Inside Erin: The AIF Community Newsletter
Volume 4 Number 11 - November 2008

A Letter from the Editor -- Purple Dragon

This has been an interesting month for me AIF wise.  This is due, in part, to a 
discussion that recently appeared on the AIFArchive about other game creation 
communities.  Specifically, the two that were mentioned were TFGamesSite.com and 
Hypnopics-Collective.net.  Both groups have been the focus of discussion before 
and some people have even suggested merging the different groups together into 
one.  I have visited both groups in the past (discreetly garbed in my lurker 
apparel) but have never really taken a good look at either, and I thought that 
it might be time to remedy that.

My first stop was TFGames.com.  The focus of the group is on the development of 
games with a transformation theme.  This can be, and often is, transgender, but 
it need not be, and any type of transformation seems to be welcomed.  I 
downloaded and played a couple of games and found that, in spite of the fact 
that transformation has never been a particular passion of mine, I enjoyed them 
quite a lot.  I was also surprised at how many games there were.  There is 
probably somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred in the archive where they 
keep them.  As in our own case, ADRIFT seems to be the traditional engine of 
choice, but there are also games in TADS, Inform, and RAGS among others.

In looking around and reading posts I found myself liking the group as a whole.  
The people are friendly and helpful and the whole community has a very open 
feeling to it.  This may be due, at least in some part, to their tendency to 
release Alpha and Beta versions of games for public testing.  Some members have 
even referred to their group as a kind of writer's workshop, and to some extent, 
it does indeed have that feel to it.

In other ways, I found the group to be remarkably similar to our own.  
Discussions of games, requests for hints, game competitions, etc.  The only 
difference really is the theme of the games themselves.

Flipping over to Hypnopics-Collective I found a different kind of group.  The 
main theme here is hypnosis and mind control and one of the main differences 
between this group and TFGames or ours is there is quite a bit more here than 
just games.  As the name might suggest, there is a focus on pictures, and the 
group has a huge archive of pictures created or modified by its members.  There 
are also sections for making picture requests, for role-playing, and, of course, 
for games.

I didn't find as many games here, and I wasn't able to find a central location 
where they are all listed.  There is a section where they are trying to collect 
them all, but it looks like they are still working on it.  You may be more 
familiar with some of these games since I know that games like A Spell for All, 
and Little Slave Lost have already been discussed on our own sites.  The games 
are fun and I was a little surprised to find that the pictures on the site are 
as well.  Some are funny, some are hot, and some are both.  Definitely worth 
checking out.

One of the first things I noticed when I got to the TFGames site was that the 
discussion about game creating communities had somehow migrated over from 
AIFArchive.  I decided to throw away my lurker status and throw in my two cents 
worth.  Well, ok, you know me, it was really more like 11 or 12 cents, but who's 
counting.

The general consensus on the groups is that the idea of merging the different 
communities together isn't one that is going to pan out.  If by merging we mean 
getting all the members of the three groups posting exclusively at a single 
location then I certainly agree that the chances are somewhere between slim and 
none. Hell, we can't even get all the members of our own community at a single 
location, since AIFArchive and AIFGames.com seem to both pull a share of the 
group.

When it comes down to it, I don't think there would be a lot of point in merging 
the communities like this even if it were feasible.  However, it would be nice 
to see a little more communication between the groups.  The first step toward 
this is one that was suggested by several people in those discussions.  Everyone 
who voiced an opinion on the subject seemed to think that having links from one 
group to the others would be a good idea.  Well, that step is now done.  I have 
added links to both communities on AIFArchive and AIFGames.com, and they have 
done the same.  I have also offered to set up a featured article in this 
newsletter for each of the groups.  Kind of like our own "This Month in AIF," 
telling about what is going on in the other communities.  As of the time of this 
writing I haven't heard if anyone is willing to take up that responsibility, but 
I hope someone steps forward.

The next step is really up to all of you.  Click on one of those links and take 
a look at the sites.  Don't let my initial impressions, based on a couple of 
hours of browsing, determine if you like the group or not.  Check it out for 
yourself.  While the individual subject matter of the two groups may not be for 
everyone, you're certainly not going to know for sure unless you give it a try.

*	*	*

This Month in AIF by BBBen

Three months to go until the threesome comp deadline! At the end of January you 
have to have your entries in for the first and quite possibly last AIF threesome 
comp, being run by me. I actually had felt that three months before the deadline 
was plenty of time for the whole competition, but I decided to announce it early 
because there was public discussion at the time as to when the deadline should 
be held. Anyway, there should be heaps of time left for anyone hearing about 
this comp for the first time now, and I would encourage anyone interested to 
seriously consider entering.

Daniel English has apparently put together a series of ports of Chris Cole's 
games, and they are mostly ready for beta; along with our retrospective on CJC's 
work recently, this might give people another excuse to replay these games. 
Meanwhile, madquest8 has continued to update his game Deadly Climax, with the 
release of version 0.7.

I've had a busy month, so I haven't been paying that much attention to the 
groups in October. Also, my profound writer's block for AIF hasn't helped. I 
have noticed a few attempts to spam the Yahoo group with ads, which of course 
I've blocked. Unfortunately I can't make other members into moderators, so I 
have to take care of that stuff when it pops up. Anyway, that's it for this 
month. Stay perverted, everyone!

*	*	*

Halloween Short Story Competition

Well, we didn't get quite as many stories as I had hoped to.  Although I heard 
from several people that were thinking about writing one, I actually only got 
three, and two of them were from A. Bomire (I've said it before, but that guy's 
a machine).  Adding mine into the mix means that we have four stories to enjoy 
this month.  On the bright side, they are good ones (except for mine of course, 
I can't very well say something like that about my own story can I?). A poll 
will be set up on AIFArchive soon, so that you can vote for you favorite.  
Anyway, I think you'll enjoy them and hopefully the upcoming Christmas theme 
will inspire some more participation.  Remember that it's due Nov 27th.  If you 
missed the original announcement, you can find the rather limited rules in last 
month's issue.  


Mystery Woman
By A. Bomire

You sit through another long, tedious afternoon, entering data you barely care 
about into a computer system that no one seems to understand. You pause, 
stretching, feeling the muscles in your back creak and pop. You look at the 
clock, watching the second hand creep its way around the dial.

"That data isn't going to enter itself, you know," you hear.

You glance up to see Mrs. Lauder, your boss. She is standing behind you, her 
arms folded across her chest. You are distracted for a moment by the yellow and 
black patterns on her thick sweater, making you think of a bee, before you look 
up at her sneering face. Her glasses are perched, as usual, on the end of her 
nose so she can look condescendingly over them at her underlings. Her lightly 
graying hair is pulled back into a tight bun.

"I know, Mrs. Lauder," you tell her. "I was just taking a small break."

"Breaks are at 10:30 and 2:30," she says, tapping the pile of work next to you. 
"You know that."

"Yes, Mrs. Lauder," you respond, taking another sheet from the seemingly endless 
pile and beginning to enter the data. Mrs. Lauder moves silently away. Unlike 
some of the other women in the office, she never wears heels, preferring soft 
soled shoes so that she can sneak up on gold bricking employees. 

You spend the rest of the day plugging away at your pile of work, and Mrs. 
Lauder comes by your cubicle more than once, checking to see that you are still 
working. Finally, the day comes to a close. You spring from your cubicle, and 
hurriedly hook up with your best friend, Alex.

"That data isn't going to enter itself," he says in a mocking tone when he sees 
you. "What a bitch!" 

"I know," you sigh. "But what are you going to do?"

"She needs to get laid," he cracks. "Maybe that'll get that stick out of her 
ass!"

You snort in laughter, then change the subject. "So, you coming to the party?" 
Tonight is the office Halloween party. Since employees are no longer allowed to 
dress up for Halloween ("unprofessional attire leads to unprofessional 
attitudes", is how Mrs. Lauder put it), the staff throws a Halloween party 
instead. At first you were reluctant to attend, but you ended up having more fun 
than you anticipated, due in part to the absence of your boss, Mrs. Lauder. She 
probably thought as little of fraternization as she did of unprofessionalism.

"Hell yeah!" he says. He stands up briefly, looking around. "I heard Angela is 
coming as a Playboy bunny!" Angela is a cute, if slightly plump, girl who works 
in payroll. The thought of her buxom frame stuffed into a tight Playboy bunny 
outfit makes you grin.

"Now that I'd like to see," you tell him.

He grins, then waves goodbye as he enters his car. You leave as well. Of course, 
Mrs. Lauder couldn't allow anything as unprofessional as having costumes even in 
the office. All of the employees have to change at home, then return for the 
party. You sigh as you drive home.

You change into your costume. This year, you will be going as The Joker, as 
Heath Ledger played him in "The Dark Knight". You found a faded blue suit at the 
thrift store that could pass for purple under the fluorescent lights of the 
office, and paint your face to match Heath's scarred visage from the movie. You 
thought briefly of dyeing your hair green, but decided against it. Mrs. Lauder 
would probably have you fired for unprofessional appearance if you came in 
tomorrow with green hair.

You check your appearance, grinning at your reflection. Maybe you aren't as 
menacing as the movie madman, but it looks pretty convincing to you. You return 
to the office, where you meet up with Alex who has come dressed in a toga.

"Didn't you wear that last year?" you ask him, as the two of you stroll inside.

"Yup," he replies. "It's easy to get into, and out of, if you know what I mean." 
He winks at you.

"Yeah, right," you reply.

"Dude, that's what these parties are all about!" he says. "The poor repressed 
office workers, letting their hair down for one night." He grins as a girl 
passes you whom you recognize from the secretarial pool, but whose name you 
don't know. She is dressed as a pirate, with a very tight, low-cut ruffled shirt 
and short pants. "See what I mean?" He winks at you again. "I'm going to find 
Angela!"

"Good luck," you call to his retreating back. You make your way over to the 
food. As you do, you are disappointed to see at least two other Jokers in the 
crowd. You guess your idea wasn't as original as you thought, although you still 
think your costume is better than the ones you've seen so far. 

You mingle for a while, talking to friends you know from the office. You run 
into Angela from payroll, who is not dressed as a Playboy bunny but instead as a 
Valkyrie, and also into Lynn from accounting, who is dressed as a Playboy bunny. 
Being in her fifties, her costume is more ironic than sexy, and the two of you 
share a quick laugh over it.

You wander around some more, until you spot a woman you don't recognize. This 
isn't that surprising as she is wearing a mask covering most of her face. What 
isn't covered by the mask is partially obscured by her thick, dark hair. Her 
full figure is well displayed in her Wonder Woman costume, with its red and gold 
bustier holding up some nicely sized breasts. As she turns to get a cup of 
'Pumpkin Punch', you admire her rounded ass in her blue shorts. You join her at 
the refreshment table.

"You know, Wonder Woman didn't wear a mask," you say in passing, as you snag a 
cup of 'Punch' yourself. You take a sip, and gag a little. The alcohol content 
is fairly high, and you wonder just what is in it.

'Wonder Woman' just shrugs, sipping her drink. Her eyes open wide, but she takes 
another sip. 

"I'm afraid I don't recognize you," you comment. 

She shrugs again, taking another, larger, sip. She begins coughing, waving you 
off when you offer to help. "It's a big company," she rasps, still coughing a 
little. 

"So it is," you respond, looking around.

"Looking for someone?" she asks, her voice still slightly hoarse. She clears her 
throat, taking another sip of the 'Punch'.

"Yeah, my friend Alex," you respond. "He's probably got some girl pinned in a 
corner somewhere." You grin at her. "He thinks these parties are just an 
opportunity to get laid."

Her eyes widen, then narrow speculatively. She looks you over, then downs the 
rest of her cup of 'punch'. She leans in close to you. "Who says they're not?" 
she whispers in your ear, her hand brushing the front of your pants. She walks 
away from you, her hips swaying suggestively. As she reaches the door to the 
hallway, she turns, looking at you over her shoulder. 

Not quite believing that this is happening, you cross the room behind her. She 
disappears into the hallway, and you quickly dash through the party goers to 
follow. You reach the hallway and find her standing outside the ladies room. She 
grabs you, pulling you against her as she presses her lips to yours. You can 
taste the alcohol on her breath as she lifts her leg, wrapping it around you as 
she slides up and down your body, rubbing her crotch against you. She breaks 
away, panting heavily and grabs your jacket front. Pulling you, she backs into 
the ladies restroom. 

You look around, but there isn't anyone there. She pushes the door closed and 
turns the lock. She pulls you into an embrace, kissing you once more. You bring 
your hands up, running them up her body to cup her full breasts in your palms. 
She strips off your jacket, pulling out the hem of your shirt and sliding her 
hand under it to caress your naked skin. You cup her  breasts in her bustier, 
and squeeze them in your hands. Pulling down on the cups, you scoop her tits out 
of their haven, and tease her nipples to hardness. She sighs softly, arching her 
back to press her large breasts against your hands. You dip your head and suck 
her nipple into your mouth. You work on one nipple, and then the other. She 
moans softly, her hand tangled in your hair as she presses your head to her 
breast.

You continue to work your lips lower, kissing the soft underside of her breasts, 
then her stomach, finally lifting the bottom of the bustier to flick your tongue 
into her belly button. She sucks in a hissing breath, gasping. You lick her 
spandex shorts, pressing your tongue against her mound through the thin fabric. 
She groans, opening her legs and grinding herself against you. You pull aside 
the damp material, finding her dripping opening with your tongue. You plunge 
inside, flicking your tongue against her inner walls. She groans hoarsely.

You spread her lips with your hand, finding her erect clit and sucking it into 
your mouth. She gasps again, and pushes herself against your lips as you stroke 
your tongue over her stiffened nub. At the same time, you push one and then two 
fingers into her wet opening. She pants and moans, her hands clutching at her 
heaving breasts, her fingers pinching and tweaking her nipples. You continue 
your assault on her pussy, until you feel her knees start to weaken.

She suddenly grabs you by the shirtfront, pulling you to your feet. Her eyes 
blaze at you through her mask, and she presses her lips to yours, kissing you 
passionately. You feel her tongue running around your lips, tasting herself on 
you. She pulls back, and you see white make-up smeared on her lips and cheeks. 
She sinks slowly to her knees, her eyes never leaving yours as she slides her 
hands down your front until they arrive at your bulging erection. She licks her 
lips, and unzips your pants, pulling your thick cock out of your boxers. Without 
a word, she sinks her lips over your shaft, bobbing her head up and down your 
erect member. 

You groan in pleasure as she runs her tongue up and down your shaft, teasing you 
before sucking you back into her hot mouth once more. She works her mouth over 
your shaft, stopping now and again to lean down and lick your balls as well. She 
sucks one into her mouth, teasing it with her tongue. You can feel your climax 
approach, and stop her. 

Pulling her to her feet, you grab her by the hips, turning her around and 
pushing on her shoulders. She bends over, her hands finding and gripping a sink. 
She looks at you over her shoulder as you slide her spandex shorts over her 
rounded ass, exposing her dripping opening. You slip two fingers slip into her 
pussy from behind. You stroke once or twice, before pulling them out again and 
pressing them against her lips. She groans as she sucks your slickened digits 
into her mouth, her tongue working on them. With your other hand, you open your 
pants, dropping them to your ankles, along with your boxers.

Pulling your fingers from her mouth, you grab her by the hips as you guide your 
cock to her wet opening. "Give me your cock," she whispers hoarsely. "Fuck me! 
Hard!" You plunge into her, and she cries out. You grab her hips with both hands 
and begin thrusting into her, slamming yourself in and out of her pussy. She 
grunts with each thrust, pushing back against you. "That's it, fuck me!" she 
groans in a rasping voice. "Fuck that pussy good!" 

You look up into the mirror, looking into the eyes of her reflection. You look 
at the lust blazing in her eyes, and watch her heavy breasts sway wildly beneath 
her. Letting go with one hand, you reach beneath her, capturing a tit and 
squeezing it in your palm. She squeals, leaning lower, her forearms resting on 
the sink. She lowers her head, panting in time to your thrusts.

You release her breast, bringing your hand back and slapping her ass. You slap 
it once, twice, then yet again. Each time, she cries out. Licking your thumb, 
you press it against her anus, pushing it inside. "Oh my God!" she moans. "Yes, 
in my ass! Oh God, fuck me you bastard!" You twist your thumb in her ass, 
redoubling your efforts as you slam yourself into her. "That's it, fuck that 
pussy! Oh God, I'm cumming! Fuck my pussy, fuck my puuuuusssssyyyyyyy!!" Her 
orgasm shakes her body, her pussy clutching at your cock as you continue to 
pound it into her. With a grunting cry, you cum as well, filling her pussy with 
your seed. "Oh yes!" she yells. "Fill me up with your cum! That's what I want!" 
She screams as she climaxes again, her body wracking in great heaving shudders. 

She finally collapses, holding onto the sink to keep from sliding to the floor. 
Your slowly draining cock finally gives its last spurt, and you slip out of her. 
You remove your thumb from her ass as well, and the two of you stand there, 
panting and gasping as you regain your breath. When the two of you have 
recovered sufficiently, you both adjust your clothing, getting dressed again.  
Her mask is slightly askew, as is her black hair which you can see is a wig. You 
reach for her mask to finally see just who this woman is, but she grabs your 
hand. She waves her finger back and forth and sets her mask firmly back in 
place, adjusting her hair as well. As she does, you catch a quick glimpse of a 
slightly graying strand of hair before she tucks it out of sight.

She leans forward, kissing your cheek. "That's just what I needed," she 
whispers, patting your cheek. She turns and unlocks the door, opening it to 
reveal several of your co-workers standing in the hallway, both men and women. 
They all jeer and make catcalls as the two of you leave the restroom, having no 
doubt heard the noise the two of you made inside. 'Wonder Woman' just adjusts 
her bustier, and moves on down the hallway, while you turn red and attempt to 
follow.

Some of your male co-workers stop you, however, clapping you on the back and 
giving you thumbs up. One of your female co-workers, Anne you think her name is, 
even slips a piece of paper into your hand, mouthing "Call me". You eventually 
break free, but are unable to find the mystery woman. You ask around, but no one 
seems to know who she was, or where she went after your little "encounter" - 
although somehow word of your raucous lovemaking has circulated through most of 
the crowd.

You eventually leave, returning home and stripping off your costume. You spend a 
good hour removing the heavy make-up from your face, which by now is quite 
smeared, and collapse exhausted onto your bed.

The next day, you again have to endure the ribs and jokes from your co-workers, 
including Alex who it seems spent the entire night unsuccessfully trying to get 
Angela to go home with him. You ask around again, but still no one knows, or 
will admit to being, the mysterious 'Wonder Woman'. You go to your desk, where 
you sit staring at the numbing pile of data sheets awaiting your input. 

As you are sitting there, lost in thought, you hear a familiar voice from behind 
you. "Staring at your work is not going to get it done any faster." You turn to 
see Mrs. Lauder staring down at you over her glasses, her bun seemingly extra 
tight today. 

"Sorry, Mrs. Lauder," you say with a sigh. "I was just thinking of something."

"Well, that's all right," she says with a peculiar expression on her face. It 
takes you a few moments to realize that she is smiling, as you've never seen her 
do it before. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let it slide." She reaches 
back, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. As she does, you aren't sure but you 
think you see a hint of smeared white just in front of her ear. She turns before 
you can get a really good look. "Just get to work, okay?" She wanders away, 
humming to herself.


Moonlight Desires
By Christopher Cole

The water lapped at the edge of the shore, a few feet from where they lay. It 
was quite dark now, but the light from the jack-o-lanterns created a soft, amber 
glow all around them. Paul had brought three of the carved pumpkins with them to 
help celebrate Halloween at the encounter at the lake. Thankfully, there were no 
trick-or-treaters for miles; it was a very secluded spot, on the lonely part of 
a small lake.

Randi looked towards the lake, watching the silver of the partial moon glint off 
the slow waves. It was extremely peaceful. She leaned into Paul as they sat on 
the blanket, his arm pulling her in close to him.

"It's so nice out," she said as she buried her head into his shoulder.

"Yeah," he said. "And peaceful too. Not like it was a few years back."

She sat up and looked at him, her dark hair spilling down over her large 
breasts.

"What do you mean?"

Paul smiled a little. "Well, maybe three years ago, just across the lake 
there... you might even be able to see it during the day. Anyway, there was a 
camp there, you know, for kids... a summer camp. It was called Camp Windy Lake. 
It had been there for 20 years or more. Well, last year a disgruntled former 
summer camp kid showed up with an axe and chopped up a bunch of counsellors, the 
groundskeeper, the camp owner and a cop or two if the stories are to be 
believed."

Randi looked shocked but also sceptical. "You're shitting me. No way. That 
sounds like some bad horror film or something."

"It's true," Paul said. "Cross my heart and hope to die. They closed the camp, 
obviously, and that area of the lake is fenced in now. No trespassing."

"Who was it?" Randi asked. "I assume they caught the guy, or did he die in a 
shootout with police?"

"Never caught him," Paul said. "Two of the counsellors stabbed him through a 
lung and hurt him bad enough that they got away, but the police never did catch 
the guy or find a body. They assumed he fell into the lake, badly wounded, and 
sank to the bottom somewhere. Windy lake has some serious deep spots."

"You're lying," she said, smiling. "I never heard anything about that."

"They tried to hush it all up," Paul replied. "But some of the survivors made 
sure the story got out there. As much as they could anyway."

Paul pulled away and began to stand.

"Where are you going?" she asked, looking a little concerned.

"Just need to take a leak. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Paul trudged off, a little unsteady as the darkness grew larger the further he 
moved away from the Jack-o-lanterns. He disappeared from sight and Randi could 
only hear him walking on the underbrush until he finally stopped. She cocked an 
ear and listened, waiting, stretching out trying to hear him.

"Paul..." she finally said. No response. "Come on Paul. This isn't funny." 

Still no answer. 

She started looking around now. The soft sound of the waves lapping against the 
shore annoyed her now as she couldn't hear anything else over it. She looked 
back to where Paul disappeared into the woods and shouted "Paul!"

He didn't answer her. She started swearing and began to stand, looking for her 
clothes when something came lumbering out of the dark woods nearby. She screamed 
as the shadow grabbed her and she looked up into the face of a skeleton. She 
screamed again and clawed at the rubber Halloween mask. It fell away, and Paul's 
grinning, sweaty face appeared underneath.

"You shit!" she screamed, pounding Paul on the chest while he doubled up in 
laughter, nearly falling over. "You stupid shit!"

Paul apologized over and over through fits of laughter, tears in his eyes. Randi 
finally calmed down, fitfully laughing herself as Paul pulled her close and 
hugged her, apologizing and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Their lips met 
and soon there was silence again as they kissed and slowly slid back down to the 
ground, finding their way to the blanket.

Paul kissed down Randi's neck until he found her heaving breasts. He took her 
nipples into his mouth in turn, sucking and teasing them. She gasped as he was 
suddenly inside her, moving slowly at first, but soon lifting himself up on his 
arms to drive into her fast and hard.

Their movements went on for some time, slowly increasing in intensity.

Randi was on the brink of coming when she saw another dark shape loom up over 
them. Her mind didn't react quickly to what she was seeing, and she couldn't 
concentrate in that split second while Paul started to come inside her. 
Something glinted in the moonlight and Paul crashed down onto her, a strange 
gurgling yelp emanating from his throat. Randi felt something wet and sticky 
pour between their two bodies when Paul was suddenly yanked off her and thrown 
to the side.

She looked up at the shadowy figure, unable to make out the face in the faint 
light cast by the moon and the Jack-o-lanterns. She could see what he was 
holding though... a bloody axe. She realized it was Paul's blood that covered 
her, and she screamed. The figure swung the axe high, and Randi just had enough 
time to roll over, crashing through the pumpkins and coming to her feet as the 
figure struggled to loosen the axe from the ground where the head lay buried 
after the near miss.

She turned and fled into the woods, hearing the figure come crashing through 
after her. She could hear some groaning behind her and it sounded as if her 
pursuer was falling behind. She chanced a glance back and saw the figure coming 
to a halt, a hand clasped to its chest, breathing heavily and in some degree of 
pain. She turned again and didn't slow her pace until she came out onto a road 
some minutes later.

She was crazy with fear and babbling when she was picked up by a passing elderly 
couple in a small car a few minutes later.

"Sweet Jesus!" the old man said, covering Randi with a blanket from the trunk 
and helping her into the back seat. Randi was going crazy and kept yelling at 
the old man to get in and drive. Drive! He did.

---	---	---

Paul's corpse lay where it fell, still oozing blood from the gaping wound in his 
back. A pair of boots appeared on the disturbed ground beside him, a half-lit 
Jack-o-lantern flickering nearby. A dirty hand reached down and grabbed the 
rubber skeleton mask, pulling it up and over his face. One hand gripping the 
axe, the other clutching at his shirt around his chest, he made his way back 
into the woods.


Dream Lover 
By A. Bomire

You had, of course, heard the rumors about the "haunted apartment". Everyone in 
the building knew about it, and Stephanie, the girl who used to live there. She 
was a quiet young woman whom you had always found to be pleasant, although you 
really didn't know her other than to say "Hi" in the lobby as you were getting 
your mail. You were saddened like the rest of the building's occupants when you 
heard she had passed away from a sudden heart attack, apparently in her sleep. 
And so young, too! She had to have been around your own age of 25, give or take 
a year or two.

The rumors started not long after her death, when the new occupants moved in to 
her apartment: unexplained noises in the night, things in the apartment being 
moved while the occupants were out, a sudden cold chill even on the warmest of 
days. It didn't take long until someone said what everyone was thinking - the 
apartment was haunted!

The apartment went through several occupants, until the building manager had to 
lower the monthly rent to get someone to move in. You couldn't say no to that, 
and moved in about mid-September, just a few weeks ago. You haven't experienced 
anything out of the ordinary so far. At first, you were a little uneasy sleeping 
in the same room where someone had died, but you quickly got over it. 

Tonight, you get ready for bed much as you do every night. You flick off the 
lights, and crawl under the covers, briefly admiring the waxing moon through the 
curtains. It appeared to be almost full, and probably would be full on 
Halloween, just two nights away. You chuckle to yourself, thoughts of the normal 
Halloween craziness doubled because of some literal lunatics. You look at the 
moon a few more seconds, before closing your eyes and rolling over. Soon, you 
are asleep.

You dream of the usual things - most forgotten almost as soon as they pass - but 
one dream stands out in unusual clarity. You are in your apartment, at night, 
lying in your bed. You are not sure what it is that has disturbed you, and are 
reaching for the light switch when you realize that there is a form lying next 
to you on your bed. It is pale and vague, almost ghostly. As you study it, the 
form becomes more solid, resolving itself into the form of a girl, a girl you 
recognize.

"Stephanie?" you ask, hesitantly.

"Hi," she whispers. Actually, she might be speaking normally, but in her wraith-
like condition it comes out as a whisper. "I hope I didn't startle you."

"Not really," you respond, knowing after all that this is just a dream. Things 
like this happen all the time in dreams. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," she responds. She sits up, her form growing even more solid. She 
appears to be dressed in a nightgown, but it is hard to tell both from the lack 
of light and her insubstantial appearance. 

"Not anymore," you chuckle. "You're dead, remember?"

She gasps, gaping at you, then turns away in a huff. "Thanks a lot!" she says, 
angrily. "Don't you think I know that! You don't have to rub it in!"

You sit up, facing her. "Sorry!" you say. She ignores you, and you go on. "I 
mean it.  I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, okay?"

She sniffs a couple more times, then turns to face you, wiping silvery tears 
from her pale white cheeks. "It's okay," she responds. "I'm just a little touchy 
about that. I mean who expects to be de..de..de...in that condition so young?" 
She sniffs once more.

"I'm really sorry," you say. "If it helps, everyone really misses you?"

"Really?" she asks, her face brightening. In this case, it is quite literal, as 
the moon comes out from behind a cloud and shines through her still partially 
transparent form.

You nod. "Yeah," you say. "You were always nice to everyone. Everyone said they 
wished they had gotten to know you better before you...er, before."

"That's a nice thing to say," she says. "Thank you."

You pause for a second, then ask: "So, what are you doing here?"

She frowns. "I told you," she responds. "I live here."

"Huh?" you say, puzzled. "Didn't you..I mean, don't de..er, people in your 
condition..you know..pass on? The pearly gates, St. Peter...all that?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I'm the only person in my condition I know. And I 
know that after my heart attack, I woke up right here. And I've been here ever 
since."

"So it WAS you!" you murmur, mostly to yourself, but Stephanie hears you.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"Well," you explain. "This apartment. After you..moved on..."

She sighs. "Oh, go ahead and say it," she says resignedly. "I d..d..died! There! 
It's true, isn't it? I'm dead. Dead and gone." She pauses, then smiles slightly. 
"Well, I guess not gone, actually. But I am dead. I might as well get used to 
it."

You chuckle. "Okay, after you died..." she flinches slightly, but you continue. 
"This apartment got a reputation for being haunted. Noises, things moving..that 
sort of thing."

"Oh that," she says dismissively. "Well, yeah, I guess that was me. But 
honestly..how do you expect me to live in an apartment with someone who 
decorates like that! You wouldn't believe where they put the sofa! And don't get 
me started on the throw pillows!" She throws her hands up in the air. "I just 
rearranged things a bit. It looked much nicer afterwards, trust me."

You chuckle, then laugh out loud. Stephanie joins you, and the two of you laugh 
together on the bed for a few minutes. "So," you say, wiping your eyes. "I guess 
my decorating meets your high standards?"

She pauses, frowning prettily. "Well, you could use some plants. And a picture 
or two wouldn't be amiss. But overall, yeah, you do a good job." She smiles at 
you. "Besides, I like you."

"You do?" you ask, startled.

She nods. She leans in quite close, and you feel her lips brush your cheek. It 
is soft and fluttery, like a cloud, and just slightly chilly. "You're cute!" she 
whispers in your ear, her voice fading away at the end.

You turn to respond, only to discover that she isn't there. You glance around 
the bedroom looking for her, but are interrupted by a horrid buzzing noise. It 
sounds like your alarm clock, but it shouldn't be going off in the middle of the 
night. You reach for it to turn it off, and open your eyes to see that it is 
morning. You sit up, yawning and blinking, wiping the sleep from your eyes. 

"What a vivid dream," you think to yourself. Like many dreams just after you 
awake, the details stand out in your mind, and you reflect on them for a moment 
before rising and getting ready for work. 

You pass through your day, the dream from last night all but forgotten in the 
normal rush of work. You suddenly remember it, or at least parts of it, as you 
pass a flower shop on your way home. You glance inside, and then enter. On a 
whim, you pick up a nice fern, bringing it home and setting it near the window 
in the living room. "It does add something," you think. Shaking your head, you 
make dinner, and settle in.

After the evening news, you yawn and turn out the lights. You make your way to 
the bedroom and get ready for bed. As you do, you glance out the window. The 
moon is even fuller tonight, making your bedroom furniture stand out in stark 
blacks and whites. You think briefly of closing the curtains, but decide you 
like the view of the moonshine. You crawl under your covers and soon are asleep. 

"I like the fern," you hear from near your shoulder.

You sit up, glancing over to see Stephanie lying next to you, looking much more 
substantial. She is lying on her side, resting her head in her hand. Her hair, 
instead of the silvery color it was last night, is more the brunette shade you 
remember it being. Her complexion is much less pale as well. In fact, she is 
almost as you would imagine her being, if you had ever imagined her in her 
nightgown, lying in bed. Which you hadn't. 

"Do you really?" you ask her, once again taking her presence in stride in your 
dream-world. She nods, grinning. "I don't know why I bought it," you tell her. 
"I just saw it through the window of the flower shop, and decided to get it."

"Well, I like it," she says again. "I always had lots of plants, back 
when...back when I was alive." She still seems somewhat reluctant to admit to 
her departed state, but seems to be adjusting better.

"Well, maybe I'll pick up a few more, if it will make you feel better," you tell 
her.

She grins at you. "You're sweet," she says, leaning to kiss your cheek. Unlike 
the insubstantial buss of the night before, tonight you can feel her lips on 
your cheek. They are still very soft, almost feathery, but definitely there. 
"Ooh, how about a spider plant? And a Christmas cactus! It'll be Christmas soon. 
Think of the blooms!"

"Slow down!" you say, chuckling. "I said maybe I'll pick up a few more!" She 
grins some more, but lets it rest. "So, I guess this means you're staying?"

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"I mean, don't you have some place you should be? Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? Some 
place?" you ask.

"You asked me that before," she replies. She sighs. "And I still don't know. I 
always thought so, before I died. But now...I just don't know. I've always liked 
it here. It's home, you know?" She looks at you. "I mean, other than where I 
grew up."

"Where was that?" you ask.

"Oh, you don't want to hear about that," she says dismissively.

"Why not?" you reply. "Is there something else you've got to do?"

She shrugs. "I guess not. Well, I grew up in..." She proceeds to tell you about 
her childhood, haltingly at first, but with more enthusiasm as she grows more 
comfortable talking to you. You, in turn, tell her about your own early days. 
Soon, the two of you are trading stories like old friends, sharing in each 
other's lives. It seems only natural when you slip your arm around her, and when 
she snuggles up against your side, resting her head on your shoulder. Despite 
her solid appearance, she is very soft, almost like holding a woman-shaped 
pillow, but you can feel some warmth from her seeping into your skin. As she 
laughingly relates a story involving herself and a couple of college friends, 
you look down at her, seeing her in a way you hadn't before. 

She is a few inches shorter than you, with soft brunette hair that rolls about 
her shoulders. She usually wears it in a pony tail, but she must let it down 
when she sleeps, as she is wearing it now. You definitely like it better this 
way. The tips of her hair brush lightly against the upper slopes of her small, 
but firm breasts, whose pale curves you can see peeking out of the top of her 
nightgown. It clings closely enough to her smooth skin that you can just see the 
slight indentations her nipples make in the flimsy fabric. It clings to the rest 
of her body as well, revealing a slightly rounded but still slender body. You 
would guess she is someone who watches what she eats, but probably doesn't 
exercise as much as she probably wants. Still, her curves lend a softness to her 
shape that you find appealing.  Over all, she is much more attractive than you 
ever gave her credit for in your brief encounters in the hallway.

She glances up, seeing you staring at her. "What is it?" she asks.

You shake your head. "Nothing, really," you respond. "I just really wish we had 
a chance to get to know each other before."

"Oh," she says, and you think you detect a slight flush to her pale cheeks. 
"Yeah, me too." She looks down, somewhat despondent.

You reach over, cupping her chin. "Hey," you say. "We're getting to know each 
other now. Better late than never, right?"

She looks sad briefly, then smiles. "Yeah, better late than never." 

The two of you look at each other for a moment, then you sit up. "Wait right 
here," you tell her, standing. "There's this picture of me from college you've 
got to see!" You chuckle to yourself. "Our mascot was this goat, and my roommate 
and I had a little too much to drink, and we..well, you'll see." You move 
towards the door, and stumble when a loud noise erupts from your alarm clock. 
You fall, throwing out your arms. Instead of the jarring impact of colliding 
with the carpet, you feel the blankets on your bed fly away from you. You open 
your eyes, startled to see that it is morning already. You look at the bed next 
to you, but of course there's no one there. You look around, still caught up in 
your vivid dream. Reaching over, you flick off the alarm, and rise, still unable 
to shake the feeling of Stephanie lying next to you. You stare at the bed. There 
isn't even a dent in the pillows to show that she was there.

"Why would there be?" you ask yourself. "It's just a dream, right? A very 
detailed, very vivid, very real-seeming dream." You shake your head. 

You try to shake the dream from your head, and head into the bathroom to get 
ready for work. As you shower, you find your mind drifting back to your dream. 
You see again Stephanie lying next to you in bed. You imagine her body resting 
against yours as she softly talks to you. You see her in her nightgown, then 
suddenly you picture her without it. You hand drifts idly down to stroke your 
thickening shaft as you imagine Stephanie naked, lying next to you. Then you 
picture her not just lying next to you, but atop you, her soft lips pressed 
against your own as her firm breasts dig their hard nipples into your chest. You 
imagine yourself holding her, caressing her, your naked bodies entwining as she 
joins you in passion. As you picture yourself thrusting up into her over and 
over, you grunt as you reach climax, your cock exploding in your fist. You pant 
lightly, leaning against the shower wall as your member slowly softens. You 
clean yourself up, and finish your shower.

You head to work, wondering about what you are doing. You're having sexual 
fantasies about a girl you barely knew, no matter what you might think you know 
about her from your dreams. Not just a girl you barely knew, but a dead girl you 
barely knew. 

You are distracted throughout the day, and even into that evening. Usually, you 
would find some Halloween party to attend, but tonight you just don"t feel like 
it. You find yourself watching the clock, feeling a strange anticipation. 
Finally, you can take no more and you turn off the lights, heading to bed 
earlier than usual.

The moon shines brightly through your windows, lighting up your bedroom almost 
like daylight. You stare at its bright face as you lie in bed, unable to sleep. 
Your thoughts are in turmoil thinking about Stephanie. You glance at the clock. 
You"ve been in bed for almost three hours. At this rate, you"ll be even less 
useful at work tomorrow than you were today. You sigh, rolling over and closing 
your eyes.

Almost immediately, you feel a hand on your shoulder. You jump slightly, and 
turn to see Stephanie next to you. She is as solid as the last day you saw her 
alive, and feels that way as she pulls you over onto your back. 

"Stephanie!" you say, glad to see her. You start to rise, but she pushes you 
back.

"Shhh!" she says, her eyes holding a strange sadness.

"What"s wrong?" you ask her, concerned.

"Nothing," she replies. "Nothing, now." She lies down next you, and you feel her 
body press against yours. "Can you just hold me, please?"

"Sure," you say, wrapping your arm around her. She snuggles close to you. You 
move over slightly, lifting the covers from the bed and allowing her to climb in 
beside you. She molds her body to yours, resting her head and hand on your 
chest. You start to talk to her, but she shushes you once more.

"Just hold me," she asks, a note of sorrow in her voice.

"Okay," you reply. You stroke her hair as she lightly tickles your chest with 
her fingers. The two of you lie there in bed, saying nothing, just enjoying each 
other"s presence. As you do, you can feel the warmth of her body through her 
thin nightgown. Your hand moves downward, from stroking her hair to lightly 
rubbing her back. She sighs in contentment, snuggling even closer to you. You 
can feel her breath on your neck, and feel her breasts rubbing lightly against 
you. You respond, feeling yourself harden. You move away from Stephanie 
slightly, but she moves with you, pressing herself against you. You know she can 
feel your hard shaft, and she confirms it when her hand slips down to touch you 
through your boxers.

"I saw you this morning," she says softly.

"Hmm?" you ask.

"In the shower," she explains. "I saw you." She looks up at you, her eyes 
shining in the moonlight. "Were you thinking of me?"

"Yes, I was," you respond.

She smiles. "Good," she says. She runs her finger up and down your member, 
teasing you. "I"ve been thinking of you, too," she says. She tilts her head up, 
looking you in the eye. You stare at each other for a second or two, and then 
you bend your head down, kissing her. It is a soft kiss at first, gentle, and 
you pull away with regret. Stephanie looks at you a moment, then leans in to 
kiss you once more, this time with growing passion.

Your hand, which had been resting comfortably on her lower back, slides lower 
until you are cupping her ass in your palm. Stephanie sighs softly, rolling over 
until she is lying atop you. She grinds her hips against you as you slowly slide 
her nightgown upwards until you can feel her bare skin beneath your palms. You 
cup her naked ass, squeezing her cheeks in your palms, and Stephanie moans 
lightly against your lips. She sits up briefly, gripping her nightgown in her 
hands and pulling it up and over her head. You stare at her naked body, her firm 
breasts with their stiff nipples shining in the moonlight, before she bends over 
you. Your lips find a turgid nipple, and you suck on it gently, then nip it with 
your teeth.

Stephanie gasps, her body pressing against yours as you suckle at her breast. 
She leans back, pulling her breast from your lips and replacing it with her 
mouth and tongue as she hungrily kisses you. You feel her hand steel down 
between your bodies, and she lifts her hips enough to grip your shaft, stroking 
it through the opening in your boxers. You reach down, pulling your boxers down 
and over your hips. Stephanie moves away from you just long enough to strip off 
your boxers, before straddling you once more.

She sits up, her naked body glistening in the moonlight. She looks you in the 
eye as she raises herself up, reaching down to guide your shaft to her wet 
opening. With a long sigh, she sinks herself down onto you. You groan at the 
feeling, and you pull her to you, pressing your lips to hers once more. You feel 
her warmth engulf you, taking you deeply inside of her as she moves slowly, 
grinding against your hardness.

You reach down, gripping the bare cheeks of her ass and pushing up against her. 
It is her turn to moan, biting her lip as you penetrate her deeply. You let 
yourself relax, sliding out of her once more before pushing upwards again. She 
works with you, rising and falling in time to your rhythm. No words are spoken 
as the two of you begin working together. You thrust into her, over and over, 
powerfully, and you can hear her breathing become more ragged and panting as her 
passion grows.  Your hands grip her cheeks, each thrust pressing deeply inside 
of her, until she suddenly stiffens, arching her back and crying out in passion. 
You continue thrusting into her, and with a few more thrusts you climax as well, 
exploding inside of her. You feel yourself filling her with your semen, and she 
wraps her arms around you, kissing you passionately as she feels you fill her.

You hold her through her climax and yours, as her shuddering, shaking body 
slowly relaxes, your shaft still buried deep inside of her. She pulls back from 
you, looking at you softly. She kisses you once more. This isn"t the hungry, 
passionate kiss of a moment earlier, but the soft, gentle kiss of a lover. She 
lies back down on your chest, her fingers idly tracing patterns on your skin.

"Stephanie?" you ask, after a while. "What is this?"

She looks at you, puzzled. "What?"

"This," you say again. "All of this. Is it a dream? Is it real? Are you real?"

She is quiet a long time. "Please don"t ask me that," she says finally, in a 
voice that is almost inaudible. She looks at you again. "Isn"t it enough that we 
have each other, right here, right now? We have so little time together, let"s 
not waste it." She snuggles up against you again. "So little time," she repeats 
quietly, almost to herself.

The two of you lie awake together holding each other and kissing. You make love 
to Stephanie twice more, sometimes gently and caring, other times with a raw 
passion that has Stephanie screaming into the pillow. At last exhausted, you end 
up just holding each other, watching the pale moon cross the window panes, its 
bright light shining down on the two of you. You don"t even notice it when you 
slip into dreams - or is it out of dreams? Can you dream while you are dreaming? 
Before you can answer yourself, you are awakened by the alarm once more. You sit 
up, feeling more alive and refreshed than you have in weeks. You smile, turning 
to say something to Stephanie, but of course she isn"t there. You smile to 
yourself, your dream encounter still fresh in your memory. You jump out of bed, 
whistling as you prepare yourself for the day.

The day speeds by, and you barely remember any of it. Your friends and co-
workers all remark on your sudden optimism and quick smile, but you just shrug 
it off. "All due to a good night"s sleep," you tell them, chuckling.

You can hardly wait for night to fall, and quickly climb into bed. You hunch 
down under the covers and eagerly drift off into dreamland. You spend the night 
restlessly, turning fitfully from one dream to another. You awaken in the 
morning before the alarm goes off, feeling as if you hadn"t slept at all. You 
don"t remember dreaming about Stephanie either. Shaking it off, you go through 
the next day, and climb into bed that night. Once again, the night passes 
without any thoughts of Stephanie. In fact, days go by and you still don"t have 
any dreams of her. 

You find yourself missing her, which you at first find strange since she is, 
after all, just a dream. But then you don"t care - you just want to see her 
again. But, alas, you do not. You go through a brief bout of depression, missing 
the girl you never really knew. You are finally brought out of it when you pass 
the flower shop where you bought the fern, and see a  Christmas cactus in the 
window. You smile to yourself, bringing it home. You are surprised, as you"ve 
never been really good with plants before. But these are not just surviving, but 
flourishing.  The blooms on the Christmas cactus really surprise you. 

The next several months find a change in you. When you are at home, you talk to 
yourself more, out loud. Sometimes you simply recount the day"s events, 
sometimes you just talk, saying whatever comes to your mind. In the back of your 
mind, you know that the ghost of Stephanie isn"t really living in your 
apartment, but somehow you cannot help but feel that she is there, listening to 
you, even if she cannot, or will not, respond.

At first you spend all of your time at home, walking the rooms of your 
apartment, talking, looking, listening. But you can"t keep that up, not and 
remain sane. You eventually shift back into a more normal lifestyle. The months 
slip by, and you almost convince yourself that the whole thing never happened. 
Almost.

At the end of your first year in the apartment your special discount expires and 
your rent goes back up, but you don't care. It isn't any higher than what you 
were paying for your old apartment. You look around at the plants which fill 
almost every empty nook and cranny, smiling. This is home now, and you wouldn't 
move back for half of the rent.

Halloween approaches once more and you snuggle into bed, thinking of costume 
ideas for a Halloween party you"ve been invited to. You briefly blink your eyes 
against the bright moonlight shining in your windows before rolling over and 
falling asleep. You are barely in the land of dreams when you hear a breathy, 
almost forgotten, voice: "I think you might be over-doing it a bit with the 
plants."

You roll over in surprise, gasping. "Stephanie!" you cry out, as you see her 
lying next to you in bed, nearly transparent but there none-the-less. "Where 
have you been?"

"No where," she says, a sad smile on her face. "I told you, I live here." She 
looks down at your boxers, and reaches for you. You can feel her hand on your 
rapidly hardening member, but it has the solidity of a puff of smoke. "Soon," 
she murmurs, a hint of frustration in her voice. She looks up at you. "But for 
now, at least, we have each other."


Sexy Costumes
By Purple Dragon

Halloween had never really been one of my favorite holidays, but this year 
something happened to change that.  First of all, I was invited to three 
different parties this year.  Well, one was the office party and obviously, 
everyone who works there was invited, so maybe that doesn't count.  Considering 
what a bore it was last year, I doubt I would have gone even if that had been my 
only option.  The second one was at the house of a poker buddy of mine and 
probably would have been a lot of fun, but when I received the invitation for 
the third, there was really no way I could turn it down.  The invitation read,

You are invited to a sexy costume party

Please come and join me everyone,
It's Halloween we celebrate.
When choosing costumes, have some fun,
But please be sure to titillate.

Just make it sexy, make it tight,
Or cut to there, you know the score.
Be warned that if you don't comply,
You won't be let inside the door.

There was no actual name on the invitation, but I recognized the address as that 
of Victoria Felton, a client of mine that I had evidently impressed more with my 
services than I thought.  Victoria is a stunning redhead in her early 40s and I 
have to admit that she made it hard to concentrate on business sometimes.  
Still, even with her oft-flirtatious attitude we both managed to keep things on 
a professional level.  The long business lunches that I turned in on my expense 
account really were business lunches, and when I told my wife that I had to work 
late, I was indeed working, which is not to say that I wasn't sorely tempted at 
times to do something else.  Well, turning down clients isn't good for business 
and like I said, there wasn't much chance of me passing this one up anyway so I 
turned my thoughts to my costume.

I considered and discarded several ideas, but in the end I settled on a pirate 
costume.  Although in keeping with the requirements of the invitation, probably 
a bit more daring one than any buccaneer of old is likely to have worn.  I got a 
white silk shirt and left four of the six buttons undone to show off my well 
developed chest (hey, I don't spend all those hours in the gym for nothing).  
The shirt was tucked into pants tight enough to show not only the size of my 
endowment, but also the fact that I was taken to visit the rabbi a few days 
after I was born.  I completed the ensemble with tall leather boots and a 
cutlass that I rented for the occasion.  Looking at myself in the mirror I was a 
bit embarrassed by the blatant bulge in my pants, but was forced to admit that 
the effect was certainly sexy (hell, I was turning myself on a little bit) and I 
headed off to the party.

Victoria herself greeted me at the door and I felt my mouth drop open at the 
sight of her.  Even the conservative business suits that she always wore to our 
meetings couldn't hide the fact that she had a gorgeous body.  Long legs, a nice 
ass, and huge tits that I have fantasized about more than once when I should 
have been working.  But this - this was something else entirely.  Those huge 
tits of hers were poured into a black leather bra that was at least two sizes 
too small to completely contain them.  This had the happy effect of causing them 
to be pushed up and out, which made them look (if possible) even larger than 
they really were.  My eyes moved of their own accord down her voluptuous body, 
across her bare stomach to the matching bikini bottom and on down her legs, 
encased in black fishnet stockings, to the tallest pair of spike heals that I 
have ever seen.  The costume was completed by leather gloves reaching up past 
her elbows, with a riding crop in her left hand and a coiled leather whip 
hanging at her side.

When my eyes finally found their way back up to her face I noticed that her eyes 
were doing what mine had just finished as she took stock of my own costume.  
"I'm so glad that you could make it," she said, apparently talking to my crotch, 
since that's where she was looking at the time.  Then she snapped her eyes up to 
meet mine and graced me with a brief smile before looking over my shoulder as if 
searching for something.  "Where is your wife?" she asked.

Finally finding my voice I managed to say,  "I'm afraid she couldn't make it 
tonight."

"Oh," she replied, glancing pointedly back down at the bulge in my pants.  "What 
a shame.  Well, come in, come in.  The bar is set up in the lounge.  Grab a 
drink and mingle.  I have to stay here for awhile to greet my guests but I'll 
see you a little later."

Taking her advice, I moved into the lounge and grabbed a drink.  I certainly 
wasn't the only guy in the room sporting a tight pair of pants, and the girls - 
well, the term 'sensory overload' springs to mind.  There was a woman dressed as 
a schoolgirl standing next to me at the bar, the buttons on her white shirt 
making a valiant effort to contain her breasts.  Judging by the amount of strain 
they were under and the gaps between them I gave them less than even odds of 
lasting the night.  There was a girl dressed as a French maid talking to a guy 
in only a Speedo, bow tie, and top hat.  Her skirt was so short that even from 
my vantage point above her I could still see up it to the frilly white panties 
she wore beneath.  Everywhere I looked there was a new marvel to behold and the 
sexual tension in the room was palatable.

I spent a few minutes chatting up the schoolgirl who said her name was Muffy.  I 
can only assume (or at least hope) that it was an alias.  It turned out that she 
actually was a college student studying for her Masters in business 
administration.  I made a joke about what her professors would do if they saw 
her in her current outfit, and the look she gave me somehow led me to believe 
that she knew the answer to that question.  After awhile she excused herself to 
go and talk to a little wisp of a girl dressed in a cheerleader costume that no 
school in the country would allow, and I was left alone again.

I had been there for maybe 15 or 20 minutes when in walked a sight stunning 
enough to draw my (and most of the other guys') attention away from the rest of 
the room.  She was about five and a half feet tall with auburn hair that was 
pulled back into a ponytail.  She was dressed as a slave and was wearing a 
leather collar from which dangled a chain reaching to just below her waist that 
swayed back and forth as she moved across the room.  Her breasts were large.  
Not as large as Victoria's, but not many are.  They were incased in a leather 
bra nearly identical to the one Victoria wore with the exception that this one 
had holes in the middle leaving her nipples bare.  She wore a tiny black g-
string that I suppose technically covered the area it was supposed to, although 
the effect was so enticing that she probably would have gotten less attention if 
she was wearing nothing.  She didn't even have shoes on and somehow her bare 
feet added something to the costume that no pair of shoes could have.  Her only 
other piece of clothing was a black mask tied around her head.  About half the 
guests in the room had chosen to add a mask to their outfit whether it needed 
one or not and I guess if I went for something that daring I might have wanted 
to hide my identity as well.

I followed her with my eyes as she walked over to the far corner of the room and 
just stood there alone, as if she had been instructed to do so.  She wasn't 
alone for long however, as a string of guys sought her out.  I watched with 
amusement as, one by one, they walked up to her, spoke a few words, delivered a 
couple of lines, and then walked away with their proverbial tails between their 
legs.

As the flood of guys slowed I decided to take my own crack at her.  In watching 
the others I had noticed that they were unfailingly polite and figured that 
maybe that wasn't what she was looking for.  Maybe she was into her role of a 
slave and if so, I was just the pirate to take control of the situation.  I 
walked across the room toward her, my goal to either get the girl or make a 
complete fool of myself, no middle ground for this guy.

"Arrrrr, me pretty." I bellowed in a voice loud enough to carry the entire room.  
"Truly ye be lookin' good to these ol' eyes o' mine.  Give us a little kiss me 
pet."  And so saying, I reached up, grabbed the chain hanging from her collar 
and pulled her forward, planting my lips against hers.  She didn't exactly kiss 
me back, but she didn't pull away (or slap me or kick me in the nuts) either, so 
I thought I might be on the right track.

"Now what have we here." I said, eyeing her long stiff nipples poking out 
through the holes in her bra.  Turning to the others in the room, who were all 
watching with amusement, I said, "Let this be a lesson to the rest o' you 
wenches.  This be the way to dress if ye be wanting to please a man.  Gives easy 
access to the treasures, so it does" I reached down and gave each nipple a quick 
pinch causing her to gasp and most of the rest of the room to laugh.

Getting into my part more and more I continued, "And this little number she 
wears.  Covers the treasure in the front, which is proper, but feast yer eyes on 
this." And I turned her around so that her back was to the rest of the room.  
"Now I ask ye, have ye ere seen such a fine display o' ass in yer life."  At 
which point I gave her butt a slap, causing another gasp and another laugh. 
"Aye, a good piece o' ass is better than a piece o' eight any day, so I always 
says."  There was another round of laughter and I figured the time had come to 
wrap things up before I lost them.  "Now I be takin' my leave o' ye and takin' 
me new treasure with me.  I leave ye all to your little party."  Taking the 
chain in hand I led her out the doors opposite to those through which she had 
entered to the parting laughter, and even some applauds, of the other guests.

When we were alone in the back hallway I didn't say a single word to her.  I had 
never gotten so hot, so quickly before in my life and I simply pushed her up 
against the wall and kissed her, determined to make her break character if she 
wanted me to stop.  This time she kissed me back passionately and I raised my 
hand to one of her tits to find her nipple even harder than it was a moment ago.  
I was just moving my other hand down to her ass when a voice from behind stopped 
me cold.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"  I turned to find Victoria, hands on 
her hips, riding crop still clutched in one of them, staring daggers into the 
two of us.  "What is the meaning of this slave?"

"I'm sorry mistress.  He dragged me out here, what was I supposed to do?" the 
girl pleaded.

Shit, based on their costumes I probably should have figured they were together 
but dammit, I had other things on my mind at the time you know?  I was just 
wondering how badly I had screwed up this whole thing and if I was going to be 
minus one client come Monday, when Victoria spoke again, and what she said 
wasn't at all what I was expecting to hear.

"Never mind that,� she said, walking over to us.  She gestured down at my crotch 
and continued, "As big as that bulge was when he got here it's at least twice as 
big now.  Are you going to leave one of my guests in such a condition?"

"I'm sorry Mistress," she said quietly.

"Never mind sorry, do something about it.  Now!"

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but she immediately dropped to her knees in 
front of me, yanked my pants down far enough to free my cock, and stuffed it 
into her mouth.  It was probably the best blowjob I've ever had and far from 
Victoria's presence putting me off, her attention and the critiques she gave her 
slave made it even hotter.

"No! Not like that, take him deeper.  Good, now cup his balls, suck harder.  I 
said harder!  I swear, if he doesn't come in the next 30 seconds it's the whip 
for you."

Well that did it.  She redoubled her efforts.  The suction was incredible and 
combined with her cool hand on my sack and Victoria's scrutinizing eyes I was 
coming harder than I ever have before in less than the stated time frame.

"Good, now hold it all in your mouth.  Don't you dare swallow any," warned 
Victoria.  My orgasm seemed to last forever and I didn't even know if her mouth 
was big enough to hold all that I gave her.  I eventually stopped coming and 
through a daze heard Victoria say, "Now, show him what he gave you."  I looked 
down to see the girl, head tilted back, mouth open and absolutely filled to the 
brim with my seed, looking up at me.  "That's good slave.  You may swallow now."  
Her eyes were locked on mine as she closed her lips and swallow twice to get it 
all down before smiling at me as if relishing both the taste and the experience.

"Now, follow me," said Victoria, not waiting for an answer, but grabbing the 
slave's chain, pulling her to her feet, and retreating quickly down the hallway.  
My still exposed cock sprang forward to follow the pair of luscious retreating 
asses and I had to hurry to keep up with it.

She walked directly to a room at the end of the hallway and entered.  Inside was 
a fashionably decorated bedroom with a large bed in the center.  "Now you can 
help our guest undress more properly slave."  Without saying a word she guided 
me to the bed and had me sit down.  She remove my boots, then my pants and shirt 
and stood before me.

"Now, our guest requires a little time to recuperate after you adequate blowjob" 
-- Adequate? That's the understatement of the year. -- "so you can pleasure me 
while we wait."  So saying, she unhooked her bra, nearly sending it flying 
across the room as her enormous tits we set free, and dropped her bottoms to the 
floor kicking them into the corner.  Leaving the rest of her costume on she laid 
down on the bed, spread her legs and waited.  She didn't have to wait long as 
the slave immediately jumped onto the bed between her legs and dove into her 
pussy.

Victoria played with her own tits as she issued commands to her slave, "Lick my 
clit - lick it - now suck on it - harder - I said harder! - Don't forget my cunt 
- use your fingers - good now two - that's it - now three - yes - harder - 
deeper - keep sucking slave - don't forget to suck." 

You can well imagine that, watching and listening to this, my "recuperation" 
didn't take very long at all and I was soon sporting a hard-on every bit as big 
as the one the slave had just dealt with.  Victoria looked over and noticed my 
state and said, "He's ready slave, now get off and let him fuck me."  She got 
off the bed and I certainly didn't need to be told twice what to do as I took 
her place and sunk into Victoria's well-lubed pussy.

As I started pumping, Victoria continued her commands.  "Now remove your clothes 
slave, but leave the mask and collar on."  She moved to where I could see her 
and removed the last meager barriers between our eyes and her body.  "Now, get 
onto the bed.  Our guest may wish to play with you while he fucks me."  I did 
indeed and reached over to sink two fingers into her pussy, pushing them in and 
out to match the rhythm of the screwing that I was giving Victoria.  The slave 
started playing with her own tits while Victoria had never actually stopped and 
I just looked down and enjoyed the view.  Victoria's massive tits were bouncing 
up and down from the pounding I was giving her as she attempted to keep her 
fingers locked on her nipples atop the swaying globes of flesh.  The slave 
seemed to be having a slightly easier time, her hands massaging her tits with 
the chain from her collar lying between them and trailing down her body to where 
the last few inches lay pooled on her stomach.

Victoria had had at least one orgasm while the slave licked her and another 
since I had started fucking her and I now felt my own approaching.  The next 
time Victoria came she cried out and her cunt seemed to clamp down harder on my 
pistoning cock.  That was the last straw and it sent me over the edge as I 
sprayed a load deep inside her.  Victoria screamed, grabbed my hips and pulled 
me deeper, eager to receive all I had to offer.

I kept it up as long as I could and then pulled back, letting my deflating cock 
slip from her pussy, and sat back on my heels.  I noticed that the slave hadn't 
come yet and Victoria noticed it too. Reaching over, she pulled my hand away and 
said, "Our guest is tired, but I give you permission to continue yourself if you 
wish."

Evidently she did wish, as her hands dropped to her dripping pussy before the 
words were fully out of Victoria's mouth.  We both sat there, watching as the 
girl furiously rubbed her clit with one hand as she thrust two fingers of the 
other in and out of herself.  She was moaning loudly and writhing around on the 
bed like it was on fire.  I was just thinking that she couldn't possibly keep 
this up for long when she yelled out and came hard, her whole body shaking as 
her hands moved first faster, then slower, slower, and finally dropped limply to 
her sides.

"You can get dressed now slave." Victoria said and, as tired as she obviously 
was, she got right to her feet and began dressing.  Victoria also started 
gathering up her clothes so I did as well.  When we were all dressed again 
Victoria came over to me and, after a lengthy kiss, said, "I'm really so glad 
that you could -- come tonight.  As a remembrance of this evening I would like 
you to have this."  She took hold of the slave's chain and put it into my hand.

Laughing, I said, "You're giving me your slave?  How am I supposed to explain 
that one to my wife?"

"That's not my problem," she said with a smile.  "But refusing a client's gift 
could be bad for business.  With another smile she walked to the door, and with 
a last glance over her shoulder, was gone.

I looked at my new property, shrugged, and followed her out, leading the slave 
behind me.  When we got back to the party proper I realized that the appeal had 
worn off.  Catching Victoria's eye I made a gesture that I was leaving and she 
nodded.  I mouthed the words "Thank you." and she nodded again with a smile.

I led my new slave out to my car and let her in the passenger seat.  Walking 
around to the other side I got in and closed the door.  "Now," I said, turning 
to her "Do you want to tell me just how long you've been planning that little 
scene?"

Giggling, she said, "About a month now.  Did you like it?"

"That's certainly the silliest question I've heard all night."  I leaned over 
and kissed her deeply, cupping a breast and pinching a bare nipple.

When the kiss ended she said, "I guess that's a yes."

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too,' she replied. "Now let's go home.  I'm not through with you 
tonight by a long shot."

As I started the car and pulled out of the driveway I asked, "So, any more 
little surprises I should know about?"

"I'm not saying anything," she said with a smile.  Then she added, "But if you 
liked that, just wait until Christmas."


A Flexible Masquerade
By magnusamor 

The swirling crowd was large, but the space in which the 6th annual Hibernis 
Halloween Ball was being held was larger, and that left plenty of room in which 
the creature could move. And move it did.

Fredrico had seen a getup like this once before, at a circus show. The performer 
was completely enclosed in a fabric sheath made of very stretchy material. By 
contorting the body, the performer could create all kinds of weird shapes and 
outlines. By keeping arms extended, the figure became larger than life sized. 
And by moving in unexpected ways, the shape became other than human.

Whoever it was that was inside _this_ sheath was certainly not moving like an 
ordinary human. He...she...it...came bounding across the floor of the hanger, 
turning end over end in graceful arches, like the sort of animated creature one 
might see on a Saturday morning cartoon. The costume was very colorful, almost 
psychedelic, with bright swirls of color obscuring the outline of the human form 
beneath the fabric. Fredrico, who had come to the party alone, stopped and stood 
watching the flexible apparition with appreciation.

The rapid series of end-over-end flips carried the creature into the middle of 
the hanger. As it went, people scattered out of the way, startled by the speed 
and manner with which it moved. When it reached the center of the hanger,  
underneath the spotlighted mirror ball hanging from the decorations, it stopped 
stock still in an upright position. It appeared to be seven feet tall, with 
large bright spots of color in the upper corners, where the performer's hands 
held the fabric stretched overhead, and another, darker splotch about where the 
performer's head was. The three splotches looked like a pair of eyes and a mouth 
opened wide in perpetual surprise. Its "head" twisted back and forth, as if it 
was examining the crowd.

A couple of nearby partiers clapped in appreciation. Fredrico drifted toward the 
center, curious to see what the creature would do.

The creature's top swiveled toward the clappers and curved forward toward them, 
as if it were peering more closely. The top, which is to say the eyes, tilted up 
and down, suggesting that it was giving them the once over.

They were worth giving a once over. Fredrico looked forward to this party every 
year because, while it was no Exotic Erotic Ball, many party goers did tend to 
push the envelop with "sexy" costumes. This couple were dressed as a pair of 
demons. Presumably they were meant to be a succubus and an incubus: both wore 
lots of body makeup and very little clothing. The man was tall and wore just a 
pair of speedo-style swim trunks in the same color as his white body paint. The 
woman was tall also, though shorter than the man, and was painted gold and wore 
a metallic gold string bikini in the style of Vamparilla: the small triangle at 
her groin split into two thin straps that rose up, widening, to cover her 
breasts, and then thinned again to meet behind her neck. Slim and shapely, she 
was _definitely_ worth looking at.

The creature bent double, aiming to one side of the couple, and placed its 
"head" on the floor, then straightened, to reveal that it had another "head", 
complete with eyes and mouth, at that end of its body as well. Fredrico was 
close enough to make out more details now, and suddenly his perception shifted. 
He realized that what he'd taken for the performer's hands had in fact been her 
feet. And it was definitely a her, because now he could make out not only her 
nose in the new "mouth" spot, but he could make out the twin outdents of a pair 
of shapely breasts beneath. And on top of them, the further outdents of a pair 
of sizeable nipples standing at attention.

Fredrico licked his lips, considering the idea that this lithe woman was 
partially or completely naked under the thin and stretchy fabric of her costume.

Now the creature was standing to one side of the couple, and her rotation had 
brought her within arm's reach of them. The couple turned to face it again, and 
again it started to give them the "once over". This time it bent further and, 
when it appeared to be peering directly at the man's crotch, it abruptly cocked 
it's "head" up sideways as if looking out at the audience (all of the people 
nearby were watching in fascination), and then back at his crotch. Slowly it 
brought its "mouth" forward, toward the lump prominently on display in the front 
of the trunks, its eyes bending to continue gazing at the hidden cock as it did 
so. This was too much for both the man and the woman, and they stepped backward, 
the woman grabbing her partner's arm and tugging backward. But they were 
laughing as they did it. 

The creature straightened, and twisted as if peering around the room, and then 
did a few more rapid end-over-end flips across the floor, threading through a 
gap in the surrounding crowd.

It ended up facing a young man dressed in toga. His buff and hairy chest was 
mostly on display, and the toga was short enough to show off his legs to good 
effect. As the creature stopped in front of him, he startled back a step, then 
recovered, laughing. The creature made quite a production of looking him over, 
twisting first to one side and peering up and down, then to the other side and 
repeating the process.

It looked around at its audience once again. Then it bent double as if to stare 
at the young man's feet, but once bent abruptly twisted its "head" around 180 
degrees so that it gave the impression that it was attempting to peer up under 
his toga.

The performer's mimetic illusion was so convincing that the young man put his 
hand on his toga skirt to prevent it from "seeing" anything, then realized what 
he was doing and let go, laughing some more.

The creature untwisted its head and curved it upward, the very top, with the 
eyes, peering up at the young man. He looked down, still laughing, and the 
creature slowly unbent, moving closer and closer to his legs. He watched this 
with some bemusement. Fredrico couldn't tell if it touched his legs or not, but 
it was certainly close enough be doing so. Then it started to slide its head 
upward, under his toga skirt.

He yelped, and danced backward, and it was left staring at him comically from 
some feet away, still bent in its sinuous curve. It seemed to droop in 
disappointment for a couple seconds, and then it straightened and started 
peering around the crowd again.

Fredrico, meanwhile, had moved into the circle of people around the space the 
creature occupied. His costume was that of a barbarian warrior, and consisted of 
a loin cloth, face paint, and a big foam broadsword strapped to his back. He was 
a little short to fully carry off a Conan impersonation, but he was definitely 
burly enough. He worked out every other day with a goodly amount of weights, and 
it showed in his rippling muscles.

The creature, which was clearly focused on...well, to put it bluntly, male 
cocks...zeroed in on him, leaning its "head" forward and "peering" at him 
intently, tilting it from side to side.

Fredrico grinned.

The creature did two flips and came upright again facing him, just as it had its 
previous victim. Fredrico gave her his own once over, not being subtle about it. 
In this stance her breasts were clearly visible, and clearly unbound, still 
jiggling slightly from her just-completed flip. The fabric caressed her body, 
sliding over her taut stomach, flaring out slightly at her abdomen and dipping 
back to hint at the valley the led to her crotch. Her wide stance and upraised 
arms kept the fabric stretched between hands and feet into a tall rectangle, 
which softened or hid any further details.

Fredrico stood stock still, and kept grinning. He was determined to find out 
just how far she would go.

The creature bent first to one side, then the other, looking him up and down 
very carefully from both angles. Fredrico couldn't help but stick his chest out 
a bit and suck in his gut, though even had he not done so his well defined six 
pack would have been very much in evidence. When the creature came back upright, 
it looked around at its audience and made a quick little bobbing motion with its 
"head", clearly approving of his physique. There was a scattering of laughter 
from the crowd.

As it had with the young man in the toga, the creature bent over in front of his 
loincloth. Unlike the toga, Fredrico's loin cloth was not short, but came down 
to his knees. It was, however, narrow, about six inches wide; just wide enough 
to cover. This left the crease between his leg and abdomen visible, drawing the 
eye from his hip down toward the treasure barely hidden beneath the narrow strip 
of cloth. The back piece was equally narrow, leaving the dimpled cheeks of his 
muscular rear clearly visible. The two halves were held together by leather ties 
that rode just atop his hips. They were tied with a simple bow knot. Fredrico, 
who was more than a little bit of an exhibitionist, had tied them that way in 
hopes that someone, preferably a cute female someone, would take it into their 
head to untie at least one of those knots before the evening was over. He 
couldn't tell if this female was cute or not, but he didn't care; he had a 
feeling she just might be the one who would do the untying for him.

The creature peered closely at this arrangement of fabric. Fredrico didn't move. 
It stretched itself forward, reaching its head past his side, "peering" around 
at his backside, then popped upright and did another little series of approving 
bobs, to more laughter.

Then it bent back down and to the side, and with a shiver of pleasure Fredrico 
felt the soft, stretchy fabric caress the bare side of his leg. Under it he felt 
the gentle pressure of fingers held flat and parallel.

The creature was still for a long moment, and the crowd and Fredrico held their 
breath. Then it slid its "head" around to the back of his leg and under the rear 
panel of the loin cloth. Fredrico felt one set of those long slim fingers slide 
across his butt, encased in their soft, slippery fabric as the other pair slid 
across the sensitive back of his knees, and felt his cock twitch.

The creature continued to slide its "head" forward until its eyes came out the 
other side of his loincloth and stuck out far enough to be seen by the audience. 
It bobbed its head again, and now the laughter was getting more full, and more 
and more people were turning to watch the show.

Meanwhile, it's "mouth", which meant the girl's head, was next to his hip, 
inches from Fredrico's cock, and Fredrico wondered what she was seeing. From her 
angle she might be able to see behind his loincloth.

The creature bent the top of its head further, so that its eyes were peering at 
the same thing that the girl's real eyes were, but from the opposite side: the 
place where Fredrico's loin cloth hung against the skin of his leg. The eyes 
moved closer, so that it was peering right at the edge of his loincloth from an 
inch away. Then it popped back out
to look at the audience and bobbed its head enthusiastically in approval.

The audience laughed, and there were a few whistles.

Sinuously the creature began to slide back out from under the rear of his 
loincloth. Fredrico suppressed a shiver of delight at the feel of the fabric and 
the limbs under it sliding across his ass. Then it stopped, and the lower arm 
was suddenly no longer pressing against his leg, and he felt a definite draft on 
his posterior. Laughter and catcalls came from the audience behind him, with 
several female voices calling, "Nice ass!". The creature had flipped his 
loincloth up, revealing his naked ass, and from the motion of the arm still 
pressing into him at the top of his ass, he figured she was doing her little 
bobbing motion again. There were more cheers from the audience.

Fredrico felt the upper arm leave his buttocks, and the loincloth fall back into 
position. Abruptly he became aware that he was being stared at from close range 
by one of the creatures "eyes", extending up over his shoulder from behind. 
Before he could twist his head to look he realized he was also being stared at 
from the other side by the other eye, also more or less projecting over his 
shoulder from the rear. He felt the girl's arms pressing into his back and side, 
and then her leg was pressed against his, and her barely covered breast was 
pressing into his side and he was being peered at from _above_ by those eyes. 
She'd used his body for leverage to slide her feet up to his without taking a 
step and thereby spoiling her illusion.

The eyes disappeared behind his back again, and then he felt a different motion 
there, and realized she was tugging upward on the strap of his foam broadsword. 
He lifted his arms obligingly, and the creature stood upright next to him, 
holding the strap of the sword with "hands" between its eyes and its mouth. With 
a dexterous twist the girl tossed the (very light) broadsword and caught it so 
that she was holding the hilt between her elbows, giving the illusion that she 
was wielding it with those oddly placed hands.

The creature waggled the sword menacingly at the audience, and the point drooped 
toward the floor. The creature shrugged, and then dropped the sword casually to 
one side.

The creature slid its top around behind Fredrico's back again, and extended its 
head upward and peered down at him from overhead. Fredrico felt the girl's 
elbows pressing firmly into his shoulders. Not having a clue what she had in 
mind, he nevertheless settled himself into his center and prepared to take 
whatever weight she wanted to put on him. Sensing this, she pressed harder, and 
now the creature was wrapping its bottom around Fredrico's front as the girl's 
feet came off the ground and she jackknifed herself around him at chest height. 
He could feel her breasts pressing in to his bare back, and his cock gave 
another twitch. He wasn't getting hard yet, but he wouldn't be embarrassed if 
someone got a look at his manhood at this moment, since there was enough blood 
in his cock already to make it look adequately large.

As she finished the jackknife, the girl folded her arms down behind his neck, 
somehow managing to tuck her hands under her arms and transfer her weight onto 
them in the process. Fredrico realized she must be a circus performer, to have 
that kind of upper body strength and the knowledge to use it in such a fashion.

The end result of the motion was that what had been the top of the creature 
shrank and the eyes disappeared, even as the eyes at the other end began to peer 
around at the audience. Fredrico couldn't see it, but from the widening of eyes 
he saw in the audience he guessed the illusion was well done, as if the creature 
had turned itself inside out in place.

The girl extended her upper leg and moved it away from Fredrico's body. Thus the 
creature's new head, painted as it was on the back side of her costume, twisted 
so that it was looking at Fredrico's crotch. The outer eye occasionally twitched 
up to look at the audience. She bent her knees, letting her hips flatten toward 
the floor, and thus the head slowly bent closer and closer to his groin, until 
the inside eye, her lower leg, which was nearest his crotch, was pushing at his 
loincloth and wriggling under it. That meant that the girl's heal was pressing 
in to his crotch, and then right on his cock. She slid the side of her heel up 
and down his shaft twice. It began to rapidly fill further, and as the 
creature's eye popped out from beneath the loincloth and it did its little bob 
of approval, Fredrico's loincloth was starting to push out away from his legs as 
his cock tried to rise.

Shifting her weight from one arm to the other, the girl had uncrossed her arms 
while the audience was watching her feet, and now she was firmly gripping his 
shoulders. Her breasts were pressed firmly and delightfully into his shoulders, 
and she was still jackknifed around him, flailing her feet to animate the 
creature's head. Incredibly, she pushed upward on her hands, extending her arms, 
head bent, sliding her whole body up along his. In this way the creature 
rose...and then in an abrupt motion it turned "inside out" again and one eye was 
peering at the audience from just above Fredrico's shoulder while the rest of 
the creature was extended up toward the distant ceiling overhead. The girl had 
done a handstand onto his shoulder, folded her legs to make one set of eyes 
disappear as she rose, and then went up onto a one arm handstand in order to use 
the other arm to "peer" at the audience.

There were gasps, applause, and cheers from the audience.

Before their mutual balance could begin to shift, she made another abrupt 
motion, and Fredrico found his head wrapped up in the stretch fabric of the 
sheath. The creature had slithered down the front of him, and, head bent up away 
from Fredrico's body, was peering out at the audience from about the level of 
his crotch. The rest of its body covered him more thoroughly than the loincloth 
did.

A bigger gasp and more cheers from the audience.

Fredrico was a little surprised that he'd been able to take her weight on his 
shoulders with no warning; but, then, she'd slowed her decent with her hands on 
his sides and hips. He didn't spend more than a second thinking about it, 
though, because he became very aware of what was now right in front of his face: 
the soft folds of a cunt that was giving off an absolutely delicious aroma.

The girl's thighs were firmly planted on his shoulders, pushing down to hold her 
weight, so that they were slanted slightly down toward his back, thus pushing 
her cunt onto his face as she held herself in place. Fredrico could just barely 
see over the top of her butt. The two layers of stretch fabric over his eyes 
dimmed the view further, but he could make out the disco globe and the shapes of 
some of the audience who were father away from him and thus visible over the 
tight butt right in front of his eyes.

The creature lifted its body up away from his and peered out at the audience. As 
the girl arched her back into this move, she also placed her (bare, except for 
the sheath fabric) feet against the back of his head and pushed against it for 
leverage. He took up the strain with his neck, glad that he hadn't neglected 
that muscle set in his comprehensive workout. Her pelvis was now pressing 
downward against his collarbone, which moved her cunt an inch or so away from 
his face. Peering down, he could just make out the shadowed folds of her pussy 
through the translucent fabric.

The creature folded its head down and peered at Fredrico's loincloth, then back 
out at the audience, back at the loincloth, back at the audience. A male voice 
shouted, "go ahead, you know you want to!" which was greeted with general 
laughter. The creature bobbed its head, and then sank downward, mouth leading, 
eyes trailing behind, twitching back and forth across the audience. The audience 
cheered it on.

The mouth descended. It reached his groin. The creature laid flat against him. 
The soft mounds of the girls tits pressed into Fredrico's abdomen. The real 
mouth behind the painted mouth laid itself over his thickening shaft through the 
double layer of sheath and loincloth. His cock started to fill with blood 
rapidly, pushing outward against the loincloth and the mouth that was gently 
massaging it. It wasn't painful yet, but if she kept stimulating him it might 
become so.

The creature popped its "head" back up without moving its "mouth", and began 
weaving its eyes back and forth as it munched, obviously dancing with pleasure. 
The audience laughed and there were more catcalls, including "you go girl!" from 
a husky female voice.

With the girl's body hanging down his front, that delicious cunt was once again 
pressed up against his mouth. Fredrico inhaled deeply, the scent of aroused 
woman adding additional stiffness to his now almost painful cock. He opened his 
own mouth and clamped down gently on the area of her clit.

The thighs around his head squeezed, pulling her cunt more forcefully onto his 
mouth, and then relaxed. He grinned, though no one could see it.

Meanwhile the creature had finished basking the applause of the audience, and 
straightened its head downward, and then tucked it under, clearly ducking up 
under Fredrico's loin cloth, which was hidden underneath its own body, lifting 
its mouth off him at the same time so that it could "take a look". It 
immediately ducked back out and bobbed at the audience _very_ eagerly, to 
renewed laughter.

That quick duck had been long enough for those long slim fingers to grab his 
cock and flip it upward, relieving the tension on his cock. The mouth planted 
itself back on him and continued its ministrations, and he was rock hard in 
seconds.

Fredrico stuck his tongue out, trying to push the stretch fabric into the cunt 
in front of him. It worked. He was rewarded with another convulsion of those 
muscular thighs.

The creature curled its body up away from Fredrico again, and peered down at his 
loincloth. It twisted from side to side as if making sure to get a good look, 
incidentally also making sure that everyone clustered to the front of this show 
(which was a good percentage of the people in the hall by now) also got a good 
look. Fredrico's cock was making a noticeable bulge in the loincloth, which was 
consequently standing a little away from his body. Those people standing to the 
sides got a somewhat shadowy look at his cock shaft as it tented the fabric. 
There were more whistles and catcalls.

The creature formed its "hands" again and, peering around at the audience all 
the while, grabbed the very bottom of the loincloth and started slowly lifting 
it upward. There were more cheers, and someone started a chant of "Take it off! 
Take it off!".

Fredrico's tongue could just reach the pussy dancing in front of him as the girl 
maneuvered her body. From past experience he knew the light touches of his 
tongue were probably just as stimulating in their way as his earlier clit 
mouthing had been. With her legs and thighs clamped tight for leverage, She 
wasn't free to twitch as much, but he got enough indication to know he was 
hitting some good spots.

As the loincloth reached the level of Fredrico's balls the creature completed 
the unveiling with a quick upward movement, and peered around for approval. The 
audience burst into cheers and whistles.

The creature dropped the loincloth back into place. Then it leaned to one side 
and focused both its eyes on the tie of the loincloth on that side. One eye 
flipped out to look at the audience, then back, then out. Again came the chant: 
"Take if off! Take it off!".

The mouth descended again, this time to Fredrico's hip. The eyes peered at the 
audience. The cheers and catcalls grew louder. "Take it off! Take it off!" 
Fredrico was filled with a sense of puissance; all these people, especially the 
female voices calling louder than the male, wanting to see his shaft, filled him 
with energy. He knew now why girls entered wet t-shirt competitions, and why it 
was that he was an exhibitionist. He felt his chest and his cock expanding with 
the attention.

A jerky motion and the tie was undone, the loincloth whipped off from around his 
body, and the creature posed, extended away from his body, the loincloth 
dangling by one strap from its mouth, his shaft and naked butt proudly on 
display. The audience cheered and applauded.

The creature dropped the loincloth and moved its head a little closer to peer at 
the exposed cock. Then it looked questioningly at the audience, who obligingly 
started yelling "Suck it! Suck it!".

Again the mouth descended, followed by the eyes. This time Fredrico had enough 
attention to spare to fully enjoy the process of the girl laying her body out 
along his: first her abdomen pressing into his chest, then her ribs on his, then 
her tits pressing into his abdomen (he could feel the hard points of her tits 
clearly against his skin), and then that mouth....first she placed it over him 
sideways, swaddling his cock in the sheath fabric, and squeezing. Then she slid 
her mouth upward, opened it wide, and pressed her head downward. The fabric 
obligingly stretched to cover his cock, and he was engulfed in her warm mouth.

The sensation was...strange. It wasn't like having a girl mouth him through his 
underpants, because this fabric was much thinner. But it wasn't like a naked 
blow job, either. He could feel her tongue working him, but there was a layer of 
insulation, as well as an unusual pressure against to top of his cock. It was 
frustrating, but at the same time stimulating, because the silky fabric moved 
against his cock and elicited its own pleasurable sensations, and the resistance 
against the tip made the blood run stronger into his shaft.

The husky female voice yelled out "Enough already, I want to see that beautiful 
big cock again!"

The creature stopped moving for a second, then nodded its head agreeably, and in 
a lithe twisting motion it was suddenly standing just out of reach, right beyond 
where it had dropped the loincloth. Fredrico was left standing buck naked, 
without even his broadsword, in the middle of the crowd of onlookers, his cock 
standing out proud and firm in front of him.

He loved it. His cock, already throbbing from the oral ministrations, throbbed 
some more. "_That's_ what I'm talking about," the husky voice said.

The creature bent double, and when it straightened, it had the loincloth 
clenched firmly in its mouth. It leaned forward, as if offering the article of 
clothing to Fredrico. He reached for it a little reluctantly, not really being 
ready to hide himself yet.

The creature jerked back just before his hand closed on the fabric, and then 
bobbed its head in laughter. The audience joined in. It leaned forward again.

Fredrico put his hands on his hips and glared at it witheringly, but inside he 
was grinning. He was going to get to parade around naked a little longer, and 
that was just fine with him.

He started to reach forward, and then, making sure to telegraph slightly, he 
lunged. The creature did two back flips away from him, and then stood still 
again. He glared, and then took off toward it at a run.

It's head and eyes popped up in startlement and dismay, and then it was off, 
flipping across the room away from him, loincloth still dangling from its mouth.

Fredrico and the creature ran a merry chase all around the hanger floor, 
Fredrico's erect cock bobbing all the way. The exertion was starting to deflate 
him, and he was starting to think seriously about how to get the loincloth back, 
when the creature led him back into the center of the room and the center of the 
crowd and then stopped stock still. 

He ran right in to her, grabbing her instinctively to keep himself from falling 
down. She was like a rock: set and prepared, she took his weight and stopped him 
without either of them falling over.

As soon as he was stable, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, 
the creature's eyes popping up over his head and peering out at the crowd. There 
was more laughter and applause. The creature started a bobbing dance, its whole 
body swaying and bouncing.

Fredrico had automatically grabbed her when she jumped up on him, and he kept 
that grip around her back, and after a moment or two of confusion, he joined in 
with her bobbing and swaying, grinning with the aftermath of the adrenaline of 
his run and the joy the whole experience.

He became aware that her groin was pressing into his cock, and in her gyrations 
she was managing to rub her cunt up and down on him. He was once again rock 
hard. He also became aware that this close, his face inches from hers, he could 
make out her shadowed features through the fabric. She was grinning manically at 
him, and when she realized that he was actually seeing her, she licked her lips 
at him. He smiled back, and returned the compliment. She _was_ cute.

Fredrico started a kind of shuffling dance to the beat of the music that was 
currently playing over the sound system. The creature waved to the audience with 
its eyes and "hands", motioning them in behind him. Someone got the idea, and 
grabbed on to Fredrico's shoulders and started a conga line.

Fredrico snaked the line out across the dance floor. The weight of the girl in 
his arms, legs clamped around his waist, was no problem. He lifted twice as much 
poundage than her total weight every workout session. As they moved and danced, 
her breasts brushed against his chest periodically, the hard nipples trailing 
streaks of fire across his aroused flesh. He slid his arms down to her butt and 
started massaging the firm cheeks. She grinned at him through the fabric and 
started undulating her hips even more.

Then her eyes widened, and after a pause for consideration, she smiled wickedly. 
Her hip movements changed character. After a few seconds, Fredrico figured out 
what she was doing, and his own eyes got wide in surprise.

She was pushing her cunt down onto his cock.

The fabric stretched around his cock as he slid in to her, but it pulled on his 
cock head, as if she were resisting his entry. It was a good thing he was rock 
hard. She wriggled a little and the fabric adjusted itself along her body, and 
then he was fully planted within her, his cock wrapped in the silky, stretchy 
stuff. His cock throbbed. He pushed his groin against her as he took the next 
dance step, burying himself as deeply in her as he could. The sensations were 
almost overpowering.

It wasn't at all like a normal fuck. It wasn't like fucking with a condom, 
either. The thin silk did interfere with the sensation of skin against welcoming 
membrane, but it didn't interfere with much else. He could feel her warmth, feel 
her pulsing, feel her cunt gripping his shaft.

The biggest difference between what he was experiencing and a "normal" fuck, 
though, was that he was dancing across a crowded dance floor, a conga line 
stretched out behind him, and he was ramming his shaft into a cute chick wrapped 
only in the thinnest of stretch fabrics. And nobody had a clue.

A step, and he slid partway out. Another step and he plunged back in. Step, 
slide, step, plunge. He stared in to her half closed eyes, aware she was lost in 
the sensations that were coming up to her from her groin. Her legs were clamping 
down on every inward stroke, pulling him as deeply into her as the position 
allowed. She still kept her arms over her head, waving those eyes around on 
automatic pilot, but her chest was pressed up against him, her breasts sliding 
back and forth across his chest, stimulating those rock hard nipples, and 
massaging her breasts against his hard pectorals.

She was in another world.

Step, slide. Step, plunge.

He was getting close to the edge. The music was building to a crescendo of its 
own.

Step, slide. Step, plunge.

The girl in his arms drew in her breath, and abruptly the eyes of the creature 
folded down as she grabbed him around the shoulders, the fabric enveloping his 
head. Then she was pressing her lips against his through that single layer, 
pulling his face into hers with her hands at the same time that her legs pulled 
his cock into her cunt again and again in rapid succession as she came.

Fredrico stopped moving, causing confusion in the conga line behind him, and 
leaned back, hands clamped on her ass. She threw her arms back over her head and 
arched her own back, and he pulled her onto him as she bucked, his own energy 
pouring upward from the base of his spine until he, too was cuming.

Fredrico came back to himself and looked around, afraid that everyone would be 
staring at him, aghast that someone would fuck on the dance floor. This was a 
sexy party, but it wasn't _that_ kind of party.

But the conga line appeared to have decided this hip bucking was the new dance 
step, and even as he watched the hip bucking motion was snaking its way down the 
line. Grinning, he resumed his own bucking, adding now a little hop forward with 
each buck.

This whole process took only a few seconds. The girl on his cock wasn't done 
cuming yet, and his renewed bucking, and the hopping, seemed to prolong her 
orgasm. But finally she came down. She looked a little dazed, but there was a 
huge smile on her face.

Fredrico led the line over to the doorway to the cloak room, thinking he might 
duck in there and grab the pants he'd worn to the party, since his loincloth was 
nowhere in sight. As they came abreast of the doorway the girl leaned in and 
kissed him, and then in one of her characteristically fluid motions she bent 
backwards, planted her hands on the floor, and arched up into a handstand, 
pulling herself off his cock. She folded down through the cloakroom door, 
popping it open with her feet as she came down. Fredrico dashed through after 
her.

As the door closed behind him, he could hear cheers and applause erupting from 
the floor.

On the far side of the room he could see the lobby door swinging closed. The 
creature was nowhere to be seen.



*	*	*

Game Reviews

Cruise
A Review by A. Bomire

Game Info:        Cruise
Author:           Pierre
Release Date:     May 20, 2003
Platform:         TADS 2
Size:             651K
Length:           Medium
Content:          m/f, m/f/f, f/f, voyeurism, BDSM, incest, possible underage
Extra:            none
Reviewed:         October 2008

Basic Plot

You are a steward on a cruise ship, whose job it is to keep a deck full of 
passengers happy. And there are plenty of passengers. The game takes place on 
the final day of the cruise, ending at midnight.

Overall Thoughts

This is the first of two games written by Pierre, both of which are multi-
branching adventures. This game is timed, which can sometimes be a bit of a pain 
because you can't really spend as much time as you'd sometimes like performing 
some actions. But, it also leads to excellent replay value because it is 
practically impossible to see everything in the game in one go. This more than 
makes up for the limits forced upon the player by the timing.

Puzzles/Game Play

The puzzles in this game aren't really that difficult, except for the fact that 
the player is given a limited time to discover the solution. If you are one of 
those players who spends a lot of time looking under and behind things and 
basically exploring every aspect of the game, then you will have a hard time 
finishing this game in the time allotted. Also because of this, the player may 
need to play through the game a couple of times simply to find the timing. For 
example, you may not know that at 11:00 AM something takes place, until being at 
the right place at 11:00 AM (by the way, nothing important takes place at 11:00 
AM). Once you know this, then you will need to either UNDO a bunch of turns or 
replay the game to solve whatever puzzle needs to be solved before 11:00.

Sex

There is a lot of sex in this game, and due to the nature of the game you cannot 
see all of it in one game, no matter how much you might try. Not only is there a 
lot of sex, it is very varied: one-on-one, threesomes, bondage, incest, 
spanking... just about everything you can think of. Even more, your partners 
will interact on their own - with you, or with other partners (if they are 
available). Much of this game has to do with bondage, spanking, whipping, and 
other BDSM topics. If this isn't your cup of tea, then you can skip it - but you 
will miss a lot of the game. Overall, the sex is well-written and hot.

Technical

There are some technical errors in the game. Most of them are the picky sort: 
the wrong punctuation, extra spaces in the dialog, referring to a woman by the 
wrong name. I was able to generate some odd responses to a couple of commands 
and even a TADS error, but nothing that was game crashing.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this game - both for the varied characters that you meet, and the way 
the game replays. There are a few games that have multiple paths, but in my 
opinion none are done better than Cruise. And if you enjoy this game, you might 
want to also check out Pierre's prequel, Weekend.

Rating: A

*	*	*

Programming Erin

This month we're going to talk a little bit about conversations.  Conversation 
in AIF, and indeed IF in general, is one of the most complicated things to deal 
with.  Making a conversation with a character in a game seem even a little bit 
real is a tricky thing to do.  Making it seem like you are talking to an actual 
person is probably impossible, but then again, that shouldn't necessarily stop 
us from trying.

There are so many ways to set up the conversational system and so many ways to 
program it once it is set up that we will not even attempt to cover them all 
here.  What we have this month is just a couple of simple examples of how to get 
the characters talking to each other and how you can change things as a result.


TADS 3 Segment by Knight Errant

Welcome back to Programming Erin.  Last we left our game, the player was able to 
trick Erin out of her office so that he could sneak in and locate her sexy 
pictures.  Once the player takes the pictures, we can trigger Erin's return to 
her office and lead to the sex scene.

Last month I mentioned that the pictures object would just be a normal Thing, 
which you should be able to build on your own by this point.  Similarly, the way 
to trigger Erin's return is exactly the same as the way we triggered her 
departure.  On the pictures object, we define a dobjFor(Take) method which will 
contain everything that will occur when the object is taken.  We want to put it 
all in an EventList so that our special actions will only be triggered the first 
time the PC takes the pictures, just like we did for overhearing Erin's call in 
the hallway.  Here's an example of how to do this.

	+++ pictures: Thing 'erin\'s naughty hot sexy lewd pictures' 'pictures'
    		"Some very hot pictures of Erin fucking a man you don't know.  "
    		isPlural = true
    		dobjFor(Take)
    		{
        		action()
        		{
            		picturesTake.doScript;
            		inherited;
        		}
    		}
    		picturesTake: EventList
    		{
        		[
            		new function
            		{
				"You take the sexy pictures of Erin, your cock 
				stiffening at the wanton fucking you see.  Just as you 
				pocket them, Erin returns to her office. ";
            		erin.moveIntoForTravel(erinOffice);
            		erin.initiateConversation(erinTalking, picturesNode);
            		}
        		]
    		}
	;

The only new part here is erin.initiateConversation.  Here we're calling the 
initiateConversation method of Erin (a method that all Actors have) to have her 
begin a conversation.  The reason we're doing it this way is so that it can 
immediately move the conversation into a conversation node, which is a nifty 
class that TADS 3 defines to allow the NPC some control over the conversation, 
instead of simply passively responding to whatever the player chooses to talk 
about.  In this case, the initiateConversation method does two things.  First, 
it shifts Erin into the erinTalking ActorState, and it begins a conversation 
with the npcGreetingMsg of the picturesNode ConvNode, both of which we need to 
defined now.

ActorStates are a useful feature of TADS 3 that simplify coding complex NPC 
behavior, but in this case we don't need to do anything complicated here, we 
just need a talking state and a sex-permitted state.  The talking state can be 
defined like this.

	+ erinTalking: ActorState
    		stateDesc = "She's talking to you.  "
    		specialDesc = "Erin is standing here, talking to you.  "
	;

In order to function properly, this must directly follow the Erin object.  The 
stateDesc will be added to the description generated when you >x Erin.  The 
specialDesc will be the listing added to the room description.  Now, as I 
mentioned before, we also need a ConvNode to allow Erin to begin the 
conversation.  This will also allow us to control and restrict the conversation, 
so that Erin can protest if the PC ignores her question.

	++ picturesNode: ConvNode 'erinPictures'
    		npcGreetingMsg = "<q>What are you doing here?</q> Erin asks.  "
    		npcContinueLst: ShuffledEventList
    		{
        		[
        		'<q>Stop ignoring me!</q> Erin demands. <q>What are you doing in my 
			office?</q>',
        		'<q>Hey, I asked you a question!  Why are you in my 
			office?</q>'
        		]
    		}
        
    		canEndConversation(actor, reason) 
    		{
        	"<q>I won't let you get off that easily,</q> she insists, stopping 
		you.  <q>Now, what were you doing in my office?</q>";
        		return blockEndConv;
    		}
	;

The npcGreetingMsg is displayed when Erin begins the conversation.  The 
npcContinueLst allows Erin to continue to pester the player if he does something 
that's not conversational.  Finally, the canEndConversation allows Erin to stop 
the PC from doing something that would ordinarily end the conversation, such as 
saying goodbye or leaving the room.

Now we can allow the player to respond to her question.  Within the ConvNode, we 
will put conversation topics to handle the player attempting to converse with 
her.  There are several different types of conversation topics, AskTopic, 
GiveTopic, ShowTopic, TellTopic, and combinations of them.  To make things more 
simple, we will handle the pictures topic with an AskTellShowTopic, since we 
won't want the player to give up the pictures just yet.  Here's how this is 
done.

	+++ AskTellShowTopic @ pictures
    		topicResponse
    		{
        	"<q>I found these pictures in your desk,</q> you tell her, showing 
		her the lewd photos.  Her eyes grow wide.<.p>
		<q>Please give those back,</q> Erin pleads.  <q>I'll do whatever you 
		want,</q> she whispers erotically.  You grin widely at her offer, 
		knowing exactly what you're going to ask for.";
        		erin.setCurState(erinSexy);
    		}
	;

If the player tries to talk about a topic other than the pictures, we can either 
define it in a similar way to the above AskTellShowTopic, or we can have it fall 
through to one of the defaultTopics.  Here's a DefaultAnyTopic, which will catch 
any conversation command that isn't caught by any other topic.

	+++ DefaultAnyTopic
	"<q>Stop avoiding my question,</q> Erin insists.  <q>What were you doing 
	in my office?	</q><.convstay>"
	;

Feel free to define your own conversation topics to flesh out Erin's 
conversation.  The erinSexy ActorState can be defined much the same way as the 
other ActorStates.  Next month we'll define sex verbs, basic clothing, and move 
into sex handling.


TADS 2 Segment by A. Bomire

At the end of last month's "Programming Erin", I left you with a couple of 
homework assignments. Namely, creating two phone objects (one in "your" office 
and one in Erin's) and creating a pictures object. Let's see how I would have 
done this. First, a phone object which in this case will be in the player's (or 
"your") office. The object in Erin's office will be almost identical, with the 
exception of its name and location:

	phone: fixeditem
     		location = startroom
     		sdesc = "phone"
     		ldesc = "It's your phone. You use it to CALL people."
     		noun = 'phone'
     		adjective = 'your'
	;

Note that the phone is a fixeditem, meaning that it is fixed in place and will 
not be listed. You could easily make it an item object, so that it will be 
listed in the room description, but then you'd have to worry about the player 
picking it up and carrying it about. An interesting effect you could create is 
to make a phone that the player could carry about his office, but not into the 
hallway or any other room. For the most part, however, a fixeditem object will 
probably be what you need.

Okay, let's look at the pictures. These will be an item object that the player 
can pick up and carry around. We will need an isKnown property for them, which 
can be used to determine if the player knows about the pictures or not.

	pictures: item
     		location = Erinsdesk
     		sdesc = "pictures"
     		ldesc = "Some very hot pictures of Erin fucking a man you don't   
				know."
     		noun = 'picture' 'pictures' 'photo' 'photos'
     		isThem = true
     		isKnown = nil
	;

You'll notice that the location I chose for the pictures is on Erin's desk. This 
way, when you enter her office you'll see a message saying "Sitting on Erin's 
desk is some pictures." Of course, examining her desk reveals nothing about the 
pictures. There are a couple of ways of solving this. One way is to do nothing, 
but let's not do that. Another is to modify Erin's desk description for when the 
pictures are on her desk. A third, and in my opinion best, method is to 
automatically list any and all objects sitting on Erin's desk. We'll do this by 
taking advantage of TADS inheritance.

By default, all objects upon which you can "put" things, such as a surface, bed 
or chair, are defined to list objects resting upon them. Of course, they aren't 
really resting on them, they are just in the list of objects contained within 
that object - what TADS refers to as the contents. By defining our own ldesc 
property for Erin's desk, we are overriding this default. We can correct this by 
passing control back to the originally defined ldesc using TADS pass command, 
like this:

	Erinsdesk: beditem
     		location = ErinsOffice
     		sdesc = "desk"
     		ldesc = 
     		{
        		"It's Erin's desk. ";
        		pass ldesc;
     		}
     		noun = 'desk'
     		adjective = 'Erin\'s'
	;

Now, when we examine Erin's desk, we see that the pictures are sitting on it. As 
homework, you can make the same alteration to the player's desk and any other 
objects in the game upon which objects can be placed. As extra credit, try 
passing control to the previously defined ldesc only when an object is actually 
sitting on the desk. (Hint: Use TADS built-in itemcnt function to count the 
items within the desk's contents.)

Okay, this month, we are going to use the created pictures object to recall Erin 
back to her office. We'll trigger it by having Erin return and catch the player 
red-handed with her photos. How? By detecting when the player picks up the 
pictures. In other words, using TADS doTake method. One thing to remember here 
is that the player might pick up and drop the pictures multiple times during the 
game. We only want to trigger recalling Erin the very first time he picks them 
up. One way to do this is to base it upon whether or not Erin is in her office. 
For our simple game, this would be fine. However, for a much larger game where 
Erin could be moving about this wouldn't work. Instead, we'll add another 
property to the pictures object and use it to keep track of whether the player 
has picked up the pictures already. 

We're again going to take advantage of TADS inheritance. TADS already has 
defined the verification and action code for taking an item. We really don't 
need to modify any of this, but we want it to take place. We could put in our 
description of Erin returning to her office, and then use TADS pass command such 
as we did with the desk item above. However, that would lead to something like 
this:

	Erin comes into the office and catches you with her photos.

	Taken.

Notice that the "Taken" description is at the end. We would prefer that it were 
at the beginning of the displayed text. Well, TADS has another function for 
allowing previously defined code to run and then return control back to the 
current location. It is called the inherited command. It functions very 
similarly to the pass command, but looks slightly different. Here is our new 
pictures object, complete with the code to recall Erin:

	pictures: item
     		location = Erinsdesk
     		sdesc = "pictures"
     		ldesc = "Some very hot pictures of Erin fucking a man you don't   
				know."
     		noun = 'picture' 'pictures' 'photo' 'photos'
     		isThem = true
     		isKnown = nil
     		alreadyTaken = nil
     		doTake(actor) =
     		{
         		inherited.doTake(actor);

         		if (not self.alreadyTaken)
         		{
             		"\bAs you pocket the hot pictures, Erin returns to her 
				office. \b\"What are you doing here?\" she asks you. ";
             		Erin.moveInto(ErinsOffice);
             		self.alreadyTaken := true;
         		}
     		}
	;

The next thing we want Erin to do is to respond to questions regarding the 
pictures. This will be our "unlocking puzzle", i.e., the action that will change 
Erin from our sexy co-worker to our sexy co-worker who is actually interested in 
having sex with the player. 

There are a number of ways of handling conversation in TADS 2, some of which are 
more effective than others. There are also a lot of 3rd party modules, such as 
Suzanne Skinner's CHATTER.T, designed specifically for more intelligent 
conversation handling. Going into all of them is way beyond this simple series. 
I'll just talk about two of the methods which are built-in to TADS by default.

The first is to use TADS askWord method, which is defined for all actors. When 
you ask an NPC about something, TADS breaks the question down into two sections: 
who you are asking, and what you are asking about. The askWord method looks at 
the specific words you used. For example, ask Erin about the old red door will 
place three calls to askWord, once for "old", once for "red" and once for 
"door". A nil response is expected to be generated for words for which there is 
no response. This can be a bit cumbersome, because those words individually 
don't mean much - it is only all together that they specifically identify a 
single object. Also, for an object such as the pictures, you need to define a 
response for all of the nouns and adjectives you've defined. In this case: 
'picture',  'pictures', 'photo' and 'photos'.

For this reason, I usually recommend overwriting TADS doAskAbout method. It is 
this method which is currently defined to pass questions on to askWord. I 
usually change it to provide direct responses based upon the object referenced 
by the words used, instead of the individual words. For example:

	doAskAbout(actor, iobj) = 
	{
     		if (iobj = pictures)
   		{
       		"\"I found these pictures in your desk,\" you tell her, 
       		showing her the lewd photos.  Her eyes grow wide.\b
        		\"Please give those back,\" Erin pleads. \"I'll do whatever 
        		you want,\" she whispers erotically.  You grin widely at her
        		offer, knowing exactly what you're going to ask for.";
    		}
    		else
        		self.disavow;
	}

Here, iobj refers to the indirect object; in other words, the object which is 
being asked about. You'll note at the end that I've defaulted to show Erin's 
disavow. This is a pre-defined property of all actors, which by default is set 
to "I don't know much about that." You can, of course, override this to show 
whatever response you wish. 

One thing to remember about conversations in TADS: you cannot ask or tell an NPC 
about anything that doesn't exist as an object within the game. For example, if 
the player wanted to ask Erin about Elvis, he would receive an error message 
saying "I don't know the word 'elvis'". Does this mean you cannot ask Erin about 
such things? No, it just means that if you wish her to respond to this type of 
question, you have to create an object that has 'elvis' as a noun or adjective. 
I typically call such objects "topics" and create them as an object that is 
located in the nil location. For example:

	elvisTopic: item
    		location = nil
    		sdesc = "elvis"
    		noun = 'elvis'
	;

To handle telling Erin about the pictures, as well as showing her the pictures, 
you do something very similar to what we did for asking her about the pictures. 
The only difference is that the verification method for asking is automatically 
defined for actor objects, and we need to override it for Erin:

	verDoTellAbout(actor, iobj) =  { }
	doTellAbout(actor, iobj) =
	{
    		if (iobj = pictures) self.doAskAbout(actor, iobj);
    		else 
       	"It doesn't look as though Erin is interested. ";
	}

	verIoShowTo(actor) = { }
	ioShowTo(actor, dobj) = 
	{
    		if (dobj = pictures) self.doAskAbout(actor, dobj);
    		else
        	"Erin isn't impressed. ";
	}

You'll note that in both cases we deferred the response back to what we've 
already defined for asking Erin about the pictures. You can, of course, have 
completely different responses if you wish. Also, unlike asking, there is no 
predefined default response (well, there is, but we overrode it). So have to 
create our own.

It should not need to be said that all of these methods are defined for the Erin 
object. Also, in the above example Erin will respond the same no matter how many 
times you show/tell/ask her about the pictures. In a real game, we would want to 
detect that we've already talked to Erin about the pictures once, and alter her 
response accordingly. I would probably add yet another property to the pictures 
object, such as isShown, and alter this property from nil to true once I've 
shown the pictures to Erin.

For the last topic of this month, we are going to discuss fuses and daemons. 
(Note the spelling, as opposed to demons which are what you deal with when 
tracking down TADS errors. Just kidding.) The difference between the two is that 
a fuse is something that happens at a certain time - usually after a set number 
of turns. For example, the phone rings after 5 turns. Think of a fuse like the 
fuse for a bomb, with less explosive results. A daemon is a process that runs in 
the background, doing something every turn. This is excellent for atmospheric 
messages, among other things. This is how we will use it.

To set up the daemon, first define a method for an object. For simplicity sake, 
we are going to define it for Erin:

	Converse =
	{
   		if (rand(2) = 1)
     		"\b\"Stop ignoring me!\" Erin demands. \"What are 
 		you doing in my office?\" ";
   		else
     		"\b\"Hey, I asked you a question!  Why are you in my office?\";
	}

This basically displays one of two messages, randomly choosing one. To start 
displaying the messages, you use TADS notify. To stop the daemon, you use 
unnotify. To demonstrate, we'll start Erin asking the player her questions when 
he picks up the pictures, and stop it when he asks/tells/shows the pictures to 
Erin:

	doTake(actor) =
     		{
         		inherited.doTake(actor);

         		if (not self.alreadyTaken)
         		{
             		"\bAs you pocket the hot pictures, Erin returns to 
             		her office. \b\"What are you doing here?\" she asks you. 
";
             		Erin.moveInto(ErinsOffice);
             		self.alreadyTaken := true;
       		notify (Erin, &Converse, 0);
         		}
     		}
	;

Note the ampersand (&) character. It is very important. There is a long, 
complicated reason why it is there, but the short answer is because TADS syntax 
rules say so. The zero (0) tells TADS how many turns to wait to execute the 
daemon. In this case, we specified zero turns, which means execute it every 
single turn until we say stop. (Making it a daemon instead of a fuse).

To stop it, we'll modify the doAskAbout method:

	doAskAbout(actor, iobj) = 
	{
     		if (iobj = pictures)
   		{
       		"\"I found these pictures in your desk,\" you tell her, 
       		showing her the lewd photos.  Her eyes grow wide.\b
        		\"Please give those back,\" Erin pleads. \"I'll do whatever 
        		you want,\" she whispers erotically.  You grin widely at her
        		offer, knowing exactly what you're going to ask for.";
    		unnotify(Erin, &Converse);
    		}
    		else
        		self.disavow;
	}

The last thing we'll discuss is testing to see if a certain fuse or daemon is 
currently running. This can be useful in many situations. For us, we'll use it 
to prevent the player from leaving her office until he answers her question. 
We'll do it by changing the response to going south from within Erin's office:

	south =
	{
   		if (getfuse(Erin, &Converse))
  		{
      		"\"I won't let you get off that easily,\" Erin insists, 
      		stopping you.  \"Now, what were you doing in my office?\" ";
      		return nil;
 		}
 		else
      		return Erinsdoor;
	}

The getfuse function will determine if a daemon or fuse is active, and how many 
turns it will be until the fuse "goes off". In our case, the fuse/daemon is 
active, so the above if-condition evaluates into true, and Erin will stop you 
from exiting.

There is a whole lot more we can do, such as not having Erin ask you about being 
in her office every single turn, but only every third turn or some other factor. 
We can also have her respond to other questions, such as asking her about 
herself, or the player (Me), her boyfriend, etc. These are all exercises that 
I'll leave up to you to test.

That's it for setting up the situation so that Erin will have sex with the 
player.


ADRIFT Segment by Purple Dragon

You may notice that I'm filling in for BBBen this month in the ADRIFT segment.  
He really wanted to do it, but I have it on good authority that he was abducted 
by aliens this month and repeatedly gang probed.  We are all very happy that he 
has been returned to us, and trust that there will be no long term repercussions 
from the experience, but I just couldn't ask him to trouble himself with 
Programming Erin on top of everything else.

Well, it's been awhile since I've done anything with ADRIFT so I'm sure that, 
when he's feeling better, BBBen will be able to point out my glaring errors, or 
at least show a better way to handle this.  In the mean time, I think this will 
mostly get the job done.

I'm going to assume that, by this point, anyone reading this will know how to do 
things like creating the pictures and putting them in Erin's Office, or her 
desk, or wherever you want to put them.  In fact, even if you've never read 
this, about three and half minutes with the program should see you ready to do 
that.  For the rest of what we are trying to do this month, I came up with three 
tasks, one event, and one variable that seems to get everything working pretty 
well.

You can call variables anything you like.  I chose to call mine "ErinIsReady" 
since, when we are done messing with it, this is what we will use to check that 
she is ready to have sex.  The default value for any variable (unless you change 
it) is '0' and you can just leave it there for now.

We need a way to trigger Erin's return to her office when the player takes the 
pictures.  If left alone, the player will be able to pick up the pictures and 
nothing will happen (except, obviously, that they he will take them), so I 
overrode this with a task to handle taking the pictures for the first time.  
Here is how I set it up.

	What the player must type
		Take * pictures / Get * pictures / etc.
	
	Message upon completion
		You take the sexy pictures of Erin, your cock stiffening at the 
		wanton fucking you see.  Just as you pocket them, Erin returns to her 
		office.<BR><BR>"What are you doing here?" Erin asks.

	Task can be completed in
		Office

	Restrictions
		Erin's Pictures must be visible to player.
		ErinIsReady must be equal to 0.

	Actions
		Move Erin to room Office.
		Move Erin's Pictures to carried by player.
		Change ErinIsReady TO exact value 1.

	Reversible
		Check 'repeatable task'

Just a couple of things to note here.  The '*' in the command is a wild card.  
It will let the play type "take pictures, take Erin's pictures, take the 
pictures, etc."  Of course, it will also allow "take bob's pictures." Yeah, I 
don't know who Bob is either, but if there is only one set of pictures in the 
game this is probably a safe thing to do. The code  '<BR>' inserts a line break, 
so having '<BR><BR>' in the message inserts two so that the message prints out 
like this:

	You take the sexy pictures of Erin, your cock stiffening at the wanton 
	fucking you see.  Just as you pocket them, Erin returns to her office.

	"What are you doing here?" Erin asks.

And not like this:

	You take the sexy pictures of Erin, your cock stiffening at the wanton 
	fucking you see.  Just as you pocket them, Erin returns to her office. 
	"What are you doing here?" Erin asks.

Of course, in this case it's probably not a big deal either way, but it's 
something you'll definitely want to use from time to time.  Other things to 
notice are that we check to make sure the player can see the pictures and that 
the ErinIsReady variable we created is at 0.  Since the actions, when this task 
is completed, change this variable to 1, and we will not ever be changing it 
back to 0, this is the last time this task will run.  From now on, the player 
can drop and pick up the pictures to his heart's content and the normal handling 
will - er - handle it.  Finally, we move Erin into the room and give the 
pictures to the player and we're all done.

Now that the player has taken the pictures and Erin is back in her office we 
need a way for her to pester the player until he tells her what he is doing 
there.  I chose to use an event for this.

	Timings Tab

	Short name for this event
			Erin is pissed (or whatever you want)

		When should this event begin?
			After task take pictures is complete.

		Event should last
			Between 2 and 2 turns.

		Only show descriptions if in one of the following rooms:
			Office

		Also make sure that "Restart this event as soon as it finishes" is 
		checked.

	Description Tab
		
		Display this 1 turns from event finish
			<BR><BR>"Stop ignoring me!"  Erin demands.  "What are you 
			doing in my office"

		What to display on event finish
			<BR><BR>"Hey, I asked you a question!  Why are you in my 
			office?"

	Advanced Tab

		Event can be paused if ask erin about * pictures is completed

And now Erin will keep pestering the player to answer her question every turn 
until he does.  In reality, you might want to mix this up a bit, but we'll just 
assume that she is very, very determined to get an answer.  The only other thing 
to notice here is that the event is paused when a task called "ask erin about * 
pictures" is completed, which we'll make in a moment.  For right now, although 
she will keep at the player, he can always just walk out and get away from her.  
Well, we don't want that so let's make another task.  This one will override the 
normal handling for when the player tries to go south out of the office.

	What the player must type
		South / s / go south / go s (I think that's all of them, but I'm not 
		sure)

	Message upon completion
		"I won't let you get off that easily," she insists, stopping you.  
		"Now, what were you doing in my office?"

	Task Can be completed in
		Office

	Restrictions
		ErinIsReady must be equal to 1

	Reversible
		Check 'repeatable task'

Pretty straightforward here.  If the "ErinIsReady" variable is 1, as it is after 
the player takes the pictures, then this task will run when the player tries to 
go south.  If it is any other value, then it will not be triggered and he can 
move south like normal.

Ok, we have him stuck in the office, now let's get him unstuck.

	What the player must type
		Ask erin about * pictures / tell erin about * pictures / show * 
		pictures to erin

	Message upon completion
		"I found these pictures in your desk," you tell her, showing her the 
		lewd photos.  Her eyes grow wide.<BR><BR>"Please give those back," 
		Erin pleads.  "I'll do whatever you want," she whispers erotically.  
		You grin widely at her offer, knowing exactly what you're going to 
		ask for.
	
	Task can be completed in
		Office

	Restrictions
		Erin's pictures must be held by player
		Erin must be in the same room as player

	Actions
		Change ErinIsReady to exact value 2

	Reversible
		Make sure that 'repeatable task' is NOT checked.

Well, it's probably not the best way to do, and probably not the way the master 
would handle it, but everything should work more or less how we want it to.  Now 
we just need to add a restriction about "ErinIsReady" being equal to 2 in our 
sexual commands, or at least start it there, and away we go.  Next month we 
should actually get around to those sexual commands, and hopefully the man will 
be sufficiently recovered from his ordeal to take the helm.  Until next time, 
keep watching the skies.


Inform 6 Segment by 'trix

OK. Just as in this month's TADS 3 chapter, we're going to define an object 
representing some sexy pictures of Erin. We can make use of the genitive-parsing 
lib we're using for anatomy by defining the owner property on the pictures.

	Object -> -> pictures "pictures"
  		with name 'lewd' 'hot' 'sexy' 'picture' 'pictures',
       		owner erin,
       		after
       		[;
         		Take, Remove:
           		if (self hasnt general)
           		{
             		give self general;
             		move erin to erinOffice;
             		print "You take the sexy pictures of Erin, your
               		cock stiffening at the wanton images.
               		^Just as you pocket them, Erin returns to her
               		office.^";
             		erin.startConversation();
           		}
       		],
  		has  pluralname;

Inform doesn't have conversation states in the way that TADS 3 does, so the 
greeting and so forth will just have to be coded directly. The line 
erin.startConversation(); is a command to run the routine held by the 
startConversation property of the erin object. So we need to write that routine.

	(in the Erin definition)
       	...
       	startConveration
       	[;
         		self.conversation_stage = 1;
         		"~What are you doing here?~ Erin asks.";
       	],
       	conversation_stage 0,
       	each_turn
       	[;
         		switch (conversation_stage)
         		{
           		1, 2: ++(self.conversation_stage);
           		3: ++(self.conversation_stage);
              	print "~Stop ignoring me!~ Erin demands.
                	~What are you doing in my office?~^";
           		4: ++(self.conversation_stage);
           		5: self.conversation_stage = 2;
              	print "~Hey, I asked you a question,~
                	Erin persists. ~Why are you in my office?~^";
         		}
       	],
       	react_before
       	[;
         		Go, Enter: if (noun has door
            	&& self.conversation_stage < 6)
            	"~I won't let you off that easily,~ Erin insists,
            	stopping you. ~Now, what were you doing in my
            	office?~";
       	],
       	...

Most of that ought to be pretty clear. conversation_stage is a variable 
belonging to Erin, which controls what point in the conversation has been 
reached. each_turn either waits or nags the player, according to the 
conversation stage. react_before is a common property of Inform 6 objects that 
allows nearby objects to intercept the player's actions. In this case, if the 
player attempts to leave, by going in a direction or entering a door (which are 
two different actions), he will be stopped by Erin.

Now conversation: in Inform 6 the standard method of dealing with topics is just 
to look for specific words. There are libraries available to allow "Ask about 
<object>" instead of "Ask about <word>", but in this case the standard method is 
sufficient.

	(in the Erin definition)
       	...
       	talkPhotos
       	[;
          		if (self.conversation_stage >= 6)
            	"You've already shown her the pictures.";
          		self.conversation_stage = 6;
          		"~I found these pictures in your desk,~ you tell Erin,
           		showing her the lewd photos. Her eyes grow wide.
           		^~Please give those back. I'll do whatever
           		you want,~ she whispers erotically. You grin wide at
           		her offer, knowing exactly what to ask for.";
       	],

Add the following to Erin's life routine:

       	life
       	[;
         	...
         	Ask, Tell:
           		if (second == 'photos' or 'pictures' or 'picture'
               	or 'photograph' or 'photo' or 'pic')
              		return self.talkPhotos();
           		if (self.conversation_stage < 6)
           		{
              		if (self.conversation_stage == 3 or 5)
                  		--(self.conversation_stage);
              			"~Never mind that now,~ Erin says. ~What
              			were you doing in my office?~";
           		}
         	Give:
           		if (noun == pictures)
             		"It's probably best not to give those back
             		just yet.";
         	Show:
           		if (noun == pictures) return self.talkPhotos();
       	],

The way the above is written, Erin's conversation stage is between 1 and 5 when 
she is trying to find out why you are in her office; and when the player 
introduces the pictures into the conversation, the stage goes to 6. If you like, 
you can customise Erin's description according to this variable.

       description
       [;
         	print "Erin is your lovely coworker. Her slender body
 	        	and long legs have been the objects of many of your
             	fantasies.^";
         	switch (self.conversation_stage)
         	{
           		1 to 5: "Erin is waiting for you to say something.";
           		6: "(Erin is in some state that hasn't been
              		established yet.)";
         	}
       ],
       initial
       [;
         	switch (self.conversation_stage)
         		{
           			1 to 5: "Erin stands here waiting for you to answer.";
           			default: "Erin is here with you.";
         		}
       ],

Next month, I hear we're coding sex, which I'm sure we've all been looking 
forward too immensely.


Inform 7 Segment by Purple Dragon

Now that we have Erin out of her office, it gives the player the chance to go in 
and take a look around.  When the pictures are found, we'll have Erin return and 
demand to know what the player is doing in her office.  Oh my gosh, will he get 
caught?  I can't look.

	Erin's Pictures are in the left drawer.  The description is "Some very hot 
	pictures of Erin fucking a man you don't know."

Last time we just set up the pictures without saying where they are or giving 
them a description so first we need to remedy that.

	After taking Erin's Pictures for the first time:
		say "You take the sexy pictures of Erin, your cock stiffening at the 
		wanton fucking you see.  Just as you pocket them, Erin returns to 
		her office.";
		Move Erin to Erin's Office.

We have already seen examples of Before and Instead Of rules.  Here we use an 
After rule.  It works well in this case because we want the player to take the 
pictures like normal, but then we want something extra to happen, although only 
the first time.  So if the player drops the pictures and takes them again this 
rule will be ignored.

	ErinsPictures is a scene.  ErinsPictures begins when the player has Erin's 
	Pictures for exactly one turn.  ErinsPictures ends when Erin is ready for 
	sex.

We haven't talked at all about scenes yet, but they are, in my opinion, one of 
the coolest things about I7.  You can have scenes that run for the entire game 
and ones that only go for a turn or two.  You can have the ending of one scene 
trigger a new one, or have them overlap each other.  One of the things that 
makes them so cool is that once you have one set up you can use it as a 
condition in rules that you write, which we do a lot here.

You need to tell Inform when the scene begins (or it never will) and when it 
ends (unless you want it to continue until the end of the game).  The way I 
named the scene (by running the words together) is just a personal preference of 
mine.  You can actually name it anything you want, so long as the name does not 
conflict with something else in the game.  For instance, you could not name this 
scene "Erin's Pictures" because there is already an object called that.  I 
started running the words together like this so that I could name the scenes in 
a way to know what they referred to without having to worry about them 
conflicting with other things.  However, this is certainly not the only way to 
handle it, so do what works for you.

	When ErinsPictures begins, say "'What are you doing here?' Erin asks."

	Instead of doing something other than asking, telling, giving, showing, or 
	going during ErinsPictures:
		Choose a random row in the Table of Erin's Pissed Off Comments;
		Say "[comment entry][paragraph break]".

	Table of Erin's Pissed Off Comments
	comment
	"'Stop ignoring me!'  Erin demands.  'What are you doing in my office?'"
	"'Hey, I asked you a question!  Why are you in my office?'"
	
Here we try to keep the player focused on what he needs to be doing.  Erin has 
asked a question and we are forcing the player to answer it in some way before 
he can go on.  Trying to do any command other than the ones listed above will 
get one of the responses listed in the table.  You do need to be a little 
careful when doing things like this.  The way it is set up the player will not 
even be able to look or examine things.  If you want to allow those things you 
have to be sure to add them.

Most of the time you probably wouldn't want to handle it quite this way.  As it 
stands, one of the two comments will be printed out every single turn, which 
could get old really quick.  In this case we will assume that Erin is so pissed 
at finding the player in her office that she just keeps yelling at him.  Also, 
it is not likely to go on for long since all the player needs to do is ask about 
or show the pictures to Erin.  It is possible to mix things up by adding more 
comments to the table, only having them triggered occasionally rather than every 
turn, or even just running through the list and then stopping.  However, these 
are all a bit complicated for the scope of this article and this will work fine 
for our purposes in this case.

	Instead of going somewhere during ErinsPictures, say "'I won't let you get 
	off that easily,' she insists, stopping you.  'Now, what were you doing in 
	my office?'"

I listed "going" in the first rule because we wanted to give a different 
response when the player tries to leave the room.  Otherwise this rule would 
never have triggered.

So now we come to the actual conversation.  If you were going to have a lot of 
conversation in the game there are certainly better ways to handle it than this.  
Since we really only want the player to address one topic it will work fine 
here, but it would be a lot of work if you had dozens of topics.  If you want to 
do a lot with conversations I suggest you check out the extensions by Eric Eve 
that can be found on the Inform 7 website.  They are very good as written, but 
even if you don't want to use them, it will still give you an idea of how to do 
some pretty complicated things.

	Instead of telling someone about something, try asking the noun about it.

This line has the effect of getting rid of the "tell" command.  All "tell 
[someone] about [something]" commands will now be redirected to "ask [someone] 
about [something]."  This means that we only have to write rules stating what 
happens when asking, and telling will be handled the same way.  Since there is 
only one topic here it doesn't really matter all that much, but if you had a 
bunch of them this would significantly cut your workload. 

	Understand "Erin's Pictures" or "pictures" as "[pictures]".

	Instead of asking Erin about "[pictures]", say "[Erin's Response]".

	Instead of showing Erin's Pictures to Erin, say "[Erin's Response]".

We have already talked about text substitutions.  Here are a couple of more 
examples.  Note that ask and tell commands must refer to a topic and NOT an 
object.  So above, we ask Erin about "Erin's Pictures" and not Erin's Pictures.  
The first one (in quotation marks) is a topic, the second is an object.  
Conversly, you can only show something to someone if it is an object and the 
player is holding it at the time, so the showing rule above does not use 
quotation marks.  If you want the player to be able to ask about objects there 
are ways to do that, but we won't go into them here.

	Erin can be ready for sex.

Here we give Erin the ability to have a property called "ready for sex."  Note 
that I said the ability to have it and not that she does.  She won't actually be 
"ready for sex" until we say she is.  (There's a good girl).

	To say Erin's Response:
		If Erin is ready for sex begin;
			say "You've already shown her the pictures.";
		Otherwise;
			say "'I found these pictures in your desk,' you tell her, 
			showing her the lewd photos.  Her eyes grow wide.

			'Please give those back,' Erin pleads.  'I'll do whatever you 
			want,' she whispers erotically.  You grin widely at her offer, 
			knowing exactly what you're going to ask for.";
			Now Erin is ready for sex;
		end if.

And so, here we say she is.  We also test for it at the beginning of the rule so 
that we don't have the "I found these pictures" message playing out ever time 
the player asks the question.  If you look back at where we created the scene 
you will also notice that this is what we use to trigger the end of the scene.

	Instead of giving Erin's Pictures to Erin, say "You just found those, 
	surely you don't want to give them up already."

We don't want to give the pictures to Erin, but it would also seem a little 
strange to get the "stop ignoring me" response from her when the player tried 
(since she is obviously keen to get her hands on them) so we give a different 
response here.

	Understand "Erin/herself/her/office/me/telephone/phone/desk/computer" as 
		"[invalid topics]".

	Instead of asking erin about "[invalid topics]" during ErinsPictures, say 
	"'Stop avoiding my question,' Erin insists.  'What were you doing in my 
	office?'"

Since we don't really want any other conversational topics to work during this 
scene we could have left this off.  However, that would have given the default 
responses to them.  This is pretty much the brute force way to get a specific 
response to some likely things that the player might ask about, without actually 
having to create all the topics.  It's not something that you will probably do 
very often, but within the confines of the "ErinsPictures" scene, it works all 
right.

And that's pretty much it.  Pretty simple stuff for the most part.  There is a 
long way to go to make it a conversationally interesting game, but this at least 
shows a few of the basics.  Next month we'll finally get into the sexual 
commands so y'all come back now, y'hear.

*	*	*

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Staff

Editor:
Purple Dragon has written six AIF games including Archie's Birthday - Chapter 1: 
Reggie's Gift, A Dream Come True, and Time in the Dark. He has received one Erin 
award and been nominated for several others.

Staff:
A Bomire is the author of several TADS AIF games, including Dexter Dixon: In 
Search of the Prussian Pussy, Tomorrow Never Comes and The Backlot. His games 
have won numerous awards and Erin nominations.  He was the co-recipient of the 
Badman Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

A Ninny is an AIF player, author of four AIF games and frequent beta-tester.  
His Parlour received an Erin for Best "One Night Stand" game in 2004 and his 
most recent game, HORSE walked away with three Erins at the 2007 awards show.

BBBen is an author of a number of Adrift AIF games. His games have received 
numerous Erin awards and nominations and first place in A. Bomire's 2004 mini-
comp. He was also the recipient of the 2007 Badman Memorial Lifetime Achievement 
Award. 

Bitterfrost is a longtime IF/AIF player working on his first (and last) game, 
How I Got Syphilix.

Knight Errant is an AIF player who has released two games and is currently 
working on a couple of others.

'trix has released one game, Casting, which was written in Inform 6, and is 
sporadically working on another in TADS 3.