Deux à Deux | drama/romance/thriller | 40K words [29 September 2024]

Title: Deux à Deux
Author: Ray Wilson
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller, Crime

To play the demo, go here: https://dashingdon.com/go/17086

To view the ADULT CONTENT forum post, go here: https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/deux-a-deux-drama-romance-thriller-29-september-2024-adult-content/160524

Tumblr: https://deuxadeuxif.blog/
Playlists: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kx0PmXsFo7uX3JQCx6Hb?si=758f229ad18d406a
Pinterest: https://pin.it/4YHODIf4K
Patreon: Deux à Deux (IF) | Patreon for Ray Wilson’s interactive fiction “Deux à Deux."

Current status: Prologue completed, Ch. 1 is over 1/2 done (52,000 words). Approx. 11% completed (with goal of 800,000 words).

You should see the “play again” and other buttons when done, and you should have save slots. Patreon content for Prologue is completed (no POVs for Erin or Theo because their scenes were too short—they will be first for POVs in Ch. 1). Misc. drabbles will be popping up on the Tumblr and Patreon (free and paid) periodically. Please keep messaging me either here or on Tumblr if you find errors :slight_smile:

Next major update will be CHAPTER 1, which will release late October or early November 2024 (exact date TBD).


BLURB
As a server at a self-proclaimed “upscale” restaurant in New York City, most of your shifts end with exhaustion, total rage, or vague annoyance. When a beautiful couple leaves you a note with their receipt (instructing you to quit your job and let them “take care” of you), along with a $500 tip, you’re intrigued.

You don’t expect much from the note, but it quickly becomes obvious that you’ve caught the Lyonses attention. They’re persistent as they are mysterious, but you soon realize there’s a dark underbelly to their glamorous, luxurious lifestyle. Whether you stay in it or not is up to you.

Will you become as cold and crooked as the Lyons couple, or try to shift their dynamic? You might find another path with their permanent “house guest,” M, or join their entire group as a fourth. Maybe you’ll stay at your crappy serving job and get closer with one of two coworkers, to the horror of the Lyonses—or maybe even your boxing coach.

Whatever happens, it won’t come easy.


This game will have:

  1. Romance (duh)
  2. Stat checks with consequences (there will be 2-3 majorly game-defining stat checks, so choose wisely)
  3. Combat (everyone has a few skeletons in their closets, right?)
  4. A fair bit of drama.

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Game essentials

WHAT CAN I DO IN DEUX À DEUX?
In Deux à Deux, you can romance several people at once (whether there will be consequences or not is anyone’s guess … mwahaha) or devote yourself to one RO. You can also date nobody, I guess, but that will be a lot less fun in this game, sorry!

You can throw yourself wholeheartedly into life with the Lyonses, including going clubbing, eating fine dining, going on impromptu vacations, etc.

You can also reject their frivolous lifestyle entirely, avoiding them when you can (although they’re quite persistent) and spend time boxing, hanging with your coworkers, or trying to get M out of the Lyonses lives.

Or, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can try to balance both.[/details]

RO details

WHO ARE MY ROS?
T Lyons: T (Tom/Tess/Tory) Lyons is wealthy, mysterious, and cold. They’re married to N Lyons, and the two of them are the very picture of a New York City “power couple.”

T takes an immediate liking to you when they meet you at La Table (the restaurant you work at). Their interest is what sweeps you into the Lyonses life, into their own luxurious, illicit, private world.

Appearance: T Lyons is American and black. They have black hair, sharp lips, and cold brown eyes.

N Lyons: N (Noah/Natasha/Nico) Lyons is T’s devoted spouse, and is in turns alluring and terrifying. N is apprehensive to have you join their world, despite their immediate interest in you, because the Lyonses only ever have one “house guest” at once.

N Lyons will be a little harder to win over, but they may prove a more loyal ally. You also wonder how much they pull the strings of the Lyonses’ lives behind the scenes. Only time will tell.

Appearance: N Lyons is Mexican-American and brown. They have very dark brown hair, long eyelashes, and calculating black eyes.

M Nguyen: M (Mason/Molly/Mars) Nguyen is the current house guest of the Lyonses, and you immediately wonder if they find you an unwelcome intrusion or a possible savior.

M is more reserved than either of the Lyonses, but then again, they don’t have much to talk about. They don’t leave the house much, but they want for nothing under the Lyonses care. You just wonder if they’re in a gilded cage, or truly satisfied.

Appearance: M Nguyen is Vietnamese-American and tan. They have black hair, angular cheekbones, and thoughtful black eyes.

R Burns: R (Ronnie/Roxanne/Rainn) Burns is one of your closest almost-friends in your “real life.” They’re your boxing coach, the best around, and you consider them mostly (or completely) to thank for your combat skills.

Youre always entertained with R, but you’re torn between deciding if there’s real care beneath the easy amusement on the surface. Do you want to get closer to R, or leave them in the dust?

Appearance: R Burns is Punjabi-American and brown. They have black hair, a prominent nose, and dark brown eyes.

Erin Pinsky: Erin Pinsky (genderlocked) is your almost-almost-codependent coworker. She’s a very talented server, always lighthearted and charming … if you cared more about your job, you might be jealous.

She seems to really like you, too. The question is, is that affection only surface-level, or could there be something more there?

Appearance: Erin Pinsky is American and white. She has poorly bleached hair, always-on black eyeliner, and bright brown eyes.

Theo Ferreira: Theo Ferreira (genderlocked) is another of your coworkers, but you can’t really tell if he thinks anything about you … like, at all. He doesn’t really give a shit about La Table or his job, so he’s more stern than charming as a server.

For some reason, the customers eat this up. Sometimes he’ll sneak you stolen food from the back and insist you bring it home, but otherwise he’s pretty quiet. Still, he’s very handsome.

Appearance: Theo Ferreira is Brazilian-American and brown. He has buzzed brown hair, expressive eyebrows (though he hates this), and shrewd black eyes.

Currently it’s about 11% done, and I plan on updating every 1.5 months. The goal word count is roughly 800,000 (incl. code) and I currently have 88,000 written (only 32,000 released so far).

To play the demo, go here: https://dashingdon.com/go/17086

236 Likes

I like it so far

3 Likes

I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read up to this point ! I am glad we can choose both T and N’s gender. It seems like combat will be a recurring theme since it’s prominently featured early on and has its own dedicated stat ( I wonder what we will be up to ).

However, regarding the translation of “The Table” to “Le Tableau” in French, if you were referring to a table 𓊯𓊳, the correct French term would be “La Table”. “Le Tableau” typically refers to a painting or a school board.

Np ! It’s also helpful to check the meaning of the word in context, i find Linguee pretty reliable.

12 Likes

Omg thank you for that translation note, I’ll fix that right away! I know literally zero French, lol. And yes I wanted the MC to be able to fight for sure, who knows what their exploits will lead them into … lol. And I just love combat so it’s sad for me when they’re missing from modern/slice-of-life games. Figured the boxing was a decent loophole!

9 Likes

Thank you!!!

3 Likes

This is one of those instances where I would never have gone looking for a story with this premise, but now that you’ve put this in front of me, I’m intrigued. Your writing is very clear and relatable, and I’m looking forward to meeting T. and N. Lyons; they promise to be a bit larger-than-life, even if detached or cold, and I want to see how they and their world compares to the world you’re introducing us to at the very beginning, which feels more grounded and recognizable.

You also managed to make me nostalgic for my kickboxing days, lol.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for updates!

7 Likes

AHHH THANK YOU! I was dead set on writing this as a novel or short story at first, but I’ve been obsessed with IFs for a while now and I figured … what the hell, I’ll try to write one. Literally started writing this because I was dying after “Infamous” (which is insanely good) and I was desperate for another dark-ish/angsty slice of life. I’m really excited for this project, though, I’ve been missing writing :,)

12 Likes

That’s awesome! I’m glad you did. I may even follow suit one day, haha - I’m working on a novel at the moment and I keep thinking about it.

6 Likes

I cant seem to get very far due to an error in stage 1577 or something along the lines. Very good so far though. SS wouldnt load unfortunately.

1 Like

SS like stats? I think 1577 might be as far as I’ve gotten, but I’ll update soon—tonight I’m trying to get at least to where MC arrives at work.

5 Likes

No worries I like the story so far very interested in seeing what you have in store. :grin:

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Interesting start, I am curious to see more!

1 Like

Just played through the demo and I’m loving it so far! Very well written and an interesting plot, though it wouldn’t let me save at all and I’m assuming it just ends at where you are considering wether to give coach burns a visit because it wouldn’t let me past there

1 Like

Please fix the save slots. I need them to play and test. :smiley:

3 Likes

The ‘smirk and shrug’ option when talking to the coach led to an error.

3 Likes

Also the shy option

1 Like

Hi! So sorry, I removed it because it won’t let me use that line of code with randomtest (sigh, I have not figured out how to fix that). Just reinstated the save slots.

4 Likes

Couldn’t progress after leaving the bathroom after clicking all options, is that where it ends? If so than it might be a good idea to put a page saying that’s the end until the next update.

2 Likes

Quick question: to stay with Lyons MC will eventually have to become cold and cruel? No variables for kind/-er MCs here?

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