#however wham is on the cover so-

[tragic-vaudeville]

8 BEAT GAG SCAN UPDATE‼️

Hi! I have (finally) finished scanning volume 4 of the series! I know I said in a previous post that i would upload a giant google drive folder with all my volumes (4-6) together at once, due to watermark issue from my app, but I've been able to work around it! So now I will be posting my other two volumes individually when I finish scanning each!!

Here's the link with the giant google drive! Before clicking the link I highly recommend reading the notes underneath for additional information!

Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-4DHAZN44KbSGlEIr_oTjmL-zRTvJi3J

Notes:

For those unfamiliar with the 8 Beat Gag series: it's a Japanese magazine series featuring various 80s new wave, classic rock, post punk, and hair/glam metal musicians from various bands in fictional scenarios. The magazine has multiple storylines drawn from various artists, with the main storyline being drawn by Atsuko Shima!

Since this series was made in Japan, the entire series is in Japanese; which means there are no volumes with english translations (unfortunately). *if interested in translating my scans, reply to this post or message me!

With each volume there will be 2 versions to read in separate folders; one will be a giant pdf version and the other will be individual png files of each page.

As of this moment currently, the only version of volume 4 available to read is the pdf version. Currently my google drive is struggling uploading each of my png files, but I will make a note once it's available!

In each volumes at the beginning have photoshoot pictures of some of the musicians featured in the series. Well, I accidentally forgot to scan the Bon Jovi photo that is after the Spandau Ballet photo. Therefore, the numbering on the pages are off. I'm sorry Bon Jovi fans for accidentally skipping your pookie bear, but I'm too tired to rescan and redownload a new pdf file. (I hope you understand)

Due to the Ink color on certain pages, some of the saturation of the colors might be an eyesore, and I greatly apologize for those with sensitive eyes! Specifically pages with blue ink are a little harder to look at.

You are allowed to download my scans and post them wherever! I would be more than delighted to see them out in the wild!! It would be nice that if you did repost my scans that you credit me (@/pawooonie) or provide a link to the drive folder for those interested to read, but you're not obligated to!! :3 *this applies to my future scans too

I will make another update similar to this one when I upload my other two volumes! Thank you all who saw my updates and have been patient, I appreciate it!! :D

[beetheyapper]

MUSIC I THINK THE POETS WOULD ENJOY

this is not time period accurate but i do not care. i at least tried to keep it pre-2000s. also i’m 100% projecting my music taste onto them. deal with it? spotify playlists, each of which has around 30 songs, are linked below each description ! i spent forever on this 😭

Charlie Dalton

i’m not sure that i could pinpoint very many artists he’d particularly like, but this is a classic rock boy right here. he’d be into ac/dc, motley crue, led zeppelin, etc. perhaps a bit of duran duran (this is where i’m projecting the most.) songs about s3x and women, and songs that make him feel like the rebel he is. (this playlist has been gale hansen approved on twitter btw)

Neil Perry

oh i just know this kid would be into some funk and pop, especially 80s and perhaps even new wave (i’m again projecting). now THIS is a duran duran fan (specifically their early stuff), which is unsurprising since the lead singer has a drama degree. he’d also probably like fleetwood mac, and would be well-versed in the band’s drama. duran duran, wham!, fleetwood mac, abba, maybe even some hall & oates. songs with complex lyrics and also songs that make him wanna dance. lots of upbeat stuff because though he has things that bother him, he’d rather do anything but dwell on them.

Todd Anderson

honestly, considering they’re roommates, i feel like neil would’ve had a bit of an impact on todd’s music taste, so there’s some band influence there—but regardless, i think todd would be into more mellow and emotional songs. jeff buckley comes to mind, along with the eagles, the beatles and maybe a splash of the smiths also pls pretend now and then didn’t come out last year. he would also be letting it linger i fear

Knox Overstreet

knox would be similar to Charlie, as they probably bond over shared music taste just as much as everything else. very heavy on the classic rock, but a lean more towards songs about needing someone and love songs as he pines for Chris. Tom Petty, Robert Palmer, The Cars, and a bunch of songs introduced to him by Charlie. He sticks more to genre/theme than to a specific artist methinks

Richard Cameron

contrary to what some may think, i think Cameron would absolutely groove to some rock n roll. HOWEVER. he is a 60s-70s rock n roll elitist. he thinks Billy Idol’s cover of Mony Mony is a disgrace. he wholeheartedly believes the Beatles are the best band to have ever graced the planet. The Beatles, The Beach Boys. The Rolling Stones, etc. Maybe even some Simon & Garfunkel. Him and Charlie argue a lot about which decades were the best years of rock music

Gerard Pitts

free my boy. he just wants to dance he ain’t do nothing wrong. his music taste has definitely been influenced by some of the other poets, in the sense that if he hears a song with a funky beat that makes him want to dance, it’s added to his mixtape IMMEDIATELY. for this reason, i’m thinking lots of funk and groove. play that funky music white boy! Bee Gees, ABBA, Talking Heads, Pet Shop Boys, etc. as long as he can dance to it he could care less who it’s by

Steven Meeks

another old rock, but more on the calm side with some hints of folk and fun. Donovan, The Beatles (paul is his fav for sure), The Beach Boys, and he definitely loves every white person anthem, including Sweet Caroline. he likes to groove with Pitts but also like soothing music to study to !!! i had to consult my friend on this one i fear i was drawing a blank

AND THAT is my opinion on each of the poets’ music taste. did i squeeze Duran Duran into almost all of them? perhaps. they’re my fav band let me live… feel free to listen to the playlists (please listen to them. pls i don’t want to have made them in vain.) and maybe even become spotify moots with me :D

[bohemianblasphemy]

Hey, could I please request a Billy x reader, where the reader emotions are all over the place for no reason, and she lashes out at the Boys and she also lashes out at Billy who she never does get angry at, and eventually she calms down and Billy is there to comfort her?? (I feel like my emotions are all over at the moment) Thank you!!

of course! i hope this is okay and i hope you’re okay ✨✨

The Boys have always been… chaotic, unpredictable- to put it lightly. Your presence was a beacon of calmness, more than often steadying conflicts and problems that arose between the groups mixed personalities.

However today was different, that calmness you exuded had vanished and a whirlwind of storm-like disturbance had started to brew inside you; your unknown frustration was surging and crashing inside of your head.

The group was arguing once more, this time with MM and Frenchie arguing about the latest supe that they were going after.

“this supe can make sound waves that could fucking kill us Frenchie, it’s gonna be fucking hard to face her if we don’t have the right tools to handle her.” Frenchie shook his head.”

“nah MM, we don’t need equipment we just gotta move in quietly, get her to trust one of us and then wham! we get intel from her.” MM rolled his eyes. “ how the fuck are we gonna get anything if she screams the fucking life outta us? what are we gonna do then?” MM argues further, the fight getting more and more ridiculous as time goes on.

“Can you both just shut the fuck up for a second?!” you snapped. your head was in your hands, rubbing your hands over your face in frustration. Frenchie and MM look at you shocked at your frustrated exclamation- this was the first time that they had witnessed you lash out at them, let alone anyone.

“We’re just trying to figure things out.” Frenchie shrugged, crossing his arms.“there’s no need to bite our heads off.” Mother's Milk added, his voice was gentle but firm, unsure of how to approach this different side of you. You took a deep breath, but it did nothing to quieten the feelings inside you. “I’m- I’m just tired of this. all you guys fucking do is FIGHT - it pisses me off!!”

“Oi! what’s got your knickers in a twist? this ain’t like you.” Butcher had spoken up, having watched the events unfold from his seat. you turned to him, the heat burning deep within you.

“no one can ever come up with a solution without having a fight about it. this shit is not a fucking joke! people are in danger and this-“ you gestured to MM and Frenchie. “is the way that you all deal with it!” your anger had boiled over, but the guilt you felt had come crashing into your minds shoreline and tears had welled up in your eyes.

you didn’t like that you took it out of the group, especially Billy- since you joined to group he was your rock; your shared experiences with the evil of Vought and the so-called heroes that had changed the trajectory of your lives brought you both together, he was someone you could depend on.Billy noticed the sudden change in your demeanour and stood out of his seat, walking over to you.

“what’s goin’ on with ya?” he’s concerned, but all you can feel is the overwhelming emotions that consumed you. “i-i don’t know Butcher! e-everything just feels so wrong right now and i can’t fucking take it!” you sobbed, your hands cover your face to stop the tears threatening to fall down your cheeks.

Butcher looks over at the others and gestures them to leave for a moment. “give us some space yeah?” he asks, they nod and moved out of the office space, leaving Butcher and yourself alone. you looked up at Butcher, your vulnerability was on display.

“i’m so sorry…” you apologised, sniffling and wiping your tears away. “ No, no…”he whispered before he pulled you into his arms for a comforting hug which you accepted, melting into his chest.

“shh… it’s alright…” he rubbed your back, holding you tight. “i didn’t mean to Butcher i just couldn’t hold it in anymore-“ “you don’t have ta apologise love, this stuff happens… believe me i know.” he reassured you, continuing to sooth you. you both stood in silence as you embraced.

you spoke up, breaking the silence that filled the room. “i’m just so overwhelmed, Billy. it just feels like the world is crumbling away right under me…” he nodded, understanding your emotions.

“i know that all too well.” there’s a beat of silence before he spoke up once more. “you’re not alone yeah? i’ve got ya, i’m by your side, always…”

you embraced him once more muttering a thank you; his comforting words wrapped around you like a safety blanket, allowing you to relax and come to a more peaceful state of mind- knowing that Billy was there by your side ready to weather the storms that plagued you; that you were not alone.

[ascendanttarot]

PAC: Messages From Your Spirit Guides

Hi everyone! This PAC will cover whether your spirit guides have any messages or guidance for you. This is a little shorter than the last PAC but only a little bit, promise! I'll list a few signs for every pile before your reading to ensure you have picked the right pile for yourself. If you resonate with one or more signs, that is meant to be your reading. And! You’ll get a channelled song! :)

Please remember your fate is not set in stone so your answers may change depending on the actions you take and will take if you please. Tarot is not a substitute for professional advice. The images I’ve used are not mine.

From left to right: Pile 1, Pile 2, Pile 3

Pile 1

Signs:

You play guitar or favour the sound of acoustic guitar in your songs

You listen to the following bands/artists: Hozier, Florence + the Machine, Mitski, and other similar artists

This is a weird one, but when cleaning you like buying the sprays/wipes/detergent with a fruitier smell?

You like going on nature walks

You read poetry

Your cards: The Tower, Queen of Cups rx, (clarified by the Six of Swords rx) Page of Wands

Your message: Something unfolded in ways you could have never imagined. It’s like all your backup plans fell apart too, and your optimism has been taken away from you. I just heard ‘victim of circumstance’. This is a difficult message to give, but your guides are saying whatever happened, happened beyond anyone’s control. You tried to shield yourself from these difficult emotions by hardening your heart, creating distance between you and your feelings... but you’re spirit guides are asking you, “Is this really worth it all?”. It won’t be an easy feat to move on from this situation, and your guides understand that. However, they’re saying that when the time comes and the right opportunity is in front of you to take that first step of healing, please take it. The best part of your life requires a childlike sense of wonder. It’s going to require a lot more determination and ambition than what you’re feeling now. Your guides are saying to take your time to feel messy, and when it’s time to heal, don’t rush yourself to do that too. They’re here for you if you ask them. They believe in you even if you don’t believe in yourself, but they are waiting patiently and happily for a time when you’ll start standing by your back too.

Thank you for letting me be your reader, Pile 1!

Song: In Your Own Sweet Time by Zaska, Karen Cowley and Hozier

Pile 2

Signs:

You have an alternative sense of style

You love 80s music. I just heard Wham and The Cure to name a few of the bands that popped up in my intuition

Odd sign to give, but you may have had a vaporwave phase? If you know, you know

You like Fantasy and Sci-Fi books and shows

Another odd message to give here—you may be sensitive to touch, but it goes both ways? Like you can only wear certain fabrics, or you like soft things, but also people may say you give good hugs

Your Cards: 8 of Swords rx, 6 of Cups, The World

Your Message: I just saw the image of your spirit guides popping open a bottle of champagne with a knife before chucking (yes, that violently) streamers and confetti! You know why? Because. You. Did. That. You’ve just come out of a period in your life when you had to do some intense shadow work. You’ve worked on your biases, and have started to fix your flawed systems on your environment and yourself; your spirit guides could not be more proud of you. They’re celebrating 24 hours a day 7 days a week because that chapter of your life is over! This new phase of your life will be given gently to you with the love and compassion you deserve. I think this may be an opportunity to let yourself be seen by others again. At the very least you’ll be hanging out with old friends and making new ones, but at the most, I’m seeing possibly an opportunity for a project to start online. Either way, your spirit guides will have your back for that in the future. For now, though, they’re asking you to put your feet up and high-five yourself for how far you’ve come!

Thank you for letting me be your reader, Pile 2!

Your Song: Blame It on the Boogie by The Jacksons (I’m serious, they’re having a party right now haha!)

Pile 3

Signs:

You prefer the dusk over the dawn

You like RnB, so artists like Victoria Monét and Ashanti might be familiar artists to have in your playlists. I also heard Destiny’s Child and Ms. Lauryn Hill

I feel like you might like, collect, or work with crystals and metals. I just saw some people here may wear protective jewellery

You like sports, or were heavily involved in sports when you were younger, but you aren’t anymore

I just heard ‘helping hand’, so you may just be a really helpful and generous person. You’d be the friend people go to if they need advice on something

Your Cards: 2 of Wands, 2 of Swords, King of Cups

Your Message: Okay this feels pretty straightforward. Your spirit guides want you to know that you’re coming into a divine partnership (not necessarily romantic if that’s not you’re thing or if you’re aromantic, so this could be a friendship or a business partner even) very soon. With the emphasis on the number two in this reading, this may correlate with timings in your life. You may meet this person in 2 weeks, 2 months, or even within the span of 2 years, but there’s a strong message of divine timing working in your favour. I feel you may have issues trusting the people around you to have good intentions because of negative experiences in the past. This person won’t break that mental belief for you, you’ll do that yourself, but they will certainly be the catalyst for it. Maybe the reason why you’re so jaded is because you’ve hoped for this so long the hope soured to cynicism, but this is not the natural state of your soul. This person will offer you the emotionally mature partnership you’ve dreamed of, with a sensitivity for you and your feelings you aren’t used to. Your spirit guides can’t wait for you to meet them because I’m hearing this relationship will be healing for all the parties involved. They’re with you on this every step of the way.

Thank you for letting me be your reader, Pile 3!

Your Song: Love Is on My Side by Brandy

[koqabear]

Whatever She Wants

☆Song suggestion: Everything She Wants, Wham!

Summary:

Throughout your life, you were able to get by with the mindset that if you don’t give up, you’ll achieve whatever you want. Your current goal wouldn’t know what flirting was if it hit him in the face. Minor setback. 

Hueningkai x fem! reader

Genre: idiots to lovers, Hueningkai is BIG and STUPID but god does mc want him!! fluff, smut

Word count: 12.1K (a third is just straight up smut.) 

Warnings: Hueningkai is both built and tall af, extrovert mc, introvert/shy hk, mentions of food and alcohol, mc is bold!! Yeojin from loona is our wingwoman this time, our boy is explicitly called Huening or Kai, unofficial dom/sub dynamics(?), mentions of a single parent/ unideal life situations (doesn’t go into detail), petnames (baby)

Smut Warnings: soft dom!mc, sub!servicetop!hk, grinding, hk is inexperienced, and whiny, dry humping, face riding/sitting, oral (f&m receiving) multiple orgasms, overstimulation, hair pulling, deep throating, orgasm control, (edging, forced orgasm) raw sex (mc is on birth control!) riding, creampie, hk is pussydrunk!!

Notes: I don’t care how tall you are, Huening will be taller. He is meant to be an absolute colossal unit in this story, use your imagination!!

Hueningkai has been told he’s handsome all his life. 

Through his mother, constantly doting and praising him— “Look at my handsome boy, so charming!”— his aunties, endlessly shocked at the growth spurts he receives and the deepening of his voice— “You’ve grown well,” they would say, squinting up at him in exaggeration; they would always turn to his mother, nodding in approval as they spoke, “He’s grown into quite a handsome man.”— and through many more faceless people he’s encountered in his life. 

Maybe that’s why he turned out so stupid.

You’ve always been a high achiever— good grades, top of your class, excelling greatly in all sports and extracurriculars; only applying for high-quality jobs, even when still in high school, climbing your way to the top as you quickly became favored by everyone— it was a strategy you used well into your career.  

In short, you only wanted the best.

The best that, much to your dismay, currently manifested itself into the absolute unit that was Kai Kamal Huening. 

Your brain was quick to rationalize things; he was tall, handsome, and kind— the quick bare minimum checked off your list— but he was also much, much more than that. He was quick-witted and funny, one of the best lawyers in the firm you currently worked at as he always arrived early— a cup of coffee in his hands and his blazer already thrown across his forearm as he softly complained about how hot it always was inside. 

From your astute observations, he was fit. He had a good style and was well off, judging by the expensive suits that he always wore, always tailored to perfection— allowing you to catch the way his muscles rippled under his shirt whenever he would reach for the cabinets that were too high for anyone’s benefit— though you didn’t mind them that much now. 

He was well-spoken and charming, the compelling aura he always held to him enough to show why he was one of the top lawyers in your firm. 

Ergo, not entirely stupid. 

However, book smart and street smart are two entirely different things. 

“Huening,” You say, smiling softly as he turns around to face you, “a surprise seeing you here.”

That was a complete and utter lie. Anyone that worked at your firm knew that if they stopped at the coffee shop three blocks away before work, they were bound to bump into the man himself; the cup he carried into work every morning was enough of a hint. It was that same cup, however, that you spent days squinting at, attempting to decipher the name that his delicate fingers covered before you gave up and asked a mutual friend about; Yeojin only laughed at you, mocking you for an obscene amount of time before letting you in on the big clue. 

“He’s there every morning to order the same thing,” she lightheartedly scoffs, shaking her head before she continues, “Wonder how the hell he hasn’t gotten sick of it yet.”

So here you stand, taking a leap of faith as Huening’s eyes widen in recognition— you’re quite offended that it took him a moment to remember you at all. 

“Oh, hello,” it’s painful to hear how formal and reserved he is, the gorgeous lull of his deep voice enough for you to push past it as you continue to smile, “I didn’t know you came here.” 

“Well, thought I’d give it a try,” you say, tilting your head slightly, pausing as if in thought, “after all, I always see you with a cup from here. Figured it’s good enough if you stop by every day.” 

Your voice has shifted into that soft purr you always use on the people you like— victims of your trap as you lure them in, the perfect prey for you to pounce on and enjoy. His smile wavers for a second, and you try to fight back the way your lips want to quirk up as you notice his adam's apple bob nervously. 

Arms crossing, you take a step closer to him, looking up at him as you smile sweetly. Your scent fills his senses, floral and addicting as he looks down at you in confusion. The height difference sends your mind reeling.

“Maybe I could buy you your drink?” You say, sending him a coy smile as you continue, “As a thank you for showing me this place?”

He blinks rapidly, lashes delicately brushing against his skin as your words process in his mind. You feel elated, waiting to catch him in a flustered position, wanting to see what he looks like beyond that cool and collected character he always has. 

He takes a step back; you think you feel nauseous.

“That won’t be necessary,” he says, not a wavering ounce of nerves interlaced with his words as he sends you an apologetic smile. It’s his turn to order, and he takes another step away from you as he gives you a small bow, as though he were rejecting you— no, he was rejecting you. 

“Thank you for the offer though.” 

You can feel the heat rush up your face, a raging fire as it licks the back of your neck and leaves your fingers tingling. But you keep your cool, seemingly unfazed as you nod casually at his words; the pleasant smile on your face is stuck like glue for the rest of your time there, painfully aware of the fact that he didn’t bother even looking your way as you both waited for your drinks— even when they got announced at the same time and the two of you grabbed the wrong cups, all he did was swiftly switch with you and practically speed out of the building. 

In conclusion— you’ve had better coffee. 

❅ ❅ ❅

The concept of mutual friends is truly a blessed thing.

“So, what’d he say?”

After all, it was your one-way ticket to hearing the other side of the story.

“I didn’t want her to waste money on me, so I said no. Plus, my drink is pretty expensive.”   

You’ve never been happier to hear such a sentence— he wasn’t rejecting you, he was just dense!

“So he didn’t understand that I was flirting with him,” you say for the umpteenth time, leaning over the small break table as you ignore the lunch that you and Yeojin were supposed to eat together; your food was getting cold, but that wasn’t really on your mind as you stared Yeojin down, impatient for her response.

“No,” Yeojin said, mid-swallow as she pauses to take a drink— unlike you, Yeojin was currently entranced by the spread before her, eating as though her life were on the line. 

“I’m telling you, he’s just a little uh… dumb, with this kind of stuff.” 

Raising a brow at that, you finally decide to take a bite out of your food— you thought you were being quite obvious. It’s a little hard to believe that he wouldn’t know, considering the fact that he was a good-looking man; surely he’s had many people flirt with him, right?  your mind raced for answers to this strange dilemma, coming to a dumbfounding conclusion as you hummed in wonder. 

“Has he never had a partner before?” You ask, knowing that Yeojin and Huening have been friends since they were kids, “crushes… asked anyone out… anything?”

It shocks you to watch Yeojin go deep in thought. 

“Well…” she starts— another dumbfounding pause ensues. Your eyes widen by the second, watching as she scrunches her face in an attempt to remember, staring off into the sky as she purses her lips together. 

“I think…” You perk up at her words, only to deflate immediately as she shakes her head, a soft “no…” escaping her before she’s trying to remember again. You’re on the edge of your seat by the time she comes to her conclusion, sighing in dismay as she looks up at you in pity.

“His first kiss was in middle school from spin the bottle. And he had a girlfriend senior year, but they didn’t last long,” she says, “but that’s about it.”

The news feels earth-shattering to you— well, maybe you were just being dramatic. But as you lean back in your seat, crossing your arms as you process her information, you realize with wonder that it meant he was inexperienced. The idea is quite strange to you; there’s no way a man of his status and ambition hasn’t indulged in love or lust before, right? New possibilities came to the forefront of your mind— was this a result of him putting his work first, or was he simply not interested?

And as you let the shock linger in your system, you’re surprised to find a much more sinister feeling begin to rear its head, bringing a wave of joy to your system, your lips quirking up as you realize that you found this revelation to be quite… exciting. 

Yeojin seems to have come to the same conclusion as you, her brows furrowing as she frowns in dismay; she’s seen firsthand the lengths you’ll go to get the things you want. 

“Oh girl…” she says, meeting your gaze that only continues to fill with mischief; she’s unsure of what might be running through your head at the moment, but she does know that she doesn’t like it— not one bit. 

The nerves in her stomach only become worse as you refuse to let her in on your plans, choosing instead to take a slow drink from your cup, your gaze switching to something much more interesting; Huening stands by the break room, chatting idly with someone you could care less about— it’s him you can’t take your eyes off, entranced by the way he seems to be in a league of his own, his face blank as he keeps the walls around him up and fortified— oh, the things you’d do to watch them break, crumbling from your actions; you know it won’t be easy. 

But also, you love a good challenge. 

❅ ❅ ❅

Love makes a person do crazy things. 

Luckily for you, it’s not love; more of a curiosity, really. 

“Wow,” Yeojin says, leaning against the doorframe of your apartment, raising a brow in amusement as she watches you touch up your makeup for the umpteenth time, “never seen you so excited to go to a birthday dinner.” 

“It’s a big day for you, how can I not be?” A single glance at her through the bathroom mirror tells you she’s not convinced. Smiling sheepishly, you tuck your lipstick back into your purse, mingling uselessly with your hair as you try to sell this lie. 

“You uh…” adjusting with your hair one last time, you turn to her, giving her an innocent smile as you walk past her and to the door, “you picked a good place.”

“It’s the same restaurant we went to last year,” she deadpans, a teasing smile on her face as she sighs, “Just with new people this time.”

You try not to react too much to her words, knowing that she’s waiting for you to take the bait and ask about him— but you’re better than that, choosing to surprise her with the gift you’ve been dying to give her for a good month; a luxury coat that she’s been pouting about for a while, never brave enough to look past the price as she chose to wish from afar instead. And judging by the way she’s quick to discard the jacket she had on to wear your gift, it’s safe to say she loves it.

You’re safe from her teasing— for now. 

❅ ❅ ❅

The restaurant Yeojin was currently dragging you into was one of the few that served high-class western food you didn’t entirely despise— French, Yeojin would correct you about later on— but your tastes usually pertain more to the Korean food you grew up with. This time, however, you found yourself much more eager to make your way to your table, attempting to not seem too antsy as you waited for your other guest to arrive; not even five minutes passed before you spotted Yeojin’s friend, inhaling slowly as a satisfied smile graced your lips. 

“Don’t go too crazy on him,” Yeojin quickly warns you, her warm hand on your thigh snapping you out of your reverie. Turning to her, you’re met with her serious gaze, sitting up straight as you let her continue.

“He’s shy and takes a while to adjust,” you understand where she’s coming from, but you can’t help but want to point out that she’s talking about him like he’s a puppy; you bite back a smile from the thought.

“And, he’s still my friend,” her searing gaze softens as she pats your leg one last time, her expression lightening as he begins to approach. From the corner of her eye, she glances back at you. “Don’t make things weird.”

You try to fight back the urge to gawk at her, taken aback by her words. 

“When have I ever—?” You swiftly cut yourself off as Huening finally stands before your table, standing up with Yeojin as you watch them greet; you’re left painfully unacknowledged as you watch Huening hand Yeojin a present, observing the way he seems carefree and happy with her— you’ve never seen him joke around this much before. 

Just when you think things can’t get worse, you watch the way Huening stiffens at the sight of you, unsure of what to do as he realizes that you’ve never quite seen this side of him. Clearing his throat, he smiles politely, bowing slightly in greeting; you’re awkward as you greet back, forced to watch him retreat into that reserved and mysterious person you always saw at work— shit, maybe he really was like a puppy. 

No amount of inclusive conversation and lighthearted jokes seem to get him out of his shell; it’s a fact you and Yeojin seem to be astutely aware of, a pitied side glance from your friend enough to let you know that she at least acknowledges your attempts to be friendly.

You try to pretend that none of you have noticed the number of wine glasses you’ve decided to down, a result of your mind trying to fill in moments where you’re watching Yeojin and Huening talk, left with nothing else to do as you instinctively reached for the thin glass; it’s left you slightly tipsy at most, but it’s enough to calm down the racing thoughts that try to leave you an overthinking mess— at least you’d be confident enough if left on your own with him.

Which, after you’ve finished all your courses, is exactly what Yeojin does. 

You see Yeojin’s mouthed apology over Huening’s shoulder as she makes her way to the bathroom, clearly in the need to go as she doesn’t bother turning back around to meet your wide eyes— not that you were dreading being alone with him, it’s just that you weren’t sure what would be coming out of your mouth now that you didn’t have Yeojin there to signal you to shut up.

The silence that’s left between you two is horrendous; he doesn’t attempt to strike up a conversation with you, back to his unreachable self as you can practically see his barriers come back up. Your mind is racing to find a topic— you won’t allow yourself to flirt just yet, at least not after what happened at the cafe. 

“How long have you and Yeojin known each other?” It’s a safe topic, to say the least— something you know he’ll be likely to elaborate on; it was about the birthday girl, after all!

“Practically all my life.” 

Okay, maybe not. 

It’s not like you didn’t know this, but it would have been nice to at least be humored— he seems unphased as you sigh, leaning forward to rest your chin in the palm of your hand; you pout, your other hand absentmindedly reaching up to trace along the rim of your wine glass. 

“Huening,” you call out softly, tired of tip-toeing and being forced to strike up filler conversations; that truly wasn’t your style— it was too boring. It’s amusing to watch his gaze snap up to meet yours, caught off guard by your casual regard of his surname; under the soft lighting, he truly does look like a puppy, his round eyes sparkly as he waits for you to continue.

“Do I not interest you?” Your question is enough to have him sitting up straight, wondering what you could possibly mean by that as he tries to respond in a way that won’t be upsetting— in other words, he’s helpless.

Leaning towards him, you raise your brow, wanting to see if he’ll respond to your question. Another moment passes when you finally decide that you’re too impatient to wait for him to gather his thoughts— it’s much more interesting to speak your mind.

“You never seem to want to talk to me,” you sigh, leaning back into your chair as you watch him grow more flustered by your words— he’s never been good with such intimate confrontations. Yet you’re relentless, not giving him time to speak as you continue, “Why is that? You can be honest.”

You’re not sure if the wine has gotten to your head or if you’re just pure evil, considering the way you seem to enjoy watching Huening lose his composure very much. Looking at him now, it would be impossible to imagine him in the courtroom, arguing his points efficiently and without hesitation; at least, not with the way he seems too meek to answer your question freely. 

“I…” he finally begins, his deep voice stirring a whirlwind of butterflies you wish you could ignore, “I’m just not very talkative, I’m sorry if I come across as cold.” 

Waving him off, you lightheartedly scoff at his formal and stiff words— you believe him, alright. Unfortunately for him, however, that’s not enough to ward you off. 

“You seemed just fine when Yeojin was here,” you point out, eager to stir things up and see if you’ll get a reaction, “but now that it’s just me, you don’t even bother looking up from the table.”

He says nothing at that, much to your disappointment— if anything, he simply nods at your words, discreetly checking his watch underneath the table; well, not discreetly enough since you managed to catch his actions. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable by your presence, just unsure of what to do— a little nervous, even. Your efforts to lure him into having a full conversation have failed each time, but that only leaves you wanting to test out your limits a bit more— to see just what will give you a reaction.

“Hey,” you call out, smiling slyly as he looks back up at you; it’s strange, how the put-together and high-class man you always saw at work was nothing more than a pliant, shy puppy under your gaze. 

“Yeojins taking quite a while, isn’t she?” Huening nods— it seems as though he’s caught onto this strange dynamic you’ve created. 

“Well,” tilting your head to the side, you lean forward again, watching the way he follows your movements closely—you’ve got him hooked this time, that’s for sure. “Why don’t we use this time to get you more comfortable? I’m not that hard to talk to, you know.” 

He’s taken aback by your actions— he’s unsure of how to perceive them, not used to this persistent behavior; after a while, everyone who tried to talk to him simply gave up. Gulping, he nods softly.

“Okay.” 

“Tell me,” your voice is slow and sweet as you lure him in, careful not to scare him away with your questions as you try to ease him in, “How’d you and Yeojin stay so close all this time?” 

You want him to elaborate— you want him to ramble, to hear his stories and thoughts; Huening realizes that just now, watching as you stare at him in anticipation; your eyes are lidded and calm, a slight haze to your gaze as you slowly take another sip from your wine glass— who knows how many of those you’ve had already— and it’s oddly intimidating as your eyes never seem to leave him for a second. 

“We were neighbors,” he begins, clearing his throat softly, fingers tapping at his thigh under the table as he lets himself ramble, “Our mothers became friends, so it was inevitable that we would do everything together. At some point, she became more of a family than some of my actual relatives.” 

It’s interesting to hear this story from the other perspective— you’d known about Huening for a long time, but it wasn’t until recent years that you’d got to meet him; your new interest in him came much later. 

He tells you everything about him and Yeojin— it’s odd, but he can’t stop himself; at least not with the way you look at him so intently, silently urging him to continue every time he trails off in doubt— before he knows it, he feels his barriers being let down before he can stop it. 

“Hmm, you’re much more talkative than you give yourself credit for, Huening,” you say, his name rolling off your tongue sweetly and smoothly. You can see Yeojin appear behind Huening’s frame, finally making her way back as you sigh softly. 

“I’d like to see this side of you more often.”

He has nothing to say to that— Yeojin sits at your table before he can respond. And as you listen to Yeojin’s apologies for taking so long, you can’t help but feel his gaze return to you for the rest of dinner— even more so when it’s time to leave, his steps slowing as it’s finally time to part ways. 

“I think I forgot something at our table,” Yeojin perks up, nudging you softly as she sends you a smooth nod, “I’ll be right back, wait for me please.” 

Yeojin doesn’t even try to make her lie believable as she slowly walks back inside— you shake your head in amusement as you watch her go, silently thankful for her ability to pick up on the atmosphere that gathered around the two of you.

“It’s uhm,” Huening is first to speak, clearing his throat as you turn to look at him. “It’s been nice getting to know you. Tell Yeojin I had to leave early, but I’ll see her on Monday.” 

“Hmm? You’re leaving already?” You don’t allow him to leave as you take a step closer to him, watching as he straightens up the moment you approach him; it was honestly amusing. “You should say bye to the birthday girl, it’d be rude not to.” 

“It— sorry?” He’s practically malfunctioning at your proximity, blinking owlishly as he stutters over his own words. He’s never like this— yet, with you, he simply can’t keep composure; it’s like you learned just how to fluster him.

“It’d be rude,” you clarify softly, leaning into him as though you were letting him in on a big secret, your volume dropping down, “to not say goodbye properly.”

You’re not talking about Yeojin anymore; you both know this. It’s endearing, the way he gulps nervously at your words, hands hovering awkwardly by his sides as he finds himself unsure of what to do. 

“Do… you want me to?” 

It feels as though a bolt of lightning struck at your spine, your body tingling and hot as you process his soft and unsure tone— the way he’s become oddly pliant at your commands, unable to do anything unless you’re directing him to; you never expected him to be this way.

“You should.” 

Huening really is the strong and silent type— for all he does is nod meekly at your words, lips pressed into a thin line as you both fall into a tense silence. A smile breaks onto your face, unable to hide the mischief from your eyes as you finally take a step back. A moment passes, and you see Yeojin approaching behind the glass doors. Turning back to Huening, you tilt your head teasingly once you find him already looking at you.

“You’re quite obedient,” you offhandedly comment, tutting softly as you look away; you can still feel his eyes bore into the side of your face. 

“Handsome, too.” From the corner of your eyes, he blinks rapidly, seemingly ripped out of his trance as he sees Yeojin approach the exit, “Don’t be too afraid to talk to me. I don’t bite.” 

It truly is a curse to not have Yeojin there with you, your personal damage control that never lets your drunken thoughts get past your loose lips. But Huening simply looks too cute in your peripheral vision, and before you can stop yourself, you glance back at him, sending him a wink as Yeojin finally makes her way to you.

“Unless you want me to.”

He’s unable to look you in the eyes as he says goodbye— but the blush on his cheeks tells you all you need to know.

❅ ❅ ❅

It was a leap of faith when you decided to stop by the cafe nearby before work— a part of you actually was looking to get coffee before your long day— but in the end, it wasn’t really a surprise to see Huening waiting in line; rather, it was his actions that caught you off guard. 

“Good morning,” he said, greeting you with your surname at the end— just like you always did to him. The sound of your name coming from his lips sent shivers down your body, unable to hide your smile as you greeted him in return. You already spotted him the moment you approached the door, his broad back and impeccable posture making him easy to spot; so to say that it was a surprise to see him whip around at the sound of the bell ringing, eager to get your attention the moment you walked in, was an understatement.

Huening truly wasn’t lying about his communication skills; he was reserved and quiet as you spoke, constantly finding yourself searching for ways to prevent the conversation from dying. You’re not sure why, but he didn’t seem as eager to leave in comparison to all the other times you’ve interacted with him— maybe you’re finally beginning to warm up to him. 

Glancing at the menu, you find yourself next in line to order; Huening motions for you to go ahead, ever the gentleman as he opens his mouth to say something— but you beat him to it before he can get anything out. 

“Will you let me buy you your drink this time?” You say, an innocent smile on your face as you wait expectantly. He finds himself stuttering, eyes widening at your words. 

“I… I’m the one who should be—“ 

“Why? I’m offering,” if he thinks that he’ll be the one to woo you, he’s sorely mistaken; even as you gently insist, finally getting him to agree in the end, you don’t think he realizes how he’s digging his own grave—he’s pliant under your grip, and you’ve discovered that you like it that way. 

You know what everyone seems to think when you walk into the office together; as a matter of fact, you can hear it, your co-worker’s indiscreet whispers finding their way back to you, unable to bring yourself to care as their comments turn out more amusing to you than anything. 

Has he finally set his eyes on someone? Is he making a move on her? Look, both of their cups have the same name on them.

Setting your coffee cup down, you smile at the pretty name that was scrawled on by the barista— Huening. A smile itches itself onto your face, filled with mischief and unable to go away as your friend walks into your office; she takes one look at you, then sighs. 

“You’re quick,” she says, your smile contagious as she quickly finds herself mirroring your expression. Taking a seat across from you, she grins, patting the desk as she leans in, eyes wide and eager as she asks, “What’d you do?”

It doesn’t take long for you to recap all of the things you said to him, starting from the dinner to the very moment the two of you walked into the building. You find yourself in a giddy and dreamlike state as you recount everything to her, staring out into the hallway as your finger traces around the lid of your cup, the warmth bringing comfort to you as you cup your hands around it instead. 

“So it was all you,” Yeojin says, bewildered by your tale as she stares at you, head in her hands in amazement. “I’m surprised he’s warming up to you already.” 

“You think so too, right?” You immediately quip, leaning in towards her as you bring your voice down, “I’ve always been the one that tries to talk to him first. It’s always kind of awkward— not that today was any better— but he didn’t seem so… skittish this time.”

Yeojin nods profusely, leaning back in her chair as she puts her hands neatly in her lap. Yet, even though she’s agreeing with you, you can still see that there’s more to it— especially with the way she seems to be lost in thought, lips pursed as though she’s pondering whether to say something to you or not.

“See, the thing about him is…” She pauses, shaking her head with a small tsk— sighing deeply, she seems to be in turmoil on how to phrase her next words. “He’s a bit… clueless. Inexperienced, on top of that.”

“So…?” You say, raising a brow in curiosity. She smiles sheepishly, and you can only tilt your head down in an attempt to urge her to continue. 

“So he probably doesn’t realize you’re flirting.” 

“What? How can he not?” You ask, a bit in disbelief as you attempt to consider the possibility, “I’m practically spelling it out for him— I’ve practically told him I want him at this point.”

“Ew, first off— he’s still my friend, I don’t wanna hear that,” Yeojin jokes, ignoring the way you roll your eyes lightheartedly in response, “and… how do I say this in a way that doesn’t make him sound narcissistic…” 

Yeojin winces, smacking her lips before she continues. 

“He’s kinda… He’s been praised throughout his whole life— he was popular in school, too.” She laughs at that, remembering the way girls used to flock around him constantly, “People always used to tell him he was handsome and all that— So, when you tell him all these things…” 

“He doesn’t think anything of it.” You say breathlessly, connecting the two as you look at Yeojin— to your dismay, she nods. “Because he’s used to hearing it all the time.” 

Yeojin only agrees with you; a moment passes as you let the information sink in, realizing just how difficult this all is turning out to be. 

“Damn.”

❅ ❅ ❅

You’re not… entirely sure how you got here. 

Your mother was always a very supportive woman— it was just you and her against the world, after all. 

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do,” she would tell you, a proud smile permanently stuck on her face every time she looked at you— at all the things you managed to achieve despite your unideal living situation, “If you put your mind to it, I know you’ll get anything you want.” 

Her advice stuck with you; your personal motivation whenever you faltered, when the finish line seemed too far for your comfort. Without her, you wouldn’t have the mindset to never give up— even on the little things. 

So, now that you really think about it, you think you know how you got to where you are now— a tipsy mess, arms linked with Huening’s as you rambled to him about something incoherent— you got here from sheer willpower. (And your mother, of course.)

In your mind, you were much closer to the finish line than the man beside you may realize; no, you aren’t dating him or anything, but going out to eat without Yeojin there to play the part of the mutual friend counts as a big step forward, right? 

The excuse of going on a walk around the park near the restaurant to sober up wasn’t entirely a lie— it did help a little, the feeling of the cold air on your face and the sight of the frozen lake reflecting the lights of the busy city waking you up quite a bit. But it was mostly a ploy to get Huening to spend more time with you; you weren’t ready to let him go yet. 

Weeks of talking and getting to know him better proved what Yeojin told you to be true— with every compliment, every flirty comment, he seemed to become more and more unphased, swiftly replying to each advancement of yours like it was nothing. You were able to call each other friends now, but at what cost?

You might just be stuck in this friend zone forever, you don’t like the sound of that at all, a frown overtaking your face as you pull Huening to the nearest bench you spot; wiping the snow off, you suppress a smile as he scoots closer to you, an action that might not mean anything to him sending your mind racing. 

“Huening,” you start, clearing your throat as you look at him. He hums, turning his head to face you— he’s so close, the scent of his cologne oddly addicting as you will yourself to not get lost in it. “Are you doing anything for New Year’s Eve?” 

“I’m going to Yeojin’s party,” he frowns, tilting his head cutely as he looks at you, “Aren’t you?” 

“I am,” you grin, nudging your shoulder with his as you face forward, looking at the pretty skyline and its busy city, “Just wanted to hear you say it first.”

A silence falls after that, yet you don’t find yourself scrambling to strike up another conversation. The man beside you is warm, the feeling of his body pressed against yours making your heart beat faster— arm against arm, thigh against thigh. Your hands are shaky and rigid as you tuck them inside the sleeves of your coat; Huening is quick to notice this, his hands reaching out for yours.

“Are you cold?” He asks, his hands oddly warm as they come in contact with your own. Turning to him, you’re caught off guard to find him staring at you intently; his eyes are soft, his hair fluffy and filled with snowflakes. You’re unable to stop yourself from staring at him, taking in the way his delicate skin is flushed sweetly, his lips parted and enticing as he waits for you to respond. 

“I wish you’d stop staring at me like that,” his words are deceiving as he says them, not able to fool you for a second as his voice drops down to nothing but a whisper, gulping softly as his eyes meet yours. 

“Why…?” You ask, your voice soft as you find yourself moving closer. You’re careful to observe him, eyes flickering to and from his lips as you wait for him to make a decision. 

“Because I…” he stops, licking his lips nervously as he stutters over his words, “It makes me want to…” 

He doesn’t finish his thought— but his message is clear as his lips press unsurely against yours. He’s soft, sweet, and oh so addicting as he kisses you, his hands that encase yours shaking as he finds himself unsure of what to do.

He feels the way you smile against his lips, confident and bold as your hands rip free from his hold; he allows you to take the lead as you scoot closer to him, your hand trailing up his arm, to his shoulder, until it finally finds itself buried in his hair, pulling softly before you direct him to come closer. 

He feels dizzy as your lips part his, the kiss messy and foreign as he lets you taste him— your teeth sink teasingly on his bottom lip, and he lets out the sweetest whimper that has your brain fogging with need. He feels the way your teeth scratch along his flesh as you pull away, his eyes slowly fluttering open as he takes in the way you look at him. He’s embarrassed, blushing and panting as he tries to catch his breath, ashamed that his inexperience probably showed— but to his surprise, all he sees is you, triumphant and satisfied as you take in the mess you left him in. 

It makes his stomach flip. 

“You’re so cute,” you smile, leaning in to place another chaste kiss on his lips— he finds himself chasing after you, wanting more as you laugh softly at him. He can’t bring himself to be embarrassed anymore, at least not with the way you look at him like you want to devour him. Standing up, you grab his hand, fingers lacing with his as you pull him up.

“Let’s go, Huening. I’m cold.” 

It’s immediate, the way he follows you, a shy smile never disappearing from his lips as he’s unable to look into your eyes for too long. It isn’t until he’s ready to drop you off that he stops you, your hand frozen on the door handle as you turn back to him curiously. 

“Kai,” he says, his gaze sweet and sheepish as he tells you. 

“Hmm?”

“You can call me Kai, if you want.” You’re unable to fight the smile that breaks across your face, reaching out to cup his cheeks before you’re leaning in, giving him one last sweet kiss before you leave.

“Okay. Kai.”

❅ ❅ ❅ 

It’s funny to think of Kai leading the relationship— but for some reason, that’s all your coworkers can fathom. Of course, you can see why they would think that; stereotypically, a man like him, who appears so stoic and composed, may seem like someone who would be more dominant and leading— he’s the one who buys a coffee for you every day, a secure hand placed on the small of your back every day when you leave together. 

But oh, if only they could see him now— a pathetic mess under you as you tease him relentlessly, on his lap as a movie plays on his tv in the background. 

“I thought you said we should get ready,” you say, smiling against his lips as you lean down to pepper kisses along the column of his throat. He nods, long black hair brushing against your skin as he attempts to stutter out a response— but he’s unable to, not with the way you’re mouthing mischievously at the spot on his neck that makes his knees go weak. 

“We— we should…” his breath hitches as you gently bite at his skin, careful to not leave any marks as he continues, “we might be late…” 

“Then why can’t you let me go, hmm?” You say, referring to the way his hands are still firmly holding onto your waist; he gulps, letting go immediately as you laugh. 

“It’s okay baby,” you sigh out, sitting up as you take in his dazed state— and before you can help it, you find yourself beginning to grind against him, watching as his hips jump up in surprise, “I don’t mind being a little late.” 

You freeze immediately the moment he reaches out to grasp your forearms; his eyes are glassy, lips parted and his breaths shaky as he stutters out, flustered as he holds you in place. 

“Wait…” he says, embarrassed as he looks away from you— he’s unable to meet your eyes as he continues, “I… wanna take it slow.” 

He’s vulnerable as he waits for you to answer, his body heating up in shame as he can’t look you in the face— he hoped that he didn’t disappoint you, wishing nothing more than to be the one that could take charge for once. 

“Of course baby,” you say, your voice gentle as you cup his face, moving his head to look back at you; your eyes are shining with nothing but affection and adoration, a soft smile gracing your lips as you lean forward to place a soft kiss on his forehead. “I’ll wait as long as you need. Don’t ever feel sorry or ashamed for wanting to take things slow.” 

He’s sure you can feel his heart, the sound loud as it resounds in his ears— he nods softly, your smile contagious as he finds himself mirroring you. It’s lighthearted as you giggle, peppering kisses all along his face as he breaks out into a grin; it isn’t until he’s pushing you away jokingly that you finally give in, reaching for your overnight bag as you tell him you’ll go get ready. 

❅ ❅ ❅

One thing about Yeojin is that she knows how to throw a party. 

You stand at her doorway, hand in hand with your boyfriend as you scan the apartment for your friend; it takes you a while before you spot her by all the drinks, chatting with guests happily. Nodding in her direction, you’re quick to pull Kai along, holding tightly onto him as you make your way through the surprisingly large amount of people— you forget how much of a social butterfly Yeojin is sometimes.

“You’re here!” Yeojin exclaims, swiftly turning her attention to her two closest friends. It’s immediate, the way she glances down to spot your interlocked hands, scrunching her face up jokingly as she’s turning back to you. 

“You two should be thanking me for letting it happen,” she says, shaking her head in amusement as she slaps your arm lightly, “I don’t know how you did it.”

You wave her off as you two laugh, Kai watching you fondly from the side. It isn’t long before Yeojin spots another new guest, bidding you goodbye before she’s greeting them cheerfully. 

You’re relieved to see just how many people aren’t your coworkers; you don’t think you would’ve come if that were the case. Maybe that’s why you allow yourself to meet new people, enjoying the music and the atmosphere as Kai tags along happily. 

“Thirsty?” You say, glancing at Kai after catching him looking around nervously for the umpteenth time. He nods, and you smile as you reach out for his hand. “Come on, let’s go somewhere quieter.” 

Yeojin’s kitchen is deserted and always left off-limits during parties; which makes it the perfect spot for the two of you to rest, leaning against the counter as you listen to the slightly muffled music in the other room. 

Kai isn’t exactly the most outgoing person— which is why you’re surprised he decided to go to one of Yeojin’s parties in the first place. But, looking into his eyes now, you realize why— because of you, of course. He seems content at this moment, alone from everyone else and free to wrap an arm around your waist— which is why you don’t hold yourself back when you lean in to kiss him. 

Like any other kiss you’ve shared, you’re quick to take the lead, and he’s just as quick to give it to you, your hands wandering up his chest until they land lazily on the nape of his neck; you’re playing softly with the tufts of his hair, enjoying the way he practically melts into you.

You’re more than surprised when his other hand finds your waist, holding onto you tightly as he turns— pressing your back into the counter as he stands between your legs, your dress beginning to ride up. 

“Baby,” you call out, a sigh escaping you as he begins to trail down your neck, the feeling of his hair brushing against your skin making you more sensitive, “baby, what are you…” 

Your words die on your tongue the moment his hips roll into yours. 

You’re done for, that’s all you can think as his hold turns firm, holding you in place as he begins grinding into you— a small sigh leaves you, and you can feel the way your stomach flips the moment he lets out a needy whine against your neck.

“Thought you wanted to wait,” you say, pulling him back up as you stare into his eyes, wondering just what has gotten into him— he didn’t drink, he’s the designated driver (you didn’t drink, either)— but his eyes seem to be hazy and sure as he stares down at you, the look in his eyes new, yet familiar.

“Can’t…” he sighs out, unable to stop himself as he presses into you— you suppress a sound at the feeling of him pressing against you so perfectly, “you look so pretty.” 

You’ve never felt so nervous before— he makes you nervous, his stare intense as you feel your knees weakening, your resolve crumbling as you gulp tensely. 

“Do… you want to go home?”

He nods. 

Your hand finds his in the blink of an eye, and before you know it, you’re weaving through the guests to find Yeojin.

“We’re leaving,” you say, hoping that your reasoning isn’t too obvious as Kai hovers behind you.

“So soon? It’s not even midnight yet,” she says, leaning in so you can hear her over the music. Yeojin seems surprised by your words, taking in your apologetic smile and the way Kai fidgets nervously behind you; she pauses before she nods understandingly, much to your relief. 

And as you bid her goodbye, you can’t help but feel your heart beginning to pound harshly against your chest as you make your way out, Kai’s hand secure on the small of your back the entire time. 

❅ ❅ ❅

“You’re such a tease,” you mumble, your lips stuck as Kai refuses to part from you for a second. He’s glued to you, your back pressed firmly against the door to his apartment as he lets his hands wander, smoothing down your hips and going back up, the fabric of your dress bunching up from his actions. 

“Sorry, I just…” his apologies fall on deaf ears as you hook your leg around his waist, bringing him in closer as you allow yourself to deepen the kiss. You’ve never seen him like this, needy and uncontrollable as he holds onto you tightly, trying to bring you closer even though your body is already pressed against his, the feeling of his warm skin against yours driving you mad. 

When you release your grip on him, your leg coming back down as your foot softly lands on the floor, you find your stomach dipping as you hear him whine from the loss. Grinning, your hands find themselves on his chest, pushing him back as you send him a coy smile. 

“This won’t do. Why don’t you take me to bed, baby?”

You don’t need to tell him twice— you barely get to breathe before he’s acting on your command, bringing you back in as his hands find themselves on the backs of your thighs, your mind barely catching up with him before they’re wrapped around his waist, a small grunt leaving him as he picks you up. 

“When did you get this strong?” You sigh, the feeling of him placing needy kisses along the expanse of your neck and chest making your eyes flutter shut— you can feel his muscles flex underneath you, impressed with the way he’s able to carry you to bed with ease. 

“Did it just for you,” He smiles, laying you down as he hovers over you. You scoff, hitting his chest jokingly as you try to pretend that his words didn’t fluster you. Gently, you cup his cheek, smiling fondly as you take his features in.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” You ask, watching the way his eyes darken at the question; he sighs softly, eyes flitting to your lips as he nods.

“Need you to tell me, baby.” Your voice is barely audible as you tell him, tilting your head as you wait for him to respond. You watch him gulp, his cheeks flushing cutely as he’s suddenly unable to look you in the eye. Gently, you tilt his head back to you, prompting him to look at you as you raise your brows expectantly.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he sighs, not wasting another second before he’s closing the gap between the two of you. He can feel you smiling against his lips again, a feeling that makes him weak as he waits for your next move. And when you’re asking him to move, switching positions so you’re straddling him, he can’t bring himself to be surprised.

“You’re so pretty…” he mumbles, looking up at you in awe. You grin down at him, just as needy as him as you found yourself in the same position you were in a couple of hours ago— only, he seems much more sure of himself as you stare at him, your thighs soft and warm as he runs his hands over them soothingly. 

“You are too,” you say, the words slipping from you without a second thought as your hips begin to grind against him— you’re dizzy, able to feel how hard he is underneath you, how perfectly he slots against you. His eyes threaten to flutter shut at the sensation, a choked sound escaping him as his hand finds themselves gripping onto your hip; slowly, he pushes you down on him, guiding your movements subtly as his hips jump up ever so often. 

“Feels so good,” you sigh, your lips right next to his ear as you allow him to hear every pleasured sound that escapes you; it only manages to spur him more, soft whimpers and moans escaping him as he loses himself in the feeling of you. Leaning back, you press your hands firmly against his chest, grasping his attention as his eyes meet yours— they’re bleary and hazed with pleasure, already losing his composure despite you just beginning.

“When was the last time you did anything like this?” You tease, biting at your lip as you slow your pace, sitting firmly on top of him as you feel the way he throbs against you; his whines from the loss of stimulation are tempting, but you stand your ground as you wait for a response, much more interested in undoing his button up as you wait for him to speak.

“It’s…” you can tell he’s hesitant, his mind dizzy at the feeling of you slowly undoing his shirt— your fingers are mischievous as they trail down, tracing along his bare chest as your gentle gaze coaxes him to only answer with what he’s comfortable; in the end, he can feel his face heating up as he finds the courage to admit it. 

“I… haven’t really…” you’re unable to stop the way your brows raise in surprise, your movements ceasing at his words, ready to take things slower for him— but he continues, pushing past his shyness as he looks away from you. “It’s been a while. I’m not very experienced.”

He might just be the death of you— especially with the way he’s so sweet and shy, unable to look you in the face in fear of you reacting badly— but why would you, when he seems so eager to learn?

 “That’s okay,” you softly coo, your hands breaching past the material of his shirt as you run your hands down the expanse of his chest; he’s warm, his breaths stuttering as you teasingly run your nails along his chest— slowly, you make your way down, untucking his shirt before you’re wandering back up his chest and to his shoulders.

“Just makes things more fun for me,” you grin, mischievous as always as you lean in, pressing a soft kiss on his lips before you’re gesturing for him to take his shirt off— you allow yourself to sit back and admire him as he does so immediately.           

It’s endearing to watch him turn shy under your heated gaze, unable to stop yourself from admiring his smooth skin— your hands are eager to explore, feeling the sturdiness of his muscles, dipping down to his waist as you watch him flinch from the way your nails tease his skin, the rise and fall of his chest slowing and deepening as he waits for your next move.

You can tell he’s beginning to grow impatient; it’s amusing watching him become antsy as the feeling of your body, soft and warm, on top of his, just isn’t enough; he wants to feel you.

There’s no need for words as he begins to tug the hem of your dress up, suddenly impatient with the need to touch you, to pleasure you. And you allow him to, assisting him as you finally take your dress off, unable to fight the nerves that come with him seeing you like this for the first time— but one look in his eyes is enough to reassure you once again. 

He’s unsure of how to control himself as he takes you in, choosing to pull you in for another kiss instead; you’re surprised by how needy he is, looming over you until he’s switching positions, your back pressed against his bed as he hovers over you once more.

“Can I…” he’s unable to finish his sentence, refusing to part from you as his hands tentatively meet your waist— his hands are big as they smooth up and down your body, unable to stop the shivers that wrack through you from the feeling. Pushing him back, you smile, meeting his needy gaze with a soft laugh. 

“You can do anything you want to me.” 

A moment passes as he looks down at you, deciphering whether or not you mean it— you’re so pretty under him, not an ounce of doubt or hesitation showing through as your eyes meet his; they’re just as needy and impatient as his. Gulping, he slowly nods, hoping that you don’t notice how shaky his hands are as they slowly breach past the waistband of your panties. 

Slowly, he drags the material down, his inexperience shining through as you watch him keenly— he’s hesitant in all his movements, careful to keep an eye on your reactions in hopes that he’s doing okay. Slowly, he eases himself onto his stomach, situating himself between your legs as he takes you in— needy, wet, and so pretty. 

“Huening,” you purr out, the sound of his surname coming from your lips in such a tone catching him off guard; he hopes you didn’t catch the way his hips ground into the mattress, the sound of your deep and commanding voice making him melt. 

It’s only natural that your hand finds itself wound in his hair— he looks so cute as you watch the way he stares up at you expectantly, his eyes fluttering shut as you tug teasingly at his roots.

“What’s wrong baby?” You coo, unable to hide the way your arousal only builds up as he seems helpless, sitting up as he moves to kneel as well. He smiles sheepishly at your question, biting at his lip before he answers you. 

“I’m not sure what to do. I’ve never…” at the tilt of your head, he clears his throat, hands holding onto your waist as he leans in, his lips begging to be kissed as he pouts. “I want to please you.” 

You raise your brows— now it’s you who doesn’t know what to say. 

“You want me to show you?” Is all you can bring yourself to say, your voice a whisper as you watch him nod eagerly. 

“I want you to use me.” 

A breathless laugh is all that leaves you— you wait, looking for any hesitation, regret, uncertainty— but all you see in those eager eyes is a genuine impatience, a smile easing itself on his face as he takes in your flustered face. Slowly, he leans in, placing a kiss below your ear, his hands on your hips dragging you closer to him as he whispers, his words so quiet you could miss it if you didn’t pay attention. 

“Will you ride my face?” 

You gulp, feeling weak from his words as you slowly nod— and, like always, he’s eager to move, ready for you to get comfortable as he lays expectantly. 

“You…” you gulp, your knees dipping the bed down as you hover above his chest— his hands rub up and down your thighs, surprised to see him grinning mischievously for once; god, is that what you looked like? 

“You’re sure about this?” 

“Yes,” this new side of him is lethal— patting your thighs, he gestures for you to move up, eyes lidded as he looks up at you. “Please… I want you so bad, want to taste you.” 

His begging is quiet and whiny as he continues, making your knees weak as you finally scoot up; his lips are parted in awe as he stares up at you, licking his lips in anticipation as you hover over him— your pussy is enticing as a shaky sigh escapes him, the feeling of his breath on your core making you jump in surprise. 

“Just…” slowly, you reach down to push his hair from his face, his eyes closing in contentment as you do so— your other hand holds onto the headboard, leaning forward for support as you speak. “Don’t be afraid to stop, if it gets to be too much.” 

The look he sends you feels like a strike of lighting on your spine— your body is hot and tingly as he sends you a coy smile, gripping your hips as he gestures for you to move down. 

“Don’t worry about me.” 

Eager. That’s all you can think to describe Kai as he finally gets a taste of you, the feeling of his tongue flattening against your slit making you jump in surprise— the moan you let out after is uncontrollable, the feeling of him licking a strip along your pussy making your eyes fall shut. 

His lips find your clit soon after, sucking and teasing it as he tries to gauge what makes you tremble above him— his tongue circles along it slowly as he stares up at you, in awe of the way you react to his every movement. It isn’t long before he’s back to your slit, his tongue slowly breaching your hole before it retreats; you’d never thought he’d ever tease you like this, and you’re finding yourself to be much more impatient than you expected. 

Hueningkai thinks he might just die happy the moment your hips begin to grind down on his face. 

The sounds that leave your lips are heavenly to him, only managing to spur him on as he lets you ride him, his tongue finally entering you as you whimper; his hips jump up pathetically at the sound, desperate to feel something. 

“Ah, fuck…” you sigh, feeling him press harder against you— his jaw is left wide open as he takes you in, tongue working hard to collect all the essence that spills out of you; his eyes flutter shut as he moves his head side to side, nose brushing against your clit as he feels you clench around his tongue. 

“Shit, Huening—!” You’re nothing but a mess above him, surprised by how quickly you find yourself grinding down on him, desperate to reach the high that only looms over you. Your hand grips the headboard as you lose yourself, thighs clamping slightly around his head as a yelp escapes you— you’re crashing down before you know it, shaky sounds escaping you as he doesn’t stop his motions for a second.

“Huening,” you moan out softly, attempting to rise from your position before his strong hands are bringing you back down. 

“Again,” he whines under you, the sight of his face glistening from under you making your stomach flip— his eyes are determined as he holds you in place, running his tongue along his top lip as he persists, “wanna see you do that again.” 

“You’re fucking insane,” laughing softly, you shake your head, unable to deny the way your body is already asking for more— and he’s eager to provide, bringing you back down to him as he begins again. 

You’ve never pinned Kai to be like this— putting your pleasure above his, moaning against your pussy as he feels you clench down on him; he’s ruthless, sucking up your juices eagerly as he feels the way your legs shake, still sensitive from your previous orgasm.

It isn’t long before you’re cumming against his face again— your body heavy against his face as you grind on him, your hand pulling carelessly at his roots as you lose yourself in the feeling.

“Baby, oh god…” you moan out, not surprised to find his strong arms keeping you in place— you’re not so sure of who’s leading who at this point, but as Kai continues to push you to another orgasm, you wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to flip the script on you. 

“Shit, shit shit shit!” You gasp, your legs shaking as you struggle to sit up— your hand is pushing against Kai’s forehead as he attempts to clean you up, a coy smile stuck on his face as you hover over him, panting heavily as you lean your head against the hand that was holding onto the headboard. 

He allows you to take a second as his lips pepper kisses along your inner thighs, teasing tongue lapping at your cum that has dripped down. 

“You…” you sigh out, sitting back on his chest as you laugh incredulously— he simply stares at you innocently, as though his chin weren’t glistening and his face wasn’t flushed, his pretty hair splayed along his pillow like a halo, pretty lips parted so he could catch his breath. 

“You’re insatiable,” you comment scooting down before you’re sitting on his clothed crotch— he groans, grinding up at you desperately as he throws his head back against the pillow. 

“Could’ve gone for more.” 

“I thought you said you didn’t know how?” You muse, fingers teasingly beginning to unbutton his pants; slowly, you pull the zipper down, already feeling the way he throbs in anticipation. He shakes his head in amusement, arms splayed out on the bed as he closes his eyes.

“Just did what I thought was right.” 

“So you’re a natural…” you tease, dragging his pants down as you signal for him to lift his hips; he follows your command naturally, trying to hide the way he quickly becomes antsy. Your fingers are ghosting along the waistband of his boxers, watching the way his stomach flinches at the unexpected contact. After a while, he whines, needy and desperate as he raises his head to look at you.

“Can you please touch me?” He asks quietly, shy and whiny as he stressed his plea. “Please, I want to feel you…” 

His begging makes you feel weak— you could never say no to him. Slowly, your fingers ease themselves under his waistband, pulling it down as you finally free his cock— it’s hard and needy, pulsing desperately as a trail of precum spurts out, a soft whimper leaving him as you blow on it teasingly, his cock jumping at the feeling.  

“Agh, I need you…” he trails off, the feeling of your soft thighs against his driving him mad— he feels dizzy the moment your hand wraps around him, warm and firm as you watch in amusement the way his hips jump up at the feeling. 

“Oh—“ he chokes on his own words, feeling the way your thumb brushes along his tip, spreading his precum along your hand as you slowly begin pumping him, “ohhhh…. You’re so…” 

Your name is stuck in his lips as he moans out, his hands fisting at the sheets as you quicken your pace. Slowly, you lean down, watching him carefully as your tongue darts out to lick his tip— his reaction is immediate. 

“Ah!” He whimpers, throwing his head back with a whine of your name. His hips jump uncontrollably, eager to meet your mouth as you slowly wrap your lips around the head of his cock— your hand is still pumping him, trying your best to not break out into a smile at the way he weakens from the feeling of you. 

Your mouth is so hot and wet, sucking around him perfectly as you begin to take him deeper, deeper, and deeper. He’s never felt this before, and before he can hold back, his hips jump up, his eyes widening as his hand finds itself resting on your head.

“Fuck— sorry,” he says, breathless as he feels you continue, seemingly unphased by his actions, “god, you just feel so… so good.”

It’s lewd, the way your spit begins to trail along his length, your mouth slowly trailing back up as you release him with a pop. The smile on your face makes him feel weak, shakily exhaling as your hand continues where your mouth left off. 

“It’s okay baby,” you say, picking up your pace as you watch his eyes fall shut, “I don’t mind.” 

He can feel the pleasure becoming overwhelming, the sound of your sweet voice coaxing him making his head spin, hips fucking into your hand as your mouth latches onto the tip, your tongue only bringing him closer as you lap at him. His sounds turn sweeter, louder, and you know he’s close by the way his cock twitches in your mouth. Glancing up at him, you watch as his eyes are shut tight, brows furrowed as he becomes restless— your name is stuck in his mouth, the only thing he can bring himself to say as it falls effortlessly from his lips; he’s close, oh so close. 

Then, it all stops. 

“What…?” The look on his face is priceless— he pouts at you, watching as you move to straddle him, a grin breaking out on your face the moment you make eye contact. “That’s not fair.” 

Innocently, you shrug, watching the way he twitches as you grab him, aligning yourself with him as you hover over him. 

“Wait—“ he says, reaching out to you as you freeze at his words, “A condom— uh, there’s one in my drawer over there.”

“Do you want one?” You ask, tilting your head as you watch him go speechless. 

“Well…” he’s hesitant, unsure of what to say as he trails off.

“I don’t,” you say, reassuring him with a smile, “birth control.” 

You watch him gulp, eyes glazed as he slowly nods— you can feel him throbbing against you, a small okay escaping his lips as he allows himself to relax. Leaning forward, you press a kiss against his cheekbone, whispering in his ear teasingly as you glide his tip along your slit— he can barely process what you tell him. 

“If you don’t cum before me, I’ll let you cum inside,” you tease, a grin on your face as you lean back; his eyes are wide as he processes what you say, already feeling the way you tease yourself with his tip.

“But—“ he stops, a soft sigh escaping the two of you as you finally slip the tip in, “I— I won’t last long, fuck.”

Unfortunately for him, that’s exactly what you’re counting on. 

Your pace is brutal from the start— he’s biting at his lip to prevent his whines to spill out, but it’s not really helping; you’re so tight and warm, he feels dizzy as your hips smack against his, your thighs encasing him so nicely as he watches your breasts bounce from your bra.

You can feel him throbbing— he stretches you so nicely, the need to make him cum first a priority as you push past the way your legs are already becoming sore. Carelessly, you reach behind you, eager to take your bra off as Kai’s eyes never leave yours— his hands immediately encase your breasts, the feeling of his fingers teasing your nipples making you clench around him; his mind blanks instantly. 

“Agh, shit,” he’s melting under you as you do it again, feeling the way his hips are eager to meet yours, chasing after a high that you already know is close. 

“Fuck, wait—“ his words are cut off with a whine, throwing his head back as he feels his cock beginning to twitch, the need to cum after you denied him fogging his brain, “gonna cum, no— fuck,” 

Laughing, you lean down, placing a hand next to his head as you wait for him to look at you— his eyes are shiny and dazed as they meet yours, lips parted as he tries to lean up to kiss you.

“It’s okay,” you coo, putting your last efforts into quickening your pace; he groans, shaking his head as he realizes you’re doing it on purpose, your incentive nothing but a lie to tease him, “you can cum.” 

The way you sweetly coo his name after does it for him, your pussy warm and perfect as it clenches around him, the feeling of your lips crashing against his making him sigh in contentment. 

You’re ready to climb off him after feeling the last of his cum spurt inside you, but you’re not sure why you’re so surprised as Kai quickly flips the two of you, a small yelp leaving your lips as his hips begin to move— he’s a mess as he tucks his head into the crook of your neck, fucking his cum back into you and pressing his body flush against yours.

“Kai— oh shit,” you moan, surprised by the way he manages to fuck you despite the overstimulation, the sounds of skin against skin filling the room as he begins to piston into you. 

“You just,” he whines, his hand going down to grip your waist, pulling your hips flush against his as he rolls his hips into you, “you feel so good. Wanna make you cum.” 

In short, Hueningkai was obsessed with you. He couldn’t get enough, the need to feel you cumming around his cock sending him into a frenzy as he currently found himself fucking you past the overstimulation, quickly finding pleaure heating up again as you clenched around him, a moan escaping you as he brushed against a certain spot; it didn’t take long before he was aiming solely for that spot, his pelvis grinding against your clit as he did everything he could to make you feel good. 

“Kai, Kai,” you chant, breathless and dizzy from the way he fucked you, feeling the coil in your stomach tighten as you grab onto his shoulders, nails digging in and leaving small indents in his skin. 

The moment you finally clench around him, he pulls away, eager to watch your face contort into pleasure as you begin to gush around his cock; it isn’t long before he’s cumming inside you again, still thrusting into you softly as it slowly begins to leak out— you’re a panting mess as you meet his gaze— there’s an undeniable fire in his eyes, the sight only making your stomach sink in anticipation. 

You already know what he’s about to say by the way his hips grind softly against yours, his cock already beginning to stir inside you. 

“Can you give me one more?”

❅ ❅ ❅

“Order for Huening!” Your hands encase the two coffee cups instantly, thanking the barista before you hand one to your boyfriend; staring at the pretty name, you can’t help the way a smile breaks onto your face. 

It seems you’ve done it again; you’ve managed to achieve exactly what you wanted— his hand is comforting as you two walk into the office together, firm on the small of your back as he leads you to your office first; he’s hesitant to leave, but does so nonetheless the second you glare at him playfully— Yeojin approaches you after, shaking her head in disbelief. 

“Wow,” she says, leaning against the doorframe of your office as she watches her friend walk away— not without sparing you one last glance, of course, “you’ve got him wrapped around your finger.” 

“Yup,” you say, the pleased smile on your face only making Yeojin laugh.

“Try telling everyone here,” she comments, watching the way you only shrug carelessly, “everyone thinks he’s the one leading the relationship; except me, of course— granted, I’m the only one who is actually friends with him, so it’s a given that….”

Yeojin continues rambling, but you don’t pay much attention to it— after all, if they could only see your boyfriend, drunk off you and eager to please, you’re sure they’d change their minds immediately. 

But, that’s a sight for only you to see. 

❅ ❅ ❅

[where-dreamers-go]

"Summertime" Leon S Kennedy x Reader -- Part One

(A/N: A Lifeguard AU where the only umbrella is for the blocking sun’s rays and rain.

Isn’t this pretty random of you, Erica? Well, yes, but I had decided to rewatch Aquamarine during Mermay and WHAM—idea! I actually haven’t finished rewatching the movie because of Leon.

Warnings: Mentions of a minor scrape on the skin.

Word Count:  1,350 words)

~~~

Every summer for the past few years was spent at the same beach club. The same comfortable atmosphere, friendly owner’s of the beach club, and water-loving regulars. Not to forget the salty air, good food, and a lifeguard that you would trust with your life.

Thankfully.

The bonus? The lifeguard was gorgeous. Not to forget smart and caring. People either ignored him, gave him side-eyes, or swooned at the mere sway of his shiny hair. Some considered him a popular attraction. So serious with his job, however with an interesting sense of humor. If you ever got it out of him. That was Leon Kennedy.

Your friend laughed no matter how funny Leon’s jokes were. They were definitely a fan.

Stepping onto the hot sand, you spotted your friend’s beach umbrella.

You sighed.

Of course they would, you thought.

They had planted the umbrella a few paces away from the Lifeguard tower. Directly in Leon’s line of sight.

You readjusted the tote bag on your shoulder. Calm breaths came easier as long as you kept moving to your destination. If you needed to say anything, you’d keep it short. A simple ‘hi’ went a long way.

You got this. Just walk.

As you entered Leon’s peripheral vision, he turned his head in your direction.

No one and no thing escaped his attention.

“Hey.” Leon gave a small wave from his seat.

“Hey,” you replied automatically. “How’s the weather up there?”

“Sunny and partly cloudy.”

“Nice.”

Movement stole your attention away from the man. Your friend was making quick hand gestures from underneath the umbrella.

What?

Resisting the urge to reach inside your tote and toss a water bottle at them, you simply made your way to the towels. 

“Are you dehydrated already?” You asked.

“No.” Your friend leaned close. “Did you see his smile? He totally smiled at you.”

Slipping out of your shoes, you sat down.

“You saw it, didn’t you?”

“I was a little distracted by my choice in small talk.” You shrugged off your bag. “I hate small talk. It’s uncomfortable and weird. Not the good weird.”

“He could be still looking at you from behind those sunglasses.” They hummed mischievously and rummaged through the tote bag.

You narrowed your eyes playfully. “Don’t put thoughts in my head.”

“He does have a good view.”

You scoffed, covering your laugh. “You’re adding to those thoughts—not the fun ones. Ones where I’m too aware of what I’m doing and how I look.” You grabbed a bottle of water. “I came to enjoy the scenery.”

“Didn’t we all?” They wiggled their eyebrows before tearing into a bag of snacks.

* *

Passing time by indulging in your curiosities had you by the shoreline. Soft warm bubbles of the water tickled your skin with each wave.

I have to get up earlier for this, you thought. Or wait until low tide.

You were looking for small treasures in the sand. Shark teeth, unique shells, shiny rocks, and the like. Usually you always brought the shells back to the water. That was still your plan.

But plans could be sidelined.

Pain erupted on your shoulder with such a force you fell over.

“Ah.”

Crap.

A volleyball bounced across the shore.

Seriously? You thought and looked down. Right on the shells. Of course.

“I’m sorry!” A tanned beachgoer apologized as their friend went after the ball.

“Yeah. Uh. It was an accident.” You brushed off your hands, treasures scattered the ground.

They nodded and walked off awkwardly.

Movement off to the side caught your attention.

Leon had ran over quickly, the sunlight accentuating his defined arms.

“Hey, are you hurt?” He asked, kneeling down.

“I’m fine.”

You stood up and his gazed dropped to your knees.

“That’s not my definition of fine.”

You cringed.

There were scrapes on your knee. Thankfully, not both of them. Some how.

“Come on, let’s go take care of that,” Leon said softly.

He walked you back to your towel to sit before he jogged to the lifeguard tower and fetched the first aid kit.

“He’s in action,” your friend cheered from close by.

You waved them off.

Chill. He has ears you know, you thought. Not that your friend could hear you.

“Does it hurt anywhere?” He questioned and opened the kit as he approached.

“Just stings.”

“Alright.” He knelt beside you. “I’ll just need to clean it up to prevent any infections, okay?”

“Okay.”

You were surprised you could hear Leon clearly over the beating of your heart.

How different and alarmingly surprising did your day turn out? It went from your friend teasing to collecting small shark teeth to Leon treating your knee?

What was the universe trying to tell you?

“There.” Leon had finished putting a bandage on your knee. “May I check your shoulder? You took quite a hit.”

“Yeah.” You took a peek at it. “It’s gonna be sore later.”

“Probably.” He poked, prodded, and checked your arm’s mobility.

Just breathe. He’s checking you’re fine, you thought. And is really gentle. Very close.

“Any pain?”

“Nope. Just a little tender.”

Leon nodded.

“Well, putting some ice on it will ease any discomfort. If it’s more than sore tomorrow, come and let me know.”

“Okay.” You smiled. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Just watch out for flying objects.” He then added, “If I’m going to spend time with you, I’d rather you not be hurt.”

Your eyes widened.

With a wide half-smile, Leon stood up. He left the first aid kit by the tower before he went off towards the people playing volleyball.

A high-pitched squeal from your friend sealed the memory in your brain forever.

* *

Meanwhile, back in the room. All was excited and communicated.

What else was there to do when getting refreshed? Definitely talking about Leon Kennedy, at least.

“The volleyball of destiny brought him to you,” your friend exclaimed from in front of the mirror.

“Volleyball of destiny?” You repeated, leaning against the wall. “If it’s from destiny, why is it choosing now and not the other summers we’ve been here?”

“Don’t question destiny. Just say, ‘thank you’ and go with it.”

“Thank you, destiny…for not knocking me out.”

You kept in your laugh.

“I think you mean: thank you for blessing me with the closeness of Leon Kennedy.”

“Yes, thank you.” You chuckled. “And thank you, universe, for Leon Kennedy.”

Your friend clapped dramatically.

“Finally! Something exciting’s happening.”

“Hey now,” you held up your hands. “I’m not going to be accident prone, okay? I’m an adult not a kid dodging sports at P.E. everyday.”

They turned around from the sink area.

“Look, just…at least talk to Leon more. Real sentences.”

“I’ll do my best—at being me. No promises on…no fake sentences?”

“Alright, fine. Let’s go. I’m ready for more!” They announced and lead the way out of the room.

Remaining in the air conditioning or finding shade was a well-tuned skill. Something needed around noon.

You and your friend were grabbing a bite to eat inside for lunch. Enjoying the air conditioning full-heartedly.

Thankfully, you both arrived fast enough from your room to get a table. The beach club could get pretty busy.

The two of you were absorbing the atmosphere in silence as others moved about the large room with chatter. Chairs skidding across the flooring. Kids cried for their lost fries. It was definitely summertime.

Glancing around, your eyes spotted Leon. Relaxed and tall, Leon.

In a blink of an eye, he caught your gaze.

The second you were about to avert all eye contact—he smiled.

Turning away with a smile of your own, you awaited your friend’s commentary. The wait wasn’t long. They seemed to see everything.

“If you two keep smiling at each other like that, I’m going to revert to writing fanfiction.”

“What?”

“The past two summers,” they explained, “I really thought one of you would make a move. I’m invested and impatient.”

“Chill. I’m not gonna implode without him.”

“The universe said differently today. Wait until tomorrow.”

You blinked. “That was ominous.”

~~~

(If you love my writings and want to support me, I have a Ko-Fi where you can buy me a coffee. I would be eternally grateful.

coffee

Best wishes and happy reading.)

~~~~~

DreamerDragon Tags: @cubedtriangle

Leon Scott Kennedy Tags: @

**Let me know if you would like to be tagged in insert readers, either through replies, ask, or message.**

[maccreadysbaby]

A Hundred Ways to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: horror? and vomit

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

i’m not sure my tags are actually working but here’s the next part! if you haven’t read about the secret keeper yet you need to jump back a chapter

part eight

❝ SAFE WITH ME ❞

WEDNESDAY — AUGUST 5 — 3:12AM

“DON’T WORRY. I won’t tell your secrets,”

Bentley sat straight up in his bed at the Manor. He very vaguely remembered being carried upstairs from the cave (apparently he fell asleep in the medbay?) He tried to argue with his carrier but it all came out as unintelligible hums, and he was apparently satisfied with their warmth, because he remembered snuggling into them and going back to sleep before they were even in the elevator.

Now, however, it was strange to be upstairs without actually remembering coming upstairs, and he could’ve swore he’d heard a real voice just then.

He flicked on his lamp, glancing around his room warily. He was alone, apart from his furniture, and the outside windows were pitch black. His clock said something but he couldn’t read it through the sleep in his eyes.

“Your secrets safe with me,”

He blinked a few times. He wasn’t crazy, he really was hearing someone. A girl, from off to the left. Or the right. Or… behind him?

Red flags and alarm bells started sounding in his head. “Steph?”

No response.

Bentley rubbed his eyes and sat up straighter, pushing his hair out of his face. He was alone. His bathroom was empty, he could see in from the bed, and his whole room was void of life apart from him.

He reached for his phone, but it wasn’t on his nightstand where he always left it. His pockets were empty, too. Had he left it in the cave?

“I know all your secrets, Bentley. You know who I am.”

Who knew all of his secrets? Did he even have secrets?

Realization hit him all at once like a sucker punch, the voice and what it was saying clicking like puzzle pieces.

He was going to freaking die.

He searched his whole bedside table and opened the drawer, growing more frantic by the minute.

“What’re you looking for?”

The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Bentley drew his covers up over his head and settled as a lump against the headboard, his heart starting to pound.

This could not be happening. She couldn’t be here.

“Go away,” He murmured at the nobody in his room. “Please.”

“Who are you talking to?”

Wait, that wasn’t a girl’s voice, that was Damian’s voice.

He unwrapped the covers from around himself and glanced up at his doorway. His lamp was off (but didn’t he just turn it on?) and all he could see was a small silhouette.

What in the world was going on? Was she in the Manor somewhere? Or was he actually losing his mind?

“Damian? I thought I heard…” He trailed off, turning to his lamp and flicking it on again.

“You did,” The silhouette said, a strange mix of Damian’s voice and the girl’s. Bentley glanced up at him and-

He shouted in terror, a wave of fear so prominent shooting through his entire body that he scrambled backwards and fell off the bed with a wham. His eyes were immediately burning with tears and his heart was beating so fast he felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

“What is it? You don’t want to tell me your secrets?” The Secret Keeper called from her spot in his doorway. He could still see her face from where he was on the floor, twisted and bloody and worse than he could’ve imagined, glowing amber eyes glued to him, unblinking. “No worries — I already know them.”

Bentley curled into a ball on the floor and covered his ears, squeezing his eyes shut as hard as he possibly could. He was going to die.

“Bruce!” He called out, his voice sounding muffled under his hands. He didn’t think it was loud enough, so the second time he shouted so loud it hurt his throat. “Bruce!”

Please come save me. Please don’t like me die. Please don’t let her kill me.

“Why are you so afraid?” Her voice wasn’t muffled by his hands, it was in his head, clear as day. “Open your eyes, Bentley.”

“No!” He choked on a sob, squeezing his eyes shut so tight nothing could possibly force them open. Not even his tears were getting through and it burned like his eyes were on fire. He’d never felt his heart crawling up his throat before, but it was, and he thought he might throw it up.

Instead of bile, something else ripped up his throat without his consent. It was a scream, shrill and desperate and so loud Bentley wasn’t sure if it actually came out of him. 

“Bruce!”

“Your daddy isn’t coming, baby bird. Open your eyes,” The Secret Keeper’s smooth falsetto cooed. He felt hands on his face, a finger, a knuckle stroking his cheek that wasn’t pressed against the floor. 

He turned his forehead into the hardwood. “Tim! Dick! Jason!” Anybody?

“No one’s home,” She said again, her finger tracing up the side of Bentley’s head until she pushed some of his hair back. “You’re all alone, baby bird.”

“Please,” He choked, falling into a violent coughing fit that nearly made him puke his guts out on the floor. He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I haven’t hurt you. Why are you so scared?”

He curled up tighter and sobbed again when she ran a hand through his hair the same way Dick always did.

“You want to run for help so bad, baby bird? Then run,”

Her voice faded until it was gone. He wasn’t sure how long it took for him to work up the courage to open his eyes, but when he did, it was just him trembling and crying on the floor.

He pulled himself off the hardwood and stumbled across the bedroom, jerked the door open, and shot straight across the dark hallway into Tim’s room without looking left or right.

As soon as he threw Tim’s door open, she was standing there.

He screamed in terror, trying to move backwards so quickly his foot caught on the carpet in the hallway and he fell again. It was getting so hard to breathe.

“I told you you were all alone, baby bird,” She crooned.

Bentley pushed himself off the floor and ran. Straight down the stairs, straight through the foyer, straight through the front door.

But instead of padding into the yard, when he went through the threshold, he was in Whittaker Estate.

He blinked rapidly. Tears were streaming down his face and making dots all over his shirt, and he kept feeling more and more like he was going to throw up. His heart was pounding and pounding and his lungs didn’t seem to be working because he couldn’t breathe and everything hurt and he was going to die.

Frantically, he pushed himself forward into the Estate. Everything was just how it was the day he left. “Father!”

His feet pounded on the hardwood as he ran through the Estate. He was going to die. He was going to die. “Father!”

He shouted in fear again when someone rounded the corner.

It was his father. Not Bruce, his father, with the red hair and brown eyes that matched his exactly.

Bentley didn’t stop running until he collided with him, nearly toppling the man over, tightening his arms around him so tight he thought he might die if he let go. “Father, she’s gonna… she’s gonna kill me.”

He felt his father’s arms come up and around him, one hand resting on the back of his head. “I’ve got you, son. There’s no one there.”

“Father…”

“I’ve got you.”

Bentley peeked backwards, and the Estate was empty. The hallways were long and pristine and perfect.

He looked up at his father.

He wasn’t in his father’s arms. They were her arms. She was smiling down at him with her stitched grin, and sickening laughter bubbled up and out of her as soon as they made eye contact.

Bentley shoved himself away from her so hard he hit the floor for a third time, his head thudding against the hardwood with a familiar sharp, resonating pain.

“Don’t forget, baby bird. I know your secrets,”

And everything went black.

And then he woke up in his bedroom at the Manor, crying his eyes out and shaking so terribly he thought he was going to vibrate the bed apart. He was sweaty and he couldn’t breathe and his heart was pounding in his ears and something was in his throat. He thought it was his heart, at first, but then his stomach lurched and he threw up all over himself and the sheets before he could even sit up all the way.

Oh God. Oh my God.

He was sucking in air rapidly, wheezing it in and out, but it wasn’t doing anything. Everything hurt and he couldn’t stop crying, and he started coughing violently, nearly choking because he couldn’t breathe and it didn’t stop until he threw up again.

He sobbed pitifully, wrapping his arms around himself as the anxiety coiled knots up in his stomach.

“Bruce,” He half-whispered, fists curled tight around his vomit-soaked shirt. “Bruce!”

Please be awake. Please be home. Please don’t be a dream, another nightmare, please…

Bentley sobbed hard and coughed until he nearly threw up again. “Bruce!”

Not fifteen seconds later, his door was thrown open from the outside. Bruce, not the Secret Keeper, came rushing inside with Alfred and Duke and Damian all hovering somewhere behind him.

“Bentley,” He sighed when he realized the child wasn’t in mortal danger. “It’s okay. It’s okay, chum. I’ve got you,”

Bruce didn’t even hesitate before he picked Bentley up, puke-y pajamas and all, out from under his sheets and held him like he was about to carry him somewhere, but he didn’t. Bentley all but strangled him, synching his arms as tight as he could around his neck and burying his head as deep into his shoulder as he could to dampen his wheezy hiccups. He couldn’t breathe.

“That’s it, bud. You’re okay,”

“I-I threw up,” Was all the words Bentley could manage at the moment, as if Bruce wasn’t literally wearing some of that throw up now.

“I know, son. I’ve got you. Try and take some deep breaths,” Bruce was rubbing his back lightly, and Bentley just kept sobbing and sobbing (literally, like a four year old, almost obnoxiously.) and he couldn’t really make it stop. The fact that Bruce called him son didn’t even penetrate his mind. “Do you think you’re going to be sick again?”

Bentley shook his head and hoped Bruce could tell what he meant. He heard some little fabric sounds in the background, like Alfred was wasting no time changing his sheets, but he didn’t look up to see.

“I’m… not sick,” He barely managed to speak through gaspy sobs and tears. “The… Secret Keeper, she… I… saw… her.”

He heard Bruce curse under his breath.

Bruce never cursed.

“I’ve got you, Bentley. She’s not here. You’re awake now, and you’re with us,”

Bentley said nothing, clinging so tightly to the back of Bruce’s shirt that he was afraid his knuckles might literally crack in half. He was so terrified that he couldn’t even begin to be embarrassed that he was covered in vomit and trembling violently in Batman’s arms.

“I’ve got you. Try and breathe, Bentley. Deep breaths.”

There was no try, he just couldn’t. He cried himself into another coughing fit that only ended when he very nearly threw up down Bruce’s back. (Thank God he didn’t, that would’ve been absolutely humiliating.)

“Bruce…”

“Shh, shh… you’re okay. It’s over now,”

Bentley tightened his hold on Bruce even more (if it was even possible.) and choked on a few more sobs, wishing he’d never been in the cave or watched patrol in the first place. His mind was so full and spinning that he couldn’t even comprehend things that were going on around them. He heard voices and movement but never lifted his head from Bruce’s shoulder to look around.

“Let’s get you into some clean pajamas, alright?”

“No!” Bentley panicked, unable to find the words he was trying to use, so he clung ever tighter to Bruce like some kind of koala. He was just so freaking scared. “Don’t… don’t… don’t put me down… Please, Bruce-”

“Okay, okay. It’s alright. I’m right here,” He felt Bruce rubbing his back again, rhythmically moving his hand from top to bottom. “Just try and slow down your breathing, bud. Breathe with me.”

It was easy for Bentley to feel his purposefully over-exaggerated breaths because of the way he was holding him, and he tried his best to match them. (When did breathing get so hard?) He started coughing.

“There you go. Keep going, chum.”

Bentley pressed his head farther into Bruce’s shirt. “Bruce…”

“I’m here, Bentley. I’m right here,”

“Please don’t leave,”

“I won’t,”

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, crying and shaking and clinging to Bruce like the world was ending. Bruce kept saying things about how he would be okay and he wasn’t going to leave and he was right there. But the fear embedded in Bentley’s chest made the right here feel so far away, like every second Bruce was drifting, and the only thing that made it go away was holding onto him tighter.

“I know, chum. I know. I’ve got you now,”

Bentley responded by hiding his face deeper in the crook of Bruce’s neck, trying to let the man’s warmth seep into him and drive away all the cold spears of fear that had penetrated him so violently.

He wasn’t sure how many minutes it took, but eventually, the trembling and crying got down to a… manageable level.

Bentley hesitantly lifted his head, glancing around the room. The door was standing open and the sheets had been changed, (Alfred seriously had some magical powers or something.) and Duke and Damian had long disappeared from the doorway. He glanced up at Bruce’s face, just to make sure it was his and not hers, and it was.

Bentley took a sharp breath and laid his head back down, small body still wracked with the sobs he couldn’t seem to stop. “Please don’t let her hurt me. I-I don’t want… I don’t want to see her in real life like everybody else does.”

He felt Bruce’s hand rest on the back of his head. “You’re safe here, Bentley. She’s not going to get anywhere near you.”

Bentley wiped at his eyes (though it was futile because he was still crying), and got overtaken by a sudden wave of trembles. “I’m so scared.” He whispered.

“I know. Just keep breathing — you’re safe,”

After a while, he relaxed a bit in Bruce’s hold, keeping his face securely in the area between his neck and shoulder.

“How are you feeling, bud?”

Bentley sniffled. His chest wasn’t so tight anymore, and breathing was easier than it had been. His head was starting to pound, though, from all the crying, and his stomach still felt rocky.

“M’head hurts,” He admitted quietly, voice half muffled by sniffs and the material of Bruce’s shirt. “And my stomach.”

“Nauseous?” Bruce inquired.

Bentley shook his head. “No.”

“I think it’s similar to what happened to you before your first day of school. Do you want the pink tablets?”

The thought of needing anything that would make Bruce have to put him down made him anxious. “No.”

Bruce hummed. “We should probably change your clothes now. And you can brush your teeth, if you want.”

When Bentley merely held onto him tighter, he added: “I’m not going to go anywhere.”

It was just short of a battle between two parts of Bentley’s brain, one that wanted Bruce to never let go of him ever, and another that knew they both had puke on them and it was disgusting, and that Bruce probably needed to change, too.

So, ignoring the fact that he’d pretty much rather crawl in a hole and die than let go, he muttered: “Okay.”

He felt Bruce take a few steps, and he ever-so-gently set him down in the center of the clean bed. His pants were still clean, having been shielded by the covers, so he’d just need a new t-shirt. He had to fight the urge to bring his knees up in lieu of contaminating his pajama pants.

The clock on the bedside table read about half past three. Bentley counted ten fingers on his hands.

Bruce moved swiftly, grabbing a new t-shirt and handing it to Bentley, who quickly changed. Bruce tossed the old one in the laundry hamper.

Bentley did bring his knees up then, curling until he was satisfied that not even Batman could pull him apart, still trembling and crying under the weight of his nightmare.

It was then that Alfred resurfaced, with a shirt for Bruce (without the puke) and a glass of water, as well as a mug of something steaming. He brought them into the bedroom, Bruce said his thanks, then the butler left and closed the door behind him.

Bruce changed quickly, then sat next to Bentley on the bed.

“If you want to talk about it, you can. Or if you’d rather not think about it, that’s okay, too. I’m here for whatever you need,” Bruce stated, rubbing Bentley’s back lightly.

The child sniffled, wiping his eyes on the sleeves of his shirt. “I…”

A moment of silence passed.

“I’m cold,”

It was a covert little way of asking to be held, but hopefully Bruce would recognize it. He had been a dad for many, many years now.

He didn’t disappoint. He extended his arms in a welcoming invitation, and Bentley crawled over into his lap, settling there with a slow exhale.

“She’d have to get through all of us before she could lay a hand on you,” Bruce reassured, rubbing Bentley’s back lightly. “You’re safe with me. With us.”

Bentley kept breathing, in and out and in and out until he believed him. He coiled his hands up in Bruce’s shirt and imagined that he was dressed as Batman, with his big cape wrapped around Bentley to hide him away from all the bad things in the world. He promptly stopped thinking about that when he started to get sleepy imagining being curled up under the warm cape, because one thing he would not be doing in the foreseeable future, or ever again, was sleeping.

What Batman neglected to mention was that, of the twenty-seven people who’d reported nightmares and sightings of the Secret Keeper, eighteen of them had gone missing.

The other nine had been found dead not an hour ago, by Tim, on patrol.

And now Bentley, of all the people in Gotham, would have to be added to Tim’s potential target list.

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld 💚

—

tag list! (If you want me to remove or add you, ask in comments!)

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @cademygod

[mariacallous]

It was the literary scandal of the decade, the ultimate betrayal and, it turned out, the end of Truman Capote’s career. Published in Esquire in November 1975, “La Côte Basque 1965”, an excerpt from Capote’s then-forthcoming novel Answered Prayers, saw the celebrated writer share the innermost secrets (and most scandalous gossip) entrusted to him by his beloved Swans, the wealthy and glamorous group of high-society women that included Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Gloria Guinness, Lee Radziwill, Marella Agnelli and CZ Guest.

Visceral in its revelations of substance abuse, sexual assault, a murder cover-up, a graphic description of extra-marital period sex and, to top it off, bestiality, the article was a sensation for all the wrong reasons. It saw Capote deserted by his closest friends and shunned from the New York clique he had yearned to be a part of growing up – and, against the odds, had managed to infiltrate as an adult thanks to the success of his novels In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Capote’s questionable actions (and the irresistible drama they precipitated) form the backbone of Ryan Murphy’s long-awaited Feud, inspired by Laurence Leamer’s bestselling 2021 book, Capote’s Women. An all-star cast will bring the man and his muses back to life when the Gus Van Sant-directed series premieres this month on FX in the US, but what was the real-life fallout from the publication of “La Côte Basque 1965” like for Capote and co?

“He never recovered from it,” says Ebs Burnough, director of the 2021 documentary The Capote Tapes, a five-year discovery project that saw him uncover hours of audio footage of Capote, and which gives the most thorough insight into the flawed figure to date. “[These were] friendships born and nurtured over 20-something years. All of a sudden, not one but all of his friends – who had been like his family, because he didn’t really have any family – were not speaking to him; there was literally nowhere for him to go. He was alone drinking, and the phone stopped ringing. He was a man alone on an island.”

Described by the New York Times as “the high-society temple of French cuisine”, La Côte Basque – just off Fifth Avenue and a stone’s throw from The Plaza – was a fine-dining eatery as famous for its juicy gossip as it was for its succulent Coeur de Filet Périgourdine. No one, however, dared to write about what was said and done there – until Capote. While his ostracising may seem like an obvious consequence for spilling society’s sordid secrets, Capote was flawed by the outrage.

Before publication, he boasted to People that he was planning on assassinating his characters with a pen instead of a gun: “There’s the handle, the trigger, the barrel, and, finally, the bullet. And when that bullet is fired from the gun, it’s going to come out with a speed and power like you’ve never seen – wham!”

Success was, in his head, assured, as Capote had been open about writing “La Côte Basque 1965”, bragging about the stories he would tell, continues Burnough. “He was working on that piece for over 20 years, so in his mind he didn’t anticipate the fall out because all of them knew he was working on it.” Upon the outrage, Capote was, “totally abandoned but also indignant”, he continues. “He even said, ‘Hey! What did they expect from me? I’m a writer!’”

Capote had form. “Remember, this was something he had done with Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” explains Burnough. “When you think about it, Holly Golightly is essentially a call girl, yet with Audrey Hepburn [playing her], and because it was so beautifully written, lots of New York socialites were saying, ‘Holly was based on me!’ There’s [even] a quote in The Capote Tapes where Babe’s daughter [Kate] says, ‘Mummy was so excited to be immortalised by such a famous author.’ So, I think he was certainly expecting great praise.”

Babe Paley was Capote’s most aggrieved victim of “La Côte Basque 1965”. In it, Slim Keith’s alias, Lady Ina Coolbirth, reveals to the fictionalised version of Capote, PB Jones, the story that Paley is said to have told Capote about catching her husband, CBS head Bill, in bed with another woman. When Capote rang the Paley household to see what they thought of “La Côte Basque”, Bill is said to have lied, claiming that it was thrown out before either of them could read it; a distraught Babe, who had read it, and who considered Capote her closest confidante, had terminal lung cancer at the time of its publication and never spoke to Capote again before her death in 1978.

Such dismissal of his work would have affected Capote, says Burnough, but the fallout from the Swans leaving him would have been even worse. “Babe Paley was his North Star. She was everything he aspired to be and everything his mother aspired to be. [His mother] had always wanted to be a socialite, so his obsession came from her wanting but not being a part of that world, and then abandoning him as a child. There’s a lot of mother psychology there.”

It makes total sense that Babe Paley was the victim of Capote’s worst betrayal, says Lisa Pomerantz, the New York-based brand expert with a lifelong obsession with Capote and his era of social commentators. “She was the one that opened up the most to him. He took total advantage of her because the others – Lee Radziwill, CZ Guest [et al] – were always more guarded,” she says. “The question is, did he do it knowingly? He was a tortured soul, mostly because of his relationship with his mother – that combined with his natural obsession with this aspirational life and Babe and Bill being the epitome of it.”

Having been sent from New Orleans to Alabama to be raised by relatives after his parents’ divorce, Capote is said to have been a lonely, introverted child searching for a sense of belonging. So why, having infiltrated the glitzy New York scene as a bonafide player, did he blow it all up?

In tandem with craving acceptance, psychologist Carolyn Mair muses that, deep down, Capote resented the world he had managed to become a part of. “People warmed to him and wanted to protect him as he projected an identity of both child and woman, yet his wit could be razor sharp. His ability to remember conversations verbatim made him a good source of gossip,” she says. “Yet as his psychological problems worsened, it seems reasonable to assume that his judgement also worsened.” Shocking others, she adds, “can also be a way of getting attention”.

The backlash from other circles would also have been keenly felt by Capote, continues Mair. “The Swans were the high society who lived aspirational lives and were the envy of women across the States and elsewhere,” she says. “Ordinary people would have read about these women and their lifestyles in the press and fashion magazines and would relate to them as if they were also their friends. The publication of ‘La Côte Basque 1965’ would likely have triggered a shocked sense of betrayal amongst the readers of popular and fashion press at the time.”

Perhaps the most interesting upshot of the “La Côte Basque 1965” scandal, though? The ways in which it laid the groundwork for tabloid culture, says Burnough. “This was an era [in America] when no one even talked about the fact that Franklin Roosevelt was in a wheelchair, let alone the affairs people were having, let alone as graphically as Truman did. As the late, great John Richardson said, ‘[Capote] took the lid off a pile of shit’ and it started the exposé culture we have today. It was a real ‘gotcha!’ moment for the rich and famous.”

[crissiebaby]

The Padded Palace Act IV: Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER: This story contains diaper usage, crossdressing, inappropriate language, humiliation, masturbation/diaper sex, and other ABDL themes. I hope you enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------

“Pssst…Ellie…pssst…” whispered Riri, using her pointer finger to jab her nursery mate in the cheek and causing her to stir. Sadly, her initial efforts proved futile as Ellie ignored her and rolled away with her blanket tucked around her shoulder.

Unfortunately for Ellie, Riri was not dissuaded by her dismissive snoring. Within seconds of turning to her side and facing the wall, she felt a pair of hands grip her upper arm and proceed to shake her with an annoying amount of vigor. “Do you mind?” she bemoaned without a hint of Little Space in her voice as she grabbed hold of her pillow and whipped it back.

Dodging Ellie’s blind strike, Riri watched as the pillow that was intended for her whammed Connor in the face instead. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth, preventing her own bratty snicker from escaping the confines of the nursery. Part of her wanted to taunt Ellie for missing but she knew that would only end in conflict. “Ellie,” she said, her whisper growing slightly louder, “Connor needs to ask you something.”

Repositioning the pillow under her head, Ellie’s tired brain made no effort to process Riri’s request. Pushing out her lower lip, she swatted her hand around behind her head in the direction of Riri’s voice as she groggily shouted, “Just lemme sleeeeeeep!”

“M-Maybe we should just let her sleep and ask tomorrow,” mentioned Connor, still slightly discombobulated from the blow to the head. 

Riri, however, remained persistent. Crawling on top of Ellie, she straddled the sleepy Little’s hip and began to bounce up and down. Unsurprisingly, their mashing pampers created a cacophony of crinkles between them. “Nuh-uh, do you know how many naps she’s woken me from? Plus, she took Stacy’s side and helped pin you down. Ellie owes you,” she said, feeling a tad more vengeful than she’d like to admit. Moreover, while she didn’t verbalize it, she didn’t want this conversation to wait for a time when Stacy would be present; something that could potentially stunt the gain she made with Connor if Stacy were to meet his question with ridicule.

Unfortunately, Riri’s reasoning did little to quell Connor’s concern. Guilt set in as he observed Riri’s attempts to rouse Ellie, taken aback by the fascinatingly dissonant behavior she was showcasing. Only minutes ago, she had been engaged in a heart-to-heart with him over his kinky shortcomings, displaying the utmost patience and sensitivity to his plight. But put her back in a space with one of the other Padded Palace Littles and her mental maturity would immediately tumble backward. His guilt gave way to jealousy as he found himself secretly wishing that both she and Ellie would interact with him with the same sort of reckless abandon.

“Dis isn faiw,” whined Ellie, failing to keep herself from falling into Little Space as she struggled to squirm out from under Riri’s weight. Kicking her legs in disapproval, her grumpy eyes irritably darted between Connor and Riri, “Jus tell me wuh chu twos wans so I can go back ta seeps.”

A smug expression formed on Riri’s face. She may not have been as dauntless or as bratty as Stacy but she could still be quite prideful when getting her way. “I promise, this won’t take long. There’s something Connor wants to ask you,” she said, her words sparking the blush in Connor’s cheeks as he suddenly found himself in the hot seat.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Connor’s eyes studied the wavy folds of the blanket he was sitting on. Clutching the fabric in his fist, he pushed himself to make eye contact with Ellie in an effort to take his first step toward a bolder version of himself, “I don’t know how to get into Little Space on my own…and when I talked to Riri, she mentioned you were the quote-unquote resident expert, so I was hoping you might have some tips for me…or…something.” His volume dissipated as his sentence carried on. He unconsciously kneaded the blanket in his hands.

Rising as if brought back to life via resurrection, Ellie was now wide awake. Her smile seemed to double in size with each passing second as her head swiveled between Riri and Connor. “Well, it’s about time I started getting some recognition around here,” she said boastfully, her ego singling out and clinging to the “resident expert” comment. She may not have been the smartest bab in the nursery but when it came to shifting in and out of Little Space, few could rival her prowess; a product of her falling into the mental regression kink and frying her brain with hypnosis tapes at an impressionable age, “Okay, let’s start with the basics. The term ‘Little Space’ covers a wide range of ageplay mentalities, so how it feels is different for everyone. For instance, I tend to move between Little and Middle Space ages pretty fluidly, but I prefer my Little Space age to be somewhere between two and three whenever…possible…” Her words trailed off as Connor’s expression slowly became more dumbfounded. “You’re not getting any of this, are you?”

Shaking his head, Connor could feel his brashness receding. “Um…yeah. You’re gonna have to go back because you lost me at Middle Space,” he said, hunching his head close to his shoulders.

“Hey Connor, guess what?” said Ellie, skipping past Connor’s terminology befuddlement to address something significantly more pertinent, “You realize that you just regressed and you didn’t even notice, right?”

Flushing over Ellie’s comment, a confused Connor looked down at himself. He wanted to argue that Ellie must’ve been mistaken considering there was no obvious change in his mentality, though he wasn’t about to humiliate himself by proclaiming that he wasn’t Little with a thick diaper around his waist. “Um…I-I’m not sure…” he stuttered, looking to Riri for clarity.

“Ah! Ah! Right there!” said Ellie, scooching forward on her knees and squaring up with Connor, “As I said, everyone’s Little Space is different, which means the methods of getting there must also be different. And it’s so obvious that you fall in head first whenever you get shy or blushy.”

Shades of deep red descended upon Connor’s mug as he soaked in Ellie’s statement. He’d been called many things in his life but never had he thought of himself as an overtly bashful person. That being said, he couldn’t deny how sheepish his behavior had been. Although, in his mind, the reason for his demure demeanor was significantly different, “Th-That’s not the same! It’s not like I’m acting shy because I want to be. And of course, I’m blushing. This is embarrassing!”

“Exactly! It’s embarrassing, and being embarrassed makes you shy, and being shy makes you feel small,” refuted Ellie, compelling Connor to cower backward as she loomed over him, “Being Little doesn’t come out of a vacuum. You gotta stop fighting to subdue your reactions to everything and lean into what makes you vulnerable. That’s the only way to achieve genuine Little Space.”

“She’s right,” chimed Riri, swooping in behind Connor and placing a tender hand on his shoulder, “You told me you want to stop feeling ashamed of this, yeah? Well, I think you might be conflating the distress of shame with embarrassment of any kind, and that’s an unhealthy association.”

Sitting in silence, Connor contritely contemplated the world-shattering revelation that Ellie and Riri had dropped on him. Having spent much of his life avoiding humiliation at all costs, the concept of not only accepting embarrassment but leaning into it seems so bizarrely foreign. To his dismay, all this talk about his internalized relationship with humiliation had managed to coax those feelings out of him, which was made more perturbing thanks to the erection he could actively feel growing within his diaper. “I…uh…don’t know what to say,” he mumbled, a swarm of butterflies overtaking his tummy.

*SMACK!*

Without warning, Ellie's hands raised to meet Connor’s cheeks, cupping both of them with enough force to startle him out of his mental daze. “Then repeat after me: Me a big baby who wuv my diapees,” she said with a kind yet mischievous smile.

“What?! No,” said Connor, a line of crimson cementing itself on his nose and cheekbones as he pushed Ellie’s hands away on instinct.

Giggling over Connor’s tepid resistance, Riri happily jumped aboard Ellie’s train of thought, “Hehe! Why not? It’s just the three of us. Here, I’ll even go first! Me a big baby who wuv my diapees!” She grabbed her feet with both hands and rocked back and forth, teetering over the Little Space edge in hopes of dragging Connor down with her.

Sandwiched with Ellie on one side and Riri on the other, Connor felt as though he’d ingested one of those “Drink Me” potions from Alice in Wonderland, shrinking him down between the pair of doting Littles. He averted his eyes from their adoring gazes, wishing that he could bury himself beneath every blanket, pillow, and plushie in Ellie’s crib until he disappeared. Was that the feeling that Ellie was encouraging him to lean into? Fixing his mouth into a pout, he quietly muttered, “Me a big baby…w-who wuvs my diapees.” Steam may as well have been rising from his head with how rosy he had become.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you hear something, Riri?” asked Ellie sarcastically.

Playing along, Riri answered appropriately, “Hmmm…I think I did but it sounded so faint and squeaky. Must’ve been a widdwe mousey.”

Not one to enjoy having his temper tested, Connor's wounded pride had heard enough from the padded peanut gallery of Ellie and Riri. His hearing went dull and his vision seemed to blur as he forced himself to blurt out, “Me a big baby who wuvs my diapees!”

“Yay!” cheered Ellie, tackling Connor into a big hug and eliciting a childish giggle from the man who was supposed to be her caregiver, “See? Ish fun ta be blushy!”

Unable to stifle the laughter that seemed to spawn deep within his gut, Connor followed Ellie’s advice and did everything in his power to espouse the inherent silliness rising within his heart. He felt incredibly ridiculous as the mature portions of his mind fought to dictate his response, but those thoughts paled in comparison to the esoteric euphoria he got from allowing himself to play the fool. He wanted, nay needed to experience that feeling again. “Me a biiiiiiiiig baby!” he repeated, diving in for another dose of controlled humiliation, “Who wuvs my diapees!” A wide-eyed, innocent smile began to take shape as he snuggled into Ellie’s embrace.

“Yeth chus awe! Chus a big, big baby! Hehehe!” said Riri, letting herself fall on top of Connor and Ellie’s cuddle puddle as all three of them sank into Little Space together.

TO BE CONTINUED…

« PREVIOUS l FIRST l NEXT » (NEW CHAPTERS EVERY WEDNESDAY)

------------------------------------------------------------- SubscribeStar: subscribestar.adult/crissiebaby pixivFANBOX: crissiebaby.fanbox.cc All CB Links: linktr.ee/crissiebaby

Edited by AllySmolShork

Special Thanks to Our CrissBaby Diaper Company Investors: BlushyBen DD Gun1242 JFN Joshy LittlePissy PrincessKittenLizzi SissyDina Strawberry Sweetsamantharebecca & Three Anonymous Investors

[dndhistory]

389. Various Authors - Polyhedron #23 (May 1985)

Well, all sources I have available tell me this is the May 1985 issue of Polyhedron, however the cover and content are clearly April Fool's themed. So, it's probably the case that this issue would have been sent during the month of March/April to subscribers (this wasn't really being sold widely in stands, being mainly a subscription perk for RPGA members). If you aren't familiar with the magazine publishing business this is usually the way it is: the date on the cover means when you take the issue down from sale rather than when it's put on sale. 

But hey, this gives us a ton of fun stuff in the quite short magazine (some 30 pages). To star off we have a great cover by the always amusing Tom Wham, a game designer and illustrator which has an unmistakably whimsical style, and there are references to the articles inside the magazine on the cover, which is pretty fun. There are humorous articles inside about Gargoyles, funny campaign encounters, songs for your party to sing while dungeoneering and even a silly class by Gary Gygax: The Ultimist.

There's also serious content here, mainly represented by the second part of the adventure module "In the Black Hours" that had started out in the previous issue and fortunately didn't take a turn for the humorously zany in this one. 

[dballzposting]

Two things that are really so interesting

Number 1: Korin is a cat but the cat gimmick really doesnt go far. By and by, Yajirobe is much more of a cat than Korin is.

Yajirobe is like a stray cat that comes and goes and always smells bad and eats all the food. And once in a blue moon he'll let you touch him. But he's exclusively solitary. And he snores. And he brings fleas. And he hides from all danger. And hes really quick and sharp when he needs to be. Hes a perfect cat really

Number 2: Cats can be very cuddly but what's interesting is that both of these cats are very hands-off.

Korin is a cat but hes an old hermit first and foremost. Dont fucking touch him. In fact you literally cant. When Goku went up there to acquire the secret water that would make you stronger, it turns out the water wasnt real, and actually his attempts to swipe it from the cat WAS SECRET TRAINING. You literally cant touch this cat. And if you CAN, then the training is complete. Congratulations <3 This cat makes training out of how elusive he is.

Yajirobe is also very solitary and you cant fucking touch him either. He'll bite you. He'll eat your ass like corn on the cob

Cat Behaviors That We WON'T See Out Of Korin even though he's a Cat and so it's a little Sad to Me The Viewer who wanted to see Cat Things:

- If you're asleep and he wants you to wake up, he won't say anything, he wont headbutt you, you wont cover your nose with his paw: He'll just hit you. Really fast and hard. With his stick. WHAM. Or maybe it's more of a CRACK. It would be funny if he combined these methods however. Like if he stands there and headbutts Yajirobe and when Yajirobe still doesnt wake up then Korin just hits him. His expression or affect dont change at all. This is business as usual

- Does he even mark his scent on things. I mean with his cheek glands not his pee. Maybe. He doesnt mark people though. Becasue he is very hands-off. Even though it would be funny. (Marks Yajirobe's ankle before going to the mall so that they wont lose each other ...)

- Is there a litter box up there ... This cat is not very cat-like in the way that he cleans his own litterbox.

- Does he even have a scratching post. The only wood I saw up there was his hermit stick. Does he scratch that at all

- He's really just not very cat-like becasue the gimmick just doesnt run far into his character. That's all I'm saying

Cat-like Things that Yajirobe Does:

- Pees on things to leave his scent

- I don't really think he does that.

The fact that they're both solitary and hands-off is what makes it special for us viewers when they do physically interact. Like when that stray cat finally lets you pet it.

But it's moreso about the comedy and their ability to relax.

Yajirobe is pretty feral and animalistic so we see cat-like behaviors out of him pretty readily; growling, swiping your paws away from his food, sleeping all day, scrambling about, hiding in corners, standing tall over his territory, etc.

What's engaging is if we could see Korin get down on the same level. He clearly has the potential too, weve seen him do some pretty immature things and exercise creature-level priorities (when he thought that Yajirobe was hiding treats so he tore his clothes open to find them, all the times he's yelled at him, etc...). Hes a wise old cat hermit and like any good hermit he's connected to his most primal levels as well as his higher faculties (how could you be perceptive and wise without first knowing how to read your body, read with your body, harnessing its wisdom?). Old hermit characters always have a childlike whimsy to them in at least one way, and it's for comedy purposes I'm sure, but also because that ability to be spontaneous and goofy comes with the territory. A healthy cat is a playful cat. A healthy human retains his childlike wonder. You know how it is

So Korin could probably do cat things. He has the self-awareness to contain his impulses, so he doesnt HAVE to chase the ball you just threw, but it seems like it would be a fun thing to do right now, and the stakes are low, so he'll do that.

But hes also pretty old and gets bored soon enough.

I think that he could tie a toy to the end of his stick and Yajirobe would end up trying to catch it. Hes like "tch... I'm not chasing that cat toy ... what do I look like to you?" And Then 6 minutes later Korin dangles it over the edge of the tower and Yajirobe is shoving his hands theiugh the bars trying to grab it .

This would work better with food I reckon. I think we can all agree that Korin could dangle a mutton chop over the edge of the tower and Yajirobe would launch hinself off of the tower in order to get it. And he'd plummet to the earth but at least he got his mutton chop ❤

They cuddle like cats sometimes also but they're mostly hands-off so it's really a sometimes thing. But physicality is importsnt (especially when you're sitting in a tower all day? What sort of engagement do you even get.. ) so they're hands-on sometimes.

ALSO: Korin Tower is the second tallest tower in the world. Of course it is inhabited by a cat, an animal who enjoys high vantage points. Yajirobe is an honorary cat and he repeatedly chooses to stay there, like a cat repeatedly going to the top of the cat tree. It All Makes Sense

[anim-ttrpgs]

Eureka: A lot of bang for your buck!

As mentioned in an earlier post, the rulebook for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is on the longer side of the indie-TTRPG spectrum, coming in at about 230 pages at the time of writing this.

The rulebook dedicates about the first 90 pages to what we would probably call the “core gameplay”: That is, looking for clues, gathering evidence, drawing conclusions, talking to people, making plans, etc. as well as what each Skill and Trait does and how to create a normal player character.

The next 75 or so pages are dedicated entirely to combat.

Characters are fairly fragile in Eureka compared to most TTRPG PCs—they might even be more fragile than Call of Cthulhu PCs—and this serves to realistically and organically discourage a shoot-first-question-later style of play. However, we knew that making the PCs this easy to kill meant that we had to give the combat systems within the game a lot of depth to match, to give the PCs and their players a good degree of agency in the fight, or else they’d just be going along until wham the party is dead after one bad roll and it’s game over before they know it.

The combat rules in Eureka are deep but not overly complex. It’s less about determining the exact right turn to utilize a special ability that synergizes with the rest of the party’s special abilities, and more about positioning, planning around the environment, and striking first. This still uses the same 2D6 system as everything else—except for when automatic firearms come into play, then it’s D12s for a little extra randomness and because it’s easier to roll 10 D12s than 10 pairs of D6s—so you won’t need to really learn a whole new set of rules just to have a fight. Just keep track of the effective range of each category of firearm and how many bullets your character has left!

I’m actually personally very proud of Eureka’s firearm combat rules. They manage to create a very realistic simulation of a real shootout, organically encouraging realistic tactics and strategy without devolving into a slow grind where every character’s turn takes five minutes of math and re-checking the rulebook to resolve. After that, there’s a brief set of instructions on how to convert an adventure module not originally made for it to work well with the Eureka system. This chapter is only a few pages long because it really is that simple!  

And then the last section in the book is dedicated to making and handling PCs that are a bit...less normal. This is about 60 pages, and covers the bulk of Eureka’s actual supernatural lore, and instructions on how to use that lore to create supernatural player characters that fit into that lore.

We’ve gone into this more in-depth in another earlier post, but let me give a simple rundown anyway: There is no “masquerade” in the world of Eureka, no grand conspiracy by either the mundane government nor a secret supernatural government to cover up the existence of vampires and werewolves and fairies and the like, in fact there is no secret supernatural government. Supernatural creatures are simply so rare as to mainly just fly right under the radar of most modern science, with actual sightings being considered the stuff of tabloid trash and unscientific sensationalism by most academic minds. So obscure are these instances of the supernatural that a vampire might not even believe in werewolves, or a werewolf in vampires. They may have even never met another one of their kind in-person. As for why these individuals don’t just get on camera and tell the world that they exist... well, the ones they have the less dangerous magical powers could usually be shown-up by a mundane stage magician in Vegas. Yeah right you can start fires with your mind, I bet you just have a remote ignition switch in your pocket!

And then the ones that have more impressive magical powers, like literally transforming completely into a bat, well, those guys tend to also eat people, so it’s really in their best interest to keep that to themselves, in case anyone comes asking questions about what happened to the neighbors and all those delivery guys....

Perhaps one of the most interesting mechanics here is how supernatural characters like these must not only keep their secrets from the world at large, but the rest of the party too! These PCs’ supernatural status is a secret from everyone except their player and the game master, and they must find ways to dodge their supernatural weaknesses, exert their powers, and take a few bites out of a victim all without alerting anyone else in the party or at the table to their true nature.

Follow @anim-ttrpgs​ for updates and look for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy on Kickstarter later this year!

[chernobog13]

Superman battles Captain Thunder in Superman (vol. 1) #276 (June, 1974).  Written by Elliot S! Maggin, art by Curt Swan and Bob Oskner.

DC licensed the original Fawcett comics’ Capitan Marvel, and related characters, in 1972.  The first issue of a new Captain Marvel comic book, Shazam!, appeared at the end of that year, although cover dated February, 1973,

Almost as soon as Shazam! #1 hit the stands the long-simmering debate over which hero - Superman or Captain Marvel was better/could win a fight - flared up again in the letter columns of both heroes’ books.

It took the editorial staff at DC a long time before they seemed ready to have the two heroes actually meet (which didn’t occur until Justice League of America (vol. 1) #137, December, 1976).  This was pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths; Superman was on Earth-One and Captain Marvel was on Earth-S.

In the meantime, Julis Schwartz, editor of both Superman and Shazam!, had his creative team float the idea of the Man of Steel and the Big Red Cheese duke it out without actually doing so,  And thus, Captain Thunder was born!

The good Captain, was really a young boy named Willie Fawcett, who worked as a reporter at WHAM-TV.  He met a kindly Native American medicine man named Merokee who gave Willie a belt that, when he spoke the word thunder and rubbed the belt buckle, turned Willie into the super-powered Captain Thunder.  Captain Thunder’s costume was identical to Captain Marvel’s, save for the chest emblem.

As happens so often in comic books, there was a misunderstanding between Superman and Captain Thunder that led to them battling.  Both were equally matched so neither hero got the upper hand, until Superman realized Captain Thunder was under the influence of some bad guys.  Supes executed a plan that changed Cap back into Willie, and the fight was over. 

The two parted as friends, with Captain Thunder making his way through the multiverse to return to his home, Earth-276.

Captain Thunder was the original name for Captain Marvel when Bill Parker co-created the character with C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics in 1939.  However, Fawcett could not trademark Captain Thunder because the name was already in use at the time.  The character then was renamed Captain Marvel.

There have been hints that when the new Shazam! series by Mark Waid and Dan Mora launches in a couple of months, they may revive the Captain Thunder moniker.  I’m all for that, especially because

1.  For various reasons, which I won’t get into here, DC has abandoned use of the name Captain Marvel for the character; and

2.  Naming a character after the magic word (Shazam) which transforms him is problematic at best, because he can never identify himself by name (which is why Captain Marvel Jr. referred to himself as “CM3″); and

3.  Someone is already named Shazam - the old wizard.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1104 - Initial Thoughts

We have waited long, but finally we are here

Let's see that fucking punch land!

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release also

A nice little Disney-esque cover page as Sanji helps a mouse propose with a fancy dinner. Bernard from the Rescuers could've used a wingman like that, though he did tame a warthog, outwit a Goanna and push a hunter to his aquatic death so...

Back where we started with Kuma ready to wind up on Saturn

Kuma and Saturn's memories briefly flash; their encounter, the loss of Kuma's mother, Ginny, Ginny's death, Bonney and now Bonney crying as she is now, all leading to this moment

Saturn is flabbergasted, not just because Kuma's here but because Kuma is alive, he already triggered the self-destruct switch when the Revolutionaries took him

Mr 'I'm a man of science don't try to deceive me' got so fuckin' deceived

AND DAMN DID THAT PUNCH FEEL GOOD

Wham Bam and thank you Ma'am, Saturn is sent bleeding, reeling and covered in Egghead's rubble

And now that Saturn is struck, nobody's frozen in place, leading to them going after Bonney to check on her

Bonney however is being comforted by her father, as Vegapunk looks on in bewilderment

He did make a failsafe, it just wasn't as barbaric as a bomb, the switch should have shut Kuma down completely, and with no humanity left he should've just been empty

Vegapunk can't answer the question with science, but he does think about something the Buccaneers were said to have, but left vague to the audience

Kizaru has mixed feelings on this, but Sentomaru is relieved

Luffy has also disappeared, hidden in the ruckus

After over 3 long years, father and daughter reunite, with Bonney consoling Kuma over having seen his memories

'I don't care if everyone else calls you a tyrant, because I know there's no-one kinder than my dad' - welp we're not done with the feels I see

Alas, Saturn is of course alive from that, and the Elder is quite perturbed

Also missing half his arm and one of his horns as he demands an explanation from Vegapunk

Vegapunk admits it's his doing, but he doesn't have an explanation, cheekily suggesting the power of love being at play

He seems to take it aloofly, slowly regenerating his missing parts

He once again goes for Kuma, but this time he's not moving

So Sanji finally gets to do something! Kicking the spiked leg away

And then Franky out here just firing a Radical Beam through Saturn

Franky may not get much shine but between Driving his motorcycle into a Yonko's face and now firing a laser beam through a Gorosei he's amassing up some feats

Alas, Kizaru once again chooses to be a cog in the machine and attacks Franky in retaliation

Saturn also recovers from the beam attack

With Kuma unable to move, Atlas is charged with carrying him to safety

Kizaru also notes that Kuma's appearance has put too many players on the board

Vegapunk does reprimand Kizaru for still siding with the Government, though his response does imply some duplicity

As a result, Saturn orders a Buster Call, all of Egghead is an enemy of the government

A 'traitor', a survivor and a pirate with the powers of god, Saturn wants none of that smoke

Man still don't know about the giant mecha hidden away

A good chapter to effectively start the new year. We got the punch, and he might've regenerated from it but still we got the punch and it was good.

Luffy's absence is a cause for wonder, one does have to wonder too what's going down in the Labophase still with the Seraphim, Lucci vs Zoro and everyone waiting for the ship to get to the rendez-vous, also Robin is still AWOL.

It is cool to see Vegapunk marvel at something even he can't quite understand when it came to Kuma, it feels like something has clicked in his brain. But with Egghead now a target of the Buster Call there's so much he's going to lose from this, but at the same time the Gorosei can't remake the Mother Flame with Egghead destroyed.

There's still the matter of the Blackbeard ship and Caribou too, the sleeping giant is just one of multiple things waiting to come into play.

Luffy fighting Saturn in Gear Fifth does feel imminent, even if Kizaru is playing both sides, if it was just a Buster Call it wouldn't quite be a ground-shaking incident, but since the media has made out that Luffy had kidnapped Vegapunk there's little way that the WG are gonna come out of this shining.

[lovesongbracket]

Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

Careless Whisper

Written By: Andrew Ridgeley & George Michael

Artist: George Michael/Wham!

Released: 1984

Although officially released by Wham!, this was George Michael’s first breakaway single. The song explores the guilt felt by George after he cheats on a partner, and his inability to “dance” with them in the same way after this betrayal. Despite the song’s ubiquity in pop culture since its arrival on the scene in 1985, George Michael has confessed to having no particular connection to the situation this song portrays. He wrote the song to pass the time on a bus, when he was just seventeen. In his 1991 memoir, Bare, Michael admits he regrets that it “was not an integral part of my emotional development… It disappoints me that you can write a lyric very flippantly—and not a particularly good lyric—and it can mean so much to so many people. That’s disillusioning for a writer.” Later in an interview with People magazine, he made similar remarks about the song. “I’m fed up with ‘Careless Whisper.’ I don’t know why it made such an impression. Is it that so many people have cheated? I have no idea. But it’s ironic that I wrote it when I was 17 and didn’t know much about anything. Certainly nothing much about relationships.”

[Intro] Time can never mend The careless whispers Of a good friend To the heart and mind Ignorance is kind There's no comfort in the truth Pain is all you'll find Should've known better, yeah [Instrumental] [Verse 1] I feel so unsure As I take your hand And lead you to the dance floor As the music dies Something in your eyes Calls to mind a silver screen And all its sad goodbyes [Chorus] I'm never gonna dance again Guilty feet have got no rhythm Though it's easy to pretend I know you're not a fool Should've known better than to cheat a friend And waste a chance that I've been given So I'm never gonna dance again The way I danced with you, oh [Verse 2] Time can never mend The careless whispers Of a good friend To the heart and mind Ignorance is kind There's no comfort in the truth Pain is all you'll find [Chorus] I'm never gonna dance again Guilty feet have got no rhythm Though it's easy to pretend I know you're not a fool Should've known better than to cheat a friend (Should've known better, yeah) And waste a chance that I've been given So I'm never gonna dance again The way I danced with you, oh [Post-Chorus] Never without your love [Bridge] Tonight, the music seems so loud I wish that we could lose this crowd Maybe it's better this way We'd hurt each other with the things we want to say We could have been so good together We could have lived this dance forever But now who's gonna dance with me? Please stay [Chorus] And I'm never gonna dance again Guilty feet have got no rhythm Though it's easy to pretend I know you're not a fool Should've known better than to cheat a friend And waste a chance that I've been given So I'm never gonna dance again The way I danced with you, oh [Outro] (Now that you're gone) Now that you're gone (Now that you're gone) Was what I did so wrong, so wrong That you had to leave me alone?

Dreams

Written By: Noel Hogan & Dolores O'Riordan

Artist: The Cranberries

Released: 1992

“Dreams” was the first single released by The Cranberries after being signed to Island Records. However, the band’s video for “Linger” was picked up by MTV in 1994 while they toured with London Suede and that song reached the top 40 in five countries. So, “Dreams” was then reissued and found chart success. The song was written about “feeling really in love for the first time”.

[Refrain] Oh, my life Is changing every day In every possible way And oh, my dreams It's never quite as it seems Never quite as it seems [Chorus 1] I know I've felt like this before But now I'm feeling it even more Because it came from you Then I open up and see The person falling here is me A different way to be [Bridge] Ah La ya La la ya La-ah-ah [Verse] I want more Impossible to ignore Impossible to ignore They'll come true Impossible not to do Impossible not to do [Chorus 2] And now I tell you openly You have my heart so don't hurt me You're what I couldn't find A totally amazing mind So understanding and so kind You're everything to me [Refrain] Oh, my life Is changing every day In every possible way And oh, my dreams It's never quite as it seems 'Cause you're a dream to me, dream to me [Outro] Ah, la-a-la-ah, la la la La-a-la-ah, la-ah ah ah Ah, la-a-la-ah, la la la La-a-la-ah, la-ah ah ah

[elibean]

ep 12 predictions

-unused op from the behind the scenes video that features cxs bleeding out makes an appearence

-shiguang hug (this isn't a prediction. this is a base need)

-lg lore drop (both a prediction and a need)

-lg crying! (i don't think this will honestly happen but hey why not)

-they bring back the s1 ed (cmon this would be so frickin cool. give some huge wham line about lg being from the future or something while the s1 ed plays aaa)

-balloons? from the behind the scenes video there was that blurry shot of the welcome home balloons. i have a feeling they scrapped the idea entirely, but i'll put it here just in case; they really do end up using that background, either as it seems (so, a real welcome home party for LG) OR it gets used in an angsty way (this was what it was SUPPOSED to be like...)

-death scare from lg or cxs (figure i should cover my bases...). ok so from the preview we KNOW cxs is getting shot. this seems like a safe bet...

-we know cxs gets shot. i'm gonna be REALLY hopeful and hope we get a tropey "cradling the love of your life in your arms while he bleeds out" trope with lg. i don't think they'll give this to us; given the scream in the preview and the way everything is going to shit atm, i don't think they'll have time to grieve like this. but by god do i want it

-i'm not gonna try to guess the contents of the inevitable terrible awful no good cliffhanger they'll leave us with, but i do think it's gonna be something related to lg.

-however, it is very likely it's connected to hat guy, since hey, he NEEDS to show up this episode. maybe best of both worlds; cliffhanger is connected to lg and hat guy?

-s3 is immediately confirmed following the airing; we know that we have a s3 but no date, so that would be nice

-official movie announcement (unlikely, they were just talking about how they've entered preliminary talks)

-can we learn what the hell was up with lg's "flashback" of cxs dying in ep 1? please? for me? i'll be good i swear