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flemingsfreckles · 5 months ago

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Replacement Part 5

Read the previous chapters HERE!

Warnings: None, maybe language?

WC: 3.0k

A/N: this is another chapter to move the plot, but we’re sort of over the Enemies/competitive aspect of the relationship at least for now. However I’m not going to promise that it’s going to be all fluffy and nice from here on out.

It felt silly, all of it did. Being so annoyed with Jessie’s move, to ignoring her for days, hating her existence. All for her to be way too nice to you, to offer her advice, to get thrown out of a game trying to defend you, it was all silly when you thought about it now.

And yet here you were, at a coffee shop early on Tuesday morning ordering two coffees instead of one. One latte, your own, and then a cold brew for Jessie. You weren’t sure it was her go to order but you had seen her carry in a cold brew often enough you felt it would be close enough. And here you were searching your car for a permanent marker that you knew you had, to write a quick thank you on the side of the cup.

You hadn’t really gotten the chance to thank Jessie for standing up for you at the game. You were caught up getting treated, she had to finish her post game recovery, before you knew it she had headed home and you didn’t see her until practice. It was reassuring to know she had your back, she wasn’t a threat, she was your teammate. You wanted to tell her that. You wanted to thank her.

Finding the marker, you quickly scribbled the words ‘thank you’ onto the cup and hopped out of the car, coffees in hand, backpack slung over your shoulder and headed into the building. You had to be here early for the doctor to check on your face. Dropping off your back you place Jessie’s coffee onto the shelf in her cubby and head to the training room. Before you walk away you grab a piece of paper from your bag, an old note page from a meeting.

‘Can we talk sometime, just us?’ You scribble on the paper before putting your name on the note and sticking it under Jessie’s coffee.

Your appointment with the doctor is quick, just checking for infection, making sure you’re healing well.

When you come back out most of the team is here, Jessie has coffee in hand, the note is resting in her lap. You make your way over, sitting down at your own cubby. Jessie lifts her cup in your direction and nods, giving you a quick thanks. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Nothing, sitting at home, why?”

“If you want to talk? I’m free tonight you can come over, we can do dinner.”

Something about being invited to her place puts a small bundle of nerves into your stomach, you wanted to talk, you owed her that, but that didn’t make it any less nerve wracking to actually do it.

“Yeah, thanks, let me know what I can bring.”

Jessie shakes her head at you. “Just yourself.”

You ignored Jessie’s request to just bring yourself, you knew better than to show up empty handed, so you brought flowers and a book, a book you overheard her mention wanting to read but saying she couldn’t find it anywhere. You just so happened to own a copy of said book.

You knocked on the door exactly at the time she had said to come over, early was rude, but so was late.

“Hi.” She smiled at you, giving you a quick glance up and down before moving out of the doorway so you could enter.

“Hey.”

“Come on in.” You follow her inside, taking your shoes off at the mat by the door.

You turn and offer up the items you brought her. “These are for you. I know you said don’t bring anything, but I couldn’t show up empty handed, and I already owned this book so it was no bother to bring it.”

“Thanks,” Jessie takes the flowers and looks at the book. “I don't want to take your copy from you.”

“No, I insist it’s the least I could do, I’ve already read it. Just feel free to ignore all the notes I wrote in the margins, there’s quite a few.” The book wasn’t doing anything at your place, collecting dust on a shelf but there was no reason for you to hold onto it.

“I’ll return it as soon as I’m done.” Jessie says with a smile before placing the book on a table and moving to fill a vase with water. You watch her walk away, she’s in a Portland shirt and a pair of black shorts, nothing crazy, but still something about it fit her so well, it was exactly what you’d expect her to wear outside of a kit or training gear.

You look around her place, it’s clean and tidy, just like her locker, but it’s homey. There’s photos on her walls, a bookshelf filled with books and little trinkets that you’re sure have some sentimental value. She’s still got a few boxes stacked neatly in a corner, not that you could judge her, under your bed still sat a few bags that you never unpacked from your move over a year ago.

“Can I get you something to drink? Feel free to make yourself at home, try the couch I just bought. I can’t decide if I like it or not.” She moves toward a cabinet.

“Just water.”

“Ice?”

“Sure.” You sit down on the couch. The couch was cozy in your opinion, a perfect mix of firm and soft.

Jessie makes her way over two glasses in hand, placing yours on a coaster before taking a sip of her own and placing it down. She sits down next to you on the couch.

“So, you wanted to talk?”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure where to even start. I just wanted to thank you, and also apologize, and just talk.” You suddenly lose your train of thought. All the things you had thought through to say to her and you’d forgotten. You had sat down after training, starting to plan out everything you wanted to say to her. But now actually sitting in front of her, your thoughts are gone. “Uh, sorry give me a second, it's just a lot of thoughts.” You pull at the strings on your sweatshirt.

“Take your time, we have all night.” The smile she gives you is so warm, genuine, as if she’d happily sit here all night waiting for you to find the right words to say to her.

You sit there trying to organize your thoughts, trying to figure out what to say first. You decide an apology is what you owe her first.

“I’m sorry. That’s the most important part. I have been a terrible human and teammate to you.” You take a deep breath trying to sort your thoughts even more, so far you’d given her a surface level apology. “It was wrong of me to not even give you a chance. I should’ve waited, gotten to know you, but I didn’t and that was selfish and immature of me, to go and assume you had it out for my spot. I felt threatened by your move, you’re a fantastic player Jessie and I knew you coming here would cut down my playing time, so I felt scared and I took it out on you. I made it about myself when it wasn’t, it’s not about me.”

You pause, stuck in your train of thought again.

“Thank you.” Jessie’s voice is soft, she reaches again for her water.

“Oh I’m not done, I owe you more than just that.” You say with a small laugh. Reaching for your own water, feeling your throat dry.

“Oh, okay. Whenever you’re ready.” She nods at you.

You take in another deep breath. “I’m also sorry it took so long for me to recognize you as my teammate, my ally, not my enemy. I just felt scared, I think, not of you as a person, but for my career. I didn’t have a good rookie season, which has nothing to do with you, but still I was already on edge with feeling like I wasn’t succeeding, then to see the team bring in someone like you, a big name, a more experienced player, I was scared.” You then realize it sounds like you’re making excuses, which wasn’t what you wanted to be doing.

You suddenly feel restless, uncomfortable on the couch, your leg bouncing, hands still fidgeting with your hoodie strings. So you stand up, starting to walk around, feeling it might ease your feelings. “And I’m not trying to justify my behavior, how I acted was still very wrong. I’m just trying to explain so maybe you don’t think I’m a terrible person even though it would be very fair if you did.”

You mainly stare at the floor, watching your own feet step across the room and then turn. Occasionally glancing up to look at Jessie, who’s eyes seem to never leave you, even if you’re not looking back. Her expression was hard to read, she didn’t look upset, or mad, she didn’t look happy either, just neutral expression as she listened to you.

“I also wanted to thank you.” You stop walking in front of Jessie, turning to look at her for this. “For the game, standing up for me, you really didn’t have to do that, especially how terrible I’ve been. If I were you I wouldn’t have done that, but it’s pretty clear we’ve established you’re the more mature one here. Anyway, thank you, and also I’m sorry that you got a red over it. I think that's everything I wanted to say, but I’m sure there's a lot more I owe you apologies for.” You take a deep breath and wipe your hands down the sides of your shorts, feeling them sweating. “I don’t deserve for you to forgive me, I know that, so if you don’t, no harm I understand. But if there’s anything I can do, I owe you a pretty big apology.”

Jessie looks back at you before to the space on the couch next to her. She pats her hand on the cushion. “Come sit, you’re making me sick with the pacing.” You finally see a smile break on her face and a small amount of relief washes over you.

You make your way back to the couch, sitting down next to Jessie who turns her body, crossing her legs to face you. She holds her hands out, palms up to you before giving them a shake. You place your hands into hers, hoping she can’t feel the sweat or the slight shake they have.

She gently squeezes your hands in her own. Before staring into your eyes. “Thank you. Seriously, I know it probably wasn’t easy to get yourself to do this. I appreciate it. You also don’t owe me anything, apology is enough for me. I would like to get to know you though, if that’s something you’d like.”

“Yeah, it is. Obviously Janine is fond of you so you must be pretty cool.”

“Okay, well let’s start with this, what do you like on your pizza? I’ve got the ingredients to make homemade ones.” She points toward her kitchen, standing up.

“Pretty much anything, I’m not picky.” You stand up and follow her.

The two of you make pizza, chatting a small amount about the best pizza you’ve ever had which leads to conversations about the best food you’ve ever had, leading to discussions on travel. The conversation flowed easily, you found yourself taking a moment to reflect how relaxed, peaceful it felt to just talk and be in Jessie’s presence. You were able to talk, hold a conversation, ask her questions without thinking how she took away your playing time, how she had started over you. None of that seemed to matter as the two of you stood in the kitchen laughing, smiling, and chatting together.

“So tell me about yourself, do you have siblings, where’s your family from, what about your parents?” Jessie said as she set down her plate and glass, joining you at her kitchen table.

You knew the question was coming, it always did. Most of the girls knew you were no contact with your parents, they just didn’t know why. “Uh, I was born and pretty much raised in Virginia, stayed there until I moved away for college, I have an older brother but I don’t see him much, and my parents I haven’t spoken to since I was 18.” You feel yourself brace for whatever reaction Jessie was going to have.

“Oh.” Is all that falls from her mouth. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry I wouldn’t have asked.”

“No it’s okay, it was mostly my choice, so don’t feel bad.” You hated having this conversation, everyone was always so empathetic, feeling sorry for you and your parentless young adult life, they didn’t know you were better off without them, you were happier without them.

“I’d ask where you went to school but I think the sweatshirt gives it away.” Jessie quickly changed the subject pointing at the hoodie with the Stanford logo across your chest.

“Yeah, I’d ask where you went to school but I already know.” You say before talking again. “I realize that sounds creepy, it’s just sort of known that you went to UCLA.” Deciding to abandon the subject of school you turn, putting down the piece of pizza in your hand and point over to her collect of cameras neatly placed on a small shelf. “How’d you get into photography?”

The rest of dinner flows easily, just like it had while the two of you made dinner. She tells you about getting into photography, you ask her more questions about her hobbies. She asks about Stanford, your degree, you talk about your hobbies and interests. It’s one of the nicest evenings you’ve had in a while. You find yourself genuinely enjoying the company of the Canadian.

Her smile puts a wave of warmth through your body, the sound of her laugh forces you to hold back your own smile. The way she runs her fingers through her hair to keep it out of her face is mesmerizing. You were hanging off every word she said.

When you both finish eating you help clean up, when you start to do the dishes Jessie waves you off telling you she’ll do them later to which you say you don’t mind and instead of arguing, she moves over to help. She gently places her hand on your lower back to scoot behind you and over to grab a towel. It wasn’t uncommon for her, or any of your teammates to touch you, it happened all the time at practice, just something about it with Jessie, in her apartment felt different. Pushing the feeling of her hand on your lower back from your mind, you wash the dishes while she stands with a towel in hand ready to dry them. For a split second you think about how domestic it is, the two of you washing dishes. The thought only stays for a moment before you force it from your mind.

Once the place is clean, you put away the last of the clean and dry dishes you turn to look at the clock. “I should probably get going. It’s a little late.”

Jessie turns to look at the clock, surprise across her face when she sees it’s nearing 9:30. “Oh my, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to keep you late, I guess time flies in good company.” You’ve noticed all the small compliments she’s given you throughout the night, how kind she’s been to you. Part of you knows it’s just because that’s who Jessie is, she’s nice, she’s kind, she wouldn’t hurt a fly. The other part of you wonders if maybe Sam was right, maybe there’s a crush, maybe that’s why she’s been so nice.

“No worried.” You wave her off. “It’s been nice.” You move toward the front door, sliding your shoes back on. “Thank you for having me, thank you for letting me talk to you.”

“Of course, this was nice.” You watch as Jessie grabs her own pair of shoes.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to walk you home.” She looks at you like you’re stupid.

“No Jessie, you don’t have to do that. Please, I insist, I don’t need the escort home.”

“Fine, and I know I’m not in charge of you, but text me when you get home?” Jessie gives you a squint, probably bracing herself for you to yell at her like you did the last time she asked you to do that.

“Yeah, I will.” You nod at her. “Thanks again, goodnight.”

“Have a goodnight.” She says as you pull the door closed behind you. You head down and out of her building, the street was dark lit up with only a few street lamps between her place and yours.

Your walk is uneventful with the exception of the sinking feeling that was starting to grow in the pit of your stomach. It’s matched with an uneasy feeling, suddenly aware of how nice Jessie made you feel, how your stomach had tingled when she’d say your name. You couldn’t have that. You start to make excuses for every feeling you felt. It wasn’t attraction, it was just nice having a new friend, that’s why you felt like that, no other reasons. When you get home you reach into your pocket and grab your phone. Sliding it open to find Jessie’s name and typing you start typing a message.

You: I made it home, thank you for dinner and hearing me out.

You: Let me know what you think of that book.

You couldn’t believe the girl who’s first texts you ignored, you were now double texting, but it meant nothing, she was your teammate. She was a teammate but a teammate who made your stomach clench when her name popped up on the screen.

Jessie: Thanks for letting me know, thanks for the chat. I’ll let you know once I start reading it!

Jessie: Have a good night, see you tomorrow. :)

#jessie fleming #jflem #jessie fleming x reader #jessie fleming imagine #woso imagine #woso x reader #jessie fleming blurb #canwnt x reader

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blueaetherr · 9 months ago

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welcome to eden

pairing: trent alexander-arnold x fem!reader [she/her]

warnings(s): none

summary: the one where trent recounts his journey to discover eden

author's note: something small to get me back into writing again

now playing: she's mine pt. 1 by j. cole

With the day slowly fading into the night, people retiring inside, both parties equally wanting to rest and repair for the following day—the day had come to an end, simple and peaceful. Quiet too, only minimal and distant noise interrupting the silence of the early night. Despite this, activities both calm and loud continued within one's walls.

As for Trent and Y/N, they had opted for both. Loud activity—that leftover piece of cake on the kitchen counter, the game controller stuck and forgotten in the folds of the couch, the music speaker misplaced in the garden, the UNO cards left on the coffee table. It all remained scattered across their shared home as remnants, now existing as cherished memories to discuss in later years.

Calm activity, they saved for the end of the day. Something as simple and uncomplicated as laying in bed together, feeling the wind touch up against exposed skin, acknowledging one another's presence through straying touches, tangled limbs and soothing breaths. How they finished their day would be how they would, too, start their day in the coming hours.

Adjusting her position Y/N exhaled, saying, "Tell me something I'd like to hear." Her voice came out as a whisper, small and slightly muffled against Trent's chest, like she was shy and scared to speak. But in truth, it was simple; she wanted to hear Trent speak. To hear him lift up his voice and pronounce words the way that he did so perfectly every time, something Y/N felt like she would never get over.

Asking to hear Trent's words and voice wasn't anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it was habitual and familiar to their relationship. In times when they wanted to sleep but couldn't, when they wanted to relax and falter a bit after a taxing day, when they wanted to bring about a sense of calm in a moment of chaos—whether in person or over the phone—Y/N would request Trent's words.

Tell me a story. Tell me about your day today, honey. How did you find the movie? From the hypotheticals to the yes or no wonders of life itself. Anything and everything was on the table and Trent would, of course, always say yes to her requests.

Normally, if Trent was given free rein about what he could discuss with his partner, he would have to think for a moment, always looking to capture the perfect exchange of words. This time, however, he found no need to wander his mind for thoughts. "You weren't the first person I ever fell for."

"Oh wow, wow, wow." In any other situation where Y/N had the energy, she would've reacted more to his opening statement. Perhaps a questioning look or a warning yet joking pinch to the chest. Instead, she remained inert in Trent's arms and expressed in a neutral tone, "I feel so, so loved right now."

"I didn't mean it like that, obviously," Trent laughed a bit, his laughter bouncing off the walls. Even with the neutral tone, he could hear the dramatic undertone behind it. "You gotta hear everything I have to say and then make up your mind about how you feel."

"And how do you think I'll be feeling post-explanation?" A fooling curiosity settled behind her voice. Will it be worth it to listen to your words? After all, she did request something she would like to hear.

Tilting his head to look towards the window, Trent noticed the shining light rising into the night sky. "Over the moon and beyond."

Humming, Y/N nodded against his chest and relaxed further into his embrace. Big expectations to meet. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to hear him out. "Let's hear it."

"Well you already know I've had a few girlfriends before you, and it was with my previous girlfriend where I personally felt like I fell in love for the first time. Everything was good, great if you want to go that far. She was the one partner I was always going to my friends and family to talk about. I loved it because she made it so easy; I was happy and she made me happy, and I thought that was more than enough for me to be content with the relationship."

She shifted away from Trent's chest– the distance quite small though not enough to prevent body contact– so she could face him well. "Sounds like you were in Eden," Y/N shaking her head slightly, feigning disappointment. She couldn't allow Trent to get through his story without bringing some cause for laughter to the conversation.

"Just like me get to it. I promise it gets better," Trent huffed out a small laugh, and Y/N soon followed suit. An instant of delight under the night sky.

Soon laughter fell short into silence and Trent continued, "Anyways, eventually she ended up breaking up with me and I was heartbroken. I was confused and devastated. Everything always felt right to me so I didn't know where it went wrong. I thought she was the one and only, my one and only. I'd fallen, like, pretty hard and I didn't think I would again after that. I found everything in her. She was everything to me. It doesn't get better than that," he exhaled, his eyes drifting randomly around the room, "I mean it shouldn't get better than that."

"But then I met you," Smiling, his gaze returned to his partner, fondness soon collecting in his eyes, "... and I quickly discovered that I was so, so wrong."

"Where she was giving me happiness, you're giving me happiness and more. Where she was giving me joy, you're giving me joy and more. Where she was giving me peace, love, content— you know what? Let me not ramble before I'm just listing everything great about you." Noticing her smile wobble a bit, he took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it. A request to comfort and ease her mind. Against her hand, Trent spoke with a small voice, "I mean you get what I'm sayin' right?"

Tell me more, keep going, let me know your thoughts– among many things she wanted to say. But she found herself in her feelings, far too deep, so much so that she failed to find her voice. So instead she simply nodded through sniffles and a struggling smile, allowing him to continue.

"So sure she was my first real, honest love. I fell for her first and that's fact—that'll never change. But she could never reach your ankles, honey. 'Cause I fell for you and suddenly, I felt it again but with you. Heck, I still feel it with you, over and over, every single day. I remember how it felt when we first met. I felt it yesterday. I felt it when we were washing the dishes together a few hours ago." Humming, he wiped away the stray tear escaping her eyes. "And I hope to feel that way tomorrow and every day after that."

"I am and have everything and some with you. You give me more than I need; you are quite literally abundance."

In truth, Trent didn't always have the words for everything, often spontaneous and unintentional in his speech. Still, his love language always pointed back to words of affirmation. Forever with pleasure, he would continue to offer Y/N his voice and words of her choosing. 'Cause in his eyes, it was easy to speak for someone you felt so passionately about, someone who you could never seem to pull away from even when you should.

Speaking on this aspect of the relationship made Trent reflect a bit, his mind rekindling recent thoughts. It made him lean back and think wow. He once believed that he had found true paradise in someone else. That she was everything ideal and secure, and Trent would never find himself in want of something else.

But then there came Y/N, the genuine living proof of everything ideal and secure and more. In the words of Y/N, Trent found Eden in her. She was this person of paradise, harmony, perfection and ultimate beauty. In mind, spirit and body. Someone to appreciate, love and acknowledge at every point in space and time. And in his words, she was someone of abundance. Always ever-giving and forever infinite in her person. Never would he ever lack with Y/N. The primal things—loud activity, calm activity—continued to leave Trent without wants beyond his partner.

"So how did that meet your expectations?"

Y/N strung out a sigh, exhaling those overwhelming sentiments. Some would think Trent was speaking just to speak, to pass time or for the two to fall asleep well, and that was true. But what was also true was that Trent found delight and happiness in speaking on this subject, speaking about how, actually, Y/N was his one and only. How she was everything—how she gave him everything and more. Yet all she ever asked for in return were his words and speech.

So here were his words, a mellow proclamation of love and affection, and like every other time it left Y/N joyfully devastated.

The soft breeze in the room shifted her attention towards the opened window for a moment. Soon, she noticed the moon, now high in the sky daintily shining into the bedroom. She hung her head back as she let a small chuckle through her tears. "I'm over the moon and beyond."

#trent alexander arnold #trent alexander arnold x reader #trent alexander arnold blurbs #trent alexander arnold imagines #trent alexander arnold imagine #trent alexander arnold x black!reader #black!reader #trent alexander arnold fanfiction #trent alexander arnold fluff #football imagines #football fanfiction #football blurbs #football oneshots

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marvelettesassemblenow · 1 year ago

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The Fake Ring

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x female Reader

Summary: The three times you lied about your relationship status with a ring and one time you don’t have to anymore or - It’s easier to work as a bartender with a fake ring on your finger to avoid situations. But that also means Jake thinks you’re already in a relationship

Word Count: ~2.7k

Warnings: is the beach scene a warning?, discussions about situations when you need to lie you’re in a relationship to get rid of people, me not having a clue about the navy

AN: I started this story a year ago when I bought myself a fake ring for work. I rewrote it 3 times and I wasn't so sure, if I should post it on this blog, but I love TGM and I had fun writing it, so: Hi Jake, welcome to this blog

When you needed to make sure you were off limits

The night had just started for you as you were stacking the clean glasses and had just finished counting the register. Nobody was there so far, but that would change when the naval aviators would come in and the folks that tried to talk to them or get one to sleep with them would arrive. They often arrived after them in the hopes they would see their entry.

You liked the beginning of your shift when you had the room to yourself until the regulars came in and then the aviators. They were nice and often chatted with you until it got crowded. It was how you got to know some of them, and you were especially fond of the group that was currently stationed there.

Right when you thought about it the door opened and a few of them stepped in. They stopped at the bar and waited for you to make their drinks while small talk floated through the room. They took their drinks and went to their side of the bar where the first bets for a game of pool were placed.

“You’re not playing tonight?” you asked Hangman who stayed back at the bar with you.

“I’ll let them a chance of winning before I join them,” he smirked at you and you laughed. He wasn’t wrong though; he was good at pool. And at dart. And at flirting. “I rather keep you company if you have time for me. How was your day?” he asked and took a sip of his beer. You knew that he would quit after the first beer and would switch to something non-alcoholic if the next day was a working day.

“Same old, same old. Nothing as exciting as flying for sure. I bet you don’t want to hear about me going grocery shopping and that my highlight was to pick up a new book that I got lost in until I noticed I had to leave for work,” you teased as you filled a drink for another customer.

When you came back Hangman was still there. “I like to hear about everything that makes you happy.” His eyes quickly went to the piece of jewelry on your hand. “I’ll see you later, darling,” he said and stood up before he joined the others at the pool table. You almost forgot about the ring. You started wearing it when people started hitting on you and for the most part it worked. And it was better this way, because you weren’t sure if you could tell Hangman no.

Hangman flirted all the time, so you wouldn’t be special. Even though he always asked about you and your day and coaxed you into telling more. And people did talk about him a lot and had a certain opinion of him, but he was always respectful and you knew he wouldn’t cross a line.

That’s why you were seeing him flirting a few hours later with two women who were more than willing to do so. Phoenix had slipped into a seat in front of you. “Another round?” you asked her. It was a slow night so you could give her a few minutes.

“Yes please, and a break from Hangman's terrible flirting, so don’t hurry,” she replied and it made you laugh.

“I bet he isn’t that bad,” slipped your lips and you hurried to bend down and grab some bottles, so she couldn’t see your face. But she was still staring at you when you were back on her eyelevel.

2. When you had to protect your heart

Inventory sucked! There was no other way to describe the days when you had to count how many things you still had at the bar and what you needed to order. You stepped out of the cool bar towards the bench where Penny sat outside. “Okay, I counted...” you never finished the sentence as you just spotted what was happening on the beach.

“Take a seat, enjoy the show,” Penny chuckled and patted the bench next to her.

“What is happening?” you managed to get out and stare at the people who were playing some kind of game – shirtless. “Is that Phoenix?”

“Yup and everyone else. Give me the list,” she held out her hand and you put the paper in her hand before you sat down and started watching whatever was happening there. “I bet we could get a lot of money if we would record that,” you said to your boss.

“Yeah, but do we like to share?” was her reply and you shook your head no.

“While we’re at it… what’s going on with Hangman and you?” Her tone was easy, but she looked at you with something that told you there was no escaping that conversation.

“Nothing. He likes to flirt with everyone, that’s it.” You shrugged your shoulders and let your gaze wander back to the game when a loud shout was heard, and someone lifted a guy – Bob? You weren’t so sure – into the air.

“If you would take that thing of your finger, maybe,” Penny started, but you interrupted her.

“There is a reason this is on this finger.” You wiggled your hand, and the small stone caught the sunlight and reflected it. “People won’t accept a no anymore and,” this time it was Penny who interrupted you.

“Did someone do anything you didn’t want to?”

“No! It’s just they see it as a challenge when I decline it. But once they see the ring they kind of back off. It's just easier for me this way.”

“Okay, once they do you tell me. I won’t tolerate anything of that, okay?” She waited until you agreed and patted your hand. Inventory took longer than usual because you were distracted by the game.

Penny had gone inside to place the order and you were busy collecting everything from the table when a shadow fell over the papers. “Enjoyed the show?”

“It was okay,” you replied and eyed the sandwich Hangman was eating. He held a half out towards you. After a short hesitation you took it and bit into it. He took Penny’s seat and you shared the food. You were thankful that he had put on a shirt, because otherwise you would have stared at his body.

“I think I need to have a chat with them,” he said once he finished and licked his finger. You were mesmerized and didn’t catch on immediately.

“Huh?”

“Your partner. They need to take better care of you. But I shouldn’t have to point out the obvious that you should feed your partner. You never even told me a name,” he said and looked at you expectingly.

Suddenly you went hot, caught in your own lie. Never had someone requested a name of you and you couldn’t come up with something. “Maybe because you only talk about yourself,” you said and stood up. You quickly grabbed the papers and threw a “Thank you for lunch” over your shoulder before you went inside the building.

It was a lie; he was always asking about you. But you knew when you came up with something on such a short notice you would be caught in a web of lies. You needed to think about it.

3. When you had to admit you lied

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Bob asked when he saw Jake watching you again at the Hard Deck.

Jake didn’t even bother to look away from you, only when it was his turn at pool. “Because despite all of you thinking I’m an asshole, I’m not hitting on someone who is taken. It’s just a little flirting and as soon as she tells me to stop I will,” he said while lining up his cue and as he didn’t lower his voice the others were also pulled into the conversation.

“Who are we talking about?” Rooster asked and hoped his opponent would be too distracted to sink the next ball.

“His crush,” Coyote jumped in, he had been wanting to bring it up for a while.

“What crush?” Rooster asked confused. The others just stared at him, while Jake mumbled something about not having a crush. “Don’t look at me, he was just flirting with three different people last week,” Rooster defended himself.

“They wanted to be entertained and I just did that. It wasn’t as if I was leaving with them though.” Despite the talking he managed to sink two more balls before it was Bradley's turn again.

“Okay so... if she’s in a relationship, why is she spending her breaks with you? And I haven’t heard her talking about a relationship ever,” Bob thought loudly. “Although she also mostly talks to you and not me.”

This made Jake pause. Not once had he heard a name from you, he saw the ring and assumed and went from there. But you also didn’t deny anything when he mentioned a partner. But Jake was anything but shy that’s why he left the table without an excuse and stalked to the bar. He waited patiently for you to finish your conversation and shooed Penny away when she wanted to take his order. She gave him a knowing look, but he didn’t break her gaze. Only when he noticed you approaching, he looked in your direction. You shot him a smile and showed him you’d be with him soon.

“Want a refill?” you asked once you stopped in front of him.

“Are you in a relationship?” The question made you stop and you stared at him like a deer caught in the headlight.

“Why are you asking?” Your response told him a lot, so he just raised his eyebrow. “No, I’m not,” you admitted as you didn’t want to lie to him.

“Okay, then why this?” he pointed at your finger. Another patron showed you he wanted to order something and Penny was busy at the other end of the bar.

“I’ll join you in my break and explain then, okay? So, about the refill?”

“I’m good, see you then,” he knocked on the bar twice before he made his way to the restroom.

You took your break earlier than you would have usually. After a stop in the kitchen you walked over to the pool table with a plate full of nachos and two cokes in your hand. You pushed one in Jakes hand who was leaning against the wall watching the current game. You held out your plate too, but he just shook his head. It was quiet for a while when you watched the other aviators play.

“How often have you been hit on and the person didn’t back off when you told them you weren't interested? Or were you always interested? Wait, I just realized I asked the wrong person.” You looked around and wanted to ask Phoenix when you spotted Bob. You repeated the question again. Poor Bob looked tortured and admitted it had happened quiet often.

“Some people even see it as a challenge, especially when more people are around,” Phoenix chimed in who had come over when she spotted you with her back seater.

“If someone tells me they’re not interested, why should I humiliate myself and try harder?” Jake wondered.

“Oh Jake, if only everyone would be that way,” you patted his arm and didn’t know why you were surprised that it was quite hard under your touch. “The thing is I’m at work, a little flirting is okay, but people seem to forget that the later it gets. And the easiest way to get them to back off and not cause a scene is this one.” You held up your ring to show him. “This works way better than the I’ve got a boyfriend excuse and don’t even get me started on the girlfriend option.”

“So why not say anything to me?” Jake finally asked.

You shrugged. “How should I have known you’d be different back then? And you already noticed it. I didn’t know if you were really interested and that you started asking questions.”

“Just wanted to make sure you know if you say the word I’ll back down. Will you say the word?” His eyebrow rose while he stared at you, waiting for your answer.

“Jury is still out. My break is over, if you want to see me you must visit me at the bar,” you threw a wink at Jake before you walked back to the kitchen to return the dishes.

+ 1 time you didn't need the ring

“Hey darling, okay for me to come in?” you heard Jakes before you saw him. He was standing in the doorway with the sun behind him, so you told yourself this was the reason it was hard to look at him.

“Sure,” you nodded and he stepped inside. “You alone?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed and walked towards the bar where you were stacking glasses. “I’m actually here to tell you we’re leaving for a short while so you wouldn’t worry about,” he kind of rambled at the end it caused you to look up at him and stop your task.

“Are you nervous?” you finally asked.

“Me? Never!” He tried to sound confident, but you saw right through him.

“You know how long you’ll be gone?” The walk around the counter towards him was quick and you put your arms around him and pulled him close to you to your first actual hug. It didn’t take him long to return the gesture and his arms found their way around your middle.

“Not allowed to share,” he mumbled and you noticed how some weight dropped from his shoulder.

“Okay, well come back safe.”

He promised you that and let go after a while. It seemed like neither of you were ready for that.

“Hangman!” He stopped at your yelling just before he was about to leave the place. “Bring back everyone else home too.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he saluted and left quickly.

“Keep them coming, sweets. And add whatever you want to and join us.”

“Thank you, I’m working. But I’ll bring a new round shortly,” you said and sidestepped the table and the outstretched arm to go back to the bar. So far this group wasn’t a real bother, but you had to be careful when the night progressed. And three rounds later they got kind of rowdy telling you to join them again. It was more demanding this time.

“Is there a problem here?” you suddenly heard a voice behind you and when you turned around you saw Jake behind you. Before you could think about it your arms wrapped themselves around his neck and you hugged him.

“You’re back! Are you okay, are the others?” Over his shoulder you could see Fanboy, Rooster and Coyote while you spotted a few others making their way over to the pool table.

“You haven’t answered his question. Is there a problem here?” Roosters smile that he sent your way was gone quickly when he mustered the guys at the table.

“No problem here at all,” one man said with his arms raised in defense.

“I sure hope so, we have no problem throwing you overboard,” Jake told them and took your hand and pulled you towards the bar. “Where is your ring?” he asked when he noticed the lack of jewelry.

“Don’t know. Felt kind of wrong wearing it now,” you shrugged.

“How about we make a deal?” he asked and you just realized how close the two of you were. “You don’t have to wear it when I’m around. I’ll take care of everything then. You can wear it when I’m not here and you can tell them that you have someone that already takes care of you.”

“Do I?” you asked cheekily, but you had also noticed that everything had shifted with Jake. And his lack of flirting with others.

“Always had. Let me take you out,” he said and everything else disappeared when his forehead pressed against yours and he stared into your eyes.

“Okay,” you breathed, and your lips almost touched. “But I must get back to work now. See you in my break?” you asked and he nodded which caused you to laugh as your faces were still touching. “See you later, Jake.” You finally walked away and didn’t see the clap Jake got on his back from his friends while he still looked after you with a lovesick look on his face.

#hangman x reader #jake seresin x reader #top gun fanfiction #tgm fic #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake seresin x you #hangman x you #top gun one shot #tgm fanfiction

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thankskenpenders · 1 year ago

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And now for something new

So, here's something I was never planning on doing, but I just couldn't shake the idea... Thanks Ken Penders is gaining a sister blog featuring an entirely different comic franchise!

Introducing... Thanks Steve Ditko, a blog where I read the Earth-616 Spider-Man comics, starting all the way back in the '60s! It's gonna be much more casual and less thorough than how I run things here on TKP, though, which I'll explain in a sec.

If seeing me post weird bits from old Spider-Man comics sounds fun and you need no further info, then just head right on over to Thanks Steve Ditko. But for longtime TKP readers, I know you probably have questions...

Number one: Why?

Spider-Man's always been my favorite superhero, and with the Spider-Verse movies kicking ass and my excitement building for the new Insomniac game, I've been in a Spidey mood. Inevitably, a thought occurred to me: Maybe I should actually read the comics that everything else is built off of and see the wildly varying contributions of all the original creators, rather than filtering them through big budget adaptations. If I can power through One Piece and all these other manga with hundreds of chapters, it can't be that hard... right?

And, well, after a few issues I quickly realized that my options were to either clog up my other accounts with random Spider-Man panels for years, or to just make a side blog. And so the side blog was born.

Two: Will this blog replace Thanks Ken Penders?

NO!!!!!!!!!

Okay but prove it

To allow the two to exist side-by-side, Thanks Steve Ditko will have a different format than what Thanks Ken Penders developed. Rather than an in-depth guided tour that critically analyzes every story beat of every issue, TSD will just be a place for amusing panels and brief thoughts as I casually read the comics at my own pace.

If you've seen me make a few tweets about reading Spider-Man recently, I'm basically just moving that to a dedicated Tumblr. It's a place for me to dump these things so that it doesn't fill up my media tab on Twitter for the next decade. (You know, assuming Twitter is still around in a decade.) There will be many issues where I only post two panels that I thought were funny. There will be issues where I don't have anything to say at all. Maybe I'll reach a run that I just cannot get into, and I start skipping around more. Who knows!

This may sound similar to what I thought this blog would be before it blew up. Aside from the simple fact that there's already mountains of Spider-Man commentary out there and therefore less of a void for me to fill, one of the main steps I'll be taking to avoid repeating the past is not enabling an ask box on TSD. I do not need people to ask me to go into ten times more detail on everything. I do not need to write seven essay-length responses to questions about Spider-Man minutiae every day. I do not need a place for people to chide me for not covering certain scenes, issues, or ancillary series.

It also won't have any kind of update schedule. I'm trying to keep it very casual. I'm reading these comics at my own pace, and if I feel like sharing a moment or commenting on something while doing so? It goes there. That's it.

(On the subject of format changes, I'm also listing the issue, writer, and penciller in the body of every post. This is a thing I wish I'd done on TKP so that people didn't misattribute every weird Archie Sonic panel I post to Penders.)

Three: So when will TKP come back from hiatus? You said it'd come back after you finished SLARPG!

I don't know! Sorry. I have a couple things on the backburner right now for TKP, but I'm not sure when I'll get back to proper updates where I read more comics.

I wanted to bring TKP back this year, and that's still possible. The main hurdle is that I want to reread my own archive (again) as a refresher, which is, uh. A lot of posts. I've developed a high standard for myself on here, and I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job right if I forgot half the ongoing subplots and character arcs and didn't bring them up in my analysis. Especially when I'm discussing the work of an author as obsessed with continuity as Ian Flynn. Unfortunately, the nature of this blog means that every time I go on another long hiatus for Life Reasons I have even more comic continuity to catch up on than last time.

(This is a big part of why I'm making Thanks Steve Ditko an extremely casual blog instead of promising to become a Lore Expert on 60+ years of Marvel.)

Mostly I've just been very burnt out this year after having finally finished a video game that took almost eight years to make. I haven't really had the energy for any creative projects, including TKP. But I feel a little bit of a spark here with Spider-Man, so I'm chasing that feeling to try to get back into the swing of blogging about comics - no pun intended.

So, basically, bear with me on this as I start this low-energy side project. But hopefully folks will enjoy Thanks Steve Ditko as its own thing, too.

Look forward to goofy shit like this

#tkp post

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ganondoodle · 5 months ago

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(more elden ring radahn thoughts)

on whats really left of him .. and his soul? general too many thoughts about him- long post and probably incoherent, but you know me, im never coherent anyway, many thoguhts, head full, quite literally

in base game, he has lost his mind we are told, and clearly he isnt like he used to be, but we really dont know the extend of it hes clearly capable of fighting rather .. controlled; its not like hes biting and clawing after you, he still uses his swords (and bow, sth he doesnt even have in dlc) and magic, we know even in this condition he held back the stars AND still fought you hard at the same time (i know undead people can still fight in elden ring, pls hear me out)

and i wonder .. how much of his mind did he really lose, obviously some since he eats people now which isnt sth he used to do, but ... we dont know how talkactive he used to be, we get one (two? i can only think of one) quotes from him in the descriptions of an item, he might have been a man of few words already, so him not talking at all isnt that good of a measure (not saying its the only measure, just wanted to mention), resorting to eating people that atack you might just be an act of desperation too

we get told he kills friend and foe alike (and im not questioning that really) but in his cutscene we see him drag along the bodies of cleanrot knights, who are under direct dommand of malenia, and by extend miquella, im guessing they kept sending them after him to finish him off; now knowing that him dying means being sent to the realm of shadow, to miquella, and NOT knowing if he wanted that, i feel that that detail has grown in importance-

when you start the fight, hes rather defensive, shooting at you almost immediately upon you entering the arena with no extra cutscene either, what he shoots at you a long ranged gravitation bolts that stop you dead in tracks with a very high stagger rate and if you are on torrent it stagger you off of it; i know it could be just tactical and bc all he knows now is to fight as best as he can BUT, you could also look at it as a defensive strategy, to keep you away, and away from him .. even though you are not told he is afraid to die and he eats people now, sure he could come over there and snack on you once he shot you enough times, but the important thing is that you as a threat to his life is eliminated AND he doesnt seem to have some sort of insatiable hunger for people that makes him charge and snap at you immediately, there could be self control there still (if i wanted to reach a little further i could also say he could be trying to keep you away from him not jsut to save himself but to save you from him too, but thats a reach and i know that)

once you get close enough he usually changes to fire a salve of arrows that fall from the sky and follows you around, also high in stagger- its only when you get too close that he pulls out his swords and charges at you

his arena is interestign as well, its a piece of land in caelid that is inaccessible (unless you can fly?) from all sides, a barren battlefield only reached through a teleporter, im not sure if it is the same place as when he fought malenia or not (wasnt that in the middle of caelid where you find the rot needle?) but i doubt anyone could have put him there against his will, so did he .. go there himself? or stay there for that matter- how quickly do you lose yourself when infected with rot? and how quickly for him, since hes a demigod? did he intentionally isolate himself there? make it harder to reach him for both friend and foe alike?

another point is that most enemies (as far as i can think of) that are infected with rot/are in caelid also deal rot damage, radahn does not, hes even really vunerable to it in fact, its an intersting detail to me bc he only uses either standard attacks or gravitational magic, given that hes been in this condition for a long time and its caelid id expect the rot to be somewhat important there, but its not

how much has he really lost his mind, is he really as mindless as jerren makes him out to be? is he trying to stay alive no matter what, isolating himself on an (almost) island and only living off what comes there, which is usually people that want to kill him, be it friend or foe, all are out for his life one way or another, could it be defensive ... desperate even? no one but him and miquella/malenia seem to know that him dying means hes put into the land of shadow, where miquella is waiting for him; (why wouldnt he tell anyone? was he not able to? was he afraid to upset the golden order by spilling it out?) could he know that would be the end of him having his own will, knowing what miquella can do to people? ... perhaps even .... having been manipulated by him before when he was less experienced and more in direct vicinity to him, to promise something he doesnt actually want?

this is a reach too but ... could he be trying to make himself unusable for miquella, theres no real cure for the rot, could he have decided to stay alive as long as he can to both destroy his own body (and soul even?) intentionally so it cant be used against his will, like a desperate act to destroy himself rather than become someones unwilling puppet? did he succeed in both somewhat but not enough to become fully worthless and unsalvageable? just how much would he have had to destroy himself for him to become useless to miquella, is there even a limit? would he have been "revived" no matter what, no matter what little was left of him?

how is he mindless, yet his soul it taken when you kill him, his body beyond repair, but his soul intact? that seems like the opposite of what he is, and you are told he is, in the base game to me (maybe hes just fallen into madness i guess, but given the soul is like .. the self, he should be mad in the dlc too then, unless miquella can just pick out the parts he likes and throw away the rest .... which isnt impossible either)

now, there could be the argument that he might have actually agreed to it, hes been a big fan of godfrey, who is a consort to marika, a god, and little more than her pawn as well, his 'young' look you see at the end of the dlc could also be connected to it, the braids i thought where a sign of miquellas influence could also be just how he looked back then, an imitation of godfreys hairstyle- and we dont know for sure he didnt used to have them even after gettign older since they could just have loosened after spending so much time in a zombie lite condition (or is it?)-- but his portrait in volcano manor doesnt seem to have them either, hes also sporting the armor you see in base game (i think) there the fact that, according to godfrey, strength is the only thing that matters and to become a consort you need to be the strongest of all to be worthy, could also be interpreted that way- though i dont if he would have wanted to replace the golden order, he was a fan and follower of it, did he even think of it the implications? did he even know? was he just young and stupid? (very possible tbh)

then theres the idea of there being less left of his soul, so in the dlc he is barely if anything at all, himself, both in body AND soul, how much was there even left after all that time in caelid, he is silent except for like two grunts he does also in base game (he has more sounds there too), completely unexpressive, with very few gravitation magic, in the second phase miquella literally snakes his arms around his neck, almost every single attack is filled with light magic, clearly coming from miquella and not him (i know bringing up leonard might seem overemphasizing his role, but in these games what information you get is very scarce so every bit you do learn is important and was written intentionally- but he stayed together with him in caelid, all his attacks involve him in one way or another, he only started to learn that magic for leonard, so radahn didnt have too abandon him as he got too large to ride him, he uses gravitation in dlc too, so it means that at the point of his life that he is recreated as he already had leonard or that that is a sign of whatever is left of his soul that comes from a much older him, and if it is, its very little) (also this is a reach too but most enemies with horses have separate health bars, he doesnt, he and leonard basically share the same health bar, literally inseperable uwu)

"theres no evidence hes mindcontrolled" people say to me. have you seen him? how he acts? or more, how he DOESNT act? that miquellas entire deal is THAT HE BEWITCHES PEOPLE, ffs he STEALS YOUR HEART if you get grabbed by him twice in the dlc fight- theres no evidence he wasnt either, you are told they had a vow, but you never know what exactly that was, when it was (in the memory of miquella wishing for radahn to be his consort you only see miquella- was it a silly wish between kids tha miquella never grew out of?), in what circumstances, you never get to hear radahn say anything about it, its completely left out, thats a little unrelieable to me! idk!

but fine, maybe he did agree to it, maybe he thought being a consort to a god would make him just as cool as godfrey, maybe he fought malenia, who was said to be undefeated, only to prove he had the strength worthy of being a consort and it backfired when malenia infected him with the rot (why then? also he doesnt look exactly thrilled about what she say to him in the trailer but that could be just me too i guess lolololol), maybe he wanted to die all along but his pride meant he couldnt just let the rot win, maybe the festival was really what he wished for and told no one what the real goal was, maybe he wasnt rotten in the first place and just acted that part so he had an excuse to die without having to fight with all his strength as even the undefeated warrior wasnt able to beat him, maybe becoming a consort to miquella was worth leaving leonard behind to him, maybe he wanted to be nothing but a pawn to a god, to be used and discarded, maybe he really believed in miquellas wish for a "gentle" world (aka all love miquella)

it makes sense, im not going to lie about that, but the other does too- and in the end, we will never know what the truth is! we will never know if that was what he wanted, or if he was manipulated even back then, i wish we could to see his part, his voice, his will, but we never will, and it doesnt matter, in the end it doesnt matter if he wanted it or not, the fact remains hes a silent frankensteins monster of miquella, expression- and personalityless, a voiceless pawn to a god that steals everyones hearts

i dont need to be "right", i like to think about things, i am in the camp of he didnt want to or decided against it, but it doesnt really matter, even if miyazaki himself went onto stage and loudly declared that yes it was all planned from the start and radahn was in on it the whole time- i still would think the other way around it, i jsut think about him alot, i want to question things instead of taking everythign i hear at face value, especially when its very strangely told from one side, i will question every little thing if i only hear one side, no matter how much sense it makes or not, it makes me suspicious

(i some of this can be attributed about purely gameplay stuff, like the change in armor so he doesnt look the same etc, but i dont care, i like to think about the implications it brings with it, intentionally or not)

and there he is in a barren battlefield, eating the remains of whoever enters his isolated cage with the intent to kill him, never succeeding, howling like a lonely old wolf at the sky, is it desperation about a fate he cannot escape, grief about what hes done or failed to do, is it a call of yearning? for freedom?

we dont know. and it doesnt matter.

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burnedwriter · 2 years ago

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‘’love game’’

a/n:i didnt think this fic was going to take me so long to finish,i apologise for the wait anyways i dont want to waste your time here is the fic.this fic is based off of a playlist on yt called playing tcg with the sumeru men.

warnings:smut mixed with fluff,foursome,c*mswallowing,rough bj,rough s*x,overstimulation,drunk sex,!gender-neutral language used.(had to censore stuff so my post doesnt get community labeled)

MDNI!

Getting invited to Al haitham’s and kaveh’s house for a friendly tcg duel was better than you thought it would be.Sitting around a table that was used as the arena,with one glass of alcohol in hand and tcg cards on the other.The room filled with laughter and kaveh’s angry yells towards cyno who was sitting across the table,accusing cyno of cheating and hidding cards but in reality he hasnt set up his cards correctly and got unlucky with the dice placements.

‘‘Kaveh stop complaining already’‘Al haitham hissed expressing his annoyance to kaveh’s constant wining of loosing.

‘‘i will stop complaining when i finally win a match’‘kaveh spat back at him as he looked at his cards like he knew what he was doing but he had no clue what he was doing to be exact just so he could make cyno second guess but everyone could see through kaveh and make out that he was pretending.

Their little dispute making you chuckle a bit every time,getting a scoff from kaveh as a respond.

The games kept going through out the night,everyone starting to get drunk but also the tension between cyno and kaveh that never seemed to extinguish any time soon as cyno was telling shitty puns to a very drunk and angry kaveh putting more gasoline into the fire.After playing for so many hour you got bored of playing tcg so you decide to suggest a change in the rules making the game more interesting.....

‘‘How about we change the game up a bit,im sick of playing over and over again the same thing’‘you spoke up, throwing your cards on table as you exhaled expressing your boredom.The three men raised their eyebrows curious of what you had in mind ready to listen on what you had to suggest.

‘‘what do you suggest then?’‘cyno said looking at you for an answer his cheeks flashed red against his dark complexion from the alcohol making him look quite attractive, but also making you think was it the really alcohol?

‘‘what if we played strip tcg the more games we loose,the more pieces of clothing accordingly,are you guys in?’‘you said you could feel a mischivious smile that started to form at the idea only as you waited for the men to answer

‘’sure’‘they all said looking at eachother to see if someone disagreed with your suggestion

‘‘Let’s begin the games then’‘you said starting to fix your deck for the upcoming challenges that have yet to come.

Turning out that you had to prepare more,after the challenge started you became the second to last person that had less clothing with the first being to no suprise kaveh yet again.You and kaveh barely holding on as you were both in your underwear while al haitham and cyno havent lost a single piece of clothing.

You tried your best to hide your almost naked figure,al haitham’s gaze felt like daggers were piercing your body ,with each time he looked at you,like you were his prey ready to jump over the table and devour you on the spot but everytime you took noticed of that he would turn his vision away from you and smile like nothing happened.Cyno on the other hand was trying his best not to look at your naked figure as he was closer to you than any of the others.Cyno snaked a hand on your thigh squeezing it softly,catching you off guard you turned to look at him only to see him having a small smile at the corner of his mouth.Lastly Kaveh stubbling over his words as a red line of blush run across his face every time he faced you.

At end the atmosphere in the small room,turned from a joyful and full of laughs to a lustful and full of lewd sounds one with cards and clothes littering the floor all around as you laid on the table on your back,your legs wrapped around cyno’s waist,as he pounded into you while your hands were occupaid with al haitham’s and kaveh’s cocks, stroking them.They towered over you placing their hands all over your body desperently grabbing parts of your flesh.

You see cyno grabbing your thighs,as his thrust became sloppier and mercilessindicating that he was getting close,his cock brushing against your sweetspot,you feel yourself closer to what would be your first climax of the night,the heat in your lower abdomen ready to snap at any moment,the same could be said for the other two men above you their cocks throbbing against your hand,With one last pump,cyno stained your inside and with al haitham and kaveh covering your exposed skin with white sicky liquid.

‘‘we are not done with you yet’‘Al haitham said pushing you back down on the table as he took notice of you getting up,he gaazed towards cynos direction giving him a sign to change positions.Now al haitham taking cynos place while cyno sat on a chair,getting a full view of the scene.Al haitham slipped in with ease,making you moan loudly and arch your back feeling yourself getting strectched, Unlike cyno,al haitham was girthier streching your walls even more than before.Kaveh’s cock touching your lips you could taste the saltyness from his previous orgasm everytime you licked them,he slowly pushed himself in your mouth slowly keeping his hips still so he doesnt gag you as he hit the back of your throat ,they waited for you to get adjusted to both of them.

After a few minutes of kaveh and al haitham waiting,they started to roll their hips into you in a matching pace while cyno sitting on the chair,his legs spread,strokinging himself as he watched you.The two men continued to pound into you filling the room with both gagging and the sound of skin slapping.Kaveh getting overwhelmed by the pleasure turning into a moaning mess throwing his head back as he used your throat as his personal fleshlight.al haitham’s abs flexed indicating that he was getting closer.Cyno leaned against the chair throwing his head back covering his eyes with his forearm as he breathed heavily,stroking himself,low groans could be heard comming from him.

Everyone including you were close once again for your second climax of the night and with one last thrust kaveh and al haitham finished inside you with cyno soon after finishing all ove his hand and spilling some of it on the floor.Swallowing every it of kaveh’s cum before pulling out of your mouth,letting you catch your breath and let you breath normally again.Seeing you try to get up kaveh rushed to your side knowing that you felt sore with al haitham and cyno soon after by your side.

‘‘the bathroom is around the corner let’s hope ‘’someone’‘ left warm water for us to clean ourselves’‘kaveh said antagonising alhaitham a bit in the process as he pointed to the direction of the bathroom,signing upon seeing the messy room as he looked around

‘‘after all of that you still complaining kaveh’‘said al haitham taking himself towards the the bathroom.

‘‘enough with your arguments we need to go and take a shower,here let me help you’‘cyno exclaimed with his usual monotone voice helping you reach the room as your legs were still shaky.With all of you marching towards the bathroom slowly you started to think,who knows maybe this is a sign for round two....

#al haitham x reader #Al haitam x reader #al haitham x you #al haitham smut #kaveh smut #kaveh x reader smut #kaveh x reader #kaveh x you #cyno smut #cyno x gender neutral reader #cyno x reader #cyno x you #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x reader smut #genshin impact x you #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin x reader smut #genshin x you

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clanwarrior-tumbly · 1 year ago

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Doomslayer x child reader that finger paints his helmet because "he's always scary, but needs to be SPOOKY for Halloween" and the two words mean something very different to the little reader.

Doesn't actually make him look scarier, but the Crayola war paint must stay ON for battle!

NOTE: This is 100% fatherly platonic fluff

.......

To make a long story short, the Doomslayer finds you among the wreckage of a city on earth, and you travel with him while he protects you from demons (kinda like Child!Marceline and Simon from Adventure Time post-Mushroom War).

Having been a father himself once, he finds bonding with you to come almost naturally.

Sure, he doesn't speak much and makes you stay in the Fortress of Doom (which has very little enrichment besides comic books and video games) for your own safety, but he cares a lot for you.

And you're very brave despite the constant demonic threats. Thanks to him, you've never been afraid of a single monster.

You saw him squish an Imp's head like a grape once in the Ripatorium and thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

When the Halloween season comes around, it's seldom celebrated on Earth anymore (of course, nobody wants to go around dressed like scary demons when the actual ones have been murdering billions).

But you, however, still loved the holiday and took it upon yourself to make something "spooky" for the Slayer..

By fingerpainting one of his helmets to make it look like a ghoulish monster, using some Crayola paint he found for you in a destroyed toy store.

You showed your finished work to Samuel, and he thinks it looks utterly ridiculous.

But he opts to humor you, knowing the Slayer would have his head if he ever made you cry.

"So you believe this new..."cosmetic" will make him appear scarier?"

"Well..he's already scary, but he needs to be spooky scary for Halloween." You explain to the robot proudly. "Those are two verryyyy different things, Sammy."

"...yes, I suppose they are." He sighs

When the Slayer's ready for his next mission, you give him the personalized "ghoul helmet", and he stares down at it for a few moments.

Samuel refuses to believe he'll put it on.

But the typically rage-fueled godlike man looks back at you. His gaze remains stoic, yet his eyes were gentle and warm.

"Very spooky."

That's all he says as he pats your head with approval, before donning the final piece of his armor and going through the portal.

On the battlefield, he eviscerates every demon in his path, but he takes great care not to get too much blood and/or guts on his helmet..

He'd hate to ruin all of your hardwork.

#clanask #anonymous #doom x reader #doom eternal x reader #child reader #fluff #platonic #headcanons #halloween

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are-you-still-writing-that · 1 year ago

Text

Yandere Alphabet: Mitsuya Takashi

It was so much fun to write something for him. I really like him a lot. I´ve had it finished quite a bit ago, and thought now would be a good time to share it. I actually finished quite a bit pieces, when I had the time. But in October my university started back up again, so I now I´m posting what accumulated in the inbetween to give myself a little breather...

Mitsuya Takashi

That boy can play innocent. And he knows it! I believe, that Mitsuya is genuinely someone, that uses his reputation to manipulate everyone around him. He carefully cultivates the image people have of him as well. A little two-faced snake. By the way, I honestly believe, that he feels fulfilment whenever he can take care of someone. He is used to it, and he loves it.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Taking care. He shows his affection for his darling in taking care of them. Whatever they need, he will be there to provide it for them. He wants to be needed by his love, and so he does everything to make sure, that he can´t be replaced. He has an eye for details, and he uses it. Small annoyances will just vanish out of your life, because he will already have dealt with them, before they can get to his love.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

He is more used to violence than he lets on. While he tries to resolve tension peacefully at first, it won´t take long, before he decided that a good old fist to the face won´t have the same result. He clearly isn´t above brawling to get someone to back off. Though his fights are always disturbingly clean. He knows how to get someone down quickly, and how to keep them down. Afterwards, he will be careful to touch his love, not wanting to get anything on them.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

Rather than abducting his love, they simply won´t leave again. Why would he go to the trouble of abducting them, when he can simply invite them over to his house? He just has to find enough excuses to ensure, that they never leave his side again, and then he will have them. Here. With him. Of their own free will. This is exactly how he does it. A small invitation to his home, becomes the same as if you suddenly agreed to live with him.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

He will do a lot of things, that at the beginning of the relationship would have gone against what his love wants, but nowadays align pretty well with each other. Mitsuya slowly manipulates his love, so that their wants and need start to align more and more. Another thing he is quite fond of is slipping his love some sedatives every once and a while. It will make him feel useful, when he can then flit around you to nurse his love back to health. But not only that, it also makes him feel safer.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

He believes that a good relationship is dependent on a good communication. This in turn, will make him quite open. He adores a good conversation with his love, and craves to know their thoughts and feelings on any topic. While he won´t always agree with your opinion, you can be sure, that he will always take it into account, when making a decision. He wants to know their feelings as well, and in turn shares his own frequently with you.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Seeing his love acting like this makes him angry. He is close to loosing his patience with them every time, they start screaming at him again. You become unrecognizable to him. In the end, he isn´t above to use medications to let them become docile again. After all, he doesn´t mind, when they can´t take care of themself and need him for everything. It gives him ideas to keep his love always like this.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

He will let you try to escape exactly once, even if they won´t realize what they are doing counts as an escape attempt. When they are on the run, he will play on their sympathy so badly. He will make the world outside his domain seem scary and cruel. He will act as if the result of them leaving will be his literal suffering. Sometimes he will offer them to go out, and relish when he gets a „No“ from them.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Hindsight. The scariest and most disturbing thing with Mitsuya will be hindsight. You will never notice what he is up to in the moment. It´s hard to catch even when you start looking for it, so it always fly under your radar. Though looking back, thinking clearly and with the time between you and the situation, things start to clear up. More and more you can tell what was happening around you the whole time. And it´s disturbing. But at this point you´re not in any position to do anything against it. Not any more.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

When Mitsuya thinks of the future, he can never get an actual image to come to mind. In the end he chases after impressions. The sunlight filtering in through the half open window. Laughter, that never seems to leave the halls. Your limbs tangling with his own. He wants to hear them breath and the rhythm of their heartbeat. A future that he wished for is safe. Almost cozy. And always with his love by his side.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

He doesn´t want to waste his emotions on something, that will never happen anyway. He is confident enough in himself to know, that you cheating on him is a low possibility at worst, and a downright hilarious thought at best. His manner of thinking in that way his more practical. Doesn´t mean, that he doesn´t want to keep his love all to himself. He does. But not because he is jealous. At least not of other people. But he wants to keep them close. Always.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

He dotes on his love. And sometimes acts more like a parent than a lover. It certainly caused an argument before. But he still never changes his way of acting. He flutters around his darling and tends to keep an eye on them. He encourages them to try out new things, as long as they can be done in the comfort of home. He creates for them, and has a plethora of nicknames for his love, though he always circles back to the same one. He is a constant presence, but never becomes suffocating.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

He takes them on dates. All the time. He wants this to develop like a normal relationship would. Because of that he pays attention. What are they saying? What do they like? What do they hate? He makes it clear, that he is aware of the preferences of his love, and likes to show it to them every once in a while. It´s almost adorable. Sometimes he will tease. Other times he makes sure that they know, that they are an inspiration for him.

Mask: Are their true colours drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

He always managed to hide it well. Even the people closest to him will be mostly unaware of it. But he is a lot more controlling and manipulative than he lets other people see. It mostly shows itself in wanting to know where the other person his all the time. Most people won´t even realize that he is digging for more information when he small talks. He wants to be in control, and he can even get it quite easily.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

He won´t punish his love, but he can get annoyed. If that happens, he will try an keep his distance for a while. Either because he doesn´t want to hurt them right now with carelessly chosen words or because he is trying to understand their point and needs a bit more time to mull it over. But if it got really bad between his love and him, he will simply make them regret it by purposefully putting himself into dangerous situations.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Mitsuya wants to become the primary caretaker of his love and so he will do everything, that he can to actually achieve that goal. It doesn´t matter to him if they will even realize what is happening around them. He is stubborn in that regard and pursues this with a rare single-mindedness, that is almost never seen by him. One day, they might realize that all medical decisions are done solely by him, but this could take quite a while.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

Very. He is here to play the long game. It doesn´t matter to him, that this means, that he has to wait several weeks or even months to get to his goal. He will wait. In the end, he is sure that this will all be worth it, because his love won´t even suspect a thing.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

Mitsuya is heartbroken in that moment. He can´t quite understand why they are doing this to him. What went wrong? But he will not drown himself in self-pity for long, before he comes after them. He will get them back. That they will leave him behind forever, after all that he did for them, is not even a possibility in his mind. There is no way, he will let that perfect love escape him. Not now. Never again.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

Considering that he never really abducts his darling, he can´t really feel guilty about it either. He invites them over one day and then simply makes sure, that there are enough reasons for them to stay. Indefinitely. Of course there is a bit guilt, when he sees them crying over him because of his manipulations. He feels bad in that moment but tries to soothe his own guilt with comforting you.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

He had always loved to take care of his little sisters when his mom simply couldn´t. And over time he would develop a possessive streak and some sort of separation anxiety. He can hide it very well, but it never goes away. He wants to be as close as possible to the people he loves, and wants them to dependent on him as well. Because then, they could not leave that easily, if they really need him.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

Somehow it makes him feel incompetent. He hates to see his love like this. And no matter what he does, nothing seems to be working. He will try so hard to cheer them back up again. But when everything seems to fail, he will become despondent over time as well. Just sitting next to them, as he tries to plead one last time with them. You will have to pull yourself out of this slump and him with you.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

Soft. The one thing, that differentiates him to a great extent from the classic yandere is that Mitsuya is soft. He doesn´t want to hurt his love and instead always makes sure, that they are well taken care of. He doesn´t force his presence onto them, when he can tell, that they don´t want him close. He is gentle and kind, and he weaves an unnoticeable web around his love that they can never escape.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Mitsuya at his core is an incredibly soft and gentle man. He wants to take care of the people he loves. It never matter to him, what needs to be done, he will do it, if it can benefit his loved ones. This is his strength, but also his only vice. He can be manipulated, he can be convinced. But if it fails, he will be hurt. And this hurt might make him cold.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

He will never hurt his love in a way, that would show. While he can get angry with them, he tends to become louder instead of physical. In a fight with his darling his words may grow sharp and he will purposefully keep a distance between them, to not even accidentally hurt his love. But there is one thing he will always do, not caring about the side effects. Some days, he will just slip them something, just so that he can watch them sleep without any tension for as long as he wants. Just so he can stop being afraid, that they will just leave him.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

Mitsuya adores them. He sees them as the love of his live. There are few things he wouldn´t do to keep them by his side, and most of them he would do if needed anyway. He loves them so deeply. But while he never puts them on a pedestal, he still sees them always as their best version. He always wants them to be the best version of themself they could be as well. He never outright worships his love, but he will sometimes just sit there and appreciate them being here with him.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

He is someone, that goes out of his way to court his love. Taking them on dates, and letting them fall in love with him is so important to him. He wants them, to want him. He will take them out to walks in the park, picknicks, getting a coffee, stargazing. Everything he can think of, that he believes will be romantic. Maybe he will show of his skills to them as well. He doesn´t snap. He lays a trap, that is designed to go unnoticed.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

This is not something that he outright wants. On one hand, he wants to always take care of his love. So does this mean, that he can never treat them cruelly enough to break them? Or does this means that he will break them, because taking care of them will be easier then? In the end, he is more likely to pick the hard way. He likes them after all quite a bit. A bit of struggling can be fun too? Right? Don´t make him regret this decision, he can always change it after all.

#yandere #yandere mitsuya #yandere alphabet #xreader #tokyo revengers #tokrev #mitsuya takashi #yandere headcanon #mitsuya headcanons #mitsuya x reader #yandere tokyo revengers #yandere tokrev

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krispdreemurr · 1 month ago

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oh oh i have an interesting discussion/query ! what do u think the meta purpose of making kris act like they do at the end of chapter 1 was? specifically like the imagery of a kid in a green/yellow shirt manipulating a red soul, pulling out a knife, having red eyes and grinning evilly cause like... i feel like deltarune definitely incorporates the memory of undertale throughout? like its advertised as a game for people who finished undertale and theres lots of references and things that are only as impactful if you had an emotional connection to the original game, like spamton neo and gaster saying "have you been looking for me?" and just.. so many things but most interestingly imo being that ralsei almost comes across like a fanonized "cinnamon roll" version of asriel that was so popular way back when? ofc he's more than that but thats like. a Part of him anyways what i mean is like, when chapter 1 released many people (myself included) saw that and instantly assumed that kris was being controlled by chara because of how strongly chara-esque (*especially* to the fandom, like ralsei) the imagery was, only for chapter 2 to come out and many people (myself included^2) completely disregarded chara as having any bearing on the story whatsoever and that kris is just themself trying *not* to be controlled by us. i think we can all agree that the latter is correct, and some people were clearly smarter than me in chapter 1 and deduced the truth even then (e.g. lynxgriffin in their comics), but i am left wondering what the point of that was almost? i thought you might have some interesting thoughts on that, cause like, if kris's frustration with the player is essentially the main plot of the game (give or take), the allusion to chara was a little bit 'distracting' for the fandom i feel like? some ppl are (somehow) still confused & blaming chara even! i guess im just wondering, what if kris had wore a different shirt and menaced the player in a different way at the end of chapter 1? do you think it would have improved the story to eliminate the possibility of confusion, or do u reckon toby fox want us confused? idk LMAO just thinking aloud atp. just been on my mind the past few days bc in retrospect, while the intro to deltarune is obviously trying to trick you into believing this is "undertale 2", post-dark-world the game is unambiguously super different, to the point where it feels a little bizarre that there'd be a red herring *after* deltarune already smashed the notion that it's a prequel or sequel into pieces doesnt it?

i think it's most legible to me as an attempt by Kris to psych us out that they sort of get lucky with thanks to toby helping them!

like, obviously they have no way to know you've been menaced by nonbinary children before - the specific parallels aren't a thing they're reaching for. but they're trying to get the player freaked out, and toby sort of lends them a helping hand by making them coincidentally charalike.

it's not the first time he's had a character freak us out with knowledge they don't have (thinking about sans and the talking flower in grillbys), and it's not the first time in Deltarune alone where a parallel is arguably sheer coincidence in world but happens to echo something to the player. i don't think it's like cheap or anything - toby fox does a really good job building up a language of associations and connections and motifs and then sometimes uses that to trick you just the tiniest bit lmao

but just like Chara, the ways to see thru the trick are there if you're looking. if you pay attention to Chara, you learn their oh so ominous faces and scares were originally just a thing they did to have fun with their brother, and maybe you get an appreciation that they were a child trying to scare you in childish ways. similarly, if you talk to everyone in town, you learn that Kris is a prankster by nature who delights in freaking everyone out (and also someone who would eat an entire midnight pie), and maybe you get the chance to go "oh, they're pranking me, huh?"

a little like Chara, Deltarune ch1 uses Kris to ask if you've been paying attention to the material. did you notice this really, really wasn't Undertale? and if you did, what conclusion do you reach about this new kid?

#this isnt to like call you out for Not noticing #god knows i also went chara????#and also w chara i had to be educated on narrachara and such #just i think toby has a tendency to ask us to Work towards understanding the human characters #using the lessons of the game itself #alao lynxgriffin was not the first to figure out kris was possessed.

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bwabys-scenarios · 1 year ago

Text

Reunited

Part 34

Illumi x Reader x Feitan(+Kurapika)

part 33

part 35

warnings: suggestive content

A/N: Kurapika is getting lucky next chapter 🫶

taglist: @tsukilover11 @mercyboluthecrazychicken @sxyriii @shidoni-san @living4tomrua @lemonslut @honeylunalove @sugarrushdaydream @canthebest1 @whorermoviestar @fabitheraven @ashdownunderscorebeloved @astresoleil @ranzxki @smuttysammie22 @yandere-enthusiast @lostsomewhereinthegarden @sketchy-owl @bekahtaylorgriggs @zanzie

if you’d like to be ADDED to the taglist, please comment a red heart ❤️, make sure you’re able to be tagged/mentioned, and have your age in your bio(IF YOU ARE ALREADY ON THE TAGLIST, YOU DON’T NEED TO ASK TO BE ADDED AGAIN!!)

if you like my writing, come join my discord!! we watch HXH, play games, and spend all night writing sometimes!! there’s also lots of content there that I may never post here!!

(Name) stepped out of her shower feeling relieved in more ways than one. She’d orgasmed a few times before she was finally satisfied.

“Hmm…”

She sat with a towel wrapped around her on her bed, thinking about what to wear to her dinner date with Illumi. Her eyes landed on the lilac dress she’d bought when she’d gone shopping with Feitan.

“This should do…”

She stood up and placed the dress on her bed before stepping out into the living room to grab her purse. She’d retire her backpack for the night and take the small white purse for a more classy look.

Her towel slipped from her body, falling to the floor. Because she was alone, (Name) didn’t bother to cover herself, and just bent down to pick the towel up.

“With those heels, I might just have an outfit!”

He excitedly ran back to her room and pulled on a pair of her new lacy white panties. Feitan had picked them out for her, even if he’d had his face turned away while he did.

‘I wonder if they would like these…’

(Name) shook the thought from her head. She shouldn’t imagine the men in her life fawning over her underwear choice.

(Name) pulled her dress on, forgetting that it needed to be zipped up.

“Shit… maybe I can ask Illumi when he gets here?”

She continued getting ready. (Name) styled her hair, applied her makeup, and finished by spraying on her favorite perfume.

Knock knock knock!

(Name) set her bottle of perfume down and held her dress to her chest as she ran to the door.

She opened it to see Illumi standing on the other side, smiling down at her.

“Hello, (Name).”

His dark eyes took in her appearance hungrily, his hands twitching at his sides. He hadn’t seen her in so long, and he was aching to touch her.

“Illumi! Come in!”

She pulled the door open and gestured for him to walk in with a friendly smile. Illumi did as told, peeking at her from the corner of his eye to see her dress was unzipped in the back.

“Your dress?”

(Name) sighed. “I was actually just about to ask you to zip me up.”

He didn’t respond, instead grabbing her shoulders and turning her so her back was facing him.

Illumi looked down the expanse of her bare back, biting his lip. She was gorgeous, and this dress showed off all of her curves perfectly.

“Of course.”

He moved the zipper up her back, pausing only to give her one final look before pulling it the rest of the way.

“There.”

She turned around, looking up at him through her eyelashes. He hesitantly pushed a piece of hair out of her face, his touch gentle. “You look lovely.”

She looked away, flustered, warmth spreading through her cheeks.

“Thank you, Illumi.”

He stared down at her for a moment. Illumi had struggled to stay away from her these past past few months. Just being in her presence right now had his heart threatening to burst out of his chest.

“We should go. I’ve made reservations for dinner.”

Illumi took her hand and led her out the door, to a car parked outside. It was nice, nicer than any car she’d ever seen.

He opened the passenger door for her and closed it behind her before sliding into the drivers seat.

“Where’s the restaurant?”

Illumi pushed his hair back, glancing at her from his seat. “A few minutes away.”

She just nodded and stared out the window as he drove.

—————

Illumi pulled into the parking lot of a seemingly fancy restaurant, escorting (Name) to the door.

“After you, dear.”

(Name) walked through the door he held open with a smile, looking around with a gasp.

The restaurant wasn’t huge, only consisting of maybe 10 tables, but it was gorgeous. The walls almost seemed to glow red and yellow, creating enough light to see, but being dark enough for each table to have privacy.

A waiter appeared at their side, smiling. “Master Illumi, welcome. Your table is right this way.”

The man led them away from the front of the restaurant, opening a door to a private dining room. (Name) held onto Illumi’s arm as they walked.

“I’ll be right back with your drinks. Please, have seat and relax.”

The waiter left, closing the door behind them.

(Name) sat down, Illumi taking the seat across her. She played with her napkin.

“So… we should talk about… things.”

Illumi knew that she wanted to talk about what had happened, but he was still a little nervous. He had some things he wanted to tell her, and didn’t know how she’d react.

“Yes, we should. Let’s wait until our drinks arrive and we’ve ordered food.”

(Name) nodded. “Alright, that’s fair.”

The two chatted idly, (Name) doing most of the talking. Honestly, he was just happy to be near her again, and could listen to her talk for ages.

“I got to meet up with my friends too! Oh, I missed them so much and I even-“

She paused. It was probably for the best if she didn’t mention she’d been confessed to. And kissed. More than once.

“Hmm? You even what?”

Illumi tilted his head. “Oh, um… I even got to see Killua!”

This seemed to distract him from the fact she was holding back some other information. “Really? How is he?”

(Name) sighed. “He’s fine.”

The waiter walked in carrying their drinks, smiling. “Here you are! Are you ready to order?”

The two ordered their food, the waiter leaving shortly after.

Illumi looked like he wanted to say something, so (Name) stayed quiet.

“I…”

He took her hands in his, looking into her eyes. “I wanted to… apologize for what I said.”

She stayed quiet, but her eyes lit up.

“I… I never believed for one second that you only cared about money. You never have before.”

‘Never had before?’

“You’ve always been so kind and thoughtful, and never asked me for anything. Although sometimes I wish you would ask for a little…”

He trailed off, squeezing her hands lightly.

“What I’m trying to say is… I’m sorry. You did nothing to earn what I said to you, and even if you had it was still out of line. You’re important to me, and knowing I hurt your feelings…”

He grimaced, looking down at the table. (Name) squeezed his hands back.

“I see… I accept your apology Illumi. I’m really happy you didn’t actually believe in that… it’s a real weight off my shoulders.”

She sighed in relief and gave him that pretty smile of hers. “Is that all you wanted to say?”

Illumi hesitated on this. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. That she looked beautiful tonight, how he was her childhood friend and most importantly…

“I love you.”

He’d blurted this out without thinking, a mistake he didn’t make often. His cheeks turned a light pink when he realized he’d said they aloud.

Illumi searched her face for a reaction, desperate. She didn’t seem offended or upset, just… surprised, and… conflicted?

“You… love me?”

His words finally seemed to sink in, and the girl became visibly flustered. Her cheeks heated up in a blush.

“…”

Illumi leaned across the table and pulled her into a kiss. It was as gentle as he could manage, his hand on her face keeping her firmly in place.

When he pulled back, his eyes were half lidded, his tongue licking up the remnants of her strawberry flavored chapstick.

“Yes, I do. I…”

He sat back down and grabbed her hands. “I want to marry you, (Name).”

(Name) blinked and hurriedly let go of his hands. “M-marriage!? Illumi, I haven’t even been on a date with y-“

“Then let’s go on a date. I’ll take you anywhere you’d like to go.”

He pulled her hands back into his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles gently. ‘So soft…’

“Illumi…”

She sighed and looked down. “Marriage is… a big thing. You can’t just confess your love for me and say you want to get married. I haven’t even said if I reciprocated yet.”

“You don’t have to reciprocate my feelings now. You can grow to love me after we’re married.”

He lifted her hand to kiss it, (Name) groaning. “Illumi. I haven’t even agreed to marriage yet. And yes, if I marry someone I have to love them.”

Illumi paused, his eyes boring into her. “You said you wouldn’t mind marrying me, before. Has… something changed?”

He felt something awful begin to well up in his stomach. Had she fallen for one of her friends?

“I said I wouldn’t mind, not that I would marry you or was ready for it.”

She lifted one of her hands to rub her temple. “Illumi, I’m not rejecting you, or saying I would never marry you. I just…”

Illumi’s grip tightened on her hand. “What?”

She decided not to acknowledge the tone of his voice.

“I’m not ready for that. For… any of this. I’m not even sure how I feel about you, about anyone yet.”

“Anyone?”

(Name) felt the air begin to change.

“Does that mean there is someone else?”

She looked away. “… kind of? I mean I’m not sure how I feel for them either.”

“Them? Plural?”

(Name) nodded hesitantly. Illumi would have never thought he’d have any competition for (Name)’s hand, considering he thought she was already HIS. The thought of any other man taking her from him made his skin crawl.

“…”

He bit the inside of his cheek so hard it bled, his eyes closing as he attempted to calm himself down.

‘She hasn’t rejected you, and obviously has to feel SOMETHING for you. Calm yourself before you scare her off.’

Before Illumi could think any further, (Name) stood up and approached him. “(Name)?”

She didn’t respond, only wrapping her arms around him. He quickly pulled her in closer, his nose burying itself into her hair. God, he missed having her in his arms.

“I do care for you, Illumi. A lot. Please don’t think you come second to anyone. This isn’t what this is about. I just need time to think things over, okay? Until then…”

She pulled away and pecked his lips before kissing him again, this time deepening it.

Illumi melted into her lips, his hands roaming her back. Before his fingers could reach her zipper to pull it down, there was a knock on the door.

(Name) pulled away and sat down, smiling at him.

“Be patient, okay?”

She gave him a wink before the waiter walked in with their food.

Illumi wasn’t a patient man by nature, but for her, he felt like he could wait for forever if it meant those lips would be on his again.

———————

After dinner, Illumi got a call from Hisoka and had to leave. She wasn’t sure why, but he seemed rather annoyed.

“I’m sorry, I planned on staying with you overnight, but it seems I’m needed.”

He cupped her cheek, the girl confused. “Overnight? Why?”

He tilted his head, leaning towards her from his seat in the car. “To make love to you, of course.”

(Name)’s jaw dropped. “Make- oh.”

(Name) wasn’t exactly opposed to having sex with Illumi, in fact she was quite hot and bothered after being kissed by two handsome men in one day, but she was a little surprised he’d said this out loud.

“My apologies, I’ll make it up to you later.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I have to go now. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to see you again, but it should be soon. How much longer are you staying in York New?”

(Name) sighed. “I haven’t bought my tickets home yet, so I don’t have any scheduled time to leave. I have to be out of my condo in a two days, though.”

Illumi nodded. “I see. I can pick you up and take you to the manor when you are ready. We’ll have more privacy there.”

(Name) was about to complain about not agreeing to leaving with him and the fact that they would not have any privacy in his home, but he was already parking and leaving the car to let her out.

“Goodnight, (Name).”

He gave her a final kiss. His kisses were a bit awkward and rough, but with a little guidance they were becoming softer, sweeter. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip, causing her mouth to open in a gasp and give his tongue access.

(Name) moaned into his mouth as his hands squeezed her ass. If Illumi didn’t have to leave, he would have kicked her door open and taken her on the floor if he had to.

Illumi pulled away, their tongues connected by a strand of saliva. (Name) blushed profusely at his expression. She could just feel the tension in the air, and in his hands.

“G-goodnight to you too.”

(Name) walked into her condo, pulling her dress over her head and throwing it into her closet. She was burning up, from the dress and from his kisses.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket to see Leorio had sent her a picture.

Silly<3: since you asked to see Kurapika’s disguise…

Silly<3 sent an image!

It was a picture of Kurapika dressed in his disguise, applying lipstick. It was surprisingly attractive, (Name) kicking her feet as she took on his appearance.

“He sure is pretty…”

She sighed. There were no other messages. Feitan must of been busy, and she knew the rest of her friends were as well.

She could feel her panties get wet as she remembered the past few days. Feitan calling her a good girl, Kurapika groping her, Illumi saying he was going to fuck her…

This much attention was making her head spin. She slipped her fingers into her core, whining against her pillow as she fingered herself to the thought of being fondled and touched by all these men.

It was too much, the girl whimpering and whining as she reached her high, cumming on her fingers.

‘This is so dirty…’

She stood and walked to the shower to clean the stickiness from her legs.

After her shower, (Name) lied back in her bed in just a pair of panties and her shirt, sighing softly into the plush material of her pillow.

———————

(Name) was awoken by her blanket being tugged off of her. “Wake u-“

She whimpered at the sudden coldness, pawing at where her blanket had been.

“Rest of you, out. Now.”

“But-“

“Out.”

(Name) slowly rubbed at her eyes before she opened them.

“Oh, Fei! What’s up?”

She smiled at him, arching her back as she stretched before collapsing on the bed again. He stared at her body, seemingly transfixed on her lower half…

‘Oh. I only wore panties and a shirt to bed…’

She squeaked and rushed past him to her bathroom to throw on a pair of pajama pants. Feitan watched her run, noticing the slight bounce her ass made when she did.

He didn’t even bother trying to calm his racing heart down, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from getting hard. Did she have to arch her back, making the imprint of her pussy in her strawberry panties completely visible to him?

She walked back out of her room wearing a pair of shorts that were a bit too short considering he wasn’t the only one in her condo, but Feitan wasn’t the type to tell her what she could and couldn’t wear.

She didn’t meet his eye, quickly shuffling past him and into the living room.

“Hey there, strawberries!” Shalnark waved to her, his cheeks a light pink.

(Name) gasped and her hands immediately went to her butt. “Did you…”

“Yep! We saw!”

“We!?”

She glanced around the room to see Phinks and Nobunaga sitting on her couch. They both seemed a little flustered, Phinks hiding it better than Nobunaga, who was a blushing mess.

Neither of them could look her in the eye.

“Didn’t think you’d be sleeping half naked.” Feitan said as he left her room, glad that he was wearing his cloak to hide himself.

“Well I didn’t think you’d be bursting into my room! You could have knocked or something!”

“I did. For five minutes.”

Her eyebrow twitched, and Shalnark wasn’t helping much with the way his eyes were following her ass as she walked.

“Jesus…” she walked to the kitchen and pulled out a juice box, which she sipped on while they began to talk.

“What’s the reason you’re all gathered here anyways? Didn’t know my condo was a hang out…” she’d said this jokingly, but the air grew cold all of a sudden.

“Wait, I wasn’t being serious, you’re all always welc-“

“Not that.”

Feitan looked down at the floor, clutching the fabric of his coat tightly.

She frowned. One look around the room told her that what they needed to say was serious.

“Last night…”

Feitan stepped forward, ready to bring her into his arms.

“Pakunoda died.”

(Name) stared at the short man, her eyes wide with shock. A small tremble entered her limbs, her hands slowly lifting to cover her mouth.

“No…”

Feitan pulled her close as she began to cry, openly sobbing into his shoulder. “No… not Pakunoda too…”

(Name) hadn’t known her long, but after she’d seen (Name)’s trauma, she bonded with her.

She’s promise to show Pakunoda her cats one day, even offering to let her adopt one of the kittens Tammy had.

But now she was gone. Forever.

Nobunaga stood up, walking towards the pair. He was tall and a little intimidating to the shorter girl, but she wiped away her tears and looked up to face him anyways.

“You… you cried for Uvogin and Pakunoda. And the flowers you gave us…”

He pulled one of the paper daisies from his kimono. “It’s a testament to your kindness. We wanted you to know Pakunoda had been thankful to you, for letting her see your past.”

He gave her a sad smile, something that must of been hard to do, considering two of his childhood friends had passed within the past two days.

“I… I’m so sorry. If I had been with you I could have-“

Feitan stopped her by covering her mouth with his hand. “Shh. Don’t be sorry. You there, would have gotten you killed.”

Shalnark was the next one to approach, patting her head. “We all know what comes with what we do. Every member of the group understands that death is inevitable, and that our work means it’ll come for us quicker than it would normal people. Pakunoda knew this, and accepted her fate.”

She couldn’t help the tears streaming down her face. “But… but…”

“Shh. You couldn’t have done anything to change what happened. She was killed instantly, no nen could have saved her.”

Shalnark gave her a hug if his own, rubbing soothing circles into her back. (Name) sniffled, finally drying up her tears enough to be let go and start making breakfast.

The four watched from the living room as she sniffled while mixing up scrambled eggs and flipping pancakes.

“She’s cooking breakfast?” Shalnark asked.

“Cooks when she’s stressed.” Feitan answered.

A few minutes into cooking she got a call.

‘It’s Leorio!’

“Hello?”

“(Name), we need you right now! Kurapika… he’s hurt.”

(Name) dropped her spatula to the floor, causing Feitan to look up from reading one of the books sitting on her table. “(Name)?”

“Where are you?”

Feitan walked over as (Name) wrote down an address on a piece of paper, before turning to Feitan.

“Can any of you cook?”

Shalnark poked his head up. “I can, at least breakfast foods.”

She handed him her apron and ran to her room, throwing off her shirt before she even closed the door all the way.

“Your girlfriend has so self preservation.” Phinks said, turning to Feitan with a raised eyebrow.

Feitan decided he wasn’t in the mood to correct him. “Not wrong.”

She walked out of her room wearing a pair of jogging pants and a sweater, hopping around as she attempted to pull on her other shoe and talk to someone over the the phone.

“Yes, yes I’ll be there in 15 minutes. Please tell him I’ll be there.”

She rummaged through the cabinets and grabbed a pop tart before walking towards her front door.

“(Name) what are you doing?”

She paused for a moment as Feitan grabbed her sleeve. “A friend of mine was hurt, and I need to go help him. Shalnark, sweetheart, can to finish up breakfast? You all can stay as long as you need, just-“

“I come with you.”

(Name) sighed, pulling at his hand. “Fei, that’s an awful idea. I know you all have been up to something, and it’s not a good idea to be out and about during the day.”

She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be back tonight. Maybe. See ya!”

She left while he was distracted by the kiss, closing the door behind her.

He couldn’t turn around and face his friends with his cheek as red as a tomato.

“Ooo, someone’s going to get lucky t-“

Feitan threw a shoe at Shalnark’s head.

��————

(Name) munched on her pop tart as she sat in the back of her cab, anxiously texting Leorio. He took a minute to respond.

Silly<3: he has a fever, everyone’s here right now.

(Name) held her backpack to her chest, hoping he’d be alright. Her heart thumped painfully against her ribs.

‘He promised he would be okay…’

The cab dropped her off in front of the small motel, (Name) jumping out and running to the entrance.

Killua and Gon were waiting for her outside. “(Name)!”

They led her to where Kurapika was resting, if you could call it that. The fever was causing him to thrash in bed and pant like an animal.

“Kurapika…”

She ignored everyone else in the room, Leorio shooing the others out of the way. She dropped down onto her knees next to him, pushing back his hair.

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here sweetheart.”

Just her hand infused with nen was enough to make him relax a bit, but to save his life she’d have to go to a level two.

The entire room went quiet when she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. Even in his sleep, it was like he knew she was there.

“(Name)..” he muttered against her lips, his body finally relaxing. She pulled away and placed a hand on his forehead, sighing in relief.

“He’ll be okay.”

A woman behind her let out a breath she’d been holding in. “Oh, thank goodness. We were terrified the fever might kill him.”

She glanced back at the woman and smiled. “Your voice… it’s so pretty…”

Her eyes fluttered closed and she fell backwards into the floor.

“(NAME)!”

She grunted, trying to pick herself up, but could barely move her limbs.

“(Name), what’s going on? Are y-“

She shook her head. “I’m fine. If I hadn’t been here… he would have died. My ability takes my stamina and gives it to whoever I kiss to help speed up their healing process. And he…”

Leorio helped her to a chair. “If he was able to zap away all your stamina…”

“Then he was near death.” Gon finished, watching over his friend with concerned eyes. The woman stepped forward with a smile.

“You care deeply for Kurapika. Differently than the others do.”

(Name) barely had the energy to be embarrassed, whimpering slightly. “Oh don’t expose me like that in front of everyone…”

‘Is it not obvious?’ Leorio thought, his eyebrow twitching.

The woman laughed. “My name is Melody, I’m a coworker of Kurapika.”

“I’m (Name), a friend.”

Killua watched this interaction with conflicted interests.

On one hand, he thought Kurapika could potentially be a much better match for (Name) than his brother. On the other, he knew that Illumi genuinely did love her, and despite their differences he did care for him.

(Name) stayed by Kurapika’s side the rest of the day, only stepping away to eat and use the bathroom. Leorio offered to watch over him when night fell, but she stayed by his side even then.

“I can’t leave him. If his fever spikes again, I want to be nearby.”

Leorio knew better than to argue, so he pulled the small couch over so she could at least rest comfortably against it as she watched over Kurapika.

He tossed and turned in his sleep, muttering something unintelligible. She took his hand and kissed each of his finger tips, sighing as his palm cupped her cheek. Even asleep, his touch was gentle and loving.

“Oh, Kurapika… my sweet boy…”

Tears welled up when she looked down at his exhausted expression. She wanted to make all of his pain go away, but her nen only worked on physical ailments, not emotional ones.

She hummed the Kurtan lullaby he’d sang to her months ago, running her hands through his blonde hair. This calmed him enough to keep him from thrashing.

(Name) woke up to the sound of her phone ringing in the middle of the night. She looked down at it groggily, rubbing her eyes.

‘Did I fall asleep?’

She answered it quickly and walked outside to talk to the person privately.

“Hello?”

“(Name), where are you? Said you’d come back tonight.”

It was Feitan, and he sounded both worried and irritated.

“I said maybe, Fei. His condition was worse than I thought, so I’ve been watching over him. I’ll need to give him more treatment when he wakes up.”

Feitan scoffed. “Can’t anyone else watch… him?”

(Name) raised an eyebrow. “Technically, yes, but I’m watching over him. He… he almost died.”

Feitan was quiet for a moment, the sound of people talking in the background making her sigh.

“Are you still at my condo?”

“Yes.”

“… is everyone else there too?”

“… yes…”

(Name) held back a giggle. “There’s a pull out couch and a few air mattresses in the storage closet. You can have my bed, the others can fight over who gets what.”

Feitan pushed his hand through his dark hair with a sigh. “You not coming, then?”

“I’m not. Sorry, Fei. I can be there tomorrow, though, promise.”

“Tomorrow… I get you dress in the morning. We have plans for tomorrow.”

“Dress? Do you even know my s-“

He only laughed, before hanging up. (Name) looked down at her phone with sleepy eyes before pocketing it and walking back inside. Killua was waiting for her by the door to Kurapika’s room.

“Who were you talking to?”

He didn’t look suspicious, just curious.

“Oh, just a friend. He seems to be jealous I’m spending so much time with Kurapika.”

She walked past Killua into Kurapika’s room, sitting beside him once more.

Killua sat down next to her and leaned his head against her shoulder. “It’s been a hard week for you, huh?” (Name) asked, wrapping her arm around him.

He didn’t answer. It felt nice to be comforted, for someone to recognize he was having a hard time. Not many people noticed when Killua was genuinely tired or upset.

“You should sleep. The auction is tomorrow, right? You’ll want to be fully rested.”

Killua nodded, but didn’t move. He was pretty tired, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up. She was warm, and safe. He just wanted to feel protected for a little bit longer.

(Name) chuckled, moving a bit. “Here, you can sleep next to me. There’s just enough room.”

She lied down and patted the bit of couch next to her. Usually, killua wouldn’t have taken her offer even if he wanted to, but tonight was different. He was anxious about the auction, about Kurapika’s condition. A little bit of comfort couldn’t hurt, right?

He crawled in next to her, the woman instantly wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. She was warm and soft, like a mother should be. He felt his eyes get heavy. It ordinarily took Killua hours to fall asleep, but now, he was about to pass out after only a minute of being in (Name)’s arms.

“Goodnight, Killua.”

He had fallen asleep, not able to say it back. She kissed the top of his head and pulled their blanket up to his chin. (Name) worried deeply did the boy. He’d never been so clingy before, whatever had happened the past few days must of been stressful.

She continued to hum that Kurtan lullaby throughout the night, only stopping when she fell asleep herself.

——————

(Name) awoke to the smell of something delicious. She pushed herself up, realizing that Killua was gone. ‘He probably left before everyone else woke up…’

She rubbed her eyes as she felt someone sit on the couch next to her. “Good morning, (Name). Got you some breakfast.”

It was Leorio, who was handing her a box of takeout. She took it with a grateful smile.

“Thank you, my nen takes a lot out of me.”

She began eating as other people filed into the room. Melody was there, alone with a strange man she hadn’t met before.

“Did you sleep okay?” Melody asked, giving her a smile. (Name) nodded, smiling back.

“Yes, I did. Thank you for being here for Kurapika. I’m sure he appreciates you.”

The woman was taken aback by this. ‘This girl… her heart beats for the sake of other people… what a kind sound…’

(Name) turned her attention back to Kurapika, planting another kiss on his forehead. “He’s doing a lot… better.”

She nearly fell again, but Leorio was there to catch her this time. “Woah, easy there. Warn us before you start treatment, doll face.”

She giggled, pinching his cheek. “Doll face?”

“If Kurapika can call you angel, I can call you doll face!”

His cheeks turned slightly pink, a pout on his lips. She smiled pulling him in for a hug.

“That’s fine with me.”

For a moment Leorio stared down at her, his hands on her waist. If Kurapika hadn’t confessed his love for her just a day ago, maybe Leorio would allow himself to feel something more for her.

But he couldn’t. Kurapika was obviously IN love with her. It wasn’t some crush or just lust, it was love.

“Yeah, yeah.”

He pulled away and ruffled her hair. “You’re like a magnet, ya know? You’re always pulling people in.”

(Name) tilted her head, confused. “Magnet?”

He laughed. “Never mind. Go ahead and eat your breakfast. We’re going to go grocery shopping. You think you can make lunch?”

She nodded. “I’ll make some soup that Kurapika can eat when he wakes up.”

The group left, leaving (Name) with Gon, Killua, and the still asleep Kurapika.

“We’re going to get ready for the auction.”

Killua stayed quiet next to Gon, staring at her with his blue eyes. He seemed to be trying to tell her something.

“Gon, could you grab me a drink?”

“Yeah sure!”

The boy raced off, leaving the two alone. Killua stared at her for a moment more before sighing and slowly wrapping his arms around her.

‘He’s shy, that’s adorable.’

She didn’t say this out loud, only humming again while patting his back. “Thank you. For last night.”

He kept a grip on the back of her shirt, his chin resting atop her head.

“It’s nothing, really. I’ll always be here if you need me, Killua.”

He didn’t respond, his grip tightening on her shirt answer enough. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

They heard Gon’s footsteps coming down the hallway, causing Killua to let go and step back.

“Here you go (Name)!” He offered her a glass of lemonade, which she took.

“Thank you, ya cutie pie!”

(Name) pulled him into a hug and kissed the top of his head. “My sweet boys! I’m so proud of you both, ya know? You’ve been through so much recently yet you’re still going strong.”

The two became a bit flustered over her praise, sitting next to her while she watched over Kurapika.

They stayed by her side and chatted until they had to leave to get ready for the auction. By that time, Leorio was back with groceries.

“Hey, got what ya needed! I’ll take over watching Kurapika, so you can make lunch.”

She nodded and stood, stretching her limbs. It was around 11 am, giving her just enough time to have lunch ready by 1 pm.

(Name) began cutting up celery and onions as chicken boiled on the stove. Occasionally she’d leave the small kitchen to run up the stairs and check on Kurapika, who was still would asleep.

She dropped the noodles into the pot of chicken broth to let them boil, tearing apart the now cooled chicken into bite size pieces.

When she had finished, she placed the sautéed vegetables, chicken, and a can of cut carrots into the pot, creating chicken noodle soup.

She began making bowls for each of the people still there. One for her, one for Leorio, one for Melody, and one for Kurapika.

‘He should be waking up soon…’ she thought, carrying the bowls on a tray upstairs.

“Oh (Name), that smells delicious!”

Melody took the tray from her hands and offered (Name) her seat by Kurapika’s side. (Name) took it with a small thanks.

“Mmm, (Name)’s cooking! Haven’t had some of this since the Hunter Exam!”

Melody smiled. “Oh, you took the Hunter Exam together?”

The two nodded. “Yes! Leorio, Killua, Gon, Kurapika, and I all took the Hunter Exam together! Ahh, what simple times those were…”

She took a bite of her soup, Leorio following suit.

After a moment (Name) left to the convenience store to grab more coffee for Leorio and Melody.

——————

(Name) walked back into the motel, drinks in hand when she heard talking upstairs. She blinked, hurrying up the stairs.

‘Was that..?’

She burst into the room to see Kurapika turn his head slightly, a tired smile on his lips when he saw her.

“Angel… you’re here…”

Tears started to fall from her face as Melody grabbed the cups so (Name) could collapse next to him, crying into his chest.

“I was… I was so scared you weren’t gonna make it!”

She sniffed and cried, the blonde lifting his hand to pat her weakly.

“Shhh, I’m alright. I promised I would come back to you alive, right?”

She nodded slowly, looking up at him through her teary eyes. “Yeah… you did…”

He wiped away her tears. Kurapika stared at her lips before (Name) caught him and leaned forward, capturing his lips in a kiss.

Melody blushed and quickly turned to give them some privacy.

(Name) pulled away and smiled.

“I love you, angel. Thank you for being here… it’s more than I deserve.”

She shook her head. “You deserve the world, Kurapika. I…”

She kissed his forehead, causing the blonde to pout. “You missed.”

He pointed to his lips. (Name) rolled her eyes and gave him another kiss, making him sigh dreamily. “Is that better, sweetheart?”

His eyes started to drift closed. “Mhm… much…”

“Kurapika, would you like some-“

“He’s asleep.”

(Name) looked back at Kurapika to see he’d fallen asleep again, this time with a small smile on his lips. Leorio changed the rag on his forehead, sighing.

“You should get plenty of rest.”

(Name) clutched at the fabric of her sweater, contemplating giving Kurapika another nen infused kiss for treatment when her phone began to ring.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried out the door as to not wake her exhausted friend.

“Hello?”

“Got your dress. Meet me in front of auction in 15 minutes. Help you get ready.”

Click.

‘Feitan, again? How rude.’

She sighed and walked back up the Kurapika’s room.

“Hey, I’ll be leaving for a few hours at most. A friend of mine needs me for something.”

Leorio nodded. “Of course, you’ve done more than enough. You should try and rest, considering how much nen you’ve used within the past day.”

She gave a quick nod before grabbing her backpack and sitting beside Kurapika once more.

“I’ll be back, okay? And… I’ll be keeping my promise to you.”

She pressed a sweet, gentle kiss to his forehead before leaving once more.

“Promise? What do you think that means, Melody?”

The woman only shook her head, her face red. “Oh um…”

‘It means something… not very platonic.’

——————

(Name) walked into the auction hall feeling insecure in her day old jogging pants and sweater. She got some weird looks from multiple people before she felt someone grab her arm and pull her towards a private area.

“Fei!”

She smiled brightly at the man tugging her away, spotting Phinks to her left. “Shh. Draw attention to yourself, stupid girl.”

The two pulled her into an empty room, Phinks holding a black bag. “You know, when two men pull a woman into a room she can’t help but be a little frightened.”

Feitan rolled his eyes. “I never hurt you.”

‘Not on purpose, at least.’

As Phinks pulled out a long red dress, Feitan stared at the wrist he’d broken just days before. Guilt still consumed him when he thought about it for too long.

“Oh…”

(Name) held the dress in front of her, raising an eyebrow at the two. “Are you sure this will fit me?”

Feitan shrugged. “Should, Machi made it.”

“Machi?”

“Yeah, don’t tell her I told you but it’s a gift from her.”

‘Oh, she’s shy. That’s cute!’

(Name) stared at the two men, who were watching her. “Can you two… um… leave so I can change?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

The two walked out and stood guard at the door, sending glares at anyone that got too close.

A few minutes later it clicked open, (Name) stepping out in the heels that had been included.

Feitan only looked at her for a second before he shoved her back into the room and closed the door behind him.

The dress she was wearing fit, but the chest area was snug. It was a sleeveless, floor length gown with slit on the left side that went all the way up her thigh.

“…”

He stared down at her ample cleavage, causing the girl to blush. “Fei you’re… you’re staring.”

He glanced up at her through his dark eyelashes, humming. “What about it?”

She pouted and covered her chest. “Pervert.“

He grabbed her waist and pulled her in close, staring at her face. She gasped when she shoved his nose into her neck, sniffing at her.

“Smell different. Like another man.”

She pushed him back a little, flustered.. “Y-yeah, my friend is a man. I was treating him.”

Feitan did little to hide his jealousy. “Tch. Stinks, brought your perfume.”

He covered his nose and pulled away, his eyes narrowed. (Name) snickered.

“You’re acting like a jealous boyfriend, Fei. I don’t think he stinks at all, in fact he smells very nice, like warm vanilla.”

Feitan scoffed. “Like vanilla? What is he, girl?”

“No, he’s not! He’s very pretty though…”

He didn’t miss her faint smile as she thought of him. Feitan looked away, biting his lip.

‘Does she think I’m pretty..?’

It was easier for her to see all the subtle expressions on his face when he wasn’t wearing that coat.

“Oh.”

Because she’d been pulled away and shoved into a dark room to get dressed, she hadn’t had the time to take in Feitan’s appearance.

His hair was combed, and dressed in a nice suit. She hummed in appreciation. “Fei, you sure clean up nice.”

Feitan’s face reddened by her compliment, the man turning away quickly to hide it. “Shut up. Time to go.”

But he was happy she noticed the effort he put into looking a bit nicer.

He opened the door and (Name) stepped out, Phinks letting out a low whistle.

“You sure are pretty, (Name).”

The girl waved her hand and giggled. “Aww, you’re sweet Phinks.”

Feitan handed her the makeup bag Machi helped them pack and pointed her towards the women’s restroom.

‘Why did I have to change in a random room when the women’s room was right there??’

She huffed and left to do her makeup.

——————

Feitan’s breath hitched when she left. She always looked gorgeous too him, but today she was on a whole other level.

While he loved the soft pastels she usually wore, he couldn’t deny that seeing her in that deep red made him feral. Feitan offered her his arm, which she took without hesitation.

It almost felt… normal the way she held onto him. She wasn’t scared, wasn’t intimidated by his presence. It was still something he was getting used to, but it felt nice to be touched without fear.

“Fei, I didn’t know you were taking me out on a date.” she whispered into his ear. The dark haired man paused for a split second before he continued walking.

“… not a date. Job.”

Phinks rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah sure, Fei.’

(Name) only giggled and kissed his cheek, lingering for a bit before pulling away.

“Mhm.”

Feitan tried to keep his expression neutral, but it wasn’t easy. Her affectionate nature made him both nervous and incredibly happy. It was hard not to smile and give her a kiss back.

The three sat down, (Name) the closest to the stairs. She didn’t pay much attention to the auction, instead reading from a book Feitan swiped from her condo.

“(Name)!?”

(Name) didn’t even process her arm being grabbed until she was pulled into the hallway, being dragged behind someone so fast her feet didn’t touch the ground.

“Why are there here??”

“How would I know?!”

(Name) recognized those voices.

“Gon? Killua, wh-“

They stopped, (Name) having to hold her head from the whiplash. Her two young friends placed her in between them, eyeing her two… older friends that surrounded them.

“Hey, that was rude. No need to run away with our little lady.”

Killua’s grip on her arm tightened, they two boys staring at her.

“Don’t worry, you hand her over and we won’t kill you.”

(Name) blinked. “Kill? Why would you kill them, they’re my friends.”

Phinks and Feitan blinked, the four staring at each other.

The four were slowly starting to piece some things together, (Name) still holding her head. “Ugh… boys, what is going on?”

Feitan sent Killua and Gon a look, telling them they needed to stay quiet.

‘Does she not know these are the people we’ve been fighting against?’ Killua thought, pulling her a little closer. ‘Are they using her or something? No, Feitan’s aura is almost surrounding her, as if he’s protecting her…’

(Name) began to wobble away. “Listen, I gotta go throw up, don’t kill each other. That means you, Fei and Killua.”

Feitan watched as she left, barely able to keep himself from accompanying her so she didn’t fall and hurt herself.

————————

(Name) sat on the counter in the bathroom, sighing. She’d felt sick, but hadn’t thrown up. She didn’t want to think about the implications of all of her friends knowing each other and potentially being enemies. It made her head spin.

When she heard a knock on the door, she hopped off the counter and walked out. Feitan greeted her with a nod of his head.

“Your friends… lots of trouble.”

He didn’t want to know if she knew the chain user, knowing that she was still processing a lot of information from the last few days.

“… you didn’t hurt them, right?”

Feitan shook his head. “Didn’t, not worth it.”

She frowned. “Does that mean you would hurt children if it was worth it?”

He knew he messed up when he met her eyes. She was looking at him with a mix of disbelief and disgust.

“… didn’t say that. Not normal children, anyways.”

She seemed to accept his answer with a sigh. “You shouldn’t hurt any children, Fei. It’s not right.”

(Name) pulled het purse to her chest and walked towards the entrance of the Auction Hall.

“Where you going?”

“To check on a friend. I’ll be home later tonight.”

Although she accepted his answer, she still wanted to talk with Gon and Killua later to make sure they were alright. But before that, she needed to see Kurapika.

Feitan didn’t stop her, only watching her walk away with a sigh. Phinks patted his shoulder. “Smooth. You know, sweet women like her don’t take too kindly to people that hurt kids. You’ll need to be on your best behavior, Fei.”

The dark haired man pushed Phink’s hand off his shoulder. “Whatever…”

But Feitan couldn’t shake how his body shook when she looked at him like that. It terrified him to think she might see him as the monster he could be one day, instead of the Feitan she saw.

‘Her sweet Fei, is what she called me. I want to be that…’

He followed his friend back to the auction hall.

“Going to steal extra copy for her.”

“Of course you are.”

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syaolaurant · 5 months ago

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Hogwarts Legacy inspired me to draw and have fun joining fandom again

Warning: Long!!! and this is just my random talk.

I've been using this account for 3 years now (may be 4, I don't remember correctly). I created this blog mostly for posting my The Arcana fanart, and get to know very talented artists/writers and their Apprentices. That time was super fun, joining a fandom helped my drawing/water-coloring skill improve a lots. And another reason why I was so active at that time is because I was in a long-distance relationship, I didn't have much to do after work except playing games and draw, haha, like everyday.

And then after 8 years of dating we broke up, because I could not leave everything behind and come to Australia to live with him without marriage. I quitted my job at a travel agency after the covid 19 second outbreak in Vietnam. Anyway, that is when I lost my willing to draw. I still logged on Tumblr thou, occasionally, but I just didn't have the feeling to hold my brushes again. At the same time Nyx Hydra was acquired by Dorian, The Arcana is not the same anymore. I still love the original story but I refuse to play the new stories on Dorian app. The fandom friends I know on Tumblr also deactivated. So I stopped drawing & left the fandom for almost 2 years.

Still I was lucky, early 2021 I found a new job in gaming industry, and met my husband there. It didn't take us several years to decided to get marriage. Last year was super busy, and I still play games, like alots. Genshin Impact, Baldur Gate 3, Red Dead 2, Tiny Tina's Wonderland...They're wonderful, but none of those ignited my willing to draw again. I couldn't explain , I tried to make fanart but always left the piece unfinished...

Until last month my husband bought me Hogwarts Legacy.

I've known about the game since its release, but didn't purchase it until this year due to my personal schedule and I wanted to finish other game first. Playing HL is different, like I see my 15 year old self stepping into the world I wish I could be there but couldn't. I was so excited! So many time I ran around the castle (casting revelio repeatedly and) shouting to my husband about how beautiful the environment is. And I met Sebastian, I thought he's cool but still didn't pay much attention on him until he took me to Felcroft. And all the shadow questline, all the lost and tragedies, the unfinished ending (why Avalanche?). So it has been decided, I wanted to be a part in this fandom, there are so many things could have been added in the game but the dev decided to throw them away, I needed to pick up my pencil and brushes.

And I'm glad I did. It's been 2 years since I joined a fandom and I almost forgot how fun it is. I've met so many nice artists who warmly welcomed me, and whose fanarts are too good that push me to improve my own drawing. I've read many beautiful fanfics that made me sobbing and giggling. It's like I've found the feelings I lost, and I want to thank you all for that.

Damn this post is too long already....

What I tried to say is, I don't know how long I will be here until my personal life pull me away again. But right now I'm on fire and I'm happy HL took me back here. After all I appreciate seeing you guy's contents everyday, and your nice comments whenever I posted something on Tumblr. I hope you don't mind if I post everything on this blog not only HL but also abit of my personal life, I just don't see the need to create another side ones. To end this post, here's the view from my company windows :"D

#sorry for the fking long post #I hope you all have a nice week ahead #please don't mind my english #personal #hogwarts legacy

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kaija-rayne-author · 17 days ago

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13th review in series of Dragon Age Veilguard

98 steam hours logged, 84 game hours logged on final save, (the listing in the game itself) actual gameplay hours (-2 for time in CC) either 96 or 82... depending.

14 hour discrepancy between game logged hours and steam logged hours is likely how much trouble the game gave me in loading, reloading, glitching, and crashing. Do I get to charge Bioware for those lost hours of my life?

Obligatory disclaimer, feel free to skip it if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though., every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Spoilers for Dragon Age Veilguard and everything else DA, I'm a Lore fiend.

My pithy pre-end sequence commentary.

Section 12 here.

END GAME SPOILERS

End game spoilers for BG3 too.

13 is my lucky number, but even that couldn't save it. I can't think of a single thing that can save this disaster of a game. I'll write a more professional wrap-up review post too, this is my reaction portion.

I've finished the final sequence of the game. Sat through the credits of probably a thousand people who worked on this piece of shit and still thought it releasable. AND saw the 'easter egg/future game possibility scene'. My kid said I got a hint of hope back in my eyes for about 10 seconds when that final scene popped up then the light faded again. Apparently the 'long slow horrified stare of death' was all over my face again.

Loading in, I dreaded everything I was about to see. Veilguard had already disappointed me in so many ways. I didn't have any hope the final sequence would be any better.

It wasn't as bad as I expected. It was worse. Yes. Honestly.

In all fairness (even if I really don't want to be fair right now) the last sequence does contain some of the best material in the game. If they'd actually written the rest of it with that kind of passion it probably would've been a better game. But that doesn't actually make it good. And how any average person makes it to the final sequence is beyond me. I'm stuck in bed. I've got an excuse.

So. I expected it to be long. That part didn't bother me that much. Most Dragon Age games have long final sequences.

The positive! Ummmm? Oh! I actually did get an intimate scene with Lucanis. His timing stinks but whatever. I did actually get one. I mean, it was one your aunt who's a nun probably wouldn't have found racey, but it exists! Dude. It's 2024, there's this cool toggle function you can click off if you don’t want nudity. It's a Mature rated game and I'm pretty sure most of us know what sex is. Give paying customers what they want!

My least favourite character died.

I called it on Solas killing Varric in the first scene. Interesting twist they did with that, though. Told y'all. I didn't want it to happen either, but the writing was on the wall in great big letters in drippy red paint from the second they fired Mary Kirby (Varric's writer.) In case you want more details than snark on that? Varric did indeed die when Solas stabbed him in the beginning. What you see throughout the game is Solas messing with Rook's mind because Solas needs Rook to work with him. Varric died before the story actually started. That last line of his 'take care of the team' told me. But I got taken in by the twist too. Bet that was a Weekes twist. 'It’s right in front of you the whole time.'

Elgar'nan made a WAY better final boss fight than Coryphyfish.

I did legitimately love watching Teia and Viago fight as crows. That was a really awesome section. (They're two of my favourite characters from Tevinter Nights.)

The bad.

There is no way for me to list it all. So here's the highlight reel.

Varric died.

They lifted almost the entire final battle sequence from BG3. The tentacle they have to climb to the fancy building in the sky. People falling and almost dying by tumbling down the tentacle, having to fight through said self-destructing fancy building in the sky... I know you can't copyright an idea. As an author, I understand and approve of that. But you should at least make the idea a wee bit unrecognizable as to where you lifted it from. Y'know?

Yay! We got to see Solas in wolfie form! He looks like a Chinese hairless crested dog on a really bad day. Like... really needs to go to the salon and have a bath day. I really wish I were joking.

Called it on the Solavellan ending. And NO. Trick Weekes. That DOES NOT give a suggestion of a Happy Fucking Ending. Read some fucking Romance. GOOD romance. (They do. And I'm being very mature by not calling out one of the authors they read who was one of the ones who harassed me off of Twitter. Oh. No. Two of them I've seen Trick mention as books they've read were involved in that. I guess looking at the people someone likes and respects is kinda indicative... isn't it?)

What's that say about me? I don't like very many people. I get along with people as best as my autistic/AuDHD ass can but I don't LIKE very many people at all. Nor do people tend to like me. I have no compunction about calling someone on bullshit. It makes people cranky, but I've had enough bullshit in my life. And I respect about the same amount of people as I like. If I can't respect you? I can't like you. (For anyone who does actually know me... I don't mean you. If I talk with you privately? Or even if I'm willing to? I both like and respect you. Or I wouldn't bother talking to you privately. I'm shit at reaching out. But if we've talked more than once in any form of privacy? You've made the list of my cranky ass.)

Am I a bitch? Probably. Live my life and see if you'd be any different.

No intimate scene for Solas and Inky. After ten years of waiting for Solavellans. After all the shitting on Solas we had to put up with in DAV (and OMFG there was soooo much!!) No actual happy ending. No intimate scene. Oh, but you do get a rather grody kiss between them because he's just been fighting and has blight all over his face. But yay? They get to kiss? With absolutely no passion at all. Maybe the passion of a bavarian cream pastry? A rotten one? Ew. Before dissolving into fade gook.

The entire time I spent in CC for my Inky to make her look like my player character from DAI? It didn't show up in the final sequence. And no way was I replaying that hellscape to see if it MIGHT could be coaxed into actually showing her the way I made her. I just got the stock body.

So... y'know the veil? That edge of reality that has been getting more and more holes in it throughout the entire history of the Dragon Age Franchise? The veil that the Lore has been pretty clear about it strangling both the magic and the life out of THEDAS? Not to mention everything the elves lost because of it? That veil?

It's all better now. Regardless of the Lore. Because Solas bound his life force to it. So instead of a quick bandage being pulled off to get rid of the veil that really does need to go (y'know if Bioware writers actually gave a rat's ass about the fucking lore of the world they're writing in)... Now it's there until Solas dies... which he can't really do easily being one of the first Elves. Sooooo by the very lore of the world they've crafted... THEDAS is now doomed to die.

Congrats Bioware. Well done. /s

Oh, but THAT doesn't matter. Because everything from the very beginning of DAO has been 'influenced' by 'the ones from across the sea'.

Pardon me while I gag.

The entirety of THEDAS and everything that's ever gone wrong with it is the fault of 'the foreigners from across the sea who wear clothing that's kiiiinda a lot like a Burqa.' Y'know... the black over gowns and veils Afghani women and some other Muslim folks wear?

Cause... uh... yeah. That's a GREAT idea. I legitimately cannot believe they went there. I just... I can't. Bioware hasn't ever really been great on the racism front but I'd hoped they'd gotten at least a little bit better.

Nooooope.

There were a couple of mentions of something like 'the gathering storm' in Taash's quests and how she's a weapon against them. HUGE spoiler I'm sure, but I'm pretty sure they want to make a game that deals with 'the foreign invaders who have been subtly influencing everything wearing black burqas and veils' as the next Dragon Age. Or maybe they'll call it a spin off since it has to be getting close to the end of the actual Dragon Age in the calendar.

I really hope I'm not the only one who can see the issues there. Not that I expect Bioware to. Honestly? I used to pray that DAV would save Bioware. I've liked them as a company for a while, but this is it for me. I'm done.

I might enjoy the first three DA games occasionally if I feel like it. But DAV does not exist for me. Anything they make going forward does not exist for me. That fucking bullshit about no one having had any free choices in the entire history of the games/books/comics etc.? AND the next game's bad guys looking like they wear burqas?

Bioware has made my boycott list. And I honestly hope they sink like the fucking Titanic for the shit they've pulled in DAV and that last fucking scene.

With that scene, they not only shit on many cultures who veil, they shit specifically on Afghani people who are required to wear that. Whether they want to or not.

They also, from a writing perspective, removed every single bit of agency from any of their previous characters. Making every single game pointless in the history of the world.

I'm just done. My boycott list is pretty long. I have these pesky standards. I'd already compromised them by continuing on with playing Bioware games regardless of their well known issues. But nope. Done. Finite. Time to cut the rope and watch it sink.

I would never, in a million years, recommend this game. On those two reasons alone. But also because it doesn't do anything a good CRPG (Computer Role Playing Game) is supposed to do very well.

It doesn't hold up the Dragon Age expectations for anyone who has played the games or enjoyed the lore. They basically shoved all the lore under the proverbial carpet. (Must have made a hell of a lump. That's a LOT of Lore. Trust me. I know. I've marinated myself in it.) On the surface it LOOKS like a CRPG. It has the elements of one... but so few of the elements are carried through that it's kinda shocking to me that they dared to advertise it as one. I mean... didn't someone tell them pissing off people by advertising something they aren't delivering is a bad idea?

It's full of easily fixable plot holes. Seriously, they'd be so easy to fix! They just didn't bother.

Where DAI was an intricately woven adult CRPG masterpiece? DAV is a poorly woven bedsheet with arm sized holes in it and lots and lots of stains. Made for kids.

CRPGs have a long history. Bioware and Dragon Age do too. DAO came out in 2009, Dragon Age 2 released in 2011, both were solid CRPGs. You felt like you were playing a role playing game. Bioware then released DAI in 2014. And in the Dragon Age series, DAI is the crown jewel.

It had everything a CRPG is supposed to have. It wasn’t perfect, no, but it's definitely the best of all 4 games for being what it's supposed to be.

CRPGs generally do not challenge the player as far as manual dexterity or physical response time. That's for action/fighting games. I'm not a professional level gamer. But gaming is my number one hobby and source of entertainment. I play on hard level for most games I play, if not ultra hard. I struggled with the shitty DAV fighting system. Dear gods, who had the brilliant idea of tying accumulation of skill points to how high your bond is with your companions? That's just... the kindest thing I can say is poorly thought out. Especially when you can only take two of them with you on missions. My not-a-fucking-rogue should never have had aggro. And they always did. I'm intimately acquainted with the inside the mouth animations on the dragons.

RPGs are supposed to have intricate, layered world building, a levelling system that makes your characters grow and develop as they progress through a well developed world, often they have fighting, puzzles, and other mechanics to spice things up. But there's some very specific things an RPG needs. And DAV has so few of them. They focussed so much on that shitty gods damned fighting system that had my not-a-fucking-rogue always plastered with the 'come eat me' aggro flag that they failed to deliver on so much else that an RPG needs to have. Especially a CRPG.

I think I heard someone on the dev team say they were quite happy with how the characters and romances came out and um. Well. Might I politely suggest learning how to write better? Cause they weren't. From both a professional and consumer level? They just weren't good.

The characters were dishwater boring with no character development possible. The romances were... not. I'll just leave it there.

Those are a few things I KNOW I'm good at. Just because my fans have told me often enough that I've almost internalized it by now. What? Characterization, writing intimate scenes, and writing romance. My writing voice is very love/hate like many authors. If you love my voice and read kinky romance, you'd probably like it. If you don't like my voice? No story I tell will satisfy you. But from an editorial and writing standpoint? The characters and romances in DAV needed so much work. As much as the plot.

I'm no stranger to trauma. And yes. I did it to myself. I needed to play the ending for myself and I wanted to see what the game was like. I feel traumatized. Abso-fucking-lutely traumatized.

If you're Solavellan and looking for reviews to tell you whether it's worth buying and playing? It. Is. Not. On any level.

Oh and you know those Steam Achievements you get? At the beginning they were like in the high 90s and 80s percentages. The last two I got were from the end game. 2.2% and 6.8%. Respectively. According to my kid (who usually knows more than I do about things like that) that means people stopped playing before they got there. (Or possibly just haven't gotten there yet. I did play it reasonably fast because of my current circumstances.)

I really wish I could say better things about this game. I wanted to love it as much as I loved the other three. As much as I've loved most Dragon Age material. Something about it just captured me. Until DAV.

More professional review to follow at some point.

If my review series has been helpful... and I really really hate to ask, but if it has been? My work of words is my family's only income. My partner is still recovering from a broken back, and I'm recovering from a pulmonary embolism. Money is so tight it squeaks. If you're not gonna buy the game anyway after reading my blather, a tip would surely be appreciated.

All my links are at the bottom of my website. And the tips button up top is set up too.

My response to breaking media blackout.

#dragon age veilguard #da veilguard #veilguard #dragonage #solas #bioware critical #dragon age #dragon age veilguard review #veilguard review #veilguard spoilers #Solavellan #Solas dragon age

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