So don't tell me anymore.
"It's a long, sad story honestly."
-I hear you. You really don't have to if you don't want to.
"I appreciate that, I do. But it's one of those things that I feel like would do me some good to really get it off my chest."
-You never told anyone?
"Not…really? I mean, people know about it. But I haven't really kept in contact with anyone. And ever since starting this whole shin-ding, it's not like I have pleasant conversations on a daily basis."
-Got'cha.
"I wanna be fair, and I wanna tell someone, but now I'm kind of hesitant."
-How come?
"I feel bad, I guess? I mean we practically just met and I'm ready to unload this whole sad story on you."
-I love stories Nikki. It's what I do.
"Huh. Good point. So….you don't mind?"
-Not at all.
"Wow, uh…cool. Thanks Dean."
-No need to thank me. So, you met someone?
"Right, yeah. So, I was a year or two out of school working as the barista. And then one night, an old friend of mine forced me to go to some nightclub with her."
-Forced?
"Yeah. Camgirl stuff aside, I'm a major anti-social nerd."
-Can't say that isn't an interesting combination.
"Nah, you right. But anyway, she wouldn't stop pestering me about it. She came in to my shop near the end of my shift and wouldn't leave me alone unless I went with her. So, just so she would shut up, I followed her to the club. And the second I walked in, I hated it even more than I thought it would."
-Yikes. What was so bad about it?
"Have you ever been to a nightclub?"
-Eh. A few times, but it's not like I thought they were that bad.
"So you didn't mind the obnoxious purple and pink lights? The music that sounds like nothing but bass that just rattles your ribs? The stench of vape pens and alcohol? And don't even get me started on the people bro."
-I guess I didn't. But I hear you.
"Anyway, I'm acting reasonably miserably and my friend starts yelling at me. Telling me I can't just stay home and I have to 'exist' at some point. So she storms off, leaving me alone."
-Ouch.
"Almost immediately, some dude comes up to me. I'll be honest, I was so out of my element I had no idea what he was saying to me. I was also so mad, I just completely blew him off."
-This is the person you met?
"Yup. But on my way out the door, Audrey's comments about 'existing' got to me. I thought about it for a sec, and decided to turn around and go talk to him."
-Well there you go.
"Ended up talking for a bit, and he seemed nice and all. Eventually after a few dates, he took my virginity, and we had sex a few more times after that."
-Okay?
"And then I eventually found out, I was one of the only like, nine other women he was sleeping with."
-Oh Jesus.
"Yeah. Yeah."
-I'm so sorry to hear that Nikki. Really.
"Thanks, I guess. Long story short, self esteem was at an all time low. I tried doing some normal streaming, but when guys were offering me hundreds of dollars to flash the camera, bada-bing-bada-boom you can figure out the rest from there."
-This definitely sounds like it's supposed to be a much longer story.
"Ofcourse it is. But it got the point across, didn't it?"
-Yeah, I guess so.
"So, yeah. Quite the bare bones backstory, don't treat your story like that though."
-Subject change much?
"Look, Dean, i'd rather go back to the story for now. I enjoy talking about that a lot more than myself. I'm glad I got it out, but that's all I wanted."
-Then that's that then.
"Wow, that's an impressive sentence."
-Eh?
"It reads the same front to back."
-Oh word? Cool. But not technically, considering the apostrophe and the s.
"Just can't help yourself can you?"
-Keeps me on my toes.
"Keep those writer wits sharp?"
-Exactly.
"So mister sharp writer, where were we?"
-Alright so we got the super general direction going. And uh…yeah.
"Fuck, really? You got nothing else?"
-I mean, I've been dabbling here and there. But I feel like I can't take the next step without consulting you first.
"Oh, I'm an official consultant now? Do I get to be in the credits?"
-Absolutely. You'll be the first one listed.
"I'll hold you to that. So remind me, what do we got?"
-Two characters, slow build, and the girl is a camgirl.
"Okay, right. So, wanna talk about the guy more maybe? Kind of get more going for him?"
-Shit, about that.
"Wha-what? What could there be about the guy already?"
-I gave the artist full control of the male character.
"You what?"
-Yeah, she wanted to take over the male character. And I kind of quickly blindly agreed, I thought it was less work to do.
"I mean, I get that logic. But Dean, this is supposed to a romantic story at the end of the day, right?"
-Uh…no?
"No? Why not?"
-Well isn't it supposed to be softcore porn?
"Your point?"
-I thought the romance and 'love' wasn't important in porn?
"If it's a bukkake gangbang then yeah, no one gives a shit about the story."
-…is a bukkake gangbang not softcore?
"Fu…fuck….bro…god that was the wrong time for that…"
-Water went down the wrong pipe? My bad.
"Hooo, wow that got me good. I appreciate the laugh, but try not killing me next time."
-I wasn't trying in the first place!
"So what, you actually think a chick getting rammed by a million dudes and getting covered in spunk is softcore?"
-Well not when you put it that way.
"Alright, seriously. You keep making me laugh, this'll take forever."
-Alrighty, sorry.
"No no, don't be sorry. I love laughing but we got work to do man."
-That we do.
"Alright, back to business. Again, my point about the softcore. The soft core part of it can't carry the whole thing, that's what I was trying to get across."
-Got'cha, but really? I'm being genuinely honest here, won't people reading a softcore porn comic be reading it for the softcore?
"No, no they would not. It'd be like drinking a milkshake just to get the whipped cream."
-There's no way you just came up with that analogy.
"Prove it. But you get my point right?"
-Kind of?
"Alright, hold on. Umm…okay. Put it this way. What's your favorite romance story?"
-My favorite?
"Yeah. Movie, tv show, video game, whatever. What romance story did you like the most?"
-You're gonna be mad, but I really can't think of one. I don't watch a lot of romance stuff.
"Get the fuck out of here. None? Not a single one you can think of?"
-Yeah. None.
"Bullshit. How old are you? You're a writer for a living? And you can't think of a single relationship you liked from anything you've seen?"
-Yeah. I never really payed attention to any relationship stuff.
"Why?"
-I dunno.
"You aromantic?"
-What? Do I smell good?
"No, no. Idiot, aromantic. Not aromatic."
-What's that?
"It's like when you don't feel any romantic feelings at all. Towards anybody."
-Oh. Well no, I can't say that.
"So how come you can't think of anything?"
-I have no clue.
"Jesus Christ. Alright, okay. Look. Have you ever seen…uh…uh…Titanic?"
-Ofcourse.
"Okay, cool. Finally getting somewhere. Alright, remember the drawing and the car scenes?"
-Yup.
"And the dancing scenes and the king of the world scenes?"
-Yup.
"And obviously the ending where Jack dies?"
-Whoa, spoilers. But yes.
"Okay. Now, can you sit there and tell me, you didn't at least recognize the romance between the two?"
-Okay, got me there. No, I recognized it. Whatever the hell recognizing it means.
"Did you like it?"
-I mean, it was alright. The scene where he sinks down was done well, the emotion was good.
"Okay, perfect! Now. Imagine this. Take away all the sexual scenes. Does the ending still work?"
-Hmm. I mean…no? Those sexual scenes are iconic.
"Not exactly my point. I mean, the impact of them towards the emotion at the end."
-Got'cha. In that case, if you take away those scenes, then the ending is kind of dumb.
"And why's that?"
-Well why on earth would Rose and Jack be so dedicated to one another if they danced once or twice? It'd be like just strange casual buddies going nuts over one of them dying versus caring about their own families or whatever.
"Bro, exactly! Exactly!"
-Huh. Holy shit, I see where you are going with this.
"Then having those scenes increased their bond like tenfold. Okay, okay, now. Flip the coin. Take away all the non-sexual scenes. What do you get?"
-Well for one those scenes would suck. It would just be boring scenes that felt empty and sexy just for the sex appeal. And again, same thing. Why be that distraught and dedicated to a fuck buddy?
"And a round of applause for the virgin writer. He figured it out."
-Whoa whoa, unnecessary. But thank you though.
"See? That whole dynamic is romance dude. The non-sex and sex work together to build that bond. But granted this isn't trying to be another titanic, the non-sex stuff will make the actual sex stuff feel that much sexier because of the bond they have."
-Damn. So we actually gotta make a good story for this thing then, huh?
"Yes sir."
-Nikki, are you sure you aren't some closet creative genius?
"Like I said, I just know what I want."
-I'm honestly kind of mad I needed this much help figuring this out.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. Being a virgin, I can understand this being a little out of your League."
-What, is this a competition to see how many times you can call me that in a single day?
"Yes."
-What's the over?
"The what?"
-Betting joke. Nevermind.
"Okay then."
-So, the fact that there is a story to make got me feeling a lot better.
"Well then I think it's better if you get the male character back from the artist."
-That's gonna be super difficult. How come?
"Do you really think we can write a good romance story only focusing on a single character?"
-Duh! Ofcourse we can, it's so eas- No, not at all.
"You had me going there."
-Fuck, I can't promise results though. She's splurging on the male character.
"Eww, what the fuck?"
-Eww? Why eww?
"Do you know what splurging means?"
-….do you?
"Do we have different meanings for splurging?"
-We have to. What does splurging mean to you?
"Like, squirting and masturbating. You made it sound like she's designing this character while jerking herself off."
-I know you can't see it, but you just made me spit take too.
"How does that feel huh? Not fun, right?"
-Nope. Not at all.
"So what does splurging mean to you weird fucks?"
-She just has full control over his visual design!
"Oh."
-Yeah, see?
"Why use that word?"
-I don't fucking know, she came up with it.
"So she's not deciding his traits or backstory at all?"
-No! Honestly, I come up with traits and designs based on her art and drawings.
"Oh. That's actually kind of cool."
-So you gave me all those god awful mental images for nothing. Thanks Bud.
"Okay, my bad. My bad. But you can't blame me."
-I can't?
"It's a weird word! How was I supposed to know what you meant?"
-Why would you assume I know about my artist masturbating?
"That's…a fair point. I admit defeat."
-Okay. So. Let's recap. Because I've erased my recent memory of that trauma.
"We are actually gonna write a romantic story. Once the artist finishes her male design, get back to me."
-You got it. And what about the female?
"Hmm. Honestly, I want to see the male first."
-How come?"
"Like you said, I like the idea of basing some of their own backstory on the design."
-Gotcha, but what does the male have to do with the female design?
"Personally, I think there has to be a contrast. I want to see what her direction with the male is, and not to say to make the female opposite of him, but try to make the female opposite of him."
-Opposites attract?
"Kind of."
-Alright, you got it. Granted she's done over the weekend, I'll talk to her Monday at work and get back to you after.
"Cool. So um, actually, here. Get your phone out."
-…why?
"Three dots mister. You're getting bad with those again."
-That was a reasonable three dots. It's called an ellipsis by the way.
"Ellips-deez nuts."
-That's it, you are only going in the 'Thanks To' section of the credits now.
"Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help myself. Alright, I'm writing my number down for you. Text me so I can save you as a contact."
-Whoa, how come? You sure?
"Yes, why?"
-I don't know, just seems like a bad practice to have. I wouldn't give my number away like this.
"Unless you try telling me about my car's extended warranty, I'm fine with you having my number."
-Okay, if you say so. Same goes to you.
"Really? A smiley face? That's all you texted me?"
-What did you expect? The terms and conditions?
"Nah, you're good."
-So why with the numbers?
"Well I doubt you wanna wake up early every morning before work to talk to me. So just text me instead."
-Huh.
"Really didn't think of that, did you?"
-Never even crossed my mind.
"Well there you go stud, you got a girl's phone number. Huh. You actually have the same area code as me."
-I noticed that too. I thought those didn't matter anymore?
"They don't?"
-Something about too many numbers existing or something like that.
"Got'cha. I can believe that."
-Whoa, um, someone else joined.
"They did?"
[sup]
"Oh hey, is that you Spencer?"
[ye]
"Oh hey, um…where you been?"
[busyyy i interrupting sumthing]
"Oh, um…no no no."
{SPENCESPICE69 DONATED 200 TOKENS}
[take it off bb]
"Um…yeah, you got it. Thanks. Hey Dean, you can stay too if-"
{ANON456483920274 LEFT THE CHAT}
"Oh, where did he go?"
