User blog:Gnomehunter/Better the Devil You Know

Chuck was bored. And maybe a little horny. A dreadful combination. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be working. He paced around his room, glancing out the window, (not an option right now). There was one thing that came to mind. It wasn’t his first choice. With the recent introduction of mamono to the world, they had gotten all over the different earth media to create a wealth of explicit content, some of it original, some of it borrowing from current existing content. He decided to look into the world of mobile games, which were simple to pick up and hadn’t seen much exploration by monsters. Apparently. Perusing the app store, he picked one at random. Dungeon Keeper. The image depicted some sort of cave looking background, with the title, and a red skinned woman looking like some sort of demon, grinning and beckoning to the viewer. Download. Free. He opened the game. The art looked fine, the music was unremarkable. Start tapping, eyes skimming over the tutorials. Build dungeons. Hire minions. Build more dungeons. More minions. Etc. Curiously, the graphics didn’t seem to include any sexy monsters like he had expected. The minions were sexless little red critters. The gameplay actually seemed kind of interesting. It was like a logic/planning/spatial awareness puzzle, building a dungeon with such and such elements and restrictions. No funny business about limit on moves, or “energy” nonsense, or being timed out and forced to wait. After a while, he barely remembered the original reason for downloading the game. But after an hour or so, he ran into the catch. The red skinned woman from the title screen showed up, and started babbling about gems. Buy gems to make shit. Or, get the minions to make it. Have to wait to build certain structures. “There’s no time to wait! Spend some gems to rush this structure to completion!” She implored, and the free gems he’d been given by the game lit up, as if he was meant to spend them. He was just about to give up when he looked at the corner of the game screen. Was that an X? Yes! He clicked on it and it closed the screen, allowing him to go right back to the gameplay. The structures seemed secondary to the main game loop, so he finished the challenge and put it down, more satisfied than he’d ever expected to be. Went right outside for a walk around town.

As Chuck continued the next day, he stumbled onto the second catch of the game. It seemed to be some sort of glorified advertising for single monsters. A few more hours and he was interrupted with a pop up. There was a picture of five different monster profiles, a snake girl, a slime, a harpy, a spider and a catgirl. They all seemed to be listed as being near to his location. A little uncertain, he found the X in the corner of the screen and closed the ad. They were relatively unobtrusive, and the game continued to be engaging even as he was able to avoid the use of currency. But weeks into the game, he finally ran into an unavoidable obstacle. The game would not let him bypass the next structure. It had to be built, and it required more gems than he could imagine. There didn’t seem to be any way around it. Tapping on the link to the store, he found

many options for buying gems. With real money. No thanks.

Opening the game the next day, hoping things might look different, he saw a new message. The same demon looking woman with a message: “Free gems”. Too good to be true. He clicked on it anyway. Nothing happened. As he put his phone down, looking to do something else,

“Hey there cutie”, a voice said from behind him.

“What the fuck?” He whipped around to see a woman laying on his bed. She had red skin just like the kind of character he’d seen in the game. She was laying under the sheets, on her back, twisting around so that she could make eye contact with him. Giving the most provocative look he could have imagined. A bit of a smirk.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?” He asked, panicky.

“What? Are you really that unhappy to see me? I made a trip all the way from Hell just to visit you”.

“Just tell me who you are”.

“I’m a devil. My name is Malfina. I came because you summoned me by that game you’ve been playing. It’s impressive, really. Most players lose interest long before they get to that point. Click on a monster profile and they have much better things to do than play a little game”.

“So those were real monsters that showed up on my screen?”

“Of course they were. Monsters in your area looking for a nice guy. I’m sure any of them would be interested to meet you. So tell me, Charlie, how have you been playing for so long? You must have seen dozens of monster profiles by now?”

“Uh, it’s kind of standard that ads for attractive women online aren’t real. Just scammers, or viruses. I dunno, this game was pretty good for a mobile game”.

“Hmm, I’ll have to make some notes. Maybe we can improve our game. But hey now, Charlie, aren’t you curious as to why I’m here now?” As Malfina was speaking, she had now twisted herself around so that she was laying on her belly, propping herself up with her arms. Oh no. She wasn’t wearing a single thing. Chuck was beginning to notice that the room was getting warmer.

“Well, didn’t I click on that ad about getting free gems?”

“That’s right”, Malfina answered pleasantly. “You need some to continue the game. I have a wonderful little proposition that will be of interest to us both. I normally wouldn’t have the chance to make such a thing to players, but you were so persistent in ignoring the offers from other monsters that I get to come in”.

“So what are you going to suggest?”

“It’s simple. Do you know what we monsters need to live above all else?”

“Uhhhhhm...mana?”

“That’s right. Every human has it. And do you know how we receive it?” Charlie thought for a moment before answering.

“Ooooooohhhhhhhh”.

“That’s right. I can see the gears in your head are turning, so you should know exactly what I’m here to propose to you. It’s a perfectly expected procedure for players who get this far in the game. And you know, we have so many other types of monsters. Demons, imps, hellhounds, succubi and even other types that don’t typically live in Hell. It was just your luck that you got me”. She smiled brilliantly. Chuck was silent. “Weeeelllll, aren’t you going to come on over here? Like I said, this is perfectly expected for players. I’ll throw in some free gems for your game too”. Chuck remained silent, unable to look at her anymore.

“Oh, wait”, she vanished, and this time, she was standing right behind him, just out of view. “You must not have any experience with a woman, huh?” Bingo. “Well don’t worry about that, cutie. I’d be happy to teach you a thing or two…” Chuck tried to see if he could get a better look at her, but she was gripping onto his shoulders now, so that he couldn’t turn. Sweat poured down his face. “Now say for example, we were laying in your bed together. Imagine pressing every inch of our flesh together”, she was whispering in his ear now. She pressed her lips against the back of his neck.

“Oh my god”, he muttered.

“No god is going to want anything to do with you when we’re done”.

---

Chuck was more tired than he ever could have imagined. Laying in bed, with Malfina on top of him, her face plastered with ecstasy as she hugged him as close as she could manage. His head spun, it was still unimaginably hot, even hotter after thinking about what they’d done. His brain was full of haze, so it took him a little while to realize that she was talking. “So, hello? Charlie are you listening?”

“Uh-huh”.

“Ok, damn. That was amazing. Hope I’m not ruining the mood. But I’ll be putting 500,000 gems into your account tomorrow”.

“Great”. Charlie looked up at the devil, who owned his soul now, if he had ever had something like it to begin with. He reached for her and pulled her into another kiss, pressing his lips firmly against hers, and she moaned in pleasure as she reciprocated. Oh yes, Charlie had finally initiated. She toyed with his mouth for a while, before releasing it with a smack.

“You know, there’s no hurry for me to get back to work. Are you hungry, Charlie? I could make something for you”.

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s necessary”.

“Mmm, I think it is. You stay right here, I’ll get to work”. She slowly peeled herself off of the body, Charlie somehow felt colder now that she was gone. As she slid onto the floor, she stood upright, and suddenly was wearing a cute skirt and top. Charlie tried to follow. “No, you stay right there”, she commanded.

“I’m afraid if you go I’ll never see you again”. She giggled in response.

“I promise I’ll be right back”. Anxiously Chuck watched her leave, and waited for her to return. He managed to get out of bed, and pull on some clothes. Then he went downstairs, and found her working away in the kitchen. Some of the things he had left in his fridge were on the counter, but there were also many things he didn’t recognize, bottles and other foodstuffs that he had never seen before. Malfina turned around as soon as he sat down to watch her. “Tch. I told you to wait. But that’s fine. I guess I’d like to spend more time with you too”. Chuck watched her continue to work, until somehow, she conjured a dish of rice and curry, and brought it over to the table where he sat. He looked at the food.

“I don’t have like, any of the things needed to make this dish”.

“That’s fine. I made it myself”. Chuck tried it and gasped. It was goddamn delicious. He started eating it faster, Malfina watching him with a satisfied look. As he was finishing, the oven beeped. “Oh good, the cookies are done”.

“Cookies?”

“Mhm. I just whipped them up myself”. This time Malfina helped herself to the cookies, baked to perfection, still warm and chewy and chocolatey. When they were done, Malfina yawned. “I’ll tell you what Charlie. I’ll stay the night. You won’t see me in the morning, but I’ll be here until you fall asleep. How does that sound?”

“Not long enough. But I guess it’ll do”. Malfina giggled as she followed him back to his bedroom.

---

Chuck woke up the next morning, rather disappointed to find that she really was gone. Deciding to get off to a good start, he went out for some fresh air. Then he made some breakfast, and found that some of the cookies were still there on the counter. Then he remembered the game that Malfina had helped him with. Among other things. He opened it up to take a look and see if anything had changed. He was starting to feel like even if she had lied about the game, he wasn’t going to be too upset. But when he looked at the gem counter he did a double take. Five MILLION gems. He closed and reloaded the game multiple times, but the count remained. Finally he decided to accept it.

Over the next few months, Chuck balanced his day between work at the nearby Sonic, daily walks, and the game. Using his gems just as carefully as before, he found he was never prevented from advancing. But the necessary gem counts were getting higher, and one day he realized how close he was to running into the next roadblock. His mind flashed back to Malfina, wondering if she would show up again. But, fearing that something might go wrong, or that he might never have another chance to see her, he decided to try something different. He quickly made an account on a human dating app. Started chatting with people. He found it relatively easy, and soon he was able to set up a meeting with a nice woman named Clarisse. He wondered whether it was really worth playing with dating apps. Wouldn’t it be easier to try and find Malfina again? No. He wasn’t going to let himself be hung up on a specific person.

---

Clarisse was having a rough day. With so many of those monsters everywhere, looking better than she could ever imagine, it was starting to look like she would never even have a chance to find someone she liked. A real blow to her self esteem too. So it was pleasantly surprising to have such a good conversation with that guy a few days ago, especially when he was interested in meeting in person. So it was even more discouraging when she knocked on the door and it was answered by a woman who looked like she’d stepped right out of Hell, complete with horns and a tail that swung back and forth behind her.

“Can I help you?” She asked pleasantly. Clarisse faltered at the sight of the woman.

“I’m uh, I’m looking to speak to, his name is Chuck?”

“Oh, my Charlie! Are you a friend?” Oh, she knew that Clarisse wasn’t just here for a visit.

“L-look, I don’t know how to tell you this, but that guy was talking with me on this dating app just a few days ago? We made a plan to meet tonight. I swear, I didn’t realize he was already…”

“Oh there’s nothing to worry about, my dear. He doesn’t know it either”. Clarisse stared dumbfound back at the monster woman, who seemed to have already decided this guy belonged to her. She thought for a moment, to speak up, to argue, what right did she have to act like she was already dating when Clarisse had made the appointment. But then she realized how little it really mattered to her. She had seen how some monsters could get when they had their minds on a particular man. She muttered an apology, and turned around to go back down the street, shoulders slumped in resignation. “Wait a minute. Clarisse, was it?” Clarisse turned around to see the woman approaching her. She was rather short. She put a hand up on Clarisse’s shoulder, as if to comfort her. “I truly am sorry to have caused you this pain. I don’t want to make more women unhappy just for my own interests”.

“Well, it’s not that big a deal to me. I just want to find someone I can hang out with. It’s just...kind of hard to compete”.

“Let me help. It’s the least I can do”. She pulled some papers out of her pocket. “These are a few resources for human women that you might find helpful. Meetups for men and women, and several consultations for monsterization if you ever want to have more control over the process. It is the easiest option”.

“Thanks…”. Clarisse took the papers and looked over them. “I think I might look into some of these”.

“Best of luck, dear. I really do hope that everyone, not just monsters, can find someone that they care for”. She watched the human walk down the street, and when she was gone, Malfina smiled to herself. “Time for a little mayhem”. She shifted her appearance until it was bit for bit the exact look of the human she had just spoken with.

---

Chuck had a great night with Clarisse, and when it was time to go, he stood at an arm’s length, ready to see her off with a smile.

“So Clarisse, I was wondering if you’d be interested in hanging out another time?”

“Actually Charlie, I thought I’d like to stay a little longer”, she responded, and Chuck jumped in shock as her voice sounded exactly like Malfina. The woman’s appearance seemed to tremble, and suddenly Malfina was standing before him, dressed in the same thing she had been the first time he saw her, and smiling coyly.

“You’ve been disguising yourself as that lady the entire time?” He exclaimed, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets in surprise.

“Yep”. She put her hands on her hips. Her tail swinging lazily.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here. I was just trying to meet someone”. He tried to take a step back, but she advanced on him.

“Well then, Charlie, you idiot, you moron, you big dummy, you…”, No. That’s no good. Too much. She wasn’t going to put on that kind of performance. Ohhhhhh but he was standing with rapt attention, hanging onto every word. It was perfect. “YOU BIG STUPID BAKA! You didn’t need to bother with strangers! Not when you've got me!”

“You disappeared!”

“Yeah! And you were supposed to call me back again with that game! But you took so much longer than I thought you were going to. Oh I was going crazy waiting for you to call me back again! That’s the whole point of the game you know! People meet monsters, or they get hooked up when they get stuck! You weren’t supposed to play it!”

“Eeehhh it is a pretty good game”.

“Hmm. Then I might have to speak to my supervisors. Can’t have people getting too interested. I’ll have to make those comments when I write my letter of resignation”. She was now partly talking to herself, hand on her chin as she looked deep in thought.

“Resignation?”

“Well yeah, that was only a temporary gig. But I can do that tomorrow. First of all…” She started to advance closer to Chuck, her tail half raised into the air and twitching back and forth. “I have a better game we could play”. Chuck feebly tried to fend her off. The temperature was rising again, and when he backed up against the wall, he looked down as she pressed herself right up against his chest. “I know you want to, Charlie. I want to. And this time I won’t be going anywhere…”. She reached up to pull his face closer, so that she could refamiliarize herself with his touch.

---

Chuck opened his eyes, early in the morning like he had been for several months now. Malfina was clinging to his side as she was every morning. He tried to move but this time she held on with an iron grip, pinning him down against the mattress. He poked her in the side of her torso, and she twitched, uttering a funny sound. It looked like she was awake. Chuck moved, slowly pulling away the covers, malfina grumbled and tried to hold on but she was too small, and soon he was able to sit up out of bed and stand up, Malfina still clinging to his side. “Mmmmmmmph. Stoooooop. Go back to bed…”

“Good morning sweetheart! He replied cheerily.

Malfina sat at the table across from Chuck, looking slightly disgruntled. She rested her chin on a hand, elbow on the table, giving a nasty but insincere glare at Chuck, who munched on the meal he’d made.

“This is all wrong. You’re supposed to laze around all day and let me handle things. I can make food for you too. But I wanted to wait longer before getting up. What has made you so energetic this early?”

“Maybe it’s you”, Chuck answered. “I want to get in a little time outside before getting to work”.

“Really though, that’s something I don’t understand. You don’t need to do anything like that anymore. I can take care of everything”.

“I guess I just want to do things for myself”.

“I wonder if I can change that”, she replied. Chuck finished eating, and walked toward the door, ready to leave.

“Are you coming?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Malfina stood up so she could stand beside him, slipping her hand into his, tail looping around his arm as they stepped outside.