Yandere Aizawa

"If you intended to die anyway, don't die quietly like a pussy! Go out in a fucking blaze of glory!" That was the statement that changed my world forever. I was a loser in life. I died and got reincarnated into a Revenant. Revenants were people who defended the living from the dead. In exchange for a second life, they had one task and were blessed with one cheat ability. The task? To kick as much zombie ass as possible. Unfortunately, my cheat just made me "Rewind". It didn't give me super strength, speed or the ability to fly. Hell, it didn't even give me a way to fight! Without any way to kill zombies, I nearly died on my first day on the job! Back then I remember crying and puking all over the place like a little bitch. But while I started out like a little bitch, I didn't stay one. Dying full of regrets changed me you see. So much so that I made a promise. I refused to repeat my mistakes when I was human. Reborn as a Revenant, I will never bow down to anyone ever again. Unfortunately, these Revenant bastards were old school. Like they hacked zombies with swords and all that crap old school. As a man born in the USA, I saw no reason why I needed to follow their outdated way of thinking. The modern world had the superpower of gun powder and lead. So instead of swords, I came after every zombie I saw with guns. Like countries in the middle east, I proceeded to blow the motherfuckers to kingdom come. And surprisingly because of "Rewind", I found out I could never run out of ammunition. $200 for each kill. Hefty bonus for each area of hell liberated. What scared normal people shitless suddenly allowed me to earn millions every day. The richer I got the more "Freedom" I could unleash! Mortars, tanks, air strikes to even nukes. Backed by modern science and technology, I slowly but surely drove the undead back. Along the way, I met and saved seven heavenly beauties. And all of them fell in love with me. They were a little obsessive, scratch that, they were all fucking insane. My precious harem was comprised of nothing but Yanderes in every sense of the word. Still, I would willingly burn the entire world for any of them. For when I called, only my battle harem answered. And that was even before I learned of another secret. Exchanging bodily fluids with my girls gave me their cheats. Suddenly, in contrast to every Revenant in the world who only had one, I alone wielded eight. One from each girl plus my own. And so unfolded my 2nd life. Which eventually became my legend. Who am I you ask? I was born as John Smith. But these days not even my girls use that name. Both on Earth and in Hell everyone else just calls me Limitless. And I am the Strongest Revenant. *************************** Author Notes: Harem size: 7 | No NTR | No Yuri | No Grape Novel Focus: Action, Adventure, Urban Fantasy, Reincarnation, Dark, Weak to Strong, Battle Harem, Beautiful Heroines, YANDERE Heroine, Military, Loyal Subordinates, Kingdom Building, War, Politics, Conspiracies, Overpowered, Face Slapping, Tragedy, Character Development, Multiple POVs, Betrayal, Alternate Realities, Demons, Zombies, Superpowers, Tower Climbing, Tower Defense, Wish fulfillment. I have paid for and own the copyrights to both the cover and character images. Official Discord link https://discord.gg/7yxSzd3szy, See you there!

The apocalypse arrived in more ways than one. Humanity was suddenly capable of assessing mana. Animals turned into monsters, plants gained sentience and humans could evolve by defeating powerful enemies. Those who were not capable of controlling mana became aberrants. Zen Kurokami, an 18 years old part time worker starts his evolution path in the apocalypse from a small convenience store in Shibuya. Whether they are higher gods, demon kings or of a higher races, they would all kneel before him. No NTR. Harem, WeaktoStrong, Strong MC, perverted MC, yandere female lead, tsundere female lead, Yuri, R-18, academy, lots and lots of action.

Good news: You've transmigrated as a born protagonist , your confidants have exceptional talents, boasting abilities like Heart Voice, Simulator, Rebirth... and many other top-tier skills. What you only need to do is to wait for one of them to grow up, then you will be invincible to ascend. Bad news: They're all yandere !!! Under the gaze of yandere, Xu Yuan shivered in fear. It was not until he was about to be attacked with a firewood cleaver. "If that's the case, then I'm dropping the act—I am none other than the Great Love Immortal Venerable!"

For three years Calix suffered from the Backlash of his undecipher Term Attribute. As he couldn't use his unique power, he went through series of misfortunes which caused him to lose his self-esteem. However, one day, he was caught in an incident that led him to awaken his hidden power(luck). "The fuel of my Term Attribute is sexual practices with the opposite gender?" ADVANCE 73 CHAPTERS: https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki https://ko-fi.com/pujimaki Discord: https://discord.gg/EAcYxbG36Y [THIS IS SMUT WITH PLOT] [This novel has Tsundere, Yandere, Glasses Girl, Slut, Kuudere, Tall Girl, Tanned, Tomboy, MILF, Dark-Skinned, and lots more!!] Warning: -This novel is R-18. -I can't promise you high-quality content since I write two other stories, I can't put all my time here. - You may found some errors here in there but I'm confident that this novel will be readable. -If I don't like the performance of this novel, I will drop this after hundred chaps. -I only accept a one-star rating. -I will update 5× a week. - The plot may become nonsensical sometimes, but it's because of Calix's unique luck. Don't nag me if you found that the plot lacks common sense. This is smut, duh. -I will put all of my shit here in this story. - Please leave a shitty review.

I thought being laid off from my job was the greatest of my worries but I just had to wake up in a ship's cockpit after my space game crashed. Now I have no map, no friends and no money. But that's ok, I've started from the bottom before! With my starter ship I will scour through space as a Mercenary and maybe even start up a Mercenary Company while I'm at it! This ain't my first rodeo in space after all! Except... Apparently my crew members are weird? The guy who bumped into me yesterday was found sliced up and floating outside the space station. The girl who tried to honeytrap me was reported missing with only a finger found in an alley. And then that merchant who scammed me had his entire ship blasted into bits by unknown vessels the very next day. Some people say my crewmates were behind it but they must be mistaken, right? I only know one thing for sure... In space, no one can hear you scream... *** Notes: Any R-rated scenes will be denoted by a '*' followed by an 'R' with the number of 'R's showing how much of it is R-rated. '*R' would be around 25%, '*RR' would be about 50% and '*RRR' would most likely be the entire chapter. Also, gene splicing and cybernetics exist in this story. What does that mean? MC is a futa for one and there's going to be other futas showing up as well. You can join our discord through this link: https://discord.gg/CRrb56c

He just became the newly-crowned movie emperor when he died a tragic (actually, very stupid) death. On his way to cross the NaiHe bridge, he managed to evade Meng Po and not drink her soup. Thus keeping the memories of the life that he just had. But he would never have imagined that he would be reincarnated hundreds of thousands of years later. In the Interstellar era! If it happened to other guys, they would definitely want to be a mecha warrior. Don't most men dream of that at least once in their life? But sadly, that's not for him. There's only one goal in his mind - to be the number one star in the Interstellar era. With the knowledge and skills he got from his past life, he would definitely achieve it. But who was this annoying person who kept on pestering him? A certain prince smiled in a scary and crazy way: Cook food for me or else die. = a few months later = A certain prince leaned over and moved his face closer: I don't need food, I could just eat you. A bad tempered yandere gong X a reincarnated movie emperor shou *NaiHe bridge - a bridge that souls crossed to enter reincarnation **Meng Po - the lady on the Naihe bridge who gives out soup that lets the souls forget their memories, thus entering the cycle of reincarnation in a clean slate. Twitter: @tyramisu_wn IG: @tyramisu_novels

Love, lust, and desire... Austin didn't know much about all that in his past life, for he was average in all aspects of his life. A guy who took psychology and math to learn because he couldn't get into biology, the only exciting thing about him being the fact that when he died, he ended up in his favorite eroge game with the task of getting the girls and making the protagonist a loner. Love, like manipulation or time in hell... That was his choice from the God Of Games... The beautiful girls of tsunderes, the sadist, the masochist, the kuudere, and the...yandere, and more. A world with living, breathing women of high status and power who don't like to share... So what happens when Austin goes behind them?... What happens when the Gods that feel nothing feel for him? What happens when he becomes the gigolo of the Gods?... Well, come and find out as he tried to survive among all the crazy women that exist... [There will be a lot of sex scenes, but it might only start after about 60 or so chapters.] (Note: Hey, first of all, this is not a fanfiction! It's true that the beginning of the story and some parts resemble some novels, but none of the characters are related to others from the novel. Also, the story flow will become completely different later!! Again, not a fanfic! The image does not belong to me; if the creator wants to remove it, message me.) My Discord: https://discord.gg/XyYvJ389mg

Transmigrating with a system into a sadistic romance novel is a bit overwhelming for Paige at the age of 34 and being a Hikikomori. "You are the protagonist of this world." She stated while the system directly shocked her left and right for disclosing the storyline to the male lead on her first day. A system trying to satisfy the creator, a shut-in that can't take care of herself, and a teenage male lead catching himself infatuated with the wrong person. The more time passed, the more everything went out of control, as apparently nothing had been as it seemed. A dark version of the typical system trope. WARNING: BLOODY, GORE, ANIMAL ABUSE, MENTION OF RAPE, DRUGS, YANDERE....

After being wrongfully accused and killed, a young man reincarnates into a superhuman society as a third rate villain named Don, whose biggest asset is his side-kick with mental issues. With few options available to him, Don accepts the mantle of his predecessor and must now not only survive in a new and dangerous world, but also conquer it.... **Congratulations, you have died and awakened the Supervillain Idol System.** **The path to fame, fortune and world domination is yours is take!!** **Disclaimer**: This work of fiction is set in an alternate reality and is purely a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental. The author has taken creative liberties with historical, cultural, and geographical elements to craft a unique and fictional world. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental

[Warning! #Yandere!] Aiden Cross was a boy who was smarter than a kid his age. Born on the seemingly normal planet Earth. Who finds his life very boring. 100 years ago, World War III happened for unknown reasons. Resulting in 25% of the world population perishing in this war and no one can talk about this due to the single organization which controls the world after the war. Does there lie a big secret behind the war that made all the previous nations fight for? Would he uncover the secret of the war? Or will he become a pawn of powerful organizations? But one day Aiden’s life turned upside down in an accident. Aiden lost his mother, and Aiden himself was on the verge of dying. Then he awakened the system and even met a beautiful yet haughty goddess. "You should feel honored you meet the great me hmph!" [Ding] [Compatible host detected] [Initializing the cosmic system] [Connecting the cosmic system to the host's soul] [Connection Completed] A system promises to make him stronger and help him revive his mother back to life. And inform him about the awakening of his world, which is no less than the apocalypse. With the help of the system, Aiden awakens Limit Grade Talent, but his talent is not complete and has a fatal side effect. [Talent: Celestial (unknown)] (incomplete) Aiden has to copy many talents to complete his talents. And travels to many different worlds. As he meets different races, a naive elven princess, prideful and lustful dragons, bored vampires, and a horny angel who offers herself to him  “I offer you my body and soul; please accept me." An angel with a flushed red face said  Unfortunately for our Aiden his big sis is a total yandere who couldn't even let him talk to another girl in front of her. Aiden has a dream of making a harem so he has to tread a careful line to get what he wants. Will he be able to have a harem or not? No one knows. But his otherworldly appearance wouldn't make it easier for him as he attracted many women's attention from a young age, which made his big sis even more jealous and crazy for him. Would he be able to have a harem in his long cultivation journey to revive his mother and discover many secrets of the cosmos with his yandere sister being present? Milfs, Virgins, Succubus, Vampires, Elves, Princesses, Demonesses, Angels, Goddesses, Dragons, Phoenixes, Dryads, Cultivation, System, Yandere, Otherworldly Handsome MC, and many more. _________________________ #No-NTR #No-Yuri #Yandere GOALS!!!! 200 power stones(weekly) = 1 extra chapters at the end of the week 50 golden tickets (weekly) = 2 extra chapters at the end of the week Donating Castle(or any other super gift) = 5 Chapters mass release(within 7 days) Join the Discord server at the link below to discuss the story. https://discord.gg/yD2GXRHHfp

Well, it seems that my previous synopsis wasn't very clear, but the story goes like this: the protagonist, a normal guy, dies, screws up in front of a goddess, as punishment she reincarnates him as a woman, and after a few years, thanks to a method she found, he can become a man again, but only temporarily. Well, that's all. Will the protagonist be able to satisfy his never-ending desire, the reason for his punishment? We'll find out. "As for genres, there's a little bit of everything: harem, romance, comedy, yandere, yuri, lolis, MILFs, elves, beastwomen, demonesses, dragonesses, giantesses, priestesses, androids, oyakodon, group action, netori, a bit of SM, and more. If it catches your interest, great!! plus here's the original synopsis for you.”>>> “Wait, you turned me into a woman just because I imagined that? I didn’t know you could read minds, that’s not fair!” (He had defiled her in his imagination in five different ways, each worse than the last). After his death, a goddess reincarnated him in another world. But his uncontrollable lust angered the deity, who decided to punish him by turning him into a woman. “Stop... don’t make that choice,” sounded an old voice But, through an encounter beyond the realm of possibility, he learns the truth about his situation: this world is not the fantasy he thought it to be. It can become brutal if neglected. He also discovers a method to transform back into a man. Now, determined to conquer this new life and a battle for power in which even the gods are involved, he seeks revenge against a fate that now only exists in his memories. begins to carve out her own path in this new reality, a second chance created by those who sacrificed far more than she could have ever imagined.

The story unfolds with a high school boy Evan enduring ceaseless bullying from both his male and female classmates. He's regarded as an easy target due to his quiet and peaceful nature, lacking the inclination to engage in fights or confrontations. Despite the torment, neither friends nor teachers come to his aid, perpetuating his suffering. However, the trajectory of his life takes a dramatic turn when he is unexpectedly transported to another world by the Goddess of Love, a breathtakingly beautiful being. She entrusts him with a pivotal mission: to defeat the demon lord plaguing this unfamiliar realm. Bestowing upon his divine powers to enhance his strength, the goddess sets him on a path filled with perilous adventures. In this new world, he forges deep connections and friendships, eventually falling in love with a princess who is destined to become his future wife. But Things change after Evan finally kills the demon lord. Those he once trusted betray him mercilessly, The Princess shares her thought that she never liked someone disgusting and ugly and she is already having an intimate life with the handsome prince, the princess he adores ruthlessly ends his life. Suddenly, he awakens in bewilderment, finding himself once more in the presence of the Goddess of Love. Filled with anger and confusion, he confronts her about the harrowing experiences he endured. To his astonishment, the goddess manages to pacify his turbulent emotions with a kiss. Gradually, he comes to realize that he has returned to his home world, Earth, with no recollection of the events that transpired following his return. Despite spending more than five years in the other world, his physical form remains that of a 17-year-old teenager. The divine powers, weapons, and domains bestowed upon him by the goddess are entirely absent. With no other options, he reluctantly resumes his former life on Earth, enduring the same torment of bullying and facing a life of poverty. Just when he believes things couldn't get any stranger, he encounters a peculiar and extraordinarily beautiful girl. Her appearance seems utterly out of place on Earth, her beauty transcending any human standard. Before he can begin to unravel this perplexing mystery, the girl spontaneously jumps into his arms, affectionately calling him "Papa," and places a kiss on his lips. The word "Papa" sends a chilling shiver down his spine as he begins to recall the enigmatic events involving the Goddess of Love. ====== Tags: revenge, action, old-love-interest, Goddess love, Yandere, incest, loli-con, romance, betrayal, harem, and Dad-con. Notice: extreme yandere daughter that would kill or wipe anyone who would come between her and her father. Warning: This is fanfiction, don't do this at home with your daughter and father. Note: Evan's daughter will appear in chapter five. (The book cover is not mine)

After reincarnation in the Nine Profound Realm, Nyxus awakened his ability as the System. Much to his delight, that system could load those great powerhouse template from fantasy world's! He could also freely choose the initial template at the beginning! After some thinking, he finally chose his own previous life novel protagonist as the initial template! But then something happened and because of that, the system became useless. Not only that, his luck decreased and when he was born, there wasn't even a trace of qi in his body which decides whether the person could become cultivator or remain mortal through his whole life. Even so, his mother bought a precious dan equal to heaven and earth spritual treasure for him. Using that dan, a mortal can initially walk on the path of cultivation. After 20 years, In the contests of the future patriarch of the immortal family, his dantian was broken by the enemy. It seems that his luck had abandoned him and he, his mother and twin sister were kicked out from the family because of various things in the past. Just when the situation was almost desperate--- [Ding, The System Has Been Updated Successfully] [Congratulations To The Host For Loading The Unique Template Of The Originator!] ******* Tags: Chaotic Neutral Main Character - Reincarnation - Strong To Stronger - Slice of Life - Smut - No Yuri - No NTR - But Contains Netori - Milf - Princess - Beautiful - YANDERE - Angel Race - Vampire Race - Dragon Race - Elves Race - Spirit Race - Undead Race - Harem - Mature - R18 - Sex Stories - Hentai - NSFW - Pregnancy - Extreme Wish fulfillment. ***** To see character's illustrations and to get instant chapter release, join my discord server; https://discord.gg/38sHvNaUzr

I was summoned by a Goddess with my classmates to save their Empire? But I have other plans. With my Unique Skill, I will get whatever I want starting by that Goddess! °°°° Additional Tags: [Heavy Lemon], [No NTR], [NTR: Mc stealing], [Ruthless], [Step-Sisters], [Goddesses], [Beastkins], [Yanderes], [Threesome and more!], ... DISCORD LINK FOR ILLUSTRATIONS OF WAIFUS: https://discord.gg/fhdv8Eb7QP

Feng Fan, a high school senior with dreams of becoming a successful Xianxia web novelist, never imagined his life would turn into the very story he aspired to write. Summoned to another world alongside his entire class, he finds himself thrust into the White Crow Sect, a place for cultivating immortality. However, his talent for Qi Cultivation is deemed the lowest possible. Just as despair threatens to consume him, Feng Fan discovers his unique cheat ability: Mind-Reading. Armed with this secret ability, he maneuvers through schemes, outwits his enemies, charms beauties, and ascends the heavens! “Feng Fan, do you dare to steal my legacy?” Third rate-villain 1 “Feng Fan, you bastard, you stole my wife! I’ll erase your clan from existence!” Third rate-villain 2 “Please, improve your plans, I can see your schemes from miles away!” Feng Fan. #comedy #cultivation #yandere #tsundere #transmigration #r18 #faceslapping #harem — Reviews, Golden Tickets, Power Stones, and Comments encourage me to write more. Thanks for all support!

In the undisputed era of Vessels and Vanquishers, every single figure aimed to the top. Seven was one of these ambitious people, but unfortunately had the tiniest chance to even becoming a Vanquisher, the actual dream of everyone and the key to success. He was a frail figure regarded as "useless" by everyone, including his family. However, his life changed when he attained a strange system tasked to lift him to the peak. [You have gained your first Vessel, Starless Golden-horned Silver-furred Cat Pet.] [Vessel Skills: Luminous Whiskers, Clawplay, Copycat.] [Congratulations, you have become a Vanquisher!] [You have gained 10000 Ultima Coins. Your Skill, Ultima Coins Multiplier has acted on this achievement.] [Your 10000 Ultima Coins has been multiplied 10×!] [You have created your own territory.] [Major Quest: Upgrade your dominion to become the Emperor of the Badlands.] [Reward: Immortality!] Watch Seven as he goes on the great journey to become the Ultimate-tier Vanquisher. The King of the transforming world... And the Emperor of the Badlands! ***** Harem? Yes. Yandere? Yes. NTR? No Kingdom building? Yes

There wasn't much to be said about the life of Akhil—at the age of 8, he lost his father at the hands of his most trusted business partner, who was also on his way to becoming the world's richest businessman. This left Akhil with no option but to use that traitor's daughters as a means to kill that man—a rather typical story where the main character takes revenge on his father's killer by making both of killer's daughters yandere. Of course, this wasn't a random fantasy story where he could just reach someone like the world's richest man—sitting at the highest point of the hierarchy—so the most he could do was act as the kind child he once was to those girls and slowly build trust and obsession, which finally bore fruit, and Akhil died. Indeed, how could he even be able to kill a man who possessed that amount of wealth? So, he died in front of both of those women—making sure that they saw him bloodied and dead..... The End. Or at least this was what should have happened. DING! [ SUPREME YANDERE SYSTEM —Tada!! ] He opened his eyes inside the body of the Emperor of a ruined kingdom at the edge of the Human Zone—a group of three continents where humans lived while under constant attack from the threat of the 7 Demon Gods—and found himself in a sick body. A kingdom that was nearly collapsing due to corruption, the presence of holy light bearers—Heroes and Heroines—and a world filled with artifacts and fragments scattered around the bloodline—he who needed to lift the whole kingdom up again, hold the reign of a broken kingdom, and move forward. Now born as King Lysanderic Aleria Vandreat, he has only the support of his Supreme Yandere System. Oh, he awakened it too, but when did he? Read the Story... [: The main character is cruel, and there will be darkness in his actions, so enjoy the light in the first ten chapters (those are before he was reborn) and smile as you see the comedy and slight introductions to the characters. ] [ Suggestion: If you don't like to know about Main character background, then skip starting 10 chapters. (Yes, the previous chapters are a prologue (not boring ones as they are important for understanding the main character and his future artifacts. Ahem.) ]

((Not the Same Cringe, Cliché Plot: Something New About Heroines and Villainesses - Try It.)) In the year 2031, the earth has further advanced in its technological developments. Though there are democracies, republics, and several other systems of governance followed by various countries, there is still one country that adheres to the feudal system—the Arinphiam Empire. The empire is divided into three parts, where the royal family coexists with the central government to control the empire, keeping it as one of the strongest nations on planet Earth. The richest man on this planet belongs to this empire, where noble families still exist, governed by laws specifically made for them by the royal family instead of the central government. Marquess Avendial Croceaus has finally returned to the past, to the year 2031—a year before the tower's arrival—on the date where his downfall began. As he returns to the past, he discovers himself facing the initial setback of his life, where accusations of treason are soon to fall upon him. This world-building novel presents a completely fresh story with new ideas and plots, where the efforts of the main character lead him to become the one who changes his fate as a villain. Content warning: Adult R-18 Chapters without any warning, as they could be part of the story, a slow but well-paced story to provide the detailed idea about the world-building, a weak main character with the debuff of seven curses, making him even cut off from the chances of growth. Tags: Yandere, Tsundere, Sugar mommy, Villain, evil, dangerous main character, harem, weak MC, smart MC ---⟩ NTR, YURI AND INCEST == Fuck all of you Authors who write this!!! Update Schedule: 2 Chapters a day Discord Server: https://discord.gg/QZnWtaaRft Bonus Chapter Scheme below: Every 250 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter Every 75 Golden Tickets = 1 Bonus Chapter Castle Gift = 3 Bonus Chapters Spacecraft Gift = 6 Bonus Chapters Golden Gachapon = 9 Bonus Chapters

Lothair is a serial killer who detest imperfection on human’s facial features, which resulted in him having a compulsory behavior of wanting to strip people’s faces. After he dies, he finds himself as Narcissus, a beautiful and adorable female NPC inside a state-of-the-art VRMMO world of the latest craze called Fallen Carcosa Online. But despite being a fantasy-filled game, the world feels strangely realistic. Too realistic, even. Game-like systems and magic exist but so do plagues, politics, economy, and the horror hidden in plain sight. When pried open, an actual human-like anatomy can be seen beyond the skin of the NPC’s face—with little to no censor. Everything feels too immersive. Except Narcissus, Lothair’s new identity. When Narcissus tried to scrape off the face of her new adorable body, she found an abyssal void with little to no end. This story marks the birth for the King in Yellow. - Warning, this story contain: Male-to-Female Genderbend, GL/Yuri, Occasional Futa MC, Yanderes, Harem, Self-Cest. - Follow the creative and attentive Narcissus, a nuanced former serial-killer who will gradually becomes stronger, experienced, maddening, horrifying, but also mature, wise, conflicted, and complex—in this near-endless journey. Where souls unsung and tears unshed. In the land of Lost Carcosa.

"Stop following me!" Asher yelled, his patience running thin. He had let it slide for too long because she had done a lot for him. But now she was everywhere, suffocating him. "I’m only trying to protect you," she responded. Asher sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I need some space, alright? I can take care of myself." She didn’t budge, and just kept staring at him with that same obsessive look, like she had no intention of leaving. "Is it because you’re strong now? Are you going to leave me because I'm no use to you anymore?” Her voice had turned cold, sharp enough to cut through the silence. “Of course not, you know that’s not the reason…” “Then why do you want me to stop following you?” “I’m just going to the restroom, for God’s sake!” He massaged his temple, clearly at his wit’s end. “Oh, you should have said that earlier.” She giggled, the earlier tension melting away. “I did,” he sighed in defeat.