A Final Note from the Author,

and

The Complete Soundtrack to Kurt's Gamble

It is finally finished. That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I delivered that final epithet "The End" to the bottom of Chapter 15 (and I am really damn proud of that chapter).

When I first started Kurt's Gamble I had just finished watching "Journey", the finale to season one, and my head was bubbling with ideas. It was the first time in a long time that my muse had sparked as much of an interest as it did, and it was exciting. You'll notice that the first four or five chapters simply aren't as well-written as the rest – I have pretty exacting standards in grammar and spelling for myself before I post something. The reason for that was that I was rushing them out a chapter a night. I've never updated something that fast; the ideas were hitting me like bullets – although, funnily enough, I didn't even realize I'd written a badboy!Kurt story until I was nearing the end.

By the time I finally mapped out the final steps of this story, chapters thirteen to fifteen—those pivotal plot moments—this story was already rounding 400 reviews (and is now at over 500, which is half a thousand, which is insane), had been recommended on different sites, and was the most successful of all of my stories. It's pretty damn dear to my heart, and it's been a joy sharing this with all of you.

On that note...

You'll never quite realize how sorry I am for that insane stretch of time between the posting of the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters. What happened to me during that time is intensely personal, and it was a very dark period of my life. Had I actually sparked enough interest in writing during this time, Jacob Ben-Israel would have become a school shooter and ended the story pretty damn quick (also, incidentally, the reason I never updated Phantasmagoria during this time, funnily enough). For everyone who sent me questions and words of encouragement during this time, you'll never know how grateful I am for you. I've come out of something horrible and done something good with it – in fact, I'm graduating from my final semester at college in a couple of weeks (the real world is waiting for me, folks, but here I still am).

And so, to all of my readers, all those people who favorited, who shared, who recommended, who followed, who took any time with this story – and especially, especially, those who took the time to review:

I humbly thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are the reason that this story is now complete. There were days that I simply sat and read the pages of reviews left on this story and used that to spur myself on. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And so, with that wheezing waffle (to quote one Albus Dumbledore) out of the way, I now present:

Glee

Kurt's Gamble

The Soundtrack

(Arranged by Title, Original Artist, Performed by within the story, and Original Album and Release Year. All songs are posted on YouTube, to the best of my knowledge, and it's pretty easy to make a playlist on that site. If someone's interested in making a fanmix, please PM me and I'll post it.)

What Is This Feeling? (from "Wicked") – Idina Menzel & Kristin Chenoweth [Kurt & Rachel] Wicked Original Broadway Cast Recording (2003)

Droplets – Colbie Caillat (featuring Jason Reeves) [Kurt's iPod on the bleachers, Chapter Two: Duck and Fire] Breakthrough (2009)

So Damn Beautiful – Poloroid [Kurt & Puck] Nip/Tuck Original Television Soundtrack (2004)

LoveGame – Lady Gaga [Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Mercedes & Quinn] The Fame (2008)

Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) – P!nk [Puck & Quinn] I'm Not Dead (2007)

Come to Me – Megan McCauley [Kurt] Better Than Blood (2007)

I Am Music – Aaliyah, Timbaland & Static (of Playa) [Puck & Kurt] Ultimate Aaliyah (2005)

Superfabulous – BT (featuring Rose McGowan) [Kurt & Puck] Charmed: The Final Chapter (2006)

Heavy in Your Arms – Florence + the Machine [Kurt & Puck] The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2010)

So Yesterday – Hilary Duff [Quinn & Kurt] Metamorphosis (2003)

Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind [Puck, Quinn, Rachel, Kurt & Mercedes] Third Eye Blind: A Collection (2006)

Porcelain – Moby [Playing on the radio, Chapter Eight: Porcelain] The Beach Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2000)

Porcelain Doll – Megan McCauley [Kurt] Better Than Blood (2007)

Schadenfreude (from "Avenue Q") – Natalie Venetia Belcon & Rick Lyon [Quinn, Mercedes & Rachel] Avenue Q Original Broadway Cast Recording (2003)

People Are Strange – The Doors [Puck & Kurt] The Very Best of The Doors (2007)

Paint It Black – The Rolling Stones [Puck & Kurt] The Very Best of The Rolling Stones, 1964—1971 (2011)

Hung Up – Madonna [Quinn & Kurt] Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)

Part of Your World (from "The Little Mermaid") – Sierra Boggess [Rachel] The Little Mermaid Original Broadway Cast Recording (2008)

Airplanes – B.o.B. (featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore) [Rachel & Matt] B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray (2010)

Part of Your World (Reprise) [from "The Little Mermaid"] – Sierra Boggess [Rachel & Matt] The Little Mermaid Original Broadway Cast Recording (2008)

Belle (Reprise) [from "Beauty and the Beast"] – Susan Egan [Quinn] Beauty and the Beast Original Broadway Cast Recording (1994)

The Beauty Underneath (from "Love Never Dies") – Ramin Karimloo & Charlie Manton [Artie & Quinn] Love Never Dies Original West End Cast Recording (2010)

God Is a DJ – P!nk [Quinn] Try This (2003)

Everyone's a Little Bit Racist (from "Avenue Q") – John Tartaglia, Stephanie d'Abruzzo, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Jordan Gelber & Ann Harada [Mike, Tina & Mercedes] Avenue Q Original Broadway Cast Recording (2003)

My First Kiss – 3OH!3 (featuring Ke$ha) [Santana, Brittany, Jocks & Cheerios] Streets of Gold (2010)

Meet Me in the Red Room – Amiel [Brittany] Moulin Rouge! Vol. 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2002)

Lady Marmalade – Myá, P!nk, Lil' Kim, Christina Aguilera & Missy Elliot [Santana & Brittany] Moulin Rouge! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2001)

Don't Make Me Over (Glee Cast Version) – Amber Riley [Mercedes] Glee: The Music, Vol. 2 (2009)

Colorblind – Counting Crows [Finn & Mercedes] Cruel Intentions Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1999)

Alejandro – Lady Gaga [Kurt] The Fame Monster (2009)

I Like It Rough – Lady Gaga [Puck] The Fame (2008)

Starstruck – Lady Gaga [Puck, Kurt, Mercedes & Tina] The Fame (2008)

Poker Face – Lady Gaga [Puck & Kurt] The Fame (2008)

Telephone – Lady Gaga [Kurt, Puck, Mercedes, Tina, Quinn, Rachel, Santana & Brittany] The Fame Monster (2009)

Bad Romance – Lady Gaga [Kurt, Puck, Mercedes, Tina, Quinn, Rachel, Santana & Brittany] The Fame Monster (2009)

Speechless – Lady Gaga [Quinn] The Fame Monster (2009)

Don't Tell Me – Madonna [Quinn & Kurt] Music (2000)

Music – Madonna [Rachel] Music (2000)

That's How You Know (from "Enchanted") – Amy Adams [Mike & Matt] Enchanted Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2007)

Fuel – Metallica [Kurt] ReLoad (1998)

Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood [Santana] Some Hearts (2006)

Loving You Is Easy – Sarah McLachlan [Kurt] Laws of Illusion (2010)

Harem – Sarah Brightman [Kurt, Quinn & Cheerios] Harem (2003)

American Pie – Madonna [Quinn, Finn, Artie, Puck, Mike, Kurt, Mercedes, New Directions & WMHS Students]

Dirty Little Secret – Sarah McLachlan [Kurt] Afterglow (2003)

The Last Song I'm Wasting on You – Evanescence [Kurt's song in Chapter Thirteen: Medley] The Open Door B-side, released with the "Lithium" single (2006)

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You – Madonna [Finn's song in Chapter Thirteen: Medley] Hard Candy (2008)

Don't Tell Me – Avril Lavigne [Puck & Kurt's song in Chapter Thirteen: Medley] Under My Skin (2004)

It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World (Glee Cast Version) – Dianna Agron [Incidental from Chapter Fourteen: It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World] Glee: The Music, Vol. 3 — Showstoppers (Deluxe Edition) (2010)

I Say a Little Prayer (Glee Cast Version) – Dianna Agron, Naya Rivera & Heather Morris [Incidental from Chapter Fourteen: It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World] Glee: The Music, Vol. 1 (Deluxe iTunes Edition) (2009)

Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) – Lady Gaga [Quinn, Mike, Artie & Tina] The Fame (2008)

Time to Say Goodbye (Sarah's Intimate Version) – Sarah Brightman [Rachel] Eden (Deluxe Edition) [Note: This bonus track is the English language version of Time to Say Goodbye (Con te Partirò), originally an Italian-language duet between Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli]

You Keep Me Hangin' On (Glee Cast Version) – Dianna Agron [Incidental from Chapter Fourteen: It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World] Glee: The Music, Vol. 1 (2009)

Broken – Seether (featuring Amy Lee of Evanescence) [Finn's car stereo on the way to IHOP from Chapter 14: It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World] The Punisher: The Album Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2004)

Reverie – Megan McCauley [Kurt] Better Than Blood (2007)

The Descent (Confessions of a Ghost) – Mark Salling [Kurt & Quinn] Pipe Dreams (2010)

Papa Don't Preach (Glee Cast Version) – Dianna Agron [Incidental from Chapter Fourteen: It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World] Glee Cast single, available on iTunes (2009)

The Promise – In This Moment [Puck's stereo while working out at the WMHS gym from Chapter Fourteen: It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World] A Star-Crossed Wasteland (2010)

Extraordinary – Liz Phair [Dairy Queen radio station while Burt and Quinn eat illicit ice cream in Chapter Fourteen: It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World] Liz Phair (2003)

Give Me All Your Luvin' – Madonna (featuring Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.) [Kurt, Quinn, Brittany, Santana & Cheerios] MDNA (2012)

Heartbeat – Madonna [Playing on Kurt's stereo while getting ready for first day "back" in Chapter Fifteen: So Happy I Could Die] Hard Candy (2008)

Money Honey – Lady Gaga [Playing on Kurt's car stereo while driving Finn to school in Chapter Fifteen: So Happy I Could Die] The Fame (2008)

It's Been Awhile – Staind [Puck] Break the Cycle (2001)

Crystal Ball – P!nk [Kurt] Funhouse (2008)

Were the World Mine (from "Were the World Mine") – Tanner Cohen & Nathaniel David Becker [Kurt, Rachel, Tina, Mercedes, Quinn & Mike] Were the World Mine Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2008)

So Happy I Could Die – Lady Gaga [Puck] The Fame Monster (2009)

Good Enough – Evanescence [Kurt] The Open Door (2006)

Born This Way: The Country Road Version – Lady Gaga [The writing of the final author's note] Born This Way (Deluxe Edition) [Disc 2] (2011)*

The author would like to thank Jessica, for her wonderful beta-ship of the final chapter and words of gentle encouragement when necessary, Ptera_Waters, for everything, and IceQueenRia, for her phenomenal Puck/Kurt stories and for encouraging reviews throughout the way.

The following albums were particularly instrumental to the writing of this story:

Better Than Blood by Megan McCauley, particularly "Migraine", "Fragile", "Come to Me" and "Porcelain Doll".

The Fame by Lady Gaga, particularly "LoveGame", and "Poker Face".

The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga, particularly "So Happy I Could Die" for fuelling the final chapter.

MDNA by Madonna, particularly "I Don't Give A" for Kurt's attitude theme and especially "Falling Free" for being epic.

*A quick note on "Born This Way", to anyone who's interested: I didn't like the album. There are a few songs (especially "Yoü and I") that I thought were quite good, but most I just truly didn't like. One of the problems, I think, is that I was a Madonna fan long before I was a Lady Gaga fan and I really didn't like how original Lady Gaga used to be and how clearly derivitive of "Express Yourself" "Born This Way" really is. If you don't like the title track and the theme of the album, you're probably not going to like the album...but this version, the southern-rock style "Born This Way: The Country Road Version", oddly enough, I really, really liked. I thought it was original and quite good. So there you have it.

Well, my friends, this is the end, for real this time. Thank you for your time, your patience, and again, just thank you. If you're looking for more from me on the Glee front, I'll be working solely on Phantasmagoria, a Kurt/Sam AU, from this point forward, and my Kurt/Blaine epic (if I do say so myself, damn but that sucker took forever) The Hollow Men is also located on this site. A thousand times thank you and goodbye.

—The Drowned World