#pascal al nassar

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Nine Lines, Nine People

tagged by @sarandipitywrites to share nine lines and tag nine people!

the first from the first chapter of In the Lion's Teeth, which you can read in full here!

I actually counted nine lines this time XD

cw: mental illness, psychosis, hallucinations

You sit, silently, across from Dr. Kimball. Her face is sad, resigned. You swallow and wipe your hand over your eyes, as if to clear your vision, to clear your mind. You hesitate when you hear the whisper, sharp and growling, like wolves far enough away to be unseen but close enough to catch you no matter how fast you start to run. You're mine, now. Mineminemine Ours! She couldn't help you because nobody can. Crackling and hissing like a poorly tuned radio, a tangible, tactile static in your skull, snapping and popping between the synapses of your brain. You don't acknowledge it.

tagging @wyked-ao3 @theoddcryptid @mecharose @winterandwords

@revenantlore @albatris @the-golden-comet to share nine (or so) lines!

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from The Most Beautiful Puzzle!

cw: panic attack

“Pull up your camera,” you say gently. “Let’s see if your violin’s okay.”

He hesitates, then picks up his phone and pokes at it a couple times. For a moment, he’s still, then his eyes close and he inhales, sharp, through his teeth.

“What?”

He hands you the phone.

It’s the living room camera. The furniture has been upturned. Books are scattered about like dead birds. The violin has been knocked over but it doesn’t look like the case was opened, so, maybe, it’s still safe. You can’t see the TV, as the camera is up on the wall behind it.

Oh god. Oh jesus.

You pinch the bridge of your nose and hand the phone back to Josselin.

“I’m so sorry.” Your voice hitches and breaks. You don’t even want to see what Josselin’s bedroom looks like. “This is–”

“It’s not your fault,” Josselin and the Inspector say, simultaneously.

The couch shifts beside you and you open your eyes again. Josselin is shaking his head while hands flap wildly around his ears. His breathing is coming thick and ragged. But you don’t try to stop him, because he’s not hurting himself, and stopping his stimming is one of the cruelest things you could do right now.

“I’m sorry,” Josselin says, even though he’s done nothing to apologize for. “I’m sorry. I just. It’s. This was the first home I ever had that was mine. After my mom died. And now it’s–”

“Hey, hey,” you say gently, not to interrupt, but to try to help remind him to breathe. You put a hand on his knee. His hands slow down a little, but don’t stop.

“He’s definitely not getting out on bail again.” The Inspector’s voice is cold and hard, sharper and crueler than you could ever imagine.

“We’ll, uh, we, we’ll help you clean up,” Pascal says, slow, haltingly. “When you, when you’re ready to, to go back. Back home.”

A sob finally breaks through Josselin’s carefully constructed mask and he keens, like a wounded animal, and Familiar jumps what seems like a foot in the air and darts under the table. He shakes his head and presses the heels of his hands into his eyelids, fingers still flipping and working.

“Hey,” you try again. “Hey. You’re safe. The cats are safe. Your mom’s rocks are safe. Your meds are safe. It looks like your violin hasn’t taken too much damage. I’ll help you manage the rest, okay?”

Josselin nods, wildly, too emphatic to be sincere. He’s trying to reassure himself as much as he is you.

General taglist:  @ohsugarfoot​​​ @abalonetea​​​ @only-book-lovers-left-alive​​​ @poore-choice-of-words​​​ @leadhelmetcosmonaut​​​ @jasperygrace​​​ @drippingmoon​​​ @viskafrer​​​ @thelaughingstag​​​ @athenswrites​​​ @kaiusvnoir​​​ @magic-is-something-we-create​​​ @fictionalbullshitter​​​​ @idreamonpaper​​​​

Puzzle taglist: @winterandwords

Share an excerpt that takes place at night.

Check the reblogs to read others’ responses!

If you’d rather make your own post, no problem!

Click here for more “share an excerpt” tips.

[veritasislehq]

whilst the island danced the night away ...

The night of the masquerade was going smoothly. Everyone in attendance seemingly enjoying themselves. Sure, the occasional quarreling was overheard but that's to be expected when drinks are flowing from an open bar. What most attendees were unaware of was the stirring on the other side of the island. See, nestled at the tip on the edge of Ravenwyck is what appears to be a cozy lighthouse. The lighthouse is home to an ancient wixen who has kept their eyes glued on the prisoners of The Forgotten Isle since its start. Through ancient spells and charms, she along with a few others ensure that no one escapes. There's only been one incident that resulted in a painful death, resulting in none trying since. Unfortunately, whilst the rest of the island is enjoying themselves, a bubbling from inside the mountain of Midnight Labriynth stirred resulting in those thought dead floating to the surface. Ghosts and ghouls were silently making their way across the island, some causing mischief, others filled with confusion. A small group of ghouls led by the aforementioned prisoner made their way to the lighthouse, taking the guards and the ancient wixen by surprise and killing them resulting in most the warding spells failing and prisoners easily making an escape. Once word hit the council members at the masquerade, it was too late to stop things from escalating beyond repair. Acting fast, perhaps somewhat ill-advised, with help of a few powerful magic wielding beings they put the ball under lockdown. Those able to, with power left to see what they could do to calm the situation whilst the rest slowly started splitting attendees into groups until eventually all were split up, some with familiar faces, others not so lucky. Still, few knew what was actually happening, is keeping thousands of supernatural beings mixed with humans in the dark admist chaos truly the answer? There's truly only one way to find out.

Out Of Character Details: The music has stopped, the ball has come to an end, and attendees have been split into groups in hopes to better control the masses. It's possible that one or two have managed to slip out, but the majority are now under lockdown until things are under control.

ghosts are now an available species. more info can be found here. escaped prisoners can also be applied for, though at the moment we'll only be allowing one per mun.

in order to keep us from confusing the dash event threads from new ones, we've decided to test out Discord as we find it can be easier with group threads. Everyone will have access to all the groups as it is quite fun to be able to read what everyone is up to during the event! A Tupperbox tutorial will be shared on the resource blog and in the server, though the admins will also be around for any questions!

The groups have been randomized, and we've done our best to ensure muns don't have more than one character in a single group, but unfortunately for some we had to double up. You can find it below, under the cut.

Group 1 - Basement 

ryland shao ( keanu reeves )  easton jesse allen ( josh heuston )  xiao longwei ( kuang tian )  safieh nassar ( yasmine al-bustami )  scarlett barlow ( lisa ann walter )  

Group 2 - Master Bathroom 

onyx coldwell ( gabriel guevara )  silas sanguis ( pedro pascal )  alisa ( wakeema hollis )  rory sylliboy ( drew ray tanner )  weston porter ( thomas weatherall )  li na shao ( simone kessell )

Group 3 - Recreation Office 

delphine ren ( havana rose liu )  fujita kenji ( mackenyu arata )   rhiannon ( natasha liu bordizzo )  lucien greenwood ( elias kacavas )  omari jackson ( mason gooding ) 

Group 4 - Meeting Room 3 

basilton huang ( lewis tan )  cordelia coldwell ( catherine zeta-jones )  cian moore ( fin argus ) ari tiernan o'cléirigh ( robert sheehan )  defne karahan ( aslihan malbora )  christian “kit” silvestre ( casey deidrick )

Group 5 - Reception 

emrys abbott ( adam dimarco )  stefan benitez ( harvey guillen )  ember silverton ( maia mitchell )  alwyn locklyn ( morgan davies )  river silverton ( joshua orpin )   nazario veres ( taylor zakhar perez )

Group 6 - Meeting Room 1 

cleo santos ( devery jacobs )  dorian marias ( lakeith stanfield )  soren ardelean ( logan lerman )  celeste hotland ( florence pugh )  alaric golitsyn ( nicholas galitzine )  sapphire zhou ( poppy liu )

Group 7 - Corridor 1 

mateo luna marin ( saak )  julian santiago ( oscar isaac )  marcel nkusi ( ncuti gatwa )  micaela “kai” silvestre ( ursula corbero )  zane xiao santos ( charles michael davis )

Group 8 - Corridor 4

atlas perez ( omar rudberg )  zahra osman ( aiysha hart )  dustin nieves ( froy gutierrez )  magnus katiyo ( rege-jean page )  asterion valphyr ( adam demos )  dawson porter ( skeet ulrich )

Group 9 - Kitchen

chainika giri ( amita suman )  fujita ryu ( ryan potter )  adriana sanguis ( stefania spampinato )  elvira santos ( bruna marquezine )  mahsuri wan ( michelle yeoh ) 

Group 10 - Garbage Room 

mateo luna marin ( saak )  amethyst ( greta onieogou )  obsidian kincaid coldwell ( thomas doherty )  roisin balfe ( morfydd clark )  rowan reyes ( vico ortiz )

Group 11 - Library 

kaveri natarajan ( simone ashley )  neo marin ( lizeth selene )  ever solano ( mason alexander park )  julian santiago ( oscar isaac )  marcel nkusi ( ncuti gatwa ) 

[jobsearchtips02]

Who is Expense Gates’ daughter, Jennifer Gates: profession, life, education

An accomplished equestrian, Jennifer Gates will reportedly get a “minuscule portion” of her father’s wealth.

Richard Shotwell/AP Images.

Jennifer Gates, 24, is the oldest kid of philanthropists Expense and Melinda Gates.

She’s an accomplished equestrian, just like the late Steve Jobs’ child, Eve

Gates graduated from Stanford University in 2018 with a degree in human biology and is presently going to medical school in New York City.

She got engaged to Nayel Nassar, a professional Egyptian equestrian, in January.

Gates is set to receive a ” tiny part” of her daddy’s wealth. He has a projected net worth of $1085 billion.

See Organisation Expert’s homepage for more stories

Jennifer Gates, the earliest child of billionaires Expense and Melinda Gates, just recently offered an interview in Sidelines Magazine where she discussed her training.

” I was born into a big scenario of advantage,” she informed the publication, ” and I think it has to do with using those opportunities and learning from them to discover things that I’m passionate about and ideally make the world a little bit of a better location.”

Gates, influenced by her youth pediatrician, simply completed her first year at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.

She is also enthusiastic about horseback riding. Gates has been riding because she was six and matured contending against Eve Jobs, daughter of the late Steve Jobs.

Gates has likewise shared elements of her individual life with the public in the past, revealing her engagement to Nayel Nassar, an accomplished equestrian himself, in January.

Here’s what the life of the billionaire Microsoft cofounder’s earliest child resembles.

Jennifer Gates, 24, is the eldest daughter of billionaire benefactors Bill and Melinda Gates. She has 2 younger siblings, Rory and Phoebe.

Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images.

Source: CNBC

While their dad may be famous for establishing Microsoft, Entrepreneur reported that the Gates kids had a “cap on screen time” maturing. Gates also wasn’t enabled to own a phone till she was 14.

fotopress/Getty Images.

Source: Business Owner

Gates and her brother or sisters attended her father’s university, Seattle’s private Lakeside High School.

Yana Paskova/ Stringer/ Getty Images.

Source: Company Expert

Gates graduated from Stanford University in 2018 with a degree in human biology and took a year off to focus on her equestrian passion prior to going to medical school. She informed Sidelines Magazine her own youth pediatrician influenced her to pursue medication.

Thibault Camus/AP Images.

Source: CNN, Service Expert, Sidelines Publication

She’s an accomplished equestrian and has been riding since she was six. Among her preferred horses is called Alex. “He is super sweet, down-to-earth, easy-going, but you can also go quickly and have a lot of confidence, so I am actually thrilled about him,” she told United States Equestrian in November 2017.

Gustavo Caballero/ Stringer/ Getty Images.

Source: Herald Weekly, US Equestrian

To support her enthusiasm, Gates’ father approached buying property in Wellington, Florida, a hotspot for wealthy equestrians. The Miami Herald reported he dropped $37 million to buy an entire string of residential or commercial properties near Laurene Powell Jobs’ estate.

Nati Harnik/AP Images.

Source: The Daily Mail, The Real Deal, The Miami Herald, Company Expert

Gates has completed versus Eve Jobs, in addition to other famous program jumpers born to stars and high-profile figures, like Michael Bloomberg’s child Georgina, Bruce Springsteen’s daughter Jessica, and Steven Spielberg’s child Destry.

Davide Mombelli – Corbis/Corbis by means of Getty Images.

Source: Service Expert, Service Insider

While she was a trainee at Stanford, Gates informed the Horse Network that balancing school and horseback riding made her life “a little hectic, however I like doing both.”

Al Bello/ Getty Images.

Source: Horse Network

Beyond her education and her horseback riding, Gates likewise makes time to travel. Her Instagram highlights previous trips to Kuwait, Spain, Australia, and other interesting places.

Gustavo Caballero/ Stringer/ Getty Images.

Source: Instagram

Expense Gates is identified that his children all create their own course in life. In 2011, he told The Daily Mail that his kids will each get a “tiny part” of his wealth, which Forbes estimates presently stands at $1086 billion. “It will suggest they need to find their own way,” he said.

Expense Gates participates in a media accessibility on farming research study, Thursday, March 13,2014

Susan Walsh/AP.

Source: The Daily Mail, CNBC, Forbes

Gates is currently registered at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medication. She just finished her very first year remotely; Gates informed The Chronicle of the Horse in March that all of her medical school classes had actually been momentarily moved online due to the coronavirus.

Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images.

Source: ET, New York Post, Instagram, The Chronicle of the Horse

The New york city Post reported that, in 2017, her parents purchased a $5 million condominium which is just blocks from her medical school.

Dimitrios Kambouris/ Getty Images.

Source: New York City Post

In January 2020, Gates announced her engagement to distinguished Egyptian equestrian Nayel Nassar.

Alexis Anice/ALeA/ Factor.

Source: Forbes Middle East, Company Insider

Gates and Nassar are both riders for “Paris Panthers,” a program jumping team founded by Gates, who also handles the team. In 2019, they contended and placed ninth in the International Champions League.

Europa Press Entertainment/Europa Press via Getty Images.

Source: CNN

Like her moms and dads, Gates has actually also revealed an interest in using her privilege to help others. “I was born into a substantial circumstance of opportunity,” Gates recently informed Sidelines Publication in an interview for the publication’s July problem, “and I believe it has to do with using those chances and gaining from them to discover things that I’m passionate about and ideally make the world a bit of a better place.”

Shutterstock Rex for EEM.

Source: Organisation Insider, Sidelines Publication

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More:

Features Expense Gates Jennifer Gates Kids

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%%.

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/who-is-expense-gates-daughter-jennifer-gates-profession-life-education/

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Friday Saturday Kiss Tag

tagged by @winterandwords @the-golden-comet and @willtheweaver to share a kiss! this one's from In the Lion's Teeth, which you can read in full on ao3 or wattpad! it's from the POV of Pascal, a schizoaffective engineering student trying to treat his symptoms with street drugs.

"Hey!" you say, and then his hands are light on your forearms and he's on his toes, leaning into you. He presses a quick, light kiss to your left cheek, another to your right. When he pulls back, his smile is wide and your neck is burning. Then you remember, this is how we do things in France, this is normal, and your shoulders relax a little, but your neck still burns so hot, because his mouth is warm and soft and for the first time you realize, oh, wait, kissing is a thing that people do sometimes, and it's possible that's a thing he might want to do with you. His smile fades a little and his brows draw together. "Did I step out of bounds?" he asks softly. Your hand shoots up in a negative, too quick, and he's so close you accidentally brush against his chest as you bring it up to your own, oh god, you clumsy idiot — "No, no," you say. "I've just been here for so long I guess I've forgotten some of the customs. And in Alsace usually men don't..." "Neither do we in Nice," he says. His eyes are still on yours, worried, and he's leaning back against his car again. "But I've always done so with all of my friends, since I was a small child." "Your friends?" you ask, hesitant, but hopeful, and the tiny smile pulling at your mouth is the most genuine you've ever had. He smiles."Yes," is all he says. He nods his head to the right and continues, "The door is unlocked."

tagging uhhh @drippingmoon @revenantlore @magic-is-something-we-create @oh-no-another-idea

show us some smooches!

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Do it and tag me!! :D Anyone who sends me a question will also get one back :3

BAH I was so excited that I forgot to answer it myself!

Dona and Pascal are very much not into PDA. They don’t even hold hands in public. The only exception is they kiss each other’s cheeks upon first meeting up somewhere, but that’s more a cultural thing. It’s not because of embarrassment or fear, they just. Aren’t into it.

However, Dona is very tactile with Pascal in soft, quiet, almost unnoticeable ways. Fingers lingering just a little too long when he passes Pascal a book. Brushing against Pascal’s elbow when they walk. Soft, barely there foot nudges under the table.

Alone, however, you can’t get them untangled from each other.

Tender Tuesday 9/8

Its Tender Tuesday! Spill the beans on meaningful touches--doesnt have to be erotic (but can, if that's their thing), just any special little touches your special someones share with each other <3

Open ask folks! If you want to tell us tender details about your WIPs couples (or thruples, or queer platonic partners or whatever yall got there) come join the fun! Search the tag #Tender Tuesday for other folks waxing poetic about all them feels

Feel free to reblog, reply, or copy/paste and make your own post (just be sure to tag me so I see it :D)

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Find the Word Tag

tagged by @winterandwords to find the words food, water, air, and warmth! thank!

from In the Lion's Teeth, which you can read in full on Ao3 or Wattpad! this story is from Pascal's POV!

cw: drugs, mental illness, psychosis, hallucinations

food:

The sky is in a constant state of dim grey, regardless of the time of day, and it's colder than it was last year, the snow is heavier, the winds angrier, so you stay inside, working and tinkering and programming, ripping out and reconnecting wiring and screwing pieces together, only leaving your room to get to one of the many campus workshops when you need more specialized equipment, like soldering irons. You're only outside for the few minutes it takes to walk between buildings. Chain-smoking and shitty instant coffee are your only sustenance, unless Mitch brings you something and reminds you that living on caffeine and cigarettes isn't possible and sometimes you need to eat food, too.

water:

The shower is quick, because they're communal, and that means echoes and whispers and murmurs you can't always distinguish. Water dripping through the drain, the hiss of the showerhead, the sticky plop of flip flops and footsteps all sound too much like the voices in your head. Being so focused on your work has made it mostly easy to ignore them, to force them away to think about and deal with later, and what if the noises encourage them, make them bolder and bring them back out to the surface again, forcing their way through your skin and out of your mouth?

air:

It always takes you so much longer than it should to get ready, but by now you've learned to set your alarm early to plan for it. You're out the door about an hour and fifteen minutes later. The air is so cold and dry it almost burns, like hot, dry skin on frozen steel. Even your winter jacket, with its inner lining of microfiber and fleece, can't completely project you, and when you finally get to your car you just sit there for a moment, parked and with the heater on, still gloved hands cupped in front of the hot air pouring in. Fingerless gloves are completely impractical, but it makes smoking so much easier.

warmth:

"Your brain is different," [Benji says]. "It processes things different, so you can see stuff the rest of us can't. Like, I look at a bunch of numbers and see gibberish. I can't imagine you'd see the same thing." "Possibility," you say. Her eyes move from your ear back to your face. "Patterns, maybe." "See, I'd just be like, man, who fucking cares? But you're like, let's see what I can make with this. And that's awesome." "This loose tongue thing is great," you suddenly say. "I've never been able to talk about any of this to anyone. I've always wanted to. I don't know if it's you or the drugs, but I just... feel really safe right now. And I don't think I've felt that way... ever, really." She smiles and gently scratches the back of your head again. You hum softly, leaning back into the touch as your eyes slip closed. The light scratch of her short nails sends lovely little tendrils of warmth and calm all through your muscles. "Most of it is definitely the drugs," she says. "But hopefully I have a little to do with it, too."

tagging @revenantlore @oh-no-another-idea @drippingmoon @magic-is-something-we-create and anyone else who wants to do it to find the words full, empty, free, and afraid!

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The Most Beautiful Puzzle: Chapter Sixteen/The End

cw: overdose mention, murder mention, grief over loss of a loved one, ACAB, police negligence, police corruption, aftermath of violence resulting in permanent injury

You spend most of the next week asleep on Danny’s couch. The gash in your head heals as it should. The staples get taken out. Your hair is an uneven mess. When Danny’s mom finally helps you shave your head, you have to do it with just the two of you, because you don’t want anyone else to see you cry. You’re not vain, exactly, you don’t have to look perfect, but everyone’s going to be able to see the scarring skin and you’re already tired of the looks and whispers it’s going to bring. And then, September comes. And, of course, you continue your lease with Josselin, even though you can’t officially move back in quite yet. Josselin takes photos of your injuries and has you make a note of what happened that day, so you can’t forget in your medication haze. But after that, he never talks about the day you were kidnapped. You’re grateful. You’ll have to think about it more than enough whenever the trial takes place. You don’t see the Inspector. Dona, now, you guess. That’s going to take some getting used to. He’s about ten years older than you and Josselin are, and that’s not that much, but it’s going to be weird seeing him shift from an authority figure to an equal. Although your head heals enough to get the staples taken out, your ankle feels like it doesn’t heal at all. But, eventually, you have to leave Danny’s, even though he insists you can stay as long as you need to. You still have the trial with Drake you have to deal with, and you don’t know if any of his friends are out there looking for you, so you still have to be careful, if only for the sake of the people around you. Finally, a couple of weeks later, you’re able to get up and down the stairs with the assistance of your cane on one side and the banister on the other. You’ve been back home for a few days when Donatien and Pascal come to visit again. The four of you sit crammed together at the small dining room table. You dance around the subject for a while, but every time you get up, their eyes all drop to your ankle, and Pascal is trying very hard to not look at the horrible, still pink and red scar on your head. He’s not judging you. But it’s not what he’s used to, and Josselin has said a couple of times that Pascal struggles with change. After about a half hour of carefully avoiding the subject, Dona drops it on you. “Do you want to meet Miss Miles’s parents?”

read it on Wattpad here

or on Ao3 here!

This is the final chapter! We've reached the end! Thank you so much my lovelies for coming along this journey with me! It was a new but great experience, and I'm hoping to revisit this world again in the future if I can think of more mysteries for them to solve!

Current taglist: @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper @winterandwords @thelaughingstag @revenantlore

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The Most Beautiful Puzzle: Chapter Two

cw: graphic descriptions of a decaying corpse, crime scene, drug mentions, overdose mentions, mentions of a suicide pact

Josselin’s directions take you to one of the forest preserves all the way out in Schiller Park. He kindly found you an ankle brace so you can walk along the paths, even if you can’t go out into the woods. The worst part is still getting up and down. Walking on flat surfaces is relatively okay, and the paths there are generally pretty well kept. Josselin doesn’t offer any information, and you don’t ask any questions. What the hell have you gotten yourself into? He taps at his phone in the backseat while some ‘80s pop music plays softly on the radon. You don’t like it much, but it seems to be something most other people do, and Josselin doesn’t seem to mind. You’ve barely parked and haven’t even shut the car off when a man in uniform, maybe in his mid-thirties? Still young. He approaches the car, waving a disposable mask and a glove. Josselin jumps out, but you stay put, unsure of whether you should follow, but then Josselin knocks on the window and gestures you to do just that. So you do. “This is Inspector Montague,” Josselin says, switching out his cloth mask for the medical grade one. “Dona, this is Meara.” The Inspector squints at you, not rudely, just thinking. “Why are you here?” he finally asks. “Oh, uh, I was the ride,” you say. You thumb back at your car and start to take a step back. “I can stay here if—“ “Nonsense!” Josselin cries. The two of you follow the Inspector back to his squad car. He digs out a second mask and glove and a container of Vicks. Oh, man. Josselin did say she went missing a week ago. The body must have been here for a while.

Read chapter two here on wattpad

or here on ao3!

Current taglist: @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper @winterandwords @thelaughingstag @revenantlore

Please let me know if you want to be tagged in these updates! This is my general list so those tagged here will also still be updated on other projects. If you only want to be on one and not the other, just let me know!

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Pascal LOVES the tiny curl behind Dona’s ear. He thinks it’s the cutest. He also thinks the way Dona taps out patterns is a really neat way to sort of see inside his thought process. :D

Tender Tuesday Open Ask

Okay I’m finally getting my shit together and I’m sending out a big ol’ open ask for Tender Tuesday!

What’s a little quirk that your character adores about their partner(s) that the other thinks they don’t notice?

It can be anything, from a scar to a nervous habit. I want to hear about it!

Tagging a few people to get the ball rolling: 

@raevenlywrites @indecentpause @writingamongthecoloredroses @catharticallysarcastic

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The Most Beautiful Puzzle: Chapter Fifteen

cw: police corruption, ACAB, gun violence, aftermath of physical violence, torture mention, hospitals, IVs/needles

When your eyes open again, it’s to a screaming voice and a flash of light. People are shouting. There’s a hand on your hip. Don’t touch me there, you want to say, but your tongue is heavy and your head is spinning and you can’t think straight. You try to close your eyes but something pries one of them back open again. The light glares into your eye so close and so bright, a migraine abruptly tacks itself onto the wooziness. Shouting. You think maybe there’s someone you recognize in there, but you can’t be sure, and now the hand is shaking at your hip and the light is in your other eye and the first clear words you hear when you finally come back to yourself is, “Please be careful! His head’s not bleeding anymore but I don’t know if he hurt his neck when he fell.” You thought you’d never hear that voice again. You could start crying, if your head didn’t already hurt so much. He made it. Josselin made it to the Inspector and they found you. “Kelley—” You try to warn him, but it comes out as mush on your tongue instead of a name. “Don’t talk, don’t talk,” Josselin says gently. “Save your energy for EMS and the doctors.” “Sir, please step back.” Your stomach lurches when a hard stretcher is forced underneath you. Someone was kind enough to put a sheet over it, but it does nothing for the pain in your shoulders and head. More yelling. Somewhere far away. Somewhere over your head. The stretcher must have been moving because suddenly it jerks to a halt. More shouting. Someone shoves the stretcher into the wall. A tense body suddenly on yours. You try to push it away, but Josselin says, “No, no, I’m not letting them hurt you any more.” His voice catches. More yelling. A gunshot.

read chapter fifteen on Wattpad here

or Ao3 here!

Current taglist: @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper @winterandwords @thelaughingstag @revenantlore

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The Most Beautiful Puzzle: Chapter Three

cw: graphic description of dead bodies (in a mortuary), drug overdose mention, mental illness (ADHD)

A cacophony of meows wakes you from an uneasy sleep. You sit up, groggy, and wipe the sleep sand out of your eyes, the indent your glasses left on your nose. After a few blinks, you realize the fuzz isn’t from sleep, but from dirty glasses, so you try to clean them with your shirt. It’s not the right kind of material, so it just kind of smudges it around. The creak of the door opening echoes through the apartment and you freeze, ready to spring and run. It takes a few seconds and Familiar barreling into your room and under the bed, then sprinting straight back out again, to remind you where you are. Josselin’s apartment. Your apartment. Your home. You breathe. Your belt buckle is digging into your stomach, so you change into a pair of sweatpants before you head into the living room. “Everything okay?” You don’t know why you call out. Why wouldn’t it be? Drake’s really got you on edge, and it burns you. You hate how afraid of him you are. “Everything’s fine!” Josselin calls back. He comes into the living room, a towel wrapped around his waist as he dries his hair. He sticks a finger in his ear and tilts his head to clear out the water inside. “I’m glad you got in okay. I’m so, so sorry. Again.”

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Current taglist: @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper @winterandwords @thelaughingstag @revenantlore

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The Most Beautiful Puzzle: Chapter Six

cw: drugs, stalking

The power is still out the next morning. Shit. Hopefully your food will be okay. At least there’s no meat. The dairy is probably going to be pretty iffy, though, and your ice cream is definitely going to be melted. You peek in your freezer. It’s barely cold. But you take out your cookies and cream ice cream anyway to have ice cream soup for breakfast. You drink it straight from the container. No point in dirtying a perfectly good bowl and spoon, especially since Josselin isn’t going to eat any of it anyway. When you turn toward his room and lean over the couch to see if his door is open, Familiar jumps up and her face crashes into yours. She yowls defensively, as if you knocked her off her perch on purpose. But she jumps up again and curls into your lap, which must mean Josselin is still sleeping. Hours go by and he doesn’t get up. You spend the time looking for jobs you can do from home without a degree. All you are is a paramedic. Maybe you can teach yourself to code or something. A promising application in which you edit a paper to apply for a job as a student tutor at the nearby community college crosses your screen. You get so lost in it, you lose track of your laptop battery and it shuts off halfway through. You curse under your breath, but don’t have time to think about it for long, because your noon alarm goes off to remind you to take your medication. After you pop them and head back into the living room, you call out, “Josselin, take your meds!” He doesn’t reply. You frown. Slowly and quietly, you approach his bedroom door and knock softly. No answer. The door is cracked, so you peek in. “Josselin? Meds?” No response, not even the expected grumping. You push the door open. He’s gone.

read chapter six on Wattpad

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Current taglist: @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper @winterandwords @thelaughingstag @revenantlore

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gdi Pascal

Which OC goes the entire day without drinking water and wonders why they have a horrible headache

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The Most Beautiful Puzzle: Chapter Eleven

cw: drugs, chronic pain, ableism mention

When you get home, Josselin swipes everything off the dining room table—not nearly as full as the coffee table, just some paper plates and a few empty cans he forgot to throw away—and throws a plastic sheet over it. “Where did you—?” But he interrupts you. “It’s important to be prepared.” You don’t ask what that means. You lean against the wall, your weight on your good foot. The cane helps a lot. It’s much less clunky than the crutch, and way easier to get up the stairs with. You’re a little afraid to be alone with it, in case someone says something cruel. You’re only in your mid-twenties, and you’ve heard the shitty things people say about those who need mobility devices when they’re young. Some of your old coworkers said those shitty things themselves. Maybe it’s better you’re not a paramedic anymore. Not just for safety reasons. Josselin pulls on some nitrile gloves, fishes the ziploc out of his book bag, and drops it on the plastic-covered table. There’s a single piece of paper inside. He frowns. “What?” “It’s an address. A street name and number.” He rubs the fingers of his left hand together. “Yeah,” he whispers to himself. “This is what I was looking for.”

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Current taglist: @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper @winterandwords @thelaughingstag @revenantlore

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The Most Beautiful Puzzle: Chapter Seven

cw: panic attack, stalking, breaking and entering

The power comes on after a few hours. You have to throw out your milk and some of the frozen food, but at least you don’t have to deal with rotting meat. Everything goes quickly back to normal. Or, normal is what you hoped for. Josselin spends the next few day holed up in his room. He barely speaks to you, and when it does, it’s in short, clipped, nervous phrases. You try to tell yourself he’s just working on the case, but he seemed to really value your opinion at the station, and you’d hoped it meant a connection of some kind. Someone who likes you. Someone who respects and values your opinions. Someone who values you. Someone who cares. But now he only comes out for water and the bathroom. You haven’t seen him eat and he barely showers. The cats are in the room with him, and he keeps his doors closed except for when they’re eating. They must have another litter box in there. So you don’t even have little Familiar’s energetic company.

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Current taglist: @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper @winterandwords @thelaughingstag @revenantlore