#yes this includes like the entirety of taking shots

[thetriggeredhappy]

would you people still consider me a respectable writer if i told you that basically everything i’ve written since 2019 has been done in the notes app

[gammasnippets]

[CHANNEL_9] fromis_9 '채널나인' EP60. Spotlighting 🐿️ Part.3

fromis_9 Lee Chaeyoung

11,660 words (Co-edited by @digipigichopshop & @dnd-writes)

After "reviewing" an intense office romance starring fromis_9's main vocalist, Park Jiwon, you are now left with 8 more alluring videos featuring the remaining members to explore and indulge in. You feel teased after witnessing the explicit nature of the first video. Watching Jiwon's naked body as she partakes in what might be the best sexual experience caught on film got you pitching a tent underneath your pants. But that doesn't seem to be enough. After all, what's not to say that the other videos won't push your limits even further?

You choose among the many files that fill your computer folder, looking for the next video to review. The first thing that catches your eye is the thumbnail with the group’s playful and charismatic rapper, Chaeyoung. The entire fromis_9 is full of pretty faces and hot figures, but you've always been drawn to Chaeyoung's magnetic charm. She's funny, talented, and has a captivating stage presence… And now you find yourself eager to see how she can ignite your desires in this next video.

You press the play button and the "Channel_9" intro plays alongside its colorful intro card. As their video editor, you ponder what elements can be included in this video to tie it to the first one seamlessly. With a mischievous grin on your face, you decide to include a recap from the previous video where Jiwon's sensual encounter left you craving for more. You think it's a wonderful idea, but watching this current video to its completion comes first.

After the intro, the video shows a huge indoor swimming complex. The video shows its many pools and amenities, filled with many hues of blue and sparkling with crystal-clear water, and inviting everyone to dive in. It then shifts to an aerial shot of Chaeyoung outside of the area walking towards it. The camera switches to that of the crew following her to have a better view of this video’s main star, wearing a creative mix of a red strapless dress over a white buttoned shirt and red heels. Her long figure is accentuated by the dress, giving her a seductive yet sophisticated look.

However, as the camera focuses on her, Chaeyoung seems to look more hesitant than anything, curious as to what might be inside.

"Is this really the place?" Chaeyoung wonders aloud, her voice full of excitement and anticipation.

"Yes," one of the crew softly replies.

"What is this place? It could be like an indoor pool," Chaeyoung suggests, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

She walks a bit further and reaches the entrance of the indoor swimming area. It didn't take long for her to realize that her assumption was correct.

"An indoor pool? Oh wow, it really is," Chaeyoung exclaims, her voice filled with awe.

As she steps further inside, the view switches to a bird's eye view of the entirety of the swimming area from a drone camera. Despite her tall frame, the captured angle makes Chaeyoung look like a small figure in this large aquatic paradise.

"Wow. This place looks nice," she murmurs to herself. "They even have big slides!"

She continues to explore the vast complex, taking in the many sights and sounds around her. Her eagerness to take a dip in the many pools becomes more and more evident as she starts to softly whine every time her eyes catch anything new and exciting.

"You want to swim, don't you?" one of the crew playfully asks Chaeyoung, teasing her.

"Of course," she replies with a mischievous smile, before letting out a deep sigh. "I wish I didn't wear this outfit."

"But you look good in it."

"But I want to swim," she pouts, defeated as she looks at her clothing.

The crew chuckles at her cute yet disappointed expression.

"Can we go back here again?" she asks.

"Maybe?" the crew replies, a teasing tone in their voice.

Her eyes widened in hope and excitement. "Really? We can?"

"Well, we can certainly try to make it happen," they respond, their tone filled with amusement.

"Yes!" Chaeyoung claps her hands in glee.

"But this is a filming studio, after all," they point out.

"Ugh…" Chaeyoung groans, sounding frustrated.

"So we should coordinate with them first if we can use this place again," they suggest.

"It's a shame we can't just go here whenever we can," she pouts.

The crew again laughs at her remarks.

Her witty nature, paired with her playful banters, makes Chaeyoung a delight to work with. She's more than just a pretty face, her vibrant and welcoming personality makes her a good addition to any project. Many fans often discuss how she rarely lands any invitations to shows or events, be it as a guest or a host. Her level of professionalism, paired with her natural charm, will make her a great asset to any production.

Chaeyoung and the crew continue to explore the huge swimming facility, stumbling into more breathtaking pools and attractions along the way. They then end up in a huge yet shallow pool. What's interesting is that despite the water being shallow, it doesn't look like a pool meant for children. The pool is decorated as if it's a sports arena, with goals on each end and border lines drawn on the bottom. A scoreboard is also visible, adding to the air of competition and excitement.

"Wow! This area looks great!" Chaeyoung exclaims, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.

She then proceeds to walk further into the pool area, trying to get a closer look at the intricately designed space. But as she takes a few more steps, the crew then takes their leave to let her explore on her own. She waves and bows at them as her way of appreciation for accompanying her thus far. As they part ways, the camera view then switches to those inside the area, capturing the entire place from much better angles.

As she goes deeper into the pool area, she notices a man nearby who seems to be doing some stretches.

"Uhh… Hello," Chaeyoung tries to grab the man's attention with a friendly tone as she steps closer to him.

"Ah! Hello there," the man turns to her and slightly bows, a polite smile on his face.

"Hello to you as well," she responds with a warm smile before bowing in return.

The man stands up from his task and walks closer to Chaeyoung, offering a friendly handshake.

"So I will be your partner today."

She softly giggles before accepting her handshake. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," he replies, his voice calm and friendly. "Chaeyoung, is it?"

"Yes. I guess I'm in the right place," she says with a playful grin.

"I guess you are," he chuckles. "So, are you ready?"

Chaeyoung then looks at him, dumbfounded.

"Eh?"

"I was told that we're going to have a friendly game of water polo," he explains, pointing towards the goals and lines in the pool.

She is then left speechless for a moment, her eyes staring at nothing in particular as she looks as if she's processing her situation.

"So, are you up for it?" he asks her again, his voice filled with anticipation.

Chaeyoung then chuckles, still staring into nothingness, before looking at him. "I wasn't even informed that I'll be swimming today."

She then turns her attention to one of the many cameras surrounding them as if looking at the staff themselves.

"Why did you make me wear this?" she yells at them laughing, playfully pointing at her outrageous office get-up.

Her partner then bursts out laughing at her unexpected reaction. "Wait. What's wrong?"

Chaeyoung then looks at him, still laughing but looking defeated. "I can't swim in this!"

He scratches his head in amusement as he has never been in a situation quite like this before, let alone see someone attempt to swim wearing office attire.

"Well that can be a problem," he says, chuckling.

"Oh no," she then starts to worry about the challenge at hand. "Do I immediately fail the challenge?"

"I don't think so. No," he attempts to reassure her worries as he thinks of a way to salvage the situation.

Suddenly, one of the monitors in the room turns on, catching their attention. On the screen, a message appears where it says the following;

“SPOTLIGHTING CHALLENGE: SPLASH & BLAST>

Aim to be the best water polo player ever!

Score as much as you can against your opponent.

Regular water polo rules don’t apply. Do whatever you can to win!

Complete this mission to earn your group a reward.

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!"

They both read the message on the screen, their eyes widening in surprise. Chaeyoung then looks at him with eyes full of concern.

"A time limit? How much time do we have?" she asks, feeling lost and nervous.

The scoreboard suddenly hums to life, catching their attention. The timer displays 120 minutes on the clock, making them realize they have a generous amount of time to complete the challenge.

"Oh, neat," he remarks. "We have plenty of time."

“Yeah,” She nods as she thinks about her situation. "But I'm wearing these clothes…"

"Right," he responds with a small chuckle.

"What should I do?" she asks, her worry slowly getting the best of her.

As he struggles to think of a way to help her, he shrugs his shoulders. "I guess you'd have to take them off."

"Sure," She chuckles nervously. “But you see…”

“Yes?” he asks.

"I don't have any swimsuits on me," she admits, blushing.

He then let out a chuckle at her sudden confession. "So you're just in your underwear, then?"

She nods at him. "Yep."

"If that's the case," he pauses for a moment, before adding, "Then it won't be much different from regular water polo."

"Really?" Chaeyoung's eyes widened, curious to hear his thoughts.

"Yes. Some beginners play water polo in their underwear, with the lack of preparation and all," he further explains, chuckling as he goes.

"I see…" she nods as she understands the situation. "So my case is actually a common thing, huh?"

"Correct," he nods, smiling. "Even professionals do their practice rounds wearing underwear when they forget to bring one."

“Is that so?” She laughs. "So it's just practice for me then."

He chuckles. "You can say that."

Suddenly, all her worries seem to have vanished. She smiles and nods at herself, a look of determination in her eyes.

"Alright," she exclaims, excited to accept the challenge. "I'll take the challenge then."

"That's the spirit!" He cheers her and gives her a thumbs up.

"So…"

Chaeyoung's eyes then begin to wander around the pool area, as if looking for something.

 "Should I just strip here?"

Her query catches him off guard, blushing before laughing at himself. "Ah, right. The nearest changing room is a bit far from here. It might take you a while to walk there."

"I see," she responds, understanding the situation. "Guess I’ll do a quick one here."

"Sure. I’ll stay back," He tells her as he steps back a few steps, raising his arm as he does.

"Right! Let's do this, then…"

Chaeyoung steps a bit away from him and begins to undress.

Her partner is then left to watch her as she attempts to remove every article of her clothing. Her high heels come off first, then the belt that holds the entire ensemble, followed by her orange tube dress. As she is halfway through unzipping the dress, she suddenly stops, looking at him for a moment.

"Oh. Umm…" She looks at him, feeling shy.

"What is it?" he asks, curious.

"Can you…" she pauses, her hands pointing at the stuck zipper.

"You want me to help you with that?" He asks again, smirking this time.

She nods, feeling embarrassed.

"Yes, please…"

"Sure thing," he nods and approaches her.

He grabs hold of the zipper with one hand, the other resting on Chaeyoung's shoulder. His strength easily resists the dress, as it slides downwards without issue. She then sighs with relief, another piece of clothing is peeled off her body.

"Phew," she sighs, relieved. "Thank you."

"No problem," He smiles at her before gesturing at her if he can let go of the dress. "May I?"

"Yes," she replies with a smile, her eyes glancing at his hands.

He lets go of his hands and like a swift wind, her orange dress slides down her body. Chaeyoung’s partner stands there, admiring her figure as she is left in her white buttoned shirt with a hint of her blue panties peeking from the bottom.

"Wow. You look beautiful," he compliments her, a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Thank you," he smiles and blushes.

She then goes back to business and unbuttons her shirt, revealing her bright blue bra. She slowly slides the garment down her arms, slowly revealing her slender body to him. He can't help but have his mouth open, his eyes admiring her beautiful physique. If anyone else was in his position, they would've pounced at her and ravished her right then and there, but he doesn't. He restrains himself as much as he can. And who knows? Maybe something interesting will happen along the way.

After a few seconds of gazing at her, he snaps himself back to reality, remembering the challenge at hand.

"So?" he asks her. "Ready?"

She nods, smiling. "Yes. Shall we?"

"After you," he gestures at her to dip in first.

Chaeyoung nods again and walks closer to the pool. She steps in it, slightly wincing as the water comes up to her calves.

"Ooh! It's cold," she whines, slightly grimacing.

"Are you okay?" he asks, curious to hear her response. "Is the water good?"

"I'm fine," she says, reassuring him. "Just a little chilly."

"Good to hear," he giggles, following her into the pool.

They perform quick stretches before they position themselves to face each other, ready to play a game of water polo.

"So, the goal is to score as many goals as I can, right?" Chaeyoung asks, feeling excited and nervous about the challenge at hand.

"Yes. So do your best," he replies with a wide grin, excitement evident in his tone.

"Right," she smiles, nodding at his response. "And go easy on me."

"I'll try," he chuckles, his eyes smiling along with his lips.

Chaeyoung then nods and readies herself to play.

The clock begins to tick, counting down before starting the game.

3… 2… 1…

And with a loud horn, the game starts.

The slightly serene water of the pool is replaced with large splashes as the two move fast toward the ball floating in the middle. Chaeyoung’s partner was able to reach it first with his long arms, but she swiftly reacted by swatting it away. Both then swim as fast as they can to recover the ball. Luckily for her, the water moves the ball closer to her position and she can reach it just before he does.

"Not too bad," he comments, impressed at how fast she is.

She smirks as if she already has a plan in mind. "You better get ready!"

Chaeyoung rushes toward the goal as fast as she can. In response, her partner moves towards it as well to defend it. As they near the goal, Chaeyoung, with the ball in her hands, attempts a big swing towards it, aiming for the side. He catches onto her plan and immediately positions himself in front of the goal, blocking it. With no time to waste, she lets out a loud grunt as she propels the ball out of his hands, hoping that it lands in the goal.

Unfortunately, the ball falls short, falling inches in front of him instead.

She grimaces as her attempt to score fails.

“Ah, no way!”

"Nice try, though," he says, smirking.

She hesitates to approach the ball for another attempt. But as she sees him, who is much closer, reaching for it, she abandons her plan.

"Oh, no…" she hisses. "Not on my watch."

Without a moment's hesitation, Chaeyoung drags herself towards her own end of the pool, leaving her partner with the ball. As she gets nearer to her goal line, she looks back to check his position. And to her surprise, he's already behind her, halfway through the pool, with the ball in his hands.

"Okay!" he yells, smiling. "My turn!"

"Wha—?!" she reacts, her eyes widening.

"Got you!" he says, as he winds her arms for the throw.

"Wait! That's unfair!" she frantically swims away, attempting to put some distance between them.

With the ball in his hands, he throws it straight towards the goal. As Chaeyoung desperately tries to catch up to the ball, she slips backward. This causes her to flail her arms and legs wildly. But with a stroke of luck, as she stumbles around in the pool, her feet catch the ball, hitting it. The ball then flies outside of the pool, landing on the hard floor of the facility.

"Oh!" he exclaims as he watches everything unfold. "That was something else."

After a few moments, Chaeyoung recovers her footing and is then left standing in the shallow pool, still disoriented from the tumble.

"Are you okay?" he asks, concerned.

She nods and raises her hand as if giving him a thumbs up. She wipes the water from her face and her hair, taking a few breaths as she recollects her thoughts.

"I'm okay," she chuckles, trying to catch her breath.

"That was quite a tumble you did," he comments, his voice full of concern.

"Yeah. I slipped," she replies, slightly shaking her head.

"I saw that," he giggles. "Are you good to go?"

"Yeah. Just a little bit dizzy," she reassures him, a hint of exhaustion in her tone.

"Okay. Let me just go get the ball," he says, getting off the pool to retrieve the ball.

"Wait. Where did it land?" she asks, scanning her surroundings for the lost item.

"It flew outside of the pool," he then pointed towards a spot outside. "Over there."

"Oh…" her eyes widen as she realizes her blunder. "I can't believe I kicked it that far."

He chuckles. "It happens to everyone. It's fine."

He quickly gets to where the ball is and picks it up.

"Let me get that," she says, moving towards him.

"Thanks," he smiles before softly tossing the ball to her. "Here you go."

"Oop!" she yelps, catching the ball in her hands. "Got it!"

"Nice catch," he praises her, smiling as he tosses himself into the pool.

"Thanks!" she smiles and waves, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Alright. Another round?" he asks, eager to start another round.

She nods. "Sure."

They again position themselves before resuming the game.

"Since you touched the ball before it went outside the pool," he says, looking at her. "The possession goes to me."

"Ah…" Chaeyoung sighs. "Fair enough."

He chuckles. "Don't worry. You'll get your chance to score."

"Yeah, yeah," she nods, smiling. "Do your worst."

She then throws the ball to him as they're about to start another round.

"No hard feelings?" he asks, a hint of teasing in his tone.

"Nah," She chuckles.

"But don't underestimate me."

"We'll see about that," he smiles as the horns sound, resuming the game.

Chaeyoung’s partner immediately makes a beeline towards the goal. His slim yet muscular build allows him to cut through the water with ease. But Chaeyoung isn't just a pretty face, as her lithe frame helps her keep up with his speed. Together with her silly and rather "unorthodox" methods of blocking him from scoring, her strategy is paying off, even though her opponent is much bigger than her. Neither of them is advancing any further, the two seemingly in a deadlock.

"You're good at this," he asks, impressed.

"Am I now?" she replies, smiling.

"Yes," he grins. "You should consider doing water polo as a hobby."

"I guess I should," she responds, giggling.

He chuckles. "Good to hear."

Their game goes on for quite some time with them in the same spot, neither of them scoring anything.  Chaeyoung is doing everything she can to block his every move and eventually steal the ball from him, while her partner tries to get past her and keep the ball from her. They are growing tired of this stalemate, but neither of them is giving up anytime soon.

"Okay, now…" he suddenly pauses, raising his arms in the air.

"Eh?" Chaeyoung is left confused. "What now?"

"Time to score," he makes a sudden dash towards the goal.

"Hey! Wait!" she yelps, attempting to block him.

His sudden burst of energy catches her off guard and causes her to stumble again. He quickly uses this opportunity to gain more ground. He is slowly getting past her.

"Wait up… Nghh!" she groans as she desperately tries to catch up to him.

"This is it!" he declares, his voice filled with excitement.

He then winds up his arms for a throw. But as he is doing so, Chaeyoung quickly recovers and desperately halts his movements just in time, her arms locking with his, rendering him unable to shoot the ball.

"No, you won't!" She grunts, determined to stop him.

He is left powerless as he feels her strength, her hands clasping his tightly.

"Woah! You're strong," he gasps, taken aback by her power.

She looks at him, her eyes gleaming with confidence and determination.

"Not gonna let that happen!"

They continue to struggle against each other, their bodies touching as they attempt to overcome one another. As the situation for the first goal becomes tense, their clashing bodies cause them to stumble and fall into the water. But even after falling, Chaeyoung's hands remain firm on his, determined not to lose. In such desperation, she tries to grab a hold of him in any way that she can. She manages to get a grip on his waist, but that's when things take a turn for the worse.

As Chaeyoung’s partner finds a way to let go of her, her hands unknowingly grab her trunks. With not a lot of options in his hands, he decides to just sprint for the goal. But as he does so, her tight grip causes the trunks to slide off his waist, revealing his privates.

"What the?" his eyes widened, caught off guard by what happened.

"Ahh!" she lets out a yelp, surprised.

His face flushes in embarrassment as he tries to cover his private area with the ball in his arms.

"Wait a minute. Lemme just…" He fumbles around, trying to pull his trunks back up.

"Ah! Uhh… Sorry!" she apologizes, feeling flustered.

"Heheh… No worries," he giggles, feeling awkward about the situation.

She blushes, avoiding his gaze. "I'm really sorry about that."

"No, really. It's all good," he says, smiling.

"I wasn't thinking that…" she says, shaking her head.

"No need to worry. It was an accident," he says, grinning.

"Right," she responds, nodding. "Still, I'm really sorry."

"It's alright," he reassures her. "We can still continue the game."

"Mhmm… Sure," she nods, still looking flustered from the incident.

"Hmmm…" he inspected her for a moment, thinking. "Are you sure you're good?"

"Yes. I'm fine," she replies, nodding.

"Okay. If you say so," he responds.

"But how about we take a break?"

"Can we?" she asks, feeling excited at the thought.

"Sure. Seems like we both could use a breather," he says, grinning.

"Well… Alright then," she giggles.

He then extends his hand, gesturing at her to take his hand.

"Shall we?"

She grabs her hand as he helps her get back up.

"Thanks," she says, smiling.

"No problem," he grins.

They then get off the pool, walking towards a row of lounge chairs placed nearby.

"Ahh…" she sighs as she sits on the chair stretching her body. "That was exhausting."

"Yeah," he nods as he hands her over a pair of towels. "But was it fun?"

"Definitely!" she smiles as she grabs one of the towels. "Thank you, by the way."

“Don't mention it," he grins. "So how about some drinks?"

"I would love to," she smiles as she wraps herself in the towel. "I'll wait here if that's alright with you."

Chaeyoung's partner then heads over to the bar nearby to get some refreshments. She is left to her thoughts, thinking about how the game went so far.

“Jeez. This is really exciting.”

A smile spreads across her face, feeling delighted about the current situation. She then feels a slight tingle down her thighs, as if she's getting turned on.

"Nghh… This is bad," she whispers to herself, stroking her thighs, attempting to calm her urges.

She then looks at where her partner is, watching him grab a couple of drinks at the bar. He seems to be taking his time doing so.

The coast is clear.

She shifts her thighs, trying to ease the sensation. But instead of stopping, it only gets stronger. She lets out a soft moan, her body feeling the familiar heat.

"No, not here," she whispers to herself, her hands stroking her thighs, attempting to calm her urges.

As if she can't control her body anymore, her fingers wander downwards. A sudden wave of pleasure washes over her as her fingers gently touch her pussy.

"Fuck… So good," she murmurs, her fingers continuing to play with her wet lips.

Chaeyoung, unable to resist the temptation, decides to give in. Her fingers continue to tease her body, her pussy getting wetter with each touch. She begins to slowly up the pace, muffling her moans as her fingers thrust in and out of her pussy.

"Hngh!" she hisses, biting her lip. "So close…."

She begins to quicken her pace, her fingers plunging deep into her pussy. The intense stimulation causes her legs to buckle, her toes curling with pleasure.

"Ugh… Yes…" she gasps, her fingers fucking her pussy fast.

Her fingers reach deeper into her, sending a powerful surge of pleasure up her spine. She is close to the climax.

But just as she's about to reach her orgasm, the sudden sound of her partner's voice causes her to freeze in her tracks.

"Hey, Chaeyoung…" his voice rings in her ears.

Her eyes dart towards the direction of the voice. He's getting close.

"Shit! What timing," she hisses, frustrated, quickly removing her hand from her pussy.

She then quickly pulls her hands up and wipes her juices on the towel. She adjusts her sitting position afterward, trying to make herself look natural.

“Sorry, I took so long,” he apologizes as he hands her a cold bottle of soda. “Here’s your drink.”

"Oh! T-thank you," she replies, her hands shaking as she grabs the bottle.

"Hmmm…" he looks at her, curious. "Are you okay?"

"M-me? Yeah! I'm fine," she replies, laughing awkwardly.

“Are you sure?” he continues to stare at her, looking as if he doesn't believe her. “You look red.”

"R-red? Me?" she giggles awkwardly. “I-it’s probably the… Heat. Yes! T-that’s it.”

"Well…" he says, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know if I grabbed a good drink for you. The bar doesn't seem to have much to offer."

"It's fine! T-this is nice," she giggles.

"Well that's good to hear," he smiles, before laying down on the chair next to her.

She opens her bottle and gulps down half of the content as if her throat is parched.

"Phew…" she sighs, wiping her mouth.

"You seem thirsty," he comments.

His sudden query almost made Chaeyoung spill her drink.

"T-thirsty?" she frantically responds, almost stuttering.

"Yeah. You seem to be sipping your drink fast," he points out.

"Ahh… That. Hehehe," she awkwardly giggles, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Well, y’know… It's been a hot day."

"Yeah. It sure is," he replies, relaxing his body. "This weather makes me feel hot and sticky."

"Sticky, huh…" she murmurs to herself, trying to keep her composure.

"So how's the game so far? You're holding up well," he compliments her, a playful grin on his face.

"Ah, yes," she nods, laughing. "I, uhh… I'm doing my best."

"You have the makings of a good water polo player," he adds, his grin growing wider.

"Is that so?" she continues to laugh, her cheeks blushing.

"You gave me a hard score, after all," he remarks, chuckling.

"I did, didn't I?" she giggles, feeling embarrassed.

"Yeah. You're creative in your tactics, too," he adds.

"C-creative?" she asks, curious.

"Well, you know…" he then slightly tugs her swimming trunks, reminding her of the silly incident earlier.

"O-oh," she blushes, remembering what happened. "That one…"

"It was a pretty bold move if you ask me," he chuckles, amused.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen," she apologizes, looking embarrassed.

"You don't have to apologize," he says, his voice calm.

"I… I got so into the game that I didn't notice what I was doing," she explains, looking embarrassed.

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, right?" he jokes, smirking. "I might even do the same thing if the situation calls for it."

Chaeyoung's eyes then widened, surprised at his answer. "R-really? You mean…"

"Just kidding!" he bursts into laughter, finding her reaction amusing. "You're only in your underwear, so I wouldn't consider doing that."

"But you're only wearing trunks yourself!" she exclaims, chuckling. "We're pretty much on the same boat here."

"So are you proposing an 'equal' fight, then?" he grins, teasing her.

"Well… I mean…" Chaeyoung blushes, feeling shy. "Ah! Forget what I said."

"Come on now. Don't get shy on me," he teases, smirking.

She hesitates to let out what's on her mind. Granted her sexual frustration and her partner's teasing are getting the better of her, but she eventually gives in.

"Fine," she grumbles.

"So what is it?" he asks, his voice calm and patient.

"Well," she pauses for a moment, her eyes wandering. "I was just saying that maybe it's okay if we could just—"

The horn suddenly blares aloud, interrupting her speech.

"Oh. Time's up already?" he asks, getting back up.

Chaeyoung then sighs at the impeccable timing. "So it is."

"Well, shall we go back?" he asks, lending her a hand to stand up.

"Sure," she replies, nodding. "Let's go."

They then both head back into the water to continue where they left off. They are left with 23 minutes on the clock.

"Ready for more?" he asks, smiling.

She smiles, her body ready. "Yeah. Let's do this!"

And with another loud blare of the horn, the game resumes.

Both of them hauls ass towards the middle, trying to get to the ball first. Chaeyoung manages to reach the ball first and firmly grasps it with both hands.

"Aha!" she declares. "Got it!"

"Nicely done!" her partner applauds her, smiling.

"Hehe… Thanks," she replies, giggling. "Now it's my turn!"

She does all she can to reach the goal as fast as she can. However, his athletic frame makes him move to block it before she can reach it.

"I want to see you try scoring again," he says, smirking.

"Aish…" She grunts, her eyes determined. "We'll see about that."

As Chaeyoung approaches the goal, she slowly thinks of a way to overcome him. An idea then suddenly pops into her head, giving her a newfound motivation.

"Okay…" she mumbles, as she comes up with a plan.

"Ready when you are," he firmly stands in his position, his eyes fixed on the ball.

Suddenly, she then attempts a flurry of fake shots, jumping in all directions in the hopes of baiting him to fall off-balance. As silly as she looks, her partner reacts in kind, trying to block her in every direction she jumps.

"I'm gonna get you!" she declares, giggling.

"Try if you can," he retorts, his grin widening.

As competitive as they get, a glimmer of joy and fun is present in their eyes. They're having fun. The fierce tension in the air doesn't stop them from enjoying themselves.

After a few moments, Chaeyoung finally takes the bait and dashes straight towards the goal, the ball in her hand. Her partner follows suit, hoping to stop her. They both rush towards each other to accomplish their own plans. As they come closer to each other and the tension continues to rise, Chaeyoung decides to jump out of the water as high as she can and throws the ball towards the goal.

"Get in there!" she yells as she lets go of the ball.

He reacts by reaching for the ball with his hand, attempting to block the shot.

"Got it!" he said in glee.

But in the nick of time, Chaeyoung swats the ball away with her hands, sending it upwards towards the goal.

They were frozen in their tracks, watching where the ball would land. A mix of emotions fills them both as it comes nearer to the goal.

"Did I score?"

"Did she miss?"

The ball then touches the edge of the goal, sending it bouncing to the side and landing a few inches away from the goal line.

"Agh! No!" Chaeyoung cries as the ball falls short of the goal.

"Whew! That was a close one," her partner exclaims, a bit exhausted.

He then rushes to recover the ball, attempting to score his own. But despite her failed attempt, she is quick to react and runs for her side of the pool to defend her goal.

"No way am I letting you score that easily!" she declares, smirking

He chuckles. "Good. Bring it on, then."

He winds up his arms for a big throw, while she prepares herself for his next move. He throws the ball as high as he can, far from her reach. But Chaeyoung isn't going to let him win that easily. She jumps another time, and with her long reach, is able to grab the ball in mid-air. It sends the ball out of bounds, outside the pool.

"Nice!" she exclaims, pumping her fist in the air.

"Ugh…" he groans, slightly annoyed. "That was a good block."

"Thanks," she smiles. "I have a good opponent."

"I'm honored," he chuckles.

After exchanging compliments and a few seconds of rest, they again prepare themselves for more water polo. They continue to attempt to score a goal for themselves as the other party tries their best to block their every move. Their restraints are slowly coming off as the two of them are willing to get up close and personal with each other during the game. With how serious the two of them are getting, Chaeyoung's partner can't help but exert a bit of his strength tussling against her. His hands, in a desperate attempt to retrieve the ball, accidentally end up grasping the softness of her butt

"Hngh!" she suddenly lets out a sharp gasp.

"Oh. Sorry!" he apologizes, retracting his hands.

"It… It's fine," she quickly recovers, smiling. "D-don't worry about it."

"Alright then," he says, still looking a bit apologetic.

They continue playing, but the situation seems to have shifted into a more sexual one. It's evident in their eyes the fire that makes them determined to win the challenge. But at the same time, the same fire emanates a more intense passion between the two of them. Gone are the subtleties they have for each other from the first few minutes of the challenge, now they're going all out, showing no signs of holding back.

As the game goes on, the two's bodies are getting closer and closer. Their touches aren't accidental anymore. They're deliberate, seeking a certain sensation from each other. And as their excitement grows, so does the tension in the air. The desire to get to each other becomes more apparent with each passing moment. This isn't just a game anymore. It has become a test of wills—a battle to see who'll succumb first. Getting physical is the name of the game, after all. 

A few moments later, they again find themselves at a stalemate, the two staring at each other intently, neither giving up their guard.

"You're getting better at this," he comments, smirking.

She chuckles. "Not gonna let you score that easily."

"You think so, huh?" he asks, teasing her.

"Yeah, you bet," she replies, smirking.

"Well have at it, then," he says, challenging her.

As they are about to have another go, the horn blares out loud, catching their attention.

"Huh? Is it over already?" Chaeyoung asks, surprised.

"Doesn't seem like it," her partner responds, his gaze fixated on his timer. "We still have several minutes to go."

"Hmmm… Then what seems to be the—oh! Look at the screen."

They both then turn their heads toward the big screen in the middle. A message is being displayed, informing the players of another challenge.

"ATTENTION BOTH PLAYERS:

As neither player hasn't scored so far, we have decided to change the current challenge."

They are both confused, not expecting this sudden change.

"What does that mean?" Chaeyoung asks, perplexed.

"I have no idea," her partner shrugs. "Let's see what else is there to know."

The message on the screen changes again. It reads the following:

“SPOTLIGHTING CHALLENGE: SPLASH & BLAST

1. Can you be the best lover in the pool?

2. Try and make your partner cum as much as possible! There are no rules!"

3. Whoever cums the most loses.

4. Win this mission to earn your group a reward.

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!"

"Huh? What in the world is that?" Chaeyoung exclaims after reading the text on the screen, blushing.

"Woah!" his jaw drops, his eyes wide. "That's some challenge."

"So, are we really gonna…" she asks, looking at him, her face flustered.

"Looks like our game took a different turn, didn't it?" he chuckles, smiling at her.

"Yeah. I guess so," she giggles, her hands fiddling.

"Shall we… Do the challenge?" he asks, curious as to how she'll react.

She hesitates, her mind conflicted. However, the need to fulfill her lust and desires seems to overwhelm her, as she has no choice but to go with it.

"Uhmm… You see," she starts to say, her tone soft and a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

"You haven't done this yet, have you?" he asks, his expression calm.

"I mean…" Chaeyoung fiddles with her fingers, not looking him in the eye. "N-not that I haven't, but…"

"It's fine," he reassures her, smiling. "Bad experience?"

She shakes her head. "N-not with the real one, at least."

"I see," he nods, his hand grazing over her arm. "It's alright. We can just take it slow."

"Y-yeah, I guess…" she nods, agreeing.

They slowly approach each other, their bodies becoming closer and closer. They stare at each other's eyes, their bodies shivering. He then reaches out his hand and gently holds her chin, lifting it up, his face moving closer. She feels the warmth of his breath, their lips a mere centimeter apart.

"So, shall we begin?" he whispers, his voice soft and gentle.

She doesn't respond. Instead, she closes her eyes and presses her lips against his, sealing the deal.

Their bodies are pressed against each other, their skin touching, as the kiss grows deeper and longer. She wraps her arms around his waist, her hands touching his back. He, on the other hand, moves his hand down her hips, grabbing her buttocks.

"Mmmh…" she moans softly as their tongues intertwine.

Chaeyoung’s partner then slowly moves his hands towards her breast, his fingers fondling it. She lets out another soft moan, feeling his fingers rub her nipple.

"Feeling good?" he asks, breaking the kiss.

She nods, "Y-yes…"

He smiles, happy to see her reaction.

"I'll take it further," he says as he begins kissing her neck.

"Ahh… That tickles," she giggles, his kisses causing her body to tingle.

He continues to kiss her neck, his tongue tracing the curves of Chaeyoung's delicate skin. She moans softly, enjoying the sensation. His hand then slowly moves downwards, cupping her buttocks.

"Mnnh!" she gasps, his hands kneading her ass.

He smirks, amused at her reaction.

"Liking it?" he asks, grinning.

"Ahhh! Y-yes," she stammers, her body shuddering.

"Good," he says, his tone gentle. "I hope you're ready for more."

He continues to knead her soft butt, his hands grabbing a handful of her soft, round flesh. She lets out a series of moans, her body shivering with pleasure.

"Ahh, fuck…" she moans, her breathing getting heavy.

Her partner then continues his advance. As he moves his lips down her neck and onto her chest, he slowly unclasps her drenched bra, freeing her breasts from its confinement.

"Oh, wow… Chaeyoung-ah," he whispers, his eyes fixed on her chest.

Chaeyoung's nipples are already erect and glistening with the water from the pool. He then looks at her, his eyes burning with lust and desire.

"How cute," he whispers, his fingers gently tracing her nipples.

"Not there, not—hngh!" she whimpers, her body jolting from the touch.

He then continues to fondle her breasts, his fingers massaging her nipples. Her face turns red, feeling a tingling sensation in her body.

"Fuck… So good…" she pants, her voice soft and weak.

"You're really sensitive here, aren't you?" he teases, his voice playful.

Chaeyoung nods, her face flushed. "I… I'm just not used to—nghh!."

He chuckles, finding her reaction adorable.

"Let's move on to something else, then," he says, his voice calm.

"W-what is it? What are we going to—"

He places his index finger on her lips, signaling her to stop talking.

"Hush, Chaeyoung."

Her partner then lowers himself and grabs her panties, slowly sliding them off. He tosses her soaked underwear outside the pool, leaving her fully naked.

Chaeyoung attempts to cover her body with her hands as much as she can, her cheeks burning from the embarrassment.

"I-I hope you're l-liking the view," she stutters, her face turning a deep shade of red.

"Of course I do," he replies, his voice firm.

"I-I don't think I'm that—"

"Shhh…" he again interrupts her. "There's no need to be shy."

"O-okay…" she replies, nodding.

"Just relax and let me take care of you," he says, his voice soft and gentle.

His words send shivers down her spine, her body shivering from his words.

He slowly moves Chaeyoung's hand that covers her crotch and spreads her legs open, exposing her wet pussy.

"Such a pretty sight," he murmurs, admiring her glistening pussy.

"Mmmh… Can you stop?" she groans, her pussy aching with need.

"Oh, I’m sorry," he chuckles, his hands gently caressing her thighs.

"I'll get right into it."

"P-please… I can't wait," she stammers, her face red.

His hands slowly move upwards towards her inner thighs, his fingers grazing her delicate skin.

"So soft… So warm," he whispers, his fingers touching her folds.

"Aah! T-that's so good," she whimpers, her breathing getting heavy.

His fingers continue to explore her wet pussy, his fingertips caressing her sensitive clit.

"You're so wet, Chaeyoung," he teases, his fingers brushing against her swollen clit.

"T-that's because we… We're in w-water," she stutters, her body trembling.

"Excuses, excuses," he laughs, his tone playful. "You know what I mean."

"I-I can't help it!" she whines, her face flushed. "You're making me… Feel s-so good."

"Then let me make you feel even better," he says, his fingers now slowly penetrating her tight pussy.

"Ahh! Oh fuck," she yelps, her body shivering.

"Looks like you liked that," he whispers, his fingers pumping inside her.

She nods in response, her body shuddering with each thrust.

He adds another finger, his digits begin to thrust faster and harder.

"Fuck. So tight," he compliments, his voice husky. "You're taking my fingers so well"

"Ahhh! It's so… Deep!" Chaeyoung moans, her eyes shut tight.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" he asks, his fingers moving at a steady pace.

"Y-yes! Oh, shit. Yes!" she stammers, her body shuddering.

"Looks like you can't last much longer," he teases, his fingers continuing their assault.

"P-please… I'm gonna…" she looks at him with pleading eyes.

"Then go ahead. Cum for me," he commands, his fingers plunging deep.

Her body shakes as her orgasm approaches. She tries to grip whatever part of his body as best she can as her muscles tighten.

"I’m… I'm gonna!" she pants, her eyes squeezed shut.

"That's it, Chaeyoung. Just let go," he encourages, his voice gentle.

Finally, her body twitches and shudders, her pussy squeezing his fingers as her orgasm hits her hard. Her hips buck wildly, her body squirming as waves of pleasure wash over her. She elicits a loud moan as her pussy contracts, her juices spraying all over his hand.

"Yes! Oh fuck!" she yells, her body spasming.

"Good girl," he compliments her, his fingers still thrusting inside her.

"I'm cumming! Fuck! I'm cumming!" she cries, her voice quivering.

"Keep cumming," he instructs as he continues to finger her, his fingers reaching deeper inside her.

"Please! Ahhh!" she moans, her body shivering with ecstasy.

"Come on, Chaeyoung. Let it all out," he says, his voice calm.

"I-I can't! I'm gonna… I'm gonna—ahhh!" she screams, her pussy squeezing his fingers one last time before releasing a huge gush of fluid, like a floodgate bursting open to the pool.

"Yes! Yes! Agh!" she screams, her body convulsing as she cums, her juices spraying onto her partner's hand.

He slowly pulls out his fingers, his hands sticky from her fluids.

"You sure did cum a lot, Chaeyoung," he comments, a playful grin on his face.

She doesn't answer, her face red, her body shivering with aftershocks. Her chest heaves, her breaths coming in ragged pants.

"So how was it?" he asks, curious about her thoughts.

"I'm… I can't think," she murmurs, her voice weak.

He chuckles, amused by her reaction.

"Seems like you liked that," he says, his tone teasing.

As much as she hates to admit it, she replies with a subtle nod.

"Though I hope you're ready for more," he whispers, grinning.

"Fuck. You're gonna be the death of me," she grunts, her breath still shaky.

"Don't worry," he replies, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I'll be more gentle this time."

"For some reason, I don't believe you," she responds, her voice a mix of frustration and excitement.

"Oh, come on. I promise," he replies, his tone playful.

She sighs at his silly plea. "Fine. Whatever."

"So, anything on your mind?" he asks her, an excited glint in his eye.

Chaeyoung tries to think of something interesting to do with her partner. After a few seconds, she giggles before looking at him with a seductive smirk.

"How about…" she pauses for a moment, trying to build the tension.

"What is it?" he asks, his eyebrow raised.

"Hmmm… Come with me first!" She then grabs his arm and pulls him towards the edge of the pool.

He complies and allows her to drag him with her. Once they reach the edge, she pulls him in for a kiss before playfully pushing him, his back now against the wall.

"What now?" he asks, curious.

She doesn't reply, instead, her hands slowly move downwards. He gets the message and lets her work on removing his swimming trunks.

Chaeyoung's delicate hands slowly pull his shorts down, freeing his half-hard member. It seems that it hasn't reached its full size yet, but her eyes are fixed on such a huge object.

"Mmmh… It's so big," she murmurs, her eyes staring at his cock.

"I'm flattered," he smirks, his voice calm yet playful.

"You must be popular with the girls," she says, a playful smile on her face.

He chuckles. "You can say that."

She continues to stroke his member, her soft hands rubbing against his shaft. He closes his eyes, enjoying the sensation of her hands touching his skin.

"Ooh… Yeah," he groans. "You feel so nice."

"T-thank you," she giggles, her eyes glimmering with lust. "I'm trying to make this fucking cock bigger."

"Well, you're doing a good job," he grins, his cock slowly growing hard.

"Glad you're liking it," she replies as her pace gets faster, her hands quickly moving up and down his cock.

"Ugh… That's so good," he grunts, his hips rocking as her hands work their magic on his throbbing shaft.

"Enjoying the service?" she teases a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Why wouldn't I?" he responds, his voice calm. "You're good at this."

She giggles, amused at his comment. "Beginner's luck, I guess."

"I can't tell if you're serious or joking," he replies, chuckling.

"Who knows?" she winks. "Does it matter?"

He pulls Chaeyoung closer, their faces mere inches from each other. The tension between the two continues to build, their breaths coming out hot and heavy as they stare into each other's eyes.

"Not in the slightest," he says, his tone deep and husky.

Without warning, his lips crash into hers, his hands pulling her even closer. His tongue slides into her mouth, exploring every inch of her soft, warm cavity. The young lady, as inviting as ever, reciprocates with an eagerness of her own.

Their tongues intertwine, their lips locked together. The two are locked in a passionate embrace as if they are two lovers who haven't seen each other in years. They continue to press their bodies against each other, their breaths becoming louder and hotter as the kiss becomes more intense.

As their kiss grows more and more passionate, his cock throbs in her hands, her pace getting faster and faster. As his shaft becomes harder and harder in her hands, it pulsates and begins to twitch.

"Are you close?" Chaeyoung breaks the kiss, a seductive smile can be seen on her face.

He nods, his cock fully erect and ready to burst.

The response from her partner causes her to increase her pace, her soft, delicate hands stroking his shaft vigorously. His hips begin to rock, his breathing getting heavier and faster.

"F-fuck… I'm so close…"

"Yes. Let it out," she purrs, her voice sultry. "Give me all of it."

"Chaeyoung-ah, I'm gonna…"

With one final stroke, his cock bursts, releasing a massive load of thick, white cum, covering her hands. She does her best to catch all of his semen in her hands, but the excessive amount he releases proves to be too much for her to handle and drips to the water below. She continues to stroke his shaft, milking his cock as her hands are fully covered in his seed.

"Oh, fuck…" he groans, his cock twitching as his load spurts out of his cock.

"You liked that, didn't you?" she asks, smirking.

"Hell yeah, I did," he chuckles, his body feeling exhausted.

"I can see why you're popular with the girls," she teases, her fingers scooping his seed and licking it off her fingers.

"Delicious."

He smiles. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"But.." she smirks, her eyes glinting with mischief. "The game's not over yet."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Chaeyoung quickly lowers herself, her face now positioned right in front of his member. Without hesitation, she engulfs his cock with her mouth, her lips wrapping around the tip. Little by little, she forces herself to take his girthy shaft, her throat struggling to fit his length.

"H-hey!" he exclaims, surprised at her bold move.

She ignores her partner and continues to suck his cock, her pace increasing. Her mouth makes slurping noises, her cheeks hollowing as she sucks him vigorously.

"Mmmh," she hums, his cock deep in her mouth.

"F-fuck… That's so good," he moans, his voice heavy with pleasure.

"I know," she mumbles, her lips wrapped around his cock.

"God… So good," he growls, his hips moving.

She continues to suck him, her head bobbing up and down his shaft. She looks up at him, her eyes filled with lust and desire looking straight at him. Her eyes are like that of a predator, her prey now at her mercy.

"Ugh, shit…" he mutters, his breathing becoming heavier. "You're eager to get ahead of me, huh?"

She didn't answer. But her increase in speed and intensity is proof of her determination to beat him.

"Yes, that's it. Just like that," he praises, his voice heavy with arousal. "Fuck… Your mouth feels so fucking good."

She retreats and releases his member, a thick strand of cum and saliva connecting his swollen tip and her soft lips.

"Hope you don't mind me getting another point," she teases, a playful grin on her face.

"Just get on with it, " he grunts, smiling. "Fuck, you're a lewd sight."

"Oh shut up and enjoy, will you?" She teases, her tone sultry.

"You don't have to ask me twice," he chuckles, amused.

Chaeyoung again engulfs his shaft, her tongue lapping on his sensitive skin. She takes him whole in one go this time, his cock hitting the back of her throat. Her eager attempt causes her to choke, but she does her best to not gag.

"Fuck… You're too good," he praises, his voice shaking.

She resumes to suck his cock, her head moving up and down his shaft. Her throat quickly adjusts to his size, allowing her to take him in deeper and deeper. Her eyes never leave him, her gaze fixated on him as her mouth is full of his member, her head bobbing furiously.

"Fuck! I think I'm gonna cum again," he grunts, his breathing becoming ragged.

Like a signal, her pace increases. She is determined to make him cum again. She wants more of his semen. She is hungry for it.

"H-holy fuck," he pants, his eyes shutting tight. "I'm close, Chaeyoung!"

Her pace increases even more, her head wildly bobbing up and down his length as she attempts to make him cum. She can't seem to resist his taste, as if it's a drug.

"S-shit… I'm gonna explode!" he growls, his body twitching.

She feels his cock pulsating in her mouth, his length fully erect and ready to burst. She drives herself to the brink of madness, her pace so fast and violent that she begins to gag. She doesn't care. She wants his semen. She needs it.

With a loud, guttural moan, his hips buck and his cock explodes, sending a massive load of his hot seed inside her mouth. Her eyes widen as she struggles to take it all in, but his release is too much, catching her off guard. A thick trail of his cum drips out of her mouth and down her chin. She gags and chokes, but she does her best to swallow every last drop. His orgasm continues for a few moments longer, his load continuing to spew inside her mouth, his cock pulsating and throbbing.

"Fuck! S-so good," he pants, his body shuddering.

After an almost non-stop stream of cum, his cock finally stops releasing, and Chaeyoung slowly withdraws from him. Thick strands of his semen and saliva connect his shaft and her lips, making an erotic mess of her. It seems crazy how such a pretty girl like her can look even more attractive with the amount of cum on her face.

"Goddamn," he says, his breathing heavy. "That was amazing."

She licks her lips clean, his cum still dripping down her chin.

"How was it, hmmm?" she asks, her voice sultry.

"Amazing. Best blowjob ever."

"Good," she smiles, her expression smug. "I can tell you enjoyed it."

"You bet I did."

"It's not everyday an idol would give anyone a… Special fanservice."

"Guess I'm a lucky fan, then."

"Lucky indeed. Though the game's not over yet, is it"

"What do you mean? I already came twice."

"Doesn't mean we're done, does it?"

Despite spurting such a huge amount twice in a row, her words seem to excite him still. His cock springs back to life, already at half-mast.

"You're right," he grins, leaning closer to her. "We're not done yet."

"That's the spirit," she smiles. "Though I'll be taking the lead."

"Oh?"

"You can rest for a bit," she says, her tone playful.

"You think I can't keep up with you?" he asks in an intrigued yet playful tone.

"Not really," she giggles. "You just look like you're about to pass out."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," she replies, chuckling. "And what are you gonna do about it?"

Feeling challenged, he quickly grabs Chaeyoung by her legs and lifts her up the water.

"I'm gonna show you that I can still keep up," he growls, his eyes full of determination.

"W-woah!" she yelps, taken aback by his sudden move. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you a ride," he responds, his hands firmly gripping her thighs.

"Eh? A r-ride?"

"That's right," He nods, smiling. His cock slightly grazes against her inner thighs, slowly nearing her crotch. "You wanted to lead, right?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then here's your chance," he interrupts, grinning.

"Wait, what are you—oh! Oh fuck!" she gasps, suddenly feeling his cock penetrating her pussy.

He enters her with a powerful thrust, his shaft sliding all the way inside her tight, warm walls.

"Shit. So tight," he groans, his cock throbbing inside her.

"F-fuck… Y-you're so big!" she whimpers, feeling his girth stretching her insides.

"And you're soaking wet, Chaeyoung," he smirks, amused.

"W-what are you talking about? I'm not—ahh!" she moans, her body jolting with every thrust.

"I'm not gonna let you win that easily," he grunts, his pace slow but firm.

"Oh yeah? Nghh! Y-you… Think you're gonna w-win?"

"Still underestimating me, huh?" he growls, his fingers digging into her fleshy butt.

Despite the tough shell she displays, his aggressive moves make her moan involuntarily. Her arms wrap around his neck, while her legs lock around his waist. Try as she might, the immense pleasure seems to be flooding her inhibitions away.

"Nghh! F-fuck…" 

"You're liking this, huh?" her partner taunts her as his pace quickens.

"Ahh… S-so good," she whispers, her voice shaking.

"That's what I thought," he smirks.

He continues to pound her with his cock, his shaft reaching her deepest depths.

"F-fuck! D-don't… Go faster!" Chaeyoung screams, her face flushed.

"Who do you think will win, huh?" he teases, his voice full of arrogance.

"Fuck you!" she snaps, her body trembling.

"I like it when you talk dirty," he chuckles, amused.

He thrusts his cock deep inside her, causing her to gasp.

"Nghhh! Shit!" she yells, her pussy tightening around his shaft.

"Feeling good?"

"N-no! I'm just… Mhhh!" she protests, her voice weak.

"Just admit it," he says, his cock pulsating inside her.

"Aghhh! T-that's cheating!" she complains, her body shuddering.

"Excuses, excuses…" he smirks, his thrusts becoming deeper and stronger.

"I'm gonna… W-win, you know," she boasts, challenging him.

"Really, huh?" he chuckles, looking at her dazed eyes. "Looks like you can't even think properly."

"You're just… Nghhh! You're moving too fast!" she exclaims, her voice weak.

"Then if that's the case…" he then walks slowly towards the pool stairs, his cock still deep inside her.

"W-what are you… Hahh! What are you doing?"

"Giving you a proper ride," he says, his tone smug.

He takes slow but heavy steps as he carries her towards the pool stairs, making her squeal with each movement.

"You… Y-you're so mean," she whines, her pussy tightening.

"Sorry, Chaeyoung. But we're against each other here," he says, his eyes full of mischief.

"Fuck!" she whispers angrily to herself in frustration.

"What's the matter?" he taunts, his cock sliding inside her with ease.

"N-nothing… Hngh!" she grunts, her teeth gritting.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Fuck! Just… Just fucking fuck me! Goddammit!" Chaeyoung admittedly yells, her face red and flushed.

"Now that's more like it," he smirks, amused.

Her partner resumes his relentless assault, pounding her hard and deep as they near the edge of the pool. Chaeyoung's moans are getting louder and louder, her body quivers as if she got shocked by lightning.

"Shit… You're so big…" she whispers, her body shaking with pleasure.

"Feeling good, aren't you?" he taunts, his pace steady.

"Nghh… No!" she replies, her trembling in frustration and pleasure. "T-this is… Fuck!"

"That's what I thought," he sneers.

"Ahhh! When are you gonna stop?" she whines, her voice full of desperation.

"When I'm done," he answers, his tone casual.

"Y-you…" she grunts, her face red. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Of course," he answers with a smug grin on his face.

"Oh, fuck me…" she whispers, her breathing heavy.

"Looks like someone's getting close," he comments, his voice full of amusement.

"No I'm not! I'm—fuck!" she snaps, her voice shaking.

"Come on. You're denying it but you're pussy's getting tighter," he teases.

"Nghh… Fine!" she finally gives in.

"I'm… Fuck! I'm gonna cum!"

"There we go," he smirks, his cock throbbing. "An honest answer."

"B-but… Not before you!" she shouts, her pussy squeezing his cock.

"Heh. Still got some fight left in you, huh?"

"M-maybe… I-I don't know!" she yells, her face red.

"Well, if that's the case, then I better make sure you can't keep up," he sneers, his cock pounding her with reckless abandon as he exits the pool. Despite his aggressive movements, he gently lowers Chaeyoung to the pool’s deck, his cock never leaving the tight embrace of her walls.

He then continues his relentless assault, his thrusts deep and rough. He moves his hands to her breasts and starts to massage her perky, erect nipples.

"F-fuck… Not my nipples!" she whimpers, her pussy clenching around his shaft.

"Feels good, huh?"

"Hahh… Y-yes," she admits, her face flushed.

"There’s a good girl," he smiles, his fingers pinching her nipples. He then leans forward to suck on them, his tongue swirling around her sensitive nubs.

"Aghh! Don't suck on them!" she whines, her voice weak.

He doesn't answer. He keeps on sucking her nipple as his cock pounds her as deep and as hard as he could.

"Fuck! I'm gonna go crazy, you asshole!" she yells, her face red and hot.

"That's what I like to hear," he chuckles.

"But I'm not… Losing… To you!" Chaeyoung grunts, sounding determined despite her weak position.

"We'll see about that," her partner replies, his pace picking up.

"Ahhh! Fuck! You're going too fast!" she protests, her hands reaching for his back, her nails digging into his skin.

He continues his relentless assault, his pace unrelenting as his cock ravages her insides.

"S-stop…" she whispers, her body shivering with pleasure. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Then cum," he says, his breath heavy. "I know you want to."

"B-but… But I…"

"Shhh…" he shushes her. "I'll do it with you."

"Nghh… B-but I'm not gonna lose to—"

His lips interrupt her words, gently crashing into hers. Chaeyoung tries to resist, but her mind becomes blank as his tongue slides into her mouth.

Despite the feisty attitude she's showing towards him, she kisses him back as their tongues intertwine in a passionate dance. Gone are their antagonistic antics against each other, and the only evident thing are fervent thrusts and muffled moans from the two of them.

The tension builds and their kiss grows more intense. Their hips move together as one, their bodies grinding against each other. They are locked in a passionate embrace, their desire burning deep within them.

"Fuck," he groans. “Your pussy feels so fucking good.”

"Aghh! S-stop… You're making me…" she stammers, her voice soft.

"Come on, Chaeyoung. Give me all you got," he whispers, his cock pounding her deep.

"F-fuck…" she grunts, her eyes squeezed shut. "I'm gonna cum again!"

"That's right," he coos in her ears. "Let me feel you cum."

"Y-yes!" she cries, her voice strained. "Oh shit… Ahh!"

With a loud moan, Chaeyoung’s pussy clenches his cock, her body convulsing as her orgasm hits her hard, waves of pleasure washing over her. She can't do anything but hold onto her partner’s back as her orgasm ravages her body, her arms and legs locked around him. Her juices spray uncontrollably out of her, covering his cock with her sticky fluids.

"Ahh! Fuck!" he yells, his body shivering as his orgasm approaches. "My turn… Hngh!"

"C-cum inside me, p-please…" she begs, her voice weak.

"Here it comes… Nrgh!"

After a few wild thrusts, his cock bursts inside her, releasing a huge load of his thick, hot seed. His hips rock and buck as his cock spews a massive stream of cum, his semen overflowing from her tight pussy.

"Yes! Oh fuck! Your cum feels so warm inside me," she moans, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

"Ugh… Take it all, Chaeyoung!" he growls as he continues to thrust all he's got inside her.

"Fuck… I can feel it coming out of my pussy," she moans, her pussy still squirting her fluids.

"Shit. You're so hot, Chaeyoung" he grunts and goes to kiss her once again.

"Mmmh… I love your cock," she purrs, her body shaking.

They continue this sensual moment, their bodies pressed together, their mouths locked in a passionate embrace. It was a moment of pure, unadulterated pleasure for the two of them, and they reveled every second of it. Despite being filmed, they didn't care. All that mattered was the moment they were sharing that burned deep within their minds.

As the intense lovemaking subsides, their lips break apart from each other. He withdraws himself from her, his cock covered with their mixed juices that connect from her freshly fucked pussy. He then moves a few inches away from her, trying to take a seated position with his exhausted body. Chaeyoung on the other hand, is left panting, her body trembling, her chest heaves for air and her pussy gushes out their mixed fluids, leaving a trail of love juice that pools below her.

"Hahh… Hah… Oh fuck…" he breathes, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

"Nghh… Are you… Okay?" Chaeyoung asks him, her voice barely audible.

"I'm… Whew. I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… I'm… I think I'm good," she replies, her body still shuddering with aftershocks.

"Fuck… That was good," her partner groans, his voice heavy.

"Do you… Want more?" she proposes as she tries to lift herself up the floor into a more comfortable position.

He crawls towards her, his seemingly tired body ready for yet another round.

"If that's what you want…"

The young lady is already feeling the effects of his relentless assault, her body trembling as she anticipates his cock pounding her once more with reckless abandon. But the pleasure of having her insides ravaged by his girthy shaft is too much for her, and she is helpless to resist his advances.

"Mmmh… Keep going," she urges him on, her voice shaky.

But as they ready themselves to have another go, the buzzer rings, indicating that time is up.

"Huh? Already?" the young man groans.

"Looks like we got carried away," she giggles, her breathing heavy.

"Yeah," he snarls. "I got so lost in all that."

"So… Who won?" she asks, her tone curious.

"Not sure," he shrugs. "You?"

She looks confused.

“Me? I don’t know.”

The screen then showed the result of this rather interesting game:

"RESULTS:

3-2 in favor of Chaeyoung!

CONGRATULATIONS! You succeeded in the challenge!"

"Oh wow," he smiles.

"Really? I did! Yay!" she cheers, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Yeah, you did. Good job, Chaeyoung," her partner congratulates her, clapping his hands as well.

"Thank you!" she replies as she gives him a hug, her face beaming with joy.

"You're a great partner," he praises her. "It was a lot of fun."

"Thank you again," she blushes. She then looks around her.

"So what now?"

"I don't know," he shrugs. "No one told me what to do after the challenge."

The screen then shows a new message for the two of them:

"Congratulations on completing the challenge. The pair should then proceed to the final area after a signal in a few hours. In the meantime, you can do whatever you want together in this area. Have fun!"

"Huh. So we're gonna wait, then," Chaeyoung concludes, reading the message.

"Looks like it," he replies, shrugging.

"What are we supposed to do until then?"

"Who knows," he shrugs, then looks at her with a sly smile.

"We can… Start where we left off, you know?"

"Hmmm…" she smiles, her cheeks slightly turning pink. "We can do that."

"Fuck. Aren't you restless?"

Albeit struggling due to the intense fucking from earlier, Chaeyoung still chose to stand up on her feet, her legs wobbling. Luckily for her, he’s there to give assistance. She then gestures to her partner to stand up, to which he obliges. As soon as they've gathered their footing, she suddenly gives him a rather obvious gaze.

"M-maybe we can do something else first," she suggests, grinning mischievously.

"Uhh... What did you have in mind?" he asks, curious.

She then walks back towards the pool, gently tugging him along.

"I just want to swim around for a bit," she replies, smiling. "Do you mind joining me?"

"Sure," he replies, his eyes fixated on hers. "I suppose a little swim would be nice."

"Great." Chaeyoung beams with joy. 

"Let's go."

As the two dip their bodies into the pool, the camera follows them from above as they enjoy each other's company in the water. They swim around, playing and laughing together. They exchange more playful banters and even more sensual moments with one another. It is clear that the two of them have hit it off quite well, and the sexual tension between them continues to build. Even as the video fades to black, you know Chaeyoung and her partner are just getting started.

Two videos down, and many more to go. Reviewing videos for long periods is tiring, but not in this case. Instead of exhaustion, you are filled with renewed excitement and anticipation. With a quick check of the time, you realize that lunch break is coming up. But your stomach would have to wait.

You close the current window and open the next video file.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Author’s Notes:

As promised, this is the next chapter of my "Spotlighting" series. It wasn't easy to pick an idea that'll suit Chaeyoung. I originally wanted her to do an "indoor surfing" challenge. But I quickly realize that I'd rather want her to be rag dolled by her partner than by the waves. 😂 And as wimpy as this tall squirrel can be, I don't think she'd back down from a challenge, especially when there's something promising on the line. So I guess playing water polo suits her.

Now that I thought of it... It's find it interesting for the idols to have some sort of "competition" with their partners. It really makes for some really wild ideas where neither of them is backing out, even when doing the deed. 😏

Once again, thank you to the people that helped me make this fic readable. 🤣 @digipigichopshop and @dnd-writes... Thank you so much, you two. 🙇 Be sure to follow them if you haven't already. As well as @braaan for another great poster. You guys are the best. 👍

Again, thank you very much for reading! 🙇

[ghostiemothp1mp]

|BREAKING: HAZBIN SEASON 2 LEAKS FLOOD THE INTERNET!|

You heard right folks! There was a breach at A24 and Spindlehorse toons resulting in almost the entirety of season two being leaked onto several platforms but mainly Tik tok. While something similar happened last year when Hell's Greatest Dad got leaked, this time it was to a much greater scale, including several songs, animation clips, and more spoilers than imaginable.

Yes, this is disastrous for Spindlehorse and the entirety of Hazbin Hotel as show. In fact, we're lucky that Hazbin hasn't been dropped from Amazon all together. A lot of times when a breach this big happens, the show just get cancelled, but Amazon has stated that their legal team is trying their best to clean this up and find the perpetrator who did this.

However, the leaks are spreading like wildfire and the amount of views and shares is growing by the minute. The best thing that is fans and viewers can do is NOT SHARE. DO NOT SHARE. DO NOT WATCH IF YOU CAN HELP IT! AND REPORT REPORT REPORT! If you come across spoilers of ANY kind—for example, footage, song clips, fanart—REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY AND GET IT TAKEN DOWN.

Now, you might say, "but spoilers aren't a big deal! I wanna know what happens!" Believe me, we are all excited for the next season, but we need to find out what happens the RIGHT way. I will not be sharing exactly what was leaked because I do not want to feed the fire, but the leaks released kind of ruin the show cuz a) they don't make sense cuz they are just random bits and pieces and b) it makes it a lot harder for Spindlehorse to even keep the show and fandom going. We are extremely lucky that Amazon is even keeping the show, please PLEASE help Spindlehorse keep it that way!

According to Spindlehorse, they believe that the person who leaked the footage was actually someone either on their team or on A24, in other words, this was an inside job. Whoever did this had full intention of sabotaging the success of this show from within, either to serve their own nefarious purposes or someone else's. Currently we don't have any more information on it, but hopefully Amazon's legal team can find the culprit and punish them accordingly.

Okay, so, some footage got leaked. What's the big deal? Well, I didn't go that in depth as to the real effects of the leak earlier, but I will do so now. First of all, it's one of the biggest breaches a show has seen in a WHILE. Including hundreds of shots, MULTIPLE musical numbers, and character reveals that were not planned drops. What does this mean exactly? Well for starters, we probably won't be seeing any more con teasers or sneak peeks. Remember the Baxter teaser? Yeah, that probably won't be happening again. Second of all, I have already seen the fandom start to slowly fall apart on Tik Tok, hundreds of videos talking about how angry they are, not just about the show being spoiled in the first place, but the content of the spoilers themselves. People are already saying how furious they are about the twists and turns the show is taking, without even considering the fact that these leaks don't even contain the full context. Third of all, as the leaks spread and fanart and edits and cosplays of the spoilers flood the internet, the likelihood of Hazbin growing in popularity and hype with the release of season two grows slim. Nobody will be super excited about the "big reveals" next season because they've already been spoiled. Yes, this is pretty disastrous, not just to Hazbin as a cartoon, but to the fandom as well.

That is why we must take action! We must aid Spindlehorse and Amazon in the clean up by not sharing the spoilers. We must aid them by not creating fanart or edits or reaction vids or cosplays of spoilers either. We must aid them by reporting these videos and getting them taken down. We can save Hazbin, but we have to work together.

If anyone sees this post, please share. Please help stop this madness and keep things that should be secret, secret.

[buckevantommy]

did you dislike the ep in general, or just the lack of tommy and bucktommy?

i have a headache and i should probably rewatch the ep again once I'm feeling physically better before i answer this but having an achy head means my inhibitions are lowered and my brain to mouth filter is taking a nap, so i'ma let loose..

on the one hand: yes of course i'm annoyed there was no hot pilot in the planemergency. i honestly wasn't even expecting any bucktommy scenes, but i thought tommy would be at the airport staging area, or giving updates from his chopper in the air, etc. i am baffled that tim didn't include their resident pilot in this emergency at all; the repelling into the cockpit might be a little bit too insane even for this show, but i really think they could've utilised him in the air traffic control tower from the start - can you imagine tommy telling jem over the radio that he's doing a good job? i can, and my heart melts. 🫠

on the other hand: i get it. it sucks, but i get it. lou is a guest star, this emergency was centred around bathena, there was barely any room in the plot for the 118 let alone other characters. tommy could have been included more easily in the plot imho, but i have to remind myself it probably all comes down to budget and call lists and not wanting to split focus. this is the downside of tv shows unfortunately - it all comes down to money and time limits and star power; were this a book series there would be no excuse not to include tommy, and thus i will henceforth bury myself in fics that do just that. 📚

as for the whole of the ep: ...eh? here's the thing: i really love bathena in the cruise ship disaster so i think having them be the focus of the next disaster is difficult because they can't measure up to that epic chaos and emotional weight in my eyes. i also find it strange that they got the focus of two disasters two seasons in a row, but again: the star power of angela bassett is totally understandable, she really brings it in those disaster scenes and i would love to see her in more roles that balance heavy action and strong emotion bc she is a powerhouse in that dynamic. 💥

BUT - and maybe this comes down to the direction and editing in part - to me, there was a lack of urgency in the plane stuff this ep, which was strange considering all that was going on. i think they ended it too soon and the addition of the fire on the ground didn't really add anything except a fun little scene where buck tried to use a prop hose. it felt kind of.. anticlimactic? i loved the insane shot of bobby standing on the engine meeting the plane nose, but.. *sigh* yeah, i just wasn't on the edge of my seat. i actually prefer the tension and plane plot happenings in 8x02, and when i watched 8x02 live i was a little disappointed, but now i prefer it to this ep. 🛬

i really would've liked to see more of the 118 lending a hand in this emergency. i'm so glad we got as much of buck as we did, and seeing maddie and josh was good too, but.. yeah. that staging video we saw weeks ago of all the engines leaving the hanger just ending up feeling pointless? i was so looking forward to more of the ensemble cast and other firefighter extras helping on the scene, and it seems those potential scenes were traded in for more bathena focus and to me it just wasn't worth the trade. i love their love, but i think tim could've included more characters in the entirety of the planemergency. 🚒

as for athena's ending: returning to the aiport to get a real little black book was odd imho; they could've gone anywhere, and honestly i was kinda hoping for location change, but they were sticking with the theme so i get it. but i really liked the return to the mystery and the impending danger of the case, and the way they tied things up for athena's past was really nicely done, she deserves to have peace and closure and to know it wasn't all for naught. 💝

as for the gerrard stuff: unexpected! wonderful! distrubing af! many of us called it, that gerrard would take buck under his wing (re: golf date) and he'd be faced with this new dilemma of no longer being gerrard's target but of being his chosen one; i foresee angst and conflict in buck's future, specifically in his relationship with tommy - who will likely try to warn him against letting gerrard get too close and worrying over him - but also with the rest of the 118 as he reaps rewards he didn't want while they have to continue bearing the weight of gerrard's captaincy and even moreso now that buck is no longer his main target. 🫂

the gerrard stuff is the only real setup we got for upcoming episodes, but i'm curious to see how the planemergency affects brad and moreover his friendship(?)/dynamic with bobby and the hotshots job. we obviously are going to get more henren drama with ortiz and the kids, which will be interesting - i'm really looking forward to getting more ortiz in the plot. eddie and his moustache will feature, looking forward to seeing how he's coping with chris' absence and how that changes. 👀 lots of good stuff to come and i'm looking forward to all of it and to putting this planemergency behind me (however: the beenado will live on in my heart forever 🐝🌪️).

[actual-changeling]

i think it's funny that whenever i post something about aziraphale not caring about individual humans—only humanity as a concept—the ONLY counter argument everyone always throws at me is 'he gave his flaming sword away'.

mate.

that was six thousand years ago. LITERALLY fresh out of heaven, to the only two humans in existence, who were the entirety of humanity at that point.

let's look at what he's like in more recent years, yes?

ah yes, telling a person living in an alley that her girlfriend is going to hell with a smile. what a kind person. and the wonderful follow-up which sounds like it is straight out of some conservative, capitalistic asshole's mouth.

and fun fact, someone like that has said THOSE EXACT WORDS to me at some point.

crowley asking the real questions here like always

but hey, that was 1827, maybe he was just having a bad year. or decade. or century.

what about the present day? see, crowley is terrified of gabriel and hates his guts, but do you know what he does? he answers his questions very patiently. he is kind. once he realises gabriel isn't pretending he makes him hot chocolate and tries to help him remember, he empathizes.

aziraphale's patient is non-existent. he yells at him immediately, gets frustrated with the most simple questions, refuses to interact with him and leaves crowley with him after crowley told him "what i NEED is for him to be nowhere near me". how considerate. but hey, maybe he was just having a bad time.

job! he was kind in job, right?

except that he doesn't care about job losing his house, his farmstead, all of his animals being slaughtered and only has a problem with the children dying; which he then tries to rationalize away with his fucking "that's not what god wants" shtick.

meanwhile crowley already has plans to protect the animals AND the children AND job and sitis as best he can.

the flood? perfectly alright to drown everyone, including innocent animals and children! it is god's plan, and what do a few humans mean in god's great big ineffable plan, huh?

then again, he doesn't show much empathy for god's son either when he's being nailed to the cross. french revolution and people being beheaded? oh yes, sure, dreadful—anyway i'm just here for the crepes, the dying humans are just background noise, let's not do anything about that even though it is literally my fucking job as an angel. but noooo. he got peckish and then had lunch. what a fucking hero.

'accidentally' killing a dove because he just had to shove it up his sleeve for a magic act.

someone getting shot and dying? because i was careless? don't care. anyway.

armageddon and all of humanity dying? don't care either until i realise what i personally would lose and then i suddenly give a shit.

centuries upon centuries of aziraphale piling up money and he rather terrorizes poor people than entertain giving them a single dime. crowley has to remind and talk him into it, and as thanks he gets dragged down to hell and tortured.

aziraphale is dripping kindness, isn't he? and all of this doesn't even take into account the ball—human puppet show for his own amusement, this is supervillain shit and you know it—or all the other times he ignored human suffering so he wouldn't be personally inconvenienced.

and ALL OF THAT does not take into account how fucking horribly he treats crowley before time even existed.

aziraphale is not unkind. on a big scale, he cares about humanity, he cares about being nice, being good. he wouldn't intentionally harm someone, but he does not care enough to not be careless—he IS careless, and does NOT care if it kills creatures or humans.

his own personal wants and comfort trump everything else, and that is canon, it is text, it is fact. if you have any canonical examples of aziraphale being genuinely kind simply to be kind, not to be selfishly altruistic, please do add them, i'm serious! if you think i'm wrong, prove me wrong. everything i just listed exists in canon, so please, do the same in return.

giving his sword to adam and eve six thousand years ago does not magically erase everything that came after and it does not give him a free pass to behave however he wants, no matter the cost.

[kendoola]

You can’t change my mind: Netflix Kaos did Greece and Greeks a huge disservice by writing us out of our own stories

(To preface: I am Greek and this has nothing to do with the actual content of the story. Take of that what you will. I’m talking about people, language, culture, location, etc. if you dismiss me and say I’m just upset over “mythological inaccuracies” your comments will be deleted)

It ultimately boils down to a near total erasure of the people they claim to be portraying.

The production team could so easily have mitigated all of this by saying “this takes place in America actually” or the uk or literally anywhere else and I would have had no complaints. But they chose to specifically keep the setting while removing the people and any meaningful visible trace of our culture…

In 8 hours of content:

a single Greek actor appears in screen for roughly 45 seconds as a falafel vendor

a single Greek word is spoken - Γεια σας which means hello… said by Poseidon as he’s leaving…

there was not a single frame shot anywhere on location in Greece, they decided to film in Spain and Italy instead

Again, none of this would have been an issue if they hadn’t really leaned into “yes this is still Greece, see they just had the Trojan war and everything”

There are so many different accents heard on screen that you’d think statistically some of them would be at least vaguely Mediterranean sounding… But no. Even amongst people who are ostensibly immediate family members there was no consistency. Ariadne had a British accent and her father Minos the king president of Crete had an Irish accent. And there’s no excusing it saying that they were going for inclusive or blind casting, because that just makes it make even less sense that they managed to not include any Greek actors at all.

It especially upset me that the frequently repeated word “vero” that they all use to show worship to the gods isn’t even Greek, it’s Latin for truth. Meanwhile there is a very common Greek word that people use conversationally all the time to say something is true and it’s αλήθεια and that would have been such an easy thing to put in to give the show some veracity…

(Also it’s very visually apparent that they didn’t actually shoot anywhere in Greece for their show, which they claimed was set in Greece. The entirety of the it was shot in Spain and Italy, and you can tell not only because the architecture and city vibes are wrong but there are very clear major landmarks they didn’t even bother trying to hide)

Why not tell your own stories if you don’t want to include us in our own? Why film other islands and towns and say they’re ours? Why mispronounce our names with your ugly British accents when you could come up with different ones and tell the stories you clearly want to tell? Why the conceit of claiming to represent us when it genuinely seems like effort must have been made to not put us on screen?

[anika-ann]

Love on the Brain - Epilogue

Sitting in a Tree...

Type: MCU x Criminal Minds crossover series

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader    Word Count: 4000

Summary: All things need to come to an end. But this end is sweet – and it just might be a new beginning.

Series masterlist

Warnings: series includes criminal behaviour such as stalking or kidnapping; graphic violence, gun violence; (mentions of) death; allusions to dub-con; possible PTSD and flashbacks; sexual innuendos and foul language. Loads of fluff and teasing. I’m covering my bases here to make sure - probably sounds worse than it is. If you’re interested in specific warnings for individual chapters, let me know.

A/N: divider by @firefly-graphics ...this one is just gooey sweet

“They say one picture is worth a thousand words. They’re wrong. Because I looked at yours and I was speechless.” – anonyme

-

Walking into your apartment building the following morning was both achingly familiar and entirely surreal.

Much like two days ago, Steve was by your side, holding the door open for you. Weariness rested upon your body, but you felt energized at the same time just as if you had just finished your run. On autopilot, your steps led to the mailboxes, reaching for your keys to finish your ritual.

The differences to the morning two days prior were subtle, but meaningful. Steve took the keys from you gently, sorting your mail so you didn’t have to deal with the splinter still remaining on your hand. The reason for your good mood had little to do with physical activity and more with relief, your body tired from lying in a hospital bed and still recovering from having been shot to your arm and mostly healed by Dr.Cho’s cradle.

Most importantly however, as Steve held the door for you, his palm rested firmly on your lower back, leading you through the hall; reassurance, protectiveness and claim. He was here with you. He was yours; and you were his.

The feel on his hand on you remained on your skin like a brand even as he was tucking the mail into the pockets of his leather jacket, the flutter of your heart giddy, smile plastered on your face when his gaze strayed back to you, lips curled in a warm smile as well.

God, you got it BAD.

No wonder the entirety of both the Avengers and the BAU made fun of you, shaking heads at how on Earth it had taken you so long to act upon how insanely in love you were. At least where you were concerned. Not that Steve said the L word back when you had been babbling, high on adrenalin, modified neurotransmitters, the antidote and having been shot. He had just said that you were more than his best friend too. Which was fine. Perfectly fine. You could live with that. You weren’t disappointed or anything. Hell, you kissed only yesterday. You couldn’t exactly expect a marriage proposal or something.

Or could you? Should you?

You didn’t want to think about that. Not when Steve’s hand slipped into yours, gently tugging you towards the elevator, snapping you from your thoughts – and making you stumble despite the minimal strength he used.

You caught against his chest with a hiss, putting the tinniest pressure on your hands before a pain shooting up your thumb and wrist reminded you it was a bad idea.

Steve’s quiet sorry was the only warning you got; the next thing you knew, an arm sneaked under your knees and behind your back and then you were hovering almost five feet above the ground, surprised laughter erupting from your throat.

“Steve!”

Chuckling, you gazed up at him with from the safety of his arms. He was grinning down at you, stepping into the elevator, unbothered by your weight – pleased by it if anything – and easily hit the button to your floor, the doors sliding shut.

“I can walk, you know,” you noted, amused, tugging at the lapel of his jacket playfully with your unharmed hand. “Yes, Cho told me to take it easy on the arm and my hand is a little stiff, but my legs are just fine.”

“I know,” he replied with a peck to your temple, one corner of his lips a little higher as the hand on your thigh squeezed your flesh. “And I noticed.”

Suddenly, you were glad you weren’t standing. I would take some time to get used to Steve’s flirting. Apparently, as in anything he put to his mind to, he was a force to reckon with. You felt heat creep into your cheeks.

“Doesn’t feel like you know,” you pipped up.

“Maybe I just like doing things for you. And for me,” he added with a grin, definitely not missing what effect he had on you. Little shit. “I think I quite enjoy carrying you around.”

Yeah, I like it too, you thought, snuggling into the warmth he was radiating, very much aware of the fact you couldn’t feel as much a minute tremble of his muscles. Carrying you didn’t put any strain on him – which was something the logical part of your brain knew, because you witnessed his strength before, but experiencing it from this position was something entirely different and it created rather sinful images in a less rational and more primal parts of your brain. And Steve, the charming bastard, undoubtedly knew.

If you didn’t love him, you’d smack that smug face… which showed no signs of strain either.

Curiously enough, you read something else in his expression; behind the self-satisfied smile and a little playful twinkle in his eye, there was an emotion you had trouble to decipher.

Until you replayed his words, his actions, the faintest heaviness in his voice, the soft sorry – and the correct wires connected in your head, lips parting in heartbroken awe.

Your palm sprawled over his sternum, drawing his attention to you, gazes meeting. And suddenly, you were sure. Baffled, which you really shouldn’t have been, and with a sudden weight on your ribcage, but sure.

“GG, are you… are you feeling guilty because I got shot?”

You had your answer before he even opened his mouth; his body tensed, muscles in his arms turning to steel and it had nothing to do with the ding of the elevator and everything to do with how he used the opportunity to walk out to avert your eyes.

“No.” Bullshit. “There’s no reason for me to do so. There was no way I could have prevented it if I was looking at the case with clear eyes or took it more seriously from the start or even stopped to think the photos were in your mailbox, or at least said that to your old team-“

You pressed against his chest harder, making him falter in his step and in his carefully crafted expression. His eyes were soft and apologetical, his serious tone somehow dripping sarcasm and residual anger peeking through. The very anger which had him no doubt beat the punching bag yesterday afternoon, the anger you had misinterpreted and then promptly forgot about. Between medical check-ups, the team leaving, Steve’s fast healing and his highly effective distraction techniques, his bruised knuckles had slipped your mind.

You felt like an idiot.

Of course, he hadn’t been mad at you – he had tried to tell you. He was mad at himself. Because in the eyes of Captain America, Steven Grant Rogers had done less than perfect. And worse, in the eyes of Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers had done less than perfect as well.

You breathed in deeply before speaking, taking special care to speak softly but firmly – because you needed to get through his thick skull.

“Steve… it was not your fault. I could have done all these things too. Between the two of us, I’m the one with the behavioural analysis background.”

“Well, between the two of us, it was also you who paid the price,” he opposed.

He spoke with such sincerity and such hefty load of self-punishment you felt irritation rise in your chest, only soothed by the fact that you would have felt precisely the same if the roles were reversed. The thing was, however, that you weren’t exactly blameless in the outcome of the rescue mission.

“Are we really back to this? Yes, it was me who got shot, but it could have easily been you. Which would be much worse because those damn bullets were modified specifically to hurt you. And it was my choice to try to fight her off, and I could have done that better. But it happened so fast and suddenly she was about to aim the gun at you and I couldn’t let that happen.”

Steve shook his head in stubbornly.

“You shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I could have prevented it, if I paid more attention, if I haven’t let you walk away… and maybe I antagonized her by being there,” he reasoned, having you deadpan.

“Steve, we both know that’s hardly on you. Hotch wanted you there.”

The fierce look in his eyes told you he would have gone anyway – and in the back of your mind, you knew that too, because there was no world where Steve Rogers would just sit back while his teammate and best friend and more than best friend was in danger, but that was beside the point.

“Yes, he did and then he probably regretted it when I opened my mouth when I shouldn’t have-“

Oh there it is.

There lied the core of the problem – Steve thought he was to blame for the fact Bonnie eventually snapped and fired due to the fact he had interrupted Reid’s negotiation. God, you loved this man, but he was ridiculous. Ridiculously loveable.

Feeling brave, you moved your hand up, cupping his cheek; his shoulders sagged like a charm, effectively shutting him up, having his eyes widen a bit. And damn, did it feel good to have such effect on him.

“GG, could have, should have…” you whispered into the silent hallway, shaking your head, a light smile on your face. “Can we just let it go? We cannot change the past. And none of us sees clearly when it comes to protecting people we love, that’s how I got into that mess in the first place. You-“

You only realized what you just said when his guilt and determination to argue melted away at once, his face suddenly closer. Your heart thundered against your ribcage when Steve’s lips brushed over yours tenderly, drawing a content sigh from your lips. He gently nudged your nose, a tiny warning before he kissed you again, achingly sweet and intimate, causing your head to spin as your eyes slipped shut.

Screw everything, you didn’t even care if he said it back, or that you just unwittingly implied he felt the same. If you were to be rewarded like this every time you professed your love, you could do it all day.

You took a wavering breath when he allowed you to, kissing the corner of your mouth.

“Do you mean it?” he whispered, voice surprisingly small as if this hadn’t been the second time you just put your heart out there for him to do with as he pleased.

The truth was, you trusted Steve with your heart, as you did with everything else – and the answer was clear as day. But he wasn’t playing fair, when he tried to turn your brain into mush with something as simple as a sweet kiss. It was only fair you returned the favour.

“Hmm? Mean what?” you muttered, looking up at him even as his face was only a few inches from yours, your head slightly tilted to side with one corner of your mouth quirked. His eyes were large, watching you somehow with both exasperation and affection – a look you imagined you gave him quite often.

“Sweetheart, this isn’t funny. Are you still high on medication-“

You chuckled, fingers petting the short hair of his nape.

“I’m not high on mediation, but I might get high if you keep kissing me like that,” you hummed, not even lying. Steve watched you, not daring to react – waiting. So you gave him what he wanted, maybe even hoping you’d get it too. “I do love you, Steve.”

The light his smile radiated could battle the Sun itself. And the words he said after lit up a supernova in your chest, its heat spreading through your whole body.

“I love you too, you know.”

“I do know it now,” you muttered, cheeks hurting from smiling too wide, your ribcage humming with nerves and delight.

Steve loved you and he said it. He loved you.

It was amazing. It was beautiful. It was something you could only dream of hearing for almost two years and you didn’t even know what to do with yourself other than curl into a ball of a giggling mess. It was incomparable to anything you ever felt before.  

The only problem was that it was out there now, and you never stopped to think what would happen next. Back in Bonnie’s apartment, your hasty confession happened in a life-threatening situation, rescue machinery at play, but right in this moment… there was no rush. Nothing else to do.

Just you and Steve, standing in the hallway; you in his arms, bridal style, the scene as beautiful as goofy and slightly awkward at you kept gazing at each other, living for the moment and at the same time, unsure what to do next and how to process the onslaught of feelings.

So you played it off as you often did, like the very grown-up you were.

You cleared your throat.

“So are we gonna just stand here or will you finally carry me to my apartment or-?” you teased him lightly, pretending you didn’t have a suffocating amount feeling in your chest.

“How about I carry you to mine instead?” he shot back cheekily, having your lips part in surprise. “I mean, unless that’s too fast. I completely understand if you want some privacy-“

“GG?” you cut of his sudden babbling, squeezing the back of his neck gently.

“Yeah?”

“Take me to your bed.”

His fingers flexed, wide eyes staring down at you, emotions playing over his face; first a startle, then humour, then want. You realized that this time it might have been you who overstepped – even if this time, you genuinely didn’t mean to… imply things.

“To--to cuddle,” you added, earning Steve’s amused hum that set your cheeks aflame. “I meant to cuddle and rest… for now.”

“Uh-huh, if you say so,” Steve noted with a grin, his legs finally unfreezing and taking you his apartment indeed, somehow – very impressively so – managing to manoeuvre you and the door without as much as dropping his key card.

It did absolutely not lead to your stomach making excited flips, being reminded of his strength and how capable his hands were, how strong his thighs and abs had to be since for a moment he lifted his leg for you to sit on and held your weigh on it without issue. It elicited no reaction. Not even a little bit. You were especially not thinking about how large his hands were, sprawled over your thighs and back and how his muscles danced against your body and he wasn’t even breathing faster, let alone he’d break a sweat.

Perhaps you could revise your own words about cuddling only.

He toed off his shoes, carefully setting you on the shoe-rack, and kicking the door shut before he kneeled in front of you to help you rid of sneakers. You didn’t bother protesting that you could undo your own shoes, thank you very much; why would you, when his deft fingers made such quick and gentle work and his palm curled around your calf to get the sneaker off and it radiated so much warmth and it lingered.

That damn lopsided smile in the corner of his mouth and a playful spark in his eyes, he remained on one knee, face levelling with yours. You wanted to tease him about being a knight indeed but he beat you to it, maintaining eye contact as one of his hands still held your calf, thumb stroking just under your knee, while his other hand took yours, pressing his lips to the back of it firmly.

Damn him, damn him, cheater, how were you supposed to poke fun at him him when he did things like that?

“How’s your hand? You want a heat-pack? Cold pack?” he offered as he beckoned to the splinter on your other hand.

“It’s fine,” you whispered, heart having grown three sizes, because yes, he’d tease you, but he was also the most caring man you had ever met and you had spent a better part of five years working alongside Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan.

Speaking of which. You should report you were released from the med bay.

“You’ll spoil me. Maybe I should send pics to Garcia to let her see that I’m well taken care of and that I’m not keeping you secret from her.”

The corner of Steve’s mouth twitched as he hauled you up again, heading to his bedroom.

“Right. Garcia,” he parroted, doubtful. “What are the chances she’ll show it to everyone?”

“200% percent,” you assured him, grinning as he set you down to the edge of the bed. “Why? …oh. Oh wow, you really are turning physically green a little.”

“Shut up…” he muttered, the tips of his ears turning red for a change as you climbed back towards the headboard, mattress dipping when you joined you. “Or I’ll make you.”

“Oh I like the sound of that!” you exclaimed, too amused to have the threat make you flustered. “But pics first, I don’t want them to make fun of the burn your stubble will leave behind--- on my face!”

Goddamn your choice of words! Goddamn Steve, who was grinning again too, a little wolfish as he turned to you. Damn him for looking straight into your eyes and stealing all air from your lungs with only a few words.

“Good thinking. Because I plan on leaving my mark behind for sure. Wherever you let me.”

You gulped, watching his pupils dilate at his promise, your mouth suddenly dry, all cheeky retorts dying in your throat. Oh he was serious. He’d deliver on this promise and it might not be today, but the premise of that happening somewhere in the future was enough to make you lose your original train of thought. What was it you had wanted to do?

A force to reckon with indeed.

You licked your lips in a lame attempt to gather your thoughts. Steve’s intensity was quite the picture-

Oh. Right.

You reached for your phone.

“They’re…. they’re gonna have a field day from my irises blown wide at your talk. Oh god, I can already hear it-”

“So can I. Please just take a picture so I can stop feeling like there are seven other people in this room with us,” Steve complained, half-heartedly annoyed as he pushed closer, shoulder to shoulder so you could take a selfie.

“I will, as soon as you stop looking so grumpy,” you shot back.

He clearly didn’t expect you to lean in and press a kiss to his cheek as you snaped a photo, because his tense shoulders instantly melted, hand sneaking behind your back to wrap around you and gently grasp your lower arm. While in the first picture, he was caught somewhere between annoyed and pleasantly surprised, the second picture was all soft smiles.

“Atta boy…” you praised him, typing a quick message – as quick as you could with only one hand fully functioning.

He released you only for a moment so you could place the phone on the nightstand, swiftly turning back to him and crawling into his arms. He smiled down at you sweetly, kissing your forehead, seemingly as content as you were.

You grinned up at him. “So… can I be made to shut up now as promised?”

He didn’t reply, the corners of his lips curling up higher as he cradled your cheek and angled your head, capturing your lips in a kiss and making everything else but him disappear.

You ignored the buzzing of your phone when a reply came through.

“Aaron… are you smiling?”

Agent Aaron Hotchner simply smiled a little wider a Rossi’s question, gaze straying further to look outside the plane’s window.

They were on their way back to Quantico, the whole team back together, this time even with Penelope Garcia. The central four seats of the plane were occupied by Hotch, Rossi, Derek and Emily, with Penelope, Reid and JJ lounging around. Even though they knew they were coming back to the headquarters to a new case on their desk, the atmosphere was serene and light; a job not perfectly done, but done well enough.

“He’s got every reason to, we all do. Johnie’s alive and safe. You guys did a good job,” JJ noted, elbow leaning on the backrest of Emily’s aisle seat.

“Especially Miss Garcia, apparently,” Derek chuckled and Emily nudged his foot under the small desk – but Penelope lit up, not offended in the slightest, instead blissfully remembering the specimen (she only looked at respectfully) addressing her earlier.

“Oh, my chocolate thunder, that man is a true giver, I’m telling you,” she said, pointing her crotchet hook at her best friend. “Good for Johnie.”

“What, and I’m not all of sudden?” Derek complained, only earning a smirk from Emily, having JJ to bite her cheek so she wouldn’t laugh.

The ping of the phone got Garcia’s attention. She instantly reached for it, her work on an owl for her office instantly forgotten.

“Oh, speak of the devil…” she muttered affectionately, opening the messages when she saw Jones name on the screen. “Awww, look at that. TWO pics!”

“Oh, show me!” Emily leaned over instantly, having JJ look over her shoulder as well – but they didn’t exactly have to pull Garcia’s teeth to make her show everyone. She simply placed the phone by the edge of the table for everyone to see.

“He sure isn’t keen on the idea at first, but in that second pic...” JJ observed, amusement clear in her voice.

“Guy’s got his hands all over. Territorial indeed,” Derek couldn’t but point out.

“Hm… pupils dilated, in both of them.”

Everyone’s gazes strayed to Hotch for a moment, shocked by the fact he was the one to bring attention to this.

“Uh-huh, it signals arousal,” Reid added, unnecessarily. The two people in the images were obviously in love with everything that belonged to it. “The intimate setting of the bed in addition to that…”

“Wait, guys…” Emily said, turning the phone to her, zooming in a bit and moving all around the image before returning it, a smirk on her face. “This isn’t her style. She’s not in her bedroom. She’s gotta be in his.”

“Territorial,” Morgan and JJ said at once, exchanging a knowing look.

“I mean, can you blame him?” Rossi joined in, hand turned palm up as he shrugged. “It’s practically a miracle they finally said something after what I understand was about two years on silently pining after each other and being obvious to everyone but themselves.”

Hums of agreement sounded from around the group; three of the BAU members had seen first-hand just how obvious they had been indeed. The pair was so obvious that they honestly had had trouble recognizing what the relationship between Sparkles and GG had been when they first arrived.

“That’s interesting though, their relationship moving from a friendly one to a romantic one. Even though they know each other and have been in intimate proximity on daily basis for over a year and half, their brain chemistry will probably change,” Spencer couldn’t but share, having JJ smile to herself because of course the genius would have a scientific observation of the two lovers. “It’s fascinating, truly. Scientifically speaking, now that they can allow themselves to be in love, the production of testosterone, oestrogen, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin will undoubtedly increase, while the production of so-called attachment hormones, mostly oxytocin and vasopressin, might not.”

“…fascinating,” Emily echoed dryly, but with undeniable affection for the genius’ ramble.

“Oh hush, y’all,” Garcia shushed them, snatching her phone back to her. “Damn profilers. Stop analysing them. Love’s love, no matter what chemicals it makes and what they do to our brain. They’re happy together, let’s leave it at that.”

She pouted at the adorable pictures again, profoundly content her friend found her happiness, even if outside the team and one or three hours away. Especially since it was with a fine man like Steve Rogers – absurdly handsome and with perhaps not so pure intentions, but surely with a pure heart. With a man who disproved what the Bonnie Stiles had written all over the photos and what you apparently felt the need to disprove too, by adding a short text message.

It was something Garcia and the others wholeheartedly agreed with.

Say hi to everyone and tell them I’m well-taken care of, pampered even.

Steve sure is beyond worthy✨

→ Next in series

Series masterlist // Steve Rogers masterlist // Misc masterlist

Ta-daa! I can’t believe it’s done! It was such a ride and it made me beyond happy that you were there for me, reading and encouraging me through the comments. Truly, thank you so much 💗

I'm definitely not leaving Sparkles and GG for good - they grew on me too much. They'll be back...sometime next year 😇  Stay tuned!

Which reminds me - have a great start of the new year ✨ Leave the bad behind and hopefully, welcome all the good 💕

[suchamiracle-does-exist]

Dear @faisonsunreve thanks for the tag. This was definitely a time taking task but so much fun to do. A true time travel to your watching history. To my surprise there are three French films and three Tom Hanks films included. 😄

A few comments about certain choices.

Favorite film of all time: The Thief of Bagdad (1940): The jewel of the film is Conrad Veidt’s insane Jaffar dressed up with the turban.

Best script: Some Like It Hot (1959): The story about two antihero musicians trying to make a living and avoiding gangsters by dressing as women and joining a female band and traveling to Miami is still unique to watch.

Favorite poster: The Empire Strikes Back (1980): Memories from the childhood. Darth Vader’s perhaps a little too epic posture promises you an emotional adventure and that promise will be fulfilled.

"I’ll watch it some day": Napoléon (1927): @missholson and I were introduced to this 6-hour biopic of Napoleon and we were stunned by the shots of the twenty-minute triptych sequence, where widescreen panorama is made by projecting multiple-image montages simultaneously on three screens. Blu-ray is waiting on the shelf.

Big personal impact: Elvis (2022): I wasn’t prepared for the narrative where female gaze and male vulnerability are allowed and validated.

You like, but everyone hates: Angels & Demons (2009): Don’t know today’s reception but when it was released the film was heavily criticized by the critics and the audience. I like both this and The Da Vinci Code (2006), but having more convincing characters, plot and hold for the entirety makes it better than the first one.

Underrated: The Ninth Gate (1999): Polanski is a very contradictory director for his sexual abuse charges, therefore it feels shameful to admit liking his films or considering his films to be valued. Many find Gate as a dull thriller. The film doesn’t rely on jump scares or gore but the mystery around the occult books and the things you can’t see. 

"Why do I like this?": Bachelor Party (1984): This is my favourite question of them all. I discussed with @faisonsunreve about on what basis you should answer this and does it reveal your true movie taste. The 80’s crazy comedy is a silly and out-dated genre and that is why the films of this era fascinate me. Bachelor Party is full of lame humor and over-the-top characters. Yet the storyline is versatile and entertaining. Young Tom Hanks embodies the past. 

Great soundtrack: La Cage aux Folles (1978): Ennio Morricone has said first he has to understand the film, the images, the story and the director’s intentions before starting to compose. I would like to know his study for Folles, because the soundtrack has such a humorous, characteristic and warm sound. 

That cinematography: Furiant (2015): I was balancing between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and La double vie de Véronique (1991), but this short film stands out with the way the rural landscapes, the dimly lit rooms and the unspoken moments are visualized (and edited) by the producer, director, writer, cinematographer and editor Ondřej Hudeček.

Criminally overlooked: Angélique film series (1964-68): Yes, you could put almost any Conrad Veidt film here, however I chose this. I have been fond of Angélique films since I was a child. These spectacles tell the story of Angélique in the time of King Louis XIV of France. Romance, adventure, scheming with breathtaking soundtrack and costume design, beautiful Michèle Mercier in the leading role and the flashy way of speaking French offer us an exquisite interpretation from the 60’s. 

Favorite active director: Peter Strickland: I have seen only The Duke of Burgundy (2014) and Flux Gourmet (2022), nevertheless his style of using the aesthetics of Italian genre films and the intimacy he creates is just heartwarming.

Anyone who wants to make their own version, please do and let me know. 📼📀📦🔦

[albatmobile]

The Art of Rehabilitating Snowbirds Chapter 24

𓅪 After not hearing from Roy or Jason for five years, you suddenly find yourself taking in extra income as a babysitter for Roy and Jason's child.

𓅪 Rated: M | 4k  includes: morning after w roy, skipping, romeo and juliet kiss

fem!Reader x Jason Todd x Roy Harper [masterlist]

Chapter 24: Love Story | ao3 - wattpad

THEN

The next morning, Roy knocked on your door.

“There’s breakfast down here if you want anything, princess,” his low, morning voice stirred you from your sleep.

When you arrived downstairs, you were met by stacks of burnt pancakes, an assortment of breakfast meats and a heaping pile of over-scrambled eggs. All of this to say it was a far cry from the luxurious food you were used to from Alfred at Wayne Manor.

“Mornin’,” Ollie greeted you with a tip of an invisible hat. Dinah was absent, meaning it’d been Ollie and Roy behind this catastrophe in front of you. “Dig in, there, kid.”

You sat down and Roy quickly set about making a plate for you, shocking both you and his dad. He blushed as he handed the plate back to you. You took it from him with a confused quirk of your brow.

“Uh, thanks, Roy.” 

“Yeah,” he responded in a restrained manner, bowing his head so that his red locks concealed his face from view.

“Well,” Ollie cleared his throat, clearly amused with the hormonal situation unfolding in front of him, “I’ve got to be off for a product review meeting. Would you believe they schedule me meetings on the weekend?” You shook your head ‘no’ at his question to be polite. “Well, they do and they fucking suck for it… But,” he held up a pointed finger, “I’m going anyway because I’m an adult and sometimes I do adult things for money.” He seemed to ponder his statement before retracting it, “No, that came out wrong. I mean, yes, they’re paying me, but the ‘adult things’ in question are strictly businessy…” he trailed off as if realizing that this explanation wasn’t any better. “Never mind. I’m out!” He shot a pointed brow Roy’s way. “Don’t do anything I would do.”

You laughed. Ollie was definitely odd, well, at least odd in a different way than Roy. That was for sure.

With a wave, he was off, leaving just you and Roy alone with enough breakfast to feed the entirety of Wayne Manor. 

Speaking of the manor…

“I’m gonna head over to the manor after this," Roy said, watching as you inhaled your plate with a breathy chuckle. You’d never drank liquor before, only watered-down piss that constituted beer and the cheap Moscato that one time. As such, you were incredibly hungry the day after the college party. “When you’re done choking on that shit, you wanna tag along?” 

Roy at least seemed happy you were enjoying his cooking, though you’d never tell him it was only because you were still slightly tipsy and had gone to bed hungry. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Damian mentioned training today,” you said with a shrug before pushing away your empty plate and rubbing at your full stomach. “I really don’t know how I’m going to get through it when I have this food baby, but I doubt he’ll take it as a viable excuse.”

Roy didn’t laugh at your attempt for humor, only stared at your bloated stomach, then up at your eyes like he was considering something.

“You should hang around him more,” Roy said distractedly. He seemed to ponder his words further because he then nodded like they’d just reminded him of something.

“Not this again,” you could hardly contain the annoyance from leaking out into your tone. “Is it about the kiss?”

He stilled, seeming to stop his breathing at your words. “You were drunk,” he attempted to play it off. “That’s all it was. Promise I won’t hold it against ya, princess.”

This time, it’d been you who blurred the lines of the boundaries you set. Roy was just being a good friend by following through with them.

“I’m sorry,” you said, not knowing what else to say. You’d completely fucked everything up. “I didn’t plan to-”

He suddenly cut you off, “Where’d you get the condom from?”

Why would Roy care?

Last night was blurry, but you still remember the blonde.

Was he seriously jealous of you?

“Uh,” you blinked owlishly at him, “I don’t really remember.”

He bristled, standing up from the table to approach you, “Did someone touch you?” You watched as his hands closed into fists as he peered out from under the tendrils of his greasy locks.

“No, no,” you were quick to reassure him. You placed your hands over his fists to cement your point further. “I don’t think it was anything like that.” He seemed to calm down, though he still seemed tense, becoming even more so at your next choice of words, “You were the, uh, only one.”

“The only one to what?” He appeared concerned again.

“The only one to touch me, Roy.” 

“Shit,” he cursed. “But last night, I thought you said-”

“The kiss, I mean,” you stopped him in his tracks before he could freak out any further. “Just the kiss.”

“Oh,” he stopped for a moment before exhaling, “okay.” 

You couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he did remember. “So, you really don’t remember much of the party?”

He blushed before shrugging. “I always pregame hard,” is all he offered.

“So, you don’t remember ditching me?”

“Listen,” he rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck, “that was a mistake.” So, he did remember. You squinted your eyes at the table in front of you, feeling jealousy boil back to the surface. His freckled fingers delicately grasped your chin, lifting it to face him dead on. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he looked… pained. “When I start drinking like that, it gets all fuzzy.”

You couldn’t help but quirk a brow as you questioned him further, “How so?”

“It’s like,” he sighed in frustration, allowing his hand to fall from your chin to rub at the crease between his brows as if his hangover had returned. He tried again, “It’s like there are blurry moments and then flashes of clarity where I remember nearly exactly what happened. In the end, though, it all ends up just feeling like some fucked up dream.”

“So,” you trailed off dubiously, “you blacked out and ditched me?”

Roy appeared genuinely sad. “I didn’t mean to.”

“And you’re telling me that your moment of clarity was when you got whiskey dick?”

You watched the way he seemed to internally argue with himself about what to say next. Even though you were hurt, Roy’s concentrated, read: constipated, face still managed to stir some amusement from within you.

“It wasn’t whiskey dick,” he admitted. Roy then looked away as if he was never planning on revealing this information to you. “When I came to, all she was doing was bad-mouthing you,” he sighed, still refusing to make eye contact with you,“and I couldn’t really even remember leaving the dance floor, so I just got up and left to find you and… yeah.”

Through the lingering dregs of pain from the party, your heart swelled after hearing he chose you. No, even better, he didn’t even remember that rude bitch. 

The walk to Wayne Manor was odd, to say the least.

For some reason, Roy seemed completely shy when it was just the two of you and you couldn’t help but find it cute. Either it was shyness or his hangover, but you were determined to think it was the latter. The last thing you wanted to allow yourself to think was that this was all because of the kiss…

Roy was quick to split away from you once you reached the gym, not even bothering with a goodbye before leaving you with Damian.

Even he noticed.

“What’s wrong with Harper?” You and Damian stared after his hastily retreating form.

You met his questioning look with a confused one of your own. “Probably nothing,” you said.

“Well,” Damian tapped the tip of a wooden practice sword on the ground twice, “I need you fully present for our lesson today.” With this, he drew you toward the center of the mat, where a tiny satchel sat in the middle. 

“Am I finally learning how to use weapons?”

Damian scoffed, “Your body and mind are the only weapons you’ll ever need.” 

“Why?” you questioned him.

“Because,” he rolled his eyes as if it were obvious, “they’re the only ones you’ll always have in your arsenal.”

You snorted, “Deep.” 

You were circling each other at this point, though he still seemed like he wasn’t ready to make a move quite just yet.

“Shut up,” he said, smirking at you. “I’m going to show you your strength through the art of illusion.” 

Damian then used the remote to turn on a lighting function in the room. 

The entire room was cast in darkness until, suddenly, bursts of blinding strobe lights affronted your vision, leaving a filmy glare over your sight. Your eyes winced at the harsh lighting effects going on, but Damian appeared entirely unperturbed.

He advanced on you easily through the pitch-black. 

The sporadic flashes of light stunned your vision, leaving you feeling off-kilter. You definitely weren’t prepared for an attack like the one he dealt you.

“Dami!” you exclaimed as he got another swipe at your head. Panic began to set in. “I don’t think I’m ready for this.” You attempted to dodge the wooden blade by rolling to the side, but he still ended up smacking it against your back. “I need more training,” you tried to barter with him, feeling the dregs of a panic seizing around your throat, “Damian, please!”

“Training means nothing,” another slash from his sword, “but will is everything.”

“Will?” you questioned frantically as he made to hit you again.

“The will to act,” he swiped at you. This time, however, it merely grazed you. “My grandfather taught me that.”

This time, you pushed down your anxiety as you allowed yourself to feel the atmosphere around you.

You felt him behind you and readied yourself for his attack pattern. When the attack inevitably came, you dodged and pushed against his body, sending him rolling backward into a tumble. Or, at least, you think he tumbled. The strobing lights made it so you were only ever able to see a flash of random colors every few seconds or so.

He let you catch your breath for a second, allowing you to finally ask what you’d been thinking, “What do these seizure-causing lights have to do with ‘the art of illusion?’”

“Illusion is wanting your enemies,” he cleared his throat, “attackers to think one thing when it’s actually another. Every plan incorporates this art.” He started toward you again. “Well,” he corrected himself, “every good plan, at least.”

A plan?

Your mind raced back to the bag in the center, wondering if that was how you could gain the upper hand.

It was worth a try.

“Sort of like Batman?” you asked, trying to distract him while you looked for a way to get back over to it.

“Sure,” Damian lunged with his wooden sword poised toward your stomach, “whatever works for you in that weird brain of yours.” 

You leapt up from the floor, landing on the sword and breaking it upon the impact of your full weight. The pieces of the sword clattered uselessly to the ground just as the lights fully came on for a few seconds.

You used the clarity to race to the center for a bag and tossed the powder inside to the ground. All around you, small explosions and smoke scattered across the room, coating it in a mist of smog that allowed you to sneak up behind Damian and finally manage to tackle him to the floor.

“Woah,” Dick’s voice sounded from deep outside the fog, “what kind of rave’s going on in here?”

A heavy body bounded into yours, throwing you off Damian before being assaulted by slobbery kisses from Titus. 

“You recovering alright?” Babs smiled at you.

“For the most part,” you nodded, putting a tentative hand to your head as the lights came back on for good. “What’ve you two up to?” you asked, ushering Titus over to his owner before getting off the ground to greet them.

“We just got back from chasing Titus around the back lawn,” she nudged you. “Had to find a way to work off these hangovers and all that good stuff now that we’re fucking old.”

You laughed. If 23 was considered old, you weren’t far off from being just as ancient as them.

“Don’t worry. Next time, we’ll throw our rager on a Thursday or something so you can come too, Dami.”

“Why can’t you do the weekend?” you asked, looking at him curiously. Instead of meeting your gaze, he busied himself with shooting a sheepish-looking Dick his signature death glare.

You had noticed Damian was usually busy during the weekends, especially at night, but it was always because he was with Bruce. You’d never thought too much about it until now.

“Previous obligations with father,” was all he said. “I do not need to go to college functions to get my thrills, though, anyway,” he nodded at you. “Good work today.”

Then, he was off.

“Dami’s a tough nut to crack,” Dick sighed and rubbed at the back of his head diffidently. “But it seems like you’re really getting through to him.”

“Maybe it’s the other way around,” you offered.

Babs laughed, but Dick looked genuinely pleased by your answer.

“Maybe it is.”

•

“I need two people to volunteer for Act I Scene 4,” your English teacher said as he scoured across the room at all the avoidant faces. “Anyone? Anyone?” His face landed on you and Jason, who was determined to stare out the window to avoid his fate. “You, you,” he said, pointing between the two of you. “It’s a short scene. Make haste!” He clapped his hands together dramatically to silence the whispers that began to circulate throughout the room. “I won’t hesitate to hand you a one-way ticket to detention, guys. Try me.”

Hushed murmurs of annoyance swept across the classroom, though they soon died down when he went around his desk to pull out the hall pass. 

You ignored all of this and opened to the beginning of the sonnet, looking down in disbelief. “But this is a kissing scene,” you protested. 

Not to mention the first time they’re meeting… You know… at a ball.

The gala stung painfully into your mind.

Regardless, your complaint landed on deaf ears. “A bit of a spoiler,” your teacher seemed amused with you, “but go ahead.”

You turned to Jason, who’d yet to so much as open his book, let alone look away from the window.

“Someone else should take my part,” you insisted with a shake your head. You couldn’t embarrass yourself in front of these upperclassmen who already had enough to say about your involvement with the various Wayne boys.

Nope. Not doing it.

“Jason,” the teacher silently warned him to begin.

He sighed beside you, taking an obnoxiously long time to open his book to the right page and even longer to actually begin reading. 

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand  This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand  To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” 

His voice was like silk, suffocating every part of your being.

As you listen, you realize Romeo is essentially convincing Juliet of the purity of his intentions. The whole scene is a balance between sex and religion. Sex being the want; religion being what ultimately stops them from going further.

You couldn’t help but relate. Excuses based on quite literally all of the above, boiling down to social constructs coming between you and… 

You were so enraptured you nearly forgot it was your turn to speak.

“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,  Which mannerly devotion shows in this;  For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.” 

Juliet coyly responded to Romeo with a metaphor of her own, assuring she knew exactly what he was insinuating.

You could feel Jason’s stare on the side of your face, but you were blushing far too hard to ever be able to meet it.

“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” 

You had to remind yourself he was reading. He wasn’t actually fucking speaking to you.

You began, gulping as you did.

“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.” 

Jason hesitated, seeming to read, then reread the words in front of him as if they’d somehow magically change.

“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.” 

If prayers were a kiss, then their want and what was stopping them were one and the same. 

You’d always considered Romeo and Juliet to be trite, but reading this scene now, you saw it in a new light. Their love was serious to them, regardless of their age, regardless of their families- regardless of everything, even life itself.

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.” 

His eyes seared into every fiber of your being. This time, you met his gaze head-on as he delivered the final line.

“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.” 

The obnoxious group of jocks in the front began to tease the two of you, chanting, “Kiss, kiss, kiss!”

Soon, everyone was joining in, laughing obnoxiously as they pointed at the two of you.

You’d been a punching bag this whole school year, but for some reason, this was all too much. The walls began to close in and, ultimately, your fight or flight instincts kicked in.

You stood up abruptly and left, refusing to be the butt of a joke.

Before you made it out into the hallway, you chanced a look back as if subconsciously seeking out Jason’s reaction. The sight that met you was Jason’s usual RBF, though, you noted guiltily, that underneath his typical scowl was evident hurt.

You didn’t want him to think you were abandoning him, so you swiftly nodded at him to follow.

He did.

You didn’t stop walking until you reached the art wing on the complete opposite side of the school. If you’d stopped any sooner, you were sure that the tears of embarrassment you’d been holding back so meticulously would betray you.

When you finally did stop, Jason silently followed suit, dropping both of your bags to the ground as he did so.

You slumped against a wall, sliding to the ground with a pout.

Jason had yet to speak, only continued to analyze your every move.

“That whole thing was so dumb,” you sighed, knowing he was waiting for your explanation. “I don’t even know why he picked me for the part, anyway.” 

Jason seemed to consider your words before responding, moving to sit right beside you, “Probably because you’re the only one who can read with an ounce of inflection to make that shit tolerable enough to listen to.” 

You snorted. 

Of course Jason would take issue with something as classic as Romeo and Juliet.

“And what Shakespeare play would you recommend reading instead?” you rolled your eyes. “Don’t tell me King Lear or Much Ado About Nothing, Jason.” 

The bell rang and you hurriedly motioned for Jason to follow after you.

Luckily, he didn’t question anything. Instead, he picked up the conversation right where you’d left off as you dodged in and out of pedestrian traffic.

“You know, you’re never going to impress me no matter how many classic titles you pull out of your ass.” 

“So,” you turned around, flashing him a shit-eating grin, “you were thinking The Tempest, then.” 

He laughed lightly, “Where are we going, anyway?” 

“Anywhere but here,” you said, dodging a rogue group of stragglers as you made your way into the back courtyard. “If I’m going to kiss you, it won’t be in front of any of these heathens.” 

“Oh?” You searched Jason’s eyes for any further indication that he was into the idea, but he offered none. 

Instead, he merely helped lift you over the ivy-covered wall before joining you on top of it. He dropped down first, probably assuming you’d need help, but you shocked him by standing up fully on the wall.

“Watch this!” you suddenly exclaimed.

“What are you doing?!” Jason hissed, looking at you like you were crazy. “We’re both going to be stuck in detention if you keep being obvious like this, dumbass.”

“You worried about me, Jay?” you teased with a smirk, turning around to backflip off of the wall just as Dick had shown you. You beamed when you realized you’d landed perfectly on your feet.

His mouth was on the floor, though he quickly schooled his expression. “Come on,” he turned around with sharp eyes, “and don’t call me that shit.”

He pushed past all the prickly bushes until you finally reached the tree line next to the parking lot. Here, the melodic chips of birds, complete with the serene sound and smell of trees blowing in the growing heat, overtook your senses.

You tried to gauge his reaction as you followed behind him. 

You were definitely beyond the sight of, well, anyone, but he seemed as put together and unaffected as ever, leaving you to falter a bit. 

Had you entirely misread the situation? 

“So,” you cleared your throat, kicking lightly at the ground as you continued along, “do you believe all that stuff?”

“What stuff?”

“About, you know, purity and all that,” you trail off, refusing to maintain his eye contact.

Your vulnerable question seems to catch him off guard. “Why?”

Your kiss with Roy, no… your night with Damian. 

You were proving the rumors spread about you to be true and you hated how you cared what Jason thought about you.

Would he still want to kiss you if he knew?

“As much as that shit was about religion, it was just as much about their love overcoming all of it, regardless. Purity’s all bullshit, anyway,” he shrugged as if he hadn’t completely bestilled your beating heart. 

“Jason,” you turned to him, taking his hands within your own.

“What?” he asked breathlessly like he didn’t already know exactly what you were about to ask of him.

“Kiss me.”

He didn’t respond, only took a step toward you. His hand cradled your cheek as his eyes took in every inch of your face, giving you the chance to back out.

Blurred lines be damned.

He leaned down and planted a chaste kiss against your expectant lips, “Always.”

•

“You’re graduating in three weeks,” you sighed, plopping down next to Roy on one of the couches in the game room. “It’s not fair that you’re going to leave me all alone with Jason.”

They shared a look that left you internally panicking.

Had they seriously already told each other about the kisses?

Oh, fuck. 

“Try not to sound too excited, princess,” Roy said with a wink. “You’ll break my heart and all.” He threw his arm around the back of the couch and, coincidentally, around your shoulder. “‘Sides, we at least have to have one last rager.”

You shifted excitedly beside him. 

“And what does this 'rager’ include?” you said with air quotes around the word, causing Jason to roll his eyes.

“You’re not invited if that’s how you’re going to act,” Jason drawled, you pouted, looking to Roy for backup, but his eyes were on Jason. “I’m just kidding, babe.”

“Whatever,” you huffed, leaving both of them to laugh at your annoyance. You knew you’d miss this banter once Roy went away to… “Wait, where exactly are you going again?”

You remembered that he’d said he wasn’t going to college right away, but his plan always seemed to be changing.

“Taking a sabbatical to stay with my old tribe for a bit in Arizona. After that, well, who knows what,” he beamed widely. “World’s pretty much wide open for me, beautiful.”

Your eyes flicked across his verdant ones, inadvertently leaning into his earthy scent. Roy let you get close and was about to tease you when Jason cut in.

“Back to the rager,” Jason interrupted the steady building tension between you and Roy. “I really want to go to this one club, but I need to make sure the paps can’t see me.”

Paparazzi had been an unexpected byproduct of hanging around the Wayne’s. 

The first time it happened, it’d been with Jason and Roy at the diner while you’d been skipping.

 At first, you thought it was lightning until the unexpected questions started.

“Jason, how do you feel about the allegations that this mystery girl has moved on from one Wayne brother to the next?” 

“What do you have to say about the comments that this mystery woman is a gold digger for hanging around both the Wayne and Queen heirs?” 

Roy muttered something under his breath and the three of you left before you could be flanked by three other reporters.

After that, it was like some sort of Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.

Weeks later, you were getting snacks with Damian and Tim at 7/11, quite literally in the middle of the night, when they showed up.

The now familiar flashes burned your retinas, though this time, you were at least aware that it was a media ambush.

“Damian, are you hoping to fill your father’s big shoes one day and follow in his footsteps?” 

“Tim, are you and Stephanie back on, or have you really moved on to Bernard?” 

“Follow-up question: how does Bernard feel about you hanging around a girl with her reputation?” 

You then understood why Bruce had you media prepped for the gala, insisting you feel confident should you be approached. And, boy, had you been approached.

“Who are you wearing?”  

“Who’s your date for tonight?” 

“Better question, will they still be your date next week? Are the rumors true that you’re a homewrecker?” 

You could definitely understand why Jason wouldn’t want to put up with that if you were going out to celebrate.

“So, what are you going to do?” you pondered how Jason could get out of being seen. “Dress in drag and do the hula?” Apparently, neither of them had seen Lion King because the reference went straight over their heads.

“Honestly,” Jason nodded his head, staring up at the ceiling as if considering your idea seriously, “that’s not such a bad idea.”

“Seriously?” you looked at him incredulously.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Well, not the hula part, but the drag part seems like it could work.” The raven looked up at you somewhat timidly. “Do my makeup?”

Meanwhile, Roy remained completely stunned by recent revelations.

“Always.” 

His eyes twinkled at your response, “Cool.”

“Cool,” you replied with a smile, ignoring how Roy’s eyes seemed to analyze the entire situation.

And thus, your plans for a dragged-out gay club rager were born.

A/N: this is the last 'then' chap. it's supposed to loop back to the description of the gay club in the first chap :D

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[goodbyeapathy8]

Review so far of "Will Love In Spring" (ongoing Cdrama). Spoilers below up until episode 8.

[Image ID : Actors Li Xian and Zhou Youtong are on a sofa. The man is smiling while the long haired woman looks up at him and also smiles. Title shows the name of the drama, Will Love In Spring.]

I'm glad I didn't let the poster influence me because I don't feel like it's a very accurate depiction of the drama.

Poster makes it seem like a very run of the mill romance. THANK GOODNESS IT IS NOT.

"Will love in spring" has unexpectedly been one of the best depictions of grief and death and life in a drama that I've seen. And I've seen many many dramas at this point in my life so, suffice it to say, it is incredibly well done.

Pros so far :

- Fair depiction of disability. Zhuang Jie is an amputee but there's just enough emphasis on the realities of living with a prosthetic (including the detail about her needing baths) without it being the ENTIRETY of her personality. Every drama needs to take notes on this.

- Blended family without drama. Although some may argue this is not realistic, I've become really tired of the exaggerated dynamics of step siblings/children/parents having manufactured arguments. He Shu is a wonderful stepfather while the siblings have an adorable relationship with each other. The mom is quite realistic as well, tough but loving.

- Interesting career choices - there's definitely morbid aspects of the hybrid mortician/embalmer job of Chen Maidong but that's not the main point. Yes, he's seen a lot of death and grieving but it also dictates how he views life and how to live life, with respect towards the dead

Cons (sort of) :

- This is not a con for me but I think some people may find the pacing very slow. To me, this is a VERY deliberate choice. It's a tried and true slice of life drama, not a romance. You'll be disappointed if you go into it with the expectations of a romance but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the many details that show what life is like in Nanping

- There's a LOT of death and discussions around it. This is not a con for me but I do tend to avoid hurt/comfort. I literally cried for an entire hour during episode 7 and my dogs were Very Concerned lol

- My actual one 'con' is that there's some very obvious nationalism that seeps in, especially regarding the push for the younger generation to return to "smaller" hometowns like Nanping instead of staying in cities like Shanghai/Beijing etc. To me, this shows a lot of government influence if not general Chinese nationalism vs a natural flow in the drama. There's definitely manufactured nostalgia that tends to be jarring but I've been ignoring that for the most part.

---

I do need to go and rewatch some episode of ShenLi because my chest still feels really spicy after watching episode 7 and 8 LOL So I'll get back to my thoughts on that but I hope other people give this new drama a shot.

Last but not least is a shoutout to legit the entire cast for their well-seasoned acting. Augh. Definitely a big reason why the drama is making a big impact on me.

[secondgenerationnerd]

I just don’t think they can be as badass as Lian and Mari. They come from two badass super families and Milagro is just one of the few thousand GL and irey can run super fast

Right, so I again am assuming you’re coming from a good place. So I’m going to explain from my perspective why I think they’re badasses.

In terms of Comic Milagro, you’re right, we don’t know much about her. Hell, she’s not even a lantern as far as I’m aware. However. In my cannon, she became a lantern at 10 years old. She was forced into this life, but that gives her a clarity to point out the bullshit Legacy heroes don’t notice.

Like someone calling her friend a slur in front of a group of adults that have done nothing to protect said friend. She’ll take the ‘disciplinary action’ for breaking the asshole’s nose.

She might be one of many GL, but her ring is not the only thing she does as a hero. She learned how to fix essentially all the iconic vehicles driven by various league members and assisted in the redesign of multiple hero uniforms. More than that, and yes this is very important, she is a latina girl. Yes, we have Jessica Cruz, but think of how little kids look up to teenagers. She comes from a normal family. But she’s a hero. She. Is. A. Hero. And she doesn’t look like me, I’m a white girl, I can find heroes that look me, but not everyone has that luxury. Think about the shot in the Blue Beetle Trailer of the little boy seeing Jaime. It. Matters.

I, personally, designed her character to break the stereotype of how “Badass Women” should look. Not sure what I mean? Look at any action movie, superhero show/movie, etc and tell me how the Heroines are dressed. How many are in a tank top/plain shirt, leather jacket, jeans, and some kind of boot (combat or low heeled)? How many have that Pretty Woman moment of “look how nice I clean up which everyone will comment on”? Her femininity, her love of fashion and knitting and telenovelas and all the other feminine things are things I never see “Badass women do.”

Femininity and Badassery are not part of a dichotomy.

Miss Iris Anne West II’s family is full of scientists and reporters. Frankly more badass than either the Bats or the Arrows because they don’t have a huge fortune to fall back on. Her Great Uncle was hit by lightning. Her father gave himself powers at 12 years old (give or take) by recreating the experiment of said Great Uncle. Her family has created and destroyed and changed so many timelines. Their rogues have one of the strictest codes of honor compared to every other Villian. In the old Justice League Cartoon, Wally didn’t even have to fight his bad guy! Just told him to go to jail after having a conversation about the guy being off his meds and why it’s important he take them.

And circling back—Her family being full of reporters and scientists gives her both highly inquisitive mind and the skills to answer her questions. Knowing the difference between The Truth and The Story was drilled into her from birth. The Story is what everyone says happened in order to make the facts fit nice and neat. The Truth is what actually happened, regardless of it being “neat”. Do you know how hard it can be to hold thag belief when the rest of the world demands conformity?

“Irey can run super fast” you’re right. That is the basis of her powers, but not the entirety of them. According to her Prime Earth and New Earth Wiki pages, the full breath of her powers include:

Speed Force Conduit

Accelerated Healing, including Toxic Immunities

Enhanced Senses

Phasing

Speedforce Aura

Superhuman Duribility

Superhuman Stamina

Superhuman Reflexes

Superhuman Agility

Vortex Creations

Dimension Travel

Electrokensis

Molecular Acceleration

Telekekisis, which she often uses to pull her brother towards her.

In Prime Earth, the current run of the character, she is also noted to become the most power speedster in the world.

Again, I assume you ask this in good faith, so I will ask you a good faith question as well—Why did you only ask me about the Omega girls? By your own logic, Damian and Jon are more badass than Colin and Jai, but you only asked me about the girls.

[jemmo]

top 5 friendships/friend groups in bls? 👀✨

i love this question!!!!! friendships are one of my favourite parts of bl and i need more of it in 2024

kimi ni wa todokanai/i cannot reach you - i adore the entirety of this friendship group and it’s such a testament to the show bc they hardly get fleshed out, but from that first shot of them all watching yamato get confessed to i knew i’d adore them. it’s the way they don’t really understand yamato and still hang out with him anyway, the way fujino is the pet straight that just won’t shut up about his girlfriend but tries to be so good to kakeru even when it messes everything up, whatever hosaka and amamiya have going on, and more than anything hosaka going after yamato and his persistence to be his friend and talk about things with him and give him advice and the way that he identifies the queerness in him. they’re just all so good at being in a group together, it’s so boyish and youthful, it makes you yearn for school days like that.

my school president - of course this has to be on here, they set the bar so high for friendship groups in bl, and it says a lot that in a bl with so many couples, they constantly go out of their way to stress the how special and important their friendships are, like yes platonic love is just as worthy of love songs as romantic love, and beyond the core group, people like tiwson and kajorn are still so important to the story. i’ll say it again, it’s so boyish and youthful and it also gives you that feeling of validation to see people that are kind of outsiders and not that popular band together and form such a strong, loyal bond, like these boys would die for each other and again, it makes me yearn for school days like that.

minato shouji coin laundry (it counts bc of season 2) - specifically shin and asuka bc whenever they have a scene together im just having the best time. shin is so grumpy and asuka is so desperate to get under his skin bc despite the bickering exterior they are so besties and have this added layer of being the only other person to understand their position in their relationships. again it’s queers finding queers so even if it doesn’t make sense on the surface, there’s that shared experience that helps them bond and understand each other and it’s so good

the eighth sense - anytime i think of joonpyo i can’t help but smile bc he’s such a legend, and so well written, bc even tho we don’t see it, we get such a good idea of what his life is like and it’s actually separate from jihyun, like it really feels like these two have been besties for years but are taking this chance to explore their own lives without feeling the need to include the other, but still knowing they’re the person they can go home and talk to about it all. it’s knowing that person will always be there, and you can both be honest and real with them and also just act like total fools together.

only friends - and no this is not msp, im not putting this on here for the whole group bc this is not a good friendship group, this is here for sand and nick only bc they’re literally the only solid friendship in the whole show where they’re actually looking out for each other, and they fact they made out and were able to laugh and cuddle afterwards says it all. they are the pathetic second choice club that uniquely understand each other bc they’re the only other person that knows what it’s like to love someone that’s as much of a mess as ray and boston are.

ASK ME MY TOP 5 OF ANYTHING BL 2023

[trainsinanime]

Notes:

This looks way too much like an ad for the game for me.

Specifically for the thing where Sony and Nissan did a contest together where they brought a top Gran Turismo player into an actual race car - it seems like they're really just doing a dramatised retelling of that thing, which is either a genius way to do a video game movie, or just self-aggrandisement. I'm leaning towards the latter.

Real life circuits include Le Mans (blue and yellow curbs) and the Red Bull Ring in Austria (the one with the big bull sculpture)

The rail yard is almost certainly hungarian. The one locomotive without numbers is definitely hungarian, the other with the numbers is an austrian class 2068 diesel switcher, probably currently assigned to Rail Cargo Hungary (RCH), the hungarian freight division of the austrian railways ÖBB.

The best way to tell is generally by the lights; the locomotive on the left has clear hungarian light assemblies. I think I should make a post about european railway light assemblies and how you can quickly tell trains based on them one of these days.

I spent all the time trying to figure out where I knew that one guy from (he was the dad in Black Widow) that I completely missed Legolas.

Based on a true story, yes. You made that competition to create that story, then you made a movie about your own competition, and when you do the next round of the competition, you can say "just like in the movies", all to sell more games and consoles.

That steer at the Red Bull Ring in Austria (yes, the race track is owned by the energy drink guys; guess who paid for that sculpture) seems like the kind of thing that should have a nickname, but I couldn't find any.

I love the cars of the bad guys. Gold Lamborghini Huracán GT3? Yeah, that's evil alright! Note that the name Lamborghini does not actually give them an advantage, GT3 has an elaborate "Balance of Performance" system that ensures all cars have the same level of speed around a track by dictating weight, power output, ride height and so on. If you're wondering whether there's ever any drama about this: Oh boy.

If I'm not completely mistaken, the one on the left is the newer EVO 2 version of the car, the one on the right is the older one (note the different front splitter line, the gold line at the bottom lip). Shouldn't be a huge difference, they're subject to the same balance of performance, but supposedly the newer one has better options for setting it up and adjusting it for a given track.

The fact that they have at least real GT3 cars, and at least shots of real LMP1 cars, implies that the behind-the-scenes of this movie may be way more interesting than the actual movie itself.

Is this the Nordschleife? I'm not a big Nordschleife guy, I've only been there twice (only to watch, I'm not taking my car on the track with all the lunatics), but between this and a few shots later in the trailer, I'm fairly certain that it is.

Not sure what that other track with the city background is. Probably something where it's really embarrassing that I don't know.

I think I can tell you the entirety of the plot of this movie right now, with all twists and turns, and I assume so can you.

Part of me goes, "oh, racing cars goo vroom! Gotta watch!"

But the other bigger part of me goes, "pay to watch a commercial for a video game promotional event!?"

[independentzaun]

Drinking game: The entirety of Silco's gang including himself need to take a vacation to Ionia with Jhin and experience fresh air and the wonders of nature. - definitely not Jhin in an Anon mask.

Drinking Game: Every time you send an opinion that my muse hates or disagrees with, they will have to take a shot of strong liquor (mun can elaborate if it's vodka, whiskey, etc.): Still accepting

The problem with this particular suggestion was, for Sevika, the inclusion of Jhin. Immediately she reached for her rum, and downed a shot. “I will be ten days underground, dead, and decaying before I go on a vacation with that creepy incel of a man. I swear to the void, I would crush his head with my mechanical hand at some point, and he would probably thank me for it. Ugh.” Almost she wanted to take another shot, but shaking her head Sevika just reached for her smoke.

Jinx, completely wasted, rolled onto her back and wiggled a bit. “I feel hot. I don’t like it.” Voice whiny her eyes were half closed even as her head stretched back resting on Silco’s thigh and she reached up to poke at his cheek. “Siiiilllyyyyy wana go to Ionia? Let’s go to Ionia? Pleeeeease? It’s supposed to be all...magic, and animals, and nature, and stuff. We should take the vacation. Sides Jhin isn’t that bad. He’s an artist!” Silco smiling affectionately at Jinx pet at her shoulder. “Well we can’t take the entire gang. That’s quite a few people, and Sevika refused. However if by “the entirety” of my gang what is meant is the three of us...Hmmm...well how could I refuse you?” Silco nonetheless reached out and poured himself a shot. He most certainly did not need to take a vacation… was there something appealing about the idea of getting to see Jinx happy, and running around in Ionia? Sure. Would getting away from his responsibilities for the first time in years possibly be good? Probably. Was there a part of him that maybe even wanted to see Ionia, and share such an experience? If he was forced to be honest, yes.

However did Silco think it was a need to go on vacation to Ionia? No.

Silco: 8 shots

Jinx: 6 shots

Sevika: 8 shots

[thebiggestmenace]

What were thoughts on the show? Was there anything that you didn’t like about it? Were there things you liked more than the game?

I didn’t like the car crash in episode 4. It felt very low budget compared to the game. I was also sad they didn’t do the drowning scene in the finale. That was my all time favorite scene from the game

I have to say I'm very biased to the show as it was my first introduction to the franchise (and I watched it all in one go, which made a brain goblin move in)!

I personally love the show and how both Pedro and Bella portray Joel and Ellie. I love how they changed and added some things, too. I liked the car crash in the show? I don't know why, but I did. I think it was the aftermath of it? when Joel was telling Ellie to go to the hole in the wall, because they're not gonna hit you. it's just such good soup to me 🤌💋

after having watched a gameplay, I was a little disappointed they didn't show Ellie getting the gun how she did in the game? cause she saved Joel after his near drowning, and then he taught her how to use a gun, even if she sort of already knew. but I do love how they showed it in the show, too! the fact that it was Frank's gun, so an older gay giving a baby gay a gun. a way to protect herself. it's so poetic :) and then when Joel asked her if that was the first time she shot someone? I really do love both adaptations. and I get why they wouldn't do it the way they did it in the show, so that it wasn't a risk to the actors, you know?

I wasn't disappointed about Ellie’s drowning not making it in the show, tbh. it adds another level of grief? for what's about to come, and we would've missed her puns and Joel throwing himself behind her to protect her as best he could. I think the show handled the finale better, too, simply because you're not playing Joel? in the game, you have to kill all the fireflies. you can't progress the story if you don't. so you don't see anything wrong? idk how to explain this properly, but you have to kill everyone or else you die along with Ellie. in the show, though, you're not playing Joel. you get to watch it from someone else's perspective and realize that he also didn't have a choice. and the show made it more. sad and grief filled. if that makes any sense. so I think adding her drowning would've made it hurt that much more, you know? it also would've put the actors at risk, so I totally get why they didn't include it

I love how they added more to the show, too! like, getting the flashback from 1968, where the scientist explains that fungal infections have no cure, right off the bat? it's such 👨‍🍳🤌💋 to me. and then getting to watch Sarah in the beginning, so we feel closer to her? beautifully devastating. getting to see Ellie at the beginning, too? before she met Joel and Tess? I really enjoyed that. it also showed us a bit of how Marlene was as a person (the oh, really? was Riley a terrorist? I feel showed who she was. she wasn't in it for Ellie, or even Anna, she was in it for herself) which I feel was important. the entirety of episode 3? also beautifully devastating. the letter had the same effect that the conversation with Bill did (in the game), it just felt more positive? like, Bill was mad in the game, so that conversation felt a bit negative. the show, while literally being after their deaths, felt positive? I don't know why, it just did. and making Sam deaf? I think was really important, cause it showed that Sam still wanted to protect Ellie as best he could. he wouldn't have been able to hear her once she woke up, so he sat facing away from her to protect her. and the fact she tried to heal him, because she knew beforehand? I think really set up the finale. yes, vaccines need more than just blood, but taking that with the 1968 flashback? I think just reiterates that you can't make a cure for a fungal infection. also loved the differences in episode 6, when they found Jackson. well, when Jackson found them lmao I love how they portrayed it all? how we actually got to see Jackson this time, and we knew that the dam was fixed. the fact that Maria's pregnant? I'm hoping they change Tommy a bit because of that (don't like game Tommy because of what he did at the end of the second game). also that could help to heal Joel a little from losing Sarah. that might just be me being delusional because of fics, though. but also Joel getting stabbed instead of falling off a balcony? I don't know why, but that felt more fitting to the show? and I liked that they showed Ellie stitching him up (did miss the don't worry, I've done this before from her, though) along with him being conscious enough to try to shove her away to go back to Jackson. loved the entirety of episode 7, too! I really, really love how the mall was Ellie’s first time being there, so Riley was taking her on an adventure. and that the photo booth actually gave them the picture strip! I just love the seventh episode, man. I don't enjoy episode 8, simply because of what it's about? but I like the little changes they did for Joel yelling what town and Ellie yelling that she's the little girl who broke your fucking finger. truly felt like those came from deep within, you know? also the fact they added in that David's people were hunting?? disgusting, but it's the little details. I love how they opened episode 9 with Ellie being born. and I love how it was Ashley Johnson, that definitely did NOT get any tears out of me once I finished watching gameplays. definitely not. I loved the giraffe scene, too! you got to see Joel’s reaction to it!!! proud dad! although I think that smile was more Pedro and Bella, but it was still so so sweet and it's so important to me :] I loved the conversation they had on that traffic blocker (wtf is that actually called??), about how it wasn't time that did it. I think it also drove home what the ending was gonna be. I already talked about the hospital, but I do enjoy that they weren't underwater for that. it's the fact that Joel tried his damndest to protect Ellie as best he could when that bomb went off. he twisted around her, so that he'd take the brunt of it. I think the ending after that stayed mostly true to the game, so there are my thoughts :)

oh, I loved the mirroring they did, too! I think Craig? maybe Neil. someone said they mirrored scenes so you knew it was an adaptation, and that it would be a little bit different than the original. Joel holding his girls different ways in the show vs the game?? 🤌💋 Ellie and Joel in his apartment being mirrored??? 🤌💋 the what town scene also being mirrored??? and then what town being added??? 🤌💋 I believe there are more mirroring scenes, but these are what I remember. I just love the little details, man

sorry this was so long, anon, I just love the show so much. it's what introduced me to the last of us. after I finished it (in one sitting, by the way, because I didn't want to forget what happened between weeks/episodes), I found a gameplay of the first game and watched that. then we did the same with the dlc. I wanted to avoid the second game, as I loved going into the show blind, but alas, I saw too many spoilers :( no one tagged stuff, so I figured I should watch the gameplay before the whole game is spoiled for me. it was devastating and I live in constant fear for how they're gonna adapt it. not because it'll be bad, just because Pedro and Bella are such good actors that I KNOW it's gonna devast each and every single one of us. the yell/scream from Ellie at the end of episode 5 still lives in my head, much against my will, so I'm very worried about the ones we'll be getting in season 2 (or more? cause Craig said something about 4 seasons?)

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Tuesday, 27 June 2023:

Flaming Pie (Deluxe Edition) Paul McCartney (Capitol) (reissue released in 2020; original album released in 1997)

Greed is a terrible thing. Rather than get the other McCartney reissue I was enjoying (see my last post concerning Wings' Wild Life) which would have been Red Rose Speedway, I instead opted to pick up this triple album for free. Normally it costs something ridiculous ($60 or more I believe) but Sound of Vinyl offered it for free with eight bucks and change for postage (nevermind it is much, much heavier than Wild Life was and Wild Life cost $10 to ship). Somehow this bargain made me ignore Red Rose Speedway (another double Deluxe Edition) and it made me ignore the double Richard Thompson album (Guitar, Vocals). Here's the problem with me buying Flaming Pie: I have the double CD Deluxe Edition of the album and I've yet to play it. I probably haven't even opened it. Matter of fact, I've never even heard Flaming Pie! And furthermore, I don't much care to ever hear it. Oh sure, I've heard some of the songs, whatever popular tracks that infiltrate McCartney comps, but they never make an impression, certainly not enough to convince me to rush out and hear in it's entirety. Mrs Echo owns Flaming Pie, she bought it back when it wasn't a sin to buy secular music and she played it endlessly (she only played it in her art studio down in the basement). For the record: the last new McCartney album I bought was Off The Ground (and I bought it on vinyl) and I hated it (Biker Like An Icon, anyone?) and I swore I was done with Macca (like a fool I traded the original vinyl, which if you've seen the price of it today, well, you know what it costs). So my buying a triple '90s album by the fabled bass player just because it was free was actually a terrible trade off when I could be grooving to the multiple versions of Mary Had A Little Lamb on the bonus album of the Red Rose Speedway Deluxe Edition. And for the record, I might be the only human in existence who really, really likes Mary Had A Little Lamb. Heavens knows most all the members of Wings whose last name wasn't the same as Macca's hated it.

The first two photos above are of the slipcover that contains the double album proper and a single album titled Paul's Home Demos. Below is the cover, gatefold and the back of the actual Flaming Pie album.

If you look at the gatefold photo you will see at the top of the photo of "me and Jeff" (Christ, Jeff Lynne is involved?) a Target receipt. I didn't see this until I shot another album gatefold (which was Wings' Wild Life) and if you go to that entry, you will see that yes, I did take the time to pick up the trash near the fence line. I'm not one of those people who let trash blow around in my yard. I grew up with Please Don't Litter public announcements routinely on television and they made an impression.

Below are the photos of record labels for this double album. They might be overkill since all of them follow the same format, but I religiously post my record labels and I will do so for this album.

This is a triple album and as I mentioned, the second album is titled (on the spine at least) Paul's Home Recordings and it comes in its own album cover. You can see that cover and the back of it in the next two photos.

I may carp about having bought this, but it is a very nice presentation. The album covers of Flaming Pie and the home records are both textured and very high quality. The home recording album has its own special inner sleeve, not unlike what Wild Life had. Only, obviously as you will see below, it is not yellow.

Here are shots of both sides of the record label for this bonus album.

Since this a Deluxe Reissue it includes a booklet. Below are shots of the front and back. I'm guessing the cover is a painting by Macca himself. I really like this cover.

It also comes with a letter on heavy card stock. Check it out below.

On the spine of the box is sort of like an obi which contains the track listing for all six sides of the albums. I had completely forgotten to shoot a photo of it until the last moment, so I'll stick it at the very end of this entry.

I need to mention the many thoughts about this Sound of Vinyl sale where albums were free for the taking if you just paid the shipping charges. Many people on the Hoffman Boards suspected these would be rejects that were damaged and that explained why they were free. Some seemed to delight in thinking we were all being taken for a ride with this sale. I'm not sure where that thinking emanates from, but it didn't make much sense to me. Many members on that site assured others that they were long time buyers from Sound of Vinyl (which is evidently an affiliate of Universal Music) and no such thing would happen. The sale was legit, we were all reassured, some just wanted to rain on this crazy parade.

And lastly, let me add, I'm sure this is a fine album. It is repeatedly hailed as a great Macca album and my carping aside, I'm sure I'll be happy I dropped ten bucks to give this a whirl on my turntable, Jeff Lynne's involvement or otherwise.