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Love Addict’s RPG Vol. 2 Ch. 89

Whew, I really didn’t think I could force myself to finish it today. It took longer than expected again but I challenged myself to do it. As is, I’m mostly happy with it I think. I’ve been feeling a little paranoid about the quality of the new stuff but that will probably pass once my recovery is further along. Right now it’s just like yes I’m writing again but is it as good as it was before? Brain feels a lot better, but not all the way, so shaking the doubt is rough.

Still happy to at least put something out though. Will start on 90 tomorrow probably!

***

Oliver made a habit of forgoing fast travel whenever he had a girl in the car, and Zoe was no exception despite Quarter's Up being over on the northeast side of town. It was in an old shopping mall bordering Starry Heights, which was somewhere Oliver had never been anywhere close to. The place was more of a walled-off collection of mega-mansions than an actual part of Vista Venus, and it's not like he was interested in going on one of those stupid tours that told you which rich jackoff lived where.

As he drove, Oliver pondered all sorts of things. He was curious about Zoe's history with the arcade, why she stopped coming, if she used to live nearby, and more. The temptation to learn more about her was real, but these were all mysteries that would solve themselves, and none were worth breaking the comforting silence that settled between them.

Zoe's theme music filled his mind, though it was a variation he'd never heard until now. Her aggressive, glitchy techno beats softened into a lo-fi version of themselves that wouldn't sound out of place in a meditation playlist. Usually, this would made Oliver worried he was boring her.

She was the most talkative person he'd ever met- barring Rebecca on one of her lore dumps- yet an ounce of concern hadn't crossed his mind despite her shutting up to gaze at the rolling cityscape beyond her window.

He assumed probably needed some time to process things, and Oliver wouldn't take that from her. After all, they had been flirting pretty hard so far today. God only knows what might happen if he didn't cut her some slack before things heated up again.

He wasn't that far off the mark.

Zoe faded away as she replayed everything that led to this. It wasn't going so well. She couldn't even figure out why she wanted that photo so bad or why she got all meek for Oliver when he took it. All she knew was how happy it made her to have a pic with the idiot speedrunning his way into her heart.

Heading to Quarter's Up also factored into the silence. It'd been so long; things would definitely be awkward.

But so the fuck what? Olive wants to go there with me, and I already let the guy down once this weekend. I'll be damned if I do it again.

That's what it all boiled down to.

He was special to her, and like everyone else she cared about, she'd hurt him through her actions. Oliver could forgive her all he liked, but she wouldn't forgive herself. Not until she'd somehow made it up to him.

Still... four fuckin' days, huh? Zoe glanced over at Oliver, painfully aware of her racing heart.

Jesus Christ...

"Hey Mia, how come you like your boyfriend so much?"

"Oh, you know, he saved me from bullying back in high school, and I've had a thing for him ever since. Also, he makes me feel good about myself, and I'm really into the sad puppy dog thing he's got going on. Fact that he's got a nice ass and a big cock doesn't hurt, either. What about you, Perezosa? Why do you like my boyfriend so much?"

"I dunno? Dude came over a couple times, and aside from the sad puppy dog thing, which I'm also apparently a big fuckin' fan of, I guess we just kinda vibed???"

Ugh.

Fuck's sake, Zoe... you've gotta be the shallowest bitch in the whole fuckin' world.

"We're here," Oliver popped off his seatbelt and yanked out his keys, speaking for the first time in twenty minutes.

Zoe blinked back into reality. They were in a familiar parking lot, and the host of her old haunt loomed just over yonder. Cupid's Arrow Mall. It still looked exactly how she remembered it, and even worse, it was just as busy as ever.

"That we are."

"You good?"

"Close enough," Zoe shrugged and unbuckled. "Sorry for spacing out. Just so you know, that shit's on me. Got a lot on my mind."

"No big deal, I figured as much. Why do you think I kept quiet?"

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe I was worried you got all mopey thinking you did something wrong?"

"Feeling really called out right now. Did Mia give you my manual while I wasn't looking?"

"Like I'd need that shit," Zoe snorted as they got out of the car. "Appreciate you letting me drift off for a bit, though. It helped. Not sure how much, but it did."

"Yeah? That's great." Oliver came around the corner to be by her side. He extended his hand and looked her in the eyes. "Guess that means you won't need any more help centering yourself?"

"Don't you try and pull a fuckin' reverse psychology on me, jackass."

"I would never."

"Uh-huh, sure. Y'know what? Fuck it." Zoe took a deep breath, then sidled up close to him. She was done letting him get the best of her- it was time to call his bluff. Her arm looped around his own. "We're doing this proper gentleman style, just like you wanted."

It was a good move.  Oliver could feel Zoe's chest pressing against his upper arm even through her jacket. That'd distract any guy, let alone his horny ass, but he knew she was just trying to push his buttons.

"Why stop here? You could drape your arms around my back, and I'll carry you around like a sloth."

"Pft. You're one greedy son of a bitch, Olive. Is one titty pressing up against you not enough?"

"Hey, I'll take what I can get," he shrugged in a way that purposefully made her chest jiggle. "You know every single person that sees us like this'll think we're a couple, though, right?"

Zoe glanced around the parking lot. It was a Sunday afternoon, so the place was packed with people shuffling in and out of their cars coming to and from the mall. Most minded their own business. A few looked their way. Not for long, a couple of seconds at best, but it felt like an eternity to Zoe every time she caught someone in the act.

A smirk formed beneath her mask as the more nuanced version of her BGM faded out, and the familiar version returned with a triumphant bang.

"Yeah, well, so what? People can think whatever they want. No skin off my back if they think I'm your girlfriend or some shit. Christ, could you imagine? Heh..."

[Zoe has gained +1 Affection!]

I certainly can, and apparently, I'm not the only one, Oliver thought, trying with all his might not to laugh. This fucking girl.

Oliver's notifications provided valuable insights left and right, but none of the conclusions he'd drawn from them thus far had been as funny as this. Zoe, who insisted on keeping a low profile, liked the thought of being seen with him. If he got really daring with his assumptions, it seemed like being his girlfriend didn't sound so bad, either.

Zoe was such an adorable powder keg of contradictions and conflicting emotions that Oliver started to fear what might happen when she finally blew. The constant teasing was fun and all, but the situation called for self-control. He felt it best to slow down, show Zoe a good time, and allow her to reach her own conclusions.

"For your sake, let's say that I can't."

"Fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we should get a move on," Oliver marched, dragging the sloth along for the ride. "Come on- I'm dying to see this place if it's really that special to you!"

"H-Hey, slow down for a sec, jackass! This is more physical activity than I've had in months!" 

Despite her complaints, Zoe caught up in no time. The two entered Cupid's Arrow Mall with great excitement on Oliver's side and a cocktail of nervousness and cautious optimism on Zoe's. His excitement only swelled when the notification he'd been waiting for finally arrived.

[Zoe's first Heart Event is now underway!]

Dopamine exploded inside Oliver's brain like the most illegal, backwater, redneck fireworks display of all time. He was already hyped for this but wasn't expecting it to hit this hard. The sensation left him reeling, and it wasn't just from getting one step closer to winning Zoe's heart.

This was a guy who'd lived his whole life without a shred of self-worth to his name. A guy who struggled since childhood to make connections. Who'd crashed and burned the only time he tried putting his best foot forward.

What made him so emotional was knowing he'd caught not only Mia's eye but Zoe's as well. These were two of the most extraordinary, unique, and beautiful girls he'd ever met, and he had their attention. He didn't understand what it was- and maybe he never would- but there was something about him that more than one person found worthy of love.

He never would've believed it if the evidence wasn't right there beside him, hugging his arm to her boob, and yet...

Okay, okay.

Enough sucking your own dick, Oliver. Remember that you're here for Zoe and Mia's sake- anything else is just a bonus. You'll lose everything you've got the second things get to your head, so stay humble and make sure these girls only see you as you are.

That's the way they like you.

After allowing the excitement to pass, Oliver took in his new surroundings.

It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before, being just a mall. They'd stepped into the food court where a shoddy-looking fountain with a statue of Botticelli's Venus sat dead center, surrounded by rows and rows of tables. Some were empty, and others were filled with teenagers, couples, or families grabbing a cheap meal.

Oliver counted at least three crying toddlers, which was anything but a surprise. It wouldn't have been a proper mall without at least that many.

"Christ, this place is fuckin' busy..." Zoe grumbled, clutching his arm even tighter.

"So you're saying you don't want lunch?"

"Now hold the fuck up, Olive. You know damn well I said no such thing."

"Despite how it's only been a few hours since I brought you breakfast?"

"Like you even gotta ask," Zoe fished a debit card from her pocket and thrust it his way. "But would you do me a favor and take care of the standing in line and ordering part? I want four bacon-loaded jalapeno pretzels with extra bloody tears dipping sauce from Pretzelvania, and I'll take the biggest size of whatever caffeinated lemon lime sludge they've got to wash it down. You can go ahead and get yourself whatever from wherever. It's on me."

"You got it," Oliver took the card as a small laugh escaped him.

"The fuck're you laughing at, chucklenuts?"

"Well, now I'm laughing at you for unironically throwing out the word 'chucklenuts'-"

"God forbid a girl have a colorful vocabulary," she rolled her eyes. "And before that?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. I'll be right back with lunch, so go grab us a seat."

Zoe's hunger outweighed her suspicions. She dropped the subject, and the two split up, Oliver heading for Pretzelvania and Zoe for the most isolated table she could find.

Oliver laughed again after getting in line. He found it funny to compare Zoe delegating this off to him to how Rebecca stubbornly insisted on ordering for herself. One was perfectly capable of social interaction yet avoided it at all costs, and the other struggled while trying her hardest.

God, did this man love the fairer sex. They were all so cute in so many different ways that his heart just ached from thinking about it.

How did that one song go again? Ah, yes. Pretty women-

"Velcome to Pretzelvania, vere ve strive to serve," said quite possibly the most unenthused teenage clerk Oliver had ever met. "Vhat can ve vhip up for you...?"

It was for the best that Oliver's internal monologue was cut short before he went full Sondheim. He always felt so awkward after sobering up from getting love drunk, though he'd wager this kid had it worse regarding embarrassment.

Aside from Zoe's excessive feast, Oliver ordered himself a salted pretzel and a water bottle. There weren't enough bacon-loaded jalapeno pretzels ready, so he looked back at the vast array of tables while they 'vhipped' up the rest. It turned out Zoe was watching him this whole time from the comfort of their new seat, as it's not like she had much better to do without her phone.

She lazily waved at him now that the jig was up, so Oliver smiled and did it back. It was a silly little interaction, but it brightened Zoe's mood all the same. It just sadly wasn't enough that she didn't still look more uncomfortable than anything else.

If only Zoe knew how much better she's doing than I did way back when. The car ride to my first appointment made me sweat like a sauna, and I'll never that creepy ass waiting room for as long as I live. I swear, it was almost a fucking liminal space, and I couldn't stop thinking everyone was staring at me, either.

The memory made Oliver shiver, then granted him clarity. When he first left the house again, it was to go to therapy. By comparison, Zoe just wanted to make him happy. You could argue there was more to it than that, and there was, but he ultimately couldn't ignore how big a factor he was in her decision-making.

Just thinking about it forced Oliver's soul to roar with blazing determination. He was already hell-bent on giving Zoe his best, and now he set his sights even further. Come hell or high water, this would be the best not-a-date Oliver could give her.

The young pretzel pusher handed over their food and drinks right as Oliver's motivation peaked, so he returned to Zoe.

"Fuckin' finally," Zoe pulled down her facemask and sighed contentedly.

"That hungry, huh? Or are you just that happy to see-"

"Can it, Olive. Flirty banter will NOT be tolerated at this table- at least not until these four bad boys have been crammed as gracelessly down my throat as possible."

"I can respect that," Oliver laughed, taking out his phone while resisting the urge to comment on Zoe's phrasing. "But what would you say to sending Mia an update before digging in?"

"I'd say you better make it quick. That, and-"

"Make sure I send it to you?"

"Y-Yeah, you know. Might as well." Zoe grumbled, though her brattiness was easy to dismiss when her screwy smirk said it all.

Oliver was careful not to get absorbed in Zoe's predictable cuteness as he set up the picture and leaned across the table so that they were both in the frame. Noticing she was getting awkwardly meek again, he pushed the envelope by proposing a silly pose. Zoe went along with it without so much as a peep of resistance. They raised their pretzels and clinked them together like a pair of beer mugs, and then- snap.

He looked at the picture before sending it to make sure it turned out alright, only for him to realize the pose was even more embarrassing than he'd thought. Oliver frowned and contemplated asking for a do-over.

"What's up? Did the pic blur or some shit?" Zoe sat up to sneak a peek. "Cause we can always take another if it turned out like-" her peek was successful snuck. "Oh. Fuckin' yeesh, that's... yeah. Christ. We look like a couple of-"

"Normies..." Oliver spat out the word with a shiver.

"Yup, and I ain't just talking about run-of-the-mill normies, either. That's a pair of goddamn turbo-normies right there if I ever saw 'em."

"So what you're saying is I should upload this pic on p/LazySlothGaming for all the simps to see?"

Zoe dropped her pretzel. Her jaw fell along with it while her face reddened and worked up a layer of sweat. She stayed frozen solid like this for a few seconds, embarrassed, shocked, and mentally blank. Righteous fury possessed the sloth the second she regained her senses.

"D-Don't even fuckin' joke about that! Things would be bad enough if any of those greasy perma-virgins suspected I had a boyfriend, but if they saw me looking this cringe? My career wouldn't just be over. There'd be a goddamn witch hunt!"

[Zoe has lost -1 Affection!]

Oliver's main takeaway from this measly affection drop was that, as usual, Zoe wasn't as mad as she seemed. It amused him enough to halfway tempt him into pushing things further. He let it go for now, thinking it'd be better to flip it around and be coy about it.

"Eh, you're probably right. It's too bad. I would've loved to show you off and-"

"Didn't I just warn you about flirty banter?" Zoe snapped, pointing her pretzel toward him in accusation. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Oliver chuckled and apologized before checking if she still wanted to keep the pic. Zoe nodded while rolling her eyes with a slight blush, so off it went. His phone buzzed a few seconds later, and yet again, it came with a matching notification.

[Mia has gained +1 Affection!]

Didn't Mia say she hardly ever checks her phone when visiting her family? If I didn't know any better, I'd wager she's on the edge of her seat.

Understanding Mia's taste for consensual cuckoldry would be forever beyond Oliver's jealous ass, which suited him just fine. He didn't need to understand her proclivity to indulge her, and besides, it's not like his kinky kitten didn't have another thousand fetishes whose appeal he most definitely understood.

It's incredible how much a quick peek at an artist's sketchbook can tell you about that person, Oliver thought, smirking like a dope and laughing softly as he read his girlfriend's text.

Zoe took one look at his stupidly cute face- or maybe it was just stupid, fuck if she knew whenever it came to this dude- and stopped attacking her food long enough to spark her curiosity. "Flirty banter with an outside party, huh? Look at you, Olive. Now you're the one finding loopholes."

"Your fault for not specifying I couldn't,"

"Yeah, yeah. Throwing my own words back at me- top-notch stuff. Very clever, but it's still flirty banter." Zoe dipped her pretzel in scarlet sauce, nearly finishing it  before pointing the remaining nub at him. "Watch it, dude. The ice you skate is getting pretty thin."

"...Was that a fucking All-Star reference? I thought you didn't listen to music."

"C'mon, Olive. You don't really think someone can partake of the internet on a daily fuckin' basis without exposure to some degree of Smash Mouth, do you?"

"Now that you mention it, no, probably not. The band is practically a memetic cognitohazard."

"I'm not even gonna pretend I understand whatever kinda nerd shit you're yapping on about."

"No? Looks like you're not quite as internet-pilled as you claim, then."

"A real fuckin' tragedy, to be sure, but I'll survive. Anyways, what did Mia have to say about our cringefest?"

"Oh, you know," he looked back at his girlfriend's message with a smile. "Nothing special, just Mia being Mia. That sort of thing."

Oliver's vagueness didn't bode well to Zoe, who narrowed her eyes and demanded, "Show me."

"You sure? You might get a little worked up about it."

"For fuck's sake, Mia. Seriously...?" Zoe groaned as she sank her forehead against her palm. "Is it really that bad?"

"Well, no. I personally thought it was more funny and cute than anything else. It's just that I think your mileage may vary."

Oliver extended his phone toward Zoe, and by God, he wished he was recording this. Her face reddened faster than if she'd dunked her head in a barrel full of ketchup. He knew it was a given that Mia's response would rattle Zoe's cage, but he'd severely underestimated how visceral that rattling would be.

His more shameless and sadistic side ate up her embarrassment with glee to the point where Oliver just had to throw out a prayer of thanks to his patron saint.

Thank you, Lady Mia, for this bountiful gift of flustered gamer girls with which you saw fit to bestow me.

Amen.

"She... she wouldn't actually do that, would... oh, who the fuck am I kidding?! Of course she would!!" Zoe slumped over the table. "Why is she like this? Seriously, why?! Her phone's background should be a pic of you and HER being an obnoxious pair of turbo-normies, not you and ME!! Ugh. Swear to God, when I get my hands on that stupid little cuck, I'm gonna-"

"There's nothing you can do to her that she won't get off on," Oliver helpfully reminded.

"Damn you for being right, Olive. Damn you, and damn her!"

"If it really bothers you so much, I can tell her not to," he laughed under his breath, feeling a little guilty now that his initial enjoyment had died down. "She'll listen to me."

"I'm not bothered, I'm just embarrassed... embarrassed, and... I don't know, confused?"

"About?"

"You know what about, dumbass," Zoe dredged her eyes up to look at him. "The fact that she's totally getting off seeing us like this!"

"Oh, um, y-yeah," Oliver was too embarrassed to admit he'd momentarily forgotten none of this was normal. A normal person would probably be very put off by indulging their best friend's fetish, wouldn't they? Then again, "I thought that didn't bother you, though? I mean, we put on a show for her the other day after you yourself suggested it."

"Yeah, but sex stuff was like whatever to me the other day! Things are different now!"

His heart beat like crazy just hearing that, causing him to lean in excitedly. "Different how?"

A bunch of answers popped into Zoe's head all the same time, none of which she could remotely even think about saying out loud. Everything was way too embarrassing for that. There had to be something there, though, so Zoe grappled with the tangled web of her mind until something usable shook loose.

"I don't fuckin' know, man. I guess I'm just somewhat more conscious about that kinda stuff than I used to be...?"

It was the tiniest, most casual admission Zoe could've possibly made, and yet Oliver was so thrilled to hear it you'd think she'd just agreed to marry him. Still, he knew better than to dwell on it. What Zoe needed was to figure out her feelings, not be teased for having them.

"Zoe, the last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable. Say the word, and we'll stop sending Mia pics."

Zoe looked him in the eyes, her mind still flooded with buzzing nonsense she couldn't make heads or tails of, and she was starting to feel a slight caffeine crash coming on. Luckily, she had her soda to help stave that off, and for everything else, she had Oliver's comforting words.

She took a deep breath and dared to smile as her gaze drifted off to the side.

"Nah. It's cool."

"Really?"

"What can I say? I like making that little freak's day." Zoe shrugged. "And taking stupid pics with you is kinda fun, too, so... might as well just keep doing the whole two birds, one stone thing, y'know?"

"I suppose. I just don't want to make you-"

"Dude, you literally just said that. Stop repeating yourself."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I... I'm just making sure it's really what you want you want?"

Zoe looked into his eyes for a few seconds in a way that filled Oliver with dread. Her eyebrow twitched, and she looked... annoyed, maybe? That, and something else he couldn't put his finger on. His first instinct was to apologize, though he didn't get the chance.

"Bruh. If you've learned anything about me these last few days, it should've been that I've got no idea what I want. I'm figuring all this shit out as we go along, and you know as well as I do that the road ahead is gonna be a rocky one. That said, I..." Zoe sucked in a deep breath only to find it didn't make what she wanted to say any easier. "I trust you, Olive, but that has to go both ways. I promise I'll straight up tell you if I'm ever uncomfortable, so stop babying me, and stop worrying yourself sick. I want you to walk me down that rocky road, not fuckin' carry me."

Oliver sat there for an eternity,  taking everything Zoe said and absorbing it over. He wanted to smile from ear to ear upon hearing her open up to such a degree. This was a serious moment, however. He refused to ruin it by swooning over her.

She had a point about him feeling overly cautious. His every other thought was about how he should or shouldn't tease her, what would or wouldn't be too far. Zoe didn't want that from him. Didn't deserve it, either. What she deserved was something a little more confident- maybe even shameless.

Imagine that.

"I'm going to assume that holding your hand doesn't count as babying you?"

"Nah, it totally does," Zoe brightened up and flashed him an awkward smirk. "But it's different when I ask for it."

"Figures," he clicked his tongue. "Either way, thanks for trusting me so much. I promise I'll do my best to give you the full Oliver Chase experience. Warts, endless waves of compulsive flirty banter, and all."

"Heh. You fuckin' better."

[Zoe has gained +5 Affection! +3 Smooth Talker]

"So long as you save it until we're done with lunch," Zoe raised her second pretzel towards him, to which he smiled and toasted with his own.

The cringy pair of turbo-normies shared a laugh as Oliver feeling's mood skyrocketed. Her admission of trust just now felt so meaningful to him that he half expected a pop-up to tell him Zoe's Heart Event was completed, though no such notification appeared. Fine by him, it only meant his day was just getting started.

There was just one little problem.

He was so eager to tease that he wasn't confident he could make it through his pretzel without another jab. Something about Zoe that spoke to Oliver's sadistic side in a way that Mia didn't. His kitten was submissive and would probably be open to anything he was brave enough to ask for. Zoe was another story. She was awkward, confused, and yet fiercely stubborn at the same time, getting all cute and huffy whenever he teased her.

Oliver lived for that shit, and his excitement got the better of him. There was one last thing that needed doing before he could finally settle down for lunch, so he texted his silly idea to Mia, who was unsurprisingly down to clown.

[Mia has gained +5 Affection!]

[Mia: she's gonna be so pissed lmao

Oliver: Is that a no?

Mia: oh I'll do it lol can't wait to see the look on her face

Oliver: You and me both, kitten. You and me both.]

***

Stat Changes

Mia Rosas | Status: Girlfriend | 104/300 | ❤❤❤♡♡

Zoe Myers | Status: Friend(?) | 124/100 | ♡♡♡♡♡

Slight Delay

Probably going to post it tomorrow instead of today. It’s not because I didn’t work on it, I worked on it even longer than yesterday. It’s just that I ended up expanding some of it and reworking other parts, so I didn’t work on the last stretch until about the end of my session just now and I’m essentially right where I was yesterday- on the verge of finishing yet not feeling up to the last few paragraphs lol.

Still, I’m feeling good about my progress these last two days, and that just means longer chapter for you guys.

Next chapter tomorrow probably

I had a good day with writing today after struggling this last while like I referenced before. I’m basically done with the next one safe for a few paragraphs that I just can’t be bothered to wrap up today. I think tomorrow is a reasonable assumption so long as nothing gets in the way of it, so look forward to the date continuing!

Happy Valentine’s Day - Special Arts

You’ve got no idea how hard it was to keep these a secret, I was so excited to show them off lmao. As you all know, Valentine’s Day is a very special time in the lore™️ and we’re just shy of the first anniversary, so this serves as a celebration of both. Thank you for supporting me throughout what was paradoxically the best and worst year of my life.

The next chapter is almost fully done but full transparency I had a bad week and I’m quite depressed about it. I thought my productivity spike meant I was finally getting over the hurdle but I relapsed pretty hard for whatever reason. Guess I just need more time to adjust and I should look at the fact that I even had a productivity spike as solid proof that the medicine is slowly starting to work. It just felt bad that I made a big deal about feeling better and then fell on my ass for no discernible reason other than my brain going nah man, sike.

Again, though, progress is progress.

I’ll have the next chapter up as soon as I can!

Thank you Milly for helping fund this special gift to you all, and thank you to the artist who worked hard to get all five done before today! Check her out here, https://draconisglow.carrd.co

Mia and Oliver Sketch Page

A huge pic of a bunch of ideas I had, and some that the artist had! There’s been a bit less art last week but this should make up for it I think haha. I’m gonna be having them doing more big sheets like this as it really suits their style. As is, this one is super adorable and I’m very happy with it!

Regarding the next chapter, I had an inconsistent week and I slowed down for a couple of days but I’ve gotten some more work done in the last two. I’m about to go do some work now, too, and there might be a good cutoff point for a chapter soon. We’ll see, I’m feeling optimistic that I can get this done.

Thank you Milly for the art, everyone really appreciates it!

Art by https://twitter.com/mackyneko265

Mutual Fun with Mia

She’s getting a little out of hand in this one, and damn is it sexy to see! Really like how it turned out. The coloring with this artist is real nice.

I haven’t made much writing progress in the last two days. Head has gotten a little foggy again and I’m hoping it clears up soon. A little annoying since I only needed another two or three days of work to get the chapter done but progress is progress.

Thank you Milly for this gift of lewd 🙏

art by https://www.reddit.com/u/dizblackPen_69/s/redqdKp7oZ

Rebecca and Mia Threesome

Rebecca hasn’t had many overtly lewd pics on this level yet and I thought I’d get something to that effect, with some Mia thrown in for good measure. Always nice to actually see Oliver, too, but it costs extra so I usually don’t go for that haha.

I’m about to get to work for today, hoping to get even closer to finishing the next chapter. Won’t take me too long. I’m really tired today, though. Bleh.

If anyone was wondering about the huge influx of art- it’s quite literally the only thing keeping me sane as my country rots from within (aside from working on the story itself of course). So thank you for that, Milly!

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/OOQuanT/s/QO8iNUWTqi

Rebecca Glowing Art

I kinda dropped the POV kiss theme with this one and I don’t know what to call it lol. There was only so many ways you could pose those, but I digress. This one came out very pretty! I hope the dice rolls are always in her favor.

Thank you for the gift Milly~

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/hanabee_2/s/wxGwtuHtdM

Zoe on Top

The result of she and Oliver having a good time. Man, it feels like she still has so far to go before she’s this comfortable with sex and her feelings. Can’t wait to keep writing her journey though!

Thank you for the gift Milly ♥️

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/OOQuanT/s/QO8iNUWTqi

Rebecca in Lingerie

Another new pic! This was a little test to see how the artist would handle my chubbier characters. Very happy with the results! This is definitely one of my favorite Rebecca pics so far. I wanted one where she wasn’t AS shy as usual and was actually trying to look cute and present herself. The lingerie I picked out for her fit so well, too, ahh. I love my little dress up dolls.

Writing went well today! Might try another session later, but next chapter is probably only a few days away now.

Thank you for the gift, Milly!

Art by https://bsky.app/profile/chadolbaegi.bsky.social

Mia Isn’t Subtle

Let’s pretend for a second that condoms exist in my world let alone that she would ever want to use one lol. For real, though. This is a new favorite of mine! She just looks so cute I can’t even control myself. Ahhhh.

A nice surprise gift from Urban, thank you so much!

Art by https://bsky.app/profile/chadolbaegi.bsky.social

Mia Fucked Silly Pinup

Same artist as last time, they work REALLY fast lmao. And with how cheap they are it’s just insane! Going to have them be doing something with Rebecca next but if anyone has anything they want to see or wants to help contribute towards one feel free to lift some of the burden off of Milly’s shoulders.

Because yes thank you Milly we love you

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/OOQuanT/s/QO8iNUWTqi

Stacy Stripping Pinup

Testing a new artist on this one and I’m really happy with them! They’re very fast, high quality and cheap so they might be another mainstay. Gonna have them work on something with Mia next.

Chapter 89 is coming along good! Might be able to finish it in the next couple of days at this rate. It feels surreal to be making solid progress again, and I can’t wait till this volume finally releases.

This was a gift from Milly so thank you very much for that ♥️

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/OOQuanT/s/QO8iNUWTqi

Mia and Zoe Pinup

Mia and Zoe sitting together on a chair. Not much more to say about this one, what more do you want from me? Really though, this artist had a unique style and I wanted to try them out once. It came out pretty cute I think!

Going to get to work here soon and try to make a dent in 89 today, feeling optimistic and excited to write more Zoe development. I’ve also been putting some more thought into the future of LARPG since I’m actively working on it again, and have been toying with the ideas I have for future heroines. Don’t know if I’ll take the time to elaborate anytime soon or expand on these just yet. Might be something to figure out between volumes 2 and 3 so I can start setting seeds for some of these characters.

Art was a gift from Milly, thank you so much for it as always ♥️

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/sihti709/s/amNYDyWGoh

Mia Swimsuit Pinup

A new swimsuit outfit for Mia! I think the hoodie suits her very well, even aside from the cat ears. She’d probably zip it up until she’s more comfortable with herself, but unlike Zoe, she does enjoy the beach. Not so much for the sun but for people watching and sketching opportunities, though she also hates it because it’s very hard to draw on the beach without random people trying to start conversations…

Personal update, I’m doing good, I’m a few pages into writing chapter 89 and it’s going okay so far. Not sure when it’ll be done yet but progress is being made!

Gift from Milly, thank you so much ♥️

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/BAIU777/s/zHCfwMhwj2

Mia Eating Out Stacy

Another thing with Mia and Stacy, this time a little more private. I’m really glad my condition has improved. Getting new art feels good again and motivates me to get even further in the story so we can justify more pairings and get fun scenes drawn.

This was also another gift from Urban, thank you very much for it!

Art by https://bsky.app/profile/mfus.bsky.social

Stacy and Mia Cheerleading Pinup

A fun little pic comparing and contrasting these two lovely ladies. One is in their element, and the other is not. Body dysmorphia doesn’t exactly go well with cheerleading outfits, but alas, she’s doing her best!

Gift from my friend Urban, thank you so much for it!

Art by https://x.com/junkoely

Zoe POV Kiss Pinup

Second out of five for these, and good timing with it! Figured we’d have Zoe a little more bashful than normal to reflect current events and I’m super happy with the results! Thank you for the gift, Milly ♥️

Art by https://www.reddit.com/u/hanabee_2/s/wxGwtuHtdM

Love Addict’s RPG Vol. 2 Ch. 88

Surprise. I had a very productive day today, finishing this over three whole sessions and getting 3k words done. That’s very comparable to me at my prime. I do feel kind of weird about the slow pacing since this whole chapter is just a walk to the car and then standing in front of the car, but I think it’s justified and on top of that I don’t care about bad pacing since I’m the ‘extremely slow paced slide of life fluff’ specialist guy lol. It’s mostly that I can’t help myself when writing Oliver and Zoe bouncing off each other. Hope you enjoy!

***

Zoe took her sweet time getting ready, and every second spent waiting agonized Oliver. Reaching another heroine's first Heart Event had his heart pumping something fierce. He just hoped it would actually happen today. There was always a chance the event wouldn't trigger, but this was all still a significant step forward, even if nothing happened.

He kept wondering about what she was getting up to in there. Mia dolled herself up when they first went out as friends, didn't she? Maybe Zoe was doing the same?

Nah. On second thought, probably not. Oliver dismissed the notion.

Zoe didn't strike him as the type to invest tons of effort over something like this, and putting on her face wouldn't explain the lengthy delay, anyway. She still had the makeup from her last stream on, so topping it off should only take a minute or two.

Ah, well.

A boy could dream. It was all Mia's fault for making him like this, anyway. When she fancied herself up the other day just to impress him, it made Oliver feel like the most special guy in the world, and he wouldn't turn down a second dose of that. Honestly, though? Zoe could strut out wearing a fursuit, and he'd still be hyped as all hell.

But what if she asked me to wear one, too? Mind still spinning with nonsensical thoughts, Oliver cocked his head. I mean, so long as it made her happy-

The tingle of Hyper Reflexes danced down his spine, alerting Oliver the instant Zoe's door cracked. His thoughts emptied like air from a popped balloon as he looked down the hall.

"Sorry that fuckin' took me so long. Forgot where I put this stupid thing." Zoe grumbled, tugging her sleeve. "That, and I had to take my face off."

It was good Oliver hadn't let himself get carried away as Zoe went in the opposite direction he'd envisioned. She'd thrown on a baggy purple track jacket to go with her pants, and her sharp eyes looked even sharper sans makeup. To keep things inconspicuous, she wore a black facemask, a black baseball cap pulled down over her bangs, sunglasses resting above her brows, and flip-flops.

"No problem. Looking good, Zoe. You didn't get the wrong memo, though, did you?"

"Fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"I asked you out to an arcade. Not to go sell drugs with me at the nearest McDonald's parking lot."

Zoe flicked his forehead.

Oliver could've dodged, but he didn't. All he did was smirk.

"C'mon, dude! Use your brain for half a second. I'm a decently popular titty streamer living in one of California's biggest fuckin' cities. Shouldn't take a rocket scientist to suss out why I might wanna keep a low profile, yeah?"

"Right, makes sense. So you've actually run into some fans before?"

"A couple of times, yeah," Zoe heaved her shoulders, then slumped against the nearest wall.

"Well, that sounds ominous."

"Eh. It's a mixed bag. Most just wanted a picture together, and that's like, sure, whatever, but then you have the haters, or even worse, the catcallers. A few crazy fucks even came right up and hit on me right while Mia was like right fuckin' there, man. Shit's wild."

"Jesus. I'd be lying if I said I'm surprised. No wonder you hide in your room so much."

"Yeah, well... that might have something to do with it, but it's not like I ever really loved getting out of the house even before I got internet famous."

"Internet famous, wow. Everyone knows that's the best kind."

"Heh. Damn straight."

[Zoe has gained +1 Affection! +1 Smooth Talker]

"Sad to say it's not all sunshine and unicorns, though. Putting up with this shit is just part and parcel when you're big online. Doubly so when you're a sexy bitch such as yours truly."

"You won't need to put up with jack shit when you're with me," Oliver clenched his fist, staring her dead on. He worried about looking too serious, so he threw in a smile and punched his open palm. "I can't help myself whenever I catch a whiff of harassment, remember?"

Zoe sized up the scrawny guy and his cute little grin. Wait, cute? She squinted for a split second. Okay, sure, maybe it is a little cute. Whatever, moving on.

While you couldn't call Oliver physically imposing without stretching those words by a mile and a half, his confidence more than made up for in Zoe's eyes. It didn't hurt knowing those fists got results, either.

She shot a weird, screwy smile back at him from beneath her mask and scratched her neck.

[Zoe has gained +1 Affection! +1 Smooth Talker]

"Yeah, yeah. Kinda hard to forget that about you, my guy. Just keep in mind I'm not like Mia and Becca, okay? I can take care of myself. Search hard enough, and you'll find footage of me kicking some dude's balls after he came up and tried to grope me. Christ, that was a good day! Thank fuck Mia was already recording me for a promo vid because I'm pretty damn sure that's still my most viral xeet to this day..."

"Zoe," Oliver snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Stop thinking about work."

"Fuck. Okay, yeah, right. So, are you ready to blow this joint, or-" Zoe stopped after noticing Oliver's hand inching toward her. "Bruh. You serious with this shit right now? Because trying to feel me up RIGHT after I told you about my dope-ass skills in the field of unscheduled vasectomies is a BOLD fuckin' move."

Oliver called her bluff. His hand sank into her jacket's pocket, returning with Zoe's phone moments later. The boys down south remained gloriously intact.

"Part of not thinking about work means leaving your cell behind."

Zoe's hand itched and twitched. She yearned to yank back her attention dispenser from Oliver's clutches, but she knew these feelings for what they were. Stupid, selfish impulses. All it'd take to power through them was some good old-fashioned mental fortitude. A resource Zoe scarcely possessed.

Good thing Oliver's influence helped her dredge some up.

Peer pressure- it never fails.

"Look at you, all ten steps ahead and shit. Whatever, dude. Chuck it on the coffee table, and let's go."

Oliver obliged with a satisfied grin, and it wasn't long until Zoe had one, too. Smiling over something so silly made her feel dumb and down on herself. Luckily, she had the rest of the afternoon to practice getting used to it, supposing she ever could.

One way to find out, Zoe thought as the two left for their romantically-coded platonic not-a-date.

They were walking down the hall past the rows of other apartments when Oliver realized seeing Zoe outside the apartment felt uncanny. Almost like he'd clipped out of bounds and glimpsed something he shouldn't. She was also invading his personal space by hovering right next to him, and they weren't even halfway down the hall yet.

"Everything okay?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Just making sure you're not too nervous or whatever," Oliver said. "Since you're clinging pretty close for someone who insisted they could take care of themselves."

"You think I won't fight back if someone starts shit with us? Because I fuckin' will, Olive. I'll tell you that right now! It's just that I'm always a little nervous about this kind of shit, and it's been a while since the last time I went out, so..."

"I get it," Oliver laughed. Feral, yet clingy. He supposed some things never change. "I don't mind. Get as close as you want. I'll even walk arm in arm with you like a proper gentleman if it helps."

"Pft. Right. Proper gentleman don't go on dates with their girlfriend's BFF, y'know."

"Historically speaking, proper gentlemen have mistresses. Besides, I thought this wasn't a date?"

"It's not. Fuck you." She all but growled, adding a few seconds later, "But I wouldn't say no if you wanted to, like, hold my hand or some shit..."

"You wouldn't, would you?" Oliver tried not to sound smug.

"Mia usually holds my hand whenever we go out, okay? It centers me!"

Oliver could only imagine what all that handholding did to his poor little bisexual disaster.

"Consider yourself centered."

"I already know I'm self-centered, dummy. You don't have to rub-" Zoe paused as Oliver took her hand. "Oh. Right. Uh. Thanks, dude."

Oliver kept quiet, only smiling in response.

He figured treating this as nothing special would help his flailing friend adjust. As for him, he was just happy to be holding her hand again. It was bigger than Mia's, and her grip was a lot tighter, too. It felt so nice to share this casual intimacy with another increasingly special girl to his heart, and he couldn't help thinking how lucky he was.

His shameless side reminded him he could always be luckier. His mind raced with fanciful fantasies about what it might be like to hold Mia and Zoe's hands simultaneously. Since this was by far the most wholesome activity he'd pictured the three of them getting up to, he cut himself some slack and rode guilt-free on this one.

Zoe didn't appreciate the silence. Her racing thoughts weren't eased one bit by the quiet. If anything, treating this so casually only drew more attention to it. This was way different than holding Mia's hand- it didn't center her at all. Her goopy gamer brain ran an endless spiral of circles within circles.

So why hadn't the thought of letting go crossed her mind a single time?

Zoe looked at Oliver's face, saw the dopey grin, and got her answer.

Ugh. He's so fuckin' cute when he gets like that. I don't fuckin' get it. That smirk makes him look like a drooling idiot, but every time single time I see it, my heart just-

"This one's mine," Oliver said, taking out his keys and hitting a button on the pad.

The satisfying sound of car doors unlocking awakened Zoe from her near illumination. She'd gotten pretty close to figuring something out just now. It was enough pieces of the puzzle for any normal person to slap two and two together- the keyword being 'normal'- something which noted caffeine gremlin Zoe Myers was not.

The girl was a complex chimera. Forged of equal parts stubborn, oblivious, and arrested development, looking herself in the mirror came to her about as easily as it did for a male betta fish. It was already a miracle she'd done so much self-reflecting these last few days. Expecting more from her wasn't fair.

This egg wasn't ready to hatch just yet, but its surface now had noticeable cracks. Light trickled in from them, frightening the delicate creature hiding within. This led straight to more of what Mia would label 'tsundere bullshit'.

"And what're you smiling about, nerd?" Zoe whipped out a fake smile, which rivaled a sheet of cellophane in its transparency. "You look like you're drunk off your tits and someone just told you the funniest fuckin' joke you've ever heard."

The only joke was Zoe's predictability, but Oliver knew better than to point that out. He honestly liked her silly attempts at deflection. Found them cute, even, and it made him a lot less nervous knowing she was a thousand times worse off.

"Maybe that's because I'm out here holding hands with California's number one hottest titty streamer in broad daylight where everyone can see me. Really does wonders for a guy's confidence, you know? Even if you look like you're about to go shank someone on a subway."

"Geez. Number one is kind've a stretch, even for my precious little simp." Zoe scratched her ear. She didn't look displeased by the compliment but brushed it aside. "Not sure why you'd get an ego boost from being seen with me like this, anyway. It's not like anyone even knows I'm hot."

"I do."

"Walked riiiight the fuck into that one, didn't I...?"

"Yeah, but you totally liked it."

"Bold assumption you got there, my guy. Prove it."

Oliver said nothing, staring her in the eyes for six seconds straight. That was all it took to get Zoe's face flushed and make her look away.

[Zoe has gained +3 Affection! +2 Smooth Talker]

"Fuckin' damn it all to hell, ugh..."

"I rest my case."

"Yeah, you better. Let's get this show on the road already before I regret this."

"One second," Oliver fished out his phone, drawing Zoe's immediate skepticism when she saw him going into photo mode.

"Jesus Christ, Olive. All I did was leave the house! It's not such a big fuckin' deal that we gotta document it with a selfie. Are you really that desperate for more pics of me?"

"I'll leave that to your imagination," he smirked, holding the phone at arm's length.

Then Oliver took a risk. He let go of Zoe's hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close until they were hip to hip. It all happened so fast. There was definitely a chance he'd overstepped his bounds, but something in the back of his mind told him this was a good idea, and that was enough for him.

"Now how about you give Mia a big ol' smile under that mask of yours? C'mon, it'll be funny. You know she'll lose her shit if we send her some pics of us while we're out today."

Oliver awaited Zoe's response for much longer than he thought he'd have to.

His brain cranked out predictions on where things might go once the silence broke. Maybe she'd push him away and tell him off for getting handsy, maybe she'd begrudgingly go along with it for the sake of messing with Mia, or perhaps she'd even keep the stream of tsundere bullshit going strong by playing hot and cold with him? It was hard to say.

He certainly never imagined she'd casually hug him back, take off her glasses and mask, and shoot the camera a meek smile while making a peace sign with her free hand.

"I guess that would be pretty funny," she muttered in a tone he'd almost dare to call shy. "Go on, then. Let's make her day."

Oliver had no idea where this demure side of Zoe came from, but it was so distracting he almost forgot to take the picture. Seriously, she was cute as hell like this. Thank God he had permission to preserve the moment for all time.

Snap.

[Milestone Achieved! Took a selfie with Zoe +10LP]

Oh, shit. That was a nice surprise. I guess I haven't actually taken a picture with Mia yet, have I? Now I know I'll have to fix that as soon as I can.

"Olive?" Zoe asked, biting her lip. "Did you get it, or what...?"

"Sorry, yeah, just, um... got a little too into the hug, ahaha..."

That was very much the incorrect thing to say in this situation. Even worse was that he patted Zoe's love handle for comedic emphasis. He felt stupid after doing it and expected her to get on his case any second.

She never did.

Oliver took the silence as Zoe throwing him a bone and moved right the hell along.

"Anyway, thanks for that," Olive let go of Zoe to lean against his car door. He was careful not to stare at the picture too much since he didn't want to slip up and show his special friend here how suddenly overwhelmed he was by her charms. She'd never let him hear the end of it. "Give me just a sec to send it to Mia, and we can be on our-"

"-too..." Zoe uttered with barely more than a whisper.

"Huh?" Oliver looked up from his phone to see Zoe now rubbing her elbow and staring at the pavement. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"Yeah, I... I said make sure you send it to me too while you're at it..."

Oliver's heart skipped a beat as he watched the bashful young woman in front of him like he'd never seen her before in his life. Seriously, did he blink and miss Zoe getting replaced by a skinwalker or something? The possibility seemed more and more likely.

But he knew that wasn't the case, and that made him smile that smile she loved so damn much wider than ever before.

"You got it," Oliver beamed. He added Zoe to the text's recipient and hit send. "Okay, done. It'll be right there waiting for you as soon as we get back."

[Zoe has gained +5 Affection!]

Oliver's addiction only got so much worse when he saw the screwed-up grin on Zoe's face following the affection bump. She was stupidly happy that he sent her that selfie, and it just wasn't fair.

The mood between them was so weird right now. Neither said a word; Oliver was too drunk on Zoe being adorable, and Zoe was too embarrassed by her thoughts and feelings. They might've stayed like this for hours if Oliver hadn't gotten a second notification.

[Mia has gained +3 Affection!]

Right on cue... Oliver chuckled after looking at his now buzzing phone and the accompanying text.

Suddenly curious enough that it recaptured her attention span, Zoe leaned in to inspect the situation after putting back on her mask and glasses.

"Well? What'd Mia say? Did she like it, or what? C'mon! Don't keep me in suspense, man. I got zero chill over here."

"Take a wild guess," Oliver tipped the screen toward his date so she could see the eggplant and sweat drop emojis Mia had sent him.

"Heh. Bout what I expected. Oh, Mia, you little fuckin' perv..." Zoe sighed. More than anything else, she was just glad Oliver was telling the truth. If Mia really was mad, she probably wouldn't be so ecstatic about her boyfriend taking her out and snapping selfies with her. Then again, what did she know?

Not a whole lot, but I can't say part of me isn't itching to start filling in the blanks...

Oliver interrupted Zoe's thoughts by opening the passenger side door and gesturing toward her seat.

"That's a bit much, dude. Especially for a car as crappy as... er, no offense."

"None taken. This lemon was already halfway to rusting as Rome burned. You ready?"

"I've been ready for like fifteen minutes now, but swear to God, you've got this magical way of stretching out time whenever we're together..."

Oliver stared.

"Fuck- argh! I didn't mean it like that...!"

"No, of course not," he laughed. "Now how about we get in my wheeled deathtrap before one of us shoves our foot in our mouth again?"

"Now you're speaking my language..."

---

Stat Changes

Oliver Chase | Strength 9 | Style 5 | Spark 1 | Smarts 4
Cash: $826 | LP: 145

Mia Rosas | Status: Girlfriend | 95/300 | ❤❤❤♡♡

Zoe Myers | Status: Friend(?) | 115/100 | ♡♡♡♡♡

Continuity Question

So good news, I’m almost done with 88 because I hit another good cutoff point. I had a question relevant to it that I currently don’t feel like going back and checking since I already did a ton of work tonight. I know Oliver took a picture of Mia and it’s his phone’s background now, but have they taken a pic of them together? I don’t think they have, and I’m asking because he takes one of him with Zoe in 88 and I feel like first selfie together would be a milestone. Just making sure with you guys since I can have it be one if he took one with Mia and didn’t get one back then.

Mia POV Kiss Pinup

I’m feeling better to the point where I’m talking to artists and getting new art made again! This is from an artist I’ve wanted to try for a while now and I’m very happy I finally did, because they did a great job on it. Very excited to get more from them!

Work on the next chapter has been going okayish. I’m consistently doing an hour or two a day but the recovery speed isn’t as drastic as I thought. Still, that’s a lot better than I was doing just a few weeks ago so I’m not worried!

Also thank you Milly for buying this.

https://www.reddit.com/u/hanabee_2/s/wxGwtuHtdM

Angel Concept Art

Following up yesterday’s pitch document is the art I’ve got for the protagonist of my side project. I’m currently leaning on the name Lucian Bravanne for him. Keep in mind the wings and halo are more of a transformation power-up and not an all the time thing.

Art by my new friend Kuro, who you’ll be seeing a lot of from now on! https://twitter.com/mackyneko265

Mia and Zoe Shitpost

Silly idea I had and got made from a silly artist who Urban found, thought you guys would appreciate lmao. The original meme for reference - https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/waow-based-based-based

Art by https://x.com/Lady_Beemer

Side Project Pitch Document

Working title 'Queen Quest'

This story is one that I've had in my head for several months now. During my recovery I binged a lot of Dragon Quest games and was vocal about that, though they've always been something of an influence on my fantasy works even beforehand. Playing through so many of them that I hadn't played before gave me an even deeper appreciation for the series as well as a desire to write something in the same vein as them, something more direct than my previous fantasy writing. The idea evolved from there- especially after I took a break from DQ7 to replay Undertale, of which you will also see some influences- and went through a bunch of different phases until I arrived at this moment where I think I have enough raw thoughts that it's actually worth putting to paper.

I'd like to start off by talking about the Structure.

What I have in mind is episodic. In Dragon Quest games, they almost have a playable cartoon feeling to them in that while there is an overarching story, the vast majority of plots see the heroes stopping left and right to help alleviate the problems of whatever village they come across. Doing so usually moves the needle forward in the ongoing story in some way while conveniently being a cute little story in and of itself.

Most of my writing tends to go day by day, especially in LARPG. While it's a very fun style and I enjoy it very much, I'd like to do something looser. That's why installments of this serious would come in a short story/novella format with slice of life stuff sandwiched between where the protagonist would return to his home base. Rather than trying to release these publicly one by one, I would release them when I feel there is enough material for a volume.

Caring about pacing and actual plot development will be something I won't bother with. I want to write fun standalone things with faster lewd content than LARPG, because I really need an outlet for that. This would still have my hallmark character writing and development, I just would like to challenge myself by doing something more concise on the side of my main project.

Next is the Tone I'd like this series to have.

The world is a really shitty place right now. I'm not at a point in my life where I really want extra cynicism and darkness added on top of it. In Dragon Quest, while there are many dangers along the way, the worlds of each game feel as if they're populated by friendly folk. People genuinely care about each other. You could enter a town and be treated like the villagers have known you your whole life. I really appreciate that upbeat vibe the world of those games presents and I'd like to use it for myself.

There would still be conflict and characters that aren't friendly, especially once the story progresses past the first phase I have in mind where the characters begin entering more hostile territories. It's just that upbeat positivity would be a focal point all around which would apply directly to the protagonist.

The character I have in mind is innocent and pure in a distinctly shounen hero sort of way. I want to write a hero who is for the most part unflinchingly kind without coming off as obnoxious and preachy. Someone who thirsts for adventure yet stops at any excuse to help someone else out along the way. Also decidedly not a murder hobo. Not all problems will be solved by swinging his sword. He's a pacifist by nature but also loves fighting who won't constantly Steven Universe/Talk no Jutsu his enemies unless it's got an actual shot at working.

I wish more people like that existed, and he'd be an avenue for me to explore that specific type of wish fulfillment by having a Superman-esque character defined by optimism and kindness. For me, a hero isn't someone who sets off on a journey to kill anything in his way until he reaches the demon lord. A hero is someone who saves people, who brings light wherever they go, and inspires hope in everyone fortunate enough to meet them.

Basic plot premise.

As is the standard for Dragon Quest stories, the main character is a chosen one of sorts.

The beginning takes place on a continental island where a giant world tree grows. This tree is blessed by the light of the goddess and it projects a holy aura which protects the island from the forces of darkness. Additionally, a giant wall circles the expanse of the island. At the north south east and west are openings that allow glimpses into four separate segmented seas. Think the four Blues in One Piece where they are separated into four hemispheres by the Red Line and the Grand Line. I'll get into the reason why things are segmented later in this document, but just know that I'm using a similar concept to have things feel more videogamey.

Trying to sail out from one of these four openings is all but a death sentence. Each is guarded by a powerful demon lord waiting on the other side, and even if you got past him, the seas themselves are blighted beyond that point and the rest of the world has long since fallen to darkness.

We would open with someone attempting to do it anyway. The man is a knight getting up there in years, probably early 40s. He's been on countless adventures and helped so many people throughout his lifetime, but he's seen everything this world has to offer and a growing sense of unrest has taken hold of his heart. He yearns for more and sails away hoping to get it, aiming to ultimately force open one of the gates.

He gets caught in a vicious storm no doubt caused by divine interference and is shipwrecked on an island right on the brink of where the aura cuts off. A good adventurer is always prepared, however, and he attempts to use the means of fast travel in this world which I'm tentatively calling a Zipstone. He lost it in the shipwreck, though, because of course he did.

He'll try to leave through a raft but storm starts up every time he does. Stranded and hopeless, the only thing keeping him from giving it all up is his piety and belief in the goddess. He wasn't meant to leave, but she didn't have him killed, either. There has to be a reason for his survival. It turns out he was right when a black star falls from the heavens and crash lands on the island with him.

His thoughts explain that while the holy aura keeps out the big bad demon lord types, small fry occasionally poke through the seams. These black stars are the vessel with which demons arrive and he now understands his purpose. He was sent here to ensure that this foe never makes it to the kingdom proper. He draws his sword and approaches, but...

It's a baby.

A baby demon, but a baby nonetheless.

He hesitates because it's cute and he's never even seen a baby demon before. He thought they just formed fully grown out of the darkness or some such. The prime tenant of the goddess is to love one another. It's often said that demons are evil personified, but is this child not a blank slate like any other infant?

He pushes these crazy thoughts out of his mind and draws his sword but ultimately takes the doubt in his heart as a sign from the goddess. He takes the child in his arms and they have a cute moment where he pledges to give the child a chance and see if he can't learn to be a little more human.

The baby giggles, everything seems cute, and then it bites his finger off.

This prologue would end with a funny line like 'and that was the day he became a father and lost a finger.'

To anyone thinking this sounds vaguely familiar, this bit is an intentional homage to Akira Toriyama, loosely referencing the way that Goku is found by Grandpa Gohan. As one of the founding fathers of Dragon Quest, I'm sure I'll work in more references to his legacy here and there in other subtle ways.

After this prologue is when things get strange.

It's 18 years later, they're still on the island, but in that lengthy stretch of time the boy is completely human now. No big deal is made about it. It's treated as if he was always like this. He's a bright and sunny young man now. He's been trained heavily in swordsmanship and understands the basics of spellcasting but has never been able to learn any of the spells his father knows.

They'd be working on a new raft together, but it all goes to shit and they wash up on the island yet again. The MC is dejected. He's lived here his whole life, hunting, fishing and training with his father. He's had a heroes code drilled into him over the years and is a firm believer in the goddess but he finds it hard to keep believing when the outside world is kept away from him. He's told that the world just isn't ready for him, but he's ready for it he declares. He wants to go on adventures, see all the places his father told him about, and he gets really flustered and worked up when he talks about how he wants to meet girls. He gets sidetracked, asking his father again what women are like, leading to a comical scene.

I realize at this point I'm wasting a lot of time describing what would go into an outline so I'm going to speed it up a little. Something big would happen that serves as a big test. Like during their next attempt at sailing away the storm doesn't, but instead a huge monster does and he'd have to defeat it. Doing so would awaken his powers as not a demon but an angel. I'll probably call them Celestials or something along those lines but for this document I'm just going to keep it simple and say angels.

Side note but early on his wings and halo are a transformation and he can only have them out for so long before he can't handle them anymore. 

This is obviously a pretty big twist, but it makes everything clear for the old man. There is some prophecy about an angel descending who will save the world and what have you and until now he'd never drawn that conclusion since the boy went from demon to human. Now that he's proven himself and has come of age, the world is ready for him. The battle would see a giant pillar of light erupt out of him that the entire kingdom would see, and when they make it to shore there's already a retinue waiting for them. Magicians worked out several different places they could've ended up or something like that so the kingdom's knights knew where to go.

He's brought to the king, given a few more tests, and after being accepted as the hero of legend we get the lowdown on what is expected of him.

Lowdown.

The hero's prophecy will be read and it includes stuff about him winning the hearts of men and monsters and taking them as his wives. He needs to fall in love with many different heroines who will accompany him on his quest. There are three categories. Hero brides, Monster brides, and Maiden brides (tentative name on that one), with the maidens being supporters who stay back at home.

Home is also an important topic to bring up here, as his first quest will see him unlocking a special one. There will be some tower or whatever where he gains access to a pocket realm created by the goddess for him to aid him on his quest. The intent behind it is to introduce a progression system of sorts as it starts small and he'd unlock more facilities the more lovers he takes. Also, the heroines will be allowed to visit wherever he has used a Zipstone before. More on that later but I am saying that here so that it's established they can go out on their own and aren't trapped in the waifu dimension whenever he's not around.

That said, I'm going to invoke a limit of two party members at any given time so that the scope of stories is limited and manageable and I can more easily keep track of who has been given attention and who needs it. There is slight wiggle room. I will probably introduce a mechanic for him to swap party members in and out albeit a limited number of times a day best used as emergencies.

There will be some sort of justification for why only two party members, probably like he can apply a special status effect to his lovers but only two of them at a time. Angels blessing or some shit. That and it will be a better use of their time to stay behind since we can say that training and learning new spells is more effective at the home base. I'm not ruling out the possibility of a third party member being an upgrade he gets later on but I believe that two girls accompanying him on any one story is a good balance especially since some stories would feature a third party member anyway such as when he is meeting a girl for the first time. I would rather just have him be able to swap more as an upgrade.

Another feature of the base I had in mind is that there will be a offshoot of the world tree present which occasionally grants the hero blessings and gifts the more time he spends with his wives and the more love he expresses towards them. Love and love bombing is going to be a big theme of this story, so it's only natural he rewarded for slice of life filler sex chapters and such.

Speaking of rewarded, I was thinking that every time he marries a girl the goddess would send them a wedding gift in the form of some magic artifact that caters to their individual talents or is otherwise helpful to the party as a whole.

That's the lowdown on his mission when it comes to love and the base, but when it comes the actual quest itself?

His early goal will be to scour the current kingdom in search of six special colored orbs. Anyone who's played a Dragon Quest game is almost certainly familiar with the traditional orb hunt. The kingdom is essentially his starting grounds and he'll have to poke around to find these. It sounds like a lot but he'll be given one of them right off the bat as the kingdom held one in their treasury. When all of them are assembled, they will unlock a special ship that allows safe sailing on the blighted sea.

Beyond the light of the world tree are many other islands who have long since fallen to darkness. On each of them is another offshoot of the world tree that must be restored. Thus the hero will begin an island hopping adventure where he has to visit lots of different themed islands and liberate a demon infested world. That alone should be plenty of content, but it's usually a recurring twist in Dragon Quest games that when you think you're done it turns out there's a whole other world to explore, so if it ever gets to that point the ultimate endgame would be going to the demon world to save them from themselves.

On that note, let's talk about Angels and Demons.

They're the same species. That's it. That's the twist.

No, but really though. The lore I picture is that angels were the direct creation of the goddess and she loved them with all her heart, giving them anything they ever asked for. One day they asked for the power to create life, and mother spoiled them. She was delighted to watch her children create tons of different lands and races to populate them. Pretty much everything except for monsters, which are their own thing I will explain later, was directly created by the Angels. The goddess that humans worship did not actually create them. She's their grandmother in a sense, although humans view the Angels as vessels of her will so they think that they were created by the Angels by proxy.

This is the reason all of the different islands have drastically different themes from each other. They were all made by different angels with different tastes, and each Angel would've left a different impact on the history of that land. Not all of them will view the protagonist kindly just because he is an angel. It's also the reason for the fast travel monuments existing where they do, which I will cover later.

The reason for this is because, as immortal demigods, they lost sight of the love in their hearts over the countless years and drowned themselves in different forms of excess to compensate for their growing emptiness. This excess to find them, blackening their hearts and morphing them into grotesque creatures that don't look anything at all like angels. Horrified, the goddess tore herself from her creations after sealing the worst of the worst demons back up in the Angel world. This took a lot of her strength and ever since she's largely stopped interfering in the world, though she left the world with the prophecy that when the world was ready for it an angel would appear, and when she finally deemed it time, she set the events into motion which saw the child of a powerful demon falling from what is now the demon realm.

Being raised by a loving father brought him back to a neutral state of being and once he'd grown up to develop a pure heart his angel powers emerged.

If you're thinking that because the main character started off as a demon and became an angel that it might be possible for other demons to do the same, you're exactly right. I will state now again that not every problem will be solved with a magic fairytale solution. He doesn't like killing, but he will kill when he absolutely needs to.

That said, the goal of the hero as intended by the goddess is not to rid the world of demons. It's to redeem her children. He hesitates to kill demons because he started life as one. He probably was one until around six years old or so, so he knows from personal experience that they are not lost causes. If he feels there is a chance at redemption, he won't kill a demon. It'll be a good source of conflict for him. He'll make mistakes, wrong calls, and his values will be tested. Not everyone wants to be saved, and not everyone can be saved.

Anyone he does save will turn back into an angel. These characters will likely linger on the islands they tormented to stay there as protectors or wander the world as they search for forgiveness in their hearts. 

Demons will be broken up into categories but the main thing between them is that they are all defined by an excess. These don't necessarily have to be sins and I'm definitely not limiting myself to the classical seven deadly sins, though you get the idea from me even bringing them up. They all have forms and powers that correlate to their excess.

I mentioned how there are four segmented seas, and this is because they correlate to the four most powerful angels splitting things up into different sections that they once ruled over. These angels no longer exist in the lower world and have been sealed by the goddess. The area that the story begins in was essentially a neutral ground where the different factions converged to discuss political matters.

One last thing, but I am going to leave the door open on redeemed demons turned angels being able to access their demon powers and prior forms without reverting to evil. The main character is going to have been a lust demon specifically and I plan to have that be the excuse for why he has certain sexual traits that we'll cover later. I also just think it would be a really funny gag if he offhandedly wishes he still had three penises after finding out how good sex feels and then his partner is like wait what?????

Monsters.

I mentioned before that monsters are their own thing. It's not a giant deal in the grand scheme of things but the way I was imagining it is during the act of creation, in other words, turning nothing into something, monsters came into being out of the chaos where nothing used to be before becoming something. If that sounds confusing, it's meant to. It will mostly be a joke. Think of them as happy accidents, which is exactly what the goddess saw them as. Monsters aren't evil by default in this world and many of them are completely sentient. Evil ones exist, but many are akin to animals.

The reason them coming from nothing is important is that despite her love for them, monsters were created without the goddess's love and are thus more susceptible to the powers of darkness held by the demons. Many monsters in our hero's way will be corrupted and thus able to be saved. They'll need to be worn down through combat and baited into using up a lot of their darkness before he can pull off some special purification attack.

Some of his monster wives will start out as enemies like this, others will be friendly from the start, and others might be antagonistic without being corrupted.

Spells and Actions.

Characters will have two resources that power their abilities, mana and moxie. Mana is used to cast spells and perform other magical feats while moxie is a combination of willpower and stamina that fuels physical attacks, battle auras, and the equivalent to skills which I'm calling 'actions'.

A brief overview of the magic system that I've had in mind for a while now. Magic is performed through speaking the divine language spoken by the goddess and gifted to her angels before their fall. Mana is projected outwards through the body from a foci, i.e. a staff or a wand, and then that mana does different things depending on what is dictated by their command. Spells are typically cast through one or two word combinations, with more words being reserved for extremely powerful mages. Saying the word for fire by itself will just cause a fire to erupt wherever the mana is directed, but 'fire' and 'ball' together will create a fireball. A third word would most likely be reserved for adjectives. Big fireball, spiraling fireball, powerful fireball, etc.

This might sound simple on paper, but it isn't. Individual words take a very long time for a mage to learn. They have to study it, meditate on it, and do all kinds of abstract rituals to engrave the word into their hearts for the word to have any effect when spoken, and to make things worse, the same steps must be taken to create a linked spell. For instance, saying fire and ball will do nothing even if you've learned both words. You have to go through the motions as if it was a new word to add that spell to your repertoire. Another factor making it difficult is that as you might expect from an ancient tongue, modern-day mages don't have access to the entire language and the words that they do know are closely guarded secrets that they drip feed to their apprentices.

I think the system has a lot of potential and it's rife with opportunities to show creativity when you consider that there can be multiple interpretations of spells. As one last example, let's go with fire sword. One way to interpret this is by using your mana to create a projectile that launches itself at the enemy, and another might be to infuse your mana into your ally's sword, giving it a temporary buff by lighting it on fire.

Lastly, magic is divided into black and white magic despite having the same source. The difference is that black magic is more selfish in nature and is more suited to stubborn people who insist on changing the world to fit their needs, while white magic is considered more selfless and is tied to words that benefit others, or that otherwise have a holy connotation to them. The line can be blurry at times and it's really just there to explain why people in the setting stick to one or the other with the occasional bit of wiggle room. It's just easier for certain personality types to learn certain words.

On the other hand, you have moxie. It's not only the body's life force, but a physical manifestation of willpower. Another word for it would be stamina, which is what I used in my old fantasy setting, but I got extremely tired of typing 'he poured in all his stamina' and found it very clunky. Additionally, moxie implies a bit of stubbornness and I find that a good angle to explain certain actions that might look like magic. Moxie is using your bodies energy and your will to bend the world similarly to black magic.

In Dragon Quest, swordsmen learn things like flame slash and so on without using any sort of magic, and the explanation here for similar things would be fuck you, my sword is on fire during my attack because I damn well say it is. Learning these actions is not an easy task, just like with magic. It requires intense visualization during training, countless hours of repetition, and so on- at least for humans. Monsters will probably get race specific actions as they naturally become stronger, though if they want to work on their own custom actions they are certainly able to do so.

Moxie is also the excuse for revealing armor, because fuck trying to rationalize that in a cartoonish setting. Armor is typically for show because after a certain point the really strong people don't need it, with the exception of wearing enchanted pieces of gear. The technique will have some name like Moxie Shell or something along those lines.

I think that about sums up everything I had in mind for the combat systems. Maybe down the line I will need to expand on it if it ever gets the point where they start island hopping and new forms of magic are introduced, but that's not a concern I have for the present.

Fast travel.

I've brought this up multiple times, so let's elaborate. First off I need to explain how teleportation works in Dragon Quest so that you understand the inspiration behind mine. In the games it's handled through a spell called Zoom or by using an item called a chimera wing. Wings take you back to the last town you visited, while Zoom will take you to any town you've ever been to. Simple, elegant, and useful.

Let's combine them by making Zoom into an item.

The ancient angels left monuments all over the different islands they created, I'm talking like an obelisk or slab looking thing covered in hieroglyphs and glowing lines of divine power. These would react when presented with a rare and ancient key utilized by their makers now known commonly as Zipstones. There are very few of them in circulation and most are found exclusively in ruins of the previous civilization. Zipstones have to be used at a monument before it can take you back there, and our hero will be given a blank one among his starting gear after the kingdom recognizes him as the hero. They teleport the user, their belongings, and anyone standing on a circular plate positioned in front of the monument. It's not a viable method of transporting bulk goods because of the scarcity involved.

I believe that the restrictions I put on them will make for interesting scenarios, since using it before reaching a new monument is akin to using a chimera wing. It's an eject button and he'd have to make the journey he just went through again to get back to where he was.

His home base will have its own monument and as I stated before his wives will be given the power to fast travel anywhere our hero has gained access to. I repeat, they will not be stuck in the waifu dimension. They can visit wherever they want and the hero can take them on dates to locations he has previously visited. In addition, I think that another reward for marrying his heroines will be the goddess placing a fast travel monument to their hometown if it doesn't already have one. This is because I assume he will gain some wives who live in really rural places off the beaten path and it would be unfair to them if they didn't get to visit their families just because they lack a marker.

LitRPG elements.

At the risk of sounding cynical here, while I really love writing a lot of the gamelit stuff in LARPG, I definitely wish I hadn't gone with a strict stat and gated progression systems. This story isn't me jumping ship to something easier to write, but I want to have the elements I like while excising the ones I don't. This story is my self-indulgent hero fantasy where the main character will accrue dozens of love interests. You couldn't fucking pay me enough to keep track of experience points, stat sheets, and levels for that many characters, and even if you could pay me enough, I wouldn't do it. No, we need something looser because again, putting it cynically, litRPG shit sells and it's better to have it in a novel then to not.

The way I'll do it is that as part of his gear that the kingdom gives him he'll have a diadem that at first acts as a weak sort of system for him. It can scan enemies and items, answer basic questions, and so on, but it won't be super helpful at first. This will change as soon as he gets his home base which is very, very early on in the story.

The home base will have a spirit that oversees it, a monotone female presence that introduces herself as an aspect of the goddess. The goddess holds love in her heart for every living being who ever has and ever will be born, and the spirit is a personification of the love that the goddess feels for the hero. She is her own person but will start as like a floating orb or something before we go down the inevitable 'she gets a magic robot body' angle. Like many of these characters she'll be very flat and monotone and sarcastic, but not as overtly warm and loving as Mia for comparison.

Anyway, she will imbue his diadem with a link to her and all litRPG elements will be filtered through her, an actual character. As an aspect of the goddess she will be a lot more knowledgeable than the item was beforehand, but we'll need to limit things since I don't want her to just drop any and all relevant lore from the get go. I think will say that she was created a very, very long time ago and in that time she has waited all alone in the home base for the day of the hero's eventual arrival. Parts of her memory are fragmented, and that'll also be the explanation on why she has a colder personality despite being the personification of the goddess's love for our hero. She's lonely and more than a little upset he kept her waiting for so long- not that she will admit to it anytime soon.

She'll make up for her knowledge gaps by resonating with the soul or item being scanned, allowing her to present educated guesses in her descriptions.

We will still have levels and level ups but it's loose and more of akin to say... a character automatically leveling up in a D&D liveplay podcast. It corresponds to them getting stronger and adding new things to their repertoire. Another way to put it would be that characters in this will level up because they get stronger and not get stronger because they've leveled up. It's a tool to slap a danger label on something but to give myself wiggle room I'll repeatedly emphasized that just because something has a really high level doesn't mean they can't defeat it. A huge part of the combat in this series is going to be about party composition and tactical decision-making, and on top of that there is the fact that the hero isn't explicitly focused on slaying every enemy in his path.

An example I have in mind- a spoilery one- is that his first super huge roadblock after getting all of the orbs and setting out for one of the other seas will have him face his first demon lord. I plan to have it be a big shock moment because they will have magic advice telling them that this gate is the one of the four they should pass through and his level will be so high that they can't fathom getting past at first.

It will be a total party wipe, but they aren't killed because this demon lord's excess will happen to be nihilism- the hopeless belief that nothing matters. They survive only because killing them wouldn't change anything, and the hero would see this as his opening. He'd challenge him again and again with all his different party members until cracks start to form in his façade and by interacting with people again this demon lord would remember the reason he became so nihilistic and the hero would point out moments where he is a lot more considerate and kind to them, his opponents, then he would reasonably need to be.

It would all culminate in the hero bringing every single party member all at the same time to fight him because the demon lord isn't killing them anyway so the blessing that protects them doesn't matter. This unified assault shows him how beautiful it feels to care about things. The hero and his wives are all so passionate and determined that it he begins to root for them, thus opening himself up for purification.

Since this is like the end of the first saga it would be of the first time we see for a fact that demons can be turned back into angels.

Anyway, I got pretty far out there for a while. None of what I just said has much to do with the gamelit elements but I'm painting a picture of how an encounter with like a level 50 Demon Lord would go when the party is so much lower than that.

Quick aside, but the four demons guarding the four different seas probably won't be demon lords but princes. That way the ones who rule those different seas can be lords. Up in the angel turned demon world minibosses would be demon kings and then the four endgame bosses would be demon gods.

Sexual content.

Obviously the fact that I want to have this series have lots and lots of love interests means will see all kinds of things, especially with me wanting to include plenty of monster girls, but there are a few core things I want to explore with that in mind.

Something that Dragon Quest games do very well I believe is selling you the fantasy that you're the hero. The most important guy who's ever lived. If you've read my series The Corruption of Coye you'll remember that the final sex scene was very colored with hero worship and ego appealing. I really want to lean into that without getting too hamfisted over it. The girls will praise him, compliment him, be thankful for the chance to be with him, and include plenty of hero worship in their dirty talk depending on the girl.

He's very humble about all this, but he's still going to have a praise kink at the end of the day.

Another theme I want to feature heavily is love bombing. The main character falls in love just as fast as Oliver, though there is not nearly as much shame involved for him. Characters will be very quick to say it, and they will say it often since loving one another is one of the main themes of the actual story itself. I also just think it's really hot and will play very well with the hero worship angle.

Much earlier I mentioned that the hero will have some vestiges of his lust demon ancestry. Characters will presume that his seemingly endless sex drive and ability to shoot gallons of cum is just part of being the hero when no that's definitely a racial thing for him. I want his orgasms to be stupidly titanic, like he will literally just keep cumming if enough pleasure is applied. In fact, he needs to enter this state or else he won't be satisfied and will probably get blue balls if he has to stop. He feels bad about it since it means a single partner is often not enough but the girls will all develop their own tricks to get him into this state for at least the minimum amount of time it takes to satisfy his demonic lust.

I'll try not to be too excessive with the excessive cum play (haha) but since this series is more for me I won't restrain myself as much as I've done in all my other series. The hero will also be more of a switch than Oliver but will never be as subordinate as Coye since I obviously don't want to turn off a general audience again.

All of the girls that he takes as wives will have an angelic mark on their bodies in the form of a pubic tattoo. I think it would be a funny reversal for girls to have an angel mark instead of a demon one, you know? The tattoo would also be the lore reason why no one gets pregnant. The goddess has things rigged so they don't because it would get in the way of the quest but they also serve as something as a failsafe. If anything were to ever happen to him, they would carry his child.

Early heroine ideas.

This is all very early on and serves as more of a preview for some of the ideas I'm cooking already. The characters themselves will probably differ a lot from these early descriptions. The first couple are decently fleshed out, however, but disclaimer nonetheless.

1. First heroine will be the kingdom's Princess, who is the party's main healer with a twist. She is going to be a airheaded, bubbly, lost in her own world kind of girl almost like an exaggerated Disney princess but the twist is that she is not the damsel in distress and can damn well take care of herself. Her magical scepter has a button that when pressed opens up at the top to manifest a chain whip ala Castlevania. Healers having the option to use whips is a long-range feature in Dragon Quest games, so this is an homage to that. She dresses fancy everywhere she goes, even when traveling by the hero's side, with a running gag that the bottom half of her dress is always able to be ripped away like a matador's cape to reveal her wearing sleek pants. She's a loving oneesan who studies healing magic to help others and has always dreamed of meeting the hero, so its love at first sight for her.

2. His first monster wife will be a slime girl. If you've played enough RPGs, you might be familiar with the concept of a party member you get early on in your journey who seems very weak and almost like a joke at first only for them to be one of the strongest characters during the endgame. You can even find this in Pokémon, ala Magikarp, and another example off the top of my head is the Pixie who joins you during the beginning of SMT3. This slime girl would fall into that mold. No, I didn't intend that pun until I actually said it.

So the slime would start off fairly weak but her thing is that she has gained awareness from absorbing enough other common slimes that she is able to take a human form and become decently solid when she wants to be. Her first thoughts of sentience would be related to hunger, and that's a running theme with her. She'll always be hungry whether it's for actual food, semen, or other bodily fluids. She falls for the hero after their initial first encounter because he is the first person to treat her like exactly that- a person.

She'll get stronger by eating other slime cores and absorbing their power with her goal to become a Queen Slime, but that won't be where she stops. Slimes are known for having dozens of different varieties, and each of those slime types have their own abilities. She is just a basic blue slime but after becoming a Queen she can start absorbing other types of slimes and after enough she can change herself into them and access those abilities. This probably isn't the actual name I'll give it but you can think of her endgame as becoming a Rainbow Queen Slime- the Queen of Queens Slimes so to speak.

3. I'm thinking that the second hero wife will probably be a petite raccoon beastfolk thief girl. I don't actually have a lot of concrete ideas for her yet besides me just thinking that would be fun but she'll probably be a comedic straightman, easily flustered, not used to trusting other people, what have you. Someone to balance out the overly optimistic main character. Might introduce her when they're looking for info on the location of the orbs and they have to go to some seedy thief town or something.

4. The first maiden wife, in other words a noncombatant, will probably be a harpy girl because I have a very special affinity towards harpies and I'd like one to be essentially the Queen of nestmaking who is in charge of overseeing all the other maiden wives and making sure the homebase is running smoothly. I don't have any more details on her to say yet, though I think part of her back story will be that most of her species traveled all around and takes a lot of mates over the course of their life and while that its own form of love which is no less valid, she yearns to put up roots and be a cute little trad wife. Might be the victim of a loneliness demon corrupting her during her initial debut, that's about all I've got.

5. I don't have a join order for anyone who comes after this point so just consider this me dumping my ideas.

That said, his main spellcaster wife is an idea I'm really proud of and one that I think will be really funny. I plan on one of the hero's father's friends being a big stick in the mud court magician of the King who doubts the hero, and this is his daughter. That's not relevant to much of the following info but I'm just documenting it here because it will be a thing. Anyway, she is half hag. Weird statement to just drop, but allow me to elaborate.

For some reason, the afforementioned super serious hater guy will have at some point in his life made a deal with a hag- you know, your classic old evil witch in the woods who isn't actually human but a monster in disguise. Whether that involved actual sex or not I don't know but it's funny even if it didn't. Whatever actually happened, he wound up with a daughter who is biologically his- he's tested through alchemy- and that was that. Now his role as the hero's skeptic doesn't mean that he is a bad person, he fucking loves his girl even if he is not great at showing it.

For anyone who's seen it, really good frame of reference for the kind of guy I picture her father as is Kallego from Mairimashita Iruma-kun. A super serious, very strong character who is ultimately treated as a recurring gag. For the entirety of her intro arc we wouldn't even know that she is his daughter until the brick joke lands at the end and it's revealed, though there will be references to her having a strained relationship with her father who has shipped her off to the kingdom's magic school where she is having a really hard time.

We haven't talked much about her as a character yet so let's get into that. When I say she is half hag, the main trait is that she will have off-color skin and some splotch marks, as well as very poor posture. Not quite actual scoliosis, but she habitually leans forward like she is an old crone and props herself up with her staff. She can stand upright if you remind her, but will slowly start to hunch again. Not an actual hunchback for the record, it's just a habit. She is very cute in a plain, slightly chubby girl kind of way like I'm known to love so much. Big glasses, long, dark hair, timid.

The reason she is chubby is another hag joke. She really loves baking and she gets- and I don't mean this sexually- extremely into fattening up anyone she really likes. Until the hero she's only ever done this for her father, but whenever it happens it would appear kind of creepy if you didn't know her very well. Think Hansel and Gretel, and her words could be misconstrued as wanting to eventually eat the target of her affections.

Another recurring joke with her is I plan for her to instinctually not be a fan of children. Like she just has this urge to cast curses on bratty little shits if she sees them acting out. Given that she is a bundle of sunshine otherwise, these dark moments where her nature slips out would serve as pretty hilarious contrast. 

People in the magic city and the school are hard on her because of her appearance and heritage, so she holds back her true potential significantly in order to not stand out more than she has to. I was thinking that her intro would probably involve the hero arriving in town right in time for some kind of magic school festival and after meeting her acquaintance the party would make it their goal to make her win so that they can request the orb as her victory prize. She would naturally fall in love with him in the process and I think it would make for a funny joke if at the end of the arc she's just kind of like 'well thanks for everything' without having picked up on the fact that he very much intended to take her with him because he's in love with her to. Like, the signs will be pretty blatant but she's just that down on herself that she gaslit herself into downplaying what were very obvious signs.

The hero falling in love with his daughter will ultimately be what wins him acceptance from the guy, and she'll reconcile with her father at the same time, too.

Magically she will know a handful of offensive spells, and some more hag-centric abilities such as status inflicting spells and the words 'Pain' and 'Share' to create a voodoo doll spell. Stuff like that.

I kind of went crazy thinking about all this in the shower the other day, so that's the reason why there's so much more material about her. She is the only one I've actually put a decent amount of thought into.

6. By contrast, all I know about the maiden queen in charge of cooking is that she'll be a big, busty minotaur girl. Nothing more than that yet.

7. Similarly loose is my ideas for the party's heavy hitter. The hero is a jack of all trades with a wide array of abilities, but is not the physically strongest. I was thinking we'd have a stoic, scantily clad fighter girl with a huge axe who also happens to be a werewolf. Don't have much more than that but yeah.

8. Last idea for now but I know for sure I want a bunny girl beastfolk. To those unfamiliar with Dragon Quest, the series has a huge fascination with playboy bunnies. Seriously, they're in every single game just about, usually found in bars and casinos. A notable exception is in Dragon Quest 3 where they are an actual class called Gadabouts. I wouldn't take much from the class, honestly, as they're mostly a joke class. She'd instead be similar to the Luminary class in some games which is the equivalent of a 'Dancer' in other RPG's. They distract enemies through their beauty and learn different types of magical dances to inflict helpful and harmful status affects. I'd probably change the class name to showgirl or something.

I don't have much for the actual girl as a character just yet, but I do have a few loose things. I think it would be fun to introduce her as the party reaches the kingdom's biggest amusement town. Glitz, glamour, casinos and brothels all over the place. I picture her as really soft-spoken and sweet and she would be this town's biggest star. Not sure if I'll go at this angle yet but it would be fun if she is an alcoholic failgirl with a gambling addiction and she is basically trapped there to work off her debt. Thus her story could see the hero hustling his ass off to make an astronomical amount of cash in gambling town to set her free, and maybe somehow ending up with one of the orbs by the end of it, too.

Conclusion.

So, yeah. I guess I have a few ideas for this side project, or something... Art of the main character coming a lot sooner than you may think. Also holy shit I really am back- I just wrote most of this document in one sitting getting 6k words done in a single day.

Love Addict’s RPG Vol. 2 Ch. 87

Although in the grand scheme of things this is just another chapter, for me, it’s a lot more. I’ve been very vocal about my condition this last year and how hard writing has been as I sorted out the stupid shit I did to myself unintentionally with my meds. I never publicly said this, but I was very scared I inflicted some kind of permanent brain damage in my frontal lobe or something because words just weren’t coming to me. I didn’t know what I would do if I didn’t recover, and it was also frustrating because everything I read said that ‘withdrawal goes away after a few months back on the pill’ and yet I never seemed to get any better.

This chapter proved a lot of things to me.

It proved I didn’t have brain damage, it proved that I’m getting better, it proved that I’ve still got it, and most importantly of all, it proved that despite everything, I’m still me.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it, Zoe just gets better and better to me as she improves as a person and struggles with these feelings she’s never had to deal with before. She’s a hot mess and I love getting to explore that.

Next chapter won’t take me nearly as long, but I am taking a quick break after this one to finish the pitch document for that other story I want to do. I haven’t worked on it in a few days since I’ve been focused on this so much and I want to get it done since I actually am moving ahead with this story as a side project. Hope you’re looking forward to that when I drop it in the next couple of days.

For the last time, thank you for being patient with me.

Let’s get back where to we left off, shall we?

***

Never had anyone been so thoroughly made a bitch than Oliver had been made by Zoe. He'd been so horrifically owned to an extent that it shouldn't have been possible. While DokaDon Empire had multiple layers of strategic depth, it was still a luck-based party game. The thing was engineered to fuck over all players more or less equally. Theoretically, something bad should've happened to Zoe at some point, yet it rarely did. This left the bad luck's brunt to fall solely on Oliver.

And as if losing wasn't enough disappointment for one afternoon, Zoe locked in from the moment they hit start, shutting out all playful banter and attempts at flirting. Her affection hadn't moved one way or the other. All he had to show for his time was a whooped ass and a creeping suspicion Zoe might've been holding back the other day.

"The internet fed me nothing but lies," Oliver muttered, not for the first time. "Women can be good at video games."

The hardcore gamer girl snapped out of her trance, giving Oliver a small laugh and a minuscule affection bump. It went a surprisingly long way toward patching up his bruised ego.

[Zoe has gained +1 Affection! +1 Smooth Talker]

"Heh. And don't you forget it, nerd." Zoe sneered. Next came victoriously propping up her feet on the coffee table. They landed with a triumphant thump. "Man. That was crazy. You didn't really think you had a chance against me when I actually wanted to win, did you?"

"Kinda? Things usually work out for me these days more often than not, and admittedly I made this whole gambit expecting I'd somehow pull it off. I, um, might've temporarily forgotten that losing was possible?"

"Bruh, that's the most main character syndrome-ass bullshit anyone's ever said to me- and coming from a chick whose DMs are flooded with a never-fuckin'-ending influx of dudes talking like JRPG villains while demanding I show them my tits. That's saying something."

"You wanna talk about main character syndrome? Then let's talk about your miraculous dice rolls..."

"Pft. Sure, yeah. What about 'em?"

"Well, I couldn't help noticing how you rolled pretty much whatever you wanted at any given moment..."

"What else do you want me to say? I'm one lucky bitch, my dude."

"Lucky. Right. I could maybe chalk the first few up to good RNG, but come the fuck on," Oliver laughed. "You weren't exactly subtle."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up, Olive. Are you calling me sus? Because it sure fuckin' sounds like you're calling me sus."

"That's definitely not the word I would've used, but sure. If the one-size-too-small self-promotional t-shirt fits."

"Wooooow," Zoe's expression contorted into mock disgust, but not before adjusting her shirt. It was a little tight around her chest. "Frankly, I'm fuckin' appalled you'd accuse me of such vile misconduct. I mean, you never said using my extensive knowledge of game-breaking exploits was off the table, so this is totally on you."

"Figures. I take it you were manipulating the RNG, then?"

"Eh. Like you said, I wasn't subtle."

"When are you ever?"

"When I wanna be? Fuck off, dude."

Ever the icon of maturity, Zoe stuck out her tongue.

It was a cute sight, but it didn't stop Oliver from slumping in his seat. Looking back on his failed strategy, he regretted framing this as a competition. Yes, Zoe responded well to them, but he didn't know things were so dire that she'd bring out every trick in the book to defeat him.

Guess this is what I get for treating things like a game. I pushed Zoe pretty hard over something she's uncomfortable with- and all because I'm trying to speedrun winning her affection. It's no wonder she locked in to kick my inconsiderate ass.

The twins advised Oliver to act as if he knew what was best for Zoe. It now occurred to him that the well he drew advice from might've been poisoned. Maybe not entirely- they'd told him a lot of helpful stuff- but that specific tip would probably work better when he was closer to Zoe, and his opinion carried more weight.

Oliver willed himself past his guilt. No reason to let this hang over his head when he could still take the L, apologize, and spend the rest of his afternoon gaming with Zoe.

He was shocked to see her grab the L for herself.

"Sorry for being so fuckin' difficult, Olive," Zoe mumbled. "I know you're just trying to help and all that, but-"

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. It's super hard for me to fight off tunnel vision when I've got an idea stuck in my head. I was so set on taking you out today, so sure it'd do you some good, that I didn't stop to consider your feelings. Even when you clearly weren't into it, I only pushed harder. Again, I'm sorry, Zoe."

Oliver lowered his head. He knew Zoe didn't care that much- she'd gotten a whole game of DokaDon Empire out of him, after all- but he had to apologize, or else it'd fester like a boil on his consciousness. He'd straddled the line between shameless and selfish, erring closer to the latter than his principles allowed.

Zoe had no clue what to do with this guy. All his apology did was throw more coal onto the fires of her guilt, and she couldn't for the life of her understand why he was taking this stupid crap so seriously. Still, she didn't need to understand his thought process to find a strange comfort in his kindness.

She opened her mouth to huff something out at him but was too flustered for the first attempt to succeed. Only after wrestling herself into giving it a second go did she get anywhere.

"Bro, chill the fuck out. You're just putting me on the spot here and making me feel all fuckin' weird inside."

Peeking up like a curious meerkat, Oliver asked, "Weird how?"

"Good weird," Zoe confessed with a dismissive handwave. "But it's whatever, y'know? Fuck. I just don't get what you're so hung up on, man. This wasn't a huge deal."

"Maybe not, but I didn't think you'd fight tooth and nail to not have to go outside. You wouldn't have done that if it weren't at least somewhat of a big deal, right?"

"Well, yeah. Sorta. But I'm also just being a stubborn bitch about it because I'm too fuckin' stuck in my ways, and I feel bad that you gotta put up with it."

"Did you forget that I'm dating Mia? Putting up with stubborn girls is practically second nature to me by this point."

"Heh. You've been dating her for, like, not even a week, right? Let's put a fuckin' pin in that and check back a few months later. Mark my words; you'll crack."

"Not likely. Luckily for you, I find stubborn girls adorable as all hell."

The line came out as smooth as silk without hesitation despite Oliver not meaning to say it out loud. A familiar rush of embarrassment washed over him as his inner thoughts again escaped the confines of his mind. Nothing he wasn't used to. All he'd have to do was play it off like he usual.

That, or blanket himself in shamelessness.

Zoe waited for Oliver to blush at his mistake. For him to laugh and look away. Anything to show this was another one of his slip-ups. Nothing happened. The flirty joke itself already revved up her racing, attention-obsessed heart, and dealing with his confident gaze as he shot her a grin bordering on smug only made things worse.

"Wow, dude," Zoe tore her eyes away and blew a raspberry. "And you had the fuckin' nerve to call out my lack of subtlety."

No affection bump, but Oliver's morale was high after the victory over his anxiety.

He could take this farther. 

"No point in subtlety when you already tease the hell out of me for having a crush on you, right?"

The guy was getting better at this, and it was so fucking weird for Zoe. Her mind spun and spun, unraveling like a ball of yarn tumbling down a hill. Why was she tripping up so bad over this? Awkward as she was, she knew it wasn't solely owed to Oliver's ever-improving game.

No, some of this shit was on her.

"Sure, yeah, whatever," Zoe mouthed off, scrambling. All the weird emotions going around as of late left her feeling out of whack- especially after yesterday. She rushed to deflect. "Good on you for manning up, I guess. While you're at it, why not fess up to the real reason you locked in so hard on taking me out today?"

"Excuse me?"

"C'mon. You're a decent guy, but you're not as selfless as you want everyone to think."

"Feel free to cite your sources if you've got any, but I don't think I've ever claimed to be selfless? I'm literally just some dude trying his best."

"Uh-huh. Right. So you're saying you've got no ulterior motive?"

"Yes, Zoe, please. Shove more words in my mouth. I love the shit out of it when you do that."

"Hah! So you admit it! You didn't want to take me out because you were trying to help me; you wanted to take me out because you like me!"

It was the perfect gotcha- at least to Zoe's emotionally-compromised sponge brain. Satisfied, she folded her arms and adopted a triumphantly smug grin.

Surely that would shake him up.

Oliver scooted closer and pressed a hand to her forehead. It took her a second to register. She flared with scarlet embarrassment and slapped his hand away after it had.

"The fuck, dude! Who said you could get all up in my business and shit?!"

"I'm checking if you have a fever. Doesn't seem to be the case, so maybe you need a can of Gulpies? I hope this is just your withdrawal talking. Otherwise, I'm really worried you thought that stunning observation was worth sharing."

Zoe gawked at him before deflating like a balloon and resting on her side. Her foot planted on his chest and pushed him back to his seat.

"Y'know, you might just be onto something. I probably do need a can of Gulpies right now. Why don't you go and get me one so I can shove it up your ass?"

[Zoe has lost -3 Affection!]

Yeah. Oliver couldn't say that was much of a shocker. Sassing it up while Zoe was on pins and needles was a recipe for disaster.

Totally worth it, though.

"Don't threaten me with a good time," he tsked.

Zoe looked at him with deep and dire confusion. "Are you... do... do you actually...?"

"No, no. That one was just a joke. I promise." He gave her his best powered-up smile. It seemed to work, though skepticism lingered on her face until he changed the topic. "Are you doing okay?"

"I don't fuckin' know, man. You keep saying weird shit, and that weird feeling I mentioned keeps getting worse."

"I thought it was a good weird?"

"Now it's an 'I don't know' weird..."

Oliver took in all the facts, analyzed them with the obsessive-compulsive meat machine in his skull, and dared to be optimistic with his conclusions. There was still plenty of room for doubt. Yesterday obviously weighed heavily on her conscience, which had to count for some of why Zoe was in such a manic mood.

But beyond that?

He wondered if it had anything to do with her affection teetering on the brink of a level-up.

Zoe had no experience with romantic thoughts or desires. She'd said as much herself. If getting to a hundred affection points represented her officially developing a crush on him, those feelings were probably already brewing inside her and stirring up a frenzy.

Then again, Mia had a crush on me before way before that...

No, I'm overthinking it. It'll be different for every heroine. They aren't characters in a dating sim; their thoughts and feelings are as real as mine.

Which means I might be right about this.

The way he saw it, he had two options. Give Zoe some space to figure things out, or stay the course until her feelings are so obvious she can't ignore them. There wasn't much of a debate. Oliver went with option two, as reaching Zoe's first heart event was his main objective, and it wouldn't take long to get there. Besides, he could always dial it back if she kept floundering.

"I'm sorry you're feeling all over the place. If you really did want me to come clean, the least I can do is be honest. You're half right, but me really wanting to go somewhere with you because I like you so much isn't mutually exclusive with me believing a splash of sunlight and fresh air sometime this decade might, for some reason, be in your best interest."

Zoe didn't hear him all the way through, having zoned out after Oliver casually admitted he liked her so much he wanted to go outside and do normie shit together. The notion was alien to someone who was once one overly supportive friend away from becoming a certified femcel post-graduation. It just didn't appeal to her.

Oliver's feelings, however, did.

"I see. So that's how it is, huh?" Zoe sat upright, groaning like the task took all her energy. "How fuckin' convenient that your motives get to be selfish AND selfless. Fuck's sake, Olive."

Doubt crept in from the corners of Oliver's mind. She didn't sound all that enthused. Maybe he really should've given her some space, but... no- it was too early to say.

Keep playing it cool, Oliver. Keep playing it cool.

"Yes, Zoe? Something wrong?"

"Nah," another sigh. "Just kinda seems to me like you've got this stupid magic bullshit superpower to put poor, vulnerable ladies like yours fuckin' truly on the spot whenever the hell you want. We could be right in the middle of a normal ass conversation until, boom, you drop some dumbass line that fucks with my head and makes my heart feel like I ran a goddamn marathon. Shit just isn't fair, man."

[Zoe has gained +5 Affection! +3 Smooth Talker]

Patience really is a virtue.

Now Oliver was only four points away. Not knowing where she was going with this, he suppressed the urge to smile like an idiot and kept up his current trajectory.

"And we're sure the heart thing isn't something you should see a doctor about?"

"Fuck if I know, but I ain't seeing a doctor to find out," Zoe told him as she stood up, stretched, and looked toward her room.

"No? Then what's up? You grabbing another caffeine bomb and topping yourself off?"

"I fuckin' wish, but nah. Gonna go make myself presentable."

Oliver logically knew what that meant, but it was still so surprising that a "Huh?" slipped out all the same. Next came the rush of guilt that came along with the anxiety of knowing someone was going out of their comfort zone on your behalf. It would take more than a day's worth of practicing shamelessness to get over that little instinct of his. "Zoe, don't feel-"

"Nope, nuh-uh-" Zoe whipped around so fast her ponytail almost slapped her in the face, her expression oddly intense. Her brows were furrowed, her cheeks red, and her eyes locked with his. "Gonna stop you right there before you pull the whole 'Zoe, don't feel like you need to do this' shit on me, nerd, because guess the fuck what? I don't feel like I need to do this- I want to do this."

"I..." his defenses crumbling, Oliver blushed just as hard. "But... just a few minutes ago, you said-"

"I know what I said, dumbass. I'm the one who said it! The thing is, that was when before you said all that other shit, and now I changed my mind. I didn't know you felt so strongly about... um... getting outside of the house, so... yeah, since I'm such a good friend and all, I'll indulge ya. That, and I gotta put my money where my mouth is when I say I'm gonna change, right? So fuck it. Those baby steps won't take themselves."

"Wow."

"...What? You got any complaints, or can I-"

"No, no complaints at all! Really. It's just that I feel really stupid all of a sudden. Like, really, really stupid."

"Heh. Good shit. Makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one."

"It's just that I went through all these ridiculous mental gymnastics to try and corner you into this when all I apparently needed to do was talk to you a little more. Fuck, Zoe. I was trying so hard to be smart that I think I ended up somewhere scummy." Oliver frowned. "And I hate that I didn't catch myself."

There it was again. That weird and feminine urge to take care of the guy. She wondered if this was the same feeling Mia felt towards her, and that made Zoe bite her lower lip.

She got where Oliver was coming from.

Yeah, he'd attempted to coerce her, but it was an incredibly fucking mild attempt, and him getting so hung up over it irritated the shit out of her. Zoe wasn't kidding anyone. She knew how she avoided shakeups to her routine, and honestly? She couldn't care less about him getting a little scummy with his tactics so long as it helped her out.

Not that he'd chill if I gave him the thumbs up on gaslighting me for the greater good. The perpetual guilt machine he calls his fuckin' brain'd tear him a new one. Christ. I thought he'd be happy with me, but I guess I gotta go for the jugular if I wanna do something about that mopey face of his...

Zoe sucked in some air, ready to give it her all.

"It's cool that you're considerate about this kind of shit- congrats on being better than ninety percent of the male population- but c'mon. Get your shit together! Here's the deal, nerd. You can either mope around feeling sorry for yourself all day, or we can go on a date. What's it gonna-"

The light returned to his eyes so fast Zoe almost thought he'd been acting until now.

"I want to go on a date with you."

The embarrassment of what she'd said, coupled with his response, hit Zoe and hit her hard. Like a wrecking ball to the head levels of hard.

"Gah, fuck, I didn't mean to put it like that. It's not a date, it's... y'know. A platonic hangout thing, or... whatever the fuck. Yeah, that's it." Zoe sighed, adding under her breath, "Nailed it. Nice save, you sexy bitch."

First Mia, then Rebecca, and now Zoe. Oliver was having a lot of these 'not a date's lately. That was something worth smiling over, and he was smiling, but it was more because of Zoe herself. She'd helped dial back his anxiety, and that wasn't an easy feat. That, and he underestimated how much his opinion meant to her.

Zoe wanted to make him happy, even if it meant stepping outside her comfort zone. He knew from experience how much courage that took, and if that didn't make him feel like the happiest guy in the world, nothing would.

She deserves nothing less than my best for pushing herself this hard, and I'll be damned if I don't give it to her.

"Platonic, romantic, whatever. Call it what you want. Either way, I'm in."

Oliver rose from the couch and dredged up some courage of his own to put forth some shamelessness. He grabbed her hand, saying nothing as he gave her a gentle smile. It shook her up pretty bad that he would just do that out of nowhere, but for once, it didn't show.

They looked at each other in silence, Zoe very slowly smiling back.

"I'll, uh... I'll go and get ready, then..."

She squeezed his hand a single time before letting go.

[Zoe has gained +5 Affection!]

"Sure thing," Oliver watched her dart off to her bedroom with surprising speed. Maxing out her affection meter didn't even register. He didn't care about points, Heart Events, or his powers. All he cared about at that moment was Zoe herself.

Zoe, Zoe, Zoe.

His crush felt less and less shallow the longer he spent with her, and God, the way she made him feel... he could just about drown himself in it.

While Oliver drifted away in the ocean of his overactive imagination, Zoe processed her feelings in a far healthier, less obsessive manner. She grabbed two KaneMon plushies off her bed- better to double up even if the room was soundproofed- and screamed.

"WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING WHY DID I SAY THAT WHY DID HE HOLD MY HAND WHY DID I LIKE IT SO MUCH WHY DO I WANT TO MAKE HIM HAPPY SO BAD WHY WHY WHY WHY-" she only stopped after her lungs were emptier than her crush's head.

Oliver didn't hear a goddamn thing.

***

Stat Changes

Zoe Myers | Status: Friend(?) | 101/100 | ♡♡♡♡♡

Next Chapter Soon

My recovery has been steady as can be. Solid and consistent by this point. I probably could’ve even written at night last night but I chose not to. All this to say the next chapter is almost done sooner than expected- though that’s because there’s a break off point sooner than I thought there’d be. Basically what was like four bullet points in my outline got expanded into an entire chapter’s worth of conversation as I got into it. I think it’s some good stuff, so look forward to it!

Condition continuing to improve

I held off on saying this for a few days but I can safely say that I am officially recovering for real. I’m not at my full capacity for writing, but I have written consistently for the last four days hitting around a thousand words or so each time. That counter isn’t totally accurate since it’s not keeping track of what I delete and rewrite, but the fact is I’m able to sit at my desk and actually work on things for a length of time without getting distracted or feeling bad or getting caught in a loop of obsessively compulsively rewriting the same sentences over and over and over again. More than one session a day, too.

Actual progress has been made on the next chapter of LARPG.

The last thing I want to do is give an estimate and shoot myself in the foot if I fail to meet it, but at the rate I’m going maybe a bit over a week? It all depends on how things go from here. I installed my dictation software on the laptop I’m currently using because my desktop is unusable shit now so I might speed up. The words per day counter will be more accurate because of that, too. When I say something and delete it without pressing a key those words don’t get added to my word counter, so that’s good.

Anyway, it’s hard to say how much longer I have to go until I’m back where I was over a year ago able to hit 3-5k words a day, but I do feel like that’s feasible again once I’m more adjusted and less out of practice.

I hope no one will be upset that I’m also using some of my focus on developing something on the side. I actually did more than 1k words today, that was just counting LARPG. There’s a story idea I had in mind, more of a vehicle for ongoing short stories, that I think is worth pursuing. It’s definitely not my priority but I’m just putting it out there.

Hopefully I’ll have more to say soon, but for now, thank you for everyone who waited patiently for me to get back to work. It feels good to be cautiously excited about the future again.

Made some progress today!

I don’t want to jump the gun but I actually had a good writing session today. Things flowed well like they used to and the dialogue came out snappy and fun without much constant retuning on my end. It wasn’t a long session and I’m probably not going to do another one today so that I don’t push it and end up upsetting myself, but I did think it was significant enough to mention.

As of two days ago I’ve been trying to sleep earlier in the night and wake up at more reasonable times and today I took my antidepressant with my adderall instead of taking it at night, which is the way I used to take it. It’s probably some mix of that but I have to see if it keeps up.

Hoping this is a sign that things are getting back to normal, but for now we’ll see.

Mia Doorway Pinup

A pleasant surprise from my friend EchoChips! She’s an artist I have a long history with going back to my days as an artist myself and I’ve supported her on Patreon for years. Ended up getting this instead of an annual Christmas chibi from her, which was very nice of her and I’m tremendously grateful!

Now as is the standard in these posts, a quick mental health update. I’m not sure where I’m at right now to be honest. I think I’m improving but I’m concerned that it’s not as fast as I want it to be. I did some work a few days ago but it went poorly and soured my mood. I’ve lately been trying to jumpstart my brain by reading lots of books via a speedreading app, forcing me to think faster. It’s helped with that at least, and I’m gonna try to do some work here in a bit again. Thanks for your patience.

Check out EchoChips here - https://mybook.to/ePJL

Nude Group Art

Really sexy and fun pic of the cast, a gift from my friend Urban! Everyone looks really good here. It’s not often we have a chance to get everyone all at once like this but it’s nice when we do! We have more plans for this artist too, looking forward to that hehe.

Nothing really to say on my current mental state other than things are proceeding as expected. Still feeling good. Slowly feeling an increased drive to accomplish something and get back to writing. Waiting till I’m a little more comfortable with the idea but it shouldn’t be too long.

Art by https://bsky.app/profile/tokoboo.bsky.social