burning slowly
The pub wasn't as crowded as other times. But to be fair, Ross had never came on a Wednesday night before.
After more than five days holed up in the studio, George couldn't take it anymore. They had to go out for a drink or he'd take off wherever the hell Charli was and they wouldn't see him for a week. Matty playfully asked him if he was going to leave for Florida and George just rolled his eyes. This was pretty serious.
Ross was also starting to feel the pressure from the demands of the new album. He could feel the tension in the room, in the demeanor of the guys. He needed a break too. Needed to get out of the studio, feel the fresh air on his face and forget for a few hours the madness their lives had become these past weeks.
More than anything, he needed to see you. Be with you.
He missed the warmth of your hand in his and looking into your eyes while hearing the soft sound of your voice telling him how everything's gonna be alright, no matter what.
So he can't help but smile when your laughter echoes through the walls of this pub. Matty and George are sitting in front of you, most likely talking crazy shit. But he can't quite focus on what they're saying because he can't take his eyes off you.
Over there at the back table, it's like you're shining.
There is a light in you that comes from within. And it attracted him from the very first moment he saw you. The way you move, the way you speak, how you left everything behind after getting his call (“Of course I’ll go! I’ll go wherever you are right now. I miss you like crazy, baby”). Light, light, light.
"Here you go, mate."
The voice of the bartender snapped Ross out of his reverie and handed him the pints he ordered.
When he approached the table, Adam got up to help him with the glasses he was carrying.
"You look delighted,” Adam said quietly, raising his eyebrows and smiling a little smile.
Caught. Whatever. He's too far gone to try and hide it now.
“More like an idiot but it is what it is, I guess," Ross smiled back while sitting beside you.
When you felt his presence, paying attention to Matty and George became a difficult task. Especially when Ross got really close to you, his denim rubbing your leg.
God only knows how much you've missed him.
You looked at him and noticed that he was already watching you, adoring crinkly eyes just for you. Without needing to say a word he made all the nights missing him when you went to bed and the lonely breakfasts in the morning fade away. If you could, you'd kiss him square on the mouth right now. But with this audience, you settle for a touch of your lips on his cheek.
"Oh, fuck me! I know you can do better than that," Matty practically shouts and George just looks at him funny before looking at you and Ross again. "It's true! I've seen the two of them when they think nobody's watching."
"You're a creep."
You hardly register who made the comment because a very animated Ross has put his hand on your thigh now and is playing with the hem of your skirt. So, again, you have to pretend you're not affected by this and really focus on the conversation. You don't miss the cheeky grin he's sporting while drinking his beer though.
"Anyway, we're glad you could join us tonight," Adam said to you courteously.
"Especially that one!" Matty pointed at Ross across the table, smirking.
"Very glad," Ross blushed a little and whispered only to you, "thank you for coming, love."
Dropping the shy act rather quickly, Ross pressed his thumb under the hem this time and felt the softness of your skin with little swipes. You think he's just testing you at this point. Being this bold while his friends are present, after days of not being with each other.
Or maybe he's burning. Just like you.
While pondering on this, you noticed George is waving at the door at the front of the pub and more of the band is arriving. Soon you'll need to find a bigger tabl–
"Come here," Ross lifted you and put you on his lap with ease. You were a bit shy and to be honest a little turned on so you gave him a funny expression, at least that's what he thought. All while trying to look innocent and keep up the charade. "More people are coming. Should we not make room?"
"We should," you said while putting your arms around his shoulders. And since him and much less you won't let this go, you put your face close to his and whispered. "Are you cracking, my love?"
With one hand over your thigh and the other holding your hip, he grinned seductively. "Maybe I am".
You gave him a lingering kiss, on the lips this time, feeling drunk on the booze and the feeling of his hands on you after so many days.
"Do you get to go home tonight?" you asked hopefully.
He melted inside and gave you a long lustful look.
"Definitely."
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Fourth Anniversary Art Analysis
(Credits to DRDTdev for the art, obviously. Please support the original post.)
Yeah guys, this is definitely Charles, trust me. (/j)
In all seriousness, the reveal of what Teruko's brother (more or less) looks like got me thinking about a couple of things. I'd like to ramble about them in a space less directly linked to the public fourth anniversary art!
The first is that we've (basically) confirmed that Teruko's brother is older than her, something that I don't think we actually technically knew until now! I always got those kind of vibes, but it's nice to know for sure.
The second is something that most people have picked up on-- his white hair color. Between DRDT and altDRDT, the only people who we've seen with white hair up to this point are XF and Dandelion (I think those are the names people agreed upon???). Both of those seem... unlikely to be Teruko's brother, although, for what it's worth, they do both use he/him pronouns. That's not to say that Teruko's brother couldn't have dyed his hair after he and Teruko last parted, and still be someone else we know, like Teacher. However, I could also easily believe that DRDTdev may have wanted to draw this art as a soft disconfirmation of the "Teacher is Teruko's brother" theory before people got in too deep. It's too bad, though, I did like that one.
One of the reasons why I liked it was because of the synergy with Teruko's favorite color being red due to "association." However, even if Teruko's brother still is Teacher, it seems like he has no red in his design as of the last time Teruko saw him. I suppose red could still be his eye color, but I'm going to take this mean that Teruko's positive association with red is due to somebody else-- likely either Xander or Mai, or possibly still Teacher, but without him being her brother.
Lastly, and most importantly, I find it highly interesting that, at this point in time, Teruko's brother is shown with several scrapes and bandages, while Teruko has absolutely none. It got me thinking about the nature of Teruko's luck.
I wonder if Teruko's bad luck operates in a way where it will hurt whoever is around her until she's the only one left, at which point it has no one to attack but herself. (The only comparison I can think of is to the Death card in the card game Fluxx, so shout out if you know what I'm talking about.)
As long as Teruko is the "protagonist," her luck will go after the "side characters". But, if Teruko isolates herself, then the luck will go after the hero.
Now, there is a bit of contradictory evidence going on here, because Teruko has had unfortunate things happen to her since entering the killing game and being around other people. Most notably, the time that she slipped and fell while holding the cake, and when Xander tried to kill her. That's why I'm wondering if there's also an element of how much Teruko cares about these people involved. Like, if Teruko cares less about someone, they don't pop up as a "side character" punching bag as much. Or, if Teruko caring about someone is the inciting incident to turning an entire group of people into "side characters"-- that way, if she had no friends at any of the schools she attended, she could have avoided dooming them all.
Teruko cared a lot about Xander, so his betrayal was the tipping point. After she took one last blow, the scales tipped and more bad things started happening to the other students than to Teruko. Teruko falling down transformed into the much worse luck of Min dying. And, from then on, the "side characters" started taking the brunt of the bad luck (J's secret being revealed, Eden being bullied and threatened, Ace nearly dying, etc), while Teruko remained mostly fine.
If there is an element of how much Teruko cares about people involved, it would give her a lot of incentive to be a loner and actively make people dislike her.
Anyways, just a thought. This one is pretty off the cuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm missing something or overstepping here.
Happy fourth anniversary DRDT, happy ???th birthday Mai, and a happy day to all of you!
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another snippet from the Grand Princess novel. I am going to be SO ANNOYING about this. (spoilers for their first life! )
Although he didn’t want to admit it, Pei Wenxuan still remembered that at the beginning of their marriage, when he lifted Li Rong’s veil, she raised her head and looked up at him with embarrassment and curiosity. Then, when they exchanged cups of wine, she said in a frank manner: “Wenxuan, no matter how we came to be together, having become husband and wife, I still want to live with you for the rest of my life.” At that time, he also seriously thought that he would live with Li Rong, have children and live peacefully for the rest of their lives.
That was, until Li Rong found out that he liked Qin Zhenzhen.
In truth, he didn’t even know what kind of feelings there were between him and Qin Zhenzhen, whether it was love or merely responsibility. They grew up together as children, and he only had her in his heart and hoped to live with Qin Zhenzhen for the rest of his life, but he could not do so.
Later on, Qin Zhenzhen married Li Rong’s brother, Crown Prince Li Chuan.
As Crown Prince, Li Chuan was a good Crown Prince but not a good husband. He married for political reasons, so although he was just the Crown Prince at the time, he already had a Princess Consort and four concubines. Qin Zhenzhen had a mild temperament and was unfamiliar with Palace affairs. If not for the Crown Prince’s favor and Pei Wenxuan’s help, she would have been long buried in the schemes of the Eastern Palace.
He helped her. Li Rong naturally knew about it, but she didn’t mention it at first. Later on, when he secretly rescued Qin Zhenzhen at a palace banquet and almost was exposed, Li Rong could only step in and help him with arrangements.
That day, they were sitting in the carriage on their way home, and Li Rong was silent. He was a little panicked at that time and wanted to explain, but he didn’t know what to explain because he felt that no matter what Li Rong said, she would be right.
Then, Li Rong returned home and after entering the bedchambers, she walked to the table and poured tea for herself. She turned her back to him and asked: “Do you like her?”
Pei Wenxuan stood at the door. He actually intended to say no, but he felt that it would not be completely truthful, so he replied honestly: “I can’t forget her.”
“What is your relationship with her?”
Li Rong held the cup of tea and looked very calm. Pei Wenxuan still told her the truth, their engagement when they were young because they were childhood sweethearts. After his family had fallen, the Qin family annulled the engagement, and Qin Zhenzhen was forced to marry into the Eastern Palace…
“I just wanted to help her,” He said in a low voice, “No other intentions. She’s the Crown Prince’s Side Consort now. There’s nothing else I can do.”
After he had spoken, Li Rong didn’t speak for a long time. That silence became a deeply engraved impression of that night for Pei Wenxuan.
He saw that Li Rong kept drinking water, one cup after another. After a while, Li Rong seemed to calm down. She turned her head, stared at him and only asked: “Will you betray me?”
“No.” He answered immediately. He looked at her, “You’re my wife.”
“I’m not your wife.”
Li Rong looked at him with a serious expression: “I’m just your ally.”
These words stunned Pei Wenxuan. Li Rong turned and looked out the window and calmly continued: “In this marriage, you and I had no choice and only did it for power. Truthfully speaking, there’s not one bit of love between us. You have someone in your heart, and I have someone in my heart. It’s just that we didn’t make it clear before and had some misunderstandings. Now that it’s clear, it doesn’t matter.”
“It’s not a big deal either,” Li Rong laughed, her tears seemed like they could fall at any time, “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Pei Wenxuan stared blankly at her. He wanted to deny it, but he felt that Li Rong wasn’t wrong either. There was no such love between him and Li Rong because it was impossible for a person to truly love two people at the same time. He already had Qin Zhenzhen in his heart, so how could he make room for Li Rong?
Seeing that he still had not spoken, Li Rong lowered her head and softly said: “If you make it clear, then it won’t be a problem. We will live as we have in the future, but I hope Pei daren remembers this in his heart:
I’m not your wife, and you’re not my husband. I don’t care who is in your heart, and you don’t need to care about who I am with. You and I will have our own lives, and we will each have our own happiness.”
“As long as Pei daren promises me,” Li Rong looked at him, her eyes sharp as a hawk, “You and I are allies, so we must never betray one another.”
That evening, it also rained.
Just like now, the rain was pouring down.
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