#that one girl who don’t play about ashley graves

[giac222]

I’m an Ashley Graves lover and defender till the end 🤞🏻🩷.

This is going to be a deep dive and a pretty long post, just a heads up! There’s a point in the beginning where I briefly discuss something else regarding TCOAAL because I felt that it ties in, but this post will mostly be focusing on Ashley + her experiences, and a little about how Andrew isn’t actually a doormat, not even close. 😶

Let’s get into it:

I adore her and I have the biggest soft spot for her, my empathy for her is through the damn roof. She’s a product of her environment, she wasn’t born the way she is (Andrew wasn’t either). It’s frustrating to see people claim she was born evil. I’d go as far to argue that she isn’t completely evil either. Her soul is the color of pitch black according to the demon in the game. But why is that? What caused it? The reason for this is because of how she’s been treated by everyone else around her throughout her whole life. It’s not like she asked or wanted to become a “tar soul”. Her environment made her sour, it made her hate people.. including herself.

After Ashley sacrifices the warden to the demon, when she’s thinking to herself, a text box comes up that says “You decide not to linger on the fact that your soul is apparently a vicious, pitch-black mess.” and after that we see another one that says “Guess you already knew that”.

I was thinking to myself, why the hell am I so attached to this character? Lmao. Why do I have such a huge soft spot for her? Then when I was thinking about it I realized it’s because I relate to some of what she’s been through. Especially her terribly low self-esteem that causes her to feel unlovable, ooo that hit home for me. For quite some time I dealt with that, and let me tell you, it truly is an awful feeling. It can make you very mean and bitter. It quite literally eats away at you. I’m 22 now and I’m able to reflect on those past experiences, that’s when I realized how bad it really was. When it comes to someone having poor self-esteem and not much self worth, it stems from somewhere. People don’t just randomly start hating themselves, there’s something that causes it to happen. It could be from a variety of things such as trauma, childhood experiences, comparison to others, and discrimination.

It truly sucks to see how many people online that seem to hate her (not on Tumblr, but almost everywhere else). Her backstory breaks my heart, it’s tragic, and it seems that people completely ignore what she’s gone through and what she STILL goes through.

I also hate that the game has kind of, in a way, become a meme due to the controversy. This game delves into very serious and depressing topics, so for losers online with 0 media literacy to water it down to “the incest game” is sooo agitating. This is just a personal opinion of mine, but I also feel as though the controversy made people play the game for the wrong reasons. Including a lot of “edgy” teenagers 😬. I don’t think I need to elaborate on that, I’ve touched on it before in a different post. I mean the amount of loud and wrong takes I’ve seen about the game… All I can do is shake my head 💀.

So, I’ll share my (maybe?) controversial opinion that some of the “fanbase” is part of the problem too, not just the people who hate the game that don’t even know what’s going on. I’ve talked about this before so I’ll keep it brief, but I feel it fits in the post so I’m including it. But on the game’s subreddit there are people who will reduce the game itself to fap material, and it doesn’t make sense to me because there’s quite literally nothing overly sexual or explicit in the game?? Even in the questionable route vision we don’t see anything explicit, we just know what happens. I’m like have y’all forgotten that this is a PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR game?? How some of these people managed to reduce Nemlei’s work that she clearly put a lot of thought and effort into that covers dark topics and serious issues to fap material is beyond me…. What a way… just what a way. Let’s hope they get weeded out of the fandom before ch. 3 drops 🙏🏻.

Just to clarify so no one gets confused, I’m NOT referring to people who create NSFW art/posts of the game, like duh you guys know I love Ashley and Andrew 🤭🤭. I know what I’m about! 😂. Seriously though, I’m referring to people in the Reddit community who will quite literally just take people’s NSFW art (any fan art in general really) and upload it there without the artist’s consent (edit: I think if they give credit it’s not a big deal, and some artists may not care regardless. Some probably care, some don’t). It just seems like the NSFW stuff is the only thing a lot of them care about, and the shit they say is so unhinged at times I’m like???? Seek help. (Obviously it isn’t all of the members, but it’s definitely a lot speaking from my personal experience there before I left). In a way, I can’t blame outsiders for side eyeing the fanbase if that’s their first impression.

Between the amount of haters TCOAAL has and some of the questionable “fans”…. Yeah, we’re in the trenches 😂. That’s part of the reason why I left the server and now only participate in the Tumblr community. Not even trying to gate-keep or sound like an asshole, but a lot of the Reddit community doesn’t fit the game. I said what I said! As I’ve said before in a previous post, most of the trash takes I’ve seen on the game stem from there, and YouTube too. 😬

TCOAAL is a game that requires you to think and dig deeper, that’s why I love it. It touches on very heavy topics. Tbh it’s not something you can simply take at face value, that just defeats the purpose.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about Ashley! 🩷✨

When you pay attention to all the details and look deeper into Ashley’s character, you see that Ashley has quite literally been treated like shit her entire life by EVERYONE around her except for Andrew. That’s why it’s so easy for her to treat people as disposable, because that’s how SHE was treated her entire life 💔.

This scene specifically proves that:

Andrew really is everything to her. That boy is her sun, her moon, and all of her stars. 🥲💚. We see that he’s her main, and basically only source of happiness. He’s the only thing/person she cares about. I find it genuinely heartbreaking that he has been the only person Ashley could depend on throughout her life. Due to this, it makes sense as to why Ashley goes to such extreme measures to keep him around. if she lost him, she’d have no one else. So of course she’s scared that he’ll leave her. Even though we know he’ll stick by her side no matter what, Ashley does not. She’s quite literally the love of his life but she doesn’t know that. 😩

Then again, Andrew doesn’t show it, so of course she doesn’t get it. He’s never said I love you back to her, the closest we get to that is when he says “I like you… but you’re so exhausting” after their huge fight. If you look closely at his face in that scene, you’ll see gray blush lines on his cheek. Ashley has been abandoned by everyone except for Andrew, she needs validation and reassurance from him to know that he’s there to stay. He doesn’t really give that to her though, but he needs to STAT! As I said, we know he’s in it for the long haul, but Ashley does not.

You see, Ashley operates under the idea that Andrew doesn’t actually care about her. She believes that he couldn’t love her of his own will and that she has to manipulate in order for him to stay. I hold the opinion that she doesn’t do those things because she necessarily wants to, she does it because she feels like she has to in order to keep him around. She manipulates, but she isn’t very good at it 🫣.

Thinking about their huge fight in apartment 302 after Andrew killed that lady (she definitely did not attack him first, but we’ll get into that in a minute). When Andrew’s choking Ashley she brings up the fact that she’s the only one who can make his nightmares go away, but guess what we see in ch. 2? Before going to snoop on the cultist, if you go back to their motel room and you interact with the bed. A text box pops up that says “oh yeah, you tooootally have nightmares as often as you claim.”.. So, we now know that Andrew doesn’t actually have that many nightmares, he uses it as an excuse because he wants to sleep next to Ashley and be close to her.

Back to the apartment 302 incident, when Ashley goes back to that apartment after completing the ritual, she sees that Andrew killed the lady that lived there, he claims she attempted to attack him with the nail gun, but the nail gun was in the same damn spot! People should’ve started side eyeing him at that point in the game. I know I did LOL, “doormat extraordinaire” my ass 😂. Btw, there are people who genuinely believe he tried to sleep with the lady in 302, but she wouldn’t do it so he killed her….. 🤦🏻‍♀️. I wish I was joking.

Anyway, in Andrew’s dream when we go over the justified deaths, with the lady in 302, the first reason he mentions is “Ashley would have wanted to kill this one anyway” then he brings up no witnesses. To me, the fact that the first reason he mentions is Ashley wanting to kill her anyway showed that he killed her for Ashley more than anything. I mean, It did make Ashley happy that she died. He didn’t say anything about getting attacked, although it was obvious that was a lie already lmao. I believe that’s why he got so frustrated, which led to him getting pissed off after Ashley started accusing him of trying to sleep with that woman. Especially because once she started, it escalated quickly and she just kept going.. He was like “girl??? I literally killed this woman for YOU.” I could be wrong, but that was my interpretation on the situation.

Another interesting thing I thought about was how during their argument, Andrew tells Ashley to butt out of his love life, and that she always makes up some bullshit crisis for him to leave/stay when he’s out or about to leave to go meet up with someone. But in the flashback with Julia during his dream, while she’s raising genuine concern and mentions that it could be good for Ashley to learn some independence for her own sake. Also for Andrew to stop cutting things short on her, for the sake of their relationship, and so they can spend more time together. Andrew responds to that with “If your sister needed something, wouldn’t you go?” 👀. Andrew likes Ashley being dependent on him, he doesn’t want her to become independent. During their heated argument he admits to knowing her so called crisis she has before he leaves is “bullshit”. Yet he still chooses to leave to be with her anyway. Because again, Ashley’s the love of his life, people can deny it all they want but the proof is right there lmao. Not to mention he looked so sad hugging Julia until he asked her to tie her hair up… I see right through you Andrew 😂.

Also, him bringing up Nina’s death (Julia’s best friend) and lying to Julia’s face about it like he had no part in it, that was actually scary not going to lie 🫢. Plus him lying about Nina’s death affecting Ashley…like you know damn well. After their huge fight, Ashley said she was glad that Nina choked, which Andrew responded with “I know you are”.

That’s the thing about Andrew, he’s very good at lying and we see multiple examples of this in the game. When they were at their parents house Ashley decided to stay quiet because she couldn’t keep up with Andrew’s lies. In a different post of mine I talked about how “Andy” was a facade, but Ashley doesn’t understand that yet. She thinks he’s changing for the worst, but in reality he’s always been that way. His true colors are just now finally coming out.

Andrew and Ashley both had a shitty upbringing. I mean Mrs.Graves made Andrew take care of Ashley when he was a child, and I remember in a flashback he asked Ashley if she wanted to go with him because their mom gave him money for groceries, like ma’am why are you making your child go out to buy groceries??? Also, at the end of the day, she sold them both to organ harvesters. However, Andrew was treated somewhat better than Ashley during their childhood. We see this through the plushies in the puzzle before the questionable route vision, if you set Ashley’s plushie down at the table she immediately falls off. At their parents new home during dinner, Ashley sat on a mini ladder while everyone else had a chair, and simply the fact that Mrs.Graves gave Andrew their new house address, but didn’t give it to Ashley. They always shut Ashley out, they never cared about her nor did they try.

Now, let’s talk about one of, in my opinion, the saddest parts of the game. The flashback of Leyley’s birthday 🥲.

We see that neither her parents nor her friends cared about her birthday, they didn’t even try. She looked so sad talking about her friends here 😭. The fact that she brought up how her friends are always busy when she asks them for something shows that this is a recurring thing, her friends suck. I am in tearsss. I’m sick rn, she deserves everything and more. Andrew attempted to make her birthday special for her at least 🥺.

Also, I know Julia seems sweet from what we’ve seen, but I’m suspicious of her tbh 👀. We know Ashley hung out around her and Nina. I remember seeing one of the screenshots from a progress report where Andrew asks them if they could invite Ashley to sit with them sometime at lunch, so I’m assuming that’s how their “friendship” started.

Nina had a crush on Andrew, and Julia ended up dating him later on. I think it’s possible they only hung out with her just to get closer to Andrew. Julia wasn’t a very good friend to Ashley it seems, so it makes sense that she wouldn’t be thrilled about them dating. Especially because Andrew is the most important, well, really the only important person to her.

Something else to think about when it comes to people in Ashley’s life outside of Andrew: After Andrew killed the warden to protect Ashley and before they left their neighbors apartment, Ashley tells Andrew “I don’t give a rat’s ass about mom or dad. Or any of my so-called friends anymore.” and “Not one of them felt it necessary to answer my calls…”. When she says this she looks very upset. So, even in present time, Ashley still gets treated like shit by everyone around her except for Andrew, this has been an ongoing thing since her childhood.

Next up is this scene with Mrs.Graves while setting up the ritual:

This was after Ashley says “Lookie ma! I drew a circle!”. Mrs.Graves immediately starts putting her down. Ashley’s response to what her mom said shows me that this is something that commonly happened. I’m sure there were many times in Ashley’s life where she’d attempt to impress her mom and receive praise, but would immediately get shut down by her instead. The more I think about how terribly Ashley was really treated, the more sad I get about it, what the fuck 😭.

Ok, last thing to dissect. I wanted to talk about this comment from a YouTube video that came up under the “all” section on there. Beware, it might make you lose braincells. 💀

“Ashley is heavily sexualized” let me stop you right there ✋🏻 lmao. No she is not. At least to me she isn’t, I never got the impression that the game sexualized her. A lot of male players sexualize her (because of course they do 🙄), but the game? I disagree. You could say Ashley views herself as a sex object, but that doesn’t mean she’s sexualized by the game. She views herself that way because of her low self-esteem and the fact that she doesn’t believe someone could genuinely love her. Not to mention her internalized misogyny. Source? I’m speaking from experience. Having terribly low self-esteem really does drive you to dark places. It can lead to you basing your self-worth on people finding you sexually attractive or just attractive in general, like your self worth is based on your looks alone. That’s how you get validation even if it’s from a not so good place. It wears off pretty fast though, and it leaves a poor after taste. It’s only a temporary “good” feeling. If you don’t like yourself, no amount of attention will be ever good enough for you or truly make you feel better.

“Goth-esque fetish ware”, first of all it’s “wear”, and the “fetish wear” in question is just shorts, a black shirt, and a choker 💀. I cannot lmfao. Does that mean Andrew has “goth-esque fetish wear” too? Bc him and Ashley literally dress the same 😂. Not that this matters, but Ashley and Andrew are more emo to me lmao.

“She’s definitely a manipulative psychopath”… opinion immediately discarded because of this part of the comment alone.

“Her heavily sexualized existence”…. Don’t piss me off 🙄 like??? I can’t believe they said that. People with a brain larger than the size of an atom know that Ashley’s entire existence isn’t sexualized, I’d argue that it’s quite literally the opposite. It’s almost like they want Ashley to be this seductive sex kitten, but she just isn’t that. They project that onto her. I feel like some people think that Ashley simply existing with a bigger bust means she’s automatically sexualized, some men feel this way about women with bigger busts in real life too, so them doing it to a fictional character doesn’t shock me. Worms for brains I swear.

The comment Ashley makes about her “big fat tits” in the motel room during her mini argument with Andrew was literally so unserious. There’s the scene where Andrew was lying on the couch in their parents house when Ashley wakes him up out of his dream, and we see him looking at her boobs from his POV. However, that was literally so mild, you hardly even saw anything lmfao. I feel like Nemlei added that in to show that Andrew’s sexually attracted to her, plus it was a little before the scene where Ashley playfully bites him, and (in my opinion) where they almost fully crossed the line (because of Andrew mind you) before their mom came in. We all saw that pillow placement 😂. There are other signs of him being attracted to her before that as well, like when we see him push the thought of hugging her to the back of his mind “where it may fester with all the thoughts he wish he never had” + that scene in the kitchen where he was sort of touching her butt and had his fingers through her belt loop, but when their mom came in he jerked away and looked as if he got caught.

People will claim that Ashley is the only one that’s incestuous and that she “forced” it onto Andrew, but in ch. 2, we see that Andrew is arguably more incestuous than she is. Ashley loves Andrew to death, but she isn’t exactly horny for him the same way he’s horny for her. Think about their reactions to the questionable route vision. Ashley was pretty chill about it, while Andrew was beat red and embarrassed because his repressed inner thoughts just got exposed. The demon clocked his tea 😂.

I’ve spoken about this before so I’ll keep it brief, when it comes to sex Ashley doesn’t care much about it and views it as transactional, as something she can use for personal gain. As I kind of said already, to me, her viewing herself as a sex object and having that view on sex in general ties into the fact that she has internalized misogyny and her personal belief that she’s unlovable. So, not only does she view herself as a sex object, but you could say that she also views other women as sex objects too.

This is my personal opinion which I’ve shared before, but when her and Andrew fully cross the line (because they’re definitely going to) and he finally shows her that he loves her as well, I think her views on sex may change a bit. That she’ll start seeing it as something out of love that they can both enjoy. As something they can experience together, instead of her ignoring her own desires and being his personal sex object to use to attempt to keep him around.

Do I think that Ashley isn’t horny for him at all? Tbh no. I mean she literally says she assumed it would happen between them eventually anyway, so she’s definitely thought about it before. However, it’s nowhere near Andrew’s level lmao. We know Ashley is a virgin and honestly, I think Andrew is the only one she’d happily lose it to. If she were to sleep with anyone else, I doubt she’d enjoy it and would only use it as personal gain for something. As of right now, she views sex as a way of keeping Andrew around, however, I feel this is because of the fact that she doesn’t actually think he loves her and will stay with her on his own. She loves Andrew and wants to be with him, she wants him to reciprocate her love. As I like to say, Andrew’s her boo 😂, that girl doesn’t want anyone else.

Alright, let’s finish dissecting that goofy YouTube comment.

“practically puts the usually male players protective instincts into overdrive.” I don’t know wtf this means lmao, but it made me cringe. Some men need to be banned from speaking on Ashley until we figure out what’s going on 😂. Bc every time they speak on her I lose braincells. “Protective instincts” yet they quite literally don’t understand anything about her character or her struggles 💀. Maybe sit this one out lmao.

Not to sound like a broken record, but a big part of Ashley’s character is that she has very low self-worth and that she doesn’t believe people, more specifically Andrew, could actually love her (💔). I mean think about how she’s been treated for her whole life, it makes sense as to why she developed those feelings about herself and others. Her mindset is “well people never cared about me, so why would I care about them?”. Having people regularly treat you like shit takes a toll on your self-esteem and impacts your world view. Especially if it happens in your childhood.

Ashley quite literally loves Andrew more than she loves herself. I want better for her :’( and she deserves better too. I don’t care about the Ashley haters opinions. There are people who believe that she’s faking her low self-esteem in order to manipulate Andrew….. 🤦🏻‍♀️. Have you even paid attention to anything in the game?? That’s one of the biggest things about her character like hello?

I should have added this in earlier oops, but I’m adding it in now. After her and Andrew first talk to the lady in 302 and they leave her apartment, Ashley asks why the lady got special treatment but they didn’t, and why she didn’t get any food. Andrew responds with “maybe you just aren’t pretty enough”, he wasn’t being serious, but she took it that way. It didn’t help that he said “I mean… wasn’t she?” After Ashley asked if he thought she was pretty. That’s why Ashley wanted to shoot her after the ritual. You can see Ashley looks upset when she asks “do you really think I’m not pretty enough?”. Then gets angry and says “So ugly am I, that I shouldn’t even be fed?”. This is her insecurity and low self-esteem kicking in on full display.

This is a similar situation to what happened when her and Andrew were looking for something to lock Nina in the crate with at the warehouse. She asked him what he thought about Nina and if he found her pretty. He said “she’s fine… I guess”, which made Ashley unhappy. Even though Andrew wasn’t into her, like at all. Ashley has been dealing with insecurity and low self-esteem ever since she was a little girl 😭. I’m so upset for her like you guys have no idea.

After Ashley traps Nina in the crate, there’s a point where she’s crying and says “It’s not fair!! Why does everyone like her better??” “I’m loud and weird and annoying and no one likes me at all!!!”. 😭. My heart is breaking as we speak. It’s hard for me to believe she said all of that just to manipulate Andrew in that scene. I know in ch. 3 we will be delving more into their childhood, and I have a theory that Ashley was also bullied in school. I mean to refer to herself as loud, weird, annoying, and to say that no one likes her at all. That absolutely came from somewhere, and I don’t think it was just from Mrs.Graves.

So, to see people with the emotional depth of a raindrop get online and say that she’s solely the problem, that Andrew needs to get rid of her, and that she’s simply just evil… is, to put it lightly, very annoying. I’m gonna say something, you know I love both Ashley and Andrew, but we need to be honest! People give Andrew too much of a pass. I mean they literally excuse all of the terrible things he’s done and blame Ashley for “making” him do it. They give him a pass for everything, but have 0 empathy for Ashley despite everything going wrong in her life since she was born. They completely ignore that she’s a product of her environment. When it comes down to it, what good experiences in life has she really had?

Also, Andrew is more violent than Ashley is. I think that’s self explanatory. People seem to forget that she quite literally just wants to live a peaceful life with Andrew. During the “quarantine” while they were still in their old apartment, she says “Aside from the starving, it’s not so bad here.” and “Aside from starving, I like it here”. Ashley doesn’t want to live a life of violence and chaos, and we see this in the room before unlocking the door that leads us to the two burial route choices. If you place the knife down (violence) nothing happens, but when you place the flower down (love) - (my bad guys originally I put heart instead of flower, I changed it!) - the door becomes unlocked. She also gets upset when Andrew tells her that they can’t live at their parents new house, she literally doesn’t want to be on the run and just wants stability.

On Pinterest, I see girls talk about how much they hate Ashley in the comment sections. They literally just do this because they think Andrew’s hot 😂. Especially when they call her a bitch, like grow up 🙄. I’ve also seen people refer to her as a “pick me”?? Literally how? Immature teens need to be banned from playing this game LOL. It’s giving those male celebrity fandoms that dig to find anything “problematic” on a girl said male celebrity is dating just because they’re pissed it isn’t them, they don’t actually care if she’s problematic or not.

It’s literally just misogyny, they do this a lot to women in media. Breaking Bad is the biggest example of this, the people that act like Skyler White is worse than Walter are delusional as hell. Sorry, but If you’re misogynistic, lack empathy and/or emotional depth, TCOAAL isn’t for you 🤷🏻‍♀️. Period. That’s why the game deserves a better fanbase than the one it has outside of Tumblr. It deserves better in general.

They don’t care to look into why Ashley is the way she is. If it wasn’t obvious already, Andrew brings out Ashley’s worst behavior and blames her for making him do bad things. In his mind he can’t be guilty, so he needs something on the outside to blame (Ashley). Mrs.Graves contributes to this btw, during the setup of the ritual before they sacrificed her and Mr.Graves she was pretty much saying “I know you don’t want to do this, I know she’s making you do it!” 🤦🏻‍♀️. She sounds like one of those boy moms that go “my son didn’t do shit!” 😂.

The worst are the people who reduce Ashley to fap material and a “hot crazy girl they can fix or make worse” 🤪, and basically fetishize her (unchecked) mental health issues that contribute to how she acts. Again, she’s had crippling insecurities and low self-esteem since she was a kid, Ashley has had just about 0 good life experiences outside of the ones with Andrew. So it is incredibly frustrating to see. I’m like I hate y’all I really do, read the damn room 🙄. They need to stop projecting their weirdo shit onto her.

People who fetishize mental illness and talk about how they want to “date a crazy bitch” are so gross. If/when they actually date someone with said mental health issues, when things get bad and they don’t fit the fantasy anymore, they’ll get disgusted and drop the person struggling with mental issues like trash. Anytime I see a guy say “crazy girls with mental issues are better in bed!”…. I’m like I know what type of man you are 🫥…. Perish 🗣️.

Ashley and Andrew both have unchecked mental illness, we know this. It’s quite literally not their fault. However, I personally don’t feel comfortable diagnosing them. Every time I see someone online say they were a born a psychopath, sociopath, etc. I lose brain cells. Mind you, I’m literally majoring in psychology and I still don’t feel comfortable diagnosing them.

To wrap things up because I know this post is LONG! I empathize with both Andrew and Ashley because they’ve both been dealt a bad hand in life. Their parents failed them in every way, and the society they live in is totally dystopian. However, when it comes to Ashley specifically? I have all the empathy for her in the world, especially because I understand some of the things she’s dealt with and how painful it really is. Digging deeper into her character shows you that she has quite literally been through hell and back. You can say she’s a victim turned villain, but honestly? I don’t really even consider her a villain, maybe that’s controversial to say but 🤷🏻‍♀️, I don’t think she’s irredeemable either. She’s someone who was hurt very badly, her wounds run deep, and she never really got to heal from any of it.

I just want her and Andrew to have a happy ending, it would be nice for them to experience genuine happiness for once. I would also like to see Ashley gain some self love in ch. 3, maybe Andrew will be able to help her with that in a way as their relationship improves.

Honestly, people who act like the questionable burial route is the “bad” ending are in denial so bad. Nemlei has said that “Burial” and “Decay” aren’t an indicator of a “good” or “bad” ending though. There will also be multiple outcomes to discover. I’m both excited, and scared lol.

I love Ashley Graves so much as a character, she’s so interesting and complex. I don’t play about her 😂. When it comes to defending her I’m on the frontlines lmao. The misogyny/hate when it comes to her is crazyyy. I’ll be the odd one out I don’t care, she’s my girlie 💕. It’s always refreshing to see other people who adore her and actually understand her as a character.

~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for reading ❤️. I think this is my longest post yet 😳.

Also, a big thank you to everyone for all of the notes on my TCOAAL posts! I truly appreciate it. I’m so glad other people adore this game just as much as I do. :)

Unfortunately I’m not able to follow people back since this is a side blog. :/, but I do really appreciate everyone that follows me, I hope you like what I post. 💜

I’m currently working on creating an ooak doll of Ashley! 🤭💕. I’m SO excited to finish it and post her!

I plan on making a post about the Decay route at some point, because I realized I haven’t discussed it much. Probably because that route makes me sad 😓. However, it’s still incredibly interesting and I’m both excited and nervous to see where it goes.

#that one girl who don’t play about ashley graves #ashley graves’s defense attorney #tcoaal spoilers #tcoaal #the coffin of andy and leyley #nemlei #ashley graves #andrew graves #coffincest #gravecest #leyley graves #andy graves #kit9 #i hate reddit #i hate stupid people #this is a pretty long post oops #long post #longer post #just my thoughts

[coffincestuous]

i’ve been super busy this month so i’m about (checks date) 15 days late to the progress report, but…

kit9 progress report #4!!

we have these two images to start us off!!

before i get to leyley’s dialogue here, i want to say that i love the inside of wherever this is. is this part of the abandoned factory? is this just somewhere they found? i also see a hammer that stands out, and a particular door that’s boarded up. break in!!!

i wonder if this is a genuinely flashback or a dream sequence? if it’s a dream, whose? we’ve seen both andrew and ashley have dreams about their past (ashley when the game starts episode one, and andrew when he falls asleep at their parents’ house), and from the devlogs, we know that we’re going to see a whole lot more of their past with the next update!! so, i wonder who this moment is important to?

anyway. leyley suggesting they start a shooting spree in a church is very in-character for her. i don’t think i have to ask how she got there or why, because she’s just kind of… like that. we see that same behavior when they’re going back to the hotel room to lure the cultist out:

she’s so silly. my favorite problem girl.

the second image we have is this:

ashley is in some cultist’s apartment? house? …where’s andrew? did they break in? probably not, considering the ritual on the floor being up and ready to go. is andrew around, or is it just ashley here? was she invited? did she invite herself? did they attend another cultist event??

the rune on the floor here is different from the runes we’ve seen previously!! the one in the first cultist’s house is your standard pentagram with five smaller pentagrams around it. the second one, at the cultist party, is also a pentagram with five smaller pentagrams around it (but it looks better than the first one).

welcome to “how to summon a demon 101” with ashley graves!

i assume ashley made some kind of snarky comment to provoke the cultist into identifying her boyfriend. it’d be really funny if she asked if the guy was their brother. really funny

finally, we have A VIDEO!!!!!

hoooooly shit!!!! teenage andrew!!!!! teenage julia!!!! it’s great to see they haven’t grown out of their emo fashion.

julia’s so CUTE!!!!! it’s very sweet of her to reach out to andrew!! we know that andrew’s not the type to give a shit (internally) about rumors, but julia doesn’t know that. it’s very nice that she went out of her way to reassure him!!

it’s very surprising that andrew is the one who ultimately kickstarted their relationship. julia probably wasn’t going to say anything to him about her crush despite it being super super obvious. she’s very nervous and flustered in this scene!! the rumors surrounding him and ashley, regardless of truth, must have been harmful enough that he felt like he needed to step in to dispell them. andrew and his reputation… his care for ashley…

i love how we can see ashley’s interpretation of things and compare it to andrew’s interpretation of things. ashley’s view of the world is so skewed by her fears of abandonment and not being enough. she’s terrified of losing andrew, so anyone getting close to him is a threat that needs to be dealt with. but, andrew doesn’t have that same insecurity. he knows where he stands with ashley, he knows that no one can replace him in her life, and she can’t be replaced in his.

i’m so glad we get to see more of julia!! i know the game is titled the coffin of andy and leyley, but she’s important to the narrative!! she’s one of the few people to witness ashley’s full anger!! she was friends with nina!! she has seen how andrew acted when ashley wanted something!! i didn’t want to leave her in episode one…

it’s unfortunate that the next episodes will be delayed due to editor limitations, but that means that the game has so much content and i’m so exited to play it upon release!!!

#coffin.txt #devlog #tcoaal #the coffin of andy and leyley #andrew graves #ashley graves #tcoaal screencaps

[juniperhillpatient]

ok I’m like… back to this. I do love that the coffin of andy & leyley is so brutally bluntly HORROR as in not pg 13 blumhouse ghost horror movies that shy away from anything too taboo but horror that’s meant to offend & upset. I like the way it sees shit you’re not “supposed” to talk about & goes as hard as it can like - I don’t think at this point it’s a secret to literally anyone who follows me or has ever discussed fiction with me ever that the controversial or daring are obvious draws for me in any genre but particularly my favorite genre of horror.

like an anon suggested this to me, I saw the words “cannibalism” “incest” & “botched satanic ritual” as soon as I googled & was ready to check it out BUT I think it’s worth noting that it’s not the dark concepts themselves that got this game its well earned hype or that ensure that it lives rent free in my head & the heads of other fans.

I think the writers have created really compelling & complex multilayered characters & a fascinating storyline with a lot of questions left unanswered about the nature of these demons & of human souls & the world these characters inhabit & I’m being so sincere here I also think it’s a really thought provoking critique or at least exploration of the american nuclear family.

I already said this but I would’ve stopped caring pretty fast if andrew & ashley were not more than their archetypes which SURE are fun we love a quirky evil girlboss & her simp boyfriend brother but the fun archetypes are not enough on their own to keep me hooked. luckily, these are some of the least 1 dimensional characters I’ve ever seen. this got carried away talking about how good I think the game is & giving an obligatory disclaimer that yeah, I totally got into it initially for shallow & edgy reasons lol but I actually wanted to talk about the themes because I genuinely think it’s an incredibly well crafted story. anyway -

I think it’s really interesting that ashley is the one that is originally shown believing / hoping their mom hasn’t truly abandoned them. andrew discourages her from having hope in their mom or considering trying to find her until it’s about finding sacrifices for the demon & getting money. yet this initial dynamic is totally forgotten once they’re home. ashley just wants to kill these motherfuckers while andrew is busy playing mind games & - one might argue- playing house / pretending be a happy family. it’s andrew who is offered the olive branch. who we see considering sparing his parents or at least feeling conflicted about killing them. in the flashbacks we see that “andy” was forced to take care of “leyley” & she uses it against him “mom says you have to play with me.”

ashley is so depressingly achingly desperate for any hint of affection & it’s so obvious the reason she’s latched into andrew is that he’s the only one who’s ever chosen her. that’s why she’s so obsessed with calling andrew “andy” despite the conflict it constantly creates. andy helped her hide a body. a possibly hot take but I don’t think leyley was going “yay murder” in her child brain - I don’t think she cared that the girl died don’t get me wrong - but I do believe it was an accident. this is a happy memory though because it’s the only time in ashley’s entire life that someone has chosen her with that level of commitment. yet for andrew it’s horrific & traumatic & he wants to get away from it - or so he tells himself. maybe his parents were decent to him or at least not actively hateful how they were to ashley but it’s abundantly clear based on the fact the story’s premise relies on them leaving him to fucking starve to death that they do not give a fuck about him.

when mrs. graves tells andrew that there’s still hope for him & that she always cared about him the compliments she chooses are telling - they thought he was easy, quiet, a good kid - they thought they could have another (& hand her off to him to take care of). and ofc it’s worth noting mrs. graves only says all this to save her own skin & would never freely talk about caring about andrew.

so andy is living this cold not abusive but certainly empty & devoid of nurturing life & along comes leyley. she’s annoying & needy but she loves him with such reckless abandon. adult ashley’s words say it all. “If only you could love me with half the heart I love you with.” but he DOES he just doesn’t know how to show it the way she does. so he chooses her again & again & tries to make her happy with violence & bending to her will & showing her he’d do anything for her with everything he can except the one thing she wants which is simple affection.

as things get more & more dire ashley gets more abusive, controlling & manipulative embodying the worst aspects of her mother - a cold heartless bitch who never cared about anyone but herself - & andrew gets more & more apathetic just like his worthless father who’s barely even a person in his wife’s shadow.

it’s a really tragic story & I love this idea of characters on the run but they’re really running from themselves & that’s something you can never escape. how telling is it that the one thing ashley doesn’t want is to be buried in the same grave as her parents? but this story is about a grave it’s always been about a coffin in one way or another, they thought they escaped when they got out of the apartment but they’re still in it because they’ll always still be in it, you can’t escape from who you are at your core & there’s a reason ashley having tarred soul is such a glaring theme & episode 2 (in some versions) ends with andrew gaining a mark on his hand from the demon. they’re marked & there’s no escape. I’m sorry it’s just REALLY good horror. ok I’m done for now

#tcoaal #this might make no sense but like. it makes sense in my head ok #I really wanted to ramble about this game it’s like. filled my brain with worms #the coffin of andy and leyley #andrew graves #ashley graves

[thevoilinauttheory]

survivin’

[ FFxivWrite 2021 Prompt 8: Adroit ]

The Five Part “In the Dreams of Ashley” series is done! Go read the others here! {Prelude} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Wind} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Fire} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Water} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Earth}

[ HEAVY HEAVY CONTENT WARNINGS: implied child abuse/assault, detailed suffocation, detailed burial while alive, heavy grief and regret surrounding death ]

[ video has lots of moving colors ]

Dreaming about being buried alive is very frightening and is a warning that all of the things in your life that are causing you anxiety and despair should be thrown away. You have let things build up to a point that you are no longer able to control anything and now you risk being completely destroyed.

==

Ashley was forced into a uniform with little knowledge as to why, having just woken up with a raging headache and handcuffs on. Confused was an understatement. “Y’good?” There was a soft voice that addressed him, a soft voice that belonged to a large man. His hand set on his shoulder, some level of comfort and grounding while he gathered his bearings. “Wh-What’s goin’ on?” “Y’don’t know?” “Pretty sure the knot on th’back o’ my head answers that.” The man let out a laugh, then nodded. “Guess so. Yer bein’ conscripted.” “Conscripted? How in the hells!” Ashley pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh… he should have been more upset about this, but honestly, it felt like the worst kind of inconvenience. Still, he didn’t fight it, worked with the flow of everything as he usually did. “Guess I’m stuck here.” “We all’re, friend.” “What’s your name, friend?” He snorted. “Hunter. Ya’?” “Ashley.” “Nice t’meet ya’ Ashley, too bad it ain’t on better terms.” He nodded in response.

-

“Yer gonna get caught.” Ashley chuckled. “I never get caught. That’s the thing ‘bout growin’ up in Ul’dah.” “Mm.” “Hand me your rations.” “Are y’kiddin’? I ain’t givin’ y’anythin’!” “Sure? Thought y’wanted to get out o’ here, same as me. N’if y’do, you’re gonna have t’give ‘em to me.” “Why?” “Uh… food to last us until we get home?” “N’how ‘bout the energy they’re makin’ us use t’fight?” Ashley snatched Hunter’s rations from him, stuffing them into a tight and inconspicuous corner with the rest of all of the little items he managed to get away with - some string, blades, pins, badges; even things like hair-ties and pens. Anything he could get away with shoving in his pocket, he did so. He bumped his elbow back into Hunter and lowered his voice. “Get somewhere else, someone’s ‘bout to come in.” “Eh? How’d’y’know?” “I’ll tell you later, jus’ get or we’re gonna get caught.” Hunter backed off, going back to his own belongings to check them off; leaving Ashley to slide a sizeable block of concrete in front of the hole in the wall, covering it completely. “Tucker!” “Yes, sir!” “What are you doing on the floor, get your arse up now.” “Sorry, sir! I dropped my badge.” He stood up, adjusting the collar of his uniform with a small pin on it.

-

“How are we going to get past them? Did you even think that far through?” The Auri woman that had joined along prodded at him while he was thinking. “Will you shut it?”

Four of them clamored and cramped in the vents, waiting for a good time to drop out of them. They were dressed in different uniforms, to match those of the area they were about to infiltrate. When an opening arose, he dropped out of the vent, brushed off his clothes, then pretended to idly look at the schedule board that was on the wall. Well, he was looking at it, but also waiting for another good time to signal another body. He tapped his chin, stretched his arms above his head as the last person in the hall walked past him - he held up a signed “C”, and waved his hand. That let the other two know to let Colette drop down first, she did just the same - brushing out her uniform before striking up an uninteresting conversation about the schedule.

They waited for the hallway to clear again. She held her thumb and forefinger together and waved, signaling Ruta to come down next. As the next crowd came through, she pretended to be scolding them. It cleared, Ashley waved, and down came Hunter. Hunter always came last - he wasn’t the best actor or liar, so they made sure that he could be ready to move immediately. They walked down the hall, past many unsuspecting soldiers and medics, until they were able to escape the facility they were locked up in. “Oh, thank gods.” Hunter let out a sigh of relief at the fresh air, no matter how cold it was. “Sh. We ain’t there yet. There’s still the entire damned city. Make sure your bags are on tight, n’if not, fasten them. I mean it. Y’gotta be ready to book it once we get through.” “What are we going to do after?” The question was, thankfully, vague enough to not alarm anyone they were passing by; but Colette anxiously gripped the shoulder belt to her bag. “Hoof it.” “On land? All the way back?” Ruta folded her arms over her chest. “I’ve worked it out already, trust me.”

-

“How in the hells did you manage that!” Ruta laughed as she ran across the snow, outside the metal confines of Garlemald. “It’s cold, but kami, it’s free!” “I came prepared.” “Is that why your bag is larger than ours.” “Yeah. Managed to snatch a few uniforms and some blankets. We’ve got a long way to walk - most of it’s dead here. No life whatsoever, just snow. Ruta, yer on the way back first.” “Wait… is that why we’re walking?” “Aye. Othard connects here - stowing away on a ship or airship would skip over you entirely. So prepare t’get intimate with one another, ‘cause we’re gonna need a lot of body heat.” Ruta stopped and blinked at him. “...Thank you.” “You can thank me when y’get home. After Ruta, we’re going to stowaway on a merchant vessel - it’ll look more Garlean than Hingan, but it’s goin’ to get hijacked by pirates from Limsa. Which is how we get Hunter home. After that, Colette n’I’re gonna hitch a ship back t’Vesper Bay, and I’ll walk her back home.” They all seemed… shocked. Appalled, even. That this stranger would go out of his way to know so much about the way back, and that he’d help them even. “Where’re y’goin’ after that?” Hunter pat Ruta’s shoulder to get her moving again. “Mm. Back home, maybe. I dunno. Maybe I can get a job like this.” He laughed.

==

“Mister?” “Mm?” Ashley looked up from his book, pipe hanging loosely from his mouth as his eyes caught a young girl standing next to him. Her face was red from crying, and looking over her clothes brought back memories and images he wished he didn’t have.

“...Need help?” His voice lowered, to not draw attention. She nodded, and he stood up from his seat to pull off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders - it was obviously too large, but that was the point. He pulled a hair-tie from his pocket to tie back her hair, so that its general style was different at a glance. He lifted her up to sit in the chair, having her hold the book up as if she were reading it. He placed his arm on the back of the chair, talking random nonsense about words in the book to the girl as his eyes caught a glimpse of several people walking in, looking around for something or someone. When he noticed the girl’s grip on the book tightened, he figured those were the people she was hiding from. He placed his hand on one of hers, holding the book up as well - and he kept his voice just as low.

“Relax… don’t show any tension. If they see white knuckles, they’ll get suspicious.” She did just that, nodding slowly. “Okay… uhm.” She was afraid her voice would be recognizable if she spoke, so she kept it low. “What’s this word mean?” “Eh?” He looked back at the book, noting she was just pointing at the word “the”, to which he smiled - she was trying to play along with him. “That word? Oh! That’s a name, sweetheart. I know, all them Elezen got such fancy names, y’could swear y’saw ‘em in a dictionary.” They kept on like that until he saw all of those same people leave. “There y’go. All gone. Need someplace safe t’stay?” “Mm..” She didn’t trust like that, and he noticed. He laughed, waving one of his hands. “Not with me. I have a friend who takes care of children goin’ through what you are. I can make sure y’get there with no problem. Unless you’ve got a place? I can take you wherever you need most.” She smiled a little bit, nodding. “Someplace safe… sounds nice.” “Good! Now up y’get. I’ll look inta these people that hurt you, okay?”

==

He stared down at those graves, the ones he made; carved up of nothing but rocks and dirt, with desert blooms laid in place. All the thoughts welled up there - what he could have done, what could have gone better. Memories of all the times they had, wondering why he never said more. A lot of things were left unsaid - Ruta never got to propose to Colette, they never got to choose the colors of their wedding, or what flowers, what food and drinks; they never got to dance, and the last sight of each other wasn’t even a damned smile!

He cursed himself silently.

Hunter never got to go on about his newest niece, never got to tell the unheard stories of his family, never got to see the world as much as he dreamed, never got into a bar fight with a pirate; that the last he’d see of him was a damned smile! He never got to tell him-- He never got to tell them…

Ashley stared at the graves and knew…. this wasn’t how it was supposed to end.

He sat down in the dirt in front of them, offering some vague notion of a smile. “Y’won’t believe me. I know it. But… helped someone out today. Didn’t turn ‘em down. Didn’t make any snarky comments or nothin’. ‘Member that time out in the eastside of La Nocsea? It was like that, unfortunately. But, despite their faults n’corrupt nature, got the Blades t’clear ‘em all out after trackin’ ‘em to wherever they were hidin’.”

He let out a soft sigh. “...I miss y’all. So much. Y’meant so much to me. I was jus’ s’posed to take y’all home… n’y’stayed with me. You were my family… everythin’ I had. N’I… n’I jus’...” He shook his head. “I wish I could’ve done more. I… I… I love y’all, with all I could. Each n’every one o’ya’. I… never got t’tell you that. I hope… wherever y’are now… you know that. I’ll keep livin’ on, keep y’strong. Yer memories aren’t wasted, aren’t gone. Not yet. I’ll be damned if your story don’t get heard, though.”

He closed his eyes for just a moment

He snapped awake, not upright; he laid flat and stared at the pitch darkness in front of him. The bed below him was hard - it felt more like a floor. Wasn’t he in the dirt before? He could’ve sworn he was outside but a few seconds ago. It must’ve been a bad trip, lost all sense of time and ended up wherever he was now. All he had to do was find his stuff. He tried to sit up, only to slam his head on a short ceiling. “Augh… ow…” He tried to rub the spot he hit, only for his arm to scrape a wall right beside him. What was going on? He placed his hands flat on the shallow ceiling, feeling around - it was wood - he tried to find some means of escaping. There must’ve been a latch *somewhere*. One hand lowered to his pocket… most, if not all, of his gear and possessions were stripped of him; though he pat around to find an assortment of objects in the corners of his prison. When his hand landed on a lighter, it immediately lit up.

A coffin. Was he dead? Had they found him and buried him with his family? Did he… even want to be dead? The response of him slamming his hands on the lid and screaming for someone answered that question. There must’ve been a mistake, he wasn’t dead - he wasn’t! There was no way, none of this could be real. Dirt fell in between the cracks of the splintering shell he was incased in, no one was going to come. No one could hear him. He could feel the tears at his cheeks, the deepest recesses of his mind coming forward.

He didn’t want to die. He wasn’t ready to join them. “Gods, please… please…” He hoped some entity would come forth to dig him up and let him breathe. It was getting hot, he could barely catch his breath; like something stuck in his throat. He tried to cry for help again, met with the same silence. He could feel the blood rushing to his head, settling on his mouth and face and numbing his skin while he choked on nothing. He slammed his hands against the wood. Maybe there was just a small bit of air, if he could just get out. He dug his nails into the splinters and chips, tearing back his fingernails for just a *chance* at being able to dig his way to freedom. He was getting tired, though, exhausted. His chest hurt, and he could no longer hold up his arms. He stared at the darkness above him. Regardless of whether he wanted it or not, he could feel his vision fading - he tried to keep his eyes closed while gasping for the air that didn’t exist.

==

Ashley snapped awake, upright, this time; eyes forced closed by the brightness of the sun reflecting off the walls of the city - still in front of the graves of his family. He panted heavily, head reeling from the nightmare.

A nightmare.

Just a nightmare.

He was never so thankful for knowing it was just a dream.

#ffxivwrite2021 #prompt 8 #adroit #about: Ashley Tucker #virtues and vices #:') #didn't think i'd get around to completing all of it #this short little series is to also explore my deepest fears #which you think would maybe ease it a little? #but nope #i fear em worse after doing much needed research #/cry

[yejiroh]

Hello! I love your Wake Up and See Me story! (not so secret slut for angst and character death) I'd like to request very angsty HCs for Obey me! charas x fem!reader who is still grieving for her family singing her mother's lullaby while spacing out somewhere public. The lullaby in question being Lullaby of Woe by Ashley Serena, The Hanging Tree from Hunger Games series or Come Little Children by Erutan. Wanna see their reactions so bad!!!

I- I really need to update that series. Thank you so much for the support of it anon!

And thank you for the request darling! I’m sorry it took so long, but the lullaby’s were beautiful! So yes, I decided to listen to them all and match them with who I think it’d get the best reaction from! I made a little scene as well before the reactions, so it may or may not be a bit of a long read.

Lullaby Reaction! Obey Me BROTHERS x Fem!MC (ANGST)

Couldn't add the Keep Reading link because Tumblr is a beeotch. Sorry not sorry to everyone because this is LONG!

***

TRIGGER WARNING: death, loss of parents, toxicity, mentions of cannibalism, more death, child abuse, traumatic stress, mentions of suicide, nightmare factors, unintentional murder, loss of siblings, and as the anon requested, A SHIT TON OF ANGST!

Side note: I really really liked Lullaby of Woe...may consider making a series based on the lyrics. Who knows?

***

This one is kind of long because I did get carried away, but I do hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

***

Lucifer, Mammon and Beezlebub: Come Little Children

As the cool Autumn breeze hit her face, MC took a sip from the hot cup between her clothed hands. Today would mark the 15th year since the orphanage- her orphanage, had burned down. All 23 children and her parents except she had burned to an ash- less than that truly. She, with her ill body and frail stature, she, with her poor value and level of importance, she, the one who had been trapped in the building longest of all.

Every time she had walked into the toy store around the corner, MC felt pulled towards the puzzle sets. Specifically, the 24 piece sets. MC was the 24th child. But she was also the first. Every day, she’d buy a set, just to lay it on their graves, sorry that she had been left behind. 

“Come little children, I’ll take thee away, into a land of enchantment…oh momma, I’m so sorry I let you all down...I’m sorry I played with the fire, I’m sorry.” A tear had poured down, slid to her dry lips as she desperately held them back.

“I’m sorry momma...papa...I’m sorry I didn’t listen...I’m sorry I killed you all…”

And, as she walked away from the tombstones, a heart that was not hers broke.

{Reactions}

LUCIFER:

1.Never before had Lucifer been so...disturbed.

2.The song was stunning, and that was true….but somehow he could relate

3.He would definitely stay on the down low for a while, his pride showing when he has to come up with lies as to why he wasn’t talking to you

4.Okay, flashbacks for weeks. He was genuinely affected by the song.

5.In the end, he needs more comfort than you once he finally kicks pride out the window and sheds tears in front of you.

6.“I’m sorry, MC…”

MAMMON:

1.Okay...he wasn’t the best at spying on you-but he was worried! Your behavior was odd since last Sunday...actually, every Sunday.

2.He ran out to you, crying hard as he tackled you, saying how sorry he was for digging into your personal life. 

3.The demon was holding fistfulls of little puzzle pieces, candy, and notes, claiming they were from the souls of the children, who wished you the best in life and to move on.

4.He, the avatar of greed, had done something of huge charitable value for these children as he held you close

5.Yes, he got flashbacks….but decided not to dwell on them, more so trying to comfort you.

6.“Stupid human...you can come to me always, ya know that?”

BEEZLEBUB:

1.Beezlebub doesn’t always show his feelings, sure. But he does, forever and always, come for those he cares about. 

2.It’s like a magnetic pull as you cry. He’s there, wiping the large tear threatening to spill with his thumb, licking it off before wiping his hand off. 

3.A kind smile with eyes pain ridden as his big hands engulf your own, for he too, had a tragic past and lost someone he considered blood.

4.“It’s okay, MC. They’re right here, and always will be. Please don’t cry.” He says as he points to your heart, right by your breast, but with no sexual intent. Only comfort. 

5.“Come on, big girl, don’t cry, I’m here.” He says, holding you close and running his fingers through your hair with the gentlest of touches.

6. No one can harm you in your vulnerable state as the Avatar of Gluttony protects you.

Satan and Asmodeus: The Hanging Tree

It was in class- herbology. The lesson was on wisteria trees when MC bordly began to hum a tune.

“Are you, are you, coming to the tree? They strung up a man, they say who murdered three. Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight, in the hanging tree.” 

“Miss L/n quiet down! I’m trying to teach!” The professor had called out, but MC was lost as tears began to bubble up. She continued her little song quietly as her desk mates huffed in annoyance. She’d done this every day of the week, only to end up crying. Nobody knew what was wrong with her, nor did they get a word out of her. Not until Amso took MC and Satan out for a spa treatment.

Filing her nails, Asmo blew off the dust, his brows furrowed.

“Say, MC?”

“Yeah?”

“Why is it you sing that depressing song every time someone brings up wisteria trees?”

Now Satan looked up, lifting a cucumber off his eye, his curiosity sparked. MC looked away, pulling her hand away from Asmo’s as she pulled her knees to her chest, a deep sigh escaping her lips. Asmo quickly waved his hands in front of him.

“Oh, sorry, sorry MC! I didn’t know it was a touchy subject-”

Satan interrupted. “Care to share?”

“Satan!”

“No, no, Asmo- it’s okay. It’s...it’s just not something I really talk about.” MC said, finishing off with a whisper. 

The two leaned in, eyes big and expectant when MC looked to them.

“You know, my father passed away when I was really young. It was a selfish reason, really- to put it into his own words, it was, “To escape the responsibility of life.” , but that wasn’t the case.” MC  raised her pant leg, revealing all the burn marks and scars covering the skin. 

“It was really to escape the guilt of hurting me.”

The brothers went quiet for a moment before Satan put a hand up.

“So what does that have to do with that song you were singing?”

MC smiled bitterly. “Because he was the man in The Hanging Tree my mother always sang to me.”

“So what happened to your mother?”

“She too, joined him in death…and left me alone.”

{Reactions}

SATAN: 

1.He was at a loss for words, to say the least.

2.Never, in the demon’s countless millennia had he come across such a pitiful soul

3.Taking a bite of the cucumber before tossing it aside, he took the other off, tracing his fingers across the burns that resembled his rage: Ugly, loved, and traumatizing

4.As the room was quiet, he just felt intrigued to know more, had to know more. 

5.“You’re very strong, MC.”

6.The Hanging Tree did not leave his mind for quite some time as he tried to figure out the mystery MC had unknowingly left implanted in his brain.

ASMODEUS:

1.He has never ruined his makeup by crying in front of somewhere. Never ever.

2.But he sure as hell came close to it. 

3.Asmo had nothing to say but grab MC’s hands and kiss them softly over and over again before continuing the manicure he had initially started.

4.A mental note to take MC’s mind off other things so as not to give her wrinkles from stress or depression. 

Leviathan and Belphegor: Lullaby of Woe

She never had a peaceful night's rest. The dreams always came back to haunt her.Each night, she’d live through it, again, and again, and again. Oh, how the false man in white would come to her, a mischievous grin on his handsome face before cutting into her mind, showing her the deaths at her fault. Her mother, kind and beautiful, always coming in to protect her, reassure her that it wasn’t real, that she was seeing things. 

“Momma, please! I’m scared! I don’t wanna see him again momma!” A little girl wailed, holding onto her mother’s waist, legs wrapped around in a firm hold, hands bundled in her clothes.

“My darling, please just sleep~ I’ll always be here love. Always.”

And always she was, for her remains laid in that rotting home to this day, not yet known. Still, no one would believe the late Mrs. L/n’s daughter.

MC shuffled more in her sleep before finally waking up, eyes puffy from the unconscious crying. Slowly she got up, getting ready for the school day as she washed her face, prepared, and left the room. 

“Good morning.” Each of the brothers would greet her, to which she’d return a small nod. There was nothing to talk about. Not when these nightmares haunted her so.

A little girl sat by her mother’s corpse, a man beside her.

Drink, child. Feast in the blood of a sinner.

“...But….but mother wasn’t a sinner…”

“Ignorant child. You are but a bastard, for she was never married. Drink and cleanse yourself of the blood of a sinner. Repent and be saved.”

Truly, the false man in white was but a liar, wanting nothing more than a child’s innocence and fortune as he toyed with her. 

Lost in her own fantasies, she began to sing, the tall Jubokko tree towering beneath her with the damned’s skulls by her feat. 

“For the witcher, heartless, cold...Paid in coin of gold, He comes he’ll go leave naught behind, but heartache and woe…”

“Deep, deep woe, for the witcher, heartless, cold, Paid in coin of gold, he comes…”

MC’s voice broke into it, pathetic cracks of the voice clear but quiet as she stopped.

A small applause was heard behind her; Belphie and Levi had seen and listened patiently, attentive and concerned.

The Avatar of Sloth put his arms down, kicking a skull as he sat down.

“That was a beautiful song, MC. What has made you so upset?”

Levi too, had sat down, his eyes no longer focused on the forgotten D.D.D.

MC just smiled sheepishly, sitting down with the boys as she tucked back a loose strand away. 

“It was nothing important. A story for another time.”

{Reactions}

BELPHEGOR:

1.Girl, honey, darling. You're lying. It’s okay! You can trust him!

2.If MC doesn’t end up telling him, then he can just slip into the dreams (I think?)

3.Honestly worried for you. He’s the Avatar of Sleep- he KNOWS you’ve been disturbed lately, and more so than others.

4.Can you imagine the pure look of hatred once he finds out about this man?

5.And ew, you drank your mother’s blood? 

6.But that’s cannibalism, which is a major sin so…

7.I guess you really can stay with him forever!

8.Honestly, he’s like a flame; burns as long as there’s fuel, then will move on to another topic.

LEVIATHAN:

1.So yeah. He didn’t really say anything.

2.But he was listening. 

3.Didn’t make an anime reference once because nothing he’s ever knew of had been that horrifying. 

4. Didn’t wanna make you feel shy about it, but kind of hints about it later on. 

5.No, he doesn’t care about the man, because as you sat down on the skull ridden dirt, you just seemed so...peaceful

#meena #swd #obey me #mc #om #lucifer #mc obey me #obey me leviathan #devildom #obey me belphie #om! asmodeus #om swd #om! mammon #om leviathan #om satan #om beelzebub #ANGST #dark fanfiction #fanfiction #Requests #answerd #Asks

[p3ach3snplums]

  DANCING IN THE DARK WITH YOU BETWEEN MY ARMS

                     A Logan Hamilton and Neeja Anand Mix

Listen ( x )

@thcdarkling​ envio ♪ para un pequeño mix de nuestras muses

Perfect Symphony by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli

'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love Not knowing what it was I will not give you up this time But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own And in your eyes, you're holding mine Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favourite song When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight

Take Me Dancing by The Maine

Give me thunder, give me lightning, and I will give you every part of me Take me dancing, get me fucked up. Play that old guitar an we will sing.

As Long As You´re Mine by Wicked Original Broadway Cast

Kiss me too fiercely Hold me too tight I need help believing You're with me tonight My wildest dreamings Could not foresee Lying beside you With you wanting me And just for this moment As long as you're mine I've lost all resistance And crossed some border line And if it turns out It's over too fast I'll make every last moment last As long as you're mine Maybe I'm brainless Maybe I'm wise But you've got me seeing Through different eyes Somehow I've fallen Under your spell And somehow I'm feeling It's up that I fell Every moment As long as you're mine I'll wake up my body And make up for lost time

Six Feet Under The Stars (Acoustic) by All Time Low

Meet me on Thames Street, I'll take you out Though I'm hardly worth your time In the cold you look so fierce But I'm warming up because the tension's like a fire We'll hit South Broadway in a matter of minutes And like a bad movie I'll drop a line Fall in the grave I've been digging myself But there's room for two, six feet under the stars

Porfa No Te Vayas by Beret & Morat

Recuerdo aquel verano que pasé contigo Y cada beso que nunca pasó Se viste de fantasma cuando estoy dormido Pasamos de repente del calor al frío Y tu recuerdo no se congeló Hoy no puedo creer que estés al lado mío Porque solo tú sabes Que se quedaron tantos besos al aire Solo tú sabes No sé vivir, que yo sin ti no soy nadie Porfa, no te vayas cuando salga el sol Cuando algún error me haga pasar por imprudente Los nervio' de bailar contigo juegan conmigo Porfa, no te vayas cuando intente hablar Y al tartamudear, na-na-na-nada te cuente Los nervios de bailar contigo juegan conmigo Porfa, no te vayas Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh Porfa, no te vayas Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

Primer Avión by Matisse & Camilo

Solo sé bailar si tu bailas conmigo Todo está tan mal si yo no estoy contigo, contigo ¿Por qué no vuelves hoy? Toma el primer avión No sabes como estoy Muriéndome de amor ¿Por qué no vuelves hoy? (¿Por qué no vuelves hoy?) Toma el primer avión (Toma el primer avión) No sabes como estoy Muriéndome de amor

No Hay Nadie Más by Sebastián Yatra

Recuerdo aquel día Como si fuera hoy No hay nada como ella Ni siquiera Me encontró Recuerdo, todavía La vez que la besé Fue mi primer amor Y ahora escribo su canción Hay algo más Inexplicable como su mirada Inigualable como la manera en que me cela Y trata de disimular que no está mal Voy a cuidarte por las noches Voy a amarte sin reproches Te voy a extrañar en la tempestad Y aunque existan mil razones para renunciar No hay nadie más No hay nadie más

Forever and Ever by He is We

You're my air, when I feel I can't breathe. Catching me, when I'm tripping over my feet. We'll get through this together. You're my smile, when I just want to cry. Make it all better as you kiss my sad eyes. I'm giving you my forever and ever.

On My Love by We The Kings

And I'll never break your heart on my love Follow you through the dark on my love Even if I do, I don't Even if I could, I won't Let you lose who you are Won't let you fall apart on my love And even if the years turn old and grey Even if your legs don't work the same And even if your mind forgets my name And even if the worst takes us through hell Even if you lose what you once held Even if you wait but there's no help And I'll be here, all for you And I'll be here, all for you

Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer

Kiss me, out of the bearded barley Nightly, beside the green, green grass Swing, swing, (swing, swing) swing the spinning step You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress Oh, kiss me, beneath the milky twilight Lead me out on the moonlit floor Lift your open hand Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance Silver moon's sparkling So kiss me

Adore You by Harry Styles

Honey (ah) I'd walk through fire for you Just let me adore you Oh, honey (ah) I'd walk through fire for you Just let me adore you Like it's the only thing I'll ever do Like it's the only thing I'll ever do

Why by Sabrina Carpenter

Tell me how we're not alike But we work so well and we don't even know why Funny how the stars crossed right 'Cause we work so well and we don't even know why You can call it fire and ice But we work so well and we don't even know why We don't even know why, no no We don't even know why, no no no

When You Look Me In The Eyes by The Jonas Brothers

When you look me in the eyes, And tell me that you love me Everything's alright, When you're right here by my side When you look me in the eyes, I catch a glimpse of heaven I find my paradise When you look me in the eyes

Something I Need by One Republic

And if you only die once, I wanna die withYou got something I need In this world full of people, there's one killing me And if we only die once (hey), I wanna die with you (You, you, you) You got something I need In this world full of people, there's one killing me And if we only die once (hey), I wanna die with you (You, you) 

 Everybody Talks by Neon Trees

It started with a whisper And that was when I kissed her And then she made my lips hurt I could hear the chit chat Take me to your love shack Mama's always gotta back track When everybody talks back

Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

Oh don't you dare look back Just keep your eyes on me I said you're holding back She said shut up and dance with me This woman is my destiny She said oh oh oh Shut up and dance with me We were victims of the night The chemical, physical, kryptonite Helpless to the bass and the fading light Oh we were bound to get together Bound to get together She took my arm I don't know how it happened We took the floor and she said

I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie

Love of mine Someday you will die But I'll be close behind I'll follow you into the dark No blinding light Or tunnels, to gates of white Just our hands clasped so tight Waiting for the hint of a sparkIf Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks Then I'll follow you into the dark

Say It First by Sam Smith

Come on baby, say it first I need to hear you say those words If I'm all that you desire, I promise there'll be fire I need to hear you say it first Come on baby, do your worst I know you'll take me higher So come on darling If you love me, say it first Say it, say it, say it Won't you say it to me? Say it, say it, say it Won't you say it to me?

Kiss The Girl by Ashley Tisdale

There you see her Sitting there across the way She don't got a lot to say But there's something about her And you don't know why But you're dying to try You wanna kiss girl Yes, you want her Look at her, you know you do It's possible she wants you too There's one way to ask her It don't take a word, not a single word Go on and kiss the girl (kiss the girl) Sha-la-la-la-la-la My, oh my Looks like the boy's too shy Ain't gonna kiss the girl Sha-la-la-la-la-la Ain't that sad It's such a shame, too bad You're gonna miss the girl Go on and kiss the girl (kiss the girl)

Two Is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls & Taylor Swift

I remember what you wore on the first day You came into my life and I thought, hey You know this could be something 'Cause everything you do and words you say You know that it all takes my breath away And now I'm left with nothing So maybe it's true That I can't live without you And maybe two is better than one But there's so much time To figure out the rest of my life And you've already got me coming undone And I'm thinking two is better than one

Be Your Everything by Boys Like Girls

Four letter word But I don't have the guts to say it Smile til it hurts Lets not make it complicated We've got a story But I'm about to change the ending You're perfect for me You're more than just a friend so we can just stop pretending now I gotta let you know somehowI'll be your shelter I'll be your storm I'll make you shiver I'll keep you warm Whatever weather Baby I'm yours I'll be your forever, be your fling Baby I will be your everything

Más by Diego Boneta

Todo cambio cuando te vi Jamas imagine que habria Un corazón fuera de mi Sintiendo lo que yo sentia Fue tu voz tus labios tal vez Tu forma de ser de niña y mujer Tan solo se que hoy te quiero. Más te quiero mas de lo que quiero a la vida, Más si no te tengo a ti de que serviria, Más de que podria ya servir la respiración Muerto el corazón.

She Is by The Fray

She is everything I need That I never knew I wanted She is everything I want That I never knew I needed She is everything I need That I never knew I wanted She is everything I want That I never knew I needed

I Know Places by Taylor Swift

Baby, I know places we won't be found and They'll be chasing their tails trying to track us down 'Cause I, I, I, I know places we can hide I know places I know places

Little Things by One Direction

Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me But bear this mind, it was meant to be And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks And it all makes sense to me I know you've never loved The crinkles by your eyes when you smile You've never loved your stomach or your thighs The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine But I'll love them endlessly I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth But if I do, it's you Oh, it's you, they add up to I'm in love with you And all these little things

You And Me by Lifehouse

'Cause it's you and me And all of the people with nothing to do Nothing to lose And it's you and me And all of the people And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you What are the things that I want to say Just aren't coming out right? I'm tripping on words You got my head spinning I don't know where to go from here

La Correcta by Nabález & Morat

No pienso dar ni un paso atrás En el camino que me lleve hacia tus besos No pienso en eso, se los confieso Hoy me arriesgo a todo sin mirar atrás Si tú te vas, ya volverás Porque el destino sabe bien qué es lo correcto Y no habrá pretextos de espacio ni tiempo Solo formas nuevas de poder amar Te cuento que me encuentro ilusionado Y no puedo olvidarme ya de ella Te cuento que pasé mi vida entera Buscando lo que por fin he encontrado Sé que con otras yo me he equivocado Sé que he dado contra el mundo y he perdido la esperanza Porque aunque llevo cargas del pasado Cuando ella está a mi lado se equilibra la balanza Y nada me cansa

I Don´t Care by Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber

'Cause I don't care when I'm with my baby, yeah All the bad things disappear And you're making me feel like maybe I am somebody I can deal with the bad nights When I'm with my baby, yeah Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh 'Cause I don't care as long as you just hold me near You can take me anywhere And you're making me feel like I'm loved by somebody I can deal with the bad nights When I'm with my baby, yeah Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

If I Can´t Have You by Shawn Mendes

I can't write one song that's not about you Can't drink without thinkin' about you Is it too late to tell you that Everything means nothing if I can't have you? I'm in Toronto and I got this view But I might as well be in a hotel room, yeah It doesn't matter 'cause I'm so consumed Spending all my nights reading texts from you Oh, I'm good at keepin' my distance I know that you're the feelin' I'm missing You know that I hate to admit it But everything means nothin' if I can't have you

Hearts Don´t Break Around Here by Ed Sheeran

She is the sweetest thing that I know Should see the way she holds me when the lights go low Shakes my soul like a pothole every time Took my heart upon a one way trip Guess she went wandering off with it And unlike most women I know This one will bring it back whole Daisies, daisies perched upon your forehead Oh my baby, lately I know That every night I'll kiss you, you'll say in my ear "Oh, we're in love, aren't we?" Hands in your hair Fingers and thumbs, baby I feel safe when you're holding me near Love the way that you conquer your fear You know hearts don't break around here Oh yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

So honey now Take me into your loving arms Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars Place your head on my beating heart I'm thinking out loud Maybe we found love right where we are

Tu Refugio by Pablo Alborán

Soy desordenado cuando quiero No recogeré los besos que dejé anoche en tu cuello Somos un desastre pero es cierto, nos queremos Si pasas por mi lado, aún se congela el tiempo ¿Quién me iba a decir a mí que todo esto existiría? Déjame ser tu refugio, déjame que yo te ayudo Aguantémonos la vida, te recuerdo si lo olvidas Que hemos crecido peleando y sin quererlo nos gustamos ¡Cuántas cosas han pasado! Y ya no hay miedo de decir Te amo Te amo

Conexión by Lola Club

Hay una fuerza en ti que no me deja ir y me quiero quedar Sin destino, otro momento, me quedo mil vidas más Y es que no, no logro entender Que siento conocerte cada día más Es como si algo de adentro me quisiera abandonar Conexión tan rara y mística, quédate ya

Love is Easy by McFly

If this is love, then love is easy It's the easiest thing to do If this is love, then love completes me Cause it feels like I've been missing you A simple equation With no complications to leave you confused If this is love, love, love Oh it's the easiest thing to do

Quiero Decirte by Sebastián Yatra

Quiero decirte que te amo y que este amor es verdadero Quiero decirte tantas cosas y al final no diré nada Lo que yo quiero estará escrito en mi mirada Y te amo más que a nada Y te amo más que a nada Perdido solo, tanto frió en el amanecer Mi vida estaba en un vacío pero tú llegaste Porque tú llegaste Convertiremos en mañanas cada anochecer Y ya no siento ese vacío porque tú llegaste Porque tú llegaste Y es que hoy quiero aceptar No tuve nada y me lograste completar Desde hoy voy a jurar Lo que no puedo con palabras explicar

Cursi by División Minúscula

Acaso es mucho pedirte una razón Cuando sabes que eres tú La que tiene mi corazón Explícame por que no puedo ni hablar Y me pones a temblar Cada vez que estás cerca de m­i No lo puedo resistir Mira lo que me haces escribir Y no se que decir Y no se que hacer Para que te puedas dar cuenta de que yo Estoy frente a ti Acaso es mucho escribirte esta canción Pues para m­i no es tan común Estar en esta situación Si tan solo no fueras tan especial Y yo no tan informal Tal vez me acercara a ti Yo me siento tan cursi Mira lo que me haces escribir

Say It Now by We The Kings

And tired eyes just lay your head on me, And I'll be here until you fall asleep. The storm is getting closer, I won't leave. All the words I sing are whispers in your dreams. When I said I wanted it all, I wanted it all. It hurts more than ever, I won't give up now. And all that you are, is all that I need, I promised forever. So tell me it hurts, tell it burns, Tell me it's love and that you're ready to fall Into my arms or into the ground, It's lost or it's found, Whatever you need to say, say it now.

Presiento by Morat & Aitana

Yo te miro y todo me da vueltas, vueltas Y aunque admito que quiero volverte a ver Presiento que tú siempre vas y vienes Que nunca tienes nada que perder Rompiendo corazones te entretienes Y cuando das el tuyo es de papel Presiento que serás de esos errores De esos que estoy dispuesto a cometer Presiento que te vas y ya no vienes Yo olvido mis presentimientos Solo por volverte a ver Solo por volverte a ver Solo por volverte a ver Y aunque no entienda la razón No puedo ocultar que te quiero No puedo ocultar que te quiero Y sé que para mí es un obsesión Pero para ti es solo un juego Pero para ti es solo un juego

Fireproof by One Direction

I think I'm gonna lose my mind Something deep inside me, I can't give up I think I'm gonna lose my mind I roll, and I roll 'til I'm out of luck Yeah, I roll, and I roll 'til I'm out of luck I'm feeling something deep inside Hotter than a jet stream burning up I got a feeling deep inside It's taking, it's taking all I've got Yeah, it's taking, it's taking all I've got

A Daydream Away by All Time Low

We would go out on the weekend To escape our busy lives And we'd laugh at all the douche bag guys Chasing down their desperate wives I would drink a little too much You'd offer me a ride And I would offer you a t-shirt And you would stay another night

Fiesta para Dos by Lola Club

Y si esto se descontrola Se descontrola contigo Y si tú quieres tocarme Mi vida, te doy permiso Puedes hacer lo que quieras Aquí estamos solos Tú y yo Recuerda que pa' una fiesta chiquitita Nomás se necesitan dos

You and Only You by We The Kings

You and only you You make my heart feel like you're pulling every string You and only you You make me drop down to my knees and give this ring My everything Baby, once upon a time There was a million stars up high Now you're the only light I see And I don't care which way we go Teach me everything you know Everything a love should be So baby, just believe

How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding

How long will I be with you? As long as the sea is bound to Wash upon the sand How long will I want you? As long as you want me to And longer by far

She (A Capella Mix) by We The Kings

She, when she cries Can the whole world fill the rain When we could lie Hell and heaven come to play She is the first and the last for me She is the everything between She is the darkness She is the daylight She is the calm She is the storm She is the moment The endless and only She is my all She is the one She is She, when she falls I will kiss her until she's clean She, when she breaks It's a gift she gives to me

Superstar by Taylor Swift

This is wrong, but I can't help but feel likeThere ain't nothing more right, babe Misty morning comes again and I can't Help but wish I could see your face I knew from the first note played I'd be breaking all my rules to see you You smile that beautiful smile And all the girls in the front row scream your name So dim that spotlight, tell me things like "I can't take my eyes off of you" I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl Who's desperately in love with you Give me a photograph to hang on my wall Superstar 

 Gold Rush by Taylor Swift

But I don't like a gold rush, gold rush I don't like anticipating my face in a red flush I don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch Everybody wants you Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you Walk past, quick brush I don't like slow motion double vision in rose blush I don't like that falling feels like flying 'til the bone crush Everybody wants you But I don't like a gold rush What must it be like To grow up that beautiful? With your hair falling into place like dominos I see me padding 'cross your wooden floors With my Eagles t-shirt hanging from the door At dinner parties I call you out on your contrarian shit And the coastal town We wandered 'round had never Seen a love as pure as it And then it fades into the gray of my day old tea 'Cause you know it could never be

Cowboy Like Me by Taylor Swift

And you asked me to dance But I said, "Dancing is a dangerous game" Oh, I thought This is gonna be one of those things Now I know I'm never gonna love again

April 7th by The Maine

And I said When I'm with you, well, it's just like it's the first time Never thought that you would turn into my best life Before the blur, well, there you were Under the lights And I said When I'm with you, well, it's just like it's the first time I see you when I close my eyes I see you like I did that night Now underneath the hi-lo lights I see you there, I see you there I see you when I close my eyes I see you like I did that night Now underneath the hi-lo lights I see you there, I see you there And I said When I'm with you, well, it's just like it's the first time April 7th never meant as much as that night Before the blur, well, there you were Under the lights...  Even when my heart stops beating Even when my eyes go blind All I need is your heartbeat beating Next to mine, next to mine, next to mine

Everything I Ask For by The Maine

It's always something But I can't get over it She thinks it's nothing Because she's Everything I ask for Everything I ask for And just a little bit more Everything I ask for

I Only Wanna Talk To You by The Maine

The only thing I'm really sure of I'm unsure of almost everything But I'm looking up and looking forward There's nothing back there for you or me So you say you are Broken, beaten Used and mistreated Tired, shattered Bruised and battered The only thing I'm really sure of I'm unsure of almost everything But I know, I know, I I only wanna talk to you

#LO BUENO ES QUE DIJE PEQUEÑO NO? #YA AQUI DEJO MIS FEELS EN 50 CANCIONES Y ME VOY A DESAPARECER #ESPERO TE GUSTE SOULMATE #SI ESTA SOY YO CONTESTANDO PARTE DEL MEME 5000 AÑOS DESPUÉS #*LE DEJA AMORS* #♪baby i'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms barefoot on the grass listening to our favourite song |logan & neeja

[barbariccia]

Do you have a few minutes to talk, one-on-one?

ash’s been facetiming with her sisters at home, wherever home is for her family right now. we get the chance to overhear her sister saying that she saw kaidan in a news vid and that he’s cute, to which we get to raise our eyebrows... unless you’re playing a maleshep, in which case her sister says that you’re the one who’s cute. (naturally, this is the starter for the ashley romance for a mshep.)

ash herself doesn’t think kaidan’s cute - or at the very least, she’s not sweet on him, so we take the chance to ask about her family instead.

Shepard: Did your father serve with the fleet?

Ashley: Yeah. Took any crap posting he could get that offered space time. He worked his ass off trying to get recognised. But he never got above Serviceman Third Class. He was real proud when I made Chief. First thing he did was salute.

Shepard: What about your mother? You haven’t mentioned her.

Ashley: You must know what military wives are like. Strong because they have to be. Able to raise kids while Dad’s away on a six-month cruise. She has a degree in planetary geology. She and Dad both wanted to see new worlds. She gave up her career to raise us, though.

innocuous enough, but it stands out to me that ash’s family is all still hale and healthy. maybe that’s just a byproduct of the final fantasy franchise, where i’ve gotten used to a 99.99% rate of at least one parental death for characters within the series (as an aside, if you can tell me one character who has both parents alive other than zack fair, i’ll publicly endorse you for whatever role you want to lead), but also within the normandy so far. the rest of our crew has either committed patricide, is estranged from one parental unit, or just straight up hasn’t mentioned one or both of them, so a full family unit isn’t exactly something to be sniffed at.

on its own, i don’t need to highlight the parentification that ashley’s been party to for her whole life - she mentions she’s the eldest of four sisters, with the youngest still being in high school. and ash is only 25! she’s had to have worked her absolute ass off to attain that kind of position and be relied on by her parents to help with the other kids, and i just... i respect ashley so much. let’s not forget that first contact only occurred the year before she was born. there’s been a lot of change in her life, both as quick as the digital age upon us in the last decade or two, and slow over her years of growing up.

we get to ask about her sisters in more depth; she says her relationship with the youngest, sarah, was rocky for a while up until the point where sarah got a boyfriend that wanted to go further than she did. her other sisters worried as well, and ashley was posted in the same galaxy, but too far away to make it back quickly if something happened.

Shepard: If he really liked her, he wouldn’t be pushy.

i really like her dialogue here, honestly. it’s a real human response of her! ash definitely feels like the most real of the characters aboard the ship, to me - her responses to things are flawed and shitty, but she’s self aware of it to a degree, and she’s not the kind of person that acts black and white, either end of the morality scale. who among us can really say that they’re the pinnacle of human morals? even the best of us have thought things like this before, in varying contexts - even if we don’t verbalise them. doesn’t make us bad people... just human.

sarah’s boyfriend thought he’d try and persuade her into having sex, and sarah herself threw him into a tree and left him then and there. the williams parents had all their daughters learn some kind of self-defense - ash herself was taught hand-to-hand, sarah learned aikido, the second eldest got pistol training, and the third picked up the sword, which is just. utterly hilarious on a galactic scale considering the setting. i think i love the williams family.

Shepard: Didn’t you call the police?

Ashley: [Sarah] said it wouldn’t solve the real problem. And she and Mike would both become household names. It was a small colony. I said it was her call to make. That we should let her do it her way. Mom was pretty pissed about that.

ash took leave to walk her sister to school and back, and on the last day of her leave, the boy in question was waiting after school.

so this SURE IS A STORY,

and that’s the end of the talk about her sisters. it makes me feel fuzzy that these girls - no matter how not real they are - have the presence of mind to deal with an abuser so calmly, but at the same time... leaves me feeling tired. not that i expect humans to ever really change, especially not in only a hundred odd years, but for this setting to be so expansive, for there to be bigger problems and more people around than anyone could ever have dreamed... and yet entitlement and abuse still runs rampant.

this is its own problem within the universe, that despite everything, a female shepard doesn’t quite have the same footing as a male shepard does in certain situations, but i’ll get to those when i get to it. besides... i suppose there are bigger things happening now in the real world than anyone could ever have dreamed of seeing, and petty problems still win out in terms of importance. doesn’t matter how small your problem is if it’s personal.

we’re not done quite yet, though.

Ashley: Dad always wanted to serve in space. But he wanted us to have real ground under our feet. He’d say, “Space is beautiful, but you can’t raise a family there.”

Ashley: “I cannot rest from travel: I will drink life to the lees. All times I have enjoy’d greatly, have suffer’d greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone. For always roaming with a hungry heart. Much have I seen and known. Cities of men, and manners, climates, councils, governments...”

Ashley: “Ulysses” was Dad’s favourite poem. Every time he shipped out, he recorded me reading it. He had a dozen versions when he retired.

Shepard: Does he still like it?

Ashley: I sure hope so. I read it to his grave every time I go home.

Lord Alfred Tennyson was a well known (and still popularised) British poet, best known for his poems The Charge of the Light Brigade, which i studied at school, and Ulysses. his work is still felt today with phrases that became commonplace from his work, like the lines “tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all”.

the lines ash quotes specifically are about the restlessness of wanderlust and wanting to live life utterly to the fullest, feeling nostalgic for the times when the subject was doing just that, and the full poem continues and ends with the assertion that the speaker’s goal is to continue living life wholeheartedly until the end, and even beyond.

speaking of the beyond-

Ashley: That’s not a problem with you, is it? That I believe in God?

and we reach out to take the hand of yet another utterly fascinating facet of ashley. we’ve seen religion briefly within the game so far - the preaching hanar on the citadel comes immediately to mind - but there’s always been a feeling within sci-fi that because the universe can now be explored that god isn’t real and that things like faith are tossed to the wayside in favour of scientific exploration and discovery, even though in the grand scheme of things people tend... not to behave like that, on the whole. i vastly, enormously appreciate ashley for keeping her faith, and for it to be really not a huge part of her character. at no point is she reduced to any stereotype of character, whether that be “gun-toting god-fearing soldier babe”, or “i am religious therefore i must preach” - it, like other parts of her personality, are only parts that make up a whole and do not define her.

i love ashley. she’s such a good character.

#ashley williams #mass effect #this turned from analysis into a full blown fucking essay i'm so sorry #mol plays mass effect #squad: ashley

[loveactionsspeaklouder]

endless love - erling haaland and jadon sancho fanfic

Part 3 – September 2021

Jadon couldn’t help but stare adoringly at his fiancé; it had been four months since he asked Ella to marry him, she made him very happy and he only had one person to thank for starting their relationship.

Grace.

The two became inseparable after she arrived back in Dortmund, they would find themselves going on numerous double dates. It was something Grace didn’t think would be possible but she was thankful when it all started working out. She was incredibly delighted that her plan was a success for Jadon and Ella, she couldn’t stop smiling when the pair returned home.

And neither could the loved-up couple, it was a day they would remember for the rest of their lives. They were both forever in debt to Grace for helping them out, something they both made sure they would keep reminding her off but Jadon knew he would have to be at the top of his game for the proposal.

The party had only just begun but that didn’t stop Jadon’s nerves building. Every hour the clock ticked down, was an hour closer until the big moment. He had rehearsed his speech countless times and he still found himself forgetting important parts. He thought back to some of the advice Grace gave him before his first plan, she always did give the best advice, he found it heart-warming considering her past.

He was soon dragged out of his thoughts when his mother signalled him over to the stage. It was time. “Good luck son, you’ll smash it.”

“Thank you for coming everybody,” Jadon softly smiled, he placed his hand on the small of Ella’s back. “Tonight, we are here to celebrate the birthday of my beautiful girlfriend Ella. My Ell. I met Ell when I was only five years old, she walked over to me with her hair in pigtails and asked if she could sit next to me, that was the start of our wonderful friendship.”

“I’m sure it was you who asked to sit next to me, but carry on,” Ella laughed, the guests laughed. Jadon didn’t. He shot her a teasing glare.

“Either way, that was the first time we were both introduced,” he giggled. His heart rate started to speed up when he realised what part of his speech was next, he took a few deep breaths catching a quick look at the brunette. “Thirteen months ago, your little chicken legs walked back into my life, with the help from a very good friend I asked you to be my girlfriend, I promised you I was in this forever and I stand by my promise.”

Jadon placed Ella’s hand in his, spinning her around so they were now facing each other, he slowly bent down on one knee revealing a black ring box from his pocket. “My dearest Ella, I’m in this for the long ride, I’m here to make you laugh and smile, I’m here to stand by you at every corner, I’m here to go on the journey of life with you, till the end of time. I’m here now, I will be here forever. Will you do me the greatest pleasure of becoming my wife?”

“Yes, yes yes! One million times YES!” Ella squealed as he placed the sparkling diamond on the correct finger. She quickly latched her lips onto his giving him a quick but passionate kiss, a round of applause erupted from all the guests.

“Thank you, Grace,” they both said in unison.

-

For as long as he could remember, Erling had been in love with Grace. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on the blonde, that she would become an important part in his life and she did just that. She deserved someone who chose her every day, someone who didn’t make excuses or broken promises. She deserved someone that stood up for her instead of putting her down, someone who gave her more than what she asked for and everything that she needed. She deserved to be someone’s everything.

She became Erling’s everything.

The two fell in love very quickly, they would spend all their spare time with each other. He remembered his first game for Byrne; he remembered the look on Grace’s face when they caught eye contact, the slight change of colour in her cheeks, the smirk that formed on her lips. He made it his mission to find out who the mystery girl was, he knew he had to know her.

He remembered asking her to move to Molde; she was so excited for the opportunity that he was getting, she was proud he could start living his dream. Grace always had some doubt in the back of her mind, she wanted Erling to move to the best football teams, unfortunately she knew it would mean having to move away from her family.

Something she wasn’t ready to do just yet.

Erling knew this, but when the opportunity arose for him to move to Salzburg, he wasn’t going to turn it down. It was supposed to be the happiest time of his career, but he couldn’t help the number of tears he let go every night. The move caused tension between the pair, they would sleep in separate beds and go days without talking, when they did communicate an argument would happen.

Erling loved Grace and Grace loved Erling, but sometimes even if you love someone, you can let them go. You must let them grow, you should let them find themselves and hope one day they return, if they come back it was always meant to be. Erling hoped this was correct. He hadn’t had to make many hard decisions in his life, but choosing his career over Grace was an incredibly tough one. He knew he could have handled the situation better, he remembered the tears brimming in her eyes when he ended their relationship. He wanted to keep in contact, he wanted to be her friend, he wanted to know about her day, he wanted to tell her about his new club, he just couldn’t find the words. That was until her saw her with Jadon.

Anger filled his body, he realised what he had lost, he hoped it was just a phase and she would come running back to him. He didn’t want her to leave Dortmund, he wanted to fight for her, he wanted everything to go back to normal. He was thankful he got another chance.

Erling knew he had to be better second time round, he knew he had to show her what she truly meant to him. He never fell out of love with her and Grace never fell out of love with him, even when he left she still loved him, she still found herself wearing his clothes, thinking back to the happier times. Even though she was angry with how it happened, she understood the reasons for him leaving.

The second time was more magical, they both didn’t think it was possible but every day that passed, they found themselves falling more and more in love with each other. They started talking about the future; the amount of kids they wanted, if they wanted a dog or cat and what team Erling would play for, it was something they both were looking forward to.

-

Erling took a few deep breaths, it didn’t matter how many times he found himself at this place, it would always bring tears to his eyes. Even twelve months on from that grave day, it still wasn’t easy. Everything he did reminded him of her, he thought about her every single day, every single second, he was lost without her.

A single tear fell down his cheek, he was now crouched down in front of the large stone. The surroundings were covered by flowers and pictures, it was a warming sight.

“Hey baby it’s me,” Erling softly spoke. “I thought of you today, well I think of you every day. I think of you in silence, I wish we had more time, I wish I could have shown you just how much you meant to me. All I have are memories and pictures, your memory is a keepsake from which I will never part. God has you in his arms, I have you in my heart. You will forever be my always.”

Standing up he took one last look at the stone, he knew this wasn’t the last time he would be here. He looked at the engraving, slowly stroking his hand over the words.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF A DEAR DAUGHTER AND GIRLFRIEND GRACE ASHLEY OLSEN 12.04.2000 TO 17.09.2020 “FOREVER MY ALWAYS”

a.n: and that is it!!! don’t worry i have an epilogue. i hope you enjoyed the journey of Grace, Erling and Jadon as much as i enjoyed writing it. what are your thoughts on the ending? shocked, happy, sad? let me know - love always x

#Erling Haaland #jadon sancho #fanfiction #fanfic #football #Borussia Dortmund #Norway NT #england nt #Football Fanfiction #imagine #erling haaland imagine #jadon sancho imagine

[let-it-raines]

Catch Me If You Can (17/?)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

A/n: Everyone enjoying all of these post-season games? Even if your team has already lost like mine 🙈 Anyways, we’re back in London for one more chapter here and @resident-of-storybrooke is still the mvp for reading all of these words. 

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

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Tag list: @xellewoods @galaxyzxstark @eala-captian @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings

-/-

Emma can feel Killian’s nose nudging between her shoulder blades, his scruff scratching at her skin, and as good as it feels, she can’t help but curl further into her pillow and bring her knees up to her stomach, hoping that he’ll leave her alone so that she can sleep longer. So much longer. Jet-lag is a bitch, and she just wants to sleep forever. They don’t even get a day off when they get home, and just thinking about it has her dying.

Why in the world did she get sent over here when she’s only writing an article and doing social media stuff? Jeff should have come with her, Ruby too, but right now, she can’t really complain.

This bed is really soft.

London is wonderful.

Killian smells really good right now. He shouldn’t smell this good this early in the morning, and he probably got up to brush his teeth and put cologne on or something stupidly wonderful like that.

But she’s tired, and all she really wants is to sleep some more and for the pleasant ache between her thighs to lessen a bit so she won’t be thinking about it all day long. It’s a wonderful memory to have to think about as her day goes on, but still, a girl has got to be able to walk without her mind going to weird places.

The new phase of a relationship is so damn fun.

Sighing, she hugs her pillow more closely and keeps her eyes shut only for Killian to place the softest kiss in existence on the back of her neck that has the shiver multiplying its intensity by ten with each new vertebra that it reaches.

“Did you know that you are a kicker in your sleep?” he murmurs, his voice hoarse and gravely like it always is in the mornings. She really likes that. Like, really. “And that you are also a heat seeker, and I am in no way safe from your assault.”

“That sounds like a hard life,” Emma mumbles, still not bothering to open her eyes.

“The hardest. Do you know that we’ve only ever spent the night together in hotels? You’ve never even seen my bedroom. We somehow have never made it past the living room.”

“You’ve never seen mine.”

“True,” he sighs as his hand inches over her waist so that his nails can run over her stomach, making the muscles flutter. Or maybe those are the damn metaphorical butterflies. It doesn’t matter. “We should remedy that when we get home.” Home.

He means New York. He doesn’t mean his apartment or her apartment. He simply means the city they both happen to live in, but knowing that doesn’t change the way her heart is hammering in her chest, that residual feeling of being terrified that this is all going to blow up in her face still lingering. It’s not there as much as it used to be, some of the fear tampering down the more comfortable she becomes with Killian, but as old ones fade away, new ones emerge like one of those creepy aliens in movies.

Killian isn’t like Walsh or Neal or any of the people who have hurt her. Anyone with half-functioning eyes could see that, and it’s reaffirmed in how he supports her every day. He sends her articles she’s written in the past with little notes attached to them on what he thinks. Sometimes he shares links to YouTube videos of her interviews, asking her how she noticed the strategy they employed to win that day or simply complimenting her on thinking on her feet when she gets put in a tough situation. The only people who could possibly support her more are Ruth and David, but Killian is very much inching up to the top of the Emma Swan fan club.

He’d probably make t-shirts. Several. And wear them under all of his clothes, the dork.

Dark and broody but also dorky. That’s how she’d describe him if she had to in three words or less.

So she’s not worried that he’s going to demean her or belittle her or make her feel unworthy like she has felt in the past, but there are so many other ways for him to hurt her. Their relationship getting out, for one, could destroy her professional credibility, at least for a little while. That’s something she thinks about every time she sneaks out of her hotel room and into his. It’s ridiculous hard to find a time when someone isn’t in the hallway. But what if he’s secretly shitty in some kind of other way? What if he doesn’t continue to be so open and honest with her? What if he realizes that her hang-ups are too complicated? What if he realizes that he doesn’t want to be patient with her when she does have her freak outs? He’s so damn patient with her, always waiting for her to make the move before he does, and there’s no guarantee he won’t get tired of that.

Why is this the morning that she thinks about this?

Probably because the reality of them telling their friends and family is hitting her. It was her idea, the guilt of lying to everyone overwhelming her, but now the actuality is overwhelming her even more.

Last night, she told Killian that she would go to Addy’s birthday party under this insane plan that he has of them fake running into each other in the hallway, and the reality of meeting his family is kind of freaking her out. She’s never met a boyfriend’s family before, which was always such a blessing, and now she’s invading Killian’s niece’s birthday party.

Where his brother, who he absolutely admires in every way, will be, along with his wife and their kids and all of these other people who are important to Killian.

Emma wants to run. She knows that she does. Feelings overwhelm her, the feelings she has for Killian most of all, but she thinks she’d rather be overwhelmed by the happiness that he helps her feel rather than the anxiety.

The new phase of a relationship is fun but also terrifying.

“Are you inviting me over for a sleepover?” she finally asks, hoping that Killian can’t tell that she’s freaking out a little bit.

Killian hums into her neck, and she finally opens her eyes, the brightness of the sun shining through the curtains blurring everything for a moment. “I am. I can get you all kinds of snacks. We’ll wear our best pajamas, watch movies, play truth or dare, maybe have a pillow fight or two.”

“Do you get all of your sleepover knowledge from 2000s rom coms?”

“Possibly.”

Emma chuckles before turning on the mattress, shifting into Killian’s space like he shifted into hers, and when she’s turned in his arms, she blinks at him, taking in the unshaven scruff and unruly hair that most definitely hasn’t been tamed. She likes that too. His hair is always doing different things, and she can’t decide what she likes best.

“You very obviously did,” Emma sighs, running her hands over the muscled curves of his biceps, “but that’s okay. That’s where all of my knowledge came from too. The closest I’ve ever gotten to one that’s not, like, a sexual thing is when Ruby and I room together on road games.”

“I don’t think that counts because then Robin, Will, and I have had a ton of sleepovers, and none of them involve any of the fun things I was talking about before.” He reaches up to cover her hand with his before leaning in and lazily moving his lips against hers. There are a lot of things she’s learning at twenty-seven, and one of them is most definitely how much she likes lazy morning make out sessions. They’re definitely one of the seven wonders of the world. “And who said there was going to be nothing sexual about our sleepover? I was definitely planning at least a little something.”

Her nose scrunches up, and Killian moves to gently bite it, making her laugh. “We can have something sexual happen, but only if it’s during truth or dare. No funny business otherwise, mister.”

His lips part like he’s going to say something, and she runs her hand up and down his arm as she waits. But then he blinks one long, slow blink and shuts his mouth, whatever words he was going to say curling back on his tongue.

“What?” she questions, moving her leg against his.

“Nothing,” Killian smiles, pressing forward to run his lips over hers again, making her toes curl from the way that he knows just what to do in a kiss to make her happy. “I was simply thinking of this sleepover we’re going to have, and how I need to buy some better pajamas for it. I can’t have you seeing me in anything less than decent.”

“You’re not wearing any clothes right now.”

“And I’ve yet to hear a complaint from you about that, so I think this may be decent attire.”

“Well then,” she sighs, slowly running her foot up his calf again and watching his eyes darken, “I think it’ll be perfectly fine attire then too.”

-/-

This is stupid.

This is so, so stupid. She can’t believe she’s doing this. It’s ridiculous. The most ridiculous thing in the entire world. Okay, maybe not in the entire world, but she’s feeling extra dramatic right now.

The most dramatic, and that’s not an exaggeration.

Killian told her to meet him in the hallway where all of the suites in the stadium are located, and she’s been standing her for fifteen minutes pretending to look at her phone instead of actually looking at her phone and answering emails or something. Or checking stats for the game. She should be doing that, but they’re still in the top of the first inning, and she’s pretty sure this is going to be the game that never ends.

Ever.

And she’ll be stuck in this hallway in London for the rest of her life and die in the yellow maxi dress that she spent thirty minutes picking out because she had no idea what to wear to her secret boyfriend’s niece’s tea party birthday. She’d also debated on going out and getting a gift despite their conversation last night, but then she’d reminded herself that she’s not technically planning on coming to this thing. It’s some kind of fake spur of the moment thing, and bringing a gift would ruin that.

She needs to calm down.

This is fine.

A set of doors to her left open, and she sees Killian walk through. She’s so used to seeing him dressed in his uniform or sweatpants and some kind of team-branded t-shirt when they’re in a baseball stadium that it throws her off when she sees him in tight-fighting blue jeans with a light blue button down tucked in, the sleeves rolled up and several buttons at the top undone so that she can see little tufts of black hair and the silver chain that he wears to keep his mom’s ring next to his heart.

Athletes have all kinds of traditions and superstitions for every part of their life, but her favorite is that Killian keeps that ring on him at all times.

“Hello, kind acquaintance,” he teases when he sees her, eyes darting around the hallway while he steps closer, “funny running into you here looking absolutely gorgeous in that dress. I’d say it’s perfect for a tea party.”

“You are ridiculous.” “You have got to stop saying that about me like it’s new information.” Killian steps up to her then, looking around once more before quickly dipping his head to kiss her while grabbing her ass like they didn’t just see each other two hours ago when she finally left his room. “You do look just beautiful, though. Sometimes I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Heat immediately rises to her cheeks, but she tries to shake it and the butterflies in her stomach off. “I ask myself the same thing about you all the time.”

Killian rolls his eyes at her before holding his arm out. “You ready to go?”

Her eyes glance down at his elbow before looking back up at him. “Why are you holding your arm like that?”

“Because it’s proper to escort a lady to an event by giving her your arm when you walk, and I like to do proper by such a lady.”

“Killian,” she protests even as her heart absolutely hammers in his chest, “we can’t do that. There are people.”

“There’s no one. Indulge me for sixty seconds, okay?”

Maybe it’s that she’s feeling overwhelmed and like taking a risk or maybe it’s the way that he smiles, but something about him has her taking his arm and placing her hand in the crook of his elbow as they walk down the hallway until they’re at the double doors of the suite.

“It’s going to be fine, Swan,” Killian promises, squeezing her hand before letting go and pushing the door open so that the sounds of children excitedly talking fill their ears and her eyes take in all of the people in the room.

It’s not many, less than are usually in a big suite, but she can see at least fifteen kids, most of them children of players, and maybe ten other adults. That doesn’t seem like the right ratio, but these kids are old enough to be semi self-sufficient about most things. Everything is fine. She’s just nervous, which only gets worse when Killian’s niece spots them.

“Uncle Killian,” Addison screeches, stopping where she is and running toward the two of them in her blue dress. Killian immediately crouches down to her level, opening his arms to her and taking her into the tightest embrace before lifting her off of the ground while Addison nuzzles into his shoulder.

It may very well be the cutest and most heart-warming thing she has ever seen in her entire life.

“Happy birthday, my little love,” he sighs, swaying her as they stand. “How are you six years old? I’m pretty sure you’re still supposed to be a baby.”

“I’m too big to be a baby. Don’t be silly.”

“Don’t be silly?” he guffaws, pulling back and adjusting his grip on Addison. “Darling, I am always silly, but so are you. You’re basically the silliest goose.”

Addison scrunches up her nose, and Emma can see Killian in her there. It might be the dimples or the blue of her eyes, but Emma can see something even though both of Killian’s nieces look exactly like their mom. She is not weird at all for noticing these things. “We have talked about this. I am not a silly goose. I am a girl.”

“Geese can be girls.”

“Did you bring me a present?”

“A present?” Killian gasps, tickling Addison’s sides so that she giggles. “Am I supposed to bring you a present? No one told me.”

“But it’s my birthday,” she pouts.

“Did you bring me a present on my birthday? I don’t remember.”

“Yes,” Addison groans, holding her head back. “I drew you a picture of us.”

“Oh, that’s right, that’s right,” Killian sighs, glancing to the side and winking at Emma, which definitely doesn’t do something weird to her heart. “You did. I have it framed on my bookshelf because I love it so much. I do have a present for you, but your mom and dad told me that I had to leave it at home so you can’t open it until you get back to America.”

“What is it?” she gasps, not at all deterred by the fact that she can’t open her present yet.

“Addy,” a male voice sighs, and Emma turns her head to the side to see Killian’s brother standing near them, and that definitely does something to her heart, “remember what we talked about? You have to be patient.”

“But I’m excited!” Killian puts her on the ground so that she’s no longer at eye-level with all of them, but her confidence might as well make her six feet tall. “Where’s Lucy? I don’t see her.”

“She’s sitting with Mommy. Why don’t you go find them while I talk to Killian and Ms. Emma here?”

That’s when Addison’s attention turns to her, and suddenly she feels like more eyes are on her than when she’s on television.

Is she terrified of a six-year-old? No, that would be ridiculous.

(Also, Killian’s brother knows her name, and while that’s not weird, she feels like it is. Then again, she knows his entire family.)

“Who are you?” she questions, her hands on her hips and eyes focused.

Emma plasters a smile on her face, one that was already there even if she didn’t realize it, before squatting down so that she’s eye-to-eye with Addison.

“Hi, Addison. My name is Emma. I work with your uncle.”

“Are you a baseball player?”

“No,” Emma laughs, and she looks up at Killian when she hears him chuckle. He simply shrugs his shoulders and waggles his brows across his forehead. “I wish I was, but I work on TV. You know those people who ask Killian all kinds of questions?”

“That’s you?”

“That’s me.”

Addison smiles, the teeth she has missing obvious, before she steps a little closer to Emma and touches her dress, running her fingers over the material. “I like your dress. It kind of looks like a princess dress. Are you going to stay for my party?”

“Only if you want me to.”

“I do. Do you want to come and look at my cake with me? It’s shaped like a unicorn.”

“Sure, sweetie,” she answers, smiling at Addison and taking her hand as she’s dragged off to the other side of the room, leaving Killian and Liam behind.

For the next hour, her best friend in the world is Addy Jones, who very much takes Emma under her wings as she shows her around the suite and introduces her to all of her friends. The only real experience Emma has with kids is Leo, and the four-year difference between six and ten is kind of insane, but it’s not hard to adjust and talk about all of the right things. It gets a little more difficult when she meets Lucy, if only because Lucy is one reserved little girl, but Emma notices that she very easily follows in Addy’s footsteps and has her own little personality, even if it’s quieter.

Lucy Jones also very much loves her uncle, and it makes Emma’s heart do that funny stuttering thing every time she looks up and sees Lucy sitting with Killian as he animatedly talks to her and makes her laugh with this little high-pitched squeal. She’s always known how much Killian loves his nieces from how he talks about them and how he has pictures of them in his apartment and on his social media, but seeing it in person is this whole new thing. He’s in his element, even more than he is when he’s on a baseball field like the one just outside, and this smile that’s been with her most of today continues to increase, the corners of her lips constantly ticking up whenever she thinks about him.

Which is a lot.

Probably more than a normal amount, and she just loves him so damn much that…

Holy shit.

She loves him.

She loves him.

Why is she realizing that right now as she sits at a table with people she doesn’t really even know while she watches him very obviously stick his pinky out while drinking tea teaching Lucy to do the same?

How in the world did this happen?

And is she terrified or so incredibly excited that it feels a lot like the fear that’s been weaving in and out of her days lately?

Does he love her too? Can he? She thinks that he can, that he does, but how is she ever supposed to know for sure? It’s been a good while since she actually felt this way, and she’s not sure that she trusts her heart to realize the difference.

“It’s Emma, right?”

Emma looks up from her seat to see Elsa Jones standing above her, blonde hair pulled back into a complicated braid and soft smile painted across her lips.

“Yeah, yes, that’s me,” Emma stutters, holding out her hand to shake Elsa’s. “Elsa?”

“The one and only. Well, kind of,” she laughs before pulling out the empty chair next to Emma and sitting down. “It’s so nice to meet you. I feel like I know you from your job.”

“Funny, I feel like I know you.”

Okay, so that’s probably pretty creepy. Was that creepy?

Before Emma can think about it too much, Elsa laughs, something that sounds genuine, and Emma has to remind herself that this is just another person who she knows is kind. There’s nothing to be afraid of. She talks to people for a living.

“I would bet. Killian talks far too much, so you get a lot of information out of him when you’re likely just looking to talk about the game. I really liked the special you did at the beginning of the season. It felt very much like him as a person, which I’m always so happy to see.”

“He’s a great subject. It’s not easy getting a lot of these guys to be charming and funny about things other than baseball, so I love when I find one that knows how to open up. And he’s so good with your daughters. I hope I’m not intruding on your day, but Killian – ”

“Found you wandering the halls and dragged you along?” Emma arches her brow, but Elsa simply waves her away, shaking her head from side to side as she glances out the windows to the game that Emma is only half paying attention to even though it’s her job. “Liam told me. You’re not intruding at all. Addy has gone on and on about her pretty new friend Emma, and any friend of my girl is a friend of mine. Plus, we Joneses owe you about a million apologizes for my dumbass brother-in-law asking you out.”

She has to cover her mouth with her hand as she laughs, a snort escaping her before she can stop it. “Did you guys give him hell for that? I feel like he does deserve it.”

“Oh, most definitely. Killian is not a super spontaneous guy, especially when it comes to women, not anymore at least, so I’m not entirely convinced someone didn’t spike his water bottle. I actually choked on my own water bottle when I saw it happening, so I gave him hell for that too.”

“Good, but I’ve forgiven him as long as he never does something like that again. Our working relationship is much better now because he can basically never say no when I want an interview.”

“True,” she says, her smile somehow brighter. “You’ve got to use those kinds of things in your favor. I do it with Liam all the time. It works like a charm.”

“What does?” Liam asks as he steps up to them.

“Hi, sweetie,” Elsa greets him, tilting her head back so that Liam can kiss her. “Have you met Emma?”

“I did when she came in, but I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her before Addy dragged her away. So, it’s nice to meet you, Emma.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well. I was telling Elsa that it’s good to put real faces to names I’ve heard so much about.”

“You’ve heard a lot about us?”

“Oh, y-yeah,” she mumbles, internally cursing herself again. “Work and all. I know far too much about the lives of all of the players, which is both a good and bad thing.”

“I would bet. Do you know about – ”

“Yesterday?” she asks. Liam nods his head, his smile tightened. “Yeah, I know. It was shitty, but it happens. And I’m glad Will and Killian and some of the other guys stood up for me like that, even if Killian was an idiot for messing up his hand. But I feel like I’m part of the team sometimes, and it’s nice to know they have my back.”

“Emma,” Addy squeals as she runs toward the three of them, completely ignoring her parents, “Killian said to come and get you to ask if you wanted to join our tea party. He says that you don’t know how to drink tea, and I have to help you.”

Her eyes immediately glance over to Killian, and when he moves his brow across his forehead, laughter bubbles inside of her stomach and her mouth falls into a soft smile. The ridiculous fool.

“You know what, Addy,” she sighs, “I don’t think I know how to drink tea. You and Lucy will have to teach me, okay?”

“I know. Come on.” Addison tugs at her arm until she rises from her chair, excusing herself to Liam and Elsa before she’s dragged across the room and over to the table where all of Addison’s friends and Killian are eat snacks and drinking tea, which looks a lot more like orange juice, and Emma is told to sit down in the chair next to Killian who is holding Lucy’s goldfish snacks while she inspects all of them. “Uncle Killian, I brought Emma over. Emma, do you want orange tea or apple tea?”

“Um, orange tea.”

Addy nods her head before she’s running off to the other side of the table and leaving Emma with Killian and Lucy.

“So, you need to teach me how to drink tea then?”

He shrugs his shoulders as he attempts to flip the hair that’s fallen over his forehead back. “My brother and sister-in-law had cornered you, and I thought you might need a little saving. I knew that you were a little nervous about meeting them.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“You talk in your sleep.”

“I do not, you as – jerk,’” she corrects, stopping herself when Lucy looks up at her. “Hi, sweetheart. I like your dress.”

“Thank you,” she says quietly, sweetly. “It’s yellow. Yours is yellow.”

“I know. We’re basically twins. Are you going to eat your goldfish?”

Lucy softly smiles, little blonde curls falling in her face, before picking up a handful of her snacks from Killian and offering them over to Emma in a sweet gesture that definitely rivals everything romantic that her uncle has ever done.

“Thank you, Lucy.” Emma pops one into her mouth only to look up at Killian and see that his eyes are crinkled, those little lines showing up, and her stomach pleasantly twists at the sight of it. She realized that she loved him less than twenty minutes ago, and there are still a lot of crazy feelings processing in her brain right now. A lot. “Do you want some, twenty-nine?”

Killian blinks, almost like he doesn’t recognize her nickname for him, before reaching over and taking some of the fish that she’s offering him. It’s cheesy and very romance novel-ish, but she swears that she feels sparks when his fingers brush over the palm of her hands.

“Thank you, love.”

“I have your orange team, Emma,” Addy shouts as she comes back to them, balancing a far too full plastic cup of orange juice that spills a little on the carpet until Emma takes it from Addy’s hand.

“Well, thank you, Addy. But it’s your birthday. Shouldn’t I be helping you do something instead of you handing me my tea?”

Addy hums at this, her forefinger tapping against her chin while her foot taps on the ground. “You can help me open my presents later, okay?”

“That sounds like a deal.”

-/-

“Working hard or hardly working?”

Emma pulls the headphones from her ears so that she can hear Killian better, even though she could most definitely hear the cheesy phrase that just came out of his mouth. His family is flying back on the team plane, as are all of the other players’ families, and since she is Addison Jones’s new favorite person as of seven hours ago, she was asked to sit with all of the Jones clan, which has really just been her sitting in a seat by the window with Addy and Lucy switching seats until the both of them were corralled by their parents to go to sleep. And now she’s got Killian sitting next to her, which is what she was hoping for but isn’t the most subtle thing in the world.

They are not subtle people even when they probably think they are.

She’d never make it in federal law enforcement or something like that.

“My deadline is in an hour, and I had to pay twenty-seven dollars for WiFi so that I could send it in.”

“So, working hard?”

“Yep.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No, no,” she protests, reaching down to take another sip of her coffee. Her jet-lag is going to be even worse of a bitch tomorrow. “You can stay. I just have to check my stat facts, and then I’ll be finished. It’s kind of hard to work when everyone else is asleep and it’s so dark in here, so, you know, I’m drinking all of the caffeine to stay awake. I think I have a food baby made of unicorn cake.”

“Aye, me too,” he laughs as he pats his stomach. “That was too much sugar.”

“No such thing.”

“Oh, but there is, darling.” His hand brushes over her forearm, and she can see the slight scabs and marks from him punching Arthur yesterday. Nothing new has been said, no suspensions mentioned, and she hopes that it stays that way. She also hopes that nothing like that ever happens again.

“How does your hand feel?”

“A little sore, but I’m right as rain. It’s a good thing I have several days off, yeah?”

Emma groans, shutting her eyes just at the thought of getting up to work tomorrow like most people on this plane except for Killian and Robin. “Don’t remind me. I’m going to look like a zombie tomorrow, and feel even worse than that. If I ever go overseas again, it’s going to be for long enough to adjust to the time.”

“You and me both,” he yawns, and she’s totally endeared by the way his face contorts there only for him to smile at her with a tired, boyish grin that she’s endeared by even more. “Finish up your article, my love, and then I say that you at least try to go to sleep.”

“Always looking out for me.”

“You know it.”

Her hand reaches over his scarred one so that she can squeeze it, which is all she can really do right now. But honestly, being right here next to him simply sitting together after all of the craziness of these few days – baseball, meeting her boyfriend’s family, asshole players getting punched, quick tours of London that went by in a blur, and realizing that she loves Killian – is more than enough when it’s already absolutely everything.

#catch me if you can #cs fic #cs ff #captain swan fic #captain swan

[giac222]

It’s so funny to see people on Twitter get so worked up over TCOAAL. It’s like they go out of their way to talk about how much they hate the game. They will literally go to the accounts of people who post fan art/content of the game and act like a dick in the replies 🤦🏻‍♀️. It’s like omg get a damn life, if you hate the game so much why are you going out of your way to interact with people who like it???

Also, people getting this angry over a fictional animated horror game is so incredibly unserious to me, mind you there’s literally nothing super graphic in the game either. This is a prime example of a 1st world problem. I remember hearing about the controversy through a YouTube video and I was like wtf? Let me see what’s going on lol. Then I watched a play through on YouTube and I thought to myself “This is what people are so upset over??” I’ve never seen such fake moral outrage in my life 💀.

That’s actually how I became a fan of the game, I’ve been a fan of horror stuff for quite some time now and I love weirdo horror computer games, so I was glad to find something new! After watching the play through I bought the game and played it myself. Andrew and Ashley Graves have now wormed their way into my heart 🙄✋🏻 lmao. Seriously though, once you look deeper into their characters you see how they weren’t born evil, they’re just a product of their god awful environment and how their parents failed them. I’ve talked about this before so I’ll keep it brief, but ESPECIALLY Ashley, that girl had a terrible childhood and Andrew was the only one she could rely on, so of course she’s terrified of losing him. Not making excuses for her, but that explains why she goes to extreme measures to keep him around, because she thinks that’s the only way he’ll stay with her, she doesn’t think that someone could love her without her doing all that. Even though we know he’s equally obsessed with her and would stay no matter what, Ashley doesn’t know that yet. That’s why it’s frustrating for me to see people completely ignore that Ashley is a victim too. She was quite literally treated as disposable by everyone except for Andrew.

I have such a soft spot for both Ashley and Andrew as characters, because even though they’re flawed individuals, they both had a shitty upbringing and the world they live in is trash + it hates them. That’s why I want them to have a happy ending, after everything, they deserve some happiness for once. 🥲 🥲

Anyway, I also think these people have a hard time differentiating fiction from reality and that’s actually concerning to me. I’ve seen this type of behavior before but now it seems worse than ever, not just with TCOAAL but other forms of fictional media too. An example I can think of is when people will ship two costars in real life because they played lovers in a movie or TV show, to the point where they even talk shit about the actors real life partners. It’s so embarrassing to see. I also would not be shocked if one day people started saying we can’t make slasher films anymore because they “glorify” murder. The way some of these people act, they make it sound like if anything bad is portrayed in media that means it’s automatically being glorified or encouraged. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Now don’t get it twisted, I understand if someone simply isn’t a fan of the game, it’s not for everyone and I get that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I respect that. I just think it’s stupid af to go and harass fans of the game just because YOU don’t like it. Not to mention people attempting to dox Nemlei causing her to nuke all of her social media presence. I don’t blame her though because doxxing is scary. I’ve seen people say she deserved the attempted dox just because she created the game, so.. you’re angry over a fictional psychological horror game with fictional characters because it portrays bad things, but you support the attempted doxxing of a real person? Which could have been really dangerous for them… Alright. Lmao, like ok, yeah, you’re soooo morally superior to everyone else 😍. I do not understand their thought process.

Let me just share what I saw someone post about TCOAAL on Twitter tonight. This is what they said:

“its literally ashley manipulating andrew into just agreeing with the incestuous relationship that shes forcing onto him. if i remember correctly they literally have sex in the game.”

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. If someone has a take which involves Ashley solely being the problem and that Andrew is just a softy who can do no wrong and was forced to do everything he’s done, I discard their opinion because they don’t know what they’re talking about and are just seeing what they want to see 🤷🏻‍♀️. Mind you, Andrew is the one who has sexual feelings for Ashley, not the other way around. We know Ashley loves Andrew, but sex isn’t a big deal to her and if they never slept together she wouldn’t care. The way they haven’t even had sex in the game either, people love to say that lmao, it’s a vision and we don’t even see anything explicit, we just know what happened.

Not only do we have haters of the game blame Ashley for everything, but other fans of the game (Reddit community) do the exact same thing. It’s rough out here y’all. 😭 I need them to stop speaking about her immediately. 😂

Another reason I don’t take them seriously is because I can guarantee you they didn’t keep the same energy for Game of Thrones, House of the Dragons, or Flowers in the Attic. I’m sure there’s more, but those are the main examples I can think of. That’s another reason why I didn’t understand the controversy, they act like it’s the first time incest has ever been portrayed in fictional media??? Regardless though, I just don’t understand why people would get this worked up over something that’s not real. Andrew and Ashley are literally pixels on a screen, they aren’t real people. 💀

But the worst of all, I’ve seen people call TCOAAL pedophilic???????? Words used to mean things! I have no idea how someone could even get that from the game, Ashley is 20 and Andrew is 22, so? People just say anything.

Adding this in here even though this has been posted already, but now people are saying that Ashley groomed Andrew on Tik Tok….. I am tiredddd. 💀 These people will jump through literal hoops to try and prove that Andrew isn’t as bad as Ashley I cannot.

At the end of the day, anyone with common sense can differentiate fiction from reality and knows that what the game portrays is wrong in real life. I mean it’s a psychological horror game. Psychological horror focuses on mental, emotional, and psychological states to disturb and unsettle the viewers. I just feel like the hate for the game is so forced at this point.

Me when I see yet another god awful take about TCOAAL:

Lmao

I decided to make a post on this because I’ve had these opinions for a while and I wanted to talk about it.

Thanks for reading. ❤️

#tcoaal #the coffin of andy and leyley #just my thoughts #just my opinion #andrew x ashley #ashley x andrew #nemlei #leyley x andy #andy x leyley #gravecest #coffincest #i hate twitter #fiction vs reality #ashley graves #andrew graves #leyley graves #andy graves

[b4civility]

Chapter 5: James

  I know that not a lot of people that were also taking Visual Arts were going to be there, but I wasn’t too desperate about it either. Some to who I’ve talked to during the first week were nice but most of them were those edgy, cold, Clock Orange and Tarantino worshippers that just had their heads too far up their own butts to have a real conversation with. I think Betty was the only freshman that didn’t annoyed me at some level this past few days.Hope I get a chance to talk to her better. Is she thinking the same? Did she have a nice first week? Did she think of me at any point this past week? ‘Cause I had. I saw her twice on campus from afar, but she was always in a heated discussion with a group of people. This Political majors won’t miss a discussion, apparently. I hope she can take a joke, too. I think I remember her smiling at me the last time I was around, that gives me hope. 

  I skate there, only me with a bottle of champagne that I had smuggled from my mother’s hidden bar on the attic. Didn’t blame the people for staring, I was a Kid Cuts His Face While Riding a Skateboard With A Glass Bottle In Hand accident waiting to happen. I toss my board on the grass and get in, make myself home. I have been here for the same reason more times than it’s legal, but never felt uncomfortable enough to never come back again. It always started with some dubious glances and “who’s brother is this” muffled comments, and when we were all ready to call it a night lots of hugs and cheek kisses and “hope I see you next time, man!” were delivered at me as goodbye. Thus, I always came back. 

 “Sup Jaaames” Zoe greeted me. “ Nice! we were almost running out of this one, saved the party bro” she was pouring the champagne on her cup letting it leak a bit. She wasn’t sober. 

“Yeah, I see you enjoyed some of if”

“ You don’t miss a thing, do you?” she took a sip. “ I was going to say this party is going to be good for you to mingle, but you already know most of our friends. I didn’t invite many people from your class but I hope you get to know them better, it’s good to be friends with people you study with, don’t underestimate that” She handled her tipsiness with grace, I bet she could give me a well-thought speech out of the tip of her tongue if I keep winding her up. 

“ I talked to some, but they weren’t exactly my type of people, but I guess if I’m nice to them, they’ll be nice to me” 

“Probably. But I suppose they were no Betty, am I right?” she said, stretching her name.Had I say something? 

“ What do you mean?” 

“ Rumors fly,boy. A little bird told me that you and her had a pretty agressive locked-eyes-situation last time you were here”. Inez couldn’t keep her words neither her imagination to herself, which was worse. 

“ Yeah, I guess,but whatever…”

“Speechless,all of the sudden? hehehe”  she leaned her arm on my shoulder,trying to catch her breath to talk  “well, it’s not like it’s a surprise for anyone here. In any case, you know were the porch izzzzz” 

  I sat her down on the kitchen top, handled her a glass of water and told her I would say hello to some people. As I walked around, I saw some boys that would be in my grade if I was still in high school, Trevor and Nate. Fucking idiots. They were always the ones to start a fight on a party or to make out with girls that were just too drunk to persist to refuse. I didn’t engage in the first one, but had already started some myself for the second reason. But, right now, in front of all this people they were new to, they seemed like two nice puppies. I nodded at them and went to the backyard. Needless to say, I wanted to get to Betty as fast as I could so I just waved to a lot of people, grabbed a beer and looked around trying to appear as casual as possible. And there she was, talking to a friend. She was much more relaxed than when we had met and her eyes gleamed a bit when she smiled. I feel like I could come up to her and just ask “what’s up?” and we would spend the entire evening talking, as if we had done it a million times before. The scenario in my head didn’t worry me anymore, I wasn’t revising all my pick up lines trying to decide which one would work with her, I wasn’t forming a backup plan if she told me off. I just wanted to switch places with the girl in front of her. If only I had arrived earlier, if only that girl was talking to some other friend, if only I… was touching her tight. That girl was touching Betty’s tight. How close could you get over introduction week? Well. I guess I wouldn’t be the one to know. 

  I noticed that I had my eyes glued on the two for way too long so I went back inside. I wouldn’t say that I was crushed, but definitely disappointed.What was up with me? I misled my own self; it’s not like we had have any significant communication before, and it’s not like I was short on options of who to end the night up with. I wasn’t the one to fall like this;I had never been in love before.I sat on the couch for a bit drinking my beer until I heard from behind the other couch, that was in front of me: 

  “ You good, James? Another girl dumped you again? Uni girls don’t need your help when I’m around, do they? “Trevor said, giving Nate a high five for the extremely mature - almost academic, I would say-  line that intended to get on my nerves. His goal was to either get me to fight him or to kiss him. But I guess I was still too sober for his taste. I always nod it off, never engaged the other twenty times he has ever tried to get me out of my cool. 

But I could use the distraction.

 Deep breath, fake smile and ask: “Beer pong. Me and someone against you two. What do you say?” I ask him. If life gives you two brats, you make a beer pong match. 

  “ Never saw you so engaged in making a clown out of yourself, James. I’m in. What’s in for it?” 

  “ Shit, isn’t the whole point to just get drunk? That’s what’s in”

  “ I could be getting drunk with any hot bitch on this party, I’m not wasting that on you.Don’t be a pussy and bet something already” 

  “Whoever loses has to strip to the entire length of a song in front of everyone, in the kitchen counter.” Nate said.Trevor’s shadow could talk and knew the word ‘lenght’? Really underestimated that dude. 

  “Deal.”

  It’s not that I was a good beer pong player. Neither was feeling especially lucky that evening. But I did have Ashley going for me, she made an excellent partner when it came to this game. However, I managed to balance her out and we lost. 

  “Okay! This is finally the night that we’ll know what is the color of James’ panties!” Trevor high fived Nate again. 

  “ Dreamed about it much, Trevor?” I answered. 

  “ Doesn’t matter. It’s not me who’s getting naked. I’ll let you choose the music” 

  I hesitated a bit.

 “U can’t touch this”,I said. 

 He looked at me, a bit confused . “ Don’t get me wrong, James, I’ll definitely blast this but you’re digging your own grave” 

Trevor laughed.

  But a newbie is a newbie- since it was the first time they were ever in a college party, they weren’t aware that this was the song that played in every one of them and everyone had to dance to it. It was tradition. My brother, who was here before me, two years ago, warned me of it and taught me some smooth steps to this song. That’s when I discovered that I wasn’t too bad of a dancer and, long story short, everyone knew I could dance. So, when the song started and everyone got up and I stood on the counter, their heads bounced side to side, wondering what kind of code had been passed to everyone but them. And as I did the choreo, people started blasting my name, encouraging me. Damn, U can’t! touch! this! I was having a great time being the center of attention and the fact that I had to strip just hitted me by the middle of the song, so I started doing so. I took my shoes off, kicking them away on the beat of the song, and just as I had taken my shirt off- what led some girls to scream louder- the song ended. 

“LET’S GET THIS YEAR STARTEEEED!!!!!” I screamed at the end. The crowd shouted my words back at me. 

Yeah, I guess I’m starting big.

#ts8 #tswiftfanfiction #ts8 theories #august7 #betty and james #betty is bi #taylor swift #folklore #betty x james #betty is gay

[tabloidtoc]

Globe, July 13

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Black Lives Matter protests cause right-wing owned tabloid to freak out 

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- Paris Jackson sports a new neck tattoo and pierced nose, Chris Pratt used his foot on the crosswalk button with pregnant wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, Ali Larter 

Page 3: Norman Reedus and his motorcycle, Jeff Bridges during an online video appearance, Amber Rose running errands in Venice 

Page 4: Jeffrey Epstein’s madam Ghislaine Maxwell holed up in Paris -- Prince Andrew breathes easier as she nixes deal with feds, Hollywood hotshot Steve Bing who was a close pal of hanged pedophile Jeffrey Epstein jumped off the roof of his luxury L.A. apartment  

Page 6: Despite being at the age when most people are close to retirement aging pop divas Cher and Madonna are locked in a ferocious feud one that first exploded 35 years ago -- Cher thinks Madonna is vulgar and classless and all washed up while Madonna thinks Cher is past her prime and just jealous of someone who is younger and sexier and more talented

Page 7: Glen Campbell’s widow Kim Campbell says he had drug and alcohol addictions, Kurt Cobain’s famed guitar fetched a record-breaking $6 million at auction 

Page 8: In the latest twist in the battle over James Brown’s will his “widow” Tomi Rae Hynie has been cut out of his $100 million estate -- in a bombshell decision the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Tomi Rae never ended an earlier marriage and was not legally wed to the Godfather of Soul but the nearly 14-year legal skirmish isn’t over yet with the couple’s son James Brown II forced to go to court to get his share of the estate 

Page 10: Jean Kennedy Smith took a shocking secret to her grave -- she approved of her brother Bobby Kennedy’s affair with Marilyn Monroe 

Page 11: Jennifer Aniston has rushed to aid troubled pal Matthew Perry who’s reportedly in a funk after splitting with his girlfriend following years of battling booze and drug and weight demons, Kid Rock’s Nashville watering hole has its beer permit briefly yanked for breaking a local coronavirus health rule

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- Jay Leno at a gas station in Burbank (picture), Kristen Stewart chosen to play Princess Diana in Spencer but the casting isn’t a popular one, Lisa Rinna wears nothing but sunglasses to plug designer Christian Cowan’s shades, Lindsay Lohan’s troubled mom Dina Lohan is once again engaged to a online beau who’s she never met in person 

Page 13: Miles Teller waits for a mechanic to fix his car (picture), Abby Lee Miller is all smiles despite Lifetime dumping her show after she was accused of making racist remarks (picture), Claudia Wells of Back to the Future (picture), Gwyneth Paltrow is hyping another provocatively named aromatic candle this time called This Smells Like My Orgasm

Page 14: Michael Keaton is headlining a new eight-episode Hulu series called Dopesick based on the book of the same name, Marie Osmond doesn’t mind being riddled with a multitude of ugly surgical scars because they remind her of all she’s been through, Fashion Verdict -- Natasha Alam 7/10, Anna Chlumsky 5/10, Rachel Bilson 2/10, Donna D’Errico 4/10, Sunny Malouf 3/10 

Page 16: Bill Cosby can appeal his 2018 sexual assault conviction as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review two aspects of the case he is challenging, Miley Cyrus swears she’s been sober for more than 6 months, Little Rascals actor Brandon “Bug” Hall was arrested for allegedly huffing air duster cans at a Texas hotel 

Page 17: Battling exes Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have called off their ferocious feud and mended fences so they can share a fun family vacation together with their six kids 

Page 19: 10 Things You Don’t Know About Kelly Reilly

Page 20: True Crime 

Page 23: Supermodel Ashley Graham boasted a hole in her cover-girl smile after breaking the veneer off her front tooth on a cookie, jealous Gwen Stefani is returning to The Voice so she can keep tabs on boyfriend Blake Shelton and soon-to-be-single Kelly Clarkson 

Page 24: Cover Story --  Experts tell Globe that America is on the road to total anarchy and national security threatens to be shattered during Fourth of July celebrations 

Page 26: Health Report 

Page 30: Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway gets a new face -- sporting a startlingly smoother face and looked decades younger 

Page 32: Lovelorn Reba McEntire is finally ready to date again after her searing 2019 split with Anthony “Skeeter” Lasuzzo, Sopranos tough guy James Gandolfini once threatened to beat the f**k out of Harvey Weinstein because of the movie mogul’s bullying ways 

Page 36: Don’t Come Back! Stars banned for bad behavior -- Madonna was berry rude, Ariana Grande takes a licking, Lindsay Lohan’s Chateau no-no 

Page 37: Blake Lively Disney disaster, Kathy Griffin’s lips zipped, Hugh Grant mouthed off on The Daily Show, Alec Baldwin floored by unwelcome mat 

Page 40: Real Life 

Page 42: Scientologist actor Danny Masterson is a Hollywood pariah after being slapped with three felony charges of rape -- no one will hire him and his former BFF Ashton Kutcher is keeping his distance, Raven-Symone wed girlfriend Miranda Maday in a backyard ceremony 

Page 44: Straight Talk -- handing money to Mama June Shannon is dopey madness 

Page 45: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is raring to make a comeback in the NASCAR championship series but he’s sadly conceded the brain damage he’s suffered in the sport has likely ended his racing days forever 

Page 47: Hollywood Flashback -- Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay in Risky Business, Bizarre But True 

#tabloid #tabloid toc #grain of salt #black lives matter #blm #black lives matter protests #blm protests #ghislaine maxwell #steve bing #madonna #cher #glen campbell #kurt cobain #james brown #jean kennedy smith #bobby kennedy #RFK #marilyn monroe #jennifer aniston #matthew perry #kristen stewart #spencer #bill cosby #miley cyrus #brandon bug hall #brad pitt #angelina jolie #kelly reilly #Ashley Graham #gwen stefani

[valiantgentle]

HOUSE OF HALLOWEEN. an ashley adams one-shot. slightly au-ish, but technically post-season-one.

─ on halloween, ashley’s seventeenth birthday, she and the rest of the anubis students are dragged into a grave scavenger hunt, and alfie’s life may be at stake.

           Halloween is the best day of the year for three reasons. 1) You get to dress up as anyone you want to be. You want to be a princess? Wear that tiara, spin around in a frilly dress. You want to be a superhero? Remember that with great power comes great responsibility. You want to be a god from any mythology on the planet? …Good luck. 2) You get free sweets. Chocolate, lollipops, and M&Ms, oh my! 3) It’s my birthday. That’s right, 31st October is my birthday, and today, I am seventeen years old.

           Sixteen was an insane year by any standards. Joy went missing, kidnapped by a secret society and her father, and Nina showed up out of nowhere and became one of my closest friends. Then we had that whole Cup of Ankh thing, I saw actual ghosts, and also I started to call Jerome by his first name. Still getting used to that one.

           Anyway. It’s Halloween, it’s my birthday, and it’s the best frickin’ day of the year.

           “Hey, Ash, happy birthday,” Fabian says to me as Nina, Amber, and I sit down for breakfast.

           My roomies had already wished me the same when I woke up—actually, one of them replaced the alarm on my phone to play the birthday song instead of the normal annoying tone. It seeped into my dream and presented in the form of the pharaoh from those museum movies singing it. That was weird.

           Alfie looks up from his orange juice as I thank him, remarking, “It’s your birthday?” I raise my eyebrows, as does everyone else at the table. Even Mara in the kitchen stops and stares at him. Huh. I thought Alfie, of all people, would’ve remembered, what with it being Halloween and all. He said once that we should switch birthdays so he gets the fun one. “That works.”

           “What?” I ask lamely.

           “You forgot her birthday?” Jerome questions.

           Alfie counters, the confused expression replaced with a curious one, “You remembered?”  

           “It’s kind of hard to forget. It’s Halloween.”

           Patricia inquires nonchalantly, “You sure that’s why you remember?”

           Jerome glares as I roll my eyes. They’re really still on this Jashley thing, aren’t they? Just because he and I have decided to be more civil with each other doesn’t mean we’re suddenly into each other. Then again, they’ve been on this pretty much since he and I met, so I’m sure us being actual friends has probably just egged them on even more.

           Alfie downs the rest of his orange juice in a single gulp. “I’m off to school,” he says as he grabs a muffin. “Happy birthday, Ash—but more importantly, happy Halloween.”

           He laughs maniacally as he backs out of the room. The entirety of Anubis House (excluding Victor, who’s locked up in his office like always) follows him with our eyes until we hear the door to the house close. I turn around and question, “Is he acting weird?”

           From the kitchen, Trudy nods. “He was up before me,” she remarks. “And not for a snack.”

           “You know,” Jerome states thoughtfully, “I haven’t seen him with a zombie mask on today. He might be feeling sick.”

           Amber sighs deeply. “I know Alfie.” She’s kind of dating him. Kind of. “He’ll be back to normal after school.”

           Patricia quips, “Is he ever normal?”

           --

           The halls of the school are entirely decked out for Halloween. There’s a plastic mummy poking out of a paper sarcophagus on every corner, spider webs along the walls, and orange and black streamers hanging from every doorway. My own locker is covered with orange and black balloons and a ripped piece of paper that reads in a classic spooky font HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

           I smile as I push the balloons away to open the locker, but something falls out and onto the floor. I bend to pick it up, frowning. It’s a plain white envelope with the number 1 on it. Opening the envelope, I find inside a Halloween greeting card, but the printed message on the inside is covered up with tape. In its place are two messages—one written in English using newspaper clippings, like a ransom note, and the other in French, written in cursive.

           A Halloween Quest for Miss Ashley Adams! To find the rest of your message, locate Nina Martin, Mara Jaffray, and Mick Campbell. Don’t tell anyone, or you’ll get a fright.

           ils disent que les chauves-souris sortent la nuit

           “What the…” I mumble. I close my locker, reading over the messages again. Nina passes by me, smiling as she puts in the combination to her locker. “Hey, do you know what this is?”

           Nina looks at the envelope and shakes her head, just as an identical one with the number 2 instead falls out of her locker. She looks at it, then at me. “I know it’s not a birthday card.” She opens it up, looking over it before turning it around to show me. The French message on hers is different, but the English one is identical, just with mine and Nina’s name swapped around. “Okay, this is weird.”

           “Mick and Mara probably got the same thing,” I say. “We should find them.”

           But we don’t have to go far, because before Nina and I can even get going, the couple comes up to us with matching envelopes. “It’s so strange,” Mara says. “We found these envelopes in our bags during first class.”

           “We found them in our lockers,” Nina responds. “It’s probably Trudy doing some fun Halloween game for us. We’ve all got study hall next, right? Might as well see what it says.”

           “We just passed by the lounge,” Mick says, pointing his thumb that direction. “Hardly anyone’s in there.”

           So the four of us go to the lounge, setting our respective cards and envelopes on the table in the middle of the room. Mara’s the one that notices that each envelope is labeled with a number and organizes them in numerical order.

           “It stands to reason,” she says, switching around Nina and Mick’s envelopes, “that the message goes in order of the numbers. So the one Ashley got is first, Nina’s second, mine third, and Mick’s fourth. It’s a four part message.”

           “So we should each take our own part,” Mick suggests, already reaching for the fourth envelope and card. At the same time, he takes his phone out of his blazer pocket.

           “What are you doing?” Mara asks.

           “I’m looking the translations up online.”

           “But I have a French-to-English dictionary right beside me.”

           “But this is faster.”

           “You two are so weird,” I interrupt. “I vote for Google. I wanna know what it says. Nina?”

           Nina’s eyes are glued on the four cards, and it takes me saying her name twice for her to pay attention. “What? Oh, I—I have to choose the internet. Something’s bothering me about this.”

           My eyebrows furrow. “You mean the unsigned ransom note stuffed into our lockers that warn us not to tell anyone aside from the people we were told to find or we’ll get a fright, which I’m assuming means an extended hospital and/or morgue stay?” Nina blinks at me. Mick and Mara share a concerned glance. “Anyway, we all want to know what the message says. Off to Google Translate.”

           I reach forward and grab my card, already pulling up the search engine on my phone. “You know,” I continue as they hesitantly reach for theirs, “if we’re a team, we need a team name. Team Jackal.”

           “Team Jackal?” Mick questions.

           “The head of Anubis is a jackal,” Mara explains for me, “in Egyptian mythology.”

           “Oh. I get it. We live in Anubis House.”

           “And we need nicknames,” I remark. “I will be The Artist. Nina, you’re The Sleuth. Mick, The Jock. Mara, the Nerd.”

           As I look from my phone to the card, Nina says, “Isn’t it weird that it’s the four of us? I mean, separately, in pairs of two, it makes sense. Me and Ashley, you two,” she gestures across to Mick and Mara. “But the four of us together? It doesn’t make any sense.”

           Mick chuckles lightly. “Makes you wonder what the rest of the house is doing. I’ve got mine done, by the way.”

           “Mine, too,” us girls chorus in unison. Mick looks a little freaked out, while the three of us just laugh. Mara adds, “All right, Ashley, you got the envelope numbered 1. Yours must be first.”

           I nod, reading from my phone as Mara readies her pencil to write it on her notepad. “‘They say bats come out at night.’”

           “Nina?”

           “Uh,” she says, “‘But don’t be overcome with fright.’ Fright, like in the other message.”

           Mara nods. “Mine is, ‘A bat hangs learning somewhere.’ And Mick?”

           Mick finishes, “‘And your next clue is hidden there.’”

           They say bats come out at night, but don’t be overcome with fright. A bat hangs learning somewhere, and your next clue is hidden there.

           “It’s a scavenger hunt,” Mara realizes. I look around the lounge, noticing something odd on the stage. It’s Jerome, Patricia, Fabian, and Amber talking in hushed tones in a circle. That’s weird. I didn’t think any of them willingly spoke to Jerome. “Someone’s sending us on a scavenger hunt.”

           “Not just a scavenger hunt,” I say. “A Halloween-themed scavenger hunt.”

           “Should we…” Mick pauses. “…you know, scavenge?”

           “I think we should,” says Nina, The Sleuth. “I know I’m not going to rest until I get to the bottom of it. The clue says there’s a bat learning somewhere—obviously in the school. We should split up and search, text when we find a bat hanging from the ceiling. Hopefully fake.”

           “Let’s go, then,” I say, standing. I head toward the door first, my card in my hand, and nearly run into Alfie. “Oh, hey, Alfie. How’s it going?”

           Alfie shrugs. “It’s Halloween. Things couldn’t be better! What’s that?” He gestures to the card. “Looks fun and spooky. What’s it say?”

           I glance at the card. “Oh, it’s, uh, a card from my sis. It’s my Hallobirth.”

           “Hallobirth?”

           “It sounded better than Birthoween.”

           “Oh, my God.” Alfie laughs, shaking his head, and holds his glance on the group at the stage. Well, mostly on Amber, I assume. “I’ll see you later, Ash.”

           --

           I take the east side of the school to search; Nina’s north, Mara’s west, and Mick’s south. As I duck into classrooms in search of a hanging plastic bat on the ceiling, I ponder whatever’s happening. Honestly, I’m a little worried this has something to do with our Sibuna stuff. Like… I don’t know, maybe Rufus is back from the dead to taunt us on Halloween. He knew both me and my great-grandmother Lily Henry. Heck, they were technically siblings through adoption! He had to know we share the same birthday, amongst other things.

           But, you know… Rufus is dead. There’s no way he survived those sandflies. But also, what if he had a partner?

           Nope. Ashley, stop it. It’s not Rufus. Rufus Zeno is dead and he’s gonna stay dead.

           As I’m leaving the tenth classroom on the east side of the school, my phone pings with a text message. Mick. He says he found the bat in Mrs. Burton’s art classroom. I stuff my phone back into my pocket, pushing through the crowd in the direction of the art classroom.

           “Hey,” I say, the last one of Team Jackal to arrive, “where is it?”

           “Up there,” Mick says, pointing to the corner. Sure enough, there’s an obviously fake bat hanging from the ceiling, right above a painting I recognize as my own. “Found this paper in its beak. Have no idea what it says.”

           “Another language again?”

           Mick hands it to Mara, who frowns as she looks over it. “They’re hieroglyphs. I don’t have a dictionary for this.”

           “Can we see?” Nina asks, holding her hand out. Mara hands over the paper. There’s quite a few hieroglyphs printed onto it. “We could bring it to Fabian. He could translate it for us.”

           I shake my head. “No. The first message said not to tell anyone. I can translate it.”

           The three of them chorus at the same time, “You can?”

           I frown. I’m not a fan of the doubt in their voices. “Yeah. I can do this. I’ve been taking an online class.”

           Mara raises her eyebrows. “Why?”

           ‘Cause I was forced by my ancestry to participate in Ancient Egyptian mysteries in the place where we live isn’t an acceptable answer, I assume. So I respond, “‘Cause I wanna learn a new language.”

           “You might want to try one that’s being used in the twenty-first century.”

           “What, should I learn Latin, Mara?” I retort, my words coming out sharper and more condescending than I intended. Nina elbows me, and I sigh. “Sorry, Mara. What I mean is, give me a few hours, and I’ll have this translated. Every glyph. Trust me.”

           --

           I spend most of the school day subtly using my phone and the internet to translate the hieroglyphs from the second clue. It was really hard to do that without any of the teachers noticing, but somehow I succeeded in getting away with it. And in translating it. That’s right, Miss Amateur Hieroglyph Translator got thirty-two menacing, creepy as heck words out of those hieroglyphs. The Artist does better with pictures and numbers.

           Also, I’ve seen some of these before with our prior mystery. That helped a lot.

           “You’re sure that’s what it says?” Nina questions warily as Team Jackal crowds around me in Mr. Sweet’s empty classroom just after last bell. “Like, absolutely sure?”

           “One hundred percent,” I answer. “I know. It’s freaking me out a little, too.”

           You found the bat, now find the raven. Corbierre is not who we speak about. There is, in the school, another raven, and if you find it, you might just save him.

           “Save him,” Mara repeats, her voice slightly trembling. “We should tell someone now. Someone’s life may be at stake.”

           “Maybe it’s just one of those Halloween things,” Mick suggests weakly.

           “We’ll never know unless we find the raven it’s talking about,” I state. “We should find it first before we make any decisions to tell authorities. You with me?” Nina nods. So does Mick. Mara does so reluctantly. “All right. So it says the raven’s not Corbierre. That’s good, that means Victor won’t come tear apart the school to find his precious bird.”

           “If there was a real raven in the school,” Mick remarks, “we would’ve heard about it by now.”

           “It’d be all over social media,” Mara adds.

           Nina has her thinking face on. “What if it’s not a real bird? What if it never was? Corbierre’s taxidermy. What if we’re looking for one that was always made of plastic?”

           “What do you mean?” I question, not quite following.

           “The Mysteries of Anubis,” Nina states. Mick and Mara turn pink at the mention of the play (must be thinking about their prolonged-kiss when the curtains fell when the first act ended). But in that play, Fabian played a character inspired by Victor—complete with a prop raven. “The raven.”

           “It’s still backstage with the rest of the props,” I recall. “That has to be it. Great job, Sleuth!”

           “Let’s go!”

           The curtains are drawn when we arrive. There are boxes of props spread across the stage, but none of them have our prop raven on top. Nina orders us to start digging for the raven in such an authoritative, leading tone that not one of us pauses to verbally question why on earth all of these boxes are laid out so nicely for us. These weren’t on the stage when we were in here this morning.

           I throw a feathery scarf around my neck to get it out of the way, digging my hands into the box. “Monocle, flowers—does anyone know why there’s a lion mask in here?”

           Mara pipes up, “The school play the year before you came was The Wizard of Oz.”

           “Cool. Who was the scarecrow without a brain?”

           I’m about to answer my own question with Jerome’s name when Mick calls, a frown very evident in his voice, “Uh… over here.”

           Mara, Nina, and I drop the props in our hands as we crowd around the box Mick’s rifling through. He’s holding the prop raven, the one we used for the play, in his hands, but there’s something taped to it. A photograph of a smiling familiar face.

           “That’s Alfie,” I say slowly, reaching over to take the raven from him. Alfie’s photograph is taped to the raven we were told to find. What does this mean? Does it mean…. “Is Alfie the ‘him’ in ‘you might just save him?’”

           “Okay, we need to tell Mr. Sweet now,” Mara says certainly, sounding freaked out now. More than before. “Whoever sent us on this scavenger hunt has Alfie!”

           “We need to calm down,” Nina instructs. “Take a breath. It looks like there’s something written on the back. Maybe another clue that will lead us to Alfie or whoever’s leaving these.”

           Before I get a chance to rip the photograph off the raven to read the next clue, there’s heavy footsteps from the door. Team Jackal spins around at the same time to see that it’s the group from earlier—Jerome, Patricia, Fabian, and Amber. They’re talking over each other but stop dead in their tracks when they see us staring at them.

           “What are you guys doing here?” Fabian asks.

           “We could ask you the same thing,” Nina responds.

           Patricia’s eyes widen as she points to the prop in my hand. “That’s the raven we’re looking for! What are you doing with it?”

           I counter quickly, “What do you want with it?”

           Jerome steps forward and says bluntly, “Everybody, shut up.” The room falls silent, but he waits a few seconds to continue. In those few seconds, he looks across us. Then he concludes, “You got envelopes, too, didn’t you? Numbered one through four?”

           “Yeah,” Mick confirms. “You’ve been running around school all day, too?”

           Amber nods. “Looking for a clue hidden in mummy gauze. I need a manicure,” she remarks, glancing briefly at her nails (which are as perfect as always). Then she abruptly looks back up, pointing to each of us. “Wait, there are nine people in Anubis House. Where’s Alfie?”

           Alfie Lewis. He’s the only Anubis student missing. He’s the only one who didn’t get an envelope.

           “I haven’t seen him since first class,” Jerome says.

           Patricia closes her eyes. “The last clue. It said something about saving ‘him.’ Alfie must be him!”

           “It told you to find a raven,” I infer, raising the raven with the photograph of our missing friend. “This raven. With Alfie’s picture taped to it.”

           “Nina just said there’s a message on the back of the photo,” Mara reminds us.

           The other four rush to jump onto the stage with us as I rip the photograph off the raven, throwing the prop to Jerome. I turn the photograph over, my blue eyes scanning across the unfamiliar words. “It’s in Latin. Four parts.”

           “We should work on this together,” Nina suggests. “Figure out where Alfie is.”

           There’s four parts to the Latin message, and there’s eight of us. With us splitting into pairs of two and being assigned a part for each pair, it shouldn’t take long at all for us to figure out this message. Especially with the internet and online translation services at our fingertips.

           In the end, the message reads: One clue is at the seat of learning. Another is at the amphitheater of activity. You must split up again, but you will find him.

           “Whoever wrote this knew we’d work on it together,” Fabian remarks. “They have to know us personally.” His comment earns doubtful looks from the rest of the house. “I mean—look, they didn’t even start calling each other by their first names until a few weeks ago.” He gestures between me and Jerome. “And Ashley can still hardly stand him. And Patricia can hardly stand the rest of us. Not to mention them,” now he gestures to Mick and Mara, an odd pairing by anyone’s standards. “Who else would think we would work together to translate this other than someone who knows us well?”

           “That narrows it down to pretty much just Victor and Trudy,” I say. “I don’t see Victor taking the time to draw all this up.”

           “Unless he wanted us out of the house.”

           “He’s out of the house, though,” Amber says. “We just saw him heading into Mr. Sweet’s office. And Trudy’s out handing sweets out to the freshmen.”

           “Stop speculating,” Jerome interrupts, snatching Mara’s notepad with the full translation of this clue. “What does this mean?”

           Mara shrugs. “Seat of learning could be any classroom. I don’t know what amphitheater of activity could be.”

           “Well, think about it,” Fabian states, grabbing the notepad from Jerome. He taps his finger against the paper. “Seat of learning. Where’s all the knowledge in the school?”

           “Definitely not in our brains,” I quip.

           It’s not the answer he’s looking for. I also get a lot of strange looks from them.

           Fabian rolls his eyes. “No, the library! It’s full of books. The seat of learning must be the library.”

           “Great,” Nina comments. She presses her lips together. “Now what’s the amphitheater of activity?”

           It’s silent in the room for a few seconds as we ponder it. The answer comes from the person we least expect. Mick says, “You know, amphitheater is another word for gym.” The looks he’s given could rival the ones just given to me. Then he raises his phone. “I googled it.”

           “There’s a lot of activity in the gym,” Jerome points out.

           Amber jumps up from the couch. “Team Ibis—we’re taking the library. Since our team figured it out.”

           “You’re Team Ibis?” I question, perking up. Two important animals in Egyptian mythology are jackals and ibises. “We’re Team Jackal! I came up with it.”

           “I came up with Team Ibis, too! I also gave us nicknames. Jerk,” she points to Jerome, identifying him as the one with the apropos name, “Nerd,” Fabian, “Goth,” Patricia, “and Jewel!” She points to herself, taking the hem of her skirt and curtsying.

           I laugh. “So did I! I’m the Artist, she’s the Sleuth, he’s the Jock, and she’s the Nerd. Two nerds! Nerd-squared. What are the odds?”

           Nina lightly clears her throat and reminds me, “Didn’t you translate the hieroglyphs singlehandedly? Wouldn’t that make you a nerd, too?”

           “Okay, but I can’t do math.”

           “But you can translate hieroglyphs.”

           “Oh, whatever!” I exclaim, hitting her arm lightly. Nina pulls her arm away and laughs loudly. “Team Jackal—to the gym. Jock, you live there. Lead the way.”

           Mick frowns as he stands. “I’m roommates with Fabian.”

           --

           The gymnasium doesn’t look out of place to me. On this Halloween, it’s being used as a sweets hub, with tables set up inside and adults handing out sweets to younger teenagers dressed in costumes. Trudy’s here, too, dressed as a classic witch.

           “Does anything look different to you, Mick?” Mara asks him. “You were in here yesterday.”

           Mick narrows his eyes as he looks around the gym. Nina and I share a glance as Mara watches him intently. I know Mick probably has the layout of this place memorized, but would he really spot something so minuscule as a random clue in a room full of costumed children and the smell of chocolate wafting through the ai—

           “The footballs,” Mick interrupts my inner doubts. I snap out of it and blink, following his finger point. There’s a stack of sports equipment with gauze-covered footballs. “They weren’t covered with gauze yesterday.”

           “Gauze like mummy gauze?” I question.

           “When you say football,” Nina says, “you mean a soccer ball, right? I mean, for me, the American.”

           “Yes, he means soccer in American. There’s not an American football in the room.”

           “I think an American football wrapped in gauze would be a cool Halloween decoration. Stick some googly eyes on it, make a body out of haystacks. We did that for decorations one year, me and Gran.”

           “Like a Halloween snowman?”

           “Yeah, but made of straw and googly eyes.”

           “Nina, Ashley!” Mara shouts from across the room. She and Mick are already over there by the stack of gauze-covered sports equipment. Nina and I exchange an alarmed glance before running across the floor. She’s holding one in particular. “There’s writing on this gauze.”

           Trudy calls, “Oh, hello!” We turn, waving meekly at her. “What a strange group, you four. Would you like any sweets?”

           “Oh, no, thanks, Trudy,” Nina declines for all of us. “We’re just, uh… walking. Getting in some exercise before partying tonight—double the celebration, you know, with Ash’s birthday and Halloween.”

           I completely forgot it was my birthday until she said that. Oops.

           Trudy gives us a thumbs-up and grins before returning to handing out candy to the lowerclassmen.

           Mara’s carefully unwrapping the gauze from the football. Mick’s holding the other end of the gauze and she hands the football itself off to me once it’s completely unwrapped. I can see the message through the thin gauze—and even with it backwards, I can tell it’s English. Thank God, no more translations.

           “‘This clue you have figured out,’” she reads aloud, “‘beyond a shadow of a doubt. The final is nothing to write home about. Anubis is what it’s all about.’”

           Nina gasps. “The final clue—it’s at Anubis House!”

           --

           Anubis House is decorated for the holiday, too. Well, as decorated as Victor would allow. As in, there’s fake spider webs on the sign outside, and he let us place some fake pumpkins around the place. That’s pretty much the extent he would let us decorate the public areas—our rooms were ours for the taking.

           Team Jackal stumbles into the house, which is exactly the same as we left it.

           “Mick, Mara, you take downstairs,” Nina says. “Look for anything out of the ordinary. Ash and I’ll take upstairs.”

           Before we even get a chance to split up, a commotion from upstairs drifts down to us. It causes us to freeze where we stand before we run toward the stairs, skipping steps and nearly falling more than once. Bursting through the doors to the girls’ rooms, we’re met with the sight of Team Ibis talking over one another again, stood in front of the attic.

           “What are you all doing up here?” I ask loudly, interrupting them. The four part long enough for me to spot a piece of paper taped to the attic door. “What does that say?”

           Find the key and you’ll set him free.

           “The spare key to the attic?” Mara inquires. I try pulling on the doorknob, but it’s locked. “That’s in Victor’s office.”

           “I can pick the office lock—” Nina begins.

           Fabian interrupts, “We already tried that. The spare key is missing.”

           “Well, what about the attic door?”

           “We were just arguing about that—”

           “What’s there to argue about? Mara, do you have a bobby pin?”

           My eyes jump around the door area, looking for anything strange about it. I can see Mara in my peripheral vision pulling a bobby pin out of her hair, but when I turn my head to see that fully, something glimmers from the top of the doorframe. I step forward, biting the inside of my cheek. There’s something on top of the frame.

           “Hey, Mick,” I say without taking my eyes off the spot, “give me a boost.” Mick bends and holds out his hands so I can step onto them. He lifts me up long enough for me to grab the key. It nearly stumbles out of my hands as he sets me back down. “Got the key! Move, Clarke!”

           “Don’t stab me with it,” Jerome says, jumping out of the way.

           I push the key into the lock, turning it. The door unlocks and opens. “Team Jackal goes first,” I say lowly, looking at the dark stairs. “Well, me and Nina do. I have a weird feeling about this.”

           I can hear the rest of them following Nina and I upstairs. She and I are holding onto each other’s arms, the cold key against my skin. We slowly round the corner together before entering the attic fully. There’s someone standing there with their back to us, dressed in a long black cape.

           “Ah,” says the person in the attic, with a Transylvanian accent, “you have figured out my clues.”

           And they turn around. The face throws me and everyone else into a state of confusion and shock.

           “Alfie?!” Anubis House questions in unison.

           Alfie grins at us, showing us his plastic fangs. “Hello, Anubis. Happy Halloween! Welcome to our party.”

           “Alfie,” Jerome says slowly, “do you want to explain what’s going on here?”

           “And why we were led to believe that you were in danger,” I add, “when you look pretty not-in-danger to me?”

           “Oh, I was so tempted to put you two on the same team,” Alfie states happily, “but then I thought: no, putting my two best friends on separate teams was gonna work. Let me explain—I’ve been working on this elaborate scavenger hunt for months. Every detail, every clue, was drawn to perfection. I even tailored them to your interests.”

           Fabian stammers, “Different languages interest?”

           Alfie nods. “Yeah, that’s why I put you and Ashley on separate teams. I’m the one that put the idea of taking hieroglyph classes in her head.” I frown. Yeah, that’s technically correct. He more encouraged me to do it than outright told me to. “Mrs. Andrews helped me with the French clues, and Mr. Sweet with the Latin ones. I gave Team Tweedledee,” he gestures to my team, “the bat in the art room and I assumed you would take the amphitheater of activity because… well…”

           “Oh, because of me!” Mick exclaims.

           “Exactly! And I gave Team Tweedledum the mummies in the halls at school because of Fabian—and I’d hope you’d go to the seat of learning.”

           Amber raises her hand. “I found that one. The one that said to come here. It was in a pretty book on the table.”

           Alfie smiles warmly at her. “I knew you’d do that. And the hieroglyphs I found online. I put on a disguise and watched you all scramble to figure out the clues before coming back here when you figured out the Latin one. It was so much fun, you should’ve seen your faces.”

           “Wait a second,” Patricia says, and there’s a warning in her tone. “You tricked us into going on this scavenger hunt, made us believe you were in danger, and watched us run all about the school for fun?”

           Alfie nods. “Pretty much.”

           “If this is a party, where’s the punch?”

           His eyes widen as he steps back abruptly, bumping into the wall. “No need to pour punch on me or punch me, Trixie! This is a Halloween party. And,” he looks over at me, “it’s Ash’s birthday. I’m gonna be honest with you—I did forget today was your birthday until Fabian said something this morning. But hey, it all worked out!”

           I narrow my eyes, stepping toward him. “You…are so much smarter than I thought you were.”

           “Oh. I thought you were gonna say something about me being stupid.”

           “You are stupid, but this was also fun until we thought you were in danger.”

           “Hey, you guys would’ve pinned this on me the second you realized I was the only one who didn’t get an envelope and in a group. I had to take the suspicion off myself. So who’d you think it was? Victor, Trudy? Oh, was it Mr. Sweet?”

           Alfie doesn’t get an answer as we all stare at him.

           “Okay, so forget that I made you think I was in danger,” Alfie compromises, “and let’s get our party on! Go get costumed up and get back up here, because Trudy and Victor aren’t gonna be back for another two hours! Oh, and get whatever presents you bought Ash!”

           --

           Halloween-themed music and sound effects blast through some speakers set up in the attic as we dance around with each other. Amber’s dressed as (of course) a princess, Nina as Dorothy Gale, and myself as a pirate. Fabian’s recycled his costume from the play earlier this year (sharpie beard and all), Patricia’s a regular witch (no pun intended), Mick and Mara are doing a couples’ thing as Frankenstein’s Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein, and Jerome’s a skeleton. Alfie’s Dracula, the same costume we found him in.

           Honestly, him being behind this whole thing was a plot twist I never expected. In hindsight, I should’ve realized it. He was so focused on making this work that he wasn’t very enthusiastic about Halloween in general.

           But good for him. This was fun, figuring out the clues.

           The presents I received for my birthday were perfect. It was mostly art supplies, but Fabian gifted me a book on Egyptian mythology and Amber bought me a bracelet that goes perfectly with my Ankh charm. The only person who didn’t give me anything was Jerome, which, to be honest, I expected. Although, he could’ve at least, like, given me a chocolate bar.

           I sneak out of the attic with my empty cup, planning to go downstairs and fill it up with water from the kitchen. As I turn the sink on, I hear one of the doors in the hallway downstairs open and close. When I switch the sink off, my cup full, someone says, “Leaving the party so soon?”

           Spinning around, I find that it’s Jerome in all his skeleton-glory. “Just getting something to drink. What about you?”

           “Wanted to give you something,” he replies. He steps toward me, holding out a small, Halloween-themed gift bag. “It’s your present. I didn’t give it to you in front of everyone because I didn’t want anyone to make fun of me.”

           “Oh, you poor thing,” I say sarcastically, taking it from him. “I’m definitely gonna make fun of you.”

           “I’m sure.”

           I laugh lightly, reaching into the bag. My fingers wrap around a long box and I set the bag on the counter as I pull it out. It’s a pen box, not one of those writing pens, but one for drawing. I’ve been on the fence about buying this exact pen for months. I didn’t know if I actually needed it.

           “I went to that art shop in town you’re always talking about,” Jerome explains. “They know you by name there, you know that? All I said is I was looking for something for you and they told me about this pen you’ve been looking at forever. Said you never bought it.”

           “So… you bought it for me?” I question slowly. I didn’t expect this.

           “Yeah. I didn’t want to walk around that shop looking for something I have no idea about. This was the easy way out. Happy birthday, Ash.”

           “This is, uh… very sweet of you, Jerome,” I say, blinking several times. “Thank you. Seriously. I didn’t expect this.”

           “Don’t get used to it.”

           “Afraid I’m gonna tell everyone the Tinman has a heart?”

           “Hilarious, truly.”

           I smile, shaking my head. I take his arm and pull him out into the hallway. “Come on. If we’re both gone for too long, they’ll think we’re up to no good. Happy Halloween.”

           “Happy Halloween.”

#ch: ashley adams #ocappreciation #type: writing #q #happy halloween!!! #and happy 24th birthday to my fave ash!!! #god i missed writing her this felt good #the first clue (the one in french) was found on pinterest but the others are mine #(full disclosure: i do not speak french so i used google) #also i've had this written for two months it's been agony not being able to post it until now #also u can thank this one shot for getting me started on editing wlb

[goodnightkisseu]

Kang Daniel - Drip {M}

Genre: Smut

Note: As promised, here is the second fic that I’m releasing for Valentine’s Day! It’s been a bit since I wrote something like this so I hope that it’s okay >///< 

Enjoy~

Because of the situation with tumblr links, please check my bio for links to my masterlist~

- goodnightkisseu’s admin / ashley <3

One thing that you had learned about dating Daniel was that simple tasks were rarely ever simple. They always managed to take a turn along the way, particularly when you were completing the tasks together. Take, for example, washing the car. The weather was nice today, just warm enough to be out and about, but not hot enough where you were dying under the sun’s rays. As it had been a bit since you had washed your car, you thought it would be a great day to do so. Daniel, being the wonderful boyfriend that he was, offered his assistance and you were quick to accept it. You sprayed down the car with the hose, filled a bucket with soap and water, and the two of you proceeded to scrub away all of the grime that had built up over the last two weeks. Between the pollen, tree sap, and the freak rainstorm in the middle of the week, your car had definitely seen better days. All this was supposed to be was a simple car wash.

Yet, it seemed like Daniel had some ideas of his own.

You were just leaning down to dunk your sponge back into the bucket when you felt water droplets hit your arm. You didn’t think about it much at first until it happened again… and again. With furrowed brows you looked over at the only person that could have been the perpetrator, eyes locking with your boyfriend. A low and very bemused chuckle left his lips and you could see that smile forming on his features, reaching all the way up to his eyes. You let out a soft sigh and were about to turn away when you were met by something you weren’t quite expecting. It was like a wave of water, running down your side and down your back, the water cold against your skin. You froze momentarily, and at that moment you knew it was on. Two could play at this game.

With this playful gesture from Daniel, you were both completely derailed from your task. No longer were you washing the car. The two of you were now engulfed in a water fight, flinging water at each other in any way you could. Whether it was using the buckets, the wet towels, or even the sponges, everything was fair game. Unsurprisingly, Daniel was winning by a landslide, his ability to pinpoint where your much shorter self would be was proving to be an advantage for him. What he wasn’t expecting was for you to make a play for the hose. You grabbed it quickly and placed your finger over it just enough to have it spraying out at your boyfriend, soaking him from head to toe.

“Yah, wait! Babe, that’s cheating! You can’t use the hose! You’ll win no contest with that thing!” he yelled through his laughter, his arms in front of him as he tried to defend himself against the sudden onslaught of water. He was already pretty wet from head to toe, but now he was completely drenched, and it was honestly a bit hard to see.

“Everything is fair game, and you shouldn’t have started this water fight if you didn’t want it to get this far, mister!” you retorted, chasing your boyfriend down with the hose as he tried to hide behind the car to dodge it. You were enjoying the fact that you suddenly had the upper hand… well, until Daniel managed to turn off the water. Shit. You had forgotten about that, and now you were completely defenseless.

“You know, you should stand closer to the spigot if you’re going to use the best weapon available,” he warned. In no time he had turned towards you, each step bringing him closer and making you more nervous. Daniel was not one to let you win so easily. Sure, he had a very gentle and soft demeanor, but when it came to playing around and games in general… he definitely liked to win. Mostly at games like this.

Though each step that brought he closer meant that your demise was also quickly approaching, your mind was already elsewhere. It wasn’t your original intention, but your eyes started to wander his body when your brain registered that Daniel had worn a white sleeveless shirt that day. That same shirt was now hugging his form from all of that water and you couldn’t help but look. Your eyes took in the way that fabric clung to his toned figure, the cloth now just see-through enough that you could see his abs below it. They took in the way that his shirt sat on his broad shoulders and how the water droplets rested on his arms. Daniel had really gotten quite fit in the last few months, and now that he was drenched from head to toe, you were seeing the fruits of his labor. Though you didn’t mean to, you were definitely checking out your boyfriend.

Unfortunately, your lustful glances did not go unnoticed by Daniel, mostly not when he realized that your eyes were gently darting around instead of staring at him head on. A smirk crossed his features as he watched you bite your lip. Just what naughty thoughts were running through your mind? He had every intention of finding out.

“Looks like someone’s undressing me with her eyes. Like what you see, babe?” he asked, hand gently running under his shirt to lift it up every so slightly. When he did so, you realized that he had caught on and you couldn’t help the deep pink tint that crept across your cheeks just as you turned away.

Dammit, you were hoping that he wouldn’t realize that you were staring, but who were you kidding? Daniel always seemed to know what you were thinking before you did, and this time, he wasn’t wrong. Though you weren’t one to boast, having an attractive boyfriend like Daniel was hard at times. It was hard to stop yourself from thinking those things every now and then, mostly when he just looked so good in a wet shirt. Still, even if this was the case, you were going to deny it. You would deny it to your grave if you had to. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daniel.”

Oh, so you were going to play that game, were you? Even so, he wasn’t going to let you off easy. Teasing you was just too much fun. Admittedly, he did it a little too much, but he couldn’t help himself. “Come on, at least tell me that you like what you see. You were staring so hard I was sure you’d burn a hole right through my shirt,” he said with that laugh of his.

Ugh, that laugh! It was both sexy and adorable, and to this day, you still couldn’t quite figure out how he did it. Daniel was such an enigma sometimes. There were a handful of things that Daniel did that had a very different vibe depending on the situation. His laugh was one of them. In one situation it was cute, in a situation like this, it was damn provocative. He was such a strange one, full of surprises… though you supposed that’s what made you fall for him. Well, that and the fact that he ran three blocks after the bus to return your phone to you.

“I-I told you I wasn’t looking,” you replied, though you stuttered, and you knew that was a dead giveaway for Daniel. The smirk that formed on his lips as soon as he caught you in your lie said it all.

Gently, he slid himself in between you and the car, bringing you face to face with his wet form. “Babe, I’m pretty soaked. Maybe I should just take it off so that you could get a better look? Or maybe we should just head inside?” he suggested.

It took everything in you to pull yourself away from him, to continue to pretend like you weren’t interested. But god you were interested. Instead, you rolled your eyes at his behavior before you moved back over to the spigot to turn the hose back on. “Oh please, Daniel Just take off your shirt if you don’t like it clinging to you. Don’t do it because you think it turns me on or something. I’ve already seen it all,” you replied matter-of-factly. Your attention was back on the car in seconds as you told yourself that you had to keep your resolve. Daniel just won too much. You had to at least win once, right?

It seemed like this answer was reasonable to Daniel and he nodded. “You know what, I think I will,” he said simply, reaching for the hem of his shirt and pulling the wet material over his head. He was still soaked from head to toe, but he had to admit that he felt like he could breathe a bit better without his shirt clinging to him like that. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw you glancing at him, even if you didn’t want to admit it, and he knew that he had made the right choice.

And it seemed like his little show didn’t just catch your eye. It also caught the eye of the girls across the street. They were quick to praise him on his looks, and though he feigned innocence, he still gave them a small smile. He was doing it on purpose to get you all riled up, and he knew it was working when he heard you scoff at his actions.

“Hey, Romeo, why don’t you stop putting on a show and help your girlfriend instead, hm?” you asked sweetly, though Daniel knew you better than that, and he knew that he got what he wanted. He was quick to help you wash off the car, and in no time the two of you were back inside.

As soon as the doors were closed behind you, Daniel had you pinned between him and the door, his wet form completely covering yours. “Looks like someone got a bit jealous,” he whispered in your ear.

“I… I wasn’t,” you retorted, though you knew that your resolve was weak. The moment you saw those girls looking at Daniel, you felt something in the pit of your stomach. It was that unsettling feeling that you had felt a few times before and you thought that you had gotten over. But you supposed you hadn’t. You knew that Daniel did it to get you riled up, you knew that he did it because he wanted to win, but you honestly felt a bit… dejected. Daniel was handsome and those girls were pretty, a lot like his ex. You couldn’t help but think that he might… change his mind.

Your answer hadn’t quite been what he expected, and he knew immediately that something was up. “Hey, you alright?” he asked gently, his tone completely shifting from that playful one that he had seconds before.

“I’m – ” You had thought about lying. You had thought about saying that you were okay, but you knew that Daniel would have seen right through it. “Fine, I did get a bit jealous. Those girls were a lot like your ex. I guess I wasn’t ready for that…”

“I’m sorry,” he told you gently, kissing your temple affectionately.

“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I should have just let you win, to begin with…” you mumbled to yourself as Daniel continued to pepper your face with gentle kisses.

“Naw, you wouldn’t have had any fun if you let me win like that. Plus I took it too far. I shouldn’t have been flirting like that,” he reassured you.

“You’re too good to me. I don’t deserve someone like you…”

“Well, you honestly deserve someone better, but I snatched you up first, so you’re stuck with me,” he replied, before sneakily lifting you up in his arms, your legs instinctively wrapping around his torso. “And since that’s the case, I think it’s time to make my babe feel better…” he informed you, bringing you over to the couch and lightly placing your down, sealing your lips with a searing kiss.

You hadn’t quite expected something like this so soon, but you’d be damned if you let him go now. Your hands gently wound their way into his brown locks, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss, fingers gently massaging your hip bones.

Daniel parted from you momentarily to catch his breath and to get a good look at you. It was Daniel’s turn to stare this time, and boy was it a sight for him. Between how soaked he got you earlier and how tightly he held you when you got back into the apartment, your clothes were now drenched. It followed your form in all of the right ways. It accented your curves nicely hugging your torso to really show off the swell of your breasts. It even made your shirt just the tiny bit see-through, and Daniel would have been lying if he said he wasn’t trying to catch just a little bit more behind the material.

You knew that stare well, and though it was incredibly hot, you also knew that he was practically undressing you with his eyes, and it was your turn to tease him. “Hm, and I’m the perv in this relationship, am I?” you inquired, snapping your boyfriend out of his thoughts just long enough for him to smirk at you.

“Well, I’m taking in your beauty in the comfort of our own apartment. If I remember correctly, someone was eyeing me like a piece of meat outside, in front of other people,” he replied, earning an eye roll from you.

“Oh just shut up and kiss me already,” you said hastily, and it didn’t take Daniel long to comply, his lips on yours in seconds.

As his lips were busy with yours, his hands worked on lifting your shirt. They melded to your form as they pushed the thin material upward, stopping at your breasts so that he could cup them both, giving them a light squeeze. The action caused a moan to resonate up through your throat, right into Daniel’s mouth. He took the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth gently coaxing yours to dance with him.

You complied getting lost in the feeling of him kissing you, of your tongues playfully dancing with each other that you didn’t even realize that Daniel’s hands had deftly managed to somehow unhook your bra, pushing the material up with the rest of your shirt. You both broke from your intense kisses, just long enough for the impatient male to get the wet cloth of your body, giving him, finally, a full view of your form. Momentarily, you diverted your eyes away from his, feeling yourself getting a little too hot at the way his eyes were raking over your body. Daniel never had to do much to get you bothered, and this was proof of that.

With your head turned away from him, Daniel took the opportunity to lean down, nuzzling his face against your neck, the tip of his nose nudging your earlobe gently. He slowly brought his tongue out to give that area a gentle lick, which elicited a small sound from you before he sucked on it, getting you to mewl in response. It was music to his ears. He loved to make you feel good, and every noise you made reassured him that he was doing it right.

His teeth momentarily nibbled on your earlobe before he continued his path of kisses and bites down from your ear to your neck, across your collarbones and landing himself right at your breasts. He cupped them again, giving each one a gentle squeeze before he took a bud into his move, sucking on it gently and grazing it ever so slightly with his teeth while his finger tweaked your other one.

Your back arched at the sudden pleasure, your hands lazily playing with his hair, gripping it tightly every now and then when he did something that you particularly enjoyed. Eventually, he let go of your left nipple, the cold air making contact with it made it even perkier, as he moved to do the same to your right nipple, his fingers now tweaking your left one. Another moan escaped your lips when his teeth grazed against a particularly sensitive part and you could feel him smirking against your skin as he moved further and further down your body, hands making quick work of whatever clothes you had left, both yours and his.

Daniel leaned up at this point, hovering over you as he held him up with one of his arms above your head while his other hand caressed your thigh. Daniel ran his hand up and down the outside of your thigh, his thumb running along the inside, but he never quite got to where you wanted him to. You wanted him to touch you. No, you need him to touch you. He had gotten you so riled up now that you almost didn’t know what you’d do if he didn’t keep going. This was the effect he had on you. This was how it was with him, and you’d honestly have it no other way.

“D-daniel…” came your breathless plea, your half-lidded eyes looking up into his. They were filled with just as much lust as yours were.

“Do you want me to touch you, kitten?” he asked, earning a quick nod from you, as a smirk danced on his lips. “Ask and you shall receive,” he whispered in your ear as his fingers left your thigh and gently ran the length of your lower lips.

You moaned into his ear at the sudden contact, a chuckle resonating through your own ear as he very easily slipped a finger into your wet core. “You were thinking naughty thoughts about me earlier, weren’t you? That’s the only way you could be this wet for me right now…”

Your finger found their way into his hair again. “You caught me,” you admitted, mewling when his finger slipped in and out of you, your hips moving along to the rhythm that his finger set before he ultimately added in another, making you gasp at the stretch.

His fingers slowly moved in and out of you, your boyfriend deftly adding in a third as he curled them ever so slightly in a way that made your back arch. He didn’t say anything else as he sped up his pace, just taking the time to listen to your heavy breathing, your moans of pleasure. It only made him throb at the thought that he was making you feel so good.

“I-I’m close, D-daniel…” you murmured, your breathing already ragged. Daniel took the opportunity to quicken his pace, his fingers moving faster to help you come undone for the first time since the two of you started, your breathing erratic after your release.

“You’re always so beautiful when you’re like this,” he told you, gently nuzzling into your neck before he came back up and gave you a lazy kiss.

You slowly reciprocated his affections, actions now languid as you tried to regain enough energy to continue. It didn’t take you too long as you found yourself giving the kisses a bit more force, which was a signal to Daniel to continue.  

Shifting in his position, he rested his arms under the bends of your legs as he brought his tip to your entrance, making you shiver in anticipation for what was to come. He eased himself in, drawing a long moan from your lips, as well as a couple of profanities, followed by his name. It hadn’t been too long since the two of you were last intimate, but it still took you a minute to adjust to his size. “Take your time, kitten…” he told you gently, seeing the smallest wince in your features.

Feeling his soft lips against your temple eased your pain and after a bit, you felt like you had adjusted to him enough. You gently rocked your hips, giving your lover the signal to start moving, and though it was slow at first, his pace quickened fast, his arms stretching your legs apart just enough so that he could push himself further into you.

You were a moaning mess beneath him, Daniel’s name mixed in between each of your short breaths. “It… feels… so… good…” you barely managed, feeling him speed up at the sudden encouragement that rolled from your lips. As he held you, you wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him closer to you, to feel his lips on you. You shared sloppy kisses together, lips barely touching with each moan and grunt leaving each of your lips, your nails digging into his skin when you knew that the both of you were close.

Daniel’s moves became sporadic as he drove you to your second release, reaching his own only moments lately. His tired figure collapsed on top of yours and he buried his face into the warmth of your bosom, his manhood gently sliding out of you as he pulled your legs to wrap around him.

You gently ran your fingers through his damp locks as your bodies melded together, becoming more entangled than they had before. “I think I should get myself soaked more often. You seem to like it,” he teased gently.

“… Maybe you should,” you replied, making the male look up at you with a quizzical look. “I mean… we didn’t even make it to the bedroom this time…”

“My girlfriend is such a little pervert…” Daniel replied, rolling his eyes at you.

“Maybe I am… but I’m yours.”

Daniel chuckled gently before he brought himself up, pulling you into another kiss, the two of you lazily making out on the couch and enjoying each other’s company. Being with Daniel may have meant that simple tasks weren’t always simple, but if it led to moments like this… well, there were no complaints on your end.

#kang daniel #wanna one #kang daniel smut #wanna one smut #wanna one scenarios #wanna one imagines #kang daniel scenarios #kang daniel imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop smut

[elizadoolittlethings]

“He’s not prudish. But seeing your dad naked is a lot for a lad to take.”

RG to The Guardian {x}

Rupert Graves’s eldest son got a nasty shock recently when he went on a school trip to see the 1987 Merchant Ivory adaptation of EM Forster’s gay love story Maurice. “He didn’t know I was in it,” the actor says over a morning cappuccino in a north London brasserie. “He went, ‘Argh! No way!’ and ran out.” He actually fled the cinema? “Yeah. ‘I can’t watch my dad naked on screen in front of all my mates. Can’t do it.’” He might also wish to steer clear of A Room with a View, which his father made with the same team two years earlier — his film debut, in fact — and in which he is seen throwing off his clothes to cavort in the lake and scamper through the undergrowth. “He’s not prudish. But seeing your dad naked is a lot for a lad to take.”

Some people would be positively thrilled at the prospect of a naked Rupert Graves: his devoted fans, the GravesDiggers, for example, or Mark Gatiss, screenwriter and star of Sherlock, in which Graves plays Inspector Lestrade. “I’ve had a crush on Rupert Graves since I was 14,” Gatiss admitted in 2014, then added: “Who hasn’t?” Graves, 56, who is today wearing round-framed glasses and a bedhead of salt-and-pepper hair, keeps his kit on in his new film, Horrible Histories the Movie: Rotten Romans, a big-screen version of the popular CBBC franchise which comes on like Monty Python Jr. He plays a centurion whose unexpected pauses keep wrong-footing his underlings. Thinking he is telling them to attack, they gather up their weapons in preparation, when what he has really said, if they’d only waited, is: “‘We attack!’ … would be the words of a rash man.” There’s nothing here to embarrass any of Graves’s five children, give or take the rap he delivers on horseback (sample line: “I’ve got 99 problems but a bridge ain’t one”).

He shrugs when I ask what the secret is to playing comedy. “I haven’t really done any. It’s stylised reality, isn’t it? Picking out bits and exaggerating them. But it’s got to be true.” Of course, he’s been funny in films before. He was superb as the lodger romantically involved with his landlady and her daughter in Intimate Relations. There was that bit, I remind him, where he wanted to accuse Julie Walters’s character of being a hypocrite but he couldn’t think of the word so he ended up shouting: “You’re a hippo!” He smiles back at me blankly. He doesn’t remember it. And last year he was in Swimming With Men, a kind of underwater Full Monty. “Yeah but I wasn’t playing an insane centurion doing a rap,” he laughs. “OK, I was an insane guy with a nose-clip on doing synchronised swimming, but it’s not quite the same.”

If there has been any pigeonholing, it came at the start of his career, when his performances in those Merchant Ivory films, as well as in two by Charles Sturridge, Where Angels Fear to Tread (Forster again) and A Handful of Dust(Waugh), encouraged misconceptions about his background. His name only sealed the deal. “Do you know what? Genuinely, it helps in this business being called Rupert. I’ve sniffed that attitude in acting: the Oxbridge thing. Making movies isn’t a cheap exercise. You need money and the knock-on from that is the industry is populated by a lot of posh people. It’s very hard to break into if you’re not middle class and privately educated.” Or if you don’t have a name that suggests you are. But if being called Rupert boosted his chances, it was a blight on his early years. “I hated it as a kid. I really wished I was called Pete.” Were there any significant Petes in his life? “Only Peter Purves on Blue Peter. Rupert is a ridiculous name in 1970s Weston-super-Mare. Ridiculous! It’s like being called Basil.”

Graves speaks in short bursts and clipped sentences as though he’s slightly out of breath, but he is at his most fluid when conjuring up the landscape of his youth. “It was one of these strange and dying seaside towns where the package holiday had killed off most of the trade, so the hotels had to lower their prices. It was the end of a line. A decaying, Thatcherite, druggy sort of place with no investment and no hope. I was always being chased by skinheads. It had some peculiar qualities, being by the sea and near Cheddar, some beautiful land. And it was blasted by the weather, which comes up the Bristol Channel and thumps Weston first. As a kid, it was great to hide behind the buildings as waves would smack them. The weather was physical and exciting. It gave the town character.”

At school, he was dreadfully shy and suffered from a stammer, but was also an incorrigible show-off. “I was hyper. My shyness meant I overcompensated, just to get anything out of my mouth at all. I had to summon up so much courage to even speak and then I got carried away because I’d mustered all that energy.” He went to a speech therapist to overcome the stammer and it was she who spotted his acting potential. Turns with the local operatic society followed; he also performed at the end of the pier, miming to songs and delivering Victorian comic monologues. What did he get out of it? “The warmth of the approval.” He found himself an agent from the back of the Stage (“I don’t even think we met”) and took on bits and bobs of TV work while still at school, including his turn as a prefect — his first toff — in the spy series Return of the Saint.

He adored working with James Ivory. “He would say things like, ‘Put your pipe in upside down.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because it’s funny.’ He was right. It was funny. In a Magritte sort of way.” But people started cooling on the costume-drama craze at the end of the 1980s. “There was a backlash. I thought, ‘This is really unfair!’ I didn’t go to any fucking posh schools and I was getting lumped in with that.” The director Alan Parkerfamously derided the Merchant Ivory output as “the Laura Ashley school of film-making.” Graves scoffs. “That was horrible. Really stupid. Forster was actually trying to say something.”

But he was looking for a new direction around that time anyway. “The whole industry thought I was Posh Rupert and I wasn’t. I didn’t know people who lived in Fulham and Chelsea, I didn’t know what they thought or what they ate for breakfast.” He reacted by taking on parts which were worlds away from parasols and linen trousers. The most notable was Open Fire, a 1994 TV film written and directed by Paul Greengrass, in which Graves was ferocious and banshee-like, all nails and hair and heels, as the real-life cross-dressing criminal David Martin. He also played a laddish motorcycle courier reunited with a transgender school pal in Different for Girls. It was theatre that really excited him, though, and still does. “You don’t tend to get typecast in theatre.” He was in Torch Song Trilogy with Anthony Sher, the Broadway run of Patrick Marber’s Closer, Pinter’s The Caretaker with Michael Gambon. When I ask whether there is any screen work that he would like people to catch up with, he says: “I can think of plays.” But they’re gone. “Argh! I know. That’s the beauty of it. And the pain.”

He thinks he could have been a bigger star if he’d worked at that side of things. “I’m just not ambitious in a career-building way. I’m not good at being polite to the right people. I’m not strategically engaged.” He can’t think when he last did something that would count as networking. “People do it. But I never did. I find it a bit grubby. I can see the benefits. I’ve been lucky that I can keep afloat and not be either too hassled on the street or have to do any of the business side of things, which I’m shit at.” Afloat is an understatement: he has excelled in some of Sally Wainwright’s best work (as a dodgy barrister in the first series of Scott & Bailey and as Derek Jacobi’s long-lost son in the third Last Tango in Halifax), and appeared on stage in the acclaimed season of Pinter’s short plays at the start of this year. He will soon be seen as Mr Weston in a starry new film of Jane Austen’s Emma, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy and Miranda Hart.

Throughout our conversation, he has been charming company while also giving the impression of a runner on the starting blocks, poised to scarper the second he hears the pistol. Once we’ve wrapped up, he rises to his feet quickly and knocks a knife off the table, catching it before it hits the floor. “That’s the thing about getting old,” he says, returning the cutlery to its place. “I’ve become a dropper. I’m always dropping things.” Is he a forgetter yet? “Oh yeah. But I’ve always been a forgetter. Never remember names. Not even in scripts.” And there I was expecting you to recall a line of dialogue from nearly 25 years ago, I say. He laughs and makes a noise I’ve never heard before — “Nyyyyyyr! Nyyyyyyr!” — and then — on your marks, get set — he’s gone.

#RG #rupert graves #quotes I like #the man who made me like men #all things MG #so #i didn't want to post the whole #interview #but #well #i never get the chance #to post #from the same interview #with the net playing havoc #and #i need this #in my blog #the whole chat #so that's it #gravesdigiggers #is mentioned!! #:)

[ikonislife]

Shame 04.

-Junhoe x Reader

-Angst, Smut, CEO!Junhoe

-Warning: Mature content.

-Somewhere in between his haughty smirk and sultry whispers, you let yourself lost in a path of no return with the man who doesn’t love anyone.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final

A heavy breath mingled with the thickening air of the stuffy office, uneasiness not even the exorbitantly priced whiskey his father had given could ease shrouded his body. As he thought of you and thought of your smile, Junhoe drowned further in the worst kind of regret, the kind that couldn’t be fix, the kind that brought on nothing but hopelessness. He knew there was nothing he could do if you were in fact just as innocent as you were that night… Well, as innocent as two people fucking each other’s brains out could be. He loved your sinful wholesomeness. Such a beautiful mess of contradiction yet you were just so perfect for him. As raw as the intimacy you both shared, there was something so basic, so simple in the happiness glowing so alluringly behind your fucked-out eyes the moment you realized he did in fact wanting, needing to see you again in much less sweat and nakedness. Your eyes seemingly grew three times its size and the smile that blossomed on your lips, it was nothing short of pure bliss, as if he had just resolved all the tangles of your heart. As the memory of that night streamed endlessly in his mind, the anger too risen once more in his heart but this time, this time it stemmed from just how idiotic his action had been. How he had ripped himself away from happiness before even giving it a chance, giving you the benefit of the doubt. 

The longer Junhoe remained in this cursed seat, the more his body ached with the weight of your tear and the cuts of your disdainful glares. He got up, shoving the content so neatly arranged atop his desk to their demise in one fell swoop of his hands. He huffed then he puffed but that bitterness in his soul wasn’t going anywhere. It was here to stay, here to remind him of every fuck up things the women of the past had done unto his soul and everything he had just done to you. His beautifully sinful angel, he hurt you even before he got a chance to cherish you. So, with one last glance at the mess he had just made, Junhoe stormed out of his office leaving the crime scene behind hoping a long walk about would sooth his heart, even if it was only temporary… Perhaps just stealing a glance at you would help. The soft humming of the elevator seemingly put Junhoe in a much better mood, or perhaps it was the lingering emotion laid behind the memory he still had of this place, of how obedience you were. Or perhaps deep down his heart knew, that the second this elevator ding loudly to remind him of the destination, Junhoe will once more be able to look at the face he had become fond of even if the owner of that face no longer viewed him the same way. Whispers and soft giggles littered the path he taken, employees flocking to catch a rare glimpse of the man scarcely appear even though his last name boldly embossed on every aspect of the building, down to the toilet paper. Junhoe wondered if there was a time when you’d do the same, abandoning a few minutes of your lunch just to crowd the hallway with your friends, catching a glimpse of him passing by. The thought of you shyly smiling as he walks pass put a smile on his lips that only seemed to fuel the murmur in the air further. Yet he paid no mind, much to occupy with the thought of your whereabout to really taking in what the words being whispered was truly about. He rounded the corner, stealing a quick glance at your office only to find it painfully empty, an omen of the near future if he fail to solve this knot in his heart. Right, it was lunch time. Junhoe mentally cursing himself for being so forgetful. In a way, he wasn’t really to blame for the past few weeks of lunch had been spent with you. And even though not much was said aside from work, he still got his time with you, watching as you unpack the cutest little lunch box filled with amazing homemade goods, he was too fearful of crossing the lines, too shy to ask for a taste. Now as he made his way toward the busy cafeteria, even more regret filled his heart at the thought of never being able to taste your homemade food even just once. The door swinging wildly as he entered the buzzing food hall, lines of employees far too busy, far too focus on food to realize their boss was lurking about just feet away. Junhoe scanned the room, searching for those familiar locks of hair and beautiful smile. A thankful smile broke over his entire being, a light shone down on his soul as he caught your features, light and happy of the days before this entire mess happened. You were giggling away at something the head of HR had said, hand swatting gently her chopsticks prodding at your lunch box. Suddenly there was a scowl being worn on his lips and a tinge of jealousy steeling in his chest. He thought about making his present known, yet as the soft utterance of his name, so fleeting in the clutter of noise during the height of lunch yet reaching his ears miraculously, Junhoe halted his steps. He made his way behind a corner and listened, as ridiculous and wrong as it was, he needed to know what his employee thought of him. “That party was amazing, wasn’t it? I don’t think I’ve properly seen Mr. Koo before. I was stunned.” Must be just an office worker, a girl he didn’t recognized spoke up enthusiastically, completely missing the strained smile on your lips at the reminder of that night. “Hm, it’s your first, right?” You replied so quietly, hammering guilt into his heart in the way you stopped mid bite, no doubt all appetite lost just from the distant mention of him. The girl nodded furiously, recounting just how wonderful the food was and how much better it was compared to the last company. Once more his name was mentioned but it was more of the same praising, strict but fair, not the typical stingy old man CEO, handsome, and of course, fuckable. Each time his name was mentioned, it pained Junhoe to see you near flinch at each syllable passing through. By the time you had coughed less than inconspicuously just to cut into one of the girl’s rant of just how amazing the CEO was, Junhoe could bear no longer watching the way your eyes dimmed out to something so dismal. That was never something he wanted to see in you. So to save himself, Junhoe turned on his heels, walking away because he got his wish of seeing you even if it was behind a corner, hidden and stalker-ish. Just as his foot stepped away, a sentence that…Perhaps resonated so perfectly the fear he had in his heart. “Did you hear the boss got another notch in his belt?” The sentence echoed through the large room as the rest of the chatter melted away into oblivion. It was whispered so carefully, shared between the 6 girls huddling over lunch, seemingly isolated from the rest of the world but to Junhoe, it was perfectly loud and clear. It was loud and clear because he knew that was how you heard that dreadful sentence. Panic engulfed his body as he rushed to watch your face grimly darken. Your entire body frozen as did his, every minute expression on your features mirrored so perfectly the one washing over his fearful one. His heart drumming in his ears as he patiently awaited the next sentence, awaited your reaction. “No way. How would you know.” Another girl he vaguely recognized spoke up, determination in her words as if knowing for sure he hadn’t done the deed. “I heard Ashley from design saw him last night. Waiting in the gold elevator, just leaning against the railing as if he was waiting for someone.” Your face ghost white the moment that little bit of information was given, a tremble settled in your fingers as the girl continued her telling of that night. “That doesn’t mean anything though…” Irene shooed away the thought with a wave of her hand, vaguely knowing exactly what had happened. “It’s not like she saw him with someone.” “No but he had that look, you know. And a very evident bulge in his pants… Pretty, ahem…” She lowered her voice to a bare minimum, hushing the important details. “Pretty pretty, pretty above average if you catch my drift.” She added with a bit of giggle to her voice, to which the rest cheered in excitement, aside from you and Irene. If he could, Junhoe would punch himself this very second for being so careless, for putting you in such risky position just because he was too horny to think straight. “Oh, now that you said that…” The girl sitting across your way chimed in. “I heard that just before he made the speech, someone from marketing saw Mr. Koo fixing himself near the elevator. If that isn’t evident, I don’t know what is.” “Uh, how about actually seeing him with someone? This is nothing but conjecture. If you have picture evident then come back and talk to me.” Irene unknowingly raising a fist defensively, voice gravely and threatening. Even with the revelation of his mistake playing out right before his eyes, Junhoe managed to somehow made a mental note not to cross Irene, ever, especially since she knew how much of a coward he was. “Wow, someone is super touchy. You got anything to confess to us, Irene?” “Nah, Irene isn’t enough of a slut to do that shit. I mean she is, but she got a good head on her shoulders so… Who is it?” A second girl added in with a teasing smirk on her lips. “What do you mean?” Irene responded indignantly, eyes glancing inconspicuously toward your silent self, shrinking so small that Junhoe wanted to do nothing more than wrap you up inside his embrace. “Like she said, you’re not the kind of slutty that would suck the boss’s dick for a raise. But since you’re being all touchy, that mean you know who it is. Spill, who is it?” “Yea, spill some tea. Let us have some of the fun too!” “There was no one. How are you all so sure that there was? For all we know, he could’ve gone to his fucking private bathroom in his fucking private office and fucking rubbed one off!” There was an underlaying contempt in each word your best friend uttered, Junhoe felt a chill tearing his spine apart as if faced with a mama bear protecting her cub. “Oh, come on. We all know Junhoe is a saint compare to his father and grandfather. But do you really believe that with the reputation senior and senior-senior had, that he wouldn’t dabble?” “And you know all these bitches will kill to have a chance with him. He’s hot, and talented. Who wouldn’t? I would!” Their laughter like knives throwing at his heart, and each wince shuddering through your body like salt rubbing on the wounds. “We all like to be high and mighty but come on, give yourself up a little bit to a super hot guy for a raise?” A teasing wink left a stain on his heart that you had to sit through this without being to defend yourself, knowing that he had given you nothing to defend yourself with. “I won’t lie, honestly, who need love when there’s great sex and money.” Junhoe was truly horrified at the words spewing through the lunchroom. He knew there was gossip, and part of him expected for there to be some rather unsavory things to be said about his love life but this… There was an anger rising in his chest and he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t a part of him wanting to fire everyone who dare say anything about the topic he was so sensitive about. Yet he knew well within his heart that it wasn’t their fault but simply history predicting the future. His father, as faithful as he was to his mother, wasn’t able to defend himself, unable to stay out of the murkiness of the ocean of rumors tied to their last name. You had been staying so silent, biting back the tear brimming your redden eyes and it pulverized his inside. He could barely kept himself still watching your fingers gripping harshly at the fork pulverizing the food in your box, knuckles going white. Yet with the last statement leaving your coworker’s lips, your heart couldn’t contain the disgust any longer because you truly felt for him. It wasn’t just sex and it wasn’t just because he was Mr. Koo. One hand over your mouth, you uttered a quick “excuse me” before tearing away from the seat, quoting needing the restroom. Irene thrown in a quick cover of late-night drinking and long hours of meeting to fool their simpleton minds, aiding your getaway. Junhoe was far too lost in his own world of pity to realize that you were heading straight his way, running right to the corner he had been hiding for so long. The second he came to, you were face to face with him, tears already streaming down your cheeks and the most painful expression wrecking your beautiful features. “Y/n…” He whispered gently, hand reaching out to pull you into his chest yet much to his dismay, you shoved him out of the way continuing your hasten steps. He chased after you, calling your name over and over like a beautiful song yet you couldn’t hear any of it. Your steps continued toward the empty restroom in the far part of the company hardly anyone frequent, wanting nothing more but for Junhoe to go away. It wasn’t because you didn’t want to see him, or to hear him calling for you but rather, seeing you like this… If you didn’t want to see yourself in the mirror, why would he? Little did you know, he needed to see you, desperately needing to make it right… His last chance to fix this.

“Y/n.” There used to be a time when you long for his calling, wanting nothing more than to be at the center of his attention, anxious to hear his sweet voice rings out your name… This moment, this wasn’t one of those time. For the past week, everywhere you turned, every moment your gaze crossed path with another, there he was with that disapproving scowl on his lips and laser sharp stare as if nothing you do will ever be right again in his eyes. You tried so hard to hide, did the best you could to avoid confrontation yet the worst moment of your adult life by far, there he was to witness it all and as if that wasn’t bad enough… Did you really think you’d get a moment alone when you were still very much under his roof, well within his reach. Hand clasped tight over your quivering lips, you choked back a sob that you knew will be much too loud if you let it escape, backing further away from the thin piece of wood that separated you from the rest of the world even if the falling footsteps only grew louder with each ragged breath you take. “Y/n… I know you’re here. If you’re worry about those gossipy girls, I made sure my assistant blocked the path leading here. We’re alone, Y/n… Please, talk to me.” Junhoe beelined for the furthest stall, his feet halting to a stop in front of the only one with its door tightly shut. Even if the dead silent meant he was the last person on Earth you wanted to see, he couldn’t leave you, not like this. He had made the mistake of walking away from you too many goddamn times before and if he were to do it now, Junhoe was certain in his heart that he’ll lose you forever.  A hand gently rasping at the wooden surface that if he really wanted to, Junhoe could easily kick down but now is not the time for him to be selfish even if all he desired was just to see your face, right now he needed more than ever for you to trust him. “I know I haven’t been the kindest to you these past few days but you have to understand, I am not the man they’re making me out to be. All the rumors, it’s all a big lie, a big misunderstanding so just one chance is all I’m asking. Allow me to explain myself.” Something in the way he begged, the desperation in his voice that reminded you so much of that fateful night, the moments that followed the last screams of each other names. In the moments where he held you in his arms, bodies sticky with sweat and sweet remnant of the love fucking that had gone on for who knew how long, his finger gently danced their way along the curve of your spine, inciting the most delightful sensation along its path. His voice much different from that the one demanded so much out of you all night long, there was not an ounce of sternness nor was there harshness. It was sweet and kind like the refreshing breeze of spring against your ears, the softest hint of affection behind his words as he whispered against your bruised lips, eyes lovingly studying your blown out ones - “Please let me see you again, and i don’t mean sex this time. I want to do this the proper way if you’d let me.” You nodded furiously, nodded until you couldn’t anymore because he had once again captured your lips in his for another fervid kiss, smiling in between each kiss and ragged breaths. A smile had beginning to bloom, ready to leave its bud but like poison, his cruel words stained it into a frown. “I’m sorry for being disrespectful, sir, but you’ve done far more to proven their words true than to convince me otherwise. So, I beg of you, tell me why I should believe anything coming out of your mouth.  And I am so certain that nothing you could say nor do will offer any bit of comfort or ever take away the humiliation I felt, what a degraded piece of trash you made me out to be, and just how much it hurt. You used me and thrown me aside like garbage and so what if they don’t know it was me. The big boss’s quid pro quo, the ignominy is there for everyone to see.” There it was, “sir”, the term of honor he had heard from your lips billion of times before but this time, it cuts deep. Would you think him strange if he said in the mere hours you granted him the pleasure of calling you his that he had gotten accustomed to your calling of his first name. It’s just as simple as you uttering his first name yet it’s so endearing, so much more satisfy than any pet names you could’ve given him in the moment. To hear that term of respect he was once so prideful to have earned in your voice, it stung. “I don’t expect you to believe me, I know I don’t deserve that, but I hope you find it in your heart to see the truth in my voice. Words cannot express how devastated I was hearing those words being spoken about you because, sweetheart, you’re worth the world in my eyes. You’re so much more to me than just a quick fuck or whatever it is they say. You’re no less of the talented woman that had led so many successful projects, my star supervisor, and one hell of a strong woman that I could never be compare to. Nothing will ever change that, and you have got to believe it Y/n, but I surmise my opinions don’t worth much now after all the bullshit I’ve said to you. If the company lose you as its member… If I lose you, I can say with confident neither will be the same ever again. Just one last time I beg of you, trust me.” At this point Junhoe didn’t know if his stubborn trait of a businessman was a blessing or a curse as he placed a risky bet on those affectionate terms he hoped by the day end, he could once again whispered against your lips. He bet and he won because lost within the sniffles and kitten like mewl of yours, the shuffle of your feet inching closer to the door and he don’t doubt for a second you’re edging on the border of letting him in. The future of his heart riding on the moments to come and the words had yet to form. “How, Jun- Sir, tell me. You want me to trust you yet there’s nothing to say when tomorrow come, you won’t shun me like you had. What is there to guarantee that you won’t turned into that contemptuous king that thinks everyone else is bellow him, that I’m below him. Who to say by tomorrow’s morn I won’t just be another notch in your belt, just another disgraceful face in the crowd. Because if history is going to repeat then please, let me leave with the last bit of my dignity because I’ve lost everything else to you.” Junhoe thought he’d lose all the resolve he has the moment his name crept onto your lips even if you had abandoned it midway. He’s close, so so close that he could almost taste you on his lips and it was now or never. “I know to you there’s nothing to guarantee that I won’t turn my back on you again but baby, I’ve made that mistake too many times now. If I lose you again, I’d be the biggest fool in this world so please, 5 minutes is all I’m asking for. If you hear all I have to say only to find yourself in more pain, I will have someone drive you home. You can have the rest of the week off, full paid. And if it is your wish to never see me again, I will see to it that you’ll have a better job than what I could provide for you.” The bitterness of regret at the tip of his tongue and Junhoe wished as he thought about the should’ve and would’ve. He should’ve asked you to clear up the reservation in his heart, asked you to be his because then maybe right now you’d be in his office giggling away while stealing food from his lunch box, maybe even planning your next date. He should’ve pulled you into his arms the moment he saw how hard you were fighting to hide your shivering shoulders, to be strong even if you knew he could very well see your broken features in the spotless reflection of the elevator. His hand laid flat on the cold surface wishing it was holding yours, his head hangs low under the weight of a defeated man, a man that was fighting a losing war. He knew you were crying the moment he shadowed your footstep to this cold empty restroom. Yet there was something about hearing the half choked sobs and the way your voice wavered, it crushed whatever unbroken bit of his heart Junhoe had got left. Why couldn’t he just ask you like a normal person, why did he had to resort to his power and pushed you aside like he does with everything else in his life. Instead here he stood in the cold emptiness of the women bathroom, head resting on the cold lifeless piece of wood hiding you away from him. What he would give to take it all back, those harsh words, chiding tone, he never meant for it to be offensive nor did he meant to degrade you but alas his surmise of being the fault in all his failed relationships had once again bit him in the ass. With you, with you he hoped to do it all different but the second you dropped to your knee in that elevator, he was once again going down the same beaten path and it was too late to stop it. You deserve so much more than just him and his lonely heart. Hell, he couldn’t even do the whole dating things right and even if it seemed like you didn’t care about it, he would’ve like to for once taking a nice girl out on a proper date before ripping her panties off in the car. Speaking of which, would you laugh at him if he confesses right now, he had kept your lace panties right on his night stand like the creep he is. “If you put a gun to my head this second, I don’t know still, if I could bring myself to admit that I love you… But I do know that my heart is already in your hand, even if it’s barely a heart anymore by all means of the world. But just knowing that I won’t ever have a chance to say those three little words in the future, it’s devastating and what left of my heart pulverized thinking about it. I deserve every bit of derision and jeer you got to thrown in my face, all the pain, and I’d let you beat me black and blue if you want to. I’ll accept your contempt, I don’t deserve happiness and I know that more than anyone else.” His voice ragged, barely there and painful. “I’m begging you, please have mercy on this idiot, barely a man the way I acted, the way I treated you. Y/n please, don’t leave me. I will give you all the space in the world, I will give you time off and I will stay far away… Anything. Just promise me, don’t make your decision now when you’re still so crossed with me. That’s all I could hope for, that you’ll give me one last chance to see you before you leave…” The words of a broken man, his pain echoed through the silent space and your heart bled for him. The pain behind each breath he took, you could feel the scars so evidently in his heart left from past relationships, the ones that had left him fearful of the future. In a way, you pity him, pity that with all the money in the world and all the things he could get with that money, he needed you. You were nothing but a faceless, nameless person lucky enough to cross path with him yet he needed you. How sad that truly is and your heart reached up its hand to unlatch the lock on the wooden door separating his side of reality from yours as they finally matched up with heartfelt truth being spoken. Your eyes peeking out at the sorrowful man kneeling on the floor, eyes dejected staring as if his soul had been stolen by the grim reaper. There was nothing left behind those beautiful eyes, cold and dark, no longer did it glowed with the brilliant universe you had grew fond of. The disdain and hatred you had built up wallowing in self-pity for the past weeks dissipated as your hand reached for his, petting warmth back into the man frozen over with hurt. His eyes lit up with hope though still too fearful to move, too scare to reciprocate the soft touches. He choked back a sob, tears still streaming endlessly down those beautiful features, lingering on sharp edges of his jawlines as he watched your hand dancing along the length of his arm, coloring life back to every bit of skin you touched. “Junhoe…” The second his name so delicately left your lips, he broke down with the full force of a heartbroken man. “Sweetheart” He wailed, falling into your arms, barely fitting but he really couldn’t care. You both sat there on the floor for what felt like eternity before the noise of a crowd just finished with their lunch reeling your blissed-out mind back to reality. Panic once more breaking over his handsome face, knowing that he had run out of time. He stared at you desperately, silently begging you not to leave for all the words he wanted to say still safely tucked away in the depth of his heart. Without his brain even commanding them to, his hands gripping at the sleeves of your blouse, not quite confident enough to hold yours. “I- There’s so much I need to tell you…” “Shh, you’re fine.” You cooed gently, soothing the flustered man back to serenity with soft passing of your thumbs over his cheeks. “We’ll talk.” You said simply yet his body still rattled with fear as you pulled him back onto his feet. Hands patting away, smoothing over the small crinkles in the crisp bespoke suit so perfectly tailored to his body. “No, Y/n… You don’t understand. I-, I don’t- Fuck!” Frustration taut on his forehead, brows furrowed. Stammering incoherently, Junhoe did his best to explain, to get you to stay. He meant it when he said that he’ll give you space but now that your touch once more becoming so familiar, he found it harder and harder to let go. “I know a long talk is overdue for you and me, but this is hardly the place to do it. You said you want to do this properly, I think you can do better than pouring your heart out in the restroom, at work of all places.” Part of you really just want to forget about all the pain and all the tear, letting the lingering warmth of a broken promise carrying you both into the future. Was it so wrong to crave a relationship you never had? As you stood there, searing every bit of his skin with your gaze, all you could think of was how fucking kissable Junhoe was, and if this very second you were to push him against the wall and let your heart loose to do its deed, you doubted he would even care and just let you have your way. Yet there was no denying how real the hurt felt, and it was mere minutes ago that shame of being thrown out like trash, of being called a slut, and of being just another notch in his belt, all those emotions were still so fresh. Perhaps you were making the biggest mistake of your life, giving into a man you barely knew, but the little girl inside of you, the little girl that dreamt of a happy ending with the handsome prince and peace for all the universes, she was screaming at you to give him another chance… So, with all the hesitation of a shameful one night stand and all the love of an innocent girl needing true love, you let your heart ran wild. You kissed him. It wasn’t a horny kiss and it wasn’t a needy one either. It was sweet and chaste, a delicate kiss against his quivering lips to calm his erratic heart, a kiss of promise. “Y/n…” There was no describing the insane tsunami of emotions crashing upon his heart as he felt your lips ghosting over his, hands gripping at his side pulling him so much closer. He uttered your name once then twice, unable to process the event chaotically unfurling before his eyes. “I’ll wait for you, tonight, after hours. I want to do right by you even though there’s nothing left, even though I’ve already done everything wrong.” You nodded, fingers gently brushing through his dishevel hair, smoothing over the stray pieces with one last lingering kiss to send off a man with nothing left to lose, holding onto the last thread of hope. You heard him whispered something to his bodyguard before Junhoe hasten back your way, a hand outreaching for yours. “Seems like everyone is gone. Go first.” He whispered gently with a soft kiss to your forehead, sending you off but not before letting his thumbs caressing delicately the few tears still lingering on your redden cheeks. “And about tonight… Should I come get you?” “I’ll wait for your call.” Your words lit up his heart, blanketing his soul into a comforting bundle of joy. He watched you walked away but this time, a smile lingered on his lips, blooming brighter than flowers of spring when you slyly snuck a glance only to broke out in laughter when you realized he had been staring this entire time. He knew full well that the elation carrying his heart amongst cloud nine this very moment was only temporary for hell awaited him in just as few hours. He needed this, needed to pretend for a second that all this was permanent and at the end of the night, you’d be waiting for him, counting down every second for that first date he had promised.

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