@Twan Andersen He is so fun to write! We'll just have to see what the next chapter holds :grin:

@Feed Your Head Thank you! Maybe I should clarify some things: This is a dream, so it’s Luke’s subconscious speaking to him. The janitor isn’t a real person (he’s not even based on a janitor at Luke’s school) The whole “admit you’re a pussy” thing is Luke’s subconscious trying to get him to wake up! (Metaphorically) So I don’t consider it a rape scene, I tried to make them clear because Luke also participates in the encounter and enjoys it, the consent is implied rather than outright stated. That being said, I understand the interracial and questionable consent stuff isn’t for most people. I do like to play with those classic tropes. My stories are always going to be kinky stories that break taboos - I understand that it’s not for some people. It’s a tough balance to crack for sure. And I’m hardly the only writer on here to deal with these themes. Keep in mind that the janitor is a figment of Luke’s imagination. So it’s maybe based on a deep subconscious _desire_ that he already has, of this big “alpha” black guy that is going to dominate him.

@Charlie Walker Thank you for taking the time to respond! :D It is lovely to have a conversation with the author, although as always, I preface this by saying it is YOUR story, so you get to decide what happens in it. I'm a bit confused about the idea of the janitor not being a real person, because Luke outright says that he's "that janitor I saw around school a bunch." Obviously this needs to be set up for the dream twist surprise, though, so it makes sense. :p I think I'd be more comfortable with the race question if there were other Black characters in the story; the fact that the first Black man we see is the stereotypical "big-cocked assaulter" adds salt to the wound. But that just raises another question: should we shy away from negative stereotypes altogether? I know that some people get off on the old ideas--to cite another example, there are a lot of tales on this site about "real men" pounding the hell out of "sissy bottoms." But is that OK? I don't know... Humorously enough, while you're DEFINITELY not the only author to explore the themes in this story, I have a greater emotional investment in this particular tale. :p I want to preface these comments by saying that ALL of the authors I list are amazing, and I do not intend to bash them, because they're experts in their craft. However, I think there's an odd inverse proportional relationship to the nature of consent to the level of detail/character development in the story. Willie Cici, to cite an incredible example, is amazingly prolific and writes short, excellent, to-the-point stories. The questionable nature of the consent therein thus isn't really a thought that crosses my mind, because that story was written for one purpose (and he does that purpose well). This story, on the other hand--as akin to people like dear Swizzington, or the relatively new GoonNoob--focuses a *lot* on character development and what's going on inside the minds of the characters; as such, questions of consent, rape, and assault tend to surface in my mind more because I'm really invested in what's happening. And finally, call me one of these new "woke" folk, but I do believe in the whole idea of "consent needs to be given freely and stated explicitly--it can't be implied." All this to say that it's a testament to your skill as a writer that I've become so invested in the story that I don't want Luke to get hurt! He's such a sweet guy, and as we've discussed before, your giving him an ASD makes for representation and interesting questions. Thank you again for taking the time to read my comments!

@Feed Your Head If you have these kind of ideas re: consent and stereotypes then I don’t think my stories are a good fit for you. If this is the only thing I’d mine you’ve read you might have the wrong idea about what kind of stories I write. I’ve written many things that are far far more taboo breaking than this. This I think is a central problem with me trying to balance character development with kinky taboo porn. I like sweet romance but also pure filth - even going so far to write stories that are more obviously non consensual than this. I like to both play with stereotypes and reject them. Luke may seem like a stereotypical “dumb jock” but he’s more than that. There isn’t more to the janitor because he’s a figment of Luke’s imagination. I don’t think portraying the way that people can be subconsciously racially biased is racist in and of itself. Also I’ve written several black characters before that don’t fit these stereotypes. Again if you haven’t read anything else I’ve written you just wouldn’t know. So I’ll just make it clear: my stories may contain non consensual scenarios and will play with stereotypes, including racial ones. If that’s not for you that’s fine. Just want to give you fair warning.

@Feed Your Head Also re: consent. It seems a little bit like you’ve been infantilizing Luke. Just because he’s on the spectrum doesn’t mean he can’t be kinky or consent to sex. Lots of people on the spectrum are kinky. Just because somebody has struggle reading social cues doesn’t mean they are unable to consent. Also he does explicitly consent anyways. He tells the Janitor “Put it in already!” Which if that isn’t consent then 🤷‍♂️

@Charlie Walker Hello, hello! Oh, don't worry--I've been reading your stories for a LONG time. :D I love them! Part of the reason I was so excited to see this tale revived/relaunched was that the last chapter with the doctor, and the cliffhanger with Coach--well, in case people haven't read it yet, I'll leave it as a surprise--is one of my favorite pieces on this site. It's definitely for me! Please take my ramblings with all the grains of salt you need. :) You raise an excellent point about finding that sweet spot between romance and kink...you're one of the best authors on here for that! Last one that did it this well was "Curse of 100 Bottoms." I've been eagerly awaiting each new update, because you're able to find that balance so beautifully. I personally prefer the world-building and character scenes to the sex ones, but that's just me and *my* reading style. This is YOUR story, and you need to write what YOU like. :) As for the stereotypes: I know you've written other Black characters before with more depth. I'm a bit of a hawk about that kind of thing, so I bring it up when I see it. Again, pour all the grains of salt you need on it. And I know that people on the spectrum are capable of consent, too. Without getting into TOO much detail, let's just say that I'm sensitive about consent because I have some very unpleasant memories with it on both ends, before I knew better... In any event: please don't take my comments as a sign of dislike. I *love* your stories, and I love the ways you subvert and explore stereotypes within them. They're definitely for me, and I want to thank you for writing them! :D

@Feed Your Head It's interesting, because although the story got fleshed out some interesting ways as I sat down and began writing each chapter, all the stuff you mention was in the original 1000-word outline I wrote back in 2020. I think the only major change I made to that was that originally Reed was the last holdout in the office, but I thought it would make the story hotter if he was the second-to-last to fall, then helped his friend discover the need for speedo.

@darkblade2814 For a second, I thought about putting Wes in something tech/gamer related. (Maybe a speedo with a pattern of 0s and 1s on it?) But then I decided that would be too cutesy and left that descriptive detail to the reader's imagination.