Spessgot

Maki Pics (NSFW)

You guys are getting the NSFW pic way ahead of the public release btw, and the other pic will be posted to the public with Bell Street Exorcism Part 2.

Character Sheet (End of The Hungry Ghost)

Working on a double sized update coming tomorrow night, but I thought I'd take a break to post the character sheet that I reference while writing.

Name: James Li

Archetype: Martial Arts Stunt Performer / Charming Rogue (Human)

Description: James Li is a skilled martial artist and stunt performer, known for his incredible acrobatics and charismatic personality. He combines the daring and physical prowess of Jackie Chan's characters with the wit and charm of a rogue. James is ...

The Hungry Ghost 3

She unlocked her phone and pulled up an overhead street map of Chinatown. "As for the plan, as I said, it's quite simple. I've spent years doing what I can to get ready, all that I was lacking when you reached out was suitable bait. This is the approximate area where the Hungry Ghost attacks its prey, according to what I've been able to gather. It's impossible to narrow it down further without identifying who the Ghost was in life. All that we can infer from his hunting behavior and choice of...

The Hungry Ghost 2

Tamaki Grill had all the hallmarks of a classy establishment. We were greeted by a well-manicured and many-decades-old bonsai in the initial waiting room, framed by ornate, carved wooden finish work in an arch around it. Ink paintings with stark and impressionistic scenes of somber Japanese forests adorned the walls. There was something vaguely ominous about the paintings, though I couldn't put my finger on it.

One of the women behind the counter stepped out as soon as she saw us ente...

March Interlude Poll

Vote for who gets the next Interlude. Annie won last time so she's excluded. I'm working on a Kuze Interlude as an extra for February, so he's also not on the Poll. My beta reader requested an Interlude from a PC's POV, which will be March's extra. 

Feel free to write in some options you'd like to see in the next poll.

The Hungry Ghost 1

Musky air steamed out from a vent in a stinking vaporous cloud as a train passed underneath, shaking the ground and rattling a fire escape above. Maki and I smoothly evaded it as we hurried towards Tamaki Grill, instincts honed from years of city living. I thanked the light drizzle for quickly evaporating the concentrated subway smell.

My eyes locked onto every street cat we passed, my mind occupied by idle plans of vengeance. If there was anywhere in the city I could find a cat to fig...

Interlude #1: Annie Makes a Friend, Briefly

A sublime stillness had come upon her master, the telltale sign that his mind was consumed by the martial arts. He sat in a deep horse stance, focused entirely on her phone set up on a tripod, watching the forms they’d developed so far on repeat. Without a physical challenge to distract him, James was forever listless and bored – pleasant and friendly, but not entirely present. It was probably why he could come across as such a himbo; his brain was only half on most of the time.

But...

No Samurai 3

Maki, for how reticent she was about our 'date', was a pleasant hang after all. She cringed every time we met someone she knew, embarrassed to be seen hanging off my arm, but in the tight, noisy confines of Little Tokyo's alleys, it did make sense for her to lead by touch through the crowds. I also envied the fact that, unlike when I walked through Chinatown, people here were respectful enough not to inquire about the specific nature of our relationship. Had these been my home streets, multip...

No Samurai 2

The double doors marked for the stairs actually opened into a large space with benches and shelves for everyone to take off their shoes. There were even complimentary cheap flip-flops for those uncomfortable going barefoot. I appreciated the familiar sensibilities and made a note that the shelves had no locked cubbies; that was a level of communal trust that was vanishingly rare in Black Harbor.

I joined a few stragglers, two women and their children, for Huo's class, identifying them...

No Samurai 1

I sat on my couch and tried to think about dying. Tonight was the big night, an exorcism in Chinatown and my first real taste of supernatural horror. Any reasonable man would have been worried. Actually, no reasonable man would find himself in this position. After all, I had no idea what I was in for or how to fight a ghost, and the only expert opinion I'd received thus far had told me I was going to die. It was almost like this was a really, really bad idea.

A Taiwanese zombie action ...

Interlude Poll #1

Who should get a dedicated Interlude from their point of view this month? If the interlude isn't at least 2k words, I'll write one for the second highest voted as well.

Coach 'Combo' Kahn 2

Kas had a small home gym in his basement and a decent backyard, but neither was suited for a serious duel. I was here today to experience his signature move, the Six Star Meteor Kick, which involved launching your opponent into the air, juggling them, and then sending them crashing down with crater-making force. I didn't think his ceilings or neighbors would think highly of the display.

We walked instead to Kas's private gym, not far from his home in a nearby turn-of-the-century warehou...

Coach 'Combo' Kahn 1

Kas shook his head and ran his hand down his face, looking very much his age at the moment. My stomach tumbled a bit at the sight. I had just finished giving him the rundown on the past few days and didn't feel great about dropping all this on him. It couldn't have been what he thought he'd signed up for when he'd offered to mentor me in stunt acting.

Grumbling to himself, he fetched a bottle of I liqueur and another of high-end vodka and sat back down. A shot of the first and two of th...

Riverside Rendezvous

The cruel banshee I called a student decided to wake me up by ripping the blanket off my bed. My adrenaline spiked, and I barely registered the time it took to go from lying on my side to crouching on my mattress, ready to defend myself.

 Annie was standing at the foot of my bed, hands on her hips, and smiling like a psychopath. I blinked at her in the dim light of the single lamp she’d flicked on. She was still dressed in the shirt and panties combo from last night, and her hair...

Aftercare With Annie

“Uh oh,” I muttered, squinting at the filet medallion sizzling on my stove. Was that char or a burn?

 “Uh oh?” asked Annie, looking up from where she was editing our JinJin video on her phone.

 "Hah. You asked for well-done, right?"

 “Not unless I was ordering for my granddad.”

 "Oh, good. Where's he at? Because I have a hockey puck ready for him."

 Annie giggled. I couldn’t resist turning my head a bit to watch what that di...

The Match Is Lit

Annie threw herself into the lesson with everyt

Training Day

It was cloudy Sunday, with a chance for light rain, but was otherwise perfect for an outdoor workout. I'd tidied my place up and had even run out in the early morning to get a few rugs to make it look a bit more…adult. Before I'd embodied the character, James had been a 21-year-old male and had decorated accordingly, which is to say, not at all. But for a few movie posters, unframed, of course, the walls were bare. At least there had been a theme with the movies, 70's kung fu, and not just ...

Setting Dates

I scrolled through picture after picture of willowy, picturesque women in scandalous attire bent in incredible poses. My eyes stayed locked on the screen, not moving even as I took a bite of my cheesesteak or a sip of my diet root beer. This was what true dedication looked like. Not to brag, but I'd been keeping this up for over an hour now. Impressive, right?

I groaned and threw my phone like a frisbee to the far end of my couch. This should have been an ideal lazy Saturday and yet I ...

Welcome to Black Harbor 3

As much as I wanted to fall face forward onto my bed when I got home, there was the little issue that I was technically bleeding to death. I say technically because by the mechanics of being a Player Character, I would only start to bleed to death when I became incapacitated. Once unconscious, I'd have to start rolling Endurance checks to try and stabilize or continue to fill up my health bar with Murderous damage. Meaning that I could, theoretically, stay awake as I was for a few days, or ch...

Welcome to Black Harbor 2

Chinatown on a warm, late Summer night smelled like pot stickers, charcoal, and home. It was Friday and the people were out, about, and buzzing with excitement. Plastic tables with chain smoking uncles playing mahjong were out on every block. Men stood outside karaoke bars hocking their specials, eyeing up their rivals from across the street. Live chickens, rabbits, and frogs were being sold from makeshift markets. You could stand still here and catch over a dozen languages being spoken by re...

Welcome to Black Harbor 2

Chinatown on a warm, late Summer night smelled like pot stickers, charcoal, and home. It was Friday and the people were out, about, and buzzing with excitement. Plastic tables with chain-smoking uncles playing mahjong were out on every block. Men stood outside karaoke bars hocking their specials, eyeing up their rivals from across the street. Live chickens, rabbits, and frogs were being sold from makeshift markets. You could stand still here and catch over a dozen languages being spoken by re...

Welcome to Black Harbor 1

Years-worn grooves in my muscle memories kicked in the next morning, taking over for my conscious mind. I rolled off the couch I'd fallen asleep on and immediately dropped into clap pushups. I was grateful and eager to let the routine carry me forward through the day.

Last night I'd intended to hop online and start researching everything I could on the mythical locations where Cat and Nasim had ended up. Maybe I would have walked around the neighborhood to find a girl to rescue for the...

Prologue

Prologue

It was game night. A cat side-eyed us from the door, upset as it was every week to have its nap time so rudely interrupted. The familiar smell of pizza and dry-erase cleaner filled the room. And for once, everyone was freshly showered and dressed up for the occasion.

I tried to keep my voice as level and polite as possible. I didn’t want to come across as ungrateful. “I have some immediate critiques. The system is needlessly complex. It took me four h...