#afterglow review

[the-aftergl0w]

be a good girl and come for me

Title: Be a good girl and come for me Performer: luciferscorner Vibes: It’s giving Ruben Dias but somehow also Dominik Szoboszlai Spice rating: 🌶🌶 Comfort rating: 💕💕💕💕 Warnings: talk of hand necklace, p in v, masturbation, dirty talk, praise, hold the moan kinda vibes Summary: Your boyfriend is detailing all the things he’d like to do to you while he touches himself Thoughts: This was sent to me by my bestie and it is right up her alley. It’s not the spiciest audio, but something about the whispering and the heavy breathing is just 😵‍💫 and what can I say? I’m a sucker for a good girl 

[triviareads]

ARC Review of Out of Office by A.H. Cunningham

Rating: 4.25/5 Heat Level: 3.75/5 Publication Date: April 23rd

Premise:

Genevieve is a high-powered hospitality executive intent on getting a promotion. Before she does, she decides to throw caution to the wind and embark on a vacation fling with Adrián, her driver in Panama. Two weeks later, neither of them are ready to end what they have.

My review:

This is a sensual, stunningly emotional read that touches on so many realistic adult issues while never sacrificing the romance. Genevieve and Adrián are in their thirties; Genevieve is a consummate career woman and you really understand where her drive to succeed comes from. Adrián on the other hand suffered from burnout some years prior and is now focusing on his family and their small hotel in Panama. Gen is endearingly uptight and type-A (her alternate persona is "Hot Girl Gen which... is so real of her), Adrián is super smooth and super laid-back, and they're technically in opposite places life-wise, so how do they make this work?

The answer is a lot of communication, but let me preface this by saying this doesn't make the book boring or *too real*. Instead, what you do get is two people who are instantly attracted to each other (and the chemistry is THERE right off the bat, and it's honestly kind of insane), but they need to make some tough choices when it comes to sustaining their relationship— What do they compromise on? What do they sacrifice? And this becomes even more relevant when their personal and professional lives collide and Genevieve's ability to do her job hinges on her successfully headhunting Adrián. As a woman of color, I really appreciated the nuanced way the author handled Gen's career, as well as a host of other topics like Adrián's bisexuality, the fact that Adrián isn't traditionally as "successful" as Gen career-wise (something you still don't see in a lot of romance novels), and Genevieve and Adrián's drive to revitalize small communities like Adrián's rather then outright gentrify them.

Also, the way A.H. Cunningham described the setting in places like Aguimar in Panama? Gorgeous. And love and care with which she wrote Afro-Panamanian culture really comes across.

The sex:

My big takeaway here is that the closer Gen and Adrian grew, the hotter the sex acts got. The initial sex scenes very sensual and more focused on building this emotional connection between them, and making them realize they were irreplaceable in each others' lives despite this ostensibly being a vacation fling. But once they found some semblance of permanence with one another, I feel like all bets were off. I loved how toys, masturbation, and video sex were incorporated into the story later (which makes sense since a part of their relationship is long-distance!), and Adrián had a strong "let me take care of you" vibe during sex which was never patronizing, but very hot. Also, Gen does, in fact, rim him during a blowjob, something I pleasantly surprised by.

Overall:

This is the second Harlequin Afterglow book I'm reviewing after The Boyfriend Subscription, and I've really enjoyed both of them. They've both been far more diverse than most of the contemporary romances I'm seeing out there, they're romantic, they have great sex scenes. I'd strongly recommend Out Of Office to anyone looking for a grown-up sexy kinda read.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

When British writers come up with an American character’s dialogue and give them the most painfully British things to say with their American accent and inflection and it makes the actor come off as stiff. :P

[viscountessevie]

The Boyfriend Subscription [ARC Review]

Release Date: 26th March 2024 Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

My Review:

Content Warning: Off-screen sexual assault and violence

The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore is a contemporary queer retelling of Pretty Woman (1991) that follows the love story between Cole Vivien and Teddy Hughes. Cole is the CEO of a queer sex working app called VERSTL from LA who is in New York for an event to promote his company and collaborate with a potential investor. On the other hand, Teddy is a botanist and author who had made his home in New York in the last few years until his marriage ended and his plant business went down with it.

Both men find themselves running from their pasts, they find solace in a local New York bar and cross paths. After a fun evening out, Cole propositions Teddy to be his fake boyfriend for the week to impress the investor at a business meeting and his family at a wedding.

The Catch? Cole Vivien doesn’t kiss or fall in love. Will the sparks flying between them be enough for Cole to break his lifelong rules for Teddy?

~~~

I would like to firstly say: I LOVED this book! This is really brilliant as far as modern retellings of a beloved classic film goes. Steven had wonderfully adapted this book to follow the movie’s beats to keep the heart of Pretty Woman while refreshing the story to reflect our contemporary times. Teddy and Cole feel like their own characters while sharing similarities to their film counterparts. I would say the same for the plot, it feels like their very own love story.

Speaking of our characters, I liked how Steven had mixed and matched traits, backstories and personalities of both Vivien and Edward to instill into Cole and Teddy. You can’t really pinpoint who is supposed to be Vivien or Edward which makes them stand on their own as original characters.

Cole Vivien truly felt like the love child of Vivien and Edward. He felt like he embodied most traits from the original film’s couple. From sharing Vivien’s name, No Kissing rule and line of work while holding Edward’s CEO position and inheriting his Daddy Issues. On the other hand, while Teddy shared Edward’s name, was the hired ‘escort’ in the position and was given his own version of Kit. I really liked the original touch to Teddy by making him a botanist and author. These two also felt very real and new. Steven giving them little idiosyncrasies like Cole’s obsession with crystals and using them to cope and Teddy’s botany metaphors breathed life into them.

Of course, every good book is supported not just by their main characters but strong secondary characters too. As mentioned, we have a new version of Kit who is just the coolest Black lesbian a part of a triad I have ever read! She is the best friend anyone can ask for. Jason is…. Jason. Not to give anything away, you just have to read how everything plays out with Cole’s best friend. He was definitely well suited for the role he was given. I also loved Mallory, Cole’s sister. She was a new addition just for the retelling and she fit right in!

Onto the plot, Steven Salvatore has crafted a very well fleshed out version of Pretty Woman. The book format allowed them to have more depth and nuance than the original film and characters. The conflict and stakes in this story also felt much higher than the film. My main two complaint with this near perfect book is that 1) I wished it was longer. I could have read about Cole and Teddy forever. 2) As per the warning, I hoped for a better conclusion for the sexual assault and for the perpetrator to face actual consequences. I think a longer book could have covered this while giving us more time with Teddy and Cole.

Other than that, this was a wonderful book that has made me a new fan of Steven Salvatore. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves classic romcoms and of course the fellow queer people in our community, this one felt so true and relatable for us. Happy reading to everyone!

Thank you to Steven Salvatore, Afterglow Books by Harlequin Romance and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[crunchycrystals]

absolutely insane to me that cornelia street and death by a thousand cuts are on the same album as me hee heeeeee hoo hoo hooooooo

[daizine2008]

AFTER GLOW

Phil stamper ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[back2bluesidex]

Girl crush and afterglow both are amazing they made me cry so much 😭 you should take responsibility ma'am

I'm so sorry, anon! 😭 I made you cry! 😭 But thank you so much for giving them a read and liking them enough to send an ask! 💜💜

[lilibetbombshell]

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Love Game 2

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Your fiance suggests incorporating roleplay in the bedroom to keep the spark alive, but playing pretend turns out to be all too real.

Characters: Andy Barber, Lloyd Hansen

Note: another surprise double day.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

You wake up alone. The night of reverie fogs in your mind. Touching, biting, slapping, choking, fucking... The kinkiness of it all has you tingling again yet you’re raw and sore from the overstimulation. Beneath the afterglow is something else. Doubt. 

You agreed to it. You wanted it just as much as Andy. All you want is to keep him happy and this is what he likes. And you can’t say you didn’t enjoy the thrill of it. It was so unlike anything you’ve done before, especially with him. The whole scene was so out of character. It’s roleplay, it’s supposed to be, and yet it just feels off. 

Again, it’s your first time. It’s going to be new and weird and wild, right? Will there be a next time?  

You roll over, thighs grazing tenderly, and sit up. The cuffs are gone along with all other remnants aside from the tangled sheets and the shell of dried sweat over you. You feel grimy as you look down at your naked body, your lingerie crumpled up at the corner of the mattress. You barely remember when you passed out. It’s all just a blissed out blur. 

You stand and stagger. Oh. Your mouth forms an O as you daintily touch your pelvis. You can feel the stretch still as your walls twitch. He was so rough, so deep inside you. 

As you hobble into the bathroom, surprised by the gingerness in each step, you can’t help the flow of your thoughts. Is this what Andy will want from now on? Why? Were you not enough before? He’s always seemed content. At least with that part of your relationship.

The way he groans when you touch him, the way he begs and whines before he cums. It’s all so wonderful so why now? Why this? 

You heard all his explanations but you just don’t know what to believe. Your innate insecurity can’t help but latch onto the worst suggestions. He wants someone else. He wants someone better. Then why did he ask you to marry him if you’re not what he wants? 

Ugh. You lean on the counter and look your reflection in the face. You blow out through your lips and trail your hand up your stomach. There are bruises all along your torso and chest, your neck, even your thighs, maybe a few on your ass. You didn’t expect to like that sort of intensity so much. 

You push away and limp to the shower. How do you act like nothing’s changed? Like it’s all back to normal. A naughty grin curves your lips. That’s kind of hot. 

You step into the shower and take your time. You’re reluctant to wash away the filth only because you want to go back to the night before. You want to feel that electricity. You remember how peculiar it felt when he had his face between your legs and the way his hands moved so deftly. Why couldn’t he be like that before? 

All those expectations restrain Andy. He must need to pretend to be someone else to let out his inner needs. It helped you too. For the first time last night, you shut your brain off and just felt the moment. 

You bask in the steam but make yourself get out and face the day, letting the night fade behind you. You go through your usual routine, with all the creams and cosmetics Andy bought you. He was always certain to get you the best of the best.  

You never even stepped foot in Sephora before him, but when he took you, he was certain to ask the associate the most important questions. The woman told you about each product and showed you how to use them, doing you up before you left. It took you a while to get a hang of it but now you feel naked without it all. 

You put on a red camisole blouse and a white wrap skirt, along with a silver chain around your neck and your engagement ring in place. As you come downstairs, you can hear Andy’s voice. He’s on the phone as you enter the kitchen. He’s already dressed; a dark blue suit with a light blue shirt and matching tie.  

You round the island to face him and he gives you that look. The one that says I’m busy. You turn and cautiously work at starting the morning right. You flip the kettle on and take the lid off the french press to wait for the boil. You scoop the grounds into the glass and turn to Andy as he wraps up his call. 

He stares at you as he puts the phone screen down. His eyes flick up and down and his cheeks dimples. You smile and step up to the edge of the marble island. 

“Last night was so fun,” you cheep. 

His expression remains stony. Your cheeks loosen and you fix your face. Oh. 

“Last night was last night,” he says. 

“I... yeah, sorry, sir.” 

“Sir?” he challenges. 

“Honey,” you correct yourself. So, it is back to business as usual. You’re disappointed and a bit confused. 

“You slept in,” he checks his watch. 

“I’m sorry, I--” you pause and tilt your head, “it’s Saturday, where--” 

“Emergency,” he says, “not like I want to be spending my weekend working but...” he looks up at the ceiling then decisively traces the room with his oceanic irises, “well, I gotta pay for all this, don’t I?” 

You lower your eyes guiltily, “I can pick up some appointments, hon--” 

“We’ve talked about this.” 

“Erm, I know, but if we need money--” 

“When are you giving notice?” He asks abruptly. 

“They’re short right now, Andy, I can’t just--” 

“Look at me when you talk to me,” he girds, “you know I don’t like it when you act like a child.” 

Your eyes flick up and you pout, “I’m sorry, Andy. I just don’t want to let you down but I can’t let them down either.” 

“You do nails, not rocket science,” he snips. 

You do your best not to flinch. You should be so happy. Everyone at work tells you how jealous they are. You get to work whenever you want without having to worry about rent or expenses. Andy will help you out. He insists on it and when you said yes to the ring, that meant saying yes to his expectations. 

“I’m not putting the wedding off,” he insists, “so you need to make up your mind soon. Sweetie, I don’t have the same time as you.” 

“I’m sorry,” you gulp. 

The kettle clicks as he stares at you. You wait for him to say it’s okay but he doesn’t. You turn and pour the water and place the lid on the press. You meekly glance over your shoulder and face him as you wait for the coffee to steep. 

“You know what I expect. I don’t think it’s a hard ask at all. You take care of the house, I take care of you,” he taps his fingers on his phone case, “simple.” 

The last word is sharp. It says a lot; it’s simple enough for you to understand. You can’t be mad at him. You did promise and you haven’t followed through. 

“I’ll talk to Gina.” 

“Good,” he looks at his watch again, “you can put my coffee in a travel mug. I gotta get my stuff together.” 

“Right, yes, sir—honey,” you correct yourself, “I love you.” 

He stands and his chest rises. He slowly lets out his breath, “love you too.” 

He leaves you with the dulcet, almost flat proclamation. What happened? Was last night bad for him? Did you do something wrong? Maybe you liked it too much? Maybe you didn’t play the role well enough? 

Oh, you don’t know. You love Andy so much and you only want to do what’s right but sometimes it seems like there is no right with him. You look at the clock, a few more minutes and you can pour the coffee. It has to be just perfect, like everything else. Not too weak or strong. Exactly as he prefers. 

💕 

You wile away the time on your own. It used to be that you longed for time off, to catch up on your favourite shows, to do your hobbies, but now, you have too much of it. You watched everything, you’re bored of crocheting and diamond art, and your focus is split into pieces. You’re restless and lost in the large empty house. 

It makes you even more nervous about the future. You thought have a ring, having Andy, having a place to live, would make all a bit more stable. Nope. Now you’re terrified that every day is going to be as lonely and tedious. 

You make yourself sit down with a bridal magazine. There is stuff to be done. You just like to procrastinate. It’s a habit you’ve yet to break since your college days. Those get further and further behind you yet you don’t feel any wiser. 

Another point of envy you don’t quite understand. Marciana at the salon loves talking about the wedding, she has so many questions, and yet you don’t have the answers. She tells you all the time how she can’t wait to get married and do it all. You find it all a bit too much. 

It’s not just flowers and a dress and the ring; it’s catering and music and guests and cutlery and too much! You asked Andy what he liked for wedding colours and he told you he didn’t care. He says it’s a woman’s thing to plan the wedding. 

Gina said her mom helped her with her wedding. Well, you wish you had a mom to ask. The girls at work gave you some suggestions and tried to help but work always comes first. They’re your coworkers, not your friends after all. 

You still haven’t even booked the dress appointment. You don’t have anyone to go with and you feel ridiculous going alone. Andy can’t come, even after you said you don’t care if he sees you. He says it’s tradition. 

So you’re back to square one. You have an aunt who sends you a text now and again but not much else. The more you think of everything you don’t have and never had, the more you wonder how you ended up with Andy. He’s too good for you and you’re not the only one to think so. 

You close the magazine and mope at the pretty model on the front in her veil. You’re not going to look like that. She’s smiling and happy and you’re just stressed. Maybe you could just go to the courthouse. That way you won’t have to stand in front of the empty pews on your side. 

Before you can sink further into doom, the bell rings and you jolt up. Huh? You can’t remember the last time someone stopped by. In the early days, one of the neighbours stopped by to introduce herself and you noticed the other women across the street, watching from a porch. She never came back. You realised after they were trying to find fodder for their gossip. 

You get up, worried it’s another nosy neighbour. The bell rings again at your reluctant pace and you speed up. You peek out the window beside the door and see a man bouncing on the balls of his feet. Maybe it’s a delivery. 

You flip the lock and push down on the lever, inching the door open enough to see through. You give an uneasy smile. The man stills and shoves his hands in his pockets. He looks you up and down and you blink at the striking resemblance. His hair is different, shaved around the sides, longer on top, he wears a mustache instead of a beard, and he sports a short sleeved turtle-neck and cream-coloured pants. Despite all that, he reminds you of Andy. 

“Uh, hello?” You stammer. 

“Hey, darling,” he winks and pulls a hand free, putting it on the doorframe as he leans in, one foot hooked on the other, toe digging into the mat. “Is Andrew around?” 

“Andrew? No,” you answer tentatively. 

“Oh man, I don’t got the wrong place, do I?” He pushes himself straight and reaches into his back pocket. He pulls out his phone and squints, tapping on the screen. 

“No, uh, no Andy’s not home,” you clear your throat, keeping your hand tight on the inner handle. 

“Andy, right. He hates Andrew,” he scoffs, “I was thinking you might be too young so I wasn’t sure,” he snickers and shakes his head, “well, I got a delivery for the old man. Well, he put a name on it...” 

He swipes on his phone and reads out your name. It can’t be a mistake. You feel a little less stressed now. 

“Sure, that’s me,” you confirm. 

“Great, wait one minute,” he holds up a finger. 

You have no other choice but to do just that. He turns and bounces down the steps, jogging back up the walk of the perfectly trimmed lawn and vibrant garden planted inside the white picket. The man goes to a black cube van and opens the back doors. He shuts the door as he hugs a basket in his other arm. 

You watch him dumbly as he returns to you and holds out the basket. You take it, surprised at the gesture. Andy can be sweet but this morning was rough. He seemed to be in a hall of a mood. Even after what you did the last night.  

Maybe that was it? Maybe he freaked himself out. He had gotten pretty carried away. Well, this is as good an apology as you’ve ever got. 

“Old man loves you,” the man purrs with a crooked smirk. His timbre strikes you as familiar, gravelly and gritty, as if you’ve heard it before. It’s almost as if you can feel his breath against your throat. 

You look over the basket at him and smile, “uh, yeah, thanks, er...” 

“Lloyd,” he answers, “I’m an old friend. I owed him a favour.” 

“Well, it’s very sweet of you to bring this by,” you say. 

“Ah, you know, I just do what I’m told,” he drawls. His gaze is close to a leer and makes you want to shiver. 

“Yeah, well, um, thanks again, but I...” you glance over your shoulder. 

“You got a wedding to plan, Mrs. Barber,” he spouts, “you must be a busy lady. Lucky at that.” 

You face him again and wince, “yep...” 

“You make sure you have some of that wine, sweetheart,” he points to the ribbon around the bottle’s neck, “you earned it.” 

“Uh, oh, okay,” you shake your head, “that’s... kind.” 

“And say hello to the old man for me. Remember, Lloyd,” he winks as he backs up, “have a good night, baby girl.” 

He leaves and you stand with the basket, heavy in your arms as the rest of you sinks down too. You have a strange feeling about the unexpected delivery and that man especially. You feel as if you’ve met before. Maybe it’s that he reminds you of Andy. 

Well, no use in overthinking that as well. You won’t complain for a surprise, especially one as nice as this. 

[the-aftergl0w]

The Bet

Title: The Bet Performer: Nick Meyer Vibes: Boyfriend energy, his voice reminds me so much of Nico Schlotterbeck Spice rating: 🌶🌶🌶 Comfort rating: 💕💕💕💕 Warnings: mutual masturbation/hand job/fingering, edging, teasing, hold the moan, semi-public/outdoor sex, oral (m receiving), dirty talk, degradation, p in v (unprotected) Summary: You make a bet with your boyfriend that you can go a week without sex, and the two of you try your hardest to make the other break first. After all, all is fair in love and war.  Thoughts: The combination of the tenderness, the more stern voice towards the end (I died when he said “turn around” with such authority), and the desperation is just honestly chef’s kiss. Love a whimpering man, and this was excellent.

[triviareads]

ARC Review of The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore

Rating: 4/5 Heat Level: 4/5 Publication Date: March 26th

Premise:

A queer Pretty Woman-inspired romance; Divorced and about to lose his beloved plant retail business, Teddy Hughes is faced with no choice but to leave New York City... until he meets Cole Vivien. Cole is the CEO of a gay dating app and needs a fake boyfriend to impress a potential investor and bring to his sister's wedding, and offers the position to Teddy.

My review:

I LOVED the the first meeting between Teddy and Cole; the chemistry was there right off the bat interspersed with these moment of comedy, like when they swap tops on the steps of the Met and Teddy finds himself wearing a harness as he enters a five star hotel (but deals with it in the best way, namely, not giving a fuck and cheerfully making other people uncomfortable).

Teddy (Teddy... Ted... inspired by Edward, perchance? Though he's the Vivian of the story as far as him being hired as a fake boyfriend for a week) is an energetic and endearing hero. Life's dealt him a few hard knocks and I appreciated his moments of vulnerability as much as I enjoyed how upbeat he was. Cole is super smooth and charming but is also pretty anxious and image-conscious, a product of his upbringing and his position as the CEO of a company trying to go public. Cole kind of functions as both the Edward and Vivian of this story, as both the CEO and sex worker, and he's the one with the infamous no-kissing rule.

I love the concept of Cole not only being a CEO and creator of a queer dating/hook-up/OnlyFans-esque app VERSTL (I see what Steven did there), but he's also an extremely popular performer on the platform. Cole publicly calls himself an entrepreneur and a sex worker, which I imagine does a lot in terms of destigmatizing the profession and industry (even if he's in a position of relative privilege). That being said, I'm not sure if I buy his family not knowing that he's a sex worker, especially if his company is about to go public and they're pretty prominent in the business world too. But whatever, it's romanceland; I'm in it for the vibes, not the realism.

So, this book clocks in at about 288 pages, and I started to wish that it was longer as I got to the second half of the book which is centered around Cole's sister's wedding. The plot started to feel pretty rushed: there was parental drama, a reporter outing Cole, Teddy's overprotective friends who Cole thinks might be conning him, a shitty employee, etc. There is sexual assault off-page, but we are barely given any time to contend with that before the main characters abruptly have to leave for the wedding. Ultimately, I think the story wraps up neatly, complete with an effective grovel on Cole's part, but it's the middle bits that could have done with more expansion.

The sex:

The sex was a pretty solid mix of sweet and sexy; there's lots of tender cuddling and heavy-petting and blowjobs. There is one sex scene with some fairly rough sex, which is something Teddy demands but later regrets because he was asking for the internet version of Cole— the fantasy instead of the irl version of him.

My one note was that there were some odd breaks/skips in the sex scenes. For example, there's a scene where Teddy is going down on Cole, but we don't actually see Cole orgasming. Instead, there's a skip and it seems like both Cole and Teddy have gotten each other off and now they're lingering in the afterglow. This happened a couple times.

Overall:

I enjoyed The Boyfriend Subscription; it had all the beats of a romcom starting with a stellar meet-cute and great chemistry between Cole and Teddy that carried throughout the book, even when the plot was a little over the place. This book is a part of a new Harlequin imprint called Afterglow Books, which consists of diverse, romcom-type romances, so I'm looking forward to reading more books in this imprint!

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

[skzdust]

Contingency

Part 1

Welcome to a new series! This is my first mafia au, so I hope you all like it! It starts off a bit slow but next chapter things will really pick up ;)

Summary: You accept a job from your best friend Seonghwa getting information on Ateez's rival group, SKZ. You decide to get to the organization through one of their members: Lee Minho. You find yourself falling for him, and things get even more complicated when SKZ's resident hacker seems to have his sights set on you as well.

Pairing: Lee Know x I.N x Reader

Includes: Seonghwa being a good friend, coffee shop meetings, Lee Minho being hot

Word count: 1.5k

Taglist (Comment on a post/send an ask if you'd like to be added): @weirdowithaphone, @caught-in-the-afterglow, @palindrome969, @skzstan12345, @katsukis1wife, @tsunderelino

Reblogs, likes, comments all appreciated!!!

Part 2 | Part 3

Masterlist

-----

“You’re looking for a job right now, yes?” Seonghwa raised his eyebrows, leaning forward on his elbows.

You blinked. “Blunt, but yes.”

“Perfect.” A smile lit up his eyes.

It often did. Seonghwa may have been a member of ruthless criminal organization Ateez, but he was warm and sentimental and kind. Although you supposed you hadn’t seen him at his usual work of interrogations—you doubted his victims got that same side of him.

“What is it?”

“Well… it’s something for us, actually.”

You were confused. “Doesn’t Hongjoong usually keep things internal?”

“That’s…” Seonghwa cleared his throat. “That’s the issue. We can’t send one of our own. I can’t tell you too much, but Hongjoong… he’s planning something, and he wants to know how much information a certain other organization has on us. We can’t risk one of ours getting captured by them.”

“Another organization?” Your eyes widened as you realized who he must mean. “You’ve gotta be kidding. Their screening process is infamously insane. I’ll never get far enough in to get the information you need in time.”

Seonghwa shrugged. “We’re putting the offer out to a few people. You’re not the only bounty hunter we know.”

You held one hand to your chest. “Wow, and here I thought we were best friends.”

“We are!” Seonghwa took your other hand. “Ateez knows other bounty hunters, but you’re Park Seonghwa’s favorite.”

“How sweet.”

He let go of your hand to make a heart between both of his. “Anytime.”

“So… I need to find SKZ’s file on Ateez and deliver it to you? For how much?”

Seonghwa jerked his head, indicating he wanted to say something in your ear, and you leaned in. He whispered the amount, and your eyes went wide.

“Deadass?”

“Deadass.” His eyes twinkled.

“For that money, you can consider them infiltrated already.”

“There you go! That’s the spirit!”

—

You went over your plan in your head for the thousandth time as you waited in the coffee shop. You had no way of knowing exactly when he would show up, so you couldn’t be distracted.

You spotted him as soon as he walked in. Nothing about him explicitly screamed “criminal underworld”, but the way he carried himself, the subtle quality of the leather jacket he wore, the shifting of his eyes across the space as he analyzed for potential threats all told you this man was just like you—dangerous.

You knew Ateez’s papers on your target—at least the ones you’d been granted access to—could only tell you so much, but you reviewed a few pieces of information you’d gleaned from the file as you watched him get in line.

Lee Minho loved coffee; his usual order was an iced americano. He had a fondness for cats. He’d had two girlfriends in the past three years.

Lee Minho had good aim; he could shoot a man in a snowstorm at night with one bullet. He had shot a man in a snowstorm at night with one bullet.

Lee Minho had the highest kill count in SKZ.

You added one to your mental list: Lee Minho was hot.

It was self-indulgent, but it would definitely make your plan easier for you.

You looked back down at your notebook, trying to look busy as he did another glance around the room. You tapped at the binding with the eraser of your pencil, biting the inside of your lip as you pretended to focus intently on something.

As the barista called out, “Minho!”, setting down a cup on the counter, you began to pack up your things. By the time the drink was in his hand, you were standing up, and by the time Minho had made it to the door, you were walking at a brisk pace, staring at your phone intently. So intently, in fact, that you walked right into him.

He reacted in moments, his hand moving to your arm, holding it tightly so you didn’t lose your balance. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m—I’m good, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t—”

“No worries.” He cut you off smoothly. “No harm done.”

“You sure you’re okay?” You looked at his coffee, which he’d held away from his body. “Nothing spilled?”

“Nope. Are you okay? All… good?” His eyes darted up and down your body, and his gaze lingered on your bag for a moment too long. You knew he was likely scanning for weapons, but a piece of you hoped he was checking you out.

“Yes.” You adjusted the bag on your shoulder, and his eyes snapped back to your face. His smile was reserved, but genuine. “I’m sure I’ll see you around if you’re here often, but have a nice day.”

“Yeah, I’m here a lot. Have a good day!” You tried to be peppy. That was your persona right now: y/n l/n. A kind, good person.

He nodded his head in a goodbye, then walked out the door. You followed him out and went off in the opposite direction, satisfied with the interaction.

—

You didn’t want to take the plan slow, but you knew that you’d have to if you wanted to get all the information Ateez had requested. Minho would suspect something if you were overly clingy or moved too fast. So, the next day, you resolved not to talk to him as you set up your laptop and notebook. You’d look up when he passed your table—one you’d selected right next to the part of the bar where customers picked up their drinks—and smile sweetly, and that would be it.

You weren’t counting on Minho looking around as he waited for his americano, seeing you, giving a small smile, and walking over. You hurried to close the more suspicious tabs on your computer, despite the fact that he approached from the opposite direction.

“Hello.” He tilted his head, as if analyzing you. “You’re here again.”

“I am.” You closed the last one and turned your full attention to him. “So are you.”

“I like the coffee here, it’s better than a lot of other places, and I usually need a lot of caffeine.”

You took a sip of your own drink. “It is good. What do you need caffeine for?” It was an obvious question, and you knew the answer, but it was something an uninformed civilian would ask.

He gave a brief laugh before saying, “It’s complicated, but I do business stuff with a bank. I work a lot of late nights. What do you do?”

You fought to keep a laugh of your own off your face. He clearly wasn’t used to giving that lie, and while it would’ve fooled a random person, you knew the truth, which let you monitor his tells.

(Which were shifting his weight between his feet, speaking a little too loudly, and the immediate subject change.)

“Mm.” You said instead, nodding. “That sounds important. I’m in tech stuff. Coding.” You raised your eyebrows. “It’s complicated.”

“Is it?”

“It is.”

You smiled at each other for a moment before the barista called out, “Minho!”, and he went to get his drink. He stopped by your table again.

“My name’s Minho.” He held up his coffee. “If you couldn’t tell from that.”

“I’m y/n.” You tilted your laptop screen down. “Am I gonna see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” He smiled, just a bit bigger. “Maybe we can sit together.”

Something bubbled in your chest—something real. Your plan had been to start dating Minho as a ruse to get close to SKZ, breaking up with him as soon as you had the information you needed. So you told yourself the feeling was just excitement that your plan was working. It had nothing to do with Minho specifically. You’d feel this way over any plan working.

You knew you were lying to yourself, but you shushed that portion of your brain. You could not catch feelings for Lee Minho.

“I’ll save a seat for you… wait, here.” You ripped a piece of paper off one of your notebook pages and scribbled your name and number.

You knew it was unnecessarily risky to use your real name verbally, let alone write it down with your number, even if it was a burner phone. But no one you worked with or around knew it, and you’d grown to miss hearing it.

You knew it was worth it when Minho mumbled it as he read the paper. “Y/n.”

You smiled. “Yeah, in… in case you want to call me or something.”

He put it in his pocket, his eyes glinting. “Y’know, it’s pretty risky to hand out your name and number to strangers.”

You shrugged. “I don’t hand out my name and number to most strangers.”

He leaned in a few inches. “And what if I’m the dangerous kind?”

You smirked. “Then at least you’re hot.”

He gave a real laugh as he leaned away. “You’re funny, y/n. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

You watched him walk out of the coffee shop, hands in his pockets.

You were glad the plan was working. That was all.

[mysticstronomy]

DOES QUANTUM GRAVITY EXIST??

Blog#389

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024.

Welcome back,

All the fundamental forces of the universe are known to follow the laws of quantum mechanics, save one: gravity. Finding a way to fit gravity into quantum mechanics would bring scientists a giant leap closer to a “theory of everything” that could entirely explain the workings of the cosmos from first principles. A crucial first step in this quest to know whether gravity is quantum is to detect the long-postulated elementary particle of gravity, the graviton.

In search of the graviton, physicists are now turning to experiments involving microscopic superconductors, free-falling crystals and the afterglow of the big bang.

Quantum mechanics suggests everything is made of quanta, or packets of energy, that can behave like both a particle and a wave—for instance, quanta of light are called photons. Detecting gravitons, the hypothetical quanta of gravity, would prove gravity is quantum. The problem is that gravity is extraordinarily weak.

To directly observe the minuscule effects a graviton would have on matter, physicist Freeman Dyson famously noted, a graviton detector would have to be so massive that it collapses on itself to form a black hole.

“One of the issues with theories of quantum gravity is that their predictions are usually nearly impossible to experimentally test,” says quantum physicist Richard Norte of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. “This is the main reason why there exist so many competing theories and why we haven’t been successful in understanding how it actually works.”

In 2015, however, theoretical physicist James Quach, now at the University of Adelaide in Australia, suggested a way to detect gravitons by taking advantage of their quantum nature. Quantum mechanics suggests the universe is inherently fuzzy—for instance, one can never absolutely know a particle's position and momentum at the same time. One consequence of this uncertainty is that a vacuum is never completely empty, but instead buzzes with a “quantum foam” of so-called virtual particles that constantly pop in and out of existence.

These ghostly entities may be any kind of quanta, including gravitons.

Decades ago, scientists found that virtual particles can generate detectable forces. For example, the Casimir effect is the attraction or repulsion seen between two mirrors placed close together in vacuum. These reflective surfaces move due to the force generated by virtual photons winking in and out of existence.

Previous research suggested that superconductors might reflect gravitons more strongly than normal matter, so Quach calculated that looking for interactions between two thin superconducting sheets in vacuum could reveal a gravitational Casimir effect. The resulting force could be roughly 10 times stronger than that expected from the standard virtual-photon-based Casimir effect.

Recently, Norte and his colleagues developed a microchip to perform this experiment. This chip held two microscopic aluminum-coated plates that were cooled almost to absolute zero so that they became superconducting. One plate was attached to a movable mirror, and a laser was fired at that mirror. If the plates moved because of a gravitational Casimir effect, the frequency of light reflecting off the mirror would measurably shift. As detailed online July 20 in Physical Review Letters, the scientists failed to see any gravitational Casimir effect.

This null result does not necessarily rule out the existence of gravitons—and thus gravity’s quantum nature. Rather, it may simply mean that gravitons do not interact with superconductors as strongly as prior work estimated, says quantum physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who did not participate in this study and was unsurprised by its null results. Even so, Quach says, this was a courageous attempt to detect gravitons.”

Originally published on https://www.scientificamerican.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, April 6th, 2024)

"HOW DOES A NEUTRON STAR FORM??"

[feudalconnection]

The Nomination Period for the 3rd Term 2024 Inuyasha Fandom Awards is now CLOSED!!

Hey everyone!

Below the cut you'll find a complete list of all of the Fanart nominations received for this term! You can also find it on Google Docs.

Click here for the complete list of Fanfiction nominations.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this term for taking the time to do so. We hope you enjoyed your experience! If you do not see your nomination, please reach out to us as soon as possible!

We strongly encourage that when you view a work of art or read a fanfiction, please reblog or leave a review to let the creators know how much their work and talent is appreciated!

As a reminder, we are giving 3 weeks time to enjoy all of the creations. The voting period will begin October 6th and end October 20th.

In order to be able to vote, you'll need to register so we can keep it all neat and clear. We will be posting the link to the voting form on the first day of the voting session.

Got a question? Check out our FAQ or send us an ask. You can also message one of the mods directly!

Thank you to everyone who nominated for making this 3rd Term absolutely wonderful, and happy voting!

Best Action/Adventure

"She was a girl, he was a half dog demon 🌹" by @eleuphii

"Moroha's Bravery" by @jess-oui

"Now I will be the one to protect you" by @geda-art

Best Alternate Universe/Reality

"Untitled (Mechanic Inu & Kagome)" by Hullo Yokai (TW)

"A change in art style" by @weeeting

"Unnecessary" by @mayarab

Best Canon Universe

"Untitled" by @redundantz

"InuKag Slow Dance" by Hullo Yokai (TW)

"All grown up" by @istehlurvz

"Robe of the Fire-Rat (newest)" by _taisana_ (TW)

Best Angst

"Now I will be the one to protect you" by @geda-art

"Moroha's Bravery" by @jess-oui

"Untitled" by @rinsilverstar223

"Protect" by @pachworldx-1

"Cycle." by @anisaanisa

Best Dark

"Passion" by @akulols

"Sesshōmaru-punk 2077" by @june-v

"untitled Inuyasha" by @hycopank

"Protect" by @pachworldx-1

Best Humor/Parody

"Nothing like a fake 'stach-off in front of the mirror" by @clearwillow

"ZOOMIIIIES" by Angel_KagomeX (TW)

"Kagome needs a bike upgrade" by @bandsandwristbands

"Leashed" by @valgreys

"zoomies!" by @purpledemonart

"He's cooking" by @melaugo

Best Kiss

"Love is in the Air" by @cam3llia95

"Untitled MirSan" by Angel_KagomeX (TW)

"Spring Fever" by @stardust414

"Inuyasha & Kagome" by @pachworldx-1

"Untitled" by @bakutenshi

"Hungry like a wolf" by @otaku-108

Best Character

"Kikyo from Inuyasha" by @lynndylee

"Untitled (Bandaid)" by Lenbarboza (TW)

"Untitled" by @little1bird

"Sango, beautiful with her scars" by @eliza-faust-diary

Best Duo/Pairing

"Untitled" by @louffeine

"Untitled (Mechanic Inu & Kagome)" by Hulloyokai (TW)

"Kagome needs a bike upgrade" by @bandsandwristbands

"A Rare Moment" by @moonnueart

"A dip to cool off, you and me ❤️" by cricriart (TW)

Best Doujinshi

"MINI COMIC UPDATE!" by @jhdanes

"Claws and Roses" by Lenbarboza (TW)

"April Fools" by @mitsiepitsie-blog

"Inu-Illiterate" by Garish_Wyvern (AO3)

Best Redraw

"I finally finished Inuyasha 😭💕" by @girls-with-boys-names

"Honesty with Consequences" by _taisana_ (TW)

"I'm a Diva" by @julytheartist

"ZOOMIES" by Angel_KagomeX (TW)

Best NSFW

"Sex at the Well" by @brain-rot-hour

"tiempo a solas" by @lucky-chan34dl

"Morning Routines" by @the-lone-huntress

Best InuKag Romance

"{Born to Meet Me}" by @artblogofanekophile

"Stardust Birthday" by @clearwillow

"InuKag Slow Dance" by Hulloyokai (TW)

"Untitled" by @moonnueart

"Inspired by ETERU" by @geda-art

Best MirSan Romance

"Untitled" by @kalcia

"Untitled MirSan" by Angel_KagomeX (TW)

Best Romance

"A Rare Moment" by @moonnueart

"Nothing like a fake 'stach-off in front of the mirror" by @clearwillow

"Untitled InuParents" by @brain-rot-hour

"Afterglow" by @stardust414

"Mistakes Made at Midnight" by @heavenin--hell

"Unnecessary" by @mayarab

Best Group Depiction

"Untitled" by @redundantz

"Honesty with Consequences" by _taisana_ (TW)

"SessKag Festival 2024" by @julytheartist

"Izayoi meets Kagome and Moroha" by @jess-oui

"Family Portrait" by @mayarab

"Sixteenth Night" by @travelingneuritis

Best Improved Artist

"Robe of the Fire-Rat" by _taisana_ (TW)

"11 years later" by @rin-afananditshows

Best Overall

"Stardust Birthday" by @clearwillow

"Untitled" by @kalcia

"Untitled (Bandaid)" by LenBarboza (TW)

"SessKag Festival 2024" by @julytheartist

"Inuyasha & Kagome" by @pachworldx-1

"Just a piece of My otp 😫🌹🌹" by @wisejazz

[belladonnadawn]

Afterglow

“Why'd I have to break what I love so much? It's on your face, don't walk away.”

Kayson x Reader

Part two of “I Don’t Smoke”

Four days, you counted. Four days without reading his messages, listening to his voice, and having his affection. With those days, every part of you yearns for him. 

You understood why you haven’t talked after what happened. Whenever you look back, you were faced with guilt and shame for inflicting pain on him. His face, his voice, and his expression filled with ache continues to haunt you. You wish you could take the words back and speak to him kindly instead, but what is done is done; all you can do is face the music.

Breezing through your to-do lists and reviewing the topics, you were able to finish

everything with plenty of time to spare. It wasn’t a surprise, knowing how studious and perfectionist you are. But now that you have time to take a break, you don't have the guts to relax; especially when you pushed away the person that you wanted to spend time with.

During those, you tried to plan your apology. Writing it on a paper, practicing on the mirror, and reciting it alone; you were desperate to say the least. You already broke his heart by pouring your frustrations at him, the last thing that you wanted was fucking things up further by giving him a half-assed apology. After what happened, Kayson deserves better, so you’ll do anything to be that.

Monday came and so is your opportunity to patch things up. Having a schedule with Mr. Taylor as his student assistant the same day he has practice gives you a chance to talk to him. You weren't confident on how things may unfold, but you held on to that hope that the probability will be in your favor.

Sitting on the bleachers, you watched them on the sideline as the team practiced. You wanted to admire how they improved, but all you could focus on was Kayson– who hasn't glanced at you since you came. Your heart broke a little but you expected it. The tension between you two was still palpable, you were anxious if it’s all in your head or he could feel it too. Your eyes fixated at him, filled with longing and guilt

“[name], I need you to run some papers for the student development office. Tell them that they need to sign the copy of approval and give me a soft and hard copy.” Mr. Taylor, handed you an envelope. You immediately nodded, though upset you won’t be able to watch Kayson's practice and wait for him, you just assured yourself that you’ll be quick.

With all your might, you ran back towards the court. After long lines at the office due to their preparations for the finals, you took more time than expected. As you finally reached the court, you were disappointed as you were met with silence. The place was now empty, absent of players and their belongings. 

A sigh escaped your lips as you dragged yourself towards Mr. Taylor’s office. “Sir, this is the hard copy, they said that they’ll just email you the other one.” He accepted the envelope with a nod. You looked around his office, “I can see that the court was empty, Sir.” You commented, wondering where they’ve been– where Kayson has been under the guise of small talk.

“Well, we went for a few rounds and I dismissed them. Don’t want them to just focus on volleyball while finals are coming up. Also, thank you for helping me with the paper. I know everyone’s busy and offices are bombarded, but you still managed to do it. Get some rest, you deserve it.” Mr. Taylor smiled at you. You nodded, muttering a small ‘thank you’ before leaving his office.

You were disappointed that you’re not able to reach him, but at the same time you promised yourself to not let this moment pass. So with shaky hands, you messaged him: "Hey, can we meet after class? At the court?" Pressing send, you wished for his response– and you wished it was a ‘yes’.

As you’re walking to your class, your notification rang; it was from him. You were scared to open it– scared of his rejection. So taking a deep breath, you read his message: “Sure, I’ll see you.”  Finally, a sigh of relief escaped your lips. You head down to your class with a smile, at least, for now, there’s hope.

You sat at the bleachers patiently, waiting for his arrival. Millions of thoughts running through your mind: ‘Is he still angry?’ ‘What if there’s no other chance?’ ‘Will he forgive me?’ Taking deep breaths, you tried to calm yourself down from those thoughts. The reminder that his emotions, or yours, was not truly what the person is. Standing up, you paced back and forth, trying to ground yourself. 

“[name]?” You stopped your tracks and turned to him, your heart felt as if it’s beating out of its cage as you faced him.

“Hey,” A small smile plastered on your face as he finally arrived. It’s been days since you last heard him, and listening to him just now seemed surreal. 

The court was empty with just the two of you as you both sat down beside each other, still keeping a small distance. Awkward silence filled the room as both of you did not dare to speak. 

“How have you been?” Kayson broke the silence.

“Just the same.” You answered. You didn’t want to lie. After what happened, you went back to the same old you– the workaholic, perfectionist, overworking you. Schoolworks has been your way to drown all the negative thoughts from your parents and yourself, it was a way for you to take a break from your problems. It was unhealthy, but at least it gets the job done.

“You?”

“You know, doing the same old me.” Kayson answered, giving you a small smile.

You tapped your fingers on the bench, a nervous habit of yours that won't go away anytime soon. "So... uh." You cleared your throat, trying to fill the awkward silence that was becoming too painful to your liking. There's this guilt in your heart facing the man that you struck down when all he wanted was for you to soar. He was your cheerleader– your number one supporter, yet you had treated him with such anger.

"About what happened..." He looked at you and your heart almost leaped out of your chest. May it be out of admiration or nervousness, but one thing's for sure: you truly missed it.

“I’d like to apologize for what I did to you and for what happened. That night I was too frustrated at my work and myself that I took it out on you. It was unprovoked and unnecessary, especially when all you want is for me to take a break. And you’re right–” This was the part you never accounted for. Before this, you have prepared everything, from your stance to tone; but you never anticipated that you’d break in front of him. For someone who prides themselves for being put together, you sure are a mess when it comes to Kayson. 

Looking away, you cleared your throat as you tried to compose yourself. . “I just think there's no excuse for what I did to you.” Your voice cracked as tears began to fall slowly. 

You didn’t dare to look at him once more, fearing that it would break your heart further. For someone who prides themselves for being put together, you sure are a mess in front of him. You can't help it, he brings out a different kind of vulnerability that can only come out around him. God knows what power he has over you.

You looked up at the ceiling, trying to stop tears from coming. Then you finally looked him in the eyes again, “I’m so sorry, Kayson. It’s my fault. I understand if you’re leaving me after this, but please don’t.” All your efforts concealing your emotions was futile as you completely broke down in front of him. 

Kayson’s eyes were filled with concern as he pulled you close, “Hey, shh…” He gently rubbed your back, his touch was soft and caring, “I won’t leave you, please don’t cry. It hurts me to see you cry.” You nodded, wiping your tears away and pulling from him so you could look at his face.

“I get it, okay? You were stressed and I kept pushing. I was just in the right place at the wrong time.” He gently wiped your tears.

“Still! I shouldn’t have done it. I could’ve been polite, but I wasn’t. I made you cry.” You insisted.

“I-I didn’t cry. I mean– I did, but just almost… you know.” Kayson’s cheeks turn red at the mention of his reaction.

You nodded at his excuse, finally having the courage, you held his hand. “I’m really sorry, Kayson. I promise to be better.” Kayson squeezed your hand in an assuring manner, you smiled gently at his gesture.

“It’s okay. I just worry about you too much sometimes you know.” 

You pulled him in for a hug, nuzzling on his shoulder as you drowned in him. Kayson’s grip on you was tight, burying his face on your shoulder. The days that you longed for each other was dreadful, and the fact that both of you could share a moment like this felt like a dream came true. 

“I missed you.” Kayson spoke gently, voice filled with yearning and love.

“I missed you too.” You gently caressed his cheek. 

“May I… kiss you?” You nodded. He pulled you close, sighing as your lips touched. Hands wrapped around his neck, while his was on your waist. It was passionate, yet tender. The way he felt against your lips was like heaven. Your breath quickened as he pulled you closer, lips moving in a sensual manner. 

Kayson gave your lips a small peck before pulling away. “You really missed me, huh?” He teased.

“I did, I really did.” The heavy weight from your chest faded, it was now filled with warmth knowing that you still have him by your side. No word could describe how much you cherished and appreciated him, but you’ll do anything to convey it. A soft smile was on your face as you held his hand once again, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

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