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thatnonameuser · 7 months ago

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The Red King holds a Bleeding Head

A Wonderland of Yanderes - Masterlist Chapter 1. Heartslaybul Part 4.

When things do not go well, they continue to not go well.

This is the feared Dorm Head Riddle Rosehearts. This abridged story's Red Queen, the Rose-Red Tyrant. And to you the most frightening title of all, the Head of a Dorm full of controlling yanderes.

Ace wasn't very smart. That was the first thing. Rule of thumb, don't bad mouth someone when you haven't checked first to make sure they aren't around.

Second thing, of all the ways to officially meet Riddle Rosehearts, this was had to be the worst way. Immediately after Ace's smear campaign. Are you unlucky? You feel unlucky.

Well, here we are, no turning back now.

Whatever you do next, it's all based on Riddle's reaction to Ace's stupidity. Riddle's face is tight in a scowl, arms tightly crossed and you can feel the glare going through Ace right now. Let's hope this doesn't end with an actual beheading.

Cater jumps in to damage control, "Hey Riddle! What's shakin', pal." That was so forced, it might as well have been written by a computer, and not said by a chronically online person. "You're lookin' adorbs, as always!"

Riddle's scowl softens, maybe there's hope. "Hmph, Cater, keep running that mouth and you'll lose it - along with the rest of your head." Nope, no there isn't. When was there ever? Riddle's face may have softened but his temper sure hadn't. Is he always like this?

How can he so casually threaten doing the magician's equivalent of an amputation for an greeting he didn't like!? Maybe your plan was doomed from the start. Does this guy even have friends?

Still, you're not trying to actually be friends. You're looking for allies to use in cases of emergencies. So you'll bite your tongue.

"Sorry, sorry! My bad!" Cater shuts up, faster than you ever seen him so far.

Grim probably seem can't read the room, because he tries to square up with the magic severing Dorm Head with a fuse shorter than Grim himself. "Myah?! You're the guy who put that stupid collar on me at the orientation ceremony!"

Riddle doesn't miss a beat, and throws it back at your foolish feline friend. "And you're the new students who were nearly expelled earlier this week. I'll ask that you not refer to my signature spell as a 'stupid collar" Ok, shitty start so far.....

He glares directly at you next, and you hadn't even said anything yet! "The headmaster's habit of tolerating rulebreakers like you is going to send this entire campus spiraling into chaos one day." You tighten your jaw around your the tip of your tongue. Don't say anything. Just don't say anything.

"Those who break the rules should have their heads removed immediately, without exception." You can taste blood in your mouth, but you won't say a word against his little slander rant. Even if Ace and Grim are sending this plan downhill at the speed of an avalanche, you will persevere.

Unlike you, Ace doesn't seem to know when to shut his big fat mouth, because even after that, and how this conversation started in the first place, he doesn't shut up, "Dude, seriously? This guy looks like a wimp but he sounds like a monster," You hear Ace hiss under his breath. You only hope Riddle didn't hear it.

This polite insult-laden speech finally draws to a close. "The headmaster may have forgiven you, but if you break any further rules, I assure you I will not."

Ace, pulling the idiot card from the deck once again, chooses now to get his collar off his neck. Perfect. "So, uh, listen, Dorm Leader, sir..." Off to a wonderful start, Ace. "Any chance i could get you to remove this collar?"

The response wasn't a surprise. It was expected, really, "I had intended to remove it once you'd taken an opportunity to reflect upon your crimes," So, no. Yay, Ace is stuck in your dorm tonight...."But I've not detected so much as a hint of remorse in the foolishness I've heard you spout today. So I think I'll let you keep that for a while." Saw that coming a mile away.

You tune out the reassurance that he offers regarding school life, more concerned with the fact Ace will be alone with you tonight, again.

"Now, if you've finished your meal, you should quit gossiping and prepare for your next class. Rule 271 is quite clear: One must leave the table within five minutes of completing their lunch."

There are over two hundred rules...? You'd scanned the first fifty rules of the Queen of Hearts, before stopping under the reasonable belief that no one actually followed these insane rules. Was that too much to hope for?

This time his ire is pointed directly at Ace, "You DO understand what happens to rulebreakers I trust?"

Ace sighs, "More insane rules...."

Riddle's eyebrow twitches in irritation, "I believe you mean to say, 'Yes, Dorm Leader!'"

"Yes Dorm Leader," Ace and Deuce yell, and you felt nearly compelled. He's like a dictator threatening his troops.

"Very well then."

Trey tries to calm Riddle down, "Don't worry I'll keep an eye on them."

Riddle eyes Trey with skepticism, "Hmm. As Vice Dorm Leader, I trust you'll avoid any further indiscreet conversation."

Trey is the Vice? Why didn't he tell you guys? Is he trying to hide something. Or, is he trying to separate himself from a certain tyrannical dictator.

Riddle seems satisfied now that he's said, read ordered, his piece. "Now, as per rule 339: The post-meal beverage is to be lemon tea with two sugar cubes. Thus I must go acquire my sugar cubes. Farewell." As he walks away you can hear him mutter under his breath, "Don't even get me started on their violation of running out of sugar cubes....!" Is he ever happy? If you can nitpick every single detail and violation then how do you find any joy in your life? No wonder he's such a jerk to his own dorm mates.

Is it even possible to get him to forgive you? Much less befriend you?

"Yeesh!" Cater exclaims, "That was terrifying."

"That guy......has some serious issues." says Grim. "I don't think serious is enough of a word to describe this...." You agree.

"Hey, we shouldn't disrespect him.." Deuce sounds like wants to agree with you but can't.

You shake your head. "I don't think we're the only ones who think that your Dorm Leader is a bit nuts." You can hear the fearful murmurs of some other Heartslabyul students, relieved that Riddle didn't collar them.

Cater and Trey don't argue against your claim, and that speaks enough in itself. Two upperclassmen are too afraid to even deny what you had said. Trey's smile now feels forced as he explains, "Riddle managed to secure the Dorm Leader title before the end of his very first week at school. I know he can come off a bit harsh, but-"

You cut him off, "Trey, no offense but over half of your dorm mates are cowering in fear because Riddle walked over here. I don't think he comes off a bit harsh. I think he is harsh."

"I know....but" But it doesn't seem like even he believes that, "he's not a bad guy inside. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm."

"Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers' necks?" Trey and Cater laugh awkwardly but they can't deny it. So Grim actually is right.

"So what's this signature spell he mentioned?"

"Hm? You're curious about Riddle's signature spell?"

"That means, like.....it's a spell that only he can cast, right?"

"I doubt he's the only person in the whole world....But yes, a signature spell is a magical ability that is, generally speaking, unique to its user." It might be best you remember this. If there's magic unique to the user, could that magic be dangerous against you? Riddle's own seals off magic, so you're not in immediate danger thanks to that. But you still don't know about the rest of the Heartslabyul students you know. What exactly is their Unique Magic? Does Grim have one?

"Which is why all of us at Heartslabyul House try hard not to violate Riddle's rules." But back to the present issue, Riddle's magic sounds terrifying to magic users. So that does explain why Heartslabyul lives in fear.

"And as long as you are following the rules, Riddle isn't so scary." And that's all you needed to know. If he is kinder to those who follow the rules, then you just had to be a teacher's pet, or a dorm leader's pet. Wait, that sounds wrong either way.

"Speaking of which- are you still not gonna let me into the dorm until I buy a tart, Cater?"

"Don't @ me, but yeah. That's rule 53, so my hands are tied."

"Isn't that taking this too far? Sure, Ace stole something but he still lives in that dorm. Kicking him out is too harsh of a punishment."

"Riddle really looks forward to having the first slice of a tart. So he won't forgive you unless you come back with a whole tart."

Perfect. So all you have to do is find a tart and all will be well. You're starting to realise that that is a whole lot of fat chance served on a plate. Maybe Ace will steal it, and cut you a break.

But as it turns out, Ace is flat broke, so he can't just go buy a tart to replace it with. You would happily just go buy one to save your own ass, but Crowley (the bastard) is yet to give you any money.

Thankfully, Trey offered a solution that would work, make a tart on the cheap and give that to Riddle. You also learned he was a talented baker, which sounds like something you might take advantage of in the future but priorities.

You hope that the tart plan does work, because if you have to do an entire run around for a honestly exhausting wild tart chase is becoming very annoying...

"Riddle wants a chestnut tart next, so I'm gonna need you to gather a ton of chestnuts."

"Like that's any less of a hassle. But.....fine. How many do you need?"

"Well, it's for the unbirthday party, so....Probably two or three hundred?" You choke on your own spit.

"S-Sorry, HUNDRED!?" You splutter.

"And they're all gonna need to be boiled, shelled and pureed." What you do to get Ace out of your house. It may seem that easy to just make a tart and be forgiven, but with how complicated this whole thing had been so far, things will probably be more difficult.

Whatever you have Grim and Deuce to help-

"Alright, I'm gonna head out." "I'm leaving too."

Why are you even surprised. You would have done the same really.

"You heartless cowards!" Ace objects from the abandonment and betrayal. But to be honest, considering he caused this whole mess because he couldn't keep his fingers out of someone's tarts, and the fact he exposed you to another obsessive psycho, you really want to leave him to his own devices.

Before you can jump in with a BS-laden speech to persuade them Cater thankfully jumps in. "Hold up! Haven't you ever heard that food tastes better if you make it with your friends? This'll be a memory to treasure! It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger!"

Trey even proves useful, "Don't tell Riddle, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when eaten right out if the oven.. And the only people who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it."

That's enough to convince Grim, "Well, when you put it that way...Come on, humans, let's do this!"but you doubt that's the same for Deuce. But where you'll go, he'll follow.

"I'm only helping because it will mean you're back in your dorm sooner, Ace. You gonna help, Deuce?"

Deuce smiles at you. "S-Sure, Prefect." You're starting to get the hang of this.

Later, you'd focus on Ace's apology tart. Right now, you'd focus on your own. The apology, not the tart part.

After getting the cut in your tongue treated, you'd asked Ace and Deuce to go to class with Grim without you to get something private done. They'd both pushed to go with you but you managed to shut that down.

With what you had planned, you needed Ace, Deuce and Grim away from you. To prevent any unwanted incidents like accidentally sending Riddle off in an angry fit.

You had a plan, so you just needed to start that plan.

So here you were back in the cafeteria, searching for a head of red hair and there he was sipping a cup of lemon tea with exactly two sugars, if you remembered the rules right, completely alone with only thick tomes for company.

You don't bother yourself worrying about the implications of the him sipping tea all on his lonesome. That's not your priority right now.

You tap Riddle's shoulder, "Excuse me? Riddle Rosehearts, was it?" you say as politely as possible.

He first gives you a look of chagrin, only for it to relax when he realises that you're alone. "You are correct. Have you come to cause more trouble and break more rules?"

His suspicion is warranted, but you've prepared for that. "Actually, I'm here to apologize to you specifically for all the trouble I caused." His eyes widen in surprise. He wasn't expecting that. Alright, here we go. "May I sit with you?" You say, allowing a small smile grace your lips.

He snaps out of his surprise at your question, but he doesn't reject you. After a few moments of silence, he finally says, "I-I'll allow it." He motions to the empty seat in front of him, and you accept the seat with another smile and a word of thanks.

Alright, step one of the potentially dangerous plan, apologise the the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader. "I'm sorry about bothering you like this. I'm sure you'd rather spend the time around your friends rather than a troublemaker."

He doesn't answer for a few seconds, "I'd rather spend my time in solitude than in the company of troublemakers," he responds. Does he not have friends? That answer makes you feel that the answer to the question is a yes. "However, you wish to apologise for your violations, so I'll humor your presence." Ok, so far so good. "Well, I should get the apologies out the way. I'm sorry about all the trouble I've caused since I've been here. Grim during the ceremony, accidentally damaging the Great Seven statues and destroying the chandelier. I hadn't meant to."

Riddle frowns, setting aside his teacup to cross his arms, "One should not apologise whilst making excuses." he recites as if he'd heard or said that a thousand times. He really is a stickler for the rules.

"What rule of the Queen of Hearts is that?" You ask, with how many there are you really need to remember them.

He shakes his head, "It isn't one. It's one of my mother's." Let's not touch that, insulting someone's mother is the fastest way to piss someone off.

You take a deep breath before continuing, "Well, then I'm also sorry for making excuses for my behaviour. I hope you can forgive me."

Riddle's silent for another few seconds, as if contemplating the validity of your apology. You feel yourself stop breathing in anticipation.

Finally, he answers, "It's rare for a troublemaker to be genuinely repentant, so I'll accept your apology. However, I won't be as forgiving should you choose to continue breaking the rules." So he is capable of forgiving troublemakers, that means Ace will eventually be back in his own dorm.

"Thank you." you let out a sigh of relief. Alright, time for stage two. Suck up like the worst kind of teacher's pet, "If you don't mind me asking, could you maybe teach about the rules of the Queen of Hearts?"

Riddle chokes on a sip of his tea, and looks at you in incredulity "Y-You what?"

"I want you to teach me about the rules of the Queen of Hearts, so if I ever break any of them I can't use ignorance as an.....excuse?" You trail off as you find Riddle completely stunned, has this never happened before? Has no one bothered to ask him to help them learn the rules so they could avoid breaking them?

"W-Well, it seems you really are trying to atone for your mistakes. If that is the case, then yes." He pauses, before offering you a cup of tea, smelling of sweet citrus, " Would you like some?"

If it's lemon, you don't want to drink it. The citric acid in the lemon will burn your tongue like hell. But there are unfortunately rules. "Are they any rules that say whether I can say yes or no?" You're not failing if this is a test.

Riddle smiles at you, "You learn quickly, Rule 114, One must never reject a cup of tea from the Queen." You, against your better judgement, accept it and take a sip and the tea burns the cut on your tongue but you force it down nonetheless. In the name of Future you's safety you would do what you had to. As long as it goes down without objection, you'll drink as fast as you can to dull the burn.

"Perhaps there is hope for you, even with that unignorable violation." Riddle says and you hesitate in your next sip.

"And what is that?" You ask, before taking another mouthful of tea.

He spares a few glances around as if looking for any eavesdroppers before dropping his voice into a hushed whisper, "That you are a darling attending Night Raven."

You choke, how does everyone keep knowing?! "H-How did you know?!" You ask, your voice barely a whisper.

"I was taught to recognise all the traits your kind has as soon as I was registered." How many of those were there?! Besides all the darlings here can't be exactly like you, that would just be impossible. Right?

Riddle continues, "That and you remind me of my father, kind and bubbly when you are surrounded by people you do think are trustworthy and jumpy and frightful when you think you are surrounded by those you don't. Subtly is not exactly your strong point."

You deflate like a balloon. You carefully set down the teacup before it breaks in your hands. "Are...Are you going to tell anyone?"

He shakes his head, "No, and while I feel your presence at this school is a travesty that Crowley has allowed to happen, you attempting to hide your identity keeps the members of my dorm from killing each other. You must understand it is quite difficult to mix paint in manner that hides the smell of blood." They kill people and mix their blood with the paint. Oh, shit, did...did you paint with blood earlier!?

"So I suggest you figure out how to circumvent your little issue." He finishes.

But that's impossible thanks to that stupid law, "But how do I do that if I can't access any of the things you can?" You ask.

"Your testing papers, all darlings have the legal right to see them after their registered. Headmaster Crowley should be able to give them to you if you request them. You'll be able to tell with those." Riddle gives you the first answer that actually helps you.

All you need to get Crowley to give you those papers and you'll be free to figure out how to save your skin.

You sag in relief, finally some good news. And then you remember, "Wait, why are you helping me?"

"Because it will keep you out of trouble. Speaking of, I expect your attendance at the unbirthday party tomorrow, so that I can keep an eye on you."

"Thank you." You whisper, for once you actually feel relieved. You were wrong about earlier it seems, he isn't as bad as you though he was.

"Now, Rule 71 of the Queen of Hearts states that one must never arrive on time, always early. You should leave now, before the bell rings." You nod, rising from your seat as he does the same.

"Thank you for everything. See you tomorrow, " You say with a smile before turning heel.

If only you hadn't failed to see how his face flushed and how he grabbed his heart as you left.

The woodland behind campus were surprisingly bright and vibrant, like a painting you would see in picture books, even with the change seasons coming up. As it seems the chestnut season is equally vibrant, as hundreds upon hundreds of chestnuts covered the forest floor. But the chestnut spines were too much of a bother to ignore, so here you were in the Botanical Garden looking for a basket and some work gloves.

The gardens are stunning, full of life and thousands of plants. Some you recognise, some you don't. The whole building is enormous. Finding anything here is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Which means you have to split up to find what you need. "We should split up, we'll cover more ground that way."

Ace and Deuce open their mouths to object, "But-"

You're not wasting any time on them coming with you and taking longer. Besides having two bodyguard/friends feels a little suspicious.

"We're going to spend the rest of the night making tarts, we don't exactly have time to waste..." You argue and they don't fight back against this.

".....Sure. Dibs on the right side."

"Then how about I go left, while Prefect and Grim go straight ahead?"

"Sounds good, we'll meet up here at the entrance in 10."

You immediately regretted your decision to split up, as Grim got distracted every ten seconds by all the ripe, sweet smelling fruit. So you spent the five minutes that you were supposed to spend looking for a groundsman, chasing after your 'boss'.

"Hey, come take a look at this!" Grim runs to another bright, ripe fruit. "There's a ton of fruit growing here! Smells like they're ripe."

You grab his tiny body and yank him away from the fruit on the tree. "Grim, we're supposed to find a groundsman, not snacks!" You don't recognise any of the plants in this section. They all look mystical, but that doesn't mean safe. "Don't pick anything."

Grim wriggles loose to run to chase after another bright and shiny fruit. The grasses here are tall enough to reach your waist, and Grim disappears into the long stalks, "Grim. Stop!" Grim doesn't listen to you. "Don't pick anything!" You yell out as you wade through the tall grasses after him.

You stumble over the lush stalks of grass. It's so thick that you can't see your own feet. You hope there aren't any animals-

"Ngh!" A groan of pain fills the air and you feel something underfoot slip out and you reflexively take a few steps back. That didn't sound like an animal...

"Did I just step on something?" You think aloud, looking around for a source as a nearby patch of grass starts to rustle.

"Hey! You got some nerve steppin' on my tail and just walkin' away!" To your surprise, someone rises out of the grass, and he looks angry. Crap.

Originally, your brain had failed to compute the 'tail' part of what he'd said, but it's obvious to you now that you see his ears. He's a beastman. And he's wearing the Savanaclaw colours. Wait, didn't Cater say that Savanaclaw students like fighting. Shit.

"I-I'm sorry!" You say immediately, taking a few more steps backwards. You feel compelled to run.

"Tch. Ain't nothin' worse than bein' in the middle of a good nap and havin' some jerk step on your tail." Ok, no. He's the one who decided to sleep in waist high grass. Be mad at yourself for your bad decision making, buddy.

Despite how you feel, "It was an accident...." is what you mumble instead, but he doesn't seem to care, instead he stalks towards you, with a smirk on his face. "You.....I know you. You're that herbivore from orientation who couldn't use magic."

"What did you call me?!" You demand, outraged. He still ignores you, and he leans forward and..."And why are you smelling me?!"

He ignores you, pulling away with that punchable smirk. "Huh. It's true. You don't smell of magic at all."

"Did you miss the part where the mirror said that to everyone?!" You can feel yourself losing every ounce of your patience. You'd felt apologetic for accidentally stepping on his tail and waking him up, but this guy was being such a jerk, you no longer found it within yourself to care.

"Well, well, well, the little herbivore thinks she has claws. Can't say it'd be much fun to hurt someone like you. Still gonna do it, though."

"Do what?" You spit through gritted teeth. You clench and unclench your fists.

"No one gets to stomp on my tail and just walk away without payin' the price."

Ok, that's fucking it. You aren't a weak darling, and all the earlier rage and anger that you've felt in the last two days.

"Then maybe don't sleep in waist-high grass, and maybe in your dorm next time? That way no one will step on your tail" You say as sarcastically as possible.

"Hm? Herbivore, I'm afraid you're all bark and no bite." Oh? All bark and no bite, mystery animal man? Let's see how he bites your fist when it flies into his-

You tighten your fist before taking a swing aimed at his jaw. With his face so close to yours, he has no way of moving out of the way in time-

He stops your fist just shy of his face. He gives you an unimpressed look, before replacing it with that fucking smirk. He laughs at you, like you were foolish to even think that would work. His grip on your wrist is so tight that you wince as you struggle to twist it away.

"L-Let me go!" He laughs at your pathetic struggles to free yourself.

"Pathetic, like a mouse trying to kill a lion." He's a lion? Well then, what an arrogant asshole he is.

You struggle fruitlessly for a few more moments, before giving up. "Fuck you." You spit.

"You're a brave herbivore, I'll give you that. Still," His already tight grip feels like it's crushing the bones in your wrist. "You woke me up from my nap, that'll cost you a tooth."

"Fine. Take it." You hiss. Maybe you can get him in trouble for darling abuse or something after this. Would Crowley take you to a dentist?

"Leona! There you are!"

"Heh?" Leona turns to someone, and you follow his gaze to another beastman student, wearing the colours from the same house Leona is. His cocky, arrogant face tightens in annoyance.

The new mystery beastman looks like he's spent the time since last bell chasing down Leona. "I knew I'd find you here! We got after-school classes today, remember?"

Leona groans. "And now, I've got this guy on my tail...." You can hear him mutter.

You take the chance to do something stupid, rewarding in the moment but still stupid. Ah, whatever you only live once.

"What's wrong, Carnivore? Too afraid to bite?" You taunt, throwing his own words around and right back at him.

He glares at you. But the beastman speaks up before Leona can actually break your wrist. "Leona, you've already had to repeat one year. If you get held back again, we'll be in the same grade." You snort from repressed laughter, trying to hold back your laughter before the person holding your wrist captive decides killing you is better just breaking your wrist.

"Oh, put a sock in it already. I'm tired of all yer yappin', Ruggie."

Ruggie frowns, "Look, you think I like always being on your case? C'mon man. You act like it'd be hard for you. You could skate through life if you'd just TRY. Come on! Let's go already!"

Leona finally releases your wrist and you wince as blood returns to your fingers. "Hmph...Herbivore, you better not cross me again."

"Oh, I'll be sure not to." You turn, and walk as confident as possible through the tall prairie grass back into the fruit trees.

It was nice to actually be in control for once.

You eventually find Grim half finished eating a dozen multi-coloured unknown fruit. You don't feel as mad as you were earlier. So you don't bother with the scolding that you originally planned on giving him. Instead you scoop him up like a bag a rice.

"Nyeh?!" Grim exclaims in surprise, "Henchman, where'd you come from?!"

"Nowhere, I thought you already ate your weight in lunch earlier?"

Two familiar voices fill your ears.

"Yo, guys, we found the baskets and gloves."

"Prefect, what in the world happened to you?" And you smile.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

You feel a little better now.

You feel worse now.

Not in a bad mood, just tired. A sleepless night would do that, then harvesting about three hundred chestnuts on your hands and knees plus hauling them back to the communal kitchens.

And now here you stood struggling to peel the soft skins of the chestnuts.

Deuce and Grim are lucky because they have the magic that Trey showed them to magically and quickly peel them, but you, a poor magicless human, must fiddle with sticky skins. Ace, forced to do this the old fashioned way, is struggling equally with the much higher pile that he'd been delegated for getting you all into this mess.

Still, it was actually fun to see the 'friendly' competition Ace and Deuce went through as Ace struggled to keep up with the magical efficiency.

Problem was, you were so much slower.

"Need any help?" Trey asks. He'd stopped supervising Deuce with his peeling. And he's looking at you with"You look like your having a hard time."

"Yeah...I've never really done this before...." You reply, still fiddling with the finicky skins.

"Here." He places his hands over your own, directing your fingers into a proper hold. "Like this." You can feel his chest against your back, his head over one of your shoulders. He smells nice, like a bakery right after the oven is opened and the sweet aroma of warm pastries has filled the air. The shell holding the nut finally gives way, done with your hands and guided by Trey's.

"Thanks", you say with a smile.

"It's no problem", he returns with his own smile. "Do you want help with the others?" He feels friendly, and you can't see that glint. Maybe it's his glasses.

"Sure." You respond.

With Trey's help, you start to fly through the pile of chestnuts that you'd once struggled to peel. You can actually keep up with Ace and Deuce in their chestnut peeling, being only a few dozen behind.

It's like painting the roses earlier, you like the serenity that you feel as you do this. The same when you were straining, and pureeing. Despite the fact you were willingly unwillingly roped into this, it's actually quite relaxing maybe you could talk to Trey about teaching you.

After what had to be a good two hours, straining and pureeing three hundred chestnuts, Ace finally groans in relief "There! Finally got 'em all pureed!"

"My arm is killing me..."

"Well at least it's over.." You agree as you massage the ache in your forearms. Deuce and Ace actually did most of the work for you, but you still tried to help. And now your arms hurt more than your legs.

"Nice work. It'll be all the sweeter for your pain!"

"Are you sure about that?" You say with a laugh. But seriously, your muscles hurt. It better be sweet for all the work that it better be.

"The smell alone already has me droolin'." You manage to grab Grim before he sticks his paws into the puree. You're not letting everyone's hard work to waste.

"I just need to add butter and sugar to the chestnut paste, and a sensible splash of oyster sauce- that's my secret ingredient." Oh, cool then you'll be done soon. Wait...

Your brain fills in the blanks. "Did you just say oyster sauce?" You say in utter disbelief. Maybe Trey shouldn't teach you how to bake....

"Yep. The umami of the oysters gives the cream a deep, savory flavor." He can't be serious, can he? Are desserts different here? Because last you checked a sweet dessert wasn't supposed to taste like salt.

"I use this one here: Walrus-brand Young Oyster Sauce. All the best bakers use it in their tarts." Your brain tunes him out in utter disbelief. Was this place just completely fucked? Because you'd have to dig through the mold on the underside of the barrel to actually find this madness. It's not the scariest thing or the most insane thing you heard in this misadventure, but an insane thing nonetheless.

Deuce actually seems to believe him, at least a little, "Really? But isn't oyster sauce like, super salty?"

Apparently so does Ace, "Some folks put chocolate into curry, don't they? Maybe it's the same idea." No, Ace. Whether it's pineapple on pizza or chocolate in curry, whether you like or hate it, it is not a total abomination of the culinary world. Oyster sauce in a chestnut tart cream is.

"You guys......are messing with me right?" You say, still in disbelief.

"Pfft...Ah ha ha ha!" Trey laughs, is he mad? If this dorm is Wonderland, is he actually the Mad Hatter and not the three of clovers.

"I'm totally lying! No one in their right mind would put oyster sauce into a pastry." You breathe a sigh of relief, okay this world wasn't completely far gone.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Don't believe everything you hear."

"Feh. And here I thought that human was actually somewhat decent." Grim murmurs.

"It wasn't that bad." Out of all the things you'd experienced this week, let alone today, this was by far the most tame. At least he revealed the lie, before Ace poured oyster sauce in the cream.

Trey has to be the most tame person you met so far, it's actually hard to connect that he's supposed to be a yandere and not a normal friendly dude with a hidden mischievous side.

That reminder isn't a fun one, but he seems perfectly nice...you hope.

"Next, I'll put in the cream....Oh!"

"What's wrong?"

"You guys gathered so many chestnuts that we may have overdone it with the chestnut paste. I don't think we have enough cream to mix in."

"Then I'll go buy some." Deuce volunteers himself, "Do they sell it at the school store?"

Thankfully, according to Trey, it does. You haven't been there yet, but no better time to find out like the present.

"I don't think I'll be able to carry all that back. ___-"

"I'll go with you." Whatever gets you back here faster. As soon as Ace gives Riddle this tart back tonight, you'll be in the clear. If he doesn't you're stuck with him tonight.

Deuce ended up calling this shop wild. Wild is an understatement. The shop is full of....everything. From fruits to stationary, and crystal skulls to rare plants. There's even a restricted access section, with locked cabinets full of freshly sharpened short and long blades to guns to pre-made potions filled with unknown fluids.

It's a perfect one stop shop for students, and for criminals.

"Do you really think they sell cream in here?" Grim says incredulously. Grim ended up tagging along, and looks equally mystified from all the products this 'school' store as to offer.

"I'm not-"

"Greetings, my stray imps, How fare you today?" You yelp as you reel back in surprise. The shopkeeper appeared quite literally from nowhere. "Welcome to Mr.Sam's Mystery Shop. What among my humble selection interests you? A charm from a secluded land? The mummified remains of an ancient king? A cursed tarot card?"

Ok, a name, the shopkeeper's name is Sam...something. And humble is modest understatement. You're pretty sure that this place makes the mega department stores back home look empty.

"How about some cream...for baking?" With so much stuff here, you feel a little overwhelmed.

"Y-Yeah, we wanted to buy all the items on this list."

"Ring up two cans of tuna while you're at it!"

"With what money, Grim?"

"Yes, Grim! We're not here for tuna!"

"What's this? Cream and eggs and....Quite the sacchariferous list! I'll get everything for you." It's impressive that he even knows that he has everything. With all the stuff here, you wouldn't even notice something strange or normal on these shelves. There's animals skulls, jewellery, weird taxidermy, even a weird shadow hand waving at you.

.......Y'know what, who cares. You wave back just in time for Sam to return with all your groceries. That was fast.

"Here you go. It's pretty heavy.....Are you sure you can carry this?Luckily for you, our 1/100th size flying saucers are 30% off today. Perfect for carrying groceries!"

Grim falls for the advertising, but Deuce stops him before he spends your nonexistent money. "We're fine, thank you. Let's go."

"Myah! I didn't realize today was National No Fun Allowed Day!"

"You're allowed to have fun as long as you don't make a mess." He deflates, "Grim, if it makes you feel better I'll give you an extra can of tuna for dinner." he perks up at that.

You and Deuce take the bags and bid Sam thanks. Deuce pulls you aside on the way out, "That store was amazing."

"Yeah, it was." You make a mental note to inquire about some products before your time of the month comes. That store has everything after all.

Main Street is practically void of any students, though you can see a pair walking up. The two are wearing red vests, Heartslabyul or Scarabia students probably. Besides that it's just, you, Deuce and Grim, who starts whining about his lack of purchases. "Yeah, and you guys are amazingly cheap."

"Hey!"

"Who are you calling cheap?!"

You shake your head, before readjusting the cords of the bags digging into your arms. You wince from the pressure relief, the bruise on your forearm that Leona gave you from earlier still stings. The bags are too heavy but you'll manage the rest of the way back.

"Hm?" Deuce must have seen your struggling, "_____, looks like you got the bag with all the cans. That must be heavy."

"It's not that bad," You shake your head, lying, "I can carry it."

"Here, let me take that one." He takes one of the heavier bags from you. And you breathe a sigh of relief now that the weight is off. "I've got a little trick for carrying heavy bags."

Smiling, you say, "Thank you." He smiles back, balancing all the heavy bags with ease. "You're quite the power shopper."

He nods, "Yeah. My mom always used to stock up at sales, and the bags would get ridiculously heavy. I was the only man in the house, so I got to do all the heavy lifting, and-" He pauses, "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to monopolize the conversation."

You shake your head, "No, it's okay..." Actually, you might be able to learn something useful from this. "Y'know if you want, you could talk about her, you seem to care about your mom a lot."

He deflates, "No, it wasn't like that at all." He takes a deep breath, "The truth is, I-OW!"

The students you saw down the street from earlier, ran directly into Deuce.

The sound of something cracking into bits fills the air. Clear and yellow goop drips out of one of the bags.

"The eggs!"

Deuce hurriedly opens the bag to inspect the damage. "The carton is completely smashed! And now the bag's dripping egg goo everywhere."

"Ugh! Why don't you watch where you're- Hey!"

The offending student turns around infuriated, and then his eyes widen in recognition. You recognise them too. The delinquents from earlier. The ones who through a fit over a broken yolk. Surprisingly, they're wearing the Heartslabyul ribbons. Hard to be delinquent when a tyrant can collar them with ease.

"It's you from earlier."

"Yeah, and you're the jerks who broke the egg yolk on my carbonara!"

"It was just a yolk." You repeat but it's pointless.

The other delinquent stalks up to you, grabbing you by your tie , "I've had enough of you punks. You need to learn your place." They threaten.

You can see Deuce's eyebrow twitch in fury. "You're the ones who darted out at as from around a corner!" He mutters, you can hear the hostility deep in his voice. He's angry. "And you picked a fight with us at lunch over an egg that you were still totally able to eat!"

"And now you've destroyed six of OUR eggs!" That anger in his voice is getting louder, clearer. You've seen Deuce a little angry before, but something's off about this time.

"Yeah, he's right!"

"So what? You sayin' that was our fault?"

"I am. Please reimburse us for the eggs." Deuce is frighteningly calm. He's not yelling or anything. "And then apologise to the chickens."

"Ooh, look who's got his big boy pants on. You sure are makin' a big deal outta some stupid eggs." The one with hold on your tie taunts Deuce.

"You shut your mouth." You hiss at him.

"What?" Deuce is still way too calm.

The idiot delinquent keeps blabbering, "They haven't even touched the ground, so they're still edible. Quit whinin'."

His idiot lackey keeps up the nonsense jabber. "Yeah, you should thank us for savin' ya the trouble of crackin' em."

They laugh and it's mocking and cruel.

"That ain't funny." Deuce's voice has a low growl and very quiet, the delinquents are idiots so they don't notice but....

"Deuce?" You ask, and you can see his eye twitching. He's angry. dangerously so.

"Huh?" Idiot delinquent number one asks.

And then that anger that Deuce was holding back finally bursts forth.

"I said......THAT AIN'T FUNNY!" The yell is so loud, it stuns you. The normally polite and reserved Deuce is replaced with one with a voice so loud, you're surprised that it didn't awaken the statues.

"You don't get to call my eggs stupid! You don't get to call ANY eggs stupid!! Those eggs may not have gotten to be chicks, but they were gonna make some amazing tarts!!"

"And you," Deuce's voice drops low as he rips the second delinquent away from you. "You apologize to her, right now. Do you get it yet!? DO YOU!?" Your tie comes apart in the delinquent's grip, said delinquent too afraid to actually let it go. They looks like he's about to piss himself from fear.

"W-What is with this guy all of a sudden?!"

"You owe me six eggs. If ya ain't gonna pay me for em, then you're gettin' a bruise for each one!" Deuce cracks his knuckles for emphasis.

"A-Are you serious right now?" The other little twerp is shaking in his sneakers.

''Buckle up, jerks!!"

Deuce's fist sails home into the cheek of the red-haired one, and another into the nose of the other. Blood splurts out staining the gloves he's wearing.

Like two pathetic little bitches, the two delinquents scamper and struggle against the one man army Deuce proves to be. And he isn't even using his magic.

"This guy's outta his mind!" The first one stammers.

"Bwah! L-Let's get outta here!" The other squeaks. And they both take off running. You hope Deuce doesn't get in trouble for this.

"Next time you eat an egg, you better apologize a hundred times, you buncha chumps!!" He yells at the retreating duo.

"D-Deuce! You need to calm down." You cup his face with both hands. And the blind rage on his face dissolves completely into calm.

He pants as he tries to calm himself. "....Urk!"

"W-What's wrong?" You let him go. All that anger is replaced with sadness, or actually....It looks like disappointment. "Are you ok?"

"I did it again, didn't I...?" Did what again? Deuce stares at the blood on his gloves, and he looks pained. "ARGH! I was dead-set on becoming an honor student this time, too."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I was in middle school, I was pretty wild. I cut school all the time and got in fights. I called my teachers names, hung out with bullies, bleached my hair..." Deuce lists off all of his middle school crimes, and honestly....He did sound a lot like the delinquents back in your world, minus the Magic Wheel thing and the magic.

"So you were only a little more annoying than you are now?"

"Grim, not now...." You scold Grim before trying to comfort Deuce. "No offense, but that's kind of hard for me to picture..."

Deuce continues to tell his backstory, "But one night, I saw my mom talking with my grandma. She was trying to hide from me, but I saw her, and I could tell she was in tears. She was saying how she must have been a horrible mom, and that she never should have tried to raise me by herself."

Ouch, that must have been tough to hear, especially from his mom.

"That had nothin' to do with it! She hadn't done anything wrong. It was all me......And when the carriage came to take me to Night Raven, she was so happy for me. I decided then and there that this time, I wouldn't do anything to make her cry. That this time, I'd become an honor student-someone she could be proud of."

"And I messed it all up!"

"No, you didn't." He looks so surprised at what you said.

"But-"

"Deuce, you didn't get into a fight for no reason. You got into to a fight because someone destroyed your stuff, and threatened your friends. Besides, they probably would have attacked me if you hadn't stepped in. And protecting the people you care about is something honor students should do."

"R-really?" You nod.

"Plus the thing an honor student should do....is report this to the Dorm Leader that some of his students tried to get into a fight with two freshmen." You whisper into his ear. "Let's see how they like it when they can't use their magic." You chuckle.

"______....."

"And to be honest....I really enjoyed that."

Deuce cheers up at that, "Heh heh....I guess you're right! I just hope those chicks can rest in peace."

"Uh, Deuce, the eggs were unfertilised..." He blinks at you, he doesn't know what you're talking about. "They were never going to hatch in the first place..."

"Wha-WHAAAAAT?! Are you kidding me?!"

You giggle again whilst shaking your head. He's not very smart, but you don't mind.

"But about your mom, could you tell me about her? She sounds like a really nice lady."

#yandere #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twst x reader #yandereverse au

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sihtricfedaraaahvicius · 6 months ago

Text

To Be Patient

note: a concept I haven't tried before, I hope it will be enjoyed! After struggling for quite a while I can safely say that while writing this fic I fell completely and utterly in love with Sihtric again, as deeply as it used to be. Somehow this was therapeutic? Also, sorry if there are any mistakes left. I had a few rough days, my spellcheck seems to not work today and I need a 5 month nap.

warnings: 18+! angst/fluff/suggestive. Mention of abusive father (Kjartan), hints of depression (briefly) and mention of death (no details).

pairing: modern!Sihtric x fem!reader (no use of Y/N)

summary: You and Sihtric came from different worlds, but your love was undeniable.

word count: 7,4k

Masterlist

Reblogs & comments are immensely appreciated.

For years you served the same guy every other week in The Seven Kings, the bar you worked at. His name was Sihtric and he was the personification of the word 'mystery'. Sihtric was handsome and always kind, but he was also quiet and overall a little strange, something everyone noticed and not just you. Sihtric had a few scars on his pretty face and every once in a while he showed up with some temporary new bruises to accompany those permanent markings he already had. His clothes were old and worn old while he always wore a couple of golden and silver rings around his tattooed fingers, as well as a bronze pendant which dangled on a black leather cord around his neck. It seemed that he had money but just didn't care for fashion.

Every time Sihtric came in to order a couple of takeaway meals he paid in cash, which was odd in a time where everyone orders online and awaits the delivery at home. You also found out he came by foot to the bar and he was never on his phone when he was waiting, overall plenty of things to frown upon when you think about it. You didn't mind his old fashioned ways though, you were always happy to see and serve him. Over time you learned Sihtric lived with his father and step brother, something he had told you when you made some small talk with him during a quiet evening while he waited around.

Sihtric was still young at the time that conversation took place, as were you back then. But still to this day you don't know exactly how old he is, which was due to the fact that Sihtric himself simply wasn't sure of his age either.

'But you must have a birth certificate?' you frowned on that particular evening.

'I suppose I do. I guess my dad has it somewhere,' Sihtric shrugged, 'but I have never seen it. I'm not even sure how old my step brother is. We just don't celebrate birthdays where I'm from.'

It struck you as odd, another thing to add to the list of his strange ways, but you decided not to pry into his life too much and left it. You figured he was around the same age as you were after all. Despite all of his strangeness you just always had a thing for him, but it was only the day he stopped by for his regular order while sporting a new haircut, about two years after you had first met, when you knew you were head over heels in love with him. Less than two weeks before that encounter you had seen him while he still had quite long hair, which was braided on top, short on the sides and in the back tied together in an odd looking ponytail, which was quite long too. So when he came in with his hair looking a shade darker and cut short with the sides completely shaved off, it was as much of a shock as it was a pleasant surprise. You didn't see him as that young guy anymore, but as a grown man who was incredibly handsome, and you decided to try your chances that day after many moons of dancing around it.

'I hope I'm not overstepping here,' you said as you handed him his takeaway, 'but I was wondering if maybe I could get your number?'

Sihtric seemed quite surprised by that and became visibly shy as he fumbled with his cash to pay for his order. He began to mumble something and you vaguely understood that he wasn't going to give you his number because he didn't have a phone on him.

'Well, I can give you my number then,' you suggested, 'if you'd like of course.'

'Oh, yeah, but,' he stammered, 'I mean that, like, I have no phone in general… eh, right now.'

'Oh,' you chuckled, 'I see. It broke?'

'Yeah,' Sihtric lied with a nervous laugh, 'eh, it broke.'

'Happens to all of us,' you shrugged, 'let me know when you get a new phone then.'

'I will, lady,' the pretty boy smiled and left the bar in a hurry.

You felt silly for how you couldn't get Sihtric out of your head anymore after that sudden haircut change of his. You had always liked him but something was different now, you were both more mature at the point and it showed. You had made a move to show your interest, and all of the sudden you were afraid he wouldn't stop by anymore after you tried your chances. Maybe he turned you down with a lie that day to not hurt your feelings, you thought, or maybe he really broke his phone. It drove you mad the more you thought about it and you felt embarrassed about the whole ordeal for days after the fact, and you even kind of wished you'd never have to face him again.

However, you were thrilled when Sihtric suddenly started to come in weekly instead of every other week. One week he'd come in for his regular takeaway and the other week he'd stop by just to have a drink and, most importantly, to have a chat with you. Despite your regular talks he still remained peculiar and much of an enigma, but you enjoyed his company nonetheless as he was funny and also made you feel safe in his presence whenever a creepy customer stopped by and lingered too long. You felt Sihtric's eyes on you at all times when he was around, even if you were busy and had no time to really talk. He always stayed polite to you while remaining strange and somewhat shy still, and it was more than clear that you were interested in each other at that point. But since you had made the first move by asking his number and never received it, you felt it was up to him to make the next move if he was into you, and so you waited…

Your bosses weren't blind to your silent but obvious yearning either and, one evening after Sihtric had just left after stopping by for a drink, you were confronted about it while cleaning and closing up the bar.

'What are you doing with that Amish boy?' Alfred asked out of the blue.

'Amish boy?' you frowned, 'who-'

'That guy who just left,' Alfred rolled his eyes, almost annoyed that you didn't understand him.

'He's not Amish,' Aelswith said and glanced at her husband.

'Well he's something like it, at least,' Alfred shrugged.

'Wait, what do you mean?' you asked, clearly confused, 'Sihtric is.. he's Amish?'

'Yes,' Alfred grinned, 'he is.'

'He is not,' Aelswith talked over Alfred, 'he is not Amish, but he does live secluded with his family at the outskirts of town.'

'Secluded?'

'They have their own little community,' Alfred explained, 'I believe they identify as pagan and try to live that lifestyle like in the old days. No electricity, no phones, no internet. They don't believe in doctors or medication and they worship the old gods in their own traditional ways, whatever those may be.'

'They used to be very closed off, even more than they are now,' Aelswith added, 'they've been here for as long as we have, but in the last couple of years we noticed they are trying to mingle more with the rest of the town, supporting local business here and there instead of doing everything by themselves on their own piece of land. They buy some food from us and I know Sihtric's step brother stops by the pet store often to get dog food. A lot of dog food,' she scoffed lightly, being clearly puzzled about the amount, 'anyway, they know they are frowned upon and that people think they are odd. And they are odd, they are heathens if you ask me,' she sneered, 'but that boy, Sihtric, he's been nothing but nice whenever he stops by here.'

'But his father, Kjartan,' Alfred made a face as if he spoke the Devil's name, 'he is a cruel man.'

'Cruel?' you asked, 'how so?'

'He raised his sons the old ways too,' Aelswith said, saddened, 'punishing them to medieval standards whenever he seemed fit to do so. A lot of dark things happened in that little community of theirs over the years, things I'd rather not speak of. And surely you have seen the bruises on Sihtric's face too from time to time.'

'My goodness,' you breathed, needing a moment to absorb everything you were told, 'but… Sihtric? Is he, you know, somewhat normal then?'

'As normal as could be given the circumstances,' Alfred said as he grabbed a towel to wipe a few tables, 'but don't be fooled. He too can be violent if a situation calls for it.'

'But he wouldn't harm a lady,' Aelswith reassured you, 'I know he wouldn't. I've seen the way he looks at you, he likes you.'

'Likes,' Alfred scoffed from across the bar, 'he's in love.'

'Maybe,' Aelswith smiled at her husband, then looked back at you, 'all we're trying to say is know what sort of person you are dealing with. He may come around here often, but he is a stranger to the world as you and I know it.'

Hours after that conversation you still weren't sure if they tried to warn you or encourage your longing, but you were even more intrigued by Sihtric than you had been before. And when you saw him again one week later, when he came in to order some food again, you paid a little more attention to his behaviour than usual. Now that you knew more about him you noticed his social skills were indeed not the greatest, as he struggled to look into your eyes when you talked to each other and he sometimes didn't know how to properly respond to things that happened around him.

You could tell he was confused when sports were shown on TV that evening at the bar, as if he was not entirely sure what exactly he was looking at on the big screen, and he didn't understand why people jumped up and cursed at the TV either every now and then. Sihtric kept looking at the screen while his order was being prepared, but you could tell he didn't understand anything of what was going on and he didn't know how to behave. So he stayed back as much as he could, sitting on a barstool in the far corner while he waited. And in his confusion and being overwhelmed, he forgot to grab the bottled drink you had placed next to his packed order, so you were quick to run after him when you noticed it shortly after he had disappeared.

'Hey, wait up!' you called out as you ran up to Sihtric, who was already halfway across the parking lot, 'you forgot your drink!'

'Oh,' he chuckled almost shyly as you handed him his drink, 'thank you and I'm sorry about that.'

'Don't worry,' you smiled, 'I'm glad you weren't too far away yet. You paid for that so you better take it.'

'I should,' Sihtric nodded, 'or my father won't be happy. You saved me from an unpleasant evening, thank you,' he spoke softly.

Your heart sank when you remembered the stories you were told about his father, and Sihtric noticed you looked more shocked by his words than he expected. He stared at you with big eyes, realising he had run his mouth, so he hastily thanked you again to try and change the mood.

'You're welcome,' you smiled and calmly placed your hand on his arm.

You realised Sihtric was too shy to try anything, so you took it upon yourself to make it clear once again that you were interested in him.

'Listen,' you said, 'you're always welcome here, you know? At the bar I mean. Anytime. Even after closing time. If you want to come around to just hang out or something, just let me know.'

'Really?'

The glimmer of hope and enthusiasm in his eyes warmed your heart.

'Really,' you smiled.

'Anytime?'

'Anytime, Sihtric.'

You then leaned in to kiss his cheek before you turned on your heels and made your way back to the bar, leaving Sihtric behind completely stunned and with a blush on his cheeks as he watched you disappear through the large wooden door.

A few days later you were surprised to see Sihtric walk in as it was not his regular evening of visiting, but his eyes immediately found yours and he took a seat at the corner of the bar, his usual spot. It was a quiet evening so you were happy to see him, but Sihtric was visibly nervous when you approached him and poured him a drink. You made some small talk while trying to figure out why his behaviour was off, and it all made sense when he suddenly pulled a phone out the pocket of his old leather jacket.

'I see you finally got a new phone,' you smirked, 'so I can give you my number now?'

'Yeah,' Sihtric chuckled shyly, 'I just… I need help with, you know,' he painfully struggled to get the words out as he rambled on, 'I don't really… I just…'

'It's okay,' you stopped him from making himself more embarrassed once you understood what he needed.

You understood he had no idea how a smartphone worked, which wasn't odd given the way he was raised. You could tell he was clearly ashamed to ask help for something that was so normal to everyone else, and you didn't want him to feel ashamed around you for something that wasn't his fault. Because how is someone supposed to know how something works if no one ever taught them? It was not a laughing matter, so you wasted no time in helping him out.

'Let me see what you got,' you said as you sat down next to him.

Sihtric held the brand new phone in his trembling hands as he showed it to you.

'Okay, we'll figure it out,' you reassured him, 'let me connect you to the wifi here first.'

You took his phone and Sihtric watched you set up his device, not understanding anything of what you were doing, but he liked it anyway because he got to be close to you without having to talk to you and try to impress you. You downloaded a few handy apps for him and showed him the basics he needed to know. You then added your number to his contacts and taught him how to call and text you if he wanted to do so.

'Now you can talk to me anytime you want to,' you smiled and handed back his phone.

'I will whenever I can,' Sihtric said with a shy smile, 'thank you.'

You gave him a wink and made your way back behind the bar again, pouring him another free drink in the hopes he would stick around a little longer as you had to close the bar on your own that night. And luckily for you he stuck around, and so you got to join him for a drink when it was almost time to close, with only a handful of men left in the bar finishing their drinks.

'Thank you,' Sihtric suddenly said as you sat next to him again.

'Don't worry,' you chuckled, 'it's just a phone, no need to thank me for setting it up.'

'No,' Sihtric shook his head lightly, 'I mean… thank you for not laughing at me or thinking I'm stupid.'

'Oh,' you said with a soft sigh as you looked at him, but he immediately averted his eyes as they met yours.

'I assume you know where I live,' he said quietly.

'I have heard,' you confessed, 'yes.'

'Well,' he cleared his throat, 'it means a lot to be treated like a normal human being for once by someone who knows where I am from. We don't live like most people do and have limited knowledge about technology and stuff, so most people assume we're just dumb.'

'I never thought you were dumb,' you reassured him quietly, 'and I'm sure you have knowledge about things I've never even thought of.'

'Probably,' Sihtric chuckled softly, 'I can tell you which plants are safe to eat out in the forest.'

'See,' you laughed and lightly nudged him with your elbow, 'you could save my life if we'd go on a hike.'

Sihtric smiled at that but you could tell there was more in his eyes than joy, there was a hard sadness in them too as he looked at you while his smile slowly faded. It was as if he realised you were something he could never have, as if he could never go on a hike with you or save your life when needed. It was as if he looked at someone he loved with all his heart and realising he would never be able to call them his.

You mindlessly placed your hand on the back of his as it rested on the bar, and a soft smile reappeared on his face again while he turned his hand to hold yours and saw the way your hands just fit together like two puzzle pieces.

'I have to close up here soon,' you said, saddened, 'but if you want we could stay and have another drink after I kick out those guys over there.'

'I would love that,' Sihtric said as he still held your hand, and then his smile faded again, 'but I should get back home. It's getting late and I'm not supposed to be out at this hour. I think I'll already be in trouble when I get back.'

'Don't go back,' you blurted out as he got up, 'I mean, you… you can stay with me if that means you won't get into trouble.'

'That would only make it worse I'm afraid,' he said and grabbed his jacket off the barstool, 'but I appreciate the offer.'

'Will you be okay?'

'Always, don't you worry. I will try to call or text you.'

'Promise?'

'I promise,' Sihtric said with a half smile, in the hopes to ease your visible concern.

And this time it was his turn to kiss your cheek and leave you behind with flushed cheeks as he disappeared out of the door.

You were pleased when Sihtric texted you that same night, and you remained in contact every day after. You either texted throughout the day or you'd talk to him during his regular visits. Video calls were quite rare and whenever you did video call, he was always in the same spot; somewhere in a darkened barn between huge stacks of hay.

You never got any wiser about where exactly he lived during those video calls or what goes on around there, as his surroundings were always dimly lit in that barn and you never saw or heard another person around either, you only heard a few horses and goats in the background every now and then. You did learn a lot about Sihtric as the months passed by, and you fell more in love with him every day. You learned he was funny and caring, asking you every day if you ate enough and drank enough water and asking if you slept well. He always wanted to hear about your day, no matter how uneventful it was to you, and he would always count down the days via text until he'd get to see you again at the bar.

Whenever you met up in real life you were both still holding back, despite the clear romance that had bloomed overtime by texting and calling, as Sihtric was fast to learn that it's easier to say something over text than in real life. You knew being together wouldn't be easy and it made you both hesitant despite the strong urge to just surrender to your feelings. And it wasn't until the day you invited him to join you to a friend's party as your date that you would both finally be honest with each other.

Sihtric accepted the invitation to join you but he told you he couldn't tell his family about it, so he'd have to find a way to sneak out and meet up with you. You were delighted to see he showed up at the agreed time and place, in the dark alley behind the bar, and for some reason it was as if a weight fell off of you both at that moment. You almost ran up to each other and leaped into each other's arms, holding on so tightly it was almost bruising. It was knowing you were all alone for the first time with not much chance of being interrupted that led to your lips finally finding his, without speaking, and colliding into a kiss that sparked and burned with a passion that could not be explained with words, it could only be felt.

There aren't enough words to describe how it felt when you finally kissed him, it could only be described as something of a dream. It felt like pure bliss to feel his facial hair brush gently against your face, to feel his arms around you and his tongue slowly and carefully sneaking past your parted lips and into your mouth as the kiss deepend so easily. To feel his short and soft hair as you raked your fingers through it in an attempt to keep him as close as possible, it all could only be described as a dream, because it made you feel weightless and pleasantly disoriented while it also felt too good to be true.

But it wasn't a dream. It was real, and you both understood it was real when the kiss was broken for a brief moment just so you could look at each other while trying to catch your breath, only to then crash into another kiss that was even filled with more passion and lust than the one before. You almost clawed at each other to stay close, you were all pressed up against his body while Sihtric had you pushed up against the alley wall. You grabbed and tugged at each other's clothes as if afraid you could get separated any moment. Grabbing and pulling in an attempt to be close while also feeling as much of each other as possible while you still kissed deeply. You wanted to feel his skin against yours, and there was nothing Sihtric wanted more than to kiss every inch of you right then and there. But it wasn't the right place and it wasn't the right moment… it wasn't how your first time with him should be.

Sihtric wasn't a virgin and definitely no stranger to sex, which you were well aware of as he never lied about the fact that prostitution was a thing in his community. But to be intimate with someone he was in love with was something he hadn't done before. And he was terrified he ruined the moment when he had to stop you by taking your hands and holding them, after you had already palmed his arousal through his black jeans.

'I, please,' Sihtric breathed against your lips, his voice trembling as he spoke, 'not… not like this, not here,' he swallowed hard while trying to regain his composure, 'you deserve better than this. I won't treat you like… you know.'

'I know,' you said and laughed softly, 'I… I didn't mean to lose control like that either. I'm sorry-'

'Don't,' he whispered and captured you in another sweet kiss, 'don't apologise. I want it too, you know I do. You know all the things I want to do to you,' he chuckled, reminding you of the endless dirty texts you'd often send each other, 'I just don't want it here.'

'Well,' you hummed as your noses still touched, 'we have to stop by my place first anyway. I have to change my clothes after working all day.'

'I know,' Sihtric smiled as his hands roamed your figure, 'what time do we have to be at that party?'

You took his hand and walked him to your car, where you found out he had never been in a car before. You had to show him how the doors open and even had to help him with his seatbelt. Sihtric was tense the whole drive to your home, sitting up straight with his jaw clenched as he held tightly onto the door trim with every turn you took. You took his free hand and gave him a comforting squeeze, to which he seemed to relax a little.

Once back at your place you truly realised how secluded Sihtric lived all his life, as he was in awe of every single thing he saw. He couldn't believe how pleasantly warm your home was, nor the lights you switched on by just pressing a button. He loved how clean and spacious your home was, despite it being a regular apartment to your standards, and the feeling of warm and clean water from your tap as he washed his hands left him speechless too. He told you he always showers cold and by using buckets of water. His "room" was warmed and lit up by candles, and when he'd go to sleep he had to wrap some extra fur around him for when the fire died out while he slept. You couldn't believe people still lived like that, but you accepted it regardless. What you did struggle to accept was how Sihtric was treated, from the stories you had been told and the hints he had dropped during your conversations, but you didn't want to be rude so you never mentioned it.

You told him to just "chill on the sofa" while you were quick to shower and change into a form fitting dress, which matched Sihtric's all dark clothes, despite your dress being brand new and his clothing being rather dated. But he still looked good though. However, it didn't take long before your dress would be taken off again.

You met Sihtric in your living room to show off your outfit, to which he couldn't contain his smile nor his urge to touch and kiss you. And before you knew it you were kicking off your heels while pulling him inside your bedroom, where you both got in bed after undressing each other to make the sweetest and most passionate love possible. It was everything you hoped for and more, as it was as tender as it was steamy, it was as gentle as it was rough. Feeling him inside you while his body was comfortably pressed onto yours, hearing his deep sighs and soft grunts in your ear as your arms were wrapped around his muscular torso was the most perfect moment of intimacy you had ever experienced. And by the way he begged you to cum with him, repeating those whispered words as if it were a prayer, you knew it was as perfect for him as it was for you.

And Sihtric might have been a stranger to the world you lived in, but he was no stranger to being a gentleman. So after you both came down from your highs he helped you back in your dress, fixed your hair up and planted a few more kisses on your lips before finally being able to leave for the party together.

The party was another new experience for Sihtric. Not that there weren't any parties in medieval times. So the concept wasn't new to him, but the scale of everything was new to him. The party was much bigger than what he was used to. The music was louder, the people were more drunk and overall there was more chaos around him, which was hard to imagine since vikings knew how to party. He enjoyed it even though it was overwhelming, but he mainly enjoyed being with you and he never strayed from your side that entire night. You tried to dance with him, but his moves weren't great, to put it nicely. So you gave up on that quickly and ended up laughing about it together in the corner of a crowded room, where you would eventually just make out for hours, everything around you completely fading to the point it was just you and him.

Sihtric was truly happy that night and carefree, you could tell. You had known him for years but that night was the first time you saw true happiness in his eyes, with no far tucked away sadness behind it. No, he was happy. He felt free for the first time in his life and his smile was genuine, as were his words when he told you he loved you and wanted to marry you, just before he kissed you endlessly there in that corner while the music blasted.

He wanted to marry you and be with you forever.

Because he found you were his happiness.

You were his freedom.

You took Sihtric home with you after the party, only to make hot and passionate love again on your couch that same night. You told him that you loved him, but that he still was an enigma to you and you wanted to understand him and his ways. Sihtric told you that in time you would learn to understand him, as he had no desire to be with anyone else ever again, and that is when you both agreed to become a couple.

You knew it wouldn't be easy to be with him because of his lifestyle, and what made it harder was the fact that he couldn't stay the night with you, you just had no idea how difficult it would become. Sihtric had to go back home before anyone would find out he wasn't there. You tried to change his mind, to convince him he didn't have to go back there if he didn't want to, but your attempt was futile.

You drove Sihtric out of the city to where the countryside started, and he told you to stop the car next to the road because he'd walk home from there. It was better for you to not get too close to wherever he lived, he explained, it could cause trouble and he didn't want that for you. He then held you tightly while he told you again that he loved you. He promised he'd contact you the next day, and before he got out of the car he kissed you deeply for as long as his lungs allowed him. You then watched him walk off, with a heavy feeling. It was a mixture of missing him already and being gravely concerned about him going back home.

The next day you waited for Sihtric to contact you but he never called or responded to your messages, and whenever you tried to call him it went straight to voicemail. You were devastated, finding it hard to get up in the mornings and go on about your day after he seemingly ghosted you. Your sadness turned into anger after a few weeks, when he didn't even show up at the bar anymore. You felt he had just used you for sex and a good time at a party. You thought that maybe back home realised he didn't like "normal life" at all and just wanted to get rid of you. Whatever his reason was for just disappearing on you, it was a pain you carried in your heart for months as you tried to get over him.

Alfred and Aelswith also noticed Sihtric didn't stop by anymore, but they stopped asking you about it after you lashed out once and started crying after you cursed him out for what he did to you. Your bosses then figured it was best to never mention Sihtric's name again in your presence. It took you almost half a year to gather the strength to block and delete his number, despite your messages never being read before that, but it was the only way that he would eventually just become a vague memory of a man you had loved deeply once. The only existing problem was that no matter how much time passed, you still loved him, even when the seven month mark of when you had last seen him went by.

A few weeks after that tragic anniversary date you had to close the bar on your own in the evening. It had been a drag of a day so you were glad to pack up and leave through the backdoor, into the darkened alley. You hated how that alley reminded you of Sihtric every time you had to go through it. You locked the door behind you and made way to your car when you felt a sudden presence behind you, not too close by, but close enough to just sense it. You quickly turned and found the shadowed figure of a man facing you from a few metres away. He just stood there, not moving or speaking, and it freaked you out to the point you yelled that he'd better stay away from you, whoever it was. It was only when you turned to jog to your car that the man spoke, asking you to not run away from him, and you froze to the ground at the sound of his voice.

'Sihtric?' you half gasped as tears welled up in your eyes.

You turned and as he stepped closer you recognised him, and you backed away in shock upon seeing his stern and bruised face. He wore his old and dark clothes, this time a black beanie too, and he looked so different while also looking as if nothing changed at all since you last saw him. But something was very different, you knew it. The innocence he had in his mismatched eyes when you had last seen him was completely gone.

'Don't run,' Sihtric whispered, 'please.'

Your eyes darted all over his face. It was as if you saw a ghost, so shocked and almost frightened you were, but you also felt a wave of relief washing over you upon knowing that he didn't forget about you.

'What the fuck happened?' you managed to ask with a trembling voice.

'I can explain everything,' he said calmly, clearly also relieved that you weren't running away from him.

But you couldn't run even if you wanted to, because you still loved him. And love made you a fool. So instead of demanding answers from him, the first thing you did was fall into his embrace and cling onto him as if you were never going to release him again. And without thinking you kissed his cut lips and allowed his bruised hands to hold you as tightly as he could, while you welcomed the comforting warmth of his tongue against your own, a feeling you had been craving for since the last time you had kissed him. You kissed until you both cried, and you cried until you both could barely breathe as you held each other.

'That night after the party,' Sihtric whispered against your lips as he sniffled, 'I walked home, thinking I got away with it. Thinking I got away with sneaking out and having no one notice my absence. But I was wrong. I was caught as soon as I snuck into my room. My step brother,' he swallowed hard, 'he noticed I wasn't home and warned my father, who then waited all night until I got back. They questioned me and when I refused to answer they searched me and found my phone. My brother tried to unlock it and demanded I show him what was on there, but I couldn't… they'd find out about you. They'd find out everything about you and everything we talked about and everything we did. They'd see the countless photos we texted each other and the videos we made when we were together. I don't know what they would've done to you, if they even would have tried to find you, but I couldn't risk it. When I didn't help them, my father broke my phone. He threw it in the campfire outside and then had my brother drag me out there too, waking up the entire village and announcing to everyone in the dead of night that I'm a traitor. That I want to leave the community and that I am polluted and brainwashed by the city people.'

Sihtric stopped to take a deep breath while you carefully wiped his tears off of his bruised cheek.

'I didn't argue with them,' he continued, 'there's no point. I figured I would just accept whatever punishment they would give me and go on with my life. And they punished me,' Sihtric chuckled, almost psychotic, 'but they didn't let me go on with my life. They didn't want me to try and leave the lands again, they didn't want me to go wherever I'd been spending my time anymore. So they threw me in the cellar and chained me to a wall. They'd visit me occasionally, to beat the shit out of me and feed me. They tortured me for a couple of months until my father decided it was enough and he believed I learned my lesson. I played the part of an obedient member of the community and kept my head down. I knew I couldn't escape and see you, but believe me,' he said and took your hands to kiss them, 'I thought of you every single second of every single day. You were the only thing that kept me going,' he whispered and carefully cupped your face as he started to cry again, 'but I couldn't leave. I couldn't leave because they were watching every move I made. And every few nights my father would give me a beating to remind me where I belonged. So I went with it until I fully regained my strength again, and even more while I thought of ways to get out. I only got away two nights ago. I,' Sihtric began to stammer, 'I- I k… I killed him. I killed my father. I killed him when he came to beat me once again in the night and I ran. I ran so fucking fast after I was sure he was dead. I wanted to come see you right away but I couldn't,' he confessed, 'I was covered in blood and I also had to make sure no one had seen me and followed me. I slept in the woods and managed to find a lake to wash myself, to at least try and look decent for you but I… I was afraid. I am still afraid. I am afraid you never want to see me again after this, and I understand that, but please,' he begged as he dropped to his knees, holding your hands as he looked up at you while he cried, 'I had no other way out. I had to do this. It was his death or my own.'

It took you a while to understand everything Sihtric had told you. Once the first shock wore off all you could think of was to get him to a hospital and have his injuries checked, but Sihtric refused. He had never been treated by a modern doctor before and was simply terrified, a fear he would get over eventually though, but for now all you could do was take him home with you and tend to his bruises yourself.

From what you could see it seemed the bruises he had recently earned would heal just fine, leaving no permanent damage. Sihtric seemed okay, considering everything that had happened. He was just extremely tense and you told him to take a warm bath in order to try and relax. It was only when you helped him take off his clothes that he finally took off his beanie and revealed that half of his hair was shaved off. It was another shock to endure that night, but one you did get over rather quickly, as you were more concerned about any internal damage as the bruises on his toned arms and chest were hard to look at, and surely must have bruised his insides too.

After you left the bathroom you finally had some time alone to try and process everything. And as you cried while you tried to come to terms with the things that Sihtric had done and the things that had been done to him, you realised he did what he had to do in order to survive. And you would never judge him for that. And as Sihtric came to terms with the fact he was in a clean bathtub which he could constantly refill with warm water, he realised how awful his life had been up until that very moment, no matter how silly that seemed. It wasn't about the clean water, it was about not feeling afraid for once that eventually made him cry, his silent tears falling in the water as it cooled off.

You washed and dried his clothes while adjusting to the situation, and about an hour later Sihtric joined you in your living room. He allowed you to cover some of his wounds with bandages. Sihtric couldn't keep his eyes off you as took care of him, and he felt as if his heart could burst, and you made him promise he'd go to a doctor with you tomorrow.

'I still love you,' you whispered as you wrapped his bruised wrist.

'It's easier if you didn't,' Sihtric replied quietly.

'What?' you snapped and looked up at him, 'what does that even mean? Then why did you come back? So�� so you could dump me? So you could disappear again?'

Your outburst was caused by your deep rooted pain of when he had disappeared, and you felt awful for lashing out like that as soon as it had happened.

'No, no,' Sihtric quickly shushed you calmly, 'no, I never meant to hurt you. And I didn't mean it like that. I just mean that this… us… we both know it won't be easy. Our lives...'

'Are different, I know that,' you agreed, 'but don't try to push me away here. Don't sabotage this, please. We can make this work. And you're right, it won't be easy. I just… I need to know where we go from here. Where do you go from here?'

'Well I can't go back home,' Sihtric said with a half smile and a scoff, 'even if they wouldn't find out I killed my dad, they'd banish me anyway. You can't be with someone from outside the community and expect to still be accepted there.'

'Banished?' you made a face, 'damn, you guys really are honouring medieval times, huh?'

'I'm afraid so, lady,' he chuckled, 'and it means I'm… homeless now, I guess.'

'You're not,' you said and took his hands carefully, 'you're not homeless. You can stay here, with me, and you know that. You will be safe here.'

'It won't be easy,' Sihtric reminded you again, 'and I won't be easy. I have to adjust, and that will take time. A lot of things are new to me and a lot of things won't make sense to me at first.'

'I know, but we have time. Sihtric,' you cupped his bruised cheeks lightly, 'we have all the time in the world together. The most important thing is that you are safe and that you will heal. After that we will figure everything else out, and I promise you will adapt.'

'I'm scared,' Sihtric whispered and averted his eyes.

'I know,' you gently leaned your forehead against his, 'but you don't have to be scared. Change is scary, I know, but you won't be alone. I will teach you whatever you need to be taught, don't worry about that, okay? I got you,' you kissed his lips softly, 'I promise I got you and your secrets are safe with me.'

'You don't think I'm a monster?' he carefully asked.

'For killing your abusive father?' you scoffed, 'never, Sihtric. Never. If I had the chance to kill him for what he did to you, trust me, I would've taken that chance. No one will hurt you anymore, my love, I promise.'

'I will adapt,' Sihtric whispered and kissed you, 'but be patient with me, please. I will adapt and I will marry you, I promise, I will be yours. Forever.'

@mrsarnasdelicious @neonhairspray @sihtricsafin @errruvande @penumbrie @lexeirikrleif @diiickbrainn @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @bubblyabs @dixie-elocin @alexagirlie @stupiddarkkside @urmomsgirlfriend1 @gemini-mama @foxyanon @man-i-be-that-pretty-motherfuckr @thenameswinter99 @m-a-s-h-k-a @superblyzanynight @hernakedmuse @ewanmitchellfanatic @lady-targaryens-world @cosmosnkaz

#sihtric x reader #sihtric x you #sihtric kjartansson #the last kingdom #sihtric #tlk #sihtric fic #tlk au #sihtric au #modern!sihtric

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sashimi020 · 9 days ago

Text

chaos meets guitarist p3[manjiro x reader]

p1 | p2

A/N: i hopee u guys like this chapter! thank you so much for the support on the last two chs. hope this is as enjoyable :33, comments, reblogs n likes r much appreciated!!<3

CREDITS FOR THE ART ON THE BANNER ALSO, @idk-what-myurl-shouldbe, all credits to them for the idea of making one of y/ns music bandmates be someone in the gang i hope i did it justice! (thank you, we all say in unison)

baji pulled out the restaurant table chair and slumped on it with a long sigh. kazutora huffed "long day?" "jeez. you have no idea. i seriously should've prioritized my studies back when we were teens. this shit is so hard and everyone else is doing way better than me! i have to work like, 10 times harder than everyone else" "well, you're improving right? that's all that matters. don't compare yourself to others..." chifuyu responds, baji chews the inside of his cheek, "whatever. let's just enjoy for a bit yeah? what are you guys ordering?"

__ chifuyu speaks up, "how have you guys been? we honestly need to catch up like this more often" kazutora nods and sighs "it's been fine," he rested his head on his palm, "i met this girl a few months ago-" "ooh! you like her?" "god! no, baji would you let me finish?" kazutora huffs childishly, "i ran into her when she was getting her jacket altered from mitsuya, somehow we all started talking and turns out that she's trying to do some music thing alongside college. after meeting up a few times after that," he pauses to take a bite out of his fries, "we decided to work together to start a music course-slash-band thing, i mean, it's nothing much right now, i'm still working at XJ land and obviously i will be for a while," he turns to chifuyu "but this shit seems pretty promising" he pauses "we'll do covers and upload them online, we'll take commissions, y'know, do gigs and also teach."

chifuyu smiles warmly "that sounds great, you guys should play for us sometime" baji snorted, "at least you won't be blasting your dumbass guitar and bass in the apartment anymore" he paused, "but in all seriousness, i'm happy for you dude. i'm glad your pursuing this"

becoming friends with draken and emma came with a lot of benefits. firstly, you found yourself being more social than before. somehow, they had an incredibly huge friend circle, it intimidated you at first but over time and over hangouts, you'd gotten used to all of them and they all seemed to like you quite a bit thankfully. you had the chance of getting to meet hina and takemitchi properly, who were so heartwarming and wonderful. they were super cute together.

they certainly made you feel single though.

your prospects in relationships were never very great - in all honesty, it would be great to have a partner - you quickly push the idea, though, in favour of kickstarting your music business.

"we're going out for dinner with everyone today, right?" draken spoke as he yawned, "mhmm! you think we should invite y/n? they already met.. hina.. mikey and takemitchi, they all got along so well so maybe?… i feel like they'd fit right in. i'll ask the others first too though" emma said as she stretched her sleepiness away. "yeah sure, that sounds good" draken responded. __

emma: hi guyss

kazutora: sup

chifuyu: yoo

emma: would it be alright if a friend tagged along today? they're pretty cool and i think you'd all get along well

baji: sure why not

baji: i haven't made a new friend since high school 💀 college is eating up all my time i swear

mitsuya: sounds cool!

hina: me and mitchi met them recently! super chill

hina: can't wait for tn! its been a while since we all got together! __

emma: hey y/n!! ru free tonight?

y/n: oh! yeah i think so

emma: would you wanna come to dinner with us? a few of our other friends will be there too!

you stare at your phone for a few seconds and consider the offer. it was undoubtedly thoughtful but you found yourself hesitating. meeting new people was always a rather daunting task, and you'd developed a certain feeling towards this group of people. everyone was so amicable and enjoyable to be around that you hoped that you were the same to them. 'what if i embarrass myself?' 'what if i'm too awkward?' worries and anxieties plagued your mind.

but you needed to take this risk. moving into a new place and finding a long term friend group wasn't an easy task. why miss out on this opportunity?w

y/n: sure, sounds good, what time?

the evening rolled around, you got ready and met up with draken, emma and mikey. "ready to go?"emma asked you, you nod in response, still feeling slightly nervous. the four of you got in the car, draken and emma sitting in front and you and mikey in the back.

"actually ah, i'm slightly nervous" you chuckle, the anxiousness in your voice was more prominent that you'd have liked it to be, "i always get like this while meeting new people," "awh! don't worry, you'll get along just fine, everyone will like you for sure," emma reassured you. you glance out of the car window and watch the scenery speed by. mikey eyes you curiously, a part of him hoping you'd turn your head and talk to him instead.

the four of you get out of the car, seemingly having arrived early. you all settle down at the table and chat for a bit. mikey huffs in a childish manner and it interrupts your train of thought, "everything okay?" you tilt your head towards him, "fine, just cold. stupid.. dumb air con.." he pouted and mumbled. you pause, shrug off your jacket and place it over his shoulders. "that better?" his cheeks blossomed into a noticably adorable pink colour, "you didn't have to.." he muttered but didn't take it off. draken and emma share a knowing glance as she smirks smugly. "cute" emma chuckes, "huh?!" "i've never seen you act like this mikey," draken snorts.

before mikey can defend himself the others arrive.

you lean over to introduce yourself, a taller guy with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail holds the door open for a few others, 'why the hell are all these people so tall.. it's ridiculous' you think. you see hina, and takemitchi walk in, then suddenly, your brain malfunctions.

"KAZUTORA?!"

"Y/N?"

"MITSUYA??"

"Y/N???"

"YOU GUYS KNOW EACH OTHER?!"

"you- wait.. i.."

"SHE'S YOUR NEIGHBOUR?!"

"SHE'S THE ONE THAT WORKS WITH YOU GUYS???"

hina interrupts the chaos "hey! guys, sit down first don't yell in the restaurant! jeez.." you stare in slight awe as the others glance at you in slight confusion and curiousity. "small world huh?" mitsuya chuckles, somehow the most composed out of everyone, "okay! i need an explaination right now" emma interjects, "we..- well they're the friends i uh, i'm working with on the music centre and band" "ohhh" everyone says in unison.

your brain feels fuzzy from slight shock and happiness. what a pleasnt coincidence. "baji, chifuyu, meet y/n, y/n, meet baji and chifuyu". you give them a small smile "it's nice to meet you both!" "sup!" "nice to meet you too!". after everyone exchanged pleasantries, you all sit down and order. mitsuya smirked and stared at mikey, "that's y/n's jacket, no? the one i altered," "oh- oh, yeah. well, he said he was cold.. so..". mitsuya smirked, "sure, yeah" __

"ah.." kazutora laughs heartily, "this is great! i was just going to introduce you, y'know?" you smile sheepishly, you never expected things would turn out this way. any anxiety you felt before coming was mostly quelled.

the converstion went on, you learned about chifuyu's pet shop, you knew kazutora had a part-time but you found it amusingly sweet that he worked with animals. you wished baji the best of luck as a veterinarian. you could only imagine the workload he has till he graduates.

you learned a lot about all your newfound friends. it felt warm. really warm. you glanced at mikey a few times and he met your gaze. he smiled contently. it was a look you liked. "you know, you should smile more" "really?" "yeah, it suits you, you know, you're mostly always wearing that pout. you look happy. that's nice" his grin softened into a more sincere smile. "okay. i'll smile more. it won't be too hard though, you'll see it often, cause you make me smile". you chuckle brightly in response, "that's so cheesy!" "shut up.." everything felt so sweet.

you learned about their gang and childhood. mikey reminisced about it in an excited, animated manner, and their eyes lit up. they were all clearly so passionate about it. an air of nostalgia laid heavy, you were never a part of these memories, but in the vivd manner in which they described it, you might as well have been.

after a few drinks, the conversation shifted back to the music centre. "so, you know, you guys barely gave us any details about the thing you're doing! and i'm only now finding out that you guys know each other?" emma whined, "i need to know more, c'mon!" her face was flushed slightly from the alcohol. your mood heightens. you loved talking about it. "kazutora's our bassist and also guitarist, mitsuya does vocals, well, you already know that i do guitar but on the occasion i play drums." kazutora grinned "i'm really excited to finally start playing together, y'know? i don't know if it's sustainable income but, it's fucking fun" "i'll be teaching as well anyways and i'm still getting a degree so i have that going.." you respond. "we rented a studio. we should all practice this weekend, yeah?" mitsuya asks, "sure. sounds great"

"you guys gotta play something for us" baji said. "hell yeah!" kazutora responded enthusiastically, "c'mon, guys, c'mon let's make a toast" "toast to what?" "to.. new adventures and.." mikey glanced at you "to new friendships", chifuyu whooped and the sound of clinking of glasses filled the air.

baji, chifuyu and kazutora booked a cab to their apartment, chifuyu was slumped onto baji and remained fairly incoherent. you hoped that his hangover tomorrow wouldn't be severe. mikey was of a similar state, face flushed and a dazed expression with glossed over eyes. he seemed clingier than usual. hina and takemitchi dropped off mitsuya. the four of you got back in emma's car.

mikey's head lolled to the side, almost, just almost resting on your shoulder, you feel the need to resist the urge to shift slightly closer so his head falls completely on your shoulder. ultimately you didn't need to do anything because he moved anyways. closer than you would've expected. your arms touched and you felt your face heat up.

you figure he wouldn't mind and wrap your arm around his shoulder. he hums contently at the warmth and the comfortable weight. you cant help but smile at the sight.

emma glances at the pair from the rear view mirror and a soft expression falls on her face. it was about time mikey found someone he could be completely and wholly vulnerable with.

'emma'll wake me up when we reach home' you think, as you shut your eyes too, and lean your head on his.

__ tags: @manjirosfairmuse @dollrndo @dancingnewcat @bowloficecubes @idk-what-myurl-shouldbe extra notes: i wish i could've expanded on hina and takemitchi more tbh! might make a game night chapter next.. not 100% sure though. if you guys have any ideas do drop them in the comments!

i know this is supposed to be a mikey x reader fic but i really wanted to expand on the platonic relationships b/n reader and everyone else. i feel like that's something that a lot of x reader fics lack, (totally not that it's a bad thing!! many x reader fics that are isolated to the character n reader are great!! ) but i did want to give my two cents on these relationships and improve my writing!

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raaorqtpbpdy · 13 days ago

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What a Night

Internet-famous musician Danny Phantom is doing a collab with Ember McLain! Six weeks, twelve concerts, twelve cities across the American Midwest. Go online and buy your tickets today!

The performer Danny Phantom has teamed up with Ember for a legendary album. Their first show is overwhelmed with cultists looking for the ghost king. {from @iwillhissatyou} Valerie Gray and Sidney Poindexter have finally met and…oh boy. {from @silverwing013} and Danny is tired of keeping secrets from his parents, but he still doesn’t know how to actually break the news to them, so instead of actually figuring something out like he probably should, Danny goes “fuck it” and proceeds to have some fun with it. Also, no Jazz, he’s definitely not coping with humor. {from @neutralgoodhyena}

Read Also on AO3

[Warnings for anxiety and mentions of cults]

Today was the day of the long-awaited Ember McLain/Danny Phantom collab concert in Amity Park, and it looked like the whole town had turned up for it, and a good number of out-of-towners as well. It would be the first in a series of six twelve concerts in 6 weeks across the Midwest, and the whole region had been talking about the highly anticipated team up for months leading up to it, and the day it was to begin had finally arrived.

To say Danny was excited for it would be a massive understatement. To say he was nervous would be even more of an understatement.

"You'll do fine, Babypop," Ember reassured him, sensing his anxiety as he set up his keyboard and triple-checked all the settings. "It's not like you haven't performed before."

"Yeah, in front of a camera," Danny replied. "YouTube fame is totally different from sold-out concert fame. The biggest real audience I've performed in front of was, like, thirty people at a café with open mic. nights. This is a big step-up from that."

"Your most popular video has, like, 3 million views, today's audience is less than 3 thousand. You may not have been able to see them all, but you've effectively performed in front of 10 times as many people as you will today. Plus, with the stage lights and the visual effects, you'll barely be able to see any of them anyway."

Danny nodded. "You're... you're right, yeah."

"Danny!"

He perked up and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when he heard a familiar voice calling his name from a distance.

"Will you tell your stupid manager to let me backstage already!"

"Excuse me a minute," he told Ember, hurrying toward the backstage entrance.

"It's cool, Sid, she's with me," Danny said, taking Valerie by the hand and leading her toward the performer areas.

"Well how was I suppose to know when she did have a back-stage pass?" Poindexter huffed, crossing his arms and scowling.

Danny hadn't regretted his decision to appoint Sidney Poindexter as his manager for live performances yet, but he'd never had the chance to introduce him to his girlfriend before, and clearly he should have made the time because Valerie was pissed.

"Sorry about him, Valerie," Danny said. "Poindexter's a good guy, really, he's just super serious about his job and maybe he goes a little mad with power when he has a clipboard in his hands. I'll make sure to get you a special girlfriend backstage pass for the rest of my concerts."

"You'd better," Valerie said curtly.

She eyed him up and down, apprising his look for the concert, and he took a step back, opened his arms, and gave a slow turn so she could see it better. Her scowl slowly morphed into a small smile and she nodded her approval.

"Looks good," she said at length. "I see Ember's make-up artists really had their way with you, but the dark makeup creates a cool contrast with the white hair. You're wearing the accessories I picked out for you. You look good."

"Glad I have your seal of approval," Danny said. "There's another half-hour 'til the show starts. Want some snacks? The venue set up a whole complimentary spread, even though we're ghosts and don't need to eat. Guess they were just really excited to have us."

"Don't mind if I do," Valerie said, traipsing over to the buffet table and helping herself to some mini blueberry muffins and mini quiches.

Most of the food was miniature versions of normally larger foods for some reason. Danny was partial to the mini pig-in-a-blankets... or would it be pigs-in-a-blanket? Pigs-in-blankets? What parts of that hyphenated phrase had to be pluralized?

He mulled over the conundrum with Valerie, but they didn't come to a satisfactory conclusion before Poindexter came rushing into the room with a wild-eyed expression.

"We've got a problem, Danny," he said. "The venue is filling up with cultists."

"What? What do you mean cultists?" Danny demanded.

"I don't know, they'd all got black robes and strange tattoos," the ghost continued. "Security stopped some of them, and told me they said they're looking for the ghost king, but they can't kick 'em out 'cause they've all got tickets, and they technically haven't done anything wrong. What should we do?"

"Woah, slow down, Sid," Danny held out his hands. "What do you mean ghost king?"

"He means you."

He turned around to see Ember standing behind him. She approached the buffet table and popped a mini eclair in her mouth. Just because ghosts didn't need to eat, didn't mean those eclairs weren't damn good.

"Me? What are you talking about?"

"You defeated the old king in single combat," she said through a mouthful before swallowing. "You possess the royal artifacts."

"Yeah, in a shoe box full of junk in the bottom of my closet," Danny argued. "I'm no king."

"Well, duh," she said. "I mean, not in the practical sense. The Ghost Zone is pretty much self-governing anyway, so it's not like we ever needed a king, but magic is as magic does, so from a technical standpoint..." she trailed off, making a so-so motion with her hand.

"You are the king," Poindexter said. "We ghosts may not need one, but the Ghost Zone needs a vessel or it becomes too weird and unstable to be habitable, and right now, that's you."

"Why am I the only one who didn't know about this?"

"Uh, hello?" Valerie raised her hand, her face a mask of surprise and confusion.

"Okay, why am I the only ghost who didn't know about this?"

"Not our fault you never bothered to learn about ghostly culture," Ember said with a shrug.

"Does this make me the ghost queen?" Valerie asked.

Ember snorted a laugh, "You become a ghost some time since we last talked?" she asked sarcastically.

Valerie glared and her hand instinctively went to her thigh for her ecto-gun, even though she wasn't wearing her ghost hunting suit and she'd promised not to hunt ghosts anymore ever since she learned the truth about Danny and the rest of them—that they weren't really evil, just trying to act on their ghostly .

"Ember's just razzin' you," Poindexter said flippantly. "There's only one royal position in the ghost zone, so even if you were both a ghost and married to Danny, that would be it. You'd just be the king's wife and nothing else."

Valerie scowled at him, as if he even had the presence of mind to intend that as a personal slight against her.

Poindexter barrelled on, not even noticing her irritation, which of course only pissed her off more. "But the semantics of royal titles aren't nearly as important as the fact that there are literally hundreds of cultists out there looking for Danny and they won't say what for, or what they plan to do if they find him. I hate to suggest cancelling the show, but—"

"We can't cancel the show," Ember cut him off severely. "Not this last-minute. Double security around the stage and tell them to watch out for any movement on the part of the cultists. If they see anything weird and suspicious, like artifacts, glowing tattoos, weird chanting, have them tell the lighting crew to flash the stage-front lights red three times. That'll be the signal for Danny to get the hell outta dodge. With any luck, they're just here for the music, but even if they're not, the show must go on, right Danny?"

"Red three times. I'm on it!" Poindexter said, then vanished to attend to spreading the updated procedures.

"Uh... right," Danny agreed. He was not expecting Ember to be so on top of the situation.

"Valerie, I know you were looking forward to seeing your boytoy perform live, but if you wouldn't mind gearing up and providing some extra security—"

"Say no more; you got it," Valerie said. "I'm not about to let a bunch of creepy cultists run off with my man. I'll catch you after the show, babe." She gave Danny a peck on the cheek before darting out of the backstage area.

Danny followed her with his eyes until she was out of sight then turned to Ember with a frown. "I'm not her boytoy."

"Sure you're not," Ember said. "Ten minutes to curtain. Time for last minute sound checks and staging."

As if Danny's anxiety wasn't already through the roof, now it was amped up even higher.

Ten minutes felt like an eternity, until their names were announced over the loudspeakers and the curtains rose.

If it weren't for all those hours of practice, Danny was sure he would have choked, but as Ember hyped up the crowd and they started in on their first song, Danny's fingers danced across his keyboard as if on autopilot.

Ember was right about the stage lights and the crowd. It was so bright he could barely see a thing, let alone make out individual faces, though he did not swaths of black robes in the crowd—cultists grouped together. Plus, between just those two factors, the heat onstage was stifling, and Danny's ice-powers kicked in instinctually to cool him off, creating an unplanned mist effect across the stage.

He looked up with wide-eyes, checking for reactions from Ember and her band, but they just rolled with it and kept playing, so unperturbed as to make the audience think it was intentional, made with dry ice or something. They were so professional, it made Danny feel like he really had to step up his game to deserve his spot on this stage with them.

When his part of their duet came up, Danny sang his heart out, belting the words with more emotion than in any of their rehearsals and really giving it his all. But all the while, he kept glancing at the stage-front lights, waiting for them to start flashing red, telling him to run.

Ancients how he wished he could see what was going on in the crowd. This anxiety was killing him all over again.

Danny was on edge the whole time, but the concert ended without him having to run offstage in a hurry.

He got to take his bows alongside Ember and her band and then walk off just as planned. As soon as they got the the green room, Hawk, Riff, and Thump (Ember's bassist, rhythm guitarist, and drummer respectively) collapsed on the sofa pretty much simultaneously and Ember laughed.

"They always do that," she said. "It's like a post-concert ritual for them. Flop down on the couch in the green room and not move for ten full minutes."

"Can you blame us?" Thump asked, rubbing his forearms.

Danny guessed that banging on a drum set for nearly two hours straight took its toll, even for a ghost. He knew his own fingers were starting to tremble after that long playing keyboard.

"Thump, you were sitting the whole time," Ember pointed out.

"Yeah, but me and Riff weren't," Hawk pointed out. "My dogs are barkin'."

"At least it wasn't as hot as it usually is," Riff commented. "Thanks for that, Phantom. It kinda caught me by surprise at first, but we done concerts with smoke machines before, so not that big a deal."

"Oh, I'm with Riff on that one, big time," Hawk agreed, and Thump nodded as well.

"You should do that at every concert," Riff said.

"I don't know if I can help it," Danny said. "With my ice core, the second I started to overheat, it just kinda happened."

"Well, no complaints here," Ember said.

"Amen," her band chorused in agreement.

The five performers rested up in the green room while the roadies packed up their equipment to transport it to the next venue. Ghosts didn't really have the same travel time as most vehicles, so their stuff traveled without them, and they met it there the day of the concert.

After a few minutes, Valerie came in, dressed in her ghost hunting gear and looking like she'd barely escaped an explosion. Her hair, which was normally well kept, was frizzing, and she had soot marks all over her suit.

"Hey babe!" she greeted, sidling up to Danny and sitting on the arm of his chair. "You were great out there."

"You too, I assume," Danny replied, looking her up and down. "What happened? I couldn't really see anything with the stage lights in my face."

"Oh, just a little scuffle with the cultists. Security and I handled it. No big deal."

"Val, you're awesome."

"I know it," she said. "We're gon' have words about your manager though, he tried to stop me from coming back here again after the show."

"I promise I will get a pass for you before the next show," Danny said. "He'd just trying to do his job."

Valerie huffed in irritation, but didn't argue the point further. Danny could sense that her beef with Poindexter wasn't about to end any time soon. This was gonna be a long summer.

That night, Danny went home on cloud nine. He couldn't wait to tell his parents how well the concert had gone. He'd been scrolling through social media in the green room, and people were raving about the show. They thought Valerie fighting the cultists was part of the act, and they ate it up. It couldn't have gone better.

His hand was on the doorknob when he remembered that he couldn't tell his parents. They still didn't know he was a ghost.

Ancients, this was getting frustrating. All the accomplishments he was most proud of had to do with his ghost side, and he couldn't share any of them with his parents. He was so tired of keeping secrets from them. Maybe now was the time to finally loop them in.

He walked in the front door. The concert had gone on until one in the morning, and after that he'd hung out with Ember, Val and the guys until the after-party, which went on until not long ago. He'd been out all night, but since it was summer, he didn't have to worry about his curfew.

His mom was in the kitchen making pancakes for breakfast, and his dad was half asleep at the kitchen table while Jazz sat beside him reading a book. The table had already been set.

As Danny sat down at the table, he thought that he should probably come up with some kind of plan for how to tell his parents he was half ghost. But at the same time, he also thought "fuck it", and it had been a long night, so after almost no deliberation, "fuck it" won out.

"Welcome home, sweetie," his mom greeted. "How was your night? You went to a concert right?"

"It went great! I almost got attacked by cultists and it was so hot onstage that I accidentally iced it over, but the audience seemed to think all that was planned, so all in all, I can't complain. Plus my band mates seemed to appreciate the cool-off."

Jazz looked at him over her book with a look of complete shock and borderline fear.

"That's nice, Danny," his mother said. "Do you want chocolate chips or blueberries in your panca—wait what the hell do you mean you were almost attacked by cultists?"

His father, who'd been pretty much asleep by that point jerked awake at the sound of his wife yelling. "What? Who's a cultist? Attack?"

"Yeah," Danny said. "I guess I'm, like, the ghost king or something. It was news to me too, but I had a concert to put on, so I just let security deal with them. Also, I'd love some blueberries, please."

The number of shocked expressions in the kitchen tripled.

"Put on?" his mother repeated. "I thought you were attending a concert."

"No, I had to perform that big collab concert with Ember and her band last night."

"But... but wasn't that... wait are you...?"

Danny nodded.

"You're Danny Phantom?!" His mother all but screamed. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"

"I didn't?" Danny asked with an exaggerated tone of surprise. "Well gee I could've sworn I told you guys. Remember that accident in the ghost portal back in freshman year? Ever since then, I've been half ghost. I thought you knew." He gave him his best expression of mock innocence.

It was clear that he absolutely knew this was the first time he was telling them, but he was also clearly having fun with it. His parents, on the other hand....

"You're half ghost?!" they shouted in unison.

"Did you die?" his mother asked. "How can you say that so casually?"

"He's just coping with humor like he always does," Jazz said dismissively, finally getting over her shock at her brother's sudden honesty and looking back at her book.

"I am not!" Danny refuted aghast. "I would never do such a thing! Name one time that I have ever used humor to cope?"

"Is that a serious question?" Jazz asked sardonically, raising an eyebrow. "Because I could give you an itemized list. Would you like it chronologically or alphabetically?"

"Ugh. I'm good thanks," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "And no, I'm not dead. Or... I guess you could say I'm half-dead? I'm not sure, really. I can transform between a human and ghost form, and I use my ghost powers, along with the ghost hunting training you guys gave me, to keep Amity Park safe from ghostly threats, and more recently to become a YouTube famous musician and get a concert deal with Ember McLain."

His parents obviously had no idea how to respond to all this new information at once. Honestly, Danny didn't even know how he wanted them to respond. As long as they didn't try to capture or kill him, he'd be happy.

"Uh... congratulations?" his mother said finally.

"Thanks!"

Yeah. That worked.

#danny phantom #dp #Danny fenton #ember mclain #fic #things i wrote #concerts #phic phight #phic phight 25 #reveal fic

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poisonousivy616 · 5 days ago

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success story 🤍✨

I successfully manifested an old friend of mine to reach out to me on discord after i saw your apartment success story and got inspired by it 😊okay so, me and this friend had an argument that was so stupid and petty tbh and we stopped talking for a LONG time—like almost a year 😭 i found myself constantly going back to re-read our messages and we had so many genuine and wholesome moments that made me want to reconnect with her again. i just honestly felt like she didn’t respect my boundaries, always wanted to talk/gossip about other people negatively, and got defensive over every little thing as if she could never be wrong and also threw personal things back in my face which hurted me deeply for so long and made me lowkey dislike her ☹️ so i said, ykw, i can just manifest her reaching out to me and genuinely apologizing me and being self-aware of her problematic traits, like DUH lmfao i literally know the law like girl bffr. i used an askfirmation (my favorite) and robotically affirmed “why did she apologize to me?” and also listen to a problem solving subliminal every night bc why not! my ass locked in and affirmed my fucking ass off and did the lullaby method too because it NEVER failed me once. in literally 2 days (today) she reached out to me on discord (it’s our only ONLY form of communication 💀) and she sent me a long and sincere apology, literally everything i could ever imagine, but 10x better 😭 we both completely listened to each other sides, forgave each other, admitted our flaws, and we are doing SO good now. like our friendship is even better than it was before and i couldn’t be more happier because we both understand what it’s like dealing with toxic and abusive parents and we genuinely love and care for each other so deeply, like that’s my platonic soulmate 💕 since she’s my online friend, i would have NO idea if she was even alive or not and there would be a 0% chance that i would ever see her in the street because she literally lives on the other side of the world in Australia while i live in California and that terrified the hell out me fr. but, anyways, YAY i got my bestie back and we are also planning to meet up with each other soon in person too 🥹 i’m deadass gonna cry, i’m so happy now!! i just love my Gudiya (means “doll” in Hindi btw and i call her that because she literally looks like a gorgeous doll + she’s Telugu) SO much and i wanna see her living her best life 🩷

if you’re reading this and been indecisive about reaching out to an old friend, THIS IS YOUR SIGN! GO GET YOUR BESTIE BACK, EVERY GIRL NEEDS SISTERHOOD 🥰 FRIENDS ARE THE BEST THING EVER IN LIFE SERIOUSLY!!

Omg babes!!! I'm so happy for you and you seem like such an amazing friend!!! I'm so happy my success story inspired you. Literally, it's that easy to manifest anything you want as long as you don't think against your desires and decide you already have it!!! I hope other people reading this will be inspired by you♡

BTW, my long-distance bestie (we live in different continents) is coming to visit me next week!!! I'm so excited I haven't seen her in almost a year♡♡

𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊, 𝕴𝖛𝖞🖤💚

#law of assumption #loablr #loassblog #loa advice #manifesting #manifestation #loa success #law of assumption community #success story #4d reality #god state #i am state #living in the end #neville goddard

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entropicbias · 3 months ago

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star trek online with a youtube video.

(note, this is an old post, but i've decided to do more blogging like this here, so i remembered it.)

i decided to try out star trek online and live out my trekkie fantasies the other day. my first run in with the game was eons ago at a thrift store, but my current laptop is lacking a cd player, so i couldn't really try it out for sure. i don't know if it would work anyways considering it's a copy of the game from, what, 2010? what would be the point of that.

the first star trek game i ever played was the TNG game for the snes. i emulated it on my shitty old laptop. it was unfortunately a bust, cause i had no idea what i was doing.

speaking of tng, before i do my review, did you know a certain somebody used to make tng edits? can you recognize that flute sample?

anyway, my best friend dave (who doesn’t even have a tumblr) brought it up, assuming i’d never heard of star trek online. TCH! who do you think i am, you simpleton? naturally, i had to flex on him. whipping out the cd like some kind of seasoned star trek online veteran just to make a mockery of him. but really, the joke is on me, because let’s be honest, no one takes a self-proclaimed star trek online expert seriously.

so, i downloaded it off steam and ignored all the mixed reviews! i didn't stay in character creation for too long, but i tried to make him resemble me as much as possible. that's because my character's name is john kirk. he is john tiberius kirk.

john t. kirk of the u.s.s johnterprise. because enterprise is a restricted word (STUPID AND LAME?)

here is what i was greeted to.

quite frankly, i'm a little upset at the amount of diversity aboard. already i am seeing TWO vulcans. this is absurd. there is only one vulcan that should be aboard my ship, and he hasn't finished downloading the game yet.

OK! TIME TO PLAY THE FREAKIN' GAME FOR REAL! :D

after picking some of my skills (i chose to be aggressive, pistol handy, and uhh... i forgot the other one but believe me when i say it was good.)

i am meet this son of a bitch

captain...? CAPTAIN? OF THE JOHNTERPRISE? THE HELL YOU ARE! GET YOUR FALLOUT CLAYMATION ASS OFF OF MY FREAKING CHAIR! i thought you started out as captain? what is the point of naming my ship if i don't even get to be captain??? i need to show this guy who is BOSS.

the second thing i figured out about this game, is that if you walk into an object and believe in yourself you can actually gyrate with skill akin to that of a zumba instructor. so, i immediately had to gyrate next to captain isaac carrot to put him in his place.

it was a massacre for garrett. if i was you, "captain", i'd hang my head in shame and go back to being an ensign from being so hopelessly outmatched. it was also at this point i remembered that i could record my gameplay, which countered my ability to remember that my computer's cpu couldn't properly cool itself and i hadn't turned on my laptop fan. so amidst scanning some debris, my computer shat itself and died.

AND THEN RECORDED THE REST OF MY GAMEPLAY! watch it here. https://youtu.be/eeEs0el8Woo?si=djN9iLpkH3bGwNle there is some impossibly hard to read commentary there, and you may be wondering why i don't talk, and that's because i sound like bart simpson, so it's best that you just squint your eyes and pretend like morgan freeman's sultry voice is narrating my captions. if you do not want to sit through half an hour of shitty footage, then feel free to skip to 24:47 where i realize that you do not get a chance to meet captain kirk at the end of your first rodeo, and it genuinely breaks my heart. that is todays post, goodbye. update from jan 2025: i haven't touched the game since because i realized that i was just not going to be all that invested if most of the gameplay was from outside of the ship and i didn't have my very own personal spock.

-eb

#blog #star trek #star trek tos #star trek online #star trek the next generation #andrew hussie #james t kirk

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redtsundere-writes · 2 years ago

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Out Of My League | Heartsteel Kayn / Rhaast

Heartsteel Kayn / Rhaast x f!reader

Part 1: Facecheck.

Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

Sypnosis: A chronically online girl doesn´t know that her Discord friend may be someone she already knows.

Contents: Modern AU, High school AU, a lot of bad jokes and meme references. No warnings.

Word count: 2023 (omg this year)

Author's Note: So... this gremlin's birthday was yesterday and since he has been on my mind lately. I decided to write him a fic cause why not?

Thanks to @mclovin1803 for helping me with proofreading and picking a title. (If this is out of charcater, blame him)

You were the exact definition of an introvert. You weren't good at talking to people you didn't know, your social battery doesn't last long, and you get excited when your friends cancel plans at the last minute. You like your loneliness and spending the afternoon playing video games and your guitar.

As an introvert, you didn't have many friends aside from a few classmates and some family members you were close with. Luckily, you had several friends on Discord. Among them was someone by the username of Rhaast. You didn't chat with him often because he wasn't as chronically online as you were, but he knew you were always down to play League of Legends with him.

One night while you were comfortably playing the new Super Mario Wonder on the switch, you received a message from Rhaast.

@Rhaast: League?

It had been two weeks since you had last played together, so you put the Switch aside and accepted. You opened League and put your headphones on to hop on the call with your friend.

"Hello there," you greeted him like Obi Wan as you waited for Rhaast to enter the game. He laughed at the reference. He had a deep, kinda seductive voice. You didn't know for sure if he was pretending or if he really talked like that.

"How have you been?," you asked while looking for your nightly playlist on Spotify to set the mood.

"Great. Yesterday I went out with a girl and today I broke up with her." You rolled your eyes at the comment. You knew Rhaast was quite the heartbreaker for discarding women like they were underwear. Personally, you didn't like that about your friend.

"And now why did you break up with this one,?" you asked as you started the game.

"I only went out with her once and she was already bugging me. My phone kept ringing because of her, so I blocked her," Rhaast answered with a chuckle. “Thank God I'll never date this asshole,” you thought.

"I wish there were more girls like you. You wait for me to send you a message and you are always down to play with me." He said while locking in Zed as his champion while you locked in Qiyana.

"I’m always down to play with you because I don't have any friends, not because I like you." You kamikazed by words.

"Damn, and I thought you had a crush for me," Rhaast joked. "Come to think of it, you never tell me anything about your love life," He suggested so he could hear some gossip.

"I haven't told you because I don't have any," you said, pretending to cry. Rhaast laughed at your foolish performance.

"Come on, you must have at least a crush or something," he insisted curiously as the game began. There was no one you liked... but someone caught your eye.

You felt like a fool for getting nervous every time you saw Kayn and his group of friends walk past you in the hallways. Kayn was a popular kid from a higher grade. He was good at sports, had good grades, was a member of an upcoming band, and was always surrounded by friends, while you were the complete opposite. You knew you shouldn't be nervous seeing him around because there was no chance that he would have the slightest interest in you. The majority of girls in your class drooled over him, so he was free to choose whoever he wanted. Why would he choose you?

Also, you had no good reason to go over and talk to him. The only chance you had, you blew it. You still cringe at yourself at night when you remember that moment. In your first days of high school, you had no friends and you just started learning to play guitar. When you tried to leave the music room that day, you ran into a tall boy with pink hair, perfect black eyebrows that indicated the true color of his hair, piercings decorating his ears, a pointy nose and a magnificent athletic body. Everything about him could catch anyone's attention but his most striking feature was his beautiful eyes with heterochromia, his left eye was green and the right; red. You were a moth and he was an RGB lightbulb that demanded your attention.

You stood paralyzed infront of him. You clutched your music sheet notebook to your chest in nervousness. He was way too attractive and you didn't know how to feel about it. You tried to greet him but only stutters came out of your mouth. It was true that you weren't good at starting conversations but you had never been at a loss for words.

"Can you move? I want to get in," he asked while looking at you as if you were an inferior being.

"Ah... Yes-s, I'm s-sorry." You couldn't help your stutter as you stepped aside so he could enter the room. The Adonis didn't say anything else, but your eyes were still glued on him. The boy saw you watching him without shame.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked directly. You quickly shook your head and ran out of the room. “You are so stupid, you made yourself look like you have never seen a man!” You thought embarrassed as you felt your face getting hot. This was definitely your canon event.

One day, Rhaast sent you an ad. Riot was hosting a promotional convention for players at the capital at the end of the month.

@Rhaast: You goin'?

You: Maybe, sounds good.

@Rhaast: Let me know if you goin'.

You: Are you?

@Rhaast: If you go, I'll go.

You: K.

Thus the days passed until the day of the event arrived. You got ready with your best clothes: A K/DA sweatshirt, freshly washed pants, and the least dirty sneakers you had. You left your apartment nervously to finally touch some grass and meet your friend in real life. After a tedious subway ride, you arrived at the convention center where the event was taking place.

You: I'm here. Where are you?

@Rhaast: Wait for me at the entrance. I'm almost there.

You saw that there were several people waiting for their respective friends at the entrance, so you decided to stay in that area. You waited patiently while playing on your phone until you heard some girls next to you get excited.

"Look, it's Kayn, he looks so good!" They whisper to each other. You looked up quickly when you heard that name and, sure enough, the Adonis was there. “What is Kayn doing here?!” you thought as you tried to hide behind your phone as if you pretended he wasn't there, but your eyes traveled quickly between the screen and him. He was wearing a black crop with a jacket on top, tight pants and silver chains on his neck, fingers and waist. “Oh no, he's hot!” You thought nervously, wanting to run away. Your heart wasn't taking it.

You felt envious when the girls next to you didn't hesitate to approach him. Seeing the confidence they had to greet and talk to him, you felt that they had already known each other before. “I wish I could do that,” you thought.

"I didn't know you played League." One of the girls commented.

"I don´t play much," Kayn answered without taking much notice. Looking cool as heck.

"Are you here alone?" The other girl asked.

"Well, I'm meeting with a friend. I'll call her, " he said while searching for his friend's contact on his phone.

*Incoming call from Rhaast*

Out of nowhere, your phone started ringing from an incoming call on Discord. It was Rhaast. “No way,” you thought as you looked at Kayn and your cell phone simultaneously. “No, this must be a coincidence” you thought before answering.

"I'm here, where are you?" Your knees felt weak as Kayn spoke the words he was hearing over the phone. “Kayn is Rhaast?!” you thought in disbelief.

Kayn quickly found you and your eyes met. The last time that happened was a year ago. You knew Rhaast for over two years. That meant that Kayn, the cutest boy in school, had heard your horrible jokes, your fangirl screams when you saw Faker at almost every World Cup, and your burps for two years. You wanted the earth to swallow you whole at that moment.

"Oh, there she is. See ya," he hung up the call and said goodbye to his friends. He approached you while you were dying internally. You were lucky a wall was holding you up because you were sure you were going to pass out at any moment. “Breathe, maybe he doesn't remember you,” you thought.

"Hey! Why didn't you tell me we went to the same school, snake girl?" he joked. You covered your face in shame with your hands. “He does remember!” You thought, defeated. You still didn't believe that Kayn was still talking to you.

"Shut up, Rhaast… I mean, Kayn." You said, pulling your face out of its hiding spot. Kayn smiled, looking at your blushing cheeks.

"So you know me," he said confidently.

"How can I not know you? My classmates can't stop talking about you," you said defensively.

"I don't mean that," he said as he brought his face closer to yours. You backed up as far as the wall would allow you.

"Just look at you, you're crazy for me." He mocked in a flirting way. You couldn't help but to blush once again.

He was right, not only did he caught your eye, you liked him. You liked him more than you thought. Not because he was the popular Kayn, who is in a band and all the girls fight over him, but because he was also Rhaast. The one guy who laughed at your horrible jokes, the one who didn't criticize you every time you screamed when you saw Faker and burped when you did to match your energy.

"Ha! Says the guy that I always carry,” you mocked him back. Kayn laughed. That laugh that made you feel better in the small corner of your room.

"That's my girl!" He said before taking your hand. You blushed at the unexpectedly intimate act. His hand gently squeezed yours to guide you to the convention entrance.

You spent the whole afternoon chatting and spending all your money on merchandise. You got to know Kayn better than you ever thought. He was a little bit blunt, but nicer than you pictured. It was like you were seeing the other side of Rhaast. Kayn also got to know you on another level when you started to feel comfortable around him. You were a girl with whom he could see himself talking for many hours everyday without getting bored, something he had not felt with anyone else.

You and Kayn said goodbye to a wonderful day together. Both felt their hearts beating like crazy for each other. You had spent the entire day together but you still missed each other once you parted ways. You arrived home and then threw yourself on the bed to start screaming about the exciting day you just had. You had finally talked to Kayn and he seemed to like you. And boy did he like you...

The next day, another school day had ended, so you decided to go to the music room. On your way, you saw Kayn and his friends heading towards the exit. Finally, you got the courage to do something you've always wanted to do.

"Hey, Kayn!" You called him from your place. He turned around to see you among the other students passing by in the hallway.

"Wanna play later?" You asked, blushing lightly for attracting his attention. His friends began to tease him that a girl was talking to him that way, but he didn't care. Kayn smiled as he saw you standing there, blushing but determined.

"You know I do!" He said before turning around and getting back with his friends. You smiled. Maybe he wouldn't have chosen you before, but now you had a chance.

Order your own fanfic! (Starting price: $5 USD)

Masterlist.

#kayn #heartsteel #heartsteel kayn #league of legends #fluff #fanfiction #fic #rhaast #fanfic #modern au #high school #high school au #kayn league of legends #zed #x reader #kayn x reader #kayn lol #shieda kayn

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cerisesakurainspring · 11 months ago

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🌷Kiyoko's Daily Logs during the Karasuno-Nekoma Training Camp🌷

From Sportiva x Haikyuu Volume I

May 2

Training camp starts today. Four new members participated in the training camp for the first time.

Hinata 162cm - Middle Blocker

Tsukishima 188cm - Middle Blocker

Kageyama 180cm - Setter

Yamaguchi 179cm - Middle Blocker

Asahi (Wing Spiker), and Nishinoya (Libero) have also returned for the first time in about a month (in good physical good condition) and have started activities as a new team. (Immediate goal is to participate in the Spring High.)

19:30 First day practice ends

19:50 move to training camp

*starting from today we will be living together for 4 nights and 5 days at the training camp (except managers)

20:30 Dinner / Mr. Takeda's special curry (delicious), salad, miso soup

21:30 Return home

Special note: last person to take a bath, don't forget to ventilate.

May 3

7:00 Road work

(1st yr Hinata got lost)

*Hinata —> look around you

Other members should be careful to look after Hinata

10:00 Strengthen receiving, practice all morning

12:00 lunch break

In the afternoon, I went to the supermarket to buy dinner.

Uniform cleaning

Uchizawa cleaning (0B) used

(Receive service coupon)

Special note: washing machine not in good condition

(Need to discuss fees with teacher and club fees)

May 4

Cleaning the club room and equipment room.

Found something usable inside the cardboard

In need of repair. Details will be reported later.

In the afternoon the starting line up for the game against Nekoma was decided. The rotation is left up to Coach Ukai.

○Sawamura ○Hinata ○Tanaka

○Azumane ○Tsukishima ○Kageyama

○Nishinoya

3 regular players from 1st year (expected to improve team performance)

Offensive side > Hinata and Kageyama's strange quick attack

Defensive side > Nishinoya's receives, Coach receiving training

Nekoma Highschool Information:

•A veteran player in Tokyo

•Had frequent practice matches in the past

•Is there a connection with ??

•The decisive battle at the garbage dump????

Special note: Temperature and humidity are rising in May

Deodorizer measures are required in the room (we all are investigating the cause)

May 5

Last night, everyone left the training camp without permission.

*Strict attention

Reason: because of hunger

Measures: Adding a late night snack (under consideration)

Uniform provided at noon

In the afternoon I left early due to feeling unwell.

(The work is left to Mr. Takeda)

Special note: The washing machine is not working properly.

Repairs after the holidays?

May 6

8:50 Gather at Karasuno Sports Park Stadium

9:10 start warming up

10:00 Practice match begins

Karasuno - Nekoma

All three matches (total of 6 sets) were good matches.

•Attack power 5/5

•Connection, receiving

Team completion level - Nekoma is on top

*See scoreboard for match details

Practice match results; improved team morale

Issues clearly identified for each individual (especially first year students) increased attack patterns

This training camp turned out better than expected.

The time it takes to reach your goal is important.

Special note: washing machine cannot be repaired (cause —> Tanaka and Nishinoya)

Consult with teacher regarding future actions.

Text translated online so if some are mistranslated that is why.

This daily log from Kiyoko was interesting and wanted to share it to those who haven't had a chance to read through the light novels yet.

Also, Tanaka and Nishinoya are the troublemakers of the group aren't they??

#haikyuu #haikyū!!#kiyoko shimizu #karasuno #tokyo training camp

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mayajadewrites · 1 year ago

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I Wish I Hated You (Levi Ackerman x Reader)

summary: You don't do second chances. Especially after you gave your heart to Levi Ackerman, and he decided to throw it away so the next person has to repair the damage. Will Levi put his ego aside and finally admit his feelings for you are far deeper than you imagined? Or is a second chance out of the question?

warnings: eventual smut, this is a slow burn

ao3

C H A P T E R O N E: G R I E F

this fanfic is inspired by ariana grande's new album: specifically the songs 'I wish I hated you', 'we can't be friends', and 'eternal sunshine'. enjoy! let me know what you think, comments, likes and reblogs are always appreciated!

You wish you hated him.

The walls you let down to let him in - they need to be rebuilt brick by brick from his damage.

Levi Ackerman.

You should've known it would end up this way. After 2 years of dating, Levi didn't want to ever get married, let alone have you move in with him. He had his house, you had yours. You slept over most of the time anyways, so what was the difference?

Your lives are entirely different. Levi is the President of Smith Inc, along side his best friend Erwin Smith, who is the CEO. He has a large home, housekeepers, and spotless counters. You live in an apartment that's not ideal, but it's home. You've always had to work two jobs to stay afloat, even when Levi offered to give you money. You refused because you wanted to make your own income and not rely on anyone. You work at a coffee shop full time and you accept online writing gigs. Levi never understood why you cared so much about making your own money, but he accepted it.

As you sit on your full size bed in your favorite sweatsuit, tears start to fall from your eyes. You look at your nightstand and see a small framed photo of you and Levi from his birthday last year. He doesn't like to celebrate it since it's on Christmas, but you refused to not acknowledge his birthday. You bought a tea tasting set from his favorite tea shop and set up a paint and sip at your house, but with tea.

In the photo is you and Levi, where he's sipping tea out of his favorite cup that stays at your house, and you're smiling from ear to ear. Tears fell onto the glass, covering Levi's face. You use the pad on your thumb to wipe the tear away as you put the photo in your drawer.

Levi dropped off a box of your belongings while you were at work yesterday, leaving them on your dining table. He still had a key since you haven't heard the heart to ask for it back. Your entire life with Levi was in that box.

Your heard the vibration of your phone on your desk, the noise irritating you. It's been going off for a few hours, but you haven't had the mental capacity to answer it.

You walked over to your desk, secretly hoping it was Levi that was trying to get in touch with you.

Missed Call from Hange: 4

Of course its Hange. She means well, but she if nothing is persistent.

You press 'call back' and bring the phone to your ear.

"Finally!" You heard Hange on the other side of your phone. "I've been worried sick about you."

Hange works for Smith Inc, but she quickly became a friend to you after Levi reluctantly introduced you.

"I'm fine." You look down at your nails that are in desperate need of a manicure.

"That's code for I'm not fine at all and Levi Ackerman broke my heart."

You stayed silent.

"He's in a weird mood today. Like, way meaner than usual."

"Okay..." You waited for something else to be said. "Is that why you called me? To tell me he's acting weird?"

"Well I called you 4 times to make sure you were alive. I know Levi dropped off stuff to you yesterday, I heard him talking to Erwin about it."

"What did he say?" You were more interested than you wanted to be. You shouldn't care about the man who made your entire world shatter.

"He said that he went in your apartment and was expecting more of a mess, but that it was impeccably clean."

You roll your eyes so far back you swear you could see the past. "I picked up a few cleaning tips from him so I clean more often now."

"He also said he wanted to see if there was any trace of another man being in there."

"That would be none of his business. It's been a month since we broke up. He should know me well enough to know I wouldn't even let a man in my home that fast."

"He specifically said he wants to be the only man that's ever in your apartment."

This statement surprises you. The only man? He let you let him go. He had no problem letting the last 2 years obliterate into the universe. "Well that's not gonna happen. What's done is done, and I don't do second chances. I'll get the key back from him."

"You can try." Hange laughs. "Anyways, lets get drinks after work! I know you're off today."

You wince at the thought of getting ready and leaving your house. "Hange."

"Come on. I've let you rot in your bed for a month."

"Fine." You sigh. "Our usual spot?"

"You got it. See you soon!" Hange swiftly hung up. Everyone needs a friend like Hange - one that will let you sulk but will bring you back out of the dark place you were in.

Once 5pm hit, you grabbed your purse and looked at yourself in the full length mirror. You opted for a cropped white sweater, subtly ripped jeans and leopard loafers. Your hair was styled in lose waves that cascaded halfway down your back. You sighed looking at yourself, unfamiliar with the reflection. You've been depriving yourself of self care, letting your mind be consumed with thoughts of Levi: Why did he let you leave him? Did he ever care for you? Did he ever love you?

Your thoughts were interrupted by a text from Hange.

Hange: I'm heading over now!

You: Me too.

You pull up to the bar - watching Hange's car pull up at the same time. "Hi gorgeous!" She practically jumped on you. "You clean up so nice!"

"Thanks, Hange. This is the first time I've gotten actually dressed in weeks."

You and Hange share laughs and drinks, finally letting yourself let loose. After being so consumed by your own thoughts, it's nice to let your mind be at ease with the help of alcohol.

You're on your 3rd drink when you watch the door open to the bar and you see the raven haired man that destroyed your life.

#levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman fanfiction #levi x reader #levi ackerman smut #levi ackerman fanfic #attack on titan #aot #levi ackerman attack on titan

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sae-something · 4 months ago

Text

Did it. Sent the text to my parents, about half an hour ago, to tell them I want to maintain the no contact now that the year I initially announced it for has passed.

Have managed to not yet check if they've read/received it. Discoverd the whatsapp function of locking (?) chats so now I can only see them if I enter a code and I don't get notifications. That's good.

Have not heard from A yet though, and that's weighing on me about just as much as the text to my parents. I sent her a long email yesterday after the online disaster session. Trying to explain my fears and worries and how I felt. Then I woke up crying this morning (great) and feeling all kinds of shit. So I sent her another short email, apologizing for my chaos and also asking (a bit indirectly but it was the best I could manage) if by any chance she has like, five minutes for a phone call today (she doesn't see clients on friday but does often, though not always, read her email).

But it's 1pm and I haven't heard from her yet so she might just not read her email at all today. Which fills me with truck loads of shame for having dared to ask her for anything. I just feel lost and broken and like... like I'm leaking. Like all the darkness is leaking out of me and I can't stop it. I feel switchy and messy and a bit out of control (yet I've been calm on the outside since I managed to stop crying about halfway through the morning - needless to say I've barely gotten any work done) (still working half days so thankfully only had to work 4 hours).

Anyway. No emotions now. Just dread in my stomach. Just flat. Just far away and disconnected. I don't know.

#gonna try and not check the chats with my parents until sunday maybe?? or even monday??#but realistically every hour I don't check is a win #because my nervous system is just about on fire right now #my exterior is calm #my interior is screaming #anyway.#personal

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aesethewitch · 2 years ago

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Shufflemancy 101: A Brief History & Analysis

Hey! If you like my work and want to support me in my quest for divination theory, digital tools, algorithmic quandries, and research into niche divination tools, consider throwing dollars at my Ko-Fi tip jar! Every contribution helps me keep making posts like this one. (You can also read this post over on Ko-Fi!)

The difficulty with researching something like shufflemancy is that it's a relatively modern phenomenon. I haven't yet found anyone (online or in a book) specifically talking about the origins of shufflemancy as a term or where it might've come from.

So, we start from square one.

What is Shufflemancy?

According to Wikipedia, shufflemancy is divination "by the use of an electronic media player such as an electronic playlist, iPod, or other medium wherein one skips a certain number of songs and the lyrics and/or tune of the song is the answer to the divinatory question."

Simple enough. Use an electronic collection of music that's been shuffled to divine.

This did lead me to the question: What counts as shufflemancy? Does tuning into a radio station count?

It's my opinion that radio divination does not count. There's no shuffle function. Yes, it has an element of chance, and that's what makes it divination. It certainly falls under the wider umbrella of divination via music, too. But it isn't shufflemancy if it doesn't make use of a shuffle function.

So, to make things simple, for something to be shufflemancy, it must:

Use an electronic medium

Involve a randomized shuffle function

Be something the shufflemancer can interpret to answer a question (pretty much anything)

Early Shufflemancy

The earliest form of shufflemancy as we understand it today, using the above requirements, would probably be tape players capable of shuffling music. With the nature of tape, it would take a while for the thing to wind and rewind to find the cue on the tape which signaled the start or end of a song, but it'd work.

With that said, shuffling as we understand and recognize it today would've started with CDs in the 1980s. There were CD players that could hold three to five disks at a time. They could shuffle songs between all disks held in the player, creating a random mix of tunes for listeners to enjoy.

Using either of these methods for divination would work, technically. The results would be somewhat limited, but that doesn't mean it's a bad method to use. Especially if your CD player could hold 5 disks, you could easily put in 5 albums from different artists with all different vibes for a wider variety of outputs.

I certainly remember using my little blue radio that held two CDs at once like this. I'd put in two albums and hit shuffle, and the first song that played would be my vibe and advice for the day. It was divination -- some of the earliest I'd ever done consciously, at the young age of nine. And when I got the bigger one that held three CDs? Game changer.

So this puts shufflemancy's origins somewhere around the mid-to-late 1980s, when Sony put out the first CD player with shuffle. As we moved into the 1990s, CDs became more popular and cassettes faced obsolescence.

The Shuffle Revolution & Early Modern Shufflemancy

In 2005, Apple changed the game again. It had already debuted the iPod in 2001, providing an easy, pocket-sized music experience as a direct challenge to the CD's cultural domination. On January 11, 2005, nearly 20 years ago, Apple announced the iPod Shuffle.

And oh, boy, did it change everything.

I could talk forever about the iPod's impact on the music industry, the death of the in-order album, and the eventual rise of music streaming services. But others have done that to death, so I'll focus in on our topic of shufflemancy.

This is where we start seeing shuffling music as it is now, in the modern day. In my digging, I found mentions of the term "shufflemancy" as early as 2007 -- just two years after the iPod Shuffle was announced. Someone proposed the concept and terminology of "shufflemancy" as we understand it today on a Halfbakery Forum "Idea" post on October 3, 2007.

It's difficult to say whether this is the first instance of the term. In reality, shufflemancy seems to have emerged as a natural by-product of the evolution of music technology. Where there is innovation, witches and diviners will mold it to their purposes. We're a resourceful bunch like that. It grew organically as we moved from buying albums to buying singles to streaming music without buying at all.

People were offering public shufflemancy readings as early as 2009 in places like TarotForum.net. It's spoken about during this era as a "silly" and "new" form of divination that people were trying out. There aren't any dates in that link, but according to the website's data, the first post in the thread was published on June 16, 2009.

From there, shufflemancy saw a gradual rise in popularity. It evolved from using iPods to iTunes, Napster, and eventually Spotify as these new applications emerged.

Shufflemancy Now

If you look up "shufflemancy" using Spotify's search function, you'll receive dozens of results. Many of the top playlists are public ones curated by shufflemancers for themselves and others to use. Options range from general playlists to "mega mixes" containing upwards of 200 hours of music from all different genres, artists, and eras. There are some with a paltry five hours of music, while one that I've seen goes up over the 600 hour mark. (If I can find that one again, I'll reblog it, because... damn.)

Select a "messages from your guides" option from the search or curate your own -- the choice is yours. For one-time shufflemancers, using a pre-made option may be the best, most economical choice. But dedicated shufflemancers sometimes boast multiple hundred-hour playlists for different purposes, all personally curated.

Clearly, it's popular. There are shufflemancers on Tumblr and Etsy offering free and paid services using their specially curated playlists. A quick search is all you need to find someone receiving a divinatory reading via song lyrics, meanings, and vibes. And it seems to work -- sellers on Etsy boast hundreds of positive reviews. Some even offer playlist curation services for personal shufflemancy or messages from deities and/or spirits.

It all begs the question, how does shufflemancy work?

Shufflemancy Methodology

Finding this is significantly easier than pinning down the history of shufflemancy. This post from Tumblr user orriculum, sums it up fairly well. So does this one by the-daily-diviner.

To do shufflemancy, the basic steps are:

Create or find a playlist of songs. A large collection seems to be the most favorable option for a wide spread of possibilities.

Ask a question. Divination 101 -- figure out what you want to know and ask it. Simple enough.

Pick a number. Choose any number and shuffle that many times or skip that many songs.

Listen to the song. Write down lyrics that stick out, messages that come through, and anything else that seems relevant (genre, tempo, vibe, etc.)

Interpret. Take the information gathered during the song and use it to draw conclusions, just like any other form of divination.

Simple enough. Shufflemancy is the sort of method that requires a high level of intuitive thinking. It's very mutable and suits a good amount of personalization.

This is both good and bad, I think. It would be incredibly easy to create a bias in your shufflemancy playlists by selecting songs with primarily one genre, artist, album, emotion, or through-line. The ideal playlist really does have a wide variety of music, and this means selecting songs that the shufflemancer doesn't necessarily like. We all have a genre or artist we hate; excluding an entire genre skews results. Impartial selections of music are critical to the success of good divination. Otherwise, we risk interfering with the outcome.

And speaking of interfering...

The Algorithm Problem

(Note: I'm focusing in on Spotify since it's very commonly used and because it's accessible to me. Shufflemancy can be (and is!) done with plenty of other apps like Apple Music.)

When Spotify was originally launched, it used a version of the Fisher-Yates Shuffle to perform its shuffling of music. In essence, this algorithm takes a finite sequence of data, picks an option from that selection of data, and removes it from the pool. Then, it picks another and another until no more options remain.

At first glance, this seems great! It creates a fairly random output. But as is the nature of randomness, there were clusters. The same artist would play four or five times in a row from a large playlist, and Spotify users complained. It was random, but it didn't feel that way.

The human brain is wired to find connections and patterns. When the same artist plays over and over again despite a playlist being on shuffle mode, it creates a pattern that the brain recognizes. Therefore, the "true" randomness of clustering outputs was unsatisfactory.

So, in 2014, Spotify updated it. Their new algorithm would detect and remember the song it just played and, in shuffling, account for the artist and album to provide a more random-feeling result. The new algorithm detects what's already played and selects accordingly to prevent the same artist from playing twice in a row, just as it prevents the same song from playing twice. It spreads artists out evenly (though not perfectly, to maintain the illusion of randomness) to provide an enhanced listening experience.

What does this mean for shufflemancy, then? If Spotify's algorithm is interfering in the output provided from a playlist, does that mean it's not a reliable form of divination?

At first, I wasn't so sure. I adjusted my thinking -- if a tarot app was preventing certain cards from being drawn (or from being drawn in a particular order) because I'd already drawn them that day or week, would that render the app unreliable? And the answer was yes. It would! It removes the random element from the method, therefore making it not true divination by my definition.

So shufflemancy with Spotify isn't (good) divination, then. Right?

My Opinion & Theory

In thinking about this further, I think it comes down to personal opinion. People certainly have success with shufflemancy via Spotify, or else they wouldn't do it. They definitely wouldn't offer their services (free or otherwise) if they weren't confident in the results it provides.

Thinking that way, I believe there's a way to off-set the algorithm's interference. With enough songs in a playlist, the random element is enhanced despite the algorithm. Not by having the same song multiple times (Spotify would surely detect this and prevent it from playing), but perhaps the same song covered by different artists. Songs with the same vibe, the same meaning, similar lyrics... AND songs from a wide variety of artists and genres, regardless of whether the shufflemancer likes the songs or not.

The person with that 600+ hour playlist for shufflemancy has it right, I think. That's the key. Variety and volume to make up for Spotify's algorithmic shuffler.

Additionally, in listening to my many, many Spotify playlists, I noticed something. If I'm listening to a playlist on shuffle and decide I want a specific song, I can choose to play it immediately. Afterwards, songs I've already heard might play. It seems as though doing this resets the shuffling algorithm in some way. Doing this in combination with a large and varied playlist might be the key to making shufflemancy in Spotify truly, fully reliable.

My Next Steps

Obviously, scholarly research only goes so far in situations like this. In order to properly gauge the accuracy of shufflemancy, I'll have to do it myself.

First, I'll need a playlist. I have a handful of playlists that sit in the hundred-hour range, but they're curated with friends for specific vibes. They're not really suitable for shufflemancy. So making one for myself is step one. I'll use premade playlists as a springboard for ideas, but the end result will be my own. For transparency, I'll make the playlist public and share it as part of the next edition in this series of posts.

The next step is to just... do it. Do the divinations, and do them regularly. Instead of a daily tarot card, I'll do a daily shuffle. I'll form "spreads" and put together a more in-depth methodology that fits my style as it develops.

Then, finally, maybe public ones? For reviews and feedback, obviously. It's one thing to do divination for myself -- confirmation bias and all -- but to do it for others and to be open for immediate feedback is entirely different.

Last, it's a matter of compiling my findings into a coherent document. Easier said than done, but done it must be.

Resources

I pulled from a lot of places for this one. Massive thanks to the Crossroads Discord for listening to me yell about divination for the last several weeks. It will continue.

In any case, here are all the resources I referenced for this leg of research:

Wikipedia - The Fisher-Yates Shuffle

Wikipedia - Methods of Divination

Wikipedia - The iPod Shuffle

PopSci - History of Shuffling Music

Engineering at Spotify - How to Shuffle?

The Verge - The Mixed-Up History of the Shuffle Button

Auntie PanPan (YouTube) - Shufflemancy - What IS It?!?

Halfbakery - Shufflemancy Idea Post

Fox and Faith Wordpress - Radio Divination and Intentional Living in Your Day to Day

Scientific American - How Randomness Rules Our World and Why We Cannot See It

PC World - The CD Player Turns 30

Make Use Of - How Spotify's Shuffle Feature Really Works

Orriculum on Tumblr - Post on shufflemancy technique

The-Daily-Divinre on Tumblr - Post on shufflemancy technique

Empirical Zeal - What Does Randomness Look Like?

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kindahoping4forever · 4 days ago

Note

Do you think this fandom is dying?

Note: I originally got this ask a while back and didn't get a chance to answer before the Malum stuff started happening and it seemed like this idea might be less of a concern. But recently I've seen similarly themed conversations and thought my answer might still be relevant.

I can definitely understand how one might be tempted to see things that way but I think there's a few important distinctions to consider before any grand statements are made.

When the band is off tour and between albums, fandom activity usually slows and then with the new era, we see a resurgence of fans excited and ready to engage, along with new fans and typically a few from the past checking in. (Solo eras tend to bring in a similar type of resurgent activity but nowhere near the level of when the proper band is releasing a project and the broad interest tends to taper after the initial single release, as we're seeing the dropoff with Malum right now.)

We're also currently in the midst of what may end up being the band's longest period of public inactivity to date. Fans often talk about the "drought" during 2017 while Youngblood was being recorded but in actuality, we were still getting daily content from their socials and they even went on a 13 date tour that year. Even during covid, it felt like forever but between the CALM release and promo, 5SOS5 recording updates via socials and the content we likely wouldn't have gotten outside of the pandemic (ie: the infamous Amazon stream, the Quarantea, a few IG lives and the tier list), we were still getting fed. Contrast that all with where we are now: 5SOS5 is nearly 3 years old, they haven't played a show since October 2023 and we know the next album is actively underway but we really have no idea where they are in the process because they for the most part (understandably) are not sharing much on socials anymore. There's not a ton of fandom discussion going on because there's not a ton to discuss tbqh.

Is the online fandom smaller than it used to be? Absolutely. Do I think this means people are actually changing their ways and renouncing their fandom in droves? No. I've been a fan for 11 years and an active online contributor for 7 and I can honestly say that the 5SOS online fandom is one of the most brutal, emotionally taxing and at times toxic fandoms I have ever engaged with. I'll always be grateful for it, it's changed my life in countless ways and I wouldn't be who I am today without it but I have absolutely paid a price being involved with it as deeply and as long as I have. Tumblr is hands down the chillest branch of the fandom (with that said, I have still had some downright ugly experiences over the years) but it's also the smallest and quietest. We're an island of sorts, vibing somewhere else, and while I've always been a big advocate of curating your own experience online, it's not always practical to completely tune out the happenings on other platforms that see more engagement but also a lot more toxicity. I personally know a handful of people (and have anecdotally seen numerous others) reach a breaking point and decide to protect their peace and cut online engagement out of their fandom diet, save for official channels and their own safe circle. In all transparency, even I have seriously considered that choice more than once and as recently as last year. The band isn't losing fans, a lot of fans feel they've lost a community where they feel comfortable spending their time without judgement or drama (whether the target be the band or the fans themselves) constantly threatening to infiltrate what should be a safe space.

This somewhat goes hand in hand with the previous point but I'd be remiss not to mention another key component of this equation: life is hard and people are tired. It's a sweeping generalization but I think most would agree it's one that's hard to argue with. The past few years have been rough and running this blog, I've seen it take its toll on the way people engage. Posts that would've once been reblogged with fervent tags become silent likes, friendly asks and comments that would've once been sent remain unwritten, fic ideas that would've once been written settle for being unexplored concepts in a friend's DMs. Having an online presence can be taxing especially if you're engaging socially, especially if you're a creative contributor in the community and it takes the kind of energy that a lot of people are in short supply of these days. If this new normal continues to behave the way it has for the past couple years, I'd expect to see a few peaks in engagement when big moments happen (album announcement/release, first music video/performance back, tour beginning/ending, etc) but for the most part, daily interaction is left to a core group.

So all this to say... the answer to your question is somehow both yes and no! In general, I don't find it unusual or concerning for a fandom's activity to fluctuate, especially a fandom as long-running as ours.

If I've learned anything over the years, it's that this fandom is predictable. The fandom at large has a bad habit of getting bored easily and that boredom often leads people to jump ship until things are exciting again. Others may choose to make their own excitement, which almost always results in drama (whether it be about fellow fans or the band itself), which in turn leads to people stepping away and the cycle continues on. It can definitely be frustrating to experience but time after time, once the band returns, so does the enthusiasm, the drifters and the positive vibes. So I'd say, don't count us out yet!

#thank you for the question! I genuinely do enjoy thinkers like this but they're also the ones that take me the most time to answer lol #this was also a long answer to a very simple question lol #but! it's something I think about a lot tbh #and I honestly love getting analytical/playing sociologist about fandom - especially ours since there's so many layers to it #our fandom is long overdue for some evolution tbh #like i said the cycles and patterns run DEEP #i was tempted to expand on that thought but it was getting ranty so I digress lmao #the point is the fact we even still have a fandom (and a band to stan) seems miraculous at times #there may not always be as much hustle and bustle as there once was but I trust we'll get a wave soon enough #will it be on the level of years past? who knows? does that matter? might not! It'll be fun regardless!#idk why i'm still yapping you get the point i'm sure #ask #anon

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yandereheathen · 2 years ago

Text

Loving Caretaker [18+ Yandere x GN Reader] Part #2

Welp, this won the poll it makes me SO happy people wanted more. Here is a bit longer with some darker-themed Korm is a cutie <3 i wanna get art of him now. Part 1

Warnings! DARK THEMES AND VIOLANCE -Yandere obsessive Behavior -Non-con - Drugging -Gaslighting - NSFW (unprotected sex is a no-no!) - reader gets stabbed non-lethally. - Word Count: 2.4K It wasn't meant to be this painful for you to know your place. Don't worry, he will care for you.

You sighed, putting your phone back into your pocket as you took a moment in the kitchen, putting Korm's favorite jam on the toast before you. You put the knife back into the red berry jam, sighing, and run your hands through your hair in frustration as the uneasy feeling of darkness you have felt hovering over you.

You just haven't been feeling right since you missed your trip. You couldn't believe you had been almost scammed by the person you had been talking to from the city for the last few weeks. They had stolen your card numbers and everything. You weren't even sure how it happened. They seem so genuine and excited to see you. You let out a bitter laugh, setting the toast on the wooden mini table.

Tea and eggs are already in their place. You hosted it up, and the slight pain in your core returned with the effort. Pain ran from between your legs up your back, and you winced. Thats it. You would speak to his mother after today. It could be for a weekend or even a day to get checked out yourself. You were falling apart at the seams and even had weird dreams you couldn't recall, filled with creepy moans and wet noises. At least the new tea you enjoyed was helping you stay asleep. It was part of your new routine with Korm after everything happened, and you thought he liked having something to do, and it tasted lovely, like honey.

Throughout your ordeal, Korm had been very comforting, telling you that things like this happen often and that maybe online dating wasn't in the cards for you.

But...

You paused while walking to his room, looking at your reflection in the hall mirror.

"That wasn't just all, was it." you thought to yourself.

You had been getting weird bruising on your neck and chest the last few days, coupled with your lower pain. It could be that you needed more iron to eat better, or your body just said you needed a break. You loved your job. You did; you got paid well, and Korm was such a sweetheart. It was like you got to take care of your best friend all day. Although. You started walking again, thinking to yourself. He did get clingy; sometimes, it was hard to take a day off when his health seemed like it would get worse on the days that you did, and his mother would franticly call you back to the house saying he wouldn't sit for the doctors or take care of himself without you there.

It was odd; sometimes, the thought of it can't always be by chance. He ALWAYS got worse with you gone, as the idea popped into your head. Your stomach turned slightly. You knew you were one of a long line of caregivers Krom had throughout his life; His mother had been open with that when you asked about the oddly high pay for your lack of experience. You didn't want to believe this bad feeling. Your life is perfect right now. You didn't want to sour it with negative things that were not true.

You slapped your cheeks lightly, opening Korm's door. You both had a lot to do today.

It was Bath Day today.

Korm hid his glee as you started the water in his giant tub. It has been made with a small seat for him and a lower siding to allow Y/N to wash him more easily.

You hummed a song to yourself as you added the salts and lovely-smelling oil to the water. You were bent over while the water was still low. Korm bit his lip as you did so, your thighs and backside on full display for him. He knows you did this to tease him. Your body was a tool for his care, after all. The happy memories of your lovemaking the night before played in his mind as his cock restarted at the towel across his lap.

He had your deep sleeping body propped up on your pillows, his face between your legs sucking and licking at your sex, his face messy with his saliva and your juices. He licked his lips as he stood up, positioning himself at your entrance, hands gripping your hips. Your wonderfully soft hips and back now have hidden love markings all along your spine. He glowed at his work. His wonderful caretaker's body was slowly covered in the proof of your love.

He trusts himself in your warm hole, letting out a whine of need and bliss. It had been an adjustment. You had saved yourself for him; after all, he needed to train your body to take his cock properly, but he sure enjoyed carving his shape into you with every thrust. Your unconscious body reacted very nicely to him. You were letting out small huffs and pained moans with every rust inside you.

"Korm, are you ready? I will look away as you get in. The bubbles will cover everything."

Your call out to him as you waved your hand in front of him snapped him out of his happy memories. He lets out an almost inaudible groan that you take as a dislike of having to go in the bath.

"Don't worry, we will be fast. I have it nice and warm for you, and it smells wonderful."

You take him in your arms. He sneaks a smell in the cork of your neck, the earth warm...lustful. The scent was so much better than the sweet smell of the oils, but she nodded quietly, allowing you to place him in but unwilling to let you go. You laugh, rubbing your hand on his back softly.

"Come on now. I told you it is warm. I can add more water if you let me go."

Your rubbing was too much for him. Your hands feel so good on his back. The last few nights had satisfied him, but it was not enough now that he had a taste of your meal. Your soft reactions were not enough. He needed to look into your eye. Your awake eyes.

He buries his face in your shoulder, giving a whimpering whine. Your joking demeanor shifts quicks as you look at him, worry on your face. So cute. he had you wrapped around his finger, didn't he?

He pulls on your sleeve, his dark eyes pleading at you. You feel your heart melt at his pained face.

"What do you need? You look like you're in pain."

He nods and pulls you closer. His grip is firm, much stronger than you were used to. You gasped out, feeling something hard and hot in your hand. It pulsed at your touch, and Korm gave a low moan, not letting go of you.

"It hurts here, Y/N. Can you please take care of it?"

You blink half in shock and horror at what is happening. This was Korm. Sweet, kind, loving, weak Korm who you thought of as a best friend or even like a child you took care of. You were painfully aware at this moment that he was very much an adult. Had he always been taller than you? Those sweaters sure did hide his more prominent than you had thought arms. He started to buck into your hand and whisper your name, his eyes glazed back in a half-lidded, lustful stare. You just stayed frozen until you could not half-process what was happening.

"God....fuck Y/n. Your hand feels so good around me. Your fingers are so soft. I couldn't help it. You were tempting me, please. Just let me use your pretty hands a bit longer."

He bites his lip, breath getting heavier; you feel his eye moving up and down your body, as he humps into your hand, the water splashing on you and the floor.

You come to your senses after a few moments, trying to move your hand away.

"N-no, Korm, this isn't right, I don't."

He growls painfully, yanking your head back with his other hand first full of your hair.

"I. Seid. Please."

Tears silently rolled down as he moved faster and didn't let go of your hair. His lip is way too close as he lets out a shutter, and you feel a new slimy stick to your hand in the water.

He only then lets go, placing an ever-so-light kiss on your lips.

"I feel much better now, Y/N. Thank you."

He sits back, smiling, no, grinning down at you, and you sit wet from the water, both of your hands pulled to your chest after you frantingly clean the main one on your pants.

You sit in your bed, head in your hands. You already texted his mother, telling her you needed to speak with her in the morning. You didn't know what had gotten into him, and he tried to apologize after realizing what he did wrong, but he was not right. This needed to be corrected. No amount of pay and swear words would stop you. You opened your door to get some things from the restroom and almost tripped over a glass cup. You frowned; you had told Korm you didn't want tea when you set him up for bed.

"I am sorry for this."

It was written on the little post next to the cup. You threw it away and ran along to get your things. Take the cup with you and take a long sip. You would need it to sleep well tonight. However, as you walked, your head started hurting.

"what the hell-"

Your vision blurred as you collaged to the floor, the glass shattering before you.

"Naughty, aren't you. Leaving me. You were made for me; you will stay. I will make sure."

Korm giggles as your pitiful form is in front of him. He leans over, licking along your collarbone and up your neck as his needy hands are on your backside, pushing and grinding into you. You yell with a shiver, wracking through your body, trying desperately to escape.

Korm, in his sick, warped mind, seemed to enjoy the reaction he got from you and nipped at your ear, whispering into it.

"Your reactions are so much better when you are awake, Y/N. So cute, so pure, even if I have fucked up your pretty insides with my love for you already."

He moves his mouth down, leaving more marks of his love on his lips. You would be littered with them soon. Your cries and being for him to stop, to go back to how things were. He twisted in his ears, and all he could hear was your sweet noise when his lips were on you. Enjoying what he had wanted, not what he had dreamt of for so long.

You tried to move, but your hands were chained up to a spike in a hall, and no matter how hard you pulled, you wouldn't get free.

"Strong, right? They use those to hold even strong, cute little pets."

He holds your face.

"My cute little darling."

"Why. Why are you doing this, Korm how. How are you even out of bed? W-what...WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THAT TEA?" You yelled in his face

He scrunches up his face, lighting your chin.

"Bad Pets get punished, don't they, Y/N?"

You felt a searing pain in your thigh. A knife. A knife you had used just that morning to spread his jam. You scream, but he hungrily cuts you off with a deep kiss, shoving his tongue into your mouth.

"You are so beautiful..so delicious. I can just eat you up, Y/N. " He groaned, sliding down from your mouth into your belly, rubbing himself through his sweat pants, the knife still twisting in your leg. Sliding onto his knees,

"Tell me you love me, Y/N, and will never leave me?" Another kiss, closer to your sex, made you want to crawl out of your skin. You try your best to remain silent.

"Because you know that I love you?" The red fluid leaking down your leg was licked off with a soft moan of glee.

"God, yes! It hurts, please, Korm, it hurts so bad. Please, please stop."

"And you love me too? TELL ME YOU LOVE ME TOO"

You scream in pain as he forces the knife deeper into your leg.

"Yes! I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU KORM."

You feel the pleasure build up as he thrusts into you without mercy, taking the knife out of your leg. His laugh and smile are filled with his love for you as he licks the blade's blood.

"So sweet. So i n t o x i c c a t i n g"

He was in pure heaven, your cute face under him, seeing your wimpers and moan escape your mouth. He noticed the tears he pounded into your hand, groping your chest, trusting repeatedly. You felt the pressure and pain build.

"No, I'm gonna cum..I don't want to cum. Please, please stop!" You pathetically whimpered.

A wave of shame, guilt, pain, and pleasure followed your high. Tears poured from your eyes as you tried to desperately wiggle out of your binds, but he held you tighter, biting into your shoulder and drawing blood as he came to his own completion.

You let out soft cries of despair as he finishes inside of you. The feeling of his overflowing seed dripping out of you was too much for your mind. The betrayal, the pain, and you felt disgusted even thinking it, but the primal pleasure you felt broke you. You let your head limp to your chest, physically and emotionally done. You just whispered I love you, I love you repeatedly. He takes your face just like you would in his hands and massages it gently, pressing your lips together but now for a kiss.

"I love you so much, Y/N. Now you can take care of me forever! Are you happy? Tell me that you are happy."

He grabs you harder and harder, his nails digging into your tear-stained face.

"....yes...I am so happy..forever."

The darkness that had been closing in on you was here. He would never let his perfect caretaker go.

Ever.

#yandere smut #yandere thoughts #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere #yandere writing #tw: yandere #tw non con #tw: violence #yandere boy #horror smut

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