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#normally he's wearing the one shown in his previous pictures- it's the one he was created with
andreafmn · 4 months
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12 Days of Ficmas ❅ Day 4
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Word Count: 1.6K Paring:  Lip Gallagher x Fem!Reader Prompt @a-cure-for-writers-block:  mothering their S/Os younger siblings and making sure they're getting enough to eat
Summary:  Lip Gallagher has had a hell of a year, and most of the time he doesn't think he deserve the mercy he's been shown. But (Y/N) will stop at nothing to make sure he and his family know they are taken care of. And he knows it.
A/N: a bit late, but still published. Also, this is very short and sweet and does not follow the canon after season 5. Kind of went off path to give Lip a bit of a quicker redemption. Hope y'all enjoy!
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“Yo, Lip,” Ian’s sleepy voice rang through his brother’s phone. “Uh, your girlfriend is over here, and I think she’s gone crazy.” 
“What you mean?” Lip chuckled as he rubbed his hands together to warm them up. “‘Cause that’s a lot coming from you.” 
“Very funny,” he laughed sarcastically. “No, but she made Christmas puke on the house, and she’s been cooking nonstop since this morning. She hounded us all morning until we ate breakfast and wouldn’t stop until we sat down at the table.” ” 
Lip couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face as he pictured his girlfriend with her face dirtied by food, her hair tied back and away from her face, and her voice carrying around the house as she made sure everyone had eaten. It was one of the things he loved about her and one of the reasons he was glad she had come into his life. “Look, I’ll be home soon,” he chuckled. “Can you just make sure she actually eats? I know she’s gonna forget.” 
“Fine,” Ian groaned. “Just hurry up.” 
(Y/N) had come into Lip’s life at a moment when he was sure his life would have gone down the rails. She has become his sense of normalcy in his less-than-normal life. He had needed something to ground him back to earth, and that was exactly what she had done. After being so close to rock bottom he could taste the soil on the ground, she had been the only one that had been able to bring him back to his feet.  
As he got off the L, he wondered what she could have ever seen in him. She was smart and beautiful and a complete juxtaposition to the man he was. She was sunshine where he was rain, she was happiness where he was gloom, she was future while he was stuck in the past. And she was everything he never thought he needed. 
The moment he reached the house, he could hear the chatter from his family and the smell of (Y/N)’s cooking. Inside, Liam, Carl, and Ian were hypnotized by the TV while (Y/N) and Debbie talked away in the kitchen. 
Ian had not lied. The Gallagher house had been decorated like it had never been before. From garlands to stockings above the fireplace, to a massive Christmas tree in front of the stairs, it was a scene that had never lived inside that house. “Yo, you weren’t kidding, huh?” Lip chuckled as he shook off his jacket. “Didn’t think we’d ever have these many decorations.” 
“And presents,” Carl grinned. “Check under the tree.” 
Just like his younger brother had pointed, under the pine rested a couple of boxes wrapped in kraft paper. Each of them had every one of the Gallagher’s names written on them and a glittering red bow around them. It truly was more than Lip could have ever expected.  
“Ian, did she eat something?” 
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s also been pecking at everything she’s doing.”
“Alright, thanks.”
Taking the scenery in, Lip walked into the kitchen to find (Y/N) wearing a dirty apron and plates balanced on her arms. 
“You’re home,” she smiled, kissing his cheek as she walked past him to give the three boys each a plate. “Good. There’s a plate for you in the microwave. I made some turkey sandwiches for lunch. Light enough to not fill you guys up for dinner but strong enough to tide you over until then.” 
“Thanks, (Y/N),” the boys chorused before digging into their sandwiches and focusing back on the TV. 
“This is so good, (Y/N),” Debbie exclaimed from the breakfast table. “I don’t know how you’re not studying to be a chef.” 
“I cook for fun, not for work,” the young woman smiled. “That’s what engineering school is for.” 
“I’m just saying,” she shrugged. “If the genius stuff doesn’t work out, you could definitely be a chef.” 
“Thank you, Debs,” (Y/N) responded. “And speaking of school, how was your last final, babe? I know this semester has been a bit hard.”
Understatement of the century, Lip had thought. He couldn’t understand how he had not been expelled after everything he had done the year before. He had been so close to losing it all. Had it not been for (Y/N) stopping him before he smashed Youens car and speaking up on his behalf at the disciplinary meeting, he was sure he would have gotten a worse punishment than a semester suspension. She had been the saving grace he didn’t know he needed, and she was the reason he understood he needed help. 
Lip had inherited more than a hard life from his parents, he’d fallen victim to their addictive genetics and gone off the deep end with a bottle of liquor in hand. But somehow, she had been there to pull him up while he was down and walk beside him as he got back onto the right path. She stayed with him as he rebuilt himself into the man people believed he was. 
“I think it went pretty well,” he said before taking a bite of his sandwich. “Won’t know until after the break, but if midterms were anything to go by, I did good.” 
“That’s good. I’m pretty sure you did very well,” she smiled as she sat beside him, placing a hand on his and a coffee cup in front of his plate. “And I know you’re tired, but I’m gonna need you to help me prep the table for dinner tonight. Kev, V, and the girls are coming over. Fiona can’t make it, but she’ll try for actual Christmas Day or New Year's.” 
“You’ve got everything planned out already, don’t you?” Lip chuckled. “Not that I am surprised in any way, shape or form.” 
“I would have told you earlier, but I wanted you to focus on your exams,” she said before turning to the boys in the living room. “Hey, guys! Remember to wash your dishes when you’re done! I’m gonna need them for tonight.” 
“Yes, (Y/N),” they chorused back. 
“You got them very well trained,” Debbie laughed. “Where have you been all our lives?” 
“Just on the other side of town,” the girl smiled. “Now hurry and finish eating. We’ve got work to do.” 
After everyone finished their lunch and the how was suddenly dispersed of children, (Y/N) and Lip set off to work. While she waltzed around the kitchen, he rearranged the formal dining area to fit all the guests. As he walked around the house, the young man wanted to laugh. He remembered a time when that type of domesticity would have sent him running, searching for the easiest way to drown his fears of commitment and stability. But there he was, setting tables for a dinner party that his girlfriend had cooked, and he didn’t feel the jittery need to escape. He didn’t feel the anxious desire to feel alcohol burn its way down his throat and fill him with a mirage of confidence. He wanted to stay. 
“Hey,” he whispered after he had finished his task, snaking his arms around her waist and kissing her cheeks. “Thanks for doing this.” 
“Of course,” she smiled, leaning into the comfort and warmth of his touch. “Do you think there’s enough food I don’t know if I should set out some snacks for the kids while the turkey is finished. Maybe dinner is too late for Jemma and Amy. I should set some snacks out.” 
“(Y/N), baby,” he chuckled. Lip flipped her around, kissing her lips softly to stop her rambling. “There’s enough food, and they should be starving by dinner. You worked hard enough on all these dishes, they need to be eaten.” 
“And they will, but…” 
“You really enjoy mommying them, don’t you?” Lip grinned lovingly. “You know they’re not kids anymore –other than Liam. The other ones are all teenagers, they know how to get food when they’re hungry.” 
“I know that. But I just wanna make sure they know there’s someone here that cares about them other than you now that Fiona’s gone,” she admitted, her eyes falling onto the hands she pressed to his chest. “And I want them to like me, Lip. I’m in it for the long run, babe.” 
“If there’s one thing I can assure you, it’s that the Gallagher family loves you,” he smiled. His hand caressed her cheek softly, and it surprised him that only a year before, his knuckles would have been ripped and bloodied. But not with her. Never with her. “And if you keep cooking like this for them, they’ll make sure you’re here forever.” 
“And what about you? Would you want me to stay forever?” 
Lip couldn’t help the smile that spread across his mouth. As he stared into her eyes, it took everything inside him not to spoil the plans he had for Christmas morning. He wanted to give her all the reassurance she could need with the ring he had hidden deep in his underwear drawer. But when he had a plan, it was hard to divert from it. “How could I want anything else?” he grinned. “Now, why don’t we finish up here so we can have a little treat before dinner ourselves?” 
“Philip Gallagher,” she exclaimed at his advance, slapping his chest playfully. “I have too much work to do to be thinking about that.” 
“Come on, I’ve only been thinking about this all day,” he groaned. “It’s the only thing that got me through that test.” 
“Then you can wait a bit more,” she laughed. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while, baby. All good things come to those who wait.” 
And, at that moment, she had no idea how much truth there was in that statement. 
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theerurishipper · 8 months
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Anyway, I had a discussion a while back about how Adrien wasn't abused before Emilie's death and I gotta say I disagree, but I'm feeling too lazy to write a whole post about it so here are some bullet points.
Adrien has no friends except for Chloe. I wonder why the boy who is so desperate for emotional connections and friendships would not want to or try to make friends for 13 years except for one girl who is conveniently the daughter of the mayor of Paris unless his parents didn't let him.
Gabriel canonically only gave Adrien a stupid pen for three years (i.e. during the time Emilie was alive) and doesn't that paint a picture of a loving and attentive father. Adrien has also never had a birthday party before.
Adrien's lack of awareness of social cues doesn't make it seem like he is someone who was allowed to socialize like children normally are, and speaks to a lifelong isolation as opposed to it just starting after Emilie died.
Adrien doesn't act like someone who is used to unconditional love and had it stripped away from him. Never does he express confusion over his father's sudden turn from being loving to coldness, not once does he indicate that his father used to act way differently. And yes, Emilie being nice and loving is something that can coexist with her being a bad parent who at best simply allowed Gabriel to isolate Adrien from the world and at worst actively contributed. Adrien only ever mentions that she was nice, not that she ever disagreed with his father on how to raise him.
Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a child who is used to being assured of his own worth and loved so unconditionally for 13 years would so completely internalize the contradictory idea that he has to earn love by being whatever the other person wants him to be in the span of less than a year without any trouble and with no doubts or confusion at all as to why everything is so different from before. The practiced way he wears his masks around others without once suggesting that it was different before at some point indicates that this has been the norm for him. And not once does he seem to expect anything different from anyone as opposed to just Gabriel. You would expect that someone who is used to being unconditionally loved would just expect that and view his father as an exception to the rule, but that's not the case.
To continue from the previous point, Adrien doesn't react to being shown unconditional love like someone who has experienced the feeling before would. Not once does he bemoan the loss of his supposed better treatment prior to Emilie's death. He acts genuinely surprised and shocked when Gabriel is nice to him, like he's never experienced it before. The way he clings to Ladybug's unconditional support like it's the best thing he's ever had doesn't speak of someone who was raised with unconditional love in abundance. He genuinely does not know how to not put up a front all the time in front of everyone because he believes that is what everyone expects of him, which is something that he probably shouldn't think if he spent 13 years of his life being loved and supported unconditionally and being able to be himself.
As evidence for this being a lifelong thing and not just something that started after Emilie died, consider the fact that Adrien's childhood dream is to be whatever his parents wanted him to be. Idk about y'all but the fact that this child had no dreams and desires of his own except to be his parents' little doll says a lot about how he was raised, and only proves that he's never really seen himself as someone who gets to have his own desires outside of pleasing his parents and having to earn their love even as a child, proving my point that this isn't something that started less than a year ago.
No, but Wishmaker really did shit all over the "Adrien's life only became bad after Emilie's death" argument huh. I sincerely question why anyone thinks that Emilie wasn't abusive after watching that episode.
And idk, the fact that he was constantly mind-controlled by his parents his whole life should be enough to understand that they are abusive pieces of shit.
My impression is that it got worse after Emilie died but was pretty bad before already (I mean, I thought it couldn't get much worse than mind-control, but Gabriel the asshat managed to make it happen). But honestly, the show has such an inconsistent tone with their portrayal of Emilie. They seem to want her to be seen as a good and loving and perfect mother, but then there are so many unfortunate implications regarding her treatment of Adrien that they just... do not acknowledge.
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Metal on you little mouse
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Karl Heisenberg x fem!reader
warning : smutish, implied dubiouse consent, kiss, collar, Heisenberg uses his power a little diffrent, no use of Y/n, some german words
Summary : There were four houses in the neighbourhood, including Karl Heisenberg, a man who liked soft, fragile things as well as hard metal, so why not pay his little mouse a visit again?
Info : So my second piece for this pretty Lord and I had this idea and wanted to explore it further so have fun reading and hope you like it.
@thatsthewrongwallcraig hope you still know whitch idea I mean ;)
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The factory just outside the village seemed to be the only thing that brought anything like modernity or progress to the medieval-looking village.
The torches that lit up the village at night, the oil lamps that swung back and forth and the wooden fences were almost pathetic compared to the Heisenberg factory - even the lady's castle seemed strange and out of place.
The sounds of the factory were always too metallic, robotic and flesh meeting metal. But deep, deep inside the factory there was another sound, the sound of a man walking through the factory in heavy leather boots.
He entered the rooms and corridors where only he had access to, simply shoving aside the metal of the door with his powers where any other normal person would only have been able to get in with dynamite. The room behind it was probably the only one not taken over by the factory - on the contrary, the room seemed almost too normal.
Like something out of a furniture store, a normal room, a room that wasn't his, a room that belonged to her. ,,Little mouse, are you awake?" he asked and a grin appeared under his hat, a grin that looked like joy. His greenish blue eyes looked at the body lying on the bed facing away from him.
The light blanket, especially in the colder days, just invited him to lie next to her, to press her sweet, frail body against his, for how could she ever defend herself from all these dangerous monsters? The Overlord turned away from her for a moment and looked around the room, ,,Our home darling," he had said, remembering his words when he had first shown it to her.
Her body in front of him ignoring the look of bewilderment on her face showing her everything from the wardrobe with the pretty simple clothes just enough not to look sloppy but free enough for him to have her to himself.
The pictures on the wall photos of her and him, landscapes and a few paintings she had done in the beginning. ,,Such an interesting butterfly you are darling," he praised, running his leather-gloved fingers over her paintings almost as if he were touching them like he did every night. His favourite.
Turning back to her, he walked the last few metres towards the bed and sat down next to her, the mattress giving way slightly under his size and weight. ,,Aufwachen kleine Maus" he said in German, giving her the nickname appropriate to her form beside him, a thought that had him in its grip.
Such a pretty woman, his favourite soft and gentle in such a harsh environment…he took what he deserved for the plan he would soon make.
Slipping the gloves from his hands so as not to stain her body with extra oil, dirt and blood, he pulled the blanket from her body piece by piece, releasing her. ,,So pretty," he murmured with a broad smile when he saw that she was still wearing his shirt from the previous night. It was much too big for her, of course, the sleeves twice as long and it ended just above her knees like a little extra blanket.
He ran his rough hands over the crumpled fabric, giving himself a moment's rest before continuing with his plan of why he was here. ,,I know you're awake, darling," he said, letting his fingers settle suddenly and more roughly on her bust, which lay beneath the front of her shirt.
He felt the soft breasts under the fabric and smiled as he felt the slight flinch as he gently twisted her sensitive nipples between his fingers.
He usually kissed her body, loving her intimately night after night, she just had to be his, his pretty little bird and he loved her. But with day after day of the power of his "siblings" and the power of the holy woman, he too was more tense, no nothing could go wrong.
His other hand played with the end of the shirt, pulling it up ever so slightly, leaving little circles and his metallic leather smell mingled with her sweeter one.
A mix that wouldn't let him go and he wanted more. ,,Come on, wife, give me a kiss," he whispered to her and felt her tense up instantly when he called her the nickname she hated and he knew it only too well.
But his little mouse seemed to have more composure than he did because all at once he let go of her as he felt the metal around him with a simple thought.
Less than a second later, her body was moved against her will, against her own wishes, and she was only halfway up so as not to simply hang down. ,,Let me go," she said, not screaming but not quietly either, it was like a calm warning which he answered with a laugh that made the bed squeak.
Before he steered her body forwards to place his fingers on the metal collar he had given her. ,,Such a beauty…hate doesn't suit you darling," he rebuked, running his rough fingers over the skin of her neck as he had done many times before, sometimes gently, sometimes firmly, taking her breath away.
His darling was his whether she wanted it or not. She couldn't move, instead closing her eyes to avoid looking into his captivating gaze.
His voice could still influence her body as with his abilities it was like a moth being drawn to the light again and again. It was natural attractiveness with a hint of hopelessness and that he was the only one she still saw.
His other hand-free hand went to hers, the metal ring on her finger making her respond to his touch like a puppet he could control when he pleased.
,,I know it's all getting used to…but believe me it will get better" he tried again with gentleness like the other times he was always gentle to her he couldn't hurt her at all. He only wanted the best for her from the way he "housed" her here to his obsessive love with the hook and the ring.
A ring that showed their bond to everyone. One thought and he could feel her and know she was safe. Something he couldn't do without the metal it was all out of love. ,,My love, I know you like it too," he murmured to her, entangling her in another kiss, feeling her return his kiss with a gentle pressure on her hand, she didn't move and he turned his hand away from hers.
The length of her upper body slid down to the soft breasts that lay so perfectly in his hand, which he lavished with kisses when he had caused her "pain". Her hips, on which both his hands were placed, were covered in bright colours and gently kissed when she was a good girl.
All the way down to her thighs he felt the wince as he lightly squeezed the soft skin, his fingers digging into her flesh. He remembered the previous nights, the trembling of her body, the twitching of her legs when he pinned her in place with the metal.
Her moans echoed against the walls as he lay between her thighs, seeking his reward after a long day. ,,You're just my source of inspiration, you understand that, don't you?" he asked, seeing her nod briefly, but wanting to feel her love him just as much.
Sliding her body back onto the mattress, the two of them engaged in another kiss, a position that wasn't entirely forced, if that was even possible. Just as he was about to put his hands back on her body, he suddenly felt a vibration not only go through the floor but apparently also through the factory.
He felt something or someone explode his inventions. But it wasn't the power of Miranda or the annoying doll or the fish, it was human. ,,Sorry darling I'll be back with you as soon as I can, don't let you regret it" he said giving her one last kiss on the forehead from which she turned away which he ignored as he pulled his gloves back on and pushed the door aside with his strength only to slam it back into the wall harder than ever.
No one, not even Ethan Winters, would get it, his darling was his and he would kill even Miranda if she threatened them. He was the only one she needed and that would never change.
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So I’ve seen people point out how the tips of the sandsteamer’s Plant’s hands darkened after her and Vash worked together to slow the Sandsteamer down before it could crash onto Hopeland before but I haven’t seen anyone so far point it out in relation to Legato and Zazie’s short convo in the truck in a previous scene where Zazie reminds him that they still need to bring the Plant back to July when Legato telekinetically takes the Sandsteamer off its course to head to Hopeland instead of July, to which Legato responds that there’s no need to worry, they’ll bring it back without a scratch. If that doesn't sound like famous last words uttered moments before disaster then I don’t know what does.
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Now I’ve theorized in a previous post here that when Legato meets Vash after the two-year timeskip, he’s going to be in that ridiculous casket/full-body cast looking contraption. And I gave a couple of reasons for how that could be the case such as Legato probably only being sent to intercept the Sandsteamer just to retrieve its Plant to bring back to July, to Knives, and to possibly tire Vash out a bit so he'd be in a lot more vulnerable state when he finally confronted Knives, but then it ended up with him risking Wolfwood’s contract to be made null in the even that he actually succeeded in getting him to kill Livio and destroying Hopeland using the Sandsteamer or getting him to destroy the Sandsteamer and kill everyone onboard to save Hopeland and Vash’s scheduled arrival in July being delayed by like half a day because he ended up passing out at the end of the episode.
But after doing another rewatch I realized that the Plant having burned themselves out a bit to help Vash slow the Sandsteamer down to the point their fingertips darkened already made for a pretty good reason alone for my theory that Legato was bodily torn apart by Knives after he returned to July off-screen which would lead him to be put in a ridiculous casket/full-body cast looking contraption. Because like, no wonder Knives views or treats his own subordinates, his own worshippers, just like he would any human if someone like Legato who’s been shown to be so devoted to him pulls shit like this that leads to one of his sisters burning themselves out to put a stop to it.
Anyways hope this theory comes true one way or another and he shows up in S2 in that ridiculous casket/full-body cast looking contraption if only for the absolutely hilarious picture it would make. Like it’s one thing for Legato to use his powers to conceal his normal looking self while he talks to Vash in the middle of a very crowded plaza but it’s another thing for Legato to conceal himself using his power while he’s wearing any variation of that thing he dons for a good portion of Trimax, each iteration being more ridiculous that the last, while he talks to Vash in the middle of a very crowded plaza like. Just IMAGINE. @tristampparty
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filmbyjy · 2 years
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JAM OUT - seven! a very much needed explaination [written]
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synopsis > who knew you’d break the first rule of being in a friends with benefits relationship? maybe it was lee heeseung himself that made you catch feelings. either ways, he doesn’t do feelings and you knew that. as your relationship with heeseung strains so does the band. what happens then?
masterlist | previous | next
warnings: light smut but not entirely, I’m just talking about when the fwb situation started.
note: uhh this is different writing because unfortunately I did not save it anywhere before my account got deleted but hey, new writing (sort of)
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you would be lying if you say you didn’t create that song for lee heeseung, the man who took your virginity. the same lee heeseung you’ve known since middle school.
yes, you knew heeseung since middle school. it was a shocker but didn’t want to tell anyone you’ve met him since then. so you kept it secret and just simply told everyone you knew him since high school.
one thing you did miss about heeseung’s middle school phase was the fact that he wore cute glasses, it adorned his chubby cheeks. you missed that but by the time high school happened.
lee heeseung was the hot topic of every grade. girls constantly lined up for him but of course heeseung never let you go. you were his one true friend out of everyone. until a little bit later, the boys came into the picture. along with yeji and ryujin. it was all great.
but falling for him was a huge mistake. you told yourself, you were not in love with him. it was impossible. not when he started playing with every girl’s heart! how could like someone so heartless.
and you did. you foolishly fell for lee heeseung. never confessing to him, watching your heartbreak left and right when he ignores you. it was painful.
painful enough for your own brother to notice. which is when jungwon devised a plan, he cant let his sister be sad. never. jake and sunoo became your distraction, all thanks to jungwon. however, you didn’t know. you simply thought they just wanted to be your friend. jungwon cant let you know that, it would break your heart.
first year of college happened and then decelis was formed. becoming a band was out of the ordinary but not exactly. not when you and heeseung were the ones who started this.
of course, in college everyone wanted to loose their virginity and you lost yours. it was all in the courtesy of heeseung. it happened on any fine normal day, one that you and heeseung grew accustomed to in your shared home.
it was warm out so you chose to wear some scandalous short skirt to classes, paired with one of your laciest underwear you had. you clearly underestimated the weather after and you were to lazy to change into something else by the time it started to get colder.
as you laid on your tummy, you moved around a little and your skirt rides up your thighs. you were sure lee heeseung was a pervert because he could clearly see your underwear.
“pull down your skirt, I can see your lacy panties.” heeseung says as he continues to type away on his phone, probably talking to some random hook up for the night.
you yelp, “what the fuck.”
“what? its a normal reaction for a boy to notice a girl’s panties are being shown.”
“uhhh no its not. moreover, you do not see me as a woman.”
“(name), you live with like hormonal boys. I am sure its a normal reaction and what do you mean we don’t see you as a woman?”
“well for one, you definitely do not see me in that light.”
“what do you mean?” heeseung sits up.
“you don’t think I’m worthy enough to be fucked.”
“(name), that’s complete bullshit.”
“then prove it.”
once you uttered those words out from your mouth, heeseung pushes you down onto your mattress. your hands on either side of your head. heeseung’s silver chain dangling just above you. the same silver chain that you gave him in middle school as a birthday present. it’s surprising to see him still wearing it after all these years.
“didn’t take you for a bratty bitch.”
“heeseung, let go.” you struggled under him.
“you wanted me to prove it, baby.” oh how the nickname gave shivers down your spin.
“i didn’t mean it literally.”
“oh really now? why does your body respond to my touch hmm? do you want me that badly?”
“no.”
“its bad to lie, babe.” your heart races a million times worst. heeseung’s eyes dripping with lust as he continues to stare down at you. your body betrays you and you whimper.
“im sorry. please, I need you.” with that, heeseung smirks. he leans down captures your lips.
part of you thought this was bad. friends shouldn’t kiss. it must’ve preoccupied your mind too much that you didn’t kiss heeseung back. he pulls away and looks at you with worry.
“you know, if you dont want this. we don’t have to do it.”
“no, its okay. take my virginity, lee heeseung.”
it was all that took for lee heeseung to actually take your virginity that night.
and apparently, he couldn’t get enough of you because he came back for more. despite not talking about it the day before. which hurt you though you knew it was a one time thing.
“lets become fuck buddies.” he asks on a random day in the living room.
you look around the living room, hoping none of the other boys were around, “what?”
“they aren’t around. I miss your body. you were the best sex partner I ever had.”
“oh so you didn’t miss me.”
“(name), you know what I mean.”
it was silent.
“fine. let’s be fuck buddies.”
there were rules implied in your sex buddy relationship. one, you were loyal to each other and no one could have another sex buddy. it seems as though you’ve underestimated heeseung because clearly, no fuckboy would keep his true words. 2 months later, the rule was long forgotten, heeseung continued to fuck around with other girls whilst fucking you on the occasion.
deep down it hurt you. it got you all mad.
and that’s when you realise…
you were falling for lee heeseung
again.
-
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barbiewritesstuff · 2 years
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Church Encounters
-- This is a part 2 to Church Encounters which is being turned into a series that I am writing in collaboration with @Igg5989, she will also be posting this on her Ao3 account
Requested by: @bbooks-and-teas
Part 1
Taglist: @unsurebuttrying @dempy @peaches-1998 --
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You hadn’t been able to catch Jake alone at all and as you didn’t have his phone number, you found yourself using the same communication method he had used on you by writing a note and stuffing it in his locker. You saw him read it after training on Tuesday and by Wednesday morning he had successfully forced your number out of one of Cyclone’s children and texted you to confirm a pickup time. 
You were more nervous than you would have liked to admit. Church had always made you a little giddy, but usually you didn’t bother planning an outfit five days in advance. And yet, you had started to fuss as soon as you got Jake’s text. You weren’t even sure why, because Jake was just a friend and he didn’t seem to want to be anything else, as he had shown you by behaving perfectly normally at work. Maybe he was just lonely at church? Although, he had mentioned being a youth minister and as they usually sat together, you strongly doubted that was it. 
Well, you were sure why. Halo’s tease about your crush was a little truer than you would have liked. You had always thought he was handsome and maybe even funny, but in the previous week, Jake hadn’t left your head for even a second. The images of his genuine smile, of how he shyly looked at his shoes when he admitted to being a Youth Pastor, and the picture of Youth Minister Jake caring for a bunch of children were torturing you every moment of the day. You were dangerously close to falling in love with the Jake you had briefly met at church, and the more you thought about him, the more you believed that that had been the real Jake. 
In your worry about the date, you had missed the fact that Jake hadn’t been behaving as normal. His usual happy, calm, cool, collected and totally chill personality had turned and he had been on edge. Jake had snapped and shot you a nervous look whenever any of the team made an unsavoury quip or a rude comment. He couldn’t figure out why either, because you had heard it all before, you knew who he was. You knew how he was. And maybe that was what scared him. 
Jake hadn’t a single thought that didn’t involve you in about a week. He thought sleep might bring him respite from the images of you that were filling his brain but his head seemed insistent on waking him up every few hours to replay the moment you turned when he had seen you in church. Your neatly curled hair had bounced back under the veil as you had turned to face him, revealing your full appearance. He had felt his heart backflip in his chest. And he didn’t know why the damn veil was making his legs turn to jelly. He had seen plenty of catholic women wear them during mass, and yet, the thoughts that had swirled through his mind as he helped you remove it had almost made him want to drop to his knees where he had stood and repent. 
By the time everyone parted ways on Friday evening, most of the team had noticed how Jake seemed to be steeling himself for something. Nobody had been able to guess what though, even you. 
When Sunday finally came along, Jake had been the perfect gentleman. He had abandoned his friends on the front pew to sit at the back with you. You liked the back of the church, it offered the best view of the congregation and of the altar of the Lord, and the microphone Father John spoke into carried his words well enough that you heard everything without the annoying ringing noise that the Youth Ministers usually had to suffer through. 
The only distracting things were Jake’s nervous fidgeting as Mass went on and the pointed looks Cyclone and his wife seemed to be throwing in your direction every five minutes. It was making concentrating on whatever Father John was saying terribly hard. Then, as the moment you were waiting for approached, Jake let out a breath. 
"Peace be with you" You told the person to your right. She smiled at you.
"Peace be with you" your neighbour replied. 
You turned to Jake and repeated it again, holding your hand out for him to shake. You had been pathetically waiting for any excuse to hold his hand almost all morning. Surprisingly, instead of shaking your hand with his left hand, Jake grabbed it with his right hand and held it. He leaned in a little and placed a gentle kiss on your cheek.
"Peace be with you" he whispered against your skin. 
It sent a shiver straight down your spine. Jake stood straight again beside you, looking in front of him and gently dropped your hand.
You let out a shaky breath as you tried to concentrate on what Father John was saying but your brain wouldn't cooperate. Instead, it replayed what you felt when Jake kissed your cheek. The feeling of his silky soft lips, his clean shaven skin, his hot breath against your skin and the gentle tickle of your cheek when he spoke. It all felt a little too much. 
And yet, you couldn't help but wonder if you would have reacted the same at work. If you had been joking around on base, would you have blushed or dizzy at the feeling of his kiss? Or would you have shot him a look and kept going with your day. 
Probably the latter. At work you wouldn't have cared, it could have been a joke or a prank. But here, in church, it all felt so intimate. 
While your thoughts ran amok, the service went on and soon enough, it was time for the Lord's prayer.
You forced your thoughts to concentrate. You clasped your hands in front of you to give them a purpose and stared right at Father John as you spoke the first few words of the prayer 
"Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come." Jake shifted next to you. His right arm moved in front of you and he grazed the back of your hand with his finger. Almost instinctively, your hands undid themselves and fell to your side, where Jake, still praying, intertwined his fingers with yours. 
"Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen."
The rest of mass went by in a blur.
As you walk out of church the only thing you can think of is Mr Darcy and the way he flexes his hand after helping Elisabeth onto the carriage. You used to laugh at him with your sisters. You used to snicker at his reaction, at his inability to talk or act normal when Elisabeth was near. And now, you could practically feel him smile through the pages of the book. 
Your skin felt searing hot where he had touched it. He hadn’t even held your hand for long and still you felt that if you didn’t run it under a cold tap, you might get a mark. 
And maybe you wanted a mark, the thought of which makes you blush. You hoped Jake wouldn’t notice, but when you stole a glance at him, you saw a cocky smile cover his face. At being caught, your face reddened even more, and you looked away from him, embarrassed that he potentially read your thoughts. 
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he started, “When I -- you know… earlier,” he finished lamely, obviously feeling nervous. 
You let out a quiet sigh, “It’s fine -- I mean, you didn’t.”
At that moment, a sedan that was moving way too quickly down the road, hit the puddle that neither of you had noticed. You could almost swear it had swerved to drive over the water. You tried not to scream as the cold water washed over you, but it was no use, you let out a shrill shriek anyway. You felt a warm arm around your waist, and looked down to see that Jake had tried to take most of the puddle for you but with how fast the car was going, it hadn’t done much to protect you.
When you had laid out your outfit days ago, you had only thought of what was appropriate for a church date. You had foregone all thought of the weather and chosen a knee-length cream dress that you had once bought for a baptism and then never worn again. After all, Jake was picking you up, you were hardly going to get wet.
But as Jake stared at you in shock, a deep red blush creeping slowly down his neck, you realised in horror what must have happened. Your beautiful dress might as well have dissolved at the mere contact of the water, as when you looked down, you could perfectly see the pink bra and striped panties you had decided to wear.
“Fuck” you said aloud, now a blush was spreading across your own face for more than one reason.
“You kids okay?” you heard a familiar voice call out. Turning your head, you see Cyclone looking out of the window of his black Sedan at the two of you, drenched. Jake saw Peter, the eldest son, steal a glance at your form and his brain seemed to turn back on.
He took a protective step in front of you saying, “Car. Coat. I have a car in my coat. Nope, coat in my car. I have a coat in my car.” 
“Do you need us to drive you back?” Cyclone asked but your answer was swallowed by the chattering of your teeth. It may have been surprisingly warm for September, but the puddle water that had soaked through your clothes had seemingly gone right through to your bones. You were freezing. Luckily, Jake returned with a coat before your lips could turn blue. 
The coat was nice, leather on the outside but lined with wool on the inside. Patches on the arms and one on the chest told you it had once belonged to T. Seresin. 
Before you could tell him you’ll be going home with Jake, Cyclone’s daughter Martha accidentally hit her father in the head with her Barbie doll and he turned around to scold her. Jake gently grabs you by the arm and guides you to his car. 
“Get in, I’ll put the heated seat on,” He said, his own teeth starting to chatter now. His hands shook as he pulled the handle of the door and opened it for you. 
He climbed in beside you a few seconds later, turning the heating on and pressing the heated seat button. 
“I don’t think I’m feeling like breakfast out anymore” He laughed. Your heart dropped in your chest. As cold and miserable as you were feeling in the moment, you had really hoped to spend your morning in Jake’s company. 
“If you want -- and I mean I completely understand if you don’t -- but if you want, wecouldgotomyappartmentandIcouldcookbreakfastforus” He said in a rush. 
“S--sorry?” you asked, your teeth still chattering violently. 
“I -- I could drive us to my apartment and cook us breakfast, I make a decent pancake,” He repeated, his eyes staring straight ahead at a mystery point in the distance and his bright red blush returning with a vengeance. “No, sorry that was totally inappropriate, I don’t know why I even asked, of course you --” 
“Sure,” You said, giving him a small smile before a thought donned on you, “But I don’t have a change of clothes.”
“I have some,” he said quickly, looking at you now, his face hopeful.
You laughed before asking, “Won’t they be a little big?” 
He looked at you with a sheepish look in his eyes, careful not to stare at anything in particular while still taking in your form.
“I have some stuff that might fit…” he said slowly as he put the car in drive. 
Jake lived nearby in a military provided apartment. It was fairly large, a rare treat bestowed upon him by Cyclone after having been sworn to secrecy when the man had been left to fend for himself with three crying newborns after his wife had to be taken to hospital shortly after birth. They hadn’t hired you yet by that point, but Jake had been his children’s youth minister since he had been posted in California. A sleep deprived Cyclone had called upon him at three in the morning and begged him to help. The triplets were calmed and asleep by his hand twenty minutes after his arrival. The then Vice Admiral had looked at him with such a look of gratefulness that Jake had briefly feared that the man might kiss him. Instead, he had been rewarded with superior base housing and a crisp fifty dollar note for his trouble. 
The flat was modern and comfortable, but the thing that impressed you most was the downright luxurious shower. You had wanted to stay there forever, but the fact that you were using up water you weren’t paying for made you hurry. You dried yourself with the fresh towels Jake had provided you and stepped out of the bathroom to find that he had laid out some clothes for you to wear. 
You stepped out wearing Jake's old summer camp shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms to find him starting the wash cycle on your wet clothes and measuring ingredients for the pancakes he had promised you in the car. He had changed too, as he now wore a more casual outfit in the form of sweatpants and a blue patterned t-shirt. He hadn't bothered to gel his hair, which resulted in it sticking up slightly due to the friction he must have created when rubbing it dry with his towel.
"Do you know how to crack an egg so it doesn't drop shell in the bowl?" He asked, holding out an egg for you to work with. You tapped it gently against the counter before driving both thumbs into the hard shell and pulling it apart at the seams of the neat break you had created. The egg fell out and into the bowl without breaking the yolk. 
Jake had prepared three eggs for you to crack and with each crack of the other two you realised a little more how close he was standing to you. 
It hadn't been his fault, he had already been standing there when you had slotted yourself in place between his chest and the counter. But as you stood there, you could feel his breath on your neck. That same deliciously warm breath that had hotwired your brain in church earlier in the morning. You felt your hairs raise on your neck and not a second later, you felt him move away. 
"I don't really know how to do this," he confessed as he reached the other end of the kitchen, putting a respectful distance between you and him. 
You laughed, “I thought you said you knew how to make a decent pancake?"
"No, I mean this" he said, gesturing around the room, when it was clear his vague movements weren't clearing up the situation he continued, "Dating you, I mean."
"You're doing okay so far," you said quietly, turning back to the bowl in front of you to hide the blush you could feel covering your cheeks.
Jake let out a small snort, "Just okay?"
"You're doing great,” you said again, giving him a small smile this time from over your shoulder. How could such a playboy be so nervous? You thought to yourself. 
It is like Jake could read your mind, stuttering out the words faster than his mouth could move, "I've never dated anyone like -- I mean I've never dated anyone who knew me beforehand, you know? You've seen me to a lot of stupid shit, and now you've seen me at church and you've seen me pray and -- I am so nervous. Are you nervous?" 
You laughed a little at his outburst, "I'm so nervous I don't really know what to do with myself," you admitted, folding your hands in front of you. 
"How about we start over?" you ask, Jake raised an eyebrow. To answer his silent question, you stuck out a hand.
"My name is Y/n," you say, a smile on your face. 
"My name is Jake," he said, taking your hand in his and gently kissing the back of it. You were sure that if your heart made another leap in your chest it would simply fly out of your body, never to be found again.
During breakfast you found yourself eating slower than usual, trying to prolong your time with him. You took your time to cut up your breakfast, spear it with your fork and chew it until eventually you had no choice but to swallow, eventually though, despite your best efforts, your plates were empty and there was no choice to move on. You gathered up the dirty dishes and stood at the sink, starting the washing process. 
“You don’t have to do that,” Jake said gently, coming up behind you. The warmth of his body temperature made you want to back into him but you almost didn’t have to, as when Jake dropped his plate in the sink of soapy water, his hip bumped into your back and it sent a shiver up your spine. 
“You cooked breakfast, the least I can do is clean it up,” you say, flashing him a smile and trying to steady your voice. You turned around to face him, drying your hands into a towel. He stood too close and not close enough to you. You could see every pore, every scratch and every curve on his face. His eyes stared straight into yours for a moment before he seemingly remembered something and moved away. 
He shook his head at you, “I will dry and put them away then. My mom would kill me if she ever found out I let you wash dishes on our first date.” 
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t find out then,” you say, “I still haven’t decided if you are going to get another. Can’t have you dying before the verdict is in.” 
Jake laughed at your easy banter, “You’re telling me that getting splashed by a cold puddle isn’t your ideal first date?”
“Well, getting wet isn’t really what I wanted,” you said, only realising the innuendo in what you had said when Jake’s eyes dropped back to the floor with a blush and a laugh. 
“You don’t seem to mind it so much right now,” Jake said, motioning to your hands in the soapy water. 
“Oh, is this your secret for a successful first date then?” you asked sassily, a smile slowly covering your features. 
“Well, yes, I do always try to get the girls wet,” he replied, his face turning a deep shade of red at the implication of what he said. 
You just laughed, Jake was an enigma, he could be soft and a playboy all at the same time. 
He let out a nervous laugh, “I didn’t mean to say that.”
“I don’t believe you,” you replied, still smiling as you started washing the dishes again. 
“No, I promise. I’m trying to be good. Gentlemanlike, you know. I want to impress you,” he said, taking the plate that you were holding out to him. 
You sighed, “You don’t need to be good, I’ve heard you make those jokes before,” you said, giving him a look that said you have heard worse from his mouth before. Jake seemed to flinch at your words, trying hard not to meet your gaze. Right, you had heard those jokes before. You’d heard every crass jab, every swear word,every brag about bedding a girl. You knew him. 
“But that’s the thing, you shouldn’t have had to hear that, especially from my mouth,” Jake said, his voice sounding smaller than you had ever heard it, “My granddad always told me to treat women with respect, and if I’m being honest, he would probably be disappointed in how I have been acting as of late.” 
You didn’t know what to say, was the Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin apologising? 
“I’m not made out of glass, you know,” is what ended up coming out of your mouth. 
“No, I know,” he sighed, trying to find the right words. “Truth is, I don’t care about saying these kinds of things with people I will never date, but I like you and I really hate that I never realised that before. I could have made a better first impression…”
“Jake,” you said, softly, “I don’t like you just for the side of you I got to see at church. I like both sides of you. You wouldn’t be you without the cocky aura you carry at work, or this softer side of you I get to see at church or just right now.”
It was true, you likely would never have been able to have a single conversation with Youth Minister Jake if Navy Jake hadn’t broken the ice. Jake wasn’t Jake without the self-confidence and love of flying, without those, he was just a pew mate. 
Jake looked at you for a second, searching your eyes before saying, “Nah, you’re in it only for a piece of my smoking hot abs.”
He wasn’t sure why he’d said those words, and he regretted them almost immediately as he saw a blush burn on your cheeks. In truth, he had never been great with emotions and open displays of acceptance like that made him antsy.
You laughed nervously, this kind of flirting was something you had never gotten used to, “Oh yeah I’m totally in it for the sex, says the girl who’s never been kissed.”
He went still next to you, “You’ve never kissed anyone?!” he exclaimed. He knew you were about 25, and had graduated college, you weren’t a child. How has anyone gone through their life without kissing you? Especially since that was the only thing Jake had been able to think about since the puddle had soaked your clothes. Well, thing was, he’d wanted to do worse than just kiss you, especially when the water soaked through that dress and he could see the outline of a bra, and then panties. And then, something he was lucky you hadn’t noticed, how the water had continued its course through your garments and he had started to see the outline of something through your bra. 
“Jake, I went to an all girls’ Catholic School, no I have not been kissed,” you said, some of your insecurity clear in your voice. 
He continued to look at you confused, “So? you clearly didn’t just graduate…”
“I went to an all girls’ Catholic College…” you continued, huffing out a sigh, “After that, the Navy kept me busy…I don’t know…I just never found the right person I guess…” you trailed off, looking out the window over the sink. “Besides, it really wasn’t that long ago.”
He coughed nervously, “Well, I think that’s really sweet.”
“It’s really something…” you said, trying to find the right words.
“It’s great,” he reassured you, “I think it’s wonderful you waited for someone special. I wish I’d done that sometimes.”
“So you’re not put off by it?” you asked him, trying to hide the nerves in your voice.
He pulled you carefully into a chaste hug, the dishes long done, “Not at all,” he paused for a second, trying to fight the need to say something funny to diffuse the warm feeling he felt when you hugged him back and losing, “I think it’s kind of hot actually.” 
You let out a girlish squeal and hit his chest, taking a step out of the hug, “Jake! You’re the worst!” 
“I’m just being honest darlin’,” he said, a shit eating grin on his face. 
The room descended into silence after that and before Jake could offer to take you home, figuring he had ruined the date by now anyway, you suggested that a rainy day was perfect for a movie marathon. You both sat down in front of the bookshelf in Jake’s spare room. It was sparsely inhabited by books but the bottom shelves were populated by enough dvd’s to restart Blockbusters without having to buy anything new. 
At the end of your date Jake drove you back. It was already late but you made a stop by the Hard Deck. Not to drink, as the bar always closed on Sundays, but because the parking lot allowed you to watch the sunset over the ocean with the least obstructed view.
"I had a great day today," you said, looking over at him from across the car. 
"Me too. I would say I'm sorry for taking up your day instead of just your morning but err, I'm really not," He chuckled
You let out a laugh, "I'm free next Sunday, if you’re not too busy."
"I'll check my calendar," he said, opening an imaginary notebook and flipping through imaginary pages until he hit next Sunday's date, "Would you look at that, I'm all yours," he said goofily, giving you the most brilliant smile you had ever seen. 
Gathering up your courage, you leaned towards Jake, who had turned his attention towards the sunset again, and placed a delicate kiss on his cheek. Although you were too close to properly see, you swore Jake's eyes fluttered closed and he let out a small sigh.
“You’re killing me, sweetheart,” he said quietly, chuckling softly as he took your hand over the centre console
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lgg5989 · 2 years
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Church Encounters pt2
Here is my posting of the collab fic I am writing with @barbiewritesstuff ! Check it out here or on Ao3!
Part 1
Check out my Masterlist!
Comments, reblogs, and likes are all appreciated. Let us feel the love :)
---
You hadn’t been able to catch Jake alone at all and as you didn’t have his phone number, you found yourself using the same communication method he had used on you by writing a note and stuffing it in his locker. You saw him read it after training on Tuesday and by Wednesday morning he had successfully forced your number out of one of Cyclone’s children and texted you to confirm a pickup time. 
You were more nervous than you would have liked to admit. Church had always made you a little giddy, but usually you didn’t bother planning an outfit five days in advance. And yet, you had started to fuss as soon as you got Jake’s text. You weren’t even sure why, because Jake was just a friend and he didn’t seem to want to be anything else, as he had shown you by behaving perfectly normally at work. Maybe he was just lonely at church? Although, he had mentioned being a youth minister and as they usually sat together, you strongly doubted that was it. 
Well, you were sure why. Halo’s tease about your crush was a little truer than you would have liked. You had always thought he was handsome and maybe even funny, but in the previous week, Jake hadn’t left your head for even a second. The images of his genuine smile, of how he shyly looked at his shoes when he admitted to being a Youth Pastor, and the picture of Youth Minister Jake caring for a bunch of children were torturing you every moment of the day. You were dangerously close to falling in love with the Jake you had briefly met at church, and the more you thought about him, the more you believed that that had been the real Jake. 
In your worry about the date, you had missed the fact that Jake hadn’t been behaving as normal. His usual happy, calm, cool, collected and totally chill personality had turned and he had been on edge. Jake had snapped and shot you a nervous look whenever any of the team made an unsavoury quip or a rude comment. He couldn’t figure out why either, because you had heard it all before, you knew who he was. You knew how he was. And maybe that was what scared him. 
Jake hadn’t a single thought that didn’t involve you in about a week. He thought sleep might bring him respite from the images of you that were filling his brain but his head seemed insistent on waking him up every few hours to replay the moment you turned when he had seen you in church. Your neatly curled hair had bounced back under the veil as you had turned to face him, revealing your full appearance. He had felt his heart backflip in his chest. And he didn’t know why the damn veil was making his legs turn to jelly. He had seen plenty of catholic women wear them during mass, and yet, the thoughts that had swirled through his mind as he helped you remove it had almost made him want to drop to his knees where he had stood and repent. 
By the time everyone parted ways on Friday evening, most of the team had noticed how Jake seemed to be steeling himself for something. Nobody had been able to guess what though, even you. 
When Sunday finally came along, Jake had been the perfect gentleman. He had abandoned his friends on the front pew to sit at the back with you. You liked the back of the church, it offered the best view of the congregation and of the altar of the Lord, and the microphone Father John spoke into carried his words well enough that you heard everything without the annoying ringing noise that the Youth Ministers usually had to suffer through. 
The only distracting things were Jake’s nervous fidgeting as Mass went on and the pointed looks Cyclone and his wife seemed to be throwing in your direction every five minutes. It was making concentrating on whatever Father John was saying terribly hard. Then, as the moment you were waiting for approached, Jake let out a breath. 
"Peace be with you" You told the person to your right. She smiled at you.
"Peace be with you" your neighbour replied. 
You turned to Jake and repeated it again, holding your hand out for him to shake. You had been pathetically waiting for any excuse to hold his hand almost all morning. Surprisingly, instead of shaking your hand with his left hand, Jake grabbed it with his right hand and held it. He leaned in a little and placed a gentle kiss on your cheek.
"Peace be with you" he whispered against your skin. 
It sent a shiver straight down your spine. Jake stood straight again beside you, looking in front of him and gently dropped your hand.
You let out a shaky breath as you tried to concentrate on what Father John was saying but your brain wouldn't cooperate. Instead, it replayed what you felt when Jake kissed your cheek. The feeling of his silky soft lips, his clean shaven skin, his hot breath against your skin and the gentle tickle of your cheek when he spoke. It all felt a little too much. 
And yet, you couldn't help but wonder if you would have reacted the same at work. If you had been joking around on base, would you have blushed or dizzy at the feeling of his kiss? Or would you have shot him a look and kept going with your day. 
Probably the latter. At work you wouldn't have cared, it could have been a joke or a prank. But here, in church, it all felt so intimate. 
While your thoughts ran amok, the service went on and soon enough, it was time for the Lord's prayer.
You forced your thoughts to concentrate. You clasped your hands in front of you to give them a purpose and stared right at Father John as you spoke the first few words of the prayer 
"Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come." Jake shifted next to you. His right arm moved in front of you and he grazed the back of your hand with his finger. Almost instinctively, your hands undid themselves and fell to your side, where Jake, still praying, intertwined his fingers with yours. 
"Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen."
The rest of mass went by in a blur.
As you walk out of church the only thing you can think of is Mr Darcy and the way he flexes his hand after helping Elisabeth onto the carriage. You used to laugh at him with your sisters. You used to snicker at his reaction, at his inability to talk or act normal when Elisabeth was near. And now, you could practically feel him smile through the pages of the book. 
Your skin felt searing hot where he had touched it. He hadn’t even held your hand for long and still you felt that if you didn’t run it under a cold tap, you might get a mark. 
And maybe you wanted a mark, the thought of which makes you blush. You hoped Jake wouldn’t notice, but when you stole a glance at him, you saw a cocky smile cover his face. At being caught, your face reddened even more, and you looked away from him, embarrassed that he potentially read your thoughts. 
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he started, “When I -- you know… earlier,” he finished lamely, obviously feeling nervous. 
You let out a quiet sigh, “It’s fine -- I mean, you didn’t.”
At that moment, a sedan that was moving way too quickly down the road, hit the puddle that neither of you had noticed. You could almost swear it had swerved to drive over the water. You tried not to scream as the cold water washed over you, but it was no use, you let out a shrill shriek anyway. You felt a warm arm around your waist, and looked down to see that Jake had tried to take most of the puddle for you but with how fast the car was going, it hadn’t done much to protect you.
When you had laid out your outfit days ago, you had only thought of what was appropriate for a church date. You had foregone all thought of the weather and chosen a knee-length cream dress that you had once bought for a baptism and then never worn again. After all, Jake was picking you up, you were hardly going to get wet.
But as Jake stared at you in shock, a deep red blush creeping slowly down his neck, you realised in horror what must have happened. Your beautiful dress might as well have dissolved at the mere contact of the water, as when you looked down, you could perfectly see the pink bra and striped panties you had decided to wear.
“Fuck” you said aloud, now a blush was spreading across your own face for more than one reason.
“You kids okay?” you heard a familiar voice call out. Turning your head, you see Cyclone looking out of the window of his black Sedan at the two of you, drenched. Jake saw Peter, the eldest son, steal a glance at your form and his brain seemed to turn back on.
He took a protective step in front of you saying, “Car. Coat. I have a car in my coat. Nope, coat in my car. I have a coat in my car.” 
“Do you need us to drive you back?” Cyclone asked but your answer was swallowed by the chattering of your teeth. It may have been surprisingly warm for September, but the puddle water that had soaked through your clothes had seemingly gone right through to your bones. You were freezing. Luckily, Jake returned with a coat before your lips could turn blue. 
The coat was nice, leather on the outside but lined with wool on the inside. Patches on the arms and one on the chest told you it had once belonged to T. Seresin. 
Before you could tell him you’ll be going home with Jake, Cyclone’s daughter Martha accidentally hit her father in the head with her Barbie doll and he turned around to scold her. Jake gently grabs you by the arm and guides you to his car. 
“Get in, I’ll put the heated seat on,” He said, his own teeth starting to chatter now. His hands shook as he pulled the handle of the door and opened it for you. 
He climbed in beside you a few seconds later, turning the heating on and pressing the heated seat button. 
“I don’t think I’m feeling like breakfast out anymore” He laughed. Your heart dropped in your chest. As cold and miserable as you were feeling in the moment, you had really hoped to spend your morning in Jake’s company. 
“If you want -- and I mean I completely understand if you don’t -- but if you want, wecouldgotomyappartmentandIcouldcookbreakfastforus” He said in a rush. 
“S--sorry?” you asked, your teeth still chattering violently. 
“I -- I could drive us to my apartment and cook us breakfast, I make a decent pancake,” He repeated, his eyes staring straight ahead at a mystery point in the distance and his bright red blush returning with a vengeance. “No, sorry that was totally inappropriate, I don’t know why I even asked, of course you --” 
“Sure,” You said, giving him a small smile before a thought donned on you, “But I don’t have a change of clothes.”
“I have some,” he said quickly, looking at you now, his face hopeful.
You laughed before asking, “Won’t they be a little big?” 
He looked at you with a sheepish look in his eyes, careful not to stare at anything in particular while still taking in your form.
“I have some stuff that might fit…” he said slowly as he put the car in drive. 
Jake lived nearby in a military provided apartment. It was fairly large, a rare treat bestowed upon him by Cyclone after having been sworn to secrecy when the man had been left to fend for himself with three crying newborns after his wife had to be taken to hospital shortly after birth. They hadn’t hired you yet by that point, but Jake had been his children’s youth minister since he had been posted in California. A sleep deprived Cyclone had called upon him at three in the morning and begged him to help. The triplets were calmed and asleep by his hand twenty minutes after his arrival. The then Vice Admiral had looked at him with such a look of gratefulness that Jake had briefly feared that the man might kiss him. Instead, he had been rewarded with superior base housing and a crisp fifty dollar note for his trouble. 
The flat was modern and comfortable, but the thing that impressed you most was the downright luxurious shower. You had wanted to stay there forever, but the fact that you were using up water you weren’t paying for made you hurry. You dried yourself with the fresh towels Jake had provided you and stepped out of the bathroom to find that he had laid out some clothes for you to wear. 
You stepped out wearing Jake's old summer camp shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms to find him starting the wash cycle on your wet clothes and measuring ingredients for the pancakes he had promised you in the car. He had changed too, as he now wore a more casual outfit in the form of sweatpants and a blue patterned t-shirt. He hadn't bothered to gel his hair, which resulted in it sticking up slightly due to the friction he must have created when rubbing it dry with his towel.
"Do you know how to crack an egg so it doesn't drop shell in the bowl?" He asked, holding out an egg for you to work with. You tapped it gently against the counter before driving both thumbs into the hard shell and pulling it apart at the seams of the neat break you had created. The egg fell out and into the bowl without breaking the yolk. 
Jake had prepared three eggs for you to crack and with each crack of the other two you realised a little more how close he was standing to you. 
It hadn't been his fault, he had already been standing there when you had slotted yourself in place between his chest and the counter. But as you stood there, you could feel his breath on your neck. That same deliciously warm breath that had hotwired your brain in church earlier in the morning. You felt your hairs raise on your neck and not a second later, you felt him move away. 
"I don't really know how to do this," he confessed as he reached the other end of the kitchen, putting a respectful distance between you and him. 
You laughed, “I thought you said you knew how to make a decent pancake?"
"No, I mean this" he said, gesturing around the room, when it was clear his vague movements weren't clearing up the situation he continued, "Dating you, I mean."
"You're doing okay so far," you said quietly, turning back to the bowl in front of you to hide the blush you could feel covering your cheeks.
Jake let out a small snort, "Just okay?"
"You're doing great,” you said again, giving him a small smile this time from over your shoulder. How could such a playboy be so nervous? You thought to yourself. 
It is like Jake could read your mind, stuttering out the words faster than his mouth could move, "I've never dated anyone like -- I mean I've never dated anyone who knew me beforehand, you know? You've seen me to a lot of stupid shit, and now you've seen me at church and you've seen me pray and -- I am so nervous. Are you nervous?" 
You laughed a little at his outburst, "I'm so nervous I don't really know what to do with myself," you admitted, folding your hands in front of you. 
"How about we start over?" you ask, Jake raised an eyebrow. To answer his silent question, you stuck out a hand.
"My name is Y/n," you say, a smile on your face. 
"My name is Jake," he said, taking your hand in his and gently kissing the back of it. You were sure that if your heart made another leap in your chest it would simply fly out of your body, never to be found again.
During breakfast you found yourself eating slower than usual, trying to prolong your time with him. You took your time to cut up your breakfast, spear it with your fork and chew it until eventually you had no choice but to swallow, eventually though, despite your best efforts, your plates were empty and there was no choice to move on. You gathered up the dirty dishes and stood at the sink, starting the washing process. 
“You don’t have to do that,” Jake said gently, coming up behind you. The warmth of his body temperature made you want to back into him but you almost didn’t have to, as when Jake dropped his plate in the sink of soapy water, his hip bumped into your back and it sent a shiver up your spine. 
“You cooked breakfast, the least I can do is clean it up,” you say, flashing him a smile and trying to steady your voice. You turned around to face him, drying your hands into a towel. He stood too close and not close enough to you. You could see every pore, every scratch and every curve on his face. His eyes stared straight into yours for a moment before he seemingly remembered something and moved away. 
He shook his head at you, “I will dry and put them away then. My mom would kill me if she ever found out I let you wash dishes on our first date.” 
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t find out then,” you say, “I still haven’t decided if you are going to get another. Can’t have you dying before the verdict is in.” 
Jake laughed at your easy banter, “You’re telling me that getting splashed by a cold puddle isn’t your ideal first date?”
“Well, getting wet isn’t really what I wanted,” you said, only realising the innuendo in what you had said when Jake’s eyes dropped back to the floor with a blush and a laugh. 
“You don’t seem to mind it so much right now,” Jake said, motioning to your hands in the soapy water. 
“Oh, is this your secret for a successful first date then?” you asked sassily, a smile slowly covering your features. 
“Well, yes, I do always try to get the girls wet,” he replied, his face turning a deep shade of red at the implication of what he said. 
You just laughed, Jake was an enigma, he could be soft and a playboy all at the same time. 
He let out a nervous laugh, “I didn’t mean to say that.”
“I don’t believe you,” you replied, still smiling as you started washing the dishes again. 
“No, I promise. I’m trying to be good. Gentlemanlike, you know. I want to impress you,” he said, taking the plate that you were holding out to him. 
You sighed, “You don’t need to be good, I’ve heard you make those jokes before,” you said, giving him a look that said you have heard worse from his mouth before. Jake seemed to flinch at your words, trying hard not to meet your gaze. Right, you had heard those jokes before. You’d heard every crass jab, every swear word,every brag about bedding a girl. You knew him. 
“But that’s the thing, you shouldn’t have had to hear that, especially from my mouth,” Jake said, his voice sounding smaller than you had ever heard it, “My granddad always told me to treat women with respect, and if I’m being honest, he would probably be disappointed in how I have been acting as of late.” 
You didn’t know what to say, was the Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin apologising? 
“I’m not made out of glass, you know,” is what ended up coming out of your mouth. 
“No, I know,” he sighed, trying to find the right words. “Truth is, I don’t care about saying these kinds of things with people I will never date, but I like you and I really hate that I never realised that before. I could have made a better first impression…”
“Jake,” you said, softly, “I don’t like you just for the side of you I got to see at church. I like both sides of you. You wouldn’t be you without the cocky aura you carry at work, or this softer side of you I get to see at church or just right now.”
It was true, you likely would never have been able to have a single conversation with Youth Minister Jake if Navy Jake hadn’t broken the ice. Jake wasn’t Jake without the self-confidence and love of flying, without those, he was just a pew mate. 
Jake looked at you for a second, searching your eyes before saying, “Nah, you’re in it only for a piece of my smoking hot abs.”
He wasn’t sure why he’d said those words, and he regretted them almost immediately as he saw a blush burn on your cheeks. In truth, he had never been great with emotions and open displays of acceptance like that made him antsy.
You laughed nervously, this kind of flirting was something you had never gotten used to, “Oh yeah I’m totally in it for the sex, says the girl who’s never been kissed.”
He went still next to you, “You’ve never kissed anyone?!” he exclaimed. He knew you were about 25, and had graduated college, you weren’t a child. How has anyone gone through their life without kissing you? Especially since that was the only thing Jake had been able to think about since the puddle had soaked your clothes. Well, thing was, he’d wanted to do worse than just kiss you, especially when the water soaked through that dress and he could see the outline of a bra, and then panties. And then, something he was lucky you hadn’t noticed, how the water had continued its course through your garments and he had started to see the outline of something through your bra. 
“Jake, I went to an all girls’ Catholic School, no I have not been kissed,” you said, some of your insecurity clear in your voice. 
He continued to look at you confused, “So? you clearly didn’t just graduate…”
“I went to an all girls’ Catholic College…” you continued, huffing out a sigh, “After that, the Navy kept me busy…I don’t know…I just never found the right person I guess…” you trailed off, looking out the window over the sink. “Besides, it really wasn’t that long ago.”
He coughed nervously, “Well, I think that’s really sweet.”
“It’s really something…” you said, trying to find the right words.
“It’s great,” he reassured you, “I think it’s wonderful you waited for someone special. I wish I’d done that sometimes.”
“So you’re not put off by it?” you asked him, trying to hide the nerves in your voice.
He pulled you carefully into a chaste hug, the dishes long done, “Not at all,” he paused for a second, trying to fight the need to say something funny to diffuse the warm feeling he felt when you hugged him back and losing, “I think it’s kind of hot actually.” 
You let out a girlish squeal and hit his chest, taking a step out of the hug, “Jake! You’re the worst!” 
“I’m just being honest darlin’,” he said, a shit eating grin on his face. 
The room descended into silence after that and before Jake could offer to take you home, figuring he had ruined the date by now anyway, you suggested that a rainy day was perfect for a movie marathon. You both sat down in front of the bookshelf in Jake’s spare room. It was sparsely inhabited by books but the bottom shelves were populated by enough dvd’s to restart Blockbusters without having to buy anything new. 
At the end of your date Jake drove you back. It was already late but you made a stop by the Hard Deck. Not to drink, as the bar always closed on Sundays, but because the parking lot allowed you to watch the sunset over the ocean with the least obstructed view.
"I had a great day today," you said, looking over at him from across the car. 
"Me too. I would say I'm sorry for taking up your day instead of just your morning but err, I'm really not," He chuckled
You let out a laugh, "I'm free next Sunday, if you’re not too busy."
"I'll check my calendar," he said, opening an imaginary notebook and flipping through imaginary pages until he hit next Sunday's date, "Would you look at that, I'm all yours," he said goofily, giving you the most brilliant smile you had ever seen. 
Gathering up your courage, you leaned towards Jake, who had turned his attention towards the sunset again, and placed a delicate kiss on his cheek. Although you were too close to properly see, you swore Jake's eyes fluttered closed and he let out a small sigh.
“You’re killing me, sweetheart,” he said quietly, chuckling softly as he took your hand over the centre console.
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katyspersonal · 1 year
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Would that be possible one day to share more of your thoughts and headcanons about Annalise and the King ? 
I only know a handful of people with ideas on them (a shame because there’s so much potential !) And recently it made me think about that post you made about them some time ago.  It might have influence me a bit to much as well.
Hey! Thank you for the ask! I believe you are referring to this ( x ) post, in which I focused specifically on the dynamic between the two, but yes I do have more stuff to say! I believe that since I talked about relationship itself in previous post, this time it will be fair to share ideas on each individually, however before I also want to notice that whereas I am woefully bad at having 'OTPs' as I jiggle too many timelines and ideas in my head all the time, this ship is my next closest thing to an OTP so far <:3 Even if Annaliese somehow was to find new love and was happy, the king would still remain 'the one' in her eyes. And, yes, NO cursed ritual marriages ever again! Only normal one, if at all.
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The last time I talked about him, I was yet to pick a name for him besides just Cain-number-noone's-counting, but you can see it is sorta fixed now! I am doodling face references like this for myself to have faster time drawing faces, and had him drawn already, but it took me some time to find higher resolution of the portrait I am basing Elias' appearance of! So I've noticed he seems to have asymmetrical eyebrows, his right eye semi-closed and scratches on his forehead! Not saying eye thing can't be just resolution issue, and not saying scratches can't be picture ITSELF cracking from ages, but my general rule as an artist is - if I can pass something as 'imperfection' of appearance then I will! As I like having more things to draw, heh. I do not have an idea about how he got scars on his forehead yet however, but maybe the trauma is connected to what hurt his eye? In either case, on portraits he probably always shows his left side as a result.
Also, interesting thing is that clothes on his portrait resemble those of a cut enemy known as King Ghost Low-class! There is a similar enemy known as King in Blue, and he has different model! I learned about the difference from fanon wikia, that has page for King Ghost here ( x ) and for King in Blue here ( x ), and also from Lance McDonald in this ( x ) video where King Ghost is shown in the 4:24 - 6:33 frame and King in Blue is shown in the 6:34 - 8:49 frame! I thrown some references for how I will draw Elias in this pile below (also featuring picture from that super long model showcase video from Sinclair Lore ( x ) and detailed picture from this ( x ) tweet)
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I headcanon that after unholy marriage ritual with Annalise that ultimately helps to conceive the blood child, Elias would sort of burst from his previous body into new form and look much more resembling this silver haired man impression cut content had! You can also notice that this enemy has three variants - with short sword and a shield, with a lance and a shield, and with short sword and a sphere! I headcanon that past the ritual, Elias has 'phantoms', kinda like Brador, except three instead of four and they'd attack with different weapons just like these variants! And like how Brador's phantoms look like his former self (when he is younger and with one horn on the hyde isn't broken), Elias' phantoms likewise look like his previous self and wear his former clothes! Meanwhile, real Elias now has what King in Blue wears:
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Elias is one of like, two historically known crowned 'kings of blood' (not JUST kings of this line) that didn't turn into screeching tortured mess and died shortly after the ritual was complete! In fact, he remained ALMOST sane - however, the curse now tangled with him is very intense. The many colorful beads he wears later are charms that if removed will subject him for being tormented by Frenzy coming from within, as opposed to some Kin biting him or peering into a giant brain! If Bloodborne was an anime, in the final stage of battling Rogeriusz (Logarius), he would tear these charms off and jump from the tall roof of Cainhurst - only to fly back with Frenzy spears forming from his back and working like wings! Real vampire king moment, haha. And, he could use them as arrows to shoot from a bow conjured from blood magic! I should draw this scene someday..
There is another interesting bit, by the way.
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You might notice that the statue that GOTTA be that of Rogeriusz has more or less typical Executioner outfit (if only heavier, more wizard-like than hunter-like)! That doesn't line up with what he is wearing when we find him, now does it? Besides he uses some 'cursed' magic, that whereas he indeed gotta be a Pthumerian himself, doesn't really fit a fanatical servant of the Healing Church? That made me think he didn't just sit on the throne for like 30 years but had to interact with Cainhurst more or less!
I decided that by murdering Elias/Cain, he became more like an 'amalgam' with his wrathful spirit. Elias' dying wills (blood echoes) are too strong to just perish, as not only he is carrying a link to a powerful "curse" but is a high ranking vileblood that must have immortal conscious like Annalise (and like Queen Yharnam)! Will of Rogeriusz is somewhat stronger and hence this person is still identified as just himself, but ghost of Elias lives in and tortured him from within, and things have changed. He has to wear the charms of colorful gems now too, as you can see! However, the amalgam fights more or less in harmony when the paleblood hunter approaches the throne. Rogeriusz wants to guard the secret he discovered (aka festered animosity between Church and Cainhurst having political advantage underneath and massacre being a ploy to obtain Great One's cord AND Laurence himself having arrived from Cainhurst), but Elias has reason to fear hunter is in to harm Annalise.
In other times, however…..
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I believe had it been anyone else to kill Rogeriusz - they'd undoubtedly inherit the cursed spirit of Elias, and would probably lack blind fanatism of Rogeriusz that allowed him to persist, too! But I have means to headcanon that the paleblood moon effect repels the 'cursed' magic of Cainhurst and Pthumeru Ihyll likevice, so he would not be able to do anything to a paleblood hunter! In general, this line and the Kin of Moon are antagonistic by design; blood children are Amygdalas, opposites of celestial larvae and Ebrietas! Like demons and angels. After all, their connection with the 'moon' is something Annalise recognises as well:
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I described the theory in this ( x ) post before, but TLDR; Annalise's hair lost all melanin as result of (almost) birthing a Great One, like what happened with Arianna, and the cord used to create Hunter's Dream was from her aborted baby, that was very close to being born though. Her face underneath this mask is distorted now - I headcanon that for the same reason Flora has her face the way it is, as her child was ripped from her guts before it was born! But it is not just that Annalise now looks 'scary'.
Since her own mask strongly resembles what her guardians wear, I presume the mask additionally serves to connect her with the guards telepathically more (or rather, see through their eyes and 'help' them). Like how Choir can still see even in their blindfold caps but only where 'stars' guide them, and like how Executioners can still see even through Gold Ardeo (and bag that keeps it) guided by ingrained quest for 'purity', guards have their ways around a headgear that is SUPPOSED to make them blinded too. And 'solitary' within the mask means absence of this connection for a long, long while.
I believe that she refers to you as the only 'blood relative' left in relevance to consuming her blood specifically - something that can run out its effect! Because if she means family - at least Maria still exists in spirit (that should be enough for vilebloods that transcend mortality), and if she means servants - Crow of Cainhurst still exists, right? Crow is still loyal to her in his insanity (still collecting blood dregs for her that he can't even deliver her), but he hasn't consumed her blood for years, so the telepathic bond between them is broken. Annalise has this bond with those in whom her "impurity" runs active, though! However our hunter would not be able to feel the true effect because… you know, paleblood moon block. They feel only a warming 'presence' rather than full connection - to the better possibly, as the latter tends to become addicting. I mean just look at Crow not being able to get over serving her decades later :')
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I drew her portrait with her hair down, more like her hairstyle on concept art rather than hairbun from THE portrait! I believe this is the same dress minus the decor and jewellery, but sleeves of this dress had to be trimmed to keep her forearms free - she is supposed to share the blood from her veins without anything getting on the way! Though I believe her cuts heal within matter of seconds, and as long as her form persists, her blood seems to be endless. No such thing as dying from blood loss possible!
She had strong pride and dignity since childhood, that nobody had to teach her, but she showed the potential of a true royal this way. I already explained how her personality meshes with more mellow Elias' one in other post, yeah. I think when Alfred confronted her, she did not resist, basing it on how she won't let some maddened, barbarian boy force her to struggle or fear! She had not all that much to fear either with her consciousness being immortal, basically gave him the "a serpent never dies" attitude AND was right; I think the reason Alfred minecrafted himself had to do with her vengeful spirit! I talked about mysteries paleblood hunter could hold a few times now, but Alfred is only a normal human, you know? It is still a valid idea that Alfred only held on his noble quest and had nothing to live for once it was complete, but in my version he was sound with the idea of letting ideas of Rogeriusz live on through him and still hunt the beasts! I think based on his summon location he was also VERY interested in cleansing Old Yharnam.
…until after killing Annalise, he quickly ended with such intense dread, perceiving cursed knowledge he was not prepared for but that she casually juggled for decades in her solitude, and he just did not see a way to live like this. So he is dead on altar for Rogeriusz more as clinging to the only person/idea that brought him comfort, rather than coming to complete his quest. Basically, unless you are already connected to the divine that 'protects' you - never touch a current active blood queen! There was a good reason Executioners only messed with her baby and didn't kill her self. Alfred would know that if he loredigged more responsibly :(
That said, Annalise often lucid dreams, which in BB lore is as good as astral projection. She sometimes tries to reach Maria in her trance, but it never avails her anything - every time she is met with strong sea waves beating her away. When she is asleep, she could occasionally communicate with ones like Patches, that she finds mildly entertaining! She is aware of Micolash too and could communicate with him too, when he is willing to distract from research and Kos - it would be hypocritical to judge him, as she allowed the person she loved to take on nearly suicidal ritual and continues the ancient legacy heavily reliant on sacrifices and cursed rituals and necromancy. Well, at least, intended to, before Healing Church ruined everything. But, she thinks they share some things in common.
Also it is hard to not notice that she refers herself and her clan as 'unholy' and 'impure' etc, but that is less so internalised attitude induced by Healing Church - it has further roots in Pthumerian history that she is well educated on. Annalise is not the type to feel ashamed just because the moon presence governing this world decided ones like her "sinful"; she refers to her as impure in the same vein as people reclaiming slurs addressed to them or something like that! Iosefka and the imposter, on the other hand…..? Annalise is well aware of how hard they fell for the fear and prospect of being 'saved from natural depravity' (especially the imposter). If they were to return and beg her forgiveness for trading their legacy for agenda for Healing Church, and 'stars and moon' if you look further - she'd accept on the terms that they make their existence within the castle impossible for her to acknowledge. She oddly combines practical inability to forgive breaking her trust and accepting people searching for the right way no matter how many mistakes they make. Like, 'it is valid you realised, but first I'll be mad at you for 100 years' ahaha
___________
Alllllright, you aren't asleep yet? xD
This has been a lore and details lecture for quite a while ahaha; I tried to focus more on that, but I hope that the reply was at least somewhat entertaining! Thank you for letting me talk about these characters though! :) And I agree with you, I am rather surprised the vampire queen did not get more popular? But, yeah, if you found any of this useful, feel free to take inspiration!
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thatoneguy031 · 1 year
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I made some drawings on a whiteboard, featuring some other characters I conjured up in my free time. I'll provide some context for these guys as they're shown, but please mind my ramblings.
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First, these guys. These lovely bastards.
For those who have a keen eye, this is formatted in the same way as TWEWY's Fusion Attacks, specifically from the DS.
These are the two main characters of a PMD plot I'm working on(Which I might write a pilot for, if y'all want that), and despite the group consisting of five Pokemon, these two are especially close, and have went on the most missions together out of everyone on the team.
Noibat(Top): Chris. He's the main main character, and he's a human sent here by Arceus, yada yada world-ending event, you get the idea. He has some killer leadership skills, and is typically the peace-keeper of the team. He's normally the one getting into problems with the villians when he doesn't need to(You guys know Izuku, Bakugo and Shoto from MHA? Basically them), and his team is almost always referred to as the "problem children".
Cubone(Bottom): Lucas. Think of him as Chris's "Second-in-command". He's the second opinion everyone needs when it comes to certain topics. His mother is(More like was, but I'll get to that when the time comes) a previous Rescue Ranger, so he has a natural knack for the whole business. He's admittedly a bit emotional, crying when even the smallest things go wrong, but he's still a solid addition to the team, and he'll be there when anyone needs it. He also might have a super-duper crush on Chris, but that's neither here nor there.
For what they're saying in the image:
Chris: "Rush 'em, Lucas-" Lucas: "I'm there!"
I have a whole system similar to the Stride Cross Battle mechanic from TWEWY, and it functions like the Alliances from Super Mystery Dungeon, but again, I'll get to that when I begin writing this thing.
Also, don't mind Chris's earpiece. He just uses it because he isn't quite used to being a Noibat just yet, at the time of this pic.
Speaking of TWEWY...
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Say hi to Azure, I guess(Actually don't, he might wanna throw hands with you).
He's super antisocial, but unlike Neku, he's willing to fight anyone that does as little as breathe the wrong way in his direction.
And his getup? His entry fee for the Reapers Game is his uniqueness, obviously something he didn't know he respected about himself so much until it was taken away from him. Because of that, he dawns an outfit similar to that of our favorite legendary Player, of course with a few changes(And it also explains his amnesia. I just drew him as a dragon just because, which is a habit you'll see in a lot of my drawings from here on).
He's also treated as if he's Neku(Specifically, Neku from the events of Neo onwards); as if he's been through this before. As you can probably guess, he definitely has not. After a certain point, he fights nothing but Boss Noise and even Reapers themselves, leaving his partner very confused as to why this is happening to them. Azure himself has a hard time grasping the fact that he's dead, despite it being told to him about a dozen times, but it comes from a sense of denial. He doesn't want to believe he's dead, mostly because that's something he, like many other people, is scared of... death itself.
Don't mistake Azure's aggression for meanness, however. When the time comes, he does care for people's well-being, and will even risk his erasure for their safety, which is a large reason why he even participates in the Game during his third week instead of just becoming a Reaper, which he calls "The coward's way out".
Here's a fun game: See if y'all can guess which pins Azure's wearing! These are some of the most used pins I had during my playthrough of Final Remix(Which is still going on, if you're curious), and I just wanted to feature them in the picture, as these would be a lot of Azure's favorite pins to use as well.
Don't mind the background, I know I drew the 104 building wrong, okay?
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!! TOTK related but no spoilers !!
Everything here are things we have already seen in trailers so this is simply using the artbook for the curious ones who don't want to get spoiled
This is a part 2 to this post
I looked at more stuff and took the time to translate stuff and there are more safe stuff and one thing that I missed
Let's start :
So in my first post I only show the green lizalfos when in fact we also see blue lizalfos in the trailer so here is a picture of both the blue and the green lizalfos for those who wanted to see them more clearly after the trailer
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They just have longer horns but I know some people are probably curious so here they are
Next we have the paraglider from the E3 2021 trailer, the censored text is basically information on the paraglider but I said I was going to censor and I'm keeping my word
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Next we have art of just link in his champion's tunic with his normal arm
This is the slightly modified version of the champion's tunic that he wears in all of the trailers and promotional art
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Next we have all the stuff shown in the first tears of the kingdom trailer
Let's start with the stone... thing ?
I'll be honest I didn't look at how it's called so I'll just call it a stone glider because it doesn't looks like it has propellers in the teaser or the artwork so it'll be a glider until we know its name
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Next we have two carvings
First one is cropped to looked like the trailer
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Honestly the trailer version was kinda dark so it's nice to see it like this
And here's the carving of the figures together that we see twice in the trailer
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I didn't censor the new scripture because we don't know how to translate it yet so I doubt that it'll spoil anyone
As for the curious who really want to know more but still don't want spoiler, we have new glider designs as mentioned in the previous post and it appears that there is, in addition to those previously mentioned, a Zora design, a goron design and a stalnox design
We also have new enemy drops and if you're really curious about the malice infused enemies then you'll be disappointed to see that they aren't in the art book, in my humble opinion it's just normal enemies with some kind of fx added in the game so they didn't bother drawing finished art for the book
Lastly as a huge fan of blupees, I'm happy to announce that it looks like my favorite little guys are returning for the sequel !
Anyway that's all for this post I hope everyone has a nice day !
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abelconway7 · 2 years
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replica burberry scarf 28
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cycloplasm · 3 years
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im doing my own list of things i posted earlier. idk if i’ll go all the way thru and/or share all the drawings. day 1 is cookie feat Cocoa; i said that my list was chara design but Cocoa was created as my go-to chocolate thmed design so bam.
For this thing (or maybe this month) i want to try my hand at NOT cleaning my lines too much to 1) save energy (i take a long time cleaning and it’s not always fun) and 2) beat and punch my perfectionism. Enjoy the Raw
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badboyjuyeon · 3 years
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the set up
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Pairing: Sunwoo x Reader
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 2.6k
Summary: Changmin tricks you and Sunwoo into going on a date.
“So what do you think?” Changmin asked while you sat down at the table, both coffees in hand. 
“Let me get this straight,” you tried to recall everything he told you on the way to the cafe, “you showed a picture of me to your friend, he thought I was cute, and now he wants to go on a date with me?” You raised an eyebrow, wondering what got in Changmin’s head to set you up with someone so suddenly, though this wasn’t completely unexpected from him.
Changmin was your best friend since you sat next to each other in kindergarten and he has been trying to set you up with someone ever since. You can thank Changmin for setting you up with your first boyfriend Sangyeon, who broke up with you after a week because you stepped on his favorite crayon. Of course, Changmin only set you up with Sangyeon so he could sit next to Younghoon, who was his crush at the time. 
“Both of you are single and he’s a great guy, super hot. Trust me, he’s one of my closest friends,” he tried to convince you. “Are you down?” He eagerly waited for your response as you took a sip from your coffee. 
You didn’t see a reason to deny it, it’s not like you were seeing anyone at the moment, or have seen anyone for a while. Not to mention Changmin’s approval was hard to get, he disapproved of all your previous boyfriends. His judgment always turned out to be right because they all ended up breaking your heart. Your failed relationships stopped you from wanting to get out there but that never stopped Changmin from trying. 
At the same time, you felt flattered that this friend of his thought you were attractive enough to want to go on a date. You’d be lying if you said that didn’t boost your ego. 
But you still didn’t know anything about him. Or if he’s even your type. If you’re going to get played by a guy, you’d rather be played by a hot guy. 
“Does this friend have a name, and what does he look like?” You tried to ask Changmin nonchalantly, though you couldn’t help but start to feel a little curious. 
Changmin excitedly let out a squeal and pulled up a picture from his Instagram. “YAY! I’ll take that as a yes. His name is Sunwoo and he’s the same age as you. I met him at dance camp.” 
He waved his phone in front of your face and you snatched it out of his hand to get a better look. 
“SEE, isn’t he hot?” Changmin smirked because he already knew your answer. 
To say he was hot was an understatement. He had a sharp jawline, full lips, and beautiful honey skin. You knew that Changmin had hot friends but you didn’t know that they were this hot. You still couldn’t believe that he wanted to go on a date with you. He seemed like someone out of your league, you never would have had the courage to talk to him first. 
“And why did you show him a pic of me?” You asked, suddenly checking your Instagram feed to see the possible pictures that Changmin could have shown Sunwoo. Your last post could have been better. 
Changmin sighed and pushed you off the booth to hide his panic because he didn’t know how to answer you. “So many questions. Just go get ready and I’ll text you the address.” 
“WHAT? It’s today? You didn’t think to tell me that it’s today? That is not enough time.” You racked your brain trying to figure out possible outfits and whether you should shave your legs. 
“Bye, go get ready!” Changmin nearly kicked you out of the cafe. While you made your way to your house to get ready, Changmin made his way to Sunwoo’s house. 
“And why are you here?” Sunwoo asked upon opening his door. 
Changmin pouted. “Can’t a normal guy just miss his best friend?” 
“Sure, a normal guy can, but you aren’t normal. You didn’t even think to bring your best friend a cup of coffee.” Sunwoo playfully scowled, before moving aside to let Changmin in. 
Ordinarily, Changmin would have brought another cup of coffee for Sunwoo, but it completely slipped his mind as he was busy convincing you to agree to the date. 
“I brought you something better than coffee.” Changmin paused, waiting for Sunwoo’s reaction. But no reaction came as Sunwoo turned to walk back to his room.
“Can you guess what I brought you?” The older boy asked as he followed the younger one to his room.
Sunwoo turned to look at Changmin and pretended to think. “No.” 
“Pretty please can you guess?” 
“No.”
“Guess or I’ll leave with my better-than-coffee gift.” Changmin attempted to threaten him. 
“If this is your dumb Chucky doll, then I told you already that I don’t want it. Give it to Chanhee or someone else.” Sunwoo doesn’t miss the slight blush that appeared on Changmin’s cheeks upon mentioning Chanhee. 
Changmin dramatically gasps. “First of all, my Chucky doll is not DUMB, it is CUTE. Second of all, I already tried to ask Chanhee but he doesn’t want it, but that’s beside the point. No, it is not my Chucky doll, you wish it was. Guess correctly or I’m leaving.” 
Sunwoo questioned whether Changmin really was the older one. “Well, you know the exit.” 
“Okay fine, I’ll just tell you.” Changmin rolled his eyes at how uncooperative Sunwoo was. 
“I showed my friend a picture of you and she thought you were hot. She said she wants to go on a date with you.” Changmin repeated the same story that he told you. 
“She wants to go on a date with me?” Sunwoo repeated with a look of uncertainty. Changmin took a sip of his now cold coffee from when he met up with you just earlier before nodding. He pulled up a picture of you from your Instagram and gave Sunwoo his phone. 
Sunwoo stared down in shock. “You’re not just messing with me?” 
Changmin shook his head. “No, she’s totally into you. She’s super cool, source: trust me bro.” 
Part of Sunwoo thought that Changmin was pranking him somehow. You seemed like the type of person that Sunwoo would have a one-sided crush on. He would only dream of asking you out. The other part of him considered whether he should believe Changmin. You seemed like a  cool person and Sunwoo wanted to get to know you. There was also no added fear of rejection since you did ask him out first. 
“Say yes or I’ll introduce her to Juyeon or Haknyeon,” Changmin added, knowing that Sunwoo wouldn’t want to pass up this opportunity. 
“Okay fine, when is the date?” Sunwoo walked over to his closet to begin planning what he would wear. He held up two shirts to get Changmin’s approval. 
“In a couple of hours, and the white shirt looks better with your blazer,” Changmin replied quickly. 
Sunwoo stared at Changmin in shock. “A couple of HOURS? Did you mean a couple of days?” 
“Nope, it’s at eight today. Get ready pretty boy.” Changmin smiled mischievously, before heading towards the door to avoid Sunwoo’s inevitable breakdown. 
As soon as Changmin was in his car, he let out another excited squeal. His plan had worked! Changmin told you that Sunwoo asked you on a date and he told Sunwoo that you asked him out on a date. He did this so both of you would end up going on the date feeling cocky, each person would think that the other person liked them more. 
Changmin was friends with both you and Sunwoo, though you two never met because you were in two different friend groups. Changmin couldn’t help but think that you two would be perfect together. He decided he wanted to play matchmaker because you two were hopelessly indecisive and would never make the first move. You both overthought every detail, you felt insecure because your past relationships were rocky and Sunwoo felt insecure because of his fear of rejection. That is why he composed a plan to get you both on the date feeling confident. You two wouldn’t have to worry about whether the other person liked the other, as you’ve both done on previous dates, and would just get to know each other. His plan was quite perfect if he did say so himself. 
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You waited outside the doors of the fancy restaurant that Changmin had made reservations for. You took out your phone to check your makeup and hair one more time. You took a deep breath and walked up to the waiter. You told him your name and waited for him to look you up in the system. 
“Party of two? The first party has already arrived. I will lead you to your table.” You felt your heart pick up its pace knowing that Sunwoo was already there waiting for you. 
As you made your way through the restaurant, you saw him first. He was already gorgeous on Instagram, but he looked 10 times better in person. You appreciated a man that could dress and accessorize. Sunwoo looked up from his phone and locked eyes with you. His eyes were so pretty, you swore you could see sparkles in them. You didn’t know why you felt more nervous in front of him. He got up from his seat to take out your chair. 
“Oh, you didn’t need to.” You said while sitting down, but you couldn’t help but smile. How is he that fine AND respectful? 
Sunwoo walked back to his seat. “But I wanted to.” 
Changmin should’ve given you a warning, you don’t think you could survive a whole date with him. 
A waiter approached your table. “Hello, I’m Kevin Moon and I will be your waiter for the evening. Take a look at the menu and I’ll come back in a few minutes to take your order.” 
You and Sunwoo both nodded at Kevin and he left you two alone. 
“Since we haven’t formally met, I guess I’ll introduce myself. Hi, I’m (y,n).” You struggle to get words out because of how nervous you are. 
“Hi, I’m Sunwoo, it's nice to finally meet you. Changmin has told me so much about you.” Sunwoo brushed the hair out of his eyes, a nervous habit of his. 
“Only good things I hope.” You responded, taking a sip of your water. 
“Yeah, I was a little offended when he called you his best friend. I thought I was his best friend with how much he bothers me.” Sunwoo joked.
“Technically we’re bestie-in-laws. But you can keep him if you want. He’s always up to something.” He laughed at your response and you knew that you wanted to hear that laugh more often. 
“Should we order?” You asked, remembering the menus in front of you. He nodded and you both took the time to figure out what you wanted. Kevin returned once again to take your orders and left just as quickly as he came. 
With your conversation interrupted, you both tried to come up with something to talk about. 
Sunwoo bit back a smile when he remembered that Changmin told him that you liked him enough to want to go on a date with him. Remembering this, he felt less nervous. He usually felt nervous during dates because he tried super hard to impress the other person, but he felt less of a pressure to do this. Instead of creating a fake personality, he decided he wanted to just be himself. 
You both made small talk and found out that you shared similar hobbies. Sunwoo was so charming and you found yourself wanting to know more about him. It was easy to hold a conversation and you forgot about how nervous you were. The wait for the food didn’t even feel long because of how well you two were hitting it off. 
“Did Changmin tell you anything about me?” He decided to ask. 
“I heard that you met him in dance camp. You like dancing?” You said in between bites.
“I honestly joined because Changmin didn’t want to go there alone. But I’m not too bad myself.” Sunwoo admitted.
“That does sound like Changmin. He always ends up somehow convincing me to watch scary movies with him.” 
“Changmin is always scheming. I wouldn’t be surprised if this date was a part of an elaborate plan.” Sunwoo rolled his eyes as he thought of all the questionable things Changmin had made him do. “That's why I thought he was pranking me when he said you liked me first.” 
“He said I liked you first?” You raised your eyebrow. “He told me that you liked me first.” 
Sunwoo tilted his head quizzically. “Something is not adding up.”
“Maybe you’re onto something about Changmin always scheming.” You put down your fork. “Now that I think about it, Changmin has been acting weird lately. Has he told you anything?” 
Sunwoo stopped to think about Changmin’s recent behavior. “No, I just know that he’s been hanging out with Chanhee a lot recently.” 
“Changmin always does find a way to talk about Chanhee.” You thought back to your last few conversations with him. 
Sunwoo’s eyes suddenly widened as he pieced certain information together. 
“Wait, do you know something?” You asked him. 
“I think I do, but I can’t say for sure.” 
“I’m 100% sure that Changmin set us up for a reason. I wouldn’t have questioned it as much if he set me up with a stranger, but a close friend is a bit suspicious. And now of all times? Should we put our heads together?” 
“Ok.” Sunwoo agreed to your collaboration. “What do you know?” 
“Well, I know that Changmin blushes whenever Chanhee is around so…” You trailed off. 
You didn’t have to finish your sentence because Sunwoo already knew what you were insinuating. “Oh my god, that's what I was going to say too.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” 
“Are you thinking that Changmin set us up just so he can have a double date with Chanhee?” Sunwoo asked to confirm whether you both came to the same conclusion. 
“That's exactly what I was thinking.” 
You two burst out laughing. 
“By the way,” he paused to look you in the eyes, “what exactly did Changmin say to get you to agree to go on this date?” 
“He told me he showed you a picture of me and that you thought I was cute and that you wanted to go on a date with me.” You recited what Changmin told you. 
His jaw dropped. “No way, he told me the same thing word for word.”
“So did you agree to this blind date because you thought I was hot or because you thought I liked you?” You decided to be bold. 
“Um, maybe both?” He felt his cheeks turn hot. You were sure that your cheeks also supported the same shade of pink as his. 
“Well, we have to get Changmin back. How about we plan the double date but end up ditching them so he has to deal with it alone?” You proposed. “Give him a taste of his own medicine?”
“You’re evil.” Sunwoo pretended to be taken aback. “But I am too so I love that idea.”
“Maybe we can ditch them and hang out together?” Sunwoo suggested. 
“Only if it's another date.” You didn’t know where this newfound confidence came from, but you promised to thank Changmin for setting you up with such a great guy. 
“It's a date.” He winked.
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1engele · 3 years
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daybreak | sal fisher x fem!reader - 9. hearts
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[warnings: mention of meth, swimming without pants on??, large body of water, momentary angst]
"why was it so easy for you to make it so hard for me?" —
You weren't drunk, but you were definitely not sober enough to comprehend how horrible the idea of being even relatively close to a large body of water whilst intoxicated was.
Ashley was not as much a lightweight as you'd proved to be, so she was virtually sober. the time you'd known her (just over a week) you'd come to know her as the most carefree of the group. She did things when she felt like it, and she did what she enjoyed.
Larry could be called carefree, as well—but he gave off more "I truly do not give one ounce of a fuck, and I will go along with any activity you want to do if I can smoke" vibes.
You hadn't figured Sal out yet. You tried not to think about it, but there were so many things you wondered about him. You'd seen his face. That had been your fault, and you were beginning to feel immense guilt for what you'd done.
You weren't going to inwardly speculate about what had happened to him—but you'd seen the look in his foggy blue gaze when he'd laid eyes on that dog at the party.
The car came to an abrupt halt, knocking you from your thoughts and lurching your body forward. Your eyes widened, and you look around frantically to figure out where you were or if you'd just had an accident—but turns out, you'd made it to Wendigo Lake.
"Well, you said you wanted to go to the lake," Ashley grinned, locking eyes with you.
You blink repeatedly, your pupils dilating to focus on the sight of the large body of water in front of you, glistening beneath the moonlight. A smile slowly etched into your face, and you reached to your right to open the passenger-side door.
It wasn't long before you'd reached the point where the slope began into a downward incline, your feet planted in the grass as you gazed down at the lake you knew had to be freezing—but the road-like reflection of moonlight on the water continued to call your name.
The breeze blew into your face.
You hadn't even heard the approaching footsteps and the crunching of grass when Larry, Ashley, and Sal walked up and joined you.
There was something melancholic about knowing that you were living in a moment you knew you'd miss.
"We should swim," you say, nonsensically.
Sal looks away from the lake and to you from his place on your right side. You turn your head to lock eyes with him.
"Y/N, someone's gonna get sick. I don't think you understand how cold this water gets-"
"Okay then," you mumble. "I should swim," you correct, "and if anyone wants to join me, they are more than welcome."
Larry and Ashley's laughter echoes into the dead air as you ambled down the slope, Sal standing there, watching—before following your lead.
"Let's think this over," he tries, matching your pace with ease. "You're going to regret it when you're shivering all the way home."
"Ashley can blast the heat."
"What if you drown?"
"I won't," you respond, "because you're getting in with me."
You're both stood on the shore of the lake now, locking eyes and regarding each other with your own equally stubborn determination.
"Hey!" You hear Larry's voice call from up the hill. The tension that's formed within the eye contact breaks once you've looked away from each other and peered up at the height of the slope.
"We're gonna go check out that forest over there," Ashley shouts, pointing towards the cluster of trees that were a measurable distance away. "Heard there's some gnarly satanic shit in there. Call if you need anything."
You exchange a glance with Sal.
"Alright," he yells back. "Don't get lost!"
"Can't promise that!" Larry sends both of you a grin before he and Ashley both head towards their destination, the sound of grass crunching steadily quieting as the distance between you grows.
When they're far enough away, you let out a quick sigh of relief. "Finally," you reach down to your shoes and began pulling them off, including socks.
You then reached down to the button of your jeans.
Sal yelps. "What're you doing?!"
You look up with raised eyebrows. "You think I'm swimming in these? I'll sink." You return your focus downward, pulling the zipper down and hook your thumbs around the waistband of your pants. "Nothing you haven't seen before."
It was almost excruciating to hide your sly smile as you bent at the waist to slide the denim down your legs. You stepped out of your jeans, pulled your phone from the pocket, and tossed the shed article of clothing farther up the hill, tossing your phone on top of it.
The device landed with a thud, resulting in an inward cringe on your part.
You didn't allow yourself to regard the fact that you were now standing in front of Sal with no pants on, so you just turned, stepped forward, and tested the water with a toe.
"Liar," you submerge a foot in, your body instinctively shivering against your will. "It's not that cold."
He scoffs, reaching down to rip his sneakers and socks off in your peripheral vision. "You're saying that now, but I'd like to hear the same thing when your bare legs are in there."
Sal tosses his shoes off near where you'd thrown yours along with his phone. He watches you submerge your other foot in, before following your lead.
Sal seems to handle it with a lot more ease than you, both feet now immersed in lake water. He doesn't seem to react physically, only standing with slack shoulders and his head tilted slightly upward. You watch the side profile of the prosthetic, and the way he lifts a hand and passes ringed fingers through vividly blue hair.
Moonlight illuminates the white face of the mask.
You can't see his real face, but you can picture him now. The tranquility of his expression, the curve of his dark eyelashes, his tongue passing over his lips...
The water is up to your calves now.
"I'm sorry," you murmur, angling your chin towards him. It's rushed, and sudden, and you momentarily doubt he even heard it beneath the rippling of water as he moves a bit closer.
"For what?" He asks, turning his head away from the moon and to look you in the eyes.
"I shouldn't have taken the prosthetic off without your permission. The guilt has been churning inside of me and I felt I needed to apologize for it eventually. I'm sorry."
Sal looks down, his eyes following the shape of your thighs before he locks gazes with you again. "You make me feel normal, Y/N. You'd never even asked about it before—and that means the world to me. I won't hold what you did against you."
"But..." you try, but he stops you.
"Y/N," he laughs sweetly. "Don't try and villainize yourself—you did nothing wrong. If anything... it was almost nice to know you weren't scared of seeing what was underneath."
You intake breath for the first time since the conversation began. You felt almost stupid, tears forming in your eyes as you stood within a freezing lake in just a crop top and your underwear.
"You should stop apologizing so much, too. You don't have anything to say sorry for."
"I'm sorry," you repeat, nonetheless.
He chuckles, fixing his gaze onto yours, an almost otherworldly perceptiveness burning in his striking eyes. "I understand how it feels to constantly find fault in yourself for something," he murmurs. "To live with it, to experience that guilt..."
You watch his Adam's apple bob. "It's hard."
A wave of despair washes over your body, and you don't even understand the context of Sal's statement.  You're close to him now, and you can tell he's searching for an excuse to put an end to the topic—so you take his hand and divert attention elsewhere.
"Your rings," you utter, holding his hand delicately, looking over the silver and black rings that adorn his digits. "Where are they all from?"
He lifts his other hand for you so you have full access to every band that he's wearing on his fingers. Once he's shown you his right hand, two rings that seem to share the same theme catch your eye.
"I have a few more in my room," he replies, watching you trace a fingertip over the matching heart rings. "I don't know, I guess I collect them—some are gifted, some I've bought myself..."
"With whose money?" You tease, peering up at him through your lashes. The water swishes a little as Sal adjusts his weight.
His eyes squint a little, so you assume he grins. "I'm not dead broke if that's what you're insinuating."
"No, no," you trail off, looking back down at the rings with admiration. "I love these."
"Got them at the thrift store—something told me I would regret not buying them." He looks back up, stares into your downcast eyes for a long moment, and speaks again, "Why don't you have one?"
Your heart flutters. "You want to give me a ring?"
"Sure. Which one do you want?"
"Sal..." you can't help but smile, tracing his pale knuckle with the pad of your thumb. The swift breeze blows over your bare shoulders and conjures a shiver from your body. "You paid money for these. I don't want to take one from you."
"Don't you want a ring?"
You grin shyly. "Of course I do."
"Okay, pick."
You bite your lip nervously, sliding your finger over the silver ring with multiple black hearts engraved into the entire loop of the band. It didn't take much consideration—you'd fallen in love with the ring as soon as you'd laid eyes on it.
"This one," you audibly decide, meeting Sal's eyes anxiously.
Without another word, he eases the ring off of his middle finger and slides it onto yours. His hands are bigger than yours, and you fear it may not be small enough—but it does. It's a perfect fit.
"It was always kinda small on me," he began. "It's better for you."
You hold your hand out up and toward the moon, twisting it in different angles to examine the way the ring hugs your finger snugly.
You lower your hand back down to his, giggling. "We match now," you say softly, referring to the silver ring with the singular black heart that remained on his hand—the one that corresponded to the one now on yours.
As you absentmindedly turn his hand over, passing your eyes over his rings and the lines of his palms, you notice a faint bruising on his fingertips. Your eyebrows raise in alarm, and you meet his eyes and open your mouth to voice your concerns—but he beats you to the punch.
"It's from guitar strings," he murmurs. "Happens when I press too hard."
"Isn't that supposed to go away once you've played for a while? I've heard you mention once that playing the guitar isn't something new to you."
"Yeah, you're right. It is supposed to," Sal replies, intrigue on his tongue. "I don't know. I guess I'm weird."
You grin, stepping forward and submerged yourself further into the water—just enough so you were immersed up to your knees. You turned to face him. "I don't think you're weird. If you were weird, I wouldn't have gotten into a lake with you. At night... with no one else around. Oh, and with no pants on. That too."
Sal gestures his thumb over his shoulder. "Ash and Larry aren't far. If I were to murder you, they'd hear."
You shrug light-heartedly, bending just a bit to immerse your fingers into the water and flicking some towards him. "You could always cover my mouth and drown me. Effective and easy."
He raises his hands in poor defense, but the light splash still lands, lightly speckling his dark, long-sleeved shirt.
Sal bends just as you had (albeit a bit less, his arms were longer than yours) and splashes you gently. "After I've gifted you one of my prized possessions? Why would I do that?"
"That was only means to gain my trust!" You exclaim playfully, now using two hands to splash him.
"Splash me all you want, but I won't confess to something I'm not guilty of."
You stick your tongue out. "That's what they all say. You're only making yourself look stupid."
"I look stupid?" He laughs, pointing at himself before lowering his hand to splash you with a flick of the wrist. "You're the one with no pants on—in a lake, at night. If you die of hypothermia, it won't be anyone's fault but yours."
"All the more reason for you to murder me in cold blood."
"You're making no sense. Are you still drunk?"
"Ugh!" You groan dramatically, splashing him with much more vigor than the previous few times. He genuinely recoils this time, holding his hands out in defense before dropping them. A light shower rains down over his head, just barely dampening his hair and casting a wet sheen on the prosthetic.
"I'm not intoxicated! How dare you!"
Sal genuinely laughs from his chest, the ridiculousness of the situation hitting him. "I can't believe this," he says, running his hands through his hair.
You roll your eyes and move to immerse yourself in the lake water further, the questionable liquid sloshing around your thighs. That's when you hear a familiar two voices, laughing and yelling, and growing closer.
You and Sal turn to each other—Sal being a lot less concerned than you.
"Oh no," you murmur, looking down at yourself. "I have no pants on!"
Sal laughs (his laughter is normally a sound you genuinely enjoy hearing, but now it's obnoxious because it's not what you need to hear right now) and flits his eyes over you amusedly. "I can see that."
"Larry's a guy! He can't see me in my underwear!"
You look out at the open land, looking for your friends' approaching figures worriedly, but you see no one. You hear splashing as Sal continuously closes the distance between you both. "Yeah, I am too."
You roll your eyes, mutter something about boys never understanding anything, and start trudging through the water, back towards the shore.
Sal follows you through your efforts until you've stepped onto land, remaining perfectly patient even though the coldness of the water slowed your movements the entire journey.
He walks forward and tosses your jeans at you, along with your shoes, then sliding your phone in his pocket along with his device for safekeeping.
"I don't have a towel," you mumble. "My legs are too wet. I'll never get these on in time."
Sal blinks at you after somehow already getting his socks on. "Roll in the grass," he quips tightly like he's holding in a laugh. "That'll dry you off."
You scrunch your nose up and throw your shoe at him. It lands, bouncing off of his head with an audible thump, and then lands in the grass.
"Ow," he deadpans, placing a palm on the place the sneaker had just bounced from. "Geez, how hard can you throw?"
"Hard," you snark, wrestling your pants up your wet legs. Eventually, by the grace of whatever existential forces may exist, you managed to pull the denim up and over your hips.
You're zipping up your fly when Ashley and Larry finally appear.
"Dude," Larry gasps like he's been sprinting, bending to place his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. "Dude."
You and Sal stare at him curiously.
"There was a-a homeless guy!"
Ashley's laughing hysterically, and Larry doesn't evaluate, so Sal asks for context. "You're gonna have to evaluate, Larry. What do you mean there was a homeless guy?"
"Some dude was living in the woods! Had a whole fuckin' setup! I'm pretty sure he was cooking meth?!"
Sal just blinks repeatedly, like he was astounded, and couldn't believe that this was happening right now. "Did you guys bother him?"
"No," Ashley wheezes. "As soon as we saw him we bounced."
You're slipping on your shoes when Sal speaks again. "Yeah, maybe we should go..."
Larry finally stands up straight and starts up the slope, running his hands through his brown hair that's been messed while running. "Then in the name of the Lord, let's fucking get out of here."
You keep the seating arrangement you'd had on the way to the lake—girls in the front, boys in the back.
As soon as every door of the Ford Fiesta is shut, and the car becomes alive once again, the heat is immediately turned up. You breathe out a sigh of relief, leaning your head back against the headrest and allowing the hot air to blow against the cold flesh of your neck and shoulders. Your thoughts wandered as total relief washed over your body.
"Your jeans are dry," Ashley comments idly, startling you out of your reverie.
You hear what sounds like a laugh quickly concealed by a faux cough emanate from the backseat.
"Yeah," you reply dumbly. Ash stares at you, probably expecting you to say something else, but your mind goes blank, so she doesn't ask any further questions.
"Did I say he had no pants on?!" Larry suddenly blurts, clearly still mildly traumatized. "Everything was- it was just hanging out!"
Ashley cringes. "Don't put that image back into my mind, Larry."
"It wouldn't be the first person half-naked at Wendigo," Sal quips, locking eyes with you in the rearview mirror. No one questions his statement, most likely taking it as a reference to the infamous chaotic nature of that whole area—but you understand, sending him a contemptuous squint.
Ashley loops the car around to the exit path and it isn't very long before the vehicle is back on the road.
As heat sinks into your skin, reaches your cold bones, and the excitement slows down—your thought process de-thaws. You stare out of the window, watching the streetlights as they pass and listening to the sound of an acoustic guitar on the radio.
The music grows louder and drones in your ears. It's not even an electric guitar, but you still think of Sal, and his bruised fingertips. You twist his ring on your finger, running your opposite thumb over the heart-shaped indentations of the band.
Your mind wanders again. You think of that day in the storage room at the school, and that night in his father's car.
Eventually, you'd return the favor. You wanted him to feel as good as he'd made you feel. You owed it to him—and twice over.
But you'd have to wait. Patience was key—and all locked doors needed them.
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The new Taskmaster episode aired last night, but I’m glad I saved it until now. I coached a practice last night, which was nerve-wracking because I’ve only just gotten back into that after not being used to it anymore, and then this morning I had a co-op interview for which I did a lot of studying that turned out to be almost all useless for answering the questions I actually got. Then I spent all day today at my parents’ place helping them sort stuff out in their house and it turned into a big family dinner with people whom I love but it ended up being far more social interaction than I’d bargained for today. When I was stressed about those things, I told myself that once I got through it I could get back to my nice comfortable house, settle in, and have have the shiny new Taskmaster episode! It makes for an excellent treat.
I’m really looking forward to this episode. The previous episode made me want to apologize to everyone involved in this season for having somewhat lower expectations of it, due to not knowing the contestants as well as I did going into season 12. It was one of the best season premieres I’ve ever seen, coming right out of the gate with strong personalities and good chemistry and a mix of approaches to the tasks and just everything. I can’t wait to get into this season.
Thoughts on Taskmaster s13e02, written as I watch it:
- I immediately have an issue with Bridget Christie’s prize, and it’s that the prize is supposed to be the object. A digital movie isn’t an object, the physical DVD is. I don’t think an alien would be interested in a rectangle that says “ET” on it. But maybe I’m just pedantic.
- Did Sophie intentionally wear her hair like that for this episode so it would match her picture in the prize task? Because if so, I approve. I was just thinking it��s too bad she’s decided to forgo her usual flamboyant earrings, but doing your hair to match your prize is an impressive bit of extra effort.
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- Sophie’s portrait has a fairly tenuous connection to the requirements of this prize task, and I’m pretty sure she just wanted to show that off and this was the prize for which she could best justify doing so. Again, I approve. It’s a very cool picture that deserves to be shown.
- Honest question: Is Judi Love calling a Rubik's Cube a “ruby-cube-y” a British thing, or just a Judi Love thing? Because she did defensively say “that’s what I call it”, suggesting it’s not a common term, but it also wasn’t treated as that out of the ordinary. After hearing that Britain has a lot of grown adults who say “keepie-uppies” like it’s a completely normal sports term, I no longer know what is and isn’t an expected part of British dialects.
- Jesus. I’m really glad that after Chris Ramsey said that incomprehensible rambling to Alex (I think his primary point was that Alex wasn’t impressed by the lawnmower to begin with and therefore shouldn’t get an opinion on his prize), Greg said “he’s gone too Geordie for me”. Because normally, I take a small (really very small, I realize this isn’t actual impressive) amount of pride whenever I read or hear someone claim that a particular British or Irish accent is hard to understand. I’ve never had that problem. When I was young my dad used to play Billy Connolly CDs in the car and my brother would complain that he didn’t understand the words, but I understood them no problem. I keep subtitles on when I watch Derry Girls just because I always have them on if they’re available, but my mom once saw me watching that show with subtitles and said of course I had those on, they’re so hard to understand otherwise. I never had that issue. I sometimes have problems differentiating among different types of accents, a lot of accents that sound distinct to people who know them well sound very similar to me, and it takes time for me to hear the difference. But that works in my favour, in terms of understanding the words that are said. If I understand one British accent, and have trouble hearing that other accents are unlike that one, then they all sound equally understandable to me.
Having said that. Having said all that. I did not understand a word when Chris Ramsey starting talking fast and going off on Alex. I was pleased to hear Greg also express confusion, so I know that’s not just me being an ignorant North American who can’t understand a Geordie accent, it’s Chris Ramsey speaking too fast to make any sense.
- I enjoy the different conceptualizations of what the aliens are in the approaches to this task. Bridget seems to see them as potential friends, so she brings a movie that will make them laugh. Sophie assumes they’ll be a threat to humanity, so she brings something to confuse and distract them. Judi goes the opposite way to Sophie, seeing them as her subordinates rather as someone who could subjugate us if we’re not careful; she wants them to do tricks as a way to prove their intelligence to her and then serve her as their queen. Chris sees their potential to advance humanity’s technology, as if they’re more advanced than us they can help us, so he wants to give them a lawnmower and see if they’ll improve him. Ardal wants to see if we as humans can advance their condition, by sharing with them the wisdom that can come with self-awareness.
I feel like there’s probably some way to psychologically analyze all the contestants based on the way they imagine they’d relate to aliens, but I’m not sure what it means.
- I finished the prize task but it was bothering me that I still could not tell what Chris Ramsey had said when he went “too Geordie” so I cut out the clip so I could play it again more easily. I’m going with: “Well we don’t know, it’s all hypothetical, I mean, I, I’m looking at you, Alex. You didn’t even like the bit at the beginning. [a couple of incomprehensible words] We don’t know anything about these aliens.” Can anyone else fill this in?
- So is the first pre-recorded task an homage to Joe Wilkinson the same way the “sit on a cake” task in season 12 was an homage to Liza Tarbuck? It seems to me that the point of this task is to accomplish something pretty simple (it’s even something similar to the simple goal of the famous Wilkinson task, throwing something at something else), while trying not to pull a Wilkinson despite being unable to see the line.
I feel like the obvious loophole is to move the rope, but probably an easier loophole to exploit would be that the task says they can’t “step” beyond the rope. That doesn’t preclude crawling or anything else. I’d probably do that, rather than try to pick up the rope and risk stepping over some other part of it while blindfolded. This could bring in an homage to another early-season task; they could get Paul Chowdhry to come in and adjudicate on what is or isn’t a step.
- I’d tell Alex to fuck off about spinning around ten times. It doesn’t say it on the task, it’s not a requirement. I will take this to the International Taskmaster Board of Appeal if he tries to enforce expectations that are not explicitly laid out in the rules. I guess technically the rules say Alex starts the task with a thumbs up and don’t stop him from adding stipulations to that. But also, the rules don’t say I can’t grab him and physically put his thumb up for being so annoying about it. Social distancing is over, we can do what we like now.
- They’re starting this task, which is a fairly classic Taskmaster task (do one of two pointless but specific physical things with silly obstacles to hamper you - I’m  not sure if that’s classic in the sense of “the sort of thing that happened in the first few seasons”, but it is classic in the sense of “standard, by now”), and has several potential loopholes in its rules, with Bridget, Ardal, and Judi. Leaving the two people whom Ed Gamble has told us are very competitive and determined to win Taskmaster, Sophie and Chris, for last. I hope this means we get them getting really into it and trying to play with the rules to win.
- I think my favourite thing about Bridget is how she interacts with Alex. There’s something a bit Aisling Bea about it, but harsher and maybe less sure of herself. A bit Morgana? Just getting annoyed with him for everything that happens.
- I do not understand how Bridget managed to wander so far away, but it’s very funny.
- Ardal deciding to shut up and listen for the flapping is pretty smart. Last week I kept saying I think he’s like a combination of Alan Davies and David Baddiel, but I’ve thought about it a bit more, and based on his performances in the first episode and so far in the second episode, I think I wasn’t going back far enough to find a comparison for him. Pragmatic, old and well established enough to not be desperate to win but still tries to do well, vaguely pessimistic but not over the top about it, surprisingly catty at the other contestants in the studio, confident in his own abilities when it’s warranted but also willing to dryly acknowledge when he doesn’t have an answer for a task, mostly unfazed by the weird things that get thrown at him - he’s not any of the recent old white guy contestants. He’s the original old white guy contestant. He’s Frank Skinner.
- Judi fumbling for a rope before she remembers the ping-pong ball in her hand is also very funny. This is such a mentally and physically disorientating task that she forgot what was in her hand.
- Oh shit! Those two didn’t get left for last because they cleverly subverted the rules! They just both got it right away without needing loopholes. I thought this task would create a new Joe Wilkinson moment, but instead it created a new Russell Howard moment, from the time he hit the cricket thing on his first try with a little ball and then walked away like he was the coolest fucking person in the world.
Is “Do not pan down. I might have an erection,” the new “Call me when I’m needed”? Because it should be.
- That real-time comparison between Chris and Sophie is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen on Taskmaster. I need them to do that more often. I would pay money to watch other full tasks, even ones that take 10 or 20 or 30 minutes, in real time, with a split screen between two people who are doing them.
I was just thinking it’s a pity that Sophie’s excellent job of getting it in two attempts will be overshadowed by Chris getting it in one attempt, but apparently not. I think Chris got in his head a bit and became concerned that he’d forgotten some reason why he had to hesitate, while Sophie just started throwing things. And it paid off.
That was so much fun to watch. That is what I’m here for. Why do they even edit this show? They should just give the people what they want: raw footage. Don’t even worry about switching among camera angles, just release the video from every camera and we’ll watch them all.
- Is that picture of Greg going to be in the caravan for every task? Because that will, as the contestants have said, be weird. I don’t know why it’s so much weirder than the giant picture of Greg in the big room in the house where they do other tasks, probably just because I’m not used to this one. But still, it’s weird.
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- Right, first question: are they allowed to take a new photo and reveal that one? I know they’d be limited to five minutes on the Taskmaster grounds, but it would be five minutes of them intentionally putting together something cool rather than just living a life that may or may not be cool, while not expecting to do this task.
- I wrote the previous point after only hearing the first part of that task, and now that I’ve heard the second part, I can say they really should have taken my advice. That would have made it much easier to recreate. Just go out and take another picture of the same thing.
- Chris’ creation:
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Adorable, I am impressed that Chris Ramsey managed to find a very similar fabric to the one that was on that baby. Also, we have now learned that they do not keep beer in the Taskmaster house. So what do they drink in whatever tiny corner they use as a green room? I’d need a beer after filming that show.
- Bridget’s creation:
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I mean. For fifteen minutes, it’s not bad. Would be better if she’d found a black shirt to put on, surely she could have borrowed that off someone. But there’s some nice attention to detail in there.
- Sophie’s creation:
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There are definitely more accurate ways in which she could have depicted a dog in her image. However, this is much funnier than any of her other options, so good for her.
- Judi’s creation:
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I laughed out loud. Love that in her recreation you can’t tell it’s a theatre so she just looks like Jesus doing a sermon to the masses.
- Ardal’s creation:
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I gasped out loud and then said “Oh, Ardal” several times when the original picture was revealed. Because now I really, really understand what he meant when he said the sockets it the wardrobe would have been easier. Poor Ardal O’Hanlon got so screwed over by the fact that he really did pick the coolest picture! Landscape show of sheep playing football in Ireland, that initial image is cool as hell. He should have been rewarded for completing the first part of the task so successfully. But then it turned into this. Taskmaster is a cruel mistress sometimes.
- I said a few days ago that I hope they went boys versus girls in the team tasks, because Chris Ramsey and Ardal O’Hanlon would be fun Gamble and Baddiel energy. I haven’t seen the teams yet, I’ve just seen Alex announce the first team task, and then the contestants react to his announcement. But based on the way they’ve reacted, who’s looked at who... I think I may get my way.
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- Heyyyyy! Guess who called the teams right! This is great. I’d said I wanted the Gamble and Baddiel energy of Ramsey and O’Hanlon, but those three women make for a a great setup too. Three strong personalities together. I like this.
- “Could the instructions be any clearer?” - Judi Love, when Bridget Christie expressed confusion about the task
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a contestant call their teammates morons that soon into a task. This is fun.
- Chris Ramsey: Is part of the task to find the buggy?
Alex Horne: Well we didn’t think it was, but apparently it is.
That’s one of my favourite small things that can happen on Taskmaster, when contestants create their own aspects to the task by not being able to do normal things. In this pairing, it appears that the proverbial Baddiel is dragging the proverbial Gamble down to his level by  his very presence. Or Chris Ramsey just isn’t very observant.
- “I’m weirdly confident with these.” - Chris Ramsey
Another one of my favourite small parts of Taskmaster is when a contestant says something like that. It never ends well.
- Okay... having watched Chris score his first goal, I have to admit he was in fact pretty good in that machine. How did he get “weirdly confident” with those? “Weirdly” implies he doesn’t have much experience with them, because if he’d used them a lot and done well then it would be normal to be confident about it. Was it just a coincidence that he guessed he’d be good and then he was?
- Well we’re already getting a much more encouraging attitude from Chris Ramsey than we did from Ed Gamble. To be fair, Ardal O’Hanlon is much more competent than David Baddiel. Maybe that’s just not a great comparison.
Two goals in, and I do find it very entertaining watching those two be each other’s cheerleaders. Well, watching Chris Ramsey be a very excitable cheerleader, and Ardal run around after the ball trying to waft it toward the net like a curling player with their broom.
- There was no really good reason for the cameras on the heads in this task, except to get amusing close-ups of the contestants making weird faces. But that is more than reason enough.
- Greg just told me to go out into the street and egg the windows of anyone not watching Taskmaster, which is amusing to me since they’re not putting this one up on YouTube (yet) so there isn’t any fully government-approved way to watch it over here. If I got out onto my Canadian street and anyone is watching Taskmastser, then they, like me, are doing something that is not technically allowed. But Greg would like me to egg the windows of all those rule-abiding people who didn’t do that.
- “Last night, I genuinely pointed the remote control at the oven, so I’m not going first.” - Bridget Christie
While I’m comparing these teams to previous combinations, I feel like there may not be a lot of Acaster-style “I wanted to be on the girls’ team!” this season. I’m not sure the girls’ team will be the one with people who are terribly focused. I’m sure they’ll be a huge amount of fun, but not so sure about the focus.
- Sophie groaning in fear the entire time she’s operating the buggy is very funny. As is her sailing right past the ball.
- Wow, Judi knows what she’s doing. Didn’t even declare weird confidence beforehand, just went right in there and was good at it.
- ...Okay, I guess I wrote that too soon, before Judi spun all the way around the ball. But still, better control over the buggy than Sophie had, and good control over the ball once she got there.
- Were they all allowed to put the ball on their knees and their feet on the ground like Bridget is doing? Becasue that seems significantly easier. I can’t think of anything in the rules that said they couldn’t do that, except that the rule is to score a soccer goal and soccer says no hand ball. But soccer also says no buggies, so I’m not sure those rules apply.
- Oh, stare at the Taskmaster while you do your live task is always a fun trope of this show. This is a tough live task.
- Little thing, but I so appreciate pointless competitiveness, and really liked Chris Ramsey trying to give himself a half-second advantage by starting with his writing implement already in his hand, and Alex having to tell him to put it down.
- The task says they have to look at Greg the whole time, but it doesn’t say they couldn’t take their object and hold it up in front of their eyes, while keeping those eyes fixed on Greg. I’m disappointed that no one tried that.
- I love that Ardal just assumed his horse was green. He made that up out of nowhere, had no reason to believe it was green. It wasn’t green. It was a camel, and those aren’t green. He thought it was a horse, and those aren’t green. I think he just grabbed a green marker first, and decided that must mean it’s green, so he made “green” one of his words to descrie it.
- Ooh, late-in-the-episode title drop from Bridget Christie. Good one, though. And a reasonable way to describe her object.
- This needs to be on all the posters that advertise Taskmaster.
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- Two in a row for Christopher. He is running away with this initially, though lots of people do well off the start and then it ends up closer by the middle of the season. Also, I can’t resent him for doing so well because he does deserve it.
Hell of an episode, this was. Not a great finish overall for my girl Sophie, but she’ll always have that brilliant ping-pong throw and how she did so well that it ruined Chris Ramsey’s “call me when I’m needed” moment, so that’s cool. Only two episodes in and I quite like all five of the people, even the ones I wasn’t that into before. No one is phoning it in this season.
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Stalker X Stalker, Part 7
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Perma tag: @nathleigh @peachmuses
Stalker x Stalker taglist: @aespades @jayjayspixiepop @blueslushgueen @fan-written @seraphichana @nerd-nowandforever
No I didn't get carried away with writing domestic fluff and forget to do the one thing I was supposed to with this chapter I'm a professional and would never do that
It took a long time for Tim and Cass to convince Marinette that, no, it wasn’t a trap, it was just a normal Halloween Party. It took even longer to explain what a Halloween Party really was, because apparently it wasn’t a huge deal in France.
But, eventually, she got it:
“Okay, so every Rogue and vigilante has to go to his Halloween Party in stupid costumes… or else?”
Tim nodded. “Rogues have to go because he’ll be insufferable, we have to go because otherwise we’re leaving a bunch of Rogues alone together without supervision.”
“And it really is just a Halloween Party?”
Cass flashed two thumbs up.
Marinette still looked a little confused. “And we… we want to babysit the Rogues?”
“They mostly behave themselves. Again, Crane can be insufferable when he wants to be and they have to spend a lot of time with him in Arkham.”
“I guess that’s cool then…” Then, a thought seemed to occur to her because she brightened up. “Is Nightwing coming?”
Tim nodded, suddenly a lot more wary. “Yeah, both he and Flamebird drop by for most holidays, anyway, so they might as well… why?”
She blushed a little. “I kind of wanted to see if I could get him to train me. I think his fighting style is pretty cool.”
Tim was not jealous or annoyed that Marinette might like two of his brothers more than him. He was fine if she liked Cass more, because Cass was, well, Cass. But Dick? Damian? Come on!
At least he had a month before the party to prepare himself.
For now, he glared at Cass, because she was laughing at him behind her hand.
Then he remembered that Marinette was still there and was watching the two of them interact with a vaguely confused expression and he pulled himself together: “I don’t know if he can teach you much since he’s usually in Bludhaven, but I used to be obsessed with the guy and I know all his moves by heart.”
She tipped her head to the side, considering, then smiled at him. “Sure. Thanks, Red, I owe you one.”
He tried to hide his relief behind a smile. She smiled and blushed, so he was pretty sure it worked.
~
Marinette smiled as she scrolled through the Batinternet on her phone (they’d finally given her the password! She no longer had to waste data!). The batkids were all working on the computer, trying to hack into their father’s files to see their Christmas presents.
She didn’t get why they were doing it then, it wasn’t even Halloween yet. Still, they insisted that Batman was always prepared well before the holidays hit. She was curious about what they’d find, if anything, so she waited as Red Robin hacked their dad’s files.
Loud cheers erupted from the others, which meant they must have found something.
“... right, Ladybug, yours is easiest to get into… he probably didn’t expect you to try… he’s getting you an Xbox and a bunch of games to go with it.”
Her gaze shot up and she surged to the front of the group to see. “Really?”
Red Robin pointed at the screen and she blinked a few times. Yep, that was a customized Xbox. Wild.
Then her shoulders slumped. “Damn, I was only kidding. If I knew he was actually going to get it I would’ve asked for a Playstation.”
She continued looking at all the ‘random’ games Batman had bought her (he was suspiciously good at guessing what she liked), completely oblivious to the fact that she had accidentally started World War III right behind herself at the casual mention of a thing she wanted.
She glanced back at them once during their fight and they straightened instantly, innocent smiles in place. The hand Red Robin had in Robin’s hair turned into a hair ruffle. Black Bat had turned the way she gripped the collar of Spoiler’s shirt into pulling her down for a hug. Signal’s eyes stopped glowing under his domino. She smiled a little and turned back to the screen to look at the rest of the games. Fighting resumed.
Or, at least, it did until Marinette saw the file name.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
“I knew you fuckers took my blood,” she hissed irritably.
She wasn’t exactly scared, the bats seemed generally well-intentioned, just paranoid, but that didn’t mean she liked it. They stole her blood to figure out her identity without asking.
They all tensed up behind her and looked at each other awkwardly.
Robin was first to snap out of it. He swatted Red Robin over the back of the head. “Look what you’ve done, Drake.”
Marinette blinked and then pulled her gaze back to Red Robin. “Drake?”
The batkids looked at each other awkwardly. Except for Red Robin, who was glaring at his youngest brother.
Spoiler was the first one to come up with an excuse: “It’s an older codename. We told him to come up with something original since everything else he’s used has belonged to someone else first… and that’s what he came up with.”
She considered whether Drake really confirmed that Red Robin was Tim Drake-Wayne. On one hand, yeah… but, on the other hand, was he really that stupid? Would he really use his own last name for a codename?
She supposed that, in all her time knowing Tim and Red Robin, he had never shown himself to be original. Smart, sure, but a little unoriginal.
So, yeah, Tim was almost definitely Red Robin.
But she was prepared to ignore it for now. Every bat seemed tense at the idea of her learning their identities, so she played dumb:
“It’s not that bad of a codename. Dragons are pretty cool.”
She could feel Black Bat still staring at her, but everyone else relaxed almost imperceptibly.
“He didn’t base himself off of dragons, he chose male ducks,” Robin informed her.
She blinked. “Why the hell would he choose ducks?”
Signal snapped his fingers and started pulling out his phone. “Oh, Mari -- can I call you Mari? -- you should see his outfit.”
Red Robin realized he was about to get murdered for his younger self’s outfit choices and tried to snatch the phone away.
Unfortunately for him, while he was concentrating on Signal, Black Bat had sidled over to Marinette. She tugged her arm to pull her attention from the two fighting boys and then showed her the picture.
Marinette stared at the ugly cockroach outfit for a long time before taking a deep breath: “Alright, first of all...”
~
Tim… he was fine.
Okay, no, he wasn’t.
The tracker was better, he would admit. She had even started wearing more red and black so she could wear the necklace more (something that made him feel all fuzzy inside), but she wasn’t wearing it every day and he couldn’t exactly tell if the necklace was there because she was home or if it was there because she’d worn a different outfit.
So, he only had one solution: randomly dropping by to do chores with her.
It started off with the ‘might as well’ principle. They were already out for photography and getting ideas for outfits, why not pick up some groceries while they were on their way back? She could even carry more since there were two of them.
He quickly dropped pretenses, though. The one time every few days that they hung out wasn’t enough to keep her in the house, and even if it was she clearly wasn’t fond of staying inside for long periods of time. He started dropping by every day to just go out with her.
He could tell his family was getting a little suspicious about what he was doing, Steph and Cass both narrowed their eyes at him whenever they saw him leaving the office at a normal time and once he had caught Duke following him to see where he was going… but it was fine. They weren’t going to complain about him actually getting some sort of down time.
And, he had to admit, it was nice. Not only did resting his brain for an hour or two a day do wonders for his mental health, he just… enjoyed doing chores with her? He didn’t think he would. He’d expected to like it the first few times, the novelty of going on his first grocery shopping trip or figuring out how a laundromat was always going to make it interesting and new for a bit, but it didn’t seem to be wearing off.
He was pretty sure that was because of the person he was doing it with, though.
He smiled as he watched Marinette half-climb the supermarket shelves for a bag of Takis.
“Need help?” He called.
“Nope!”
He watched her jump a few times on the lowest shelf before, eventually, climbing up another shelf.
Tim winced and surged forward to support her weight a little.
She huffed and grabbed the Takis. He set her down.
She crossed her arms. “I said I could get it.”
“I trust you. The shelves? Not so much. Do you want to die crushed under a bunch of chips?”
Her halfhearted glare morphed into a grin. “If I die any other way you have to promise to resurrect me so I can do it again.”
He rolled his eyes. “How about I resurrect you and you try not to die again for a while?”
“Hm… I guess that’d be alright.”
Then, at the laundromat, Tim saw a bunch of Two Face’s henchmen. How did he know that they were henchmen? The black and white suits kind of gave them away.
He was just wondering whether it was worth it to try and call Duke over so they didn’t risk something happening when he realized that Marinette had slipped over to them.
But she wasn’t concerned as she offered some of her detergent. “Hey, if you need to wash lights and darks together like that… you’re going to need a different detergent. I know those are cheap but there’s a reason for that.”
“Isn’t that just an old detergent problem?”
“No, separating every single color into a different load is. But, if you want to do pure black and white like that… you don’t want to risk it.”
Then she turned and glared at another goon, who was pulling their luckily still okay clothes out of the washer.
“You’d better not be putting that in the dryer.”
The sheepish look on the henchman’s face was answer enough.
She huffed. “That is airdry only why would you do that --?!”
And that’s how they ended up friends with -- and possibly under the protection of? -- a bunch of henchmen. Tim had to admit, they were really nice when he and Marinette weren’t trying to get them thrown in jail. He almost found himself slipping and hoping that Frank managed to achieve his mob boss dreams. He actually did offer to babysit Sam’s kids while she had a shift because she seemed very stressed.
“Tim, darling, do you even know how to take care of kids?”
Tim didn’t know whether to blush because she had called him darling oh my god or due to embarrassment at that massive oversight.
“Uh… would you be willing to help?”
Marinette gave him an exhausted look. “I’ve only ever babysat one kid at a time without their older sibling being there to help.”
He quickly changed the offer to paying for a babysitter. Sam was thankful regardless.
When everyone had finished laundering their clothes to Marinette’s satisfaction, the two of them headed back towards her apartment.
Tim changed the position of the laundry basket on his hip so it didn’t dig into him as much. “You know, you didn’t have to help them.”
She snickered. “First of all, you’re absolutely wrong. I couldn’t just sit by and watch them ruin their clothes right in front of me!”
He rolled his eyes, trying to hide the fond smile on his face. “And second of all?”
“Secondly…” She let him into the house and closed the door behind him. A cheeky smile formed on her face. “Well, they’re henchmen. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to have them on our side in case things go wrong rather than indifferent to what happens to us?”
It was here, with her smiling in front of him, intelligence sparkling in her eyes and the necklace he gave her hanging from her neck, that he realized that he was going to fall in love. He might not be there yet but, if they continued doing things like this, he was sure he would.
He wouldn’t mind that, he thought, as she leaned forward to take the basket from him, pressing a kiss to his cheek on the way over. He watched her disappear to her room, no doubt to fix whatever damage he had done while carrying it that would be invisible to anyone but her. He shoved his hands in his pockets and went to start up the coffee machine.
~
There are no botanical gardens more beautiful than the ones in Gotham. Whether that was because Poison Ivy herself tended to them or because they were kept in tip-top shape to appease her, Marinette didn’t know. Whatever the reason, it was gorgeous and Marinette had gotten quite a few different ideas. She pretty much had an entire spring collection planned out…
It was unfortunate that she’d gotten ideas for a spring collection in the middle of autumn, but she was ignoring that.
Now, they were sitting on her couch. They needed to relax after all that walking around on top of a rather exhausting night the night before (Scarecrow had broken out of Arkham to start preparing for his Halloween Party). She was completely in his space in an attempt to mess with him. It, unfortunately, didn’t seem to annoy him as he lazily rested his head on top of hers.
She huffed a little but allowed it.
He fiddled with the settings on his camera, biting his lip.
She looked down at the camera and asked: “How’d you get into photography?”
“... it’s a kind of personal story,” he said carefully. “A little sad, too, I guess.”
She tried to pull back, an apology on her lips, but he just rested an arm around her shoulders and held her close.
“It’s fine.”
She nodded as much as she could with the head resting on top of hers.
They were silent for a long time. She tried to relax herself. There were no akumas in Gotham, it was okay to accidentally upset someone and it was okay to ask them if they wanted to elaborate. They were people, people are supposed to feel sad sometimes. It’s healthy.
She took a deep breath before curling more into his side. “Would you like to talk about it?”
The arm around her tightened almost imperceptibly. “I… I guess I can, sure.”
“You don’t have to,” she said quickly. In fact, she might be a little more comfortable with that. Emotional conversations weren’t a Parisian’s forte.
But he sighed and shook his head. “It’s fine. Our relationship can’t progress all that healthily if we never tell each other anything.”
Yikes. Way to accidentally call her out on the fact that she hadn’t formed a healthy relationship in years, Tim.
“Not that I’m all that great at healthy relationships,” he said after a minute.
At least she wasn’t alone, she supposed.
“No easy way to say this, I guess… my parents weren’t the best. They’d go on trips -- they were archaeologists -- and I’d be left home alone, usually for months at a time.”
She cringed internally and took his hand in hers, rubbing comforting circles into his palm.
He sighed lightly. “So… I was lonely, obviously. I started by taking pictures of my parents. Sometimes it was all I’d have of them for months. They could leave, but the pictures weren’t able to.”
She felt him bury his face in her hair.
“I started following the bats after a while. I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t sated by pictures of just the two of them and decided to expand, if it was because they had a happy family despite a distant father and I wanted that for myself, or if it was because I wanted my parents to find out and be worried about me, or a mix of all of that… but…”
She slowly moved the camera off of his lap and pulled him into a hug. “But?”
He was silent for a bit, thinking over his answer. He shrugged and wrapped his arms around her. “It was an old coping mechanism. A way of feeling connected to people when I couldn’t actually be.”
“‘Was?’ What changed?”
He laid back on the couch and she allowed him to pull her down beside him. “People around me… started ‘leaving permanently’.”
She winced. Oh.
“It hurt a lot more to look at the pictures after that. It just felt like a reminder that I was alone.”
She frowned. “But… you’re taking pictures of me, now.” Her eyes widened. “Shit, did I accidentally trigger --.”
He shook his head quickly. “No, no. Well, kind of, but it’s okay! Every time they’ve died, it was because of some sort of shortcoming on my part. I think I’ve learned from all my mistakes. You… I won’t let you get hurt, okay?”
Marinette didn’t know how to respond. On one hand, she was pretty sure that she should be assuring him that, even if she did end up dying, that he shouldn’t blame himself… on the other hand, she had no intentions of dying and she was pretty sure it was nearly impossible for her, so maybe it was a good thing that he had chosen to protect her of all people? Maybe the problem would solve itself?
She didn’t know.
She carefully took his face in her hands, pulling him to look her in the eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, okay, darling?”
He gave her a tentative smile. “I sure hope you’re right.”
~
He had been asked to stay the night. Her excuse was that she was almost done with an outfit for him and she wanted to give it to him the second it was done and, by the time it would be, it would be too dark to go out safely.
Tim kind of felt bad that he had worried her but he wasn’t going to turn down the offer of staying over and watching her finish the outfit.
But, first, food. They dropped a million takeout menus on the desk. A long silence stretched between them as they looked at all the options.
“... what do you want?” Asked Marinette.
“I’m not in the mood for anything in particular, you?”
She sighed. “I don’t know, do you want anything?”
“I don’t want anything, what about you --?”
This continued on for about three minutes before Tim got a brilliant idea. He dialled Damian’s number and put it on speaker.
“Drake. Why are you calling? Have you been hurt?”
“No, Dami, I’m getting takeout and I was just wondering if you had any ideas.”
Marinette gave him an affronted look, but he clapped his hand over her mouth before she could warn Damian that, no, he wasn’t buying food for him he was just going to be an asshole.
“... I suppose I wouldn’t be averse to Chinese.”
“Thanks, Dami! Hope you can get Alfie to make that for you.”
“What do -- ?”
Tim hung up on his very confused younger brother.
Marinette frowned as he removed his hand from her mouth. “That wasn’t nice of you, that’s a kid.”
Tim was not about to get beaten by his brother in both identities, thank you very much.
“Alfred can cook better than anyone in the world, he’s not going to suffer.”
She snorted. “I doubt he can make food better than…” She picked through the takeout papers for a few moments before holding up a menu. “... this place!”
He squinted at the menu. “... I really hope you can speak Mandarin.”
“You’d be hard pressed to find a language I can’t speak, Timmy,” she said, absently dialling the number.
Well, he supposed that explained how a person from France knew ASL and could speak English like a native. Damn. Now he kinda wanted magical god-earrings so he could speak every language in existence.
She spoke cheerfully to the person on the other side of the line for a moment before turning to Tim. “What do you want?”
“Uh… shrimp fried rice?”
She rolled her eyes and flicked his nose. “Alright, fine, white boy.”
“It’s a safe option okay --!”
She wasn’t listening to him explain why fried rice was the best choice for him because she was relaying the order to the person on the other side of the line. She hung up with a smile.
“Food will be here in about three minutes. Do you rich people have small bills or do you just use them for tissues or something?”
He raised his eyebrows. “They go down to a hundred, right?”
She pressed her lips together thinly, clearly unsure whether or not he was joking.
He snickered and shook his head. “Nah, I think I have twenties and fifties…”
“Yeah, that won’t do. We’re going to get robbed,” she said, reaching into her purse.
“We? Didn’t know I lived here, too,” he joked.
She barely even glanced up from where she was counting money. “Honestly, with how often you’re here, you might as well move in.”
He choked. He wanted to say something smart or funny or smooth, instead all that came out was: “You --? I --? Uh --!”
She snickered behind her hand. “Love, relax, I’m just kidding. You don’t have to leave your fancy mansion with all your siblings --.”
“Wait, don’t make living here sound even better. I will do it purely to get away from them, don’t test me.”
She rolled her eyes with a grin. “Maybe that's the plan, you’ll never know.”
Tim had exactly zero idea whether they were joking or not anymore. The tone and reactions made him pretty sure they were kidding, but… what if they weren’t?
He was just gathering the courage to ask when the doorbell rang, pulling their attention to the food. She continued counting for a second before running to the door and swinging it open.
He walked up beside her awkwardly as she chatted politely to the guy to take the food inside. He knew, logically, that Marinette was actually way stronger than he was… but his stupid brain saw a thin, short woman in need of someone to help her carry things. So, he took it from the guy with a smile.
The delivery guy glanced Tim up and down before asking Marinette something. She laughed and gave a shrug. Tim did not know what was going on but he felt vaguely insulted.
He was definitely learning Mandarin after this.
The moment the door closed he whined about being insulted. She looked amused.
“You know what he said?”
“... no,” he admitted.
Her lips twitched.
“... you’re not going to tell me, are you?”
She snickered and leaned over the two bags of food in his hands. “So, you got the fried rice, right?”
“Mariiiiiiii.”
“Your food is going to get cold.”
“Beeeaaaan,” he complained.
She raised an eyebrow at him, a blush spreading across her face. “Bean?”
He grinned, feeling heat creep to his own cheeks. “I don’t know, I couldn’t think of anything for a nickname. First thing I thought of was coffee beans, so: Bean.”
“Wow, you’re such an addict,” she teased.
He continued pouting at her until she gave in.
She leaned forward to press a kiss to his nose. “He asked if you could use chopsticks or not so he could get you a fork if you couldn’t.”
He felt the blush on his face deepen. “Oh… I can’t.”
“That’s fine.” She grabbed a tote bag from the floor of her pantry and pulled out a set of plasticware.
He blinked. “... you keep plastic forks?”
She shrugged and tossed the bag back in her pantry. “Plastic forks, grocery bags, napkins, a few sets of chopsticks…”
“... why?”
“Some of us are minorities, darling.”
“What --?”
~
She hummed tunelessly as she worked.
Tim had fallen asleep on her shoulder. Had most of this been an elaborate plot to make him finally get some sleep? Possibly.
She didn’t feel all that bad, though. With how much he overworked himself both as Red Robin and as Tim Drake-Wayne… honestly, she was beginning to doubt that he slept at all. And, really, if a vigilante coffee addict with a magically enhanced physique is worried about your sleep schedule, you’ve got problems. Intervention was needed.
Don’t get her wrong, though, she was going to make up for lying to him. She’d move him to her bed and leave a cup of coffee for him on the bedside table. Maybe she’d even make him breakfast, it depended on how tired she was in the morning.
But that was for when she was done. For now, she was working on the last part of the outfit: she needed to lace up the corset. His posture needed a little work and she didn’t have the heart to tell him that to his face.
… besides, corset vests are cute. She wished more guys would wear them.
She smiled to herself as she pulled the last bit of lace through and tied a loose knot. Done.
She looked down at Tim. Loose strands fell in his face as he slept. The tiny wrinkles in his forehead disappeared, making him look much younger. His lips curled into a slight smile at whatever he was dreaming about.
He looked so genuinely at peace. She hated that that was abnormal for him.
She couldn’t help but worry a little about what he’d said earlier. He’d claimed that the reason he had gone up to the top of that building the day they’d met (as Tim and Marinette) was to scout out a location for photography, but now that was seeming like a lie because he apparently preferred taking pictures of people over locations… so, why was he up so high? He’d known it was illegal to be there, so she doubted he thought anyone else would be…
She swallowed thickly.
She didn’t think his mental state was that bad… but, just in case it was, she waved Tikki over for a bug and sewed it into one of his sleeves.
Tikki was looking at her disapprovingly. Marinette ignored her.
It was Ladybug’s job to make sure everyone was doing okay mentally, and she wasn’t going to fail a person she cared about of all people.
His head slipped from her shoulder onto her stomach and she sighed, trying to lightly push him off without disturbing his sleep. It didn’t work. He made a quiet sound in the back of his throat and buried his face in her stomach, his arms wrapping around her tightly.
Well, this is her life now.
… she supposed it wasn’t so bad, though.
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