your relationship was rock solid, and there were a lot of reasons behind that.

He was one of the sweetest, kindest, and softest men you ever met, despite his size. He towered over you in a way that was almost comical. He was an incredible communicator and although he was often away from home or extremely busy with hockey, he always made sure you were taken care of, in more ways than one.

It wasn’t that you had an open relationship, but you were both experimental. Over the years you’d tried almost everything there was (within reason). If you found something you liked, it was added to the rotation, and if you didn’t, it was left behind, and there were many things you both liked. Through mutual agreement, neither of you ever slept with anyone without the other. Threesomes were a way you could both discover new kinks or interests while your significant other could still feel included and get off. Road Trips were hard if you weren’t traveling with him, but ultimately you only ever wanted each other and the idea of filling the gap with someone who didn’t know what either of you liked simply fell flat. You’d already tried that and neither of you were satisfied. 

The other rule was no teammates allowed. Anthony wasn’t possessive or jealous, but he treasured you and knew how some hockey players could be. He didn’t want anyone to treat it as a cheap thrill or feel entitled to your body. There was also just potential for it to damage the team’s dynamic or create weird feelings and he took his job very seriously, so those worlds stayed separate.

Well… until recently. There had been teammates you found handsome or alluring in the past, but never dwelled on those feelings. It wasn't worth it since nothing was ever going to come of it. Anthony knew how you felt anyway - you never chose to hide your attraction to any players. In the end, his feelings were never hurt. He knew you’d always return to him. He’d smugly smile at himself knowing that no one could make you come undone like he could. He knew all your ins and outs, a blessing that came from years of learning each other's bodies and what made you feel good. Similarly, he never had any emotional interest in the partners you brought into your room. What got him off was seeing you experience pleasure, even if it wasn’t his body giving it to you. He liked when someone was fucking you and your hazy eyes found his as he stroked himself. 

Sure, there were a lot of other handsome players across the league, but none of them ever really fit the bill of what you were looking for. They were usually arrogant and bullheaded, which to be fair, was something that helped their game, but it didn’t appeal to you. That’s why, when after moving to Toronto, your eyes fell upon a certain goalie. Maybe you had a type after all.

Joseph Woll was the tall, slim and sweet player that you felt could potentially fill that roll. It took awhile for you to express your attraction to Anthony, because you were embarrassed. Up until this point, the firm boundary of no teammates had never been a problem, but you couldn’t deny that you really wanted Joe. Your husband had just chuckled upon your confession, your cheeks red and warm as you finally told him how you felt.

“That one would be a tough sell. I really don’t think Woller would be up for that,” he let you down gently. You couldn’t hide your disappointment, but moved on when he broke the news. The attraction was still there, and Anthony only ever laughed and rolled his eyes when you laughed too hard at Joe’s jokes or let your touch linger on his bicep for a few seconds too long. 

Things changed one night when the guys went out for a drink after a hard fought win on home ice. The goalies had grown close over the season. Though he was new to the team, Anthony had more experience over multiple teams and years so he fell into a sort of mentorship role to Woll. They could relate on many things and they were grateful to have each other.

They sat at the bar and talk naturally turned towards their game and the tactics they liked to use. Now and then, other teammates would join their conversation, but at the moment, it was just them two. Eventually, Anthony decided to probe and steer their conversation towards a completely uncharted topic. He wanted to get a feel for the other man and see exactly where Woll drew the line in the sand. 

“And your dating life?” He finished the whiskey in his glass and gestured at the bartender to bring them two more. Joe just scoffed and swirled the alcohol around his glass and watched as the ice cubes clinked against each other.

“What, are you trying to embarrass me or something?” He started warily. He wasn’t sure where Stolie was going with this. The man was already married, and he wondered if he was trying to set him up with one of their friends.

“No, man, I’m just asking. You’re a good guy. No luck out there?” Some players chose to focus on hockey completely. They viewed a relationship as a distraction- though that didn’t prevent them from often taking a girl home on the weekend for some stress relief. He was wondering where Joe stood on all of this. 

“Not much luck. I feel like I don’t have enough time to start a relationship during the season, and I’ve only had a few hookups. And those… weren’t the best time for either of us, if I’m going to be brutally honest,” he said sheepishly. A light flush covered his cheeks and crept up his neck like he was embarrassed. 

“No? You’re a handsome guy,” Anthony shrugged his shoulders. 

“Yea, well, handsome only gets you so far when you have no idea what you’re doing. I cannot believe I’m telling you this right now,” he rubbed a hand across his face and wished he shut up minutes earlier. He would blame it on the alcohol in the morning.

This was the in that Anthony was looking for. He leaned in closer to Joe and lowered his voice so that no one else would overhear their conversation.

“Look, y/n and I have a unique situation when it comes to our sex life,” Anthony started.

“Y/n, as in your wife, Y/n?” Joe’s walls rose immediately as the skepticism filtered in. “Where is this going?”

“She’s into you and wanted to know if you’d join us for a night,” his eyes darted around the bar, and he was relieved that no one else seemed to be paying attention.

“But - you… you guys are married!” Joe’s mouth gaped open and closed like a freshly caught fish. It was endearing and Anthony could see what made you so interested. 

“Listen, you can say no and we can forget this conversation ever happened. Usually, teammates are completely off limits, but she’s interested and you seem to be having some… trouble. We could help you gain some confidence. I don’t have to touch you at all. Whatever you’re comfortable with,” he finished. Now the ball was in Joe’s court. Anthony was actually surprised to see the other man consider the offer. Maybe it was the fresh win or the whiskey impairing his decision making, but he actually thought of saying yes.

“I-” his mouth felt dry.

“Don’t feel like you need to answer now. Think it over. You have my number,” he finished the last of his whiskey and paid for their drinks. He got up from his seat and clapped Joe on the shoulder before leaving. 

It only took a few days for his phone to buzz and he shook his head, a smile growing across his face.

I’m in…

It took a few weeks to arrange things. It turned out to be the night after a bad loss. You would never tell Anthony, but those were always the best nights for you. The celebratory sex was good after a win, but there was something about the way your husband let go and took it out on you in the most delicious way after a loss. There was always a lot of weight on a goalies’ shoulders and they often took the brunt of criticism after a game. Now you would get to experience that times two. Joe had been in the net that night, and you were excited to take advantage of it.

You were ecstatic when you found out Joe had actually agreed. You’d been buzzing out of your skin since your husband showed you the text message. Planning took a little more effort and as every day passed, you were worried that he would back out, but here you were, finally sitting in your dimly lit bedroom with two beautiful men in front of you. Before anything began, it was important to discuss boundaries.

“We don’t do any hard BDSM, no piss or anything, and we check in with each other throughout the whole thing. And we use protection,” Anthony finished. You both sat on the edge of the bed, with you leaning into his side and stroking absentmindedly at his thick thighs that sat exposed from the shorts he wore. Joe sat across from both of you in a plush armchair. His eyes darted between you both and he swallowed thickly. 

“Do you think… Maybe this time we can forgo the condoms?” You asked looking up at your husband through your eyelashes. “We’re all clean and I’ve been on birth control for years now.” It wasn’t a ridiculous request, but rather a rare one. Before you ever got serious with each other, you’d had a conversation and agreed that neither of you were interested in kids. Because of this, you were never really interested in Anthony coming in you. Sure, it happened now and then, but with him it was always more about painting your body with his release. But Joe was pretty and inexperienced, and you had a feeling it would tip him over the edge. 

“Okay, no condoms then. As long as Joe is okay with that,” his warm hand drew circles on your lower back. Joe just nodded slowly, his eyes darting between the both of you. 

“What do you like, Joey?” You asked, playing with the nickname. Joe, though there completely of his own accord and agreement, looked tense and nervous. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I just want to make you feel good…” You trailed off and rested a hand on his knee, squeezing the warm flesh there. He jumped slightly from your touch like he couldn’t believe where he was.

“I… don’t know. I’ve never really explored that kind of stuff,” he tried to think of anything to offer, but his mind was completely blank and thoughts were hard to come by. 

“We’ll try some stuff… and we’ll keep checking in, okay?” You winked and your hand crept upwards. Joe may have been scared out of his wits, but that didn’t stop the obvious tent from showing in his sweatpants. It made your mouth water and you couldn’t wait to get your hands on him. He nodded slowly, his mouth hanging open. Anthony pulled you closer into his side and nuzzled into your neck, breathing the scent of you in and placing open mouth kisses along the hot skin. You tilted your head to allow him better access and reveled in the scratch of his beard across your skin. 

“Joey can watch for a little bit - get used to things,” he mumbled into your skin. You hummed and your hand came to rest on Anthony's jaw and pull his mouth up to yours. It was like the sweetest release when his lips finally met yours. You never tired of his kisses and you melted into him, your legs coming up to drape over his lap. It started slow and sweet, his lips moving over yours almost lazily like you weren’t in any rush. It allowed you to peek your eyes open and look over to see Joe watching in complete awe. His eyes were wide and his pupils blown large at what was taking place in front of him. 

Anthony pushed you until you were laid back across the mattress and shifted so he was now between your legs. His body almost completely covered yours. The kisses grew deeper, his tongue swirling in your mouth. You could feel his arousal against your thigh and you wanted to grind up against him, but didn’t want things to get out of hand too quickly. 

You pulled back slowly from him and placed a few more light kisses on his lips and cheeks. You felt breathless already. 

“Can I kiss Joe?” You asked. You knew his answer would obviously be yes, but it was a part of your shared routine to continuously ask for consent along the way, especially if someone else was involved. 

“Of course, baby,” he pulled himself off of you. As he kneeled back in the bed, he stripped off his shirt which made you second guess pulling back from him. After all this time, you never tired of his body. Instead, you chose to trail one hand down his torso as you got up from the bed.

You sat on Joe’s lap, running your fingers through his hair to push it out of his face. He stared at you with his blue eyes that made your mind flicker back to your husband on the bed behind you. 

“Is this okay?”

Joe just swallowed hard again, his eyes flickering down to your lips as he nodded.

“Words, baby,” your thumb ghosted over his bottom lip.

“It’s okay.”

Leaning in to connect your lips to his, the kiss started light, but there was a quiet desperation to the way Joe moved against you. He was unsure of himself and didn’t know what to do. His hands hovered over your waist, not sure where to land. 

“You can touch me,” you said against his mouth as you broke between kisses to catch air. You took his wrists in your hands and planted them firmly on your waist. It provided stability and allowed you to take full advantage of being on his lap. This gave him a confidence boost and the kiss deepened. His hands held onto you, squeezing the soft skin on your hips and wandering down. You took the cue to shift on top of him so that your thighs rested on either side of his lap. He groped your ass as you pressed down on him, feeling the hardness there against your core. It elicited the first sound from him - just a small hum in the back of his throat but it was all you needed to continue your ministrations on top of him, swirling your hips in a figure eight and running your hands up his chest to tangle in his hair. 

Another set of hands divided your attention as they ran over Joe’s and around to your front to knead at the supple mounds of your breasts over your bra. Anthony’s lips attached to your neck as he kneeled behind you. Even on his knees, he was equal height with you and his warm, bare chest pressed against your back. It was already overwhelming to have both of their hands on you and you craved to move forward. Your husband sucked on a particularly sensitive spot on your neck and bit softly at the skin before laving his tongue over the red spot. This earned him a soft whine that was swallowed by Joe. You felt hot and itchy, like you needed more. 

You pulled back from Joe, admiring his red swollen lips and his hair that was now thoroughly disheveled - he looked downright gorgeous. You brushed your thumb along his jaw and pressed one final kiss to his skin before standing and turning your attention back to Anthony. You were past the need for subtle build up, your mind racing over all the things you wanted to do. Running your nails down his chest, you placed a singular kiss on his pec before sinking down on your knees in front of him. 

“We’re gonna test your ability to speak up. Don’t be afraid to ask if you see something you like,” you said over your shoulder to the man sitting in the chair. You wasted little time in pulling your husband’s shorts down, and he kicked them into the corner of the room. His boxers would follow shortly, but you wanted to take your time for the moment and give Joe time to adjust. You put your hands on Anthony’s hips, shuffling your bodies so that Joe could still get a good view of everything that was happening, but you could also look back at him. Your hand found the bulge in the briefs in front of you, palming over him. Your mouth kissed up his thighs and over the cock that was straining against the cotton. His hand came up to wind through your hair to take control of your movements. 

“You like that, huh? Teasing?” He breathed out, pressing your face into him. The mixture of hot skin and musky scent of him made your head dizzy. He never pushed too far, never called you names, but knew exactly how much turned you on. You moaned against him, the vibration traveling through the fabric. “That’s enough now.”

You didn’t need any more incentive, peeling away the fabric so that you could free him and give him exactly what he wanted. Anthony was a big man and that translated to many places. His hands were large, his digits always filling you to the brim when he fingered you. The same went for the thick cock that stood in front of you, leaking pre-cum from the tip. When you first started dating, it was intimidating to say the least. He always made sure to prepare you adequately and the stretch was incredible. 

Instead of looking up at him as you began to run your tongue over his hot skin, you looked past him to Joe. Your eyes didn’t leave his as you moved the muscle over his tip. You pulled back for a moment to spit into your palm before taking him further back past your lips. You hand fisted around the part of him that you couldn’t fit. You could gag over him and still not be able to take him all the way in. The obscene wet sucking sound filled the room accompanied by Anthony’s small hums as you worked over him. Blowjobs were nice, but he cared more about seeing you below him, happily working on him like you couldn’t get enough. It was one of your favorite parts of foreplay and often meant you got rewarded. 

A soft moan broke your eye contact and you looked again past your husband to see Joe sitting back in the chair, palming himself over his pants and looking at you with eyes half-lidded. It spurred you on to work harder on the man in front of you. You wanted Joe to gain the confidence and ask for what he wanted, so you decided to show him exactly what he was missing. You pushed yourself to take as much of Anthony in as you could, your tongue working against the underside of him and hollowing your cheeks. He knew exactly what you were doing, shaking his head and laughing quietly. A particular twist of your hand made him hiss out and bite his lip, his hand tightening in your hair.  

“I-” a voice broke you from your concentration. You stilled on Anthony, your mouth still enveloped around him and suckling lightly. He loved resting in your mouth - it turned him on to have complete control over you. You breathed carefully through your nose to not trigger your gag reflex as Joe spoke up from behind the both of you. 

“Can you- will you,” he struggled to find the right words. “I want your mouth on me,” his eyes flickered to Anthony as if he was asking for too much. The man only chuckled, tapping you to release him and he brushed your hair out of your face. He laid back on the bed to watch you pleasure the other man. You crawled over to Joe and ran your hands up his muscular thighs. Your hands drifted upwards and tugged at the hem of his t-shirt to signal that you wanted it off. He obliged eagerly, throwing it somewhere else in the room. 

Joseph was tall and slim - nowhere near as large as Anthony, but still beautiful. He was toned and his abs flexed as he sat back again. His chest was smooth and hairless, only a hint of hair on his stomach leading to the hem of his bottoms. He lifted his hips off the chair so you could drag down the fabric and dispose of it. You licked a stripe up his thigh and appreciated him fully naked on the chair. His arousal stood tall and achingly red against his stomach.

He wasn’t as big as Anthony, though not many were. It made your job easier and you couldn’t wait to make him come undone beneath you. You took him in your hand, fisting him slowly and watching the velvety skin stretch and retract as your hand moved up and down. His reaction was exactly what you’d hoped for. He groaned deeply, his head falling back and his eyes fluttering shut at the contact. Since his size was more manageable, you got to do something that you weren’t able to do often. You worked quickly on him, moving to take his pulsing cock into your mouth. Wasting no time, you bobbed up and down on him before sinking as far as you could, your nose hitting the skin of his pelvis and his pubic hair tickling you. 

“Fuck!” his hands flew to your hair before he could stop himself, entwining in the locks lightly. He didn’t hold you there but the shock of you taking him in caused him to tense and cry out. You swallowed around his length, gagging on him and pulling back to continue your movements. He didn’t seem the type to swear often, so you took it as a sign that you were doing something right.

Your cheeks hollowed as you sucked him, not wasting a second. You wanted to bring him to the edge and watch him squirm. From the way his mouth hung open and his abs flexed, you could tell he was barreling straight towards it. Your hands fondled his balls, rolling them in your fingers and squeezing lightly. It was then that you pulled off of him with a satisfying pop, giving him a few more lazy strokes before letting go. His chest heaved as he breathed deeply, looking down at you on your knees with wonder and disappointment that you stopped.

“The night is young. Plenty left to still explore, Joey,” you pressed one last kiss to his thigh before standing up. 

At this point, you were the only one still fully clothed. Both men were completely stripped, so you took the initiative to start pulling off pieces of your clothing, making a show of wiggling your ass at your husband as you pulled the leggings down slowly. He got up from the bed to assist you, running his hands over your bare skin every chance he got. Your shirt came over your head and was added to the growing pile of clothes. 

“You wanna help, hot stuff?” You held your hand out to Joe, knowing that all that was left was your matching bra and underwear, carefully chosen for this night. You wanted him to be the one to do it. He was still hesitant and almost scared to touch you, and you wanted that to change. Behind you, lips pressed into your skin once again and you could feel the hot arousal of Anthony’s cock against your lower back, contrasting the cool metal of his wedding band as his hands explored your body. 

Joe took your hand, pulling himself from the chair and standing in front of you. You still had to look up at him and he looked at you so softly it made your heart melt. He didn’t know how to handle you, so his default was to treat you like porcelain even if you’d taken much more before. 

You knew by now you had already soaked your panties through. Thick arousal was pooling between your thighs and you ached for someone to touch you. It was all becoming too much, the room hot with your combined sweat. 

Joe took the waistband of your panties, slowly pulling them down your legs and following them so he was the one kneeling now. You felt like a queen the way he looked up at you with intense admiration. It was his turn to place a soft kiss right above your knee once you stepped free of the fabric. The clasp of your bra came undone with the nimble hands of the man standing behind you.

“I want to eat you out,” Joe blurted like he wasn’t sure exactly how to broach the topic. “I want to taste you,” he was slowly gaining confidence, learning to use his words and express his needs. You hand found his chin, pulling him up from the ground. Your bodies pressed together, your front against his as your lips met again, this time with less reserve. You were sandwiched between them, your brain buzzing with the stimulus of their hands and lips all over you. Strong arms wrapped around your waist, breaking you away from Joe as you were thrown over a shoulder. Laughter escaped you as Anthony carried you to the bed and Joe watched with a smile on his face. It felt nice to lighten things up now and then and not get too caught up in the intensity of the situation. You were here to make each other feel good. A smack to your ass made you yelp and you returned the favor on Anthony as you had a great view. The next moment you were thrown onto the plush mattress of your king sized bed. 

“Think you can make her come with just your mouth?” Anthony smirked after he pulled away. You looked between the men standing over you - one confident and the other looking like a deer in headlights. 

“Oh my god, you’ve never gone down on a girl before, have you?” You propped yourself up on your elbows. Deep red spread across his cheeks as he looked around at anything but you. You felt bad for embarrassing him, but there was only one way for him to learn. You crawled forward pulling Joe to the bed and holding his face in your so he couldn’t shy away. “Anthony can help you,” you rubbed your hands up and down his toned biceps and leaned in to whisper in his ear, your lips brushing his skin. “I want your mouth on me, Joey,” you nipped at his ear lobe before pulling away. “I’ll tell you what feels good.”

“Okay,” he nodded, mesmerized by you. You laid back on the bed and let Anthony take control once again. He looped his arms around your thighs and dragged you to the edge. He was over the foreplay and dove right in. You could tell he was beginning to lose his patience and you knew you were in for it. There was probably very little teaching about to happen. 

He licked a stripe up your soaking folds, moaning into you like a man starved. His ability to pinpoint every part of you that set your skin on fire would never get old. He alternated between fucking his tongue into you and licking at your sopping cunt. His arms held you down when your hips bucked upwards to follow the stimulus. The air was filled with your moans and gasps when he focused on your clit, his lips wrapping around it and sucking. He didn’t mess around, and your hands held onto his hair like it was a lifeline keeping you grounded.

You managed to open your eyes to see Joseph watching intently, no doubt taking mental notes about what to do when it was his turn. His hand wrapped around his angry cock, giving it half-hearted pumps and squeezes.  

“So fucking good,” Anthony nearly growled into you. The warmth was growing and tightening in your lower abdomen. If he didn’t stop soon, you would be sent hurling over the edge.

You tapped Anthony’s shoulder desperately. One of his favorite things was eating you out, but you still wanted Joe to have a chance. He groaned like he didn’t want to stop, but relented and pulled off. He didn’t need you to pull him up your body - it was muscle memory this time. He hovered over you, engulfing you lips with his as you tasted yourself on him. His beard was soaked with your slick and it wet your chin. 

Anthony moved behind you, effortlessly moving you so that you were laying between his legs, your back to his chest. Joseph kneeled at the edge of the bed, finally getting a good view of you. From this position, Anthony could hold you down and also coach the other man through it. You knew you weren’t going to last long and the thought of them both eating you out was enough to have your mind whirling. 

“Start slow. Flatten your tongue and lick her from bottom to top,” Anthony began. You arched into his fingers as they ran over your bare breasts. He squeezed the mounds and pinched at your nipples. When you squirmed in his grasp, he placed one large palm on your stomach, pushing you back down onto him. You watched as the man between your legs worked through his fears. Whether or not he knew how hot it was, his eyes held yours as he put his mouth on you.

His tongue was hot and wet against you, his spit mixing with the arousal that was coating your inner thighs now. With the build up from the man before him, you knew you weren’t going to last long. You were worried how many orgasms Anthony had planned for you, but knew you would end the night feeling like jelly. 

“Fuck your tongue into her once she’s warmed up. And alternate between sucking and flicking your tongue on her clit. Try some things, but also watch to see what makes her react. That’s the biggest thing,” Anthony continued playing with your chest, now placing kisses wherever he could reach. Joe listened eagerly and did exactly what he was told. When he focused his tongue over your most sensitive spot your body jerked to try and chase the sensation. You weren’t holding back anymore, the pleas and moans spilling from your mouth almost non-stop.

“You can spit on her. She loves that,” Anthony encouraged. He held you firm as you were beginning to feel the pleasure and promise of release build. Seeing Joe go from scared to a man possessed was doing more than he knew. He pulled back, his chin glistening in the dim room and looked you in the eyes as he gathered spit in his mouth and let it drip from his mouth over you. He licked back up you to collect the saliva and continued his attack, wrapping his lips around your clit and sucking hard.

“Fuck, please,” you moaned, your eyes squeezing shut.

“That feel good, baby?” Anthony murmured into your ear.

“Yes, please don’t stop, Joey. I’m so fucking close,” you whined. Your husband’s grip lightened so you could grind your hips down onto Joe’s mouth. 

“Open your eyes, sweetheart. He wants to see your face when you come,” his hands traveled lightly over your skin and the extra stimulation drove you crazy. When you pried your eyes open, you saw the intense blue of his eyes, unwavering on yours.

Your first orgasm hit you in low waves. A single swear word flew from your lips as your hips stuttered against his mouth. Your moans were high pitched and breathless as the warmth and pleasure filled your limbs. Your hands held a bruising grip on your huaband’s forearms.

“Work her through it. Don’t stop until she’s twitching,” Anthony encouraged. Joe was a good student. He didn’t stop until you were gasping and trying to pull your hips away from him. It was too good; it felt like electricity moved through your body. He finally relented, removing himself from you, but there was a shine in his eyes that said something had moved within him. 

The room fell into silence as they allowed you to recover. Your body felt numb as the aftershocks coursed through you. Sweat covered your brow and you melted into the body holding you. A soft kiss to your temple brought you back yourself and you let out a soft sigh.

“You did so good, baby,” more kisses followed. “But I’m not done with you yet,” his voice fell lower. “There’s a lot for us to show Woller, no?” His lips traveled down and kissed along your neck. 

“That was probably the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Joe spoke up, which earned a weak laugh from you. He still kneeled on the floor and you ran your fingers through his soft hair. 

“You did a great job, Joey. You’re a fast learner,” You sat up with support from the man behind you and felt your blood pressure equalize. 

“I have an idea,” the voice from behind you said. That was always a dangerous set of words coming from Anthony. It meant you were barely going to make it through the night. Of course, you could always tap out or use your safe word, but the arousal that had been temporarily satiated now began to grow again. “Lay back on the bed, baby,” Anthony helped you move from him to lay back against the pillows rested against the headboard. 

“You gotta warm her up before you fuck her, Joe. Use your fingers,” Just like he became a mentor on ice, he was now helping his teammate in a different way. His words were commanding and it sparked something within you. Joe was so eager to please and listened, that the idea of tying him up and having your way with him flashed through your mind. Maybe you could do this again sometime and see if it was something he would like. 

For now you came back to the present moment, watching the two men stand at the edge of the bed. Joe stepped forward, stroking your thighs and ghosting around the area you wanted him to touch this most. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asked.

“Please,” you sighed, opening your legs for him and inviting him in. He climbed on the bed to hover over you and kissed you deeply. You moaned into his mouth when his fingers swept through your cunt, collecting the juices on his fingers before sliding a finger inside of you. His touch was unsure, like he didn’t know how to move his fingers, so he settled for pumping them in and out of you slowly. He added a second finger that slid in easily with how wet you were.

It wasn’t bad, just nothing special. It was clear he was working on auto-pilot and wasn’t paying much attention to what worked for you because he didn’t know. He needed a little extra help. 

“Anthony,” you beckoned your husband over to give him some guidance. You could tell Joe what to do, but you wanted the other man’s hands on you and it was sexy when he took control. He joined you both on the bed and watched as Joe worked over you. 

“Can I help you, Joe?” he asked, this time softer. He didn’t want the other man to feel inadequate, but wanted rather to guide him. 

“Am I doing something wrong?” He looked between the both of you. You didn’t want his confidence to waver.

“Just need some tips,” Anthony mussed Joe’s hair and it was a moment of sweet vulnerability between the men that reminded you that they were close friends. Anthony turned his attention to you, taking his two forefingers and dipping them into your mouth to wet them. You felt Joe’s fingers still inside of you as he watched the erotic scene unfolding. You suckled on the digits, weaving your tongue between them and staring up at your lover. He removed his fingers from your mouth, a string of spit connecting the two of you for a moment before it split. 

His fingers caressed underneath Joe’s before slowly pushing in alongside them. The stretch was almost too much and your hands found Anthony’s forearm, holding him still as you adjusted. The sight of both of them hovering over you, filling you to the brim, was pornographic. Instead of having to take turns, they now worked together on you. You nodded at them to begin moving as your walls stretched to accommodate them together. 

“You don’t just want to move in and out. Curl your fingers. Like this,” You felt Anthony’s larger digits guide Joe’s. With each thrust of their fingers, they curled together to brush the soft spot inside of your eyebrows furrowed, your mouth dropping open in ecstasy.

“Fuck that’s it, baby,” Joe breathed out. The instant change left him aching to replace his fingers with his cock. It was becoming painful and he hoped you’d let him bury his length inside you before the night ended. The pet name didn’t bother Anthony - it happened in emotional times like this, and he knew how much pet names worked for you. 

Your hips began to move in tandem with them, angling yourself whenever their fingers curled to match the rhythm and grind down on them. This was a completely new experience and your second orgasm was creeping closer. 

“You can do this, too, but it might be too much right now. She’s all filled up,” Anthony’s fingers scissored inside of you and you cried out at the stretch as Joe followed suit. 

“Shit, shit, shit. Sooooo good,” Your eyes nearly rolled into the back of your head. You whined as one set of fingers left your cunt, leaving you feeling emptier than you would have liked.  A low buzz caught your attention, and you opened your eyes to see Anthony pulling one of your favorite vibrators from the bedside table. 

“Don’t want to leave any part of you neglected,” Anthony climbed back onto the bed and kissed you deeply before pulling back. His fingers joined Joe’s once again, followed by the deep vibration pressed directly to your clit. The moan that ripped from your mouth filled the room. 

The men resumed their movement, their fingers hitting the spot deep inside of you combined with the vibration of the toy pressed directly to your bundle of nerves. Your vision went white as your second orgasm hit like a truck. You left your body as the pleasure consumed every part of you, much stronger than the first. Only once you were whimpering and weakly batting at the arm that held the vibrator against you did they pull away. 

Your chest heaved as you laid boneless on the bed, waiting to return to yourself. Anthony laid next to you and pressed soft kisses along your face. You pawed at Joe’s hand, weakly trying to pull him to you as well. He obliged eagerly, his arms resting over your waist. 

“You got one more in you, baby?” Your husband murmured into your ear.

As tired as you felt, you knew that you were the only one that came so far, and the want to satisfy them outweighed the heaviness settling into your bones. 

You nodded into the warmth of your husband’s chest, placing weak kisses there. 

“Good girl. Bend over the bed. Joe can lay here and watch before it’s his turn,” he gave you one last kiss before getting up. You scooted to place your feet on the carpeted floor and bent over the duvet, resting yourself there so you could watch as Joe once again took himself in his hands and twisted his hands around his cock. 

Anthony settled behind you, a singular smack echoing around the room followed by his hand smoothing over the stinging skin. His strong hand held onto your hips as he guided his length through your folds, collecting the excessive wetness there before slowly pushing into you. 

He always filled you so perfectly, stretching you so that you molded around him. A deep groan fell from him as he finally seated himself fully within you. There was nothing better than sinking into your heat and feeling you tight around him. 

“So fucking good. So tight around me. This pussy was made for me, huh?” He punctuated each sentence with a long thrust, pulling himself out and then slamming back into you. His hips hit your ass with each move, pushing you further onto the bed. Even if you brought other people in often, it was clear who you belonged to at the end of the day. 

“Fuck, just for you,” your hands fisted into the sheets as he set a brutal pace. He pulled you back onto him every time his hips moved forward and the sound of slapping skin filled the room. Even after both of them fingering you and stretching you out, he was always almost too big for you. It turned you on that he had to work you open and split you with his length. You would never grow tired of the feeling of him pounding into you.

“You gonna let Joey fuck you after this?”

“Please,” you gasped as he angled his hips and abused the soft spot within you. He could tell he was hitting all the right spots and slowed his thrusts to drag against your walls. He knew if you came again, it would be your last and he wanted Joe to have his turn. With much reluctance, he pulled away from you, leaving you cold and empty. 

“Go on then, sweetheart. He’s waiting,” he smoothed his hand over the handprint on your ass once more before pulling away completely. You scrambled to climb on the bed and fill yourself again, missing the feeling of being filled. You muscles ached and you knew you’d be sore in the morning, but it was all worth it. 

You climbed on top of Joe, grinding yourself down on him and sliding his dick through your pussy. He was already moaning, and you knew after all this waiting that he was not going to last. You took him in your hand, swiping once more through your heat before sinking down on him. 

He wasn’t as long or thick as Anthony, but he still filled you nicely, hitting different spots than the other man. You bottomed out on him, quickly moving to grinding down on him. The sounds spilling from his lips were beautiful as he watched where your bodies connected, pulling himself out of you before you sunk back down. 

His hands dug into your hips and you wondered if bruises would bloom there in the morning.

“Touch her, Joe,” Anthony prompted. He fisted himself watching the love of his life get off on his teammate. Joe’s hand dropped to your clit, rubbing quick circles around the puffy, swollen skin. 

“Oh, shit. Don’t stop,” you moaned. You wanted to give it right back to him. “Fuck, that pussy feel good, J? You’ve been so good. You deserve this, don’t you, baby?”

His thrusts were growing faster and sloppier, and it was a race to see who would come first. His mouth hung open as he concentrated on chasing his high and making sure you followed after.

“You wanna fill me up?” You said putting the last bit of your energy into meeting each of his thrusts and bearing down on him. His head fell back to the pillows as he whimpered. 

“Please let me come in you,” his teeth were grit as he tried to hold on long enough for you to give him the go ahead, but he was quickly unraveling. 

“I want you to, Joey. Wanna come with you and have you fill me. Please,” you squeezed down on him as he swiped his thumb over your clit. His head was cloudy and he didn’t know how much longer he could last. Your hips stuttered as your last orgasm of the night washed over you, your walls spasming around him and pushing him over the edge. His hips hit once, twice more before he buried himself in your and filled you with his hot come. Your moans chorused with one another as you let the pure pleasure consume you. 

There was only one person left in the room who hadn’t come yet, and you knew exactly what he wanted. Removing yourself softly from Joe and feeling the mixture of your releases drip down your legs, you climbed off the bed to kneel once more in front of your husband. The hand around his length quickened as you waited, your mouth open and tongue sticking out to catch his come. His blue eyes held yours as he pumped himself, his hand twisting and squeezing. Seeing you so ready and willing below him burned in his lower stomach and his face scrunched as he felt the release building.

He came with a deep groan, your own hand reaching to cover his and milk his cock, feeling the warm semen hit your cheeks and tasting the bitter substance on your tongue. You leaned forward to take him in your mouth gently, cleaning off the rest of the white liquid that dripped from him. 

He left you for only a moment, returning with a warm, wet washcloth to wipe down your face. You smiled up at him as he took care of you. The heavy atmosphere has dissipated and his soft, warm self had returned. He scooped you up easily from the floor and transferred you back to the plush bed, making sure to wipe gently between your legs to clean you off. 

You laid between the two men - the room quiet and smelling of sex. You were all tired and satiated. You could talk about the details later, discuss feelings and whether or not something like this would happen again. For now, you were content with laying between them, their body heat radiating and keeping you warm. Anthony’s arm wrapped around your waist to hold you close as you drew shapes absentmindedly into Joe’s bicep.

“Feel free to stay the night, Joe,” you murmured as the exhaustion finally hit you and you began to drift off. “I make a mean pot of coffee…”

[httpuckdrop]

ashes – day 5

series masterlist

it really was a coincidence that you already had his number saved in your phone when he texted you.

jack: hey

one of your best friends, jenny, had another friend who came along with you all that night. she was a loud woman with blonde curls called anna and she was, you had now learned, engaged to a hockey player in the local nhl team. you'd never cared much for sports in general, and especially not hockey. anna was quick to catch up on that fact the morning after you met jack, when you were supposed to go out for brunch with jenny and anna happened to tag along.

the boy you were chatting to last night, jack, she had started, sipping her orange juice before continuing. you did get his name, right? he's a good friend of my fiancé, a great player too.

you had thought and hoped that she would be able to read from your uninterested expression that you wished for the conversation to end as soon as it started. however, she had not been the quickest to pick up on your hints.

i've never seen jack look at someone like that before, you should totally hit him up! he's single, you know.

you'd sure hope so, considering the things you were up to in his apartment.

you had told anna that you didn't want anything to do with him, but she had insisted; at least save his number, you never know!

jenny had agreed, going off for a moment about your (empty) love life and how you haven't really looked happy since you broke up with that boyfriend over a year ago. the whole conversation had made you nauseous, and you had eventually agreed to add his number to your contacts just to shut them up.

since then, you'd forgotten about it, until the moment he texted you. you spent about fifteen minutes trying to figure out some kind of response – what even do you say to "hey"?

you: how did you get my number? lol

you felt a little guilty right after sending it, the tone maybe a little harsh; you usually greeted people back when they texted you. but maybe it was for the best. you didn't want him to get any false hopes.

your phone pinged again just a minute later.

jack: from anna! she said you two talked abt me, that i should hit you up

jack: well, i WANTED to hit you up also. :)

it kind of scared you how quick your heart was to flutter in your chest. this was not supposed to happen. before you could even answer, yet another message appeared in the chat.

jack: you free for dinner tonight?

a man not afraid of a triple text should've excited you. instead you shook your head and typed a quick response.

you: dinner?...

jack: i want to take you out for dinner, is that okay?

you shouldn't even have considered it. you never before even considered meeting a one-night-stand again, especially not for dinner. maybe it was because the other part was never interested in it, maybe it was because you thought it was against all and any code of conduct. either way, it was just easier like that.

so why did your fingers suddenly live a life of their own? why was there a message from you saying yes to his request when you looked back down at your phone again?

he surprised you that night. you knew from the first time you met that he was a good listener – though, you had assumed it was just because he was trying to woo you enough to go home with him – but he was a great talker, too. not in the sense that he talked a lot, but in the sense that whenever he did talk, you found yourself realizing he was more complicated than you initially thought. he wasn't just trying to win you over; he was trying to let you see him, piece by piece, each one carefully chosen.

you didn't know what the procedures or rules were when it came to this kind of meeting. was it a date? was it just a pre-hookup meal? was it something more? nonetheless, you weren't surprised that the dinner ended with you following him home to his apartment.

he wasn't just good at listening and talking, but at making you feel good, too. you knew you were already walking on the fine line between a regular hookup and something else – not that you were sure what the other thing would be. friends with benefits (could you even be friends with benefits if you weren't friends to start with?), fuck buddies (is there even such a thing these days?), or something completely different?

curled up into his side with a duvet lazily thrown across your stomach, you distracted yourself from your many thoughts by drawing shapes into his chest. little stars, quirky stick figures, ugly cats. "something on your mind?" he asked, a chuckle rumbling beneath his chest at the sight of you cuddling closer to him.

"this... hockey thing," you started, gazing up at him for the first time in a long while. "you're pretty good, aren't you?"

there was a shrug of his shoulder, though his expression stayed plain. "i guess so."

"you have your own wikipedia page. and you were some kind of first pick, whatever that means." this, however, forced his lips into a grin. "that's not just pretty good. that's amazing."

"i guess so."

he yelped at the feeling of your hand slapping his chest, a groan slipping past his lips. "why didn't you tell me? when we first met?"

"you didn't seem like you cared," he said honestly, and you pushed yourself up a little on the bed to look at him better. "so i didn't think it was necessary. besides, it's a job like any other."

"i told you all about my studies, and you just said that you work with hockey!" you exclaimed, fingers forming quotation marks in the air. "that's hardly fair, and it's not a common job!"

"i was wearing a team cap! i assumed that if you knew, you'd say something!"

you merely shook your head, pausing for a few moments to just stare at him. "i'll forgive you for now," you say, puckering your lips. "for the low price of five kisses."

"taken."

the thing that surprised you the most was how much you enjoyed spending time with him, how easy it felt. he was handsome and had a sweet smile and he was a great lover, sure, but you still hadn't expected to have this good of a time with him. it was almost enough to make you spend the night.

almost.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hi :) how are you? If you still write for creepypasta can I request a reader who is new to the mansion and how the characters of you're choosing try to bond with them?

Various crps x newcomer!reader

OOOUUUYGHHH anon I'm so sorry for taking so long to get to this 😭😭 this is like... an old ask

Characters: laughing jack, nina the killer, slenderman, jeff the killer

Notes: gn reader, you're a creepypasta, slender mansion au, you're new to this WOO, short post, written on mobile

CWs: canon typical violence and death

SLENDERMAN

He... doesn't actually do that much around the mansion. Of course he keeps everything in order and demands some level of control- house rules and stuff... and he doesn't really.. let you go out with him in the woods when it's feeding time for him...

The best way to bond with him is to ask questions. I like to think that he's a naturally curious creature- and even with so many people in the mansion... well, watching and interacting are two very different things! He already knows a lot about you thanks to his observations... but it's always nice to get a closer look... so much more interesting than breaking into someone's mind himself

If you ask nicely and it's a good day he'll let you accompany him in the woods for a walk- its... actually really peaceful out when someone's not getting murdered (or murdering)... flowers are nice.. and the animals are cool

NINA THE KILLER

Either stays in or goes out! Really you get to make the final call...but just know if you go out with her you're not coming back for a WHILE- and you're gonna need some time to recover

Lots of physical activity in the form of movement- she goes all around town... really fast... good luck keeping up with her. Loves yoinking stuff from shops (she WILL drop you if you steal from a small business though)-- clothing, snacks, things like that

But staying in? Want a low key and calm (well, as calm as you can get with her) night? She doesn't mind staying in her room with you listening to music! Let her paint your nails- or make stuff with her! I personally hc that she makes jewelry and accessories for herself-- you guys can match!!

JEFF THE KILLER

He doesn't like staying cooped up in the mansion for long. As soon as he can reasonably go out he's gonna bolt... he GUESSES you can tag along if you can keep up with him. His choice in fun ain't for the faint hearted or buzzkillers

That said... most of his activities USUALLY start out innocent enough- running about getting (stealing) stuff. A man's got cravings you know! Or just sneaking into places to check stuff out...

...though the moment conflict starts that usually when blood starts being shed. One of these days he's gonna get caught but for now you've just gotta book it with him back into the woods

LAUGHING JACK

He tends to go along with what everyone else is doing... not in a follower way, more like a "I'm nosy and wanna see what everyone else is up to kind of way" so of course he's going to bounce on the chance to hang out with you... just don't be toooooo boring!

He doesn't have many hobbies that he himself likes... sure he likes.. uhm.. well, clown things, but he's still got some of that caregiver funny man appeal to the people mentality- even if it's faint... he's changed a lot over the time he's been around..

Love the idea that he's fascinated with technology since he doesn't get much of a chance to interact with it in the modern day- show him some mobile game (bonus if it's two player) and he's going to be keeping you online for hours

...he might scratch up the screen though... claws and all...

[one-mysterious-user]

Flowey is the third hero (crackpot theory)

This is a huge hear me out but I'm callin' it. I strongly don't believe Ralsei is part of the prophesied hero trio, along with Kris and Susie. The whole FUN gang is a sham. And we're getting a new party during or immediately after chapter 5. That's right, as early as that.

Now listen. Come closer. Yes.

It is very likely that very soon the player will be separated from Kris, which will also mean being completely separated from the FUN gang. The soul shenanigans were interesting but I do not see the dynamic between Kris and us remaining the same until chapter 7. I think our connection will be severed in some way prematurely. We're getting divorced - willingly or not.

And the next most logical thing is for us would be to reunite with our vessel, possibly getting some Gaster dialogue in the process as well. I think the dude will have figured out how to get it back for us, he has plenty of time until 2026. Are you listening? Pay attention now.

So we will be back in the game, but we will be in need of two more party members. Noelle, of course, being the suspected true second hero, will be our recruit. All of this could happen during chapter 5, since we know she will be there and that... seems like the perfect time. For what you might ask? Ho ho.

Because that's when I believe the Roaring will happen.

Right when we are at Asgore's place during the festival. And it is there that we will encounter a familiar face in the dark world. Yes... Flowey. (No Papayas?)

"Doesn't Ralsei fit the bill better though for the third hero?"

Yeah, he is a lonely prince, alone in deepest dark, just as the prophecy states. But... he doesn't seem like the type to switch party for me. I don't think he will abandon Kris and Susie just to come with us. (If those two are fake, then he's fake too by association smh...) The implications of Snowgrave are another reason why we would need a whole new party anyway. Kris already had a huge crashout, Susie might definitely find out something is up and Ralsei... He would never go along with our schemes, prophecy or not. Despite his worldview and his low opinion of himself as a darkner, I believe there is a fine line he would not want to cross.

So to keep things less complicated, we're getting another messy divorce (with Ral).

Now there are people saying that the third hero will be Asriel instead if Ralsei is no-good, but dat dude is probably buried in uni work, he ain't coming for this nonsense early. Trust meh.

"This goes against the rule of having Undertale characters take up the spotlight."

Yeah, this is a big problemo. But doesn't that assumption make this turn of events... completely unexpected? Tobz already broke the formula we all thought he was gonna follow for the secret bosses and chapter flow. Who's to say he can't chose to do something like this?

"Flowey is built different. He doesn't even look like the person in the mural."

[[[Pic goes here]]]

My only salvation is the fact that they have a hood on. And... wait, I don't see any legs. And is that- fire magic?? Haha... hahahaha!!! You know who else can use fire magic? The weeds in my garden after I blast them with it!! Okay, look. Yes, we have not seen Ralsei use this type of spell. Which means we either will... or this is someone else who happens to be Dreemurr-core. And I'm sticking with it.

"Anything else you wanna add before I blast you with it?"

Yes. This.

This is the only other character that we know of that refers to himself as a Prince. Lancer... you don't count. Get him out of my sight. No, Lancer is not the- wait a minute...

In all seriousness though, if a certain flower appears again in our adventures, I do not think it will be the same Flowey that we know of. There is something about that room Asgore keeps all those pots in. It's dark with no windows, it almost feels like a basement even though it's clearly not. Maybe... just maybe, a very specific type of darkness can be created here. One that can mold a darkner who can cross the dark worlds like Ralsei can, another prince. What would the criteria be for creating a fountain with the same pure darkness? What makes Castletown so special? Was the will of the one that created it stronger then? Were intense emotions involved? We shall see.

But it would be fitting  wouldn't it? The shop's name is Flower King after all... And since Asgore looks after those flowers like they are his children, maybe, just maybe, there is a possibility that something along these lines can happen.

[writefightblog]

Welcome To Writefight!

A while back, I made a post musing about how artfight looks so cool, how much I wished there was a version of that for writers, and to my surprise, people actually told me they were interested! I thought the post wouldn't gain any traction, but instead, I found some like-minded users, and so...here we are! Writefight!

Okay, that's not much of an intro, but shhh

Like artfight, it started on July 1 (time zone doesn't matter), but it will go until August 31 due to me starting things on such short notice (sorry!). Participants will "attack" each other during that time by writing one-shots about each other's characters. You can involve as many characters as you want, or just focus on one.

Now, in artfight, the players are separated into two teams, and the teams attack each other; here, though, I was thinking we could just do a free-for-all where anyone can attack anyone, since this is a small group.

After receiving an attack, you can counter the attack by writing a one-shot about the attacker's characters, or you can pay it forward by attacking someone else.

In artfight, the attacks are scored with points, and the team with the most points at the end wins, but I'm not sure how we would do that here, so I figure we can just all attack and have fun and all be winners :D

First, though, post refs! Unlike artfight, these don't need to be visual, but images of the characters certainly can be in there. What we need are descriptions of the character's personality, mannerisms, backstory, role, relationships with other characters from the same story/canon you also have refs for, that sort of thing. If your characters are from a story up on the internet, link it! Snippets are also great! It would also be a good idea to talk at least a bit about the setting the characters are in, so I'd recommend grouping character refs by story/world/concept/whatever you're cooking. And if you can’t find a way to turn your vibes into words, just a link to the story is fine; you don’t need big detailed descriptions of each character! Just do whatever you’re comfortable with.

As in artfight, we should all also list any things we'd be uncomfortable with in terms of receiving attacks. For example, you might not want anyone to attack you with something gory or nsfw, or involving certain subjects. Or perhaps there's a certain character you wouldn't want to be involved in certain scenarios. We're small writers, and we want to be considerate, so let's make sure to put that in the refs as well.

Some other notes:

There's no limit on the amount of characters you can have refs for, though I'd recommend organizing them by either putting them all in one post or having one post per story/setting.

No minimum or maximum wordcount for attacks. We all write in different ways, and they're all valid :D

This probably goes without saying, but, y'know, be nice, follow standard internet etiquette, all that stuff.

By "characters", I'm going by artfight's general rules: original characters from original stories/concepts, original fanfic characters, and AU versions of canon characters.

Now, to put all the writefight stuff in one place, tag your refs and attacks and such with #writefight, and @ this blog, and I'll reblog them all.

(In terms of attacks, they can be posted wholly here on tumblr, or you can just post them on a writing site -- ao3, for example -- and link to them, or do both! Also, be sure to @ the participant you're attacking.)

A list of refs can be found here. I'll keep updating it as more ref posts come in!

Similarly, a list of attack links will go here.

I'm excited! Let's all have fun together and celebrate writing :D

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

Lily Evans had always been on James Potter's radar. At the beginning she had been the annoying girl who followed the rules, never did anything fun, and never let anyone do anything fun. Then, she had been one of the first girls James had noticed as pretty and hot when he hit puberty. At that time, Lily Evans had been a game to prove something to his friends and annoy Snape.

Later, James had dated other girls and was sure the Lily Evans dilemma was done and over.

Lily Evans was just another girl James knew. Not interesting enough. Just another classmate he loved to compete with and piss off. That was it, right?

It was purely coincidence that James couldn't get his eyes away from her now. It was simply weird that she wasn't in the common room with her nose stuck in a book, but rather socializing. And with a boy for that matter... What was his name again?

The bloke was making her laugh like a fool. She even had her cheeks slightly pink. She seemed to be having fun. Lily Evans didn't know how to have fun, did she?

Was was going on? Penny Prefect Evans didn't socialize. Her only friend was Snivellus and that was sad because he couldn't be considered a good friend even.

Now a boy, a stupid boy was making her laugh out of nowhere?

James didn't like this. He didn't care. He just didn't like it.

"Who's that?" he asked casually to his friends.

They had been doing homework quietly, or rather trying to. It was mainly Peter playing on his Nintendo, Remus reading a book, Sirius on his lap, trying to bother Peter. And James tossing his rugby ball high and higher then grabbing it back. But homework nevertheless. A rather normal afternoon.

"Who?" Sirius asked, hitting Peter's head and distracting him.

"Sirius! I was in first place!" he protested. Sirius giggled.

James ignored his blond friend "That bloke talking with Evans" he shrugged at the end to emphasize that he didn't care.

The three boys turned to look, even Remus looked up from his book.

"Luke Gardener" the latter answered.

"Who?"

"He's a seventh year" Remus explained "Girls consider him cute. Shy, not hot or sexy but cute"

That wanker didn't look shy at all. He didn't stop talking. What was he even talking about?

"How do you know that?" Sirius asked with a giggle.

"I listen to girls' conversations without wanting sometimes" Remus said "They either consider me one of them or completely invisible. Whatever theory is possible"

"I'm pretty sure that's not true, Moony"

"Well, they certainly notice you" Remus shrugged. Sirius smirked.

James was not even paying attention. His focus was on the way Evans was flipping her hair back. It looked weird on her.

"Why is he even talking to Evans, anyway?" James snapped without thinking.

"I bet he is asking her for help with his homework" Peter intervened, still looking at the little screen.

It didn't look like it. Evans didn't like when arseholes wanted to ask her for help or wanted to pay her to do their work for them. James knew that. She wasn't Remus.

To confirm it, Remus said:

"Luke has top marks in everything..." then he blushed realizing what he said "So, I've heard"

What a wanker!

"Gardener, why does it sound familiar?" James tapped his chin.

"Wasn't a Logan Gardener our Rugby Captian in our thrid year?" Sirius frowned.

Yes! That was why that bloke was familiar. James remembered Logan Gardener from years ago. He was a killing rugby player, popular and had a cute blond girlfriend. James used to believe he was cool. But he didn't know he had a little brother.

"Right!" James frowned "Ha..." he hissed "It is still weird that Gardener would be talking to Evans..."

None of his friends seemed to even care.

"What do you think he wants from her?"

Remus and Peter were silent. Sirius let out a chuckle.

"Isn't obvious, Prongs?"

James raised an eyebrow.

"He wants a good snog and if he is lucky maybe a good shag"

As Remus hit Sirius's head, James was in shock. Apart from Snivellus, he wasn't aware of blokes being interested on Evans. Sure, she had grown to be prettier than she used to be. Sure, she had a nice body to look at specially when she wore a tight blouse. Sure, she even had a nice pair of boobs that James kind of stared when she wore a neckline.

But this was Lily Evans they were talking about. She was nosy, and annoying, and a teacher's pet. She was friends with Snivellus and nobody liked Snivellus. Everyone knew she was not for a snog. Worse a shag. You were more likely to get a good slap and a nice kick in the balls before getting to first base or even getting a chaste kiss from her.

Lily Evans was not that kind of girl. She didn't snog, she didn't date... Worse! She didn't shag....

James let out a nervous giggle that soon turned into a nervous laughter that sounded from an evil character from a Disney Movie. James's three friends looked at him like he had gone mental.

"Right..." he said as he continued laughing "That's ridiculous"

"Yeah," Sirius snorted "knowing his brother Logan's cute girlfriends, you would believe this bloke had better taste"

"Lily is pretty" Remus intervened "And rather nice"

"Isn't she dating Snivellus?" Peter asked, finally looking up from his console.

"They are not even talking" James responded immediately, eyes still on the weird scene "I think they got into a fight"

"That's why Gardener is taking his chance" Sirius said with a stupid smirk "Maybe he is getting better luck that you did on fourth year"

James loved Sirius but sometimes he wanted to hit his face when he did stupid jokes like those.

James had concluded that the Lily Evans Game was too difficult for him. And well, he started dating Mary and he stopped trying to get Evans's attention.

He had thought Evans was a lost case even. But Sirius was right, Luke Gardener was doing a perfect good job. And James didn't like it at all.

Call it pride, call it jealousy, James Potter didn't care.

"Well, we will see about that"

James wasn't good at thinking before acting. So he raised to his feet with determination.

"What are you doing, Prongs?" Remus asked rather scared.

James considered his answer "Giving a little enterteinment to this evening"

James knew that Sirius was going to sit up and grin in expectation. Peter even put away his console and Remus simply rolled his eyes.

With confidence, James walked towards the strange couple.

"And I even solve puzzles on my free time... You know those of pretty landscapes?"

God! This boy was a bloody nerd.

"Oh, those are lovely!" Evans was saying when James started giggling nervously behind them.

That's when they acknowdelged his presence and they weren't happy about it.

"I love puzzles too!" James lied "I even solve them with my dad all the time"

Lily wasn't even subtle when she rolled her eyes in annoyance. James ignored that.

"Potter" Gardener said "We were in the middle of something"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, in the middle of something important, Potter!"

A grin appeared on James's face as everytime Lily got cutely annoyed by him.

"Very well..." James chanted as he hit Gardener's shoulder "Bruce..."

"My name is Luke"

James raised an eyebrow "And what did I say?"

"You said Bruce..."

But Lily Evans interrupted.

"We're not in the mood for your stupid jokes, or pranks or whatever this is, Potter" Lily groaned "So why don't you just fuck off?"

"Rude!" James gasped "I was only reminding you of something you love, dear Evans..." and as he said this, he put his arm around her shoulder but she pushed him away "The rules, and how Jack here..."

"Luke..." he said under his breath with annoyance.

"Is breaking the rules by being here" James continued "It is almost carefew and no people from other houses are supposed to be in The Gryffindor Common Room"

"For your information, Potter!" Lily spat "It is barely 4 p.m and Anyway... Luke is a Gryffindor"

"Whaaat??" James frowned "You're not a Gryffindor!"

Gardener was losing patience "Yes, I am"

"How come I've never seen you before?"

The boy blinked "You have Potter, many many times..." he hissed "It's just that you didn't know I existed"

"Pfffff....." James placed his arms around their shoulders "That's funny..."

Lily pushed his arm away again.

"I knew your brother Logan"

"Yeah, I know"

"How is that old'chap?"

Lily Evans took a deep breath.

"What do you want, Potter?"

You. A voice said inside his brain. James panicked.

"Remus!" he thought fast "Remus wanted me to ask you if you'd replace him as your token Gryffindor male best friend"

James knew Remus was listening and fuming him with his eyes.

"Oh, I am not replacing Remus" Lily answered.

"Then.... Remus wants to know..." James cleared his throat as he placed his hands on his pockets "Why... Why do you hang out with this guy....Why?"

Lily snorted "Oh, Remus wants to know?"

"Yes!"

"Then why doesn't he ask me himself?"

"Because he is shy!" James snapped "And I am a good friend"

"Is that so?"

"Yes! I offered to ask you for him"

Lily turned to look at the spot where the boys where. The three of them immediately looked away and pretended to be doing something else. Very smooth....

"Well if Remus wants to know so badly..." Lily said rather pissed "You should tell him that Luke and I are not friends..."

"Oh really?"

Luke frowned rather hurt and James was satisfied.

"No, we are not friends...." Lily added "We are dating!!"

While all the color on James's face was gone, Luke Gardener looked like a Christmas Tree.

"We are?"

Lily hestitated. "Yes. As in boyfriend and girlfriend!" then she went as red as her hair.

James wanted to punch the grin out of Gardener's stupid face,

"Yes, we are, Potter"

When Gardener put an arm around Evans and she blushed, James wanted to die.

This was a lie. They couldn't be dating. Lily Evans couldn't be dating that random bloke. She was special. She deserved someone special. That's what James told everyone who believed Snape was her boyfriend in the past.

And it hurt. I hurt because who was Luke Gardener to have the previledge of being Lily Evans's first boyfriend. To make her laugh, to make her happy. To be able to kiss that beautiful mouth and hold her delicate waist. To be able to be the one she whispers for at night, and be the reason she smiles in the morning. To be able to touch her skin and make her shiver....

NO! NO NO NO NO.... James, get that image out of your head.

Maybe it was the fact that fourteen-year-old James had tried so hard to get her attention without results that it pissed him that a random Jake Gardener would make her say yes.

She deserved better!

"Youcannotbedating!!" James exclaimed with a high-pitched voice. It was rather embarrassing.

"For your information, Potter" Lily snapped "Yes, I can. I can do whatever I want"

Gardener was using that i'm-sorry-mate-but-actually-not sorry-fuck-you-i-won expression.

"And... It is none of your business, anyway..."

James shrugged "I was asking for Remus" he explained

"Whatever" Lily said, without believing him.

"Remus was just worried that you won't be spending time with him because of your...because of your... " he couldn't say it "because of him... Because of Bryan..."

"My name is Luke! Luke! It doesn't even rime with Bryan"

"Whatever, Mike"

Luke groaned.

Lily ignored that.

"Whatever I have to talk with Remus, I will talk with Remus face to face!" Lily spat "Thank you very much"

"Alright! I'll tell Remus exactly that"

"Well fuck off and tell him!"

"Yes I will!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Staring at Lily's beautiful angry face, James realized how much he wanted to kiss her right now. He was noticing the shades of yellow in her green eyes, Her freckles across her nose. Her long eyelashes and how wet and pink her lips were. Her thick ginger eyebrows and her browny shadow contrasting her pale skin.

Lily Evans was even more pretty than he thought.

She made James's heart jump inside his chest and feel something flying inside his tummy. And even some parts of his body began twitching.

What the fuck?

"I...should probably go..." Gardener interrupted the intense staring contest "I have homework to do"

Lily looked away first.

"No, Luke! Wait!" Lily said, grabbing his wrist. His wrist! "Do you want to maybe have a stroll outside...and ....talk?"

James blinked. Lily Evans didn't say no to doing homework. Lily Evans didn't blush for a boy and put a lock of hair behind her ear for a boy.

Gardener gave James a suspicious look. Then smiled at Lily.

"Sure, Lily" he said "I would like that"

James wanted to scream.

Lily gave him a nasty look before taking Gardener's hand. HIS HAND!, and walking to the door.

"Wait, Evans...."

James was going to follow them and maybe humiliate himself in the process. But luckily someone stopped him.

"Well, that was awkward" Sirius laughed. He laughed! "I can't believe Penny Prefect has a boyfriend"

James was miserable.

"I can't believe you used me for that stupid conversation" Remus tutted as he approached.

"And I can't believe...." Peter said, trying to feel included "I can't believe I lost my tournament to watch that pathetic attempt of flirting..." he laughed awkardly "That was embarrassing, am I right?"

"Years of attempts and Gardener just tried once and beated you, Prongsie" Sirius giggled.

"He didn't even try. It was Lily who asked him out so..." Remus shutted up when he saw James's expression.

"Will you fuck off?" James didn't sound offended, like they had hurt his pride. He sounded heartbroken and tired.

"It was a joke" Peter tried.

"Why do you even care, Prongs?" Sirius added "Evans Operation is far over... We don't care that you totally lost!" he grinned.

"BECAUSE I FANCY HER!" James screamed so hard that several people turned to look. His friends were in shock.

James blinked realizing what he had said and how true those words were. It wasn't about a game or a pride show anymore. He actually couldn't stop thinking about her. He thought of Lily Evans when he aced an exam, and wanted to see her angry reaction to his success. He thought of Lily Evans when he made a prank with his friends and wanted to see how pissed Lily Evans would be and how she would threathen them to tell a teacher. He thought of Lily Evans when he played rugby and he secretly wished she would be cheering from the stairs.

Everything he did was because and for Lily Evans. And dammit, he didn't care what others thought. Lily Evans was the prettiest girl in school.

"I fancy Lily Evans" he repeated more sure now "And it is real this time" he laughed "It is real"

James's friends were processing his words rather differently. Peter was openmouthed because he probably thought about all those times when Lily and James yelled at each other. Remus was smiling probably because he was a romance sucker and probably something like this happened to one of those characters from his books. And Sirius...

Sirius seemed to not like the idea at all.

"Prongs..."

"Piss off, Sirius" James said before his best friend would enlist all the negative things he could find in Lily Evans, and judging on how much Sirius hated her (as much as Snivellus), they were a lot.

"I want to be alone, right now" James added "Okay?" he smiled at the end. Just in case.

James was going to the only place he could think about his discovery. The Rugby Pitch. And probably drown himself in exercise.

[soph-the-podcast-nerd]

I was thinking about dnd and i think it would be really funny to watch the Si5 crew play dnd. So I will be head cannoning them.

(also this is just kind of how they would play because I’m too tired to decide what I think they would all play as lol)

Minkowski would DM of course. She would try to get everyone to follow the rules, and she loves to torture her players. She would make these entirely too complex story that no one follows and have voices for all the characters. Dnd really brings out her fun nerdy theater kid energy

Eiffel has no respect for the rules and does whatever he wants. And by whatever he wants I mean he makes up random shit left and right. Like he makes up random spells/weapons/items/etc and minkowskis just like THAT. IS. NOT. HOW. THIS WORKS. While he wont admit it hes having a lot of fun. Also probably the type of player to roll to seduce.

i think Hera would really really love playing dnd. She would make a really complicated character with a complex background and interesting traits and whatever. I think she would probably be the most into it, and she would be really OP just because shes good at it. She would also probably be pretty chaotic imo. Like immediately choosing violence for her character.

hmm i bet hilbert would be into making his own spells, home brewing characters, and being like. a necromancer or something . Idk. He seems like that kinda guy yknow. He would suggest more unethical stuff in the game, beyond normal dnd insanity. But still like. In a fun way.

Lovelace would either like to be really chaotic or really focused on the plot. I think shes a nerd and would either show a new side of her playing dnd and like just be a chaotic murder hobo, or be really into the plot and making sure everyone stays on the right path

i will probably add jacobi, kepler, maxwell, and maybe cutter later lol

[thydungeongal]

What do you think about trying to run tournament arcs in tabletop RPGs? Every tabletop blogger I follow always has something super interesting to say about the premise.

Tournament arcs obviously kick ass and are one of the greatest forms of storytelling, but there are a few issues with them in the context of TTRPGs that are not impossible to overcome but should be recognized.

First of all, most TTRPGs don't really model one-on-one combat too well. Since the focus in most RPGs is on some kind of group of guys going up against other groups of guys, their rules tend to be abstracted to a degree for the sake of making the resolution of multiple participants' actions quicker. In addition to this, they are often balanced with multiple characters in mind, so reducing both parties to just one character will inevitably affect how good the action feels.

The issue with most traditional TTRPG combat engines for the sake of the sort of combat that tournament arcs almost demand is that they're basically solved equations. You have two sides with numbers and you have them throw their numbers at each other until the other side runs out of numbers. What a one-on-one combat system that makes for dynamic combat almost necessitates is that characters have multiple available options which they can choose between from round to round, and which all have potential counters. In most TTRPG combat systems (because they're either concerned with group combat or not interested in modeling the type of combat spectacle you often get in tournament arcs) combat ultimately boils down to two sides making actions without caring about what the other side is doing. It doesn't matter if the goblin attacked last round, Gronar is still going to be attacking back.

So, either finding a system that natively supports it or modifying your current system to better support one-on-one combat. After that you've got another hurdle to overcome: how do you keep everyone engaged while just one (or at most two) player's character is in the ring? Well, you could take a page from World Wide Wrestling and have the other players' characters do color commentary. I mean, that's what they often do in the animes. Have the characters go like "The God-Killing Fist Technique? But it's one of the forbidden styles!!!" And so on. Point is, while the focus should still be on the guys fighting in the ring, you want to sometimes swing the spotlight around to showcase everyone else's reactions or even have a little B-plot going on outside of the ring! If you do decide to go for a whole B-plot, it should not be something that requires blow-by-blow resolution, because the focus should still be on the guys in the ring doing the fighting, so cutting into the B-plot should be the sort of thing where you and the players whose characters are involved in the B-plot can just have a brief exchange in between bouts, maybe one or two checks at most, and then we're back to the battle.

Once you do that you're sure to have a hell of a good time, because as stated: tournament arcs kick ass. Also, thinking about detailed one-on-one combat systems made me realize that Chainmail, which was by default assumed to be used as the combat system for 0D&D, did have separate systems for jousting and duels. So, like. In the context of D&D, the idea of separate systems for running more granular, zoomed-in combat is lost technology.

[justmeinabigolworld]

@spilledinkpot @ninjiisbetterthanyou @bunnybluemagic

So, a little while ago, we talked about maybe making a little "writefight" as like a writing version of artfight. If you guys are still interested, I've typed my idea for how it'd work here. Tell me what you think, if you have suggestions, etc.

Like artfight, it would start on July 1 (time zone doesn't matter) and go through the month. Participants would "attack" each other by writing one-shots about each other's characters. You can involve as many characters as you want, or just focus on one.

Now, in artfight, the players are separated into two teams, and the teams attack each other; here, though, I was thinking we could just do a free-for-all where anyone can attack anyone, since there aren't that many of us.

After receiving an attack, you can counter the attack by writing a one-shot about the attacker's characters, or you can pay it forward by attacking someone else.

(Bunny said that she's not so experienced with writing but can retaliate with visual art; this isn't some big formal thing with strict rules, so that's totally fine! Character art is so cool! Just remember that if you do choose to write something, the writing doesn't have to be the most amazing thing in the world, and nobody's gonna judge you when you're writing something about their characters; as Ninji said, most people are just excited to get a thing of their guys!)

In artfight, the attacks are scored with points, and the team with the most points at the end wins, but I'm not sure how we would do that, so I figure we can just all attack and have fun and all be winners :D

So, what do we do until July? We post refs! Unlike artfight, these don't need to be visual, but images of the characters certainly can be in there. What we need are descriptions of the character's personality, mannerisms, backstory, role, relationships with other characters from the same story/canon you also have refs for, that sort of thing. If your characters are from a story up on the internet, link it! Snippets are also great! It would also be a good idea to talk at least a bit about the setting the characters are in, so I'd recommend grouping character refs by story/world/concept/whatever you're cooking.

As in artfight, we should all also list any things we'd be uncomfortable with in terms of receiving attacks. For example, you might not want anyone to attack you with something gory or nsfw, or involving certain subjects. Or perhaps there's a certain character you wouldn't want to be involved in certain scenarios. We're small writers, and we want to be considerate, so let's make sure to put that in the refs as well.

Some other notes:

There's no limit on the amount of characters you can have refs for, though I'd recommend organizing them by either putting them all in one post or having one post per story/setting.

No minimum or maximum wordcount for attacks. We all write in different ways, and they're all valid :D

This probably goes without saying, but, y'know, be nice, follow standard internet etiquette, all that stuff

By "characters", I'm going by artfight's general rules: original characters from original stories/concepts, original fanfic characters, and AU versions of canon characters.

Now, to put all the writefight stuff in one place, I was thinking I'd make a sideblog and call it writefight or something similar. Refs and attacks and such would be tagged #writefight and would also @ that sideblog, and then I'd reblog them all. The sideblog's pinned post would list the rules and link to lists of the refs (and eventually attacks).

(In terms of attacks, they can be posted wholly here on tumblr, or you can just post them on a writing side -- ao3, for example -- and link to them, or do both!)

While I mostly made this post in response to the people who showed interest when I first talked about a "writing version of artfight", if anyone comes across this post and would like to join, you're all very welcome! It would be great to get some more people to join -- the more the merrier! You don't need to ask or jump through any hoops; just make refs and tag/mention them like I discussed two paragraphs above.

I'm so excited!!

Update: sideblog created! It's @writefightblog

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Neurodivergent!Hobie Brown Headcanons - Hobie Brown having AuDHD

Hobie Brown has AuDHD (Autism & ADHD) because I have AuDHD and I love him and want him to have AuDHD :) i was reminded of this and this is mostly me projecting so uhhh...here

____________________________________________________

Love the idea of Hobie Brown having ADHD and autism

Like his attention is shit. And he doesn't care.

He's always working or tinkering or planning away at something, writing some song, but he's never doing what 'he's supposed to do'.

He's Hobie - he's going to do whatever he wants to do and whatever strikes his fancy.

It's the ADHD. He procrastinates, and if you tell him to do something - yeah, he's not doing that

but when he needs to get something done he gets it done. ALWAYS. Somehow.

Miguel is asking for mission reports and he's like 'piss off m8'. He gets it done when he needs to don't ask questions

Super truthful. He doesn't see the point in lying. He's never mean about it, but he never hides the truth.

Stims a lot.

Always fidgeting with something. Doesn't carry stim toys cause he always loses them - fiddles with anything his hands come across instead

Chews on pens when he's trying to think or write a song

Fiddles with his piercings and lip ring a lot

Constantly losing his guitar pick, gets pissed off and can't find it even though it's right in front of him

He has ADHD-combined so sometimes he's pacing back and forth and other times he's just zoned the fuck out daydreaming

DOODLES on everything.

STICKERS everywhere.

Doesn't mask AT ALLLL

If he doesn't understand a joke he will ask - especially if he can tell it's meanspirited

Sleep schedule is wrecked. He hates the AM - and gets up at like 4pm. he's up at 2am playing electric guitar on the loudest volume and drinking a coffee at 8am before going to bed

Bounces his leg really really hard then tells people to piss off when they demand he stops

VERBAL STIMS. OH MY GOD

CONSTANTLY repeating song lyrics, even random ones. Repeats them to himself while pacing as a way to relax

Stims on his guitar, plays the same chord over and over and over.

The chords of 'Immigrant Song' - by Led Zeppelin is a popular choice of his

Gwen stims by tapping and drumming on things so they can be sitting there and play-stimming a song without even noticing

Doesn't follow rules he doesn't understand or thinks are unreasonable

Will argue with someone over it when confronted and tell them exactly why their rule makes no sense

He'll 'talk back' to authority and someone will be like 'Hobie you can't say that!!!' and he will genuinely be like 'why???'

Used to get put in 'time out' A LOT. Big 'problem child', always talking in class, wandering off, etc

Light sensitive.

His room dark as fuck boooooyyyy

Black out curtains, no clothes in the drawers, 12,000 unattended water bottles everywhere

NEVER makes the bed but has other cleaning routines he HAS to do

loves planning shit, planned out all of ASTV in detail, keeps really detailed notes of stuff

but his handwriting only makes sense to him

remembers everything about his friends but doesn't know what day it is

Time Blind as FUCKKKKKKK. So hard to get a hold of him or get him to text back.

You see him when you see him - either he's early or he's late as hell.

Says 'five minutes' but gets distracted or severely underestimates the time.

Special interest is his records and they mean a lot to him

Knows everything there is to know about every album he owns, takes really good care of them and his player - the only thing he'll spend money on

Very creative, has many creative projects he starts and stops and never really completes

10,000 half finished patches and prototypes

But he's really talented and handy because of it

Like he knows random ass statements in dozens of languages cause he memorizes the weirdest stuff and sometimes run into situations where he really needs it

Like the first time they go to Mumbattan looking for Pavi Gwen is like "ugh how are we gonna ask people 'have you seen this boy' in Marathi?" and Hobie is like "i got this" and she's like "Bro HOW"

REAL ASS AUDHD EXPERIENCE: Being able to memorize copious amounts of information about things that don't matter at all

Hobie has so many facts inside of him that he just drops so casually

And people are like how are you so smart

and of course he's like 'i was smart this whole time'

People think he's rude or an idiot because he doesn't make eye contact or doesn't face people when spoken to

but he's not at all, and he's very good at picking up little details

Dry but hilarious sense of humor that takes seven layers of irony and 3 years of context to even process

Probably has one completely left-field unrelated hyperfixation that catches people off guard. Is completely unashamed about it

When he's overstimulated he gets very irritated and snappy and fidgety -

Has to leave the room immediately - will stop everything and just get up and head straight to the door

If he can't leave he'll start covering his ears or put his head down against a table

Has loss of speech episodes sometimes, but not only when stressed. Lots of times it happens while relaxed or really deep in thought/daydream. His closest friends can understand him perfectly fine, and can tell when he's just chilling vs when he needs support

Will stand up in a 'quiet' room and say "what's that noise??" cause he can hear electric buzzing and it's pisses him off

He still blasts his music loud as hell in his headphones

Puts something into one of his many pockets then immediately begins to look for where he put said thing

Always pulling stuff out of his pockets, looking slightly impressed but confused as to how it got there, or how long it's been there

Has the weirdest palette. Weird ass food combos. The type of guy to put one sauce on everything

Probably eats beans on toast like twice a day

His comfort food is a Gregg's Sausage Roll from a very specific branch in East London, others taste a bit off to him and he can tell if it's not the right one. He'll still eat it, but he can tell it's not right

Most of these are SUCH a projection but I love him so so so much ok bye bye

[pyrrhiccomedy]

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a good game that almost but not quite closes the deal imo because it lets god discover mercy in the end.

this is a game where your character lives in a brutal and unfair theocracy which you get the chance to overthrow, except the twin gods really objectively obviously exist. you can encounter them multiple times. And they really do want all of this suffering to be happening, and you really will be condemned to eternal torment when you finally die if you don't follow their harsh and arbitrary rules. And then you get the chance to rebel against this society, and try to introduce a kinder and more liberal world order. And the question implied by that is - is that, like, a good idea? Like...yeah, life is awful in this world, and from the POV of ordering society, none of this suffering is necessary. But you actually really will go to hell if you try to change it. You know this for a fact, and so does everyone else.

It's basically asking - if conservative religious fundamentalists were actually right about how the world works, would it still be an objective moral good to try to change the world for the better?

Imo that's a really interesting moral conundrum, and one I would have been happy to dig into over the course of a game like Sir Brante. But the whole game is kind of undercut by the repeated hints - which become absolute canon at the end of the game - that the gods have decided to change their minds. Lucky for you, would-be revolutionary! You actually won't go to hell, because god's gotten cool about some stuff all of a sudden.

Like, if the world works the way it always has, there is a moral argument to be made that preserving this brutal social order is for the greater good. And many of the characters attempting to preserve that order do make that argument. But it turns out that they are objectively wrong.

like guys that's just the real world now. I hope most of us were already on the same page about how whipping children nearly to death just because god wants us to is not a cool thing to do. the interesting wrinkle you added was that god personally told you himself that he wants those children whipped, and you will undeniably suffer for all eternity if you don't do it.

I get that maybe they didn't want to make a game that was impossibly bleak (either you side with the brutal theocracy and go to heaven, or you try to change society for the better and go to hell), but that lies so much in how your final reward or punishment is presented. Like, as the writers, you have the power to present that eternal punishment as meaningful and worthwhile. Or you could just leave a tiny bit of doubt over what your eternal reward will be, and allow the player to hope for the best.

Idk, I still recommend it, I'm just a little disappointed that it turns out to be just another "religious fundamentalism is bad" story. I was already good on that point, chief. this is not stimulating conversation.

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

ok one person liked that post so you're all getting my in-depth puzzle analysis based off of jesse schell's metric of what makes a good puzzle, exclusively for the puzzles in ieytd1 because those are the only ones i've had the time to dissect.

First thing's first, before we talk about how well IEYTD1's puzzles have upheld the puzzle principles, we must understand what the puzzle principles are. In total, there are ten of them, some more self-explanatory than others:

 Make the Goal Easily Understood (Without a hunch as to how to even begin, a player will be hard pressed to spend the time solving your puzzle)

Make It Easy to Get Started (Even if you know what your goal is in the grand scheme, if you don't know the first steps to get there, you'll be at a roadblock the second you start)

Give a Sense of Progress (Your player may be on the right track, but without knowing that for certain, there's a risk of abandoning the path forward)

Give a Sense of Solvability (A puzzle should never be obtuse to the point of being obsolete. You're here to play a game with your player, not to stump them. You both want them to have fun)

Increase Difficulty Gradually (If you throw players into the deep end too quickly, they may end up backing out. Coax them gradually, build their confidence, and show them they can do this)

Parallelism Lets the Player Rest (If a player gets stuck on one puzzle, let them work on something else for a little while... If they have other things to do, they won't hit a roadblock as quickly)

Pyramid Structure Extends Interest (What's better than a linear narrative of puzzles? One, two, or even three solutions from prior puzzles coming together to solve one big finale!)

Hints Extend Interest (If a player can't solve a puzzle, don't expect them to keep ramming their head into a brick wall. Make sure they're being steered in the right direction)

Give the Answer! (Contrary to popular belief, it's not a bad idea to allow your player to have the answer- so long as you do it properly. They function similarly to clues, and can be important. Sometimes, the player may not know they have the answer at all up until they finally need it)

Perceptual Shifts Are a Double-Edged Sword (Consider any riddle that forces you to think outside the box. Where it may be satisfying to either solve or receive the answer, you either get it, or you don't. There is no chain of reason rather than a rule you must break to see the puzzle from the correct perspective. While fun in certain contexts, it is a huge gamble for a potential player)

Right. Now with our method of judgement out of the way (with our biases leaning towards Schell, considering he was the one to create the rules our puzzles must follow), lets get onto the missions themselves, and see which ones adequately follow and embrace the rules of the principles:

Friendly Skies

Easily understood goal

Easy to get started

Sense of solvability

Hints

Friendly Skies really is a great tutorial mission, if not a rather short one. But what’s probably its best attribute is its setting, believe it or not. Not being in a plane, but being in a car. Right off the bat, it hits not only one, but two of the 10 puzzle principles: It’s easily understood, and easy to start, and the two complement one another rather nicely. 

It’s highly unlikely that a player would have never set foot in a car before. It’s a familiar environment, and partnering that up with their objective (that being to steal the car without becoming a fatality), the gears begin turning in the player’s head before half a minute’s even passed. You have to steal the car. Okay. Key’s not in the ignition, so you have to find a way to turn it on. There’s only so many places you can look, and you- familiar with cars, of course- know exactly what each of those places are…

One of my favorite parts about this puzzle from a tutorial standpoint is not only the fact that it teaches the player the ideal thought process for engaging with puzzles in the series, but the actual location of the key is probably one of the last places you would be searching for one. Meaning that it’s likely the player is going to find all the clues they’re going to need later in the level before they actually progress to those sections of gameplay.

I have to say the same with the bomb manual hint- it doesn’t just allude to a future puzzle, but also to the sort of thought process that you’re going to have to use for the entire rest of the game. The game’s not just going to hand everything over to you for free. You have to really pay attention, make your own deductions, and if you don’t, you’re not always going to get the proper leeway to recover from it.

Another thing to note- on the subject of hints- is that the game goes out of their way to show you exactly what button you need to push to activate the grenade canons. What it doesn’t do is give you any way of figuring out what each of the other buttons do. In this level in particular, that’s not much of an issue, but in future missions I’ll touch on it more. 

As an introductory level, Friendly Skies is pretty smooth. Of course, though, there’s one notable gripe that I don’t even think I need to mention. That being the game prohibiting you from using the knife as a screwdriver. A conscious choice on the developers’ behalf- and if the handler’s lines didn’t make that obvious, they’ve mentioned it themselves on a few occasions. They were aware players would want to use the knife as a multipurpose tool, and directly disallowed it.

While I have no confirmation on the matter, I have to assume that they did this because they wanted the player to experience the toxic gas- either to teach them to take risks, or to show them that some hazards are less immediately lethal than others. Whatever the case, though, it comes at the consequence of teaching the player something that isn’t true: that levels have one concrete ‘solution’ that the player must stick with.  One of the things IEYTD is known for is their leniency with puzzles. Their speedruns and achievements encourage the player to experiment and find different methods of solving the same puzzles. So, while it’s not the worst decision in the world, I find it odd that they would choose to send such a misleading message about their gameplay mechanics in the tutorial level, of all stages. Beyond that, however, Friendly Skies is a great stage for easing new players into the gameplay, if not a bit flat in comparison to future missions.

Squeaky Clean

Sense of progress

Hints

Easily understood

Easy to get started

Sense of solvability

Difficulty of scaling

Squeaky Clean is certainly a bold jump forward from the tutorial, going from one of the shortest missions to one of the longest in the entire game. Out of all of Schell’s principles, its strongest one is the player’s sense of progress.

Nearly every time the player accomplishes something, the environment changes around them. And while it may not exactly correlate to what it is the player’s done, there’s still an innate sense of progression through the new obstacles. Broke the glass to the lab? Now you’ve got to deal with security systems. Got access to a new chemical? Better hope you can blend in, because you’ve been noticed by an operative. Even if the player isn’t certain on what their next course of action is, they still know they’ve made progress in some form or another.

I also have to say that the hints- while occasionally a little too indirect for some players- encourage thought and memorization. Especially by the means of giving the player one of the chemical reactions (the purple and green smoke bombs) before they’ve even touched anything. They can observe the compound, and if they mishandle it enough, see what the reaction is. If they cross compare it to their cheat sheets, it doesn’t take long to identify what each specific chemical is, and how to match up the ones on the periodic table to the formulas to create their own.

I will confess, though, that in many ways, Squeaky Clean is quite poorly constructed- especially for a second level. As aforementioned, the jump from Friendly Skies to here is quite immense; to the point where even spawning into the level might give the player some whiplash.

Squeaky Clean is neither easy to understand, nor easy to start, as opposed to its predecessor. Of course, no matter how well the player performed in high school chemistry, they’re not even going to know where to begin disarming a chemical bioweapon. It isn’t always bad game design for a player not to know how to solve a problem presented (more often than not, figuring that out is what the puzzle is supposed to be). But in a circumstance like this one, it can quickly become rather overwhelming.

What’s more, the player has gone from a closed off car with all the tools at their disposal, to a packed laboratory that’s completely unfamiliar to them. Even if, hypothetically, they were aware of how to make an antivirus, with so many new tools introduced at once, it’s hard to know which ones are relevant. Will they need to freeze chemicals? Will they need to burn them? How would they know which chemicals are safe to burn? Are there any other tools they need to uncover before they start? And what does that red button do? It’s good to get your player asking questions, but less so when they’re asking them all at once.

By far what has to be the biggest hurdle in this mission is its difficulty scaling. Both in regards to the level itself, and its position as the second level in the game. The lead up to the final puzzle is slow, cautious, methodical- and it has to be when you’re working with chemicals you haven’t even heard of before. But the climax of the mission throws all of that out the window when it introduces the player’s first timed puzzle.

There are many issues with this. There’s no build up to prepare the player for an encounter of that nature. On a first playthrough, there’s zero indication you’ll be remaking (or that you should be premaking) chemicals that you’ve already made until the timer’s already begun. And even beyond that, time trials introduce frantic behavior, which a level such as this one doesn’t benefit from. 

The player, in their haste to complete the objective, may accidentally put the wrong combination of chemicals into the mixer and blow themself up. They may create the wrong chemical compound, making a canister they don’t actually need. They may properly make the chemicals, but may destroy the vial on their way to use it. Not to mention, since you’re several stories in the air, if you accidentally drop it with that new telekinesis mechanic you’re getting used to, you’re not getting that thing back. And worst part of all, it’s at the very end of a mission. If you die- for whatever reason- it’s back to the very start. As great as it feels to actually succeed at the mission, players may never get that satisfaction if they build up too much tension from the trial and error. Even if- to a particular extent- trial and error is what the series is known for, it’s different when you know what to do, but circumstances beyond your control make that objective more difficult.

Deep Dive

Parallelism

Hints

Answer

Easily understood

Difficulty scaling

Deep Dive is notorious for being a cramped and uncompromising level, and those with claustrophobia tend not to rate it very highly. However, in regards to its puzzles, there are a variety of things it does very well. 

One of the highlights of this level in regards to the puzzle principles is its use of parallelism- and it’s the first puzzle in the game to actually employ it. Though it’s only relevant for about the first quarter-to-half of the mission (depending on how quickly you can make it through everything else), the player is given free reign to handle a myriad of small tasks, complete with a checklist so they’re not left in the dark on what’s left to do. Much like the act of finding the key in Friendly Skies, this also acts to introduce the player to the shape and feel of the level, and the resources held within.

This is also one of the earliest examples of the player receiving an answer to a puzzle- granted, it’s in a roundabout way of needing to piece it together themself. While the grenade hint is far more ambiguous, relying on resourcefulness and not moving too hastily, the self-destruct code serves to test the player’s competency under pressure. Despite presenting the player with the answer, the puzzle itself isn’t made much easier. 

Though speaking of competency under pressure, it’s what the entire level is known for. And despite that being the theme for that particular mission as a whole, it doesn’t change the fact that its difficulty scaling is less than desirable. Ironically enough, it suffers the exact opposite issue that Squeaky Clean did. Whereas the previous mission was slow and steady up until the last possible moment, Deep Dive keeps a brutal tempo pretty much all the way through, with no chance to breathe until the mission’s over. 

The game takes some initiative to alleviate the actual input the player needs to do (for instance, implying that the player specifically needs a pin to neutralize Zor’s grenade, thereby making the fire extinguisher unlocked and primed by the time it needs to be used), but- same as the last level- it can very easily lead to trial and error as the player hacks away at each individual malfunction, having reacted too slowly to understand what to do in the time they were provided. The challenge of the mission comes from being quick on your feet, but there’s only so many things a player can keep in their head all at once.

Also, while it’s not necessarily the biggest issue to be found in the stage, I find myself fascinated with the way that it’s presented in the introductory briefing. Certainly it was meant to tie back in with the motif of unexpected change of plans, but it’s the first time a mission briefing doesn’t at all aid with the puzzle the player will be facing. The escape pods are mentioned by your handler, true, but very briefly, and with nothing good to say about them. So when the player enters the mission only to find themself exactly where they were told not to be, chances are they’re already at a loss as to how to handle the situation. To reference a specific principle on the list, players’ ease of understanding is likely to be low.

Thankfully, the game does a good job at combating this potential paralysis spot by specifically giving the player a list of tasks to complete. And while this helps, the player is doing them because they have no other plan of attack, instead of in accordance to (or in spite of) a potential strategy. I would even argue that the wording of the briefing could have made the onboarding a little easier to understand. Say, if the player was warned that the escape pods are often tampered with, or that one wrong course of action could lead to a mouthful of saltwater. It still communicates the same feeling of dread, but now the player has things to look out for. I should make sure there aren’t any traps in here. I need to make sure I’m ready for any leaks. Instead, the player is left at the bottom of the ocean with the pre-instilled knowledge that they’re going to die any second. And while that’s probably true, it doesn’t make puzzle solving (or puzzle identifying) any more intuitive.

Winter Break

Sense of progress

Parallelism

Pyramid structure

Hints

In regards to well crafted and engaging levels, Winter Break just about knocks it out of the park. Ironically enough for being just about halfway in the game, it’s probably one of the most methodical levels sans the tutorial itself. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still exciting, or any less well constructed than the others. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Similar to Deep Dive, Winter Break has a heavy emphasis on parallelism. However, unlike the previous level, the amount of tasks that the player is able to complete at one time is vastly increased. This greatly helps with the pacing of the level; the more things the player is able to do at any given time, the less likely it is they’ll be sitting around, butting their head against one specific thing.

This specific puzzle format also introduces an elusive principle yet to be discussed: pyramid structure. The climax of the mission can only be unveiled once the player has found the security chip, and the Zoraxis orb, a process comprising of four separate puzzles the player can tackle at their leisure. Though a casual player may not even realize the leeway they’re given, there’s a greater sense of reward that comes from all of their actions leading to one high stakes encounter.

The hints in this level come in a wide variety, from diagrams on sheets of paper, to clues hidden within picture frames, to secrets unveiled through the classic art of bookshelf scouring. An important thing to note though, beyond the ways in which the hints are given to the player, is the order. More specifically, all hints that focus around the final objective are locked in the same location as those two key items. Even if the player doesn’t understand their importance initially, by the time they actually need to put that knowledge to use, they’ve already primed their minds with the information they need.

The ebb and flow of the difficulty is to be greatly admired as well. Working in tandem with the parallel puzzle solving, it keeps the player at a comfortable pace the whole time, riding the line between peaceful downtime and engaging action moments. Winter Break’s traps are also noticeably more readable than some of the prior missions’.

The bear archer’s method of attacking leaves plenty of room for the player to identify the hazard and react accordingly, and in regards to the final act’s lasers, the player is given ample time to study their speed and direction before it becomes an immediate threat. Not to mention the lasers only activate upon destabilizing the first crystal, ensuring the player knows what’s expected of them before the situation gets dicey. Even the deer gas feels more like a puzzle to solve than a hazard to evade, seeing as a player would only recognize it as a key to a lock after a thorough examination of its diagram.

Overall, Winter Break manages to be cohesive, readable, engaging, and exciting, without sacrificing player experience in the same way some prior levels did. As it stands, it’s probably one of- if not the best constructed level in the entire first game.

First Class

Difficulty scaling

Easily understood

Answer

Hints

Sense of solvability

First Class was Schell’s first level post IEYTD1’s official release, and the team intended to go in a far more experimental direction than their previous missions. Though they accomplished the task on numerous levels, their puzzle implementation was equally as unusual, and not always in the best of ways.

If there’s anything the mission can be commended on, it’s the difficulty scaling. By this point in the game, players are well equipped to handle most threats that come their way. While the mission doesn’t pull any punches, it has a pretty comfortable flow, working its way up from slow and experimental deduction to pushing the limits of the player’s reaction times. While a surprising number of the puzzles in this stage have lethal consequences for failure, most of them still remain feasible and fair.

… Except for the birthday puzzle, anyways. It’s potentially the weakest puzzle in the entire series, all due to its surprising complexity. The game asks the player to keep track of three variables- the day of the week, the date of the month, and the number of the month itself. On top of that, they’re given nothing to help them keep track of the information they’re given. There’s no method of writing it down, and with a headset strapped to their face, counting on their fingers isn’t even an option at their disposal. The player only has three attempts to punch in the number correctly. And what’s worse, there’s no indication on whether the date needs to be arranged month-to-day, or vice versa.

It has the potential to be quite the frustrating roadblock, and certainly puts the game’s sense of solvability into question. The variety of feedback the player receives is far too slim for all the tasks they’re expected to perform. Even if the panels behind the numbers lit up for each unsuccessful attempt (yellow, perhaps, for a correct number in the wrong spot, and green for a correct guess) would at least take some strain off of the player’s shoulders. But by the time it takes to return to the puzzle, should the player have failed it before, they may have forgotten what combinations they previously tried.

This mission is also one of the slim few examples of an answer being presented in a way that isn’t exactly intuitive. Though phrased in a way that would imply it a clue, when the handler contacts you over intercom, he straight up gives you your first objective. Find clues to light up certain buttons in the panel on the wall. Seems simple enough on the face of it. But its usefulness as an answer can only get the player so far, if only because of one specific reason: it’s a spoken answer. 

In a perfect world, a player may find and open all four panels as soon as possible at their handler’s request. But what’s most likely the case is that a player will be quick to enter the most obvious code- the one etched into the phone casing, before promptly forgetting about the instructions all together. Which poses a significant issue as far as the defector’s request is concerned. At best, it takes stumbling into a new hint for the wall for the player to recall the buttons’ existence. At worst, they may tear the entire train car apart, seeking for the clue that they don’t even know they’re missing.

We must also take the opposite into consideration- what if the player is too obedient to the handler’s command. After all, he specifies four total doors… But two of the four possible hints could have been literally flung out the window by the player, with no indication of it being a bad course of action. It’s a strange case of revealing a little more than necessary- even for the standards of the answer- and the player may end up relying upon the advice, even to their own detriment. 

There’s also the context of the mission itself to touch upon, and the ease of understanding (or lack thereof) that comes with it. In a way, it’s similar to Deep Dive’s briefing; the context you’re given contrasts with the actual scenario at hand. While it becomes obvious rather quickly that you’re not on vacation, and while it doesn’t take too long for your handler to explain what he’d like you to do, halfway through the mission you end up… completing the objective. The remainder of the level is a gauntlet of Zoraxis operatives (and one spear wielding man), steadily ramping up in intensity. 

Though it’s not exactly a detriment to the level, there’s a heavy sense of sporadicness throughout the latter half of it. It feels less as though you’re playing the level, and more as if you’re outlasting it. It proves a fun challenge, though there leaves a strange sort of “Now what?” feeling in between obstacles that can make the pacing feel a little stilted. While it can be exhilarating to perfect after a bit of practice, an initial playthrough takes a bit of bobbing and weaving through the occasional pocket of confusion.

Seat of Power

Sense of progress

Hints

Difficulty scaling

For as late as it appears in the game, Seat of Power is one of the quicker missions the game has to offer, when it comes to repeated attempts. This doesn’t make it easy by any means- quite the contrary, most of the speed of a second playthrough comes from a thorough understanding of the mission’s mechanics.

The mission’s strongest puzzle principle would have to be its sense of progress. While future IEYTD titles would really push the boundaries of evolving setpieces, Seat of Power was a pretty good starting point. The world around you is snappily responsive to your meddling, and the further you probe at Zor’s head controls, more tools and mechanics reveal themselves to you.

And that isn’t even mentioning the way that the level’s NPCs react to your actions. While they serve as lethal puzzles in their own right, they also convey that the player is doing something right (or if not exactly right, then on the right track).

In many ways, this particular mission has some excellent hints. Between learning about Professor X-Ray, to being steered towards the conclusion that there’s one placard too many for the number of seats at the table, the reveal of the goggles sparks a sense of excitement as the pieces click together. Even if the player stumbles across the solution, the recollection of the hints gives them the same feeling of satisfaction, despite the fact that a puzzle wasn’t exactly ‘solved’, per say. 

However, in other ways, the hint system in Seat of Power is deeply flawed. The control panel you unveil rather early on in the level is a great example of this.

In order to solve the second wave of puzzles, the player is expected to experiment with the buttons at their disposal. While experimentation is hardly foreign to the series by this point, hidden within the control panel is one button that kills the player instantly, unless certain conditions are met. And what's more, there’s nothing in the level that would even vaguely point the player to that conclusion.

It’s made even more frustrating by the fact that the tools you need to avoid that death can only be found if you push the button to the right of it. I Expect You To Die was originally an English exclusive title. With that audience in mind, it seems rather obvious that players who would read text from left to right would also push buttons in the same order. For how much care the game seems to take to warn the players of the threats around them, this one being so haphazardly strewn in feels almost like an intentional kill.

Unlabeled buttons- if you can recall- had a similar presence in Friendly Skies. However, at least in that mission, buttons the player needed to know about were labeled, and optional buttons were left undisclosed. It would have been quite easy for the same premise to apply here, with the button that unlocks the gas mask being referenced in some sort of note floating about the office, or some text scratched on the side of the button panel, with the poison gas button left the same. Or vice versa, where the trap was clearly labeled, but the resource to defend oneself against it was up to the player to decide. 

In a level that hinges on the player pushing all the buttons at their disposal, it seems suboptimal to ‘train’ them into being wary of doing exactly what they’ve been asked to do. Oh, I probably shouldn’t push buttons when I don’t know what they do, the player might think. Which, while very true, doesn’t help much when they’re left with little other choice.

Of course, I don’t believe I can talk about Seat of Power without referencing the Madrid puzzle, either. While your handler states very bluntly in your briefing that you’re going to Madrid, expecting your player to hold onto key information for a level they haven’t even entered yet is quite a tall ask for any player. But even beyond that, the developers admitted that no one listens to the handler anyways.

To aid with this, they attempted to sprinkle in some Spanish themes in the set dressing to better set the tone. While this certainly helps to a certain extent, the people who it helps are those who can identify the culture they’re being presented with. In that regard, the puzzle becomes more akin to a trivia game, or a riddle, where a player needs context derived from outside of the experience in order to solve it. Generally not a very good practice in escape rooms, both in the real world, as well as virtual ones.

However, the other- perhaps far more pressing complication with the Madrid puzzle is assuming that the average person knows where Madrid is on a map. For the geographically uninclined, this is a very bold assumption to make. Thankfully, it’s not a mistake they repeat in their future installments.

Seat of Power is generally a very engaging level, once one can finally wrap their minds around the little quirks about it. It has a unique pacing system, and finally introduces the player to the concept of an overarching plot. It’s just that some of its decisions on puzzle mechanics seem a little half baked- especially this late into the game.

Death Engine

Easy to get started

Sense of progress

Hints

Answers

Easily understood

Death Engine was originally set to be the game’s final send off, and as a result, the developers didn’t want to pull any punches. It was players' final trial, and they would have to put all the skills they learned in their prior missions to the test. As a result, this particular mission throws threats at the player almost as quickly as it possibly can. But that doesn’t mean that the difficulty scaling is completely unfair. It scales at a rate proportional to most of the other missions; it simply starts a few degrees higher.

Deaths in Death Engine normally come quickly. There’s little room for the player to revert any errors that they make. The agent can’t just shake off an electrocution, or being bathed in radioactive waste. However, the very first threat they encounter (a setpiece threat, rather than something caused by the player’s actions) gives the player enough time to process what the issue is, and to react accordingly. It’s the most lenient hazard in the entire mission, but still sets the tone for the level going forward: dangers will be quick and uncompromising, and going forward, a lot more unforgiving.

Death Engine also waits until the player is well accustomed to their location and the tools at their disposal before they throw the next, far more lethal timed encounter at the player, in the form of Solaris’ direct radioactive assault. Though they also have the decency to warn the player ahead of time with vocal cues. Though the puzzles are meant to test the full extent of what the player’s learned, it doesn’t feel as though the game is throwing impossible odds at them.

Though, what may seem impossible to the player is the mechanisms of their space shuttle. At a passing glance, it seems incredibly overwhelming to have all of these tools at their disposal. However, the mission actually tackles the easy to start principle in a pretty ingenious way- one that Schell would take with them into their future installments.

Yes, the player has several dials and buttons and resources at their disposal, but after the laser’s backlash ripples through your shuttle, only some of them are actually functional. While this seems to only introduce problems to the player, it actually does them a great service: 

The player can only engage with one to two portions of the ship at a time- typically just one, as far as a first playthrough is concerned. True, the shuttle has a rather extensive list of information about all of its components and how they operate (a rather useful aid, and quite a good example of the answers principle coming into play again). But the hands-on experience of swapping power and seeing what new tools are unlocked is a far more effective method of communicating the rules of the stage to the player.

This use of fuse swapping also serves as another principle, in a roundabout sort of way. It communicates steady progression with each ‘fuse-specific’ puzzle solved. The gravity adjusting puzzle feels rewarding to complete in its own right, but there’s an extra sense of satisfaction that comes from ripping the fuse out of that section of the fusebox. I’m done with that, the player thinks to themself, onto something else, now.

Even Solaris aids in the player’s sense of progression to an extent, hurtling canisters of radioactive waste at them only after they’ve made a significant amount of progress. While it’s jarring to be given a new obstacle to face, a villain turning from cocky to antsy is just about the clearest tell there is that the player is making a good amount of progress. Not to mention the entire encounter turns into a (admittedly incredibly lethal) tutorial on how to actually use the shuttle’s external arm- something that will be critical to actually finishing the level. 

Death Engine was meant to serve as the player’s final hurdle; the ultimatum of their career as a field operative. While it’s by no means a cake walk on a first playthrough, its puzzles remain understandable and fair. While it’s unlikely the player will make it through the level completely unscathed, the difficulty doesn’t rest at a point where it overrides the sense of satisfaction they feel by the end of the mission, as well as the end of the entire game as a whole. For a grand finale, Death Engine serves its purpose rather expertly, setting the standard for the series’ subsequent final acts.

[sevi007]

Tales of the abyss playthrough, part 5

Well, damn it. We are busted . Not that our disguises were any good but that’s a wooping 30 minutes of gameplay before they caught us

Interestingly enough, Jade does not seem particularly hostile towards us. It seems more like genuine intrigue to me

Yes thank you Luke. I'm honestly getting dizzy with all the exposition over here. There are so many factions within the same organisation and I still have not yet fully grasped all those score and fonon things.

So from what I gathered, the score is like a written history of everything that was, and will be. Talking to some NPCs, it also seems to server as a kind of horoscope (that's why I say it tells the future). So it's like a religion's bible in a way that they follow it's teaching, but it's also more, because it can make predicitons (or already made them).

There are two kingdoms we know of yet - Malkuth and Luke's home which's name I always forget - and they are on the brink of a war. Over what, I have not really understood yet. But despite the fact that Jade and Anise are part of Malkuth's military, they do not want any war and are on the way to help Ion (who is a neutral party not undre any kingdoms' rule) to the king for a peace treaty. Did I get most of it right? Sure hope so!

Jade, I do realize you're making fun of Luke. Bastard man XD (I'm kidding, it's funny)

Oh? See what I mean about fast-paced?! XD I was still mulling all this new info over, gimme a breather please

Yea does not look like I'm getting a breather.

Oh? Can we summon zombies now?

Is anybody on the Team already a zombie? Jade is pale like one... okay I will stop XD

Ah I see. That will explain how they nerf Jade so he can be part of the party.

Checking his stats... yeah he is on our level now. Dammit. I wanted to use him for easy farming for a bit longer. XD Curse you for seeing through my genius plan, game!

Well now, that’s interesting. I cannot recall a JRPG which actually adressed the fact that we kill the (human) enemies we face. (Disregarding Vesperia and Yuri‘s kills here, because those were outside of the battles that we as players control). I admit that I in front of the screen did not consider this either. In the back of my mind, I assumed we knock them out, rather than outright killing them

Not only is this interesting for me as the player, but also for Luke‘s character development. Remember, again, that his entire (remembered) life was a sheltered one. He barely learned how to fight- Tear points out flaws like not considering the environment, not knowing how to use arts - much less how to deal with a real battle field, or killing. Now he gets thrown into a situation where it‘s kill or be killed. How he will deal with this and what he will do from here on out might be an important milestone for him.

.....

Ah. Literally like two minutes later:

Oookay I had assumed Luke will have a bit more time to mull the whole killing thing over but alright, fast paced once more XD Poor boy.

Huh. I think I saw this guy in the opening? I‘m going by ear here, but I THINK he has the same voice actor as Luke? No don‘t tell me! I don’t want to look it up either. It’s just interesting. Jotting this down as important - especially since they are careful not to show us this man‘s face. Maybe a long-list twin? Although there‘s a lot of things that speak against that theory.

So I'm cutting this short here, this post is already long enough. I'm very intrigued so far!

@magicmetslogic

[hassedah]

hiii! I was wondering if you could write about the boys with a reader that's really into tabletop rpg games? like d&d, cthulhu, ordem paranormal, etc. which of them would be down to play, who'd try to be a game master, which characters they'd enjoy playing

MC is a rpg games player :

Hi! How are you? I hope you are well! ^^

Here's the headcanons you requested! I hope you enjoy it! ^^

Take care of yourself and have a nice day! ^^

Vladimir :

Vladimir had never heard of this type of game before you told him about it. Well, Ivan and Ethan had talked about it before, but he'd never really listened. He regrets this a little because he would have liked to have been able to follow the discussion with you.

He's a bit surprised when you tell him that some people think that JDR makes you violent or Satanist. It's literally an interactive story, he would have loved to have been able to play this kind of thing when he was alive, even if he would have been looking for love stories, the idea of reading/playing a story that could enable him to win the heart of a character seems really fun to him (you'll have to tell him about otome games).

Vladimir has no idea how to create a character. There are so many things to choose from and set up, and he often gets the characteristics mixed up. So he always asks for your help to create his character and his characteristics.

He'll bombard you with questions during the first few games, especially about the rules of the game, which he sometimes finds very hard to understand. What does it mean that he has 1 HP left? What do you mean, he can use his HP to cast a spell because he has no MP left? What do you mean he doesn't have enough Strength points? What is a critical failure? Why can't he discuss the situation with Aaron next to him? All right, Aaron in the game is in another room, but he can have a chat with him as he's next to him! What's an NPC? It can't be a non-playable character because the GM is playing it! MC please find a language he understands and don't get upset, he's really trying to play with you and understand what's going on.

His character's alignment is always the same, he's a loyal good. He never changes alignment and is incapable of playing a evil or even worse a chaotic character. He often plays a sort of prince or aristocrat, (this at least helps to explain the fact that his character is almost completely incapable of fending for himself), he's not very strong, nor very good at fighting, but he always has plenty of money on him and points of charisma or authority, at least enough to get out of difficult situations without constantly having to call his housemates for help (although this happens quite often).

He doesn't know the rules well enough to be the GM and he only plays the RPG if you play it, whether you play as the GM or as a character. When he plays, his character always gets on pretty well with Raphaël's or Aaron's character.

Béliath :

He's already heard of this kind of game, either at Moondance or from Ethan and Ivan. He's not really interested in it though, but that changes when you talk to him about it. He likes to be interested in what you like, so of course when you told him you often play RPGs, he wanted to know exactly what they were and how they were played. However, there are so many different RPGs out there and so many different ways of playing, he feels a bit lost. What do you mean there's even a RPG where you're cats?

He really enjoys pairing up his character with yours at the start of the game, or winning your character's heart before the end of the game. If that's not possible… he'll fall back on Ethan, Vladimir, Raphaël, Aaron or Ivan, listen his character has to end up in a relationship with someone even an NPC would suit him. Sure, it's an adventure game, but who says you can't hit on people while saving the world? Raphaël always agrees to put his character in a relationship with hers, the only problem is that they always end up having arguments in the middle of battles.

Unlike Vladimir, he often changes the alignment of his characters, although he has a preference for the chaotic good, which he finds much easier to play than the Loyal good (he also doesn't understand what's so funny about this character, why do you want to respect the law so much? It's boring!)

Béliath is always creating vampires (yes, even a vampire cat if he has to, he has to be a vampire), as cliché as possible. He can't help it, it makes him laugh. He loves the irony of being a vampire playing a vampire.

He's a pretty good actor, so he really loves playing his character, talking to him about live action role-playing games, and he'll insist on playing one as soon as possible.

He's not a very good GM and he's not very interested in taking on the role. He gets bored quickly every time he's the GM and he's not authoritative enough with him - the slightest decision between the players can take several hours, he doesn't want to rush them and he enjoys watching his housemates squabble over details.

Ivan :

He was delighted when he realised that you played RPG. He used to play it quite regularly when he was still human, and it's been a long time since he met someone to play with. Of course, there was Ethan at the mansion, but they spend all their time arguing as soon as they start a game together. Because of this, Aaron comes to tell them off and forbids them to play. After learning that you like to play this kind of game, he quickly invites you to play a game with him.

More than just acting, he loves creating characters. He has dozens and dozens of them, his characters have different alignments, they're vampires, werewolves, ghosts, sometimes humans, they have different jobs and different skills. He has written the story of each of them in great detail, and he won't hesitate to tell you about it if you ask him. However, his favourite character is a necromancer who pretends to be a simple bard, and he often uses him in his games.

He has a clear preference for fantasy and medieval RPGs.

If you're not the GM, he'll always try to at least be friends with your character. He might even suggest that you create a character duo with a shared story for the times when you play together.

Despite his many arguments with Ethan (he can't get along with him. He tries, he really does, but for every action they take they have different opinions), he's a good player, he listens to other people's opinions, often suggests ideas and has a very good knowledge of the game's mechanics, which makes him very effective when he's playing with Vladimir, who systematically doesn't understand a thing that's going on: Their in-game relationship could be summed up as "Don't try to understand, I'll explain it to you later".

Despite his many arguments with Ethan, he has already sacrificed several of his characters to save Ethan's.

He could be a good GM but he lacks authority. Nobody listens to him in the manor, everyone ignores his instructions, or even listens to what he has the NPC say, only to complain that he didn't give the right instructions. It gets worse when the players start arguing, at which point he knows it's a waste of time and he won't be able to do anything to restore calm. In the end, he hates being the GM because of this.

Aaron :

He only knows the RPG because he's already played with Ethan and Ivan, and at first he played mainly to stop them fighting, but now he also plays because he likes the game. So he doesn't really need much explanation from you (unless you have a miracle solution to stop Ivan and Ethan arguing during a game, at which point he'll take any solution). If you offer to play a game with him, he'll accept straight away.

Despite Ethan and Ivan's arguments, it's a game he enjoys. He loves the fact that the decisions he makes with the rest of the players have an impact on the story and he loves the discussion phases where he debates with the others about the next thing to do. Aaron is one of the most serious players, he tries to make the story progress in a coherent way, tell him to escort this or that NPC from point A to point B and everything will be fine, the NPC will be escorted and he'll do everything he can to protect him as best he can from the stupid ideas of his housemates, he refuses all side quests as long as they don't have a direct link with the main story and has the protection of his team at heart.

He has a preference for horror stories, so it doesn't matter whether they're set in a medieval or science-fiction world - all that matters to him is that you get to fight ghosts, demons and other supernatural creatures, or hunt down a serial killer.

Aaron plays two different types of character. Either his character is an invincible brute and a powerful fighter who protects the rest of the team by regularly acting as a human shield. Or his character is a healer when Raphaël refuses to be one. He knows that his character isn't the most resilient and that he has to rely on the other members of the team to protect him, but he tends to forget that, and the result is that he's often kidnapped, killed or taken hostage (which always delights Vladimir in these cases, because for once he's not the one who needs rescuing).

When his character is a brute, he has a very bad habit of breaking anything that causes him problems. A door? He breaks it down. A wall? He smashes the wall. A complex mechanism? Break it. A complex puzzle where you have to think long and hard for fear of making a mistake that will kill you all? He breaks everything! His character is a tough guy, with a big heart but who thinks very little, and he'll play him to the hilt without hesitation.

He's a good GM, he knows how to get people to listen to him and more often than not manages to stop the players fighting or arguing (well, except for Ethan and Ivan). He also knows the rules pretty well, he's able to guide the players when they're lost without giving them the solution and, above all, Aaron knows how to tell stories. It's very easy to be captivated by what he's telling and to be totally immersed in the game, although this can be a problem when the story is a horror story.

Raphaël :

He knows it by name, because he often hears Ethan and Ivan talk about it, but he clearly doesn't know what it is or what to do about it. The first time you talk to him about it, Raphaël pays attention. He thinks this kind of game might appeal to him - after all, he loves stories, so the idea of being able to move a story forward through the actions and decisions he takes seems excellent. He quickly agrees to play with you.

These characters are usually blind like him. Whichever character he plays, he will be friends with the character of Vladimir, and even for a game the idea of betraying Vladimir pains him. He often plays good characters and more often good chaotic characters than good loyal or good neutral characters. He also mostly plays healers, as he likes to protect and be protected by his team-mates.

If it's Vladimir, magnificent! The main quest won't be forgotten in favour of the couple's story and they'll just be a cute couple until the end of the game, but if it's Beliath, well… we can only hope that the main quest wasn't that important for the survival of the world, because it's likely to be quickly ignored because of the couple fights they'll start.

Whatever happens, he doesn't really follow the story. Raphaël accepts every side quest he comes across, from a grandmother asking you to retrieve her cat stuck in a tree to the old mayor asking you to defeat the manticore attacking the inhabitants of his village. This greatly annoys the other players, who can't follow the main story without being interrupted by Raphaël, who is absolutely determined to help the widow and the orphan. His character is often forcibly taken away by the others to continue the main story, despite his loud protests and complaints.

He's been collecting dice ever since you taught him to play RPG, and has over a hundred in a box that he hides under his bed. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours. He loves taking them out of the box to play with them or to show them to you.

He's not a good GM, but he manages to deal with conflict and tells the story well - that's not the problem. The problem is that he talks too much, he gives a lot of detail, often unnecessary detail, he comments on the NPCs' clothes, the decoration of the rooms, the sounds of the place, the whole life of the NPCs. Just wanted to ask the peasant for some information? You'll know everything about his life from birth. It would be fun if it was just one character, but it's all characters. What's more, he's too helpful to the players, you just have to ask him nicely for the solution and he'll give it, and he can't play a real villain, you can win every fight just by talking to your opponent. It drives Ethan completely mad.

Ethan :

Ethan has been playing RPG for years. He loves it, so he was really pleased when he found out you were playing. It's just that, since he's been living in the manor, he's had far less opportunity to play, well… he can play with Ivan, but if Aaron doesn't play with them it inevitably ends up in an argument. He's quick to offer you the chance to play with him, and even lets you choose the RPG you want, even though he has a preference for RPGs set in a science fiction world.

He creates a new character for each game and doesn't like taking on a character he's already played with. He very rarely plays a support role, preferring to be the team's thief or mage rather than the healer. It's not that he despises this role, he knows it's often essential to a team, but… he already spends his days healing his housemates in real life, so in the game he prefers not to have to worry about it. However, despite his best efforts to refrain from treating others, he finds it very hard to stop himself doing so, and always ends up shouting at Aaron or taking something out of his belongings to treat someone.

Ethan always chooses to create good chaotic characters, but he pretends to behave like a evil chaotic just to piss off his housemates. This works really well on Raphael, his character always ends up sulking his own.

When Ethan is one of the players, he tries to keep the others focused on the main quest. It's not easy, he feels obliged to keep an eye on everything Raphael does lest he accept a random quest from an NPC or tell too much about a secret mission, he stops Beliath from flirting with every NPC he meets (they've been chased out of several inns because of it), he stops Aaron from putting his character in danger and makes sure Vladimir doesn't get kidnapped while they're away from him. In fact, the only one he doesn't need to keep an eye on is Ivan, and it's all the more of a shame given that they're incapable of playing a game without arguing at some point.

Ethan is a pretty good GM, much to the astonishment of his housemates. Miraculously, he doesn't even disadvantage Ivan when he could have done so much to hurt his character as a GM.

Neil :

Neil had never heard of RPGs. The people they knew before they were locked in the cellar didn't play it and once they were out of the cellar they weren't in the frame of mind to find out about it. So this is the first time he's heard about it when you explain what it is and he's quite curious. He really likes the concept of a story that changes according to the decisions you make, and he's keen to try playing it with you. At least to try it out and see if he likes it.

All the characters he creates are powerful. He doesn't play a specific character alignment because the only thing he really wants is to either keep power over others or take power over others. His characters are always important people, a prince, a king or a nobleman. He has a strong preference for games involving coups d'état and power plays, whether the game is set in a science fiction, medieval or fantasy setting.

It's always complicated playing with him and other people. Neil wants to lead the troupe, he wants to be in charge and make decisions for everyone. It's difficult to get him to understand the principle of democracy and he often doesn't even have the patience to listen. More often than not that's his problem, he doesn't listen to the group's decisions and ends up endangering his character or his group in one way or another.

The only opinion he takes into account is yours, and even then he'll argue for several minutes to try to convince you that he's right. He is, however, capable of listening to you and following your advice once he has listened to your arguments and you have convinced him that you are right.

It's nice to play with him though, when he doesn't want to get the better of everyone. He gives good advice and often has good ideas.

He's not a good GM at all, he's overbearing and often unpleasant. He sighs and complains as soon as they think the players are making stupid decisions and he tends to make opponents much too strong for the players. It's not particularly pleasant to play with him as a GM.

Léandra :

Léandra likes to hang out in all the circles so she knows the JDR. She started playing it when she was just starting out and continued to do so when it was very fashionable. However, she lost interest little by little and it's been a long time since she's played it, she'd almost forgotten it existed, but the fact that you're talking to her about it brings back the memories. It's always been a lot of fun and she's quite keen to play with you. She'll look for gaming communities for you if you want.

She always creates different characters, but her characters are always chaotic, whether they're chaotic good, neutral, or Evil, she's incapable of playing a loyal character, she's tried from time to time but has never managed to keep it coherent.

She particularly likes creating wizards or demons, and she's looking to have fairly powerful characters, so she'll do everything in her power to become even more powerful over the course of the game. She also does a lot of Picrew to show what her character looks like.

She has a lot of fun getting her character to flirt with most of the NPC, and that's her main way of providing the team with information about the quest. She's a good player overall, always playing her character with conviction (which is what she prefers) and making decisions that suit her character. She also proposes interesting solutions to the problem and, above all, she knows how to listen to the suggestions of the rest of the team. This doesn't mean that she'll follow the majority opinion, even if she doesn't agree with it, but rather that she manages to change her mind when good arguments are put forward.

She's a good GM, even if the NPCs she plays tend to be a bit flirtatious. She manages to keep the players focused on the main quest and prevents most of the arguments. She also knows how to adjust the level of the enemies to the level of her players, which means that everyone can have a good time without dying at the first monster they face.

Farah :

Farah has already heard of the JDR, thanks in particular to some werewolves who were visiting the pack and playing it. She's even played a few games with them. She likes this type of game, even though she doesn't often get the chance to play it. When you tell her that you like playing RPGs, she's quite happy, especially if it means she can play a bit more often.

It's been a long time since she's played, so she may not remember all the rules very well. You don't need to explain everything to her again, though, and after a few questions she'll feel ready to play with you.

Most of the characters she creates are loyal good. She finds that much easier to play. Most often she plays a human and a paladin. On rare occasions, she also likes to play werewolves or elves, in which case she prefers to play druids or priests.

She's pretty serious, and her character sheets are always impeccable and precise. It has to be said that she has created very few characters, but they all have very well-developed histories.

She has a real preference for stories set in a medieval world, whether fantasy or entirely based on reality, although she will tend to quibble with historical facts if the story is based on reality. She wishes she didn't, but she can't help it, she knows when certain weapons were used and it always ruffles her feathers to see a rapier walking around in the early 11th century.

She likes it when the atmosphere in the team is good, so she always tries to encourage dialogue so that everyone can give their opinion, even if her habit of leading a pack sometimes makes her a little too authoritarian.

Farah is a very good GM, she knows how to tell stories very well which helps her a lot and as she's been managing her pack for years she also knows how to manage a team of players. She also always remembers all the players' character sheets very well.

[bleongambetta]

Moves That Make Promises In Pasión de las Pasiones

One of the tricks I like to use for writing effective, interesting custom moves in Pasión de las Pasiones (my Ennie 2023 Best Game nominated game of telenovela drama) is to build it around a promise.

I'm a sucker for a payoff in a piece of media, I love to be promised I'll be shown something and then be shown exactly that. I think it's innate to want exactly that, we love foreshadowing and getting that payoff. That's the entire basis of telenovelas honestly, through all of the twists and turns and questions, we have a promise (sometimes direct, sometimes implied) of how it will end.

Bonus points to those who get my gif choice.

Im going to give the quickest background I can before showing the move.

Briefly Custom Moves

Moves, for those uninitiated to Powered by the Apocalypse, are little bits of rules with a trigger, a mechanic (often rolling plus a stat), and a result.

When you MAKE A TUMBLR POST, tell us what it is then ROLL PLUS SHARP. On a hit EVERYONE REBLOGS IT.

These little mini bits of rules let's games really focus on specific genre conventions of the stories they are telling. When they do a good job, they focus play.

Custom moves are invented by the GM either before or during the session. They are for a scenario that the game didn't see coming or that normally wouldn't necessarily be a focus of the game. They follow the same structure and can be a little tricky to master, because often you're doing them quickly!

Briefly Pasión de las Pasiones Moves

Pasión de las Pasiones is a variant on PbtA which instead of stats uses questions. Simplistically, for each "Yes" answer to two questions on a move, the player adds +1. Those questions usually have to do with fictional positioning (what is happening in a scene or what advantages/scenarios a character has).

The Move

When you race across the jagged cliffs, trying to claim the prize that will forever change your life, roll with the questions:

* Are you willing to die to win?

*Are you willing to kill to win?

On a hit, you make it to the end, neck and neck with your greatest rival. On a 10+, pick 1. 7-9, pick 2.

*You chicken out at the last minute and lose, mark 1 conditions

*You make it over the line, but you're busted up to the point that you're not walking away from this. Face Certain Death.

*You drove someone off the cliffs. If they're a PC, they Face Certain Death. If they aren't, they are dead, dying, or missing.

On a miss, you screw it all up. You lose control of your vehicle. If you were willing to give your life, Face Certain Death. If you weren't, watch as someone else takes your place at the podium.

So why does this custom move work?

It asks the player, what are you willing to give for this and the player makes a promise. For promising to give their life, they get a +1. For promising to kill, they get a +1. That's a great little moment, of all of the players listening to the racer say that.

Then, if they roll poorly, we get that payoff. They promised they'd give their life, let's see it happen.

If they roll well, we also get that payoff! You said you would give your life, will you now? You said you'd kill, will you now?

This design basically makes a mirror around the objective, you tell me what it's worth to you and then I ask you if you'll pay it.

For the record, our roll had the racer falling off the cliff, but being saved at the last minute by a mysterious racer who turned out to be the missing heir to the fortune and identical triplet to two of the players.