angrennufuin

[angrennufuin]

Nee's a fidgeter -- she paces or plucks at her clothes or twirls her wand, especially when stressed. Formally-trained casters are discouraged from such habits, because they can interfere with concentration or somatic spell components, so Nee sometimes channels her nervous energy into origami

Linmir rubs at her eyes or the back of her neck, cracks her knuckles, and straightens her gloves. She used to have a habit of tapping twice on the tattoo on the back of her hand, but no longer has the tattoo or the habit.

Sûl's habits have mostly been transmuted into theatrical ones: they hum or whistle, make airy/graceful/useless gestures, twirl their hair, and when REALLY uncomfortable, swoon onto the nearest flat surface/potential ally

Silence likes to clap her hands together briskly, twiddle her thumbs, and flick her ears and tail back and forth. She also chews her nails, to the vast despair of the family. If she chewed gum, she would blow bubbles incessantly.

Asa chews on their hair or the trinkets in their hair, but when genuinely deeply nervous, they just freeze and stare. Unblinking.

Hongyan breaks things.

Rosenrot starts cleaning and tidying anything she can reach (WE CAN'T LET PEOPLE KNOW WE SIT), tugs on the ends of her braids, fidgets with her glasses, and gnaws on her lip.

Aysel is a leg-bouncer and also bites her nails and adjusts her piercings. She gets real shifty with eye contact when uncomfortable too.

OC question of the day: what are your character's nervous tics?

[angrennufuin]

OC question of the day: what are your character's nervous tics?

[angrennufuin]

Hey, let's port some stuff from twitter, updated with new characters.

....minimally updated, because I broke my finger a week ago and typing hurts :(

First up: ranking meme for "most likely to pop the question first"

#1. Silence, two weeks into dating. She has drawn up a cost/benefit analysis of your value to her guild with her lawyers. She has contracts and caveats. You realize she might consider marriage a kind of very sexy business deal. You begin to worry.

#2: Rosenrot. She's biased towards monogamy and fairytale romance, and due to Backstory Things she is keen on Locking That Shit Down ASAP. You love her and she loves you? Great. Let's get hitched.

#3 Hongyan, if he knew what it was. Geese mate for life. (please do not fact check this, i don't actually know)

#4 (originally 2): Linmir. Would not ask for a long time due to Trauma™, and only places this high because the others somehow place even lower. Also because she's a romantic at heart! She will dream wistfully of marriage even before she's managed to convince herself that you're not evil.

#5: Asa does not particularly care about being married one way or the other but would like the ritual of a ceremony.

#6 (originally 3): Nee JUST figured out that you can "kiss" someone because you "like" them and not because they're both hot and annoying. And now you want her to figure out marriage? PROPOSALS? Give a girl some time for the learning curve, won't ya!

#7: Aysel would not THINK of herself as commitment-shy but she kind of is. Her religion also emphasizes holding things loosely and not being afraid to lose them, which sort of complicates the issue of marriage.

#8 (originally 4): Sûl. By the time you said the word "marry," she has already hit the ground running. Nope! None of that! Not here, not today, not THIS elf! The concept of letting someone tie themself to her like that gives her hives, and she will absolutely mock people for daring to think it.

[angrennufuin]

cinders night~

looking at my character sheet like

[angrennufuin]

Gawain: They probably all got laid or something Bran: You think Haze could get laid? Harth: [baps Bran] YOU DONT THINK HE COULD? I think he could, Bran, chuckling: I know, I know Harth then proceeds to say that everyone in the party is very pretty, they're just all socially inept, and Bran agrees LOL

[angrennufuin]

Text Post Memes #9

feat. Owlbear Survivors (aka the Owlbear 6). Happy Cinders day!

[angrennufuin]

Haze's Party Opinions (as of 08.23.24)

Aysel She's so pushy and a little reckless, but... somehow, I feel like I can't lie to her. She just looks right through me. Still, I'd rather she not learn any unnecessary details about me – I think she'd just use them to tease me. At least she leaves it at teasing; I don't think she's cruel. In fact, I think some of her boisterous personality is just an act, a way to make her seem older and tougher than she actually is. She claims she used to be a pirate? But I wonder about that. I thought pirates couldn't just stop being pirates.

Brân Reliable, but I worry about them. Something definitely happened to them before they came to Xen'drik, but I think they're tough enough to take care of themselves... I hope. Their axe is probably bigger than my head, and they can wield it like it's nothing -- it's really a sight to behold. They can be vicious, but they can be very gentle, too, like with that strange bipedal lizard we ran into. And they knew to try and differential me from my reflections when we were attacked in that flooded room... they really have a way of looking at the world. I'd like to learn from them.

Gawain She's tenacious, more than I initially gave her credit for, but I guess I should have expected that after she bit me on the ship; she's certainly scrappy. Ha, and I guess that's a pun -- the stuff she can make out of metal, it's incredible. Her iron beast is even bigger than she is, but somehow, when I look at the two of them together, Gawain's the one who seems to loom over Havoc. I'm glad we're friends – wait, are we friends? I just know I don't want to be her enemy.

Harth I'm still surprised I met up with her again, but I'm happy, too. She seems more comfortable now than when she was first recovering from her injury. Still, there's something about her – I can't put my finger on it – but I feel like she's changed. Maybe it's 's arrogant of me to assume I knew her well enough to say that, though; it's not like we were best friends or anything. I'm glad I've been able to see her do some smithing, too -- she seems really passionate about it. I think the Xen'drik expedition will be a good experience for her.

Ishtar The first thing she did when we met was beat me senseless in Conqueror. The second thing she did was walk me through the game in excruciating detail, explaining the pros and cons of certain strategies -- and that's Ishtar, to me. She's incredibly knowledgeable and she knows how to apply that knowledge, too. The way she can translate Giant is incredibly impressive -- I can't believe the monks made me spend ten years memorizing the Quori script when Ishtar can't be older than me and she speaks like six languages. She's brave as hell, too. I'm glad to have her here.

[angrennufuin]

It has been like 106F/41.1C all week with the Real Feel much higher -- I wish my behavior was on a beach!!! here's the rest of the gang.

Aysel loves the ocean the way only someone who grew up on a tiny island can. She is going INTO the water and she is NOT coming out unless someone procures a surfboard or some kind of water vehicle, and then she's just going to monopolize that. She tans (and acquires new moles) but I'm inclined to think she wears a practical, navy-blue wetsuit so most of her skin is covered anyway. You will have to drag her off the beach.

Rosenrot isn't the biggest beach fan, but she'll go and have a pleasant time! She likes digging in the sand, and possibly burying herself (or a friend) in the sand, but she's a little spooked by the vastness of the horizon. I think she'd wear a cute retro bikini - high waist, probably some bows; I don't know if tieflings can tan or burn? She does freckle, though.

Silence prefers pools to the beach. If there is a hint of plant or animal life, if the sand is not perfectly clean and the water is not perfectly clear, she DOES NOT WANT IT. She enjoys sunbathing; she does NOT enjoy getting her face wet; she has an enormous wardrobe of fashionable bedazzled bikinis.

Asa is a swamp creature and therefore has an uneasy truce with the ocean. They wear their one (1) tunic to the beach the same as they wear it everywhere and they regard the water with deep suspicion right up until they realize they can fish in it, whereupon they try to catfish-noodle ocean fish. Your dinner is settled but god at what cost. They tan almost metallic gold.

Hongyan also wears exactly what he always wears. He also does not have any other clothes. Incidentally, don't take him to the beach: he's got MAJOR beef with seagulls and he WILL spend the entire time making it worse. He burns, but the burn always develops into a tan without a gross peeling stage at all. Cursed with human beauty, rifp.

Beach behavior post

Reminded of this idea by Jules, but the initial twitter thread is from June 2021:

How do your characters feel about the beach? What do they wear? What do they do when they're there? Do they get sunburned or tanned or actually wear enough sunscreen like some kind of monster? Gimme the beach takes!

Sûl has an enormous sunhat and spends most of her time under a giant beach umbrella wearing impractical Haute Couture swimsuits with filmy coverups and ogling beachgoers. She still gets horribly sunburnt and has to spend the following day lying in a dark room and wincing at sudden movement.

Lin has already made friends with the nearest beach volleyball team, tried unsuccessfully to surf, swum out inadvisably far and got slightly mesmerized by the pull of the ocean's vastness, caught a sheepshead fish and screamed but cooked it anyway. She's having a GREAT time. (Linmir tans shockingly dark and her hair bleaches shockingly white. She wears luridly patterned bikini tops with men's swim trunks and open Hawaiian shirts.)

Nee has gone full tidepool science and is collecting samples and shells and stuff. She wears watersocks or flippers, one of those giant goggle masks that go over the nose, and an incongruously frilly one-piece; she keeps excitedly pointing out interesting organisms she spots while swimming. She tans! But she wears a LOT of sunscreen, because she once read an article about skin cancer and has been paranoid since. She keeps wrestling her drow friend, Lylah, into putting more sunscreen on.

New kids coming in separate addition! Ah, 2021, having only 3 characters... What a time.

[angrennufuin]

Party Dossier: Cinders

[How Aysel would describe:] [as of the ship battle/search for Halberd]

Brân

[they/them, ??? (changeling) beast-path barbarian/Archfey warlock]

A mysterious figure clad in shadow-colors, with incredible strength and power in battle. They’re touched by something unworldly. Their reflection doesn’t always match reality. They have no memory of their past. None of this excuses them being so Goddamn tall! Oddly nice for someone clearly being whispered to by dark forces, and I should know.

Gawain

[she/her, goblin artificer]

Little spitfire. Bit me on the ship over here, which I think was more a feral defense response than actual aggression. Missing two out of four limbs, don’t know why yet. She seems Cannith-aligned and I don’t have any patience for houses, but it’s fun to have someone sworn to me by blood oath… if that is what the friendship pin situation was about. And I believe we share a certain element of chaos in our souls.

Harth

[she/her, half-elf forge cleric]

A quiet little mouse of a house mage. Maybe an ex-house mage now? Priestess of Onatar, how boring, but fun to tease. Desperately afraid of getting into trouble. Afraid of lightning, too -- I think she felt the kiss of my God in that accident she talks about. Isn’t she tired of being nice? Doesn’t she just want to go apeshit? Or is she actually as boring as she acts?

Haze

[he/him, kalashtar monk, way of the ascendant dragon]

For a guy whose midriff is always out, he’s a total square. Every time I say something outlandish, he looks like I personally ruined his beauty sleep, which is obviously a reason to keep doing it. Used to live in a monastery but he’s not spiritual. Fights barehanded, and therefore not to be underestimated. Nice hair.

Ishtar

[she/her, minotaur inquisitive rogue/fighter]

Pretty minotaur. We share a similar ethos on earrings and dramatics. Seems kind of nerdy and know-it-all, but I get the impression the all she knows is from books. That said, she’s been shockingly competent thus far, and sometimes you need a nerd to figure out stupid wizard puzzle bullshit. Goddamn can she sprint.

[angrennufuin]

no context cinders meme

[angrennufuin]

Kiss Prompt

Linmir/Lylah (WITH Xiphos)

"You have a question" Xiphos stated, nodding her head at Lylah. Her hands were still around the (empty) glass, and though the Warforged had no face, her voice carried amusement, possibly a tinge of mischief. "You may ask". Linmir set her own glass down, leaning towards Xiphos "She can always tell when there's something on your mind, but like, yeah just ask whatever. We won't mind" she says with a fond smile. Lylah looked down into her mug, mortified that she'd been that obvious.

"Well" Lylah began, choosing her words carefully, "It's silly to ask - and and it's none of my business if you don't want to share but.." She lifts her gaze to look at the couple, feeling more stupid by the minute "Do you two kiss? Since Xiphos doesn't have a face, I mean. Augh, sorry"

Running her hand through her hair, Lylah only blushed when her question was met with laughter. Linmir's laugh was loud and sharp, like she could wield it with the same finesse as her rapier. Xiphos' laugh was more akin to music, flowy and inhuman but beautiful all the same. Both laughs were very dangerous, Lylah thought.

"That's it? God, I was expecting way worse" Linmir says. "Yeah, we kiss. It's just different." Xiphos leans in close, angling herself next to Linmir's ear and whispering. Despite having no face, she was incredibly emotive in her own way. The tilt of her head and the fluid way her shoulders dropped could tell Lylah that she was in trouble. Linmir only confirmed that suspicion, her grin widening and taking an almost predatory edge. Her eyes narrowed and Lylah heard her mutter "Yeah, I agree" before she abruptly stood.

Linmir rounded the table, as fast as always, much to Lylah's envy. But instead of teasing or roughhousing, Linmir grabbed Lylah's chin, her gloved hand guiding Lylah's head upward as she leaned down to meet her. The glove was smooth against Lylah's skin, as Linmir's hand drifted to her cheek. Linmir kissed with purpose, with fire, as if it would kill her to give anything less than her everything. Lylah reciprocated as best she could, matching every kiss and feather-light touch until Linmir finally pulled back. She looked over her shoulder to Xiphos while Lylah pretended like she wasn't trying to catch her breath. The Warforged seemed to light up, lovingly caressing Linmir's face as they swapped places with effortless grace. Lylah was still reeling from the first kiss before she realized what the switch would bring.

Cool, metal hands slid over her neck to cradle the back of her head and Lylah instinctively shivered, noting uselessly that Xiphos had etchings in her "fingerpads" not unlike fingerprints.

Smooth metal met Lylah's lips and on instinct she kissed back. Xiphos may not have had a mouth, but the slender fingers playing with her hair and the telltale feeling of Xiphos' magic building, like the sound of an orchestra tuning, echoing inside of Lylah's head were just as intense and passionate as Linmir's kiss had been. Lylah cupped Xiphos' cheek, making a surprised hum when the ghost of a kiss crossed her lips, and slowly pulling away she smiled crookedly at the two women. Linmir's sharp grin hadn't left her face and Xiphos brought a hand up to her faceplate, musical laughter soft but self-satisfied.

"You could have just said that you use prestidigitation" Lylah said, trying to play it off as if she hadn't just been kissed so thoroughly she'd have a new, impossibly high standard set. Linmir slung an arm around Xiphos and kissed where her temple would be. "We thought there wasn't any fun in just telling you".

[angrennufuin]

Party Dossier: Faeberron Campaign

Silence's thoughts (as of the catastrophe in the drow bar) on:

Hypatia

[she/her, half-elf/halfling druid, circle of spores]

Hypatia doesn't think we're sisters but we totally are. She's got an elf father and a halfling mother and a drow father, plus our parent-who-is-Tyche, which is a lot of parents for anyone to have, but our parent-who-is-Tyche is supposed to be, like, really magical? So that's probably how that happened.

She's very short and she always wears a mask to keep out the manarot, and she does, like, all sorts of magic with mushrooms -- like, she has a giant mushroom she rides around on and I think she can grow mushrooms too. She's kind of sharp-tempered and strict but she's also super-duper smart, and a doctor! I don't actually know how old she is? Definitely older than me. I'm not sure if she's older than Vinsla. She sure doesn't like dwarves.

Munir

[they/he, fire genasi fighter/barbarian]

They're my sweetest sibling, definitely! They're older than me by a little and taller than me by a lot. Also they're planestouched, like me, only they're a fire genasi instead of a tiefling so instead of just being a little fireproof, they're actually on fire, all the time. They fight people for money, and right now they're fighting people who pick on us for money, because they don't know they're our sibling yet, either. Don't worry, I'll tell them soon!

"They're, like, really tough, but they let people boss them around too much and they had a really overwhelming time when we were breaking into that drow lady's office in the tavern, so I think they're kind of stressed right now!

Vinsla

[he/him, aberrant dragonmark human artificer/cleric]

I've known Vinsla the longest out of my siblings. Well, second-longest, maybe, because I think I met our sister Dyleth first? But she's kind of distant, and Vinsla is quite nice to me. He keeps getting in trouble because he's been mean to someone, though, or else flirted with them. He has a lot of opinions about dragon-mark houses and guilds, which is because he has a dragon-mark that I think he's not supposed to have for some reason?

Anyway, he's very street-smart, and book-smart too. He makes all kinds of gadgets and gizmos, and he's always telling me all kinds of interesting things about the world. It's really nice to have an older brother to look out for me! Even if I don't understand what he's talking about most of the time, haha!

[angrennufuin]

Linmir & Nil || 12. Almost Kiss

Genesis Campaign Content warning for alcohol

Right, so. Right. Well. Rough night in Sharn, your hands shaking with exhaustion, Freegift off somewhere tinkering, Nil at your door with a bottle of wine, their lovely smile gone all wobbly. And now it’s like  an hour later, both of you are well on your way to drunk, and you’re thinking about kissing again.

Let’s clear this up right now: you are not a homewrecker, and drunk-kissing your friends who aren’t interested in you is an asshole move that isn’t even particularly original. If you ever decide to blow your life up, there are more useful and interesting ways to do that, right? And, anyway, like, you’re not even really thinking about kissing Nil, specifically, just. Kissing, in general. It’s nice. You know?

You miss kissing.

And Nil’s nice. Nil’s probably nicer to you than anyone ever has been.

“What are you thinking about?” asks Nil, and --

You can’t say Kissing, or The shape of your lips, or, damningly, When I look at you my heart feels like a crashing airship, so you panic and say, “The economy,” which is so fucking stupid, but --

Nil laughs outright, clear and ringing, with the lamplight catching in their pale hair. It hits you like a sledgehammer, and you sway forward without thinking about it.

Then you think about it and bonk your head on the wall. 

"Oh my god, are you okay?" They're giggling still, but there's a real note of concern there. You grin up at them.

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” you say, peaceably, and ruffle their hair. The last time you fell in love, it didn't feel like half this bad an idea, and it still blew up in your face. You're not risking your best friend on that. You slump onto the deck next to them and gently bump your shoulder to theirs. "Did you see me eat shit yesterday when I was sparring with Percy?"

You tell the story, deliberately goofy, to keep them laughing. To cheer them up, and it stings in your chest a little bit, but not much. You wouldn't give this up for anything.

[angrennufuin]

Lin/Xiphos || 25. [artist’s choice] Snap-out-of-it Kiss

Genesis Campaign Content note: this is not how it happened, but we had met Xiphos (warforged bard, member of the Blades) a few times as an enemy NPC at this point. Our party had killed the warforged lieutenant she was in love with and we all expected to get our asses kicked for it.

Xiphos snarls as your blades cross, as you try to push her away from Argos.

“He took her from me,” she’s saying and her voice is-- her voice--

You can feel blood trickling from your nose and ears with the reverberations of it, but you press forward anyway.

“What am I supposed to do without her? What would she want me to do?” Beneath the magical onslaught of her voice, you can feel just the simple emotions -- rage, grief, absolute misery. The kind of things you felt when you realized Lairit was never going to love you the way you loved them.

With a flick of your saber, you disarm her -- you get the impression she wasn’t trying that hard. You drop your own sword and grab her wrists instead. “Listen,” you blurt, “You don’t have to-- this isn’t-- oh, goddamnit.”

You slide your hands down her forearms to grasp her elbows. You say, softly, fiercely: “Xiphos. You have more to live for than her.” Then you press your lips to where hers should be.

This isn’t so different from kissing someone flesh.The steps are basically the same --  raise one hand to cup her cheek, hold her gently to you, tilt your head to get a better angle. It may have been a while, but you still do know that much. Of course it’s weird not to feel skin under your own, or really much of a response, but you’re distracted from that by how hard you have to concentrate -- by the sheer mental effort it takes to throw every scrap of healing, purifying magic you have into Xiphos.

It feels like a rushing river blasting through you. You cling to her harder, trying to keep from being washed away, and you feel the moment the magic hits her: feel the shock go through her frame, feel her -- maybe -- start to kiss back. Is it working? You can’t tell if it’s working. You’re 85% sure that when you let go of her, she’s going to blast you across the battlefield.

But you have to try. Even if you can’t save any of the other Blades, even if you fail to save this one -- you can’t just leave someone wallowing in a despair like yours without trying to pull them out. 

“Linmir?” someone says behind you, in tones of abject horror.

You open your eyes to discover that sometime in the last -- thirty seconds? thirty minutes? -- you instinctively dipped Xiphos, supporting her back with one arm while the other still cradles her jaw. She’s looking at you with an unreadable expression. Hysterical laughter bubbles up in you and you bite it down. “Sorry,” you whisper. “Sorry.” Then you set her carefully on her feet again, and wait for whatever consequences are coming your way.

[angrennufuin]

WaxSûl 5+1 1+1 times he got cheeksmooched

Abnegation Campaign

[without asking]

The black curtains of unconsciousness are just beginning to close on your field of vision when you feel the healing spell take hold. It wells up in you like a fresh-tapped spring in the driest of summers; Wax’s, then.

“Thank you, dearheart,” you breathe, wiping away a trickling of blood from your nose. “I was sure I was done for that time.”

“Hey, no problem, man.” He’s bouncing on his feet again, birdlike, edgy. “That’s what I’m here for, right?”

“All the same,” you say, and lean down to press your lips to his cheek.

Your fault; you are not customarily so careless. It must be the bloodloss, you think hazily a moment later, as electricity crackles through you. You know he doesn’t like unanticipated touch. 

He’s really quite apologetic as he heals you again.

[with asking]

An instant before you can stab him, the Azorius guard disappears behind a wall of flame. You glance over your shoulder to Wax, who’s shaking out his hands and yelling “fuck the Azzies!” and who is possibly the most adorable thing you’ve seen today. The kind of scrappy child you would have liked to have been, though far less well-fed than you ever were.

You fall back to hover next to him. “Fuck the Azzies,” you agree. And then, mindful of your previous experience in this area, “May I kiss your cheek, Wax?”

He side-eyes you, but nods. “Like, sure, gran? Why?”

“For good luck.” You ignore the gran comment with, you consider, masterful grace, and press your lips to his cool, dry cheek. Then you ruffle his hair and sneak a bonbon into his coat pocket, and return to the fray.

[angrennufuin]

Judgement & Sûl || 4. Shut-Up Kiss

Abnegation Campaign

“Judgement,” you say waspishly, “are you listening to me?”

“Sure, princess.” She’s not. She’s cleaning her nails with a knife, and she hasn’t so much as snorted at the last three appropriate pauses in your very funny party story. You grind your teeth a little, genteelly.

It doesn’t help that the pain is worse again today. You’re far too well-practiced to hunch forward and cradle your stomach the way you want to, though it is easier when you know you have an audience. But mainly, you never could abide a pretty girl looking away from you.

You drum your feet absently against the desk you’re sitting on. “Of course, there’s no accounting for taste,” you continue. “For instance, does Maeve know Boros-red cloth clashes horribly with copper-red hair? Is that a deliberate choice or some sort of guild-wide affliction?”

“Hey,” says Judgement, shooting you a glance.

Oh? That’s what it takes? You smile: close-lipped, a little cruel. “Though why I’m assuming either of you know the first thing about fashion, I don’t know. You know what they say -- don't expect charity from an Orzhov, don't expect brains from a Boros--”

Jud stands up abruptly and puts her knife away. She plants one hand on either side of your desktop perch and leans in, gold eyes intent, catlike pupils gone round with focus. 

Then she kisses you.

If anyone asked, you’d say you expected Judgement to kiss forcefully -- which she does. You didn’t expect her to kiss so thoroughly, however: to cradle the back of your head in one hand, to cup your jawline with the other. To kiss like kissing is in itself an end, and not a prelude nor a distraction nor, as is obviously the case, an attempt to shut you up. Gods-damned Boros sincerity again, you suppose. No teeth, surprisingly… and a little disappointingly...

She rests her forehead against yours for a moment before pulling away. You blink at her once, twice, open your mouth to spout a witty rejoinder and realize you haven’t got one. 

Judgement raises an eyebrow at you. She doesn’t even have the decency to look smug. 

You… you actually think you may be blushing.

“Stop being mean,” she says, mild as milk, and sits back down.

[angrennufuin]

Penitent & Sûl || 12. Almost Kiss

Abnegation Campaign

“Good morning, Shiv!” You smooch them on the cheek -- more of a raspberry than a kiss, really, more noise than contact. They grumble about it but don’t get out a knife, so you twine an arm around their waist and hook your chin over their shoulder. “What are we doing today?”

“I didn’t know we were doing anything,” says Shiv drily, shrugging you off with acrobat’s ease, and you’re still laughing when you catch sight of Penitent on your other side.

She hasn’t said hello yet, but her head is turned toward you. Her regard rests on you with familiar heat, though its exact cause...

“Ah, Sister Contrition, did I make you jealous?” You tilt your head back, let your smile go slow and tender. Penitent is looking, after all, and doesn’t she deserve something to look at? Sources say definitely.

She looks away, performatively, because you can’t see her eyes, and… no. No, you don’t think you’ll allow that! You lean over, catch her chin between your finger and thumb while contriving to look up through your eyelashes at her. “I did, didn’t I! Poor Penny…” You lean closer still, closer, until you can feel her breath on your cheek, until you can make out the eyes behind the mask… they’re very wide, which is adorable…

“Well,” you murmur, stroking your thumb up her jawline. “I understand. But on the other hand…” You just barely brush the edge of her mask -- and then, all at once, let go of her and step back, spinning away with a wink and a laugh. “A little jealousy’s good for you! Keeps you sharp.”