#if you want to show up at the club at 9pm that’s a hard pass

[fruitgoat]

Trying something new. Going to bed at 11:30pm.

Especially since the alarm will off at an ungodly hour so I can attempt to book my holiday cabin.

[chelseachilly]

THIS LOVE - chapter seven | that's how you get the girl

pairing: ben chilwell x reader

rating: T

word count: 2.3k

summary: you've been sulking at home for days, mourning your fake relationship and possibly your friendship with ben. little do you know, he's on his way to your flat...

A/N: here is is...the final chapter of this love! 🩵 this story has been so much fun for me to write and you've all been so kind with your feedback :) thank you for sticking with me if you made it this far, and i hope you enjoy this one! not to give anything away...but the chapter title is (very clearly) from how you get the girl by taylor swift (also what perfect timing that i'm finishing this just in time for 1989 tv!!)

previous chapter | view all chapters

-

From the moment you walked away from Ben in the tunnels of Wembley, everything was pretty much terrible. 

You drove straight home and cried your eyes out for the rest of the day and night, feeling like utter rubbish and longing for the comfort of the one person you absolutely can’t talk to about this. 

You could’ve, in theory, called your family or one of your other friends to vent, but it was hard enough admitting your feelings for Ben when Mason practically forced them out of you. You weren’t sure you could bear to say the words out loud - to admit to anyone but yourself that you’re in love with him. 

Days passed and you continued to wallow in your misery, leaving the house only for work. It took three days before you summoned the energy to force yourself to go for a drink with some coworkers, but trying to smile and pretend everything was fine when your heart was completely shattered proved too difficult, and you left after one beer.

The following day, you felt so completely drained of energy when you woke up that you ended up calling Val begging her to take your shift, which she thankfully did without prying too much. You just aren’t ready to open up about everything yet - it’s too painful. Honestly, you can’t imagine a time that it won’t be. 

Normally, when you’re upset over a guy, you cry for a few days, a few weeks at the most, eat a lot of ice cream, and then get over it.

But this isn’t just some guy. This is Ben. He’s your best friend, the most important person in your life, and you may have lost him over your own stupid feelings. 

Which brings you to right now, laying face down on your couch after crying so much that you don’t think you physically can anymore. Your curtains are closed, wanting to shut out the world for as long as you possibly can before facing reality.

There are unanswered texts on your phone from both Ben and Mason. You felt you owed them at least a quick assurance that you were okay - even though you’re not, really - so you forced yourself to respond to Mason once, but you haven’t listened to any of the many voicemails Ben has left. You’ve been doing enough crying, you think hearing his voice right now might send you over the edge.

You also know that they’re in Ibiza on a boys trip, and you know exactly what that means - clubbing, drinking, loads and loads of hot girls. The last thing you want is to hear about Ben’s latest conquests, you’ve purposefully avoided social media so you don’t have to read about them in the Daily Mail. 

You’ve just mustered the energy to get up, wipe your tear-stained cheeks and shuffle over to the kitchen to try to force yourself to eat something when there’s a knock on your door. 

You seriously consider not answering it, figuring it’s probably someone trying to deliver food to the wrong flat - who else would randomly show up at 9pm on a Friday night is beyond you - but when the knocking persists, you begrudgingly walk over and swing it open.

Your mouth falls open when you see who’s waiting for you on the other side.

“Ben?”

Lo and behold, there stands the man you’ve been crying over for five days straight. He looks oddly disheveled, his hair is soaking wet from the rain outside, and he’s here. At your door. Not in Ibiza.

“Y/N,” Ben breathes. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“What are you doing here?” you murmur, and you’re ashamed of how weak your voice sounds after the hours of sobbing. 

It certainly doesn’t go unnoticed by Ben, much to your dismay, as his face falls and he takes a step toward you. When he reaches out to cup your face, you pull away, refusing to allow him to comfort you right now. 

“What’s wrong, love? You look like you’ve been crying-“

“I’m fine, Ben,” you say quickly, worried your voice will falter again if you take too long. “Why aren’t you in Ibiza?”

“I flew back.”

You roll your eyes - even when you’re madly in love with him and feel like bursting into tears at the sight of his face, this boy can still drive you crazy.

“Yeah, I know, but why?”

Ben takes a deep breath, like he’s summoning the courage for something.

“Because the whole time I was there, while the boys were having fun, I was sitting around missing you and wishing you were there,” he says. “And you weren’t answering any of my texts and I saw you out with some guy on your story-"

“He’s a friend,” you say sharply, crossing your arms. “Not that you get to tell me who I can and can’t date while you’re off getting laid by every model at the beach club-"

“I wasn’t getting laid, Y/N, that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Ben says desperately, taking a step closer and melting all your resolve in the process. “I wasn’t partying, I could barely even eat or sleep, all I could think about was you and how much I wanted to be with you. How I always want to be with you.” 

He reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, his thumb brushing against your cheek, and this time you can’t bring yourself to pull away. 

“I’m sorry I kissed you like that after the game, in front of all those people,” he says, gently dropping his hand from your face. You miss the warmth of his touch immediately.

“I wasn’t upset about the kiss,” you admit quietly, almost shamefully, avoiding his gaze. 

“I know,” Ben says softly. “You were upset about how it happened.“

Your heart skips a beat as you realize what he’s implying, your eyes darting up to meet his bright blue ones.

“Did Mason-"

“No, no,” Ben says with a small, slightly nervous smile. “He just pointed me in the right direction. Turns out everyone else already knew what it took me twenty years to figure out.”

Your legs feel like they’re about to give out, and you have to grip the doorframe for stability as Ben continues to look at you like you’re the most important thing in the world. 

“I love you, Y/N,” he says, his hand over his heart like he’s making an oath, or afraid that it might burst out of his chest, or perhaps both. “I’m in love with you. I’m so sorry that it took me this long to realize it, but I think I’ve been in love with you my whole life. I think that’s why I’ve never wanted to settle down with any other girl, I think my - my heart knew it was waiting for you.”

“Ben,” you breathe, tears now forming in your eyes once again for entirely different reasons. “I love you too. I didn’t realize until I had to pretend to be in love with you, but somewhere along the way I think I realized I...wasn’t pretending anymore.”

Ben’s hand tentatively reaches out to grab your waist, pulling you closer, and you felt a bolt of lightning crash through you as his touch electrifies your entire soul.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he whispers, now close enough that your noses brush, sending another wave of sparks through your body. 

“I was terrified,” you admit. “I was worried that you wouldn’t feel the same. Although, deep down, I think I was even more scared that you would.” You timidly reach up to run your fingers through his hair, and you see the way his eyes fall shut in contentment. “I can’t lose you, Benji.”

“You’re not gonna lose me, baby,” Ben murmurs, sending goosebumps up your arms with the new term of endearment. “We’ve always figured everything out together before, this isn’t any different. It’s scary for me too, but thankfully I’ve got my best friend by my side.”

You smile, fiddling with the hem of his shirt before looking up at him shyly. “Well, speaking as your best friend, I think it’s my duty to give you some relationship advice.”

“Oh yeah?” Ben grins, squeezing your waist. “Let’s hear it, then.”

“When a girl tells you she loves you back,” you murmur, tilting your head to brush your nose against his. “You should probably kiss her.”

Ben doesn’t have to be told twice - you only see a flash of his blinding smile before he pulls you closer and descends his lips onto yours. It feels like heaven to kiss him, every nerve in your body on fire as your lips mould together perfectly. 

Your arms wrap around his neck, not caring that he’s still wet from the rain or that your door is still wide open for any of your neighbours to see. Your entire world is Ben and his hands on your waist and his mouth on yours and his familiar scent enveloping you. Despite the passion burning inside you, you don’t feel like you’re going to combust any time soon - you just feel warm. You feel protected, content, happy. He’s your safe place, and he always has been. 

Ben deepens the kiss, and you gladly part your lips to allow his tongue entry. You don’t expect the moan that leaves your mouth when he does so, but it only spurs Ben on more, making him tighten his grip on you.

“I love you so much,” he mumbles against your lips between kisses, “so, so much.”

You kiss for a long time, neither willing to break apart for even a moment, until the sound of someone walking down the hall breaks you out of your trance. When you both pull back for a moment, just enough to look at each other, you lock eyes for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter. 

“Holy shit,” you laugh, shaking your head in disbelief. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

“I can’t believe we waited this long,” he confesses, pecking your nose. “I didn’t know kissing someone could feel like that.”

“Me neither,” you breathe, unable to resist leaning in to kiss him again, this time tugging him by the shirt and pulling him fully into your flat. 

When you both find the self-control to pull apart again, you gaze up at him lovingly for a moment before your eyes flit to the large duffel bag and backpack behind him, which you’re noticing for the first time.

“An overnight bag? Thats presumptuous of you, Benjamin,” you tease, raising an eyebrow.

“I came straight from the airport,” he explains, and you can’t help but blush slightly at his urgency to get to you. “But I do hope you’ll let me stay for a while.”

You can stay forever, you think to yourself. You don’t say it out loud, but you’re pretty sure he knows.

“Not sure I’m dressed for a first date,” you giggle, glancing down at your old joggers and t-shirt from uni. 

“First of all, you look insanely beautiful, like always,” Ben says without a hint of doubt. “Second, this doesn’t count as our first date. I’m taking you somewhere nice.”

As he drags his bags into your flat and shuts and locks the door behind him, you shake your head at him with a smile.

“Just because you’re my boyfriend now doesn’t mean I’m gonna start letting you spoil me all the time.”

Your stomach flips for a moment as you realize what word you just said, but judging by the look on Ben’s face and the way he drops his bags to the floor to walk over and kiss you again, it was the right one.

“Babe,” Ben groans lightly as he pulls away from the kiss, your fingers lightly scratching his scalp. “Call me your boyfriend again and I’ll probably buy you a bloody Tesla. Or a boat, or a house, whatever you-“

You smirk, leaning in to kiss him both to shut him up - you think you’re gonna love this new method of doing so - and because you really want to.

Any hope of a witty retort is lost when Ben tugs you impossibly closer and his hand slides underneath your top, making it impossible to think of anything else. 

He walks you backward until you reach the sofa, sitting down and pulling you into his lap so that you’re straddling him.

You’re kissing like the world is about to end, a tangle of limbs and unspoken promises, both of you completely insatiable. When Ben begins to trail his kisses down your neck, sucking gently at your pulse point, and tugs you closer by your hips so you can feel his bulge against your core, you could explode from the pleasure of it all. 

“Bedroom,” you murmur, your fingers tangled in his hair - you’ve dreamed about touching it like this for so long. Touching him like this. “Now.”

 Ben pulls back to look at you, and you half-expect to see that same cocky glint in his eye you’ve see a hundred times before he left the club or a party with some hot girl, but this look is entirely different.

His gaze is intense, but it’s also full of adoration and devotion and, you swear, even a little bit of nervousness, which is totally adorable. 

“Are you sure, Y/N?” he asks in a low voice, running a hand up and down your back and leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. “I’m happy to wait if you want to take it slow. Whatever you want, baby.”

“I want you, Benji,” you murmur, pecking his lips softly. “I want all of you. I don’t want to wait.”

Ben nods and smiles at you for a brief moment before pulling you into another searing kiss, standing up with your legs still wrapped around his waist and beginning to walk you to the bedroom.

You don’t leave your flat for two days after that, shutting out the outside world completely except for one text Ben sends in the boys group chat - with your permission, of course. 

-

a/n: the end...almost! 💗 i still have an epilogue coming your way, hopefully sometime next week! thank you to everyone for reading, please let me know what you thought of the big confession scene, i hope it was everything you wanted! xx tag list: @captainwans @amandaaa1025 @bbygrlllllll @ncentic @lunamelona @kathb59 @cinderellawithashoe @batmansb1tch @myheartgoesvroom @chillymountsjess @babygirlbenji @delicateearthquakellama @joyfullyswimmingface @xxenia14 @chaotic-taco-collector-blog @chilwellspulisic @maraudersmap123 @evelinapurmale @freekoalakryptonite

[ratedbangtann]

𝐅𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 | 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙠𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙭 𝙋𝙡𝙪𝙨 𝙎𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 

"𝙵𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗' 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚘 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍..."                                 

Pairing: Jungkook/Plus Size Reader Word count: 8.1k Warnings: size kink, body worship, spanking, switch!jk, oral sex (f), finger fucking, squirting, multiple orgasms, creampie

a/n: any and all teasing directed at Jungkook in this fic is merely friendly banter. i DO NOT believe any of the boys have a problem with plus size girls, and they do not in this fic either. any teasing is simply banter directed at Jungkook to make him shy and blush. they would tease him just the same if he had a thing for girls with piercings etc. 

in no way are any of the comments made meant to hurt or offend anyone. this fic was written in the hope that it would boost some people’s confidence and be inclusive of larger framed girls (like myself!)

                              "Seriously, you want to watch this again?" Hoseok pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as Jungkook excitedly presses play on the remote, sitting back down on the couch between Yoongi and Jimin with his bowl of mixed candies.

"You're obsessed," Yoongi states with a monotonous groan.

"It's a good movie though, Jin hyung; back me up!" Jungkook tries to gather support from his hyung. Luckily, Jin was also a fan. In fact, it was he who insisted the group watch it to begin with.

"I'm with you, Jimin. I love it. Remember when we played Wembley in July? I had to do Freddie's thing!" Jin slaps his knee as he laughs at himself, the others smiling and shaking their heads at their elder.

Yes, the boys had been coerced into watching Jungkook's favourite movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, for the nth time. He was mesmerised by Queen, completely in awe of Freddie's stage presence and his ability to control a crowd, but also by the way he had dealt with all his demons and never showed it professionally. He often repeated the show must go on in his head in times of stress or hardship.

Scene after scene played out on the screen, song after song that Jungkook sang along to, word for English word. He knew them all; he'd listened to them enough. He understood now how international army had the patience to learn their lyrics when they didn't speak Korean; when you love something enough, you'll find the patience it takes.

And while the others had protested originally at the thought of watching this damn movie again, by the end, they were all feeling that same inspiring emotion elicited by watching Freddie prancing around at Live Aid, knowing full well he was dying. Both Jin and Jimin had joined Jungkook in wiping away tears before they had fallen, whilst Taehyung hadn't bothered to hide them. The poor boy was sobbing as he clutched onto Namjoon's arm.

"I never get tired of this, damn," Jungkook smiled.

"What's your favourite song then, Kookie?" Jin asked. Jungkook thought for a moment, musing over the various tracks he knew and loved so well, until he settled on one.

He wasn't sure he should tell the truth, it'd be easier to say it was Bohemian Rhapsody or Another One Bites The Dust, because he knew he'd be made fun of for his real favourite. The song that hypnotised him into lewd imagery in his head that he so badly wished he could experience. The song that, quite frankly, played up to one of his biggest fantasies.

"Fat Bottomed Girls," he had said timidly, avoiding eye contact from his hyungs for fear of their reaction.

Hoseok broke the silence that followed, unable to contain his giggles. Damnit, Jungkook thought, I knew I should have lied...

Namjoon nodded in understanding, smirking to himself at the admission. Tae barely paid attention, still trying to calm himself. Bless him, he never could get a hold of himself once he started to cry... Yoongi barely reacted, a simple "hmm," escaping.

"It's a damn good song," Jimin agreed, slow clapping with approval.

"It is, a big butt is appreciated in this christian household," Jin laughed, but he meant what he said sincerely. He loved a large, perky butt.

Jungkook however, loved a little more than that...

"Aw Kookie, you're blushing. Someone's got a thing for a big girl, huh?" Hoseok continued to laugh, never meaning any harm of course but teasing the younger like he would a little brother.

It was true though, Jungkook loved big girls. He was hypnotised by them; just how their bodies moved, the little jiggle of their curves with every step... He dared to imagine how a big girl would feel under his touch; the squish of her flesh, able to grab handfuls of her as he worships her from head to toe. The ripple of flesh as he'd spank her bare behind, fucking into her from behind... The after-sex cuddles, nuzzling into her soft, warm flesh so comfortably. God, he loved the thought.

The boys teased Jungkook mercilessly after that evening; even when he had thought they may have forgotten about it. Nothing would be mentioned for a few weeks, until a larger girl was walking past their table in a restaurant, or a big girl appeared on their television; it gave each member ammo to tease poor Kookie until he was a brilliant shade of beetroot.

His hyungs never meant to upset him, and they certainly had nothing against anybody who was plus sized, nor did they ever mock anyone for their weight. They knew, of course, that beauty goes much deeper; but it was so fun to watch Jungkook blush.

Weeks passed since his half-admission, and Jungkook still adored the song that triggered his fantasies. Every time it came on shuffle, his mind was filled with images of beautiful big girls, dancing to it in a bar with their friends, singing to it at karaoke, humming it whilst cooking breakfast for the him after a long, hot steamy night, moaning out sinful expletives to it as it played as he ravaged them...  

"JUNGKOOK!" Namjoon banged on his bedroom door, scaring the shit out of him as he lay on his bed, palming himself through his sweats to the song and his imagination. "Stop jacking off to the Michelin man and get out here." Shit.

Jungkook paused the music on his stereo and waited a moment in order to conceal the very obvious hard on he had given himself with his own imagination, and made his way out to the living room, dragging his feet in a sulk.

"What?" he grunted.

"Pleasant greeting, especially seeing as we're about to give you your birthday present," Jin scoffed, an envelope in his hand.

"S-sorry... Birthday present? It's not for a week?" he rubbed the back of his neck, confused and still slightly groggy from his earlier states of consumed lust.

"Yeah but, we need to give it to you now..." Jin held the envelope out in front of him, and the younger gladly took it, opening at as the rest of the boys looked on in anticipation for his reaction.

"No way..." his eyes widened, reading over the words on the page over and over. "London?! We're going to LONDON?!"

"Yeah, all of us. We've never really done any real touristy things there, and well, seeing as you're totally obsessed with Queen we thought you might like to spend some time where they came from? Visit some of their history, if you will?" Namjoon smiled, giddy with glee at the younger's happiness.

"I'd love to, yeah. Whoa... London," his eyes gleamed with joy as he continued to stare at the plane tickets in hand. "We leave tomorrow? Jesus it's so sudden."

"Yeah, so you should get packing. Two weeks, Kookie, Pack for two weeks," Tae shooed him back into his room. Jungkook went to turn, but decided to run at the group and pull them all into a ridiculous and awkward seven-way hug.

"This is awesome, thank you so much."

The brothers loved seeing him so excited, each wishing him an early happy birthday and patting him on the back or ruffling his hair.

And then Jungkook scurried back off to his room to find an empty suitcase and stuff it in the most chaotic organised mess known to man.

***

Jungkook spent days dragging the boys through London to different spots of significance to queen's legacy, giddily jumping from target to target. Along the way, they hit up bars, a couple of typical tourist spots, but the majority of the time was spent doing what Jungkook wanted; this was his birthday trip, after all.

But today, was Jungkook's birthday. And the boys had something... planned.

9pm rolled around, and the boys had eaten and gone back to their hotel rooms, telling Jungkook to dress up relatively smart ready for a night out.

Where, he had no idea. But he trusted his brothers, and knew whatever it was would be fun.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror in the ensuite of his room, Jungkook was pleased with his outfit. His black jeans clung to his muscled thighs, the maroon silk shirt he was wearing tucked into the waistband with the top two buttons undone, revealing a little skin and a gold key pendant. His long hair drooped in front of his eyes, parted in the middle.

He fiddled with the strands, seeing if they looked better tucked behind his ears or not; he couldn't decide.

A knock at the door to his room stopped him messing with his hair, knowing full well it was his brothers ready to take him to wherever they had in mind.

"Jungkook, open up! Come on!" It was Jimin, yelling through the door.

He grabbed his leather jacket that he'd flung over the end of his bed and made his way to the door.

***

"Please say you're joking..." Jungkook whined in the back of the cab, looking out at the neon light that spelled out 'Burlesque' flashing above a staircase leading down into a basement club.

"Nope," Hoseok grinned, opening the door and letting out the four of them. Jin, Namjoon and Yoongi had followed behind in a separate cab.

Jungkook stepped out last, reluctant and shy.

"Hyung, seriously... I'm not so sure about-"

"What, you shy? Embarrassed? C'mon, this is like, British at it's best, right?" Hoseok encouraged.

"I thought it was French?" Jin argued, coming up behind the group.

"Actually the term started in Italy, like 400 years ago..." Namjoon, ever the intellect, started to reel off a history lesson.

"Okay fine I'll go in, if it'll stop this," Jungkook waved his hand in Namjoon's general direction, making a bee line for the door to the steps. The others followed, grinning and giggling at Jungkook's already flushed cheeks.

They had done this on purpose. He was surprisingly coy about anything sexual with them; the others? Overtly sexual. As open as you could be. But Jungkook never got over his shyness. He . could have a laugh and a joke but the second it got serious, his cheeks would flush, his hands would get clammy and his heart would race.

Perhaps, because he was a kinky little fucker, and he didn't want people to know just how much...

But the boys still liked to mess with him. He was the baby, after all. So, burlesque club it was...

When Jungkook reached the bottom step, he stopped at the cloakroom, seeing a man in a booth waiting to take admission.

"How many, sir?" he had asked. Jungkook looked at the man for the moment; a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a red waistcoat, black lined eyes and a small tuft of hair sticking out from under a black bowler hat, reminiscent of the kind Charlie Chaplin wore.

Jungkook thanked his lucky stars that he'd been paying attention to his English tuition lately, not wanting to wait for Namjoon to translate. In fact, he'd gotten pretty damn good at it... Fluent, even.

"Uh, seven please."

"Have you booked?" he opened a diary.

"Yes, we have. Under the name Kim," Namjoon appeared beside Jungkook, smiling kindly and offering up ID of his passport. The attendant nodded, striking the name off the book.

"Okay, booth number four, front and centre," he grinned at the group of men that had now gathered, "Enjoy!" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Jungkook had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. He was just doing his job after all.

The men wandered into the club, Namjoon finding the table with the golden number four at the edge. The men settled in the booth, with Jungkook placed strategically in the middle. The cloakroom attendant had been right; front and centre.

The lights to the club were dim, a spotlight trained on the stage at the front. Large red velvet curtains with gold trimmings hid most of the stage from view, waiting for the first act. Waiters and waitresses, all wearing black dress shirts and red waistcoats like the doorman, wondered the floor freely, taking drinks orders from the tables that were sat waiting. Punters were sat along the bar, mostly middle aged men there alone, or couples who hadn't booked a table.

Almost every table was full, both men and women alike. Groups of women were just as frequent as the men; girls' nights and bachelorette parties side by side with working class men out of an evening and bachelor parties too. The atmosphere was likened to that of a concert, before the lights go down and the artist walks on stage; the dull hum of conversation and anticipation filling the space.

A waitress came to take the order for the table, hurriedly scurrying off to collect their drinks and returning around 5 minutes alter, a tray perfectly balanced in her hand.

The boys got chatting, passing the time before the real show started. Jungkook sat nervously, an anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure about all this, he felt so vulnerable. He understood that burlesque was a beautiful art form and not just stripping; this was different. But something in him just felt uneasy about watching girls dancing and stripping, and he was sure it was because his hyungs were there to make fun of him for it.

He watched the time on his watch, ticking closer and closer to 10pm; he was sure that was when it was due to start. It must be...

And he was right. 10pm, and the bar lights dimmed, the spotlight shone, and the curtains slowly drew back, revealing a stage covered in beautiful girls, poised and ready to move as the music began. Their outfits were damn near sinful, and had all of the boys drooling into their cocktails; the beautiful red rhinestones that covered every inch of their bras, corsets and panties, the huge black feathers that fanned out behind them and stuck out of the top of headdresses, the black fishnet stockings held up by the red suspender belts, the classy red heel pumps... All were taken off one by one to the music, leaving each beautiful lady stood in underwear, stocking and vibrant red nipple tassels, swinging around suggestively.

The audience clapped and cheered as they finished the introductory number, the first act done with after 15 minutes of teasing, dancing, contortion and stripping.

The next act was introduced by a host; a male dressed like a ringmaster, of all clichés. This was acrobatic; two beautiful blonde women, performing beautiful movements in aerial routines, backflips, front flips, splits, cartwheels and using each other's bodies to create shapes the natural body should never be able to form.

Jungkook was of course, in awe at the show, watching as act upon act did their thing after the host's introduction; dances, teasing, acrobatics, lip sync routines, live singers; it was incredible to watch. And yes, very, very sexy.

He couldn't help but let his mind wander, much like every other person watching. What would it be like to be with one of these dancers for an evening? What would it be like to have someone put on a show like this in private?

Another show ended, and all seven of the boys clapped in appreciation of the group of girls who had just finished their rendition of Marilyn Monroe's 'Lazy'.

The host wondered back onto the stage, clapping too.

"Beautiful, just beautiful. Well, next up is the girl you've all been waiting for... Ms. Devereaux!"

The place erupted.

A standing ovation as the lights went down, cheers and whistles filled the air and Jungkook and the others sat in quiet confusion, clapping and waiting for something to happen on the stage to explain the incredible reaction from everyone else in the room.

The noise died down, people sat in their seats once again, and the music began...

"Aaaaaaare you gonna take me home tonight?"

Jungkook sat bolt upright, suddenly very aware of himself and surroundings.

"Oooohhhh, down beside your red fire light."

He had to be hearing things.

"Aaaaaaare, you gonna let it all hang out?"

Nope, this was happening.

"Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round!"

The spotlight hit as the familiar guitar started to strum, landing on you, your back to the audience, shaking your hips and tapping your foot to the guitar's rhythm.

Jungkook could feel the heat rising in his face, knowing full well that every pair of eyes at his table were now focussed on him, and yet, he couldn't tear his eyes away from where you stood on stage. He hadn't even seen your face, but god, he knew you were beautiful.

Your outfit was all black, elegant and yet so delectably scandalous. You wore a steel boned corset, moulding your delightful rolls into an hourglass figure to be envious of. It was black, laced at the back by black ribbon with small ruffle details alone the top. It dipped at the front, a clear v-line to show off the deep cleavage create by pushing your breasts together. From the hips to the back was covered in a feather train, cutting off at the back of your knees.

Suspenders hung from a garter belt hidden underneath the corset that attached to simple black stockings, the stitching running up the back of each of your legs following every little bump of cellulite and the natural curve of your calves.

Black satin panties covered your most important areas, the material shining against your beautiful round ass as you shook it in the spotlight to the music. Shiny black pumps stomped on the stage to the beat, along with a fancy cane you were holding in your right hand. Gloves made of the same sheer material as your stocking covered your forearms up past the elbow, an air of such sophistication added to your ensemble. And finally, a top hat with a couple of black feathers sticking up from the back.

Jungkook's jaw was hanging open, a comical 'o' shape of absolute shock etched into his face. The rest of the boys mimicked him, except they were looking at him, not at you on the stage.

The song continued, Freddie's oh so familiar voice singing out about beautiful big girls while you strut across the stage, flirting with the table in the front, dancing and hitting every beat, using your pure sexuality to entice every member of the audience as they whistled and clapped with glee.

"I've been singing with my band, across the wire, across the land, I seen every blue eyed floozy on the way, hey!

But their beauty and their style, went kind of smooth after a while. Take me to them dirty ladies every time..."

Jungkook was bewitched, watching as you continued your number; so sexy, swaying your hips and using your cane as you slowly took one glove off, followed by another. He loved the red lipstick you were wearing, imagining it smeared across his own neck with you biting and nipping at his skin to leave purple bruise marks... He watched you slowly taking off the smaller accessories of your ensemble, wishing so damn hard that it was him who would be able to do it instead.

When the chorus kicked in again, the club erupted to sing along. Skilfully, you undid the bow in the ribbon lacing your corset together, and started to undo the clasps at the front with one hand as your twirled your cane with the other. Before you let it fall, you threw it to one side, twirling so the audience didn't quite see your bare breasts covered only by black nipple tassels. You had more to take off before you finally revealed yourself...

At his table, the other members were getting rowdy like the rest of the club. They knew the song well, thanks to Jungkook, so sang along where they could, waving their arms around and dancing in place. But Kookie sat still, staring, mesmerised and imagining all the sinful activities he would just love to do with you.

He couldn't help himself; watching the way your hips swayed, your ass bounced, your thighs jiggled... It was turning him on to no end, and he was so desperate for you. To him, you were an absolute goddess, everything about you so beautiful. He'd never seen anyone like you before.

As the song neared its end, you were practically nude; the heels had been kicked off, the stockings taken off with the garter belt following, the top hat discarded and flung into the audience.

You kept yourself fairly concealed, your back to the crowd until Freddie shouts "GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE", and you span around dancing to the guitar and Freddie's ad-libs as the song drew to a close, the tassels spinning and swaying, every beautiful roll of yours jiggling so perfectly.

Jungkook watched in awe as your danced around with your cane, practically nude, showing off your beautiful body. He could feel himself hardening, straining against the tightness of his jeans that he was grateful were so tight, there was no way anyone would be able to tell he was actually hard...

He had to meet you. He had to. If nothing else, just to tell you how beautiful he thought you were.

As the number ended, you posed at the edge of the stage, looking front and centre at Jungkook. Everybody in the room was cheering, clapping, whistling, all on their feet. But Jungkook stayed in his seat, and it caught your eye. You noticed just how dark his eyes were, how hooded they looked. You knew that look; it was lust. He was totally under your spell. So, being the showgirl you were, you smirked at him and winked, with a little blow of a kiss in his direction, before the lights went out and you exited the stage.

You had a few other numbers that night, a couple of different songs to do; some solo, some in groups, but each time you noticed Jungkook still staring, still spell bound. You found it quite amusing; such a handsome, muscled yet lean guy, incapacitated by a plus size burlesque dancer.

Cute.

The final number included all the performers, wrapping up the night in a beautiful display of acrobatics, live vocals, contortion, dancing and of course, mild nudity amongst a blur of feathers, rhinestones and tassels.  You took your final bow with your colleagues and friends, and made your way backstage to turn yourself back from Ms. Devereaux into y/n, ready to step back out into the club to mingle with the regulars and staff you knew and loved so much until closing.

Back on the floor, Jungkook felt almost like he was floating. It may have been the precarious amount of cocktails he had sipping on throughout the night, but he was sure that it was you he was intoxicated by.

As his brothers sat chatting and continuing to drink, enjoying the night - and occasionally making jabs at Jungkook for his reaction to your numbers, - Jungkook sat dipping in and out of the conversation, he attention elsewhere. He kept looking over to the corner of the club, a door with a 'stage door' sign on and a man clad in all black with an earpiece in one ear standing watch outside. He had to try...

He excused himself from the table, Namjoon and Tae having to stand to let him out of the booth. They assumed he was on his way to the bathroom, until they watched him head straight for the stage door.

"What the hell is he doing?" Yoongi asked, confused.

The others shrugged, watching intently.

The bouncer at the door held a hand out to Jungkook, who stood awkwardly, hands plunged into his pockets

"Can I help you, sir?" he asked, hands crossed in front of him.

"I-I was... um, is it possible to speak to one of the dancers?" he asked, nerves making him stutter over his words.

"Which one?"

"Uh... Ms. Dav-Daver..." he couldn't quite remember your name completely

"Ms. Devereaux?" the bouncer knew who he meant, thankfully. Jungkook nodded. "I'll let her know she has a fan," the man smirked, pressing a button on a radio he pulled from his back pocket and speaking into it, "Mr. Vandross, I have a gentleman here who would like to speak to Ms. Devereaux." The radio beeped and static poured out.

"Okay, 10 minutes," a male voice came back through the device.

"Now worries," the bouncer replied, shoving the radio into his pocket again. "10 minutes, sir. If you'd like to wait by the bar. Ms. Devereaux's will have a mojito."

"O-oh, okay..." Jungkook wasn't sure exactly what just happened, or what he expected to happen, but he turned back towards the bar and took up an empty stool near the end, ordering a drink for himself and your favourite cocktail. He watched the hands of his watch tick by minute by minute, anxiously tapping his foot against the bar stool, until he saw movement beside him, taking the stool next to him.

"Hello," you smiled, taking the mojito that Frankie the bar tender had brought to you as you sat down and taking a sip. Jungkook was taken back a little bit, still very much in awe of your beauty. You had kept your make up on, but now were wearing a knee length bodycon dress that hugged you in every place you had so proudly shown off throughout the night.

"H-hi..." Seeing you up close like this, being able to take in every feature of your face as well as your body, created a tsunami of nerves Jungkook hadn't expected. You were even more beautiful now, if that were possible.

"I was told you wanted to see me. What can I do for you?"

So much, Jungkook thought.

"I just wanted to say that... well, um- y-you're really beautiful and very talented." He played with the cocktail stirrer in his glass as he spoke. You smiled sweetly at his kind comment. Clearly his first language was not English; you could tell by the way he paused between words to think. It was endearing to you, something so cute. He was trying so hard, trying to talk to you as best he could.

You could tell you were making him nervous by the way he bit his lip and fiddled with his long hair, pushing it back and letting it flop back into place.

"What's your name?" you asked, curious to know more about this absolutely gorgeous man who looked like such a confident soul by appearance, but was downright terrified now he was in front of you.

"J-Jungkook," he stuttered again. Aw.

"I like it," you mused, and he hung his head as he smiled at your compliment. "Jungkook, you seem nervous," you placed your hand on his knee, feeling just how tight those jeans were. His eyes darted to your hand, electricity sparking at the contact.

"S-sorry, Ms. Devereaux. I just think you're so..." he wasn't sure how to finish that sentence. Beautiful wasn't enough; in fact, he was sure he didn't have an English word in his repertoire that could describe how gorgeous you were.

"Please, Ms. Devereaux is my stage name. I'm y/n, call me by that," you removed your hand from his knee, taking hold of your cocktail and taking another sip. "I'm flattered you think of me so highly. I noticed you, y'know. On stage I mean. The way you looked at me..." you leaned a little closer to him, so close he could smell the perfume you had sprayed before meeting him, "like you just wanted to fuck me," you whispered.

Jungkook's head snapped up, making eye contact with such shock...

"I-I'm sorry?"

"The look on your face, it was...primal. You wanted me, you were thinking about it, picturing it. Were you not?" you challenged, leaning your elbow on the bar and leaning into him a little more, keeping your voice low and so god damn seductive he was falling deeper and deeper into that imagination again.

"I-I..."

"It's okay, you can say it..." you teased, pressing your free hand against his thigh and feeling the taught muscle straining. Wow, you thought, those thighs... You would be more than happy to let him use those thighs against you however he liked. "Do you want to fuck me, Jungkook?"

He took a moment, thinking carefully of the pros and cons of this situation. Not that it mattered, he answered without paying attention to either.

"So much," he practically growled. You smirked, watching that darkness return to his eyes.

"Then why are we still sat here?"

Immediately Jungkook took your hand, downed his drink and without a thought to the rest of his brothers - who had all been watching from their booth in awe - took your hand from his knee and pulled you out of the club.

On the surface, you hailed a black cab down, climbing in the back with Jungkook in tow.

"My place or yours?" you had asked, and Jungkook barked the hotel name at the driver.

The whole car ride was laced with so much sexual tension. You had a moment of what the hell are you doing, y/n? that you brushed to the back of your mind. No, this wasn't like you. You had never taken a punter home before, never slept with anyone you met at work. But this guy... You couldn't pass this delicious specimen up.

You placed your hand on his thigh once again, a little higher than before, squeezing the muscle as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, using the close proximity to nuzzle your hair. Whatever shampoo you used was intoxicating to him. You could feel his hot breath on your ear, taken by surprise when he started to nip at the lobe and suckle lightly.

He wasted no time when the cab pulled up outside the hotel, passing far too many notes to the driver as he pulled you out with his arm around your waist. Already, he loved the way it felt under his touch, the squish just as delectable as he had imagined.

The both of you had been holding back since the cab ride but when he finally got you in the elevator alone, he couldn't stop himself.

Catching you off guard, he pushed you into the corner, looming over you with such animal lust you thought he might take you right there and then. Instead, he crashed his lips down onto yours, finally getting to taste you. His hands groped at your hips pulling them closer to his own in an attempt to grind on you, but the tightness of his jeans meant the friction he desired was further away than he thought.

The elevator dinged and doors opened on Jungkook's floor. He was too caught up in you that he didn't move; you had to push him with a giggle and direct him out into the corridor.

"Which room is it?" you laughed, looking both ways as if the room would be basking in a golden glow and obvious to you if you just looked hard enough. It wasn't.

"This way," he pulled on your hand in the direction of his room, digging in his pockets for his wallet and key card to get in.

Pulling you into the hotel room, he slammed the door shut behind the two of you, kicking it shut. You surprised him by pushing him up against it now, getting him back for trapping you in the elevator.

You kissed him again, going a little slower than Jungkook may have liked, but you wanted to savour the moment. Besides, you had been teasing all night; it was your job. Why would you stop now?

Using your tongue to lightly graze against his lips, you silently told him to open up, diving in further to deepen you kiss. Jungkook chuckled to himself; you tasted like your mojito. He pulled back for breath, resting his head back on the door and looking down at you through his lashes.

Your red lipstick had barely smudged, only the slightest trace he was ever there. I'll have to try harder, he thought.

A few deep breaths and Jungkook resumed the kiss, cupping your rounded face with one hand to create an intimate moment between you. It was sweet, but you were running out of patience and the lust was building and building.

Grabbing hold of his leather jacket, you slipped it off his shoulders, throwing it to the side. Grabbing fistfuls of the silk shirt, you pull him as you step back further into the room until the edge of his bed hits the back of your knees. Your hands make light work of the buttons on the shirt, undoing them and exposing his chest and abs. Holy shit, the abs.

Untucking it from his jeans, he rips the material from his torso for you, his lips never leaving yours as they moulded together so desperately.

He breaks you apart once again, spinning you round to have you stood with your back to him. His hands trace from your hips, up your waist to the zipper at the back of your dress. Slowly, he dragged it down, undoing the material to expose the bra straps and flesh hiding beneath. You pulled the sleeves off your arms pushing the material off you, down your hips, wiggling them as you slipped out of it. The dress hit the floor, and you're now stood in front of him, your back to him, in simple lace lingerie; a stark contrast to the rhinestones, glitter and feathers from hours before.

Jungkook's hands slowly lifted from beside him, slipping around your waist to feel you, needing to touch the beautiful ripples of flesh around your hips and tummy.

"You feel so soft," he whispered into your ear, trailing kisses down your neck and shoulder, his hands wandering over your body. You reached behind you, unclasping your bra to drop to the side of you, leaning back into Jungkook's touch as his lips trailed back up to your neck, suckling on the skin.

His hands raised from your waist to meet your now free breasts, loving the way they felt in his hands. And you had to admit, this was possibly the most erotic foreplay you'd had in a long time. Jungkook was skilled with his hands, and you core ached to find out just how good with his hands he could be...

You turned to face him once again, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him close to you, pressing your bare chests together as his arms enveloped you, loving how squishy you felt.

Your lips reconnected, your tongues doing that same familiar dance as before as he pushed you again, forcing you to sit on the edge of the bed below him. You crawled back, enough so that he had space to kneel between your knees on the mattress and hover over you, his long hair tickling the skin on your forehead and his key pendant dangling between the mounds of your breasts.

He kissed a line of wet, sloppy kisses down your neck again, suckling and biting but using his tongue each time to soothe the sting of his teeth. Before long his mouth was on your breast, suckling at your sensitive nipple with an outrageous amount of care. his actions elicited the first real moan of the evening, unable to contain your pleasure any longer.

His lips continued their assault south, leaving little red marks along your chubby tummy that you were sure would turn purple given time. He spent time there, simply kissing, biting suckling at your chub, and despite the intimate actions, you never felt at all insecure about your weight like many other sexual encounters had made you feel. In fact, you felt empowered.

He was worshipping you, in all your beautiful rubenesque beauty.

Your core was aching for him, the wetness pooling in your panties the longer he spent adoring your body. You wriggled a little under him, uncomfortably aroused. He must be feeling it too, the strain against his jeans getting too much to bare, but he soldiered on, only caring about you and your wellbeing. He wanted to please you so much.

His kisses lowered again, reaching the space where your tummy protruded the most just above the lace of your panties. He looked up at you again through his lashes, his eyes as dark as they had been when you were performing. He was asking - begging - for your approval... And of course you gave it, spreading your legs wider for him to settle between.

His lips touched your thighs, peppering the flesh with kisses. He loved the way they jiggled a little with every small movement you made, every squirm under each kiss.

Suddenly, his kisses concentrated on your lace covered pussy, the heat of his breaths sending such wonderful shivers up your spine; finally some contact. He pulled the fabric to the side, revealing only part of where you needed him most. He kissed the bare skin, your juices coating his lips in a beautiful gloss; it suited him well.

He sat up momentarily, pulling the fabric off your legs before he lunged forward, pouncing on you like a cat on its prey. He had tasted you on his lips and immediately needing more. He couldn't stop himself.

His lips covered your mound, his tongue darting out between your folds to lap your juices up, tasting that sweet taste oh so completely. Your breath fell short as your back arched, the warm wetness a brand new sensation that you could only describe as emphatic.

"J-Jungkook," you whined, breathless as his tongue circled your clit, the nerves reacting accordingly.

"Mmm," he hummed from between your thighs, using his strength to hold them down, squishing at the flesh. He knew how to used his mouth, and every damn part of it; his lips, his tongue, even his teeth, grazing the bundle of nerves gently to elicit another reaction.

"Oh, fuck, it feels so good..." your hands bunched in his hair, pulling at the long strands. The sting he felt only spurred him on, loving the feeling of you controlling him like this.

One of the hands clutched around your thighs let go, snaking around to plunge two long fingers into your entrance. The intrusion was surprising, but most welcome, stretching you out so well as his mouth continued attacking your clit. He curled them, tapping up on the soft cushion inside you that made you pulse with need. Fuck, he was too good at this.

That delicious feeling was growing in the pit of your stomach, your pussy throbbing rhythmically as he brought you closer and closer to the edge; tapping and curling his fingers, working his mouth harder, sloppier on you.  

"Sh-shit... Oh, my god. I'm- I'm gonna..." you weren't making any sense audibly, but your body's reaction was translating enough. Jungkook knew you were close, and somehow, he kicked into high gear as he fucked your pussy with his fingers harder.

Something inside you burst, like someone has gripped a full water balloon tighter and tighter until it exploded. The metaphor was spot on, the sheets completely soaked as your pussy got over-excited, squirting more arousal around Jungkook's hand and dripping down his chin.

No one had ever made you do that before; even Jungkook seemed shocked as he sat up, wiping his mouth, watching you regain some modicum of stability.  

"H-how? What did you do?" you asked. "I didn't know I could do that," you laughed, trying to gain your breath back.

Jungkook just grinned in response, a shit-eating, smug grin, before he was attacking your lips with his own again, forcing you to taste yourself on his tongue. You'd barely had any time to recuperate, but you absolutely were not going to stop him.

Now it was his turn for some relief.

He wasted no time undoing the leather belt on his jeans and popping the button and zipper. You tried to help, your hands getting in the way a little but eventually taking lead to pull the tight material from his hips, exposing the thighs you marvelled at earlier that night. He scrambled to remove the rest, pulling off his boxers as he did so. Versace, you noticed. Very nice.

But now, he was like you; completely nude, completely exposed.

As soon as you saw the size of him, your cunt ached again. You needed him, to feel full. He was of average length, but certainly thicker than any man you had been with before. You could practically already feel the stretch...

"Turn over," he demanded, all worship lost on you and now, he needed this; his fantasy. You did as you were told, flipping over onto your stomach and raising your ass into the air for him, giving him a delicious behind view of your pussy and outrageous bubble butt. "Fuck," he whispered as his hand grazed the skin of your cheek; this is what he wanted, what he'd always wanted.

Gently, he tapped the flesh, testing the waters but watching as the skin rippled, just as he had imagined it would. His cock leaked a drop of pre-cum at the sight.

When you giggled a little in response, he took that as the consent you had meant it to be to spank a little harder. When he did, you squeaked a little, reacting to the sting. You loved it. you wanted it harder. You wanted branding.

"Fuck, you're incredible," he said, lining his head up with your entrance, ready and dripping for him again already. The delightful stretch you felt as he pushed into you was euphoric, sending your eyes rolling back into your head and your arms almost giving way underneath you. His fingers dug into your ass, his nails creating little crescent moon shapes in your skin.

It took all his willpower not to lose control right then, knowing you'd need a second to adjust having only been used to two of his fingers before. You silently thanked him, and when you were ready, started to bounce your ass against him to gain the friction you both needed.

Jungkook needn't move; you were doing the work for him, every pound of glorious jiggle bounding in front of him. He watched in amazement, feeling nothing but pure pleasure as you moved on his dick, but he could only take it for so long until he needed control back.

He needed to pound into you the way he had imagined. And so, he did.

Gripping onto your love handles, he pulled your hips back onto him, his balls slapping hard against your pussy. It felt fantastic, and god, did you love being controlled like this. You cried out at the movement, egging him on to please, please keep doing that.

He pulled his hips back again, before slamming back into you with force. Your ass rippled at the action and my god did he love it. He needed to see more of it, that beautiful jiggle.

As he fucked into you from behind, his hand collided with your ass check with much more force than before, sure to leave a red hand print like you had hoped. You cried out, biting down on the sheets underneath you to keep the screams from getting too loud.

With him spanking at your ass and drilling into you with such ferocity, you knew you wouldn't last long. Especially after the first powerful orgasm he had given you.

But he pulled out of you completely, using all his strength to flip you over again. He crawled back on top of you, positioning his hip in-between your thighs before pistoning his hips forward and impaling you on his length again. Jungkook had decided he needed to see your beautiful face, your fucked out eyes and your pink flushed cheeks when you came around his cock. He wanted the intimacy back that you can't get from behind. He had got his wish, and now he needed to be close to you.

The sweat on his forehead had gathered and matted his hair to his face, making him look even more fucking god-like than you even thought possible. You pushed the hair out of his face as he thrust up into you, grinding your hips together as he did. His eyes were glazed with lust and staring straight into yours that you could barely keep open. He loved how you looked, how you bounced under him.

Your hand moved from tugging his hair back to the back of his neck, pulling him down to meet your lips desperately as the two fo you got so close to your untimely end. You wished you could both go for longer but there was too much to get excited about, too much to turn you on to be able to prolong the inevitable.

"Y-You're so beautiful, y/n. So, so fucking beautiful," he mumbled against your lips between groans and grunts of animalistic nature.

"K-Kookie," the nickname rolled of your tongue without thinking, followed by a moan that told him you were getting close again. He knew he wouldn't last much longer the second your walls clenched around him. But he didn't want you to miss out on your second high, not on account of him.

"Touch yourself for me," he instructed, "please..." his begging tone was surprising but so charming, and you'd be evil to ignore him. You slipped your hand between the two of you, drawing pleasant circles over your clit as he continued to fuck into you.

With the new sensation, you had seconds left. Your back arched up into him, pressing your bodies together. You couldn't control your squirming anymore, knowing that what was coming was going to be earth shattering.

Jungkook growled as you clenched again, lowering his head to your breasts and biting gently down on one of your nipples, kneading your breast with his hand. Too much; it was all too much. You could feel yourself dissolving into pleasure beneath him.

Your nerves seemed to to catch alight, like a burning ember had met gasoline inside your body. Your breath hitched in your throat silencing your moans and every muscle clenched tightly as it all hit at once. As stage one of your orgasm played out, stage two came in what felt like electric shocks hitting you multiple times, rocketing through you and pulsing. Your legs convulsed, muscles twitching and the like someone had pressed unmute on you, you let out the most tremendous moans of bliss.

Jungkook kept thrusting, losing his rhythm as he watched you come undone. It turned him on so much, and when your pussy started to pulse around him that was it for him; beautifully warm spurts of cum painted your walls as his body went rigid. He grit his teeth, a long, low grunt erupting from the very pits of his stomach.

It took you both a few moments to regain some sense, breathing hard and heavy. Jungkook had to use all his upper body strength to keep him from collapsing on you, still reeling from the most intense orgasm he thinks he had ever had.

"Shit..." he huffed, looking up to see you beet red, panting and completely fucked out. His arms ached so much he couldn't hold himself up anymore, collapsing into your soft body and snuggling into you with exhaustion.

"Are you okay?" you asked, still panting away like a dog in ferocious sunlight. He nodded against you, still breathing hard himself. "Well... that was- that was incredible. You're incredible."

"Thanks..." he chuckled. "I... I'm here for another week, y'know..." he looked up at you, waiting for a response. You hummed in approval.

"Thats at least another... six or seven shows," you grinned. If he was insinuating that the two of you were going to continue these little hotel escapades for the remainder of his stay, who were you to say no...

"Tomorrow, you're bringing all that shit back here with you." He wanted the feathers, the rhinestones, the glitter, and he wanted it littering his hotel room floor. "And that cane, too..."

"A private show, huh? I'm sure we can arrange that. Any song requests?" you teased.

"Fat bottomed girls," he replied. "Absolutely, every fucking time. Fat bottomed girls."

[jjpogueprincess]

Thing Don’t always go to Plan

Hello Guys!!! So i know it’s been a minute but I’m back. I have 2 fics finished and am working on 2 more. These are all requested so one of the reason’s it’s taking me a minute is because I really want to try and do it Justice. So I hope It’s good!! 

Requested: Yes

I was thinking something about the reader being Bobby's sister and part of the band. She died with them and gets pissed off about Bobby not giving credit. Reggie comforts her in that scene and she helps them haunt him. She also comforts him when he finds out about his house. (It would be gold if she says something about "if I was alive I would never allow my niece to be like that") At the end, when they're getting shocked and almost disappearing, Reggie gets really worried about her because she's having it harder than them. When they get stronger after that last scene, Reggie just kisses her and everyone is shocked.   

OK. So I changed it a bit. Hope that's OK and I hope this is good! I've been working on it for what feels like forever! Just with 2 jobs and everything else going on its been hard.

There are some Time Skips. You have been warned!!

*Hollywood 1995*

*after rehearsals* 

Luke was talking about how the place will be packed tonight. You walk up to the stage while Alex is being modest 

"you know, Reggie's right. Embrace your awesomeness for once!" You say as they all look at you and smile. Alex finally agrees that he was awesome! 

"Hey y/n, were gonna go get street dogs, wanna come?" Reggie asks you. You can't say no to Reggie. You may have had a bit of a crush on him for the past 3 years, no big deal. 

"Yeah I'll go! Bobby you coming?" You ask your twin brother. You see him not paying attention and staring at the gorgeous bartender, rose.

"Bobby! Leave her alone!" He ignores me as they all walk up to her. Bobby says something about being a vegetarian. you laugh.

 "He had a hamburger for lunch, Rose. Don't let my brother fool you." You say as Bobby gives you a glare. You and the boys leave Bobby to go get street dogs. 

 *time skip 25 years later*

 *After Julie meets the band and y/n*

“Where is Luke? He should be back..” you didn’t even get to finish your sentence when Luke popped 

“Hey guys…..Julie!!” Luke says surprised. Julie looks at him and smiles. 

“Grab your guitar. We're working on that song for the dance.” as they were about to rehearse You got an idea. 

"Hey Luke. Why don't you, when done rehearsing, show Julie some sunset curve songs!! Im sure she would like that!" You said and Julie got excited 

"oh. Show me now!" She said and Luke started playing the opening riff to one of their songs and Julie didn't look impressed. 

"So you want to sample?" Julie said. We all looked at her confused. 

"What do you mean sample? These are original sunset curve songs." Luke said. Getting anxious.

 "No. Its a original Trevor Wilson song. Here. I can show you." She says, pulling up the site. You almost pass out. 

"That's Bobby. Guys. It's bobby." You said. Getting mad. You read through a list of the songs and just continued to get mad. You were fuming. How could he! How dare he!! Luke was telling Julie that these were his songs. 

"Crooked teeth?" Julie asked.

 "Luke wrote that about Reggie." Alex said 

"hey. I thought it was about you! I don't like that song any more." Reggie says pouting. You go over to him and rub his back. 

"His actual name is Bobby. And he was my brother. Im so pissed!!! Where does he live Julie." You ask. She shows you guys and next thing you know, you and the boys are in Bobby's place. You look around and Luke sees a platinum album with his song title. 

"My name is Luke? MY NAME IS LUKE!" he says. Fuming. 

"We need to do something guys. He can't continue to get away with this!!" You say as you see Bobby walking up the stairs. You follow. You guys start to prank him. As you go to turn on the shower, the mirror steams up.

 “Hello, Brother?” you write on the bathroom mirror. He gets scared and runs back into the bedroom trying to open the door. Where he sees a piece of paper hanging there. "How could you steal those songs! You had no right!" It read. He got even more freaked out and tried to open the door. But it wasn't budging. 

"Let me out!" Bobby screamed. So Alex let the door go and we all laughed. 

"Honey. I'm going to see my therapist." He says to his daughter. 

"I have a niece?" You say. Walking into the living room to see Flynn sitting with a boy and a girl. I look at her. "Wait. Carrie is my niece? She's so mean! If I was alive, I would never let her act like that!" You say to no one In particular. You shake your head and notice Julie out back with the guys who are mooning Bobby. 

"Guys. Cut it out. He can't see you. And I don't want to see your butts. Pretty sure Julie doesn't either!" You say to them. "Guys. We have music now. You guys and me! The best way to get back at Trevor is to make this band happen. Please. Don't do anything stupid." Julie says. "We won't. We promise we will be there at 9." They say. 

"I'm gonna stay with Julie. But remember, 9pm. Seriously guys. This is important!" 

 *time skip to when they arrive at the dance* 

 "Julie. We're here! Let's rock…" Reggie says. Before he has a chance to say anymore he's looking around. They realized they were too late. 

"Julie. We are so sorry!" Luke says.

 "Yeah. We just… lost track of time!" Alex says 

"and the twins." Reggie says. You give him this look. And shake your head. 

"You guys knew how important this was for her. And yet you blow it off by going to some club where there are twins and what for? All so you can try and get revenge on bobby? How did that work out for you?" You say to them. Sure you were mad but you were more disappointed. 

"Give Julie time. This was so embarrassing for her. You know that right? The only thing worse than getting stood up, is having your heart broken." You say. They look at you as you look at Reggie 

"you promised. All of you. And you, Reggie, promised that you wouldn't get distracted by other women! What about me? Do I mean nothing to you? Was i just conveniently there?" You say to Reggie. Tears streaming down your face. 

"Ya know. Just forget it. You guys have a lot of apologizing to do to Julie if you want her back. You really hurt her!" You say, poofing away. 

*time skip to the Orpheum after the performance*

 You go to find Julie backstage and congratulate her when you see her. Your heart shatters.

 "Are they...gone?" You say to her. Sure your relationship with Reggie has been rocky but you didn't even have enough time to fix it. And now they were gone. And you were alone. You didn't have your boys anymore. 

"I think so. I think…..they crossed over." She says. But you're just confused. 

"Then why didn't I go with them? I came with them, I should have left with them. Right?" You said. Julie just shrugged. When we got back to her place. We went to the garage. 

"Its weird. To think they're gone. And I'm still here! I never got to tell Reggie how I felt. I'll never see any of them again. I'm alone." You say to Julie. She looks at you. You look like you needed a hug. 

" you still have me. I love the guys to. But I hope they found peace. Now I'm gonna help you. We will get through this. You are not alone. Im here!" She says to you. All of a sudden you both hear a groan.

 "We love you guys t0o." You hear Luke say. You both gasp and turn on the lights. There they lay. Your boys. In pain on the floor. They get shocked again.

 "Please guys. Just go. Join Caleb so you aren't in pain anymore. Please! Save yourselves. For me." Julie says crying. I nod. 

"I'll go with you guys! We can all 4 go! Please." You say. Reggie just stands up and shakes his head. 

"No. We can't go back there." Reggie says. Alex nods. 

"No music is worth making, if it isn't with you Julie." Luke says crying. Julie runs up to him and hugs him. You all look shocked. Then a white light starts glowing from both of them. 

"How can I feel you?" Julie says to Luke as they both just hold each other.

 "I don't know. But I don't feel so weak anymore." Luke says. Julie pulls the rest of us in for the hug. White light surrounds us. Then we look down and the marks on the guys arms disappear. "What do you think this means?" Julie says. "I don’t know. But can we try that hug thing one more time?" Alex says. You step out of it and just let them hug it out. You smile watching them. You had your boys. And now Julie. You were happy. As you were lost in thought. Reggie came up to you and pulled you out of your thoughts by kissing you. You're surprised and he pulls back. Thinking he did something wrong. You pull him back in for another kiss. This time you both respond. After what felt like forever, you pull away with a blush. 

"What was that for?" Reggie asked. "I could ask the same thing. You kissed me first, remember." You say to him. He just smiles. 

"I thought i lost you. And thinking that almost made me lose my mind. I don't know what I would do without you or the guys! You're my family. You're all I have! I..I love you Reggie. I have been since before we met." You say to him. He blushes and pulls you in for another kiss. 

"I love you too. And don't you ever doubt that. Ok?" Reggie says, keeping you close. "Ok." You say. Whatever the future holds, we will go through it. Together. 

[smol-and-grumpy]

Something Just Like This - CH15

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Dean Winchester, mobster boss. He’s a little cocky, a lot ruthless and more often than not, short tempered. But he’s also, Dean Winchester, a war veteran and hero who suffers under a shit ton of PTS. He met her in a bar and thinks it’s fate that brought her to him. Little does he know why she’s really here.

WC: 3334

A/N: Sorry, I’m updating a lot but these two are all I can think of lately when I have time to think at all.

SERIES MASTERLIST

Dean stands under the stream of warm water, Jo’s words still ringing in his ears. He closes his eyes, letting the water wash over him.

Jo’s right.

Of course she’s right. 

Doesn’t mean he likes it, though.

That’s textbook Dean Winchester, ain’t it? It also kind of shows that he’s capable of love, which should be a good thing. He thought he didn’t have it in him, gave up hope because as he told Jo, love is rare. But yeah, his family, he loves them. Unconditionally. There’s nothing they could do to make him unlove them. And Jo’s right about that.

But loving unconditionally, is that really the only thing he’s capable of? Does he love Y/N? The thought of her makes his heart flutter and his dick twitch.

No, it’s not love, he thinks.

At least not yet. 

But he’s on the highway there and it should scare him. He should be terrified but strangely, he’s not.

Dean’s dick starts to grow but he immediately thinks of something else, doesn’t want to rub himself off, not when there’s the prospect of seeing Y/N later. Instead, he thinks of all the things he still has to do today, thinks about looking at the sales numbers, planning next deliveries in his head, has to go back to his apartment to feed the cat, baseball, golf, the ending of Game Of Thrones… Just thinks of all the unsexy things he can possibly manage in order to make his boner go away.

***

Crowley’s waiting for Dean in Crowley’s new strip club (bought under a false alias, obviously) and as soon as Dean steps in, he notices that it’s not a normal strip club. At least it’s not like the ones he's been to lately.

It’s exclusive, looks somewhat fancy and expensive. All the girls are probably screened every three months, some even given boosting cosmetic surgeries and he can imagine that they cost more an hour than most men make in a month.

He doesn’t know if it’s only stripping but knowing Crowley, it most likely isn’t.

A big bald bodyguard leads Dean up the stairs and he feels kind of exposed, it’s only 9PM and there aren’t many people here yet. However, there were familiar faces. Doctors and politicians, people who Dean knows for sure that they have an equally beautiful wife or girlfriends at home. People Dean knows are shady, people Dean makes deals with. 

They pass two women on the upper floor, it’s the VIP section and Dean wonders why there is one when the club is Members Only anyway. The women whisper something to each other as Dean walks by. He knows they’re talking about him because they’re checking him out. Can feel their eyes on him, they’re probably hoping that he'll chat them up. He did that a lot in the past. Took them to a hotel, left later with the promise to call, which of course, he never did. But yeah, he’s in a strip club and for them, he’s probably just a walking dollar sign. 

He stays focused, follows the bodyguard to a door which is most likely the entrance to an exclusive lounge. Dean snorts at the thought. Only Crowley would open a Members Only club and still manage to segregate different levels. Dean bets it depends on one's income which section you belong in. He knows Crowley too well.

Dean risks a glance to the floor level before he steps through the door, sees girls dancing, sees them grinding on laps, all of them half naked. And out of nowhere, there’s a feeling of longing in his heart that he can't quite place, maybe mostly because he’s never felt it before. Dean thinks he would rather be anywhere but here, and that’s a given. But most of all, he thinks that he’d like to be with her right now. 

He flips his wrist, sees that it’s 9:07PM, thinks that the Roadhouse probably slowly starts to fill up.

“You can go in.” The bodyguard’s words jolts Dean back to reality.

The moment Dean steps through the door, a wall of humidity hits him square in his face. The air gets thicker, it gets harder to breathe and the temperature is significantly warmer.

He can see a pool at the back, it’s lit up in some lilac shade colors. In front of the pool is a group of big bulky leather chairs Crowley and his men are sitting in. All of them have a girl on their lap except Crowley. Crowley has two — on each side. There are more people mingling in the pool, some are in the back to the other side where there are more chairs and beds. All the girls are dressed in a bikini and some of them are even naked. Dean swallows hard.

“Winchester!” Crowley’s as cheery as ever. “Sit down!” He gestures to an empty chair among them.

“Crowley,” Dean nods, unbuttons his suit jacket and shrugs it off to drape it behind the chair before he sits down.

It’s almost unbearably hot and humid. 

“Drink?” Crowley already signals his hand to the waitress who’s wearing a skin tight dress. Probably to be able to distinguish her from the other girls. Something to say that she’s only here to serve drinks. Crowley looks to Dean with a smirk on his face. “And a girl? Honey, get him a girl.”

“Drink yes. Gotta pass on the girl, Crowley.” Dean says, and adds, “Can we get to business?”

Crowley laughs, his hands tighten on the girl on his lap. “You’ll get a girl anyway.”

God dammit.

The drink comes, served by a girl with long, dark hair. At least she still wears her bikini. Rainbows and unicorns are on it. He thinks it’s kinda cute, would probably suit Y/N better. He takes the drink from her, it’s whiskey because Crowley knows what he drinks. 

She climbs into Dean’s lap and he’s doing his best not to touch her, his hand rests on the arm of the chair with one hand clutching at his tumbler like his life depends on it.

“Hi, I’m Unicorn.” She says in a deep alluring voice while her hands play with his tie, her breasts press up against him and they nearly spill out of her bikini top. 

And really, Dean’s so fucking glad he’s not a teenager anymore and learned throughout the years to have his cock under control.

“Hey,” Dean says out of courtesy, and takes a big gulp of his drink. “Unicorn? Really?”

She chuckles. “I had to come up with something.”

“So you went by Unicorn and not like some typical stripper name. What are they? Candy? Crystal? Cherry?”

“Hey, I like unicorns!” She laughs, points her fingers to her bikini top, arches her back and pushes her chest out and Dean grins at that because it’s so colorful it’s bordering on bad taste. 

There’s something in her eyes that makes him think she’s probably new to all of this. Maybe only graduated and needed money to make ends meet. He lets her dance around in his lap, but keeps his hands away from her.

Crowley talks about the club (very exclusive and expensive), tells Dean about all the things they can do here (you name it — you get it), informs Dean that he and his men wouldn’t have to pay for a membership (not that Dean will tell his men that anyway). And then Crowley stands up, loosens the knot that holds his robe together (Dean didn’t even notice that the guy was wearing a freaking robe) and tells Dean to wait for business talk because he wants to take a dip in the pool and if Dean wanted, he could join him.

Yeah no, over his dead body. There’s no way he’s going to bathe in filthy water. So he sits back and orders himself another drink.

“So,” Unicorn says while she swings her hips from side to side on his thigh. “I can feel that you don’t really want me on your lap and honestly, I don’t really wanna be here myself but can you play along? I don’t wanna lose my job.”

Dean’s eyes widened. He hadn’t thought about it. Was actually close to tell her to fuck right off his lap but yeah, he doesn’t want to be the reason she’ll get fired for. 

“Can we just stay like this? Like, no further touching? Just you on my thigh?”

“Sure,” 

Unicorn still moves a little to keep up the facade, but it’s not as intense as it was before, not that it mattered because it didn’t really affect him. 

It was about a couple of minutes of lap wriggling later that his phone vibrates in his pants and Unicorn yelps up with a laugh.

“Yeah, I should get that.” He says, and she gets up to let him fish his phone out of his pocket.

He looks at the screen. It’s the Roadhouse. Landline. Which is weird. He never gets calls from there.

Dean slides his thumb over the screen and puts the phone to his ear. “‘Lo?”

“There’s a man dressed in black jeans and black leather jacket, standing at the bar since the start of my shift. He ordered a beer but that’s it. Nothing else. And he watches me. It’s creepy. Bet his beer is stale now and he still sips at it. Which makes it all so much creepier.”

His heart takes a leap upon hearing her voice and Dean smiles. He can hear the music in the background, can hear people talking. Y/N called him from work. From a freaking landline. Which means that she probably memorized his number, knows it by heart, and he can’t help but grin a little wider, feels the crinkles around his eyes as they deepened.

“Baby, that’s Adam.”

Unicorn climbs back into his lap but as they agreed before, she stays where she’s allowed.

“You have someone watching me? Someone named Adam?” Y/N gets loud.

“Relax. He’s just gonna stay in the bar. See it as some kind of bouncer. He’s not allowed to follow you anywhere unless I say so.”

“Great.”

“I’m sorry, I should have told you before I did that.” Dean really wanted to but there was no time.

“I wish you did, too.” She huffs out, and adds, “He stares at me right now. What a creep.”

Dean laughs, “He’s only doing what I told him to do.”

“And what’s that?”

“To not let you out of his sight.”

“What if I have to go to the bathroom?”

“Then he’ll stay in front of the door. He won’t go in unless he has a death wish, don’t worry about that.”

“Like standing in front is not creepy at all.” She says, and then adds, “So if I was to punch him or say, stick my tongue out or flash him, he wouldn’t do anything right?”

“I would hope that you won’t flash him.” Dean might play it off as a joke but he really hopes she won’t. “But to answer your question, no. He won’t do anything to you. He just keeps all the other creeps away.”

“Because he’s the king of the creeps.” She laughs. “I just did.”

“What? Flash him?”

“Duh! Stuck my tongue out. He didn’t even blink! Is he human?”

“I would hope so because I’d be paying him way too much if he wasn’t.”

“When are you coming?” Her voice is smaller now. 

Dean sighs, would love to go there now because Crowley is too busy splashing around with girls anyway. “As soon as I can get away, I promise.”

“Okay,” There’s a sigh on the other line and then she adds. “Bye.”

“Bye, sweetheart.” 

He keeps his phone in his hand, pushing at the button, making his screen light up again to look at the time.

“Is that your girl?” Unicorn asks, stealing a glimpse at his phone, as the lock screen lights up.

It’s a picture of Y/N. He took it in the morning when she slept at his place. Her hair was messy around her face, his shirt that she was wearing rode down, revealing her shoulder. Her lips slightly parted. He always kept it as his home screen and he figured, today he could also use it as his lock screen.

“Yeah,” Dean couldn’t hide the grin, neither the proud feeling in his chest. “That’s her.” The light goes out and he thumbs the button to light it up again. “She’d kill me if she knows I took this picture.”

Unicorn is looking intensely, squinting her eyes a little, too. 

“What?” He asks.

“Nothing,” Unicorn says, “She looks familiar, is all.”

Just when Dean wants to ask more, Crowley stands before him, the water dripping down the short man’s legs. “Right, we can go talk business now.” 

Fucking finally, Dean thinks. Unicorn scrambles off his lap and he stands up, pocketing his phone before he lets Crowley lead him into an office in the back.

It’s past 2AM when Dean walks through the door. She knows it’s him because every time that man walks it, everyone shuts the hell up.

Her cheeks heat up. It’s what always happens when she sees him and it’s really not fucking fair because he looks so good. He’s wearing a suit, probably tailored, a white shirt, the top three buttons are undone. He’s probably lost the tie along the way. His hair’s a little ruffled up, as if he had spent a lot of time in high humidity. She wonders if he just came out of a shower and if yes, why did he shower? It shouldn’t bother her that much, so she bottles up her curiosity.

And there it is, the smile on his face, it’s so big and there are a lot of crinkles around his eyes, as if he’s smiling with his eyes, too. 

She can’t hide the effect he has on her, turning beet red as she watches him walk towards the bar. Smiling back at him just because it’s the only thing she’s capable of. 

Dean’s eyes leave hers for a moment and she can see him scan the room. He nods towards Adam who nods back and then backs off, leaving the bar.

“Hi,” He says as he sits down. 

Y/N remembers that she’s still tapping a beer, realizes it when the pint glass overflows and curses. “Shit.”

Dean chuckles.

She drops the glass in the sink before she braces her arms on the counter “Hi, what can I get you?”

He shrugs, his eyes never leaving hers. “I don’t know,”

“Hey Winchester, get in line!” The man on the back shouts out, because that’s the guys beer she’s been pouring before.

Dean looks back at the man and she can’t see the look in Dean's eyes but it must have been scary because the other man shuts up and takes a couple of steps back.

He turns back to her, the smile is back on his face. “A kiss maybe?”

She grins and lowers herself down a little. Her stomach gets warm when their lips meet. She went in for a peck on the lips but Dean’s hand is on her neck, his thumb strokes her cheek and he pulls her closer, kissing her harder. 

“Oh no! Get a fucking room, will ya?” Ash could be heard saying as he walks back into the bar from wherever he was before.

They part and she breathes hard. Dean’s lips were red and slick, she can only imagine that hers are the same. “You smell like chlorine. Did you go swimming?” 

Dean snorts out a laugh. “It was a meeting.”

“Right.” She says, not really believing him but also it’s not her place to ask. She just couldn’t help but wonder who he met and what they talked about.

Y/N takes a tumbler and fills it with whiskey.

“There was this girl,” Dean starts and she stills. “Long, dark hair, round face, dimpled chin?”

She raises an eyebrow, wondering why he tells her that. 

“Unicorn bikini? She also said her name was Unicorn.” Dean only looks at the glass she places in front of him and she’s glad because something clicked in her head and she wouldn’t have wanted him to see her reaction.

“Huh,” She lets out.

“You jealous?” There’s some playfulness in the tone of his voice, amusement in his look.

“So you came here to tell me that you’re breaking up with me because you met a girl named Unicorn in a unicorn bikini?” She says, and starts to tap a beer for the poor guy in the back.

Dean rolls his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Y/N!”

She ignores him, but it’s just for show, really. It’s cute how easy she can wind him up.

He empties the whiskey in one go, squints at the burn. “Listen to me, alright?” 

When she doesn’t say anything, he starts to talk again. “Right. So, the girl's name is Unicorn, which I think it’s a fake name.”

“Duh,”

“Shush!” He hushes her. “Anyway, she saw a picture of you and said that you looked familiar. Do you by any chance know a girl who’s in the possession of  a unicorn bikini?”

Of course she does, but Dean doesn’t have to know that. She has the strong feeling that it’s Meg. They’re in the same unit, which makes her think that Linda probably got Meg to go undercover too.

Y/N tries to avert the conversation. “Wait, what? A picture of me?”

“Shit,” Dean mutters under his breath and clasps a hand over his face. “I’m busted, ain’t I?”

“You’re in so much trouble.” She’s stern. “What picture Dean?”

He exhales and gets his phone out from his pocket, hands it to her in defeat.

She didn’t even have to unlock it, sees the phone light up with a picture and yeah, it’s her. While she was sleeping in Dean’s bed hungover as fuck.

“You’ve got to delete this.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“It’s the only picture I have!” He says like he’s defending himself, and adds, “I need another one if I can’t use that one.” He says, makes some chin hands, probably thinks he’s cute. And she hates that he is. “Please?”

“We’ll see about that.”

She signals for the other guy to come get his drink and then turns to Dean again as he pockets his phone back. “Okay,” she says, “But only if I can take one of you.”

Dean smiles at that. “Deal.”

*

Dean helps her close the bar and waits for her to turn the key as she finishes locking up. 

As soon as she turns around to leave, he’s pinned her to the door. His lips on hers, his hands on her waist kneading and squeezing at her flesh. It’s crazy how fast she gets turned on with him. Can’t lie that she loves his big hand kneading her, how she loves that his kisses are rough and demanding.

“Hi,” He says as he breaks from the kiss, his forehead still on hers.

“Hi,” she replies, smiling with her lips between her teeth.

He toys at the hem of her shirt, dibs a finger into the seam of her jean skirt. “A skirt, huh?” 

It’s not like he hasn’t noticed because she’s seen him staring at her thighs and ass as they cleaned the bar. 

“I get more tips when I show some skin.” She grins a cocky grin. The same one he normally gives her when he’s so fucking full of himself.

Dean rolls his eyes visibly. “You ever flashed for tips?”

“Only Adam.” She winks and Dean drops his forehead on her shoulder. “You jealous?” She asks, takes his words and uses them against him.

“Nah, but I think Adam has an expiring date coming up.” He kisses her cheek, takes her hand and pulls her towards his car.

CH16

[kenmas-consoles]

Haikyuu Band AU

Singer! Akaashi x Reader

Akaashi was sat under a tree located a good few miles away from main campus, the boy had a guitar tucked under his arm and a worn out looking notebook and pen. Paper was scattered around him as he frustratedly crossed over what he had written down and scrapped the page right out of the book.

The dark haired boy sighed at the failed attempt to write song lyrics. He leaned against the tree and brought up his notebook and rested it on his face while his hands tapped a made up beat he’s been stuck working with for almost a month now on his guitar.

He was uninspired.

The boy had laid there motionless for half an hour, other students who were in the area just glanced over his figure with disinterest and assumed that the kid probably was either:

a. Dead

b. Wished he was dead

c. Really really drunk

All of which Akaashi believed to be a better option than to be creative blocked.

-

“I thought I’d find you here.”

At the sound of the voice, Akaashi tipped his head lower to allow the notebook to slide off his face, “Did you need anything from me Bokuto-san?”

"Nothing in particular, you seem to be working hard these past few days. I just wanted to see if you were well and alive. . . or drunk and dead like what the others keep saying."

Akaashi ignored the latter comment and said, "I wouldn't be if either you or Kuroo actually did any work for the band," with a sharp look. Bokuto put both his hands up in defense at the look their lead singer gave him.

"Well, Kuroo did in fact get some work done. . . He booked us a gig at next weekend and--

Akaashi rolled his eyes at the drummer's antics, except in the midst of doing so something had caught his attention as he felt a gust of wind pass him by. He turned to his left, feeling everything slow down, until it all came to a full stop. Except for this one girl, hair tied loose pigtails, ripped jeans in her pants, and a camera in hand. She was smiling ridiculously widely while instructing her companion to do various poses all in which she had acted out. She was weird but he felt naturally drawn in.

"--Hey, Hey, HEYYY, AGHAASSHII! Pay attention." Bokuto whines to the green eyed singer, mumbling how he was going to text Kuroo and ask him more details bout the gig and that he should do the same.

"Sorry, thought I saw something. . ." Akaashi muttered while shaking his head, moving his gaze away from the girl to the bi-colored hair male that sat next to him.

"It's okay as I was saying, Kuroo got us this gig at a club, yknow down town Tokyo? It's at 9pm don't be late. Also, Kenma got a deal with a corporate sponsor and Kuroo got us to perform for them at the end of June and that's in two months and apparently a lot of music sponsors and record labels are attending, so it could be our big break. Got it? Okay." Bokuto said all while patting himself down as he stood up from his spot. Bokuto then had winked at Akaashi, "Also, that girl's name is (Y/n), she's in the Arts Department, she's in the cheer team and we're the same Creative Writing Class."

Bokuto soon then left the boy who just continued to spend his whole afternoon and free period staring at the girl.

Ever since he saw her that one time by the hill, he's been seeing her a lot more. Be it by the school entrance, the lockers, or even the cafeteria, and it wasn't exactly a bad thing. He didn't exactly know much about the girl except for what Bokuto had already told him, he did ask around but that wasn't exactly getting him anywhere.

He had got the feeling you weren't exactly popular, or stood out much, he honestly didn't really expect it out of someone who is 'All that' as Bokuto put it, he even questioned if you were the same girl Bokuto knows.

'Not by a longshot' he had thought.

Although her face can be easily lost in a crowd, it was unmistakable.

That smile is unmistakable.

"She's all that, huh?" he quietly said to himself as he flipped open his notebook and quickly bit the cap out of his pen as he frivolously wrote down in his book.

'She's all that'

Tapping his pen and nodding his to the beat of the melody he's been working on. A lunch tray had placed itself across the table Akaashi had been occupying. The boy paid no mind to it as he was too absorbed in the sudden but not unwanted burst of inspiration to even take notice. The person had then cleared their throat to make their presence known, "Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." the girl lied.

Akaashi stared a while before coughing to his fist mumbling an apology while gesturing towards the seat infront of him almost as if to say 'take a seat.'

Akaashi then pretended to pay no mind to the girl infront of him as he kept his head down and eyes locked on his notebook. The girl found it amusing and giggled a bit at this.

It was kind of an obvious lie as the cafeteria was barely even halfway full. The girl wasn't stupid or oblivious to his stares or his attempt to find out more about her as she'd seen him question a few people from her department. She was just as curious and intrigued of him as he was of her.

"What are you working on?"

The question kind of threw him off guard as he accidentally knocked over his pen, "I-uh, It's a song." he replied briefly making eye contact before looking down again.

"I take it you're part of a band then?"

"I-, yes actually."

"Cool."

"Would you like to-uhm yknow watch a gig sometime?"

"Yeah, thatd be great."

Akaashi and (Y/n) locked eyes at that moment, and in that moment it felt like they've known nothing more but each other and that was the start of their weird friendship.

Akaashi had invited her to their show that weekend to which he found out was (Y/n)'s first time watching a gig and he's been taking her out every weekend to watch their shows. They've grown significantly closer the past month and he was slowly seeing nothing else but her. She was intoxicating and he was sure that the feeling he had for her was something more. Maybe he was beeing hasty in calling this feeling love but, he didn't know, all he did know was that he had infact already written a song abour her, one that he wanted her so badly to hear.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow Akaashi." (Y/n) said, turning and walking away.

"W-wait!" Akaashi yelled, cursing himself for stuttering, "I was wondering if. . . you would want to come to see me perform this Friday? The square, Tokyo, 10pm. Sound good?"

The girl tried to put on a straight face but couldn't help but bite back a smile. "We'll see, good night Akaashi." She said turning around to leave. Akaashi had silently cheered himself and fistpumped as he himself turned around to walk home.

★彡★彡★彡

It's 10:17 and you weren't here yet, and it made Akaashi much more anxious.

"You sure she's coming?" Bokuto teased, "Ofcourse she would, she'd get shit from your fanclub if she didn't."

"Shut up, I do not have a fanclub."

Kuroo made his way towards the two while plugging uo his bass. He whistled, "Full house out there." Akaashi then peered his head at the crowd of jamming teens and corporate sponsors. A girl comes out from the curtains, motioning that they should get on stage now.

Akaashi sighed, he closed his eyes as the music started and Bokuto clapping his drum sticks.

I'm in love with the Geek, the freak, the girl that never wins, so what, so what

He grabbed the mic and held it towards his lips as he got into the music.

I'm in love with the weird, the wild, her rip jeans in her pants, so what so what

He closed his eyes for a second, zeroing in on the beat of music, the vibrations of the cheering crowd and the sound of the bass. He opens his eyes allowing them to fleet over the faces in the crowd. They soon drift to a stop, seeing a familiar face he's been wanting to see since he first got here.

(Y/n).

She's doesn't listen to the radio, but she sings along at all my shows

I'm in love with the Geek, the freak, the girl that never wins, so what, so what

He had caught her gaze and now he was searing with confidence as he jumped to the beat of his music and took the mic out of it's stand.

So what if she's no beauty queen, or the captain of the winning team

She's on the side lines living her own life and having a good time

So what if she's not popular, never made it as head cheer leader

She's on the side lines living her own life and having a good time (She's all that)

Akaashi had smiled causing her to give a smile of her own as he sang, he took note of how she nods her head to the beat of the music. He then points to her winking then smirking. 'It almost feels like he was singing to her' She had thought as her heartbeat suddenly picked up it's pace.

We could live happily ever after

All the girls in the world don't matter

She's the one, she's the one I'm after

So what if she's no beauty queen, or the captain of the winning team

She's on the side lines living her own life and having a good time

So what if she's not popular, never made it as head cheer leader

She's on the side lines living her own life and having a good time (She's all that)

Oh yeah, She's all that, Oh yeah

The song ends, Akaashi was sweating and breathing heavily, his grip on the mic hadn't loosened a bit. He was lost in the cheers of the crowd as it slowly made his ears numb. A sharp blaring sound is the only thing that he could hear as he continued to take uneven breathes. The numbness of his ears had faded upon seeing your face in the crowd again. He didn't want to lose you as he kept an eye on your figure. Kuroo and Bokuto had nudged him to take a bow along with them and once he did your figure looked like it was never there.

"Great performance out there."

"The song was lit."

As the grouo left the stage they were flooded with compliments, Kuroo had made his way to talk to a few girls whereas Bokuto's whereabouts are currently unkown. A finger had tapped Akaashi's shoulder, he turns around to fund you smiling that ridiculous smile of yours that forever had him captivated.

"You were great out there," the girl beamed.

"I guess. . . I-(y/n), I. . ." he hesitated, "I wrote that song about you and I-"

"I know."

Akaashi had never felt more horrified in his life, you on the other hand just continued on smiling as a solid blush crept it's way on hour face all the way to your neck.

"H-huh? Wait-I-what?"

"Bokuto told me," (Y/n) said as she craned her head to look over at the built male who was on the other side of the room, he had sent a flirtatous wink towards Akaashi.

"It was really sweet, I'm touched," she said while taking taking a step closer with each word, "but you wanna know something interesting? Akaashi Keiji is no longer a Stray."

"What do you mean?"

"Because, Akaash Keiji is mine now." she says leaning ever more closely, angling her her face and soon he could feel her breath fan against hos skin he then slowly closing the gap between them.

[kpop---scenarios]

Obsession

Demon! Stripper! Kai x Reader 

Warning: Smut 

Requested by: @ninibears-erigom​

Moodboard by: @lovely-kpopp-blog​

Word Count: 8.6k 

A/N: I hope you enjoy!!! 

All your life you had been told to stay away from the Southside of your city. You were taught from an early age that the Demon’s who lived over there were monsters, as you could have already guessed. Your mother warned you time and time again that your soul would be stripped from inside you, taken by the monsters and given to the devil, who would then have a claim on your life. He would be able to force you to do whatever he asked of you, even if you tried to fight it. She instilled so much fear into you that you never went close enough to even see that side of the city. You always remained in the protection of the north side, the side of the humans. It wasn’t to say that you were never curious about the Southside though. Whenever you heard your friends talk about it, it peaked your curiosity but you had never been brave enough to defy your mother and end up in more trouble than you’d be able to handle. Through out the years your eagerness to see for yourself what it was truly like. If your mother had made up some sort of fictional concoction of a story to keep your far away, if your friends were in fact correct about it being a fun place to go. It wasn’t until one of your coworkers and friend, Angie had asked you if you wanted to go to her birthday party on Saturday. You had spent most of your time working too much, never allowing yourself to take a break to have any type of fun, so you immediately agreed. You had made the mistake of not asking where it was going to be held. Once Saturday rolled around, you were told to be ready for 9pm, that the party bus would be stopping by your place to pick you up. You took extra time that evening to do your makeup, giving yourself a smoky eye with red lips. You slipped on your little black dress, pairing it with a pair of red heels. Your hair down, curled almost to perfection. You were excited. At 9pm on the dot, you hear a few honks from outside. Quickly you grab your purse and your phone before heading out to be greeting by Angie and a few of your close friends. “Let’s go!” Angie yelled with a glass of champagne in one hand and a shot of something in the other. Your friends pass you shot after shot, trying to get you up to their level of drunk. It doesn’t take much for you, considering it had been months since you last drank heavily. You were far too preoccupied with drinking, dancing and laughing to notice where the bus was headed. It wasn’t until it had stopped and opened its doors that you realized you didn’t recognize the part of town you were in. “Where are we?” you laugh, getting out of your seat. “Southside at a strip club called Obsession.” Lisa smiles. “Southside?” you whisper, feeling a little panicked. “I know you’ve never been, and your mom told you some God-awful lies about it but trust me, you’re going to be fine. This club..” Angie pauses taking a deep breath while fanning herself. “Has the sexiest men I’ve ever seen" she huffs, making a lustful face. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll be with you the whole time" your other friend Jennie smiles. Taking a deep breath you nod your head, linking arms with your friends before walking into the club. The first thing you notice is the amount of smoke lingering in the room. Definitely wasn’t cigarette smoke, but from a smoke machine. The red lights didn’t do much to help the darkness, the music was over powering, you could feel the bass vibrate through your body as you walked further in. But somehow you felt.. at peace, calm and excited. Your nerves vanished the moment you walked in and was replaced with excitement. Looking over to your left, you see a crowd of women fawning over the dancer who was clearly enjoying the abundance of attention he was receiving. “That’s Suho" Jennie whispered in your ear. “He’s a very popular dancer.” You could definitely see why, his red hair stood out significantly, his muscular arms and abs were a sight for sore eyes. Moving along you come across a few more dancers on side stages like Suho, all of them with swarms of women desperately trying to get the men to notice them. “Chanyeol and Baekhyun and Yixing” Jennie tells you. “They’re very popular as well, along with Chen and Sehun over there" she says, pointing to two more overly attractive and muscular men on the other side of the room, all with the same amount of women surrounding their stages. “Why have you never brought me here before?” you question, even though you were pretty sure you already knew the answer. “You know why" Lisa chimes in, giving you a look. The four of you manage to get front row seats at the main stage, which was currently empty at the moment. “Whose stage is this?” you ask, placing your bag at your feet, and taking off your jacket. “His name is Kai.” Angie says. “He is the most popular one here. His moves are.. well they’re the work of the devil, I’m sure. He’s sinful, a delicious tease, the most seductive man.” “Avoid making eye contact unless you’re prepared to be wrapped around his finger” Lisa laughs. From behind you, a man clears his throat. “Hello ladies, my name is Minseok, can I get you beauties anything to drink?” he asks with a devilish smile. Why and how were all the men who worked here literally the most perfect men you had ever seen. They looked and acted exactly like humans, minus the obvious almost black eyes they all had. “Four rounds of tequila shots" Angie yells over the music with a big smile. Minseok chuckles slightly before nodding his head, and heading over to the bar. “I so want to fuck him" Lisa groans, watching him walk away while biting her lip. If you were being honest, you’d probably fuck anyone of them. That was, until Kai came out, and then your eyes couldn’t leave him as much as you tried. “Ladies, ladies, I hope you’re all ready for the main show tonight" the announcer says over the speaker. As soon as the first words left his mouth every single woman who had been previous melting over the other men, were now surrounded at the main stage, eagerly waiting the one everyone was obsessed with. “Welcome to the stage, Kai" he yells. You can barely hear the music over the loud shrieks of women behind you. Though, it quiets down awfully quick when the lights suddenly shut off, leaving you all in the darkness. As the music begins to get louder, a single spot light shines in the middle of the stage, you look right at the light, as you slowly see a man emerge from the darkness. The moment he enters the light, your jaw drops. This man, was the most handsome man you had ever seen in your entire life. Your heart raced as you walked him smile a sincere smile, and then like the flip of a switch turn into this incredibly sexy monster. The way his hips moved, his slow thrusts into the air, the devious smile that crossed his lips, everything about him hypnotized you, especially the blue hair that stood out on him. Kai takes a small running start, before getting on his knees, sliding towards the front of the stage. Directly in front of you. For a moment his eyes connect with yours, a smile creeping across his face as he stares at you. He sneakily winks at you before moving on to pay attention to other women. Your heart beats even faster, you find it hard as you try to catch your breath. “Now for the first time ever, one lucky woman will be brought on stage for a special dance. Who should it be?” the man over the P.A system announces. Everyone screams, begging for him to choose them. But you, you just sit there, still concentrated on Kai as you watch him smiling at everyone, while he tries to pick a special lady. He stands in front of you, a smirk on his face as he walks down the stares to stand directly in front of you, his hand extended. You slowly raise your head, your eyes meeting with his for a second time tonight. You feel a lump in your throat as you gently place your hand in his, everything else surrounding you is tuned out. It’s just you and him, up on the stage. “I’ve never seen you here before.” He whispers in your ear as he sits you down before straddling you. “My first time” you whisper back, nervously. “My friends brought me" “Well I am certainly glad they did" he smirks, beginning to grind himself on you. You feel almost paralyzed as Kai dances on you. You can hear your friends loudly rooting for you, and the other woman praising him. You’re still unsure of what to do with yourself, having this be your very first lap dance, you didn’t think you could touch him, although you wanted too badly. Your time passes in a blur. Kai steps away from you, offering you his hand again to pull you up, helping you down the stairs and back to your friends. You didn’t know what this feeling was that took over you, but you already wanted to see him again. As the night came to an end, you didn’t want to go home. You didn’t want to leave this club, you wanted to talk to him, to touch him. Your friends had to practically drag you out and back to the bus. That night as you laid in your bed, you swore you could still feel the lingering touches of his finger tips. You could feel his bulge grinding against you, leaving you yearning for more. You dreamt of the all the things you would do to him if you ever had the chance. The nasty things you never thought you’d be into came into play in your dreams. Waking up the next morning, you made a conscious decision to go back to the Southside. You mainly wanted to explore the forbidden side of town that you always wondered about, but a huge part of you desperately wanted to find Kai again. You didn’t know if he would even be interested in you but in this moment you didn’t care. You had no reservations about your plans, so you hopped out of bed and began getting yourself ready. An hour later, you’re exiting your taxi, that refused to cross the boarder to the other side of town, claiming he needed to keep his soul to enter heaven. You’d gladly give yours up if it meant you got to meet Kai again. Slowly, you walk down the sidewalks, admiring the large amount of stores, restaurants and coffee shops. You didn’t understand what your mother thought was so terrifying about this place. It was almost exactly like the North side, buy the people were just a little different.. and not human but you didn’t mind. You walked for a few hours before stumbling upon a small hole in the wall type coffee shop. With a smile on your face you walk in and up to the counter to order an iced coffee. You sat down at a table, admiring the small shop when you heard a few men a few tables away from you, murmur about a human in the shop. The nerves that you didn’t have before crept up into your stomach, making you want to leave as quickly as possible. As you impatiently waited for your coffee, you could hear them talk about how they wanted you, some of the things they would do to you if they had a chance to get their hands on you. You quickly stood up from your table, just as your coffee was set down in front of you. You mumbled a quick thank you before grabbing it and heading for the door. Peaking behind your shoulder, you see the men stand up and begin walking to the door the same time as you, their sights clearly set on you. You never should have done this. Clearly humans weren’t always welcome into every place on this side. Exiting the building, you quicken your pace down the sidewalk, the men’s foot steps behind you becoming louder as they keep up with your pace. You turn the first corner you find, now running to try and get out of their sight. You begin to pass by and alley, when a hand reaches out for you, pulling you in before softly slamming you against the brick building. Your eyes are closed, you’re terrified of what’s going to happen. The persons hand covers you mouth, not allowing you to scream, their body pressed against yours. “Don’t make a sound” the man whispers in your ear. Something about his voice is so familiar to you, it’s dark but calming, husky but smooth. You slightly peak one eye open, and are surprised yet relieved to see Kai is the one pressing his muscular body against you. The two of you stand still for a few moments, hearing the men shout, trying to find you. They pass by the alley without a look and continue on with their search. Kai releases you from his hold, stepping back from you. “I thought Demon’s were supposed to be good trackers or something” you said, a little confused. You had always been told that they would always find you if you tried to escape from them. Kai lets out a small chuckle. “That’s the first thing you say?” he questions. “but most of us are excellent trackers, like me and then some.. are not, like them” he explains. “Were you tracking me?” you ask, knowing it was probably a long shot but you felt the need to ask anyways. “I was.” He admits. “I almost crossed the boarder to the North side" he smiles. “Why?” you question. “Why did you want to find me?” “The same reason you came here to find me. You felt the pull, didn’t you?” he asks, stepping closer to you. “You wanted more from me last night, just like I wanted to strip you down and fuck you right on that stage. I almost wish I would have too" he whispers in your ear, tucking a strand of hair behind you ear. “I..” you begin but stop, not sure how to respond. “What do you want?” he asks. “Do you want me to fuck you?” Before your brain can even process what he was saying to you, your mouth had already answered. “Yes" you huff. Kai steps back from you again, putting a good amount of distance between you, which you didn’t like. “Come find me at the club tonight, around 1am.” He smiles before beginning to walk away. Before he gets too far he turns around to look at you one last time. “But this time, try not to get yourself in trouble” he winks before practically disappearing. Taking a deep breath, you quickly find your way back to the boarder and back to your side of town. You head home, ready to take a long ass nap after the eventful day you just had. As you crawl into bed, your phone rings before you can close your eyes. You groan as you see it’s your mother calling. You did not want to deal with any of her shit today, although you did kind of want to tell her that you crossed the boarder, but she might actually try to drag you back to your childhood home, despite you being in your late twenties. “Hello, mother” you sigh into your phone. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all afternoon" she yells. “I went out for a bit and forgot my phone. Sorry" you yawn. “You stayed on our side right? You know what will happen if you cross that boarder.” She says, her voice harsh. “Good lord mother, I’m old enough to make my own decisions. And for your information, I did cross the border to explore, and you know what? Nothing happened to me. I still have my soul.” You told her. The line was silent for a few second before the line went dead. She was so dramatic. Tossing your phone down, you rolled over, closing your eyes and quickly falling into a deep sleep, dreaming about Kai, again. ** At 12:30am, you made your way back to the border, hoping to maybe catch Kai's last dance of the night before the two of you went off to do whatever he had planned. Walking into the club, you felt the same sense of calmness you did on the first night you were there. Without any hesitation you made your way to the main stage where Kai was already dancing. Luckily for you, you managed to snag the a vacant front row seat, unnoticed by the other women who were too busy watching him slowly take his clothes off. You had to remind yourself more than once to close your mouth, not wanting to end up drooling everywhere. As the show came to an end, Kai was left in what you could only describe as a small speedo, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. You could tell he had a hard cock, and you couldn’t wait for him to stretch you out. Before he walks off stage he motions to you to head back stage to meet him. You can’t get rid of the smile across your face as you leave the crowd of disappointed women behind you to follow the sex god. When he asked you if you wanted to go over to his house, you should have said no. You didn’t even know this man, but somehow you felt like you could trust him. Ever since the dance he gave you, you couldn’t stop thinking about him, it was almost as though you were addicted. The two of you walked out the back door of the club to Kai's car. He opened the passenger side door for you, allowing you to slide in, twiddling your thumbs as you wait for him to get into the drivers seat. Kai turns on the radio as he pulls out of the back parking lot, heading towards his house. “You seem nervous" he says with a smile, turning his head to look at you. “I don’t know. I don’t feel nervous, though I know I should be.” You reply with a shrug of your shoulders. “Why? Why should you feel nervous?” he asks. “Because I don’t know you at all. I know nothing about you, yet I find myself wanting to be around you, close to you. It’s like I crave it.” You explain. “That would be my fault.” He chuckles. “What do you mean?” you ask. “I have the ability, when I decide to use it, to make someone become addicted to me, in sense.” He smiles. “Well that would explain why I couldn’t stop thinking about you" you whisper. “However. There’s something about you, y/n. Something about you that makes me crave you. Ever since I laid my eyes on you, I wanted you. No needed you. You’re like a drug, and I’m already hooked.” He smirks. Jongin stops his car in front of a lavish looking apartment building. The two of you walk in, you trailing a little behind Kai as you both step into the elevator. He presses the penthouse button causing the elevator to jerk and begin moving up. Kai stands close to you, his finger tracing the inside of your palm. The elevator dings and Kai grabs your hand, pulling you into his large place. He stands in front of you, staring at you. You’re unable to break away from his piercing gaze. Your breath hitches as he leans in closer to you, his plump lips almost touching yours. “If you don’t want this, tell me now, otherwise I don’t think I’ll be able to stop after" he whispers, eagerly waiting for your response. “Yes I want this" you breathe, closing the gap between the two of you by placing your lips on his. Kai deepens the kiss, pulling your body into his, keeping his hands on your hips. You wrap your arm around his neck, keeping yourself balanced as you melt into his kiss. He traces your lips with his tounge, wanting to be able to enter. You slightly part your lips, allowing him to slip his tounge in. His hands travel down your hips as he bends his body slightly, placing his hands behind your knees. He pulls on the a little, signaling you that he wants you to jump up. You jump, wrapping your legs around his waist, the kiss never breaking. He walks towards what you can only assume is the bedroom. Within a second, you’re thrown onto his bed, he stands beside the bed with a smirk on his face as he watches you attempt to catch your breath. He takes a step forward, pulling his shirt over his head, exposing his set of rock hard abs. You licked your lips at the sight of him, the oh so delicious sight. You wanted so badly for him to take off his pants and whatever underwear he was wearing underneath. You needed to see his cock, you wanted to put it in your mouth, sucking until he came and it slid down your throat. Without even realizing it, you had sat up, and began discarding your clothes which was the reason Kai had stopped. He was watching you slip your shirt over your head, revealing the red lace bra you hid underneath. He groaned as you stood up, unbuttoning your pants to reveal a matching set of red lace panties. Kai wanted so badly to slam you down on the bed and rip off your lingerie set, shredding it from your body. He wanted to taste you on his tounge, have you squirm beneath him as he makes you cum over and over. He wanted ram his cock inside you, feel yourself tighten around him, screaming out his name. But he couldn’t, at least not yet. He wasn’t sure of what you were into and he didn’t want to end up scaring you off with his rough fucking. So instead, he climbed in the bed, pulling you down and laying you flat on your back. He hovered himself over you, placing small kisses along your neck, collarbone, and moving down towards your breasts. “I’m going to rip your bra and panties off of you, okay baby?” he whispers. You can only nod your head as your body tingles everywhere with the need for him to give you more. In one swift motion your breasts were free of your bra, your nipples perky due to the bit of draft in his room. “Mhmm" he groans, tilting his head to the side before lowering it, placing his lips around one of your nipples and sucking. He opens his mouth to graze it with his teeth, while simultaneously rolling your other nipple between two fingers. You throw your head back in pleasure, your pussy aching to be touched by him. “Please” you cry out, needing him to move further down your body. He looks at you waiting for you to continue. “I need more” you whine. “Tell me what you want” he says. “I want your mouth" you pant. “My mouth where?” he smirks. “Down here?” he asks, moving down your body. “You want my mouth sucking on your clit?” “Oh god yes” you cry as his fingers slowly graze in between your lips. “Are you sure?” he asks, placing his thumb on your clit, rubbing in small, soft circles. “Yes yes, please" you cry, desperately needing more. “Mhm" he says, laying on his stomach. He parts your legs even more, as far as they would go before he attaches his lips to your clit and starts sucking. “Oh my god" you moan, your eyes almost rolling into the back of your head. It had honestly been so long since you were with anyone, you forgot what it was like. You buck your hips up, moving your hips in a circle, needing to get as much friction as you could. “Shit" you cry out. Kai lays his arm across your hips, pushing down to prevent you from moving. He really was trying to kill you. “Oh oh” you cry out, your orgasm coming with great speed. But before you were able too, Kai moves his mouth away from your pussy, letting your orgasm slowly drift away. “Nooo" you cry out, covering your face. “why!?” you demand to know. “The first time you cum, I want it to be all over my cock" he growls, taking his pants off, allowing his large, thick cock to spring free. He wraps his hand around his cock, pumping a few times, coating his length with his precum. You lick your lips as you watch, just wanting him to shove it down your throat until you choke. He crawls in the bed, lining himself up with your entrance. He places your legs on his shoulders, gripping your thighs tightly as he pushes himself into you, completely stretching you out. Once inside of you, Kai is still for a moment, allowing you to adjust to his size. He fills you up like no one has before. “Move" you pant, needing to feel him move inside of you. Kai smiles as he slowly pulls out of you, pausing for a moment before ramming his cock back inside you which jolts your body. “Fuck baby girl, you’re so tight” he groans as he quickens his pace. He moves his hands from your thighs to wrap them around your calves, holding them closely to his chest. Kai's thrusts become harder and deeper, hitting your G spot every time. “Rub your clit" he grunts, loosening his grip on your legs. You reach down, placing your fingers in between your lips, rubbing your sweet spot. Your orgasm hadn’t gone too far away, the moment you touched yourself, you were almost right back to cumming. “Oh fuck" you scream out, rubbing circles on your clit faster as Kai fucks you harder. “You feel so fucking good" he groans. “I think I’m going too..” you trail off, your eyes rolling back. “Cum for me baby. Cum all over my cock" he demands. So you do. Your orgasm rips through your body, as you scream out in intense pleasure. “That’s a good girl" he moans, his pace and thrusts becoming erratic. “Where can I cum?” he grunts. “Cum in my pussy, please cum in my pussy" you cry out. Kai’s orgasm takes a hold of him, his thrusts stopping completely as he empties himself inside of you, coating your walls with his juices. He pulls out of you, his cock tender, and he lays down beside you, your sweaty bodies partially touching as you both try to catch your breath. “That was..” you pause. “Amazing" Kai huffs, finishing your sentence. “I guess I better get going.” You sigh after a few moments, getting up to gather your clothes. You look for your underwear before you remember they’re in pieces throughout his room. “You don’t have too.” Kai says, turning on his side, resting his head on his propped up hand. “You don’t really want me to stay. I get what this was. Its fine" you smile, slipping on your pants. You pull your t-shirt over your head, looking at Kai one more time. “What do you think this was?” he asks, sitting on the edge of the bed. “A one night stand.” You declare, walking out to grab your jacket. He follows quickly behind you, yanking on his boxers. “Wait, no" he begins. “You don’t have to explain. You don’t have to try to come up with some kind of reasoning as to why you want me to stay when you really don’t. Like I said, it’s fine. It was a fun night. Maybe I’ll see you again" you finish before the elevator dings at his apartment. You watch his face, which looks confused as the elevator door closes. You can’t imagine what he actually wanted to say. There was no way a man like that would be genuine in saying he wanted you to stay. You were severely out of his league. As much as you didn’t want it to hurt, it did. You liked him but unfortunately for you, it was a one night thing that you would remember forever. ** 9am came quickly the next morning. You hadn’t gotten home from Kai's until 4am and crashed almost immediately when you hit your bed. Thank god for you, you didn’t have to be at work until 10am but you did not get enough sleep. Your feet were dragging as you walked into the office, Angie sitting at her desk, impatiently waiting for you to sit down so she could ask you about why you were so tired. “What did you do last night?” she practically yelled. “Um well.. I went back to Obsession” you admit shyly. “Oh my god. Did you go see Kai? I knew it. I knew there was something between you two” she smiles. “what happened?” “I went back to his place and uh..” you trail off. “Did you fuck him? Please tell me you did. Was his dick huge? I bet it was huge.” A giant grin plasters on your face, confirming her suspicions. “Yes and oh yes” you admit. Angie let’s out a high pitched squeal as she tries to pry every bit of information out of you. After you finish telling you most of the details of your night, she stares at you in amazement. “that is amazing. You’re so lucky" she gasps. “are you going to see him again?” You shake your head. “No, it was just a one time thing" you say. Before she can reply, a man stands in front of your desk, holding a giant bouquet of flowers. “Are you y/n?” he asks. “Yes?” “For you" he says, placing the vase on your desk and walking away. “Oh my god" Angie gushes. “They’re totally from him.” You roll your eyes as you stand up looking for a card. Once you do, you sit down and open the envelope. *I’d really like to see you again, and no I’m not just saying that – Kai* You couldn’t get rid of the smile for the rest of the day, and Angie couldn’t stop gushing about how lucky you were. However one thing confused you. How did he know where you worked? At the end of the day, you’re leaving the building, your giant bouquet in hand. “Do you like your flowers?” You hear a voice question you. Peaking from behind them, you see Kai standing there, leaning against his car. His arms crossed, his suit fitting him perfectly. “I do" you smile. “but how did you know where I worked? You question. “I’m a very persuasive man when I want to be.” He smiles. “Look, I don’t know what gave you the idea that I only wanted one thing from you last night. I thought I had been rather obvious about how much I actually like you. I didn’t want it to be a one night stand" he explains. “I’m sorry, I just assumed..” you trailed off. “What?” he asks. “I assumed that it was all you wanted because, well, look at me and look at you" you say. “I didn’t expect you to want more. I honestly just figured it was a line" you say. “I make it very clear to women what I want. And I thought I had been clear with you, that you were different.” He tells you. “I’m sorry" you whisper. “Don’t be sorry. All I ask is you believe me when I tell you something, that I’m not saying it just to say it.” He smiles. “Now, would you like to go to dinner with me?” “I would love too" you smile.   ** Over the next few weeks, you and Kai were pretty much inseparable. Unless you were at work or had plans with friends, you and he were together. On the weekends you’d head over to Obsession to watch him dance, and watch all the women who were completely enthralled by him. You sat back and laughed to yourself whenever he would look at you, or wink, it had the other women fuming. That night, you spent at Kai's, where he asked you to be his girlfriend, of course you said yes without any hesitation. “I need to ask you for a favor" Kai sighs, as you partially lay on top of him, your head resting on his bare chest. His hand had been tracing along your back, lulling you to sleep, until he spoke. “What’s that?” you ask, wiggling your self slightly so he would continue to rub you. “Don’t.. don’t come to the Southside alone anymore. Not even with your friends, please.” He says. “Why?” you ask, sitting up, holding the sheet to cover your naked body. “Those men from the night after we first me, caught wind of you and I. Not that really any of the other Demons care, but these guys are different. They’re called Malum demons, which means evil. I know everyone has heard the stories that all demons are evil and whatever, but most of us just want to be able go coexist here with everyone, not cause harm.” He sighs. “However, the Malum demons just want that. They’re the ones who want to take souls, kill the humans, torture and murder the men, rape the women to have half human half demon children, who are supposed to be stronger than ever” “W-what can we do? Can we do anything?” you ask, your body beginning to shake. “There are people working on it but they seem to be getting more and more demons siding with them, thinking that it’s how it should be. But they’re pissed off that you got away from them. They wanted you, they still do and wont stop until they’ve got you. They’ll find out your friends, family, acquaintances. Anyone in your life and they’ll take it all away so you have no choice unless you give yourself to them." he tells you. “Oh my god" you cry. You hadn’t been expecting this. It felt like too much. You weren’t safe now. What about your friends? Your family? You’ve put everyone in danger because of your selfish wants of getting to know the demon you met that was dancing at the strip club. “Hey baby, don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Kai says, scooting closer to you, holding you tight. “It’ll all be okay” he smiles. You knew he wanted to make you feel better, but you weren’t sure if he could. The next day, after you laid awake in Kai’ bed for the remainder of the night, he was the one to drive you home. He parked in front of your building, turning off the ignition and turned to look at you. “Please remember baby. Don’t go anywhere alone, don’t come to the Southside unless me or one of my friends are with you and don’t answer the door if you don’t know whose behind it. I’m going to get this figured out, I promise. Those fucks won’t get to you.” Forcing a smile, you nod your head before leaning in to give him a quick kiss on those plump lips you loved before heading into your apartment while he waited for you to get inside. You turned, giving him a small wave goodbye before you closed your door behind you, taking a deep breath while taking off your shoes. How the fuck were you supposed to fix this? How were you going to keep everyone safe, especially Kai. You didn’t want him out there, possibly getting hurt because those men didn’t get what they wanted. You barely slept that night as well. Your stomach in knots, as the possibilities swam through your head of what was going to happen. You didn’t want anyone to get hurt, including yourself. But what if you just offered yourself up to the men. Maybe no one would get hurt. You couldn’t do that. No one would ever let you sacrifice yourself to save them, especially not Kai. Pulling out your phone, you dial the number of the one person you knew could help you figure something out. “Hey Angie, I know it’s late but I need your help..” you begin. 45 minutes later, Angie is sitting in your living room with you on the floor as you both eat Chinese food. “So let me get this straight” she pauses. “These guys are planning to attack everyone you know, essentially because you ran away from them and they couldn’t live out their fucked up delusional fantasies with you?” she asks, cocking her head to the side. “Yeah, basically" you nod. “I don’t know what the fuck to do.” “I wish I had an answer for you. But really, it’s going to have to be your decision to make.” She says, glancing around your place, like she hasn’t been here multiple times. “Is Kai coming over tonight?” she asks nonchalant. “Not tonight. He had some stuff to take care of.” You answer. “I’ll be back. Bathroom break.” Angie announced, quickly getting off the floor and heading to the bathroom. You didn’t understand why she was suddenly acting so weird. Pulling our your phone, you send a quick message to Kai, telling him how weirded out you were by her sudden change in behaviour. [8:38pm] Kai ♡: I’m coming over. You didn’t protest, you loved seeing and maybe you’d be able to convince him to finally stay the night. He always would decline because being on the North side made him nervous. You hear a knock at your door, right as Angie steps out of the bathroom. “I shouldn’t answer it.” You whisper to her. You knew that Kai couldn’t have gotten here that fast. She just gives you a smile before she walks to your front door, unlocking it and pulling it open. Standing in front of you are the two men from the day in the coffee shop, you’d never forget those faces. “Close the door! Run!” you scream. Angie laughs. “who do you think told them to come here?” she chuckles. “W-what?” You ask, unable to fully process it. “I called them. I’ve been telling them all about you, sweet y/n. Everything they needed to know.” She smiles as one of the men puts his arm around her waist. “Why?” you whisper.   “Because you stole what was supposed to be MINE.” She yells. “Kai was supposed to be mine. Do you know how long I’ve been going to Obsession? How long I’ve been working on trying to get him to notice me? How many times I’ve done whatever I could to talk to me? I was so close and then you go one night and he acts like you’re the best thing in the world.” She snaps. “So, when they approached me, telling me that they wanted you and for you two to not be together, I figured it was the perfect opportunity. They get you, and I’ll finally get Kai" she smiles. “Do you know what they’re going to do to me!? What any of their fucking plans are?” you cry. You can’t believe this. “I don’t really care, to be honest. I just want what’s mine.” She shrugs. “I thought we were friends" you whisper. “We were. Until you stole from me y/n. I don’t like thief’s” The three of them stood there, staring at you. You were shocked and felt betrayed but more so, you were trying to figure out a way to escape. Hoping that Kai would be there soon enough to help you. “Enough of this sappy shit. Take what you want, boys.” Angie says, moving to the side as the two men walk towards you. You turn to run but you’re not quick enough, one of the already has his hand wrapped tightly around your wrist. “No!” you scream. “Fucking let her go, right now" you hear a voice snarl behind you. You turn around, seeing Kai with an angrier face than ever. “Kai, baby. Just let them go. You have me now" you hear Angie purr, in a desperate attempt to be sexy. “What’s it going to take with you? I don’t fucking want you. Never have, never will" he snaps at her. “Back off Kai. We just want what slipped away from us.” One of the men growls, his grip tightening. “We don’t want you to get hurt, pretty boy" Kai laughs. “I think I’ll be fine. Besides, there’s a lot more of us then there is of you" he smiles, cocking his head to the side. Before either of the men can say a word, there’s four men behind Kai, men that you recognize from the club. “So again, let her go.” Kai snaps. The two men look at eachothers and smile. The one holding onto you pushes you back harshly, causing you to stumble back, tripping over the area rug and hitting your head on an end table. You try to keep your eyes open, but with in seconds your world turns black, as you fall unconscious to sight of Kai lunging for the man, his eyes black. ** When you wake up, you’re expecting to still be in your apartment in your bed, hopefully with Kai laying next to you. But instead you’re laying in a hospital bed, with an IV in your arm and Kai’s head resting on the edge of your bed. “Kai?” you whisper. His head shoots up, his eyes wide. “why am I in a hospital?” you ask, looking at his face to make sure he had no cuts or bruises. “You hit your head when that piece of shit shoved you” he says, looking you in the eyes. “I needed to make sure you were okay" “I would have been fine in my own bed too. This is going to cost a fortune” you groan, getting out of the bed. “Don’t worry about that. It’s all covered. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t anything else wrong, something more. You hit it pretty hard" he says, offering his hand to you. “I’m just fine. Don’t worry. What happened?” you asked. You almost didn’t want too. You were worried about what words might come out of his mouth next. “All I’m going to say is you wont need to worry about those two. They’re not going to be trying to bother you anymore.” He smiles. The two of you begin to walk out of the room, when the doctor stops you, asking to speak with you for a second. “Why? You said she was clear to go when she woke up” Kai says.   “Y-yes, but I just have a few questions to ask her, privately.” The doctor stutters. “Its okay. I’ll be right out" you say to Kai, letting go of his hand. Once the door closes, the doctor looks at you with worried eyes. “are you okay? Do you need help? I know what he is.” The doctor whispers. “What? Help? No? He’s my boyfriend.” You laugh. “I don’t need help. Not all demons are bad, doctor” you laugh, opening the door, slipping your hand in Kai's and walking out the front entrance. Kai takes you back to his house, claiming he needed to do some cleaning at your house before you could go back. You were pretty sure you knew what he meant but decided you really didn’t want to know about the possible dead demons laying on your living room floor. ** The next day you went to work, and sitting at the desk next to yours sat a very sad looking Angie. You didn’t bother to look at her, or even acknowledge her. In fact, as far as you were concerned, she was dead to you. “Y/N..” she whispers. “Don’t.” you snap, your eyes never leaving your papers. “I don’t want to hear anything from you. Ever.” “Please.” She cries. “I don’t know what came over me" “I know exactly what came over you. Greed, jealousy, selfishness to name a few.” You spit. “Let me make it up to you" she whispers. “Why? So you can stab me in the back again? No thanks.” You say, walking to your bosses office, in hope’s of being able to be transferred to a different desk, or yet a different department. ** A few months later, you and Kai were still going stronger than ever. He had met your crazy mother, who pretty much fell for him the moment she saw him walk through the door. At that moment she didn’t care what he was, she only cared on how he treated you. She had been so wrapped up in the fact that he was a demon that she never thought that he would be anything but terrifying to look at, and a monster. As it turned out, she had never actually seen a demon before. She could have passed one on the street and never would have known considering she was always looking for a terrifying creature, which they were anything but. Once you had transferred desks at work, you never saw Angie again. Not even when you, Lisa and Jennie had gone to Obsession together. The fear of the Southside had slowly diminished as people from the North crossed the boarders and saw for themselves that they meant no harm to them. It was finally acceptable for humans and demons to be together, and everyone could come and go from each side as they pleased. After a few more months, you and Kai had moved in together. You happily left your small apartment with some bad memories for his penthouse which held only good ones. You and Kai laid in bed on the first night of living together, laughing and talking. “I want to ask you something" he states, sitting up in bed. “Okay?” you say, a little nervous. “Now, I haven’t brought this up because I didn’t want you to feel pressured to say yes, and I know it’s only been not even a year that we’ve been together, but..” he pauses, jumping out of his bed to rummage through his dresser. By the time he walks towards you, you’re sitting on the edge of the bed with your hands in your lap and a tingle in your stomach. Kai slowly sinks down onto one knee, pulling out a small box. “I’ve loved you since I first saw you walk into my club. I honestly can’t imagine my life without you. Will you be mine forever?” he whispers, opening the box, revealing a beautiful and large diamond ring. “will you marry me?” You can’t help the tears from streaming down your cheeks. You can’t formulate any words, your brain was barely working to process what he had just asked you. “You.. you want to marry me?” you cry.   “Yes baby, it’s you. It’ll always be you" he smiles, taking the ring from the box to slid it on your extended hand as you yell ‘yes' through your tears. You stare at your hand for a second, admiring your newly acquired piece of jewelry. You let out a loud chuckle as Kai tackles you back onto the bed, smiling as he hovers over you. He leans his head down, pressing his lips onto yours. His hand trails from the side of your face down as he slides his body off of you. He reaches under your silence nightgown, cupping your breast before teasing your nipple with his fingers. He sits up, pulling you up as well. “Arms up" he purrs. You do as your told, moving so he’s able to pull your nightgown off of you, discarding it somewhere in your shared bedroom. He lays you back down, placing gentle kisses along your stomach, moving his way up to suck on each breast. He looks up at you again, smiling before climbing off the bed, and onto his knees on the floor. Kai spreads your legs wide, allowing him to see one of his favorite views. “Mhm” he groans, leaning forward to lick a long strip up your pussy. “Oh god" you cry out as the tip of his tounge begins to flick your clit, causing your legs to shake. Kai spreads your lips before he latches his lips to your clit, sucking harshly before sticking two fingers inside of you. Your eyes are closed as he works on you, your hands reach up to cup your breasts. You then move one hand further down, running it through his luscious blue hair, gripping tightly on a chunk. Kai continues to thrust his fingers in and out of you while switching from sucking and licking your clit. “Fuck fuck" you cry out, your orgasm building quickly. Kai switches the pace of his fingers frequently, going from slow to fast, making your orgasm come faster. “I.. I’m gunna cum” you scream out, your body slightly convulsing as the high coursed through your entire body. Kai lifts his head from in between your legs, your wetness shining on his face as his licks it up. “You always taste so fucking good baby" he smiles as he stands up, his cock pressing harshly against his sweat pants. You smile as you climb off the bed, kneeling in front of him now. You hook your fingers on the inside of his sweatpants, dragging them down his legs. His cock springs free, the tip red and almost throbbing while leaking precum. You lick your lips as you move your mouth closer, opening wide to take him all in. Kai jerks his hips forward, pushing himself down your throat. “Fuck baby" he groans, his hands gathering a clump of hair. He gently thrusts his hips, shoving his cock down your throat, a little further with each thrust. The tears begin to fall down your eyes as you swallow his cock with every thrust he gives you, choking a little each time. “Such a good little slut for me" he moans, his thrusts becoming faster. “You want me to cum in your mouth?” he grunts, his grip on your hair tightening. “Mhmm" the only sound you can make. “Shit" he cries out as he pulls himself mostly all out of your mouth, except for his tip while he shoots his load inside your mouth. Standing up he smirks at you and your clearly still full mouth. “Swallow, baby” he whispers, watching you intensely. You look him straight in the eyes as you swallow everything in your mouth, as he groans in satisfaction. “fuck you’re sexy" he smiles, whisking you off your feet and throwing you onto the bed. “I can’t wait to marry you” he smiles. “Mrs. Kim Y/N" he says, placing another kiss on your lips.

[aion-rsa]

The Nevers Episode 1 Review: a Tonal Mishmash

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This The Nevers review contains spoilers.

The Nevers Episode 1

Who is The Nevers for? Not kids, clearly. The frolicsome humour, cartoony performances and grade school social commentary might suggest so, but the nudity, cursing and blood say no. It’s meant for adults then, those of us happy to go along with the essential YA-ness of its ‘Victorian orphanage for superpowered misfits’ premise.

Episode one opens with a flashback montage introducing the ensemble of – mostly but not all – women in 1890s London. One repairs a broken pump with a clothespin, another queues for an opera audition, another is led away to an asylum, while another drops willingly into the Thames. By the end of the hour we learn that this was the moment that three years earlier, a mysterious and possibly alien airship passed over London trailing glittering motes that entered some and left them with a unique special ability. 

The new powers, or ‘Turns’ appear related to natural predisposition. The doctor can magically heal wounds. The woman with a knack for engineering can suddenly see and guide electricity. The opera singer’s voice has a magical effect on those who hear it… These people are ‘The Touched’, a new feared and misunderstood subculture in Victorian society.  

Mysteries are set up in fast succession. Who is kidnapping The Touched and conducting cruel live experiments on them? What drives Maladie (Amy Manson), the Touched asylum patient turned serial killer? What role will blackmail-based sex club The Ferryman’s, run by the debauched Lord Swann (James Norton) play? And why does nobody seem to remember the golden angelfish-shaped ship that dished out the powers?

Ass-kicking, future-seeing action widow Mrs Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) is another mystery. Along with inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), she’s part of the energising double act who go around London retrieving the Touched and bringing them back to an orphanage owned by philanthropist Lavinia Bidwell (Olivia Williams). Behind the orphanage’s utopian walls, the Touched are accepted for their differences and part of a chosen family.

Miss Adair and Mrs True are a fun pair; Penance brings the steampunk gadgets, Amalia brings the noise. A caustic voice for the voiceless, Mrs True also brings the curt dressing downs to bigots who see The Touched as inhuman. She’s the chief mouthpiece for the show’s social commentary, which is worn very much on its puffed sleeve. Wherein lies the problem.

Read more

TV

How The Nevers Weathered COVID Delays and Joss Whedon’s Departure

By Alec Bojalad

TV

Fandoms Roil Online as Joss Whedon Suddenly Quits His New HBO Show The Nevers

By Kirsten Howard

A major weakness of The Nevers is that everything feels in service of theme and not character. That theme, in case you dodged it in episode one, is society’s treatment of the outsider. An otherwise charming cast is done a disservice by dialogue and characterisation that’s here to stage a debate rather than a human drama. Pip Torrens (Poldark) plays Lord Massen, for example, a walking symbol of the status quo who declaims against the Touched, women, immigrants and ‘deviants’. The Touched therefore become a catch-all stand-in for any marginalised group oppressed by power and seen to threaten the social hierarchy. 

Such unspecificity might work for a younger audience less likely to have seen it all before, but for adults, for fantasy fans well-versed in this kind of allegory, what’s being added? If you’ve ever wanted more corsetry and parasols in your X-Men, then you’re in luck, but if not, what The Nevers has to say is unlikely to blow your mind. 

Which brings us back the question of who The Nevers is for. When HBO gave it a straight-to-series order back in 2018, it was obvious: Joss Whedon fans. People who, like me, had grown up on Buffy and Firefly and tried our damnedest with Dollhouse. Here was our next iteration of the Whedonverse: an enclave of kickass women, witty one-liners, and an overarching message of weirdos-unite empowerment. 

Even back then, it was becoming hard to square that message of empowerment with reports of Whedon’s personal behaviour, and actors being treated badly behind the scenes. Three years on, ‘Joss Whedon fan’ is a defunct brand. While it’s possible to still love the work, after several of Whedon’s previous cast members went public with allegations of the showrunner’s inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour, it’s impossible to love the man. 

All of which is an overlong way of saying that for the type of viewer tuned into this stuff –obviously not everybody – The Nevers comes preloaded with discomfort. It could be the greatest TV show in the world and, like a delicious dish made from an endangered species, would be hard to enjoy knowing what we know. 

The Nevers is not the greatest TV show in the world. It’s a tonal mishmash of comedic gaiety and Ripper-ish Victoriana. The combination of fairy tale imagination – where girls grow ten times their size Alice in Wonderland-style or float an inch off the floor – with louche sex and slit throats is an uncomfortable blend. Its brighter moments are dimmed by a need to fill a 9pm HBO timeslot. Who is The Nevers for? So far, not me.

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The Nevers continues next Sunday the 18th of April at 9pm on HBO. It will air in the UK on Sky Atlantic from May the 17th. 

The post The Nevers Episode 1 Review: a Tonal Mishmash appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The Barista

[11:00am. Outside The Mighty Anchor]

Huh? Hey, sorry, but the cafe is currently closed today. Police investigation and all...Aplogies...

I can see it’s closed...but I’ll be going in anyway. I need to ask the barista a few questions about the night of the murder...

Huh? How did you...

Oh...Oh! You must be Detective Kirigiri, correct?

That’s right. This here is my protege, Shuichi. Mind letting us in?

Of course, of course. I gotta warn you though, we’ve tried asking the witness a few questions ourselves, but he’s being super uncooperative.

I’m sure we can get something out of him. Thanks for your hospitality officer.

Just doing my job...

Wow...this place is pretty nice...Pretty hard to think about how someone died here...

Huh!?

Hm?

Who the hell are you? Here to get a drink?

You must be Dash, right?

We’re closed. Fuck off.

Huh? Did he just-

Yes...he’s definitely Dash. Koichi mentioned he had a potty mouth...

Who the hell even are you guys?

I’m Kyoko Kirigiri and this is Shuichi Saihara. We’re detectives from the Future Foundation, investigating a murder case. We need to ask you some questions.

Not another one...Police have been down my neck all god damn morning...!

Mr Dash, we’d just like to ask you some questions. Four nights ago, a man-

Piss off pretty girl! I already know what you’re gonna say!

I-I don’t think you should be talking to Ms Kirigiri like that.

Wh-What do you want you depressed looking bastard!? Can’t you see I’m in no mood to talk!?

I don’t need to use my eyes to see that...

There’s no proof! No proof I say! They think I saw the fight, they think I have an account, they’re all wrong!

And there’s no way you can prove otherwise!

No, that’s wrong!

H-Huh!?

Mr Dash. We have evidence that you knew about the fight.

You claim that the night events don’t ring a bell, but you and I both know that’s not true.

R-Really, I don’t know what you’re talking about!

Then, how do you explain this?

*Shuichi pulls out his phone and shows Dash the video footage of him and the other Crazy Diamond bikers leaving the club at 11pm.

Does this jog your memory sir? This video footage is very clear, almost unnaturally so. But it shows that you were in the bar when everyone else cleared out when the Crazy Diamonds burst in.

...!

You left the scene with the victim, Isao, and the suspect, Kizakura, in there alone. 

You can’t deny this. You’re waist deep in this story...

S-Seriously...?

F-Fine...ok...I’ll talk...

But please, allow me to drink my coffee first...I haven’t topped up and I feel cranky...

Of course. We’ll be waiting.

*Dash heads into the staff area to get a cup of coffee.

That was amazing Shuichi. You really are good at this.

Ah...uh...th-thanks...

Greetings. I have returned.

Huh?

Apologies for my rudeness. I shall introduce myself again.

My name is Dash. I prefer not to state my surname unless I need to.

Sorry for pointing this out but...You seem a bit...different...than you were a few moments ago...

Ah...Y-Yes...you must forgive me. It might sound a little strange but...If I’m not caffeinated, then...a new side of me comes out.

Normally, I’m a polite humble, barista, I swear to you, but...I have a condition.

I’m in no position to judge. I’ve definitely seen worse cases...

But I assume you’re ready to talk now? I don’t plan on asking you for much. You see, we’re working Mr Kizakura’s case for the murder, he’s the man who you apparently nursed back to health that night.

Yes, though I don’t know where to begin...

To start off with, what went down around 9pm four nights ago?

I’m sure you already know this, but we had a bit of a situation. Mr Isao and a bunch of the other goons dragged Mr Kizakura in here. It was rather out of the blue. All my customers in the store at the time made a break for it, and I myself was taken aback by it all.

But you still didn’t leave?

I had no reason to. They didn’t want anything with me after all...Besides, this isn’t the first time they’ve pulled a stunt like this...

Like what?

Dragging poor saps into the bar and beating the shit out of them...It’s happened before.

How often does it happen?

Not often, but...I don’t exactly mind.

I must have failed to mention this to you, but Captain Karma and I are actually acquaintances. During the mornings, he often comes by here and we chat.

Really? You mean Eje Karma?

Yes, that’s him. Captain Eje Karma is one of my more frequent customers. I’m not a member of his gang or anything, but I’m in no position to speak out when he comes dragging people into this building.

I’m sure you know this, but this place is like a hub for them. It’s not rare to see them around.

I gotta say...I didn’t expect a biker gang leader to like coffee...

Well, he comes in here each morning for a coffee fill up and sometimes on weekends, he and his gang members cool off here in the evenings.

Captain Karma doesn’t drink though. He can’t stand the flaming stuff.

And on the night of the brawl...Were there many customers in the bar?

No, it was a weeknight, so it’s not that busy in the evenings. Only about four or five people were here, but like I said, they hightailed it when the gang burst in.

I stayed, like I said, but for about an hour, the bikers just starting pounding into Kizakura...They didn’t hit him hard enough to severely injure him though. He bled a little, but that’s about it.

And you didn’t stop them!?

As if I could...Even if I wanted to, the Diamonds always get their way. It was either leave them to it, or become a part of it.

Well, you COULD have called the police...

Think about his situation for a moment Shuichi. If he’d called the cops, it would be both dangerous and pointless.

For one, if he did, then the gang would probably have him slaughtered. Furthermore, remember what Ms Yamaguchi said? The police in this area are scared of the power that the Crazy Diamonds hold.

Yes, it’s just as she said. I’m sincerely sorry, but there was nothing I could have done. Besides, I didn’t see a problem. They weren’t hurting him enough to kill him, so I thought he’d be fine. I had no way of knowing anyone was going to die that evening.

I see. I understand in that case...

But then, around 11, something weird happened.

Mr Isao kicked everyone out of the club, which included me.

And the only ones left inside, all by themselves were Koichi Kizakura and Kawaguchi Isao.

Do you know why Isao kicked everyone out?

He told me that he wanted a moment alone with him. Claimed they needed to have a “private chat” since he reminded him of an old buddy he once knew.

At least...those were his words...

And nobody found that weird? They all just did it and left without so much as a retort?

I did at least. But I can’t say the same for the biker boys. They had plenty of inputs in it.

But Kawaguchi Isao has authority, and power among the group. If he tells you to leave, then you leave. The only person who tells him what to do is Captain Karma.

Ironically enough, that authority was his downfall. If we hadn’t all left, then maybe he’d still be alive and Kizakura would still be a free man.

At about 3 or so in the morning, I went to head back to work and found that Mr Kizakura was passed out in the lobby of the batting cages. I’d feel bad if I just left him, so I took him back to the club and he woke back up at about 4 o clock in the morning. I helped him out and gave him some bandages and a pack of peas for his bruises. I also gave him some coffee to help him with his hangover.

If it helps you in any way, let it be known that when I came back, the bar was in a state, but Isao wasn’t there. I figured he’d left, but then his body was reported round the back.

You don’t go out back often?

I don’t smoke, and I only take out the trash on weekends. I couldn’t have found it.

I see...in that case...

Are we done here? The coffee’s beginning to wear off...

Of course. Sorry to take up your time like this sir. We’ll be on our way.

Come back soon Detective. Preferably when we’re still open.

*As soon as Shuichi and Kyoko leave the club, Kyoko’s phone rings. She answers it.

Hello Kyoko. It’s Makoto. Where are you right now?

I’m at the Mighty Anchor with Shuichi. We just asked the barista a few questions. Is there a problem?

Sort of...when you’re done over there, can you come back to the office? It’s kind of urgent.

What is it?

You’ll see when you get here...

Ok...? See you soon.

*She hangs up

Shuichi. Somethings come up. Mind if we head back to the branch?

No, of course I don’t. Let’s go.

Ah, here she is...

Hey Makoto. What’s the prob-

...!

Hm? Ms Kirigiri?

Y-Y...You are...!

...

Long time no see...Kyoko...

[anubislover]

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 11: Dinner with Dr. Heart Stealer

As the clock struck seven, Nami critiqued her outfit in the mirror; a strapless little black dress that hugged her curves like a glove, gold stiletto heels, black thigh-high stockings, and the tourmaline jewelry she’d bought from the seller in Tokken. She even used the hairpins Law had gotten her to clip back the left side of her hair. She finished off the look with some dark red lipstick and gold smokey eyeshadow, giving herself an elegant but sensual look.

“Getting all dressed up for the captain?” Ikkaku teased from her bed. The engineer was thumbing through the romance novel she’d caught Nami with, and though it wasn’t her usual thing, had decided to give it a shot. After all, it had managed to entrance the usually energetic navigator for hours, and she had some time to kill before Ladies Night.

Brushing some gold highlighter over her cheekbones, Nami scoffed. “Please, I’m getting dressed up for you. Law’s just a lucky bastard who benefits due to scheduling.”

“I’m flattered,” she said with a wink. “Though I’ll understand if you ditch me to take him back to the nearest inn so he can rock your world. I mean, I won’t be happy, but I’ll understand.”

“Ok, I gotta ask—have you ever slept with Law? Because you’re always vouching for his sexual prowess…”

Ikkaku immediately made fake gagging sounds. “Oh, hell no! That’d be like fucking one of my brothers! But I have talked to some of his past lovers, and they all seemed pretty damn satisfied. Something a girl like you deserves to be.”

Hip jutting out and eyebrow raised in challenge, Nami replied, “How do you know they aren’t lying? Maybe he’s terrible in bed but they’re all too scared to speak ill of the Surgeon of Death, especially to one of his fearsome subordinates.”

The grin said subordinate graced her with was nothing short of salacious. “Because if he were bad, Drake wouldn’t keep coming back for more, even though Law pisses him off so much.”

Nami bit her lip to hide her grin. “Ok, fair point. Also, I want the inside scoop on that relationship.”

“If Law doesn’t give you the dirty details himself, I’ll happily fill you in,” she replied, sniggering. “Bet they’ll give you better fantasies than whatever’s in your books!”

Pink rose to the redhead’s cheeks as her eyes briefly darted to the space under her bed. Nami had shoved Ikkaku’s scandalous box to the very back corner to hopefully never see the light of day again. She dared not throw them out; she doubted Ikkaku would take kindly to it, and knowing her, would probably present her with something even more embarrassing in retaliation. “By the way, as much as I hate your stupid ‘gift’, thanks for not spilling that to everyone. At least, not directly.”

“I thought about it but figured the sex toys would be just as funny without the guys prying into your hobbies. Most of them have enough tact to keep them from teasing you about a dildo, but I doubt they’d show the same restraint if they found out you were into erotic novels.”

“You just want to lord my guilty pleasure over me, don’t you?”

“How’d you know?”

“I have a sister, remember?”

“Ha! Good point. I’m guessing she teases you about this stuff?” she asked, pointing to the book.

Chocolate eyes rolled in exasperated fondness as she played with her bracelet. “All the time. It was annoying, but I guess I appreciated it, in a way. It was one of the more normal things we could talk about, given how screwed up our situation was.”

“Because of the pirates holding your town hostage?”

“Yeah,” she replied, debating on whether she should elaborate. Finally, she added, “I was kind of an outcast among the townsfolk because I made sea charts for the captain. My sister was the only one who knew it was against my will, and that I had made a deal to raise money to buy the village back. Or at least, they all pretended not to know so if I ever decided to give up and run away, I wouldn’t feel guilty.”

“You know, I’m beginning to understand why you have so many trust issues,” Ikkaku quipped, though her eyes were sympathetic.

“Believe me, it was way worse before Luffy came into my life. If we’d met a year ago, I would have already betrayed you and stolen the ship and all the treasure on board.”

“You could try, but the Boss would kill you. He loves this ship and he does not take threats to his crew lightly.”

“I’ve noticed,” Nami deadpanned, adjusting her bodice. It was a sweetheart neckline, which nicely accented her generous bust, had enough support to keep her from spilling out. Such a thing was extremely necessary, given the low back of the dress. Not long ago, she would have been nervous wearing something so daring around Law, but she was still leaning on the theory that he had a weird fetish for modest clothing. If she was right, showing this much skin would act as a repellant.

“He wasn’t too rough with you, was he?” Ikkaku asked, genuinely concerned. “I mean, he can get intense—”

“Oh, he was absolutely terrifying, and I’m pretty sure he was ready to start removing body parts if I hadn’t been having a panic attack, but honestly? I’d still choose him over Arlong.”

Before Ikkaku could ask any questions, there was a firm knock on the door. Grabbing her new purse and slipping into a leopard print, fur-trimmed coat, Nami nodded at her roommate. “Promise me a 9pm rescue?”

“Hmmm, only if I don’t get too caught up in this book,” she teased, cracking it open. “I mean, you did say there was some pretty intense eye contact to look forward to.”

Blushing, she shot back, “You laugh, but chemistry like that can be more intense than any make-out scene.”

“Says the virgin.”

Choosing to ignore the jab, Nami yanked open the door and was met by Law’s cocky smirk. To her surprise, he wore a tailored white suit with a black dress shirt, which brought out that extra little bit of olive in his skin tone. His polished black dress shoes gleamed as brightly as his earrings and the thick, gold chain around his neck. A heady, musky scent tempted Nami’s nose, and she realized Law’d chosen to wear some kind of cologne. Oddly enough, his white fur hat and tattoos didn’t seem as out of place as when he’d dressed up on Tokken Island; perhaps it was because this wasn’t a disguise, or the color was just far more complimentary to his trademark accessories. He looked slick and dangerous, but also at ease—a criminal on a night off.

Damn it, he looked even better than he had at the gala.

Leaning against the doorframe, Law’s grin widened at her perusal. “Do I pass inspection, Nami-ya?” he purred, giving her his own approving once-over.

Gold eyes locked with hazelnut as Nami cocked her hip. “Considering how you haven’t told me where we’re going, it’s a bit hard to judge. For all I know, you’re underdressed.”

“We’re going to a jazz club I frequent, so even if I showed up in jeans, they’d let me in—especially if I have a beautiful woman on my arm.”

“Flatter all you like, Law—you’re not getting out of footing the bill.”

Never breaking eye contact, he gave a little mock bow. “Of course not. A gentleman always treats on the first date.”

“I don’t know you’re more wrong about; that you think this is a date, that there’ll be more than one, or that you’re anything even close to a gentleman.”

“I think I proved myself at the gala. I was on my best behavior, wasn’t I?”

“Maybe in public, but the second we were alone, you went right back to being a bastard.”

A low whistle interrupted their banter, and Nami turned to see Ikkaku wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she meaningfully glanced between them. “You know what, Nami? You may have a point with that ‘intense eye contact’ thing.”

Cheeks inflamed, Nami grabbed Law by the arm and dragged him down the hallway before Ikkaku could say anything else. As she felt the captain’s intense gaze burning into the back of her head, she silently wondered if a free dinner was worth it.

XXX

The outside of the jazz club was far from impressive—in fact, the entrance was a nondescript wooden door against a plain brick wall, its only ornamentation a faded bronze knocker and a number “8” nailed at the top. Nami was positive she would have walked straight past if Law hadn’t led her to it, pausing to quickly rap three times with his knuckles, then four with the knocker.

After a moment, the door opened, and they were greeted by a young woman dressed in a short skirt and tailored red vest. “Captain Trafalgar. So glad you could join us tonight.”

Law gave a lazy, familiar grin as he wrapped his arm around Nami’s waist. “Always a pleasure, Akari. Is my usual booth ready?”

“Of course, sir,” she replied, ushering them inside and leading them down a narrow, winding staircase.

As they stepped into the lounge, Nami’s eyes widened in surprise. The bland building façade hid a much more elaborate interior; everything from the bar to the floor to the wall panels were made of mahogany or cherry wood, with ruby red cushions, upholstery, and carpets. Red and gold lamps provided just enough light to see by while giving the place a sensual, mysterious ambiance.

At the far end of the room, low couches formed a semi-circle around the small dance floor in front of the stage, where various instruments and music stands awaited performers. Currently, the stage’s sole occupant was an older gentleman playing a soothing tune on the piano. There were a few larger tables scattered about, but most of the seating appeared to be small booths in the walls, their openings framed by red velvet curtains. Several were occupied by canoodling couples, and it didn’t escape Nami’s notice that a few even had the curtains drawn.

Akrai led them to an empty booth, and Law graciously helped Nami out of her coat, handing it to their hostess to hang up before sliding comfortably into his seat.

“Wow,” Nami said, taking it all in. Their seating arrangement was cozy but not claustrophobic, the velvet cushions that padded the crescent bench wonderfully plush. A gold lamp hung above the round table, allowing her to more easily peruse the embossed menu. Appetizers ranged from shrimp cocktail to deviled quail eggs, while entrees featured grilled seafood, roast duck, and steak. The drink list was extensive with an assortment of sparkling wines, cocktails, hard liquor, and even absinthe.

“I figured you’d approve,” Law replied smugly, lounging back in his seat. “And I told you I wasn’t underdressed.”

“I guess not. How’d you hear about this place?”

“It’s an establishment that first started in the North Blue—Prohibition Island decided it wanted to outlaw alcohol, among other ‘sinful’ things. The club’s owner was an entrepreneur from the West Blue, so she knew a thing or two about setting up businesses under the government’s nose. The original club became successful enough to branch out to other islands, and eventually made its way down the Grand Line.”

“I wouldn’t expect Grimm to ban alcohol,” Nami replied, brow furrowing in confusion. An archipelago that catered to pirates and other scum, which had a thriving black market and a brothel on every corner, but outlawed alcohol? The very idea was baffling.

Head shaking, Law chuckled, “Oh, it doesn’t, but Haiko-ya felt the atmosphere suited the clandestine aesthetic. This just happens to be a place where you can get quality booze and not worry about someone spiking your drink. She’s a criminal, but she has standards far higher than most of the island’s establishments.”

“You sound like you know her personally.”

He shrugged but gave a mysterious smile. “She’s Kimo-ya’s wife, actually. Considering all the business I do with her husband, she was happy to give me a lifetime VIP membership.”

A wave of paranoia sent a shiver down Nami’s spine. “What if she sells us out to Jinzo?”

“She won’t. She hates the man’s guts to an impressive extent. Hell, if she’s here tonight, she’ll probably give you special perks for ending up on his shit list.”

By that point, a young man in a red satin waistcoat appeared, smiling at the pair pleasantly. “Welcome back to Ruby 8, Captain Trafalgar. My name is Hansuke, and it’s my pleasure to serve you tonight. What can I get you to drink?” he asked, flipping open his notepad.

“I’ll have a neat whiskey,” Law said easily.

“A Sour Sunrise for me, please,” Nami said, pleased to find an orange juice-based cocktail. She flashed Law a catlike grin as she added, “And a bottle of your best champagne.”

“One glass or two?” the waiter asked, glancing at Law for confirmation.

“Two,” Law replied, smirking at Nami. “In fact, make sure there’s another bottle ready for when we finish the first one. We’re celebrating, after all, and I intend on giving my woman an unforgettable evening.”

“I’m not your woman,” she growled, but was ignored by both men.

“Of course, Captain Trafalgar,” Hansuke said with an eager nod. Men looking to impress were men who spent a lot of money, and if he did well, he might just earn himself a hefty tip. “Are you ready to order your meals as well, or do you need more time?”

“I know what I want,” said Law, barely glancing at the menu. “I’ll take the grilled salmon with the house salad.”

“I’ll have the orange duck, and can we also get a basket of rolls for the table, please?” Nami asked the waiter sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes for extra measure.

The young man nervously glanced between her and the scowling Supernova, clearly debating which one was better to please.

“I…let me check with the chef—I think he said something about running out,” he squeaked out before sprinting off.

“That was cruel of you, Nami-ya,” Law rumbled, fixing her with an annoyed glare, though sadistic humor twinkled in his eyes. “I told you, I’m a regular here. They know I despise bread and will decapitate anyone stupid enough to bring it to my table.”

With a huff, she crossed her long legs and flipped her hair haughtily. “Killing a waiter isn’t a great way to impress a girl and will definitely get you banned from any self-respecting restaurant—VIP or not.”

“I wouldn’t kill him—you forget, my powers allow me to cut a man to pieces and still keep him alive.”

“You should seriously still be banned.”

“They’ve served far worse patrons than me, and they know I’ll be on my best behavior and fill their pockets with plenty of belli so long as they don’t intentionally piss me off.” Lips turning up in an amused grin, he continued, “I’d say it’s a lesson you could stand to learn, sweetheart, but half the time I find your petty acts of defiance charming.”

“Does that include the sunburn I gave you?”

“No, though I did enjoy everything you did to distract me from it.”

The waiter returned to their booth with their drinks and a small tray of assorted meat and cheeses, smiling at Nami apologetically even as a drop of sweat trickled down his face. “I’m so sorry, miss, but it seems we’re out of bread this evening. Not so much as a crumb can be found. Please accept this complimentary charcuterie board with the house’s sincerest apologies.”

Annoying as it was that Law had the staff wrapped around his finger, she took pity on the poor man and gave an understanding smile. If the Surgeon of Death really was a regular at this place, she couldn’t blame him for not going along with her game. “Oh, this is just lovely! Thank you so much!”

Hansuke’s relief was palatable as he set down the tray and their drinks before running off to fetch the champagne.

“See? It’s things like this that keep me from getting too mad at you,” Law chuckled, popping a cube of cheese into his mouth. “I haven’t gotten a free appetizer since that time a new waiter insisted I’d ordered breadcrumbs on my salmon.”

“So, you tolerate me so long as I get you free stuff?” Nami quipped, taking a dainty bite of a slice of ham. It had a surprising fruity note and practically melted in her mouth. She’d have to tell Sanji about it. Hell, even Luffy might appreciate it, assuming he took the time to chew.

She swallowed a bit more harshly than she’d intended when Law leaned across the table, long fingers lightly stroking her elbow as he murmured, “I put up with your antics so long as you make it worth my while, Nami-ya. Keep that in mind next time you’re tempted to pull one of your little pranks.”

Despite pulling his hand away to pick up his drink, Nami could still feel tingling sparks dance across her skin. It really was ridiculous how a brush of his hand invoked that reaction. She was supposed to be more composed than that—a wily thief that didn’t mix business with pleasure—but while his overt come-ons could be annoying, his subtle touches and inviting glances still managed to tempt her. “Fine, but the fact that you’re willing to literally take someone’s head off over bread is way more childish than my ‘little pranks’,” she grumbled into her cocktail.

Whether Law heard her snarky comment or not, their conversation was briefly interrupted as the waiter appeared with the champagne, popping the cork and carefully pouring the bubbly liquid into a pair of elegant crystal flutes. “The sous chef has received your order and will of course be making it himself, Captain Trafalgar,” he said. “If you need anything else in the meantime, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks,” he said breezily, sipping his whiskey. “What time is the band scheduled to start up?”

“In less than a half-hour, sir. They’re currently on their dinner break, but I can ask—”

He waved him off. “I’m in no rush, and I’d rather they be at peak condition while performing. I don’t need my evening ruined because one of them fainted onstage from hunger.”

“Of course, sir. Regardless, I’ll inform them you’re in the audience. Anything else?”

“Time alone with my date would be ideal,” he replied in a clipped tone, raising an eyebrow meaningfully.

Nami could see the way the young man shivered at Law’s glare, and he skittered like a mouse back to the kitchen, wisely leaving the bottle behind.

“And you call me cruel,” she stated blandly as she savored another piece of ham.

“I’m all for attentive servers, but the constant sucking up was getting old.” Trying some of the meat for himself, he glanced at her appraisingly. “But enough about him. You’re a far more interesting subject.”

She frowned, brow furrowing suspiciously. “Am I?”

Linking his fingers and leaning his elbows on the table, he smirked. “Of course. Despite being on my ship for nearly three months, you’re still a mystery. A puzzle with so many missing pieces that I can’t yet visualize the total picture.”

“I could say the same about you,” she said, remembering the confusion she felt as he ran off the day before. “We’re both complex people who play their cards close to the chest.”

“That we are, but yesterday proved that a lack of communication between us can be detrimental to our working relationship, not to mention your health. I promise not to pry too much, and you don’t need to give me all the details, but I expect honest answers.”

Much as she wanted to argue, Penguin’s advice stopped her. The first mate was right; everyone had baggage, but how were people supposed to know her bugbears if she didn’t tell them? As worried as she was that a man like Law would be willing to exploit her weaknesses, he also had a point regarding how their communication issues had nearly gotten her killed. Even if it drudged up unpleasant memories, this was a necessary talk for the sake of side-stepping further unpleasantness. “Fine. I’ll open up—just a little—if you will.”

Resting his chin on his knuckles, Law took a minute to mull over his first question. “Tell me, Nami-ya, how’d you get the name ‘Cat Thief’, anyway? Rumor has it it’s been your moniker since well before the World Government issued your bounty.”

Taking a deep breath and a steadying swallow of her Sour Sunrise, she replied, “My…first captain was always comparing me to a kitten. Guess it was his way of praising me despite my species, since he saw humans as the lowest of the low.”

“Odd opinion.”

“Not for a Fishman.”

Leaning back against the plush velvet cushions, Law unlinked his fingers and munched on another piece of cheese. “Ah. A backhanded compliment. Better than a human, but still little more than a pet.”

“That about sums it up,” she said, pushing down the image of Arlong’s patronizing smile. God, some days she’d hated his condescending approval more than his disgusting hatred for her species. It made her feel dirty, being someone that a monster like him could admire.

Law rubbed his goatee thoughtfully. “No wonder you had such an extreme reaction to me calling you ‘kitten’. I’ll try to avoid it in the future. Still odd you’d adopt a feline signature, though.”

Shaking off her former captor’s vindictive smile, Nami shrugged, buying time before replying by nibbling on some cheese, even though she barely tasted it. “Guess it was a little out of spite; I wanted to take the word back and feel like I had just a shred of power. Didn’t really work, but it was still a good nickname for a thief.”

Perhaps he sensed her discomfort, but Law gently nudged the topic towards safer waters. “Fair. Shachi was the one who came up with ‘The Surgeon of Death’. Bit over-the-top, but I like it. Iconic, and definitely strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies.”

“Sounds like something from a comic book,” she scoffed as she finished her cocktail, moving on to the champagne. She knew she wouldn’t get drunk, but the bubbles tickling her palette would be a pleasant way to keep her mind from slipping into the past. Even without the meds in her system driving her towards panic attacks, she knew nothing good could come from dwelling too long on what Arlong had put her through.

“Like I said, it was Shachi’s idea. He was worried the Marines would give me something lame, so he and the crew went out of their way to mention it in every port we stopped in until they had no choice but to put it on my wanted poster.”

“I’m sure Drake had his own suggestions on what to call you.”

Law chuckled smugly, looking far too proud of himself. “Oh, I’m sure he did, but those posters are seen by the general public, so anything he’d propose would have to be censored. It’s probably why Eustass’ moniker is just ‘Captain’; either that or it’s a lame form of overcompensation.” His grin grew even more devious as he added, “First time we met, I deliberately acted like Killer was the captain, just to piss him off.”

Despite herself, Nami had to giggle. She’d only met Eustass Kid briefly, but he’d seemed the type to not take an insult lightly. With the highest bounty of the rookies, he was certainly someone she wouldn’t want to mess with. “You’re an asshole with a death wish, aren’t you?”

Law shrugged, knocking back the rest of his whiskey. The humor in his eyes dimmed. “Perhaps I do, just a little bit. I didn’t expect to live past the age of thirteen.”

“Why?” she asked curiously before she could catch herself. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

Face cast in shadow by the brim of his hat, he tersely replied, “I was a sickly child. My father was the best doctor in the providence, but even he couldn’t come up with a cure. Didn’t help that the world believed it was a contagious disease, so we had no outside help. I only survived because of the Ope Ope no Mi.”

“Your father must have been happy about that, at least.”

“He was killed years before I got my hands on it.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Her heart clenched at the thought. A dead parent before the age of thirteen. Wasn’t that a painfully familiar story? “Well, I’m sure he’d still be happy you survived.”

He shrugged again, watching the bubbles in his champagne flute pop to avoid meeting her sympathetic gaze. “He’d be disappointed that I became a pirate instead of following in his footsteps.”

“Maybe, but I think he’d accept it so long as you’re alive and happy. Bellemere was a Marine, but while she wouldn’t approve of her daughter becoming a pirate, she’d support my decision because I’m free and working towards my dream of drawing a map of the world.”

As he finally looked at her, Nami caught Law’s lips briefly twitch upwards. “I suppose we’ll never know, but it’s a pleasant fantasy, at least.” He gave a mock toast. “To the parents who wanted better for us.”

With a wry smile, Nami clinked her glass to his, the pair gulping down the sparkling wine just as their food arrived. Digging into her meal, she appreciated both the delicious flavor of the duck and the blessed break in the heavy conversation eating allowed.

Talking to Law about her past was far different from Luffy. Nojiko had informed her before they left Cocoyashi that her stubborn captain had opted out of hearing her backstory when she’d offered to reveal it. At first, Nami’d been offended—what, had he thought her reasons for betraying the crew and faking Usopp’s death didn’t matter? But then she realized that, even without knowing who Arlong was or what he’d done to her and the villagers, Luffy had still gone after him.

All because that bastard had made his navigator cry.

As they’d sailed for Loguetown afterwards, Nami had pulled Luffy aside one night, sat him down, and told him everything. Not because he needed to know, but because a man like that was someone who deserved to know. Deserved to know the awful things she’d endured and done to survive. Why he’d found her mutilating her shoulder, cutting off that awful tattoo. Why she was so grateful he’d destroyed that room and all of the charts she’d toiled over for eight years. Why his refusal to give up on her had meant the world to the distrustful thief.

For his part, Luffy had listened quietly, occasionally nodding his head to show he was paying attention, an unusually patient and serious expression on his face. When she was finished, he’d clapped her shoulder, gave her that carefree, goofy grin, and simply said, “Now I’m really glad I punched that jerk!”

Law wasn’t like that. While he didn’t pry, he did ask questions, clearly seeking those missing puzzle pieces he spoke of and not taking her answers at face-value. Admittedly, they had been pretty bare-boned, but it highlighted the difference between the two captains—Law sought to understand because he didn’t fully trust her. Luffy didn’t need to understand, because he trusted her from the moment she’d refused to fire a cannonball at him.

Looking at Law’s nearly-finished plate, she had to suppress a giggle as another difference between him and Luffy hit her—his chewing habits might have left something to be desired, but at least he knew not to eat the fish’s skeleton.

Noticing his companion’s attention had returned to him, Law took a sip of champagne as he considered her. “You mentioned your ‘first captain’. I’m assuming this wasn’t Mugiwara?”

Nami sighed, setting down her fork to drink from her own glass, hoping the sharp beverage would wash away the foul taste talking more about Arlong would inevitably bring. “No. Before Luffy, I served as the cartographer for another pirate crew for eight years.” She deliberately didn’t mention she was an officer—it was easier for people to accept she was a prisoner when it didn’t sound like she was in a position of authority. Perhaps that was why Arlong had “promoted” her, even though she had no real power among the Fishmen. “He…his crew invaded my village when I was ten and made everyone pay for the right to live. Bellemere only had enough money to save her own life, or mine and Nojiko’s.”

“And, of course, she sacrificed herself to protect her children.” Law shook his head, and for a moment, Nami swore she saw a wince of pain, but the amber light made it hard to tell. “Eight years…I know captains who recruit kids so they can brainwash them into loyal subordinates, but he killed your mother. I doubt you joined him willingly, after something like that?”

“Believe me, I didn’t,” she growled. Hands shaking slightly, she instinctively grabbed her knife, holding it like the dagger she’d used to fake Usopp’s death and destroy her tattoo. “Working for my mother’s murderer was nothing short of torture. Day and night I drew maps for him until my hands bled, barely allowed to sleep or eat. And all the while he acted like he was doing me a favor, since cartography was what I loved most in the world.”

The word DEATH entered her field of vision as Law covered her trembling hand with his own. The warmth was comfortingly familiar at this point, and she felt her white-knuckled grip on the cutlery slacken. “Don’t worry; I do believe you,” he said softly, catching her gaze with his own. His expression was soft and concerned—similar to the way he’d looked at her last night in the infirmary. “You’ve shown yourself to be loyal to those you care about, and we’ve all done awful, painful things for the sake of survival. And I have to say, you may actually have a stronger will than me—I doubt I would have lasted a week serving the captain who murdered someone I held dear.”

“Yeah,” she said, breathing deeply, willing herself to calm down. Law’s thumb rubbing little circles across her knuckles was surprisingly helpful with that. It gave her something to focus on; to ground herself instead of letting the memories take over. Rough as the callouses from his swordsmanship and hard life at sea were, they were still so much smoother than the sandpaper-like skin of a shark Fishman. So blessedly human. “I guess…I guess you were right, though; if you’re not strong enough to protect yourself, you’re the property of someone who was strong enough to claim you.”

“I know I’m right, but I wish I weren’t. I’m assuming this first captain of yours has something to do with your dislike of my uniform?”

“You could say that.” She sighed, jerking her chin towards her left shoulder, the faint scars beneath her swirling tattoo barely visible in the dim light, but neither had to see them to know they were there. “One of the first things he did was have me branded with his Jolly Roger to make sure I couldn’t run off. So the whole world would know I was his property.”

Much like Penguin, Nami could see the dots connecting in Law’s mind. He’d recognized right away that the scars were self-inflicted, but now that he knew what had once been in their place, he could deduct why she’d caused herself such grievous harm. She felt his fingers tighten around her own, first in anger, before easing into a comforting squeeze. With forced calm, he said, “Considering how often Fishmen and Mermaids are sold as slaves, it was probably just as much a petty form of revenge. Still, I guess that explains your objection.” Frowning, he rubbed his forehead beneath his hat with his free hand. “Look, I can’t promise you’ll never have to wear the uniform again. Like it or not, it really is the easiest way to keep you safe.”

Deep down, she appreciated his apology and understanding, even as she inwardly groaned at the thought of wearing the beige jumpsuit. “It also made me a target,” she argued. “Drake wouldn’t have looked twice at me if I’d been in my normal clothes.”

“Please, Drake-ya reads the news and would have gone after you regardless of what you were wearing. He’s smart enough to recognize a dangerous alliance when he sees one, or at least an opportunity to get a leg up. Pitiful as your bounty is, getting his hands on a lone Straw Hat, especially one who was able to rob a former Marine Intelligence officer’s mansion, would be quite tempting.” A wide, predatory grin stretched across his face as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist as he leered at her. “Though, personally, I think he was jealous that I’d found a new redhead to play with.”

Nami snorted, the tension in her back loosening. Creepy as he was, Law was smart, steering the conversation away from the past and the world’s speculation on their partnership to something they could casually fight about. “Are you kidding? I think he was relieved; with me around, he doesn’t have to deal with you bothering him anymore.”

“If that were the case, he wouldn’t have tried to abduct you.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, he was trying to ‘rescue’ me; Drake’s a real gentleman, unlike you,” she quipped, taking a condescending sip of her drink.

“Oh, yes, a real gentleman who kidnaps and threatens to sell off unwilling women,” Law replied sarcastically.

“Better than a pervert who makes a girl wear an ugly uniform to indulge his weird sexual fetish.”

“…my what now?”

Confident that she’d just played a winning hand, she leaned forward, bending her chest slightly over the table. “Please, I see right through your little act. Sure, you flirt and tease, but only if I’m fully dressed.” The tip of a manicured finger teasingly traced along the swell of her cleavage. “When I’m wearing next to nothing, you show no interest in my incredibly sexy body. Given your proclivities, I’m surprised you even helped me out of my coat.”

Blinking owlishly, Law replied, “I’m sorry, you think I’m attracted to you…when you’re wearing more clothes?”

“Yeah!” she insisted, not caring for his disbelieving tone.

He covered his face with one large, tattooed hand, but through his splayed fingers Nami could still see yellow eyes light up with amusement. As she glared, they only shone brighter, and his shoulders slowly began to shake. Gradually, low chuckles slipped from his lips, finally morphing into full-on laughter, his palm failing to muffle the sound.

An irritated vein throbbed in Nami’s forehead as Law continued to cackle. “Don’t think you can fool me by treating this like a joke! You have a clothing kink! During my initial check-up, you didn’t give a damn that I was strutting around in my underwear. At the mansion, you were all over me when I was in that gown, but once it’s off, woosh, I’m as attractive as a lamp! Even after the mission, you barely even acknowledged what a hot piece of ass I am. Then you insist I wear that freaking jumpsuit…”

“Nami-ya,” he chortled as his hand dropped back to the table, managing to calm down enough during her rant to formulate a reply, “I don’t have a clothing kink—I’m just good at compartmentalizing and know there’s a time and place. When we were in the infirmary, not only was I acting as your doctor, but it was clear you were too nervous to be receptive to any blatant advances. As for the mansion, yes you looked absolutely delicious in that bodysuit, but we were there to do a job; there was simply no time to indulge myself. And when I treated your wounds,” his smile fell a bit, “you’d just been through a potentially traumatizing event. You were flinching just from me touching your calf. I know I can be an asshole, but did you really expect me to come onto you when you were acting like I was Harpin?”

For a moment, Nami just sat there, jaw hanging uselessly as she realized just how far off her theory had been, and most importantly, just how badly she’d managed to embarrass herself. Her own vanity had blinded her to the obvious answer. She could justify it with the fact that most of the guys she knew were either perverts or barely acknowledged that she was a woman, so she wasn’t used to a man who could both flirt and control himself, but she wouldn’t lie to herself.

“So…the uniform isn’t some weird sexual thing?” she asked, trying to cover her humiliation by finishing her glass of champagne. Times like these made her really wish she could get drunk; it would be the perfect excuse for her ridiculous accusation.

“I mean, I won’t lie and say I don’t like you in it, but it really is just for your own protection.” Law’s returning grin was smoldering and devilish as he purred, “I’m curious, though, about what bothered you more; that I might have a strange fetish for fully-clothed women, or that I wasn’t giving your incredibly sexy body the attention you felt it deserved?”

“I…”

He shuffled closer, sliding across the booth to close the distance between them, resting his right arm across the back of her seat and teasingly trailing the fingers of his left land along the soft skin of her jaw to cup her chin. “Because if it’s the latter, I’m happy to show you just how much I appreciate it when you run around my ship in crop tops and booty shorts.”

Nami blushed, realizing she’d played directly into his hands.

“You know, one of the reasons I like redheads so much is how vibrantly they blush,” he chuckled, leaning down so his breath danced across her sensitive neck and ear. The way she’d pinned her hair meant she had no shield from it, and she shivered at the sensation. “It’s so cute, watching the capillaries that carry your blood widen as adrenaline rushes through you. No matter how good a person’s poker face is, the body doesn’t lie. Lets me know my target’s receptive to my flirting, even when they stubbornly refuse to admit it.”

“You base it all on a blush?” she countered, defiantly poking him in the chest. “People blush in anger and embarrassment. You can’t assume someone wants you just because their face gets a little red.”

Like a leopard sizing up his prey, Law loomed above her, gaze analytical and hungry as he studied her. “No, you’re right; good thing, as a doctor, I know all the other physical indicators of arousal.” Tilting her head up, he stated, “Dilated pupils.”

His hand dropped from her chin to carefully brush along the flesh of her arm. “Goosebumps.”

Long fingers encircled her wrist, thumb resting over her pulse. “Increased heartrate.”

Honey eyes dropped to Nami’s mouth as the tip of her pink tongue peeked out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. “Unconsciously licking one’s lips.”

Releasing her wrist, Law’s touch traveled back up her arm to gently stroke the ends of her mikan hair. “And the fact that you haven’t even tried to move or push me away. In fact, I’d say you’re leaning into my touch.”

Nami’s face warmed further as she realized he was right. Mentally she berated herself, but deep down, she was beginning to accept that, even if she refused to act on it for pride and professionalism’s sake, she was slightly addicted to his attentions. She was never short on male admirers, but Law challenged her, the push-and-pull giving her a thrill the way heart-eyed fools like Sanji failed to. There was something about Law that drew her in like a moth to a flame—she knew it was fatal to get too close, but damn it, she couldn’t help but dance with danger.

Winding a short, orange lock of hair around a long finger, Law declared confidently, “All this says you find me sexually attractive.”

Before she could confirm or deny this claim, an excited voice bellowed, “As I live and breathe, Trafalgar Law graces us with his exalted presence once again!”

Said captain’s seductive grin shifted into his trademark smirk as he turned to greet the newcomer. “Are you living and breathing, Hiroshi-ya?”

The man chuckled, grabbing Law’s hand in a firm shake. Beneath a silver fedora his graying hair was cut close to his scalp. His skin was dark but sported prominent laugh-lines, a pair of oval sunglasses rested on the end of his large nose, and his brilliant grin could have replaced one of the stage’s spotlights. “If I’m not, you’d probably know before I did, doc.”

“Because I’m that good, or because you’d be too focused on performing to realize you’d dropped dead?”

The two shared a laugh before the man turned to introduce himself to Nami. “Hope I wasn’t interrupting a moment, here, darlin’, but I simply had to come over and say hello. The name’s ‘Devil’s Fingers’ Hiroshi, and your boy Law here is one of my favorite patrons. Tips well, and he saved my life.”

“I only fixed your hands.”

“Considerin’ how they’d been crushed beyond recognition and I need those to make a living, I think that counts.”

Nami gaped in shock as Hiroshi held up his hands, showing that while they were clearly in working order, they were littered with tiny surgical scars.

Law shrugged, though he seemed pleased with the praise. “It was a fun operation—not every day you get to remove someone’s finger bones one-by one to rebuild your favorite musician’s hands.”

“You put someone else’s bones into him?” Nami asked the surgeon, astounded.

“Of course,” Law said casually. “His own were absolutely pulverized, so a transplant was necessary if he ever wanted to play the saxophone again.”

Part of her was horrified at the mental image, but beneath that, something niggled at her. This was the second time she’d heard someone sing Law’s praises as a legitimate doctor, and unlike Reginald, Hiroshi seemed perfectly aware of the Surgeon of Death’s criminal activities and sadistic reputation. What reason did Law have for helping this man? Was it just because he liked his music?

“Well, I’d best get ready for the show, and I’m sure you want some more alone time with your girl, eh, Law?” Hiroshi teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“I’d certainly appreciate a little mood music,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few large bills.

“You got it,” the sax player sniggered, winking at Nami. “Hope you don’t mind, but we’ll be stroking your boy’s ego a bit. After the surgery, I wrote a little ditty about him as thanks, and it’s become pretty popular with the crowd. Plus, it’s the only time Oscar lets me take over as the lead singer.”

“Law strokes his own ego plenty,” Nami groused, eyes rolling heavenward. “And if you want to write about him, go for his flaws; there’s enough of those to fill an opera.”

“Oooo, she’s feisty! Have fun with that, doc!” he chuckled as he strolled off towards the stage.

“I plan to,” Law purred, turning back towards the woman beside him. “I just can’t resist a fiery ginger.”

“Speaking of,” Nami deflected, hoping to keep the conversation from returning to their original topic, “you and Drake, huh?”

He chuckled at her obvious ploy but proceeded to go along with it. “Ah, one of my favorite playmates. What do you want to know?”

“I mean, let’s start with how the hell that happened?”

“You mean, how did the golden boy of the Navy find himself thoroughly seduced by the North Blue’s most notorious rookie pirate?”

“Yeah. Mainly because Drake seems smart enough not to fall for your sleazy tricks. Or at the very least, composed enough to ignore them until you lose interest.”

Refreshing their glasses of champagne, he gave a wolfish smile. “So you’d think, but Drake-ya’s got an instinctual, animalistic side that’s just so much fun to rile up. Besides that, I observed his physical reactions whenever we crossed paths, and wouldn’t you know it? They were damningly similar to yours.”

Picking at the remains of the charcuterie board, she munched on a piece of cheese to keep her body’s natural responses under control. Keep it together, she thought stubbornly. Even if I did mix business with pleasure, there’s no way I’m letting him win. “Pretty sure the heat of battle elicits similar responses. I think you were just looking for clues that weren’t there in a desperate attempt justify a hopeless crush.”

Her sass received a sharp laugh in reply. Handing Nami her glass, Law brushed the tips of his fingers over hers as he stated, “Maybe, but my theory was undeniably proven when Penguin, Ikkaku and I snuck onto his ship and found him moaning my name while jerking off in the shower.”

Nami nearly choked on her drink, the bubbly wine burning as it tried to make its way up her nose. No wonder Penguin wanted to repress that, she thought, mortified for the poor first mate. She’d probably feel the same way if she’d overheard someone masturbating to the thought of Luffy. “Oh my god.”

“You should have heard the things he was saying—fuck, harder Law! Put that dirty mouth to good use, you bastard!” Law moaned in her ear, mimicking his rival’s deep, guttural growl.

“M-maybe he had a hard-on for justice. You know, the actual law,” she argued weakly. She didn’t even really know why she bothered—it was clear he’d been right, considering how he and Drake had fucked at least once, but she just felt a need to try to knock him down a few pegs and keep his ego in check.

“Mmm, do you really believe that?” he hummed, honey eyes regarding her with amusement as he took a sip of his drink. “I think you’re just looking for clues that aren’t there in a desperate attempt to justify your need to be contrary.”

“Oh, shut up,” she grumbled, downing her drink and pouring the last of the bottle into her glass. “Fine, so Drake was utterly repressed from his time in the Navy and you were able to use that to get him into bed.” A thought came to her, and she raised her eyebrow curiously. “Wait, he didn’t leave the Marines because he fell in love with you or something, right?” That…would be kind of tragic, actually. Despite the sexual tension, the two Supernova hadn’t seemed to be on the friendliest of terms, so if Drake had defected for Law only for their relationship to sour…

“God, no,” he laughed, finishing off his own glass of champagne. “Drake-ya was dishonorably discharged not long after he massacred a village rumored to be sheltering pirates. He may seem honorable and composed, and I’ll admit he usually tried to avoid senseless cruelty, but when situations called for violence, he was cold-blooded and bloodthirsty. I think his family history also played a role; his father had defected and turned pirate, so I imagine there was a bit of a glass ceiling Drake-ya knew he’d never overcome.”

“And you know this how?”

“Pillow talk.”

Nami mulled his words over carefully. “Was Drake close to his father?”

“From what he told me while completely shitfaced, Diez Barrels had once been a Marine Drake-ya wanted to emulate, but when he switched sides, he was nothing short of an abusive monster.”

Pity welled up in Nami’s heart at the implications. “Poor guy.”

“You do remember this is the same man who tried to kidnap you, right?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it must not have sucked for him; looking up to someone, wanting to be just like them, only to be let down in spectacular fashion.”

For a brief moment, Law tilted his head, the brim of his hat casting a shadow across his face, but his voice was tight as he replied, “Enough about Drake-ya.” Clearing his throat, he turned to catch their waiter’s eye, pointing to the empty bottle of champagne. When his gaze returned to Nami, his tone was back to normal. “I’m getting a little jealous with all this talk about another man.”

She frowned. Nami could tell she’d hit a bit close to home there. Had Law once looked up to someone? Part of her wanted to pry; the man was uncharted waters, and the cartographer in her itched to discover his secrets and map them out.

But more than anyone, she respected wanting to keep a painful history private. “Then what do you want to talk about? Because if you want any more of my past, you’re going to need to buy me more than another bottle of champagne,” she replied before knocking back the final sip.

He raised an eyebrow, impressed. “You drank quite a bit of that, Nami-ya, and yet I’m not noticing any signs of inebriation. It seems Mugiwara wasn’t exaggerating when he bragged about your tolerance.”

“Please, this is nothing—Zoro and I could drink whole taverns dry and still walk a straight line. Hell, it was one of my favorite ways to swindle pirates; get in good with the crew, outdrink them, then swipe their treasure while they were all passed out.”

“Interesting. You may be physically weak, but your liver sounds formidable.”

The lights, dimmed, and Nami glanced around curiously. Law chuckled, drawing her closer and pointing towards the stage. “Looks like the show’s about to start,” he murmured in her ear as he settled in, the arm around her waist telling her that she wasn’t moving for at least the duration of the song.

The band played a low, steady beat as a handsome man in a white silk blazer escorted a curvaceous woman with bold red hair wearing a silver dress onto the stage, the spotlights hitting the sequins in a way that nearly distracted from the daring slit and sexy black garters underneath. Turning her back to the crowd, she swayed her hips to the rhythm as the man took the microphone.

“Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,” he drawled, tossing the crowd a smirk that could give Law’s a run for its money. “We’ve got a great night in store for you. I see a lot of new faces out there—as well as some familiar ones—so I’m not gonna yammer on too long. I want you to sit back, enjoy the service, the scenery, but most of all, enjoy the show.”

As he finished, he signaled to the band, who immediately transitioned into a smooth but lively tune, Hiroshi’s saxophone front-and-center, and the red-haired woman turned around, sensually dancing with the emcee as he began to sing.

It ain’t no big thing to wait for the bell to ring It ain’t no big thing The toll of the bell

Aggravated, spare for days I troll downtown the red-light place

Jump up bubble up - what’s in store? Love is the drug and I need to score

Enthralled, Nami watched as the pair performed, the song turning into a duet as they moved, the woman’s low, husky voice sending a thrill down her back. Or perhaps it was Law’s fingers stroking idly along her side—far from his groping in the alley, but the light touch was just as hot. Thighs clenched as the male singer bent the woman over suggestively, and she hoped Law was too focused on the show to notice her aroused blush. She didn’t want to imagine herself and the Supernova next to her in their place, but with the woman’s red hair and the man’s cocky smirk, it was really difficult not to picture the sensual scene the song suggested—her and Law stumbling around a dark room, locked in a passionate embrace, until finally they made it to the bed…

God, she joked about Drake being repressed to give in to an asshole like Law, but clearly, she was just as pent-up.

When the song ended, Nami let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, quickly going for her refilled champagne, gulping it down to wet her suddenly dry mouth. She hadn’t even realized Hansuke had refreshed their drinks as she hadn’t been able to pry her eyes from the stage, too lost in the song and her fantasy.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Law smirking in an all-too-knowing manner, but before he could comment, they were once more interrupted, only this time by the gorgeous singer who had left the stage to visit their table.

“Captain Trafalgar,” the red-haired woman purred, voice husky with an edge of a rough accent that somehow made her even more glamourous, “I heard you were back in town.”

“Excellent opening act, Haiko-ya, as usual,” Law replied, standing up to gallantly kiss her hand. “Oscar may be your prized vocalist, but everyone knows you’re the real star up there.”

“You charmer. Still sure you don’t want to quit piracy and come work for me?” she asked with an inviting smile. “I could use a man of your talents.”

“I’m sure you could, but as much as I like this club, staying in one place just doesn’t appeal to me. I like to wander, you know.”

“Pity, but you can’t blame a woman for trying. After all, who wouldn’t want a skilled doctor and enforcer on her payroll? Especially with my husband’s…accident,” she replied, tone suddenly going sour.

“I assume Jinzo’s challenging your claim to Kimo-ya’s share of the business?”

“Oh, he’s doing more than that—he’s trying to compete against my business. Opening his own club and even a few brothels so he can steal my clientele—rumor has it that’s why he’s being so stingy with his black market clients. His recent investments have put him in the red, and he he’s going to have to do something drastic to recoup the cost.”

For a brief moment Law frowned, though his lips soon turned back up into his calculating, sadistic grin. “Until then, his broken promises could earn him quite a few enemies.”

“Oh yes. I hear X Drake in particular was extremely pissed that Jinzo didn’t have his money today.”

“He was even more so when I told him that there’s no way he’d planned on paying his asking price.”

Haiko tsked. “Oh dear. It would be such a shame if some frustrated client were to cross Jinzo’s path before his latest business venture can properly take off.”

Behind them, Nami swallowed audibly, catching onto their intentions. Law glanced at her over his shoulder before returning his attention to Haiko. “Now’s not a great time to talk business, but perhaps we could continue our chat after the show. Jinzo’s trying to screw over a lot of treacherous people, myself included, and while I’m not interested in your job offer, I’d be happy to negotiate a deal that could benefit us both greatly.”

Her blood red lips curled upwards, eyes alight with interest. “Meet me in my office at nine-thirty sharp—it would be a pleasure doing business with you.”

“Before you go, I want to introduce you to my date,” he drawled, gently tugging Nami out of her seat. “Haiko-ya, this is Cat Thief Nami.”

“Ah, the woman who swindled Jinzo out of a lot of money,” the businesswoman replied, pleased smile fixated on the younger woman as she shook her hand.

“Does everybody know about that?” Nami squeaked.

“Oh, darling, it was the best piece of news I’ve heard all day. And not everyone knows—yet. I just happen to have a few eyes and ears stationed close to him so he doesn’t try to do to me what he did to my darling Kimo. I may not be able to prove he was involved, but it never hurts to be ready for anything.”

“Very true,” Law agreed. “So, I’ll see you at nine-thirty?”

Haiko blew him a kiss as she sauntered off. “Absolutely. And as thanks for embarrassing that piece of shit, your drinks are on me tonight. Keep it up, Miss Cat Thief, and you might just earn a VIP membership here, too.”

Nami couldn’t keep herself from staring as the woman left. Beautiful and glamourous though she was, she totally believed Haiko was the sort who would slit a man’s throat with a smile. She had a dangerous aura about her, and given how casually she and Law spoke, Nami was certain an ill wind was blowing.

“You two are going to do something to Jinzo, aren’t you?” she asked, sweat prickling at the back of her neck. She had no sympathy for the man, but she hoped whatever Law was planning didn’t involve her; the last thing she wanted was to get caught in the middle of an underworld power struggle.

“Mmmm, don’t worry your pretty little head over that, sweetheart,” Law purred as he tugged her towards the stage. His eyes were half-lidded and inviting, and Nami’s breath caught in her throat as her heart stuttered. Maybe it was just the aftereffects of Haiko’s performance, but the heat between her legs begged her not to resist him. “Ikkaku’s due to steal you away from me soon, so I’m not wasting another second.”

“What are you doing?” she asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

One hand clasped hers as the other wrapped around her lower back. “It dawned on me that, with how busy you were pick-pocketing rich assholes at the gala, I never got a dance with you. We’re going to remedy that. And wouldn’t you know it?” he rasped, leaning in so close his lips ever-so-slightly brushed her ear. “They’re about to play my song.”

Though initially thrown by his sudden change of tone and forwardness, Nami quickly realized from the feeling of hard wood beneath their feet that he’d led them onto the dancefloor. Before she could protest or break away, Hiroshi noticed them, tossing a wink and pointing them out to the male singer from earlier. Oscar quietly chuckled as he handed over the microphone, even giving a playful bow before stepping over to a xylophone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are graced with the presence of the man who inspired this next song, the one and only Dr. Heart Stealer!”

As the music began, Law swept her into a dance, easily leading her in time to the lively beat.

Why is everyone so impatient? Recklessly jumping into things Crushing backstabbing

To achieve your goal Sometimes you just need to dive deep, hide yourself Scan the situation, that’s all

Welcome to Trafalgar’s ROOM Look into the mirror and see Are you who you really are? Welcome to Trafalgar’s ROOM Shall I steal what’s most precious to you?

Dr. Heart Stealer

Once you’re addicted, you can never escape…

As Hiroshi crooned the lyrics, Nami forced herself to focus on keeping pace with Law, and not on the surprising suggestiveness of the lyrics or the heat of the doctor’s palm on her exposed back. There were mere inches between them—enough space to properly move, but still so close that their breaths and body heat mingled. He was a surprisingly good dancer, too, gently guiding her across the polished floor in time to the beat, giving the occasional spin and dip, all while those golden, hungry eyes never left hers.

If something’s important, hide it away Once you shout about it out loud It’s just too naive, so sickening

Waiting is not a futile thing With enough clinical data You won’t make a mistake, there’ll be no trouble

Welcome to Trafalgar’s ROOM It’ll be over once your space’s safety is breached Welcome to Trafalgar’s ROOM Because I know what’s most precious to you

Dr. Heart Stealer

Once I set my target, I’ll definitely get it

Don’t run away, come join me Show me how you dance

Welcome to Trafalgar’s ROOM Look into the mirror and see Are you who you really are? Welcome to Trafalgar’s ROOM Shall I steal what’s most precious to you?

Dr. Heart Stealer

Once you’re addicted, you can never escape…

At last the song came to an end, and while Nami wanted to blame her breathlessness on the dancing, she knew at least a little of it had to do with the way Law was looking at her. His intense stare sizzled her skin pleasantly, and she had no choice but to admit that, as much as she wanted to fight it, the song was right.

If she let herself get addicted to him, she’d never escape.

[popculturebuffet]

Jake Reviews Stuff: Close Enough: Logans Run’d and Room Parents

IT’S FINALLY HERE, PERFORMING FOR YOU. Seriously I have waited 3 years for this. And while yes thanks to a combination of a french animation festival and HBO’s own oopsie doodle I was able to watch 3 episodes already, and review them, it dosen’t make this any less sweet.  The fandom can finally come togehter as a whole and enjoy the hell out of the series. And doubling my excitment is the fact that HBO Max dropped 15 episodes! 14 episodes bundled into half hours and one extra long episode that seems to feature one of the greatest musicans and comedians of all-time, a man who needs no introduction but hell if i’m not giving him one. WEIRD, AL, YANKOVIC!

I could not be more excited if I tried. And yes that’s with full awarness my pre-amphibia and owl house workload just became at LEAST 4 times what I expected and this may be all there is. Having to review 12 episodes still means getting to WATCH 12 episodes of a show I truly adore. It’s an easy trade off. So with that out of the way, we can dig into close enough’s second two episodes and see if the show can keep the momentum from the first pair! Door’s open, let’s do this! The full review and spoilers under the cut. 

Logans Run’d   With Candace having her first sleepover Josh and Emily (Who apparently aren’t on good enough terms with their parents to have them watch her something I hope they explore later in the series), have their first Candace free evening and spend it as you’d expect for a 35 year old couple: Pelvic thrusting to turn down to what while doing general errrands then planning to have a nice night in of tea and the great british baking show, which continues this show’s hard to get used to trend of using actual brand names.  The two invite Bridgette to join them which she scoffs at saying the pair, and Alex who is not only delighted to join them but is in an old timey sleeping costume with listening horn which, no joke, is his profile picture on the show’s website, which feels perfect honestly and I love everything about that. 

The three soon realize to their horror through flashback that they indeed are old (Hilariously alex’s is literally just his introduction in this episode), and beg Bridgette to take them along to a club, Logan’s Run’d. What follows is the three of them getting hard core drunk all the way to 9PM while  Bridgette flirts with a younger guy and youtube sensation and who looks like the earth 3 version of hank venture.. until it turns out he’s actually a toddler wearing some sort of robot suit because of course.  Things go south however both as our heroes realize their running out of steam.. and as another 30 something is made VIP>.. which in this club is being murdered to death by a giant fan. With blood which I”m sure JG was giddy to do first chance it was approriate given he did 8 years of a show on a children’s network and children’s networks hate blood as much as they hate actually letting shows mention the concept of death directly by name.  Naturally the four of them want to book it out of there: While Bridgette , if she wasn’t lying about her age to the toddler, isn’t in the danger zone, she still just hit on a toddler and is naturally afraid of going to prison, but get stopped by the bar guy. Alex, in a supremeley sad yet badass moment, pulls out his blockbuster card and prepares to sacrifice himself for his friend’s sake: Partly because he cares about them and candace and partly because he’s worried he has nothing left to live for now he’s old, something I myself worry about going into my 30′s next year. Josh (Emily takes a second to join in) rushes to save his best bud and the two reassure Alex he has a future, a future of not having to get new music, of having nights of just relaxing and watching tv and getting pepper in your beard for , as Alex puts it “That george clooney look” Bridgette was the last one and guards her friends from being murdered for obvious reasons before breaking the fan.  Our heroes are saved, alex and me honestly as all of that sounds really appealing to be honest and I live 2/3 of it already, are convinced that growing old is pretty sweet. Oh and the owner turns out to be an old guy, as Alex realizes when he refrences logans run and is murdered by the crowd. Our heroes enjoy pancakes, Bridgette still finds the guy cute which.. no no bridgette just no, and Alex muses about them having seen a man die.  Final Thoughts: A decent episode.. while not as good as 100% no stress day ahead of it or the previous episode, i’ts a simple episode with good gags, an utterly great character moment for Alex which shows that despite his weirdo exterior he’s a damn good guy and he has something to live for. Also the toddler subplot was stupid and kinda creepy. A decent gag filled episode withs ome great ones and some really good animation. Also the opening is utterly iconic, easily one of the shows best jokes so far and probably in total and still works despite the use of turn down for what being slightly dated, but it works because it’s just really damn funny. Not the series best thus far but it’s still okay if a standard episode is this enjoyable. 

Room Parents: Now this is the good shit. It’s parent meeting time at Candace’s school with Me Daughter Teacher having one last announcment while Josh is about to pass out from having to hold in 3 powerades... dude should’ve gone for gatorade.. it still goes through you it just tastes objectivley better. Anyways me Daughter Teacher locks the room for the announcment because he needs a room parent and things quickly turn to purge as everyone is either fleeing or trying to murder each other to avoid it. While i’m not a parent, I can at leat understand not wanting to give time to do this when your schedule is likely already a hellscape. Josh (Who wonders if they got a purge going, got a good laugh out of me. ), being basically what if Mr. Peanutbutter had an illigitmate son he dind’t know about, and i’m still not convinced he’s not his dad until the show proves otherwise, happily volunteers to Emily’s horror.  Josh however.. is entirely game. He even makes a dad joke calling it a “Fun Raiser” to emily’s annoyance. It’s a nice show of just HOW opposite the two are: Emily being more stressed, as 100% stress day proved/will prove given it’s after this episode even though i’ve already seen it but it’s set later but...

The point is she’s a ball of stress while he’s a ball of enthusasim just like his dad, who i’m now just.. 100% convinced is his dad and dosen’t know it. Prove me wrong. Anyways Josh meets Nikki another parent whose own son is ominously framed in shadow because of course something weird about her who offers to pitch in.. and is also transparently intrested in josh.  The next day Josh and nikki talk on the phone and Bridgette and Alex instantly pick up that she’s into him and that josh is the kind of guy every girl wants, with Bridgette sighting the look when he inhales mustard and Alex, being the objectivley best, citing his thin papery jack of clubs body type. I’m now 100% convinced they all had a foursome at some point before the divorce which Emily tries not to think about and Emily isn’t convinced.. until Josh, in another great gag, says Nikki said “wash your balls, so random”.  Emily, now panicked, enlists Pearle who gladly volunteers her spy van, because Pearle is also objectivity the best, to go spy on alex in a montage set to heart’s crazy on you were we get our image for this episode which is a great gag.. especailly Emily mouthing “Wait afterwords’ and it being followed by them going to the sex hotel.. which is actually the essex hotel.. which is for affairs as it’s sign says. It’s hard not to just list gags for this show because it’s damn good but i’ll try.  Emily then confronts Josh that night (doing the dramatic light turning on thing by holding the lamp another great gag), and Josh explains no he’s not cheating on her because he’s a pure boy, and he aquises to her, also finally realizing Nikki’s been transparently trying to seduce him.  Naturally their attempt to uncoroomparenther before the Fundraiser goes pear shaped as it turns out Nikki is a con artist who pulls what professionals call a josh , scam a stressed parent, tie him up or kill him and then steal the fundraiser money for a school, for a living (She has another one cooking at the moment) and leaves them. Emily orders a knife via a delivery service, while a waiting Pearle wonders where they are.. which raises a lot of questions. WHy pearle is there is easy, she’s supporting Candace and her friends/tennants. That part is easy. Why she brought Randy, who at least at this point is objectively useless and why Alex and BRidgette AREN’T there I can’t explain. Maybe mecha pope garfield rose from the grave. Maybe Bridgette’s fucking that clown again. Maybe Alex has more garifled theroies to bust out. Actually those last two answer my question for me.. I mean someome’s gotta reveal Garfield was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. 

Our heroes arrive however to Foil Nikki , who thent ries to escape on a children’s train.. which being a children’s train Josh and Emily just hop on and in a hilarious bit slowly remove the kids before ending up with Candace, who says “daddy’s girlfriend is getting away”. Jessica DiCiccio is a delight as Candace and her delivery is impecable here. However Nikki switches tracks and cranks up the speed. Thankfully while Emily and Candace fall off the train pearle and Randy, who I STILL don’t know why he’s in this episode he has no lines and does nothing, catch them, leaving it to Josh to fix his mess. After a breif fight and a nut shot Josh sucesfully swaps the money for Nikki’s fake son/dummy who she chokes bart style before both explodes when they hit a thermometor factory.  Our heroes win, the fundraiser is a sucess and the teachers have elected Josh room parent for life (”That can’t be legally binding” “IT’S LEGALLY BINDING!”)  Final Thoughts: A great , really damn funny episode with a great premise. While Emily being worried Josh would cheat seems weird given he’s a nice enough guy, it’s sometimes understandable to be panicky about that sort of thing and her worry is warnated given one party is trying to seduce her husband, josh is just too stupid to realize, which makes for a lot of great gags. It’s a really tighly done episode that like the above is more pure comedy and just hilarious, but has even better jokes and a much better executed premise to work with. And no weird toddler things. So overally a slam dunk.  I have more close enough reviews coming today, obviously though i’d rather watch the rest before reviewing them, but while I do you can shoot me an ask to talk more close enough, and in more serious matters... One of my best friend’s cat’s cancer has come back and being out of work and just having moved into a new appartment, he needs help paying for it. You can find the go fund me here.  And as always until we meet again, later days. 

[wroughtbetwixtfanfic]

A Place To Call Home, Ch 3.

Fandom: Rosewell, New Mexico.

Summary: A canon divergent take on Roswell, New Mexico, and the relationships between Isobel, Noah, and Rosa; later parts will shift the focus to Michael and Alex, as well as Michael and Noah. What is it like to share a body with another alien? Can broken trust be mended? Do the ends really justify the means?

Rating: M.

Tags: Canon divergence, minor character death, not really character death, body sharing, polyamory, hurt/comfort, addiction problems, sickfic, revenge, fix it, friends to enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies to lovers, Noah is complicated, cw: dubious age stuff for a little bit considering Nasedo/Noah is who-the-hell-knows how old.

Word Count: 2413

Rosa Ortecho was a hurricane.

She lived every moment as her last.  Her smile was pure light, and she was every single inch the sort of  person Nasedo could see Isobel falling head over heels for, especially  since Rosa had dumped her junkie boyfriend and gone clean in March. Of  course Nasedo had been doubtful at first. Rosa was human. Still. Rosa  loved astrology and music, dancing and poetry. She was an artist, but  the kind of artist with a fire in their soul. Rosa loved hard, lived  hard, hated hard. Everything about her was power, fast and intense and  exhilarating. It was impossible not to adore her.

Max was in love  with Rosa's sister, Liz, so of course he always went to the Crashdown  Cafe where Liz and Rosa both worked. And because Max went, Isobel went,  too. Rosa, with her wide, dark eyes and deep laugh, had grown fond of  Isobel. That much was clear. She'd sneak Isobel free fries. They'd share  a milkshake that had been made a little wrong. They would look up funny  videos on Isobel's phone, and play music on the cafe's jukebox while  Max and Liz were distracted elsewhere. It was good to see Isobel laugh,  after everything she had been through. She deserved to be happy, and it  made sense that Rosa's kind-hearted, wild spirit would bring Isobel that  happiness.

What Nasedo hadn't anticipated was how much he would  find himself feeling affection towards the human, too. Nasedo pretended  that the emotions belonged to Isobel, and Isobel alone. It was easier  that way. Besides, Isobel was under the terrible stress known as 'senior  year'; between Isobel trying to deal with her own internalized  homophobia and school, it was all Nasedo could do to keep her held  together. He couldn't take the time to look too closely at his own  feelings or bother Isobel with them. Isobel's health was all that  mattered.

At least, that was until a Friday night as the Crashdown.

Isobel never admitted that she went there to see Rosa. She didn't admit it that night, either. "I just need to relax," she complained. "There's only half the year left, and I've been studying for like, three days straight."

Nasedo  withdrew, as he always did when Isobel wanted time to herself. The  nerve-searing pain was easier to deal with, when he knew that he would  be escaping it again soon enough. Sooner than he expected, in fact. It  hadn't been very long when he was snapped back to Isobel, waking up in a  daze; the transition was usually slower, smoother. What had happened  that has caused Isobel to panic so much?

"Isobel? Are you okay?"

Rosa. Nasedo blinked, scrambling to recover. "Sorry, Rosa. I'm a total space case today."

"It's  okay." Rosa frowned. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear,  shifting her gaze away. "Uhm, if you don't want to go to the movies,  it's okay. I just thought that maybe... Maybe we'd have fun."

What  would Isobel want? He knew Isobel was falling for Rosa. He also was  certain Isobel would never go on her own. But, well, Nasedo wanted to  go. What harm would come from a movie? "Sure," he replied with as  charming of a smile as he could muster. Rosa's eyes fluttered. "I'd love  to go. Text me with the info?"

Rosa snatched Isobel's phone and  entered her contact information, the frown on her face replaced by a  sunny grin. "Cool. It's a date."

Their eyes met, and Rosa's grin  turned shy. Nasedo smiled back, his heart racing as he left the cafe and  headed home. It was a bad idea. He knew it was a bad idea. And yet, he  couldn't stop himself from feeling a flicker of joy. That was, until he  got home and Isobel returned, pacing in their room as she took the body  from him.

"Why did you do that?" she groaned. "I can't believe you."

"I thought you'd be pleased."

"I kind of am, yeah. I don't know. Things are complicated."

"She likes you and you like her. What's complicated about that?"

Isobel stopped, taking a deep breath and curling her arms around herself. "Besides Roswell being a fishbowl full of jerks? I... I like you, too."

"I would hope so. We share a body."

"Nasedo."

He  paused at the strain in her voice. The meaning of her words became  clear, and he felt almost queasy. No, no, he wasn't good enough for her.  He'd been in stasis for almost a hundred years total, by human years,  and was practically a damn rotting corpse on top of it. "Isobel..."

"I love you. You don't have to say it to me, but I love you."

The  word made him wince. She was so young, and full of so much hope and  promise. He couldn't do that to her. He would never be able to hold her,  to take care of her the way a real, living, whole person could. Like  Rosa could. "I will always protect you," he answered, his voice gentle. "I will always be here for you."

Isobel  said nothing. Thankfully, a text came through right then, the metallic  chime saving them. He looked at it through her eyes, intrigued. Pirate Radio, 9pm showing tomorrow. Sound good?

"It's your choice, Isobel."

Isobel fiddled with the phone. "You like her, too. Don't you?"

Nasedo  didn't answer. He didn't know how, especially after Isobel's  confession. He cared for them both, in their own unique ways. How to  explain that? But in the end, he didn't really have to; Isobel was  connected to his mind and thoughts, as he was connected to hers, and he  felt the moment she accepted the strange situation they were in. A tiny,  wry smile tugged at her lips as she opened the text.

Sounds fun. I'll meet you there.

A few minutes later, another chime. Great! Goodnight! <3

Nasedo  stayed quiet as Isobel went about her bedtime routine. He knew it by  heart. He knew her favorite products, the order she used them in, and  the exact number of uses left in each bottle before she would need new  ones. He knew how hard she was working to accept the little mole by her  nose, because it was part of her and she refused to take a knife to her  body to please silly beauty standards. He knew the story behind every  scar on her body, like the curved burn mark by her pinky finger she got  when she was seven, newly adopted and ignorant of what an oven was and  the fact that heat would hurt her. Her homework, in their bedroom, would  be stacked just so and color coded and triple checked for any errors.  The outfit she planned to wear the next day would be folded neatly over  the back of the desk chair. Their bedroom window would be open exactly  two inches, to let in the cool nighttime air.

Favorite things,  dislikes, habits. The way she'd smooth her hair when she was anxious.  Each and every aspect of Isobel's life, he had memorized. Each, he found  more and more endearing as the days passed. Was that... love? Was that  what love was, in the end? It wasn't the same excited, nervous feeling  Isobel experienced when she thought about seeing Rosa. It wasn't the  passionate fireworks that were in all of the human movies, books, and  songs. No. It was quieter, calmer. They shared a connection that they  would never share with anyone else, and that was... special. Precious.

Thankfully,  Isobel didn't comment on his thoughts. She tuned them out, giving him  privacy to mull in peace. Not that it did much good. They fell into a  restless sleep, and spent the next day on edge. Isobel was refined,  intelligent, elegant, proud, orderly. Nasedo was supposed to be the  dauntless one. Regardless, even he found himself starting to get nervous  as 9pm drew closer. He still had no idea what he was doing, but at  least he and Isobel were in the same boat.

"If our parents find out..." she muttered as she adjusted her hair in the mirror. If she kept messing about, they'd be late. "God. Are we really doing this?"

Nasedo  shook his head and gently took control of the body, only long enough to  steer her out of the bathroom and towards the door. "They won't find out. People go to movies all the time."

Luckily,  Max had went with their parents to some country club thing. Disgusting.  Nasedo checked their outfit one last time before heading out; basic  black blouse, dark wash jeans, black boots. Perfect. They strutted down  to the movie theater, flashing a bright smile as they saw Rosa waiting  by the door. Rosa blushed as Isobel held the door for her; they paid for  the tickets, but went double dutch on the snacks. Nasedo watched from  his corner of the mind, fascinated. In the four years they had shared  bodies, Nasedo had never seen Isobel so... open. Carefree.

It was  when the movie let out that Isobel's bravado faded. They were walking  to the park, the streetlamps lighting up the night with a soft glow. "I  want to show you one of my favorite places," Rosa said, giving them a  mysterious look as she headed into the park. "C'mon."

Curious,  Nasedo followed, shifting to the front as Isobel hesitated. Maybe Isobel  cared about curfews and closing times, but he didn't; most human laws  were based in fear, anyways, not in common sense. Rosa led them to the  center of the park, to a gazebo. It was pretty, with lattice work along  the sides and shining white against the darkness. Rosa twirled in the  center.

"This is your favorite spot?" Nasedo asked. "Why?"

Rosa  leaned against one of the posts and shrugged. "I have a lot of favorite  places. Spots where it's quiet late at night. Places I can go to think.  I can just exist here for a while, you know?"

"I don't know. I hate being alone."

"I'm guessing you've never had an overbearing dad."

Nasedo thought back to the Evanses, and to his own family. "Not especially. My family is more of the seen-not-heard type."

"Maybe we should trade."

"You  wouldn't be any happier. They treat you like a disgrace if you use the  wrong fork at dinner, or can't name three pro golfers."

"Wow, I'd  fit right in." Rosa wrinkled her nose. They both laughed; Rosa sighed  after, digging around in her purse and pulling out a few pens. "My dad  means well, but sometimes it makes it hard to move on when he keeps  treating me like I'm broken."

Nasedo watched as Rosa took the pens to the gazebo post, a blank canvas for her bleeding soul. "What are you doing?"

"Mayhem, mischief, delinquent behavior. It's how I get my highs now."

"Can I try?"

Rosa arched an eyebrow. "You? Isobel Evans?"

"Maybe I'm sick of being the person everyone thinks I am."

"Yeah."  Rosa frowned, offering her pens. Nasedo picked the black one, turning  his eyes to his side of the post as Rosa spoke. Her voice was  increasingly bitter, upset, as she colored in her drawing. A rose,  covered in sharp thorns. "It's, like, a Roswell rite of passage. One  day, everybody in this town gets together and they, like, decide who you  are, and that's who you get to be. Forever. End of story. Doesn't  matter if you change or improve or figure out that you're not even who  you thought you were to begin with."

Nasedo began to sketch the  symbol of his homeworld. Three circles, connected in the middle and  forming a triangle. "And who are you?"

"I don't think I know that yet. Do you understand who you are?"

"Some. Less than I'd desire."

Pausing, Rosa leaned to glance over Nasedo's shoulder. "What is that?"

"Just something I've drawn since I was a kid."

Goosebumps  formed over Nasedo's arms as Rosa's breath moved along his neck. Isobel  sensed the flicker of distress from him, and moved to take control  again. In the nick of time, too. A cop car drove by, slow, forcing them  to scamper out of the park before they were caught. It was, Isobel would  later admit, a thrill. Enough of a thrill that she finally seemed to  get over her shyness, happily chatting about the movie as they walked  towards Rosa's home. Everything was fine until they got one street away.

"You  don't have to come with me the rest of the way," Rosa said as she  stopped underneath some trees, standing safe in the shadows. "I mean.  Aren't you afraid that somebody's gonna see us?"

"If I'm being  honest? Yeah, but that has nothing to do with you. My parents would  freak out if they knew I went out on a date with a girl."

"Was this a date?"

Isobel  stared at Rosa. Rosa didn't seem angry, or grossed out or anything.  More... tense, inquisitive. And, maybe, a little hopeful. That tiny  tinge of hope what what bolstered Isobel's courage. "Do you want it to  have been?"

"I think so. It's just... I've never done this  before. With a girl, I mean. And it's the first time I've liked someone  since I've been clean. I'm not sure I know what I'm doing."

"Would it make you feel any better if I said this was my first time, too?"

Rosa smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, it helps."

They  walked the rest of the way to the cafe, each lost in thought; Nasedo  kept his senses open, watching for trouble. The street was empty. They  were safe. When they got to the door, Rosa turned and wrapped Isobel in a  hug. Isobel froze for a split second, then hugged her back. "Goodnight,  Rosa."

"Goodnight, Isobel."

Slipping into the cafe, Rosa  locked the door behind her and headed in. She paused, turning and  glancing at Isobel over her shoulder. She smiled again, and gave them a  wave; Isobel and Nasedo both felt their shared heart beat faster. Then  she was gone, vanishing into the diner and heading to the apartment  above it.

For a moment, Isobel didn't move, her hand pressing  against her chest as she sucked in a long, slow breath. Rosa's parting  smile was stuck in her head. Despite herself, she couldn't help but  smile, too. "We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"Yes," Nasedo replied, desire and dread mixing together in his chest. "We are."

[patchworkelephantposts]

Travel Destination Posts - December - Disneyland Paris

Unusually, I'm going to start this post categorically saying that this wasn't top of the my list of places to visit in the world, and if you've read my other posts you'll see this is a little out of character. So, why go and why Christmas?

Well, the answer to the first question is "kids" and the second bit is more to do with family politics and deciding years ago to vacation at Christmas to avoid the whole uncomfortable situation.... but that's a whole other story.

I'm sure I'm not far from the truth when I say that most adults visit any Disney resort because they have kids, especially Paris. Before ours, it wouldn't have been anywhere near somewhere we'd contemplate - after-all why go to Disneyland when you have the delights of Paris on the doorstep.

I’m sure you’ve probably sussed already that I’m not a fan of Disneyland Paris – I much preferred Disneyland in California mainly because it was a day accommodated into a wider, varied holiday. We had a stressful holiday full of problems, so this will be unlike any of my other reviews; instead of a guide of highlights and extolling the virtues of the place, this is more of a guide to what not to do and hopefully ensure people don’t make the same mistakes we did.

Anyway, you’ve decided to do a Disney theme park. It doesn’t matter whether that be Paris, Florida or California, the same main piece of advice is applicable to all – research, plan, research, plan, research and plan, and repeat x 100. You really do need to do a lot of research and planning to make sure you get the right holiday for you. Which one you choose is down to personal preference but one thing I will say is that there is a reason why most UK families choose Disney in Florida – the weather, the space and the fact that you can have a full holiday and take in other attractions such as Universal Studios as well. Similarly, with Disneyland California, it’s an easy to fit into a family holiday especially for older children or diverse age groups. You can do an awful lot more than just go to Disneyland. But maybe you prefer somewhere more local – you don’t like long haul, or you only have a short break in mind - then if you live in the UK, you’ve decided Disneyland Paris is your only option.  

Aside from the “Research & Plan” advice on repeat, the first piece of advice I would give is to book with Disney direct. Now I know this goes against a lot of advice out there when booking holidays, but I do believe that NO-ONE will give you the service or the expertise that Disney themselves do. The issue I have is that so many of the “Disneyland Paris experts” out there are the sort of independent travel agents that are just two-man bands; and whilst they may have been 20 times themselves, they will have been on “their” holiday which will not necessarily be the holiday you want. Sadly, they only know their holiday so if your requirements are very different, that may not be fully appreciated, and they may well think they know best and advise or book accordingly. Now given their often very very limited travel experience, they will not know everything even about somewhere as small as the Disneyland Paris resort.  I know there are exceptions to this and your local one maybe that exception but if you do decide to use them and not Disney, ask a lot of questions of when they have been, how they went and what they did and stayed. Just so you get a feel of what they have experienced and what they can offer. We booked with supposedly one of the best (message me direct and I’ll let you know who to avoid) and this advice comes from having an awful holiday because of their limited experience. Why did they fail? Well they failed abysmally mainly due to the complete lack of advice on what “extras” we needed to book, what we should expect regarding meals and what is the best way to “do” Disney. All advice that should have been available to us when booking and before we went; so I am hoping with this post, I can give some of the advice that we think would be useful.

The second piece of advice is to ask yourself, “Do we need to stay onsite at Disneyland Paris?” Would you actually prefer to stay in Paris and commute in? The reason for asking is that, in our opinion, there is better food and better hotels in Paris. If you’re Disney mad and want the full Disney experience, then stay onsite – there are some good deals to be had with fast passes for rides, breakfast or other bits included. However, we found both the main Disney hotel (at the entrance to the park) and Newport Bay hotel to be tired and dated. They need a revamp. We stayed at Newport Bay Hotel and we had a Compass Club family room. It was supposedly one of the best rooms aside from a suite but I can honestly sum it up as tired, dated, and above all else small – it just fitted 2 double beds in it. We’ve stayed at bigger family rooms in a Premier Inn. So bear this in mind. Also, the food in the hotels wasn’t great quality but exceptionally expensive. We ended up eating in the park or Disney village – better quality and less pricey.

Which brings us onto the third main piece of advice, and that is to think hard about meals and your plans for each day. Meal Plans are a good option because they do give you discounted meals, but you need to ensure the restaurants have menus you want to eat and that they are open when you want to eat. If you do go down this route, make sure you book the number of meals you want for the time you are there. Sounds obvious but you may be there on days where lunch isn’t available (its not available in the hotel buffet at lunchtimes, for instance) or even dinner (especially during the Christmas/New Year Holiday period). Also, look at your travel times – you may arrive after lunch on your first day or need to leave before lunch on your departure day. Don’t be caught out – instead of listening to experts, do your own research and ask the questions.

The final piece of advice, and probably one of the most important, is to look at when you are going. There is an urban myth that a lot of the “experts” like to put out around about the Christmas/New Year holiday period. They will tell you that the local French people who have annual passes are busy at home with their families from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, making this the quietest time of the year to go. This is a LIE. I still recall the shocked laugh and look of disbelief from the Compass Club concierge when I told them what we had been told (enough for them to want to make a note of the so called “DLP experts” who had sold us this lie). As she calmly corrected, Christmas Eve to Boxing Day are some of their 3 busiest days of the year as is New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day. They had the stats to show me. When I say busy, I mean 45-minute queues minimum for any ride. Not great for adults; a complete torture for kids of any age. Their quiet time during the holiday period, if you do want to go at this time? 27th – 29th December, or whenever there is no general holiday for everyone as bank holidays do move depending on when Christmas falls. Similarly, for the rest of the year – if you want the best experience, go out of season or out of French school holidays.

This leads nicely back to “do you need to stay onsite?”. Quite obviously the majority of those in DLP are French, and they don’t stay onsite. Instead they commute in which is remarkably easy from Paris and the train stop is so close to the entrance to the park. It’s a 10-minute walk closer than any of the hotels unless you’re at the Disney hotel which is above the noisy entrance to the park. There is a supposed magic to staying onsite – you can arrange for character meet and greets at the hotels – but they are a 15-minute walk (with kids) through the Disney village to the park. Just bear this in mind when you are planning.

What else do you need to know?

1.       Its quieter if you’re in the Park from 7pm onwards – especially the rides for smaller kids such as Dumbo or the Teacups. Not great for their bedtime routine but if you do find it busy, it’s worth the sacrifice.

2.       Use the Disney staff for advice whilst you’re there too– they saved our holiday and understandably are the real experts.

3.       Book your meals before you go, and research all your options. The restaurants do get booked up.

4.       If you are travelling with a child with ASD, however minor, again talk to Disney. They understand ASD and the issues you may have and will have suggestions as to help. We wish we’d done this, but the lack of awareness we’d experienced at other tourist sites meant we didn’t think there would be measures in place. We were so wrong and wish we’d flagged it earlier rather than trying to manage the situation ourselves as we usually do. Thankfully Disney came to the rescue when we were struggling whilst we were there and for that we will always be eternally grateful (see pt 2)

5.       Look into the experiences that you pay extra for and work out whether it’s something you’d want to do. They get booked up well in advance and its important you do your research depending on what you want.

6.       Parades. For the 5pm parade, we found the best place was as you first walk into Market Street, by the Disney train. At that time, most people are in the main body of the park and so those bits of the parade route get easily clogged up. If you’re by the exit/entrance, there are less people there and you can get a front row spot easily just 15 minutes before it starts. Also, stand on a bend – they have to slow down for bends for you get a longer view.

7.       Work our whether you need to stay up for the Fireworks. You’ll see better displays on the TV at NYE, and its mainly just a light projection of a mashup of Disney films with the songs – sung in French mainly. Decide if it’s worth a crotchety kid the next day for staying up so late.

8.       We found the rides closed at 9pm – an hour before the fireworks at 10pm. It may have just been they did this during the winter but just something to be aware of.

9.       If you want a meal in your Disney hotel on Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day lunch, be prepared to pay for it. There are no meal plans for these 2 meals and the price for a family of 2 adults and 1 child was 452Euros per meal. Disney will push this option but there are other restaurants open during this period that you can use if you’d prefer – the set meals at the hotels are not the only option.

10.   Disneyland Paris site is quite small. Whilst you will spend a lot of time queuing, actually walking around the site won’t take you very long – we did a recce in about an hour with our 5-year-old. Take this into account when planning how long to spend there. We had 3 full days there (and we stayed onsite) and it was far too long. Two days would be enough and actually we’d have been happy having a day trip from Paris, although it would be a long day.

So I’ll end the advice as I started…..Plan, Plan, Plan, Plan, Plan, Plan. DO YOUR RESEARCH and be honest on what you want from the holiday. Go into detail - what rides you want to do, where you are going to eat; plan to take snacks with you and bottle of drink (one bottle of cordial and one bottle for water is a good idea as there are good water fountains to refil around the site); take varied clothing and layers for your time in the park especially if you’ll be there all day (and foldaway rainy gear if needed). It may all seem like an awfully lot of hard work but you will benefit and you’re less likely to feel like you’ve faced an endurance test.

[itoshit]

Time slowly went by, days turning to nights. And nights turning to days. That day, when I left Vee, I didn't think it would have been the last time I saw her. But she left. My men found her quickly of course, some even offered me to bring her back to me. But the whole point was to not be in contact anymore. I refused to see any picture of her, to see what she was up to. Ran's reports were enough for me. My heart was hurting me, especially when I learnt the existence of her friend, Darren. I was in the private room of one of our clubs, and Ran showed me a picture of them together. She seemed happy, healthy. And I was glad to be out of her life at that moment because honestly, I shattered everything and everyone that I touched.

It was not too long after I cut our strings. I remember that night vividly because that was my very first step to hell. Drinking to forget what I saw, I apparently passed out. Sanzu was the one bringing me back home. My place didn't look good anymore, but I didn't care. No one would stay here except me anyway. I wasn't even sleeping in my bed anymore, not that I was sleeping in the first place. But I couldn't do it. Too hard. Her scent lingered everywhere in my room, in her room. The small amount of sleep that I had was spent on my couch. Christmas went by too, and nothing happened. Her coat and the concert ticket were left untouched in my bedroom, in a random drawer. That evening, I stayed alone in my apartment, trying to imagine what it would have been with Vee around. We would have probably been drinking and laughing, making out on my couch. I'm sure she would have wanted me to buy a Christmas tree, and we would have decorated it together. And the night would have finished somewhere in my apartment, both naked and drowning in each other's touch.

Six months have passed. I tried so hard to forget her face with the many girls trying to get into my pants. I tried so, so hard. But I've never been able to touch someone else. Vee was like a drug, and I was experiencing it. But I was so content for her, she looked like she was finally balancing everything in her life, and she was probably grateful for that. She probably didn't want me back in her life, and I would never dare to enter hers anyway. She must felt relief after all that ended up.

I went back to the Mikey I was before meeting Vee, the cold; heartless man I used to be. My black hair was the only different thing from that past.

Every night I recalled our moment spent together, the only vestige of her was in mind.

Well, my vision seemed to be quite subjective and false, because on few occasions, the guys talked to me. Kakucho, Sanzu, Takeomi and Ran were the ones telling me how I changed, in a bad way. To them, I was more reckless. There were probably right, not that it mattered anyway.

Dante and La Cosa Nostra became close allies, the first trying his best to ease my heart. He presented me to his wife and children, and they were probably the ones who helped me getting through all that shit.

My life didn't make sense anymore. Without Vee by my side, I could finally say it, I was nothing. A dead man walking. While she looked so... full of life.

I saw Senju multiple times, and what I said to Vee was obviously completely false. I've never let myself be tempted with her flirt. The Yamaguchi-gumi stayed on the low for a while too, making their presence known from time to time.

They attacked one of our clubs once, and I almost died in the process. That's maybe what the guys reproached me when they said that I was reckless. Luckily though, Sanzu helped me. Got shot close to the heart, would have died if he didn't push me at the last minute.

The not so discreet scar that I had on my chest was a daily reminder that life was, even for me, something ephemeral.

Tonight was no different than the other nights. Would drown myself in work, files, alcohol and memories of Vee. That scared me because I was slowly starting to forget the sound of her voice.

Mikey.

Hm?

You can't keep doing that

Doing what?

You're not living, you're just... surviving. Amico mio, it's not good. Even Luka noticed your pain, shall I remind you he's only 8? You need to do something.

Look Dante, I appreciate your concern but I'm working right now. Did you call me to say something else?

Your girl has been-

She's not mine anymore. I lost her long ago.

... Venus is going outside tonight. Ran told me and as requested from you, my men keep an eye on her. She hasn't been outside since you stopped talking. You should come and-

Scoffing at him, I rolled my eyes, forehead pressed against my hand.

Dante, just... don't. She's clearly better off without me, and the Yamaguchi-gumi understood she wasn't someone who counted for -

But that was a lie! Manjiro. You could try again with her! We could finish them off, and you two could be happy together. It's just-

No we won't. They got the message when we blew their hideout up. No needs to start something big like this once again, especially when we all know the finality of it.

And what is if if you're so sure of yourself? You know what? I'm gonna bring her to you tonight. You're always staying at your office, expect her and I to be here.

... Venus doesn't need me. She realised she didn't miss me, and that I was only a cancer in her life. I need to go, don't call me again. Thank you for what you did back then.

Hanging up, I left my phone on my desk, leaving my office, but not before asking my executives to meet me in our meeting room.

What's up Mikey?

All sat around me, I looked at them first, before speaking.

Just, thanks for what you did for me.

Snorting, Sanzu stared at me, pupils dilated.

Why does it look like farewells though?

You can leave, you have your evening off. Find some pussy to fuck, get drunk, get high. Do what you want. I want you all to be here tomorrow before 8am.

Groaning, Sanzu stood up, and was the first to leave the room.

You okay?

Of course I am Ran.

Nodding, he patted my shoulder while Rindou simply smiled at me.

Koko had an eyebrow raised.

What's up with you Mikey?

Nothing. You can go Hajime.

Eh? First time you're saying my name. But alright, goodnight Mikey

Now alone with Mochizuku and Takeomi, I turned to them.

Guess I'll head to the strip club then.

Go ahead Kanji

Door closing, I felt Takeomi's eyes on me.

What?

What are you up to Mikey?

Nothing, just need a night away from work. Why aren't you leaving?

Raising his hands in defeat, Takeomi stood up, and as he was going to exit the meeting's room, he stilled.

Manjiro. Don't do anything stupid yeah?

No worries.

Eventually alone, I sat back on the chair, chin on my crossed hands. Would I regret what I was about to do? Probably not. Vee gave me hope, showing me some good time. But I wasn't destined to happiness. My place was in darkness, in hell.

An hour passed, and directing myself to my office, I checked the security cameras. It was 9pm, everyone left the building, as I requested beforehand.

Turning one last time to my office, I suddenly imagined Vee here, with me. Taking my gun off my hoster, I put it on my desk. Closing the door behind me, I went to the roof.

The last time that I've been here was when Sanzu surprised me, and when I said to him that if I happened to die, he would take the lead.

Guess nothing has changed since then.

Approaching my feet from the edge, I looked behind, a flash blinding me for a while. The good old days, when I was Toman's leader, Ken-chin by my side. Takemichi, Mitsuya, Chifuyu, the Kawata twins and the others were below, acclaiming me.

How were they doing now? Did they find happiness? I hope so. Vee crossed my mind too, leaving a warm feeling in my heart.

Throwing a glance at the concrete, I felt cold sweat on my forehead.

I'm sorry, Venus

-Mikey

TO EXPLAIN MYSELF - I wanted to keep the final scene from the manga, when Bonten Mikey is with Takemichi. It's not to destroy the good mood at all, but I do think Mikey is someone who's extremely tortured in his life (as everyone knows lmao) so in this case, where him and you were an item and he had strong feelings toward you, obviously it will destroy him more. Hopefully it's not a triggering subject for you, if it is, I'm sorry bby 😔

see now mod… *exhales*

Yeah, I don’t know about this, Dee.

We stood outside the bar, which from the outside, looked pack to capacity already. Apprehension consumed me. Darren noticed, taking my hand into his and squeezing it.

Do you wanna go home? he asked gently. We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.

I shook my head. If I couldn’t do this, with my best friend no less, I probably wouldn’t be able to do any social event.

No, I’m fine. But we are leaving before 11.

He winked at me.

Fuck yeah we are.

We walked in together at that, arm in arm. Eyes flitted to us and then away when they realized we weren’t anybody of importance. A few lingered on me, recognizing me from the news maybe. I ignored them, allowing Darren to introduce me to his friends. He was right, they were nice. We shared a few drinks, me only having one beer to the others four. After Natalie, I just didn’t trust drinking anymore. Or people in general, always looking outside of people’s actions for their hidden motives.

We left at ten as promised. I shoved Darren and a couple of his friends into separate Ubers since they were way too drunk for me to even trust them driving. After I managed to get transportation for the final drunkard that I was with that night, I started walking toward my own car. But I noticed something. Somebody was following me. Clutching onto the pocketknife I started carrying ever since I got back home, I steeled myself with the thought of pulling it out and taking a life if needed be.

As the person neared, my grip on the hilt was knuckle-white and tight, with little to no chance of slipping off. When they touched me, I spun around fast, placing the knife right beneath their throat. I was smart enough to avoid streetlights.

Who the fuck are you? I snarled, pressing the knife closer with each word I spoke.

The man threw up his hands quickly, but made no move to disarm me. I’m with Dante of La Casa Nostra.

Who?

Me, somebody spoke from our left. I chanced a look and found a man sitting in the back of a heavily tinted jeep. My heart sunk. I learned a long time ago that tinted jeeps were the poster cars for criminal organization and gang leaders to move around in. My name is Dante, Venus, and I came to you requesting help.

Funny way of asking for it, I bit, throwing a look to the man who was following me. And besides, I don’t think I can help you.

It’s about Mikey.

I froze, unsure how to answer for a few seconds, then eventually came up with a, I don’t know a Mikey.

We were there with the Yamaguchis, Venus. La Casa Nostra was a big help in aiding Bonten in that victory. Our sniper was the one that saved your life. So technically, you owe me.

Could I even argue that? I had a feeling that even if I wanted to, there was only stalling I could do before he lost his patience and just forced me to do what he wanted. Powerful men weren’t used to being challenged, after all. Slowly, I placed my knife in my pocket, but always kept it ready to grab in case I had to run. I walked up to the Jeep and hopped in beside Dante, keeping my distance at the same time.

What do you want?

I wanted to get straight to the point, go home if possible.

It’s Mikey, he sighed, pinching his nose as if even the thought of the man pained him to talk about. He’s… not doing so well. Not sleeping, barely eating, wasting away.

Have you ever stopped to consider he was always like that?

It honestly sounded like he was behaving just as he was—

But that was before you met him, Venus.

I clenched my jaw, remembering how he had started eating and sleeping at my request, soon not even needing me to tell him to do either at all. A certain beach date flashed into my mind and I shook my head to rid myself of the memory. Dante observed my reaction, and I wanted to pinch myself for giving an observable one.

Either way, I’m worried, Venus. Mikey is a good guy, an extraordinary ally, but with the way things are looking…I don’t think he’s going to survive much longer to be any of both. Which is why I offered to take you to him as a last resort.

Without my consent?

With or without, he admitted with a laugh. I’m that desperate. He’s not well, Venus. Even my children are concerned.

I gnawed on my thumbnail.

Bringing me to him might not fix him. They might make things worse. For both of us, I wanted to say.

Or they might make them better, he argued.

You couldn’t possibly know that.

I’m willing to take that risk.

I couldn’t answer that. Few things could talk down a stubborn man. I wasn’t one of them.

You know, I really think you and Manjiro belong together. You’re both just too stubborn to see that.

I didn’t reply to that, either. I would’ve agreed once. Manjiro made sure I couldn’t.

We arrived to the building and I was astounded by how distinctly I remembered it despite being away from it from so long. My mind went on that nurse who helped me escape. I wondered if they fired her.

Dante hopped out of the car the same time I did, using a fancy keycard to gain access into the building. Walking through it, I realized I never took the time to appreciate how large the space was. We reached the room where Dante said he’d be— the meeting room.

Mikey, I’m here as promised, Dante announced and I held my breath. I hadn’t the slightest clue what to say when I saw him, or whether what I’d say would be the right thing. Probably not, considering I wanted to curse him like a dog.

I still had time to think of something though. When Dante opened the door, nobody was there.

Am I being pranked? I asked Dante whose eyebrows were furrowed.

That’s strange. He hasn’t checked out of the building at all today so he’s still in here.

I looked around for a bit, feeling something amiss, and then I found the window looking out over the city. Dante, is there any room in this place that has a better view than this one?

No, this is the highest floor in the building. No view comes close. Why do you ask?

They all had something in common. This room, Mikey’s house’s design, the hotels he booked, down to the dates he scheduled— there was one common denominator.

The view. I snapped my fingers. Mikey likes the views!

But there’s no better view than… the roof. He’s on the roof.

I wasted no time, bolting out of the door. The elevator stopped just to the meeting room floor. Only stairs could take you up to the roof. I sprinted up them by God’s grace, barely even winded by the time I opened the door.

Good thing too, because the sight of Mikey took my breath away. It was only his back, the same black hair I had seen him in the last time fluttering in the wind. What worried me most was not where he was standing, feet firmly planted on the ledge. What worried me most was how relaxed he was on the ledge, as if he wasn’t staring a certain death right in the face. A strong enough wind would send him right to it. I couldn’t witness that. My feet moved on their own, fueled by adrenaline. I had barely reached him when he started to push himself over the ledge, but I caught him in time, gripping my shirt between his fingers and snatching him back with all my might. He fell back easily, too startled by the fact somebody was there to catch him to brace himself. He landed right atop of me in a heap of limbs. My hands were trembling. It was as if I had just realized how close I was to missing that chance to grab him. Tears came into my eyes, but I didn’t know if they were from anger or from fear.

You idiot, I whispered harshly through sobs. You fucking idiot.

[akanemachurida-blog]

Short report of today’s event at Sunshine Sakae for SKE48′s ninth anniversary.

While I lost the lottery for the special talk show and the midnight stage (I’ve yet to win a theatre application), I decided to go to Sunshine anyway today to see what was happening for the ninth anniversary.

I arrived around 3pm and was greeted with a long line to buy goods for members that were designed for the ninth anniversary. I didn’t plan on buying anything so I just looked at the members from afar. The members rotated at random intervals, so it meant that you might not get the member you thought you might get after waiting in line for a long time. One member would be a MC of sorts, carrying a microphone and trying to encourage people to buy goods of their generation. When I arrived Arai Yuki was the “MC.” Sakipon became the MC on two later occasions.

While the long line for goods in the basement floor was going on until 8pm, other sporadic events were happening throughout the building at the same time. It was hard to know when they would start and a lot of people basically camped out at the various locations. Other people like me moved from one to another.

There was a stage set up inside Tsutaya (2nd floor) where members would have talk shows. When I first got there a lot of 8th gen members were talking. They later appeared another time, but I paid attention to another talk when Rara, Sakipon, Takatsuka Natsuki and Aiai were there. Rara was nice and kept waving to the floor above where I was watching. It was pretty variety-like; the members spoke about their various stages and taught each other dance moves. Sakipon in particular was very energetic and really guided the talk well.

Members would also appear at the SKE Cafe on the 4th floor, but I didn’t go inside. I saw quite a few eighth gens throughout the day there, as well as Sakipon.

There was also this stand on the opposite side of the 4th floor where mochis were being sold. They all had a little thing on them designed by a member so you were supposed to pick a member’s mochi. I originally didn’t plan on eating one but I got hungry and Chikako and Saanan showed up at the stand to hand them over. I hadn’t met either of them before and they asked me where I came from and complimented my Japanese. I asked for a Chikako mochi but they were sold out so I got Makiko’s instead. I actually didn’t look much at Saanan because Chikako was just beaming at me the entire time and being very friendly. Both of the members said “Thank you!” when I left.

Afterwards I met a fan I hadn’t seen since last year and we queued up together for the merchandise line. I originally didn’t want to buy anything but I decided to buy one of these badges since it was the cheapest thing and none of the people I talked to had gotten a Churi badge so far. Sakipon, who was MCing when I got in, was replaced by Kaotan, who was exceptionally loud with the microphone, to the extent that I couldn’t chat with my friend. Of the members that were around, I wanted to get either Kocchan or Rara, and I ended up getting Kocchan. Unfortunately I hadn’t prepared anything to tell her and she didn’t ask me anything so I bought the badge and thanked her.

I then decided to go back to Tsutaya to check out who was doing the talk show when a horde of fans whizzed past me. I followed them to Tsutaya and found out that members took over the cash to have an event where they hand something you purchase over to you, as well as give you a postcard designed by a 2D club member. (There was a corner in Tsutaya where each 2D club member recommended a series of movies or manga that they liked. They each drew a little a message about that recommendation, which became those postcards)

I wasn’t planning on buying anything else, but the spur of the moment got to me and I noticed that Chikako was there which made me want to speak to her again since she had been nice to me before. The other members were Renahyuu, Piyosu and Sakipon, none of whom I had met before. The line was super long by the way, and while I was among the first ones to get in, it still took a long time, since there was only one cash with four members to interact with. 

Sakipon noticed my Churi hoodie when I walked up and asked me if I wanted her postcard, to which I happily said yes. I think Sakipon went to grab it, while Chikako said she remembered me from before and beamed another smile, and Renahyuu and Piyosu said hello to me. Renahyuu and Chikako asked me who my oshimen was and I told them who it was. They didn’t make a big fuss about it, and Renahyuu handed over the 100% SKE Vol. 3 I bought along with the postcard. They all waved me bye and I wished them good luck. Chikako and someone else, I think either Piyosu or Sakipon, yelled a “Thank you!”

I didn’t know where to fit this in, but I took the elevator down at one point, which got me right behind the area where the goods on the basement floor were being sold. Members use the elevators as well as other stairs on the side of the building to move throughout, and when I got off the elevator at the bottom I came face to face with Ryoha! I was really surprised and didn’t know what to say so i just nodded and got out of her way.

My final member interaction was at the fourth floor when the mochi stand was reopened by Chikako and Saanan. At this point I got hungry again and thought that I might as well talk to Chikako again but it turned out that they only had nine mochis left! The person who got the last one received something special and I think he had a picture taken with them. The two of them then passed through the rest of us who had been in the line and waved. Chikako waved at me by the way.

That concludes what happened during the day, and a lot of this happened during the Talk Show stage in the theatre. I’m sure there were other little events that took place that I didn’t get to see.

My personal highlights in terms of members today were:

Chikako (if that wasn’t obvious), for making me smile a lot and being really receptive. She’s really good at getting your attention and asking questions too.

Sakipon, for being around the entire time and doing pretty much everything humanly possible. I think I listed her name for every event I saw, which meant that from 3pm-9pm she was constantly moving from event to event and MCing.

[rainydawgradioblog]

RDR Essentials - Pop/Electronic (01/27)

RDR Essentials is a weekly newsletter of alternating genres that outlines key releases of the past month, upcoming events around Seattle and happenings in the specified music genre.

Made in collaboration between Rainy Dawg DJs and the Music Director.

Releases

Okay Kaya - Watch The Liquid Pour Itself

On Okay Kaya’s sophomore effort, “Watch the Liquid Pour Itself”, Kaya brings us further inside her world. On this album she explores her mental health, relationships, and the world around her. The songs on the album are vulnerable, containing lyrics like “Here I am, Desperate for attention”, “Stacey it really sucks to be your girlfriend”, and “I know sex with me is mediocre”. The production is consistently somewhere in between pop and indie folk. On the highlight “Psych Ward”, a soft guitar strums as Kaya sings about her experiences in the hospital. Her lyrics stand on the fence between showing and telling to pull you in to her stories. “You can peel an orange however you want in the psych ward” she sings. On “Mother Nature’s Bitch”, Kaya sings about being at the mercy of nature over soft and groovy guitar melody. On another highlight, “Baby Little Tween,”  Kaya sings about coping with the new struggles her adult life has thrown at her. Her lyrics are complex, but she successfully passes her anxiety to the listener as she grapples with her medication and a tiring relationship. The production of the song establishes an often used, yet interesting, dichotomy with the lyrics as it surrounds the anxious words with upbeat, poppy, and almost tropical drums. Kaya’s writing and the laid back production frame the album as a collection of musical poetry she wrote for herself to come to terms with the world. 

FFO – Aldous Harding, Kelsey Lu, Clairo

- Jackson Fennell

Georgia - Seeking Thrills

After her first album, Georgia decided she wanted to create a piece of work completely inspired by the club dancefloor. After releasing a few singles over the span of 2 years, she has finally released an album that embodies this mission statement of dance. With Seeking Thrills, Georgia establishes herself as a master of dancefloor. On “Feel It”, Georgia sings about embracing one’s visceral side. The song incorporates a heavy synth beat with production and eerie background vocals, reminiscent of MIA, that capture that club energy she was looking for. Her vocals flow beautifully with the synths and perfectly encapsulate her passion. On the title track, Georgia encourages listeners to live in the moment and chase excitement. This song is, again, filled to the brim with synths, but this time they are softer, transporting the listener to a more laid back club, filled with sparkling, colorful lights. The production slowly builds on itself throughout the song then quickly falls apart. Georgia truly accomplishes her club hit goals with synth-pop masterpiece “About Work the Dance Floor”. As soon as the synths come in, it’s clear that the song is a special experience. The pulsating synths so perfectly combine with her vocals that it’s hard to think of any way this song could be better than it is. “I don’t have much in terms of money now. I don’t have material gifts for you” she sings without a care in the world. Nothing matters to her because it’s all inconsequential compared to her love for the dancefloor. It seems impossible to imagine anyone not feeling the need to jump out of their seats as soon as this song comes on. Overall, the album seems to be an ode to the founders of modern pop, like Robyn and MIA. The consequence of that being that it doesn’t end up breaking many boundaries. However, it does show Georgia’s potential and creates a lot of excitement for whatever she does next.

FFO – Robyn, MIA, Empress Of

- Jackson Fennell

Macintosh Plus - Sick & Panic (First Mix) 

     In 2011 Vektroid released her debut album, Floral Shoppe, under the alias Macintosh Plus and subsequently skyrocketed to cult fame. Now the poster girl of the Vaporwave movement is back and mixing things up. She has announced that her first new album under the name Macintosh Plus in 9 years will come out this year. She also dropped a small taste of it for us in the form of Sick & Panic (First  Mix). The 12 minute peak into her upcoming album is already completely different from anything we heard on Floral Shoppe. Sick & Panic (First Mix) leaves the Vaporwave sound Floral Shoppe is known for and delivers a more abstract club track. The melodies and production pull away from ambient and instead demands attention with all sorts of chopped and screwed melodies and industrial beats. It’s as if Vektroid slammed open the door to your room from the room next door, brought all her equipment over, and started partying. Throughout the mix the production switches in and out between soft and glitchy synths always keeping you guessing what’s next. Your hand is seemingly held through every twist and turn by screwed voice yelling bitch, present throughout the whole mix, sounding off between every beat or melody switch. With this mix, Vektroid proves herself once again to be a master of sound. If this snippet is any indication to what the rest of the album will sound like, we should all be very excited for more. 

FFO: Aphex Twin, Arca, Dj Screw

- Jackson Fennell

Upcoming Releases:

02/07: La Roux - Supervision

02/14: Sega Bodega - Salvador

02/21: Banoffee - Look At Us Now Dad

02/21: Allie X - Cape God

02/28: Caribou - Suddenly

Events:

02/02: Nina Las Vegas @ Barboza

8PM / 21+ / $12.50

02/06: Left at London @ Chop Suey

8PM / AA / $8 

2/10: Bat For Lashes @ The Neptune

8PM / AA / $25

2/17: Metronomy @ Showbox

8PM / AA / $25

2/20: Haused: DJ Seinfeld @ Kremwerk

9PM / 21+ / $13.44

2/24: Tove Lo and Alma @ Showbox Sodo

8PM / AA / $35