#actually it is and the players and the traveller are the only ones not aware they are being incredibly obvious

[too-deviant]

strategic manoeuvre.

— WITH…ART DONALDSON!

contains...babysitter!reader, age gap, 18+ MDNI, art cheats w reader but it is lowkey implied that tashi planned the whole thing, car sex, semi-public sex, head (f receiving), p in v, unprotected sex, inspired by this post from @traumatrios

You had never been interested in tennis before Art. 

You weren’t interested in sports at all, really — you just wanted to buckle down and focus on your college work, earn some money with an easy part-time job. You didn’t have time to follow sports, or anything else. 

But then you got a call. You had been in the middle of a lecture when your phone buzzed against your notebook, a California number shining up at you and enticing you to pick up. Normally you would’ve let it go to voicemail, but you had recently gone around some of the fancier hotels in your city with flyers, asking for babysitting jobs and posting your number, so you excused yourself with a wave and took the call in the hallway. 

You didn’t know who Tashi Donaldson was when she introduced herself, but the hotel she’d asked you to come to later that night was fancy enough that you didn’t question it. You had done an extensive google search afterwards, of course, but simply raised an impressed brow at her repertoire. 

Then you met Art, her tennis player husband and the father of the lovely little girl you would be taking care of, and suddenly you were pretty interested in tennis. 

It started when Lily had a bad nightmare and you couldn’t get her down — well, it started when you met the guy, palm sweaty in his own as he introduced himself, but it didn’t really start until you had to put one of his old games on the TV for the girl to watch until she fell asleep at your side, tear tracks from her bad dream dry on her cheeks. 

You had been planning on carrying her back to her bed when she was down for the count, but you had been so fixated on Art’s movements; his determined look, his arms, his legs, that you ended up dropping out too. You woke up a few hours later with a blanket over your body and Art standing quietly at the kitchen island behind the sofa. 

“You looked peaceful. Didn't wanna wake you.” He’d said, sipping at his tea, and you knew you were done for. 

Now all of a sudden you had time to watch a tennis match in the morning, play one as background noise while you studied. You had started following his tennis journey right from the Junior Open in 2006 — you didn’t think you'd ever actually see him again, but you could fantasise about it whenever you remembered the smell of his cologne as he thanked you for taking care of Lily, promising a big tip would go straight into your account in the morning. 

(The money went in fifteen minutes after you’d left).

It came as a pleasant surprise when Tashi’s number popped up on your screen once more, a few months later. You had been in your kitchen, and took the call the moment you recognised the digits. 

“We’re a little ways out of town.” She’d said, “But Lily raved about you for days after last time, and we know you better than a stranger. If you can’t make it out here, don’t worry, but we still wanted to try our luck.”

We she’d said. As in her and Art. 

You cursed yourself for lusting after a married man in the uber to the hotel. 

From then on out, you became their primary babysitter. Since they travelled a lot, and Tashi’s mom was with them most of the time, you only really sat for them once every couple of months. The town you lived in was sunny and had a huge private sports centre for professional athletes — a fact you weren’t aware of until Art told you over a cup of tea — so they always came back. You were glad you could count on them coming back — it was like magic, the way your phone lit up with Tashi’s now saved contact whenever the late night bingeing of matches and interviews stopped fueling your infatuation. 

The guilt was almost enough to make you ignore it, say you were busy or just get a new number all together. But you never did. As much as you knew it was wrong, you always dropped what you were doing and drove to that cushy hotel where the receptionist knew your face and let you in with a smile. You travelled that same memorised route to the master suite, knocked on the door and made sure you were standing far enough away from the peep hole that you didn’t look weird and distorted when Art would look through before letting you in. 

It was always Art now. Tashi had greeted you a few times but lately it had always been him — a sick part of you thought she might’ve known about your crush on him, played with it for fun because she couldn’t play tennis anymore. But that was crazy, and you really needed to sort yourself out. 

You would greet him with a smile, push through the small talk, lean up against the kitchen island and watch his shirt stretch around the planes of his back as he made you coffee (On those unlucky days he would be wearing a shirt. Sometimes he would be just done with warm ups and physio and would answer the door half naked and covered in sweat. Those were the good days). Then Lily would come running at you from her room, hug you around your waist and pull you in to play; Art would laugh and grin at you, sliding the coffee cup in your direction and holding your eyes before heading to his room to get ready. 

You would be knee deep in headless barbies and chewed up polly pocket clothes when he and would return, dressed up and ready to go. He would lean down, kiss Lily on the forehead, and press his hand to your back in a silent goodbye. Then he would leave, and you would spend the whole day trying to pull yourself together. 

He was married. He was ten years older than you. He had a child, and was paying you to look after her. 

But he always made you coffee when you arrived — just how you liked it because he remembered. He always checked in on you, asked you how your life was while you nursed the mug that was warm from the beverage and his hands. He would tell Lily to behave for you because We like her, and we don’t want to scare her off. He would let his land linger on your back half a second longer every single time he left. 

But.

But Tashi was the one who would call you. She was the one who made you coffee the first time, told you it was the least they could do for you. She would walk out of her room with Art, smile at you and tell you how beautiful you look in that shirt. She would grin at you before leaving, waiting patiently by the door for her husband to take his hand off your back. 

You were evil. Truly. The guy was married. 

But as evil as you were, you always made sure there was an old game of his playing on the TV when they would return — because then Art would prompt you to stay and listen to him talk about it. And you would have an excuse to lean up against that island and watch him make tea while Tashi excused herself to bed. Hours would pass before he was checking his watch and hissing out an apology for keeping you so late, and then letting you leave. 

The first couple of times he’d simply make sure you got in your uber safely. Then he started calling cars himself, the same ones that would drive him and his family to and from matches, press events. The same sort of service celebrites used, not their babysitters. You didn’t mind — it was a thrill, listening to him ask the person behind the wheel to make sure you got back safely.

(The bar was under the court at this point, but at least you were aware of that).

But tonight was different. In more ways than one. 

In the beginning, all was the same. You were left sitting on the plush carpet of Lily’s room surrounded by lego pieces, a burning in your gut and guilt in your heart. You played doctor, you made dinner, ordered room service after her relentless begging, put on a movie, carried her sleeping form to bed, came back and watched Art play tennis until he returned. 

You had started to run out of games to watch, ones you hadn’t already seen, so settled for an old game from 2006. He was playing against his old partner, Patrick something, and you wondered where the lesser known second half of Fire and Ice had disappeared to after that night. 

Then Art came back, Tashi right behind him, and you smiled at them both over the back of the sofa. Tashi watched the game, something unfamiliar glinting in her irises, before blinking back at Art, “I’m going to bed.”

He responded a little slower, kissing her goodnight and looking back at you, “Tea? This game was one of my most memorable.”

“Even though you lost?” You teased, leaning against the marble. 

He paused, looking back at you. He blinked, “Yeah.”

You drank your tea. You pretended like you weren’t full of shame for standing that inch closer to him. You let him talk until he had nothing left to talk about, and watched him check his watch. You waited for him to pick up the phone and call the car — only he paused by the phone, hand floating just before it, and retracted his steps to the kitchen, “I’m gonna drive you back, if it’s not too much trouble. Saves waking up my driver.”

“Oh.” Your fingers twitched, and you told them to stop. “Sure, of course.” 

Art’s car wasn’t what you had expected. Thinking back on it, he didn’t seem like the sports car type, but his status and riches led you to assume you were about to get into one of the two seats in his Bugatti — you didn’t. The black jeep was expensive enough for someone like him, but close enough to home that you didn’t feel like an outsider climbing into the passenger seat.  

The drive wasn’t all that far — twenty minutes both ways, so Art would’ve been back before Tashi fell asleep if he hadn't pulled into a parking lot five minutes out. 

Your lips parted, eyes following his hands as they slid slowly off the wheel and into his thighs. His chest rose with a deep breath and his jaw constricted when he swallowed. Then he was looking at you, eyes piercing. 

“Lily likes you.”

You were unsure, feet shifting beneath you, the sound encasing the silence of the space and forcing you to stop and blink, “I’m glad. I like her.” 

“Tashi likes you.” 

You weren’t too positive that she would like you if she could feel how you were feeling now — that all too familiar heartbeat pulsing between your legs with every one of Art’s breaths. 

“I like you.” He finished, tilting his head until his temple rested softly on the headrest of his seat. His smile was almost taunting when he undid his seatbelt, “Which is your favourite?”

“What?”

“The games.” He clarified, knowing his question was too broad and that you would have to ask, “The ones you watch every time you’re over. The ones I assume you watch even when you aren’t sitting for us. My games. Which is your favourite?” 

“Oh. Um —“ Slightly distracted by the way he shed his jacket, dumping it in the backseat. He’d lent all the way forward to take it off and his eyes didn’t leave yours once. “I don’t know.” 

“The one you were watching tonight.” He asked then, “What’d you think of it? Honestly.” 

“Honestly?” You swallowed, mortified that you were even entertaining this, “You looked a little distracted.” 

He huffed a laugh, finally looking away and letting you breathe. It didn’t last long, because he was then getting out of the car and rounding the front of it. 

The breeze was cool when it hit you, Art blocking most of it from where he stood in the gap. His hand was still on the handle, but you were busy unbuckling your own seatbelt — the message had been received, you had crossed a line and he was kicking you out of his car. 

But when you turned, legs swinging carefully into the cold, his hand on your knee stopped you from really getting out. Your eyes snapped up to his, and you realised you had been caged — with one hand on the door and one hand on you, Art Donaldson had you right where you had been dreaming of him having you. It felt surreal. 

“My opponent. In the game from tonight.” He breathed, glancing around casually like you were having one of your simple conversations over tea. “He slept with my wife.”

Out of all the things… 

“What?” Your eyes darted between his, but the rest of your body otherwise remained still. Even when his hand on your knee travelled upwards. 

“He’d slept with her before. In college. We weren’t together then.” He was now watching his hand move, like he wasn’t the one moving it, “But then he slept with her again, in Atlanta. After I’d already married her.”

“Wow.” You breathed, mainly because it was the easiest word you could slide out of your mouth whilst holding your breath. His fingers reached your thigh, begged to dip between them. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He was quick to respond. Your legs parted on instinct, and at this point you had surrendered to being an awful person — although maybe you’d fallen asleep on the couch and this was all a dream. You didn’t think you’d be able to face Art if it was. You couldn’t even face him now. 

He took the newfound space for granted, stepping between your legs and holding them open with his body. His hand on the door followed him, taking its new place on your other leg. He rubbed up and down your thighs, but you couldn’t look away from his face. 

“I don’t want you watching him play.” He spoke lowly, tracing his fingertips around your waistband, “I’ve seen enough of his games.”

“Okay.” You didn’t hesitate to let out, swallowing the hungered saliva that had built up in your mouth. 

He unbuttoned your jeans, pulled the zipper down — painstakingly slow, but it allowed you time to brace your hands on the seat and the dashboard so you could raise your hips and let him slide them off you. 

You were stuck in your head, but Art didn’t seem to notice since he was too busy folding your jeans and hanging them over the open car door. You dared question it through a heavy breath but he just moved on to your panties, throwing them precariously on the dashboard and exposing your glittering cunt to his bright eyes. 

“We shouldn’t —“ It was a half-assed attempt at reconciling with your guilt, but the fact that you were half naked and spread eagle made it lose its meaning. 

Art shushed you, kneeling down so he was looking at your pussy, “We can, and we will.” Then he glanced back at you, brow arched, “Unless you don’t want to.”

Any sense of rationale had fucked off when he put his hand on your leg, so you swallowed and said, “I want to.”

He wasted no time, licking a thick stripe from your asshole to your clit. You knocked your head back with a gasped moan, bucking into him and hissing when the gear stick poked you in the back when you led back too far. 

You let out a shaky breath as he lapped you up, tongue dipping inside of you before travelling up to that sweet spot and sucking at it gently. You gasped and moaned, hands scrambling between holding yourself up and holding him down. His own were resting on your thighs — his calm and collected demeanour was a drastic contradiction from your own. 

His head nodded calmly between your legs, relaxed in its position — yours, shaky and tense all at once, neck bracing whenever you fell back. His hands tapped soft melodies on your skin whereas yours tightened around whatever was in their old, whether that be the leather of the seats or the blonde of Art’s hair. 

When he finally came up for air, his chin was coated in your slick, and he licked his lips clean before straightening up above you. You watched, paralysed, while he unbuckled his belt, threw it over the door with your jeans, and sent you a look under his lashes that you’d only seen him wear during his tennis matches. 

You had been keeping quiet earlier, but when he bottomed out inside you and started to piston, your mind went wild. Choruses of Oh my God and Fuck!, shouts of Art’s name and whimpers under your breath — it all came tumbling out and you couldn’t even try and stop it. 

Not that you wanted to; your vocality seemed to make him go faster, harder. It made him vocal, no longer calm and relaxed as he had been when eating you out, but loud and gruff. Grunts and moans you had dreamt about hearing outside of a television screen, now being huffed into the air you shared. 

You came with a whine and Art followed not long after, and you settled there for a moment — legs spread in his passenger seat with him standing between them — until you could muster up the strength to push yourself up. 

Five minutes later and you were both dressed, Art’s black jeep parked outside of your apartment building. You hadn’t exchanged any more words, but when you turned to slam the door once you had jumped out, you found his eyes on yours. 

“I have a game this weekend. Two hours out. Tashi wanted you to come. A gift, for all you’ve done for us.” 

(You went to the game. Art won. Tashi grinned like she’d made it happen and then offered to buy you a drink).

divider by @cafekitsune !!

[illwilledomen]

I recently became VERY interested in your Minecraft stuff, and I'd like to ask a question... In one of drawings, an illager tells Steve that "We can cheat death too," does this imply that the players CAN actually respawn just like how we can in Minecraft and if they can respawn how does it work?? And how do the villagers react to Steve just respawning?

Yes, they can!

Since you’ve been looking through my stuff you probably already know that players in Abiogenesis are constructs. While I sometimes call them robots, they are technically more like golems and whatnot, which are powered by magic, except far more advanced. The little metal port above a player’s heart is their soul core, and that is, you guessed it, where their soul lives, and what gives them life and sapience. Players can regenerate flesh on their body that has been lost or sustained damage in an injury. If the damage is so severe (or done to a specific vulnerable area like the neck or stomach, aka something that would be fatal) the player “dies” temporarily so it’s body can devote all it’s energy into repairing itself.

How does this work?

Well, their soul core sends the soul into stasis. It is temporarily phased out of the corporeal realm. In the Abiogenesis/Minecraft world, when anything living dies, its soul phases into a non-corporeal dimension called the Otherside and releases magical energy in the form of Experience. This occurs with players, however, what allows them to return is the fact the soul does not travel onward. It is tethered to the port, and only temporarily stays in the O.S. Eventually, once the body is fit to return to, the soul makes its way back into the port, and the player is alive again. These periods of “death” usually last 24 hours, though severe structural damage can render them dead for up to a week. They will not respawn in their last place of rest like in-game, wherever their body lies will be where they awaken.

Players lose a small amount of Experience when they die, and will wake up delirious and faint, with minor memory loss. Sort of a “death hangover”. They will also be ravenously hungry, as their bodies need to regenerate the calories lost from fixing their body. They also may experience trauma symptoms from the cause of death (e.g, death by fire makes them frightened of a campfire or a fireplace) though these will eventually subside.

Players can be killed permanently. Netherite is strong enough to destroy the soul core, as is extreme heat (im talking instantly vaporized levels of heat) and the Void. The Void obliterates all corporeal matter that is not voidborn upon contact, so a player falling into it will straight up cease to exist. There would be no afterlife in the Otherside, just Nothing — complete oblivion.

Villagers would be freaked the hell out for starters. Steve isn’t fully aware he isn’t a biological person (he suspects it, but he’s sort of in denial), all he would know is that he feels sick and there’s a huge chunk of time missing. Since the village steve lives in knows Steve and trusts him, they would not necessarily take it as a bad omen. They would likely hold a village meeting about it and try to make sense of the whole shabang. Reinard had a religious vision regarding the Hosts shortly before he adopted Steve, so he already believes deep down that Steve is, in some way, blessed by the hosts. This, alongside Steve’s other player-y quirks, would solidify that in his mind.

[ncillary]

Self Aware AU (Xavier)

Summary: You have the lowest Affinity with Xavier. The reason is because you feel bad for the Queen MC and vow to play only the main story for his path so that you can find a way to return him to Queen MC safe, sound and happy end.

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Masterlist Self Aware AU

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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 [current] | 6 |

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"Xavier, you sleep well yesterday?"

"Well enough for today, sir." He joked.

The man gave him a hearty laugh, "Good. Today we'll continue some fast movement for the next chapter. Have fun in it and do be careful."

"Understood."

"Oh, how is your caretaker service going."

He turned to see Madam CEO was sitting near the crew. He rubbed his neck nervously. She chuckled.

"That's quite alright. Take your time. But the player could use some help once in a while."

He nodded.

She was his mysterious employer. His job was mainly on modeling the character's movement for the game they were creating. His swordplay skill shone with every precision.

He was proud of his work. But it was not fulfilling enough. Something amiss from his endless swirling of nothingness.

+----------------+---------------------------------+

"Hello, Miss. I wonder why you always sound sad whenever I'm around." He pondered to himself.

He was monitoring this one player when she was gaming as per Madam CEO's request. He didn't receive many requests from madam but when he did, he worked fast like a traveling light.

Until this recent one.

He could hear her but he couldn't see her. The first thought that came to mind was either his phone was having technicality issues or the game updates were bugging. He went ahead and did simple checking on his side including enabling her mic.

"No... wait... please..."

Rigid.

His every fibre was shaken after hearing her voice. The endless swirl spotted a light.

"Please don't make me waste my precious tic- *Tring* wait... 5 star?!"

"Xavier! Yes!"

She sounded super happy when she said his name. He wanted to hear more.

"Hik...Xavier..."

But she sounded super sad sometimes.

"From now on, I'll make sure to get you back to Queen MC and live your life to the fullest together on the promised planet."

He was confused. Thus, he finally took an interest in actually getting to know the game he was a part of.

+----------------------------+------------------------+

"I get why she said it like that but I'm not him. You're not her. Haaa... wish I could tell her that I'm right here."

He saw her gameplay has changed. She rarely partnered up with him for the last month. It might not be a big deal since it was just a game but he couldn't resist feeling dejected.

"Please just increase our Affinity. I'll be having better chances when you feel comfortable enough with me, my counterpart at least."

+------------------+--------------------------------+

"Xavier, you look listless." A staff member nudged him.

He nodded politely before helping around. They were setting up snow-theme decoration for the upcoming video. Wires and devices surrounding the decoration in the middle of them all.

"WATCH OUT!"

He darted swiftly like the light.

*CRASH!!!*

"XAVIER!"

"Don't move him."

"Call medic."

Panicked voices surrounding him. His vision was clear but his hearing was not so much. He could see the staff he saved was shaking as people tried to clear the path for medic. The staff was taken aside for slight bleeding on the leg.

He smiled.

+----------------------------+------------------------+

A month.

That was how long it took for him to be discharged. A month of not being able to care for his gaming partner.

"Haven't been able to force myself out lately. Do others have a higher Affinity with her now?"

His sullen mood was gone the moment he was finally able to lay his eyes on her. Her cuteness was catching up on pulling his lips. His happiness in seeing her made him glow.

"I want to hold her. Dance with her. Having her in the circle of my arms." He silently wishes.

+-----------------------------+------------------------+

It came true. The new birthday banner. His birthday banner. He blushed.

Brows furrowed, "I want her to know. No more secrets. What would be best to do it?"

He pondered innocently.

+----------------------+------------------------------+

He didn't think things through.

"Umm...Hello..."

Silent.

"-sigh- she passed out."

There will always be consequences from actions.

But he was determined to get at least a positive outcome in it.

"Her name. Her number."

He stared at his phone for the longest time just relishing in having her personal information. HIM. Not his game counterpart. HERS. Her own circle and he liked that he was slowly stepping in that circle.

[May we meet in the dream too. My star.]

"I miss you already, star."

"I want to meet you."

+----------+-------------------------+-----------------+

[Will you be opposed for sunbathing in the park?]

Read 12 hours ago

[You want to go for a picnic, instead?]

Read 3 hours ago

He sighed knowingly.

[At least you didn't block me like you promised.]

Read 5 seconds ago

[My star]

Read 5 seconds ago

[Xavier...]

He smiled.

[Took you long enough.]

Read

[XAVIER???!!!]

[Star. Can we meet?]

Read 46 minutes ago

He waited patiently for her.

*Bling*

[Sure. How about the library? We can find recipes together.]

He chuckled. Their first date was already on the point to tease him. As long as he could meet her, he'll be ready to pour all his heart on it.

[Sounds nice. I hope we can make it happen after reading it.]

Read

[Nice.]

She was a bit different on the few texts before they stopped messaging each other after planning the where and when.

"Maybe she's nervous as much as I did."

+---------------------------+-----------------------+

Stepping into the library, blue eyes scanning the crowd. She's nowhere to be found.

Yet.

Lights in the library seemed to give her a spotlight.

My goodness.

How can she glow as soon as she stepped in an hour after he was settling down. He was about to get up when he noticed it.

Another person next to her. A girl. Her friend, perhaps. She was calm compared to his star who was clearly anxious at the moment.

He blinked, "Right. Of course. She must be nervous about meeting me alone."

He waited for them to settle down on any empty spot before he approached them. He needed to be calm about this.

He quirked his eyebrow when he saw her friend leave her at the table and walked behind the numerous bookshelves.

Confused but guessing she wanted to give privacy to them while still being around. He nodded to the conclusion.

Great friend.

He saw she was fidgeting while looking around nervously as he walked silently opposite to her.

He sat a bit far on the six seaters to give her the comfortable space. She didn't notice him and he kept staring. Enjoying being able to see her personally with his own eyes.

No screen.

No more crooked image.

Just her.

His star.

She jumped quietly, hands clutching in front of her chest when she finally turned to him.

Smiling has become a new habit for him.

"Hi, star." Breathless greeting.

She closed her eyes.

Head lulling.

Brows furrowed. His brows.

"Oh no."

Her head in his hand, inches away from the hard surface of a table.

He gave a small laughed and sighed fondly.

"I hope you stop fainting on me, star."

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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 [current] | 6 [final...] |

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Masterlist Self Aware AU

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[maxsimagination]

𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲- 𝗮.𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘀

summary: the ballon d’or ceremony is a night for celebrations, but alexia has other plans in mind.

-> !! strap use, captain kink !!

𖦹 masterlist

𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗡 𝗗'𝗢𝗥.

the highest honour in the world of football.

the awards ceremony was being held tonight, and the highest names in the leagues were going to be there - male and female. i was over the moon that i had been nominated, i would have been happy with just an invitation to view the celebration.

nominated from the barcelona women's team there was me, alexia, jenni, irene and sandra. mapi was also attending but she hadn't been nominated, only invited.

i had a gut feeling that i hadn't come first, normally the winners were made aware at least 10 hours before the actual ceremony. since i hadn't heard anything and we were en route to the venue, it was my natural assumption.

the girls were all chatting in the limousine that the barcelona staff had hired out. i was sat next to mapi and irene. the latter was talking my ear off about how cool the night is going to be, even if none of us won.

i was by far one the youngest players to be nominated this year, only 20 years old, but turning 21 in the next couple of months.

we pulled up to the event just then, and all six of us exited the car, following the men in suits that guided us. one by one, we all walked onto the red carpet, had a couple of pictures taken, along with a group one of everyone form barcelona femeni. finally the photos were over with and we could head inside to sit down.

the crowd that was already sitting in the massive ceremony hall was insane. most of the left side was already filled up and the right side had a couple of people lingering around it. we took our seats and i let out a sigh of relief. it wasn't that i didn't like these things, i just hated the heels i was wearing.

"you okay, chica?"

i heard a voice i knew to be alexia's from my left and i turned to her with a tired smile.

"sí, just tired. and my feet hurt."

she laughed at that, patting my clothed thigh.

"i can give you a massage when we get home, cariño."

she squeezed my thigh as she whispered in my ear, her voice turning gravelly. it was insanely hot.

"ale..."

my voice held a warning; we were in public and on live tv, she shouldn't do this here.

"yn... you know i love that dress on you."

i was wearing a plain black dress but it was halter neck with a low back and two slits, one on each leg. i blushed hard at her words, feeling the shivers travel through my body.

finally the ceremony got underway, all the long-winded speeches and guest speakers.

it felt like a million years had passed before the actual awards were being held up. the men's awards came first, of course, then the women's. all the nominees were told to stand and wait backstage so they could all walk out on stage when they were called.

that meant all of our group but mapi had to get up. i gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before getting up and walking off.

alexia was behind me the entire time, and when we were safely out of eyesight, i felt her hand on the small of my back, dangerously close to slipping under the fabric. and she did, her fingers dipped under the waistband to latch onto the minuscule thong i had worn underneath the dress.

"oh, bebita... so naughty."

she leant down and whispered in my ear. i tensed up before one of the backstage directors called out for all of us women to get into the directed positions. that meant alexia and i had to split up.

when our names were called out we walk out. the nerves were still buzzing around inside me, and it got worse when i didn't hear my name called for the first few people.

i had almost automatically assumed i'd be near the bottom, being so young and what some would called 'inexperienced'. so you can imagine my surprise when i was called as 4th overall. my jaw dropped to the floor for a split second before i remembered to walk out.

then when all the other players were called as well, the hosts called a guest speaker to announce the winner.

"and the winner of the ballon d'or feminin 2021 is... alexia putellas!" cheers erupted throughout the hall and i had the largest smile on my face as alexia walked out to collect the award. she thanked the speaker before turning to the crowd and holding up the golden ball for everyone to see.

alexia putellas, my teammate, my captain, my girlfriend, had won the ballon d'or.

——

it was almost half past ten when we arrived home after the ceremony. choosing to forgo the barcelona 'after party', alexia drove us straight to her apartment. the car ride was silent but in a comfortable way. i knew she wouldn't let me off the hook for the thong i'd worn tonight, so i was waiting until she said something.

when we got in the door, she walked straight to the bedroom, clearly expecting me to follow her. i quickly took my heels off and followed her. the second i stepped in the door, she was on me. her lips on mine, and her hands travelling to my ass.

"you have no clue what you do to me."

she breathed out heavily when we broke apart. i was just as breathless, my cheeks flushed red.

"ale, please."

she smirked before unzipping her dress, and telling me to take mine off too. i unclipped mine and let it fall to the floor. the moment i turned around i was in for a surprise.

alexia had somehow taken both her dress and underwear off in record time, and was standing facing me while securing our favourite strap. my eyes widened and i could myself getting more excited. alexia moved to the bed and laid down.

"let's warm you up, yea? you're gonna sit on my face."

i crawled up to her where her head was and swung my leg over. i sunk down on her and her mouth immediately latched onto my clit. i moaned at the contact, falling forward and having to steady myself with a hand on the headboard.

her mouth was working wonders, licking, sucking, biting, and bringing me closer and closer to my first orgasm of the night.

"ale, ale i'm close."

she didn't falter in her ministrations, just kept working her tongue on my clit. and just like that i fell over the edge, spasming and letting go all over alexia's face.

she licked one last stripe from my pulsing hole to my swollen clit before lifting me off her face and switching us.

"gonna need you on your knees, bebita."

i had an idea of where this was going and i was scrambling to get into position. alexia was stood behind me, her hand resting on my waist while i waited patiently. suddenly i felt the tip of her strap slide through my folds, before pushing into me. she took it slowly, letting me adjust to the size and setting a steady pace.

it was a delicious feeling, the way her cock slid in and out, filling me up before pulling out, only to push back in again. i let out a moan, and pushed my ass back to meet alexia's thrusts.

"needy girl, are you?"

"need it faster, please capitana."

the rank slipped out of my mouth without a thought. i could feel alexia's hand tighten her grip on my waist before her thrusts quickened.

i arched my back so my chest and face were resting on the bed and my ass was pushed up, on full display. still pushing back to meet alexia's thrusts again. my hand trailed down to my clit, desperate for some sort of friction. i was so close, i could feel it.

i started rubbing on the bundle of nerves harder, faster. my hole was clenching around alexia's cock faster now, i was right on the edge.

"ale, capitana, please. can i cum?"

"yes bebita, cum for me. cum all over my cock."

that was all the time i needed as i let go for the second time that night, dripping all over alexia's strap. alexia slowed down her thrusts and fucked me through my orgasm, then slowly pulling out and discarding the strap somewhere so she could clean up later.

"are you okay, cariño?"

i nodded, eyes closed, just soaking in the fucked-out bliss i was in.

"words, y/n."

alexia chuckled.

"that was the best sex ever."

i breathed out with a smile, opening my eyes and looking up into alexia's green orbs.

[ash5monster01]

Smoke Sesh

Pairing: Randall ‘Pink’ Floyd x FemReader

Warnings: 18+, MDNI, oral (male receiving), semi free use, dirty talk, degradation kink, little to no plot, use of drugs, friends with benefits?

Summary: A hangout in Pink’s garage ends up much differently that you originally had planned.

word count: 1.6k

Masterlist

→ Part 2

The garage is dim, barely lit by a half dead light bulb that dangles from the middle of the ceiling. Every once in a while it flickers but you never bother to say anything because it really just could be the weed in your system. The haze of smoke doesn’t help the lighting situation either, there’s so much of it you almost wonder if you should lift the garage door so it would seep down the driveway. It wasn’t supposed to be just you two but Slater and Wooderson decided they’d rather find chicks and cruise the town. That’s how weed enough for four ends up split between two.

“You want to pick a record?” Pink asks around a heavy exhale, white smoke pillowing past his lips. You shrug as you stand from the old musty couch and head for the record player. The Lynryd Skynyrd album has spun to a stop, the needle frozen in place. You’re quick to remove it and replace the silence with a Rolling Stones album. Brown Sugar starts to play and you turn only to find Pink unbuttoning more buttons on his green shirt.

You’re suddenly aware of how much saliva is in your mouth, watering as you eye the tan chest that had been blessed from the summer rays. His hair had gotten longer than normal, bangs hanging in his eyes, and every time he reached his hand to brush them away more of his chest peaked through. He was so handsome it actually drove you nuts. Almost made him hard to look at. When your eyes travel to the crotch of his pants it’s then he realizes you were standing and staring longer than normal instead of returning back to your spot.

“See something you like?” you’re sure it’s the weed talking, Pink is normally too kind to point something out so blatantly. He’d rather save someone the embarrassment. Your cheeks flush but the weed keeps your movements slow.

“Usually” is your response and whatever sober brain cell is left in your body screams internally. Yet as of right now you couldn’t care less because it was just you two and you’re pretty sure the weed had made Pink half hard. That or his pants were suddenly smaller than you remembered.

“Well are you gonna just stand there or are you going to do something?” Pink asks, almost daring you to make a move. If you had the normal amount of weed intended you probably wouldn’t move, more than likely roll your eyes, but that’s not the case. Instead you’re not even sure how you end up in front of him, lowering to your knees instead of sitting back in your spot. Pink lazily smokes his joint, seemingly unbothered despite the way he internally panics. Slowly your hands undo the last two buttons of his shirt and start with the one on his pants. He never actually expected you to do something.

You’re no longer in control of your body as you pull down his zipper and start to tug his pants down. Pink lifts his hips only slightly to help, a confirmation that this is more than okay. In one swift motion you drag down his pants and his boxers with it. Just as predicted he is half hard and gorgeous here too. Your mouth waters even more and if you haven’t surprised Pink already, your hand wrapping around the base of his dick does. It was your goal now to get him completely hard and finally get a taste of the guy who was the main character of all of your fantasies. It didn’t matter if you were borderline greened out, you were going to have this. Even if just for one night and nothing in return.

“Just as pretty as the rest of you” are the words you choose to mutter before kissing his tip ever so gently. Even though Pink is as greened out as you are, he almost regrets that you haven’t kissed his lips first. Yet who has time to dwell when those perfect lips are now wrapped around his length, tongue tracing the vein on the underside of his cock. It must be the weed because this is the best getting head has ever felt and you’ve barely even started. It’s when your tongue traces around his tip he fully hardens to the point it’s almost painful.

“Shit, you really know what you’re doing” Pink says while trying to keep a steady voice, sucking another puff of the joint as you bob down his now hardened length. He’s doing his best to act uninterested but at the same time your lips meet the base of his cock your hands cup his balls and give a slight squeeze. He’s lucky to have not cum right there and then. How easily you talk all of him in your warm throat.

After accomplishing the mission of getting him hard you’re now determined to make him finish. He tastes just as delicious as predicted and the way your mouth waters only adds the sensation of his heavy length rested on your tongue. The only thing indicating he enjoys this is how hard he feels in your mouth but you wouldn’t stop until you finally got to hear Pink moan. That explains why your movements speed up and you get sloppier as you continue to suck him off. Determined to make him feel good.

“You like this don’t you? Blowing me while I relax and smoke a joint. It’s turns you on, the idea of me using your mouth while I catch a high” the dirty talk is unexpected but it turns you on more than expected. Whether it’s from the weed or pleasure, you’re not sure. What you do know is that it makes you wet, knees meeting each other as you squeeze your thighs together. Maybe you’d ride him next, if he let you.

“What a pretty cock drunk slut you are, I never would have guessed” it must be the weed because Pink would never actually call a girl a slut, especially not in a degrading way, but the moan that reverberates around his cock shows you took it as praise in the very moment. You had wanted Pink to use you for so long, staring longingly at him with daydreams guilty as sin in your head. If it wasn’t for the haze you’re certain this would feel like a dream.

“You liked that didn’t you? Me telling you what a slut you are, letting me use your mouth to keep my cock warm. I bet you’d blow me all night” you’re certain he’s rambling now to hold off his finish but even high you doesn’t back down from a challenge. You hollow your cheeks tighter, hum a slow tune to add sensation, and massage his balls until you finally get the guttural moan you had been waiting for. His dick twitches against your tongue and the way he starts shifting in his seat almost makes it harder to keep going, but you don’t stop, you don’t slow down even as he lets out an angelic whine. Exactly what you had been hoping for.

“Shit okay, ah. You’re killing me” he pants, squirming and clearly trying not to cave but you’re just too good. You take him deeply once more, lips meeting the hair at the base of his shaft and it’s then he finishes. Painting your throat as you slowly suck him through his release. He’s awestruck when you finally stop and leave his length practically clean. Your face is a mess, tears running down your cheeks, and lips swollen and messy. Yet the smile you wear shows you don’t mind at all and he swears you’ve never been prettier.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself” you shrug, a sly smile crossing your face as you look up at him. You’re sure your knees are numb but at this rate it was worth it.

“Jesus, why haven’t we been doing that sooner?” Pink asks, almost a little embarrassed by how wrecked he is. He shouldn’t still be hard, he’s never cummed harder in his life, yet here he was still a little wound up.

“You’ve been too preoccupied with other girls to ever look at me, besides we’re never alone. Today just happened to be your lucky day” you tell him, arm wiping your chin and standing to your feet. Pink watches you closely, a little intimidated and a little embarrassed. How stupid he had been to have never given you the chance before. He always thought you were pretty, you just happened to be one of the guys. Kind of like the stoner version of Cynthia. He never could’ve guessed you were kind of a freak. It made him question Cynthia now too. He’s brought back to reality when you sit back down beside him and steal the joint from his fingers.

“Well now it’s time for me to return the favor” Pinks already dropping to his knees, shirt open and practically falling off of him, member still proud and tall. Your knees press together despite the panicked look on your face.

“You can’t be serious” you say, suddenly extremely mindful of the skirt on your form. Pink’s mouth waters and he nods, hands settling on top of your knees and slowly sliding up your skin, fingers disappearing under your skirt.

“God yes” he practically begs and it’s then you’re certain the evening couldn’t get any crazier, so you open your legs for him just to find you with no panties and a glistening core. “I’m such a fool”

“Why’s that?” you ask, anticipation tangling with the arousal in your gut. Pink smiles as his hands slowly slide around your form and to your bum. In a swift movement he tugs you to the edge of the couch, your skirt flipping up for more access in the process.

“For not having considered you before”

[razzberriezz]

Fashion Dreamer Tips & Tricks

Some stuff only I found that isn't mentioned or in-game at all or is easily missed as far as I'm aware? I hope it helps some of you guys out :) It is quite image-heavy under the cut, fair warning!!

Colour Matching (Item Creator) Pressing down on the left stick changes the display from mannequin to the item itself, but pressing it again will show whatever item you're creating along with whatever your muse is currently wearing.

So if you've gotten a custom coloured item from someone else, this is great for making items and accessories to match with it! And you don't have to waste 120k points trying to match colours by guesstimation instead like me :'))) Or maybe I'm just dumb because I knew how to zoom in and out, just not the display switching OTL

2. Showroom Configuration (is stupid) This is for the Happy Home Paradise players... Make sure that any mannequins or clothing you display in your showroom is actually accessible, because you cannot walk under ceiling decorations, even if they are lighting. I have no idea why. You also can't change the camera angle, so it'd be best not to put the door/panel decorations all in a row at the front, because then players can't see what you're even displaying (unless it's just like a mannequin in the middle surrounded by lockers... Idk)

Taking the time to plug my showroom again before I swap out the outfits for the fancier stuff I have >o< Find me at a8xv4JW3Am!

3. Muse Advisors There are at least 2 or 3 advisors who are present at the Muse Mirror in each Cocoon in rotation. (e.g. Noz and Iris in HOPE) They can not only suggest colours and unique makeup that you haven't obtained yet* (I've seen a look where your character gets like a Batman/Robin mask lol), but also give you their own! If the one whose look you want isn't there, you just have to quick-travel (press down on the right stick) to another Cocoon and back. Otherwise, you can just keep talking to them and backing out until their option shows up.

Before & After (Iris ver.)!

(*Unfortunately, they won't give you unique eye shines/reflections.)

4. NPCs I've just learnt that the NPCs you start with are most likely random. I've seen others start with NPCs I haven't even seen or heard of! You need to raise their friendship level until you get a special event that says 'Friend Introduction' - and even then, I think the NPC who appears next might be random (unconfirmed). This may make it quite a pain for those who want the unnatural skin colours, since I believe they are only unlockable via NPC friendship rank... So just go into solo mode and spam some outfits :')

5. Camera Angles and Idle Poses This one is a bit useless, but I didn't know about it until now so it's going in. Most of the time, I use the drone camera to take photos, but could never really fit fullbody photos - turns out, you need to angle the camera slightly downwards (have your character looking up) to be able to zoom out enough to fit your Muse's whole body in. If the camera angle is level with your Muse, you will never be able to get a fullbody picture. Who thought this would be a good idea???

Level angle and tilted angle - the level angle is already at the lowest it could go.

Additionally, waiting for a while will let your character have the time to perform some idle animations, some of which (I think) are not present in the poses option, even via NPC friendship rank. The downside is that you'll have to crop out some parts of the UI and the quality will be a little lower - however, that can be fixed using waifu2x (which I tend to use anyways for aesthetic posts lol).

Before & After using waifu2x!

Since the game is so new I thought this might be helpful to some who are also just starting out. If anything here is wrong, please let me know and I'll fix it as soon as possible!

[williceunleashed]

im suuuuuuper curious I was wondering what dar's/n's thoughts on the player are!! most people interpret n having a close relationship with the player, how does that play out in your story :O love ur art btw!!

First of all thank you so much for your interest in my story and my art !!! This means a lot to me !!!

Aaaaah yes the Player !!! The Player (Hilbert/Hilda, Nate/Rose) is replaced by my OC Gray ! I had way too many headcanons on the Player, so he ended up turning into a full character instead of just keeping the Player characters.

Gray is 11 years old, confident, self-assured, and likes friendly bullying. He is still kind-hearted, a social butterfly and because he is a kid, he is pretty unaware of a lot of things. As he grows up way after the ending of BW2, he realizes how awful things were for N and Dardanne.

Here is the kid !

The main event changes are the following :

-> N, Gray and Dardanne actually travel together from Nimbasa City to Chargestone Cave. This is due to N and Dar feeling bad about leaving an 11 years old alone in an amusement park in a big city, feeling like the kid might not be safe on his own, so they slow down their pace on purpose for Gray to catch up. They then pretend to begrudgingly accept Gray in their group.

-> Post BW1, Gray stays in Unova. He goes back to Numeva Town and hugs his mother. He studies at the Nacrene Museum under Lenora.

-> Gray is also the main protagonist of BW2 (Ghetsis gets destroyed by the same kid two times)

-> N doesn't give Zekrom away, and finds Zoroark and Klinklang waiting back at Dardanne's house.

-> First meeting goes like this : Gray meets Dar and N in Accumula Town, when N pulls the famous "your pokémon just spoke to me", which triggers a battle that Gray wins. Gray attempts some friendly banter and tease, but it upsets N, who struggles to understand second degree jokes. Dardanne gives Gray 10 seconds to run away before he beats his ass, which Gray quickly does.

Now for their relationships !

N and Gray : Gray, despite being young, seems aware that N is not a normal 20-something years old. He doesn't feel threaten by him however, and often says stuff just to rile him up. They have a rivalry in the beginning, which morphs into friendship as they journey together. Gray is deeply saddened when N leaves, but he believes he will come back, and therefore never leaves Unova. At the end of BW2, after Gray is saved by N and Dar from Ghetsis and Mel, Gray still slaps N in the face for leaving for two years without even sending a post card. He apologizes afterward. Once N is back for good, he lives in Dardanne's house, and Gray visits a lot to share his gen alpha brainrot. Gray enjoys teaching new stuff to N, such as how to play Minecraft or the Sims. These two get along really well and spend most of their time together playing games or chatting about pokémons. N, on his part, feels kind of protective of Gray, but also admires him a lot. They can quickly start arguing, but their arguments are often resolved after a few minutes.

Dardanne and Gray : Gray is much more wary around Dardanne in the beginning, because while N is just creepy and weird, Dardanne is straight up hostile because Gray "disrespected His Majesty Master N". Gray slowly warms up to Dardanne when he sees how kind he can be around N and pokémons. During the part of the journey they share together, Dardanne is the only one who actually knows how to wash clothes, prepare meals, pitch a tent, make a fire, etc, and so Dar ends up being Gray's caregiver for that part of the journey. Gray's relationship to Dar is more like that of parent/child. During the 2 years gap inbetween BW1 and BW2, Gray is a major help to get Dar to let go of his Plasma uniform and to get out of the Safe House. When Dar gets his own house, that pesky Gray is there a lot of the time, usually playing with his rescued pokémons. On his part, Dar is very protective of Gray. Because he considers Gray to be a link between him and N, he cares for Gray the same way he cares for Zoroark and Klinklang while N is missing. Dar appreciates having Gray around. He tries to be a responsible adult around Gray and N, but often finds himself playing along with their games.

Super cool facts :

-> N and Gray keep trying to walk faster than each other. This means they will speed walk a lot without breaking into a run

-> Gray pretends to gag everytime N and Dar flirt or kiss

-> Gray has been hiding objects in N and Dar's hair (for science)

-> Dar's very violent minccino, Duvet, tolerates Gray.

Tl;dr : Gray considers N as his "fun parent", while Dar is his "comfort parent"

[moxie-girl]

ASL+U Alice in Borderland AU!!

loads more lore for the AU under the cut!!!!

♠ACE

Ace entered the Borderlands alone, but soon teamed up with Sabo after seeing his skills in ♦ games. He’s aware that Sabo is probably using him for his strength, but he feels confident that he could take him if he tried anything. (Whether this is true remains to be seen.) Quick to anger, Ace has been fired from multiple jobs for insulting customers, but his temper proves its worth in keeping him away from untrustworthy ♥ players. Despite being skilled in many different forms of martial arts, Ace tends to fight dirty, which often catches opponents by surprise in ♠ games. He was arrested several times for suspected arson, and while the claims were never proven, his go-to weapons in the Borderlands include a lighter, and later, a makeshift flamethrower. While initially slow to trust, once he is comfortable around the others he becomes an overprotective and even doting big brother, not that he’d ever admit it.

♦SABO

Sabo entered the borderlands with a few of his co-workers, and was immediately thrown into a ♥ game with only one survivor. (It’s okay, he didn’t really like them anyway.) Initially, he teamed up with Ace to cover for his own weaknesses - while he’s decently fit, many ♠ games require athletics even beyond his level - but he unwillingly began to get attached. Sabo has a special knack for noticing the tricks or loopholes in ♦ and ♥ games, making him an extremely valuable player to work with. An investigative journalist before the Borderlands, he specialized in exposé articles, though many never got published due to companies paying the newspaper to keep quiet. He understands the risks of getting attached to other players, but all the same he can’t stop himself from caring for the others to the point that he’d probably trade his life for theirs, despite being a player who’d usually do anything to survive.

♣LUFFY

Luffy met both Ace and Sabo in a ♣ game that required players to work in groups of three. They tried to ditch him after the game, but were unsuccessful, and eventually decided to keep him around for his skills. While he seems incredibly trusting, Luffy has a keen eye for when someone is actually trustworthy, and survived several ♥ games on his own despite other players trying to take advantage of him. He is incredibly athletic and skilled at ♠ games as well, but his true strength is his ability to bring groups of people together and help them trust each other, even if it’s just for a short time. Luffy’s cheerful attitude despite the situation endears him to Ace and Sabo quickly, and they both find themselves getting attached to him. In the process of this, the two of them also begin to trust each other for real, although they try to deny this at first.

♥UTA

Uta is an incredibly famous idol known for her cheerful, hopeful personality. In reality, she’s merely playing a role she knows the audience loves the most, and she’s actually envious of those types of happy people. (Sometimes, she secretly wishes she was really like them.) In the Borderlands, Uta’s attitude serves her well, as does her fame, and she’s tricked many other players into doing hard work for her. The poker face of her preppy facade is another thing that makes her so skilled at ♥ games, and she’s much smarter than she lets on, playing up her attitude even more in ♦ games to goad opponents into making mistakes. Uta was saved by Luffy in a ♥ game when she was almost killed by a dealer she thought she was controlling, and under the guise of owing him, she travels with ASL for a little while. However, her plans of sacrificing the trio to clear more games are derailed almost immediately by Luffy’s endless optimism.

OTHER PLAYERS

♠KOBY

Koby was initially rather meek, despite having decent physical skills and having taken self-defense lessons for years (in an attempt to stop his bullies). However, after a chance encounter with Luffy, Koby develops his self-confidence and teams up with a group of other players including Helmeppo(♦) and Hibari(♣), realizing his abilities as a skilled ♠ player.

♣LAW

Law is the head surgeon of a prestigious hospital, and he and many of his co-workers were transported to the Borderlands at the same time. They formed a tight-knit team who all trust each other deeply. While Law is good at ♦ and ♥ games, his role as the head of the hospital group and skill at planning and directing the team means his true specialties lie in ♣ games.

♦KIDD

Kidd, despite his rough appearance, is actually an incredibly skilled engineer and one of the smartest ♦ players in the Borderlands. That’s not to say he isn’t also incredibly fit, though most of the fighting is left to his partner Killer(♠). He lost an arm trying to dismantle a piece of game tech, but he built a prosthetic and has continued trying to shut the games down. 

♥BONNEY

Bonney, at only 12 years old, is possibly the youngest player still alive in the Borderlands. Unintentionally, because of her age, more cynical players will sometimes sacrifice themselves to keep her alive. She carries this guilt with her, but doesn’t let it affect her worldview - her strong, trusting attitude makes her surprisingly skilled at ♥ games, and she’s no slouch at ♣ either. 

♠KOALA

Koala is a karate instructor who mainly stuck to herself after losing her previous group to a particularly brutal ♥ game. She has a particularly strong hatred for the game masters and wants nothing more than to give them a good beating. When Sabo gets separated from his group by the ♠K, she saves him and eventually joins his group when they reunite. 

♦DEUCE

Deuce is a medical student who took to hiding his face in an attempt to “re-invent” himself in the Borderlands. His skills as even a trainee doctor are invaluable, and he meets Ace in a ♣ game and eventually joins his group to help with ♦ games. Once he escapes the Borderlands, he plans to write a novel about his experiences, though he doubts anyone would read it.

THE STRAWHATS

I’m sure you’ve noticed that none of the Strawhats are listed here! That’s because Luffy meets them when he is thrust into yet another life-threatening accident after the Borderlands, and is pulled back into another, albeit smaller game. As the only person there who has experience with the games, he manages to keep them alive and the crew becomes close friends once they escape again. (After Ace, Sabo, and Uta beat Luffy half to death for scaring them like that.)

♦: Usopp, Chopper, Robin

♠: Zoro, Sanji, Franky

♣: Vivi, Jinbe

♥: Nami, Brook

[kingdoms-and-empires]

Adoriel's Tears Review

I recently had to go travel and read a few works that I never got around to reading but was interested in.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS REVIEW IS DONE BY ME AS A READER AND IS MY OWN OPINION.

This means I will review in accordance to my own tastes, how the game caters to me, and what I feel. Do not take my word as gospel, what I may not be interested in or dislike, may be what YOU are interested and love!!!

@adoriels-tears-if

Synopsis:

Adoriel's Tears are a gift.

A light offered to the inhabitants of Terrybiël to end the conflicts that oppress the Four Peoples and eradicate the evil that was crawling on the continent.

But every light has its shadow and sometimes gifts are poisonous. For if magic comes from the heart, it takes a soul to master it, and fortunate are those who manage to find it. Without a counterpart, without a familiar, a Tear is nothing.

Just a curse. A child of madness. The darkness on Terrybiël. What must be destroyed before they destroy you.

Adoriel's Tears are a gift. At least for the others.

You're long past the point where your heart and soul should be singing together, and yet you're gifted. That's what made you lose everything you had as a child. Now, an opportunity presents itself. Should you take it, is it the right thing to do?

Without a soul and with a magic you can't control, the journey will be a risky one.

Especially since the smell of madness and blood is getting heavier and heavier on Terrybiël. Will you be able to fix everything, to find what you're looking for? Nothing is less sure.

And yet, this voice is calling you, whispering:

Come ! Come to me ! Come to me and don't be afraid.

Review:

The Good: Tobias is Ken, do not fight me on this.

Also, i wasnt aware what Snow was until i looked it up:

SO FREAKING CUTE!

Anyways, I had a lot of fun with this one. It lures you into a false sense of security and wholesomeness only to abruptly show the player and MC the reality of the world. That their mother had been protecting them for a reason. The family dynamics, relationships between characters, and drama crafted got me in my feels enough to care! I also got to name my plushie rabbit Optimus Prime, which was fucking hilarious:

Also i had alot of fun with the parental drama the MC can have with their father

Ashleyn:

And with his fuckboi bros:

Adoriel's Tears does that thing really well, that thing that lets the reader fill in the blanks and make up their own assumptions for the characters until we actually meet them. Plus it lets us act out and be brats so we can break the hearts of all the adults around us that try their best!

Also there's moments like this:

That honestly just adds that bit of humor that works without cause friction for the rest of the tone.

There was also a specific passage that felt emotionally charged and intense. Youll know what im talking about once you reach it, because it is very memorable. Without spoiling, it feels like justice coming forth to smite those that have wronged you.

The Bad: I know that Chapter 1 is a transfer from the original Choicescript, and it shows. The author has already expressed wanting to polish and clean it up, which i think is the right step as the second chapter and onwards have a clear jump in quality. There were numerous spelling and grammatical errors, but given that chapter 1 is four years old, and that the author is not a native English speaker (is French) that can be excused and fixed. I was able to submit errors I came across, so the author will be able to fix what i found in a future update. I do recommend that those who play any IF out there to submit anything they find as authors need us to beta test! Their eyes literally begin to glaze over the words theyve seen for the thousandth time lol.

The Ugly: I encountered moments where the MC feels very sensitive and too friendly, or the opposite where the choices can give an extreme negative reaction in response. I'd like for the inclusion of a more middle ground MC. In addition to that, there where times where my immersion (self insert, remember) broke as my boy MC felt too "feminine" without letting us choose to act it or not. Idk how to describe it other than that lol, but it stood out to me.

The Aftermath: I would recommend this to anyone that wants a good family dynamic/drama, and if characters and their relationships with each other are important to you. There's a lot of promise, potential, and "oh shit" moments that can/will happen (18+ tag, remember?) that only leaves me wanting more. The worldbuilding done allows for some really gripping story telling, and from what we see so far, itll impact the story. Seriously, the worldbuilding here is unique, and WILL stand out as we keep seeing the same ole same ole elsewhere in this genre. It's a fantasy story that keeps itself grounded by using likable characters who have realistic flaws that provide entertainment for us.

[blues824]

Hello I've seen that you have been getting a lot of requests

But could I request : twst housewardens with nico di angelo/reader, that reader tells them that they're son/daughter of hades and their power? And maybe the battle of labyrinth(feel free to ignore ☺)

Gender-neutral reader (male reader-coded, but anyone can read as there are no gender-specific terms used). English Server player here, btw.

Riddle Rosehearts

You were the only one possibly in the entirety of Twisted Wonderland who could revive the dead… even if they were to do your bidding. Yeah, he was definitely freaked out when you cracked the ground open and made a bunch of cadavers and skeletons attack him while he was overblotting.

Riddle can tell that you have been through a lot of pain. He did not know the extent of that pain until he saw you at the fountain, throwing in a drachma and conversing with your sister’s ghost. You only had one tear slip down your face when you noticed that the tyrannical housewarden was watching. You quickly recovered before using the shadows to travel back to Ramshackle.

It wasn’t until later where he learned about your backstory, and holy shit have you gone through a lot. Chronologically, you were 82, but you had the physical appearance of a 15 year old. You were physically younger than he was. You told him that it was because you spent 70 years in a casino, but this just managed to confuse him more.

Anyways, you first came off to him as rude and distant, which he could understand because you ended up in Twisted Wonderland. You first thought you were hallucinating or put under a hallucination by a god or goddess you weren’t aware of. That being said, you didn’t get close to anyone because you were scared that you could be brought out of the hallucination at any point. However, you started getting closer to a certain red-headed housewarden as he extended a cup of tea “olive branch”.

Leona Kingscholar

When you stepped on his tail in the botanical gardens that day, he was annoyed as we all know. However, since you were in your Battle of the Labyrinth era, you were not about to take the shit he threw at you. Maybe if you were younger, but not now. You were pissed off at Percy and you were on a mission to get out of Twisted Wonderland as soon as possible.

He doesn’t really care that you are a more private person. However, when he sees you display some of your abilities, he does get a bit curious. Like, for example, you opened up the ground and had skeletons attack him while he was overblotting. He easily turned them into sand, but it was still surprising. He had never met anyone who could do that before, as magic in Twisted Wonderland could not do that.

But, there was one time where he was coming back from a Housewarden meeting, and he saw you putting a strange coin into the fountain while you were speaking to an apparition. He hid behind a pillar and saw that there was a figure on the ledge of the fountain. You turned around and Leona saw a tear slide down your face before you melted into the shadow that the fountain cast.

Leona eventually learned of your backstory by Ruggie running around and seeing what he could find about you. You were actually 82 years old, which definitely added to the small pile of “Things that Actually Surprised the Housewarden of Savanaclaw”. You had never actually celebrated your birthday by a birthday party. The apparition he saw in the fountain was your deceased sister. He feels like shit for the way he has treated you thus far.

Azul Ashengrotto

As we know, he was present during Leona’s overblot. So he sees that you can summon a dead army. And he definitely wants to get that under a contract that will put him at an advantage over the dead. However, you have already been in this situation. You were not about to be under someone else’s control again.

That being said, your fatal flaw made its appearance and you held a grudge against Azul. You would go out of your way to not come within six feet of this man. You started making your own meals and you would travel via the shadows. The cecaelia noticed, and he started to feel kind of bad… and so he asked the tweels to find information on you in exchange for less hours for an entire week.

They came up with a lot of things, actually. You were the descendent of Hades, the brother of the father of the King of the Sea. That is how you got your powers. It wasn’t magic at all. You had a full biological sister who joined the Hunters of Artemis group, but died. You were fighting gods and titans left and right… and you were still physically only 15 years old.

Unfortunately for you, your powers did not come in handy when you fought against his overblot. However, your sword did, as well as the potion that allowed you to breathe underwater. You’ve had plenty of experience with fighting in water, so you were well-versed and thus defeated him rather easily. You called him an amateur, stating that one of your fellow demigods at Camp Half-Blood would have posed a better challenge, which made his ego take critical damage.

Kalim Al-Asim

You cannot tell me that this man is not the Will Solace to your Nico di Angelo. However, unlike Will, Kalim does not have the power to heal anybody via singing a song. He is no archer. He has no super powerful whistle. He can’t put anyone under a ‘couplets curse’. He can’t emit a divine glow. He can’t shoot rays of light. He can’t change the seasons. He can’t control diseases. But he is still yours.

Because of the way he is, you physically can’t hold a grudge against him. But you are suspicious of the Vice Housewarden. You stick to the shadows and listen in on private conversations. Not like Kalim would ever believe you, but you have done what you could to prevent an uprising against him.

During Jamil’s overblot, you were actually able to defeat him rather easily, surprising Kalim. Sure, you were sent into the desert, but you were able to travel in the shadows that the dunes of sand cast. You were actually able to take everyone and travel faster. However, that left you drained, but you knew you had to keep fighting. Using the last of your strength, you summoned a skeletal army, and then your vision started to get dark.

Kalim ended up waking you up in the infirmary. He was crying and pleading with you to forgive him for not believing you all along. You were kind of confronted and put on the spot, wanting him not to make a noise and cause a scene. You patted his head kind of awkwardly, and he was so happy to see that you have forgiven him and that everything was going to be okay since you were awake now.

Vil Schoenheit

You looked like a corpse, and Vil was not afraid to point it out. You bit back and stated that because you were a child of Hades, God of the Underworld, it was understandable that you looked less than alive. That started a beautiful hateship between the two of you, as he’s trying to fix your eyebags and you’re trying to fix his attitude. You didn’t even know much about Neige, but you said something along the lines of, “it’s no wonder that everyone likes him over you.”

Anyways, Vil has sent Rook to go dig up some dirt that he could use against you. The hunter found out many heartbreaking things that made the Housewarden feel horrible about the things he has said about you. You were doing all of this just for Bianca, your deceased sister, because she told you that you needed to move on as she moved on to Elysium. 

When he overblots, you already have enough experience. Your sword has the ability to absorb darkness, and guess what the ink is? Anyways, you used your sword to absorb some of the ink, which weakened the overblotting mess. It was a relatively easy takedown, and you just left silently after. Again, your fatal flaw poked through, and you only helped because of Epel and Rook and how you were friends with them.

In the infirmary, Vil woke up right when you dropped off a single get-well gift. It was a small vase with just one stem of lavender as well as an olive branch. Just one, as you wanted to be stingy, but you wanted to be better than your fatal flaw. You wanted to show that you weren’t unsympathetic, so you extended this purple olive branch and the actual olive branch. Vil knew the language of plants all too well, and he got the message.

Idia Shroud

You both are shut-ins, you both are nerds… It's a match made in the Underworld. Nah, but all jokes aside, you both hated each other at first. You would debate each other on every single fact from any given Fandom. But you were good friends with Ortho, even if you did dislike the fact that he was so naive. He reminded you of yourself in the beginning of your demigod journey, and you did not like remembering all of that.

Anyways, Idia is going total cyber-stalker. He is trying to find something he can fight against you with, kind of like a Redditor. What he did manage to find was depressing and sad, and also made him feel like shit. Hearing about Bianca made him clutch onto Ortho more and appreciate having him, as not everyone could have such a good replacement as his robotic younger brother was for his dead older brother.

When he overblotted, you were just tired at this point. However, Idia proved to be much more of a challenge than you had originally thought. By this point, the Housewarden of Ignihyde had analyzed your powers as a child of Hades as well as thought about any other hidden powers you may or may not have, and prepared accordingly. You couldn’t shadow-travel at all and you couldn’t use the ground for whatever reason (Idia had used magic to keep you from doing so).

It was depending on your assholes of friends that allowed you to win, because the one thing that the flame-haired 18-year-old didn’t expect was for you to suck it up and forget your grudges against Ace just to beat his ass. So, he was left vulnerable as you acted as a weird diversion, using his love for a certain anime against him as you shouted a complete hot-take that he definitely did not agree with. 

Malleus Draconia

Hey, look everybody! It’s the social rejects! I’m just playing… kind of. You both tend to emit an aura that can be portrayed as frightening to others. The only difference was that your aura was intentional, and it even managed to give Sebek a spook sometimes. However, it did not deter Malleus from reaching out to you and extending an olive branch. That was the start of a beautiful relationship between the two of you.

I have a headcanon that this dragon prince is kind of like a goth version of Will Solace. You can confide in him during your nightly walks, and he is not going to judge you for it. You have actually told him about your older sister and her untimely death, and while he did try to tell you that it wasn’t Percy’s fault and you weren’t hearing it, you secretly knew that it was true and it was just your fatal flaw that kept you from forgiving Jackson.

Speaking of confiding within him, you’ve also told him that you were scared that he was going to overblot. He was so attached to his retainers as well as you and Lilia that it would be wrong to qualify this fear as anything but rational. Malleus understood, as you’ve already had to fight six overblots in the relatively short amount of time you’ve been in Twisted Wonderland, and you’ve had to solve the familial issues of an arsonist (Rollo Flamm).

Your fluency in Greek fascinated Malleus, as Greek was not a common language that was spoken. He had no idea what or where ‘Greece’ was, but he was also interested in learning about Hades as well as your [distant] cousins, who were the other demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Then, there was an entire other demigod camp called Camp Jupiter, and you were kind of a ghost story between the two. You, in turn, listened to his silly little rants about gargoyles, as you believed that there needed to be a healthy exchange in interests within the relationship.

[lunaandco]

twisted sister

pairing: gavi x ofc

summary: riley does a stupid thing that pisses off her brother. gavi is the stupid thing.

taglist: @htpssgavi ; @joaosnovia

masterlist // I do not take requests

Riley did it without thinking of her brother. In her opinion, his idea of her doing it to spite him was self centered and simply stupid.

Frenkie had always told her to stay away from his teammates. That they were never good enough or had pure intentions, whatever that meant. Riley had always ignored that requests, it was easy to follow after all, most of the guys sharing locker room with him were either slimy, too old, or plainly unattractive.

But then she met Gavi for the first time.

He had just benched Frenkie, which wasn't exactly something that thrilled him, specially when Gavi was just soaring, both with Xavi's approval and the fans' love.

Riley undertood that homemade players like Gavi would always get preferential treatment by the public and the media, but she soon realised that there was something about Gavi that drew her, and everyone else, in: Gavi was ridiculously charming.

At just seventeen years of age, Riley was aware enough to notice the way girls gravitated towards him, rosy cheeks, strident giggles and nervous tics.

She was no different.

In the beginning, she was decided to listen to Frenkie's advice, ignoring the way her heart flutttered when he greeted her during celebrations and team family reunions. For a few years, it was easy to avoid, Since she spent most of her time int the Netherlands with the rest of the family, and very little in Barcelona with Frenkie.

But of course, after traveling to the Catalan city to celebrate the Supercopa title, things would change.

Gavi's charm had been combined with a growing self confidence, as he felt more sure on his grown up skin. Twenty one year old Riley did not blush, nor giggle, but she did sink her nails into the palms of her hands, when she relaised he was more attractive than she remembered.

Which could mean nothing, but...

A couple of alcoholic drinks and a wink were everything she needed to end up on his bed, ignoring Frenkie's text messages asking where she was. She would have deactivated her location if she knew what Frenkie would do.

Becaus as she was lazily making out with Gavi, after the hottest sex of her life, there was banging on his door. Gavi went to open wearing only his pants, and putting on his shirt on the way, letting Riley have enough time to dress on her own before she followed him to the hall, where she found him arguing with her brother.

"Where is she?" was asking Frenkie, in a harsh tone of voice. One would think about Frenkie that he was too calm, he never rised his voice or got angry at anything, so seeing him so distressed was rare.

"Here," Riley said standing behind Gavi, crossing her arms. It was obvious what they had been doing, undeniable even, and she could see the way it dawned on Frenkie.

"Let's go," he said, pushing at Gavi to get to Riley. "We're going home."

"Actually, no," cut Gavi, standing firm on his way. "She's not a little kid, she will go if she wants to."

Frenkie rolled his eyes.

"You are both children, as a matter of fact."

"No. we're not." Riley sided with Gavi. "If you don't mind, we were kind of in the middle of something."

"Absolutely no. I will not be the uncle of a teen pregnancy."

"I'm pretty sure we need ot be teens for it to be a teen pregnancy," snapped Riley.

"And believe it or not, we know what condoms are," added Gavi.

Frenkie opened his mouth to say something, but desisted.

"I want you home for lunch," he said.

"Fine." Riley knew when to take an olive branch. "I'll bring Gavi."

"No you won't"

"Yes, I will. Bye!"

Riley closed the door on Frenkie's face, turning to Gavi, who was looking at her with some sort of admiration in his face.

"I'm sorry..."

"Nah, don't be, it's kind of funny." He was smiling. "He's going to go for my ankles in training, though."

Riley scoffed.

"No, he won't. We're making sure he chills out during lunch."

"And how do you plan on making that? I mean, I could ask for your hand in marriage, so we don't ruin your reputation or something, but I don't think you want that."

Riley giggled.

"We could start there."

[autumnwhistles]

Lyric Breakdown in my Last Life (mainly Martyn-centric) song, "Corners of the World"

'Abridged' version here, and longer analysis (ft. a lot of Martyn character analysis... and also the full lyrics I'm actually talking about) under the cut.

"I'll lie, double cross to best them all" is yet again a reference to a line from Martyn's Last Life teaser poem ("Surpass them all/Take friends for foes"), which was from the perspective of the Watchers (and was previously referenced by them in the first song, Middle of Nowhere). Martyn using this phrasing hints that the Watchers already hold some influence over him, hence the outline of the lyrics flashing purple in the video!

"Walls, corners, edges" is taken from Martyn's speech after Ren's beheading (as is the title of this song, for the same reason):

"You took me in when I was a lowly traveler, going across the land, searching the four corners of this world. I learned there was nothing in this world for me – nothing but walls, corners, edges. And you know what, you showed me life. As much as I’ve taken it from you, you gave it back to me in buckets’ fulls."

The point here is that, after the events of 3rd Life, Martyn's reverted back to that previous worldview. That life he was shown clearly meant something to him, but ultimately, its price was far too high. So now, he's deliberately separating himself from a mindset that would allow him to care too much about others and feel that same pain: the world is walls and edges; the people in it are figures to use for his own benefit, not to care about; the world does not hold those buckets' fulls of life. As we see with his reactions to the Southlands' fall, he doesn't really end up being successful in this (and it's a major topic of exploration throughout the musical) – but it doesn't mean he doesn't want or try to be.

Of course, the wordplay this verse ("You'll be cornered in the corners, and on edge in many more/And walls you'll build and walls you'll raise(/raze), and walls will fall in war") is to establish Martyn's strengths in that area. Getting the voice right is an important part of musical characterisation too!

"Keep it a void you're fighting for" is either dramatic irony or foreshadowing depending on how much you know of his lore. Martyn's only referring to not fighting for anyone else's sake here, but between the seasons the players do spend their time falling through the void (while unconscious) – regardless of whether they win or lose. By fighting to win, you are just fighting for that same void... which of course, Martyn doesn't know (because surely winning means something). If he knew nothing changes after you win, the incentive to win would be much weaker, and I'd argue we do see that in c!Martyn post-Limited Life. But despite his cynicism and distrust, he's still naïve to this particular cruelty of the world... :) i mean lore-wise if you win a fragment of your soul does get protected but 1) no bearing on last life and so on this musical whatsoever, and 2) how is c!martyn supposed to know that even after his win

"Careful with the name you pick/Don't want it to get flamed" is (as the editing hopefully makes clear) a pun – 'you don't want your name to be made fun of', and 'your tree fort is flammable'. This is again meant to establish Martyn's quick wit as well as progressing the song/storyline, and as well as showing us him messing with people, which he very much likes to do! (I am also aware Cleo was the one who informed Lizzie, but I had to streamline various things for the sake of the medium – this is both a Martyn character establishment song and an intro to the world and various figures in it, so it's easier if Martyn is the one who introduces that to those figures (and for us to get more information about Martyn based on how he interacts with them). And Lizzie's reaction to that information was something I wanted to keep in)

Of course Skizz and Etho were in the Red Army too, Martyn's just being cheeky/faking indignation here (if there'd been space, I'd have given Skizz a line of protest, but from a musical standpoint I preferred the instant transition into Scar's section). But guys.... BEST/Dogwarts parallels... guys.....

"(...)I'll lead, not play a pawn"/"(...)little pawn" (sung simultaneously, the first by Martyn and the second by the Watchers) is a callback to the first song, Middle of Nowhere, in which there's a section of randomised lives being given out. The first line there is "Four for the traitor, four for the pawn", and this confirms/establishes 'the pawn' as referring to Martyn (referencing what he's treated as by the Watchers). Note that here Martyn's desire 'to lead' refers to being in control of his actions and not deferring to anyone, not specifically to leading an alliance. Of course, Martyn's part is full of dramatic irony on his behalf :)

Those are the 'flashier' lines and word choices I especially wanted to highlight. Now, for the version with way more character analysis!

As mentioned, Corners of the World is Martyn's – our main character's – introductory song. Regardless of whether it counts as an 'I Want' song or not (it's a bit nebulous, because yes, he does express things he wants – to win, to be in contol of his own actions and not at others' whims. But for me, the more important part of the song is what he doesn't want to do, what things he's distancing himself from that he's presumably done before, and the questions and implications that arise from that. And the core of that is explored slightly later on), it's going to be our first impression of him as a character. The traits and worldview established here will be viewed as important, and will form the basis of his arc throughout the musical.

Because of that, the two verses focus on establishing that inital worldview (as well as establishing what he's aiming for):

MARTYN (Verse 1) Right, here I go again — new world, another start. New chance to see who’ll reach the end, and who will fall apart Well, won’t be me – this time I’ll be the very last to fall No care for cost, I’ll lie, double cross to best them all

So we know he wants to survive and win the game (especially after not doing so last time), we know he's willing to play dirty to achieve that and definitely should not be trusted. We know he's under no impression that this is anything other than a death game (or death match, to quote his Limited Life self) – he doesn't hide from the knowledge that people will fall apart, that only one person will be left standing. Importantly, this means he's playing the game exactly as intended, with no intentions of defying it or even deviating slightly* from what the first song has expressed to be the goal (to 'best'/'surpass' everyone else). Even as he expresses the wish to play for himself, he's already committed himself to following others' unseen rules.

Walls, corners, edges, I’ve been this way before. You’ll be cornered in the corners, and on edge in many more; And walls you’ll build and walls you’ll raise(/raze) and walls will fall in war, Kinship destroyed, so keep it a void you’re fighting for.

And here we get an exploration of Martyn's mindset in more detail. I've touched on this already, but a major point of exploration throughout the musical is Martyn's relashionship to emotional attachment – he's coming right off the bat of Ren's death in 3rd Life, which "broke" him and made him play more selfishly since (both statements taken from the LimLife lore stream), and he is someone who tends keep his distance and who'll prioritise himself over allies whenever things get dicey. But the "life" that closeness gave him back in 3rd Life was still clearly important to that version of him, and he does inadvertently (and unwillingly) start chasing that again this season – ending up growing close to the Southlanders (bar Grian) despite his efforts, enough to hallucinate them and be manipulated by the Voice's(/Watchers') false promise to bring them back to life if he follows its commads (in a moment where he expresses resistance to following its commands, and where the Voice is clearly distressing him). LL Episode 8 intro my beloved...

Still, that's to come. At the start of Last Life, he's firmly in a reactionary mindset to the events of 3rd Life, separating himself from that life and that version of him. 3rd Life was a failure on his part (in addition to the emotional damage, but he's trying to separate himself from that side of things and to focus purely on the win), and he's absolutely not wasting this new chance at victory.

So corner to corner, I’ll keep wandering on, Border to border, through woods, through caves, through spawn, Sure, laugh with some, don’t keep it glum, so long as lines are drawn Forego the rest, and don’t invest, just keep on wandering- WATCHERS Wandering, wandering MARTYN -on.

It's Watcher manipulation time, encouraging unhealthy mindsets that help them further their own aims! The more untied he is, the easier he'll be for them to play (less loyalties to others –> the more likely he is to rely on the Voice, and the less resistance there is to doing certain things that might involve those connections). Yes, emotional connections would mean more emotional pain (and so more negative emotions for them to feed on) in the future, but Martyn's very resistant to that idea right now, so it wouldn't do much to push it. They do encourage emotional connections later, though (heavily pushing him towards Ren for example, and note that that's only once it would mean Martyn betraying his own alliance (which would mean more emotional pain for someone, regardless of its impacts on Martyn himself. Or it would've been if that was revealed)).

There's another important part here, though. After all the 'allies won't help you' etc in the first two verses, I wanted to make clear that Martyn's not against being around people, far from it – he's almost constantly around people, just not generally around the same ones for an extended period of time – it's just the emotional investment he's trying to avoid. He is a very social player, he does enjoy joking and/or messing around with others and does it constantly, that's also an important aspect to him (he's a very "you talk a lot but never say anything" type of person**). So "sure, laugh with some, don't keep it glum" is a very important line!

LIZZIE Welcome, oh welcome to my tree fort, yet unnamed. MARTYN Be careful with that name you pick — don’t want it to get… flamed. LIZZIE …Ah. They won’t demean A fellow green? …Your lives? MARTYN That’s mine to know Is that a tower over there? See you, I’ve got to go!

And immediately, here's an example of Martyn actually messing with someone (as a new player, Lizzie is fun to tease)! His "don't want it to get flamed" triples as that, as a wordplay demonstration, and as another recognition that they are living in a world where people will inevitably turn on each other. If something's flammable, it will be burned.

Lizzie's characterisation here is meant to show her as someone who wants to do her best and is establishing herself, but is unsure/nervous about how the game will unfold due to having had no past experience (, the '...your lives?' comment is prompted by the momentary urge to want to know how close Martyn is to turning Red and potentially burning down her tree fort) There is the element of naïvité coming from not having lived through a previous series, too – not thinking about how badly having a flammable base may end, 'they won't demean a fellow green' again here, etc.

Because this verse is a dialogue, I focused a lot more on trying to keep the character's voices true to themselves as well. With Lizzie, the "Welcome, oh [welcome]" is moreso there to suit the 'fairy queen' persona she was going for, but the "tree fort... yet unnamed" would be something she'd say for humour's sake, in her particular style which I cannot for the life of me describe; her 'ah' would be quite deadpan in that way too (again, not sure which words to use to describe it). With Martyn we have the aforementioned wordplay, but also his method of slipping out of situations that go in directions he wants to avoid... which is to pretend to get distracted by something else, promptly change the subject to that thing, and run off (a clear example of this is in Wild Life when Scott is questioning him about his powers, and he conveniently gets 'distracted' by a zombified Skizz dying in the distance instead (~17:30 in his vid). Maybe not the smoothest of getaways... but a habit nonetheless).

TEAM BEST BEST will be the best, and we’ll show em what we got With our matching shields, and our towering snow fort MARTYN Hold on a sec, where’s your respect? BDUBS Respect? MARTYN Yeah, that’s my bit! Same shields? Snow? A world ago? With Ren and- fine, have it

Again, this verse is largely leaning into character voices and interactions. BEST do initally set out to be the heroes of the server (eg by recovering the enchanting table and returning it to the server), and do have some very loud/enthiusiastic figures within their ranks (Bdubs and Skizz), so the tone of their lyrics is meant to reflect this (though the instrumentation, which we'll talk about in a different post, does a lot of this work as well). Of course you also have Etho who's the complete opposite of course (and Tango somewhere in the middle), but it's the louder voices that are going to be heard in the interactions so it's their side of things I'm portraying. And, as mentioned before, we also have Martyn completely going into mock-offense mode.

SCAR/BEST/LIZZIE/MARTYN No matter if you're in your sixes or twos/Let's find some ore to- I'll sell you an offer you/-mine cannot refuse/It'll be the fairy fort! Crystals for fleeing,/I'm fine just to chat Crystals for flame,/Not falling for that! Survival's the ALL Name of the game!

Pretty self-explanatory here, with Martyn not buying into Scar's deals and other alliances going about their lives. BEST heading down to mine is set-up for the next song (aptly named "Down In The Mines"), in which Bdubs reveals he was cursed with the Boogeyman curse while down there, narrating his experiences in the form of a ghost story.

SCAR/BEST/LIZZIE/MARTYN Corner to corner, I'll just keep on wandering, wandering on/Yes, join the fairy fort, I'd love to have you here!/BEST will be the best, with our diamonds and our gold We can build a secret passageway so we'll always be near!/Put us to the test, and you'll see that we won't fold/A crystal or spell, oh, Joel, you'd help me sell?/Through woods, through caves- -But still for my sake I probably should find a team: it would do me some-/We'll aid each other when we need, together we will succeed, oh-/Put us to the test and you'll see that we'll do-/Goody! Magical Mountain we'll be! ALL (including Cleo, BigB and Joel, who are now onstage with their respective alliances) Good – It's this I've understood!*

Here we see the different players' attitudes to playing the game, and what they've "understood" about how to play it, as well as more alliances forming. Nothing much to say about Scar and Martyn here (aside from Martyn expressing the fact that he does want to be part of an alliance for numbers' sake, which we'll build more on in Song 4 (A(ha)lliances) when the Southlands are formed; and also continuing the thread that he sees others as figures he can use to benefit himself. Maybe there were things to say about Martyn here!), but a lot of Team BEST's part is foreshadowing ("put us to the text and you'll see that we won't fold"... they will fold. They will) in addition to contuining the 'server heroes' thread from earlier. Meanwhile, Lizzie's part continues to show her as a player who hasn't experienced the way the server devolves into bloodshed, still having a pretty idealistic view about the co-operation between herself, BigB and Cleo without thinking about the ways they'll inevitably have to turn on each other if they get later in the game.

The part about the tunnel connecting the Fairy Fort to Cleo and BigB's base is taken directly from the first session (originally proposed as an escape tunnel, in the same conversation that Cleo pointed out that the fort was flammable).

UPPER WATCHERS/LOWER WATCHERS Oh, wander, wander on/Wonder, wonder On/When they'll all start to turn tails Wonder, wonder/Wander, wander When trust will yield to betrayals/On

I've mentioned it before, but the Watchers feed on negative emotions, which is why they run the Life series. This is one of the few times we see emotions from them, as they're very excited to see what chaos and carnage this new game they've formed will bring (which I took care to portray in my voice)!

WATCHERS/MARTYN Till the rest are gone.../Right, here I go again – I'll fight with my axe drawn* Oh, wander, little pawn/But, unlike then... I'll lead, not play a pawn.

I've talked about this in the 'abridged' version, so I won't repeat that. The other thing here is the axe being an obligatory Dogwarts reference (or, more accurately, an obligatory rhyme (with 'pawn') which gave way to a Dogwarts reference I took).

[End]

(You can hear the instrumental continue for a while – ideally, Martyn would talk for a bit with Scott, Pearl and Jimmy, but though I can act through singing I can't act through speech and I'm not subjecting viewers to that xD)

If you've read this, thank you so much! You can definitely chart me going more and more unhinged as this progressed...

--

*eg by also wanting to find friendships, to be helpful while you can, etc, in addition to winning. There's no secondary aim there, aside from protecting himself from emotional harm.

**(to quote Martha from Doctor Who)

[spotsupstuff]

I like to think the dynamic between the player and the slugcat (Survivor specifically, thinking base vanilla experience) matters for the worldbuilding/lore itself.

Specifically thinking on the topic of self-awareness, which is often said that animals lack especially when compared to humans.

The player is the Survivor's spirit, let's say. You are present, you control the body of its, you live and try to understand ,,your own" story. But there is a disconnect. You don't actually feel the world, the temperature, the teeth and chalicerea, the sharp raindrops tearing at its back when you lose track of time.

You don't feel the pain of a cycle's abrupt end. You acknowledge it with frustration at the loss of progress and probably karma. This frustration won't last.

The cycles blur together. I've got over 200 cycles on some slugcats and I could not name a single death of mine. They aren't personal, they don't matter to me, they can't scar me. In extension, they don't matter to this animal we play as. We just keep going on, unbothered thanks to the lack of in-universe consciousness, manifesting a certain lack of self-awareness in the slug.

The slugcat can be only as smart as the player, its soul, is knowledgeable - still limited by the capabilities of its body. And the ,,fast travel" that we can't see reminds me of a sort of ,,loss of self-awareness" that happens when one focuses on something.

But what about those that are steeped in it. Those whose awareness of everything is so acute and inevitable. Those that probably kept calendars and marked down their failures at survival, whose deaths had to be soul crushing, traumatizing, lasting.

Some say, that self-awareness is a curse since it exposes all the pains surrounding the individual. But why can't it be a blessing too, why does it have to leave you helpless. Why not make it a tool to expose that which damages you so it can be *fixed*, so questions can be posed and answered.

When we get fed up with this world, we close the game. When the Ancients got fed up, they crumbled trying to fix their situation. Maybe they were a bit noble, maybe a bit insane. They were definitely justified in their frustration and attempts to escape, however.

[sihtricfedaraaahvicius]

A Love Match

Note: this fic is a bit of a birthday present to my dearest @neonhairspray. Thank you for helping me with further inspiration for this fic during our unhinged convos. I wrote this because of our conversations and want to dedicate it to you, so I hope you like it and you may notice I added some stuff for you in here!

extra note: again, we're talking FOOTBALL football, not American football ;) I edited this while watching a match, any mistakes left will be corrected over time.

Warnings: 18+! fluff/smut/mainly just very suggestive.

pairing: FootballPlayer!Sihtric x Maid!Reader (f)

summary: You accidentally fell in love with a famous football player. 

wordcount: 8,3k

Masterlist

You were never into football. It was a sport you just never cared for, because what was the bloody point of watching people run after a ball for an hour and half? It bored you greatly and, beside all that, you believed that football players were ridiculously overpaid for the bare minimum they did of playing a match every few weeks, and most of them were overly dramatic on the field too. You also thought that most footballers weren't that smart either, but in truth, what did you know? Not much, because you just weren't impressed with the whole football world. Therefore you also weren't phased when you got to work for Sihtric Kjartansson, a talented football player and a huge name in the business. You had vaguely heard of him before but you didn't care about his profession, you were only interested in the paycheck that came with being his maid, which was a royal one.

A quick google search would tell anyone that Sihtric had started out playing for the local Dunholm team as a young boy, but he outgrew the club quickly and eventually travelled all over the world to play football. He stuck around in Denmark for years, but he recently moved back to England after purchasing a massive mansion in the fanciest part of London, as he transferred back to England and was also selected to play for England's national team as the World Cup was approaching. He was one of the most interesting centre-forward players right now, and the insane amount of money he was paid to transfer back to England was sickening.

Despite your lack of interest in this job, you couldn't deny that the famous footballer was handsome. Incredibly handsome, actually. His long dark hair was always braided during a match, but tied into a nonchalant bun during training, and his well kept facial hair was always on point, highlighting his sharp and godly facial features. And the glimpses you had caught of his body weren't a punishment either, his football shirt hugging his biceps tightly while his football grip socks accentuated his calf muscles, and his thighs looked more than firm enough to make you feel good when grinding those alone. 

Sihtric had the looks but he clearly wasn't the brightest at times as you became aware he was often impulsive and reckless on the field, staining his kits with his own blood after he had injured himself in various ways, by colliding into others or by simply tripping over the ball in the heat of the moment, which only seemed to confirm your thoughts about football players not being very bright.

However, you weren't completely right about everything you always suspected about footballers, because you found out the first few weeks of your new job that Sihtric wasn't doing just the bare minimum. On the contrary, as he worked hard and was incredibly focused on his career, you were actually shocked by the amount of training he did. And you were also shocked by the amount of football kits you had to wash for him every week, with the smell of his football socks after every training and friendly match being almost lethal. But doing his laundry was a part of your job, just like keeping his entire house clean and getting groceries for him, to make sure his fridge was always stacked with the nutritious foods he needed to stay in the perfect shape he was in.

Because he had such a busy schedule you had only seen him a handful of times in passing, so you didn't know much about him, but he seemed kind and generous. Every now and then he'd leave a thank you note on the kitchen counter for you, a small way of showing his appreciation for all the work you did for him so he could dedicate every waking second to football. And it became evident one morning that despite the fact you were working for Sihtric for a few months already, you both weren't up to date with each other's schedule. You thought he was out training, as usual, thus you being the only person in his home, while Sihtric was apparently completely oblivious to the hours you worked, so he thought he was alone too.

And therefore Sihtric didn't think twice when he hopped out of the shower, not covering himself with anything except for his long black football socks because he hated the feeling of his bare feet touching the floor, and so he went downstairs to quench his thirst before getting fully dressed in his football kit and leave for training. You had been downstairs in the laundry room on the other side of his mansion, so you hadn't heard the water run while he took a shower and you also hadn't heard him come down the stairs as you were busy loading the laundry basket with his clean clothes for you to fold, which you always did in the kitchen you had cleaned prior to that.

And when you quietly made your way to the kitchen, laundry basket in hand, you froze upon the sudden sight of Sihtric standing in front of the refrigerator, his back turned to you as he drank some sparkling water straight out of a bottle while being completely naked, apart from a pair of socks. His long hair slicked back as it was still wet from his shower, and your jaw dropped as your eyes wandered over his muscular back, trailing over his broad shoulders and toned biceps, then down to his perfectly shaped waist. You then gaped at his muscular thighs and lowered your gaze down his long and toned legs, finding his socks highlighting the muscles they covered from view. And then your eyes went back up again, only to land on his firm and deliciously shaped buttocks, which were perfect, just like the rest of his body.

You gasped lightly and seemed to lose all control over your own muscles, dropping the laundry basket which landed with a dull thump on the tiles while you had to grab onto the cabinet right next to you as your knees weakened, all which in return startled Sihtric. He jumped in response to your sudden presence and turned around, completely exposing himself before he dropped the water bottle to cover up his goods with his tattooed hands, while the water oozed out of the bottle and soaked his socks slowly.

'Oh my god!' you yelled and averted your eyes as fast as you could, but not before you had already gotten a good look at his full frontal side, which wasn't any less impressive than his back, 'I'm so sorry!'

'No,' Sihtric said, panicked as he searched for something to cover himself with, 'I'm sorry,' his eyes darted all over the kitchen as he blushed, but that small kitchen towel he saw wouldn't even cover his thighs, and he knew it, 'I- I didn't know you were here.'

'I am always here,' you argued with flushed cheeks, still shocked as you knelt down to gather the laundry back in the basket, desperately trying to not look up again, 'I thought you weren't home!'

You realised Sihtric was still frantically looking for a way to cover himself with not just his hands, and you quickly threw him one of his clean football shorts. Sihtric hid behind the kitchen island and pulled up the shorts, while you feigned great interest in sorting out his clothes on that same kitchen island before folding them. Sihtric cleared his throat awkwardly before he cleaned up the mess he had made by dropping his drink, insisting he'd clean it up and not you, and he left the room without saying another word, leaving you to your work before he left for his.

Sihtric messed up his entire training as he was stuck in his head about the embarrassing encounter he had with you earlier that day. He missed every shot to score and, as a centre-forward, it was not making him look good. Pyrlig, his coach, had tried to snap Sihtric out of the weird state he was in several times, but to no avail. The coach hoped it was just a temporary state of nerves before the Euro Cup started, but in truth it had nothing to do with football. 

Sihtric just couldn't forget about what had happened that morning, and not just because he was ashamed he had fully exposed himself like that to you. He wasn't ashamed of his body at all, but he did not want you to feel awkward around him because you had seen all of him without asking for it. But the main problem for Sihtric was actually the fact that this was the first time he had gotten a good look at you, as you had only met in quick passing before while he was always in a rush, and the reason why he had been so desperate to cover himself up was because he felt a certain… excitement. And he found himself thinking of you for the rest of the day while he had to awkwardly readjust his shorts a few times.

When he came home late in the afternoon after his training, he was surprised to see you were still around. He considered avoiding you but then took a deep breath and greeted you as you locked eyes in the living room in passing, after you had just vacuumed the place. Your shift was basically over and so you tidied up the last things before going home, but Sihtric came up to you before you could grab your coat.

'Hey, so,' he said as he looked away from you, looking everywhere but into your eyes, 'I'm really sorry about what happened this morning. I never wanted to, you know, just expose myself to you like that. I would have never walked around naked if I knew you were here. I'm sorry-' he rambled on and became inaudible while he nervously raked his hands through his loose hair.

'Sihtric,' you said with a shy chuckle, 'it's okay. I know it was an accident, don't worry about it.'

'Yeah, well,' he mumbled and shrugged, 'but, eh, I was wondering if maybe, you know, we could… we could maybe go for dinner or something. I have the evening off, so, I don't know,' he began to mumble too quietly again for you to understand him.

'Dinner?' you frowned, 'tonight?'

'Yeah?'

'What, like a… uh, a date or something?' you asked carefully.

'I guess you could call it that,' Sihtric said with a shy and cautious smile, 'I mean, we barely know each other while you're in my house every day and- oh, fuck,' he suddenly groaned and buried his face in his hands, 'fuck, I'm sorry. You're probably married or something-'

'No,' you interrupted, a little quicker than anticipated and you tried to keep your cool, 'I mean, no, I am single. I just, eh, I'm just surprised is all. But, yeah, sure,' you smiled, 'but I really want to go home and change my clothes.'

'Sure, no problem,' the footballer said while he fought a huge smile, 'just give me your address and I can pick you up later.'

You slightly panicked a few hours later when you had decided to take a look at Sihtric's social media. He had millions of followers on every platform he had, and you suddenly felt ridiculous for accepting to go out with him. You weren't looking for a fancy life, you liked the humble and good life which you had created for yourself and you had no interest in changing that or somehow becoming the centre of attention when you were seen with a famous football player by your side.

You sighed and checked yourself out in the mirror a few more times. You were dressed in a figure hugging dress and some comfortable but classy shoes underneath, with a matching purse in hand. You felt silly for being nervous. You didn't care about Sihtric's fame and money, but you lied when you tried to convince yourself that you also didn't care about his looks. Because you did. You were attracted to him and you hated yourself for it, because falling for a footballer when you don't care about the sport is such a cliché. And you hated yourself even more when your doorbell rang and your heart skipped a beat before you jumped up, because you knew it was Sihtric.

Your breath hitched in your throat when you opened the door. Sihtric was dressed in black jeans with matching Oxford shoes and black socks. He wore a tight fitting black long sleeve with a turtleneck, and on top a grey blazer that was tailored to him. The tattoo on the side of his head visible as his hair was tied back into a messy but sexy bun, and around his neck hung a bronze Mjölnir pendant, which matched with the several bronze rings around his tattooed fingers. He looked simply dashing.

And Sihtric was in his turn speechless as well, seeing you all dressed up but not overdoing it. Your natural beauty made his heart skip a few beats while his mismatched eyes darted all over your figure, and he checked out your bare legs a little longer than he should have, already imagining what it would be like to kiss those up while he had you at his mercy.

After you both managed to compose yourself and indulged in some small talk, he walked you to his fancy car; a ridiculously expensive black lamborghini. You were almost terrified to move as you sat in the vehicle, afraid you'd somehow damage the pristine condition of its dark interior. And as if Sihtric didn't quite daze you enough yet, his warm amber-like scent gave you a rush of butterflies and you couldn't stop staring at his hands as he drove the fast car so smoothly and with care, never being reckless or showing off the speed it could get to. 

But despite his calm nature, you felt like you could only breathe again once Sihtric opened the car door for you and helped you out, his warm hand holding yours as he closed the door behind you and walked you to the restaurant he had picked. The place was fancy and expensive, but luckily not over the top or making you feel underdressed, and when you sat down at the table and Sihtric finally found the courage to compliment your outfit, your nerves slowly began to disappear.

That night you learned that Sihtric was kind and funny, and he was not quite as dumb as you thought he was. He was actually very smart, his problem was just that he was impulsive on the football field which often made headlines and portrayed him as a good player but also as a hotheaded player, which was the ultimate combination to be a fan favourite. But you were glad to see nothing of that hotheadedness during your pleasant dinner, as he was nothing but sweet and gentle. 

You also felt Sihtric was flirting with you every now and then, for there was a mischievous spark in his piercing eyes when he gazed at you with his half smile as you spoke. You were enamoured by him, and you had no idea he was just as smitten with you. But then he had no idea about your interest in him either, as you both downplayed your emotions throughout the evening. And when Sihtric brought you home afterwards, he walked you to your door and departed with a firm hug and another apology for earlier that day. And you hated how you found yourself in bed later that night, scrolling through his tag on instagram to look at photos and videos of him until you dozed off.

The following weeks after your sudden dinner date were surprisingly normal. Sihtric trained daily while you did your own job, and you smiled every time you arrived at his place and found he had written you an appreciative note for you before leaving the house. You rarely saw each other, which wasn't uncommon but you now thought was unfortunate because you wouldn't mind seeing him some more. And because you barely saw him, your next conversation with him a few weeks later came as a total surprise when you helped him pack his bags one evening, a few days before he was to travel to Germany for the World Cup. Sihtric looked stressed, and you asked him if he was okay, to which he nodded and then out of nowhere blurted out the question if you wanted to accompany him to Berlin.

'What?' you asked for a fifth time.

'There won't be much work to do here as I won't be home for weeks,' Sihtric shrugged while he leaned back against his ensuite bathroom door, completely dressed this time after a shower, 'and I also thought it's a way for me to thank you for taking care of my house and also for taking care of me in a way, I suppose.'

'Taking care of your place is my job, Sihtric,' you chuckled, still not sure of how to respond to his invitation.

'I know,' he shrugged, 'but still, you know? I'd like it if you would accompany me, but it's okay if you don't want to.'

'I'm just not sure of what I'm supposed to do there, I'm really not into football, I hate it,' you confessed, revealing your zero interest in his line of work.

'Oh,' Sihtric said with a grimace, slightly offended, 'I… I didn't know that.'

'No offence to you,' you blushed, feeling stupid for being so blunt.

'It's okay,' he smiled and brushed his hand through his loose hair while he looked at you, 'but, yeah, if you'd join me you would be able to see all the games, if you'd want to, and also do some sightseeing in the city.'

'Alone?'

'Well, I have some days off too.'

'But not many.'

Sihtric had no response to that as he knew you were right. You had already figured out how busy his regular training schedule was, and you couldn't even imagine his schedule during the World Cup. You noticed Sihtric's hopeful look after inviting you slowly began to turn into a saddened one, and it broke your heart. You had no idea that he invited you because he just couldn't stop thinking about you after that dinner, but also because he had felt at ease with you that evening, and that was a feeling he hadn't felt in forever. 

His team mates would all bring their partner on this trip, if they had one, and Sihtric knew how lonely it could be at night and during his days off, as his friends all went to spend time with their loved ones while he had no one to keep his mind from spiralling. He knew that the quiet evenings after a match always became deafening to him, as he'd keep replaying every mistake he made in his head. It made him a wreck, and he thought that maybe you would be able to keep him from feeling low.

'I mean… I'm not saying no,' you said as you looked at him, 'but I also don't want to be stuck in a boring hotel room on my own all the time.'

'But I'll be with you every night and every morning,' Sihtric said, and then made a disapproving face at his own words, 'that sounded weird. But you know what I mean, right?'

'I do,' you sighed softly, 'I think I'm just afraid I'll feel out of place. I'm just your maid and not even into football.'

'I know. But just think about it,' Sihtric said with a sweet smile, trying to keep his hope alive.

You smiled and rolled your eyes, because he clearly knew the effect his smile had on anyone, and he then winked before taking off his shirt as he planned on going to bed. And you couldn't help but take another look at his perfectly polished torso again before you left his room and went home.

You pondered about his offer and, after your friends had encouraged you to take this chance and see something of the world too, you decided to accept the once in a lifetime opportunity. Sihtric was ecstatic but played it cool on the outside, and he immediately made all the arrangements for you to be his companion during the most important trip of his life. You packed your bags with disbelief one day before the trip, and it only hit you once you sat in the plane with Sihtric's team and their partners that you realised what life you had just stepped into.

You felt out of place, as expected, as you weren't dating Sihtric or even really considered yourself friends with him, he was your boss in a way and you knew that everyone present knew that too. It made you a little embarrassed, but regardless of everyone being aware of who you were, you felt moved by how welcoming his friends were and no one ever asked any questions about your relationship with Sihtric. He had invited you because he wanted to have you around, and that was the only thing that mattered. You grew fond of Osferth, the goalkeeper, who was surprisingly still single and rather shy, and you also got along with Finan and Uhtred, who were both centre-midfield players, and their wives were a joy to chat to during the flight from London to Berlin. Sihtric's teammates and friends gave you some more insight about him, from stories that praised him to his most embarrassing moments, and you loved to hear every word while Sihtric occasionally glanced at you with a light blush on his cheeks as he had to endure the stories about his life.

You always smiled at him in return, and you thought about how good he looked again as he sat across from you in the private plane, dressed in black sweatpants with England's national team logo on it, combined with a matching hoodie. His hair was tied back again, but you knew his locks would be braided before his first match only a few days later. 

Once you landed in Berlin you automatically stayed close by Sihtric's side, as you were overwhelmed with all the new impressions of being in a different country you had never been to before, and by the fancy lifestyle that came with travelling with a team. It seemed that Sihtric sensed your anxiety at the airport and he instinctively took your hand, reassuring you that he wasn't just going to wander off and leave you on your own. 

You were brought to the hotel and you couldn't believe your eyes when you arrived at the place, it was so fancy and so expensive, everything felt surreal and you had to remind yourself to enjoy it. The hotel room you were staying at with Sihtric was huge and incredibly tidy. There was a huge bed in front of the enormous window, which overlooked the entire capital city, and in the middle of the suite was a jacuzzi. There was also a huge tv, a fancy sofa, a dining area and a luxurious bathroom. The place was unlike anything you had ever seen before, and you were simply speechless.

You took it easy during the first day while Sihtric had some interviews scheduled, and you'd meet up later to have dinner and spend the rest of the evening together, as he had promised. Sihtric was sweet to check in with you whenever he had a moment, texting you if you needed anything and if you were okay. The entire day was quite overwhelming and you decided to go to bed rather early after dinner, and Sihtric said he would join you as he had another busy day tomorrow. And it was then that he realised there was only one bed. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries, so he insisted on sleeping on the sofa while you took the huge bed, which you did without arguing, even though you had no problem with sharing a bed if he had asked.

The following days were more or less the same. Sihtric was busy during the day so you just relaxed in the hotel while he often checked up on you, and in the evening you dined together and talked about your day. Sihtric really did his best to make your stay comfortable, and he truly spoiled you whenever he could by bringing you delicious local snacks and little presents such as flowers and an occasional small stuffed animal. You weren't sure what you were to him, but you couldn't deny that you loved how important and cared for Sihtric made you feel, despite being one of the busiest men on the planet right now. And you never got the feeling that you had to give him anything in return, as there was still a comfortable distance between you two that Sihtric also allowed to be there, by continuing to sleep on the couch and not making any advances, even if he was longing for you.

But that comfortable distance changed suddenly after you both decided to get into the jacuzzi after dinner one evening. And despite the fact you were both in swimwear, there was a clear shift in energy that night. It was the night before England's first match, and you noticed that Sihtric wasn't as lively as usual and he seemed to be brooding.

'Are you okay?' you asked after a long silence while Sihtric stared out of the window, sitting back in the warm water across from you.

'Hm?' he seemed to snap out of his distant gaze and looked at you, 'yeah, I'm fine,' he said with a forced smile.

'Are you sure?'

You couldn't help but admire his beauty as he looked out the window again. The jacuzzi was lit up with a pleasant purple colour as the water bubbled gently, while the rest of the room was dimly lit, the lights highlighting Sihtric's sharp features and his impressive body. His hair had been braided earlier that day, and it was a look that had taken your breath away instantly. You stared at Sihtric, waiting for another response from him, but it seemed he hadn't heard you.

'Sihtric?' you carefully asked for his attention again, 'are you sure you're okay? You're so… quiet.'

'Just nervous,' he eventually murmured and looked at you, 'I guess I'm just nervous.'

'Well, that's understandable.'

'No,' Sihtric shook his head, 'I'm never nervous before a match. I don't understand it.'

'But it's an important moment in your career,' you reminded him as you mindlessly moved closer, 'I think it would be strange if you weren't nervous.'

'Maybe,' he said, almost sadly, and he looked down into the water, his shoulder faintly touching yours, 'I guess I'm just afraid I'm going to fuck it up.'

'You won't,' you said and took his hand underwater, 'you shouldn't think like that.'

Sihtric hummed softly and shrugged, then sighed and allowed his head to fall back, clearly stressed while his eyes were shut and his neck tattoo completely exposed to you.

'Hey,' you whispered and took his face, 'you'll be great, Sihtric,' you smiled as he looked at you again, 'I know you'll give it your all. Everyone knows you will give it your all. Don't doubt yourself. You were selected for a reason.'

'I guess,' he mumbled and lightly trailed his fingers over your arms.

And then without thinking you wrapped your arms around him and he immediately did the same, locking into a sudden and tight embrace while being completely silent, the only sound heard being the comforting buzzing of the jacuzzi. You held each other for minutes, your face buried in his neck while he rested his chin upon your shoulder.

'Thank you,' he whispered after a while as he still held you.

'For what?' you chuckled and pulled away to look at him.

'Consoling me,' Sihtric smiled faintly and looked away again, 'I never had anyone around who did that before other important matches.'

'Well,' you smiled and took his face again, 'I'm here now.'

Sihtric chuckled and couldn't help but gaze at you, now that you were so close to him in such an intimate setting, and he then suddenly leaned in to kiss your lips. You froze for a moment before he broke the kiss abruptly, and you stared at each other with big eyes while both being breathless.

You then pulled him closer and kissed him in return, to which he wrapped his strong arms around you again and kissed you back eagerly. Gently at first, but the kiss deepened quickly and before you knew it you straddled his lap while his tongue was in your mouth and his hands grabbed you wherever he could. You moaned against his lips while his ragged breaths filled your lungs, and he hooked his arms under your knees to pick you up effortlessly and carry you out of the warm water, towards the sofa.

'No,' you giggled as Sihtric sat down with you in his lap, both soaking the entire sofa with your wet clothing, 'we'll ruin the sofa like this.'

'I don't care,' Sihtric hummed and kissed you again, 'I'll pay for it,' he murmured and then softly bit your lower lip before kissing you deeply again, his hands in your hair while you felt his arousal press up against your clothed folds.

He grabbed your hips, guiding you to grind down on him while you made out passionately, and it didn't take long before you both became a desperately moaning mess for each other, wanting more.

'No,' Sihtric suddenly breathed against your lips before he kissed you again and again, 'no, no,' he murmured, which confused you.

'What?' you pulled away, thinking you were doing something he did not want, but Sihtric was quick to pull your lips back onto his again.

'I can't be doing this,' he whispered out of breath in between kisses, 'I can't,' he moaned heavily when he pushed you to grind down on him once again, torturing himself as he wanted you so desperately but couldn't allow himself to have you just yet. 'I can't have sex before a game day,' he sighed and dropped his head, leaning his forehead onto your shoulder, 'I'm sorry.'

'Oh,' you gasped softly, 'I… it's okay. I didn't know that, I'm sorry too.'

'Don't be,' Sihtric whispered, 'it's my fault. I shouldn't have allowed myself to kiss you like that.'

He shook his head, saddened, and you moved to sit next to him. You both stared out of the massive window, overlooking Berlin at night time while you tried to get a grip on yourself again. A few minutes later you excused yourself to the bathroom, getting out of your swimwear and slipping into some comfy sleeping clothes before you snuck into the large bed. Sihtric changed his clothes not much later and you enjoyed the sight of him walking out of the bathroom in just his tight fitting boxers, the thin fabric hugging his perfectly shaped booty of which you couldn't keep your eyes off, and they only got pulled away from his backside when you realised he was putting towels on the sofa so he could sleep on it.

'What are you doing?' you asked as you sat up in bed.

'I have to go to sleep,' Sihtric chuckled a little confused, 'it'll be a long day tomorrow-'

'I know,' you interrupted, 'that's why I don't want you to sleep on the sofa. Take the bed,' you said as you attempted to move out, 'I'll take the-'

'No,' Sihtric said sternly, 'I won't let you sleep on the sofa.'

'And I won't let you sleep on the sofa either,' you said with your hands on your hips, showing him you were serious too, 'you need a good rest before tomorrow. I insist you are taking the bed.'

'And I insist you are not taking the sofa.'

'I don't mind sharing the bed, Sihtric,' you rolled your eyes, 'I never had a problem with that, you just went for the sofa so I figured it was a gentleman's gesture. But if you wanted to sleep in the bed too, I wouldn't have refused. We're both adults,' you scoffed and got back under the sheets again, 'so get that nice ass of yours in bed.'

'Nice ass?' Sihtric mumbled as he grabbed his pillows and joined you in bed, 'you think I have a nice ass?' he asked after a while as you laid in the dark.

'Sihtric,' you sighed, 'the entire world thinks you have a nice ass.'

Sihtric laughed softly at that and moved to lay on his side, facing you as the moon faintly illuminated your face, and he gently cupped your cheek in the darkened room.

'I'm sorry that I kissed you,' he whispered, 'I should've known better, but I couldn't help myself. I just can't be intimate before a match, even if I wanted to. I'm sorry I didn't tell you.'

'It's okay. I feel bad too… I guess it was just a mistake.'

'No,' Sihtric said softly, 'it was not a mistake. The timing is just not right, but it was no mistake on my end.'

'Oh,' you breathed as you mindlessly moved your hand up the side of his body and to his neck.

'Maybe,' Sihtric began, 'we could, you know… just kiss a little?'

'Just a little,' you chuckled shyly.

'Only a little,' he whispered, and you heard the smile in his soft voice before he planted his lips onto yours again. 

You kissed with a little more self control this time, until you felt his hand move down to your thigh, and he suddenly trailed his fingers across your panties, to which you broke the kiss.

'What are you doing?'

'You… you don't want me to?' he whispered.

'No, I mean, I do, but… I don't understand,' you said with a soft chuckle.

'Just because I can't have pleasure doesn't mean I can't give you any.'

You smiled and kissed him again, you weren't saying no to that and you allowed his hand to explore your skin further and let him pull down your underwear. You felt his warm fingertips slide teasingly over your wet folds, and you gasped mid-kiss when he slid two digits inside you with ease. He kissed you again, loving the way you moaned against his lips while he pleased you with his hands and felt your walls clench around his fingers.

'Making such pretty sounds for me,' he hummed softly, 'but I'm sure you can sound even prettier for me,' he whispered and pulled away from you, only to disappear under the warm sheets.

You felt his hands grab your ankles, and then your legs were suddenly resting upon his back while you felt his mouth leaving wet kisses on your thighs before you felt his hot breath against your sweet spot. You gasped loudly when he gently kissed your pussy, before he delved his tongue between your folds while he held your hips tightly, and you accidentally scratched up his back and neck in pleasure as you couldn't grab onto his hair, because you could not ruin the footballer's braids the night before an important match.

The next morning you woke up with Sihtric's arms around you, moments before his alarm blared as it was time for him to wake up. It was way too early for you to get up yet, so you turned around in bed a few more times while Sihtric was going for his morning jog. You met him a few hours later for breakfast and he told you what his day would look like. He also invited you to watch the game in the stadium, but you still didn't feel quite comfortable enough to go there, so you declined and said you'd watch it in your room, which he completely understood. You were both a little unsure where you and him stood now after last night's adventure, and neither of you dared to kiss each other again, so you just gave him a few encouraging words instead and a firm hug before he left.

You hated how nervous you were for him. And you hated football, so how could you possibly care about it now? But you cared about Sihtric though, and you wanted him to win. So with a nauseating feeling you paced around the room until the match started early in the evening. You bit your nails off while watching, and you actually stopped breathing for a second when there was a close up of Sihtric on your tv screen where you noticed a red mark in his neck; a scratch which you had left on him the night before as he had gone down on you until you had moaned his name over and over again.

You blushed at the memory and couldn't help but smile every time you saw Sihtric on screen, looking so good with his braided hair and that black and white football kit on. You cheered embarrassingly loudly when Sihtric scored the first goal of the evening, just before the second half, and you held your breath when he was suddenly down on the field after he had taken a tumble. A player from the opposite team had deliberately pushed him over while trying to take the ball, and you watched the guy receive a yellow card for his vile actions. You felt relieved when Sihtric got up again and was able to continue the game, but it was nerve wracking regardless. Sihtric eventually received a yellow card himself after he tackled someone, and if looks could kill, Sihtric would've killed that referee right on the spot. Sihtric made many more attempts to score another goal in the second half, but the opposing team was too strong to let the ball pass, yet too weak to make a goal of their own. And so the game concluded with England's first win, and you jumped up on the sofa as you cheered.

You didn't understand why you were so happy about that damn game, but when Sihtric returned to the hotel room a few hours later he was more than thrilled to have you run up to him and jump into his arms.

'Congratulations,' you smiled down at him as he held you, leaning your forehead against his, 'I told you you'd do great.'

'Thank you,' he smiled shyly while looking up at you, desperately wanting to kiss you but not being entirely sure if he should or could, so instead he just walked you over to the sofa and sat you down.

Sihtric had already showered and changed into his comfortable sweatpants and hoodie before leaving the stadium, and despite the fact he looked tired from the match, he still looked as handsome as ever and you couldn't keep your eyes off him. Luckily for you, he couldn't tear his own eyes away from you either while you discussed the game until the early hours. Again you shared the bed with him, quietly laying next to each other with the lights still on until you both couldn't contain your desire for each other anymore, and your lips crashed together into a passionate kiss, just like the night before. But this time Sihtric had no reason to hold back, no matter how tired he was, and he kissed you deeply. You felt his hands all over your body as he undressed you before he moved up from the bed and took your hands, pulling you up towards him as he stood next to the bed. He took off his sweater and took your hands again, sliding them up his perfect body so you felt every single muscle underneath your palms, almost making you forget how to breathe.

You then curled your fingers around the elastic band of his sweatpants and you slid them down, revealing his trapped arousal as it was desperate to be freed from his tight boxers, but first you cupped his big and hard cock, teasing him while you pulled him in by his necklace to kiss his lips. Sihtric took your face, his hands trembling from all of the adrenaline in his body after winning the game and having been desperate to fuck you stupid for days already. He groaned while you taunted him with your hands, and he pushed you down on the bed before taking off his underwear and sneaking under the covers with you. You made out again, and it was as desperate as it was passionate, and you dishevelled his braids with your fingers while you got lost in each other's touch before you finally experienced the bliss of feeling him deep inside you.

You made love for hours, Sihtric desperately fighting his urge to make you both finish quickly, as he wanted to savour the feeling of being inside you and being intimate with someone who genuinely cared about him. And when you both finally came, just when dawn arrived, you fell asleep in each other's arms and slept almost through the entire day.

You woke up late in the afternoon and ordered some room service, not wanting to spend your day being around other people, just each other. You made out whenever you could in your hotel room; while taking a shower together, while watching some tv and even while trying to get dressed once the sun had set so you could explore Berlin at night together, as Sihtric had another day off tomorrow. 

You explored the darkened streets hand in hand, stopping every few steps to kiss each other's lips or nuzzle each other's noses, like a teenage couple disgustingly in love, which made your sightseeing trip last ridiculously long. You kissed underneath the Brandenburger Tor and at the East Side Gallery, as well as in front of the Berlin cathedral and at the museum island, where you even snapped a few cute selfies together for private use only.

'I think I'm falling for you,' you smiled against his lips, while being surrounded by the impressive museum buildings at night.

'I already fell for you,' Sihtric smiled and kissed you softly, 'and I've been down here for a while already, waiting for you. And I'll catch you, don't worry,' he whispered, his lips brushing faintly against yours.

His words reassured you, no matter how crazy this entire trip had been so far. And once back in the hotel again, long after midnight, you once again had passionate sex for a good hour, and you fell asleep all cuddled up.

The next day it seemed that life started to go back to normal again, whatever normal was at that point. Sihtric had training to attend to and a bunch of press to do with his team, while you allowed yourself to be lazy in the jacuzzi until it was time to grab dinner with the handsome footballer in the evening. Everything seemed perfect, and Sihtric gradually became affectionate in public with you, which you enjoyed more than you thought. But his mood changed again upon entering the hotel room after dinner, as he had another match again tomorrow.

Sihtric seemed to shut down again while you laid in bed, and you took him in your arms without saying a single word because you already knew he felt stressed, as all eyes would be on him again tomorrow. It was only when you saw the tears in his eyes that you became worried, but Sihtric said he was fine and that those tears weren't tears of sadness. He reassured you he was okay, and he kissed you lovingly before saying good night and switching off the lights.

Sihtric held you tightly in the dark as he wanted to tell you how he felt, but he couldn't find the right words. All he knew was that he felt complete, for once in his life, because he was now experiencing something he never had before yet always longed for; someone waiting for him to celebrate a win with, someone to console him after a loss, and someone to encourage him when he felt uncertain about himself. He finally had someone to come back to and feel safe and loved with after the whirlwind of a match day, someone who made him forget about his worries and allowed him to relax again. But most importantly, he finally had someone who made him happy, and it was overwhelming to him.

The second match was just as stressful as the first one had been for you, but you watched it regardless in your hotel room and were screaming your lungs out when England won the game again. The following weeks continued to go as the previous one. You and Sihtric grew closer together while keeping your relationship private as much as possible, and you encouraged him before every match day. England continued to be undefeated and eventually found their place at the World Cup final. Sihtric was more stressed than ever but having you by his side soothed him, and he kept saying you were his lucky charm.

You decided to watch the final match in the stadium, with the other wives and girlfriends, and Sihtric was over the moon when he walked out on the field and saw you there, wearing one of his own football shirts with his name and number on it. He blew you a kiss before the game started, and you almost scared yourself with how passionate you had gotten about the sport. You loved the feeling you got when Sihtric scored a goal, causing the entire crowd of England supporters to go mental. Your seat vibrated each time the crowd celebrated, as thousands of fans jumped up and down while cheering on the man you had fallen in love with, and you also became more vocal during the match too, shouting and cheering along with everyone else. And when the whistle sounded after ninety minutes, signalling that the match was over and England had won with an amazing 4 - 0, you screamed just as loud as every other England supporter in the stadium while you watched Sihtric run around the field with his hands up, celebrating their victory with his team and their coach.

Uhtred and Finan were fast to depart their team and ran to the side of the field where you were at, as their partners were seated next to you, and the girls jumped down to celebrate with their man while a low fence separated them. You smiled as you watched them and then you suddenly saw Sihtric run over to your side too. His eyes were locked with yours while he closed in on the fence, and he gestured you to come down too, which you did. You shyly approached him, but he made you forget about everyone around you when he pulled you in his arms, as far as the fence would allow it, and then placed his hand on the back of your neck to pull you in for a steamy kiss. You were too shocked to pull away, but at this point you could also care less about who saw it, because you were in love with him and you didn't want to hide it anymore. And clearly, neither did Sihtric.

You left the stadium before the team did, and Sihtric rushed back to the hotel as fast as he could, after having showered and changed outfits at the stadium and giving some interviews. Sihtric jogged up to the elevator and impatiently pressed for the doors to close and take him up to the right floor. His shoulders collided with the elevator doors as they opened and he made haste to get out, and he chuckled to himself while he grabbed the key out of his pocket, wasting no time to enter the room he knew you were in. And he was pleasantly surprised to find you waiting for him, sitting on the bed while wearing nothing but his football shirt. He gave you a sly smile and kicked the door shut behind him, then stalked over to you while taking off his shirt and pulling out his hair tie, letting his long, wavy and damp hair fall down before he climbed in bed and pinned you down.

'Congratulations,' you whispered as you looked up at him, your hands trailing over his chest, 'I'm proud of you, baby.'

'I couldn't have done it without you, darling,' Sihtric whispered and smiled.

And he then kissed you with that same passion as he had done every other night, and he fucked you three more times before you had to take the flight back home to London the next day. He took you everywhere he could; on the sofa, on the bed, on the table, in the jacuzzi, on the floor and even on the balcony.

And on your plane trip back home, you sat cuddled up against him instead of across from him, as you had done the first day of your trip, and you couldn't imagine being without him anymore.

'Are you my girl now?' Sihtric asked, shortly before the plane landed.

'Do you want me to be?' you asked with a cheeky smile.

'Hm,' he hummed, 'no… I want you to be my wife, actually.'

'Okay,' you chuckled, 'but I'm also still your maid, right?'

'No, darling,' Sihtric smiled and took your face, 'if you're mine, I promise that you'll never have to work another day in your life again. I got you,' he whispered and kissed your lips, 'just like you had my back these past weeks.'

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[abysmalbeverage]

One other question: what ACT does Siffrin become "self aware". Or is he aware near the start after the wish?

(Actually, I made it so that he's aware once the [PLAYER] restarts the game!)

(They have their happy ending, everything is great, and then poof! Back at the start, having to play all the acts and say the same lines over and and over, only this time with a new..companion? Helper? Time-traveling kidnapper?)

[ashensgrotto]

Never Had a Friend (like Me) - Part 1

Original art piece by pfbatakopd on twitter (Used only for Header. Do NOT REPOST ORIGINAL ART)

Part 1 (You Are Here) Part 2 Part 3

YandereSoulmate! AU:

Part 1 (Am I Feeling Love?)

Part 2 (Protective)

Part 3A & Part 3B (Poor Unfortunate Souls)

Characters: Azul Ashengrotto X F!Reader

Word Count: 9,105

Synopsis: A chance for redemption comes in the form of a wish…

Author’s Notes: Ok, here we go. I received an anonymous message in my inbox for the next part of the Yandere!Soulmate series and I was actually going to work on it - but with the arrival of GloMas, working on the next part of ‘Raison D’être,’ wanting to finish “Weren’t You Aware, Angelfish?”, AND the holidays, time got away from me and I forgot about Scarabia’s segment for a short while. 

However, because you all seem to enjoy this and want to know if the tako has redeemed himself - I figured I would work to get this part done. Now, warning - Pompefiore’s part is going to take a bit of time to complete because I will have to wiggle my way through my memory bank and replay a few parts of it (which is approx 76 chapters in length for those players who haven’t made it that far into the game yet) since I’m working so deep into Ignihyde’s chapter right now (which is a doozy - I’m still in chapter 67-tower 1, oof help).

This one is also going to be split into three parts - I promise it will not be a long wait for the second & third parts as this is my Christmas gift to all of my readers <3

Thank you all for your continued support!

Warnings are as follows: yandere behaviors, manipulation, imprisonment, & hypnosis

***

I’m in the mood, to help you dude

You ain’t never had a friend like me.

***

It had been weeks since the last overblot incident… and just as long since Azul last saw you.

He sat in his office, looking over paperwork for the last quarter and rubbing his brow with worry.

The profits had started to steadily decrease following his overblot, causing the Monstro Lounge to slowly suffer the loss, like an infection slowly eating away a mer’s life. He had no one really to blame but himself for that… Azul had lost control, let his obsession get out of hand and had hurt the people closest to him.

Jade… Floyd… you.

Azul let out another large sigh and set the report down, taking his glasses off and rubbing his face. He had considered going back to the Coral Sea for holiday, but was unable to due to two reasons; one, the ice floes would’ve made the journey too dangerous to travel alone - especially since Jade and Floyd had already prepared to stay at NRC for the holidays, and two… you were still here.

Not in Octavinelle where Azul had wanted you to be, but in a rundown shack on the school property.

The building had been a dorm, once upon a time, but ghosts had moved in and scared the students to the point that the building was deemed ‘unsafe.’ However, with your charms and personality, the ghosts were easily persuaded and welcomed you in with open arms - though Azul had a sneaky suspicion that both the headwardens of Savanaclaw and Heartslabyul had likely persuaded the otherworldly spirits in exchange for access to both of their dorms. Regardless, with you no longer in Octavinelle and now at the mercy of the headmage’s “generous” nature, Azul could only watch from the shadows as you now tended to the school property in a janitorial role.

Azul leaned back in his chair, his thoughts plagued by you before an obnoxious ringing noise filled the office.

He grumbled, picking the phone up, “Monstor Lounge, this is Azul speaking.”

“Hello baby, how are you?” the familiar voice of his mother on the other end made Azul jump in surprise.

“Mother,” Azul coughed, “Hello - I apologize I hadn’t had a chance to call you. We’ve been busy lately.”

“Oh, I know, sweetheart,” his mother answered, “It’s been busy here too… but everything’s been calming down since the ice floes came - though I was surprised to see your letter that you were considering coming home for the holidays.”

‘Shit…’ Azul had completely forgotten about that - when (Y/N) had lived in the Octavinelle at the beginning of the year, Azul had entertained the idea of potentially inviting her to his home for the holiday, slowly and suringly getting her accustomed to the idea of staying with him - although it would prove to be a difficult task, especially now.

“However, I’m assuming that you changed plans at the last minute,” his mother continued.

“Y-yes, I was indeed planning on coming… however, Jade and Floyd both decided to stay behind so I chose to stay as well,” Azul answered, the lie slipping easily off his silver tongue, “Someone has to keep those two in line, after all.”

His mother snickered, “Don’t be saying that in front of their father though. Sevens knows what the moray will do if you say anything like that.”

Azul nodded, clearing his throat, “Um, well… What's going on with you, then? The restaurant still alright? How’s Finn?”

“Finn’s well - busy as always,” his mother answered, “Business has been getting better - hired several new staff members as well… a few sweet mers around your age, Zully.”

Azul rolled his eyes, “Mother… we’ve had this talk. I’m… not interested.”

“You might not be, but it will happen one day,” his mother’s voice was calm and soothing before she sighed on the end of the phone, “However… I have a sneaky feeling that you’re still upset about what I told you all those years ago.”

Azul bit his lip, answering, “Of course not… Soulmates? That’s ridiculous.”

“Azul…” his mother’s voice turned into a scolding tone, “There are plenty of fish out there - I know you’re still pretty young to be thinking about it, considering a mer’s life is longer than most, but shorter than a fae’s… but I only want you to be happy.”

“I am, mother,” Azul tried to smile, “I’m content where I am - I’ve gotten stronger, my business is growing, and… I’ve learned so much.”

“Perhaps, but allow me to give you a little insight - it’s something I learned long ago,” his mother prompted, “Happiness, though may be defined as ‘the state of joy or contentment,’ is typically filled by three main parts of life; success, dedication, and personal. Dedication and success go hand in hand with each other - if you work hard and are dedicated, you achieve success - even if the tasks prove to be difficult to the point that you might fail over and over again. Personal can mean time for yourself - spending time with your hobbies or doing what you love… spending time with those you care about even.”

Azul listened to his mother’s words, thinking.

“I know that you are successful and you’re dedicated,” his mother continued, “But you won’t achieve happiness if you just focus on those two things - take time for yourself now and again, look for stronger connections within your friendships… and look for someone that will want to support you and you support them.”

“I… I think I understand…” Azul answered, “I’ll… take your words into consideration.”

“I hope so - your grandmother taught me that when I was still a little octo fry many years ago,” his mother answered, a teasing tone caught in her voice.

Azul couldn’t help but smile, “Yes… Nanna always did know what was best.”

“Yes, she did, still does even… Well, I should probably let you go, then - you have a lot of stuff going on there,” his mother let out a sigh, “Just remember… I love you, baby. Merry Christmas.”

“I love you too… momma. Merry Christmas and I’ll see you at the end of the year.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Zully. Stay safe.”

Azul smiled and hung the phone up, sitting back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling. 

“Finding that so-called ‘other half’ is like - well - like the story of the mermaid princess and her longing to be with a human. It’s a rare occurrence that only happens once in a millennium if not longer. Anyone can be happy with or without their soulmate, Azul. There’s no reason you should go to such lengths to be with someone who may not even exist…”

Azul shook his head at the memory of that day years ago - he wanted to forget… but sevens knows he couldn’t forget you.

A sudden loud crash had Azul bolting upright, his features twisting in annoyance. As far as he knew, the only ones in the lounge were Jade and Floyd… which could only mean one thing. 

Trouble.

“Those two morons…” Azul gritted his teeth, standing from his chair, “If I catch the lounge in a disarray again…”

He grabbed his jacket, tossing it over his shoulders, before placing his hat upon his head, the magestone pen morphing into the headwarden’s silver octopus topped cane. He hurried from his office and headed into the lounge.

Entering the lounge, Azul’s eyes widened at the sight.

The lounge was damaged - several tables and chairs were overturned, marred by huge cracks and scratches while lamps lay in pieces on the floor, the glass orbs scattered into a thousand fragments on the carpeted flooring and the magestones cracked and shattered as well. Azul’s eyes narrowed on Jade and Floyd’s figures, but realized they weren’t alone after all. Several students from the Scarabia dorm were there as well, their wands out and at the ready - pointing them at Jade and Floyd, who seemed to be guarding something on the floor.

Azul’s eyes widened in surprise at seeing Kalim’s magic carpet as well as Grim hiding behind the remaining two members of Octavinelle - and they weren’t alone.

You were there as well, cowering behind Jade and Floyd’s intimidating heights as the Scarabia students glared daggers at you.

“There’s no escape for you now, thieves!” 

“Surrender quietly!”

“Mrow?!” Grim held his paws up, “You chased us all the way here?! You guys are seriously stubborn, you know that?”

Azul remained quiet for a moment, his eyes shifting to look you over - noticing how you had one arm close to your body. Were you hurt?

Azul’s eyes narrowed as he approached, his shoes echoing in the lounge as his stern voice addressed the situation, “What is all the commotion at this late hour?”

The students turned to look at Azul, one of them speaking quietly, “Y-you’re… Azul Ashengrotto, the housewarden of Octavinelle!”

“Would you care to explain what is going on?” Azul asked calmly, moving to stand in front of you with Jade and Floyd behind him.

“It’s none of Octavinelle’s business,” another student tsked, “Just hand over the two of them quietly.”

Azul crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head as he eyed you and Grim out of the corner of his eye, “Now that I’m looking closer at it - it appears to be (Y/N) and Grim sprawled out on our floor, quivering and covered in dust. Heh - I almost thought they were a pair of dust cloths.”

“Azul, please,” Azul met your gaze, “save us with your spirit of benevolence.”

“Hmm…” Azul turned back to the group of Scarabia before him.

“If you refuse to hand them over, you’ll be blamed for their wrongdoings as well,” the student warned.

“Hey - are ya yankin’ my tail here?!” Floyd’s eyes widened dangerously, his teeth peering out from behind his lips, “Who do ya think yer talkin’ to?!”

“No fighting of any kind is permitted in the Monstro Lounge,” Azul kept his arms crossed over his chest, his focus reshifting to address the situation at hand, “This is a place for gentlemen.”

“What was that? Are you interfering?” one of the students asked, “Fine, we’ll just do this the hard way.”

“Hmph, I think it’s time we asked these ill-mannered patrons to leave,” Azul growled, clicking his tongue in annoyance, “Jade. Floyd. Show them the door.”

The eel twins grinned as they moved quickly, going after the Scarabia students like the set of predators that they were. Azul was quick to move and cover (Y/N), his overcoat covering your form to protect you from the fighting, “Don’t look, my dear, I do not wish for you to see such behavior.”

“Azul - I’ve seen worse,” your voice rattled him to the core as he huffed.

“I... don’t need the reminder.”

It didn’t take long for the Scarabia students to fall back, Jade and Floyd repocketing their pens.

“Go on an’ scatter, ya bunch of minnows!” Floyd laughed eagerly.

“We’ll be eagerly awaiting your next visit to our lounge,” Jade smiled.

As the last of the students disappeared, Grim jumped for joy, “Mya-haha! We did it! You see that?! That’s what you get, you bunch of jerks!”

“We, Grim? I think you mean they - Floyd and Jade - did it,” you ask before shaking your head and turning toward the trio, “Thank you, all three of you - I don’t want to think what they would’ve done if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“Thanks are unneeded, my dear,” Azul answered, standing and offering his hand, “However, I’m afraid we’ll have to bill you for repair fees for the tables and chairs - not to mention the lamps and assorted dishwear that was damaged in that fight. Not to mention our own labor rates, since we were dragged into this affair.”

“WHAT?! You’re charging us for that?!” Grim asked, throwing his paws up in the air.

“Surely it’s a small price to pay for us rescuing the both of you from the inky depths of peril? After all, (Y/N) did ask for my spirit of benevolence.”

“Azul, please,” you asked quietly, “There’s a reason that the Scarabia students were after us.”

“I’m assuming it has something to do with Kalim’s magic carpet.”

“... Not really,” you answer, “We were being held hostage.”

Azul frowned, not liking the word one bit, “Explain, (Y/N).”

***

Azul muddled over what you had just told him, Grim piping up every so often to include details about the Scarabia situation to add more information as the cunning octopus thought deeply. As Azul thought, his eyes kept shifting to you, his thoughts going deeper into self-loathing; if you had remained in Octavinelle, none of this would have happened - you would’ve been safe, not having to walk to an oasis down and back again every morning before even eating, or sleeping in a closet under lock and key, or even doing battles with other students of magic when you couldn’t even cast a spell yourself.

His poor little angelfish…

Azul’s eyes widened, an idea appearing in his mind… a chance of a lifetime had just been given to him and he would be damned to let it go to waste.

A knowning smile spread across his features, “...It sounds like we should go to their aid.”

“Myra?! Did you hit your head or something when I wasn’t looking?!” Grim asked.

“Of course not!” Azul feigned harm, lifting his gloved hand to his chest, “I’ll have you know, my dear Grimmy, that the last incident forced me to reflect on my greed. I came out a changed man!”

“Oh, really?” You asked, folding your arms across your chest, “Care to explain?”

“I decided to contribute to the school as a whole, in honor of the Sea Witch’s spirit of benevolence,” Azul explained, his features turning coy, “It’s common knowledge that the housewardens are typically the ones their students go to in times of need or struggle - even the vice wardens are responsible for that as well. However, the power has to be shared equally between both the house and vice wardens - and Scarabia’s all over the place. It’s faced with a crisis now and my own classmate is in need of help - I can hardly ignore them in their time of need.”

You watched Jade and Floyd give each other knowing smiles before the twins looked at Azul, Jade asking, “What is the plan?”

“Here’s my idea,” Azul proposed, “The five of us head to Scarabia tomorrow - we’ll go under the guise that we are returning Kalim’s carpet as well as offering assistance with the dorm’s studies, this will ensure our stay especially since Octavinelle did overwhelmingly well on their finals before break…”

“No thanks to your study guides,” Grim huffed.

“Grim,” You warned.

Azul coughed and continued, “Once we’ve secured our spot within Scarabia, we’ll be able to do a bit of sneaking around to figure out what’s really going on.”

“And I’m assuming you have an idea on how to do so?” Jade asked.

“Let’s get to that point before we make any rash decisions,” Azul answered.

“I think that is a wonderful idea,” you agreed.

“(Y/N)?! Are you crazy?!” Grim asked, “We can’t go back there!”

“Grim, we really have no other options,” you turned to the feline demon, “We’ve tried contacting the Headmage, the other students can’t get into the school because the dark mirror is closed off, we have no way of contacting Riddle or Leona either… Azul’s plan is the best we have right now. Personally, I’d rather not go back, but with the way things are looking for Kalim…”

“You’re afraid there’s going to be another overblot, aren’t you, pearl?” Jade asked.

Azul blinked, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. Yes, Kalim’s behavior was erratic, but it couldn’t be enough for the headwarden to go into an overblot… would it?

“I’m afraid so,” you admit, looking over at Azul, “I noticed that… when things got a little out of control, someone overblotted. I can’t bare to see another student go through that, much less a housewarden again. I’d like to try and prevent it from happening again, if possible.”

Azul nodded, “No worries, angelfish - I’ll make sure mine was the last one you saw.”

You give the housewarden a small smile of relief - thankful that he seemed to understand.

Azul remembered during his blot how the memories of his childhood came forward; the root cause of his pain and suffering that eventually became his thirst for power that festered and grew until it snapped - and you had seen it all. Whatever this strange magical gift was and how you received it, Azul was certain that it was your own form of unique magic - one that was so powerful that it may even make Malleus Draconia afraid if he knew about it; the power to look into one’s past and see everything that shaped them into who they eventually became was strong powerful magic indeed - but, of course, Azul didn’t want anyone else to know about it, considering he was victim number three to the overblot crisis that appeared to be happening this year.

Azul reaches out, offering his hand to you, “(Y/N), as headwarden of Octavinelle - allow myself and Jade and Floyd to help you and Grim solve the mystery of Kalim’s strange behavior. I’m certain the five of us plus Jamil will be able to ease Kalim’s troubles and bring back the peace Scarabia so desperately needs. Do we have a deal?”

You look at his hand, the memory of the first day you met him and the day you lost your legs both playing in your mind - but what choice did you have? You look at him and take his hand, squeezing it.

“Promise - this will make us even?”

“Indeed. I promise.”