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socalwriterbee · 11 months

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Sweet Escape

Choices Book: Witness: A Bodyguard Romance

Characters: Cassian Keane (m!LI) x Viviana (Ana) Marin (MC /OC)

Rating/Warning: Adult Language, Adult Content ⚠️⚠️18+ ⚠️⚠️

Word Count: 1700+

Base in Play: 2nd

Summary: Ana escapes from Cassian, once more. Going over what he has learned about her, wondering where she could have gone, a place from her past life, a place of comfort. But he needs to find her before the ones that want her gone do.

A/N: I know this book gets a lot of hate and at times deserving so. It had its moments but those were far in between. So I took the concept of the book, some scenarios from what I remember and from a quick search and I'll be making it my own as much as possible. Because HELLO BODYGUARD ROMANCE!! (I'm thinking of you Mr. Rhys 'crawl to me' Larsen)

A/N 2: Viviana (Ana) Marin is a mix of the MC with OC characteristics in her. I am hoping that she speaks to me in more of Original Character sense because lets face it, the witness MC is possibly not the best out there. And Cassian needs better than what was given to us!! Please excuse any errors, I tried to edit as best I could!

A/N 3: This fic is for Day 1 of Spring Fever Pitch, it contains adult language and 2nd base action. Location Location Location! Nothing hotter than things getting hot in a library.

Characters and some scenarios in use belong to our friends at Pixelberry!

📖📖📖📖

How the hell did mange to slip pass me? I was still trying to figure that out. It wasn’t the first time, she did the first night we met and look where it landed her. Didn’t she know the danger that was surrounding her, wondering the city, an easy target for the ones that wanted her gone. I needed to find her before they did and before my boss knew she was missing.

I was in deep shit once I had to report what happened.

With a woman like her, book -fucking- smart, beautiful and god so stubborn, she needed to be shown just how dangerous the streets were for her without my protection. And once I found her, that was exactly what I was going to do.

I was done playing games, done babying her, done trying to make this situation as understanding as possible. It was my job and her life on the line for god’s sake. The file we had on her, ran through my mind. Needing to remember the places that she frequented, the spots that made her feel like she had a normal life, even if that life was no longer hers.

Parks, downtown, clubs, the campus where she worked— I run my hands through the thickness of my dark hair and sighed, she wasn’t dumb enough to go back to her apartment. There was a place somewhere in this city that made it feel like her old self, the real her. Not the woman she was trying to be that night I met her, the night she ran into the people that changed her life forever.

The party-goer was not her, that much I knew. I watched her in silence in my apartment where we were staying before the safe house was secured for us to move to.

“Where did you go Viviana?” I whisper into the night, allowing myself to say her real name, the sun had set some time ago. The craving of a long pull from a cigarette makes my hand tremble, my hand fisted at the urge before releasing it easing the need a touch. I quit that habit a few weeks ago, the need for it was strong right now, knowing it would ease the tension and help clear my mind.

I scan my surroundings, the neighborhood stilling for the night. Nothing seemed out of place, the small neighborhood I called home for years went by as it did every night, not an action out of place.

Viviana, Ana, as she liked to be called was going on hour two of escaping from my home. “Think Cass think!” I mutter out, that day replaying in my head for what felt like the thousandth time.

I was up before she was, Ana had wanted to make our breakfast this morning, I thought nothing of it. Like she always did, she excused herself to the spare room that had become hers. I, on the other hand checked in, gave updates, which weren’t many and received them, along with a new timeline of our move to the safe house.

Ana had come down stairs with a book in her hand, not just any book. I recognized the book, the cover well worn, the spine cracked after many reads as it passed through the Keane family. It was in my possession now, my mothers favorite Irish love story.

I didn’t dare take it from her, the look that settled on her face I only saw once. Our night together that seemed so long ago now. The way she spoke of her love of ancient myths and the classical writings of famous authors. Any other man would have been turned off by such a subject but not me, I was drawn in at the passion she exuded.

That's when it hit me, fuck. I know where she was, hoping she is still there. One of her favorite places and the second most dangerous place she could be.

After getting in my car and driving to the university she had been employed at, I walked through the campus, a quiet night for the most part. A few groups of students passed me by as I made my way to the library. The building lights glowed, the air blowing inside instantly cooling everyone who entered.

It was quiet, too quiet for midweek. My awareness on high alert, there should be more people in here. I had to be careful, unable to draw my gun out, I didn’t need to scare the students that were here. A simple nod from the library staff sitting at the counter was all I got as I made my way deeper inside.

Walking pass the open area that housed tables and chairs for study groups, a handful or so of students here. None bothering to look up as I passed them by, all of them lost in their studies.

Heading further into the library, the ticking of my watch feeling like the only sound heard in the quiet space. My eyes roam looking for any movement, anything or anyone that shouldn't be here and there in the glow of a lamp is her reflection on the window.

Ana’s long chocolate colored hair gone, in its place was short. dirty blonde hair, she was still incredibly breathtaking. Unable to see the green in her eyes with her nose stuck in book.

Silently closing the space that separates us. My anger building at the carelessness she has of her surroundings. “Do you know how dangerously stupid this was?”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Ana jumps in her seat at the sound of my voice. Looking up at the reflection of us in the window. Our eyes lock on each other, my jaw tensing as the silent minutes pass by.

“You scared me Cassian.” Ana whispers.

“I scared you?” I chuckle at her statement. “I could have been anyone, you lost in a book at a library you came to often before entering Witsec. People you worked with roaming the campus, one word of you being seen here could get to those that want you gone. What if the people who want you dead were roaming around and you wouldn’t have a clue of what is going on until it was too late.”

Her bottom lip trembles at my words, praying that she understands what could have happened with this little escape. “I…I’m sorry. I needed to get out.” Ana pushes her seat back to stand, turning around to face me.

The need to show her what real danger she was in evaporates when her emerald green steal my breath from my lungs the moment they truly land on me.

I needed to protect her, not only because it was my job but I've come to like her far too much for our own good.

There’s a hesitation in my step, the urge to close the space between us and take her in my arms. Every fiber in me wanting to relive the memories, the ones that still haunt my dreams, of our night together. The way her lips moved with mine, her hands running up and down my back with her legs wrapped around my waist.

Running my hand through my hair, damn it. I’m going to regret this but I needed her in my arms. One quick stride and my arms are wrapped around hers, one around her waist pulling her in and the other at the back her neck, exposing that sensitive skin and making her mouth ready for me to take.

My darken gaze searching her eyes for permission, the slightest opening of her mouth and the breath that hitches in her throat let’s me know she wants this too.

My mouth presses into hers, Ana moves her lips against mine trying to grab control as she takes a groan out of me. Pushing her back into the table, pulling away, Ana breaks our kiss when she jumps on and spreads her thighs open for me to fit between.

My chest heaving as the air fills into my lungs, her hands find their way under the hem on my gray t-shirt, her touch against my bare skin making me flinch at the contact. “Cass.” My name filled with promise of what’s to come as it slips from her lips.

Placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth then moving along her jaw and down her neck. My own hands roaming over the swells of her breast, making quick work of the buttons of her shirt. Pushing it open revealing her white bra against her tanned skin. Her back arches pushing her breast out wanting more.

Taking one, the weight of it perfect in my hand before pulling the cup of her bra down, revealing her pebbled nipple, my hooded gaze looking up at the woman before me, my Ana, watching her reaction when I pinch her nipples tighter. Smiling as her head falls back and that sweet moan causing my pants to get tighter.

My mouth and tongue ready to devour the sight in front of me, when the screech of a chair stops me. My years of training kicking in at the sound, my hand wrapping around the handle of my gun, ready to face whoever snuck behind us.

“Sorry.” A timid girl, hands filled with books says, runs away from the scene she stumbled on, the instant I turn around.

My head drops, I let myself get carried away in the moment, damn it! My job was to protect her not claim her whenever she looked at me. This was just a lapse in judgement, never to happen again.

Her life was in danger, for all I know I could have put it more in danger and all I wanted was to take her right here, to finish what we started, but that would never happen.

Rolling my shoulders back and straightening myself out, with the heat of the moment gone, Marshall Keane settling back in. My next words were cold, short and indifferent. “Fix yourself. It’s not safe, we’ve been out for too long.”

“Cassian.” My name being called out as a plea.

“Please.” I want to say her name but she wasn’t Viviana or Ana anymore, and calling her by her name would be the third stupidest thing I would’ve done tonight. “Listen for once.”

Ana’s little escape could have been the end of her. I needed to keep her at arms length, for my sanity and her safety. I had a job to do and Ana clouding my mind would be a disaster for the both of us.

I just didn’t know if I could stay away.

event tag: @springfeverpitch

#spring fever pitch #choices spring fever pitch #choices witness: bodyguard romance #choices m!Cassian #Cassian x Viviana #choices stories you play

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peonyblossom · 2 years

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Diamond-mining with Witness is so fucking funny cause it’s really like

18💎 Tell LI you love them

12💎 Tell LI you’re kinda interested

0💎 Tell LI to fuck off

#witness a bodyguard romance #witness #wabr #choices #play choices #pixelberry

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bivili · 1 year

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i just remembered why i hated wabr

#playchoices #choices #choices wabr #witness a bodyguard romance

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findingdrake · 3 months

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#my mc #choices #witness: a bodyguard romance

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korgbelmont · 11 months

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Hi could you upload Asian Female Cassian Keane in all of her outfits smiling emotion. Thank you.

Hi there. She's been added to the Transparents folder

#choices character transparents #choices transparents #witness: a bodyguard romance #cassian keane #ask

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yujeong · 4 months

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For all the time I've been losing my mind over Pete's tattoo (to the point of getting it tattooed on my own fucking body), I've never really talked about it here, have I? Well. Let me do it now I guess.

The first thing I would like to present here is the origins of Pete's tattoo from the novels. I know, I know, the novels suck and I wasn't proud of including it in Trust is a fragile thing but it was compelling enough that it fit Pete's characterization. A broken clock shows the correct time twice a day or however the phrase goes. Apparently, Tankhun forced all his bodyguards to get tattoos at some point, and Pete got that one for reasons I'm not aware of. I've heard people say that Daemi found the phrase nice and tbh, I believe those people. The purpose of its usage becomes clear in this snippet taken directly from the novels:

(I can go on a whole ass rant about what we're witnessing here, but I'll spare you the headache.) So, what is the actual origin of the phrase? For the people who don't already know, it's from "All's Well that Ends Well", a play written by Shakespeare. It's about a woman who's given in marriage to the man she longs for, but, because she is of lower rank, he refuses to accept the marriage. The phrase, as always with Shakespeare, has more than one meaning and shouldn't be taken at face value. I had found a wonderful analysis about it here:

I find it fascinating how it works with Pete so well, despite Daemi being oblivious to its true meaning. I also find the fact that it works for Pete no matter how you interpret the phrase, equally fascinating. You can take it literally and connect it with Pete's job; how he's honest about the violence he inflicts, the activity he's enacting for the Theerapanyakuls, how he's accepted the nature of it, how "there are no heroes or villains in this world" and so on. You can add his loyalty in there too and make it even juicier. You can also take it ironically and connect it with Pete as a person; how he's not actually honest - he's not open about himself, his desires, his feelings - so with this, it's like he's admitting that he has no legacy. It encapsulates his lack of personhood and it's fucking brilliant. Him sneering at Vegas slightly when he told him "There's no such thing as honesty in this world" after seeing the tattoo on Pete still gives me brainworms, because both of them are thinking of different things here. To me, Pete is thinking of the literal sense which I described above, while Vegas is talking about how people are deceitful and will just lie through their teeth to get what they want (like him). I don't know if that's what the intention was, but them having completely different concepts in mind is something I believe strongly. Now, one very, very important aspect of Pete's tattoo is its position. In the novels, it's on his chest, more specifically on his left side, where his heart is:

Not so subtle, Daemi, huh? The show changed that, as we all saw, and ooohhh what a glorious choice, I love it so much. For a couple of reasons:

The position is more sexual, which contradicts Pete's seeming naivety in regards to sex and romance in the show (proof being, every interaction he had with Porsche, plus the infamous "Kissing is for people we like only"), making everything he and Vegas did in ep12 not come out of nowhere.

It's super fucking low. Obviously it is, given it's his hip but I implore you to look more carefully at the screenshot I shared above, because the distance between his belly button and his tattoo rivals Kinn's open shirts. Istg you can see faint hints of pubic hair right below "No legacy", I swear I see it I'm not insane.

The tattoo being so low means Pete will only be able to see it when naked. I say only naked because even with only his underwear on, it's still hidden. Almost like it's something he'd want to hide even from himself, hmmm curious.

Another fun thing about the tattoo, which kind of applies to both the novel and the show, is the fact that, since it's a phrase, Pete will not be able to read it unless he looks in a mirror and sees the reflection (something I realized by wanting to read my own lol). Alas, another barrier Pete puts on himself to prevent introspection. (I will not touch upon mirrors here, but Pete and mirrors oooohh, what a concept I would love to explore one day.) I could talk about this all day, but I think I got the main points across. I lovelovelove this so much and I'd love to see if there are more analyses of Pete's tattoo out there. Please bring them to my attention if you have them.

#I've been meaning to write this post since November lol #my writing juices are running out it seems #the burning desire to unravel every facet of Pete is still here though #and it ain't leaving anytime soon #kinnporche the series #pete phongsakorn saengtham #kinnporsche meta

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playchoicesconfessions · 2 years

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Sent by anonymous

'Man... If the LI has an option for redheads like Yvette from Slow Burn, Quinn, or Cassian from wetness

Its game over for me'

POSTS/CONFESSIONS DO NOT REFLECT MOD'S PERSONAL OPINIONS!

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dwiankus · 8 months

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I hate these books and why from Choices

1. Kiss of Death (The story ok, the MC is not)

2. Roommates with Benefits (Sex all day in my college life)

3. The Billionaire's Baby (Affair is forbidden in my principle, LI is same as Dalton using nice as a shied)

4. Surrender (The MC is amazing! The LI belongs to trash)

5. Untameable (the story ok, but MC and LI need to be slap so they don't get horny all the time)

6. Shipwrecked (Not that interesting story)

7. The Duchess Affair (Like i said, Affair is forbidden in my principle even LI is good)

8. The Princess Swap (The Non-Royal Twin i love, The Princess Twin i need to slap)

9. Witness: The Bodyguard Romance (disgusting)

10. My Two First Loves (MC is a shit as his childhood LI. Noah is everything♡)

11. The Nanny Affair (Probably tolerate because MC i build like a fucking bitch in the catwalk, but Dalton is a chicken)

12. Wolf Bride (The story ok, The Alpha bullshits thing i hate)

Well, i dare you change my mind

#choices #choices stories you play #kiss of death #roommates with benefits #the billionaire's baby #surrender #surrender 2 #choices untameable #untameable #shipwrecked #the duchess affair #the princess swap #the nanny affair #choices witness #my two first loves #wolf bride #pixelberry

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choices-binglebonkus · 1 year

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Do you think the theory that TRR and TFS series got so many books and why Pixelberry has been milking the romance/smut books while eschewing other genres is because ATV was supposed to be their next TC&TF, and it bombed? Do you think it has something to do with Nexon? Or do you think Pixelberry would've gone in this direction regardless? Realistically, how much longer do you think Pixelberry/Choices will last as a company w/all the upset fans and backlash they've gotten over the past few years?

Excellent questions, anon. This is going to be a long post, so buckle up.

I do absolutely believe Nexon was at least partly to blame. Before Nexon entered the fray, collectibles were pretty much nonexistent in Choices. Endless Summer was the first collectible-heavy series, and as much as I loved it, it was VERY costly. To collect all the clues, dossiers, idols, and embers, it costs a grand total of 895 diamonds. BUT, since one of the clues in ES book 3 can only be obtained by marrying one of the love interests, the actual cost may be much higher.

But while Nexon was partly to blame, I truly do believe AtV's failure screwed Pixelberry over BIG TIME. Like, more than any of us actually realize.

Using Endless Summer as an example again, Pixelberry took a huge risk with the series. Ultimately, it a was a risk that paid off, because Endless Summer was very well-received and is still lauded as one of the greatest series in the app.

Across the Void, in my opinion, was a bigger risk than Endless Summer. It was (until WtD) the only series in the app that actually took place in the future, and it was also the only space-fantasy story. But more on the risk-factor in a minute, we'll come back to that.

Across the Void was also a very, very long book. It's actually the third-longest in the game tied with TRR book 3 at 22 chapters, only beaten out by Witness: A Bodyguard Romance at 28 chapters, and My Two First Loves at 100 chapters.

In addition to being a long book, it was originally titled Across the Void book one, until it was later changed to just Across the Void. This means Pixelberry had plans for at least one more book in the series but they had to change plans at the last minute due to the book's poor performance.

But when, you may ask, did they make this huge change?

Across the Void's release ran from August 20, 2018 to November 5, 2018, when they announced the book would be on hiatus. The book returned in MARCH. It resumed releasing from March 18, 2019 to May 13, 2019.

In those four months of hiatus (the longest hiatus a book has EVER been on, by the way), they had to hasten to conclude what was once a multi-book series rich with lore and background. And that couldn't have been easy on the writers or the budget.

Back to the risk-factor of the book. We've already established that it was unique, long, and had at least one other book planned, possibly two. But the biggest financial losses in the book came from quite literally everything imaginable.

Every background, every character sprite, every music, every miscellaneous item, all of it was brand spanking new. And believe me. There were a LOT of backgrounds, characters, music pieces, and miscellaneous items. Additionally, the love interests had different sprites and outfits, too, so those were also probably pretty costly in the art department. And there were TEN love interests. Ten!

We also got a brand-new set of MC faces and hairstyles, and you know what else? There were male and female MCs. Eight new faces, eight new hairstyles, and twenty-two new outfits. And the worst part? None of the faces or hairstyles were reused. Ever.

In fact, a LOT of the assets in this book were unusable due to how niche and out there they were. Occasionally one or two of the characters with tamer designs or miscellaneous items or even some of the music gets reused in other books. But a lot of AtV's stuff doesn't, and won't, be reused. The financial losses from the book won't be recouped.

Another costly aspect of the book was definitely the writing, though it definitely wasn't as expensive as the art. You could tell the writers busted ass creating lore. There were over a dozen alien races with their own histories, worlds, traditions, you name it. And there was the Vanguard and the Jura, who were at war with each other, which divided the galaxy far and wide. And, of course, there was the Void, which had its own lore.

Like Endless Summer, the book was very lore and detail-heavy. Unlike Endless Summer, about 90% of it was locked behind paywalls, including the majorly important bits of information. And as we all know, that just doesn't work.

Across the Void had a lot put into it. A lot of money and resources, a lot of writer's investment, a lot of time. And in kind, it had a lot of potential. Like, I don't want to say Across the Void could've been an S-tier book, but it could've definitely been up there. A-tier at lowest.

Unfortunately, it got a rough start, and when things didn't get better, that's when Pixelberry put it on hiatus and scrambled to wrap things up. It's why a shit ton of characters died if you didn't pay diamonds to save them. It's why the four endings we got were rushed, sloppy, abrupt, and unsatisfying. And it's why we were left confused as hell and saddled with more questions about the lore and story than answers.

To put it simply, Across the Void is the perfect example of Great Taste, Awful Execution.

2017-2018 is pretty commonly regarded as the Golden Era of Choices, and 2019 was the year Choices started to steadily decline. It still had some good releases, but we got a lot of really mediocre ones that year, and unfortunately, the dip from the Golden Era to a decline directly coincides with AtV's release and its poor performance. The timeline fits. And the 2020-2022 era was seriously rough. Granted, part of that was a result of the pandemic, but I don't think AtV financially flopping helped. Things are sort of starting to look up again, but I'm not holding my breath.

So yeah, AtV took a lot of financial risks. It was probably the riskiest book they've ever written due to how ungodly expensive it likely was and the sheer amount of effort and resources that went into making it, and because it performed poorly, it was a huge blow to Pixelberry.

And that really sucks, because like I said, AtV had a lot of potential. It truly could have been one of the greats if they had executed it properly, but they didn't, so the story suffered as a result.

Funny thing is, if AtV released now, in 2023, I think it would be received much better than it was in 2018-2019. What was mediocre and disappointing back then would probably be considered half-decent or even good now.

As for The Freshman and The Royal Romance, The Freshman ended at the tail end of 2018, so I don't think PB milked it because AtV screwed them financially. The timeline doesn't fit.

But The Royal Romance? Absolutely. The Royal Romance performed so well Pixelberry has implemented several rewrites and remasters, including the brand-new photo gallery in book one and even new outfits in the rewrites. What blew me away most of all were the two art scenes of the MC. Six different MC faces, eight different hairstyles, three different dresses for both scenes. AND the Liam art scenes had three different Liam faces to account for.

It also performed well enough that Pixelberry felt comfortable enough to budget for extra art for the outfits and cutscenes. One that comes to mind is the cutscene of the MC's spouse holding the baby after she gives birth. Three Liams plus Drake, Hana, Maxwell, plus six variations of the heir. I know that couldn't have been cheap.

So they milked The Royal Romance series and even invested more into it because they knew it performed well and wasn't a financial risk like AtV was. They weren't afraid it was going to fall through and flop on them. AtV was a risk while The Royal Romance was a secure, safe choice. Hence eight books in the TRR series.

I'd say, realistically, PB will last for a long while. I truly can't pinpoint a time where they'll go under. I mean, look at Episode. It's been around since 2014 and it's still going strong.

Pixelberry found that soulless smut attracts them the biggest paying audiences with the least amount of effort. VIP has also evidently worked well enough for them that they're now catering to VIP-only crowds. So while I (and many, many others) hate that Choices has gone in this direction, it's obviously working out for PB, so they're not going to make any changes anytime soon.

The only thing that I could see potentially screwing things up for PB is if Blades of Light and Shadow 2 either doesn't release or flops. This, however, is unlikely, and even if it did happen, it would probably just be a minor bump in the road for PB.

TL;DR: Across the Void's financial risks and poor performance directly led to the decline of the quality of Choices books. Particularly well-received books/series like The Royal Romance were milked to death as cash cows until PB discovered that low-quality smut would keep the app afloat.

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poorchoicesallaround · 7 months

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choices chronology

(a complete timeline of the debut of all choices books since 2016. mini stories/short stories have an asterisk beside them, and only books with exact debut dates are included. vip books are included with their early access date, not their public debut.)

2016

the crown & the flame, book 1 - august 17

most wanted - august 17

the freshman, book 1 - august 17

the freshman, book 2 - august 22

* chris: luxury getaway - august 22

* james: masquerade ball - august 22

* kaitlyn: the perfect date - august 22

the crown & the flame, book 2 - september 7

rules of engagement, book 1 - september 22

* the freshman: love bites - october 19

* the freshman: snowed in - december 7

endless summer, book 1 - december 15

the freshman, book 3 - december 22

#lovehacks, book 1 - december 22

* the haunting of braidwood manor - january 4

2017

* the freshman: game of love - february 8

rules of engagement, book 2 - january 25

the crown and the flame, book 3 - march 29

the royal romance, book 1 - april 13

the freshman, book 4 - may 3

#lovehacks, book 2 - june 2

endless summer, book 2 - june 30

hero - july 12

the sophomore, book 1 - july 12

high school story, book 1 - september 7

the royal romance, book 2 - september 22

high school story, book 2 - october 6

it lives in the woods - october 18

* the freshman: hartfield horror story - october 18

the sophomore, book 2 - december 6

home for the holidays - december 13

red carpet diaries, book 1 - december 15

endless summer, book 3 - december 22

2018

high school story, book 3 - february 28

perfect match, book 1 - february 28

the royal romance, book 3 - march 2

bloodbound, book 1 - march 30

the junior - april 9

veil of secrets - june 1

red carpet diaries, book 2 - june 13

rules of engagement, book 3 - june 21

america's most eligible: season 10 - june 27

desire & decorum, book 1 - july 30

across the void - august 20

perfect match, book 2 - september 5

the senior - september 14

big sky country - september 21

high school story: class act, book 1 - october 8

it lives beneath - october 10

the elementalists, book 1 - october 24

* rules of engagement: newlyweds - november 8

a courtesan of rome - november 14

the heist: monaco - december 10

desire & decorum, book 2 - december 17

2019

america's most eligible: all stars - january 16

ride-or-die: a bad boy romance - january 25

high school story: class act, book 2 - february 11

open heart, book 1 - february 22

the elementalists, book 2 - march 15

passport to romance - march 20

wishful thinking - april 15

nightbound - april 24

bloodbound, book 2 - may 17

platinum - may 30

red carpet diaries, book 3 - june 7

the royal heir, book 1 - june 22

sunkissed - june 26

bachelorette party - july 18

big sky country, book 2 - july 27

desire & decorum, book 3 - august 4

mother of the year - august 30

america's most eligible: wedding edition - september 18

save the date - september 29

the royal masquerade - october 18

high school story: class act, book 3 - october 30

bloodbound, book 3 - november 9

* the royal holiday - november 19

* the elementalists: winters past - november 27

baby bump, book 1 - december 9

hot couture - december 19

with every heartbeat - december 19

* bloodbound: dark solstice - december 21

* desire & decorum: first winter - december 22

2020

the royal heir, book 2 - january 24

blades of light and shadow, book 1 - january 29

a very scandalous proposal - february 5

open heart: second year - february 29

witness: a bodyguard romance - march 16

distant shores - april 3

the nanny affair, book 1 - may 13

the unexpected heiress - july 22

queen b, book 1 - june 26

my two first loves - july 27

the royal heir, book 3 - august 21

ms. match - october 3

rising tides - october 28

baby bump, book 2 - november 20

foreign affairs - december 30

2021

open heart: third year - february 19

slow burn - march 26

laws of attraction - april 27

the nanny affair, book 2 - june 18

the royal finale - july 28

shipwrecked - august 27

queen b, book 2 - september 22

wake the dead - october 27

surrender, book 1 - november 26

crimes of passion, book 1 - december 22

2022

untameable - february 25

the princess swap - march 25

the cursed heart, book 1 - april 27

immortal desires, book 1 - may 25

the nanny affair, book 3 - june 24

murder at homecoming - july 29

the phantom agent - august 31

guinevere - october 26

wolf bride - december 23

kiss of death - november 25

surrender, book 2 - december 28

2023

getaway girls - january 25

roommates with benefits, book 1 - february 24

first comes love - march 29

the duchess affair - april 28

kindred - may 26

crimes of passion, book 2 - june 28

the billionaire's baby - july 26

dirty little secrets - august 18

blades of light and shadow, book 2 - september 1

alpha - october 13

(if you see an errors, please let me know!)

#choices #playchoices #i mostly made this so i could compare different eras of choices #thought it would be nice to share it with the public #there are sooo many freshman books god kill me #anyways my main takeaway from this? capitalism kills art

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cadybear420 · 1 month

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Cadybear's Reviews- Witness

Welcome to the twenty-fourth official Cadybear's Reviews! Today I'll be talking about Witness, which I have ranked on the "Rotting Flesh Tier" at 2 stars out of a possible 10. My last and only playthrough of this was around May 2021.

Hahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahhhahahahahahhahahahhahhahahhaahahhahahahahahhaahahahahahahhahaaaahahhahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahhhahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahaha what the fuck were you guys smoking ahahahahahahahahhahahaah

Looking back on it though, this one probably… isn’t the worst. It’s certainly generic and aggravating, but there isn’t really anything about it that is outright offensive. I mean, maybe by the Choices standards of the year it came out, it certainly would be trash tier. But as of late, we’ve gotten some *really* bad stuff that gives this one a run for its money.

A lot of people tend to deem MC as whiny, spoiled, obnoxious, and a jerk to Cassian. But a few others have pointed out that a lot of MC’s behaviors make sense considering she’s just been through a deeply traumatic event (y’know, witnessing a murder) and so it’s natural for her to be a bit messy and irrational and unpredictable, especially when she’s thrown into a lot of less-than-desirable situations. I mean, after suddenly watching a murder take place right in front of you, who wouldn’t be terrified.

Which is a valid point, but also frustrating since we still have zero agency with this character. We don’t really get much say in how our MC responds to or deals with this trauma, and it would be nice to have options because there are different ways people can respond to trauma. But of course we don’t get that, because writing different possible versions for a MC requires actual effort.

To add insult to injury, pretty much all the options for MC to behave more rationally (as well as this pre-set childhood backstory about how everything her parents did was for status) are paywalled. Choices certainly isn’t immune to highway robbery and paywalling ridiculous things, even in their best works, but for God’s sake, they make us pay diamonds to even eat anything for breakfast or dodge a taser gun!

Also, the trope of having a MC being protected by a super muscular bodyguard LI is… so fucking done to me. Especially since this app is generally aimed at straight/wlm audiences. I don’t mind if other people like it, obviously, but I’d like to see it switched up for a change. At least let us have a male MC option for this– seriously, this story is very pointlessly genderlocked (Then again, we’d have one side of the fandom complaining about “taking away one of the few games with female locked playable characters” and another side of the fandom complaining about how the MC is “female coded” because they get protected and rescued by a bodyguard, but those are their problems tbh).

Okay, so why don’t I consider this one one of the worst? Well, even considering the many, many problems people have justifiably brought up about this– the stiff MC, the ridiculous diamond-walling, the formulaic romance dynamic– while those are all real problems with the story, I don’t any of them are outright offensive. Especially considering a lot of the newer books we’ve been getting like Surrender, FCL, and TBB, which seem to give straight up toxic relationships and behaviors a mere slap on the wrist.

MC and Cassian’s relationship isn’t something I would call a healthy relationship, but I wouldn’t call it toxic either. So between that and the relationships of the aforementioned books, it’s like choosing between prune juice and bleach. Which is pretty much the difference between Rotting Flesh Tier and PooPoo Tier– the former is the equivalent to prune juice while the latter is the equivalent to bleach.

And, hey, this one is at least a fun kind of bad. People have memed on this one to hell and back for the ridiculous stuff, such as how eating breakfast is paywalled and “Say I don’t like breakfast” is the free option. It at least gave us some stupid stuff to laugh at that will be remembered in Choices history.

So overall, it’s not quite the worst. But at best it doesn’t really do anything new or special and is just fun to laugh at, and at worst it’s annoying as all fuck.

#choices stories you play #choices #choices game #choices stories we play fandom #choices stories we play #choices witness #witness #witness: a bodyguard romance

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