#in all seriousness the game really is smoother

[lulu2992]

Planes fly smoother in Hope County now.

Not better, though 😅

[sirfrogsworth]

I'm moving out of the city and I'm going to have to learn to drive. Any advice for someone (reluctantly) looking into cars for the first time?

Sorry for the late response, but I really wanted to answer this because I think I have some relevant advice.

I started driving the very day I was allowed to get my learner's permit. I took it very seriously. My dad was a mechanic, my brother literally built a car when he was 16. They were car guys and I was the goofy comedian they didn't really understand. So I wanted to be a really good driver to impress them.

I practiced every chance I got. I took driver's ed in school and got a 100% in the class. And I got a perfect score on my written driver's test and only got dinged for 1 thing on the main exam (it was bullshit, but apparently there is no way to protest a near perfect score).

But then I got sick and it didn't make sense to pay for car insurance and maintain a vehicle. So I didn't drive for roughly 15 years.

Then both my parents got sick and they became dangerous drivers and so I had to figure out how to drive again. And at first I was nervous, but after about a week of driving, I was nearly as good of a driver as when I was younger.

The reason?

Muscle memory.

Muscle memory will save your life over just about anything. The less you have to concentrate on the physical actions and habits required to drive, the more you can concentrate on situational awareness. If you don't have to think about turning the wheel, or braking, or even activating the turn signals, you can use all of that brain power to pay attention to all of the dumb fucks they let drive cars.

So my biggest piece of advice would be to break down all of the physical actions required to operate a vehicle. Even the tiny stuff like switching the station on the radio or turning down the fan on the A/C. Then find a way to practice these things over and over and over until you have that muscle memory embedded into your brain. My muscle memory was so deeply ingrained that it lasted through 15 years of not driving and a batch of mind-wiping electroshock treatments.

Find a safe place to practice and just repeat things until they feel like second nature. Especially checking your blind spots. If you can get checking blind spots to the point where you do it without even thinking about it, you will increase your safety substantially.

Other tips...

Small cheap cars are best first cars. Big cars can make you feel disconnected from the road. Almost like you are piloting the vehicle in a video game. I started on my grandma's 1987 Chevy Cavalier. It was tiny. It had no power. It was free. But I could feel everything I was doing. I could feel the turns. I could feel the road. I could feel braking and acceleration. And it really helped me understand the relationship between driver and vehicle. It was like a big go-kart but I think having that as my first car really helped me develop my driving skills.

And my last tip is to learn gradient braking and acceleration. It's mostly for the comfort of your passengers. It gives them a smoother experience but it also makes them feel safer driving with you. Basically you want to figure out how to apply pressure to the pedals in such a way that almost no G-force is felt. So you start with very light pressure and gradually transition into the max pressure you need. And you need to do it quick enough to stop and accelerate at the proper rate. If you don't transition fast enough you might not stop in time or be able to merge onto the highway. And if you transition too fast people will be lurching back and forth in their seat. But, again, practice makes perfect.

My brother is horrible at this, though mostly on purpose. He likes driving like everything is a race. And with his muscle cars, that can be fun at times. But when you are just going to the store it can make one a little nauseous. I find myself just grabbing the "oh shit" handles and never letting go.

But if you can smooth out your acceleration and braking to the point it is barely felt, all of your passengers will thank you for it.

Hopefully that helps. And maybe other folks can reply with additional advice. And if you have any more specific concerns feel free to ask. I wasn't sure if you were more worried about driving or picking out a car, so hopefully we can collectively cover both.

I wish you luck and hope you learn to love driving. It is pretty cool once you get the hang of it.

[mypoisonedvine]

𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁) || eddie munson x preppy!reader

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 || when your best friend (who just so happens to also be your ex) steve helps you get together with his new friend eddie, things go a little slower than you expected.

𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 || almost 12k lol oops

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 || SMUT (18+ only, unprotected sex and oral f receiving), fluff, some pining, very slight angst, somewhat inexperienced eddie, ex-bf!steve but also bff!steve,🍂🍁 fall vibes 🍁🍂, alcohol consumption/mild drunkenness, 'princess' petname

September 1986

“Dude, if you like her, you should just go for it,” Steve insisted.

Eddie chewed the inside of his cheek for a second, staring out at the empty football field before turning to Steve on the bleachers dramatically. “And you’re sure it’s okay? I mean, with you two having gone out—”

“Of course!” Steve shrugged. “She and I have been friends a lot longer than we dated. I mean, that was, what, seven or eight months in sophomore year? It’s been years since then.”

“But you’re still so close,” Eddie noticed.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, “and actually— it’s perfect! I can help you ask her out!”

“Wait, you mean like, I have a friend who likes you or something?” Eddie wondered, seeming a little suspicious as he turned his head away slightly.

“No, a little smoother than that,” Steve assured, “like a wingman! Like Top Gun!”

Eddie sighed; he almost wished Steve had never seen that movie, now he wouldn’t shut up about it.

“Actually, she already kinda told me she’s into you,” he grinned, and Eddie’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Yeah, we were hanging out a few weeks ago and we played that game Fuck Marry Kill?” Steve began, and Eddie nodded. “It was you, John Stamos and Val Kilmer— she said she’d fuck you.”

Eddie gave a sideways frown.

"Dude. Seriously." Steve glared at Eddie's unenthusiastic reaction. "In that line up I was sure she'd kill you. But poor Stamos got the chop instead."

Eddie shrugged.

"Did you miss the part of the story where she said she wants to fuck you?"

But Eddie knew that wasn't what that actually meant. “I guess that’s good, but honestly, I was kind of going for ‘marry’," he admitted.

Steve laughed joyfully as he shoved Eddie’s shoulder. “Didn’t know you were such a romantic!”

“I-I mean, I’ve never had a real girlfriend before,” Eddie replied, “so I hope she wants more than to just, like, fool around. Not that I would say no to that!”

“Of course,” Steve nodded, “totally get you— I’m the same way, you know, tired of all the one-night stands.”

Yeah, except you have an endless supply and I’ve had four, Eddie thought.

“If you want, I could talk to her for you,” Steve suggested, “and get the scoop— see if she’d be interested. That way you know before you go through all the trouble of actually asking her.”

“Okay— but keep it subtle! I don’t want her to know I’ve got a crush unless it’s reciprocated.”

Steve nodded confidently. “You got it, Munson. I can be stealthy. Like a ninja.”

~

You were sitting on the floor throwing Sour Patch Kids, watching Steve open his mouth wide and lean to try to catch them. He got five in a row, before you threw one too much to the side and he had to dive so far that he fell on his side onto the carpet; you both laughed with your mouths full, and he kicked you by sliding his foot out over the carpet. You groaned and kicked him back, until you two were having a shoe war on the rug: his sneakers versus your loafers.

After the fight and giggles died down, a quick silence fell before it was broken. “So,” Steve said suddenly, “it’s time for me to ask my favorite question…”

“Oh god,” you rolled your eyes. “Time for the third degree.”

“Seeing anybody lately?” he grinned.

“I mean… I dunno,” you shrugged. “A few dates here and there, but nobody interesting.”

“Interesting?” he pressed. “You want an interesting guy to go out with, then?”

“What’s with all the sudden interest, Harrington?” you returned with a smirk; you only called him that when you were teasing him.

“I’m always asking about your dates,” he corrected.

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re nosy,” you scoffed.

“I just thought maybe we could figure out who you should be going out with."

“Maybe I should be single for a while,” you offered instead— not because you actually thought so, but because you wanted to figure out why he was so insistent on getting you a date.

“No, see, ‘cause this is the perfect time for a new squeeze,” he assured, “you know— fall’s just started, it’s getting chilly out, leaves are turning…”

You sighed dreamily, glancing out his bedroom window at the orange and brown leaves, rustling with the breeze that you just knew was blowing in a cold front from out East.

“Don’t you just wanna cuddle up with somebody this time of year?” Steve hummed, tensing up his shoulders under his soft Lacoste sweater.

“Yeah, alright,” you agreed, “I was thinking I should get a new boyfriend for the fall. I’m guessing based on your general shiftiness that you have someone in mind?”

Steve coughed and looked away. “I mean— I just had a couple ideas.”

“Such as…?”

He thought for a second, biting his lip. “Uh, there’s Joey Shelley?”

You frowned. “He’s cute, I guess, but he’s sorta… dull?”

“Okay, then— Keith Bowen’s fun,” Steve noticed.

“Yeah, he is,” you agreed, “but didn’t you go out with his sister for a while?”

“So?” he shrugged.

“Isn’t that, like, incest?” you shuddered.

Steve wrinkled his eyebrows together. “Um… no?”

“Whatever, it’s weird,” you decided. “And I dunno… he’s not really my type.”

“He’s exactly your type!” Steve scoffed. “If not him then that Ryan guy you were checking out at the theater last week.”

“I wasn’t checking him out, I was trying to figure out where he got his jeans,” you explained.

“Why?”

“Doesn’t matter,” you hummed, hoping to avoid explaining further since the real answer was that you were already planning Steve’s Christmas present.

“You don’t like any of my suggestions,” he noticed.

“It’s not that! I just— all those guys are just like the guys I always go out with,” you clarified with a sigh.

“What kind of guys do you always go out with?” Steve wondered.

“You know— preppy guys! Guys like— well, guys like you, actually,” you snorted. “I mean, you old money boys are fun for a while, but…”

“But you want something new,” he suggested, surprisingly unoffended by your diss on his fellow preps (though it couldn’t be that hard of a critique coming from a preppy girl yourself), “I get it. Wanna mix it up.”

You shrugged. “I mean, maybe I should.”

~

“Did you talk to her?” Eddie asked excitedly as he leaned in closer to Steve, who leaned back— Eddie wasn’t so good with the ‘personal space’ thing sometimes.

“Yeah,” Steve promised.

“Will she go out with me?”

“Woah, slow down,” Steve frowned, “I thought you wanted subtle— was I supposed to ask her out for you?”

“No,” Eddie sighed, “that would’ve made it easier but— no, it’s tacky. But did she say if she would go out with me? If I asked?”

“You didn’t come up,” Steve explained, reacting to Eddie’s disappointed expression by adding: “by name! But I think she’d be into it if you asked her.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow, half-frowning. “You think? So, what, she might turn me down and then I look like an idiot?”

“Munson, to be honest,” Steve sighed, “I didn’t think looking like an idiot bothered you that much.”

Eddie gave Steve a look; Steve returned by motioning his head towards Eddie’s Hellfire shirt. Eddie, staring down at his outfit, wore an offended grimace when he met Steve’s gaze again. “Hey!” he yelped sharply. “I made this myself!”

“Exactly,” Steve nodded.

“Whatever,” Eddie scoffed, crossing his arms defensively, “this is different than clothes, anyway. I don’t want her to think that all I want is a date— like, I’m cool just being friends, too. But there’s that thing where, if you ask a girl out, you can’t really be friends after that.”

“Uh, I’m her friend,” Steve reminded Eddie, “and I asked her out.”

“In tenth grade!” Eddie added. “You’re smoother than me, anyways, I don’t even know what to say—”

“Just be honest, man,” Steve instructed, “just… tell her you think she’s pretty and you wanna go to a movie or something.” Steve shrugged, as if that required no effort at all, but Eddie was terrified just imagining saying that to you.

“When?” Eddie asked— his first of many issues with that idea. “I don’t have the excuse of seeing her at school anymore, and when school’s over she’s always hanging out with you.”

Steve smiled excitedly, finally finding a part of this plan he knew he could orchestrate. “We’ll find a way,” he promised cryptically.

~

It was Steve’s idea to go to the record store— he said he wanted the new(ish) Human League album and frankly, you never needed too much of a reason to kill time there. It wasn’t just the music or the respite from the increasing chill outside on your bare legs (maybe the plaid skirt you chose to wear today was a bit out of season, but it was cute), it was the atmosphere itself, it was the smell: old books, new records, paper album sleeves, and whatever rosemary-and-spice candle the owner was burning somewhere.

You flipped through the stacks and scoffed at the cover of The Queen Is Dead. “You should get your own copy of this instead of continuing to indefinitely borrow mine,” you suggested to Steve flatly.

“Is the new Talking Heads album any good?” he asked as he flipped the record around and presented True Stories to you, ignoring what you’d said entirely. Steve Harrington had some of the most impressive selective hearing you’d ever encountered.

Your search wandered out of rock and indie towards pop and synth, where Steve went on a rant you’d heard before about Cyndi Lauper and you pondered trying out Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Someone coming up to you got your attention, and you heard Steve greet him before you actually recognized him: “Munson, funny seeing you here,” he nodded.

Turning and looking up at him, you found a friendly smile under a nose tinted red from the cold wind outside— even if the leather-jacket-and-denim-vest fusion looked like it would keep him pretty warm out there. He had the latest Alice Cooper album tucked under his arm, and the flamboyant cover caught your attention for a moment before you looked at his face again.

“Oh! Hey Eddie,” you greeted joyfully. “Didn’t expect to find you in the pop section…”

You shot Steve a look as he suddenly stepped backwards and walked further away— leaving you and Eddie essentially by yourselves. Eddie was more Steve’s friend than your own, wouldn’t he want to talk with you? But you couldn’t pay that much attention when you were trying to listen to Eddie’s reply: “Oh, I listen to all kinds of stuff, actually.”

“Well, your merch isn’t so diverse,” you noticed, pointing at his shirt; he looked down at it, like he forgot what he was wearing, and smiled.

“Yeah, this is one of my favorites,” he admitted. “The band and the shirt. My uncle got me this one for my birthday last year, actually.”

“Well, it’s cool,” you decided.

“Oh, thanks,” he hummed. “I-I like your necklace. Definitely classier than a worn-out old shirt.”

“Thank you, I—” you began, though you almost lost your breath when he reached up and touched the jewelry gently. “I… got it on a trip, with my parents? To Australia…”

You felt that shivery butterfly feeling as he toyed with the pearls around your neck. Was he flirting? You hoped so. Truth be told, you never really noticed Eddie when you went to school together; well, actually, a guy like Eddie was sort of impossible not to notice, but really you didn’t do anything past noticing him. Metalhead, D&D geek, flunker— you didn’t know much beyond that, though you didn’t take issue with him like most of the other kids in your social group did. A jock flipped his lunch tray on purpose once and you helped him clean it up, but that was the extent of your interaction.

You didn’t really notice that he was cute until Steve re-introduced you a few months back. It started with thinking that he was funny— in much more of a laughing with than a laughing at way for a guy like him— and then being flattered by his chivalry. It was little things, like opening doors and pulling out chairs, but you admired it. Despite a distinctly modern look, Eddie himself was sort of a classic guy, and that charming smile was timeless.

“Australia? That’s so cool,” he said suddenly. “I’ve never even been south of Kansas.”

“It's beautiful," you agreed. “We swam in the Great Barrier Reef.”

“I, uh, watched something on the Discovery channel about that one time,” he mumbled nervously, obviously aware of how much less interesting of a story that was. “I think they said, like, ten thousand different species live there…”

“That sounds about right,” you smiled, “but I didn’t see them all, obviously.”

The conversation stalled and Eddie rocked nervously on his heels; you examined him for a moment, expecting him to break the silence any second, but he never did.

“Since when are you so shy?” you tilted your head. “You’re normally so… boisterous.”

“Well, honestly?” he breathed. “I get really shy when I, uh, when I’m trying to ask somebody out.”

It still took you a second to get what he meant— you were actually about to ask him who he was going to ask out! Then it clicked, and you smiled. “Oh,” you blinked quickly, “you mean me, right? That’s sweet. What did you have in mind?”

“I-I just figured I’d ask if you wanted to go out sometime,” he decided, “with me.”

You giggled. “I meant for the date.”

“O-oh, yeah,” he sighed, blushing slightly; you liked this version of Eddie, even if you’d been crushing on the one that was so loud and crazy. “There’s a drive-in not too far from here, and I’ve got the van… do you like scary movies?”

“No,” you admitted, stepping up closer to drag your finger over his chest, tracing the letters of his Metallica t-shirt, “but maybe when the scary parts come on, you could protect me?”

You batted your eyelashes up at him, watching his eyes dart all over your face wildly. “Y-yeah, of course,” he promised quickly. “Not to brag or anything, but I’ve watched a lot of scary movies and I’ve survived them all. So you’re safe with me.”

“Good,” you hummed, stepping back and holding onto the strap of your bag that crossed over your chest. “So you can pick me up at seven, then?”

His shock turned quickly into glee. “Yeah! I’ll see you then.”

~

“S-sorry, I cleaned up as best I could,” Eddie promised nervously as you hopped into the van’s passenger seat.

“Oh, it’s fine!” you dismissed quickly. “Steve’s car is always a mess— not, like, dirty, but messy for sure. Random clothes everywhere.”

“Is Harrington stripping in his car that often?” Eddie wondered, curling his lips slightly.

You shrugged. “Guess so.”

Shuddering, Eddie started the van and began the familiar route to the drive-in. The sun was already setting, and it would be dark enough for the movie soon.

It was a short, but pleasant, ride; you took the time to catch up with Eddie and get to know him a little better, since you didn’t know a lot about him past the obvious.

“I’ve got everything we’ll need tonight,” he promised, “blankets, pillows— you know, to make the back all cozy— candy, snacks— do you like Sour Patch Kids?”

“Only the yellow ones,” you admitted, and he looked at you like you were crazy— but also, like he was into it. “I know!” you yelped. “Steve says it’s proof I’m a monster.”

“Monster? No, you’re perfect,” he said, so casually, like it didn’t make your heart skip, “and those are the only ones I won’t eat, so… guess we’re a perfect match, too.”

Biting your lip, you looked back at the road ahead— Eddie had just flipped on the headlights— and felt the warm, giddy flush crawling up your face. He was a flirt, that’s for sure, even when he had this nervous energy radiating off of him.

After finding the best available spot to park for the movie, Eddie asked you to wait in the passenger while he set up the back; for a few minutes as he unfolded blankets and arranged everything, you toyed with the pearls around your neck (after he complimented them, you kept them on despite changing most of the rest of your outfit, and he noticed, saying they made you look regal, ‘like a princess or something’) and waited.

“Ta-da!” he announced with an excited flourish of his arms and a wide grin when you were finally allowed to look: the back seats had been folded down, the back hatch doors were swung open, and the whole floor was padded with a pallet of blankets and pillows. And, right in the middle, a nice big stash of movie candy classics; including, of course, Sour Patch Kids. “Comfy, right?”

“Only one way to find out,” you smiled as you climbed in. He even held his hand out for you to lift yourself up with to get in the back, even though you definitely didn’t need it.

Once you were comfortable, he laid back on the blanket with you, letting you lean in close even though the movie hadn’t started yet— you could blame it on the chill in the air, but he’d see right through that.

“You really know how to show a girl a good time, huh?” you noticed as you relaxed on the soft padding beneath you.

“I-I try,” he stammered. “It’s been a while since I’ve— m’kinda out of practice, to be honest…”

“Me too,” you admitted.

“What?” he laughed. “Getting taken out doesn’t take any practice! All you’ve gotta do is sit there and look pretty.”

You batted your eyelashes at him; “How am I doing so far?”

He grinned as he tossed a blue Sour Patch Kid into his mouth. “You’re a natural, princess.”

When the movie finally did start, you were already getting that lovely jittery feeling from being so close to him, wondering if he would touch you: hoping he would, actually. Was he the kind of guy who waited until the end to kiss you? Or was he just waiting until everyone else in the surrounding cars was focused enough on the movie above for none of them to look back and see you making out?

But, you actually watched the movie for about the first act, occasionally whispering something to each other or laughing at a campy moment— and, of course, when you jumped at a scare and leaned in to him, he carefully wrapped an arm around you. Even with a relatively conservative touch, he nervously hesitated for a moment, but you found it endearing.

“Thanks for taking me out,” you whispered to him about halfway through the movie, making him look down at you.

“Y-yeah,” he agreed, looking like he was struggling a bit to focus on conversation with your face so close. “Thanks for, um, agreeing to go out with me. I wasn’t sure if you would.”

You grinned, biting your lip. “Actually, I was hoping you’d ask me soon.”

“Really?” Eddie raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think I was your type.”

“You’re not,” you admitted, “that’s the fun part. Something different.”

“This is different for me, too,” he agreed.

“I’m not like the girls you usually take out?” you assumed.

“In the sense that you exist? Yes,” he nodded, making you laugh almost a bit too loud. “Yes, very different.”

“C’mon, you can’t be that hopeless,” you rolled your eyes.

“This whole town thinks I’m a freak, remember?” he smirked. “Even the women— uh, especially the women.”

“Guess I don’t mind it,” you shrugged. “Maybe I’m a freak, too… once you get to know me.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

The tension of the moment lingered for a few moments of silence, neither you nor Eddie looking back at the big screen above you, keeping your eyes trained on each other. For a comment as sexually-charged as what you’d said, you didn’t expect him to follow it up with something so… wholesome. “Can I kiss you?” he asked.

Way too tender, way too sweet for how flirty and heated the conversation that led up to it had become. But it still made your stomach flip, and you nodded, and Eddie carefully cradled your jaw in his hand as he closed the distance and pressed his lips to yours.

It was chaste and patient, at first— gentle movements in time with each other, finding the rhythm, getting familiar with the faint taste of cigarettes under the sweetness of the sour candy you’d shared.

The moment seemed like it could go on forever, like the kiss never needed to end and never needed to progress; the movie played on in the background, but you hardly paid attention, focused instead on the sounds of his breathing picking up, of the blankets shifting beneath you when he moved, of the slightest sigh that fell against your face when you ran a hand up his chest over his shirt.

You opened your mouth wider, tilting your head back, not just allowing but inviting him to kiss you deeper— and he accepted gladly, one hand cradling the back of your head delicately.

His other hand ran down your back, settling at your waist; for a second you thought he might drift even lower and grab your butt. If he did, it would be sort of tacky, but you also wouldn’t mind that much for some reason.

He brushed his fingers over your jaw and tilted his face further, suddenly gaining a little speed and intensity as he tasted you, and you had to resist the urge to moan around his tongue carefully exploring your mouth. Fuck. Heat was already gathering between your legs from a kiss like this. Maybe it was due in part to how long it had been since you’d been taken out properly, but you knew you wouldn’t be able to control yourself if he wanted more.

You gasped softly when his hand slid up your leg. He’s gonna do it— he’s gonna reach up under my skirt and touch me. And I’m gonna let him.

It was impulsive and a little irresponsible, the way you were about to let Eddie Munson finger you right here in the drive-in, but it only turned you on more to think about how naughty it was. You actually wanted him to, you were so needy—

But he stopped moving his hand when he reached your upper thigh. Instead of moving in to carefully toy with the edge of your panties and eventually slip inside, he just started rubbing your thigh with his thumb, occasionally squeezing it as he kissed you.

He broke away from your lips, making you worry it was over, but then he dipped under your face and kissed under your ear. “Oh,” you gasped softly, and you felt him smile— cocky bastard.

Your hips rocked forward a bit, but he didn’t seem to notice: you barely noticed it, since it wasn’t exactly voluntary. Your fingers clutched his shirt, tightening even more when he bit your earlobe lightly just beside the pearl studs.

He was kissing a line down your neck when you shivered briefly. “Are you cold?” he asked.

You didn’t know how to say I was just trying not to rub my pussy on your thigh, sorry, so you simply mumbled, “kinda.”

“Do you want to get under a blanket?” he offered, and that sounded like a great idea and you nodded quickly. He nabbed another folded lump of fabric from behind the driver’s seat, laying it out over the top of you, and you cuddled up closer to him as the weight draped you both. “Do you wanna, uh, kiss some more?”

You giggled a little as you nodded again, reaching up to hold the back of his neck as he kissed you— harder, faster, deeper, getting right to the good stuff. You had to really fight the urge to lift your leg and rest it on his waist, it would feel so good and so… natural, but it would also be, you know, a little slutty. But that was becoming less and less of a concern for you as your need grew stronger and stronger. “Eddie,” you let yourself sigh against his lips, and he tightened his grip on your waist to pull you closer.

“What’s that, princess?” he whispered, egging you on, and you smiled.

“Eddie,” you said again, hearing him growl briefly in pride. He must’ve known that a kiss had never done you in quite like this, never tempted you to do things you didn’t like to do on the first date let alone in a car… in public!

You were so desperate, you could just picture it: him rolling you onto your back, settling himself between your legs and forcing them to part with the width of his hips. Kissing you harder, rutting against you, letting you feel how hard he’d become from holding you. But as much as you tried to encourage him to go a little further— tangling your fingers into his hair, moaning ever-so-softly into the kiss, arching your back (okay, that part wasn’t intentional, but you couldn’t help it)— he never bit the bait. He did literally bite you a few times, once gently on your swollen bottom lip and then twice on your neck later on, but that was as far as he went that night. When the movie ended he watched you climb back up in the front seat and drove you home— he even had the audacity to ask what your favorite part was even though he knew damn well you hadn’t been watching it.

“I liked the part where you licked my ear,” you answered, pretending to be so full of confidence, even though your heart was starting to race again as his own cheeks tinted pink.

“Y-yeah? Good to know,” he nodded as he steered the van around a corner.

There was a longer pause in the conversation as you waited for him to bring up your next date. You made it a whole twenty seconds. “Are you gonna ask me out on another date?” you finally blurted out.

“Now?” he wondered.

“I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do, I think,” you shrugged. “I guess you could call me tomorrow morning instead, but, you could always get it over with now.”

“You know how this works a little better than I do,” he laughed. “If you’re so eager why don’t you ask me out?”

Your face got warm as he (accurately) called you out for your impatience. “I thought it was supposed to be the other way around,” you mumbled.

“I thought you were a feminist,” he retorted proudly, grinning at you.

“Okay,” you relented, unable to fight down a smile in response to his, “Steve’s throwing a party next weekend. Come with me.”

“I can do that,” he decided with a nod, “as long as I don’t have to dress up like a trust fund kid.”

You snorted. “Definitely not. I like the idea of you sticking out like a sore thumb, actually.”

“Happy to,” he grinned. “When should I pick you up?”

“I have to help Steve set the whole thing up, actually,” you replied, “so I’ll already be there— but show up at eight and I’ll have a drink ready for you.”

~

He got there at seven fifty-seven. He wasn’t usually so punctual, but the promise of seeing you again was a strong motivator.

You knew he’d arrived when Steve called your name from the foyer, loud enough for you to hear where you were scooping ice into cups in the kitchen. “Your boyfriend’s here!” Steve added, making your face flush— the other guests definitely heard that.

“Steve,” you whined as you dashed past him to the open door, seeing Eddie beaming at you from the welcome mat. “H-he’s not my boyfriend…”

“I’m not?” Eddie grinned with an inquisitive eyebrow as he stepped inside, kissing you on the cheek politely while Steve shut the door.

“You wanna be?” you realized.

“Duh,” Eddie laughed.

“When we’re only on our second date?”

“Princess, I wanted to be your boyfriend before we even went on one,” he replied, and your heart fluttered.

Smiling proudly, you pulled Eddie into a kiss, as Steve kept leaning on the door with one hand and resting the other on his hips; a proud grin was on his face. “I’ll be awaiting my Wingman Of The Year Award in the mail any day now,” he announced, making you break away and look at him suspiciously.

“Wingman?” you repeated.

“Y-yeah, uh,” Eddie choked, moving his hands to your waist carefully, “Steve sorta… helped me out, when I didn’t know how to ask you— it’s not important now.”

“Yeah it is,” Steve corrected, a little offended, “I just got her to make you her boyfriend— you’re welcome.”

“Oh, you’ve done it now,” you warned Eddie playfully. “Once Steve starts meddling, he can’t stop.”

“Whatever,” Steve rolled his eyes, taking his hand off the door and starting to walk backwards towards the rest of the party. “If you’ll excuse me, there are some more star-crossed lovers in need of Cupid’s assistance, so…”

He mimed the shooting of a tiny bow and arrow before he disappeared, making you and Eddie laugh. “He’s already a little tipsy, apparently,” you noticed, but Eddie’s mind had already forgotten Steve entirely as he stared at you.

“You look amazing, by the way,” he informed you, drinking in the sight of your tight dress.

“I thought we might match if I wore something black,” you explained with a grin, “I was right.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Eddie cooed, “you wanna match with your boyfriend…”

He put extra emphasis on the last word by kissing your neck gently, and you laughed as you held onto him tighter. “You really talked to Steve about asking me out?” you remembered, and you felt Eddie nod against your neck. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me— he’s not much of a secret-keeper.”

“It doesn’t bother you, does it?” he worried for a moment, pulling back.

“Of course not!” you promised. “It’s sweet… really sweet, actually, imagining you telling Steve how you’re, like, totally obsessed with me—”

“Well, it wasn’t quite like that—” Eddie began to deny.

“Shh!” you stopped him quickly. “I’m imagining it, I can imagine it however I want.”

Eddie laughed. “Fair enough. Now where’s that drink I was promised?”

~

Over the course of the next two hours and five drinks, you and Eddie mingled with the rest of that upper crust crowd you were used to hanging with— and, yes, they were all somewhere between confused and irritated that Eddie was here. He’s with me, you kept saying, like his arm around you wasn’t obvious enough.

He even danced with you to some music you knew he didn’t actively enjoy, but that was partly the alcohol and not just his acquiescence.

As the night seemed to get louder and rowdier, you kept trying to find somewhere that you and Eddie could be, if not alone, a little less crowded. You went outside first, but it was chilly even with his arms holding you close. All the many bedrooms of the house were, uh, occupied by this point in the evening… and so, with a devilish grin, you grabbed him by the wrist and guided him to the upstairs guest bathroom— tugging him into it and shutting the door behind you.

Before he could ask why you were in the bathroom together, you stood up on your toes to get closer to him. “I’ve been thinking about you,” you whispered in his ear.

“Yeah?” he breathed, smiling. “What were you thinking about?”

“Our date,” you remembered, “how you kissed me in your van. There were all those people around… but now we’re alone…”

“O-oh,” he choked, “yeah, we are…”

“Can you kiss me like that again?” you pleaded coyly, and he gave you a slightly dumbstruck look as he nodded.

“I can try,” he whispered, pulling you into him for a kiss that made your knees falter for a half-second— though that was partly the liquor, too.

It heated up quickly, his body pressing yours back against the sink, your moans slipping in between the movements of his lips and tongue. You hopped back and sat yourself on the counter, wrapping your legs around his hips and grinning when you felt him shiver.

“Y-you’re so sexy,” he mumbled against your skin, kissing his way to your neck, making your back arch even more. When you tightened your legs around him, it forced him to press against where your dress had ridden up— and you could feel how hard he was, through his jeans and right on your dampening panties.

“Oh, fuck,” you sighed, desperate for him to rock against you, drunk on the way it felt to make his cock all stiff and throbbing like that. And also just a little bit actually-drunk, but that was only part of it.

He kept his focus on your neck, though he pulled your dress’ single strap out of the way to kiss your shoulder, too, and his fingers on your bare skin felt fucking electric; you wanted to just fall back and lay your head against the mirror, let him do whatever he wanted to you, but you hugged him tighter instead and carded your fingers through his curly hair.

“Need you so bad,” you admitted in a hushed moan by his ear, making him grunt and hold onto your hips tightly.

“You— fuck, you know we can’t go all the way in Harrington’s bathroom, right?” he whispered harshly, pulling away from your neck to look at you with dilated eyes and bitten lips.

“Why not?” you shrugged. “Not the first time I’ve done it in here anyways…”

His eyes went wide before he cleared his throat. “I— I think we should save it for someplace a little more special, don’t you?”

You smirked at him. “Okay,” you agreed, “but we can still mess around, right?”

He grinned mischievously as he answered, “Yeah.”

“Good,” you beamed, hopping up off the counter and spinning him around suddenly to pin him back against it, “cause I wanna blow you.”

“Blow—! Blow me?!” he blurted out. “Oh, I—”

You started to drop down on your knees, but you felt his hands hold tightly onto your arms to keep you up; and you tilted your head as you looked up at him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he nodded quickly, “it’s just— I don’t want you to think you have to do that.”

“Oh, Eddie— I don’t think I have to,” you assured, “b-but if you want me to, I’d like to…”

He surprised you by pulling you into another kiss— not rough, but definitely a little hard as he pressed his lips to yours. Never one to question a kiss, you submitted to it and slipped your arms around his shoulders. It went on for a while, almost too long, and you started to wonder if he was ever going to let you get back on your knees for him; why was he stalling?

When he broke away, he pulled you into a tight hug. “Is everything okay?” you finally asked him.

“I don’t wanna take things too fast,” he whispered, and your heart swelled. Oh my god, I’ve found the world’s best man, you thought, knowing how rare it was for a guy to think with the head on his shoulders.

You pulled back and smiled up at him. “That’s sweet,” you decided, and he smiled back at you as he brushed his hand over your hair to softly pet your head.

“Yeah,” he agreed quietly. “We’ve got something special, I think— and the last thing I wanna do is mess it all up by rushing this.”

You leaned forward to kiss him quickly, and he smiled against you before you pulled back. “You’re so wonderful,” you hummed at him, feeling your chest warm even more as you realized you finally found a guy who liked you for you, and not just what you could do for him.

“I’m wonderful?” Eddie repeated incredulously. “Every guy out there wishes he’d been the one that brought you here tonight, you know— and none of them can believe it’s me instead. You do realize that?”

“Yeah,” you admitted with a shy giggle, taking his hand quickly. “Let’s go back out there so you can rub it in a little more, okay?”

“Okay,” he laughed as he followed you back into the hallway and through the crowd, shutting the guest bathroom’s door behind you.

You tried not to bring it up again after that, not to initiate anymore— because the way you’d left things it felt like Eddie would let you know when the time was right. Him being such a gentleman wasn’t what you’d expected— not that you thought he’d be rude and pushy or anything— but it was a pleasant surprise. Even better was imagining how wild he’d be once he finally caved and just couldn’t wait to have you any longer.

~

October 1986

“So, what did you wanna talk about?” Steve finally prompted as you walked side by side on the trail, leaves in every warm-toned shade decorated the earth around you. He knew you were going to keep stalling, even though you’d called him and asked if you could walk to the coffee shop together and ‘talk about something important’, unless he brought it up first. You sighed— you’d wanted to stall just a bit longer, but maybe you might as well get it over with.

“Well, I feel kinda weird talking to you about this…” you trailed off.

“Me? You tell me everything,” Steve explained.

“But Eddie’s your friend,” you sighed, and Steve stopped walking— so you did, too.

“Wait,” Steve got stern quickly, “is everything okay? He’s not hurting you is he? Do you think he’s cheating? ‘Cause I—”

“Nonono,” you interrupted quickly, “it’s fine— he’s great. He’s… amazing.”

“Okay,” Steve nodded, “you just let me know if he’s doing anything messed up to you, okay?”

“That’s the thing,” you frowned, crossing your arms tightly, “it’s more of what he’s not doing to me…”

“Huh?”

“Well, we’ve been going out a while now,” you began, “and I guess I thought— well, usually, by this point— you know I’m not a slut!”

He blinked rapidly at the sudden change in topic. “W-well, yeah! What’s that got to do with it?”

“I don’t like to put out on the first date,” you explained, “not even the second or third— I like to take things a little slower, it pisses some guys off but it pisses off the right guys so they can dump me if that’s all they want.”

“Right,” Steve agreed. “I should try that…”

“Yeah, right,” you rolled your eyes, knowing Steve wasn’t going to be able to keep up with a no-sex-on-the-first-date rule for long. “Anyways, my point is, with Eddie… I was actually gonna go all the way with him on our first date."

"Woah!" Steve laughed, but he raised his hands up when you glared at him. "No judgment! Seems like it worked out, anyways."

"N-no, I was going to, but then we didn't."

Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Then at your party…"

"Oh god," he shuddered, "just tell me you didn't use any of my mom's nice hand towels…"

"No! Steve, we didn't do it there," you groaned, "he actually told me that he wants to take things slow."

"Oh," Steve relaxed, "cool— I guess he's pretty serious about you."

You nodded, remembering when you thought of it the same way, but that logic was less comforting now.

"So, how long did he wait before you…?"

You looked at Steve, eventually raising your eyebrows to try to signal him wordlessly, but it took him a couple seconds to put it together. "Oh, shit!" he yelped. "You haven't, still?!"

"He must think I'm hideous," you assumed immediately, hiding your face in your hands.

"I'm sure it's not that," Steve tried to assure you.

"What would it take for you to not sleep with your girlfriend after a month and a half?" you pressed.

"Uh…" Steve stalled, biting his lip.

You crossed your arms, waiting impatiently. "Let me guess: an apocalyptic event of Biblical proportions?"

"Yeah, something like that," he admitted.

"See! He's not into me at all," you whimpered.

"No way," Steve insisted, "he was crushing on you hard way before he asked you out. He told me! He only waited as long as he did 'cause he thought I'd have a problem with it, for whatever reason."

"So what changed?"

Steve pondered that. "Uh," he realized suddenly, "you don't think he's got, uh…"

Steve whistled as he held up his pinky finger, and you choked on your own throat. "We've done stuff, you know," you informed him, "and from what I can tell, that's… not the issue. At all."

"Okay, okay," Steve waved his hands, “spare me the gory details.”

“I don’t have gory details, I haven’t even seen it,” you whined.

“But it feels normal?” he prompted.

You shrugged. “Through jeans.”

“Huh,” Steve considered, “maybe he’s worried about how it looks, then. Maybe it’s all… weird-looking.”

You grimaced. “I mean, maybe…”

“Maybe it’s like, a zombie dick!” Steve exclaimed.

“You’ve been watching too many scary movies,” you rolled your eyes— this is what happens when you watch horror movies every day in anticipation of Halloween, apparently.

“Or maybe it’s an alien that controls his mind!” Steve continued regardless.

“Pretty sure all guys’ minds are controlled by their dicks, Steve,” you sighed. Except my boyfriend, the metalhead prude.

~

You and Eddie had been watching horror movies to get in the spooky spirit as well… you just hadn’t been watching them as effectively.

“Eddie,” you giggled as he kissed up your neck, tickling you with the tip of his tongue. He traced the shape of your ear and you groaned, pushing on his shoulders slightly as your back arched.

“I thought you liked that,” he teased.

“I-I do,” you admitted.

“Then say it,” he prompted; your thighs clenched.

“I… I like that,” you whimpered, “fuck, Eddie, s’good…”

He hummed proudly and latched his teeth onto your neck again, pressing his chest up against yours. It reminded you how hard your nipples had become, and you found yourself reaching to find one of Eddie’s hands on your lower back, guiding it up up up until he was grabbing at you through your shirt. “Fuck,” he grunted by your ear, “wanted me to feel your tits, coulda just asked, princess.”

He was definitely an auditory kind of person, liked to hear you say it all: feels good, right there, touch me, kiss me— only thing he didn’t like to hear was do we have to stop now?

Because it always stopped too soon for your tastes; you’d been camping out at second base for ages, and not that you didn’t love the way Eddie’s fingers teased your little buds at the same time that his thick hands groped your whole chest appreciatively— not that you didn’t love the way he swore you were perfect, voice low and rough as he showered you in compliments and oh-so-politely asked permission to put his mouth on them. But god, if that was the way he teased you here, you could only imagine how it would feel on your clit, those expert fingers rubbing you as he watched your face fall into ecstasy, as he told you he would put a few inside to warm you up for his cock…

Literally, you could only imagine it. It was driving you actually fucking crazy.

He hummed as he pushed your shirt up, latching onto your nipple the second one was exposed to him, and you cried out loudly— probably loud enough for one of the neighboring trailers to hear, honestly. Not that you had the energy to care about that now.

“So sensitive,” he mocked lightly, flicking the bud over and over with the end of his tongue for a second. “Are they always like this?”

No, only when you’ve been edging me for seven weeks. “J-just for you,” you stammered out, and he hummed quickly before moving on to the other, tilting his head— he looked damn good like that, eyes shut with his lashes resting on his cheeks, mouth open just enough to fit your nipple inside, full lips suckling at you. “You’re pretty,” you blurted out, and he blinked those big eyes open to smile up at you.

“Me?” he chuckled. “Nah, no way.”

“Yeah you are,” you insisted with a laugh, sitting up slightly. “You’re hot, actually.”

You reached for his shoulders and guided him back, until he was sitting properly on the couch again (which he hadn’t been since ten minutes into the movie when he descended on you) and you were the one leaning over him. “Oh,” he gasped a bit when you straddled his lap; the energy changed a bit.

“Is this okay?” you asked quietly.

“U-uh, yeah,” he nodded, and you smiled as you rested your hands on his shoulders before you kissed him again. It was a little different this time, it felt less like fooling around and more like… something important. His hands didn’t stay glued to your chest this time, they wandered carefully to your exposed back, holding you delicately like you were breakable; his kiss was delicate, too, everything felt more patient. You thought it couldn’t get any better than that heat-of-the-moment feeling, that playful energy you had before, but the sensuality of this was newer and even more addictive.

You sighed as you moved in his lap— not of your own accord, just your body surrendering to instinct. Your hips sought any friction they could find and your hands searched his chest for a good place to latch on to; they ended up sliding over his neck and into his hair, which made him softly moan as you tugged on the messy locks.

“Princess,” he choked, “fuck— you’re so… fuck.”

You rocked your hips a little slower, but pressed down harder into his lap, and both of you groaned as you rubbed right on the firm bulge under his fly. “Eddie,” you whimpered, feeling his fingers tighten at your waist, “I— I want you…”

Your heart sank as he gasped and pushed you back. “M-maybe we should slow down a bit,” he decided suddenly. Your bottom lip caught between your teeth as you stared down, sitting on his knees.

“Um… okay…” you mumbled quietly. You hadn’t really tried to get things going since Steve’s party, but you didn’t really suspect that if you did, you’d be outright rejected. It wasn’t something you were used to in a time like this. “Do you… still wanna kiss?”

“Yeah!” he said quickly. “I just… I don’t wanna take things too fast.”

That excuse was cute a month ago. Your shoulders slumped defeatedly and you pulled your shirt down again— but you still felt uncomfortably exposed, somehow, and you wrapped your arms around yourself to try to distract from the empty feeling inside.

“Oh god, princessl, what’s wrong?” he cooed quietly. “I-I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I know… but can you tell me what’s going on?” you pleaded. “Is it me? You are attracted to me, right?”

“What?! Of course I am,” he shook his head, bewildered by your insecurity. As if that was something you should’ve figured out by, what, clairvoyance?

“I’m just not sure what to think,” you mumbled. “I wanna go further— and I don’t wanna, you know, force you or pressure you or anything, but to be totally honest… I’ve never had to talk a guy into sex before. And I can’t help but wonder if there’s something wrong.”

“No, nothing’s wrong,” he promised, “at least not with you. I do wanna, you know, take the next step with you. It’s been driving me crazy to keep stopping you when you offer… all that stuff…”

“So why turn me down?” you pouted. “If we both want it, what else is there to worry about?”

He sighed slightly as he glanced away.

“C’mon, Eddie, is something going on?” you pleaded. “Just talk to me. Whatever it is, I wanna know.”

“Well, yeah,” he relented, “it’s… it’s me, it’s this thought I have every time I try to take things past just making out.”

You waited patiently for his explanation, wringing your hands nervously.

“You and Steve went out for… a while,” he recalled. “And, you know, he’s— got a reputation. A very good one.”

“Oh,” you sighed.

“And he’s, uh… been with a lot of girls,” Eddie continued nervously. “I-I’m not a virgin or anything, but I’ve never actually had a girlfriend before, so…”

“So?” you encouraged.

“I guess I just… I’m worried that I won’t be as good as him,” he finally admitted. “Actually, I’m about ninety-five percent confident I won’t be as good as him— and if I’m not, maybe you… won’t wanna go out anymore.”

“Eddie,” you sighed, equal parts relieved and heartbroken and bewildered. You reached up and held his face in both your hands, making him look at you. “I wanna be with you. Not Steve, or anybody else.”

“And when you say be with…” he trailed off.

“I mean that in every sense,” you clarified. “I like going out with you, I love being your girlfriend. And I want us to do what boyfriends and girlfriends do— I want us to, you know… touch each other, and pleasure each other…”

You lowered your voice, moving in a little closer on his lap, and his gaze seemed to get a little heavier.

“Feel each other,” you continued, “and explore, you know? ‘Cause yeah, it will be different than it was with Steve. But Steve and I had to get to know each other before it was really great. I think once we get a chance to practice, we’ll be even better.”

“Practice?” he repeated.

“Yeah,” you grinned, “that’s the fun part.”

Eddie blinked at you quickly. “I— I guess it’s different when you’re dating, huh? Because I’ve never had a chance to, uh, improve for next time. I’ve never had a next time before.”

You smiled. “Well, if things go my way,” you explained, leaning in closer beside his face, “there’s gonna be a next time—” you kissed his cheek, “and a next time—” you moved around and kissed the other— “and a next time…”

He shuddered when you placed a quick peck on his jaw. “Okay,” he breathed, “I like the sound of that. But… I want our first time to be… you know, really amazing and stuff.”

You laughed. “After all this damn anticipation, I’m sure it will be. You drove me crazy making me wait so long, Eddie.”

He coughed; “S-sorry,” he offered, “I wasn’t trying to, I swear. And it drove me crazy, too. I honestly wanted to make it with you right then and there in my van at the drive-in on our very first date— but I figured I’d get slapped if I tried that.”

You bit your lip as you leaned in a little closer. “Eddie, I would’ve let you,” you whispered. “I was so hot for you, I wanted you so bad…”

He swallowed as he blinked up at you. “I-I didn’t think you were that kind of girl,” he admitted, and you giggled.

“I’m not,” you promised, “I just couldn’t help it when you kissed me like that. I was totally yours, Eddie, from the first kiss.”

His fingers squeezed your hips and you purred. “God, that’s— you’re so perfect,” he sighed. “I-I was honestly afraid I would bust in my jeans that night,” he admitted with a soft laugh, “and then at Harrington’s party, when you said you wanted to…? I was toast.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You know, that offer still stands if you want me to—”

“Oh, fuck no,” he laughed, “I’m already gonna be fighting to last once I get inside you, don’t need you getting me all worked up with that pretty mouth you’ve got.”

His finger traced your lips and you opened them to suckle on the end of it; his lip twitched and you felt his hips rock up against you.

“Fuck,” he grunted, “let’s go to bed, angel, I think we’ve waited long e-fucking-nough.”

Of course, ‘let’s go to bed’ makes it sound more cooperative— really he all but carried and dragged you across the trailer to his bed, tossing you onto it and peeling his shirt off in a second before he descended onto you. Giggling, you held the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss you sweetly.

Your shirt didn’t last long, either, but he was more interested in getting your skirt and stockings off; and thank god for that, because you didn’t need any more foreplay after getting teased for the past… sixteen, maybe seventeen dates? You lost count a while ago.

He propped himself up on one arm above you, looking down with his bottom lip between his teeth as he saw your panties. You bit your lip, too, at the sight of his expression— of his eyes darkening a bit and his chest filling with a deep breath.

“Oh, princess,” he cooed, making you shiver joyfully. “Look at these…”

His fingers traced the lacy edge of your underwear, toying quickly with the little bow at the front. “That tickles,” you mumbled, and he met your gaze again with a grin.

“These all for me?” he assumed, and you nodded. “Wanted to get all dressed up for me, in case I finally took you to bed?”

“Something like that,” you admitted. You hadn’t worn nice panties to every date, as your hope for more than back-of-the-bus level touching faded, but thankfully something told you to wear them to this one. That ‘something’ being Steve.

“They’re cute,” he decided, “all… girly, and delicate, like you.” He lifted your legs slightly, and his playful attitude shifted to something a bit more intense. “And they’re— fuck, baby— they’re soaked.”

You wiggled your hips, slightly self-conscious about him staring at the wet patch on your blush lace. “Th-that’s just what you do to me,” you replied, just before he shut you up with another bruising kiss, pressing his body down on yours. Even just his bare chest against your own was soothing and warm.

He rocked his hips against yours, pressing the bulge under his fly right up to that wet spot on your panties; you could feel the ridge of his head, the way his cock throbbed, even his balls pressing up to your ass through the denim. “That,” he whispered into your lips, “is what you do to me.”

“Fuck,” you whined, “I wanna— lemme feel you, Eddie, please, I w-wanna… wanna touch you there.”

“Where?” he prompted teasingly.

“Your cock,” you groaned, and he sat up to start working on his belt.

“Coulda just said so,” he insisted with a wink, admiring the way you looked all wide-eyed and needy as you watched him open his jeans.

If only it had been that easy; but you were sure the wait would be worth it, especially when you saw the thick outline of his cock through the checkered boxers. It looked even bigger than it felt before— actually, you were a little light-headed looking at it all of a sudden.

You were reaching up for the waistband already but he stopped you, grabbing your hands and grinning mischievously as he pinned them at your sides. "Ah ah, not yet," he corrected teasingly, "I wanna see you first. You wrapped your pussy up like a little present for me, don't I get to open it?"

You wouldn't have minded if he opened that present the way he actually opened presents: tearing at the paper ferally. But instead he removed your panties slowly and delicately, like one of those people who unsticks the tape and saves the paper. Except instead of that he was sliding his fingers down your thighs, watching the lace unstick from your damp folds, groaning low in his chest as you were revealed to him.

It wasn't until the panties were past your ankles and tossed aside that you could open your legs— or, more accurately, that he could carefully guide your legs to spread for him— and he stared down with his lip between his teeth at your pussy. You felt a little awkward being examined like that, but it was all worth it for the way his nostrils flared, the way he brought his thumb to the point where your lower lips met and pulled your sex taut for a better look at your swollen button, the way he sighed and tilted his head back for a moment with his eyes shut— like it was too much to look at it for that long, like he needed a break to cope with the perfection before him. "Baby," he all but moaned as he stared down at it again— and then at you, at your shy face waiting for him to say something. "So fuckin' pretty. Shit, gotta be the prettiest pussy I've ever seen."

You bit down on your smile as he laid down over you again, kissing you hungrily. You felt him start to push his own boxers down and you weren't about to let him do it all by himself, so you reached down between your body and his to grab his erection— and you both groaned as you held it.

"Mm," he hummed, kissing your neck for a moment, "your hands are soft…"

But his sweet tone shifted a bit as you wrapped your legs around his hips, making him press forward enough for you to guide his squishy head right over your folds.

"Fuck," he whispered harshly, "y'wanna put it in for me, princess?" He seemed amused by your eagerness, after spending the last month and a half making you this desperate. "Just can't wait anymore, need me too bad?"

You whimpered, but nodded. He pulled his face back from where it had nestled by your neck and looked down at you with a smile. His gaze had softened a bit, something sweet and gentle in his stare. "Need you, Eddie," you agreed before he could even ask you to just say it, princess.

He kissed you again, a little more patiently, and let you move his cock right up to your hole that had been flexing helplessly since this all started. He kept kissing you even as he pushed inside, both of you gasping together at the feeling.

“Oh, Eddie,” you sighed into his mouth fallen slack, holding tightly onto his shoulder blades. “Is that— are you all the way in?”

“Just a little more,” he whispered, “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

You shook your head, and he gave you the rest with a gentle thrust into the end of you; you arched your back, but it wasn’t too difficult to take. He was thick enough that maybe it should’ve stung, but after this much anticipation you were beyond prepared.

“Wow,” he panted, right into your slack-open mouth, “you feel like fucking heaven.”

His pace was gentle and slow at first, each of his breaths hot puffs across your face before he had to hug you tighter, hold you closer, bury his face just above your shoulder. Your walls hugged onto him tight, just like your legs wrapped around his hips, and he breathed in the scent of your heated skin by the crook of your neck.

With each stroke you dragged your nails lightly across the back of his neck, tangling your fingers into his mess of curls.

Your cheeks burned when you heard the sound of it, the wet noises that filled the trailer each time Eddie's hips collided with your own.

"Fuck," he sighed right by your ear, "princess— you're so… so fucking wet…"

That much was obvious, but hearing the way it made Eddie practically melt was amazing. His voice broke with each moan beside your ear, every slide against your dripping walls, every plunge into your warmth. He picked up the pace quickly, struggling to hold himself back anymore.

He whined out your name a few times, his clammy hands slipping under your back and keeping you hugged tightly against him. "S-so good," he grunted, "you're so good, princess, feel so good for me— fuck."

Turns out, Eddie was just as talkative during sex as he was at all other times. And thank god for that, because hearing him talk made you shiver all over, even inside. "Eddie," you whimpered, feeling the curve of his cock stroke right on that place inside— at just the same time that his hips were rubbing on your clit from the gyrating motion of his thrusts. "Fuck— right there, right there—"

"Like that?" he noticed. "This how you like it, baby?"

"Yes," you promised. "Yes, yes, yes…"

He kept his motions the same but moved a little faster, skin slapping on yours and your whole body rocking up and down— or maybe it was the mattress under you… or maybe it was the trailer itself. Possibly all of the above.

His mouth was wide open just by your neck, every soft grunt and panted breath falling out for you— and they were getting louder the longer he went on, his grip on your back was tightening. You knew he was close already from all of that plus the way you felt his cock jump inside you, and it turned you on like nothing else.

"Princess," he whined, "you— god, you… fuck."

You giggled a bit at the way he had failed completely to finish whatever sentence he'd started.

"Aw, don't laugh at me," he pouted slightly, though the way he had to talk through his teeth made it sound almost like a threat— and you really liked that. "Can't help it, I can't fucking think straight when I'm inside you— Christ I still can't believe it, you know. That you want me. You could have anybody— fuck— and you feel fucking perfect and— god I dunno how much more of this I can take."

As good as it felt, you weren't quite there yet— you weren't even close, really. It always took you a while to finish, but Eddie clearly didn't have a while: he was already all red in the face and moaning weakly into your neck, fucking you with needy and erratic thrusts. But you didn't even care; it was so sweet, seeing him lose his cool so quickly, you didn't mind if you weren't left quite as satisfied at the end of this. It was worth it to watch him fall apart and know you were the cause.

“Fuck, fuck!” he whined. “Oh— fuck, I don’t wanna come yet, I shouldn’t come yet—”

But you could see it was killing him; his face was tightened up so hard and he couldn’t seem to force himself to slow down. “It’s okay,” you promised, “it’s okay, you can come, Eddie…”

“Oh my god oh my god,” he rushed in a split second, “I-I’m gonna come. Fuck, I can come inside, right?”

You laughed lightly. “Yeah,” you assured.

“Good, ‘cause, I dunno if I can pull out,” he admitted.

In a second he was slamming his hips into yours, desperately chasing release— and your moans got louder and sharper at the feeling.

"Fuck, baby, fuckfuckfuck—!" he whimpered, moving his hands to your hips to keep you as still as possible; and suddenly, he sunk down and deflated with a long sigh, and knowing he was coming inside you made a tingle crawl up your back.

He only took a half second to catch his breath and blink his eyes open before he was looking at you apologetically.

“I’m so sorry,” he panted right away, “you didn’t—”

“Hey, it’s fine,” you promised, “like I said, there’s always next time—”

“No,” he said firmly, surprising you. “This time. You need to come this time, too.”

"W-well, I—" you started, cut off when his thumb found your slick and throbbing nub and stroked it in careful circles. Instantly your hips jumped and your walls seized up, a shaky breath slipping out of your lips. "Oh…"

"S'that better, princess?" he cooed, still breathing heavily— he hadn't even lost his boner yet, and the feeling of your pussy bearing down on him from pleasure was surely helping to keep it alive. "Tell me how it feels."

"Good," you choked, feeling him press harder on it, "fuck, I— I like it when you touch me there…"

"Mhm?" he encouraged. "Like when I rub your clit?"

You sighed; "Yeah, fuck, Eddie— I like it—"

He pulled out suddenly and climbed down, kissing and biting hungrily at your inner thighs before you'd even processed what was happening. It made your hips lift off the bed, the way his teeth teased your sensitive skin, and the pressure of that forced a thick drop of his come out of your cunt.

When he saw it, his eyebrows knitted and his chest sunk— he almost looked heartbroken just from the sight of it.

"God, that's too perfect," he groaned, "I got you so full, princess, you can't even fit it all inside— it's dripping, baby, fuck, that's my come dripping out of you right now…"

He held your thighs and stared right at it, watched that creamy white drop run down the seam of your ass, your little hole flexing right in front of his face— and he couldn't help it, he had to dive in and lick it up.

Your eyes rolled back in your head as he latched onto you, hot and hungry mouth tasting every inch of your cunt that his tongue could reach.

"Eddie!" you yelped, shocked but overwhelmingly aroused that he was doing something so… well, filthy. Eating his own come from you after pumping it so deep into you; and he seemed to be just as pleased, shutting his eyes tight and moaning as his plunged his tongue inside you and lapped up the mix of his come and your wetness.

He broke away for just a second, panting, looking up at you with glassy eyes. “We taste so good together,” he said, like he didn’t even notice how sexy that was to say. He went in again to lap at you, taking more time over your clit this go-round— and making your legs shake a little when he did. His eyes darted to the side as he noticed it, a grin breaking out around his extended tongue which he slipped back into his mouth. “Oh… I like when you do that. Think I’ll have to see if I can make you do it again.”

He gave another wide lap of his tongue over your bud, pressing down hard until your legs shook again. He kept his tongue still and nodded his head up and down slightly, and it just happened over and over until your back was arching up off the bed and were clutching at his hair in hopes of mercy. “F-fuck, Eddie, feels really good,” you managed to choke out.

But it was just the beginning, and a second later he wrapped his lips around your bud and suckled at it— almost too hard, but just the right amount of too hard.

“Oh god!” you shouted before you could stop yourself. “Fuck!”

He hummed proudly and kept going, swirling his tongue over the delicate skin as you whimpered and sobbed. It was intense and sharp, hot shocks of pleasure jumping up through your body.

"I'm gonna come!" you shouted— too loud, too whiny, too beautifully pathetic. "Eddie, baby, please—"

You had no idea what you were asking for, but he hummed and nodded without breaking away, and you were sure that whatever it was, he would give it to you.

Both your hands held onto his head and you started to just writhe, there wasn't much else you could do. Paradoxically, as you started to reach the peak, your body fought to get away from the sensation— like it was too much, like you were scared to come this hard. But Eddie held you to your promise to come, fighting to stay latched onto you even as you bucked and almost screamed; and then, once it hit you, it was over in a flash. The white-hot pleasure burned you up in a moment and you had to actually push his head away before it hurt too much.

"Fuck, fuck," you panted, sighing with relief as he let go and grinned up at you with a smile soaked in your cream.

"Did you come?" he asked excitedly, as you collapsed back limply onto the mattress.

"Are you kidding?" you wheezed, and he laughed softly as he climbed back up to lay down next to you, draping an arm over your waist. “I— fuck, Eddie,” you laughed breathlessly, “nobody’s ever made me come that way before.”

“Not even Steve?” he beamed.

“Not even Steve,” you agreed.

"So… that means I'm… better than him?" Eddie prompted hopefully.

"Eddie, it's not about that," you frowned, "it's— you're totally different, it's apples and oranges."

"Okay but, between apples and oranges, which one is better at sex?"

You shoved him on the shoulder but he pulled you into a tight hug, keeping you close even when you wanted to squirm away and leave him alone as punishment for bringing this up.

"Just tell me so I can rub it in Harrington's smug little face tomorrow," Eddie pleaded, and you laughed a bit.

"I'm gonna be too busy rubbing it in your smug little face tomorrow," you warned him with a raised eyebrow, and he grinned excitedly. "I— actually, can I sit on your face sometime? I've always wanted to try that."

"O-okay, yeah, we can do that instead," he nodded eagerly. "Whatever you want, princess."

[anim-ttrpgs]

An absolutely incredible review of the beta version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy by review Willy Muffin on youtube, complete with visuals and actual analysis!

I'm going to also add to this post a comment that I left on the video, offering further insight into the design intentions of the game, though the comment might not make as much sense if you haven't watched the video yet.

Hey, lead writer of Eureka here, first of all I wanna say how good and professional this review is, it’s almost indescribable how it feels to see our project taken so seriously and given real analysis, complete with visuals and everything! We would be super impressed and happy with it even if you didn’t like the game—but luckily it sounds like you loved it hahaha

I’d also like to address a few things throughout the video, not as arguments or rebuttals, just further developer insight for everyone

Re: “Urban Fantasy.” “Urban Fantasy” is basically just another term for “modern fantasy”, just a fantasy story that takes place in the 20th or 21st century and deals with the intersection of contemporary life with the supernatural, and it might be an Americanism, or even a Southern-ism, since it has a lot of connections and origins in the living folklore of New Orleans, so I shouldn’t be surprised it isn’t a term everyone is familiar with. Just think of it as the kind of genre where instead of the vampire living in a secluded scary castle, his name is Phil and he’s your roommate haha. What We Do in the Shadows, Shadowrun, and the World of Darkness games are all some other good examples of “urban fantasy.”

Re: Scooby-Doo. Oh we would LOVE for you to run a Scooby-Doo-like wacky mystery with Eureka. Even though the main tone is dark and gritty and noir, we did intentionally build it so that it could run more lighthearted stuff as well! There’s even a few Scooby-Doo references to be found throughout the text, and if we hit a certain stretch goal on the Kickstarter, we’re going to be adding a bunch of Scooby-gang-inspired traits, including the option to play a Talking Dog!

Re: Combat being the largest section, even larger than Investigation. First of all, that’s kind of an illusion that is the result of the game being unfinished. I have a tendency when I write rules to use really long sentences, overexplain things, repeat myself, etc, and that dramatically bloats the rules text and page count, but that’s why we have an editor! She goes through after the fact and trims most of the fat off my bloated writing style to make it flow smoother and read faster, and take up less space. The PDF that was read for this review has had the Investigation chapter copy-edited (and cut down in size by about 25%!), but the editor hasn’t gotten to the combat chapters yet, so they still have a hugely inflated page count. When she’s done with them, you can expect each combat chapter to also be cut down in size by about 25%, so they won’t be nearly so large a chunk of the book.

Secondly, I’ll explain our reasoning for why the combat chapters and advanced combat rules are such a big chunk of the rules text, it’s intentional design which I will now explain. If anyone still doesn’t agree with that design, that’s fair, and that’s why we made the Basic Combat Rules an option.

The reason that the advanced combat rules are the default, and the reason they exist at all, is because it incentivizes and rewards Investigation. If combat is super deadly, it makes Investigation, snooping, and spying more appealing than kicking down the door and getting your head blown off. But of combat is super deadly, it also needs to be very deep and tactical, because if it’s deadly but shallow, then there’s no player agency. “Combat starts, roll some dice, okay your guy is dead.” That’s no fun. So by adding rules and modifiers for cover/elevation, distance, the difference between a pistol and an assault rifle, etc. we make it so that not only is combat its own high-stakes puzzle, but make it so that when the PCs HAVE to engage in combat, all their investigation can really pay off and save their lives. Spying on a building to find out the number of goons stationed there and how they are armed helps you plan and assess risk, stealing the blueprints to the building helps you know how to get the drop on the goons, and know the best places to attack from so that they are stuck out in the open and you are not, etc. and having rules for those things means that all the PCs’ snooping and planning makes a real mechanical difference in whether they live or die.

That’s just my opinion though, and one of the biggest reasons WHY we decided to write the combat with as much depth as we did.

Anyway, thank you again for this review and analysis of our project, our Kickstarter jumped up by about ten more backers in the evening when this video went up after several days of no new backers, and we have to assume we have this video, and all of you watching and reading this, to thank. You’re really making our dreams come true. :)

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is kickstarting from right now until May 10th! Back it while you still can!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[shepherds-of-haven]

the screenshot game got me thinking..what are all the RO's like if they have to pose as a couple with a friend they *don't* have feelings for? I got Blade and I genuinely can't tell if he'd be more or less awkward, lol

Blade: he would be way less awkward with just a platonic friend, he would have just be breathing deeply through his nose and letting the other person talk more, but it would be wayyyyy easier and more comfortable to pull off and believable, lol! He's far smoother with someone he doesn't have feelings for and would be able to lie pretty easily, lol!

Trouble: I think he would be pretty awkward about it because he's not great at actively lying, but depending on the person, they could put him at ease! If paired with someone who's naturally outgoing or can just brush it off and make it funny like "dude don't make this fucking weird, suck it up and act like you're my husband, I'm not going to jump your bones you dipshit kakhead!! (Ayla)" he'd be fine; if it was someone he's not as comfortable with like a Lavinet or maybe, like, Red or Riel, it'd be slightly weird but they'd just forge past it and give it the good ol' college try. Mostly he'd just stand there uncomfortably looking lost and like he doesn't know what to do with his hands, lol

Tallys: she's smooth regardless if it's someone she has feelings for, is sleeping with, or is just platonic friends with, it doesn't really change her behavior either way (except that she's more outwardly handsy with a FWB or lover, lol)! She'd be like "seriously, you can't be mature about this -_-" while Trouble freezes up like "yes......... you are my wife and we are looking for a honeymoon suite................." but she'd be the one swiftly and graciously moving the conversation along and selling the whole bit!

Shery: she's certainly less awkward with a good friend (pretending to be a fake couple with someone she has feelings for seems like it would cause her to melt into a puddle on the floor), but she's still definitely a bit awkward about it, lol. Luckily for her, most people would just assume she's like a blushing virgin bride or something, so she'd be able to get away with letting the other person talk!

Riel: he's an unapologetic liar, so I think he'd be able to manage this successfully either way. He's probably more internally comfortable with a platonic friend than the object of his affections, but then again, he might also enjoy the 'fantasy' of roleplaying this with someone he had feelings for more! The sexual tension would be an added complexity, but honestly he probably wouldn't be that mad about it, lol

Chase: he LOVES this either way. he EATS IT UP. He's ridiculously over the top and hammy about it whether with a friend or with someone he has feelings for, honestly: it's just his motivations are different (to make the friend want to die of embarrassment and troll them if platonic, or because he thinks it's wildly ironic and hilarious if with someone he's already sleeping with/has feelings for and it's just another way to flirt outrageously with them). he also just loves lying and spinning stories for people, so this would be just a boatload of fun for him!

Red: I think he'd be smooth about this either way, but he'd definitely be far more internally nervous and overanalyzing everything with someone he's attracted to versus with a friend. (But on an external level, he'd pretty much just act the same.) With a friend, this is just like any other mission: whether they're pretending to be a pair of merchants or a married couple, it doesn't really matter to him or make him feel any differently about it (though certain pairings would certainly make the whole charade go smoother. Someone like Lavinet or Briony?? Sure, they can collaborate on a lie and 'make pretend' very easily. Pair him up with Blade? Why would you do that.). But if it's with someone he has feelings for, half of his mind is occupied at all times with keeping focus on the mission and reminding himself that this is about work and reining in slut-Red's innermost hopes that this scenario could lead to very interesting resolutions to the tensions he's been sensing between himself and his crush... (don't think about that, don't think about that, this is a very important mission and it would be very scummy for you to think about anything else besides that.' slut-red: unless?...)

Ayla: I think she'd definitely be more comfortable doing this with a friend than she would be with the object of her affections! Every little thing her crush would do would throw her off or make her jumpy, like if they put an arm around her waist or hold her hand, she'd jump and hiss, like, What are you doing!! You can't just do that!! MC: Aren't I your spouse though LOL She'd get flustered and also a little singed over the fact that MC is only doing this for the ruse, so what is she getting so excited about... It would just be a difficult time for her! With a friend she'd just roll her eyes and go along with it, or she might even have fun with the whole situation, so it'd definitely be way easier for her!

Briony: I think she'd be a bit more comfortable and happy with the fake couple scenario if she was doing it with her crush, because she'd view it as a way to 'safely' flirt with them all she wanted, and it would make her very happy to hold their hand or be treated like their girlfriend/wife and she could happily commit to the fantasy of it with her whole heart (for the mission's sake and authenticity of course)!! So she'd have way more fun and would be more comfortable acting affectionate/flirtatious with them if she also held real romantic feelings for them. With a platonic friend, she could get by well enough, but she'd be just a little too cautious about not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable or crossing the boundary of their friendship/making things weird (like she'd always be whispering, "is it okay if I take your hand?" or "i had to kiss you on the cheek earlier to sell it, i'm so sorry if that was weird....") So basically it would actually be more uncomfortable for her with a platonic friend because she'd be over-conscious of making them uncomfortable or crossing some hidden boundary between them! (Ironically, she's very thoughtlessly physically affectionate with her friends as it is, but there's a huge difference in her mind between taking their arm and walking down the street as friends and literally pretending to be their wife and playacting romantic gestures at them).

Lavinet: she'd be excellent at this either way, though, like Briony, she'd definitely internally enjoy it more with the object of her affections than with just a platonic friend, because she'd also enjoy committing to the bit and losing herself in the fantasy of it all! Her "comfort level" and external behavior doesn't change at all, but her general excitement/enjoyment of the affair does, if that makes any sense!

Halek: he's just wearily along for the ride if they're just friends; he's pretty much expecting this is going to lead to fucking if there's attraction between them (this kind of scenario always does) lol. He's not mad about it either way, though!

[totallytatum]

FAKE | J.M

pairing: fake boyfriend!joel miller x f!reader

rating: explicit, 18+ minors dni

summary: " I thought you lived a life of honor. " " This is be being honorable. " you asking neighbor, Joel Miller for a huge favor.

warnings/tags: au,fake boyfriend joel, age gap [joel is 32, reader is 29, nothing huge wouldn't even call it a gap], explicit language, awkwardness, alcohol, no use of y/n this is basically just a drabble to a possible series or like a few more drabble if it does good if i myself personally like it.

word count: 720, very short, I just wanted to attempt to write something and see if i or anyone liked it

You're not sure how you ended up here. Sitting at the bar top of some shitty corner bar on some shitty street. Your drink sitting in front of you as your now on your third one. Liquid courage you told yourself. might make the night go smoother.

You kept checking and darting your eyes back to the door and back to your phone. 8:43 p.m. He'll be here any minute and you're seriously questioning yourself if this is even worth it. It's a strange request and a even bigger favor to ask someone. Taking a deep breath in , you take a moment to study the busy atmosphere. Behind you there were several patrons playing pool, women sitting at a table watching their men battle it out through the game as a gossiped and sipped.

Your eyes adverted back to the door, taking a deep breath. Your right leg bounced as the nerves began to take back over. Maybe you should go home, you want to go home but you may have told a tiny lie to your sister who told your parents.

There. There he was, the man of the hour. In all his glory, his dark gray t-shirt worn with a pair medium washed jeans. His eyes like dirty, perfectly matched with the frown that stained his face.

Joel Miller.

His gaze shifted through the bar before landing on you and making his way to the bar. "Evening neighbor, haven't seen you in here before. "

His voice was smooth like honey, the southern drawl near possible not to swoon over. You smiled lightly and taking a sip of your drink " Don't get out much, bars aren't really my thing ya know? " Joel did a quick nod before hollarin' down at the bartender. A quick mumble of "the usual," and turned his gaze back towards you. " If bars aren't you thing then why you here if you don't mind be asking? "

Another drink, not a sip but more like a chug, before setting your glass down. Liquid courage. You can do this. Shifting your body towards him, you stared at him, " If we're being honest, I'm well- I'm here for you. " His eye brown raised slightly before taking a drink of the glass that was just placed in front of him, " Me? " You nodded, " You. I need a favor. A huge one and I didn't know who else to ask. " Joel placed his glass down, turning towards you to give you his full attention " Well lay it on me sweetheart, what can I do for you? "

Your nerves began to kick back in, it became increasingly hot all of a sudden. You felt like you were being dragged to the depths of hell with how flustered you became. Your cheeks began to paint crimson red. Your heart raced like you just ran a 5k and your hands became clammy as they sat in your lap. " I... I need to ask you to be my boyfriend. Fake one of course. I just happened to have told my sister that I was dating and she happened to tell well the whole family it seemed like. " Joel didn't say anything and the silence was loud. The pause wasn't long though before he took another drink, " I'll do it. " You let out the breath you didn't know you were holding, " Oh thank god- " He interrupted " if- and only if you allow me to choose the little details. I really want to sell this. "

Joel didn't care what you were going to ask, his answer would have been yes to anything. You've been neighbors for almost 8 years. Barely twenty- on when you arrived, on your own and taking the world head on. Neither of you would say you were close friends. He helped you around the house and you helped with his daughter Sarah occasionally.

" It'd be an honor to be your boyfriend. Fake boyfriend. " You grinned, chugging the rest of your drink. The huge weight lifted off your shoulders.

" I thought you lived a life of honor. " His half lipped grin made way to his face before he sat up, " This is me being honorable. "

[indiepressrevolution]

Becoming an IPR Publisher

We’ve had quite a few people contact us about selling their games at IPR recently, so here is a quick rundown of how to apply to become part of our network of publishers!

Firstly, why become an IPR publisher in the first place?

Unlike other distributors, IPR sells your games on a consignment basis. We pay publishers 80% of cover price for PDF sales, 70% of cover price for sales to customers through our website, and 44% of cover price for sales at conventions or to retailers (we get 11%, the retailer gets a 45% discount from cover price).

The cut is all the fee you'll see. IPR's cut covers all the costs involved in a sale transaction: bank transactional fees, shipping discounts for the buyer, and a modest amount for IPR to cover other expenses & profit. By sticking with a flat, covers-everything cut, your costs should remain predictable.

We’re also a destination site for retailers and individual customers, since we offer so many awesome TTRPGs in one place! Plus we take your games to conventions, including Gen Con and Origins Game Fair. We’ve also got a network of affiliates that sell at conventions under the IPR banner all over the US, and all throughout the year as well!

Sounds cool, so how do I apply again?

Send a physical copy of your game to us at:

Indie Press Revolution c/o Jason Walters PO Box 247 Gerlach, NV 89412 USA

Then email a PDF copy of your game to us at support@indiepressrevolution.com, and introduce yourself as well!

If you don’t want to send along a physical copy of your game for us to review, for whatever reason (most commonly because international shipping prices are a beast) you can just send us a PDF, and let us know why you’re not sending a physical copy at this time.

Once we’ve got a copy of your game, we’ll read through it to make sure it meets IPR’s quality standards. What exactly does that mean? Well, as our Prospective Publisher FAQ states:

“Excellent art, professional quality layout, attractive and eyecatching cover design, meticulous editing, well-written text, and a compelling rule set and/or setting. These are the criteria on which all submissions will be judged. If your product is lacking in any of these areas, it might be rejected. We are looking for products that make us sit up and take notice.”

We also will not take any games that contain bigotry in any form. As we always say, IPR supports trans rights and BIMPOC creators and gamers. Fascists, Nazis, and TERFs can all fuck right off.

Now I will say that if you’re even thinking about maybe submitting a game to us, do it! Even if we reject your game at this time, we will always give you clear feedback on exactly why, and we are always up for giving advice on how to make your game retailer-ready!

If you’re approved, then we’ll send you a contract to read through and sign, get you set up with an IPR Publishers Account, and tell you where to ship your product and where to enter information so we can get the products set up on the site.

This all sounds pretty good but I’m still nervous! Do you, AC, the person writing this who is also the person that approves all incoming products to IPR, have any tips for me?

I do! The main thing is to read through our Prospective Publisher FAQ before submitting anything. Everything I just wrote out here is on that page, but it also has plenty more info that is good to know before working with IPR.

Seriously, I can tell if you’ve read through our FAQs before submitting, and while I absolutely will not judge your game based off of that, it does help everything go much quicker and smoother, and I appreciate it greatly.

We’re also not generally looking for large TTRPGs at the moment. Shipping prices are awful and only getting worse, so hefty games that weigh over two pounds are not our top priority.

Furthermore, we only deal in physical books. We sometimes take PDFs if they’re a supplement for a game we already have in stock, and if they don’t have a physical version available. But really PDFs just don’t sell through us! You’ll have much better luck on itch.io or DriveThru, trust me.

Lastly, just email me!! If you have any questions about anything TTRPG related, or if you’re worried about your game being accepted, or you’re not sure where to get your game printed, or anything else, AC@indiepressrevolution.com. Email me. I love talking to TTRPG folks! And if I don’t know the answer to your question, someone on staff will.

We’ve also got our Publisher Tips Page on our website, which includes a bunch of information on how to make your game attractive to retailers, as well as how to ship it safely, a bunch of printers that we recommend, and more!

Wow this was all super cool and helpful, but I’m actually planning on crowdfunding my game this year! Can IPR help with that at all?

Yes! We offer crowdfunding fulfillment services, which I’m going to talk about more in another post, but you can also read all about them on our Crowdfunding Fulfillment FAQ page.

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

Now that chapter 2 is mostly over for all the members but Jin (whose chapter 2 is finally starting!), I wanted to write down my thoughts on how I think each member's reputation and image changed, what I learned about them, what my perception of them is now, etc.

For J-Hope, I think this was a great opportunity for him to "free" himself from the hope persona - which is very important and true to him but also constricting - and to promote himself more as a musical artist than a dancer - despite being the main dancer, even in his BTS solos Hobi usually chooses to limit his dancing. I think Hobi showed a cooler, smoother, stylish, more mature side of himself that increased his popularity and brand and resonated with a lot of people. He also proved that he's more than capable of going solo, even if I personally have mixed feelings about his voice.

I think Suga's chapter 2 was relatively "forgettable". He already had the image he wanted, released the music he wanted, produced what he wanted, so there was nothing to prove or show. Suga dropped an album that I'm pretty sure he didn't think was anything special and then went on tour. He also had fun with Suchwita. I think most of what he did was for Army and BTS, with the exception of the tour which was also for him. I don't think his solo ventures really felt like him going solo, but more like a side job. He did well, but I'm not sure his popularity, reputation, or image changed substantially - I mean, no more than expected.

RM had a pretty wild chapter 2. Through Indigo he explored a more artistic and uncensored side we all knew of, but it was in the build-up to RPWP than he started to express his opinions more freely. His amazing and diverse collabs also helped show a cooler and trendier side of him. RPWP was the game changer though. I think RM finally "escaped" his BTS leader image and mainstreamed this sexy, quirky, artsy, smart yet unserious image which he already had but the GP didn't know. Music wise, he's the one who did the most, showed the most, and had the most incredible material - even if his music isn't mostly to my taste. He's the most natural soloist along with JK imo.

V chose a path similar to Suga's. He did a lot of variety, which we already knew he liked, hanged a lot with the Wooga Squad, who we already knew, released a few songs in a style we knew he liked, did lots of photoshoots and work in fashion, which we also already knew he enjoyed... I don't think V took chapter 2 very "seriously" in the sense that he didn't strategically try to brand himself differently or find his own voice. He might've even released Layover a bit more for us than himself. He already had a strong brand and didn't change it. I think his popularity decreased a bit comparatively to Jikook because he was very lowkey.

Jungkook... well, he exploded in popularity. He had his BWL moment in Dreamers and L&R, his Dynamite in Seven, and his Butter in SNTY - kinda. His songs are GP friendly and in English, so they had a lot of impact, and his CK campaigns were genius marketing because they helped build this image of a sexy, attractive, gender nonconforming guy who can be both gender neutral and conventionally masculine. CK is also accessible to a lot of people so he got his face (and body) plastered all over the world. The collabs helped some too. Jungkook really committed even if at first he wasn't sure about releasing an album. I think he grew the most as a performer. He has continuously showed growth over the years, but imo he grew the most during the pandemic and chapter 2. His singing and dancing became more refined and unique, his stage presence and stamina improved. He was on fire with SNTY. Jungkook's vocals, dancing (eg. the sultry, relaxed hand movements he does now), stage presence, visuals, attitude, etc., all reached another level, an iconic level. Jungkook really changed his image, beginning in 2022 when his lives become so unfiltered - he sang his heart out, shared his life, didn't censor himself as much. I think Jungkook changed a lot - dropped the veil a bit -, and his music was a natural progression of him letting more of himself show. At first I didn't get it, but now I think it all fit JK really well - even if I don't/didn't like all of it. He's so effortlessly confident and comfortable on stage now, though. He might not have grown as a songwriter, but he grew so much as a performer, which is his art.

Lastly, Jimin... he surprised the most tbh, but in a negative-ish way. I had huge expectations for him and felt disappointed with his solo chapter. His image changed a lot, but in his case I loved the "old" Jimin better... I wanted something like Filter and Lie, I wanted him to show amazing dances and visuals. But he really went on a different route. He focused on singing and music the most, investing a lot in writing his own stuff, which is great but a bit unexpected. He focused a lot on inner reflection and less on his idol self, which up until then I thought was what he wanted us to see the most. And by becoming less "idol-like", he changed a lot. His choreos are more relaxed and less attractive now imo, and he engages his dance crew a lot whereas before he mostly carried his dances alone. He also showed us a much shier and reserved side of himself. His vocals changed too, or at least how he sounds in songs... I know Jimin had a lot of success, but I was surprised by how "unremarkable" I found him as a soloist. I thought he would set the world on fire, but he didn't take many risks on stage - his songs were risky, but not his performances or styling - or stand out that much. During Face he even looked a bit uncomfortable. He shines in BTS, but I don't believe Jimin truly shined on his own - not like he could've. I find his image less attractive and marketable now than pre-2022 Jimin - and that's okay but I lost a lot of interest in him as a performer. I used to love his fancams, but now I don't really care. He's still the cutest and loveliest, but, selfishly, this is not the artist Jimin I wanted.

Anyway, I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this!

[flowertab]

How about that new NWoS trailer?!

The following will consist of an overly long series of disjointed fangirl thoughts/ramblings.

First of all this game is beautiful. And it looks and feels like a true Layton game, which is the most we can possibly ask for! That feeling of curious surroundings, weird and wonderful buildings, a town where you want to explore every cranny…the developers had previously expressed doubt about creating a Laytonesque setting in America, but they succeeded.

I was so pleased to see that the classic screen by screen, ‘point and click’ dynamic is still in place! It looks like they’re embracing what makes Layton distinct without feeling the need to shake everything up. Bonus points for including the hint coin in the lamppost; sure to make any Layton fan feel right at home! Even Luke’s comment about the gears making him dizzy brings back memories of Unwound Future. One of my favorite new touches is how Layton and Luke are visible in the foreground as the scene is examined, it looks so dynamic and expresses the scale of their surroundings! It reminds me of the rare occasions in the games that you would actually see them outside of dialogue/events (like when they’re standing by the canal outside of town in Curious Village).

Speaking of Layton and Luke, they’re both looking great!! It just tickles me to see them in a fresh look but still very much themselves. Luke has definitely grown up, and his face shape is less round, but eyes are bigger/more animesque? It just gives him this very eager, bright-eyed look, and he does seem ready to take on anything! Since our only look at him so far from the previous teaser was more of an intense moment, it’s great to see his cheerful personality shining through. Even Layton comments that he seems to be having a splendid time, and who can blame him? He’s just having the time of his life to be at the professor’s side again! (On a random side note, Luke’s satchel seems to be missing. Does he not carry it anymore? Will he be taking on more action and it would’ve gotten in the way?)

Not only are Layton and Luke voiced throughout the trailer, but even the NPC guy is! This is pretty unusual. I wonder if there will be a lot more voicing in this game compared to the others, or if it’s just for the sake of the trailer’s flow. I also wonder if we’ll have a lot of little cutscenes like when the duo is approaching the correct door. The 3D animation looks much smoother (and less unintentionally humorous/distracting) than it did on the 3ds! That being said, I’m still holding out for the iconic 2D scenes to come back!!

The music is pleasant, and definitely reminiscent of Torrido, which makes sense as it’s also a Western American town (I think). And is that our new puzzle theme? I quite like it; the “music box” backdrop reminds me of Last Specter, while the rich instrumentation makes it stand out compared to the others. (I’ve heard it compared to PL vs AA multiple times though, so while I don’t remember that theme enough to say, I’m assuming that’s true!) I really like when that lilting harmonica (?) kicks in. I do, however, await the return of the iconic chunky accordion. The puzzle itself seems like exactly my favorite type, deduction/process of elimination. How cool to see the memo and everything being utilized right on top of the scene! It reminds you that the two are really solving a puzzle right in front of them. I wonder how this puzzle might change in the final game, as they’ve already shown the answer…oh, and let’s take a moment to appreciate that glorious solving animation! I recall two-person animations being a feature of the crossover that I really liked, and it only makes sense when the puzzle was solved by working together. Just seeing those two as a team again makes me so happy!!

This is more on the random side but…Eggmuffin? I mean, Eggmuffin? Is that really his name?? I had a hard time taking it seriously every time they said it. It sounds like one of those names that would be changed in localization—but then, if any series can get away with using something so silly until we just accept it and stop finding it weird, it’s probably this one. I have also heard it speculated that it may be an alias, though why he would want to be called this is beyond me.

All that aside, there’s just something about this game that already feels nostalgic to me, even while being so fresh and unexplored. I can only think that’s simply because it is a Layton game in every sense of the word. For a longtime fan who hasn’t experienced that anew in roughly ten years, it’s like coming home.

…and that is the only reason I can stand waiting until 2025! Oh dear, I hope they overestimated to play it safe, especially since reportedly the puzzles are all finished and production is moving smoothly. But, in the end, if it is truly the Laytonesque adventure it looks to be, it will be worth the wait—and I thank the development team for caring enough to not to rush it. I’ve waited this long.

(looks like I’ll be playing through the series again to help hold me over throughout next year! Layton fans, let’s hold fast! We’re in this together!)

[dlamp-dictator]

Welp, this is about as far as I go for Railway 4, at least with the Sinking Team I built for it. I'm never really one to clear these endgame content segments since I don't play this as intensely as others, nor do I really care for the bragging rights of beating a hard mode of a video game in my older age of 30. That's not a backhanded comment, I just legitimately have other things to do than grind levels and other games I wanna' play when I'm off work or have a shorter shift than usual.

Not really going to go into as much depth as I did during Railway 2 with the Bleed Team, but I do have some thoughts.

This is a little more chill than my usual rambles and dives, so I'm not going to go in as much preamble, but I had expected this ride to be smoother than my Bleed Team since it didn't rely on chip damage and an ironically useless Rabbit Heathcliff. This was originally meant to be something of a fun little callback. I decided to make that Sinking Team I said I'd make back during Railway 2. This is the Sinking Season after all. And given that I thought a Sinking Team might actually be good for this Railway.

I… was conceptually right. Sanity and Gloom damage is nice, but… there were some flaws in my thinking.

The Peccatulum

Man, those Envy Peccatulum are just the worse. I thought I could manage it after the first part of Section 2, but being so harshly knowledge-checked in Section 3 just killed my confidence. I swear, if I have to deal with even a tenth of this in Canto 7, I might actually cry. The idea of fighting your own IDs doesn’t sound too bad, especially if you understand their weaknesses. They aren't impossible, but it's annoying as hell to deal with the bullshit of big numbers you've been using on emotionless, unfeeling pixels and PNGs. And the fact that they get so much speed was just... UGH. I know for a fact only two of these IDs should be pushing 7 speed, and that’s usually with haste buffs.

Like I said, it was doable for the most part. I was able to power through Section 2 since I had two characters with Binds and Yi Sang had Sunshower, but this was a challenge. Kurokumo honestly felt like a nice break, but Jun and his counter spamming never felt more unfair towards the end. I actually got through this clean on my first try, but then the servers had to update and it nixed my clear. Redoing things was a nightmare since I had to deal with a lot of the harsher points of the Peccatulum EGO-spamming me on turn 2, and I had to pull the gamer move of resetting for better speed rolls a myriad of times.

Seriously, that was some nonsense.

The Ego Resources

This wasn't too bad. A Sinking Team is naturally Gloom-heavy, but they’ve got a good spread of EGO resources all around. I was pretty starved for Gluttony since I wasn’t using Butler Ish, but few EGO (that matter for a Sinking Team) require Gluttony. I had both Binds, Sunshower, and Fluid Sac at the ready, so all was fine in the end, but it was a struggle when I needed some Lust since I depended on Outis’s Skill 3 for that.

Sanity Damage and Enemy EGO

The sanity damage was... okay. The Gloom damage was nice in Section 1, and the sanity damage was great against Nelly and Jun, but… not much else. Without Sunshower Yi Sang to truly cash in on those massive sinking stacks this was just… passable damage. It also had the double-edged sword of bringing a Peccatulum down to -45 Sanity just to have them nearly nuke my Sinners with their massive Threadspin IV Corrosion EGOs. There was no clashing with that, and it felt like Peccatulum!Meursault just spammed Pursuance.

Solemn Lament Yi Sang is... Interesting

This Railway really had me thinking about how to use Solemn Lament Yi Sang in the future. A lot of people said this ID was a brainless powercreep of Sunshower Yi Sang and he really isn’t. He’s stronger than Sunshower Yi Sang in terms of general content since he can do consistent gloom damage and his skill 3 nuke is just a bit better, but in terms of harder content where you have to plan and think he needs twice the micro as Sunshower to get things done. To keep things brief, Solemn Lament Yi Sang is good to have on a sinking team, but he's better for focused-encounter big bosses where you can comfortably stack on the Butterflies on a single, sturdy part or in non-focused encounters where you can just spam away without too much worry about his reload mechanic. But in Railway you need to think. You need to kill the Peccatulum in the proper order to keep his ammo up and not waste a turn reloading. His semi-consistent sanity loss means you have to babysit him a little before making big moves and nukes. And while you can get consistent Gloom Resonance on a Sinking team, he really needs to play around it for maximum efficiency. He works, but you have to work with him.

Anyways, that's it for me. I'll try to stop being stubborn for Section 3 and just build a team that can truly work around this current section of the Railway. Here's hoping I finish this before the season ends. Until then, I'll see you all later.

[lavenderbexlatte]

day 13 - uniform

soloist 1k words gender neutral reader insert Reader x Wonho (Lee Hoseok) NSFW

🖤 warnings: d/s dynamics, use of pet names/derogatory names (incl. slut), references to american football, slander of theater kids, assplay (m receiving), i might have a thing for men in stockings??? 🖤

kinktober masterlist

connect with me! / masterlist

"It's not even real."

That doesn't matter to you.

"It's close enough," you tell him, hands wandering farther down his thighs in their skintight pants.

"I don't even know who this player is," he laughs.

You're probably tickling him, as you feel up his muscular legs and ass indulgently, velvety-smooth under your hands and even smoother with the thick spandex layer between you.

"What's the big deal about this outfit, anyway?" Wonho smirks. "I've worn way less."

"I dunno," you muse.

He laughs again, as you hook your fingers into the extremely tight band of his pants. "The man in uniform thing?"

"It makes you look like a jock," you tell him. "Instead of a theater kid."

"I look like a theater kid?" he asks, nearly offended.

"Just enough."

He doesn't look that much like a theater kid, anymore, not with a body like his. And wearing this American football uniform, thick numbers emblazoned on his even thicker chest and stacked lower half jammed into a pair of those much-too-tight game pants, he just looks like a run-of-the-mill professional athlete. Strong, fit, and way out of your league.

Or he would be, if he wasn't currently letting you sit him down on the edge of the hotel bed and settle yourself over his sturdy lap. His hands find purchase at the dip of your waist, and you let him hold on, broad hands fanning out over your back.

"I've always wanted to fuck a hot jock," you say.

Wonho chokes, sputters. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, y'know. Nothing like that kind of fantasy, for someone who wasn't cool in high school."

"I wasn't cool in high school, either," he argues.

You stare at him, his pretty face so close to yours from your perch on his broad thighs. You grab him around his sharp jaw with two hands, squishing both of his cheeks up.

"What?"

"Ulzzang," you deadpan, squeezing the so-called perfect face for emphasis.

"That doesn't mean anything-"

You're tired of his excuses, though, so you kiss him on the nose just to see him fluster, and when his cheeks have tinged sufficiently pink, you tilt his face in your hands and kiss his lips, instead. He's so easy to rile up; just an innocent kiss, fully clothed, sat on him gently, and he's already starting to roll his hips up into you. It would be sad if it wasn't so cute.

"Careful, if you get all excited, you're gonna have to be late for practice," you tell him seriously.

"Fuck you," he complains.

"Is that how you talk to me?"

"You called me a theater kid," he pouts.

You'll never get over this enormous man's ability to make faces like this. Wide eyes, pursed lips, an aura of the utmost demure ignorance.

"I'm so sorry," you coo. "I'll fix it."

Matching the pouty jut of his lower lip, you stand up again, even as he scrabbles at your waist to keep you there. He leans back slightly without you on top of him, relaxes, and you gaze at his gorgeous body, his spread legs and his pecs under the thick material of his jersey and his thin pants doing nothing to hide the shape of his hard cock against his thigh.

"You really went all out," you comment, "Right down to the socks."

"All for accuracy," he replies.

"Harder to take off. Too many layers."

"You haven't even tried, yet."

"True," you hum.

He's right, you should try first.

You stand him back up just long enough to peel the pants down his legs, and since the skintight fit leaves no room for another layer, he's bare to you from the waist down. Carefully, you untuck the cuffs from the calf-high athletic socks.

"What're you doing?" he asks, as you push him gently to sit again. "Aren't you gonna..."

"Kinda like these," you say.

"The socks?"

You nod. There's something inexplicably obscene about the vision that he is now, jersey stretched over his broad shoulders and neat white socks up his legs and his cock bare to the room. Innocent sexy, schoolgirl sexy.

"Okay," he mutters, obviously embarrassed.

"Don't get shy on me, now," you tease.

"Can't help it."

He's so lovely.

You step between his open legs, looking down at him fondly, and as you kiss him again, you take his erection in hand and stroke him leisurely, aided by the precum that he's already leaking. The contact makes him groan against your mouth, jumping under your touch as if it's the first time.

It's far from the first time, but it only gets better.

"Turn over for me," you say.

His name is written on the back of the jersey, you note with a grin, as he flips easily onto his stomach and melts into the covers. It's not all fours so much as it is knees and chest, his ass in the air and his cheek pressed to the bed.

"Eager," you say, pinching the back of his thigh playfully.

"Hey!" he yelps.

You're not sure what you're gonna do with him, yet, but fuck does he deserve it. He needs to be spoiled, you know that. He's had a long day of shooting in this godforsaken outfit, and now he needs to relax.

"I know the real reason you wanted this uniform, anyway," you say conspiratorially.

"Oh, do tell," Wonho murmurs, good humor and presence strong even facedown in the duvet.

"You just wanted to get fucked like this."

He doesn't argue with you. He couldn't even if he wanted to, you think, judging by the way he keens and presses his hips back into you, where you stand behind him.

"Football captain," you say, condescending, "Is this what you wanted? In your gameday jersey?"

"Yes."

"I know," you soothe.

Your fingers play over the perfectly-maintained soft skin around his hole. He's clenching around nothing. Eager little slut.

"It's a good thing they wrote your name on this goddamn jersey," you say, unable to resist the joke so plainly in front of you. "Because you're not gonna remember it by the time we're done."

[k3yreviewer25]

written for @b1rdza's mtiys prompt of 'first kiss'

i know I'm super late to the party with this, but writings been really hard recently for some reason and i got tired of looking at this, so 👍

"Okay, truth or dare?"

"Uhhhhh, truth."

"Are you sick of playing this game yet?"

"Yes."

"... Guess we should've brought a pack of cards or something, huh?"

Tubbo rolled his head over to look at Ranboo, curled up on his own cot on the other side of the room. With the mansion being basically completed, the two of them had decided to spend a night in it, get a feel for the space. What they hadn't accounted for was getting sleepover jitters. And with their new bedroom being so freaking huge, they'd both agreed that sleeping in the closet would feel more cozy.

Tubbo sat up. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I mean, sleep, obviously, but-" Ranboo sat up as well. "-I think I might remember the way up to the roof? If you wanna stargaze."

That did sound pretty nice. Tubbo began gathering up his blanket. "Yeah, sure."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He shouldn't have trusted Ranboo of all people when he said he remembered the way up there. After at least ten minutes of walking, Tubbo was pretty sure they'd gone down a floor. Eventually, they ended up in the kitchen, which had been partially furnished with cabinets and a fridge.

"So this is, um, this isn't it," Ranboo said. "Oops."

"Yeah, no kidding." Tubbo began rooting through random cabinets. "Maybe Foolish left snacks, or something though- Oh! Bingo!"

Straightening up, he held up an unopened wine bottle. Ranboo looked dubious. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, with going on the roof and all?"

"One bottle between the two of us is hardly gonna do anything, believe me," Tubbo said. "But if you want, we could just go back to bed and hang out there."

Ranboo nodded. "Yeah, that sounds fine. And I, um, I don't think I remember how to get up to the roof anyway."

"Maybe we can get Foolish to draw us a map."

They managed to get back to their room all right, thankfully. Back in the closet, Tubbo dragged his cot over next to Ranboo's and pried the cork out of the bottle. The wine was pretty good, as far as wines went; tasted like sweet berries. He passed it to Ranboo and watched him take a swig.

"You know, only a few more days, and then we can start actually moving in here," Tubbo mused. "Crazy, right?"

"Yeah, seriously. Feels like not that long ago when you first started Snowchester."

Well, all things considered, it really hadn't been all that long ago, had it? A couple months. And with all that had happened in those couple months, time had just flown by. It was like a whole year's worth of life had gone by. Ranboo handed the bottle back. Tubbo took it, but didn't drink.

"Hey, Ran?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Wanna play truth or dare some more?"

"Really man?"

"But-" Tubbo held up a finger for emphasis. "-there's a pass option. You can either answer the question / do the dare, or you can take a drink. Whoever's drank less by the end wins."

After a moment of pondering, Ranboo nodded. "Sure, why not?"

"Great! So, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Do you actually like my cooking?"

"Um, I, uh- pass?"

Tubbo clicked his tongue as he handed the bottle back over. "For shame, man, for shame. After all the love I put into those meals."

"And all the salt."

"Food needs salt, dude!"

"Not that much-" He cut himself off, shaking his head. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to use less salt next time you cook."

"Pass!" The next sip went down even smoother than the first. The inclusion of alcohol was already making this more fun than before. "Truth or dare?"

"I'll also go dare."

"Dare you to let me message someone on your comm."

"...Deal."

He'd thought for sure that that would've been a pass. Now he just had to actually come up with something.

"I'm already regretting this," Ranboo said, watching Tubbo warily.

"Oh, come on, would I ever do anything to embarrass you?" He grinned as Ranboo gave him a flat stare. Drafting up a quick message, he sent it and handed the comm back. "And you have to wait for him to see it before you send another message."

Ranboo groaned when he looked at the screen. "Really? Techno?"

"Yup. So?"

"Truth or dare?"

As the game went on, the bottle got lighter and lighter, and Tubbo's head got more and more airy, until finally there was only a single sip left. Tubbo swished it around absentmindedly, the bottle's neck loose in his hand.

"Wait, is it my turn or yours?" Ranboo asked. One fun thing they were learning tonight was that apparently alcohol did not help his memory problems in the slightest.

"I think yours." Of course, the alcohol wasn't really helping Tubbo's memory either. "Truth or dare?"

"I'll go......... truth."

"Have you..." Prime, he was so tired. He needed to come up with some question to make Ranboo pass so that they could finish the bottle. "Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"Oh, um-" His cheeks were a beautiful shade of magenta. "Yeah."

The bottle almost slipped out of his hand. "Wait, really?"

"You don't have to sound that surprised," Ranboo huffed, crossing his arms. "I had a life before I came here. I wasn't just- just sitting in a room eating crackers for 16 years."

"I know, I know, I just didn't really- I dunno, I've never really thought about it."

"About what, me kissing people?"

"I guess so." Though, now that he had thought about it- "You any good at it?"

That was a weird question, wasn't it? Ranboo shrugged. "I dunno, I guess?"

"You guess."

"I mean, I didn't really, like, ask for feedback or anything. We just kinda- it happened and then we moved on." He shook his head. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"Pass!" Chugging the last sip, he set the bottle on the floor and flopped onto his back. "G'night!"

"Oh. Yeah, good- good night." Ranboo's cot creaked as he got himself settled onto it. "And, um, sorry if that was out of line. The question, I mean."

Tubbo snorted. "Nah, it's fine. Just wanted an excuse to drink. If you're actually curious, I haven't."

"Oh. Are you, like, not interested, or..."

"I mean, I wouldn't say I'm not interested, just been pretty busy for like- past couple years, ya know? Kinda hard to fit in smooching between the wars and shit. And it's not like anyone was lining up for it or anything."

"I can imagine. About the wars and stuff, not- Sorry, that didn't come out right."

"I get it, man, I get it," Tubbo said, waving a hand. "Not like I'm winning any beauty pageants any time soon."

"You know that's not what I meant." He sounded so offended that Tubbo rolled over to face him.

"I know, I know, I'm just teasing. I know you find me irresistibly attractive." Even in the dark, he could see the blush spreading over Ranboo's face. He was practically glowing. "You're pretty when you blush."

Prime, he really needed to not talk when he'd been drinking. But Ranboo did look pretty, the purplish hue really bringing out the vibrancy of his eyes. He was like a big glow stick. A really pretty, really tall glow stick.

"I think you're pretty too. Or, um, handsome, I guess is- would be a better word."

Tubbo's stomach twisted; ugh, he'd probably drank too much. He rolled onto his back. "You don't have to say that. I'm not gonna get offended or anything."

"But I do," Ranboo said, propping himself up on his elbow. "I really do think you're handsome."

He really did sound earnest about it too. But he had to be lying, if not maliciously, then out of nicety. "Right, five things, go."

"What?"

"Five things that you think make me handsome or whatever."

"Oh, easy." He leaned over Tubbo, an unfamiliar intensity in his eyes, and counted on his fingers. "One, you have really nice eyes-"

Only one eye, really.

"-Two, I like your nose-"

What was left of it.

"-Three, you have really cute ears-"

Well, okay, that was a given. Goat ears were adorable.

"-Four, I think your scars look really badass-"

"Wow, a rare swear from Mr. Ranboo Beloved."

"'Ass' isn't really a swear though? And five, you're confident and smart and I- I really admire that." There he was again, sounding so damn sincere. He must be at least a little bit sincere, because he'd rattled those off so quickly. And he was actually looking Tubbo in the face, which he never did. Tubbo's stomach swooped as Ranboo bent down towards him. "And- and if no one else is in line for it, I would really like to kiss you."

It didn't surprise Tubbo like he thought it would. Maybe because he's imagined Ranboo saying it before. But in all those imaginings, Tubbo always said something suave in return, made Ranboo blush, and then swept him off his feet. Now his mouth was dry as he croaked out, "Y-yup. Sounds good."

It was only when Ranboo's face was an inch away from his that he remembered to close his eyes, cause lord knows he didn't want to be the guy that kept his eyes open during a kiss, and then lips were pressed to his.

It wasn't- bad, he didn't think, though the taste of the wine on their breaths was a bit overwhelming. Shit, they really should've brushed their teeth first.

A tingle ran down his spine as Ranboo's hand slid around the back of his head, pulling him in closer, fingers tangling in his hair-

Wait, should he be doing something with his hands? They were just folded over his stomach, suddenly feeling all too heavy and tense. Raising a hand, he slowly moved it up to Ranboo's face, careful that he didn't end up poking him in the eye or something. His cheek was smooth, and fit so well into Tubbo's palm.

And then, all too soon, Ranboo's lips left his, though he kept his forehead pressed tight against Tubbo's. This was nice too; just feeling the breath on his face, and the fingers combing through his hair.

Yeah, he could totally get used to this.

[sergeifyodorov]

Could u talk about how Carolina achieves goalie haven!!!!!! I am so intrigued sjdhsysosjshs (especially bc one of my fav players is an occasional Carolina goalie 🤭🤭🤭)

aaa Yes. sorry this took so long!!

One of the biggest questions among analysts in hockey is: how much of a goalie's quality is determined by the team they play behind? If you move a goalie to a different team and their numbers change drastically, is it the goalie not adjusting well to the move or is it the team? How separable is a goalie from his skaters?

So, we're going to talk about mathematics. Not in any technical terms, because it is two in the morning as I write this, but just sort of general stats stuff. In hockey (and in other sports but we're talking about hockey,) there is a metric called expected goals, or xG for short.

The general gist of xG, for the uninitiated: it is a made up number that you cannot watch the game and materialize, unlike shots or goals or times your favourite player was shown close up on camera -- you need a computer to generate it. There's also multiple different xG models, since every stat bro seems to have his own. However, they all function in a pretty similar way: determine the odds a shot goes in the net based off its location (on ice), its location (relative to the net), and its location (relative to other skaters, who may be inclined to block the shot in order to prevent this expected goal from becoming an actual one.)

Expected goals are, for lack of a better term, a smoother way of determining the way a game really went than its result. You ever watch a game where your team was in the offensive zone the whole time, just totally dominating play, but a couple of bad bounces and dumb mistakes means you lost? The expected goals might tell a different story.

Back to Carolina. Someone in their front office, many eons ago (I got seriously into hockey only last season, so I can't give you a date) realized this: over the course of one game, anything can happen, but over the course of a dozen? 82? the numbers tend to line up. So the most guaranteed way to win, at least through the regular season, is to find a way to jack up your xG and drop down your opponent's. And the way they do this is with Corsi.

If you're still uninitiated, Corsi is essentially the total amount of shot attempts: shots on goal plus blocked shots plus misses. Corsi ratios actually tend to line up very similarly with xG ratios: if you have twice the shot attempts of your opponent, odds are you'll have twice the goals. Quantity over quality!

The on-ice way they do this is with a very, very high-structure game: your defenders are there to dump the puck in and then make sure it doesn't get dumped out, and your forwards are there to chase the puck and pepper the opposing goalie with softies until he slips up. In the defensive zone, they hound the opponent's forwards, forcing them to either lob a soft one on net or give up the puck. Carolina is currently third in shots for per game (34.91), and dead first in shots against (25.74).

So: say you're a goalie on a team that routinely gives up 45 shots a game (hello John Gibson!) versus a goalie on a team that only gives up 25. That's a much, much lower workload -- on average one shot you'll have to stop every two and a half minutes or so (although shots as a rule tend to come in chunks, so the standard deviation is very high here.) And because you'll have this lower workload, odds on you'll be better rested for every shot, thereby being fresher and more likely to stop it.

Also, because of how tight Carolina is in the defensive zone, very few of these shots against are of significant quality -- they rarely give up breakaways, which are typically the major generator of high-danger chances.

All in all: a Carolina goalie is going to have a good time, not necessarily because they are a good goalie, but because they are in Carolina -- facing few chances and especially few high-danger ones allows the goalie an easier time stopping pucks, which boosts their stats.

[misarem]

umineko episode 2 impressions

......thoughts? im like 30 hours into this its kinda not impressions time anymore but idk.

This episode really was so much crazier than the last and while i thought the first was pretty well done, everything in this from the new twists and beatrices cruelty had me together in just the right way and it feels like the games really clicking for me now. feel like im getting a bit more into the mysteries too and im excited to keep going but i have to organize my thoughts first. obv spoilers

right off the bat i like the different approach in showing the two days, contextualizing them with moments between different parts of the family beforehand. i really liked the stuff with Jessica performing (love parts of vns like this, reminded me of ibuki mioda in sdr2) and i thought her thing with Kanon, while im not a huge fan of it, i find it more palatable with them being a lot closer in age than the other cousin maid pairing and i just think its sweet in general the way they care for each other despite getting shit from their respective families/groups. on the other hand, i had forgotten this in the first episode and i still like George but ok wow his relationship with Shannon is creepy. I can get over that kinda thing in a game when its addressed meaningfully but im wondering if its just gonna like be taken as a given like battler making advances to his cousins or if its gonna be addressed cuz like. i think they do have sort of a nice affection for each other and i want Shannon to be happy with a partner but i forgot shes like 6 or 7 years younger than him and him like half seriously ordering her as his servant to be with him is like yeesh dude. it does make an interesting contrast with George being the more mature cousin and playing along with their power dynamic just to make things smoother while Jessica is younger and more aspirational, wanting Kanon to be on the same level as her. well see what happens later on ig.

speaking of forgetting how bad some characters could be WOW this was a major chapter for Rosa. we immediately see how cruel she is to Maria and, ig fitting for episode 2, its almost like two sides to Rosa are established. but its so obvious the demure side of Rosa is influenced by the same upbringing that created her abusive side and as hard as it is to watch her hit maria its also just like so immediately painfully real how Rosa got to this point. not to get too personal and i think lots of people have this parental baggage nowadays but having spent years coping with verbal and emotional abuse from my own mother and having to face the harsh reality that shes not simply a shitty person and having to live with her own family and husband made her that way, and having to learn how to worry for and pity someone that you have, almost hard coded resentment for at this point. yea Rosa in this chapter just hits incredibly hard, and i gleamed from chapter 1 that a youngest child who isnt taken as seriously having abuse tendencies would be a lot to watch, i really had no idea how severe it would be. her ending with Maria this chapter was insane, just a perfect encapsulation of how bittersweet their feelings were, and the "only one mama/maria" line was a crazy moment of maturity for Maria too. im really wondering about her still cuz after the murders start its kinda easy to like write her off as a presence similar to the witches but she keeps showing different facets of herself in the briefest moments. i do think she and Battler will make it to the tenth twilight every episode tho no matter what happens to everyone else. also for Rosa, the tea party was just sick thats all ill say.

as for other predictions, just by pattern recognition the easiest guess for me is that one set of parents will be spared every first twilight just to see more of them during the 5th. so far it was George's parents (and natsuhi) surviving the first episode and Maria's parent surviving ep2, so im wondering if Battler and Jessica's parents will concurrently follow. also wondering if, following Natsuhi and Rosa, Kyrie and Eva will make it close to the end next. maybe one ep will be an inverse of the first and Eva survives along with Jessica's parents while Hideyoshi dies first. Eva and Hideyoshi seem to have a nice relationship and it would be interesting to see one without the other, and I can definitely see Eva going crazy without her husband. I mainly just hope Kyrie makes it far and gives us more insight and character cuz shes just so cool. Altho maybe she's just meant to die every time, imparting her wisdom on Battler who uses it to poetically avenge her. considering Battler himself has some Phoenix Wright dna in his writing, it wouldnt be surprising if Kyrie ended up being his Mia Fey (ig that kinda makes Maria like Pearl).

Other than that I'm not sure how things will shake out. for the murders themselves, while I dont have the other locked rooms figured out, the idea that someone took the chapel key and then placed it back into Maria's bag after resealing the envelope danced around in my mind before Battler and Beato even started arguing, since I thought if Rosa could do it and the means to make a wax seal were on the island, anyone could. I almost feel like I dont have enough info for the others but I could be seeing it wrong. Either way I love the argument style that Battler and Beato take up midway thru this chapter, with the red text rule constantly evolving as Battler and Beato take turns seizing it for their own advantage, and I cant wait for them to debate even more. Also. cannot stress this enough. absolutely next level voice acting from Sayaka Ohara. Every witch cackle and comeback and "USHIROMIYA BAAATTLEEEEEEER" is just unbelievable and i never ever get tired of hearing her line reads. Hell Ive gone to the log several times just to hear her again cuz I tend to have an itchy text advance finger. Just incredible.

Back to the story tho, I'm also kinda confused with the order of murders vs the order of twilights, with Nanjo and Kumasawa dying before George, Shannon and Gohda but having the 7th and 8th twilights, while the latter trio had 4, 5 and 6 (not in that order but you know). Wonder what the significance is and how itll come up, of course you can gouge a knee and leg of a dead body but it seems weird esp if the command "gouge the _ and kill" is meant to be taken literally in that order. i think that they werent marked as dead in the character page until their bodies were discovered too even tho their throats were cut on screen which is also kinda suspicious even tho I think Kanon and Jessica mightve been the same? Its actually hard to check that since my set up for Umineko Project on steam deck is kinda finnicky and the mouse doesnt always register like it should so i have a hard time clicking things. Still something to keep an eye on. Regardless i thought the death order was a lot more interesting with Rosa having to take the lead and the family and servants factioning off, even at the end where among the surviving family group, Rosa still found a way to make things hard for Battler and im wondering if smth like this would happen again like George taking Shannon and going against him or smth.

before i wrap up heres how my tier list shifted. since more witches are being introduced ill find a bigger one next episode but not much has changed. i still like George but hes going down in the fucked up category. and Genji and Gohda didnt have a huge impression on me previously but they rlly grew on me with Genji showing his devotion and Gohda not being as much as an asshole and growing closer to Kanon and Shannon. I have a butler bias and a big dude bias so that along with how pathetic and desperate he comes off kinda pulled me to him more even tho hes a lot of side character comic relief. And Shannon was just really nice this episode.

Last thing is the ??? segment which is basically just the witches segment. I knew Bernkastel (and Erika Furudo) clearly had something to do with Rika Furude but after posting the first episode impressions I realized Lambdadelta resembles Satoko Hojo a bit, and with what I know watching sparse clips of the Higurashi series from 2020 that had a lot of time loop fuckery, and with Bern and Lambda having a rivalry and recent conflict, it makes me wonder if Higurashi and Umineko are connected that way. The thing is tho I havent seen Higurashi in full at all. I do wanna play it at some point after this but Umineko just appealed to me way more and I couldnt help myself. Still i think its interesting. I've already seen more abt Beato from the peek I took of episode 3 and i cant wait to not only jump in but to see how my opinions and predictions keep changing

[miyakuli]

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals

The first Oxenfree was a game that made a very pleasant impression on me, with its mix of teen movie and horror and, above all, its effective, human dialogues that made us quickly become attached to the characters.

This time, in this second episode, we're no longer playing the role of teenagers, but adults who are confronted not only with the paranormal events around them, but also with their own demons. So, what to say about this sequel?

❤ The story is interesting and the more adult themes fit in very well with the rest. ❤ The visual and sound ambiance is as great as ever! Nothing more to say, it's really in the same vein as the 1st. ❤ The inclusion of the walkie-talkie in addition to the radio is a nice touch, as it adds more narrative arcs around the phenomenon and not just to the location you're in. ❤ Excellent voice actors (in English), both new and old. ❤ Many more options in the menu whether for audio or video, which is what was seriously lacking in the first one (it's stupid but I was happy to see this improvement).

+/- Once again, I really enjoyed the interactions between the characters, but I find it unfortunate that half of it is done by walkie-talkie, it's more impersonal and therefore the relationships are less intimate imo. Indeed, it's the duo of Riley and Jacob that work best for me, and whose closeness you really feel as the story progresses. Some might criticize Jacob for talking too much, but then again, he's almost the only physical character we come across, the secondary characters appear too briefly, and so we become less attached to them… +/- They also improved the dialogue system; in the first game, changing the scene cut off a dialogue, but here they continue even after loading and it's so much smoother !!!……on the other hand, if you have a talkie conversation in progress and Jacob decides to speak up at that moment, the call is abruptly interrupted and all you have to do is replay it in its entirety afterwards. So, an improvement on the one hand but a new problem on the other; game, you were almost there x') +/- I really liked how the 1st game fit into this one, but it's a bit inconsistent with the possible endings in the first one and with what we experienced there too (spoilers hidden on my steam review if you're curious) +/- The map is much bigger, but the trips are still very long…

✖ The movements are still a little too static for my taste, that hasn't changed. ✖ I feel like the horror side has been really softened; I remember a lot more creepy moments in the 1st with few jumps. Frankly, that's what disappointed me most about this one. ✖ The use of the radio has been quite reduced. In the first, there were really stations to pick up depending on where you were, which enriched the lore (like a guided tour). Here, apart from Maria's station, I'd just listen to the occasional station and come across some odd randoms things that had nothing to do with what I was doing or where I was (I listened to almost everything, though).

Oxenfree 2 is therefore, in my opinion, a good sequel which has been able to bring a little novelty while keeping what made it so distinctive, namely the strength of the dialogues and the general atmosphere. However, I find it a little less emotionally engaging than the 1st, certainly due to its treatment of the characters relationships.

In any case, if you liked Oxenfree, there's almost no doubt that you'll enjoy diving back into its universe with this sequel :)

➡ My Steam page

[was-it-really-worth-it]

Game 233 - Slime Rancher by Monomi Park

What did I think it was at first? Ok, so actually I've played Slime Rancher before. I stopped playing and can't remember why?

How was the character creator? None, you play as their character Beatrix LeBeau. She's pretty cute, but you don't see her outside of when you're in your home.

The only customization you get to do is on your ranch, where you can decide what slimes and crops to raise, how to organize your space, and what perks or additional areas to unlock.

How was the game? Deceptively simple.

You start out just exploring the planet, trapping slimes and using their poop for money.

Then, you upgrade the enclosures and add more features and crops to raise more slimes. You gather and explore the fringes of the world in the service of the almighty coin. You find the most efficient ways to get your slimes to produce poop you can sell. Eventually, you have a system going and can bring in a pretty solid chunk of money. At some point you invent genetic engineering and make hybrid slimes that are moneymakers and easier to care for. There really isn't any tutorial or checklist or guidelines.

The graphics are cute, and the music is ok, but what really surprised me is how much personality the little slimes have?

Look at the pink slime in that picture. I made him by accident and he was my little mascot. I named him Bouba and he flopped around my ranch. He never got into my chickens and I would occasionally shoot him some food.

Until one day when I finished a quest and the machine spurted out my rewards, which included something Bouba should not eat. He immediately ate it because he's a good boy and then he became a tarr slime, terrorizing my farm and threatening to eat everyone else. I had to Old Yeller him.

That was all randomly generated and there was no guarantee any of it would happen, but it was dramatic as hell and put the fear in me.

What did I not love? It's really good, but it's rough - there were some quality of life features I would have appreciated to make it a smoother experience.

Travel is really designed to make you feel like you're on an unexplored planet, but that means that it's easy to get turned around as a lot of the areas look very samey with no standout features. I got to know the area around my ranch quite well but would get lost in larger areas. I would have appreciated either better signposting or more diversity in the environments to make it easier to find my way around. Teleportation was also more annoying than useful - I'd unlock a teleport only to find it was locked away behind a part of my ranch I hadn't upgraded yet.

Also, you can only carry 4 different types of item which is annoying? I didn't run into an opportunity to upgrade that, which meant I had to spend a lot of time on farm maintenance. I get that this is to drive me to dump resources into crafting and automating my farm, but crafting is not fun.

At 8 hours and $11.99, was it really worth it? I would absolutely say so! Hell, it's 5 dollars on Steam right now. Go buy it. Seriously.