Love Addict's RPG Vol. 2 Ch. 74 (Patreon)

And we're back after an unfortunate break. I'm slowly feeling more stable, but its looking like I'll still need a while to fully get there. It's still the nights that are the hardest. Before I cracked I was doing so bad I couldn't even muster up enough attention span to play a video game or something but I have gotten past that hurdle again, and I'm much stabler when writing during the day now, too, so maybe I'll have fully recovered in a few weeks.

I apologize that my patreon has been something of a mental health blog this last week. I'm not looking for sympathy, I just have twice as much support as I did on here two months ago. I definitely want to keep you guys as long as I'm able to and I believe communication is important. If you want to make me feel better though just keep up the comments or hit me up if you want to talk about the series sometime, as I said nights are the worst for me discussion would be nice.

Anyway, this chapter turned out good, I think. Most of it is RPG stuff that needed to be addressed at some point but there's still some good character beats. More excited for everything we've got ahead of us.

---

February 24th

Oliver awoke the following morning to a sensation of bliss. Pleasure reverberated throughout his body, stirring his tired mind. He felt warmth and wetness enveloping his morning wood, as well as the gentle suction of Mia's lips and the lashing of her tongue.

A contented sigh escaped him upon opening his eyes.

"Cashing in your all-access pass already?" He asked the outline of his girlfriend's head bobbing up and down beneath the blanket. Oliver then winced as she pulled her lips from him tortuously slow.

"Not much use in having something and not making the most of it, mn?" Mia replied, then gave his tip a loving kiss. "Morning, mi amor."

Oliver removed the blanket, revealing her sleepy face, staring with the purest of smiles. His heart melted as his erection quivered. "Morning, Mia. What time is it?"

"Dick sucking o'clock," she descended upon him again, engulfing the first few inches and getting to work.

"A-Ahhh... yeah, I... I guess it is, isn't it...?"

Oliver laid back and enjoyed his current situation. Mia gave it to him slowly, dragging it out while going hard enough to compensate for her lack of speed. Minutes passed as his climax began to build. She had him moaning and groaning, desperate for release.

He was getting closer, and Mia could feel it. She always figured she'd enjoy giving head, but she truly underestimated how cute it would make Oliver. His whimpers, the way he trembled and throbbed in her mouth, every last bit of it was further encouragement to drain him dry.

Mia grabbed his wrist, placing Oliver's hand on the back of her head. He took the message and grabbed her hair before pronouncing his imminent eruption.

"M-Mia... I'm almost-"

There was a knock at the door. Mia stopped in her place as Oliver reflexively covered her up, expecting the worst.

Zoe surprised them both by showing restraint and not barging in this time. She only called out to them, saying, "Yo, not to be rude or anything- rich, going from me, I know, I know- but are you guys almost done in there, or what? Becca hit me up. She's worried because you haven't responded to her texts and she told me she'll be here by noon, so..."

Mia popped off of him, the interruption somehow annoying her even more than it did Oliver. She was almost at the best part, damn it. Oliver handed off her phone from the nightstand as soon as Mia opened her palm for it.

"Mierda. Didn't know it was eleven thirty. Here, text her something while I finish you off."

"Uh, yeah, sure..." Oliver said, taking it back as Mia lowered her mouth onto his cock again. "A-Ah, shit... t-thanks for letting us know, Zoe. We'll be- ah... done in a few..."

"Geez... sure fuckin' sounds like it..."

Oliver heard an awkward laugh as Zoe left them alone, but he was too busy to care. Mia was sucking him off, he was close to finishing, and he had a job to do. He skimmed through Rebecca's texts, feeling bad for her obvious anxiety the longer she went without a reply.

His grip on Mia's hair tightening, Oliver grit his teeth and told Rebecca they were up and getting ready. She replied almost instantly, now in a much better mood and promising to bring breakfast for everyone, to boot. With that load off his mind, Mia forced out a different load.

"Mn, mn... mn...!" She sucked and sucked.

Oliver moaned as his girlfriend maximized the pleasure of his climax, refusing to give him an inch of leeway. He took the hint, keeping her head in place so that she sucked out every last drop and a little more beyond that. In the end, he had to practically pull her off his dick to get her to stop.

After surfacing for air, she opened her mouth for his viewing pleasure. She hadn't swallowed it all yet, and the kitten had a saucy look in her eyes as she finished the job with one last gulp.

"Delicioso," Mia sighed, contented.

[Mia has gained +1 Affection!]

Oliver craned his neck at the sky and exhaled dreamily. "God," he uttered. "How is the rest of my day supposed to measure up to that?"

"Making you ask that was kind of the point, mi amor,"

"Mission accomplished, then. Are you happy now?"

"Reasonably,"

"Only reasonably?"

"Never gonna be fully satisfied until I'm able to throat the fucker..."

"Figures. Do you just intend on living out every single one of your hentai fantasies with me, or what?"

"The ones that are feasible, sí," Mia smiled suggestively. "Why? Do you not want deep-throating added to your little gatita's sexual repertoire?"

"We really don't have time for all this flirting, Mia..."

"Then I suppose you should answer the question,"

Oliver bowed to her stubbornness. "I'm not saying I wouldn't love it if you could pull off deep-throating me, but I can't possibly stress how good blowjobs already feel without you going the extra mile. Seriously. Anything else would just be a cherry on top."

Mia stared at him determinedly in total silence.

"In one ear and out the other, huh?" He sighed.

"My honor as a sexual deviant depends on this, mi amor. What kind of hentai-obsessed freak can't deep-throat their boyfriend's dick?"

"The kind with a gag reflex?"

"Like I'm gonna let that stop me," Mia scoffed, her lewd ambition making itself manifest in a way that benefited the both of them by causing a new notification to pop up.

[Quest Received! Help Mia learn to Deep Throat +20LP]

Oliver had to try not to laugh at the depths of Mia's perversion. At least it gave him a quest that didn't put him on the spot or make him uncomfortable, for once. If she really wanted to go that far for him, who was he to say no?

"Let's put a pin in that and come back to it later," Oliver sat up. "For now, we need to get ready for Rebecca."

"Mn. Suppose we do." Mia stretched out.

She was still half naked from the night before, and Oliver found he adored the way the morning light splayed against her bare chest. His staring made her feel a little shy, but there was no use in hiding when the cat was already out of the bag.

Instead, she came closer, wrapped her arms around him, pressed her naked chest against his own, and gave him a good morning kiss. Oliver returned the gesture with enthusiasm, but his expression as she pulled away made Mia feel a touch embarrassed.

"Imagine I probably need to brush my teeth..."

"Well, I wasn't going to outright say it..."

The two shared an awkward smile and both left the bed. Mia threw on her shirt from the night before and tossed him his clothes.

"Might as well have a quick shower while I'm at it. You could do with one, too, mi amor. Personally, I'm pretty into the kinky sex musk you got going on-"

"Surprise, surprise,"

Mia ignored him. "But something tells me it's not quite Becca's speed."

"Sure. I'll head back home for a few and freshen up. I didn't bring anything else to wear, anyway."

"Need to get in the habit of bringing along an overnight bag,"

"I suppose I do,"

Another one of their awkward smiles kicked in, leading to a second kiss before they separated in the hallway. Mia headed for the bathroom, Oliver, the living room. A semi-familiar sight was waiting for him when he got there.

Zoe was chilling out with her Vapor Dock as per usual, though she was wearing an actual shirt for once. A cute one with her channel's logo on it. She looked up at him as he approached, noticing his stare. "Morning, perv. Take a pic. It'll last longer."

"Morning. I'm good, thanks. Not like I don't know where to look if I want hot pics of you."

"You sure? Seems kinda like you can't take your eyes off me, so I thought I'd offer..."

"Nah, I'm just a little weirded out. I've never seen you with your boobs covered before, so it's like, where the heck am I supposed to look now when I'm talking to you? Your eyes?" 

Oliver wasn't sure where he found the courage to pull that one off, but it amused Zoe and scored him some points.

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

"Heh. Just getting cockier by the day, aren't you? Fear not. The girls'll resume their regularly scheduled cockteasing duties as soon as Becca's out of the picture. Think you'll live till then?"

He slumped his shoulders and gazed into the middle distance. "If you can call that living..."

"Oh, fuck off," Zoe laughed. "Don't act like you don't already have more than enough sexual stimulation on your plate as it is. I heard you howling like a little bitch last night, Olive."

"Last night? We didn't do anything that sexual for, like... two hours after we left. Were you still out here listening to us like a creep?"

"I might've crashed on the couch after you guys abandoned me to go do bullshit couple stuff," she grumbled.

The mood between them was good, so Oliver risked a quick jab. "You know, speaking of abandonment-"

"Fuckin' oof," Zoe recoiled at the sudden accusation. "Can't say I didn't walk right into that one... is now really the best time for you to get on my case, though? Becca's on her way, and besides, I... I already said I was thinking about it, didn't I?"

Zoe's reaction wasn't as adversarial as it could've been. It inspired Oliver to take things a bit further and ensure they were on the same page.

"Thinking about what, specifically?"

"About..." Zoe idled, restlessly twitching her leg. "Cutting back my stream hours to... hang out with you guys more often, or... something. Gah. It was fun, okay? What else do you want from me?"

Oliver could think of an answer or two, but he'd poked the beehive enough for now. He smiled, happy that Mia's heartfelt plea had as much of an impact as it did. While Zoe getting mildly upset last night was amusing, the fact that she was still passive-aggressive about it the following day showed progress.

Bit by bit, the plan was working. They were getting through to her. Zoe was starting to remember what she was missing out on, and with Rebecca's help, today was the best chance they would get to really hammer in their point.

"Nothing, for now. I'm heading home real quick to shower and change. I'll be back in a few, so try not to miss me while I'm gone, okay? I know pissy you get when you're left all alone."

"Pft. Right." Zoe shoved her face back into her game console. As soon as he made for the door, she stealthily looked back up at him while scrunching her face. She watched him putting on his shoes, despite trying to look away.

His hand reached for the door.

"Don't take too long..." she mumbled.

Oliver looked over his shoulder to stare at Zoe for a few seconds. His expression softened the longer he did.

"I won't," he promised.

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

"...Good. You don't wanna keep Rebecca waiting, do you?"

"That, I don't," Oliver left the building after waving Zoe off, feeling good about his progress just now. 

About a minute later, he was halfway across town, showering. A big, dumb grin was plastered across his face as he soaped himself up. It didn't look like she'd admit it anytime soon, but... it looked like Zoe missed him whenever he left. He was surprised at how fast he was impacting her, though Oliver supposed his powers helped a lot on that front.

That, or maybe he wasn't all that special and she was just that desperate for companionship. While certainly possible, the thought was pessimistic, and he dismissed it. All that mattered was that he could keep chipping away at her and refine the crude feelings Zoe was developing for him into something more potent and real.

Still in high spirits after his quick shower, Oliver toweled himself off, did his hair, and went through the rest of his morning routine in a hurry. This time, he sucked a few day's worth of clean clothes into his inventory, along with deodorant and other supplies. The second he looked away from everything he had taken, a new replacement appeared.

It made Oliver curious, so he tried to absorb another deodorant stick and see if a third appeared. If this worked, then maybe-

[Acquisition Rejected! No more than one of any item created through Free Ride may be stored within your inventory at any given time. Free Ride's purpose is to alleviate financial responsibilities so that your money may be put toward pursuing heroines. It is not an infinite duplication glitch, and any attempt to sell items created by it will find no success.]

"Damn it," Oliver sighed. "I should've figured that was a no-go, but you can't blame a guy for trying..."

Now thoroughly freshened up and with all the components of an overnight bag stashed inside his inventory, Oliver checked the time. He still had twenty minutes till noon, so he figured he might as well have a quick strategy meeting with his best bro to let him know about the change in Mia's affection cap.

He shot Bradley a text, closed his eyes, and counted down.

"One... two..."

"Oliver!" The door burst open, Bradley stepping in with all the exaggerated swagger of a primitive computer animation from the '90s. "It's good to SEE you, my FRIEND! To what DO I owe this [Unexpected Pleasure]? Is something WRONG? If my memory SERVES, you should be with [Heroines Two, Four, and Prospective Heroine Number Five] by now!"

"Hey, nice to see you, too," Oliver slumped his shoulders. He didn't bother correcting him about any of that. It just wasn't worth it anymore. "I just came back to sneak in a shower and pick up some stuff. That, and I have some updates to share."

Bradley compelled him to lay on the news, so Oliver exposited the PG-rated version of yesterday's events.

"I'm just wondering why it didn't happen sooner. It only took one hundred affection to get her first three Heart Events, and now it's tripled for her fourth. Any idea on what the big deal is?"

"The affection required TO further the route of a [Heroine] varies from [Girl to Girl]! It would be [Wise] to think of [Second Heroine Mia Rosas'] easy progression as AN [Exception] rather THAN [The Rule]! Almost as if SHE were a...?" Bradley stared at him pointedly.

Oliver shut his eyes and sighed. "A... tutorial girl?"

"[Correctamundo]! And the ONLY reason things proceeded [Smooth as Silk] until now was that...?"

"She was already in love with me from the start, right? That makes sense... but I guess that means I shouldn't expect the cap to be at one hundred three times in a row with Zoe or anyone else, then."

"Does knowing THIS invoke any change in your [Game Plan], my [Man]?"

"Well, I could maybe use some more love skills to speed up my affection farming, but other than that? I'm... not so sure I need to do anything special. Mia's isn't hard to please."

"Up TOP!" Bradley proposed a high five, causing Oliver to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Not what I meant..."

"Fair ENOUGH!" Bradley snapped his fingers but didn't it drag him down, jumping straight to the next beat. "Allow ME to make a [Pointed Suggestion], then! [Love Skills] don't BUY themselves, and between purchasing THEM and saving for [Heart Locks], you'll be burning through your [Love Points] faster than YOU earn them!"

"I know," Oliver blushed. "I'm not too worried just yet, though. I mean, Mia and I are, um... well, we've been having a lot of fun, and I'm picking up points at a decent pace with her. There was the whole thing with Zoe the other day, too, and she definitely sounded interested in giving it another go sometime... but... then again..."

"Yes?"

"If I keep progressing with Zoe, she'll eventually present her own roadblocks, won't she? Same with the others. I'm starting to think that no matter what road I go down, I'm always gonna be strapped for LP..." Oliver started rubbing his pulsating forehead, which ached from overthinking.

"Right, right, RIGHT on the [Money]! That is exactly WHERE I was going with [This]!"

"What's your suggestion, then? I'm all ears."

"Putting things [Blunter] than a [Doobie], stop trying to SAVE [Love Points] for every [Heart Lock] that appears!"

Oliver tilted his head. He didn't see the logic right away, but he made sure to pay attention whenever Bradley's opinion differed from his own. There's not much use in having a confidant if you don't hear them out.

"Go on,"

"Currently, you ARE stuck in the [Narrow Mindframe] of a [Reactionary] who attempts to [Speedrun] every little problem THAT appears. While some [Heart Locks], such as [The First of Mia Rosas'], require your [Immediate Attention], not ALL of them will. There was no reason YOU had to [Snatch Up] a bunch of [Style Skills] yesterday when you COULD have done additional [Stat Training]." 

Oliver felt called out, but not in a bad way. He rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes, ultimately nodding along.

"I'm not saying you're wrong, but in my defense, my speedrunner mindset came from wanting to heal Mia's wrist as fast as possible. That, and I was operating under the assumption that every Heart Event only took a hundred affection to unlock. You might be right, though. I've definitely been slacking on my self-improvement these last couple of days. Not that I've really had the time between unraveling all this Zoe shit and enjoying my relationship with Mia, but still."

The more he thought about it, the more Oliver agreed with Bradley's train of thought.

Buying a skill and suddenly getting complimented for becoming vaguely more handsome was nice and all, but it took genuine effort for Oliver to hang out with Stacy long enough for her advice to rub off on him and level up his style. When Mia saw his transformation the next day, it left a much bigger impact on him. It made him feel good about himself, and the same could be said about his level-up after a day of sparring dudes on Brawln.

"No, you're definitely right about this," Oliver said, focusing on the truth. "Tier one skills are great, but I've been using them as a crutch. I'll try to lighten up on them from here on out and mostly stick to buying the ones I actually need to clear Heart Locks. Vogueing was crucial to modeling for Mia, but Hairdressing and Smiling? I could've gone without those."

Bradley smiled much more softly than he usually did. He seemed relieved. "So glad you see THINGS [My Way]! I've had this [Concern] since you FIRST started talking about [Brute-forcing Heart Locks], but did NOT want to [Rain on Your Parade] with everything ELSE [Going On]!"

"I appreciate it. This week's been a whirlwind; I definitely didn't need more shit to have to think about on top of it..." Oliver sighed. "Not gonna have a chance to start training until tomorrow, though. Maybe I should pick up something to make up for lost time?"

"Was there a [specific skill] you HAD in mind?"

"There is, yeah," he looked away. "One I probably should've grabbed a lot sooner, honestly, but I didn't because the idea of it makes me somewhat nervous..."

Bradley tilted his head, confused. "Your [Best Bro] does NOT follow. I can't THINK of any [Corruption Skills] that would help with-"

"Oh, no. It's not a corruption skill. It is in tier two, though. I don't remember the name, but wasn't there one we saw that cut down on the amount of sleep I needed?"

"Ah. Now I SEE."

"Yeah. Nights have always been when my compulsivity is at its worst, so I'm naturally wary of staying up later than I have to..."

"While it's IMPORTANT to [Know Your Limits] Oliver, PAL, you say that AS if you aren't already [Staring] at [The Answer]!"

"I figured you'd say that, but really, that makes me even more hesitant. I don't want to cut into your free time anymore than I already am just so you can babysit me for a few hours every night. You deserve to be out there doing your own thing as much as you damn well please."

"Your concern is AS [Hopelessly Misplaced] as ever! I would've thought that BY now you'd understand that assisting you IN your [Romantic Endeavors] is EXACTLY what I [Damn Well Please]! Every [Precious Moment] I spend with YOU is another opportunity for ME to learn more regarding the [Fragile Human Condition], my FRIEND!"

"Not sure I really get what all we would learn from sitting in the corner while I read a book, practice sketching, or flip through men's fashion magazines, but... if you're really gonna be that insistent, I won't turn you down," Oliver said. "Thanks, Bradley."

Finding his determination, Oliver went through his skill menu to locate his next acquisition. After getting down to the 'S' section, he found what he was looking for and made his purchase, gratitude toward his Best Bro as heavy on his heart as always.

[Skill Purchased! Sleep Optimization -50LP]

[Sleep Optimization | ** | Utility | Reduces the amount of sleep required to maintain a healthy body and mind down to only four hours a day. Also grants the ability to fall asleep at will and set precise wake-up times, though external noises and stimuli may cause you to awaken earlier than scheduled.]

Nothing specific happened in the wake of his purchase. Oliver's brain felt a little tingly, and that was it. Bradley suggested he try it quickly, so he laid on his bed and thought about sleeping. Sure enough, a pop-up box asked him to input the desired duration of his nap.

That was confirmation enough for Oliver, so he got back up and opened his skill menu again.

"Massage turned out to be a great idea," he said. "It really helped Mia out, so I'm gonna make one last exception and get its third level. After that, I'll officially start limiting my tier one purchases."

"Sounds LIKE a [Plan], my [Man]!" Bradley shot him some finger guns right on time with Oliver hitting the button.

[Skill Purchased! Massage Lv. 3 -100LP]

[Massage Lv. 3 | * | Smarts | With this, you've mastered your idle hands and can use them on someone else's body quite well. Grants advanced knowledge of massage techniques and gives you the skills to perform them. +1 to Smarts.]

[Gained +1 Smarts!]

Now back to only having 100LP in the tank, Oliver's brain sucked in the new information and got another tingle upon the stat increase. He looked down at his hands, flexing them. No major differences again.

"Is SOMETHING the matter?"

"No, not at all. I just thought that finally getting a level three skill would've felt more monumental than this..."

"You'll likely see a [Drastic Increase] in your [Massage Abilities] when PUTTING them [To the Test], but even then, a [Level Three Skill] does NOT mean you're suddenly one of the world's best AT whatever the [Skill] is for!"

"So you're saying that there's still room for improvement even now?" Oliver smiled as he sighed. "Sounds about right. You  can't ever let yourself grow complacent in dating sim RPGs..."

A new notification popped up confirming precisely that.

[15 Tier One Skills Acquired! Difficulty raised. Prices increased as follows; Lv. 1 - 50LP. Lv. 2 - 75LP. Lv. 3 - 125LP.]

"...Shit, seriously?" Oliver blinked, then opened up his status menu to check and count the skills for himself.

"Let's see here... Physical Conditioning 1 and 2, Boxing 1 and 2, Hyper Reflexes 1 and 2, Fancy Footwork 1, Massage 1, 2, and 3, Vogueing 1 and 2, Hairstyling, Smiling, House Husbandry all at 1... that's... fucking damn it...! Why didn't you tell me this was a thing, Bradley?"

"I didn't KNOW!" The thoughtform insisted. "My knowledge regarding [Your Powers] is expansive, but not [All Encompassing]! You wouldn't play a game where the [Tutorial Character] spoiled EVERY individual [Twist and Turn] for you ahead of TIME, would you?"

"...No," Oliver groaned. "No, I wouldn't. Damn it. That's inconvenient, but it doesn't change much since I planned to focus on skill training anyway. I just don't get why there are so many checks and balances for every little thing, you know? Lucky Bastard had a hidden cooldown mechanic, and I found out a bit ago that Free Ride won't let me sell items it makes, and that's on top of it only paying rent on a place I could've afforded on my own, too. I just don't get it."

A few seconds passed in silence. Oliver looked at his friend, then asked, "Isn't this the part where you're supposed to ask me a rhetorical question so I can figure out why things are like this for myself?"

"I thought a [Change of Pace] might be EXACTLY what the [Doctor Ordered]," Bradley smiled brightly. "Why don't we SKIP the [Middleman] this TIME around, and you just TAKE a [Shot in the Dark]?"

Oliver closed his eyes and did what he did best, overthink the situation. Maybe it was that new point of smarts he just got, or perhaps it was just that obvious, but it didn't take him long to come up with something. Two things, actually.

"My first guess is that part of wishing my life was more like a dating sim means things will constantly be balanced to keep me focused on improving myself in any way I can to better match the theme of those sorts of games. That, or my internalized guilt literally seeped into my psychic awakening, making it so that even now I can't fully enjoy myself," he sighed. "What do you think, Bradley? Does either of those sound about right?"

"I THINK, Oliver, my FRIEND, that you should KNOW by now that [Reality] is what YOU make of it!"

***

Stat Changes

Oliver Chase | Strength 9 | Style 5 | Spark 1 | Smarts 4
Cash: $1070 | LP: 100

Mia Rosas | Status: Girlfriend | 37/300 | ❤❤❤♡♡

Zoe Myers | Status: Friend | 53/100 | ♡♡♡♡♡