acekthe

[acekthe]

this wasn’t how the morning was supposed to go  of coffee stains and goodbyes    ›   featuring jes

had it not been for their clumsy attempt at catching the books they had in hand, ace probably would have been able to save the fall of the coffee cup. he saw it coming from his periphery but his reflexes hadn’t been fast enough, the lukewarm content spilling all over her white turtle neck, staining the rest of her plaid blazer too. he mutters a curse beneath his breath as he ushers for the staff if they have any paper towels in hand, the woman rushing to the back room to grab some. 

“you good?” he asks despite himself. there’s a line creasing between her brows and he can tell she’s a little flustered. soon enough the expression turns into a pout, probably sulking at the thought of walking around with a giant stain on her clothing.

”i look like a giant mess.” she whines quietly and looks up at him with a frown. 

he can’t stop the quirk that takes over his lips, an eyebrow cocking slightly. “just a little mused, but nothing too bad.” the assurance isn’t enough for her and he can tell by the way she dabs at the front of her chest, his eyes falling over the brown pigmentation against the white fabric. 

“tell you what,” he starts, moving to assist her. he keeps in mind to be careful and wipe around at areas not too close to her chest area. “we can head back to my hotel and i’ll lend you something clean. i’m sure you’ll be able to work something out with this blazer of yours, it wont look too bad.”    

the flicker of hesitation in her eyes is brief, probably just desperate to rid of her coffee stained coffee. he laughs at the thought, casually flinging an arm to rub at the small space between her shoulder blades. even as they’re heading out of the shop she’s fussing and sulking about so he continues to soothingly rub the same spot. “it’s fine, jes. you’re just going to make it worse. besides, you smell good with that coffee stain on you, i’m feeling all energized.” 

he knows she’ll not take the teasing lightly and she doesn’t when he feels her jab her arm onto his side. he groans but grins to himself, leading the way back to his hotel room.

they don’t take a long time in the hotel room, with jes continuing to complain about her soiled outfit as alex quickly tosses her a neutral colored top, something he knows she’d appreciate as to not stick out like a sore thumb in the crowd. “it’ll be baggy casual,” he teases in his best fashionista tone, lounging on the sofa while waiting for her to change. 

the thought of someone else in his clothes catches him in a rather uninhibited emotion, even anticipating how she’d look like in it. he can’t say he’s imagined her clad in his clothing from the short amount of time that they’ve gotten to know one another but now that the idea has crossed the threshold of his thoughts, he cannot get it out. so when she steps out of the room while tucking at its length unceremoniously, he holds his breath and just stares.   

“it looks good on you,” he compliments, running a tongue over his lower plush. he knows exactly the reason why he suddenly feels heated: it all has to do with the sight of her in his shirt, eating her in its size. he could be mistaken but he thinks he reads a flustered expression cross her features before she flashes him a bashful smile. 

and now a few hours later he finds himself standing right beside her, a stupid grin plastered to his face. his cheeks are so stretched against the biting january wind from smiling so widely but he doesn’t really notice, not when jes is right beside him. he steals a glance. she looks comfy and cozy and warm and there’s nothing more satisfying but the sight of her winter kissed cheeks and the sated expression she wears. 

“so this is it,” she breaks the comfortable silence as her uber pulls up the curb, its hazard lights blinking momentarily. she looks up at him, her eyes twinkling against the rays of sun, feeling himself sinking in her dark orbs. “i’ll text you later?”

his smile falters a bit as he reaches down for her hand, bearded mouth brushing delicately over the back of it as he presses his lips to her warm skin for a fleeting kiss. “yeah, text me once you’ve made it to the airport and when you land.” he holds her gaze and her fingers, giving them a gentle squeeze. “i’ll see you next time, yeah? besides,” he tugs her closer to him, wrapping an arm around her waist for an embrace, giving the hem of his henley shirt a playful pull. “i need to collect this back. this is one of my favorites so i’m going to trust you to take care of it for me.”   

[acekthe]

“I think I wrote a thousand letters, that time.”

Laurence Anyways.

[acekthe]

@mcmxcvixi:

@acekthe

if it’s not for the dear friend of hers, jesslyn wouldn’t be here sandwiched by people she would rather turn her back and went on with her business. but this has some gaps she sees as opportunities to keep what’s she’s leading to stand its ground in this current economy.

to entertain it, was not what she expected it will be. playing cards, whatever the name of the game is, jesslyn can’t even beat a child in uno. she’s doomed the moment she realized it’s poker and to talk through these business minions, to have their attention on her, the stimulation is a massive failure for her.

she gives away a bitter smile but very well disguised into a mannered one when this white man in his 50s yet again hit her with a win. she shakes things off with some little fake praise at how good he plays to light up the room, taken well by him with his lame chuckle, while the hair on her neck seems to pick up some staring at her side, sensing someone has been stealing glances. the man next to her. got her attention the moment she sat down and picked up her cards. thought at first he’s just another one audience to witness her zero skill crushed down by her opponents. who wouldn’t watch, honestly? a woman all alone by herself with no man on her hand, sipping a glass of whiskey while poorly playing poker? it’s an entertainment.

his gaze lingers, she feels it, so her head turns to his direction to steal a glance. getting the full picture of his face – the kind which cannot be forgotten easily, a fine feature at that. perhaps a well built posture too, but she’s assuming – jesslyn actually has a skill of observing and the results are mostly quite… correct. her occupied mind is too busy to realize the man is taking a closer move to her side.

when his voice rings in her ear, the scent— his scent, strong cologne invades her surrounding as she looks up to the man, at the same time she’s met with another lost in the game. she puts the cards down on the deck, leaning back to her chair, “i don’t play at all, just… killing time i guess.” she straightens in her spot, smothering a hand on her red dress hugging her thighs. she watches every movement he makes, diving and drowning at the way he shifts and moves his hand. she smiles sweetly at him when their eyes met. “be my guest. i smoke myself,” she subtly points to the cigarette pinched in his fingers, “but only when i’m alone.”

she seems all the more conscious now with the sudden shift in her posture – exposing the lithe line of her frame, petite body clad in eye catching red. and catch his eyes her dress surely did, is doing, but he’s not about to make a fool out of himself over the flimsy garment draped over her bare flesh (despite the fact that it shouldn’t be put past him). so his gaze lingers a little and his eyes catch at a plethora of beauty marks scattered over her white flesh. but he draws his eyes away before she can even catch him, assuming she hadn’t. instead he clears his throat and fishes out the lighter from his pockets, igniting the stick to life. 

taking a long drag of it, he allows nicotine to fill up his lung, awakening every fiber of his being before chuckling, “smoking isn’t so fun when done alone. it’s always better to have someone to converse with while taking a hit, no?” regardless of his disappointment in her not joining him, he tucks his cigarette case away and watches as the men reshuffle the cards for a new hand, holding out two fingers and shaking his head when offered a spot on the table. truthfully he’s had enough of bating the imbeciles out of the money he knows most of them don’t have. 

besides, the pick is obvious given the choice of talking to someone who’s also pretty to look at vs. having to look at the same men for the next few hours for another hand. 

“you don’t seem to be enjoying your stay here at the table.” the crowd has diminished comparing to the previous hour. craning his neck to the side, he glances over her bare shoulder to eye the volume of people at the room’s mini bar, a smile etching along his bearded features before hovering towards it. “if i can’t offer you a cigarette, perhaps i can offer you a drink instead?” he offers an extended hand for her to shake, adding, “i’m alex by the way.” 

[acekthe]

@mcmxcvixi

the plan was to leave for the night unnoticed and unnoticed he did as best as he could. hell, he even purposely lost in the game he’s best at just to prove the point. 

but being a wallflower has never been his forte. in a pool of men all clad in their well ironed suite crisped to perfection, ace practically sticks out like a sore thumb. but perhaps the fact that he can’t stop stealing glances at the petite woman right beside him alludes to that. at first it was because of the way she played - poorly, really, like she’s never been dealt a hand of cards before. in fact, if she were to admit that it’s her first time actually playing, he wouldn’t be surprised. however, the more he attempted to read her bluff, the more he actually looked. 

truth be told, she’s a curious little thing. for starters, he can’t fathom what she may be doing here. amongst the group of stockholders for hanjin group’s newest project, she seemed to have been the youngest participant. a maiden in her twenties perhaps, white skin that looked like it would be velvety soft to touch, red lips that contrasts vividly against her fair complexion. her long dark hair tumbles into soft curls over her neckline, wispy and almost.. tempting him to reach for it and curl a strand along his forefinger.

to his credit, the intel he was assigned ton have been ticked from his checklist. he knows the names, knows their occupations. after an hour and a half of playing poker and getting the important part of his assignment accomplished, a little room for actual fun and entertainment is well deserved, no? 

he’s never been good at sticking with his plans after all and that’s exactly why he’s so good at what he does. instead of keeping to himself, he finally breaks the silence between them after taking a long swig of his whiskey. at this point, his guards are down and his tongue is loose. if not now, when? 

“you don’t play cards often with these men, do you? they made a fish out of you.” long appendages begin to roam the inner pockets of his coat, finally meeting her gaze as he pulls a cigarette. he feels himself drowning in the dark hues of her eyes, lips quirking slightly. “you mind?”

[acekthe]

THE WHITE LOTUS Season 2 | Episode 5

[acekthe]

Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

[acekthe]

he’s playing ace, he’s playing god – bottom line, he’s good at playing the hand he’s dealt with. meet alexander ascher, otherwise known by alias, ace. a prodigal poker player, he plays cards professionally and is highly respected in the scene. little do they know what lies beneath the surface and under the fortune he claims he’s rightfully won.

disclaimer: heavily inspired by the following – legend of the blue sea (tv show), blue bayou (film), rounders (film) 

ooc footnotes: no metagaming and godmodding. no ooc drama. strictly ic. literate driven, plot and headcanon heavy. twitter will be treated like a private sns unless stated otherwise. unless plotted, your muse does not know anything about his past or real occupational background other than what is known to the public. will ship with chemistry. for other questions or concerns, please feel free to message me on here/twitter. thank you!

# 𝐀𝐂𝐄 : 𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓

birth name: aleksandar tošev (undisclosed to the public)

legal name: alexander ascher 

alias: ace

birthday: january 1, 1986

age: 37

birthplace: eastern macedonia, greece

hometown: new york city, new york

current residences: upper east side (new york) & seoul (sk)

height & weight: 187cm, 80kg

occupation: con artist / professional poker player ◦ publicly, ace is a professional poker player who spends his time back and forth between new york, las vegas and seoul. he is also known as a poker mentor to a small team who shadows his work in tournaments. however, this small team of students are actually fellow con-artists in disguise, working together with ace as vigilantes, targeting corrupt social circles and politicians. 

façade

face claim & reference: theo james

height, weight: 187cm (6’1ft), 80kg (~176lbs)

body built: mesomorph, tall and toned muscles with a good physique. noted to have long legs and good proportions

eyes & hair: both dark brown. 20/20 vision. will sometimes wear glasses when disguise requires it, dislikes colored contact lenses for himself

scars/deformities: small scar along the tail of his left eyebrow. left ear (helix area) slightly deformed (small but noticeable enough)

attributes

intelligence – above average

eidetic memory – uses this to his advances when it comes down to his real occupation

agility – quick on his feet, fast on his thoughts. also have developed this through years of being a con artist and uses this to his advantage as well

other skills pertaining to his lifestyle and occupation: hacking (terribly impatient with it), theft, burglary, cards, anything poker relate

decorum

born to a lower class, single mother in the capital of north macedonia. his father left them the moment he found out aleksandar had been conceived

he doesn’t have many memories of north macedonia other than the fact that he and his mother lived in a rural community where other low income families lived. to his knowledge, they did not have other family relatives

when he was four, he was adopted by a couple from los angeles, california. within a year, they relocated to north salem, new york. at this time, his name was legally changed to alexander ascher.

an endearing nickname his adoptive mother gave him was “ace”

despite having grown close to his adoptive mother during his childhood, the same couldn’t be said for his adoptive father. most nights, both he and his adoptive mother would get beatings. due to this, she developed alcoholism and dependence on narcotics. eventually, she left their home temporarily to check in a rehabilitation program

when he turned 13, he found out from his adoptive father that his birth mother had written him a letter. in the said letter that consisted of broken english, he finds out that his birth mother tried to drown him in a lake. however, she couldn’t get through it and ended up giving him up for adoption instead

16 and at the peak of his adolescence, he finally has enough of his father’s beatings. he pleads his adoptive mother to run away with him but in the end, she chooses to stay by her husband’s side. ultimately, he makes the big decision to run away, becoming estranged from his adoptive parents since then

after some time and befriending fellow runaways, he was taken under the wing of a con artist/gambler who became a fatherly figure to him. when he turned 19, the man was arrested and was sentenced jail for life. in a year, the man was said to have died in his cell after being beat up by fellow prison mates

falls in love when he turns 22 – initially, she’s a whiff of fresh air and innocence, someone good, a taste of home. she has a 2 year old child at the time and together, they raise her. within two years, she becomes pregnant and the two are ecstatic

during her pregnancy, he faces legal issues of deportation after being caught under the radar for petty crime. within a year, he is deported to north macedonia. his girlfriend begs to come with him but he stops her, claiming her life will be better in the states and that he promises to keep in touch and figure things out so that she and the kids can follow after a year of deportation, his girlfriend and kids die in a fatal car crash after an encounter with a drunk driver

not long after their deaths, charges of deportation are overturned when his adoptive mother claims his citizenship legal. he returns to america and reunites with his adoptive mother. its then he finds out that his adoptive father had passed away, with the dying wish of making amends with alexander

present time, he’s known as a professional poker player who goes by the name of ‘ace.’ runs in a small team of fellow poker players and is in charge of “mentoring” them. in reality, he and his team are a group of hackers and con artists, stealing wealth, money and identities from corrupt high profile officials from the social and political scene

[acekthe]