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justatinybunwriting · 1 year ago

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Regret

A part of a miniseries based on a promptober list made by @/Bittykimmy13

This is part 3 of Forlorn

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(Cw for angst and discussion of mature topics. This chapter is intended for mature audiences - viewers' discretion is advised.)

The cool night's breeze helped to ease the two friends out of the awkward silence they had started off with. After a few instances of clearing their throats, they both spoke at the same time.

"There's something I want to--"

"I have to tell you outright that--"

"...You go first." Richard said.

Jac gave out a deep sigh through her nose before she pulled a piece of paper from her coat. She unfolded it and pushed it in front of the shrunken Wile giant.

"Read." She commanded. "I was going to send this via message, but you saved me the trouble by... getting smaller, heh."

"Hm? What's this?"

"I... don't really have it in me to say these things out loud. So I wrote down my thoughts here."

Richard paused for a second before he carefully looked over the hand written notes, and in no less than a moment's notice his eyes widened upon discerning its contents. Various events from within the past eight or so months began to replay in his mind, though through the lens of the human they went very differently from how he remembered it.

"Wait... What? I thought...?"

Jac flattened her lips as she tried her best to shift her eyes away from her friend. She side glanced towards the musicians who continued to play a gorgeous piece with their fiddles, as Richard continued down the written notes slowly.

"I... didn't know... I, always thought you enjoyed our games..."

"To an extent, yes. But... lately the cat and mouse chases have become, well..."

"Jac, I... You, said yourself that you didn't mind--"

"Of course you always force me to have it your way in the end!" Jac exclaimed. "Your excuse is always 'oh, I can sense that you're only pretending to not want this right now' blah blah! I mean... it's just not as simple as that, okay? Sure I... think about it, positively sometimes. And yet I..."

"Jac...?"

There was a genuine nervous hitch in Richard's voice, which had drained all the confidence Jac had built up to that point.

"I... I just..."

Before long Jac grew quiet, as she felt her old habits tear at her numbingly once more. The strong desire to hold back her feelings in favor of silent acceptance was relentlessly pounding the back of her mind, but she quickly managed to fight the impeding sands that had sought to pull her in. The young woman seized this momentum by shifting priority to her right hand. And with a click of a pen and a rip of a new notebook sheet, she went straight to work.

Jac was internally grateful that Richard was as patient as he was with her on this night. An improvement, she admitted, but none too surprising. She looked up at last towards the shrunken Wile, who appeared perplexed and equally frightened. Not that he would show off the latter outright, his best friend could discern and recognize his body language regardless. She handed over the freshly jotted notes, which Richard accepted with renewed hesitation. His eyes darted side to side in quick succession, until they finally landed at a crucial part.

"So you...?"

But before the Wile could say another word, he double checked what he had just read. And in that moment, his face fell.

"Do you understand now?" Jac uttered. "I used to enjoy the running and the cropping and everything else in between! But after a while..."

"It had become too much... It was, no longer fun..."

Jac nodded.

"I... overdid it?"

Jac nodded again.

"I mean... I like teasing... it's all part of the game! But, I had no idea that that would actually..."

"It's... not the teasing I hate. It's how you've gone about doing it lately that's the issue here... You see..."

Again, she made her case known on paper when her voice failed her. But no matter what format she spoke in, to Richard the message was received just as loud and clear.

"Lately you have a tendency to twist my words to get what you want. This is especially true when..."

The shrunken Wile then paused before he retorted in his own tongue.

"Huh? Push my height around? What does that mean?"

"You... would lift me up in the air and give me no room to leave on my own terms, for one! I can think of a bunch of other examples, but judging by the look on your face, I think you get the idea."

"I..."

Ultimately however, Richard was left without any more words to convey.

"Keep reading." Jac said. "You'll get a better idea what I mean then."

With another long breath, Richard continued down the original notes, as he took in the numerous occasions where Jac's boundaries were loyally crossed. Many fond memories had become shattered under the weight of his renewed understanding, which brought the shrunken Wile into an even deeper pit of despair. His eyes sunk as an unyielding sense of guilt had begun to claw into the sides of his heart. Each revelation caused him to steadily furl into himself, so much so that he was on the verge of falling off of his chair.

Jac understood that look, and felt as though she needed to intervene before he would be swept away by his emotions.

"I know that Wile giants need to chase. Need to crop... it's something that you can't really help. And I was all for helping you... which was, one of the reasons why I didn't say anything at first."

"You... didn't list the graduation party..."

"Huh?"

The fact that night was brought up had caught the human off guard, though she was able to shake off the initial shock relatively quickly.

"Funny you should mention that. To tell you the truth I, honestly enjoyed it that time. The biggest difference then was... was..."

Infuriated by her increasing nerves, Jac kicked an invisible stone before she reached for her pen a third time. Richard's hand was visibly shaking as he accepted this particular set of freshly made notes. He wasn't sure why, but he had already sensed that he wouldn't be ready to swallow the pill that was to come. Nevertheless, he sucked in a breath and braced for impact, for despite everything he endured so far he wanted more than ever to listen and soak in every word. He understood that in order to make things right, he needed to man up.

Another deep sigh followed, before the Wile opened his eyes and read out the rest of her sentence.

"You weren't rough back then... You were gentle, sweet, and caring... before, during, and after our play times... You weren't selfish, and was a lot more considerate about my own needs. And most of all you weren't posses... sive... you weren't controlling...?"

Richard momentarily grew silent before he continued.

"This was the worst of your offenses. Before I even realized it, you have gone so far as to isolate me from my other Wile giant friends. You try your best to cover up your je... je... but you can't hide it from me anymore--"

"Jealousy?" Richard quipped, his voice a shadow of its former self. "Jac! Since when have I..."

The look on Jac's face when he said this forced him to stop midway. The human then proceeded to write on her notepad again, though in the process she stopped and contemplated her options. In a moment's time, she dropped the pen.

"You've changed." Jac spoke flatly. Her nervousness was largely apparent, though she chose to push through. "The Richard I knew... from that time is, different from the one sitting here right now."

"I don't understand..." Richard admitted. "I'm, still me?"

Jac lowered her head. "You may not realize it. But..."

Jac gulped a few times, but numbingly continued to voice her displeasure. The more she spoke, the more her confidence gradually increased.

"Remember when we broke up? You... said to me then, that you were... fine with it. I gave my reason, and you told me that you were in full support of that... But... think about it for a second, Rich! What was the one thing you held me back from doing above everything else? The one thing that, for gawd sakes you told me you never thought about in a romantic sense? And yet every time the mere thought of anyone else giving chase and..."

"And why would they?" Richard cut in. "Why would you even consider letting someone else do tha--"

"You're just proving my point!" Jac exclaimed.

Richard's eyes had shot open, though this time he was clearly vexed. Towards what Jac couldn't tell. Jac sensed that their surrounding might have overheard the anger in her voice, though in truth the background chatters had all but drowned it out. In any case, she drew in another breath and continued to speak in a quieter, yet firm tone.

"Never had I once thought of it in that light, and I never will. But deep down you didn't want anyone else to nom me. That right belonged to you and you alone. Why should it matter, why should you feel such unwarranted envy? Unless..."

Jac took a moment to breath, before finishing her sentence.

"You haven't moved on."

Richard stopped dead on his tracks. He opened his mouth, but no matter how hard he tried, not a single retort, counter nor defense had made its way out. He barely understood why those fours words sent chills through much of his nervous system, yet he could only express guilt ten times the amount as before the further it sunk in.

And with that muted response, mist began to form in Jac's eyes.

"You still love me. In that way... And despite me being very clear back then... when I told you I'm aromantic... you decided... to push through anyway. Against my wishes... I don't know if it's due to frustration... but you started to take it out on me... without even noticing it seems! And I haven't been comfortable since..."

"Jac..."

These words made the shrunken Wile quiver at his very core. Despite being torn apart by them, he chose to let her continue without contest.

"The reason why it's been tough these past few months... was because, subconsciously or not, you chose to satisfy your own desires at my expense! You couldn't get what you wanted from me, so you chose to do all those things... by taking advantage of the fact that I've felt sorry for you! You never thought about how I had felt. Even when you claimed you did... everything was skewed towards how you saw fit. And as a result, you've overstepped my boundaries over... and over again."

Nothing was said for a few minutes as tears began to flow down their faces. Jac took notice of the way the Wile clenched his fists, and she could feel the heat that was starting to seep from his bubbling rage. Her own anger and sadness paved way for a greater sense of fear, and she stumbled a little as she tried to get the rest of her words out.

"It's... my fault too... I should have said something a long time ago... I may have been worse off because I chose to remain silent. I was too scared of... hurting you... and that was dumb on my part. You... never really asked for my opinion anyway... so I thought... it wouldn't have amounted to--"

All of a sudden Richard rose up from his seat. Jac pushed back against her own spontaneously as she readied herself for the inevitable shout, but what came out of his mouth was the last thing she would have expected.

"You were scared of hurting me? But I wounded up hurting you!! How is that better?! How could... I have been so..."

Jac looked up and saw the face of a miserable man, the wrinkles of his brow crumpled up into a hundred knots, his eyes stinging from the hot tears that fell along with his head to the floor. He banged his fists on the tiles, which alerted the attention of staff inside the restaurant. But none of that mattered now.

"I'm so sorry... for everything, Jac... How...? How did I not see this for so long? Why was I... so stupid?! Idiot!! I'm such an idiot!!"

A guttural sound escaped his mouth as he started to physically throw fists in the air. His suit came undone slightly as he continued to bellow profanities at himself. Jac halted security who came to check in, as she dove to be by his side in spite of his increasing ferocity. She watched and waited mere inches from the shrunken giant as his growls and temperament gradually lessened over a good while.

She didn't say this at first, but deep down Jac felt this was the best possible outcome she could have foreseen. She was afraid of the Richard that would snap back, who would fight with every tooth and nail. But this... wasn't him. He wouldn't do that at this delicate moment, she realized. For instead, even in his moderately feral state, she saw a broken down man who thought of himself as a monster. Which made her even more terrible for taking a stand, even though she knew it was right.

Jac held a hand to Richard's back, which caused him to jolt his head up. His eyes were a narrow catlike slit for a split second before he registered his friend's face, his pupils quickly softening to it's former state. It was very apparent to Jac that the Wile was fearful, maybe as much as she was just moments prior. And to that, she could only respond with a humble acknowledgement back. They stared at each other, nearly without blinking, until at last the shrunken Wile finally croaked.

"I'm... appalled at myself... no apology can make up for what I have done..."

"It's a first step..." Jac cried. "And your eyes are open now. It'll take time but... I want to give you another chance."

"...Really...?"

Jac took a moment before she nodded.

"I like you too much, for all the good things. And it... would be wrong of me if I didn't give you a chance... to save this friendship. After you've shown me, that you actually cared to listen..."

"But... I was so toxic to you... worst still, I was too dumb to even... notice..."

"You were... yeah..."

"Then why...?"

"I won't forget all the good. I won't forget the bad either but... if you work on it, and promise me that you will genuinely make the effort to change, then... I don't mind sticking around. And waiting to see the improved Richard for myself."

"Why are you so... willing to accept me back?"

"I don't know! Maybe I'm dumb too. Will you accept that for an answer?"

"...No... Maybe..."

"Good." Jac smiled. "Now then..."

Jac looked back at the empty table just as catering was about to ride into the balcony.

"I think we should try to make the best of tonight. You went through a lot of pain because of me, and I'm sorry for that... So I, want the rest of the night to go well at least."

"Nonono, please! Don't be."

Richard pulled himself up and brushed his coat. He tried to reach out to do the same for Jac, but hesitated at the last moment. Jac realized then that her words had actually come out in her brush with adrenaline, and with her luck that was likely the only time that would ever happen.

Maybe it was fate, weird...

They returned to their seats as silent as a mouse, waiting for the other to speak first. It was Richard who finally broke the monotony.

"I promise... I'll make it up to you. Tonight, and every night after this."

"You don't have to make a big show of it. Just... being you is enough."

"Aside from... that side of me." Richard shuttered.

"Obviously."

The first chuckle came since their discussion began, a welcome feeling to break the tension however brief. Food was far from their minds at this point in time, but they were just relived that the storms that weighed heavily on their shoulders had finally started to lift.

Next Chapter >>

#oc: jac #oc: richard #jac in the beanstalk society #bun does writing #october prompts #promptober #promptober 2023

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whenthechickencry · 11 months ago

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Umineko EP4. Replay Part 1

Certainly not her genes, Kryie, also Rudolf sees through Kyrie in that even when she's talking friendly about Asumu she's burning with jealousy. Certainly was never a healthy dynamic in any case.

The talk of miracles here is so interesting and I will probably talk about it in more detail later. Rika's belief in a miracle is what allowed her to break through her dead-end fate. Ange's belief in a miracle is what is slowly destroying her life. I don't think either framing is entirely right or wrong, and unlike others, I don't see Umineko as a sort of response/rebuttal to Higurashi as much as something that expands on its themes, but still... it's really interesting to think about.

You can tell that R07 has been in kind of damage control mode for Beatrice since the end of ep3 lol. He really needs to hammer it isn't as black and white as you might think and she isn't just an evil monster who tricked Battler for fun.

This is a really funny scene too, by the way.

Battler's is, as Beato says, in a lot better state than last time shit like this happened. I think he got the general gist that Beato wasn't acting 100% and that there is more to what is going on than meets the eye.

Ange's right. Battler is starting to try and seriously understand Beatrice's heart but that's opposed to Ange's purposes, which are for him to completely trample on her heart as soon as possible so she can get Battler back.

You can tell Ane's view of others is really warped by now, it's basically a less over-the-top version of Erika. Sure if you never trust anyone you will never get tricked but you will never build genuine relations either...

This is in complete opposition to how Satoko entered the school in GouSotsu, so I guess the schools work differently across... universes or whatever it is you would call this.

Well... considering the events of this chapter where she continuously gets attempted to get murdered by her family I can't really blame her for strongarming Ange's family....

The game is pretty clear the abuse didn't take long to start.... it's easy to take a more sympathetic reading of Eva later but it is clear she bears responsibility for attempting to take care of a child she was in no way emotionally capable of doing at the time.

Ha.... the way Maria got mocked at her school but she didn't get it and saw it as genuine praise really makes me think she has autism... I remember at school laughing along at jokes I didn't get until I finally got that the joke was disparaging me. The game doesn't show this as an entirely negative thing, though... after all she is able to create 1s from 0s. Also, I am not disparaging Ange in any way but it shows the level of her isolation that the closest image to best friend she can conjure in her head is the girl she hung out with once a year on a family conference.

I have never heard of enchilada cheesecakes before and now I want to try them out.

....uh huh Rosa....

It's no surprise Ange latched on to the diary.... she does the same magic Maria does towards Rosa to Rudolf. "He sometimes came home at my birthday so he loved me a lot" aka he couldn't be bothered to even be at my birthday usually.

Haha.... this scene is so sad to read.... Rosa is constantly embarrassed of Maria even in his idealized version of the scene.

Huh... I wonder if this kind of bullying is common for autistic children? This is exactly word for word what was done to me in school.

This is also a common thing for abused people to think, I used to think I had to stay in abusive relationships because if I didn't someone else would get abused. I am sometimes kind of in awe about how R07 can accurately represent many kinds of situations.

It's not really sustainable in the long term for Maria, though. She can pretend she isn't sad and that she's fine all she wants but in the end, she chose the Golden Land over living. You can't exactly blame Maria for her thinking like this, though, she's just a 9-year-old making the best of an awful situation.

In other words, "I am glad I can neglect my daughter now that she has a stuffed toy I bought at a supermarket to keep her company instead of me"

Rosa, you set way too many fucking rules for someone that can't even be bothered to get home.

Maria knows perfectly that her mom considers her an embarrassment, huh.....

Man, Ange is so fucking depressed.... almost every line she says has a hint of extreme sadness behind it....

He uh.... didn't ask that Maria.... you can really tell she's extremely lonely.

Okonogi shows up and immediately wants Ange to do something that would kill her, lmfao.

Okonogi hits the mark right on the head but mixes up "Yasu" and "Eva" which is pretty interesting!

Of course, the one who actually had that ring was Yasu and not Kinzo at the time, so Okonogi's theory came from false assumptions.

I had.... completely forgotten that Okonogi of all people was the one to introduce the concept that without love, it can't be seen... haha I was very shocked here. Okonogi is also pretty much 100% right here, esp wrt Ange being unequipped to find the truth as she is.

An impressive resume would be a shame if you would get beaten and tortured by a nine-year-old girl.

Ange's already making hints about the fact it's really a suicide plan more than anything, Beatrice and Ange parallels are bigger later on but the fact they both had elaborate suicide plans with Rokkenjima is interesting to me...

#umineko #umiepisode4

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dianight · 1 year ago

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It's very interesting to see others' perspectives when it comes to pvp, because my own "journey" has been pretty wild.

I used to play a lot of Quake live. For like ~5 years, during 2 of those 8+ hours almost everyday. School -> Quake -> sleep -> repeat 5 days a week, sometimes even on weekends. Eventually reduced the hours and the days; and the breaks where I would not play would get longer and longer. It happens.

Best way to put it, most players would embody might makes right. If player A is better than player B, player A is always right. Many times it was clear who was better, a few times there would be a 1v1 or perhaps a damage competition on team modes. There was a sort of hierarchy where pro players>>>>old q3 players>good players>everyone else.

Pure elitism, and I loved it. I was 15 (?) when I started playing, I got really really good and all these older dudes were impressed. Not like any big event changed how I thought, but over time I realized that way of measuring people is a bit fucked up. I enjoyed playing with many "lower skill" players not to stomp but because we got along. I actually tried to not be as much of an asshole as many others were. Banter and all that hypercompetitive attitude is way behind me now. What these days people call toxic, I suppose.

Later on I played starcraft 2. I had played brood war with my friends, I met a couple semi pros who were friends of a relative of a friend, they were way too good and we were kids who had no idea how to play anything other than big game hunters and turtle. Fun times.

When sc2 released, I played ladder very seriously (terran). Like watch replays and practice and test BOs and all that. My micro was terrible but I understood that what wins games is macro, so I abused mmm and learned how to play mid/late with mech. Learned a couple cheeses, tried a few ideas that were actually really good (blue flame hellion rush vZ was so cool) and played a lot.

The vibes of 1v1 in sc2 where way more honourable(?) compared to quake. GL&HF was literally automatic, to not type it meant that I was the worst kind of imbecile. Sure some people raged at me, but many others would GG into surrender or GG, compliment you and surrender. Very little hatemail, a lot of lovemail.

I was in university at the time, so way less time. After the diablo 3 fiasco, decided blizzard was done and there was no point in being so invested in sc2. Moved on, played other games, more multiplayer coop with friends. And dayz.

For years after I stopped playing dayz, I'd have dreams were it was a factor somehow. Maybe we were in cherno. Maybe there were firefights. Maybe zombies appear. Maybe just some running through woods. Maybe some walking through a road.

According to steam, I played dayz for ~240 hours. It feels like way more. Until then, no other game I'd played combined so many things. It was a survival game, a zombie game. But also a pvp game with other players. But sometimes you'd talk to people so no reason to fight. Also a base building game (with mods). A horror game too. A running simulator, as me and my friends put it.

I got many stories but that'd be too much of a tangent. Point being, I was used to pvp in a controlled enviroment. Maybe ffa, ctf or tdm, even duels in quake. Almost exclusively 1v1 on sc2. And then just open world pvp.

Thing is, I had played a few mmos before. Played metin2 with friends for a bit. Didn't like it much but it's the "playing with friends" part that matters. Tried wow for a bit. Didn't dislike it, but it was boring. The pvp part that I was promised was like, super bad. Back to the elitism of quake. Pve was somehow even worse.

This was around the time when mobas (I'll use this term, very incorrect) were getting massive. Tried dota2, was ok. Tried lol, it was like a kids version. Got a few friends to try dota with me. Good times.

It was around this time when I had some sort of epiphany. This was what "toxic" was. People raging, complaining, insulting each other. For no particular reason. It was somehow new to me. It's one thing to get antagonized because you beat someone in 1v1, or because they are upset you used some cheese, or because you were taunting them (guilty, I was young ok).

But this was a totally new level. I assume most people who've played these games understand.

This might seem exaggeration, or a straight up lie (I don't lie): in ~5000 hours over almost 10 years, I have only raged in 1 game of dota2. We were losing pretty badly and I kept doing my best, but my team could not follow up a single time. I was playing with a friend and I got very frustrated over voice call, but even then I would not think to shout at my teammates. A girl's gotta vent ok?

Anyways, things happen, and me and my friend stopped playing dota (nothing to do with that 1 game, just life). I stayed off pvp games completely, save for ds2/ds3 invasions. It's not pvp in my mind, more like trolling to have some laughs.

So once more, I love hearing/reading about other people's experiences because they are always so different. I find it really cool how others approach these things.

#dia talks

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youbloodymadgenius · 3 years ago

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Ivarello (Modern!Ivar x reader) Chapter 1

Moodboard by @quantumlocked310

Ivarello’s masterpost here

A/N: This is my entry for @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie 500 Followers Fairy Tale Challenge. It's a retelling of Cinderella. Congrats again, darling 💖

A huge thank you to @mrsalwayswrite, who's a great beta reader and an even greater cheerleader 😂

A massive thank you to @quantumlocked310, @vikingstrash and @serasvictoria. Thank you for agreeing to collaborate and for sharing your talent with me. Your moodboards are beyond amazing 🤩

In this story, Sigurd is alive. Ragnar and Aslaug are dead, but Lagertha didn't kill her. I took a lot of liberties with the show, I hope you won't mind.

Unlike the tale, there will be no magic involved. Not everything will be realistic, however. It's a fayritale, after all!

Let me know if you want to be tagged 😊

Summary: Orphaned five years ago, Ivar and his brothers have been living with Lagertha ever since. Now 16 years old, he wants to attend Harald's traditional Midsummer party, but obstacles stand in his way.

Warnings: description of car crash; orphaned kids; Sigurd being Sigurd; OOC characters.

Words: 1806

Additional note: I'm afraid I'll disappoint some of you. No more newspapers... The articles defined the setting of the story. From now on, it'll be a regular fic.

Hope you enjoy it nevertheless 🙂

🛡⚔️🛡

June 2021

Ivar yawns, rubbing his eyes, when he suddenly hears the front door open. The next moment, Ubbe shouts, "Hey baby bro, we're home!"

Slightly confused, Ivar looks at the time on his computer. Stunned, he blinks repeatedly, shakes his head and checks the time again, now looking at his watch. "Guess I lost track of time," he mumbles as he realizes it's really 5:30 pm. He clears his throat. "I'm coming!"

Yawning once more, he wheels to the kitchen. Hvitserk waves at him with one hand as Ubbe greets him with a grin and Sigurd... Well, Sigurd ignores him, as usual.

"Hello boys!" Lagertha smiles as she also enters the kitchen. "Did you go to the beach this afternoon?" It's a rethorical question, since sand can be seen on the tanned skin of his brothers, shirtless and wearing only swimming shorts.

When she looks down at him, her smile becomes softer. "Ivar, you seem tired. Did you work all day long?"

He nods, glad that for once she called him by his first name and not by one of those stupid nicknames that she likes but that make his skin crawl.

"Yep," he shrugs without smiling back, "I made good progress. The new version of your website is almost done. It could probably be online by the end of the week."

His stepmom flashes him a beaming smile. "Great, thanks!"

The conversation then moves on to the subject that everyone in Kattegat has been talking about for the last few days: the midsummer party thrown by their neighbor Harald Hårfager. Every June, it is Kattegat's not-to-be-missed event, to which every resident hopes to be invited.

Lagertha is invited every year, yet rarely attends; his brothers wouldn't miss it, not in a million years; Ivar never went.

He listens with half an ear as his brothers prattle on about the upcoming party, while taking a seat at the large, wooden kitchen table on which Lagertha has just put cakes and drinks.

"What are you going to wear?"

"Do you think Marit will attend this year?"

"Hopefully the music will be better than last year."

"Can't be as bad! What was the name of that reggae band?"

For a fleeting moment, Ivar entertains the thought of attending as well. Not that he's dying to, but… Sometimes, he feels a little bit like Cinderella in this house.

Don't get him wrong, it's not that bad.

First, his stepmom is not–

Wait, wait, wait, is Lagertha technically his stepmom? He's not sure. After all, she wasn't when his parents were alive, she was just his father's first wife. Anyway, she may be his guardian now, but he sees her as his stepmom and he honestly doesn’t give a shit if it's a little weird.

Where was he? Oh yes, Cinderella.

So obviously, Lagertha is not a wicked, haughty and abusive stepmom like this Lady Tremaine of the fairytale.

Actually, even if it pisses him off to admit it, she's pretty nice, patient and composed. Does he love her? Let's not exaggerate – he doesn't. She may love him though, which is a little bit uncanny, if he's being honest. He was the favorite son of her nemesis. Shouldn't she hate him? He would, if the situation was reversed.

The truth is, when he was younger, he tried, he really tried to hate her, blaming her for everything and anything. When too much pain prevented him from sleeping, he let his imagination run wild. There, bound to his bed of suffering, he could see Lagertha cutting the brakes on his mother's car, causing her crash, causing her death.

Of course, even then, he knew deep down that Lagertha had not killed his mother; that the story he told himself was just the product of his endless nights of insomnia. But what can he say? He needed this. Because blaming Lagertha rather than admitting that his beloved mother was at fault – by being distracted, or by falling asleep, he'll never know – was easier for the heartbroken boy he was.

Anyway... So yes, Lagertha is definitely not an evil stepmother like Cinderella's.

Also, he doesn't sleep on a sorry garret, on a wretched straw bed either.

Actually, he has a very large room on the main floor, with a king-size memory foam bed, a walk-in – well, a wheel-in for his case – closet and his own, huge bathroom, fully equipped for his special needs.

Sure, the bathroom and the dressing room were already there when his parents were alive; however, the memory foam mattress had been Lagertha's idea.

Anyway... So yes, he can't exactly complain about his sleeping conditions, unlike Cinderella.

And obviously, he's not forced into servitude.

Actually, one might think so, but no, he's not. Sure, sometimes he works for his stepmom, like today. But so do his brothers. When she had taken them in, she was a powerful businesswoman, working twelve to fourteen hours a day. Once she had become their guardian, she had rearranged her working time and learned to delegate; but even so, she had often run out of time. Therefore, it had seemed normal to them – yes, even to him – to help her out, each of them according to their skills and abilities.

So, while Hvitserk almost always does the grocery shopping, while Sigurd vacuums and does the laundry, while Ubbe mows the lawn and trim the bushes, he, Ivar, runs her company's website and sometimes even does the accounting. And since he loves computers and numbers, it's not exactly a problem.

Anyway... So yes, he's not a slave in this house. Unlike Cinderella.

So, yes, to sum it up, he can't really complain and he's by far not Cinderella. And he knows it.

But... Yes, there's a but...

Sometimes, he feels trapped, as poor Cinderella must have felt.

Sometimes he feels like a spectator of a life he doesn't belong to.

Sure, he doesn't have to be homeschooled – but gods, he's glad he is. The reasons for him to be continuously bullied by classmates are endless. The simplest ones being: he is a cripple, an orphan, the son of a dead mob boss, the smartest one in the whole damn school, let alone his class. Take your pick. It's no fun, no fun at all. Being home alone is preferable to that alternative.

Therefore, barely leaving the house except for medical appointments, he has no friends. He doesn't do sports either – obviously – and yeah, he lives a lonely life, filled with video games and Netflix series. And he's okay with that. Well, most of the time.

Sure, his brothers, or at least Ubbe and Hvitserk, always try to include him as much as possible. But the truth is that because of his legs, there are many, many things he just can't do.

And the other truth, the less pleasant one, is that he partially did that to himself. He cut himself off from a world that hurt him, yet he still misses this world sometimes. At times, he blames himself. Because his life, honestly, is hardly what you would call a life, is it? Not when you're sixteen.

That's why sometimes, like now, he feels this longing, almost a need, to live. To really, truly, fully live. And that's why, for a brief moment, lulled by the light chitchat of his brothers, he considers attending Harald's midsummer party.

But he knows better. This life is not for him, never has been, never will be.

And so, shaking his head, he chases the thought away and, placing his hands on his push rims, he's about to leave the kitchen while the incessant babbling of his brothers goes on.

"I can't wait."

"Don't tell me! As every year, the most beautiful girls of Kattegat will be there."

"Remember that burger food truck? Best burgers ever!"

"I've heard Y/N would be attending this year."

"There'll be booze and girls! Sounds like Valh–"

Wait. His mind goes blank.

Fuck.

What? Did he hear right?

As he replays his brother's words in his head, it's like there's an earthquake happening inside of him.

Fuck.

He stops breathing. Blinks, then clamps his eyes shut.

Fuck.

When he finally manages to draw air into his lungs, he swallows loudly before asking in a weird, high-pitched voice, his heart pounding in his chest, "What– What did you say, brother?"

Hvitserk turns his head toward him and shrugs. "I just said there'll be boo–"

"No, not you!" Ivar snaps at his brother, pointing his pointer finger at Ubbe. "You, what did you fucking say?" Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Lagertha frowning – 'no curse words in this house, boys'– and even if he barely contains an eye roll, he still mouths a quick 'sorry' at her before rewording his question, impatience coursing through him. "What did you say, dear brother? Who did you say would attend?"

Stunned, Ubbe looks at him with wide eyes. "Y/N? I said Y/N would come. That's what I heard anyway. She's Harald's niece. She was here once, right? Remember her, baby bro, huh?"

But Ivar is no longer listening, the blood draining from his face. Y/N... Y/N... Fuck. Finally. Fucking finally. After so long... He may see you again. Wow.

I'll go! I'll fucking go!

He barely contains the words, suddenly acutely aware of the deafening silence in the room, his brothers shamelessly staring at him.

With her brows furrowed and her lips turned downward in a slight frown, Lagertha takes two steps forwards before crouching down in front of him. "Are you all right, sweetie? You're a little pale."

He barely hears when Sigurd giggles, "A little pale? He's greener than an alien!"

Lagertha shoots Sigurd a dirty look and then gently cups Ivar's cheek. "Do you know her, Ivar? Do you know Y/N?"

Overwhelmed, self-conscious, freaked out, caught off-guard, he doesn't know how to respond. Should he tell the truth? Should he lie? His brothers will mock him, for sure. What is the point of telling the truth? What good would it do? On the other hand, he could really use some advice. Yeah. Sure. Advice from Sigurd. Just the thought of it is enough to make him sick. Fuck, what is he going to do?

Rushed words are out of his mouth before he can even gather his thoughts. "No. No. I don't. I mean, yes, I think I do but–" He's being pathetic and he hates it. So after a sharp intake of breath, he shakes his head and eventually replies in a flat, calm voice, the white lie rolling off his tongue. "I know her, but I thought Ubbe was talking about someone else. Sorry."

With these words, he hastily leaves the room, his eyes riveted on his knees, his heart still drumming in his chest.

Y/N. Fuck.

🛡⚔️🛡

Ivar's taglist: @waiting4inspiration @honestsycrets @lisinfleur @saldelys @gearhead66 @inforapound @readsalot73 @milkkygirls @xbellaxcarolinax @shannygoatgruff @zuxiezendler @hecohansen31 @lonewolf471 @fuckindiva @tgrrose @didiintheblog @peachyboneless @pieces-by-me @funmadnessandbadassvikings @ethereallysimple @destynelseclipsa @cocovikings23 @xceafh @mrsalwayswrite @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @pomegranates-and-blood @jadelynlace @grimeundglow @quantumlocked310 @alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom

Ivarello's taglist: @not-another-viking-fanfic-blog @hashimily @prepare4trouble @supernaturalvikingwhore @funmadnessandbadassvikings

#ivar #modern ivar #modern!ivar #modern-ivar #modern ivar x reader #modern!ivar x reader #ivar x reader #ivar the boneless #ivar ragnarsson #ivar imagine #ivar fic #ivar fanfic #ivar fanfiction #ivar vikings #vikings ivar #cherrypie’s500 #fairytale retelling #ivarello

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gb-patch · 4 years ago

Text

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 2

And here’s the next part of the long answer set of the day!

When will OL: N&F take place? Beginnings and Always took place during summer breaks, will now and forever take place during a fall break or will the characters be going to school at the time of the events we play through?

It takes place over all of the fall season, so school will be happening in OL2. Some events do take place in school, though many times events only start after school is already out for the day, haha.

Hey!! I have kind of a weird question?? I’m sorry if it’s been answered before and I just haven’t seen it but is OL 2 taking place during the same years as OL 1? I’m just curious, thank you for such amazing games!!!

It’s a similar time frame, but not 100% exactly same.

Do you have any idea when the demo for now and forever will be available?

Hopefully this fall! But that’s not a guarantee.

Okay the crime show in Step 2: Growing up. Long blonde hair, police station, crime series? Was it The Closer? Because I’m the same age as MC and Cove and my mom was constantly watching that when I was 13. 😂

Haha, yeah! The Closer and, to a lesser degree, Medium were the kind of shows I was referencing there. My mom also used to watch those back in the day.

Hey um this might be an odd question but if the setting of OL: N&F is fall/autumn, what country or city will it take because my mind tells me it is either Poland or Canada. Also I can't wait for the game I am hyped

It’s set in the USA again. We’d like to be able to have cameos and that’s easiest to do if the OL games take place in the same country.

Is it possible for the PC of OL to have non-seriously dated other people in the in between years even if they’ve had a consistent crush on Cove?

You can causally date Baxter in Step 3 if you get his DLC and then ultimately choose Cove in Step 4. If you mean off-screen people, it doesn’t really come up, but you can certainly headcanon that. The game never says Cove is the only partner you’ve ever had.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter for Now and Forever as well? For like voiced names and stuff again? Didn’t find B&A until after it was released and I’d really love the opportunity to hear my name in the game 🥺

Yeah, we are gonna have a Kickstarter with getting a voiced name as a reward! Though, it will be more expensive than it was for OL1. I feel bad to raise the price but we realized too late the first time around that it was being super undersold for the amount of work it took, aha.

Do you know how much the remaining DLC for OL will cost? (Step 4, Derek, Baxter)

Step 4: Free

Wedding DLC: $2.99USD

Derek DLC: $4.99USD

Baxter DLC: $4.99USD

Has an artist for the new position been picked yet?! I'm super excited for the new game!

We did fill that spot. Thank you so much for taking the time to apply!

hmmm what would it take to get each of the XOXO jerk squad to feel the need to hug you?

They’d have to first like you a fair amount, otherwise the most you’d get is maybe a pat on the shoulder. If they were attached, they might hug you if you broke down crying or if you gave them super good news.

Unless it’s Shiloh, of course. If you want a hug you only have to ask!

May i ask how the Derek DLC will work? I believe that there aren’t any memories in step 4 and doesnt derek’s dlc take place during that step? So will the dlc add memories? Thank you!

Derek’s DLC will add five Moments to Step 2 (a new page will appear on that screen if you get the DLC). Then in Step 4 you’ll have to choose between playing the default epilogue or going through the Derek romance story.

Is the pc version on itch,io different from the steam version? Like an offline one or something?

Steam has achievements, but that’s about it. Both can be played offline, if you prefer.

I've been wondering this for awhile, what determines if cove winds up with a ponytail in step 3? I've done multiple runs with different MCs with varying hairstyles. Or does it have to do with a particular moment in step 2?

I’m afraid I can’t say exact choices that determine things. But generally it’s preference based options in the Step before that decide those things.

Any Floret Bond updates?

No, the artist had to leave the project and it’s been on-hold. I’m not sure if I want to try working just with what we have or replacing it all entirely. The design is a bit too specific for us to easily find someone who could mimic it. Hopefully we’ll work things out later, though.

In step 3 is Cove's plan always to stay in sunset bird?

Yeah. He is never ready at 18-years-old to make a big life change.

I love your content! If it's alright to ask, you answered in a previous ask about how Jeremy was too particular with what he likes his types to be romanceable with just any MC and it's sort of got me wondering.. What /are/ his types and/or preferences and such? Sorry if it's a lot!

Jeremy likes stubborn jerks and will not date someone who’s sweet or even generally a decent person, haha.

uh, excuse me if you said this somewhere before, but how will step 4 be actually? Will it he like an actual step and have moments and dlc and all? Or will it be more like a long epilogue of some sort?

Will the step 4, the wedding and extra routes dlcs be paid too? Im just confused, sorry if im asking too much

Step 4 is only an epilogue, so it’s just a long series of scenes one after the other rather than a collection of Moments you can choose from.

The Step 4 epilogue is free, the wedding DLC, Derek DLC, and Baxter DLC cost money.

i’m not sure how much of the wedding dlc you have planned already, or if this would be to spoilery, but what kind of wedding traditions will be included? i keep thinking about how flustered cove would get over a garter toss & was wondering if we’d see a scene like that haha. obviously no worries if it’s not included, i’ll enjoy literally anything cove related

I don’t know for sure yet, haha. Right now we’re focused on the parts before the big day. We’ll see how many scene alterations we can include for the wedding itself later on.

Hello! Firstly, thank you for creating such an amazing game like OL, and I couldn’t be more excited for OL2! Out of curiosity, are you looking for any writers to come on for OL2 or are you all pretty much set in that department? Just thought I’d shoot my shot haha but I’m still excited regardless ^^!

We will be hiring writers for OL2 later this year! Thank you for the interest.

Will we be blessed with a spin-off Yandere Cove, like XOXO Blood Droplets?

Sadly, no. It’s a shame but there’s not enough time to keep making OL1 bonus/spin-off content.

How is Q pronounced?

I’m afraid Q’s full name hasn’t been publicly announced yet so I can’t answer here (Q and T are the first letters of the names for the new LIs in Our Life: Now & Forever).

Question; is the steam version getting a Mac update? I purchased the dlc there thinking it had Mac support without realizing it and just wondered if I’d need to refund it to purchase on itch.io 😭

I’m really sorry, you will need to get a refund from Steam. We do hope to have it there for Steam eventually, but have no idea of when it’ll happen. Apple requires special notarization to be an officially accepted app for their devices. We don’t have that. Steam requires having that, Itch will let you release it as an non-notarized third party app. That’s why Itch is the only place that has the Mac version right now.

would you mind posting outfit sheets for Cove in every step? it would make things a lot easier for us artists. it would save a lot of time spent looking for references

I think we did do the earlier steps when they were finished way back in 2019 (this game took a long time to make, aha), but we can probably repost them sometime!

In our life n&f, will we be able to get into qprs/will there be more options in regards to having deep platonic relationships with the love interests? Because as an aroace individual, it would be great if there could also be emphasis on platonic love so that it's more aspec inclusive.

It’s a little hard to say at this point. There may not be things like a wedding DLC for OL2 and so the relationship for platonic and romantic feelings might not go as far as it did in the first game. We’ll kind of have to see how much we can do based on timeframe/budget constraints that will only be set near the end of the year. But we will be keeping things like that in mind at least.

hi! i really really like your game and im absolutely in love with it! i cant wait to try your other games like xoxo droplet and future OL NF :))

during the step 3 erands moment i got curious, which fudge flavor is his favorite? it seems like he likes all of them, but which 4 do you think he would like best?

also i noticed that in some playthroughs cove would let me give him a piggy back ride, and in some he wouldn't, how come?

how does your choices affect cove's interests or looks? i replayed the game without changing any choices but i got cove to look different, is it just random?

thank you!

Cove’s favorite flavors are ones with nuts and that are fruity! But he appreciates them all. Whether or not you can give him a piggyback ride depends on if your MC is fit/large enough to hold a muscular 6-foot-tall beach boy, haha.

Cove’s appearance does depend on choices and it’s generally tied to choices that are preference based rather than emotion/action based, such as which key chain you pick in Step 1.

Is it possible for cove to reject MC's proposal at the end of step 3?

Nope. He’ll always accept.

hi! i was wondering how heavily the side characters will be featured in the our life wedding dlc? obviously it'll be cove & mc focused, but i was thinking it'd be sweet if we could take lizzie dress / suit shopping or dance with cliff at the wedding or something.

The side characters are there about as often as they are in normal events. So, it’s clearly focused on Cove but he’s not the only person you have any meaningful moments with.

When will responses be sent out to applicants?

I’m afraid we don’t send responses out to all applications, only ones we’re interested in offering the position to. Not everyone likes rejection emails and the amount of applications is too high to contact them all to say we’re not hiring them. We post updates on the job page when a position has news. Right now we’ve filled every role that was open.

Is there also going to be the option to keep your relationships with the love interests platonic in Our Life: Now and Forever? That's something I really appreciate in Our Life: Beginnings and Always

Yeah! OL will never force you to end up in a romantic relationship with someone.

I was wondering, in the Step 3 Happiness moment, what are the different fishes Cove can compare MC to? I got "you'd be a paradise fish, because being with you is paradise," but my friend got "you'd be an angelfish." Are there more variations?

He says paradise fish if you’re a couple, angelfish if he’s just crushing, and then a royal dottyback/queenfish/emperor tetra (based on your gender) if he likes the MC platonicly.

Hello! So, in one of the Step 3 DLCs, Cove's arm was gone. I think it was to show him putting his arm behind his back. But if that wasn't the case, did it get yeeted?

Thanks for letting us know. That was an error we tried to fix a little while back. When did you make the save file you were playing? If it was older that might be why it happened. Or maybe the error wasn’t fully fixed after all.

Asking for your opinion, but do you think Cove would at all be into ABBA? Because all I could imagine during the car trip in step 3 was him and the MC belting to Mamma Mia.

Haha, yeah, there’d definitely be some ABBA songs he was into.

So throughout the game, Cove can develop different interests depending on the player’s choices; does this mean that he can have different careers in Step 4? Or his is line of work in adulthood never mentioned at all?

He can have different career paths in Step 4!

Hi!! I'm so so sorry if this has been asked before but I just acquired knowledge about the so famous nsfw dlc for OL and nearly chocked on my bubblegum 💀💀💀 So, my real inquiry is if that specific moment will have any kind of impact at some point of the fourth step OR if it will just be treated as a side-story-ish “what if” scenario.Also, is there any chance there'll be something similar for Step 4? Haha jk,,, unless 😳Questions apart let me thank you profoundly for making the best visual novel I've ever played 😭 Really really looking forward the epilogue and OL2 💕 Have a nice day

It’s just a bonus side story that’s fully separate from the main game.

It would be nice to have one for Step 4 too, but I sadly don’t see us having time to actually do it. I don’t know, if people are still asking for more OL1 content several months from now it might be doable and worth doing.

I'd just like to ask, when is Baxter's birthday :0 -- I'm really curious esp with their zodiac signs so ;w;

I don’t know, haha. Maybe I’ll come up with one someday.

Please help!! I bought the Step 3 DLC but I still have no idea how to get to where you can propose to Cove - any tips?

How do I get the option to propose to Cove at the end of the game?

You can click HERE for a discussion on that.

I love that Miranda and Terry are getting together! I'm curious if you have canon sexualities for them? Also just wanted to say how much I love OL and how much joy it brings me everytime I play it <3

Terry likes ladies and Miranda likes dudes!

ngl Step 4 Terry's design reads like y'all see trans guys as their assigned gender more than you see them as men to me (a trans guy)... like maybe if he isn't heavily dysphoric, I could see it, but everything you've said about him doesn't line up with that. Even then, immediate warning bells go off in my head looking at him. I wouldn't have touched the game if I saw him ahead of time.

I’m sorry you aren’t comfortable with the way the design looks. The situation with Terry is that he’s now open about who he is, but the body he was born with is still physically the same. He only came out recently as an adult and hasn’t gone through any treatments/procedures yet (his chest is flatter because he wears a binder). However, even though his body hasn’t transitioned at the point Step 4 happens, no one treats him as anything other than the guy he is. Having a trans character who’s identity is supported/respected from the start is what we’re going for in this case. But what we’re doing with Terry isn’t the only trans content we’ve ever had/ever will have in the future.

how would baxter react to bae pyoun and vice versa? and can you please detailly explain both love interests personalities from our life 2: now and forever? i was just curious, sorry for dumb question!!

I imagine it’d be pretty opposite experiences, haha. Bae would initially think Baxter is pushy and thoughtless, but would quickly realize, oh, he’s instead a soft, considerate boy. Very cute. Baxter would first be struck with the impression that Bae is charming and gentlemanly, but then would realize that, no, he’s a sarcastic asshole. And I’m afraid we can’t reveal the personalities for the next game yet.

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I have a question about the patreon exclusive moment you're working on. I was wondering if it's mainly going to be CGs or if it's mostly character sprites + backgrounds with some CGs.

Either way, thank you for doing the Lord's work and not only making Cove, but making this bonus moment as well 😌😌😌

It’s mostly sprites/backgrounds with two CGs!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for the interesting questions everyone :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

#our life #Our Life Beginnings & Always #Our Life: Now & Forever #xoxo droplets #ask #gb patch #gb patch games

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paellaplease · 4 years ago

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HAII!! if it hasnt been done yet, could you do revali x reader with basorexia? maybe reader really wants to give him a kiss but she really cant since,, yknow she has lips and he has a fuckin beak so she just decides to give him a lil smooch on the cheek? idk that was just an idea i had in mind, u dont have to write it!

22. basorexia - the overwhelming desire to kiss.

pairing: revali x reader summary: revali spirits you away to enjoy the new years eve festivities.

In the darkness of your room, you awoke to the sound of a soft tapping on your window. Twisting in the mess of blankets and pillows, you pushed aside the papers and textbooks that had accumulated at the foot of the bed, noticing only then that the candle at your desk had long since extinguished.

Head pounding, you rubbed at your tired eyes, feeling heavy. How long had you been asleep?

The tapping grew more insistent, forcing you to get up. Grumbling, you allowed yourself a second to stretch, ignoring how your room felt like water sloshing in a glass.

"Yeah, yeah. Hold on!" You said, hobbling to the window. Brushing the mess of hair from your eyes, you pulled the curtains away and roughly pushed it open.

The culprit hovered outside, eyes bright and smug. Revali looked very much at home though he was floating at a dizzying distance away from the ground. In the sleepy haze, he looked like a painting of some myth you had read before, with the late night sky as his backdrop and the outline of your window as his frame.

"Took you long enough."

"Apologies. I thought some tree branches were hitting the glass."

The Rito made a show of turning in the air. "Funny, I don't see any nearby trees."

"I know," you sighed, disappointed.

Revali rolled his eyes and poked his head through the window, feathers brushing past your cheek as he ignored your personal space in favour of scoping out your room. The stiff turn of his neck as he looked around reminded you of the curious and confused little birds that landed on the sill from time to time.

"Quite a dreary home you have here." Gesturing to the overall darkness, he pointed to your stack of scattered papers. "You shouldn't study without proper lighting, it's bad for your eyes."

"I was asleep."

"Why, I'm surprised. And here I thought you were one of the festive many who choose to stay awake at an ungodly hour in order to count down the remaining seconds of the year."

"Well," you shrugged, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Not like it's anything special. New year, same shit. What difference would a countdown do?"

Biting down on your tongue, you stopped yourself from saying anymore. The cold breeze sifted past the light shirt you were wearing, making you shiver.

He was right, normally you were one of those people who stayed up, excitedly watching the hands of the clocktower tick til they reached midnight. You enjoyed the energy of being in a collective crowd, waiting with bated breath for the first inhale and exhale you would take into the brand new year.

The final month on the Hylian calendar brought a sense of relief and a hope for new beginnings. Usually today of all days you were at your happiest, jumping at the prospect of celebrating along with the rest of the kingdom and yet…

That sinking weight clawed at your chest again, forcing you to clamp down on it once more.

You grimaced. There it was; that bitter feeling. Hylia. How annoying. It twisted in your brain like an angry snake, pulling down your mood and enthusiasm along with it.

Last year you wanted to cheer and dance until the morning light. Now all you felt like was staring at the wall. Or falling asleep.

You blinked, turning back to the window to see Revali patiently waiting for you to continue. Feeling your face warm, you hustled your brain to get a move on. A coherent thought would be great right about…now!

"Hey have you ever wondered why they don't grow trees on this side of the castle? It's not fair the more expensive quarters get all the pretty greenery. I mean, non-noble guests still need that sweet oxygen everyone keeps raving about, you get me?" Shut up brain, that's enough. I said a coherent thought. C o h e r e n t.

Stars in his wings, Revali shook his head but answered anyway. "I agree, it's hardly fair. Also go change into something warm, we need to get you outside."

"What? Why?"

Something in the Rito's expression clued you in to the fact that he wasn't in the mood to play stupid. You've been sitting in the dark for the past few days and it didn't take a private investigator to know it was playing tricks with your head. "Fine, but when I say we go back--we go back, got it?"

He huffed, turning around to give you some privacy. "I promise on my honour."

The brightly lit lanterns of the town square made you squint as you shuffled closer to your guide, the sound of the city loud in your ears.

Though less prominent, the twisting feeling in your gut continued, making you more hyper-alert than usual to the world around you. Adjusting the sleeves of your coat, you followed Revali past the streets, the Rito expertly navigating through the sea of people.

Somewhere along the way he had taken your hand, and you told yourself it was a good way for you both to stick together. Wouldn't want you getting lost and spending the final minutes of the year playing an elaborate game of hide and seek after all. He was a great friend like that. Nevermind that everytime you would hold his wing a little tighter to remind yourself that he was there, he would always squeeze back.

You needed a distraction.

Just focus on everything that's not him.

The night was alive with the sound of music. It didn't matter if you partied with an alcoholic drink in hand, or a glass of milk, everyone in Hyrule was filled with an addictive buzz that came with an event that only happened once a year. Vendors with bright smiles called out from their stalls, the smell of freshly baked sweets or the sizzle of a barbecue beckoning you to take a closer look. To your left, a group of friends raised their hands in the air, loudly welcoming a Goron that had turned up late but regardless had finally arrived.

The archer followed your line of sight, guessing the question bouncing in your head. "Daruk is in Eldin, probably rattling Death Mountain with that story again about the Moblin camp and the barrel of explosives."

"I love that story."

"Of course you would."

"Sorry about your feathers though."

"Whatever, they grew back."

"How about the one's on your--"

"Anyway," he interjected quickly, playfully nudging you to the side and glowering at your laughter. "We've been told to 'take a break'. The other Champions have chosen to spend this day with their families and loved ones. We are planning to regroup and continue preparations in the days following."

"How about you?"

"I already said it."

Your cheeks coloured at the implications of his words, mind replaying the previous sentence. Families and loved ones. Families and loved ones. He didn't even hesitate. You both were not related. So that left you with...

"Woah!" Digging your heels into the dirt, you abruptly paused your brisk walk and saved yourself from colliding with the archer's back.

Stopping at one of the stalls, Revali held two fingers up. You glanced up at him questioningly but he refused to give anything away, expression relaxed. The vendor returned quickly, the Rito thanking them quietly and placing the payment on the bright yellow table cloth along with a large tip in their jar.

He turned around, dropping a square shaped pastry into your hands. It was some kind of rice cake, with a fluffy exterior and a golden baked surface that smelled of butter and felt warm like the sun.

Taking a bite, you smiled at the hints of coconut that were hidden in its sweet flavour. The sticky treat was familiar somehow. "Is this so luck sticks to you in the new year?"

Revali scoffed, though failed to hide his own smile behind the cake held in his wing. "You said the same thing when we first met. You need new material."

"Says the baron of bird puns."

"I am the king." He punctuated the statement by biting into his own rice cake. Offering his wing, he gently took your hand once more, turning back to step again into the busy promenade.

Following him, you noticed that the crowds ever so slowly began to thin. A lantern lit hill was coming up. The grassy expanse was dotted with a few people, though it was blessingly not as populous as the town square. "I should be the one that's surprised. Thought you hated crowds unless their attentions were all on you."

"It's tolerable so long as I am with good company."

The both of you walked up the hill with an unspoken agreement to make it to the top. Taking a seat on the grass, you allowed yourself to breathe, chest heaving from the small burst of exercise after days of being sedentary.

The twinkling lights of Castle Town stretched out before you. Gazing at it, you could imagine all the untold stories hidden in the glowing little pockets of the alleys and in the hushed whispers behind closed doors. Funny how in a city so full of people, one can feel so alone.

Revali was the first to speak, breaking you from your thoughts. "I think I can understand now. Looking at it from this distance, it really can feel like nothing much has changed."

You continued to stare at the lights, trying to focus on a certain string in an attempt to ground yourself. "Yeah. Sometimes it feels like though the world continues to spin, I'm remaining completely still. Just stagnant."

Frowning, you ran your hands through the grass, feeling the dirt shift under your fingers. You could feel your frustrations building, bubbling up to the surface with no way of dragging them back down.

"And the challenges just get worse every year. How am I going to face those old problems and these new ones if I'm still the same lost person I was back then?"

Your voice echoed at the last sentence, making you hide your head in embarrassment. That was loud.

Some strangers relaxing on the hill turned around to flash you an annoyed glare, before quickly returning to their picnics after spotting the Great Eagle Bow on your friend's back.

"I'm so sorry." You wanted more than anything then to dig a hole and hibernate preferrably for the next hundred years or so. "I'm yelling, that isn't like me. I'm so so--"

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You needed to say it." He glanced at you from the corner of his eye. There was a serious element to it that made it a little hard to breathe. "There is one part of that I don't agree with, however."

"What is it?"

"That entire section about you, how did you put it, stagnanting." He twisted a wing in the air, thinking on his words before pointing a feather directly at your face. "You're fully capable of enacting the change you want to see in yourself."

You felt a little dizzy now. But another kind of dizzy, one very different from the vertigo you felt waking up in the darkness of your room.

"And who said you were exactly the same as you were back then? You've changed. In a good way. You're stronger and more capable of things I'm sure the person you were two years ago or even less couldn't even fathom doing."

Turning to face you, Revali gave you his full attention, compelling you to do the same as the cadence of his speech joined the steady rhythm of your own beating heart. From the back of your mind, you could barely register the sound of people gathering together, their voices floating into the cold night air.

'Ten!'

"It's difficult to see your own progress from a distance."

'Nine!'

"So take my advice and start looking at yourself up close for once."

'Eight!'

He had that expression on his face, one that said he was thinking too hard about something. It was like watching him try to pull the planets together with just a piece of string. His brows were furrowed so deep that your fingers wished to run over his feathers and smoothe the worried creases.

'Seven!'

You slowly reached out to him, giving him enough time to back away. Revali stilled as your hands traced up the nape of his neck, leaning in as his pulse thrummed underneath the soft pads of your fingertips.

'Six!'

He opened his beak the moment you reached his face. You paused, half expecting him to tell you to let go and pretend like it never happened.

Instead, he called out your name.

'Five!'

He said your name again, though quieter now. It was enough to tug at the invisible force drawing you two together. Enough so that the polite distance nervously enforced by the both of you gradually began to dissipate, trailing away like a ribbon of smoke as you both leaned in closer.

'Four!'

"May I--," He cleared his throat, eyes darting away for a second before they were back on you again. Bright green in the lantern light. Emeralds in the desert sand.

'Three!'

"May I kiss you?"

"Yes."

'Two!'

"Your way or mine?" You couldn't help but joke. Revali smiled, exhaling a soft joyful laugh before pressing his forehead to yours.

'One!'

'Happy New Year!'

An earth-shaking boom rattled your ears, but all you could think of in that moment was Revali and the feel of his feathers against your skin; the utter elation of being so close to someone you deeply cared for and that cared just as deeply for you.

In the dazzling light you lifted your head from his, both your eyes meeting for a brief moment. Hands moving, you gently angled his face with a steady hand, feeling then the soft, butterfly light brush of his wings on your waist.

Closing your eyes again, you leaned in to press your lips against his beak, the blush on your face warmer than any fever or furnace. The Rito's soft sigh was barely audible as you trailed your kisses upwards, stopping at the red circle on his cheek.

Revali laughed again as you turned his face to press a kiss to the identical red mark on the other side. "You're very thorough."

"You deserve it." You beamed. "And this is just the beginning, just you wait at the end of the countdown I'll--"

"Actually my dear," he grinned, pointing to the sky.

"Huh?"

Above you were the vibrant colours of the firework display. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring, but a confirmation that you were definitely minutes in to the new year.

"Oh," you said, before shaking your head with a smile. "It's fine, we got 12 more months to prepare ourselves for the next one."

Revali nodded, pulling you closer so he could press your foreheads together again.

"Indeed," he grinned. "Now will you finish your sentence? What exactly were you going to do at the end of the countdown?"

fin.

#revali x reader #revali #botw #revali botw #prompt fic #more taggs later #i wrote this entirely on my phone so apologies for any errors #been thinking about this for a long time #also very late but happy new years #paella writes

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autumnslance · 3 years ago

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How did you start writing for Aeryn as only a fanfic/short stories? How do you not want to Rp with her? Also how do you play multiple characters?

In the order I felt like answering and it got long so:

Also how do you play multiple characters?

Irresponsible use of my free time. I am happily single and have no kids; just a roommate and our two cats. I also have a steady 8 to 5 Mon-Fri work schedule and currently work from home, and am a natural introvert who'd rather hermit than go out anyway. So I have the time and money to do as I like right now; it's kinda novel, actually.

Iyna and C'oretta do languish in older content (Stormblood and Shadowbringers respectively right now), and only unlock some things as I slowly catch them up, and I feel free to buy boosts as needed. I do most things on Aeryn and Dark, and even then I end up focusing on one or the other, or alternating. I'll likely get to the alts later in the patch cycle.

Having played WoW where multiple alts were an expectation of that set up (and before things were shared across one's account), and wanting to replay the MSQ before New Game+ existed, it didn't seem that alien a concept to me, nor did developing stories and roleplay personalities for them as well. C'oretta was a surprise who formed over a few months of playing her. Iyna came to mind with a solid backstory and personality already, just a few new details here and there cropping up as time goes on, as I never meant to make a viera at all.

As a note, all my WoW RP characters had not only backstories I wrote, but also reactions and interactions with the main storylines, or stories I made up each expac, that were not RP but solo fic adventures. I should really make a pseud and throw a bunch of them on Ao3 sometime.

How do you not want to Rp with her?

I've fallen out of love with open world roleplay entirely. While it was much of my time in WoW, and I initially intended to, I found I didn't have the energy or interest in joining the FFXIV RP community and all that would entail. The time and commitment requirements, not to mention all the petty dramas, felt like too much. I'm fairly shy and awkward (like a lot of RPers!) and I simply hit a point where the effort wasn't worth the cost anymore. I'm old and tired.

I do sometimes RP little scenes with my FC, cuz most of us have played and written together for about a decade and a half now, but it's really just hanging around our house between queues and discussing headcanons and sometimes doing some collaborative writing (or just signing off on someone's use of a character in their stories). I very occasionally take Dark to RP events.

Some folks can do two versions of their character; a roleplay version and the Warrior of Light version for MSQ. I couldn't do that with Dark Autumn once I set her story and role in my mind, and C'oretta wasn't even meant to stick around past the Ul'dah intro, but similar deal there.

Aeryn was written specifically to be a Warrior of Light, going through the MSQ as Hydaelyn's Champion. I never asked my FC to see her as anything but another Echo-having adventurer when we hang out together, but they do what they want.

I get my roleplay fix in D&D games played with friends for a couple hours most weekends, using online virtual tabletops even before the pandemic. I've never liked Tumblr RP--this is a terrible medium for it--though Discord's worked out decently a few times.

How did you start writing for Aeryn as only a fanfic/short stories?

I go over it a bit in the one link in my Pin Post. I was noticing how folks were perfectly OK with having their own Warriors of Light, the way I'd seen folks have their own Shepherds and Wardens/Hawkes/Inquisitors in Bioware fanfiction. Having come from a different RP and fic writing environment on my old WoW server, it was new and something I mulled over, as I never wrote fics for my own Bioware OCs. Then I found out about the CGI Midlander Woman, and mulled some more. If some folks made male Meteor lookalike WoLs, why not a lady WoL using that base image? I did make a few adjustments (not so pale for one) but overall she's inspired by that image, as is some of her lore in regards to Ardbert and her own brother.

Her backstory IS set up so that if I ever DID RP her as an "Echo-having adventurer" in public RP, it all works just as well without the "specialness" of being The WoL, but my creative outlet is satisfied just writing and being totally in control of her story and development, creating her as able to stand on her own. Well, barring unexpected relationships, anyway.

My intent was to go through the MSQ again and see what an actual WoL, played fairly close to the game's assumption of a helpful, brave, eccentric, altruist would react like--not my own reactions, playing through it on RP characters who weren't actually the Hero themselves--and not have her be in a romance with any NPC cuz wouldn't that be different from so many WoLs I saw? I couldn't fathom OCNPC shipping anyway, it was a cute thing others did but not for me.

We all see how well that last part worked for me (Dammit Thancred), but it's turned out OK, I think.

So to summarize: I specifically built my characters so I could RP if I chose, but am also happy discovering their stories and personalities by writing fic on my own for them. My priorities and how I enjoy RP have shifted with time and life situations, preferring familiar, small closed groups over open world community RP. I'm lucky to have longtime RP groups I can indulge that hobby with, as well as a current adult life that lets me play and write as I like.

#Lyn Prompts #About Me #Blogging #Roleplay #Writing #Character Development #long post

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monsoonblooms12 · 4 years ago

Text

The Butterfly Effect (Ethan Ramsey x f!MC)

Summary: The Journey from where it all began to where they are now. From a 2-minute power nap to a Miami kiss, Pooja and Ethan have come a long way. From Pooja's POV (Set in OH Bk 1 Ch 10 and contains flashbacks from OH Bk 1 Ch 1, Ch 4 and Ch 5)❤

The Butterfly Effect: Discovered by Edward Lorenz, this theory suggests that something small and insignificant, can alter situations in such a way that leads to utterly drastic changes. For example, a butterfly flaps its wings at an Amazonian Jungle and subsequently a storm ravages half of Europe. (This has to be one of my favorite theories ever🦋)

A/N: I got inspired from a dark Academia quote and here we are with 2.4K of mess. But I enjoyed providing all the fbs from Poo's POV and filling in the gaps of the unknown. And all the DbC peeps, I am trying to finish ch 8 believe me😭

Thank you so much to @jamespotterthefirst for Pre-reading! Love you🧡

If you enjoyed the story, please like it, leave a comment or reblog. Your feedback keeps me going🦋

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey X f!MC (Pooja Sharma)

Word Count: around 2.4K

Rating: General

Category: A messy mix of Fluff and Angst

Warnings: None that I found

A grain of sand, almost imperceptible to the human eye, 2 millimetres in diameter. Just a tiny little grain of sand, a single one. One would wonder how great of an effect that could produce?

A single grain of sand, eliminated from the base of a sand sculpture, can set on fire a cascade of events that result in something as drastic as the demolition of the entire sculpture. Just a trifling 2 mm sized grain of sand.

Tufts of hair gently swayed with the swooshing ocean breeze, the very grains of sand of which her mind was thinking about slip through gaps of her toes. It's a calming atmosphere, having a Zen-like effect on her racing heart and confused reasoning.

The echoing crash of ocean tides, the hushed ruffle of her shimmering purple dress, and the pattern of her footsteps of the white sand, now silver under the enchanting moonbeams.

She could not think about bad ideas and good ideas anymore. Nor could she obliterate the delicate touch of peach lips ingrained in her mind. Everything was a lock of tangled hair, a chaotic mess in her mind.

And when you can't disentangle a mess, you just tear it off.

That was what she was doing, tearing herself away before her mind got engulfed by a cocoon of ambiguity and concealed probabilities, restricting her to get out without getting transformed into someone else.

Legs exhausted after strolling for who knows how long, Pooja sits down, not bothering about the sheet of sand fragments that adhered begrudgingly to the purple satin.

A simple motion ensues, the florid hair tie holding her brown hair strands in a ponytail, now lay in her hand, giving them the liberty to enjoy the tranquillity of the idyllic scene they found themselves in.

Relaxation. That was what she anticipated. The soothing of her racing heart, the clearing of her muddled head, the easing of her bothering thoughts.

But it never came, the relaxation she desired.

Instead, her fingers, for a reason mysterious even to her, fidgeted the diamond imitation bracelet that embellished her left wrist. A twitch unveiled a vague scar, a remembrance of an old episode entirely cleared off from her mind.

Flashback

Pooja was a Potterhead. An extreme one indeed. Sometimes the thought made her chuckle. How she despised the books once, presuming they were overrated. And then, as if a magic trick had been performed on her, she became the Maven of the Harry Potter club.

But being a Potterhead and having to live in a niche under the stairs did not go hand in hand. The room under a staircase was still a room under a staircase. And every day, her mind replayed the poem of curses to her, as if to warn her to never search for an apartment on a Facebook Group ever again.

And now she stood, waiting for the century-old toaster's ping, as sleep struck like pin-pricks on her eyelids, threatening to close them off. It was a bad day today, the phone battery drained, and she, coffee drained. And the cherry on the top? Today was the first day of her residence at the most prestigious hospital in the entire States.

Uff!

She yawned the hundredth time, sleep playing a tiring game of chess with her mind, and giving it a Check! every now and then.

I don't even know a goddamn coffee shop around in here!

Displeased grunts accompanied the thought as she took the knife and began slicing the apple she had been floundering around for quite some time.

One Slice, and Another, and Ano-

Snorr!

What an ability it was to fall asleep anywhere, in any position! What harm would a "Power Nap" of a minute or two do? Right?

AAHHH!

The scream came out in bits, first when her eyes fluttered open with the sudden pain. A pause followed when she actually looked at the source of it and after her eyes and mind registered what was happening, came the second scream.

She was getting the taste of just how profitable the power nap was.

Hurrying away, she rummaged around for a first aid box, failed to find it, trotted to her Harry Potter adobe and took out the medical goodies she had brought with her. After ransacking through it, she found the antiseptic and the swabs she was looking for. Then a faint sound came from the blinking cellular and she picked it up, not waiting for breakfast. Just as she clicked the unlock button...

HOLY SHIT!

What? How? Her mind could not register. The only thing she understood was that she was notoriously late for her first day, and now she would have to do all the running that she had avoided for all the preceding years.

Letting out another pained groan, she kicked two flowerpots on her way to the kitchen, took the toasted slices of bread, switched off the stupid piece of machinery and ran.

She was sure she would have come first in any marathon if she had run in them with the speed she was racing right now.————————————————————————

Did she know about Dolores Hudson? No, she didn't. Had she planned on telling about her to Dr Ramsey? No, she hadn't.

The two words had inadvertently slipped off her tongue, not envisioning it as an indication. But as soon as they reached his ears, it felt as if a domino had been pushed. One pushed on to the other, leading to a chain of events that had given no hints, no warnings at all.

And now she was in the NICU, chatting with the man whom she considered an idol, a role model as if they were old companions. It was an enchanting experience to see the intern-terrorizing gentleman, so ... normal.

She questioned her mind's choice of word, but she did not completely disagree. To see Dr Ramsey, sitting here with an intern, talking with her, for no particular purpose other than the fact that she decided to stay back here in contrast to any other person, who would have valued their sleep than watching over a premature baby with whom she had no connection.

When sleep muddled her thoughts, she didn't realize what she was doing. Head lowered into his shoulder in a motion that felt like a reflex embedded in the nerve cords of her spine. She missed the gentle smile, decorating the handsome face of his, as he watched her from the corner of his eye, his eyes holding an emotion unrecognizable.

Was it affection? Pride? Adoration? Or something completely different? Who knew.

But if there was something she did know after that day, it was that she felt lucky, damn lucky, for that slip of the tongue.————————————————————————

How idiotic of her the decision was, she didn't want to talk about it.

Pooja had only found herself running the way she was running now on the first day of her residence, and she had only herself, and no one else to blame.

Why did she think that giving up on the most wanted position for every medicine intern in Edenbrook for friends when every one of them participated in it was a good idea?

If only her brain comprehended her priorities appropriately, she wouldn't have to rush through roads like a person who was missing their train.

Panting, grunting, and completely tensed, she arrives at Edenbrook. Steps don't slow down until she arrives before the light beige door, huffs and puffs, not pausing for a split second. She doubted if her legs still had the power to walk or if she would have to crawl into the office.

Nah, no more embarrassment, she would not be able to bear it. With the power that remained in overworked limbs, she knocked, entered and gave her reasons for the delay. And then, by a margin of a minute, she signed the sheet, absolutely normal but still holding the power to twist her entire life in an unforeseen way.

But did she regret it? She couldn't, and she wouldn't.————————————————————————

Miami. The city of gorgeous beaches, giving the aesthetic of peach and teal life. The expensive marble-floored hotel rooms in which she found herself was unreal. Definitely not made for some random intern.

Gorgeous decorated interior, delicately manicured lawns, elegantly made fountains, all standing majestically, giving a fight to each other. She glided through the vast space, joy overcoming job as she breathed the calming salty air coming from the oceanfront, which appeared like a picture frame in front of her. She had never seen anything so perfect in her life.

It was like Ataraxia.

She preferred Mountains over Beaches. She always had, and without a doubt, she always will. But when something looks so heavenly, it would be absolute stupidity to forego the chance of visiting it, even if it contrasted her preferences.

Forgetting the not-so-pleasant interaction with Declan Nash, which appeared like a stone in her perfect day, she let her sensations delve into the delicious culinary masterpieces that melted in her mouth like wax.

All the merrymaking and socializing drained her. But the gentle talks, soft giggles that she shared with him, an extraordinary, priceless moment, seemed to charge her, rejuvenate her. A corner of her heart did hope for something to happen. But she hushed it, not wanting to spoil the casualness, the beauty of the simplicity that blew in the air between them.

It felt like existing in the setting of one of those Michael Faudet quotes, one of them particularly being emphasized by her mind.

"As our eyes meet, all-time seizes to exist. The dying second frozen like petals of red roses kissed by autumn frost."

Pooja's mind still reeled, falling freely into the void as passion and some unnamed emotion overtook them. His heart steady under the touch of her palm and hers racing under the touch of his. She would not be able to remove the unreal image from her idiot of a heart, even if she wanted to.

Sleep refused to come to her, even after calling it repeatedly. She sat up, relieving the memory, playing in front of her like a sepia movie on the silver screen. Eyes travelling around, only to fall on a bouquet kept neatly at one of the antique corner tables.

It was white lilies and purple orchids.

Pooja Sharma didn't know the language of flowers when she received them, with a tag casually signed as E. A vague tag like that did not help to know the actual sender. The man whom she kissed had a name beginning with E, the hotel she was staying in had a name beginning with E.

Hell, even the hospital she worked in had a name with the letter E.

But if she had known the language of flowers, she would have pinpointed the symbolism hidden in it.

The White Lily carrying the meaning of Purity, Sweetness while Purple Orchids a clear cut indicator of admiration and elegance.

She would have been able to tell which E had sent the delicately wrapped piece that now lay uncared for in the corner of her room.

Feelings overcrowded reason, and she found herself suffocated in the very room that seemed heavenly to her in the morning.

Slowly and silently, she walked away to find the solace which he or she could not give her, in nature.

Flashback ends

As the amaranthine ocean glistens, waves crash and the foamy water rushes to engulf her feet as she stood, hands wrapped around herself, she felt she had truly found solace. There was a spiral, an unending coil of memories, a string which, when pulled, tugged in emotions hidden in darkest corners, forgotten but related, all tied together.

It was surprising, enigmatic, how much the little brain of hers, the soft heart of hers, holds in them. A constant battle of reason and emotions ravage the tired battlefields of her body. How casually, reminiscences of a bygone day appears, flicker like the reflection in the mirror of the calm pond water, but remain clear through the ripples that spread on the surface from time to time. That's how memories work, still clear, still dear, even after passing through chaotic ripples of time.

As she reaches the end of the spiral, the helix of her thoughts, she finds herself even more astonished than she was when she reverted to the first pages of the memoirs of her stay in Boston.

It was just a minute, or a word or two. Always so insignificant.

Every ignored act added one upon another and resulted in the catastrophic mess of heartbreak and affection she found herself today.

The 2-minute Power Nap of her first day? It led to the 2-degree shift of the knife and the scar that her finger was tracing now.

That 2-degree shift led to the delay in her reaching the hospital?

It resulted in her meeting her mentor, which gave her the chance to do the thoracotomy with him, to experience how it felt when his hand enveloped hers.

Those two words that slipped as a nonchalant thought off her tongue? It was why she could know how Ethan Ramsey was, behind the tough exteriors, the short-tempered demeanour, how it felt to place her head gently on his shoulder, to wake up to his glowing face.

And that one minute past midnight, when she signed up for the challenge that would change her life? That is why she is here, hair ruffling and eyes glistening, the Leucos Moon reflecting on the glistening water, the crepuscule spread mystically around her. That is why she knew how it felt to be touched by him, kissed by him, to get lost in him.

When Edward Lorenz discovered the butterfly event, he had correlated mathematics and meteorology. Had he thought that the same butterfly effect had turned an unassuming intern's life upside down, pushed her so back in the void of circumstances that it was impossible to come back?

Just a 2-degree shift of a knife, and now she was here in Miami. Just like the unassuming butterfly's flap of wing, which now ravaged a storm through her life.

Glassy droplets make a slow trail down the curve of her cheeks and drop on the scar as if trying to meet the origin which has brought her to the coordinates of the present.

And even though she did not know what would happen in the days to come, she was happy, truly happy, for that shift of her knife and for the 2 minutes of the power nap.

For the butterfly effect of love.

PS: Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a great day ahead! Love, Manamee🧡.

Tags (Please let me know if you want to be added or removed or if I forgot you):

Perma: @gkittylove99 @neotericthemis @udishaman @aestheticartsx @twinkleallnight @schnitzelbutterfingers @sophxwithers @sweatyrysconnoisseur @nikki-2406 @choicesfanaf @trrfanaddict @starrystarrytrouble @gardeningourmet @parkbarks @mvalentine @lovablegranny @mercury84choices @helloayz

Open Heart (All fics and edit): @lucy-268 @maurine07 @bellcat2010

Ethan x Pooja (fics): @aleynareads @stygianflood @choicesaddict5 @mysticaurathings @jamespotterthefirst @ilikemenbutonlyethanramsey

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @choicesbookclub

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oh-my-may · 4 years ago

Text

Tsukishima, Sakusa and Osamu having a childhood crush on older! reader

requested: If you're not bussy ☺️ please write Headcanon for, Tsukishima, sakusa, and Osamu who has a Crush on childhood friend Older!s/o (like 5 years apart) ☺️🥺 They propose the her once when they were little and she replay "I'll marry you, if you grow taller then me" It just so cute in my head.. ☺️😊 How are they will reapproach them years later when they surpassing their s/o height 🥰 Love your work btw 💕💕

This?? Is such a cute idea ckdksks MY HEART <<<<333 I hope I did it justice :D

Also Osamu’s one is waaayy longer than the other two I’m sorry I got lost halfway through :D

warnings: underage(??) drinking in Osamus part, though it’s not underage in my country lol

Tsukishima Kei:

As children you guys were inseperable, your houses literally being on the other side of the street. The age difference between you never mattered when you guys were playing around.

You were as old as his brother and therefore you often came over to meet with hum, but Tsukki would always end up joining, especially after his brother started playing volleyball, you would always join in with Tsukishima.

Everything was great for a while, you would come over practically every day or they would visit you and then you would spend the rest of the day chilling and playing, until you and Akiteru got into Middle School and puberty hit you. Due to your age you were always a bit taller than Kei, but you grew even more.

Kei always had a crush on you, you being the only girl he only ever hung out with. You always talked to him about Dinosaurs or volleyball or music and he thought - since you shared most of his interests - why not propose? It made sense to 8 year old Kei. “Y/N... Would you marry me?”

You started to laugh and poor Kei got very confused. He was being serious about this. You saw his kinda shattered expression and froze, looking at him with a grin. You pet his head and said: “If you ever grow taller than me, then yes.”

And so the years passed, and gradually you spent less time with the Tsukishimas. You found a bunch of new friends in school that you regularly hung out with, and even though you still saw Akiteru in school and talked to him, walked home with him... You barely ever saw Kei. He seemed to grow a little more distant, he didn’t come to family gatherings anymore and rather just hung around in his room, listening to music. But frankly, you actually didn’t notice.

So eventually you graduate High School and live your life, though sometimes you still meet up with Akiteru to chat. And one day, he tells you about his younger brother. “Kei joined the volleyball club I was part of, remember? Little giant and all? Yeah, of course you do. And guess what - they actually made it to nationals! The first time since then!”

You are very surprised to hear this, though you’re glad and happy for Kei. What Akiteru suggests next though comes as a surprise to you. “I have plans for watching them as least once in Tokyo, wanna join?” And even though you haven’t seen Kei or spoken to him in quite some time, you say yes. And that’s how you end up in the Tokyo gym, swarmed by tall teenage boys and hundreds of guests. Akiteru drags you along with him through the crowd of people, determined to greet his younger brother before the game. And honestly? You feel a little excited to see Kei again, to see how he’s grown since his childhood.

You finally find the boys standing in front of a huge door that clearly leads to the inside of the gym. At first you don’t even notice, but when Akiteru calls his name a very tall, blonde boy turns around, looking startled. You’re a bit shocked to look into the face of the now 16 year old boy. He’s clearly grown since then.

Kei looks at his brother for a minute before his glance wanders over to the person he’s brought along - you. Suddenly his eyes widen a bit and his heart stops for a minute. He swears his entire life was flashing in front of his eyes - well, at least the part of his life he shared with you. All the moments you guys played as kids, runned around the backyard, talked, laughed... And now you were here? So many years after this?

“Y/N what are... what are you doing here?” The words tumble out of his mouth uncontrollably and theres a slight tint of pink appearing on his cheeks. “Ya, what’s that? Is Tsukishima flustered?” One of his team members come up beside him. He has a shaved head and tries to casually rest his elbow on Kei’s shoulder, but he fails. You notice how tall he has gotten - clearly taller than you. You have to laugh but also feel you skin heat up when you remember his question and your promise from 8 years ago.

“Why are you laughing now?” Kei seems a little helpless and confused, just like back then. It almost makes you laugh even harder. Does he even remember it? You softly place your hand on his arm, looking up into his face. His eyebrows are raised, they surpassed the lines of his glasses. “Kei...” you begin, but when you see how curious his brother and his members look at you, you lower your voice. “Remember when we were children... One day you asked me a very peculiar question and I answered with a promise.”

His head shoots up immediately and you see blood flushing his cheeks and ears in a violent red. His expression seems more than shocked and for a second he even chokes on his own breath. You grin, leaving him like that. “Rock the game, yeah? I don’t want to have travelled this far just to see you fail in the first round.” Kei is still frozen in the spot, though in the game hsi brother tells you how he seems even more focused and determined than before.

You may have teased Kei right there, but from then on you began hanging out with the Tsukishimas more, visiting them as often as you could when your career didn’t take over your life. And maybe, eventually, Kei asks you out after his graduation and this time you take it seriously and don’t make another promise.

Sakusa Kiyoomi:

As children your grew up in the same neighbourhood and your parents would always take you to the same playground.

You noticed the young boy immediately - every now and then between playing in the sand he would go to his mother and she would clean his hands thoroughly with wipes and sanitizer. That got you interested very quickly. So you just walked over and sat down next to him and his mom, watching as they would repeat the same procedure over and over again, until you eventually ask: “Why are you doing this?”

And this little boy just looks up at you and starts explaining how he doesn’t like dirt and why you, too, should clean your hands like this. So you try and after you do, the boy drags you along across the yard saying how other kids don’t like playing with him because of his habits. You’re a bit taken aback by this - even though you’re older, you’re still gonna be friends with this younger boy. He’s like 6 or 7 at that time and from then on you met him on the playground almost every day. And every day, you’d go to his mom to clean your hands properly and then go play with “Omi-chan”, as you called him.

And Sakusa would honestly admire you, treasuring you as his closest friend. Even though he was younger and smaller than you, you accepted him and his habits and you still liked being around him. “Y/N... Will you marry me someday?” he bursts out one day, his big dark eyes looking up at you. And you take a second to look at his cute face - his round eyes, the curly hair, the snub nose, his soft cheeks. You grin and your hand moves from the top of his head to yours. “Maybe when you’ll grow taller than me.”

And so time went on, until you got to Middle School and then High School. You grew closer and when you were older you stopped hanging out at the playground and rather met at your houses, the only safe and clean places he trusts. You even adopt some of his habits, like cleaning your hands etc. You make it a whole ceremony to clean your rooms together before hanging out.

And even after you got into college you’d still find time for him. Calling him every now and then, watching some of his games and meeting up with him whenever you were home. And of course you notice him growing up, too. The way his hair grows a bit longer and hangs into his face, his sharper jawline, the shape of his eyes. And - his height. When he was 15 he finally surpassed your height, but you both had forgotten about your little conversation at this point.

Until your mom hosts a garden party and his family is invited, too. They make you both take a photo together and when Sakusas mom looks at it, she suddenly remembers and hands her son an older camera, a video waiting to be played on the screen. You both exchange a confused look before you press play and you see the two of you as children, thoroughly cleaning your hands, the playground in the background. Sakusa looks up at you and says “Will you marry me some day?” and that’s when Sakusa stops the video, his eyes a little widened and the tips of his ears painted in vibrant red. At first you’re a little confused, as you wanted to see what you responded to his question back then, but when you look at your friend you suddenly realize and giggle.

Sakusa thinks he’s about to sink into the ground because of embarrassement. He never thought about his feelings for you as a crush since he didn’t know better. He always thought all friends act and feel like this and over the years, as he realized he was actually in love with you, he couldn’t picture himself with someone else. You were so considerate, so accepting. Never once in your life did you think of him as weird, you never disrespected him or made fun of him. And after all, you were always the one accompanying him to events and he did the same for you. And when he looked at you now - all grown up, confident, pretty, your curious eyes scanning his face - he thought about how he was never brave enough to admit his feelings for you. Not like this. And certainly not in front of you.

“Y/N... I know this might come across as weird now, because we’ve known each other for so long, and I know you’re and adult now and I barely just graduated High School but... I want to show you that I’m not that little boy from the video anymore.” He gulps when he looks at your face, your eyes still looking at his, a slight smile on your lips.

You sigh and place your hands flatly on his jacket, over his chest. “But Omi-chan... I already now that. Although if that was your way of asking me out on a date, then take this as a yes.”

Miya Osamu:

Your mom worked as freetime volleyball coach/trainer for children and sometimes you would accompany her, wanting to see what she was doing and also seeing a chance in getting to know new friends

So you’re casually in the small gym, watching as all the younger children throw around balls, laughing and chasing each other. You’re distracted, so you don’t see the ball flying straight into your face, causing you to stumble and fall. When you look back up, there’s a boy about 5 or 6 looking into your face, a curious expression on his face rather than a worried one. “Did that hurt?” He looks back up, his face turned to someone you can’t see. “Tsumu, I told you not to punch the ball like that!” What follows is a sequence of words you don’t understand, coming from the other end of the gym. You stand up on your own and follow his gaze. You rub your eyes as you see another boy standing there, looking just like the one next to you. A little irritated you look in between them a few times, before the one next to you dryly says: “That’s my twin brother, Atsumu. I’m Osamu by the way... And I’m sorry about the ball.” He points at your face, that frankly hurt a bit, it felt hot and will probably get red in the next minutes. Osamu turns to his brother again. “It was simply because my brother can’t handle the ball well!”, he shouts and his brother sticks out his tongue for it.

And so it began and you would join your mom more often from then on, watching the twins play volleyball and develop over time. They would always come up to you and ask who did better, who improved more etc... You were older than them after all, they trusted your judgement.

You would grow particularly fond of Osamu, since he was the one who seemed to care more for you, he was nicer to you and always come up to you in between practice sessions. At first he only asked about volleyball, if you play too or why not and so on, but when you came often he’d get more interested in you. And he was barely in Primary School, you were the only girl he knew closer and you were so... mature to him. He developed a cute little childhood crush on you. “Y/N, we should marry.”, he states one day. For a moment you’re a little surprised, but you laugh and squish his cheeks. “Maybe when you grow taller than me, Samu-chan~” you tease him.

And so it would go on for a while, years even. Throughout his Primary School years he’d always come to your moms little practice sessions together with his brother and at least one time a month you would hear the same question. “Will you marry me, Y/N?” and you would always answer the same. “If you ever grow taller than me, yes.” His brother very quickly notice his brothers behaviour and tease him. Sometime later, they were already in Middle School then, it’s Atsumu who approaches you. Of course you don’t notice, since they had the same hair back then. He even styled it like his brother, so there was no difference. Atsumu thought maybe, since he was a bit flirtier, he could settle something for his beloved twin. But he gets caught mid act and Osamu is furious. Let’s say this might or might not be the final reason why they color their hair different colors.

Over the years however, even though Osamus crush on you stays, he doesn’t ask you the question anymore. During puberty he gets way too embarrassed over all his past actions towards you, especially since you were older. You literally had a boyfriend, and yet his 11 year old self still asked. His toe nails were starting to curl just when he thought about it.

He never forgets, though. But even when he does eventually grow taller than you in his first year in High School, he still doesn’t say a thing. Of course he doesn’t, you’re in college at that point and probably already made out with so many guys... His blood was boiling just thinking of it, even though he knew he was being unreasonable and childish.

On the twins 18th birthday, they throw a big party. And of course you’re invited, you’re basically their oldest friend and have followed their “career” since the beginning. Both the twins are stupid drunk in no time and you sit down with Osamu after a wild round of beer pong. He’s completely out of it, his words almost incoherent but they still make sense. You literally heave him onto the couch and sit down next to him, still laughing. For a moment it’s just the two of you, him a lot more drunk than you, the music blaring in the background, lost in your thoughts. Until Osamu speaks up, the alcohol getting the best of him.

“You know how... When we were children... Well no, when I was a child... I’d always ask you stupid questions??” he goes, one index finger raised as he explains. The alcohol in your blood and getting to your brain makes you laugh at it. He still looks at you expectantly though, like he’s waiting for your answer. So you nod. “You always asked me if we would marry one day. Like... A lot. 10 times a year or so.” He nods exaggerated. “Yessss, and you’d always, ALWAYS, say, that you’d do it when... When I get taller than you.” That’s when he pushes himself up from the couch with big effort and looks at you, a dark expression on his face. He stays like that for a while, his face neutral but his eyes determined. Until he literally falls on top of you, the alcohol making him stumble around. You giggle, and Osamu apologizes a hundred times, though he likes the feeling of your arms magically wrapping around him. It’s like a reflex of yours, you couldn’t stop yourself. “You alright?”, you ask quietly. Your faces are barely inches away from each other and he still has this certain look in his eyes, that almost makes you shiver. You always thought of Osamu as a younger brother, but ever since he got into High School and he grew taller and muscular, but also his demeanor maturing, you sometimes caught your mind wandering off... Like now. He makes a vague face before he just leans in and presses his lips to yours, capturing them in a really sloppy drunk kiss. But it’s fine, you both enjoy it. When he leans back, a smug smile traces lips. “Now I’m alright. More than that, even.”

You drunkenly make out for quite some time that night, Atsumu filming some of that in the same state as you, just so he can show his brother what he accomplished. Eventually you both pass out on the couch and when you wake up it’s a little awkward at first, until you nudge him and say that you’ll give him a chance, now that he was an adult and taller than you.

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kurinoot · 4 years ago

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[day 8] eight soft dolls | oikawa tooru

-> you have traveled all the way to argentina to surprise something for your fiance this valentines — much to his horror

pairing: oikawa x reader

themes: fluff with some crack (I think? LMAO), post-timeskip

word count: 1946 words

note: this fic was too fun to write LMAOOOOOO

“Okay okay, thank you so much, Hajime!”, laughing as you ended the phone call with Iwaizumi on the line before grabbing your luggage, making way for the exit.

You’re finally here.

Oh my gosh how is Tooru going to react to this?, you internally laugh to yourself as the morning sunlight of Buenos Aires shines on you while you make your way out of the airport; thankfully, you were wearing appropriately for the weather, as Argentina in February proved to be sweltering hot. As you wore your sunglasses, you went into a nearby taxi.

Arriving at your boyfriend’s doorsteps, you fish the keys out from your pocket, unlocking your fiance's apartment door, and the scent of clean linen hits you right in the nose as you enter his living space. You immediately settle your baggage in the living room as you throw yourself on Tooru’s soft bed covers. You rest for a couple of minutes before grasping your phone out of your pocket, immediately texting your boyfriend something out of context, all according to your devious valentines plan.

The need to sleep washes over you, as you drown yourself in the plush covers of Tooru’s bed, inhaling its fresh laundry scent, but much to your dismay, you compelled to pull yourself out of bed as you grab that one baggage full of your plans for your fiance as you slowly unzipped it, smirking as you pull out other items to prepare a grand surprise for him.

Tooru won’t know what he’s gonna get., you laugh out in your thoughts.

Morning practice has ended as usual. Right after a series of cool-down exercises, Oikawa went for his water bottle, drinking a huge amount as he hydrated himself after a tiring practice. He reaches for his phone, hearing the familiar vibration of his phone as he opens it to his joy a message from you. He immediately checks your chat, only to see a photo of what looks like a doll of him, to which he raises an eyebrow in confusion.

He replies back, scoffing at the picture you sent him as he immediately closes his phone and returns it in his bag.

Knowing that woman… She’s probably onto something… but what could it be? He thought, recalling the picture as he grabbed a fresh shirt from his bag. “She’s just probably lonely without me, and bought a doll that captures my features. My poor sweet fiance~”, he laughs off as he goes for the restroom with his clothes. He washes his face quickly before removing his sweaty training clothes, and changes with a fresh white shirt and olive green cargo shorts. He packs his things before waving goodbye to his teammates with a casual “Adios!”

As he walks on his way home, he rechecks his phone again at the odd photo that you sent him. Yes, it’s a doll version of him, but he couldn’t help but feel creeped out by it. To his surprise, you sent him another picture of it, only a close-up, but this time, he felt his hair on his arms raise.

“Y/N-chan mi amor is probably just teasing me again.”, he huffs in mind as he hums, skipping on his way home.

As he reached the front door of his apartment, he felt his spine shiver and the growing unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t helping. His apartment door was slightly opened.

Someone could be in his house.

He felt the need to call the police, but instead worked up the courage as he slowly opened the door. But before Tooru could enter, something hit him in the face.

“Wh-what the hell?!” Tooru swatted the object in front of him, only to reveal the familiar doll you sent to him earlier tied to the ceiling, connected to the knob. He grabbed the doll in anger as a torn paper suddenly fell from the plush.

‘mIss Me?’

He felt a wave of shiver in his spine as he clutched onto the doll, looking at it sinisterly. He tiptoed inside, not making a sound as he grabbed a nearby umbrella from a stand. His apartment was exactly as it was when he left. He looked around, seeing everything was in place. He creeped to the cupboards and closet in the living area to check for any signs of intruder. His anxiety grew as he inspected around, clutching onto the doll and the weapon. A wave of relief washed over him as he sighed when nothing was suspicious as of note. He wearily placed his sports bag on the sofa, crashing on his sofa. He inspected the doll, and upon closer look, the doll was wearing his old Aoba Johsai jersey.

The same doll you sent him a picture of earlier.

A sudden slow squeak was heard.

The door of his bedroom squeaked as it painfully opened ajar. Tooru’s petrified eyes turned towards the source that revealed another doll, standing as it looked at him. His instincts made him grab the umbrella as he made way to his bedroom. He picked up the plush, wearing a different uniform, his Kitagawa Daiichi uniform this time.

His eyes turned to his bed, six more dolls of him wearing different uniforms were scattered around on his bed. His grip on the umbrella loosened, letting it fall to the floor as he noticed how each doll wore different uniforms from his past. He noticed a large paper in the midst of the dolls, ‘Happy Valentines Day’ that was written in red ink that had Tooru back away from the bed to his closet.

Wait, Happy Valentines’ Day, mi amor?

Out of the blue, a hand suddenly clutched onto his shoulders, quickly wrapping around him as he screamed, pulling away from the arms. He ran for the door, but ultimately fell in the process. His attention immediately turned to the arms from his closet.

He immediately prayed at the closet as he pleaded and cried, “Please don’t kill me! I’m too beautiful to die! I have a fiance waiting for me on the other side of the world! At least let me marry her before you kill me! PLEASE!”

His train of thought got distracted as a laugh which was way too familiar for him entered his ears as you emerged from his closet, your phone peeking through the cracks of his drawer recording everything that happened.

“Long time no see, Tooru!”, you winked at his petrified state while laughing.

“Y-Y/N-chan? You-”, he cried out, pissed and shocked as you embraced him. “There, there, it’s all over now! See?” You reassuringly said as you patted his back.

Letting go after a full minute of hugging. “Why would you do that?! You almost gave me a heart attack!” He cried. You laugh out with tears on your eyes, “You should have seen your face!” You hugged your stomach, not being able to bear the events that transpired. Tooru could only pout at your initial betrayal.

“So mean of you, Y/N-chan!” He watches you grab your phone from his drawer, laughing as he looks at you rewatching the entire scenario on your camera, replaying on specific parts that were deemed too unforgettable as your boyfriend could only stare at you in part amusement and betrayal.

“You’re enjoying this too much, mi cielo!”, he complains further, folding his arms.

“Of course I am! I mean, what’s a better way to surprise my dear fiance?”, you say as you hit send to the Seijoh group chat before Tooru snatches your phone away.

He scrolled through the group chat as he looked at you again, pouting. “You, Iwa-chan and the others conspired?!”, you snickered as you scratched the back of your head.

“Oh Tooru my baby, I’m so sorry. I hope my presence here in Argentina makes up for it, though.”, you say, about to give him a hug once more, but he immediately pulled you to him, kissing you on the lips as he snapped a photo. He then sends the picture before looking at your flustered state with a smirk.

“Y/N-chan, from this day on, I forbid you from spending too much time with Iwa-chan and the others! Look what they influenced you with!”, he angrily said, before looking at you with his famous serious eyes, sending chills to your spine. “You’re mine, got it?”

You raised your hands in defeat, “Alright, alright, I got it, babe.” You grabbed his hand, leading him to the kitchen. “Now come on, I’ll cook something for us to make up for the emotional damage I’ve caused you.”

He snickers as he continued, “While I do appreciate you cherishing my beautiful existence like this, where did you even get those dolls?”, emphasizing on the dolls with spite.

You show off a smirk as you tease him, “Oh you know, Iwa-chan was very willing to help me out, and the others too. Looks like seeking their help was worth it!”.

Ah, of course, Iwa-chan has something to do with this., he thought.

He pouts as he looks at you. “I sometimes wonder, why did I even fall for a weirdo like you?”.

You laughed at him, “Well, the thing is, Tooru, I’ll be your weirdo forever!”, as you flash him the diamond engagement ring that he proposed to you after his team won the Olympics a few months ago. Oh what a blissful moment.

Argentina wins the final game as a final spike seals the deal, with strings of sky blue, white and yellow confetti flying around the stadium. The Argentine Volleyball Team runs to each other, hugging and crying in victory as they pat each other in the back. The roaring cheers of the Argentine audience further overwhelms the team in celebration as the rest of the team finally knocks on their setter Oikawa, reminding him of something.

“It’s finally time, Tooru.”, one of his teammates tells him as he looks at your direction, who’s currently looking at the entire team in sheer joy from the stands. Oikawa immediately feels the anxiety, with a lump forming in his throat as he carefully grabs the box from the bench to make sure you don’t see it. To his surprise, you were gone from where you were standing earlier and now he sees you running straight to his direction.

“Congrats, my baby!”, you scream as you hug him tightly albeit his sweaty figure.

He hugs you back, “Thank you, mi cielo!”.

As the team looks at you guys from afar, they quickly disperse back to the bench to give their beloved setter a spotlight. One of them gives him a microphone, much to your curiosity.

“Y/N-chan! I’m so thankful for your love and support for the past years that were together. And now that I’m getting a gold medal, I was also wondering if you’re willing to accept my last name as a gold medal.”, he says on the microphone as he slowly kneels in front of you, prompting you to cover your mouth in shock.

Tooru then opens the red velvet box for you to see a diamond engagement ring sparkling beyond your wildest dreams, “W-Will you marry this idiot, Y/N mi amor?”.

Cheers went louder as tears began welling up in your eyes, processing what is just happening in front of you. The Argentine setter looks at you anxiously before you finally nod in tears, “Yes Tooru my idiot, I will marry you!”.

“Well I suppose, we can be weirdos together forever, right mi cielo?”, he replies, kissing your ring as the memory makes him smile. You proceed to give him a kiss on the cheeks, smiling in return.

back to valentines masterlist

#witchy.writes #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #oikawa torū #oikawa x reader #valentines #haikyuu valentines #haikyuu fics #haikyuu imagines #14 days of valentine

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spine-buster · 4 years ago

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The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 23

A/N: *sings* Taaaake me to church...

February 25th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was officially 22 years old.

Despite all the events of yesterday, she was happy. She had a few texts from friends and some Instagram notifications already waiting for her when she woke up, and they put her in a good mood. Her parents called her as she was putting on her makeup, and talked to her until she left to get breakfast downstairs. She already knew she would FaceTime Siena after practice when they got back to the hotel.

When she got downstairs to the continental breakfast, some of the guys were already there, and she knew everyone else was on their way. Jake was already there, wishing her a happy birthday at the scrambled eggs. Mitch was there too, who poured her some orange juice as he wished her a happy birthday as well. Jason said she should be sitting down at the table while everyone else got her the food she wanted. She giggled.

Willy and Kappy arrived together. Kappy wished her a quick happy birthday before he started to get his food. Willy lingered by her. “You talk to your parents yet?”

“They called me this morning, yeah.”

“Siena?”

“We’re FaceTiming after practice.”

William nodded his head understandingly. “Happy birthday,” he smiled softly.

She smiled equally as softly. “Thanks.”

“You gonna be blasting that Taylor Swift song or what?” Travis Dermott asked he appeared beside them, plate piled high with scrambled eggs and bacon. “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling twenty-twoooOooOOOooo!” he sang aloud in a horrible high-pitched voice, definitely trying to mimic Taylor Swift but of course failing miserably.

William set down his plate and put his hands over his hears dramatically. Travis began dancing while trying not to have the bacon spill over his plate. Aberdeen couldn’t help but laugh. “Were you doing that when you turned 22?” she asked.

“You bet! That song was on a 24 hour loop,” he smiled.

“Poor Kat.”

“She lived. So what’s your birthday wish?”

“For you guys to win tonight,” she winked.

“We can make that happen,” he winked back. “Can’t we, Willy?”

“My ear drums burst after your awful singing. What did you say?”

“I said WE CAN WIN TONIGHT, CAN’T WE?” he yelled so loud other patrons in the eating area looked towards them.

Aberdeen shielded her face and William turned completely around so they couldn’t see his face. “You’re the worst, pal,” William said to Travis. “And by the way,” he shifted focus to Aberdeen, “we’re definitely winning the game tonight. For you and only you. Bust also so that we don’t have to hear any more of that.”

***

“Did the boys promise you they’d win for your birthday?” Brendan asked Aberdeen as they walked together through the halls to their box for the game.

“They did,” she nodded. “This morning at breakfast.”

“Think they’ll be able to do it?” he asked. They both flashed their credentials to the security guard who let them through easily. Aberdeen could even see Kyle down at the other end of the hallway waiting.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I hope so. It would be kind of nice.”

“No hoping,” Brendan shook his head. “Do you have faith they can win the game tonight for your birthday?” he asked again, his voice sterner.

“Yes,” she answered automatically, nodding her head. She did have faith in them. She had faith that William would probably show off tonight like he showed off when Siena was in the building in Ottawa, but she wasn’t exactly going to vocalize that out loud. “Do you?”

He took a moment to think about it as he looked at her. It wasn’t an automatic reaction like hers was. “Yes,” he finally said. “Because I know how much they adore you.”

***

“Look at him fuckin’ go,” Kyle said with a giant smirk on his face as he watched the replay of William’s goal. It was beautiful. The Leafs were on a powerplay and he was sitting pretty right in front of the net. After a feed from Mitch not going exactly where he wanted it go, William ended up sneaking it in between his legs and putting it in the net, top shelf. Bardown. Beautiful.

“He just surpassed his dad in goals not even two weeks ago and now this. Now he’s just showing off,” Brendan giggled, looking at the replay himself.

Aberdeen watched replay after replay. “This is absolutely unbelievable by Nylander” she heard the announcer say as he broke down the play and the goal. She was so enamoured by the coverage and the breakdown and the smile on his face at the end of it that she almost didn’t notice what Brendan whispered to Kyle.

“Think he’s showing off for someone?”

***

Brendan made sure he and Aberdeen took their time walking down to the locker room after the 4-3 win. He made sure to have his cell phone constantly in his hand, waiting for the right text to come through. He made sure that when he did, he hurried down there with her tagging along.

Aberdeen followed Brendan into the locker room. Brendan nodded at Sheldon. Sheldon nodded at him.

“Alright boys! Everyone get in here!” Sheldon yelled out to the team. Everyone settled down and came back in the locker room, either standing or sitting in their stalls, their gear half on or half off and their hair still sweaty from the game. Brendan and Aberdeen were in the back, standing just in front of one of the entrances, making sure not to block Jack Campbell’s view. “We came back hard tonight. We showed them what we were made of. We held them off in the third period. We stuck with our game. Willy with that game winning goal that I’m sure is gonna be on every highlight reel this season,” Sheldon smiled, and some of the boys clapped and whooped for him. “It was a good fight. It was a good…hey…hey wait. Where’s Spezza?” he asked, furrowing his brows. “Where’s Spezz?”

Everybody began looking around the room. Even Aberdeen started looking. “Spezz?” Tyson asked really loudly.

Silence.

And then…

“Haaaaaaaaaappy biiiiiiirthday to yoooooouuuuu…”

Out of the corner of her eye, Aberdeen saw Jason walk into the locker room carrying a giant slab cake, with 22 candles lit up throughout. It started with just his voice, but as the words dragged on, more voices joined. She saw giant smiles on the entire locker room’s faces as they sang along, and she immediately covered her face in embarrassment, getting way too emotional. Even the cameraman that they sometimes brought on road trips to film content for Blueprints was filming her.

“Haaaaaaaaaappy biiiiiiirthday to yoooooouuuuu…Haaapppy Biiirthdaaayyy dear Aaaaaaaberdeeeeeeeeeen, haaaaaaaaaappy biiiiiiirthday to yoooooouuuuu!”

The entire locker room began cheering and clapping loudly. Aberdeen couldn’t believe it. She shook her head at everything that was happening – the cake, the singing, the filming, the shit-eating grins on everyone’s faces, particularly Jason’s and Brendan’s – and blew out her candles in one big blow, causing everyone to cheer even louder than before. She knew she had an embarrassed look on her face – because she truly wasn’t expecting anything like this – but she was so grateful for the gesture. Her eyes were even tearing up, though she didn’t know why.

“Aberdeen, I think I speak for everyone when I say we wish you a very, very happy birthday in your twenty-second year of life,” Brendan began. “You came into our lives in September, and since then, we’ve grown more and more in love with you, your outfits, the books you bring on the plane…” he motioned with his hands for the guys to pitch in.

“Your no-nonsense attitude!” Jason contributed.

“Your rockstar Halloween costumes!” Travis yelled.

“Your Willy fashion roasting!” Kappy yelled.

Everybody laughed. Brendan laughed too before focusing back on her. “From the streets of good ol’ Etobicoke to 50 Bay Street…you’ll always be part of the Maple Leafs family, Aberdeen. Always.”

Aberdeen’s breath hitched in her throat. She nodded her head. Those were some very kind words from a very powerful man, and she knew just how much they meant. And the fact that he was saying it in front of the team meant so much more. She thought it would be over and done with, but Kappy and Travis had other plans. “Speeeeeeeech! Speeeeeeeech!” they chanted. “Speeeeeeeeeech!” everyone else followed, expecting it like she’d just won an Oscar.

(Maybe she deserved one, since she’d been sneaking around with William and nobody seemed to be the wiser.)

“There’s not a lot I’m gonna be able to say without crying,” she said, still shaking her head. She was still very well aware that the cameraman was still recording. “But seriously, thank you guys so much. This means a lot to me, considering how much of a family we are here. You guys, I…I can’t say enough about you guys. Honestly. But for how much you might love me, I hope you guys know how much I love you all too…”

The guys began clapping when they realized she really couldn’t say anything else because she would have gotten emotional. But it was Brendan who spoke and eliminated the feeling by screaming “ONE MORE TIME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABERDEEN!”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!” they all rushed towards her screaming, engulfing her in a giant mob as she screamed at the fact that twenty-plus men were about the crowd her like she was a fellow hockey player. The only one who didn’t was Jason so he could save the cake. Thank God.

“The gift!”

“Where’s the gift?!”

“Somebody get the gift!!!”

Aberdeen furrowed her brows. Mitch ran from where Jason had come from, hockey pants and socks still on, and brought out a giant box from the back. He placed in right in front of Aberdeen. “What did you guys do?”

“We started thinking about it at the beginning of the month—” Kasperi began, but Jason quickly cut him off.

“—Jen and Bee said we should get you something. But I mean we all thought of the idea of what to get you,” he said, throwing a look towards Kappy. “John went out and bought it, but like we all pitched in.”

Aberdeen kept unwrapped until she tore a part of the wrapping paper and saw the Louis Vuitton logo on the box. She gasped out loud. She didn’t care that everybody in the room was watching her at this point. “Whaaaaaaat did you guys do?!” she shrieked, ripping off the paper even quicker now. When the wrapping paper was off and she opened the box, she gasped dramatically. Everybody had pitched in to buy her a Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandoulière carry-on bag in the damier azur canvas colour. “Are you for real?!” she asked, delicately moving the tissue paper to the side and taking the luggage bag out of the box.

“You like it?” Jason was smiling at her reaction.

“Now we all match with our Louis Vuitton!” Auston winked.

“Yeah, and now you can’t make fun of my fashion anymore!” William yelled.

“Oh yes I can,” Aberdeen replied automatically, not even looking at him – still admiring her new bag too much. “Seriously—I—what made you all decide you were going to get me Louis freaking Vuitton?”

“You roasting Willy’s fashion choices, actually,” Jason laughed out. Brendan laughed too. “Just thought you deserved something nice too, for putting up with us all the time.”

“I’m still making fun of Willy’s fashion choices,” she deadpanned.

“We figured.”

Aberdeen didn’t know who cut the cake. All she knew was that she was handed a piece once she was done groveling over her new bag. She didn’t know when the music started playing. All she knew was someone took her phone and started blasting her Spotify, and a weird variety of songs came on: “Vossi Bop” by Stormzy, which most of the guys vibed to; “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, because of course; and “(Dancin’) On A Saturday Night” by Barry Blue, which caused Tyson to grab her and start dancing with her comically. The guys were eating cake and taking off their gear. The media was still peeking in though their time and interviews had long gone. She wondered if they got pieces of cake.

When everything was said and done, everybody loaded onto the bus to get back to the hotel. She still had a stupid smile on her face as everyone filed in, carrying the box in her hands like a party-size pizza. She put it onto the seat beside her before taking out her phone to respond to some of the last messages she got from her friends, and saw some notifications that piqued her interest.

@kristenshilton: Leafs are celebrating a birthday in the locker room after their Tampa game. Cake and everything. I’m told that it’s chocolate.

@kristenshilton: ‘Vossi Bop’ by UK rapper Stormzy is playing. Nylander tells me, “It came up on Aberdeen’s phone. It’s her birthday. We promised we’d win the game for her.”

Aberdeen Bloom, in question: Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant.

Aberdeen wondered if this was the first time her name had been put out there by the media. She honestly had never searched her name on Twitter before so she had no clue. Now that it was out in the open, what would happen? What would Brendan say? Would he want it out there? She didn’t have the answers. The only thing she knew was that it didn’t matter right now, because it was her 22nd birthday. She could deal with it later – if she even needed to deal with it.

She went through her unanswered texts and Instagram messages thanking everybody for their birthday wishes. Just as she was about the locker her phone again, she opened her email inbox, noticing a few spam emails from sites she’d signed up for.

But one in particular caught her eye. She opened it immediately.

Dear Ms. Bloom,

Thank you for your submission to the “Memoirs” section of Toronto Life. We have read your essay “Maple Leaf For…Now” but regret to inform you that our team of editors has decided not to publish the essay. We thank you for your time and submission.

Best regards,

Sandy Miller, Senior Editor at Toronto Life Magazine

She immediately closed the email. She didn’t need to read it twice. She didn’t need to dwell on the feeling of being rejected. Again.

It was a quick drive back to the hotel. She followed everybody up to their respective floors and rooms, getting some final happy birthdays before she opened her own door and escaped into her own room. She put the giant box next to her luggage – she’d wonder how she was going to handle the packing tomorrow. She took her phone out of her pocket, seeing a text from William already.

i’ll let u know when i’m coming maybe 20-30 mins? the guys are pretty hyped and i want to make sure they’re in bed

Ok. No problem.

brendan was right tonight u know we all fell in love with u from the beginning i hope u know that

😇

She waited patiently yet impatiently. During the time she was waiting for him, she’d washed off all her makeup, took a quick shower, and even changed into her pajamas. She debated whether or not she should greet him with a sheetmask on, but then she figured that it was her birthday and he’d probably want to kiss her all night, so she decided against it, even as a joke. There was no way she’d waste a sheet mask.

She was sitting on her bed scrolling through her phone when she got the text from Willy. She prepared herself, and when she heard the slight knock on her door, she practically jumped out of bed and ran to the door. She opened it quickly. “Hey,” she smiled, closing the door behind him, even locking it for good measure.

“Hey.”

“What a goal tonight, Will!” she giggled as he got closer, wrapping his arms around her.

“For you,” was all he said. He apparently didn’t want to talk hockey – regardless of how pretty his goal was – or waste any more time. He just began kissing her. Big, open-mouthed, passionate kisses as he walked them towards her bed, falling on top of it when it reached the back of Aberdeen’s knees. Like many times before, they were making out like teenagers; they couldn’t help it. William found her insatiable, and Aberdeen found him just as much, if not more insatiable. She snaked her hands underneath his hoodie and took it off, leaving him shirtless. He did the same to her, leaving her topless in her bed.

“Aberdeen?” he mumbled against the skin between her breasts after what felt like hours of kissing, touching, and grinding against each other’s bodies.

“Yeah?” she managed to get out, though she could feel how hot her body was.

“Can I taste you?”

“Huh?” she blurted out in the most vulgar way that was humanly possible, completely embarrassing herself. She was sure William was going walk out the door right now and never turn back.

William snorted. “Can I taste you?” he asked again, slower, with a dumb smile on his face as he looked up at her.

“I…I…” her chest began to heave slightly. “I mean…okay. But um…I’ve never…” she kept trying to find the right words, but when she thought about what she actually needed to say, it just made her more embarrassed and more prone to stutter out her response. “I mean, I’ve never had…you know, anyone go down on me before.”

William stopped, furrowing his brows. “Wait…you’ve…you’ve never—”

“No.”

“You haven’t been eaten out before?”

“No.”

William seemed shocked. “But you…you’ve had boyfriends…?”

“Yes, Will. God.”

“So…” he was trying to piece everything together. “That guy I met, Zane or whatever his name was…he never ate you out in the entire year you dated?” he asked. Aberdeen shook her head. “What kind assholes did you date?” he shrieked.

“Arrrrrggghhhhh,” Aberdeen grumbled, covering her face with her hands in complete embarrassment. “This is so embarrassing!”

“Noooo no no no, come on, it’s okay,” William kept repeating and cooing as he pushed himself back up, one hand placing itself on her stomach to caress the skin there and on her sides while he leaned on his other arm. “Aberdeen, come on. It’s okay.”

“Is it though? Is it really?” she was peeking through her fingers like a kid.

“Of course it is,” he assured her. “It means I get to be the first one.” Aberdeen removed her hand from in front of her eyes so she could give him a look. “Was there a reason why it never happened?”

Aberdeen shrugged. “I mean…I’ve always been a bit self-conscious about it. Like about how I’d react or how I’d, like…taste,” she used his own words. “But Zane said he didn’t like to go down on girls, so I sort of never, like, asked for it. He was like that from the beginning. And I felt embarrassed to ask if I was just gonna get shot down. I mean…I wanted to try it. He just never would.”

“Did you give him blowjobs?”

Aberdeen knew she shouldn’t be getting uncomfortable, because she was with William and she was comfortable with him and trusted him completely, but it was a direct line of questioning she wasn’t used to. Though she talked about her hookups or past boyfriends with Siena or people like Kasha, she didn’t go into extreme depth like that. “Yeah…a whole bunch of them, actually…” she admitted.

She watched as William shook his head, getting angry. “That guy was a fucking asshole, and I’ll look through every stupid fucking cubicle in the city if I have to so I can punch him in the face for you.”

Aberdeen let out a sigh, running her fingers through his hair to push it back. “Does that make me lame? Be honest.”

“No, minskatt. It does not make you lame,” William asserted. He brought his hand up to caress her face, and trailed his fingers up to her new scar just above her eyebrow. He touched it delicately and she didn’t wince. “Listen…I want to taste you. I want to make you feel good,” he continued softly. “I know you’re nervous. It’s okay. I promise that I’ll go slow, okay? And I’ll stop whenever you tell me to stop.”

Aberdeen was nervous – perhaps more nervous than she’d ever been – but she nodded her head. “Okay,” she said.

“You’re sure?” William confirmed with her one more time.

“Yeah,” she nodded again. “I’m sure. Just…go slow.”

He’d heard her request those words before. “I will, minskatt. I love you.”

“I love you too, Willy.”

He began kissing her again, trying to get her as comfortable and relaxed as possible – how she was before he proposed the idea. They kissed again for a long time, William making sure he could sense her comfortability before he began to move down, running his lips and tongue down to her chest. His lips left her skin only to take off her pajama pants and underwear, slipping them off slowly at the same time before discarding them to the side. He could feel her shiver. “You alright?” he asked. She nodded her head. “I’m going to make you feel great, I promise.”

“You better.”

They both giggled slightly. “Just tell me when to stop if you want me to stop.”

“Okay.”

He continued to kiss his way down her body, eventually spreading her legs open and settling in between them. He could feel her take a deep breath, so he kissed some more – along her belly button, her hips, on the insides of her thighs. When he did that, there was another shiver. “Minskatt?”

“What?” she asked, like she was having trouble even getting the word out.

“Hold my hand.”

Aberdeen looked down. Seeing his face in between her thighs was quite the sight to behold. She grabbed onto one of his hands and intertwined their fingers. She could feel his thumb rubbing her hand assuredly. She didn’t think the first flick of the tongue to taste her was coming so soon. But as she felt his tongue along her folds, she flinched slightly out of surprise more than anything, squeezing his hand. “Oh fuck,” she sighed out, her hips bucking.

With his free arm, he pushed gently back on to the bed. “Was that okay?” he asked, his mouth still dangerously close to her lips so that when she spoke, she still felt them move against her. She nodded quickly. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” she said firmly, her response automatic. “K—Keep going. It felt good.”

Aberdeen looked down, only to make eye contact with him before he dived in again. Her eyes rolled to the back as William continued lapping at her, making her feel better and better with each stroke of his tongue. Soon, there were no nerves anymore – no worries about how she tasted or how she’d never done this before – and her body was doing the talking, squirming and writhing and sighing, her little oh fuck and oh my god comments the fuel William wanted, needed, to keep doing what he was doing. He did everything – quick flicks of the tongue, long laps from bottom-to-top, top-to-bottom, and sucking and licking like he was drinking a thick milkshake, making sure Aberdeen got the full experience.

Her moans were his music. At one point she had let go of his hand so she could bunch the bedsheets in her fists. He could hear her huffs and sighs. “S’at feel good?” he asked quickly.

“God, yes,” Aberdeen whispered, her voice so soft and so full of innocence at the new feeling of it all that William almost came himself right then and there.

“You taste so sweet for me, Aberdeen. You’re so sweet and it’s all for me,” he said, his voice low and full of lust and Aberdeen almost came right then and there.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuck, Willy,” she couldn’t say much more. When he lapped at her with his flat tongue immediately after, she instinctively went to grab and tug on his hair. He’d made it a personal goal that he would make her come with just his tongue, and his groan in response and the vibration from it made her whimper. “Willy—I—Willy—”

He did it again, and she cried out. With his face so firmly planted on her pussy and with her tugging at his hair and making sure he stayed down there, the feeling was almost too much, but she knew she wanted him to keep going. She knew she wanted the build-up. She knew she wanted it to last as long as it could – as long as was physically possible for Willy – because this was, perhaps, the best feeling she’d ever felt.

The fact she was getting louder made Willy know she was enjoying it. She’d moved on from squirms to moans, and now from moans to audible cries, words frantic and scarcely used but enough so that he knew he was doing a good job and she wanted him to keep going. He kept up his movements so he could keep hearing her, the tugging of his hair bringing him the same kind of pleasure as he was currently giving her.

Then Aberdeen went a bit quiet. William didn’t like that. He looked up at her as he was still licking and noticed she was staring up at the ceiling. He squeezed her hand to get her attention. “You okay?”

She looked down and saw how wet his lips were – how her juices were all over his mouth, really, and she could have fucking cried. It was one of the hottest things she’d ever seen. “I feel really close,” she whispered, her voice strained. She’d been moaning and crying out for so long that he was surprised she even had one left. “I—fuck Willy—I feel so close.”

William wanted to make sure any part of her that was still holding back – if there was any left – didn’t hold back at all. He made sure he was making eye contact with her. “Come all over my face Aberdeen. Come for me. Now.”

Aberdeen had never been so turned on. He lapped and sucked once more and within seconds she was a screaming, writhing mess. She couldn’t be quiet. It was impossible. As her orgasm overcame her, flooding her entire body with pleasure, she tried to stop her legs from clamping together and squeezing William’s head in between her thighs. He didn’t care. William moved with each squirm, each scream, each buck of the hips, never once taking his mouth off her pussy as she came long and hard and completely, not once. She screamed and huffed and moaned until she couldn’t anymore, until her throat was dry. When she felt herself finally coming down from her orgasm – earth-shattering orgasm, really, if we’re being specific – she looked down at saw William already looking at her, smiling, her juices all over his lips and face, and she knew it was a sight that would be permanently etched in her mind.

When Aberdeen regained basic consciousness, she could feel William kissing the insides of her thighs again as he was chuckling slightly. He kissed his way back up to her, and when his lips landed on hers, she let out her last moan she had in her as she tasted herself on his lips. “You taste incredible,” he said once they finished kissing, looking right into her eyes as he licked his lips.

“I can’t believe that was what I was missing this entire time,” she said. “Zane’s a fucking asshole.”

William chuckled louder this time, nuzzling himself into her neck as he placed light butterfly kisses there. “I told you,” he said. “It felt good for you?”

She nodded. “It felt incredible. I’m serious. You’re going to turn me into one of those nymphomaniacs.”

“What did you like the most?”

“All of it,” she said immediately, because it was true. There was absolutely nothing that she didn’t like. As she felt his body rest beside hers, his lips still lingering on the skin of her neck, she could feel his erection. She turned a bit so she could look him in the eye, kissing him quickly. “D’you want me to take care of that?”

“No no,” he shook his head. She didn’t understand, especially since he was rock hard. She couldn’t believe him going down on her made him so aroused. “This is all about you. I’ll take care of it.”

“Willy—”

“It’s okay, minskatt. I’ll take care of it,” he said, giving her a kiss before rolling over and getting off the bed. She watched as he disappeared into the washroom and closed the door behind him. She couldn’t think of anything else to do, laying in the bed completely naked thinking about what had just happened, until she thought to grab her underwear and put them back on. She kept herself topless though, as maybe a little treat to William, as she went back to thinking about the feeling of his tongue on her folds, shivering as she remembered.

William was in there for a while before he came back out, seemingly having taken care of it, and climbed back into bed with her. He placed kisses on her breasts and nipples before moving to her neck and finally her lips, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closed against his body. He was topless, too, but kept his boxers on. “I love you, minskatt,” he whispered.

“I love you too Willy,” she said, his body heat and warmth she felt lulling her to sleep so quickly. “Thank you for being my first for that.”

He smiled. “The pleasure was all mine. Go to sleep, minskatt. Go to sleep.”

***

The next morning, William was still in bed with Aberdeen. They’d hardly moved, limbs still intertwined and still holding on to each other like the other would float away. Aberdeen woke up first, her eyes gently opening, noticing and appreciating how close she was to Will. Instinctively – really, she couldn’t help herself – she brought a hand up to his face, barely touching it with her fingertips. The stubble along his jawline and cheeks. The curve of his perfect nose. His soft, sweet lips. He was truly so beautiful. She couldn’t believe he was hers. She couldn’t believe she was his. It was a magical thing to wake up in William Nylander’s arms, knowing that he loved her, and knowing that she loved him.

He shifted slightly, letting her know he was awake – or at least waking up. “Minskatt?” he mumbled, barely audible, before he even opened his eyes.

“I’m right here,” she said in an equally soft voice.

He opened his eyes. He smiled sleepily once he saw how close they were and sighed contently. “I dreamt we were in Sweden,” he whispered.

Aberdeen felt a shiver run up her spine. “Yeah?”

He nodded. “My family was there. My sisters loved you. Alex too. You were sitting by the lake at our house in the country,” he said. “Your hair was down and you were looking over your shoulder back at me. It was perfect.”

Aberdeen couldn’t help but smile. His voice was so soft and his emotion so innocent. “Tell me more.”

“You had on a pretty dress. The sky was blue. So was the water. We could do what we wanted and nobody cared. We could be open with our love and it was so beautiful.”

She felt a small pang of guilt at that. At this point, she knew how bad they both wanted to be out in the open, but life dictated that they couldn’t. She couldn’t just up and quit her job and lose her income. They needed to ride out the wave. It would happen eventually; it just couldn’t happen now. “I’m sorry that we can’t,” she whispered, caressing his face again.

“Don’t apologize, minskatt. We will one day. You’re still the best thing in my life and always will be. I’ll wait forever if I have to.”

It was that statement that got Aberdeen emotional. Here he was dreaming about her in Sweden with him and his family, freely showing their love, but the reality was that couldn’t happen. Yet he said he would wait forever. She wasn’t sure about that. No guy had waited for her before. “But you’ve been waiting already for so long,” she whispered, her eyes welling with tears. “Why are you waiting for so long? Any other guy would have given up and moved on already. Why haven’t you?”

“Shhh, Aberdeen, stop,” he said, squeezing her tighter. “Don’t you get—Aberdeen, you’re it for me. I don’t care that I’m waiting to be out in the open with you. I will wait however long you want me to, alright? You’ll always have me. No matter what happens. You’ll always have me.”

Aberdeen nodded. There was nothing she could say to that. Her heart felt so full at his words. He’d wait. He’d wait as long as he needed to. He loved her. He adored her. She was it for him. “I love you, Willy.”

“I love you too Aberdeen. So much,” he kissed the tip of her nose.

Aberdeen kissed him on his lips, needing to feel them against hers. Like always, they couldn’t stop. “Make love to me Willy…before you have to go.”

He did. It was slow and it was sensual and it was tender and it was everything she could have wanted, needed that morning in bed with him. And afterwards, when he had to put his clothes on and sneak out back to his room, he sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her. “Jag tänker på dig när jag inte ens tanker,” he whispered against her lips.

Aberdeen smiled. She didn’t know Swedish but she knew those words. They were theirs. Theirs and only theirs. Which is why she repeated them back to him. “I think about you when I’m not even thinking.”

244 notes · View notes

yandere-wishes · 5 years ago

Text

🐚Smooth Criminal //Yandere! Gangster! Floyd Leech X Reader//🐚

My first Gangster AU! This is most likely going to end up being a series for each of the different boys! SO please tell me what you thought!

🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚

So, Annie are you ok, are you ok Annie?

the bar bristled with the loud shouts of its patrons. Each table housing at least a dozen members from the same group, all glaring at those from rival gangs. Guns sat, leaned against their master's legs, like school backs at a highschool cafeteria. maybe it was the dim, cheap lights, or the distracted rivalry stares. But by some freak miracle, no one noticed you enter the Jackson. This wasn't a place for a dame such as yourself, a pretty girl who lacked status, a weapon, and even a comrade to have their back. Just a doll-like face and a very obvious briefcase.

Even you were conscious of the fact that you stuck out like a rose in the middle of a field filled with weeds. At any moment one of these goons could turn around and grab you, slam your head on one of the wooden tables till your brains spilled out than claim the loot for themselves, no consciences faced.

Naturally, you wouldn't be here had it not been for your dear uncle Crowley, who had very recently gambled away the equivalent of a small fortune in the underground casino of the infamous Mostro Lounge. Well technically the cousin was only partly owned by the Octavinelle gang, most of the games and funds went to their brother gang of Ignihyde. But for some reason it had been one of the Octavinelle members to come after your uncle, breaking down the door to his house and threatening him with punches and verbal insults. Your "poor" uncle had promised to get him the money, it took about two loans on his house, a few hundred borrowed from his close friends and a lot of support from your own father until he was able to gather the needed amount. But that had left one tiny problem, your sweet uncle had been so shaken up from his last encounter that he had all but begged his only niece to deliver the money for him.

"It's very simple, sweetheart, you just go to the Jackson and give this briefcase to the man with teal hair and anisocoria eyes. I would never make you do something difficult dear, I'm too kind"

Yeah right "too kind" was an exaggeration, heck nice wasn't any better. Your uncle was a useless old fool. Then again where you any better? You'd just marched into the most mobster ridden bar in all of this godforsaken city. With nothing more than a white circular dress and a briefcase with your uncle's initials engraved in it. You took a shaky breath before scanning the room, trying to find the man your uncle had described. Teal hair and anisocoria eyes, wearing the signature black and purple of the Octavinelle gang.

A glance around confirmed that there where members from each of the Twisted Seven here. The twisted seven where the infamous gangs of New NightRaven City. Each gang was started sometime before even their current leaders where born. The original leaders had gone down as the pioneers of turning New NightRaven City into a gangsters paradise. Somehow the leadership roles had trickled down to the current seven, mostly through heritage. The history of the Twisted Seven was thought in schools all over the city more vigorously than actual world history. Up to this day, you weren't quite sure how or why the first world war had started but you could name every leader for each group in chronological order.

In the far back of the bustling room, you noticed an abnormality. One guy was sitting by himself at a four-person booth. A half-empty coke rocks glaring back at him. Your eyes widened, that was him! It had to be! Turquoise locks peaked out from under his black hat. For a split second his head turned, his eyes looking about unseeingly. That's when you noticed his eyes. One was vibrant gold, while the other borders on an olive-like green, both orbs, however, seemed to shine with a sort of mischievous glow.

Swallowing down a sense of foreboding deep in your soul, you gradually strolled over to the man. He didn't seem to notice you until you had rearranged into the seat before him. When his eyes met yours, his lips maneuvered into an open-mouth grin showing heaps of razor-sharp teeth. "OoO~ Who might you be little shrimp-chan?" His voice didn't seem able to hold a steady tone, vocals switching between high and low better every word, making the man appear all the more deranged. You sucked in a nervous breath. Under the table you squeezed your knees together, focusing on how the kneecaps pressured each other.

"Um..I'm (y/n), my uncle owed the Octavinelle some money and..."

"Oh so your here to pay off his debt?" He leaned in closer, tongue flickering out to run across his lips. His mismatched eyes scanned you up and down, lingering just a little too long on your chest. Quickly you made slung your arm over your over breasts, trying to muster up a glare to shoot at the audacious male.

"N-not like that" You pulled up the briefcase, pummeling it down on the table with a noisy "thud". "He has the money, he owned you. All ten thousand dollars."

Around the two of you, people became to stare, all pulling out their cells, no undoubtedly to inform their superiors about the transaction going down in plain view. The gangster in front of you, slowly trailed his gaze around the room, shooting challenged to meet his eyes. "Are you sure you aren't the payment? You're pretty, could round up a bunch of customers for the Lounge~ Oh maybe we could even loan you out to customers that way it would only take seven months to repay your uncle's debt--"

It was pure impulse on your part, rage had taken over your body. Your hand moved on its own, stretching out for the halve empty coke glass, carrying your body with itself. Your fingers wrapped sufficiently tight around the cup. Tugging it towards yourself, before tilting it and spilling its liquid contents in the face of the man in front of you. It took a moment for the events to fully process in either of your heads. Angry breaths left your mouth before you stood up and marched over to the door. Shouting one last cruse at the mobster before slamming the door behind you.

Back at the booth, Floyd had finally realized what had happened. His shoulders began to vibrate uncontrollably. A sadistic bloodthirsty laugh falling from his lips. His eyes lifted to where you had been moments priory a sort of childlike greed shining inside his orbs. "Shrimp-chan~" he cooed to the empty space.

🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚

Sam pulled the yellow tape over his head, contracting his back so he could duke under it. In front of the building, he noticed a man with a red trench coat surrounded by five other police officers. The man must have been in his late 40's maybe even mid 50's. Sam let out a haughty breathy laugh. This was his new partner? The younger man jogged up to the small group. "Detective Trein I presume?" Sam was met by a harsh glare from the older man. "you're the rookie?" disapproval clear in every word. Ouch.

"You bet I am sir," Sam made a gesture akin to tilting a top hat as he bowed slightly. "Sam, reporting for duty". "What no last name?" "No Sir, just my mother given name, a nice one too I might add." Sam kept his eyes lowered but he could practically feel the way his new partner rolled his grey eyes. "Fine than Sam, follow me I trust you shouldn't find this case too hard. It's a simple kidnapping case. Nothing too elaborate for your young mind." Man, this guy really was a prick.

For as far as Sam could see this really was just an everyday kidnapping. All signs pointed towards just that. "If you would direct your attention to the window." Sam jumped from his thoughts. He quickly jogged up to where Trein was standing by a broken window. "The invader came in from here, most likely he climbed up the fire escape. Where guessing he had a knife on him or some other sharp object." Sam smiled, how had the old man gotten all that from an open window?

The second you left the bar, you had run all the way back to your apartment. The second you had gotten home you locked the doors and made a quick call to your uncle. As usual, he was "busy" doing whatever it was he did. Leaving a fast paced voicemail explaining that you had given the mobster his money and that you were home now. Leaving out the section you had caused. It was over finally the whole nightmare was over. your eyes darted to the old clock on your wall 9:15 pm late enough for dinner. Making your way to the kitchen, you forgot to notice that you had in fact left the window closest to the fire escape wide open.

"Bang!"

The noise reverberated across the cramped apartment. Causing you to jump out of your thoughts. Anxiously you snatched a kitchen blade as you gradually strolled again into the front room. Your brain continued replaying the occasions of that night. It must be the Octavinelle, they had sought you out! All things considered, you had embarrassed one of their members. When you finally made it to the living room, you were both surprised and relieved. There weren't a hundred armed goons flooding your apartment with guns ready to shoot you on sight. Instead, it had been the man from earlier, casually standing by the window, whistling some tune that was eerie familiar.

It took a moment before the man noticed you. His whistling stopped and was instead replaced with a shark-like smile. "HI~ little shrimp! I forgot to introduce myself earlier~ Name's Floyd what's yours darling?" Nervously you stepped back, knife clenched tightly to your chest.

"G-Get away from me!"

"How do you know the man was armed? Heck, how do you know he was a guy?" Sam asked. Trein let out an annoyed huff. "Seriously do you know nothing? Well, I guess you are rather new to this." The grey-haired man turned to his younger partner. Sam swear for a moment he caught a glimpse of what may have been considered a "father instinct" although never having had a father, he could have been completely wrong. "When you've been in this profession as long as I have, you pick up on. There are small differences that become obvious once you've cracked your first ten cases. Notice the blood on the carpet, and realize how 40 mm away there is a smaller bloodstain, only this one has been pressured into the carpet, due to its crescent-like scape we can confidently deduce that it was made by a heel. And look closely at the carpet starts, look at how they seem to be red from the roots and middle, not just the tips. All that point to our invader having stepped in the first blood pool than having made the second engraving with the heel of his shoe as he chased the victim." Sam's eyes widen, maybe the old man wasn't just a jerk, after all, maybe he knew a thing or two.

"Is that any way to treat a guest little shrimp?~" His eyes locked with yours, freezing you in your spot like a dear in headlights. Noticing your dumbfounded form he ran forward prying the knife from your weak grip. A scream filled the air, it took you a second to realize it had come from you. When your eyes went back to your offenders face you could see how his lips were pointed downwards a deathly glare coating his eyes.

The next moment his fingers made contact with your cheek, you swore you could hear a crescendo, your body felt heavy your head started spinning, for some reason the ground was getting closer and closer until you felt your body crash into the carpet. Your left cheek stung, as well as feeling like it was on fire. as you laid on the floor you watched as something red slipped onto the carpet. Something thick and red. "Oh, shrimpy you look so pretty when you bleed."

Trein made his way to the kitchen, flicking a switch the moment he passed the threshold. A single light overhead flickered to life. "Kinda cramped for a kitchen ain't it?" Sam asked as he peeked over Trein shoulder. The older man ignored his partner's comment, wordlessly he pointed to the table in at the far left-hand side. Sam's red eyes followed the man's finger, Dead center there was a large kitchen knife ended in the old-looking wooden table. "Usually women are more calculating when they performed a kidnapping. Men are the ones that go ramped like wild beasts." Sam nodded his head absentmindedly. The young investigator made a mental note to never be as obvious if he ever did decide to kidnap someone.

"Oh~ that's so pretty." You had only known "Floyd" for a little over an hour, that including your rather unpleasant meaning back at the Jackson. But already you could tell just how short the man's attention span was. Slowly you shimmed your body from the ground, the mobster didn't seem to have noticed. The second your legs passed the kitchen's threshold you flicked the light, engulfing the tiny cooking space in total darkness. You made a swift sprint for the table, crunching under it. Your breath refused to leave your mouth, heart pounded with such force you were certain it would break the bones of your rib cage. In the distance, his loud footsteps could be heard. Closer and closer and closer. You didn't dare open your eyes, but you kept your ears open, trying to pick up any lose noises he might make.

1 heartbeat

2 heartbeats

3 heartbeats

Nothing. There was no more noise to be heard, slowly your eyes cracked open, a tiny fragile breath escaped your mouth, right before a sharp noise echoed above head. Floyd's twisted head came into view that damned smirk still on his lips. Another scream, this time you knew it was coming from you. The teal haired man reached to grab the collar of your shirt, pulling you forward. You kicked and thrashed about as the gangster such laughter. Really how sick was this man? Finally, with one last kick, you freed yourself, Floyd fell backward clutching his stomach mutter some profanity you'd never heard before. Quickly you made a dash for your room. Locking the door behind you.

"And this is the last destination of our tour," Trein said as he made a sweeping gesture with his hand. Sam was almost certain he heard a hint of humor in the old man's tone. "What happened here?" The rookie asked. "Why Sam! I thought you where a detective, can't you deduce this simple problem?" Definitely humor. Sam quickly scanned the room. 'Um, he dragged her into the room, locking the door behind them. Then broke the window preparing to escape. But then a third party broke the door down, trying to save the girl. Before the third party could intervene it's likely that the man pulled her through the window and killed her behind some ally." Trein only nodded, following along with the boy's story. "Well Sam you sure have an active imagination, but it's most likely that this is what happened..."

You could hear the pounding on your door, slowly you backed away heading for your nightstand, aimlessly you tried to locate your phone. Until you remembered that you had left it on the couch. "Dang it" Your eyes scanned the room nervously trying to find something helpful, anything!

BANG

pieces of wood flew around the room, you brought your hands up to shield your face, only to have them pulled downwards. Your eyes looked upwards, instantly locking with Floyd's "Found you~" he sang. In the midst of the chaos, Floyd smashed his lips yo yours, they were unpleasant, chapped, and salty. You tried pushing him away but to no avail. Gradually he broke the kiss, pushing his forehead to yours. Before slinging you over his shoulder and ramming full force into the window in your room. Crashing the glass and escaping into the night with you. It was at that moment that you knew that this was your doom!

"That's the more likely explanation for what happened," Trein explained as he made is way back to the front door. "Well even if it isn't it's more then convincing for a field report and a good enough explanation to give the press". A confused look twisted over Sam's face "How do you know he didn't kill her?" The black-haired boy asked. Trein just laughed and waved a wrinkled hand dismissively. "Call it a hunch" He yelled behind his shoulder.

And what a hunch! Just as the old detective predicted you were very much alive. Just now awaking and opening your (e/c) eyes to gaze into the mismatched ones of Floyd Leech's.

You’ve been hit by a smooth criminal

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obeyme-kaidii · 4 years ago

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Obey Me Tips

General Obey Me Gameplay Advice

I really love Obey Me. Really really really love it. I love the characters and the stories, and I really love the fan content that’s been created for it. I’ve never been involved in a fandom before, but I have to say it’s pretty amazing finding like minded people to interact and share these things with. I’m not brave enough to write fanfic, but I can give game play advice and do math, so that’s why I write these guides.☺️

My advice here is either from personal experience or because I did the research and the math so I could figure out the answer. I’ll always have proof to back up my assertions, if you’d like to see for yourself if my theories hold water. (I’ve even started a free account on my iPad just so I can thoroughly test all my recommendations from the perspective of a non-paid player.)

Please keep in mind that my advice is geared towards players that view finishing the normal mode lessons/main story as their priority. You may prefer to collect outfits or bloom all your favorite cards, and that’s quite alright too.

So without any further ado, here are my general gameplay tips and advice.

An ideal team consists of 3 Demon cards and 3 Memory cards per type.

But a team with only 2 Demon cards and 2 Memory cards per type is also viable for the normal mode lessons at this stage in the game (up to lesson 40).

This is because of the 2.6x type boost for primary types and 1.9x type boost for secondary types per level. The boost only applies to the cards that match the types on that level - so on a level with Envy as its primary type, the Envy stat on your Envy cards will receive the 2.6x boost.

So while that 2.6x boost is pretty awesome, the 1.9x boost is nothing to scoff at either. And if you have 2 Demon and 2 Memory cards of each type, then you can guarantee that all of your cards will receive some sort of boost on all the new levels.

For the first season of levels (lessons 1 - 20), you can get by with just a single team of 3 Demon cards and 3 Memory cards because the type boost for those levels works differently and applies to all cards, not just the ones that match the types for the level.

(And don’t forget you can only use 1 Demon card per brother on a single team. So if you have two Greed cards, but they are both Mammon, you’ll only be able to use one Mammon at a time. Don’t waste your time powering up both of them.)

Powering your cards up evenly is the best way to advance in the game.

I don’t know how it got started, but at some point everyone became convinced that the best way to advance was to work on a single card at a time. And that’s simply not true. In fact, it’s pretty bad advice if I’m being honest.

Things get more expensive as your cards get stronger and you get less strength for the effort. When you level your cards evenly you’re able to get more strength combined for the amount of Grimm you spend.

(If you’d like to see the math on this, I have a whole 4 part series that breaks it down bit by bit packed with examples.)

This advice applies to stars too. Bring all your cards for your teams to 1 star, then 2 stars etc. Sometimes you’ll already have the mats on hand to unlock more stars on cards of certain types, and that’s totally cool and fine to do. But when you are short on mats and trying to figure out what to work towards next, remember to strengthen your weaker cards first.

Use Grimm to level up your cards.

You do receive a small portion of experience in battles that will help your cards gain levels. But because of the mechanics of the battles and how long they take, I really don’t recommend grinding them for experience to save a few Grimm.

Maybe if you had a ton of free time and nothing better to do, I guess? But it’s just not worth the trouble to me. I think it would be a better use of your time to use the “x3” or “x5” button and just get it over with, and then go read some smutty fanfics, where you get pounded by the demon(s) of your choice. 🙃

It is worth mentioning though that the addition of the “SKIP” feature for battles where you overpower your opponent by a large margin makes it much easier to earn experience through battles, but you’ll still occasionally be given a Surprise Guest to entertain. It’s up to you to decide if that delay is worth the experience.

Stars are overrated.

I already mentioned how for most of the game my cards only had 3 stars. And that’s because the amount of time and effort you have to spend to farm hard mode materials in pretty crazy. It’s just not worth the effort to get hung up on them. You’ll quickly find yourself struggling to advance if you get distracted by the stars.

You’re better off doing events to get new cards and waiting for Levi’s Otaku Bootcamp to roll around, and doing the hard mode battles then. And if you just absolutely have to have some hard mode mats - buy the extra levels from the current event so at least you can get extra event points (and thus more rewards).

Only spend your Demon Vouchers in sets of 10.

That guarantee of getting 1 SSR card is pretty gosh darn important especially for free players that don’t have DV to waste. I know it’s tempting to spend them as you earn them, but try to resist the temptation. My biggest regret is that I didn’t spend my DV more wisely when I first started.

Don’t waste your DV on Chapter A.

Besides the UR cards, all of the cards in Chapter A can be won in the event Nightmares. So unless you really really want one of the OG Demon UR cards (which I admit, they are all pretty awesome), don’t do it. And if there is a specific UR card you want, you should try to wait until the birthday event for that demon for a better chance at getting that specific UR card (assuming they continue the pattern of releasing birthday Nightmares for all the brothers).

Invest in Chapter M when you get the chance (be sure to use 10 DV at a time).

This is important to free players especially because it’s the best way to get Memory cards. Odds are you won’t be able to get enough points for the new events to win the SSR or UR Memory cards so you’ll have to get them somewhere.

(Replaying the old events in Lonely Devil is also another good option because the rewards were much cheaper and easier to acquire than they are now.)

Don’t neglect your Memory cards.

I really cannot emphasize this enough. I know they give less strength than the Demon cards, but they are still really important in terms of not only strength, but also their special skills that can boost your strength during a dance battle (or hinder your opponent).

Glow sticks are amazing.

I love glow sticks. I always try to use the type specific glow sticks first, and save my rainbow glow sticks for when the type specific ones aren’t enough. And if you’re a free player, the rainbow ones are arguably the best way to spend your Raven.

But please don’t waste your glow sticks. If you can’t beat a level after 1 shot, take a break and look at how you can strengthen your team before trying again. You’ll be surprised at how much easier it’ll be to advance if you just add 5 levels to a card on your team whenever you get stuck.

Rainbow glow sticks - grant you a 30% boost to the Strength of the card you equip it to

Single color glow sticks - grant you a 10% boost to the Strength of the card you equip it to

If you are 10,000 strength stronger than your opponent, you have a really good chance of winning with 2 stars.

If you go for 20,000 - 30,000 strength over your opponent, it’s pretty much a guarantee at getting 3 stars.

There are exceptions to this where special skills come into play (especially in boss battles), but this has been my experience when advancing through the normal levels.

If a level is giving you trouble, try to counter the opponent’s special skills.

This was especially important for the boss battle with Diavolo at the end of Lesson 40. His combination of skills was absolutely brutal.

My original recommended team was over 50,000S above Diavolo’s S and I barely filled the bar halfway. But when I switched to a team that focused on countering all of his skills, I was able to win with a considerably weaker team.

(Yep, you’re reading that right. Beel was only level 10.)

The cards with the Abilities that can counter these skills are found in the new event Nightmares. Both the UR cards and the SSR card will have whatever the featured Ability is. The SSR cards will simply neutralize the opponent’s skill when it’s activated, but the UR cards “reflect” the skill back to your opponent so that they are cursed instead.

Only buy DV from the 99 DP offers that are available when you level up.

Or during special sales like Solomon’s Summoning Sale. Or specific packages in Mammon’s Rip-off Sale.

Sometimes you’ll need to spend some DP because you have no DV left and really want a chance at a specific card, but try to avoid doing so as much as possible. Your DV and DP will go further and last longer if you save and spend it wisely. This is especially important for free players who have to balance card collecting with building stronger teams.

Whenever you have Grimm to spare, dump it into Chapter G.

This will be your primary way to earn Raven. And Raven is a great way to buy rainbow glow sticks, additional Demon Vouchers, and now even card pieces for certain SSR and UR cards.

They also have the outfits for all the brothers demon forms which are pretty neat. I do own them all, but that’s not exactly necessary and definitely not the best use of Raven. 😂

If you need friends for the daily AP, just add all the top players from the current event.

The top players are the ones most likely to be active, and know how to use the feature to add friends. (Let’s not talk about how long it took me to figure that out when I first started playing, ok? Lol) So they’ll be the ones most likely to accept your friend request and send you AP daily.

On my free account, I just started at rank 1 and sent requests to everyone down to about rank 200 or so until I had 50 friends. And then whenever I had some new spots open up, I’d do the same thing again. I’d also check my Friends Request section to see if I had any new requests from other active players.

Oh, and I periodically remove friends that haven’t played in over 2 weeks. No sense in keeping them on my friends list when there are plenty of new people and active players who could use the free AP and send me some as well.

That’s all I’ve got for now! I hope these tips help you out some if you ever find yourself stuck and uncertain as what to do next. ❤️

#obey me #obey me tips #obey me advice from kaidii #obey me strategy #obey me guide

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