#bad modern app design

[sleepycelestialprincess]

(here are the tags of the original post) #i feel like this is becoming more and more common #and as someone who regularly sends people posts and stuff feat. highlight quotes - i hate this#even on Tumblr you automatically copy the whole of the paragraph and then i need to paste it somewhere else to properly select the quote #like when I wanna highlight smth in my tags #just let me long-press highlight and copy paste 😭 #i am using highlight here for two meanings - the 'showcase best' kind and 'blue overlay of what you're gonna copy' kind #anyway

My Thoughts:

This also makes it more difficult for people who like to highlight as they are reading to keep their place. It's equivalent to following along in a book with your finger or a bookmark. It just takes away something so basic that made it easily accessible to more people.

In another reblog, someone mentioned the ability to pause video! Particularly on in5tagram, I don’t bother with tick-t0ck, I can’t process anything that fast! I want watch the video from the beginning and not have to try to figure out where the beginning is in an endless loop. I hate the automated captions on In5tagram that disappear the instant the last word appears!!! There is an accessibility setting in IG that auto captions that works better but its a lot of text all over the screen at once. I’m just kinda done with IG. I hate it so much!

I also really dislike in many desktop apps where buttons are invisible until you hover over them! Like, how the F* am I supposed to know there is a button there?!! Oh, also buttons where the entire button box isn’t actually clickable, but only the text in the button. Like why the button then??!!!

TLDR: I just know that if I, a somewhat neurodivergent person finds this frustrating, how unusable is this stuff for people with disabilities?! It nearly seams intentionally inhospitable to those they don’t want using their site or app.

One of the worst parts of modern app design: disabling highlight-copy-paste

[feyburner]

I ??? woke up at 3am with this scene fully written in my mind palace and quickly jotted it down in the Notes app

*

Clark’s shaking his head before he realizes he’s doing it, and feels a twinge of embarrassment at his own bad manners when Bruce stops mid-word to look at him, brows raised.

“No?” he says.

“No,” Clark says, again without thinking, and again with the reflexive urge to apologize. Somewhere his mother is tutting without knowing why. But he doesn’t apologize, because he’s already saying, “No, it can’t—it can’t be that.”

“Okay,” Bruce says slowly. “Can you elaborate?”

He is, honestly, having trouble taking his eyes off the screen. The mockup design of his new suit is there, dark and sleek, ridged like tactical gear. The blue is like the last shade of evening before you can’t call it evening anymore, the color of nine PM in Kansas in July, so exact there’s a strong chance Bruce color-picked it from a photo. The yellow accents are the cool fluorescent yellow-green of lightning bugs. The red is dark as arterial blood. Every aspect of the suit has been updated—the colors deeper, the angles sharper, the S extending to the corners of its frame—but Bruce has done it without changing the fundamentals. It’s immediately recognizable as the Superman suit, just… well, a little cooler, maybe. A little more of the times. Even the tailoring is modernized. The neckline. The shape of the boots. Where the belt hits at the waist. Clark can tell just by looking that Bruce has not only spent a lot of time on this in general, he’s spent a lot of time designing it specifically with Clark in mind, Clark’s needs and preferences and the small discomforts of his current suit, things he might have mentioned offhand after a mission but never with the assumption that Bruce was listening or filing it away. No doubt the next slides of this presentation will detail all the hidden features of the new suit, and they’ll all be incredibly thoughtful if not slightly overkill, and Bruce will pretend his sole motive here was practicality and risk reduction and respond to any thanks with a curt nod.

And Clark wants to thank him. He will. It’s just.

“It can’t be… cool,” he says, inane. Bruce is watching him with that steady look that used to feel clinical, piercing, and now mostly reads as attentive. “It can’t be—like yours. Tactical, military-grade.”

“Lightyears beyond, actually.”

“It has to—Ma said once, a kid should be able to draw it with crayons. You know? I can’t look like a weapon. I have to—I want to look like a friend.”

He can feel himself flushing. It’s rare that he speaks like this, and rarer still that he does so while being stared at intently. Bruce may think of himself as the darkness, but his gaze is a spotlight: unwavering and revealing and more a little sweat-inducing, for one reason or another.

“Sometimes, when I show up, people laugh,” Clark says. “If it’s somewhere out of the way, where they haven’t seen me before. I show up and I look like a festival performer. It’ll be the worst day of their lives, and they’ve got no reason to trust my face, but when they see what I’m wearing—it goes from ‘Who are you?’ to ‘Who is this guy?’ And that’s a good thing.”

“Hard to be afraid of a man dressed in primary colors,” Bruce says, almost to himself.

“Exactly.”

“I see. Thank you,” he says, “for explaining.”

Clark tries not to show how surprised he is to hear that. Judging by the crook of Bruce’s mouth, his success is negligible. “Of course. Sorry I didn’t—I mean, thank you, obviously, for going to such trouble. I didn’t mean to come in here and—I really do appreciate it, I can tell you put a lot of work in—”

Bruce’s eyes cut away. “No. No need. I didn’t ask, before I…. It was only a first draft. If you’re amenable, I’ll incorporate your feedback into the second one.”

“Oh! Yeah. Yes, of course, but you really don’t have to—”

“If you have any further notes, I would like to hear them.”

There’s something determined in the lines of his face. Clark has the sense that this moment is important, that it’s a turning point, even if he’s not sure why. It feels like striking out into a sea of ice, a blank white expanse under which something precious and vital is hidden, has been hidden all along, just waiting for him to find it. To want to.

“Sure,” he says. He looks back at the suit and swallows, and knows Bruce will see the flicker of his throat and take some meaning from it, and wishes he knew what the meaning was. Or maybe Bruce won’t notice or read into it at all. Maybe Clark needs to calm down, in fact. “Um. I don’t want to assume, but does it… do things?”

“It does things,” Bruce confirms, after the barest pause. “Let me show you the next slide.”

[rebelfell]

made for lovin’ you

older!Eddie Munson x fem!reader

A bad Tinder date gets a whole lot better…

18+ MDNI┃9k

cw: age difference (30s/40s), alcohol, smoking, light choking, softdom!Eddie, face fucking, light hair pulling, fingering, piv sex, finishing inside, and aftercare ‘cos we deserve it ♥️

I’ve been in a Mood and now you all have to suffer.

eddie edit by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

Holy shit, was this guy boring.

Not terribly surprising, unfortunately. Your expectations weren’t all that high to begin with. Most of your recent forays into online dating had been yielding overwhelmingly middling results and this one was no exception.

He had seemed perfectly nice on the app, when he was nothing but a handful of generic pictures and a smattering of inoffensive text bubbles. But any appeal he held had been in steady decline the moment he took his seat next to you at the bar.

He looked more scared of you than anything—fumbling his words and constantly having to push up his glasses as they slid down the bridge of his sweaty nose. You did what you could to help him relax, coaxing him into the conversation, asking all of those tedious first date questions.

And every single one, he answered with nothing but curt, clipped responses. Making no attempt whatsoever to follow up or ask you literally one single thing about yourself.

Then you made the fatal mistake of asking about work, and suddenly longed for the wall of silence. As soon as he got the chance, he launched into a long and droning explanation of his research on the behavior of crickets.

Acheta Domesticus, not that you asked. And he didn’t so much as smirk at your gesundheit joke.

You might have called it quits entirely by now…if it wasn’t for the guy at the end of the bar.

He had arrived not fifteen minutes after your date did, and slid smoothly onto a stool directly in your eyeline. Which was good, considering you would have snapped your neck trying to get a look at him otherwise.

In a word, he was beautiful. 

Slightly older, with long dark hair that was wavy and ruffled. A short and scruffy beard that only further accentuated the hard line of his jaw where it met the thick, muscular column of his neck.

He was quite literally littered with accessories—a silver hoop that glinted in his nose, leather cuff and chains on his wrists, chunky rings on his fingers that rapped rhythmically on the bar.

Then there were the more permanent accessories in the form of black ink tattoos that covered both his arms and scrawled upwards to peek out from underneath the collar of his t-shirt. A mix of all different styles and designs, ranging in quality from the kitchen scratcher bats on his elbow to the larger and more artful pieces clearly woven in later to complete the tapestry.

You’d certainly never seen him here before, and that was sort of a feat for this place.

West End was one of your favorite places for this sort of date. It was close enough to your place to be convenient, yet far enough that there was no chance of a guy trying to invite himself over to “use the bathroom” or “wait for an Uber” or whatever other excuses they dredged up.

It was actually two businesses in one, sharing the same name, running out of opposite sides of the same building. Causing only mild confusion.

To one side was a wine bar with cozy seating nooks furnished with plush loveseats, sofas and overstuffed armchairs, all a mishmash of vintage styles from thrift shops and flea markets.

But the other side was all modern and industrial—a billiards hall with high ceilings, exposed brick walls, and a large, glossy horseshoe bar that surveyed the tables from the center.

You tended to frequent the wine bar with your roommate Robin whenever you found yourselves in need of a moody atmosphere and some low, soft lighting, your evening scored by the crackle of some great vinyl record. But the other side was better for dates because it automatically gave you the out of an activity in case you found the conversation lacking.

And boy was it lacking tonight.

He regarded the pool tables more like they were live alligators and quickly dismissed your offer to play before launching right back into his overly-detailed explanation of the differences in the eating habits of crickets and grasshoppers. You sighed, no longer attempting to disguise your boredom as you propped your elbow on the bar and rested your chin on your hand.

It wasn’t just that his research was boring—though it was. Really, the problem was all of his technical explanations were so dry and devoid of any emotion that it made you wonder if he even enjoyed it. You had more stimulating interactions with the bartender, for crying out loud.

He was new to you too, but he moved behind the bar with such ease it seemed like he’d worked there for years. He’d introduced himself as Steve, a row of pearly white teeth winking at you as he flashed a smile you were sure had won him his fair share of superlatives in high-school. 

His look read more upscale mixologist, sporting a dark gray vest over a crisp white button down. Sleeves rolled up to show off his forearms that flexed with the pour of every drink, and the collar left open to reveal the glint of a gold chain resting on the soft down of his plentiful chest hair.

The hair on his head was shorter and lighter than the other man’s, but it was long enough to curl slightly around his ears and along the nape of his neck. The ends of it were kissed with caramel highlights that shone in the light when he flipped his head back or ran his large hands through the feathered locks whenever a piece fell forward into his bright hazel eyes.

Most importantly, he also seemed to be friends with your current fixation.

They had greeted each other jovially, hands meeting in a tight clasp over the bar before Steve grabbed a bottle of whiskey and started to pour without the other man even having to order. You watched with morbid fascination as those plush lips wrapped around the rim of his glass and his eyes fluttered closed as he took his first sip, the tattoo on his neck bobbing with the swallow. 

Jesus Christ on a cracker…

Suddenly, as though he could sense you watching, his eyes popped open and immediately locked on yours. You started at the sight of the deep brown, almost black, vortexes in the middle of his face, nearly choking on the sip you were taking of your own drink—an excellent Malbec Steve had recommended when you first arrived.

A rush of warmth exploded on your face and you looked away, doing your best to pretend like he hadn’t just caught you blatantly staring at him.

Or that you hadn’t felt that egregious burst of excitement when he did. Did he care that you were looking? Was he looking at you now?

Doesn’t matter, you reminded yourself, trying to return your attention to the man in front of you.

The one you had made an actual plan to come here and meet; the one who was…still talking.

The next bit of your date felt like it took an entire year. You mostly phoned it in, reluctant to admit defeat too quickly. But over and over again, you found your focus drifting either to the stranger at the end of the bar, or to the bartender. And often, those two went hand in hand.

Again, they were either very old friends or both of them were extremely friendly. They talked and joked back and forth in between Steve helping other customers, bouncing from end to end of the bar with ease, charming smile never faltering as he enchanted every person he served.

As for the other man, you’d caught his eye enough times by now that there was no mistaking he was watching you. Though, you suppose that meant he knew you were staring at him as well…

At the end of your first glass of wine, you excused yourself from the bar—needing a break from this guy’s droning voice more than anything.

He nodded, finally taking a sip of his beer he’d barely made any progress on he’d been so entrenched in his recent soliloquy.

The bathrooms at West End were towards the back, down a long hall that obscured them from view of the rest of the bar. It gave the impression of being in an alleyway with black beadboard paneling that came a little over halfway up the wall and an eclectic gallery of pictures.

There were two bathrooms side by side, just single-room stalls adorned with brass apartment numbers rather than gendered signs, and you slipped into the one with no light coming out from underneath the door. And maybe you took a little longer than you probably needed, milking your break for all it was worth. Not stalling, just…taking care of some things.

Things like touching up your lip gloss that needed no touching up since you hadn’t said more than two words in the past half hour. Or like pulling up Tinder on your phone and setting your location to the absolute minimum distance. You know…just on the off-chance someone in the immediate vicinity happened to also have the dating app installed.

No such luck, you found.

A bit more deflated than you had any right to be, you tucked your phone back into your bag and rolled your eyes at yourself as you reached for the doorknob. You didn’t look up until you were almost at the end of the hall and when you did, you found brown eyes looking back at you.

He was headed for the bathroom as you were coming back and he caught you at the start of the long, narrow hallway leading to them. Your eyes met his as you approached and you paused, already anticipating that awkward shuffle of both of you trying to get out of the other’s way.

There was no awkwardness, though. 

Heat pooled low in your belly as he held your gaze, and rather than breezing right by when you came to a stop, he stopped as well and leaned against the wall to let you pass. He was close enough now that you could see his hair was streaked with slivers of silver and more grays tinged the edges of his beard, particularly under his ears behind the hinge of his jaw.

Your shoulder just barely brushed his chest as you passed, eye contact holding until you were looking back at him over your shoulder as you returned to the bar.

He stood there, watching until you’d rounded the corner and were out of sight before he moved. Pulse thrumming, you slid into your seat with his cologne still in your nose, tickling your brain.

By the end of your second glass of wine, you were more than ready to go. Frowning as you took your last sip, you gave Steve a regretful shake of your head when he asked if you wanted another.

And beside you, Dale just requested your checks as he pushed away his beer.

You didn’t bother with feeling annoyed he hadn’t offered to get even one of your drinks. To be fair, you had not been remotely good company as it was, and especially not once the guy at the far end of the bar decided to call it a night.

Your heart sank just a little as you watched him stand and pull on a creased and faded leather jacket. He then headed for the door, his eyes locking with yours one last time as he went.

Beside you, your date cleared his throat loudly to get your attention and your head jerked up as you realized Steve had placed your receipt in front of you to sign. If Dale—wait, was it Dale or Dave?—noticed your fixation, he was too polite (or too chicken) to mention anything about it.

Tabs closed and coats thrown back on, you followed Dale (Drew? Dirk?) outside. The wintry air cut through your tights and you hugged your coat a little tighter around you.

“So, which way are you headed?” you asked, rushing out the words before he could ask the same thing and float the idea of sharing a ride.

“Uptown?” he replied.

“Ahh, I’m the other way.”

A derisive snort made your head whip sideways and your eyes darted to the source, landing first on the glowing orange dot of a cigarette and then on the plush pink lips wrapped around the filter at the other end. The snide comment locked and loaded on your tongue abruptly stalled.

It was him.

He leaned against the brick facade, foot kicked up behind him, watching your whole interaction. It made your cheeks burn with indignation, but the hungry look in his dark eyes made your entire lower half throb. His lips curved like the blade of a knife into a smirk as he stubbed his cigarette out on the wall and dropped it in a planter filled with sand next to him. You stared at him, your mind sort of blank, and his eyes remained fixed on yours as he strode back inside the bar.

“Okay, well…I guess I’m gonna go,” Dale sighed, a little petulantly.

You brought your eyes back to him and plastered on your most professional smile, shaking his hand formally like this was the end of an interview for a job he was never gonna get.

“Sounds good,” you said. “Nice to meet you.”

He frowned as he turned away, but you felt relatively certain you’d navigated that fine.

Surely he hadn’t felt the date warranted any other sort of follow-up or lie about doing it again—you certainly hadn’t been on your A-game. And you shuddered to think that was his.

Once he’d gotten in his Uber, alone, and you had assured him the one you had yet to call was on its way, you tugged your phone out of your coat pocket and checked the time.

Right now, you had two choices. It was still early enough that Robin could probably come pick you up with minimal begging required.

Maybe you two could get fries and milkshakes and watch some garbage reality tv before falling asleep in a little cuddle pile on the couch.

It was the reasonable option.

The logical, safe choice.

But all your dates lately had been so painfully reasonable and logical and safe. There had been no horror stories to regale Robin with at Sunday brunch, nor any explosive sexual exploit the two of you could squeal and giggle over while curled up on your overstuffed sofa.

It was downright boring. And you were growing pretty weary of it.

You glanced down one more time at your phone, still thinking. Your thumb hovered over Robin’s contact info, needing only a single tap to dial, while your index rested on the lock button.

With a subtle flex of your hand, you clicked the screen off and headed back into the bar.

One more drink couldn’t hurt…right?

“Back so soon?”

Steve was already smiling smugly at you as you approached, his eyebrow cocked as you slid back into your original seat and returned his smile with one of your own.

“I decided I couldn’t live without another glass of that Malbec,” you sighed dreamily. 

He nodded, amusement still tugging at his lips as he uncorked the bottle you’d been steadily draining all night and took down a clean glass from one of the wire racks suspended overhead. You pulled your card from your bag and held it out for him to reopen your tab, but Steve waved it off as he placed down the newly filled glass in front of you and slid it smoothly across the bar.

“It’s taken care of, honey,” he said.

“Oh, really?” you chuckled. “By who?”

Steve smirked at your incredulous tone, his muscled forearms flexing as he leaned on them.

You leaned forward as well, crossing your arms under your chest, knowing how nicely it propped up your cleavage. It made the bartender’s eyes flash as he lowered his voice to a leading hum.

“The dirtbag at the end of the bar.”

He nodded his head backwards, making those caramel-kissed locks of his flop across his brow. Your gaze followed Steve’s nod, landing on the wild head of hair and all-consuming brown eyes you’d been distracted by all night. The “dirtbag” in question was staring straight back at you, the corner of his mouth curled as he raised his rocks glass of brown liquor and tipped it to you.

“Is he really a dirtbag?” you asked him, your eyes never dropping the stranger’s gaze.

“Nah,” Steve shook his head. “Just looks like one.”

“Good to know.” 

You hummed to yourself, feeling almost a little cocky as you brought your glass to your lips and took an excruciatingly slow sip. The eyes of the man across the bar watched you intently, a fire burning in them that ignited your very being.

As Steve moved on to another customer, you pulled your eyes from those of the handsome stranger and let them fall briefly to the empty stool beside you. It was about as bold as you were willing to be at the time, but it did the trick. He promptly swiveled in his seat to slide off it and you smirked to yourself as you looked down, pretending to be fascinated by the garnet liquid swirling in your glass as he came around the bar.

“That’s a great Malbec,” he said.

God, his voice.

It made your cheeks (among other things) tingle, smooth and smoky as the whiskey in his glass you could smell as he placed it down beside your wine. The scent of it mixed with his cologne that was dangerously close to becoming your new favorite aroma—something woodsy and heady with a tinge of lightness like a salty sea breeze.

“It is,” you agreed, brow arching as he took the seat beside you. “You’ve had it before?”

“Nah,” he smirked. “You made it look so good, I had Stevie give me a taste. I told him to put your next one on me.”

Both of your brows raised at that. “And how’d you know I was coming back?”

“I didn’t,” he said, taking a cheeky sip of his drink. “I just hoped.”

You felt a smile burgeoning on your lips and pulled your bottom one back with your teeth trying, unsuccessfully, to fight it. He watched it spreading, the tip of his tongue running over the edges of his teeth as he offered you his hand.

You slid your own into his, feeling the exquisite pressure of chunky silver rings pressing on your fingers as he gave them a gentle squeeze.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m Eddie.”

“Nice to meet you, Eddie,” you purred right back, offering him your name after a beat.

He repeated it once, all low and rumbly, taking his time with the sound of it in his mouth like it was a piece of chocolate melting on his tongue. Holding your hand a bit longer than necessary.

“So I’m assuming Desperate Dan out there wasn’t your boyfriend?” Eddie asked, chuckling into his next sip. The sound of it spiraled down your back, electrifying your spine.

“Nope,” you sighed heavily. “Just another drop in the Tinder bucket.”

Eddie’s dark eyes gleamed with something like mischief and he made a tsking sound with his tongue. “Well, if that’s the case, I sincerely apologize, sweetheart.”

“Oh, yeah?” You smiled at him. “What for?”

His eyes flickered again, this time taking a long moment to do a sweep up and down your body. Landing on your knees in your tights, flitting back up to your face as she shook his head.

“If someone like you has had to resort to dating apps…we’ve clearly failed as a gender.”

You actually shivered at the words, forcing your shoulders still not to show it as you propped your elbow on the bar and swiped the tips of your nails across your chin and along your jaw to play with your earring. Deepening your voice to a sultry murmur he had to lean in close to hear.

“No argument there.”

You rushed into the bathroom, flapping both your hands back and forth to fan your face and then under your arms. Safely hidden behind the door, your air of detachment could fall away and you could finally let out all the patently un-cool reactions you had been fighting the last hour.

With trembling hands, you pulled your phone out of your bag and fired off a text to Robin.

hey, I’m gonna share my location with you the rest of the night.

wait WHAT? Losera Annoyingus is getting a bang pass?

no he left…

…about an hour ago.

A blue bubble with three blinking dots immediately popped up on the thread and you imagined Robin’s thumbs actually smoking she was typing so furiously fast. But she must decide to abandon her message, because within a split second, a picture of you and her with your faces smushed together came up on the screen as she called you instead.

“Hey,” you whispered, praying your voice didn’t echo too much off the tiled walls.

“Explain,” she demanded. “Now.”

The excitement in her voice only increases your own, your cheeks still impossibly hot as you stand over the sink and fan yourself some more before another layer of sweat can form on your face.

“It’s this guy I met at the bar. He was like, making eyes at me while I was on my date and we started talking after and I just—I don’t know for sure, but it feels like he’s gonna take me home.”

“Is he hot?”

“Yes,” you breathed out a heavy, lustful sigh. “He’s so hot I wanna rip his appendix out.”

“Holy shit,” Robin whistled. “What’s he look like?”

“He’s…I don’t know,” you laughed. “He kind of looks like a Harley that came to life.”

“Alright then, you better go ride him.”

Robin’s snorted laugh makes you cover your own face with your palm. It’s searing hot now, your blood pumping furiously beneath the surface of your skin.

“Well, I have to get back out there to make that happen.”

“Go, go, go—have fun, use protection! Wait, hang on, not in that order!”

You laughed at her warning coming through faintly over the receiver as you mashed the button to end your call. With one last steadying breath, you leaned on the sink and nodded decisively.

“Okay,” you exhaled. “Let’s do this.”

Sage and sea salt filled your nose as you yanked the door open and nearly ran straight into the source of the scent. Eddie leaned against the wall across from the bathroom doors, shoulders shifting subtly as he twisted one of the large rings on his fingers. 

You stood face to face now, hands hovering at your sides as you edged into the hallway.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, tucking his chin to his chest as he looked up at you from under long lashes. “Someone’s in the other one.”

You glanced suspiciously at the second bathroom door, seeing no light coming from underneath it. Eddie winced, still smirking adorably as you turned the knob and pushed it open to reveal it was empty on the other side. He chuckled, holding up his hands in a mock surrender.

“Fine,” he sighed. “You caught me.”

“Thought I was making a break for it?” you asked, pulling the door shut. Eddie’s tongue pushed against the inside of his cheek, his eyes roving over you slowly.

“I’d hate to think I scared you off,” he said as he kicked off the wall to stand up straight.

You crossed your arms under your chest, giving him a smile. “I don’t scare so easy.”

He nodded at that, his eyes still taking you in, scanning you like he was reading invisible stats. They lingered a few places you expected, like the curve of your hips and the swell of your chest. But then they landed on other things too, things you weren’t used to people noticing. 

Things like your shoulders, or your calves in your boots, even your fucking ears.

“So…everything alright?” he asked, his voice lowering as he took a step closer.

“Yeah, I was just letting my roommate know I might be gone a while.” You held up your phone and tucked it back inside your bag with another coy smile. He chuckled.

“A while, huh?” Step.

“Yeah, you know...it’s pretty late.” Step. “Might be tough to get an Uber.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Eddie shrugged. “I live close.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You were nose to nose now, barely a whisper of space between you, the air thick with the heat radiating off your bodies in the narrow space.

The well worn leather of his jacket sleeve creaked softly as his hand came up to rest on the wall, caging you in with his arm.

“How close?” you asked, breath shuddering as you leaned on the door for support.

“Up the street,” he sighed. “But it’s still too far.”

His warm breath ghosted over your lips as they parted, the smell of the liquor coating his tongue making you feel woozy. Or maybe that was just the effect he was having on you.

He was so close now you could hear the bristly sound his beard made as he scratched at it with blunt fingertips. He’d barely inhaled to ask if he could kiss you when you surged forward to press your lips to his—the roughness of his beard on your chin a welcome abrasion.

Scratching the itch that’s plagued you all night.

It’s a hungry, lawless sort of kiss. Quick and clashing and difficult to tell if it’s actually mean or not—like two dogs play-fighting, both trying to see how much they can get away with before light snarls and soft snaps of their jaws turn to whimpers and whines.

Eddie parried with you for control, his tongue darting in and out of your mouth as he plied you with teasing, playful kisses you fought to deepen, tugging at his shirt. He pushed off the wall and reached down to grab your wrists, pinning them over your head to keep them in place.

The thrill of him trying to restrain you only made you unravel further, straining impatiently against his grasp. Breathless, you stretched out your neck and pushed your face past all his hair to place your lips beside his ear and pant into it.

“Can we go back to—”

“You wanna come back to—”

The both of you chuckled and exhaled with relief as your words and his overlapped, and you felt a sudden rush between your legs from the way Eddie’s eyes blazed with intention.

He released his hold on your wrists and your arms fell limp at your sides. In an instant, he had your hand wrapped tightly in his and was pulling you along as he angled towards the exit.

As you hurried after him out of the hallway and across the bar, you distantly registered music playing, picking out the chugging guitar and bass riffs of some 80s dance song. From behind the bar, Steve caught Eddie’s eye and you saw him offer his friend a two finger salute as the two of you burst through the door, your departure narrated by Paul Stanley’s deep, silky croon.

And tonight, I want to lay at your feet. Cause girl, I was made for you, And girl, you were made for me…

Eddie wasn’t kidding about living close.

Your boots clacked on the sidewalk as he ushered you along under his arm, the quick pace of your walk driven both by the chill in the air and the desire to resume what you started at the bar.

“This is me,” he said, indicating a four-story brick building just a block away from West End.

His place was on the top floor. It was a large studio with high ceilings and many features similar to the bar you’d just left. Half of the space was raised like a platform with a steel wire railing running along the edge. He had his bed up there and what looked like an office, but he’d created a divider of sorts with cube shelves filled with sweats, hoodies and t-shirts.

Promptly, you recalled him telling you he owned a company that designed and distributed merch for independent artists, and how he was constantly receiving samples from suppliers.

The kitchen was simple, sleek cabinetry and stainless steel appliances without a single smudge. A massive butcher’s block with a wooden top and wire racks underneath serving as an island. And a steel rack hanging down from overhead laden with cast iron cookware.

You took a few more careful steps inside, chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath from being kissed stupid in the elevator while Eddie flipped some switches that illuminated the space with recessed lighting. Large black-paned windows revealed a view of the city and the night sky outside, some amber light from the street filtering in and casting across the oak floors.

In his living area was a massive brown leather sectional with extra-deep cushions and a chaise at both ends. It faced a plain wall with a screen you assumed went with the projector hanging down from one of the exposed beams overhead.

Every inch of your skin crackled with excitement as he came up behind you and reached around to grip the lapels of your coat and help you out of it, letting his fingertips skim your bare arms as he did. It made you shiver in spite of the warm air you could feel pumping out of the vents.

He hung up your coat next to his on a hook by the front door and you turned to face him as he sauntered back over. His gait was relaxed and casual, like he had all the time in the world. 

Like he wasn’t driving you up the wall with every second you went without his mouth on yours.

“Did you want another drink?”

He gestured in the direction of a liquor cabinet, glass shelves lined with a modest array of wines and spirits, but you shook your head at the offer.

“Not particularly,” you said with a coy grin.

Reaching out and hooking a finger in his belt loop, you whirled yourself into him and slotted your mouth against his, licking into it to taste the smoky remnants of whisky there. He breathed into it deeply, his broad chest expanding with it and chuckling when he felt your hands on his belt.

“Easy there, tiger,” he teased, your lips breaking apart and taking hold of your wrists to still their efforts. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”

“Hopefully the kind that knows how to fuck.”

You smirked, the tip of your tongue flicking out between your teeth as your face veered in again. Your hips pressed with his and you began to sway back and forth, gently grinding them on him, resuming the dance you’d begun. His face came close, his hands settling on your waist.

“C’mon, honey,” he drawled. “Haven’t you heard good things come to those who wait?”

His lips trailed along the column of your neck, sending a riot of shivers down your spine causing you to release a breathy sigh.

“Sorry, what? All I heard was come.”

Eddie chuckled at that and his breath rushed across your neck as he smiled into your jugular.

“You’re funny,” he sighed. “We’ll see how funny you are when I get done with you.”

It was a miracle your knees didn’t buckle on the spot. Your eyes rolled back in your head, almost seeing the inside of your skull as his hand came up and he placed it around your throat.

“You want this?” he asked, his tone cool and precise, his eyes wandering across your face.

“Yes,” you gasped, all desperate and panting now you were so eager for him to start.

His thumb and middle finger pressed the sides of your throat, slowing the flow of blood just enough to make your head go fuzzy and your body to go just barely limp in his arms. 

“Yes, what?” he growled. You drew a shuddering breath, unrestricted by his expert hold.

“Yes, I want this,” you answered. “I want you.”

Eddie took his time undressing you, softly kissing the new expanse of skin he unveiled with the removal of each piece of clothing.

He nipped lightly at your collar bones as he shed your blouse, canines catching briefly on the chain around your neck. He dragged his lips torturously slow over your stomach as he undid your skirt and it fell to the floor with a soft plop. His breath rush across your thigh as he kneeled to drag down the zippers of your boots, kissing your inseam though your tights all the way down to your ankles.

Every second was a kind of exquisite torture. Your heart hammered behind your ribs, the bones almost rattling with the force of it. And as much as you were dying to grab him by the back of the head and take over, you let yourself slip steadily under the spell of his affections.

You believed what he seemed to be whispering with his eyes in between every indelible kiss he dropped to your buzzing skin. He had you. He would take care of you. You could trust him.

And once you were totally bare in front of him, he held out his hand for you to take and he spun you in a slow circle like a ballerina in a music box, his eyes feasting on every inch of you.

If it was anyone else, you might have shied away. You might have felt some level of shame or concern about being stark naked in front of him while he was still fully clothed. You might have worried he would see something he didn’t like, some flaw or defect you preferred hidden. But the look on his face was nothing short of rapturous.

He walked you over to the couch and kissed you deeply as he removed his clothes. Showing not an ounce of the kind of care and consideration for his own as he did for yours, he stripped them off hastily and discarded them, tossing them away like they were garbage.

Your naked bodies came together in a full press, his arms curling around your form and his hands stroking your skin like he was trying to make sure not a single part of it went untouched.

At last, he sank down onto the sofa and his knees spread apart, his hard cock standing stiff and ready for you. He took your hands in his like he was going to pull you forward onto his lap, but you dropped to your knees instead, tucking your feet under your ass.

You looked up at him expectantly, your eyes darting between his face and his cock, the corners of your mouth curling upwards in a smile as your brows raised with a silent question.

“You sure?” he asked, circling his base with his thumb and forefinger to give a gentle squeeze. “I can take care of you, you know? Fuckin’ love to.”

“Don’t worry,” you said cooly, lashes fluttering as you scooted closer. “You will.”

You placed your hands on his knees and pushed them further apart so you could lean forward to kiss up the inside of his leg. Trying to give him a taste of his own slow, teasing medicine, you worked your way all the way up to the crease of his thigh and turned your head inward.

Eddie’s breath stuttered as your lips met his shaft, poking your tongue out to run it up the length. His head tipped to the side, his ear touching his shoulder to get a better view of you licking at him, halting grunts and gasps tumbling past his lips as yours puckered to kiss it more.

When you were satisfied you’d gotten him sufficiently worked up, you reached out and wrapped your hands around him fully, your fists stacked and twisting gently.

You stroked him off slow and even, your hands squeezing tight around his shaft, mixing your spit and the beginning of his spend that leaked from his tip. He watched you reverently, eyes hooded as he enjoyed your show. And looking up at him, a gooey sort of warmth filled your entire body.

You felt yourself slipping further into that sort of headspace you craved—all pliant and willing, your knees digging into his plush area rug as your legs tingled with numbness.

Your heart raced as you imagined giving yourself up to him completely. 

Letting him take whatever he wanted from you.

As though he sensed it, as though he could read the desperation in your eyes, he cradled your jaw in his large hand and dotingly stroked the side of your face as he tilted his head at you.

“What is it, baby?” he cooed encouragingly. “What do you want? You can tell me.”

“Want you to use me,” you pleaded, fingers still sliding around him. “Use my mouth.”

Eddie gazed at you where you kneeled in front of him, your eyes having gone all big and round and glassy, shining with the tears you were dying for him to make spill down your cheeks.

Begging for it.

“Of course, baby, of course,” he sighed, gripping your chin and swooping in to kiss you deeply.

His firm hold gave you permission to go limp and you let your hands fall from his cock to rest on his muscled thighs, palms coasting over his tattoos and sparse leg hair. He pulled back, keeping your chin grasped in his fingers, holding your face still as he instructed you.

“You slap me three times in a row if you want to stop, okay?” he ordered in a husky rasp. “Do it for me now, so I know you can.”

You obeyed instantly, delivering three strikes to his thigh. His lips curled in a devilish grin. 

“That’s it, just like that,” he hummed in approval. “What a smart girl you are, huh?”

The praise rippled down your back, his words making you tingle all over, much like your calves that were starting to go numb from sitting back on them. He reached around the back of your neck, gently guiding you into position so his cock was pointed directly at your lips. 

His large hands nearly covered your entire head, holding it in his firm grasp, his fingertips digging into your scalp and causing even more shivers. Eyes locked with his, you let your mouth hang open and your tongue loll out fully, reaching almost all the way to your chin. 

Eddie moaned loudly, mesmerized by the pool of spit you’d let collect in your mouth and the way it dribbled past your lips, running down your tongue and dripping onto your chest.

“Fuuuuck,” he chuckled low and rough, touching just the tip of his dick to your wet tongue. “You really want me dead, huh?”

Your eyes danced as you nodded, the motion causing your tongue to brush against his sensitive slit and spread his precum across the flat of it. A sharp gasp punched from his chest, not ready for the sensation, and his whole body shuddered with need. His eyes blazed and his nostrils flared as he gripped tighter around the back of your head and thrust fully into your mouth.

Lewd sounds filled the room as he pushed his cock past your lips, your mouth flooded with spit that poured out of you and pooled in the wiry thatch of hair at the base of his cock. You felt your body going lax and floppy as you gave yourself over to him, letting him hold your head up as you melted into little more than a puddle.

“That’s it, baby. Just let go, let me take what I need,” he drawled in that smoky voice, beginning a gentle thrust of his hips that pushed him deeper still into your mouth. “You’re doing so well…”

The salty tang of him covered your tongue as your jaw slackened to accommodate more of him, the sounds you were making coming out garbled.

“Christ, you sound so fucking sweet choking on my cock” he groaned. “What a good slut you are, huh? Giving me this mouth, letting me ruin it?”

You gagged loudly as his cock pushed in further until his tip met the back of your throat. He held the back of your head and your nose was nuzzling against the hair at his base, breathing in his thick and heady musk. Far earthier than his cologne, this was a smell that could only be him.

His eyes flitted to your hand clutching at him, your nails digging into the meat of his thigh.

But you made no move to tap out. Another tight spasm of your throat had him throwing his head back, his eyes pinching shut and his lips falling open in a desperate gasp.

“Shit, that feels so good,” he whined softly, his domineering mask slipping ever so slightly—the broken sound only making you go more feral.

Bracing yourself on his thighs, you began to push your head down to meet his thrusts, fucking your own face with his cock so hard that his grip on the back of your head was extraneous.

“Okay, okay—okay,” he grunted, chest heaving as he pulled you off him before he could blow.

His fingers held fast in your hair, squeezing it at the roots. You drew in air in great heaving breaths, panting from the effort, your tongue still hanging out of your mouth and head bobbing as you tried to chase the cock he had to drag you off of.

“You’re a greedy fucking girl, aren’t you, baby?” he chuckled, yanking your head back sharply so you were staring at the ceiling, eyes straining to look at him over the curves of your cheeks.

“Yes, sir,” you gasped back, chest still heaving.

“You want my cum that bad?” he teased lowly, pushing his face against yours and smearing the wetness of your tears across your cheeks.

“Yes, please,” you whined pitifully. “I need it.”

“Oh, you’ll get it,” he assured you, reaching down with his free hand to rub between your legs. “But only if it goes in this needy little pussy.”

Your entire body writhed as his fingers toyed with your swollen clit and dripping folds, scalp stinging where he gripped your hair with his other hand.

A pleasurable wail burst out of you as his thick fingers thrust inside your warm, wet hole and started to scissor relentlessly.

“YES, fuck—come in me. Please, please…”

More tears spilled freely down your cheeks as you begged him, drip, drip, dripping off your chin and onto your heaving chest, rolling down your naked body, leaving wet trails in their wake.

Eddie had to fight the urge to lick your clavicle. 

He hauled you up onto his lap, scooting down so he could plant his feet properly on the floor. Your knees sank into the worn leather of his cushions on either side of his hips and you used all what little strength you had left to reach down and align yourself with him.

“Don’t you hold back—haah—alright?” he said, hissing softly as you sank down on his length. “I want that fucking loser from Tinder to be able to hear you from here. Understand?”

You nodded, hips beginning to slide back and forth, relishing the way his thick cock prodded at your insides and stoked your desire. Eddie let you keep control for a moment, his hands squeezing at the softness of your stomach, molding it with them. He watched you raptly, mesmerized by the undulations of your body, the way you let it writhe and rock and squirm on him until he thought you might come solely from your own movements.

A loud, exhilirated moan burst out of you as he suddenly thrust his hips upwards, eyes rolling to the back of your head as he slammed into your g-spot on the first fucking stroke—as if he could see straight through your flesh to aim for it.

The room filled with sounds even more lewd than before—the wet clap of his thighs with your ass cheeks, his balls slapping your soaking pussy, your mound squishing into his pelvis.

Eddie threw his head back, overwhelmed by the sight of every part of you bouncing so prettily on him. And as he exposed his neck, everything in the room went hazy except that thick, taught, muscled column. Sending you feeling.

You clawed at it desperately and drew hot, red streaks down it with your nails that trailed all the way to the middle of his tattooed chest.

“That’s it, baby,” he groaned. “Mark me up. Show everybody who owns me—”

He slid his hands back to grip your ass, spreading the fleshy globes wide and stretching your holes further open as he continued to slam his length inside you. He let one side go and delivered a single stinging slap that reverberated throughout your whole body. 

The burn made you keen, arching your back until your chest was flush with his. He reached up to grip the back of your neck, taking your earlobe between his teeth and raking them over it.

“Now that that mouth is free, I wanna hear how good you feel,” he growled.

And if you thought you were loud before, it was nothing compared to now. The combination of his words and the perfect pace being set by his cock sent you instantly toppling over the edge, with Eddie’s own release following right behind.

In that moment, you vowed to send a fruit basket to every single one of his neighbors—an apology for making them think that a woman was getting murdered in the middle of the night two or three stories above their heads. The orgasm he brings you to makes you scream, practically sobbing as you cry out in immeasurable relief while searing hot pleasure ravages your entire body. 

It’s an ascent you’ve never dreamed of reaching the peak of, the feeling spreading to the tips of every extremity, filling you with fire. It feels so good, it almost makes you sad to know you might never feel like this again. And if your brain hadn’t already turned to mush, you might have cared.

As you dwindled down from your high, you slumped forward limp and spent—your body still rippling with the effects, Eddie’s arms coming up to hold you against him as he peppered your shoulder with soft, sweet kisses.

“That’s it,” he breathed out in your ear. “That’s it, baby, just feel it…such a good girl f’me…”

He ran his fingers slowly up and down the column of your spine, creating waves of shivers waiting for your trembling to subside.

His length grew soft inside of you, but he made no move to slide you from his lap or to rush you in the slightest. He let you cling on to him, your face buried in his sweaty neck, his long hair tickling your face, losing yourself in his touch.

Slowly, your breathing grew deep and even, your racing heart slowing in your chest. Eddie turned his head and spoke to you quietly with his warm breath fanning across your cheek.

“You ready to move?” he asked.

You gave a weak nod.

Wobbling on unsteady legs, you stood and his hands quickly moved to the curve of your waist to keep you steady. He took you to the bathroom which looked more like it belonged in a spa than someone’s house, sitting you on the toilet.

From a hook hanging on the back of the door, he produced two bright white waffle weave robes, offering one to you. And as you wrapped the soft material around your shoulders, he turned on one of the faucets and held his fingers underneath it to test the temperature.

Once he’d deemed it warm enough, he took a fluffy washcloth from a little pyramid of them that were rolled up next to the sink basin. He held it under the stream, saturating the cloth and then giving it a gentle twist. You watched his hands every step of the way, mesmerized by the way his veins bulged under his skin and the muscles in his arms flexed as he wrung out the excess water.

He rubbed the warm cloth gently across your face, wiping off the residue of tears and spit and cum and what little was left of your make-up until your bare face shone in the soft lighting. 

Once he had finished, he dropped the cloth into a hamper and cradled your face in his hands, his thumbs gliding easily over your slippery skin.

“So pretty,” he hummed, the words so soft you wondered if you were even meant to hear them.

From one of the drawers in the vanity, he brought out a pot of moisturizer and offered it to you with a smile. You frowned up at him, jutting out your bottom lip in a comical pout, not ready for him to stop taking care of you. It made him chuckle and a bemused smile spread across his lips as he tapped the tips of his fingers in the gel and started to smooth it over your cheeks.

“Come lay down with me?” he asked when he’d finished, head tilting back in the direction of the short set of stairs leading up to where his bed sat.

You nodded and he held out his hand to lead you out of the bathroom. You curled up on top of his dark duvet, your head sinking into the softness of his down pillow that held the faint scent of what you guessed was his tea tree oil shampoo.

The thick mattress dipped as he climbed onto it with you and draped a beige knit blanket over the both of you before he sidled up against your body.

It was…nice. More than nice. Shit, it was as close to perfect as you had felt in a long time.

The feel of his chest expanding and contracting against your back; his steady breath on the nape of your neck; the soft robe wrapped around your body and the comforting weight of the blanket on top of you. Not to mention Eddie’s arm curled securely around your waist. 

Your eyes felt heavy, like your eyelashes suddenly weighed a thousand pounds, and you drifted fully into sleep, succumbing to the relief that had washed over you not twenty feet away.

When you woke, it was still dark out. 

The street noise had lessened significantly and if you had to hazard a guess, it might have been close to one or two in the morning. Eddie’s place was darkened, lit only by orange street light that filtered through his windows and a half-dimmed reading light in the corner.

It was an arc lamp, suspended over a leather Eames chair where you could see that your coat and all of your previously discarded clothes were arranged in a neat little pile. But laid out at the foot of the bed right next to your feet were a pair of black fleece pants and hoodie, both about your size and emblazoned with the names of bands you didn’t recognize.

You sat up slowly, fingers hovering over the thick material as you debated. Were they for you? They looked a little big for Eddie, but maybe he had laid them out for himself? Was it a sign he was about to go to bed and you needed to get moving?

In the end, you slid out from underneath the blanket still draped over you and redressed in your clothes. After pulling your tights and skirt back on, stepping into your boots and zipping them up your calves, pulling your coat back on, you looked around the loft searching for Eddie.

From up here, you could see the bathroom door was open and the light was off…eliminating the only place he could actually be. And then your eyes fell on one of the windows that was cracked open with a short step-ladder built into the wall that had been pulled down in front of it.

You pulled your coat around you tighter the closer you got to the window and tentatively climbed the steps leading up to it. You pushed the large glass pane the rest of the way open and poked your head outside to find Eddie sitting on his terrace, resting with his back to the brick, head tipped back as he exhaled a cloud of smoke from his lips that drifted up towards the stars.

“Hey,” you said softly. His head turned at the sound and a wide smile spread across his lips.

“There she is,” he said in a gentle cheer.

You climbed through the window and a breeze carried the scent of the joint he was holding. You took a seat across from him, leaning back against the metal railing and letting your legs stretch out alongside his. He dropped his hand to rub your calf and he frowned at the realization you had redressed in your tights and boots. His brow furrowed adorably.

“Something wrong?” you asked.

He shook his head and took another drag of the joint before passing it into your waiting fingers.

“The clothes were for you,” he said. “Y’know, if you wanted something to sleep in.”

You paused, the joint just shy of touching your lips. “Like…if I was staying?”

“Would you stay?” he asked, a ribbon of smoke curling in the air as he exhaled.

Your mouth hung open, clouds of your hot breath escaping. “Oh, um…I mean, only if you—”

He cut you off with his lips, slipping his hand around the back of your neck and pulling you into a long kiss. Tiny embers scattered from the joint, being taken by the wind that blew and made the ends of Eddie’s long hair tickle the sides of your face. You pulled apart and he answered solidly.

“I want you to,” he said.

wasn't expecting this to be so long (that's what she said), but I hoped you liked it if you made it this far 🩷 love you, mean it!

[reyalvr]

RUMORS!

I KNOW YOU HEARD THE RUMORS, YOU MUST GET OVER TO IT RIGHT AWAY!

synopsis ┊ ken sato- a remarkable name in the world of modern baseball- has graced japan with not only his presence, but also his skills as a key player for the yomiuri giants. from press conferences to media endorsements, it’s clear that his stardom has only intensified from his recent move. but what happens when you, his personal assistant, are left to deal with some more… serious rumors?

genre ┊ chaotic fluff, oneshot

pairing ┊ ken sato x gn-PA!reader

warnings ┊ mild cursing, ami is not the reporter depicted!

word count ┊ 2.2k

author’s note ┊ hiya! i recently found time to watch ultraman: rising and this fic was just writing itself in my head hehe… happy reading! (p.s. yes… the title was inspired from the new minions song)

THREE MONTHS. That was how long you had known baseball’s darling, Ken Sato. And in those three months, you had undergone every single PR nightmare you had ever conjured up in your mind prior to pursuing your career. You had worked with celebrities before- doing God knows what ‘til the waking hour on their every beck and call. But Ken, despite presenting himself as a laid back man, was an entirely new… experience. 

From the Kaiju attack at his first game under the Giants, to the continuous streak of losses throughout the first half of the season, it seemed like the Gods were against you as you did your damndest to handle the damage control on his reputation. His ego didn’t aid you either- having to spin and twist multiple incidents to get reporters and media outlets off his back. You weren’t exactly sure what it was that kept you from quitting all in all, but the longer you worked under him, the thinner your thread seemed to snap. 

You huffed an annoyed sigh into the cold air, picking up the pace as you jogged along the designated path by the bay. Your days off were scarce- not because of Ken’s schedule, but because of your own decision to be up to date with his spontaneous actions. Despite the rarity of solitude, you always managed to savor your time off. The music played at a mellow volume in your ears, the morning sun starting to warm your surroundings as you watched its rays splash hues of orange across the sky. 

Your felt your watch beep against your skin, signaling the end of your morning run. Pausing by the railing, you leaned against the old metal bars as you checked your stats. You swiped absent-mindedly on the screen of your smartwatch, scrolling once you were sure that everything was in order. There was one thing that caught your eye, though, as you noticed the red notification bubbles on your message app were continuously going up. It was odd, yes, but not odd enough to be out of the ordinary- at least in your line of work. 

Deciding not to bombard yourself this early in the morning, you opted to give everything a once-over once you made it back to your apartment. Whatever it was could wait- you were on your time and your pace. Besides, it couldn’t be that bad. Could it now?

IT DEFINITELY COULD, AND IT DEFINITELY WAS. You pushed on the gas as hard as you could, your tongue poking into your cheek as you continued to drive to Ken’s house. Of all the days that he decided to make perhaps the stupidest decision in his career, he chose today. Doing your best not to see red, you dialed his phone once more. The ringing played throughout your car as you maneuvered through the roads, and you swore for what felt like the umpteenth time that morning when you heard the tone of his voice message. 

Hey, it’s Ken. Leave a message after the beep, and I’ll be more than happy to ignore it! Said his usual arrogant tone playing before the generic beep. You gripped the steering wheel harder, huffing angrily as you sharply turned a corner. 

“Kenji Sato answer your goddamn phone right now! I’m ten minutes away from your house and when I get there, I better not be greeted with your supposed secret love child!” You yelled, pushing the red button once you finished your message. 

Ah yes. The centerpoint of your current rage: Ken’s “leaked” one-on-one with a reporter about juggling baseball and his homelife. Someone on Ken’s staff had sent the article in your shared work group chat, and nearly all of his personnel had directly messaged you about the issue. It was inevitable for celebrities to get into a scandal once or twice, but one on this level would not be an easy fit to overcome. 

You don’t exactly remember what you were doing prior to receiving the messages- all you knew was that you needed to get to Ken as soon as possible. Of course it just be a misunderstanding, hell it could even be a hoax! But knowing Kenji, anything could be possible. You neared the hill of his private property, driving past the gates as the security recognized your car.

You parked haphazardly at the front of his house, your feet stomping into the gravel as you made your way to his front door. His estate had numerous smart tech installed throughout his home, so you knew that each and every one of your moves were either being recorded or observed. You crouched slightly to be in frame with the doorbell’s camera, your anger slightly toned down.

“Ken.” You paused to narrow your eyes. “Open the door.”

For the next minute and a half you swore you could hear some sort of clash and bang from inside the house. You kept your arms crossed, raising your eyebrow from time to time when the clashing seemed to grow louder. After what felt like an eternity, the front door opened slightly. Not all the way, but just enough for Ken to peek out and smile at you- albeit nervously cocky.

The nerve.

“Hey, [Y/N]! What uh- what are you doing here?” He manages to cough out, roughly combing a hand through his hair. “I thought it was your day o-”

“Save it.” You reply, your gaze sharp enough to slice through whatever excuse he had at the ready. You held up your phone then, the article’s headline prominently bolded:

OUT OF LEFT FIELD: Ken Sato Strikeout? Nope! Love Child Home Run!

Ken’s head bent down to get a good look at what you were showing him, and you watched carefully as his eyes scanned over the article not once, but thrice. You let out an impatient hum, your mouth forming into a slight scowl as the both of you stood in silence. With your head tilted to the side, you dropped your hand back down and crossed your arms. 

“Are you just gonna stand there or are you going to start explaining to me what the hell you’ve been up to these past twenty-four hours?” You question, moving past him as you enter the house. 

Usually you would wait for Ken to let you in, but stalling would only hinder you from coming up with what to do next. The article had already been up for two hours, and you halted any statements from being made before you could get an explanation from Ken himself. He quickly tailed after you, nearly stumbling over himself as you stopped at his kitchen. You gripped the marble countertop, closing your eyes momentarily before you turned to face him once more. 

“[Y/N] I swear, it’s not as bad as you think it is,” Ken says as he tries to add reassurance to his tone, but it doesn't mask the lingering tinge of falsehood.

“Oh, really?” You say, your eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Because in the span of two hours I have had thirty news outlets blowing up my- your management team for a response!”

He opens his mouth to speak, but stops again midway when you continue. “The headline I showed you was local. I want you to tell me exactly how and why you were on the phone with a reporter talking about your private life at God knows what hour. Now.”

You can see him swallow, licking his lips after as he tries to form the right words. He blinks a bit before pinching the bridge of his nose, tilting his head up as he lets out a deep sigh. When he opens his eyes he’s still greeted with your restive stance. Still he remains slightly hesitant, but he does end up recalling the remnants of his conversation with a reporter he had met at one of the parties he attended. Ken goes on to explain that he had only seeked out advice. His schedule, his personal life- he needed an outlet. You can feel yourself slowly untense, though you continued to listen to make sure all your facts were straight.

When he finishes his retelling, he puts his hands up slightly- as if he were trying to put you at ease. “I swear, that’s all I said. I thought,” He pauses, his brows furrowing in a way that made you slightly mad at yourself from blowing up at him. “I just thought I could have a normal conversation for once. ‘Guess I was wrong.”

The warm lights cast a sombre shadow on his features, and from this angle you notice the worn out expression painted on his face. The bags under his eyes are darker than usual, not to mention the fading bruises from his latest altercation with one of players from his opposing team. In front of you was not Ken Sato, this was Kenji; Simply a man who was thrust into a new life without the needed support. 

“Well, no shit.” You say, finally breaking the silence, you fix your posture against the counter as you tone down the anger in your voice. “Jesus Ken, sometimes I wonder how you were able to maintain your career before me.”

At that he lets out a soft laugh, his dull expression slowly fading. “Yeah, I do too.”

You give him a puzzled look before you reply. “Are you mocking me?”

“No! No, I was being serious.” He says, his smile dropping slightly. “I know I haven’t been an easy task, hell you’re here on your day off for Christ’s sake.” 

You hum at his words, narrowing your eyes slightly as you push yourself off the counter with another awkward cough. In all ninety days of working under Ken Sato, never has the man gotten this sentimental with you. You decide not to linger on his words, your attention going back to the problem at hand. 

“Right, well,” You sigh, whipping your phone out in the process. “I need you to give me the name of that reporter. I’ll get the legal team to draft an NDA breach.” 

He furrowed his eyebrows then, looking at you as if you’d said something odd. “I didn’t make him sign an NDA though?”

You only give him a smile, a hint of confidence plastered on your lips. “I know. I have my ways, Sato.”

“You’re a pretty good assistant, then.” He replies, the corners of his lips going up slightly as he keeps his arms crossed. 

“I’m an excellent assistant.” You correct without looking at him, your fingers tapping away at your phone as you prepare the next steps of your plan. 

Ken can only chuckle in agreement, tapping his fingers on his forearm as he awaits your next set of instructions. Within the next twenty minutes you’ve sent out the necessary details to your team, your legs kicking as you sit on one of his bar stools. He’s stood across from you, leaning on the countertop looking at you intently as you explain the response plan. 

“And lastly,” You say, sliding out your hand. “Give me your phone.”

 His head tilts, the same confused expression on his face. “Why?”

“Just do it,” Your hand curls, motioning for him to hand his phone over. “No, I am not installing a monitor.” You add when you see his mouth open to interrogate you. 

He slides his phone over with a defeated huff, and you open a new contact page on his contacts. “If you need to talk, do it with someone who won’t leak your shit.” You say, sliding back his phone when all your details are settled.

“I have your number though, don’t I?” Ken questions, looking over at the number you inputted. 

“You had my work number. Now you have my personal phone.” You point your finger at him before continuing. “Don’t abuse it. I’m still your assistant.” “Wasn’t gonna, sweetheart.” He says, an amused smirk mixing in with his addled look. 

You quirk your eyebrow at the nickname. You shake your head, hopping off the stool as you make your way back to the front door. Ken follows behind you, hands in his pockets as he watches you leave. Before you can open the door though, you look back at him one last time. 

“I mean it, Ken.” You say, making sure it gets through his head. “You have a problem, tell me. You need a solution, you tell me.”

“I know, I know.” He gives you a tight-lipped smile, nodding towards the door. “Go enjoy the rest of your day off before I start thinking you care about me.”

“I do. It’s my job to care about you, Ken.” You reply, giving him a look before you open the door. “Whether you like it or not, I’m your lifeline. At least until you get rid of me, which won’t be happening for a good while.”

“Oh yeah?” He jests, his cocky demeanor slowly coming back. “‘You so sure about that?”

“Extremely sure.” You’re standing outside now, slowly walking backwards. “Twenty minutes ago people thought you had a secret love child and that you were a terrible father. Now you’re back on the face of KFC as baseball’s darling.” 

He’s taken aback. Was he actually booted off of his collaborations? He hastily checked his phone, scrolling through all his platforms. To his surprise, he was greeted with… his usual feeds. No sight of the article, no lingering gossip. His ads had doubled, his partnerships boosted on the products he had endorsed. He looked back up to say something, but you had already started your car. You backed out his estate, giving him a smile through the tinted glass of your windshield. 

He let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. You were right. But who was he kidding?

You always were.

[raezlove]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I finished it after 90 hours over the last week. I did all quests and side content available to me and was pretty thorough with notes and momentos. I was hooked from the start, definitely saw why the writing got criticized during the middle, and then was continually surprised by the end sequence.

For me this was a solid 7/10 game if looking at it from a linear story game rather than a branching rpg.

Thoughts below. Some spoilers.

Starting with some general categories then moving on to larger issues I had.

I’d say the majority of the voice actor performances were really good. There were moments throughout where they weren’t great but that was combined from the very cringe/generic writing. But when the characters needed the emotion for a moving scene, I felt it. Even characters I, at the time didn’t care for or were biased against, the voice actor’s performance made me hurt for them.

Companion cast had some gems as well as some underwhelming members. For me I was taken by Lucanis, Emmrich, Neve, and Davrin as characters. They still weren’t spared from poor lines throughout though. Bellara came around for me by the end as I had initially been biased hearing she was incredibly annoying but I also didn’t have her in my party very often for gameplay reasons. Taash and Harding I also rarely took out for gameplay reasons nor did they pull me in as companion characters.

Companion arc quest lines I enjoyed them all well enough but I liked Davrin and Harding’s the best for world and lore building,though I admit the actual quests for Harding felt lacking to me. The map locations also didn’t feel utilized as they were only ever seen those couple times. Bellara’s quest was also interesting for lore but other than the ending, which was not unexpected, felt mundane to me. Lucanis’s and Emmrich’s were decent arcs though they didn’t feel like anything groundbreaking, it just helped that I had already found their characters compelling. Neve’s was very underwhelming to me which was disappointing because I initially was quite intrigued by Neve. Taash’s was done as well as they could’ve with the direction they decided paired with their safe writing. I mean no disrespect for them wanting to include a gender queer story but something about this didn’t land. I saw someone else say it but the modern lingo in this fantasy setting made it seem out of place just for the sake of it. I don’t know how they could’ve implemented that aspect of Taash better but their writing and performance came across too stiff at times. ((This is not an issue of including lgbt characters, rather how they are written and if they are pushed to be defined solely by that one sole aspect of their identity))

Art design and world direction was never an issue for me even from the trailers (except for that first one where I thought I was watching a live service mobile trailer). I don’t mind brighter exaggerated designs or flashy colors. Nothing stood out but nothing was bad either, it was just an average design to me. As mentioned above though there were specific locations I felt were underutilized and sometimes felt included just to make the map seem bigger. I liked the character designs but outfit choices were definitely not my favorite and I wished they had an all black outfit for Rook but that’s just an irrelevant personal wish.

The callbacks to Inquisition were something I was incredibly curious to how they would handle and was looking forward to. For transparency, my original Inquisitor romanced Solas and refused to give up on him so I was holding out for my Solavellan heart to be fixed or at least something that dulled the ache. The Inquisitor appearances were about what I expected. Lavellan shows up a couple times, sends some letters, then shows up for the finale. I did get my Solavellan ending and while selfishly I wish it could’ve been more, I think it was adequate (though that kiss animation left something to be desired). It felt like an appropriate end for my Lavellan who was so sad and beaten down for so long after losing someone she loved with her entire being and after having the weight of so many people looking to her for guidance for the last decade when she never asked for the responsibility in the first place. She finally got to save her person and leave the world’s problems to someone else. As for Dorian, I’m not sure if he shows up/is mentioned more if you saved Minrathos but his appearances kind of felt unnecessary. I loved him in Inquisition but he didn’t feel properly utilized in the Minrathos story lines I saw. He could’ve just been a name in letters and he would’ve had the same impact.

Main Story was a trip. Overall I found it intriguing and compelling, though sometimes it dragged or some missions were boring. I enjoyed Ghilan’nain and Elgar’nan as villains though Ghilan’nain was more interesting with her molding the blight. Elgar’nan was compelling as a direct comparison to Solas with their pride and arrogance. Their dragons were cool though I really wondered how we were supposed to fight Elgar’nan’s dragon after seeing its size. The end solution did make my jaw drop but also made me chuckle after because I can’t imagine how else they would’ve had the player fight that. Again, I’m biased as I loved Solas as a character for all his complexities and flaws so I enjoyed any of his scenes and appearances. I especially enjoyed the story’s direction in terms of regrets and guilt. Prison sequence was a highlight to be sure. I will also say I really wasn’t expecting them to commit to main companion cast consequences at the end considering how safe they had played it to that point.

Gameplay was a welcome improvement to me over Inquisition. I played Inquisition for the first time about 3 years ago as a mage but I played it again in the last year as a rogue. Both times I played on easy difficulty because I found combat such a nuisance. I am biased as I prefer combat systems more in the realm of Witcher 3 and Breath of the Wild so this fit in with that if a bit busier. I played my Rook as a mage and I tended to use the ability wheel rather than the shortcuts because I needed the time to process and think about what I wanted to do, also the fact I kept switching companions and their abilities depending on the situation I couldn’t remember what abilities were mapped to what buttons. Dodge and parry didn’t feel the best, although I admit that could be fully on me (especially parry). For parry it constantly felt like there was a delay in pressing it though it could very well have been made worse depending on which tv my Xbox was connected to. My issue with dodge was the fact that after a double it basically left you halted with no momentum. Again, very possible it’s just a me thing and I need to “get good” but for how much certain encounters were chaotic enough to be constantly dodging it did become annoying especially if you get hit once and then get caught repeatedly. On normal difficulty as a mage, fights usually felt fair and doable with some more challenging than others depending on wave size or vulnerability paired with specific companions. There was only one fight in a miscellaneous side quest for a haunting that I got too annoyed with and even after trying multiple companion pairings I lowered the difficulty to just get it over with because I couldn’t be bothered. For a random side quest with no real story or likely payoff it didn’t feel worth it.

Now for the largest problem I had with this game: it’s gall to call it an RPG. I don’t expect or need Balder’s Gate level in every RPG game. But this didn’t feel like it even met the level of RPG that Inquisition offered. Whether it was world choices or companion choices very few things felt consequential. For the world, I can only think of 2 or 3 choices that I felt would have any change on the world one of which is literally just a 50/50 of which city is getting destroyed. And of course for the others you never saw or heard and real consequences or reactions aside from initially following the decision. There was nothing that made me second guess myself like deciding to forgive or banish the wardens like in Inquisition, who drinks from the well, the inquisitions fate. And for companion arcs, the choices all felt underwhelming and more a direct effect on gameplay/rewards than any story ramifications. There was never a moment that felt like it mattered to the companion story or their future interactions with me or others. Nothing that felt like it mattered like making Bull choose between his friends and the Qun, encouraging/dissuading Cullen from taking Lyrium, or having a hand in choosing the new Divine. A common thought I had throughout this game was it seemed really hard to get a “so and so disapproves”. There seemed to be more instances in Inquisition where decisions would inevitably be both approved and disapproved by various characters so it was never going to be a case of pleasing everyone. I remember seeing the disapprove notification maybe three times in Veilguard. The critique of the dialogue wheel is also very valid. There is no real choice as all options typically lead to the same outcome just with a different line. You can’t even really be mean or an asshole from what I could tell. Options were sincere, joking/less serious, and stern. None of this I think would’ve mattered as much if it weren’t for the fact this was advertised as a choice based RPG when that just isn’t the case and going in with those expectations is bound for disappointment.

As a last issue it had to do with romance. I liked Lucanis. I like him as a character and I like the voice actor’s delivery. There were lines of his that made me giggle and smile. But the overall writing of the romance and their moments sometimes came across as awkward with the subpar writing. There also wasn’t the same charm I got from Inquisition when at the base. Part of that comes from the lack of actual interactions of being able to talk with your companions in the lighthouse. I hate to keep comparing it but in Inquisition you could still talk to the characters even if they had no new dialogue. In that, you’d have the moments where Solas would call you vhenan or speak Elven or like in my second with Cullen you always had the stealing away for a kiss option. It just felt warmer in a way where in The Veilguard I would get a random one off line when I stood in front of Lucanis and, while some of them were sweet, the lack of player input and interaction caused more disconnect.

So overall as a game I think it’s a good buy assuming you go in with the right framing of what you’re going to be getting. A competent story, some interesting characters, good performance, good gameplay marred by a good helping of juvenile safe writing and lack of choice.

[bangtansocean]

Roommate's Prohibited List: Eight

Content Table: 01 l 02 l 03 l 04 l 05 l 06 l 07 l 08

“You okay? You’ve been zoning out all day.” Monica asks as you both walk out of the main university building towards the parking lot. 

You humm in reply, walking at a fast pace while staring at the trees, not really able to process what happened a few days ago. 

You want to tell Monica, but you are unsure of what to say because…it was just a kiss. 

Soobin hasn’t texted you, or called, or been in the apartment ever since. 

It's been days since you last saw him, and you know that telling Monica about it right now is not a good idea because she’s going to start asking questions that you don’t have answers to, and that’s going to irritate you even more. 

“Yeah, I’m just tired.  haven’t adjusted to the new schedule yet.” You sigh in reply before turning to your friend once you reach her car.

“Fair enough,” She opens her car door and settles in the driving seat, “you want a ride home?” She asks as she rolls down her window. 

You hesitate for a minute before shaking your head. “It's alright, I’m going to the cafe before going home, I’m craving something sweet.” You tilt your head towards the campus cafe, which is right in between your house and your faculty building.  

“Alrighty then, I’ll see you tomorrow love!” Monica greets you before rolling her window back up, the music blasting through as soon as she starts the car. 

You wave her goodbye as you watch her drive away, taking a deep breath as she disappears into the early sunset. 

“What am I doing?” you whisper to yourself, shaking your head. 

You are not sure why you are so irritated by this whole situation, and obviously the amount of projects you have due this weekend are not helping. 

You walk mindlessly through campus until you reach the cafe, walking in as you check your phone for any notifications, but nothing. 

“One matcha with oat milk please,” You smile at the barista before paying, thanking him with a nod. 

You wait in the corner for your order to be called, scrolling through your instagram before you feel someone tap you on the shoulder. 

“I'm sorry, you are y/n, right?” An angelic voice calls from behind you. You turn around and to your surprise, it was the guy you matched a few days ago on that dating app. 

“Oh, wow, tae right?” You smile when he nods with an even brighter smile. “What a coincidence”

“Yeah, it truly is!” He giggles nervously, “I’m sorry I never answered, I lost my phone.” His cheeks turn a light pink as he looks down embarrassed. 

“That’s okay, don’t worry.” You tell him, feeling giddy at the fact that he not only recognised you, but because he did plan on replying to you and he did not leave you on seen on purpose. 

Coffee for y/n! 

You grab your coffee and continue having small talk with Taehyun as he waits for his coffee. You both end up walking out together, as he is on his way to the gym that’s only a few blocks down your street. 

“This is me,” you say as you both stand in front of your building. 

“this is a nice building” he looks up, admiring the modern design. 

“That’s such an architect thing to say” you joke before he joins you in laughter. 

“Well, I have many more of those,” he jokes back ,”how about I take you out for dinner on Saturday and tell you all about it?” 

You are taken aback by the smoothness, giggling before nodding your head. “I would like that very much, im free after 6pm”

“I'll pick you up at seven then?” 

You nod in reply “seven is perfect” 

“Cool, see you then y/n. Glad my phone didn’t get in the way of meeting you.” He winks before leaving, waving at you from a distance before turning on the next block. 

You walk inside in a much better mood thanks to tae, maybe this weekend won't be so bad.

-

Friday, finally. 

You walk out of class in great spirits, yapping with Monica about anything and everything. 

“I say we go for drinks right now, it's happy hour somewhere!” She says excitedly. 

“I would love to, but I can't,” you remind Monica of all the homework you have due next week, as well as of your date on Saturday, to which she squeals in excitement with you. “I know, i'm actually really excited,” you sigh nervously. 

“You sure are, that man is H-O-T” Monica laughs, “I'm excited for you!” 

“I’ll see you on Monday!” You wave at your friend before heading home. The weather is extra nice today so you decided to walk home again. 

-

“Jesus Christ these stairs” you speak out loud as you make it to your floor, surprised to find your door wide open. 

You walk in slowly, looking around to see if there’s anyone but instead, you find a couple of bags on the floor full of clothes and other stuff, is someone going on a holiday? 

“Hello?” You leave your things on the kitchen table while scanning the bags on the floor again. 

“Hi!” Yeonjun’s floor flies open to reveal a showered Yeonjun, a big smile on his face as he eats a bowl of instant noodles. “Are you moving out?” 

He frowns as he too scans the room, “why are they wet?” 

He points at one of the boxes on the floor, the bottom part slightly dampened. 

“Well that’s because im the unluckiest motherfucker in the world.” Soobin’s voice is heard from the hallway, walking into the living room as he dries his hair with a towel. “My place got flooded, broken pipe or something like that.” 

Your heart jumps at the sight of Soobin, your brain panicking and screaming at you as you check him out. You scan his clothes and notice they are soaked from the waist down, his hair and shirt sleeves slightly wet still. your eyes meet his once you finish scanning him. 

He gives you a big smile, but you can see the annoyance and stress on his face, almost like he's smiling through the pain. 

“Womp womp,” Yeonjun jokes as he places his bowl in the trash, “that is very unfortunate, I'm sorry to hear that.” 

You nod in agreement, offering Soobin a soft smile. “Yeah I’m sorry, can we help you dry some stuff?” 

Soobin shakes his head, “it's mostly dry now, just some boxes got a little wet, but nothing major.” He shrugs. 

“And so what? You are moving in? Why did you bring all your shit?” Yeonjun asks, now sitting on the couch turning the game on. 

“At least for the week, yeah.” Soobin shrugs again as he makes his way around the kitchen, grabbing some water. 

You freeze in place once his words sink. 

“Gyu is out of town till Wednesday so I’ll be taking over his house duties and stuff till then, hope that's okay.” 

“Do you wanna take over mine too?” Yeonjun asks right before starting the round, oblivious to Soobin’s eye roll. 

“Anyway, how was your day?” Soobin places his empty glass next to you, supporting his weight on the kitchen counter before turning to you with glistening eyes. 

You blink a couple of times before supporting yourself on the kitchen counter almost like you were trying to sleep as you stretched your back, Soobin copies your move, both ending up resting your heads on your arms. 

“It was good,” you reply before yawning, feeling sleepy all of the sudden. “Busy.”

Soobin’s eyes are focused on you, a cheeky smile on his lips as you stare at him mindlessly, blinking a couple of times before yawning again. 

“You seem tired,” Soobin whispers, which causes you to open your eyes again. 

“Yeah a little,” your lips shape into a straight line, “How are you?” You return the question politely. 

“Good, now that I see you,” he whispers again, his smile growing shy and he presses his lips together. “I won the tennis match last time.” He chuckles, your mind trying to find how one thing connects to the other. 

Soobin laughs at your confused frown, “I guess you are my lucky charm,” he nods with his head a couple of times, almost like he is agreeing with himself. 

You hide your face between your arms before giggling, “you can't be saying shit like this” you whisper to him, slowly standing up before pointing at Yeonjun. 

“We could have sex on this counter and Yeonjun would not notice,” he stands straight too, smacking the counter but getting no reaction from his friend who is deeply focused on his game. 

The temperature of your face rises at the thought of you and Soobin having sex on the kitchen counter. 

“Told you” he winks, making you roll your eyes. 

“Still, don’t,” you lightly smack him on the shoulder, his smile fading slowly as his eyes scan you. 

“…does it make you uncomfortable?” He asks in a serious tone. “I don’t mean to-..

“No no no,” you correct yourself when you realize Soobin thought you meant you didn’t want him to be flirty with you. 

He stands in front of you, full of thought as he scans you, a smile escaping his lips before he mouths an ‘okay’. 

You nod in reply, your face getting warmer as his right hand reaches for yours, his eyes never leaving yours as his thumb caressed your hand lightly. 

“Are you playing with us?” Soobin asks in a soft tone, to which you shake your head in reply.  

“Imma take a nap,” You reply with your eyes closed, humming in enjoyment at the caresses of Soobins hand on yours. 

“Okay then,” You feel his lips against your cheek, opening your eyes widely and turning to see Yeonjun with panic. Thankfully, he is too into the game. “Sweet dreams,” Soobin smiles when you turn to see him again, your cheeks turning a darker shade of pink as he lets go of your hand and joins Yeonjun on the couch. 

You watch him as he sets up his controller and get comfortable on the couch next to your roommate, who is playing with his mouth partially open, his eyes glued to the screen as he finishes the round. 

“Don’t be too loud,” You warn them before heading to your room, Soobin winking at you as you walk past them towards your room. 

-

You wake up by a light knock on your door.

“Y/n?” The voice of Soobin is soft through the door. “Can I?” he slightly opens the door, but not enough to see him. 

“Yeah come in” you say in a sleepy voice as you turn to look at the door, covering yourself even more with the blanket, only your face visible as Soobin sneaks his head through the door.

“Hey, you’ve been sleeping for a while now, are you okay?” He begins as he makes his way into the room, a plate in his hands. “I made pad thai, you should eat something you must be hungry.”

You smile and humm, sitting up to receive the plate, “That’s so sweet, thank you.” 

You grab the plate with both hands and smell the food, moaning at the pleasant smell and looks of the food, you were indeed hungry. “It smells amazing.” You look up to Soobin, who is staring down at you with a big smile. 

“I’ll let you enjoy your food in peace, I’ll be in the living room if you want to join me.” He bends down and places a quick peck on your lips, and you cover your mouth as he giggles. 

“Don’t do that I just woke up,” You say, covering your mouth as you grow embarrassed, you probably have terrible breath. 

“I don't care,” he laughs, “I hope you like it,” He says before walking out, closing the door behind him.

You smile at your food one more time before digging in, enjoying every bite more than the last. 

You can hear Soobin is cleaning the kitchen, and you decide to join and help him, bringing your plate with you. 

You can hear some faint music as you get closer to the kitchen, smiling when you find him washing the dishes. 

“Hey,” you greet him with a smile, placing your plate next to him before telling him to move out, “I can take care of what’s left,” you tell him, but he shakes his head, not moving from his place. 

“All good. I got it, go freshen up.” He points to the bathroom with his head, and you stare at him for a couple of seconds before he insists. “Go.” He giggles as he dries the pots he had just washed. 

You sigh before heading into the bathroom, a smile on your face as you walk away from him. 

You wash your teeth and freshen up your face with some water, not wanting to spend too much time in the bathroom. 

You walk out into the hallway, making it to the corner where the kitchen and the living room meet when you are swept away, making you gasp at the sudden scare. 

Soobin is holding you by the waist, pulling you closer to him as his hand reaches for your cheek, smiling as he pulls you closer, kissing you softly, giggling in between kisses at your surprise state. 

“You scared me,” you whisper. 

“I’m sorry,” He giggles back before both of his hands cup your face, deepening the kiss. 

“Wait.” You push him away, realizing that you are in the middle of the common area, right in front of Yeonjun’s room. 

He stares at you confused, a frown on his face as you point to Yeonjun’s door, concern drawn all over your face. 

He lets go of your waist and walks towards Yeonjun’s room. 

He knocks twice, “Yeonjun? Are you there?”

No answer. 

He proceeds to open the door, scan the room and then close it back shut. “He’s not here, and neither are his books."

You frown before pulling your phone out to text him. 

[Reply from Yeonjun:]

Hey, not sleeping home tonight. Group studies.

“He’s not coming home tonight.” You say as Soobin’s hands find your waist again, pulling you closer as he kisses you all over your face. 

You can’t help but giggle, placing your hands on his face to pull him for another kiss, this time, actually enjoying yourself. “So you think you can just kiss me now whenever you want?” 

He giggles between kisses, humming a yes in response before kissing your cheek. 

“I’ve been wanting to do this for so long,” Soobin whispers against your ear, his hands finding your ass as he invites you to jump on him, wrapping your legs around him as he walks you to the couch, his lips attaching to yours as soon as you hit the soft material. . 

What started out as innocent kisses turned into a full on make-out session.

Soobin is on top of you, his hands wandering under your shirt but only around your waist and hips. His lips travel from your lips to your neck, only to end back on your lips. 

You are both moaning, your hands wandering all over as you struggle to breathe, not getting enough of him.

“Wait, Soobin.” You say in between harsh breaths. 

He pulls away immediately, “What’s wrong?” He whispers, his eyes scanning your face. 

You can’t help but stare. At his swollen red lips, covered in a light layer of saliva. His hair messed up, pointing in all directions. The faint marks of your cherry lip balm all over his neck and lips…

You sigh before closing your eyes. “We shouldn’t be doing this.” You whisper, and before you could open your eyes, Soobin was off from you and sitting by your side. 

You open your eyes and sit up, his eyes shutting down as he sighs.

He rests his head between his hands as he pulls on his hair lightly, “I know… I fucking know.” He sighs again.

You hug him. 

You are unsure of what to do, or how to approach the situation, so you just hug him. But it seems like it's enough, because he comforts you as well by rubbing your arms with his hands. 

“I can’t really help myself, you know?” he whispers, turning to look at you.  "this sucks."

You let go of him and stare directly into his eyes, feeling a million butterflies. 

“I know, I feel the same way.” 

You both stare at each other in silence, looking for answers in each other’s eyes, but finding none. 

You lean forward to kiss him again, a soft, slow and painful kiss before you pull away from him. His eyes slowly opening as he stares into your eyes with sparks, his lips forming a smile from ear to ear as he reaches for one more kiss, a cute and small peek on your lips. 

“Let’s play a game.” He says, standing up as he makes his way into the kitchen, opening the fridge. “Let’s ask each other questions, and the one who doesn’t want to answer, or gets it wrong, drinks.” He pulls two beers out of the bridge and places them on the table in front of you. 

“Sounds good,” You reply with a smile, taking a sip of your beer before you sit on opposite ends of the couch, making as much distance as possible to avoid more temptations. 

—

“How do you know all the answers?!” You squeal before taking another sip of your second beer. 

His laugh echoes all over the house, making you even angrier at the fact that he knows more of you than you thought he did.

“I have a great memory!” He mimics your tantrum before taking a sip of his third, new beer.

“I hate you,” You cross your hands against your chest. Looking away when he caresses your legs that are crisscrossed. 

“No you don’t” He whispers, his hand slowly sliding up from your thigh to your hip, pulling you closer for a kiss.

“Mmm.. you’re right.” You smile against his lips before cupping his face and kissing him back passionately, throwing your body weight on him, which makes him fall back on the couch, resting on his chest as you climb on top of him. 

You place your legs on each of his sides, straddling him before sitting up, your hand caressing his chest as he looks at you with surprise, a triumphant smile on his face as he admires the view. 

“Are you drunk already?” He asks in a chuckle. 

“No?” You giggle. “I’m tipsy,” You confess, “But I’m okay I promise.” 

His hands caress your legs, smiling before nodding, “Okay, I believe you.” 

In a swift movement, he sits up and reaches for your face, smashing your lips together passionately as your hands travel to his hair for the thousandth time tonight. 

“God…” Soobin moans as your hips move against his, slowly grinding on him as you devour each other. He moves his hands to your hips, helping you move on top of him. 

“We should go to bed,” You whisper against his ear, nibbling on it before sucking on it sensually, making him moan as his hands dig on your ass. 

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” 

You squeal again when he manages to stand up with you straddled on him, your arms wrapping around his neck as he struggles to walk to your bedroom in the dim light. 

“Oh shit, sorry,” He chuckles when he accidentally bumps your ass on a corner. 

“Oww,” You complain in between laughter, turning your upper body to help him open your door.

It takes seconds for you to be in the bed, making out in the same position you were on the couch, the grinding turning more aggressive as you feel his boner through your pants. 

“Y/n” he moans your name, pushing you away slowly as his hand fixes your hair behind your ear. “Time to get ready for bed.” 

You roll your eyes in annoyance, why is he cockblocking himself?

“Come on, up.” He taps your ass cheek lightly, and you obey him by climbing off of him, standing in front of him.

“But we’re having fun…” You push his hair off his forehead, leaning forward to give him a quick peck. 

“We can have fun after we get our pjs on and wash our face.” He scolds you as he taps your ass again, making you moan in annoyance. 

You go through your night routine quickly, night serum, big shirt, no pants, brush hair and teeth: done. 

You walk back to your room and jump into bed, cuddling up to Soobin who is laying on his side of the bed shirtless with his sweatpants on.

“You look sexy,” You whisper to him, traveling your hand through his naked chest while resting your head on his heart, feeling his heartbeat increase when your hands ghost his happy trail. 

“Well, you are sexy,” He whispers back, welcoming you into the cuddle by holding you tight. 

Your hand travels back up through his chest, caressing his neck before cupping his face, looking at him endearingly. 

You are surprised to find him already staring at you, his eyes glued to you as he smiles softly before leaning in for a kiss. 

The kiss once again, turns into a heated mess.

You make out heavily, his hand traveling under your shirt, caressing your ass as his fingers play with your underwear, which is more wet than you would like to admit. 

Soobin sucks on your bottom lip before breaking the kiss, staring at you as he twirls the side of your panties. “Can I touch you?” He whispers, his breathing picking up as your eyes stare into his.

You can feel your heartbeat on your eardrums, growing nervous and excited at his request.

“Yeah,” You whisper, your eyes never leaving his as his finger follows the shape of your underwear, from your hip to your ass. 

You unconsciously raise your leg higher, wrapping his body with it as his fingers land on your wet spot, a sigh escaping your lips when he caresses your clit over the damp material. 

You can feel the horniness taking over you as his fingers apply pressure on a circular motion over your clitoris, making you moan desperately, begging to feel him skin to skin. 

His eyes never leave yours, watching you squirm in pleasure as he teases you, slowly driving you crazy. 

However, he doesn’t tease you for too long, pushing your underwear to the side as his fingers slide between your folds, collecting all your arousal before his fingers ghost the swollen bud again. 

“Soobin,” You moan his name, finally closing your eyes as your hand digs onto his shoulder as he increases the pressure and the speed of his touch. Your hips move involuntarily, helping him touch just the right places, his eyes glued to you as you enjoy the feeling of his fingers against your clitoris. 

“Look at me baby,” he whispers, and you obey immediately. Your sight clouded by the lust as you whimper, his eyes staring straight into yours as his fingers begin to move faster. 

“God, it feels so good,” You moan again, your eyes closing for a quick moment before opening them again, a grin on his lips as he watches you struggle to keep the eye contact. 

And then, you gasp. 

You can feel two of his fingers entering you slowly, almost torturing you with the pace he is pushing them in. 

“Fuck, Soobin,” You moan on a higher pitch, feeling his fingers fill you fully before he pulls them back out, only to push them back just as slow. 

You lose the staring battle, your eyes closing as his fingers begin to fuck you at a faster pace, feeling the slight bend on his fingers as he hits your g-spot over and over again. 

“God, you are so beautiful,” He moans as he watches you struggle to keep it together, slowly crumbling to his touch as his thumb reaches for your clit, rubbing it as he continues to pound his fingers in and out of you. 

“Soobin,” You moan slightly louder, his movements becoming faster, but still delicate enough to drive you crazy. 

“That’s it baby, you’re doing so good for me,” He praises, you which only makes you melt to his touch even more. 

You are not sure if it's the alcohol you both consumed, or if it’s just you, but it's impossible to control your volume, moaning as your hand reaches to the bulge under his sweatpants, groping him as he pushes his hips against your hand. 

Both of you are moaning uncontrollably, a collection of fucks, gods and each others name’s escaping each others mouth until your orgasm starts to take over you. 

“I’m going to cum,” You manage to moan a full sentence as he continues to touch you, his fingers hitting your g-spot more harshly now, making you shake and whimper at the overwhelming feeling. 

“Come for me,” he whispers against your ear, and that's all it takes for your body to start shaking uncontrollably, your orgasm washing over you as he continues to finger-fuck you.

His fingers slow down as you ride your orgasm through, regulating your breathing as you continue to moan, becoming extremely sensitive to his touch. 

He pushes his fingers in one more time before he fully pulls out, raising his hand that is covered in arousal high enough for both of you to see it. 

You are about to tell him that he can use your underwear to wipe them when he takes his fingers to his mouth, sucking your arousal off of them as he closes his eyes, moaning at the taste of you. 

You feel yourself growing embarrassed, feeling almost dirty to be watching such a scene. 

You notice his boner is still there, and you begin to feel guilty for not fully helping him with it, so you squeeze the area lightly, making him open his eyes as he gasps, placing a hand over yours, stopping you.

“It’s okay,” He assures you. “We can take care of this some other time,” He smiles at you, but you can’t help but frown.

“But I want to-” 

“It's okay, y/n. Really.” He reassures you, “I think I’m too tired to cum anyway, you can take care of me next time.” He winks at you, and you soften your facial features at the proposal.

It does make sense, you think to yourself, the sleepiness taking over you as you snuggle up to him. “You won’t escape me next time,” You say jokingly, gaining a chuckle from him as he hugs you tightly. 

“I’m not planning on it,” He jokes, making you smile against his chest as your eyes feel too heavy to open, drifting into a comfortable sleep.

-----

a/n: Helloo, new update for you guys, I think this one was worth the wait. ;)

Lmk what you think of the smut 😵‍💫 im not sure how detailed you guys would like me to be since this ff is more fluff than smut, if you guys prefer to keep the smut minimal let me know!

Happy readings, Ceci x

Don't forget to comment below if you want to be added to the taglist!

TAGLIST:

@bangchansbae @a-l-i-y-a @jeonsfizz @yogurttea @kwanisms @whippedforbeomgyu @foxyjun @hearts4csb @venusprada @day6andetcetera @icouldntcareless22 @lol6sposts @moatchapuff @soohome @enzos-shit @lonelybutterflytae @heegyuwrld @katsukis1wife

[mariacallous]

In August, a swarm of hopeless and horny romantics on Reddit disputed the pros and cons of Bumble, the dating app that requires women to make the first move.

“Besides barren wastelands like [Plenty of Fish] crawling with bots, scammers, hookers, and psychos, this app has to be the worst,” one user posted.

Said another, “Lots of fun conversations but ghost city when trying to get a number or plan a date.”

Other Redditors openly shared how they met their partners on the app, but the consensus was unequivocally clear: Bumble, like the majority of dating apps currently on the market, is bad. “If Bumble is the worst dating app, then what’s the best alternative—Tinder, Hinge?” asked one user. “They all suck so which one sucks the least?”

After a decade of swiping left and sliding into DMs, many people are now longing for a simplification of the dating pool. As with so much about the internet, online dating made everything accessible all at once and turned socializing into something of a competitive sport. Waves, swipes, likes, and roses embodied the desires of a generation of users ravenous to find connection however they could.

But the glow has worn off, and there is growing sentiment among young people that dating apps, once considered the future of romantic connection, are broken.

Facebook Dating is all old people. Raya is full of posturing. Hinge, which bills itself as the “dating app designed to be deleted,” conceals its most attractive daters behind a $50 monthly subscription (or, at least, that’s the theory according to a handful of TikTok users). As for Tinder, the app that revolutionized online dating when it launched in 2012, it “has become the dating air, or maybe the pollution, we all breathe,” writer Allison P. Davis observed last year, reflecting on the Olympian level of difficulty modern dating presents for many people thirsty for connection.

Dating app disillusionment is felt most strongly among college students, according to a new study from Axios and research firm Generation Lab. Most are forgoing regular app usage (79 percent) in favor of in-person connection, a fact that seems at odds with Gen Z’s innate gift for virtual expression on platforms like Snapchat and Twitch.

“Dating apps promised a quick fix to the messiness of love,” says Carolina Bandinelli, a professor at the University of Warwick whose research focuses on the digital culture of love. “Their promotional narratives spoke about reducing love to a simple procedure. Dating apps promised a love that ‘works.’ But they do not ‘work’ as they are supposed to, yet they create the expectation of love as an efficient business. Users get frustrated with this.”

That young people in college are choosing to forgo digital connection is not as shocking as the study suggests, says Paul Eastwick, a psychologist at UC Davis who specializes in the nature of attraction. “College students are in the fortunate position of being surrounded by many similarly aged peers, and their social networks are in a constant state of flux. Online dating sites and apps are typically going to be especially useful for folks whose networks feel frozen and who don’t have as many opportunities to meet new people through friends of friends,” he tells me. “So it makes sense.”

The culture of online dating will continue to evolve, as it has over the past decade. Although many young people are taking a more traditional alternative to apps—while also relying on options like Date Me docs—that has not stopped Gen Z from being vocal about the culture that surrounds modern relationships.

Since the publication of her 2008 book, Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus, Kathleen Bogle, a sociologist at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, says the biggest evolution in dating culture was prompted by women, who have brought more transparency to the dating process. “Platforms like TikTok have created space for women to upload videos talking about their issues with the hookup culture, such as not getting what they want relationally, feeling used, the double standard, and, in some cases, the lack of sexual pleasure for women,” Bogle says. “In previous decades, women may have felt this way but only talked about it with their own friendship circle, not online to thousands of followers.”

Online dating is now a multibillion-dollar industry. From 2016 to 2021, global subscription rates for apps increased by 81 percent. Analysts predict that despite market saturation and a current decline in user growth, companies will pivot to monetization by any means, a move that could further spoil what people believe is an already poor user experience.

The current techlash is a byproduct of the environment dating apps have contributed to over the past decade. We are inching toward what Bandinelli refers to as a period of post-romantic love in our digital society, where conveniences such as dating apps play a hand in rewriting “the ethical codes of love with the objective of building a notion of love deprived of pain, loss, and negative emotions.” In this new notion of love, if it should even be called that, the human experience that characterizes dating, its highs and lows, is flattened through machined exchanges.

In a quest to streamline romantic connection, it seems we are losing all that makes it worthy of pursuit. “With new technologies, there is always a period in which they seem to take over what was in place before,” Bandinelli says of then and now. “Then there is a counterforce, and people want to retrieve what seems to have been lost.”

[snapscube]

Do you play any mobile games?

I was pretty obsessed with Marvel Snap for a bit and I intend to jump back in sometime! I also will occasionally tap around in mobile OS RuneScape and some simple puzzle apps like the NYT crossword and picross!

Otherwise, mobile games have a hard time hooking me tbh. I would love to play more but most modern phone games are kinda bad and I'm also kinda picky with what mobile experiences I'm even looking for. Like, one weird pet peeve I have is just how few games implement a portrait mode. If I am not watching a video, I DO NOT want to be holding my phone sideways. I have a pretty big phone and so in order to play games comfortably in landscape mode I need to use both hands and I just. Can not stand doing that. I really wish more designed-for-mobile games with actual depth and good design to them had portrait orientation options.

[moibakadesu]

Look what has arrived, it's the Aviot Milgram crossover earphones!

Let me just do a little review on them: these are my first wireless earphones ever, because I always had been an over-ear headphone user. Always hated the way modern earphones felt in my ears, like it is plugging them. Sooo, I bit the bullet with these and I was pleasantly surprised that they don't bother me at all? I guess design has come a long way.

The sound is also surprisingly nice, I was prepared to be a bit underwhelmed when it comes to base and the "fullness" of the sound, but ... it's honestly not bad? Tbf, even with my over-ear headphones I always had been on the not as expensive side, so these are also the most expensive audio output gadgets I ever got.

And of course the main event, the character voices. These easily get changed through an app on your device, everything in English if you so desire as well, which is very nice. I had to riddle around with that a bit first, but for now mine are Fuuta-coded, hah. Will most likely change around between him and Haruka each week.

Memorizing and operating them via the touch sensor will take a bit of getting used to as someone who never had earphones like these, but they are very responsive. It's also fun that you can activate the random voice lines whenever you want, even in the middle if a sing and such.

[iela-0989]

ART-ing Process feat. OC SHĀN & AZULA

It's been a while since I've posted art related stuff here, and social media generally~ However, rather than posting the ART alone, out of nowhere I suddenly thought of sharing my art creating process here.

Before that, a DISCLAIMER: What I'm about to share is just how I usually work on my art. It is fine if they don't meet your preferences🤗

So, here we go~

I present you, SHĀN & AZULA in Modern AU🥹❤️❤️❤️

In case you wonder who he is, you may visit this post here 🥰

Shān 1st Design, versus Now🥰 I rarely create OCs. But when I did, I'll be deeply invested🥹❤️❤️❤️

Without further ado, I would like to introduce my Art Starter Kit, which I've been using lately in creating an art piece~

(DRAWING REFERENCE & ART TUTORIALS)

Well, honestly, I rarely use this lately. But it does help if you need to spark some inspiration. As for art tutorials, I prefer those from instagram & youtube nowadays~ The authenticity is more preserved🥰

(FOR CREATING & CONSTRUCTING POSES)

I've been using this app for a while now~ It's very helpful! Especially in creating more complex poses, using 3D models. It helps save more time, though it takes quite some time to make the pose look more natural😅 It works like other 'poser' apps.  But I personally think that, PoseIt is more convenient to use🤭 But it's okay~ Choose what works best for you~

Next🤭🤭🤭

(FOR DRAWING, OF COURSE😆 WHERE ALL THE MAGICS HAPPEN🥰)

(LIGHTING & SHADING REFERENCE)

I'm using this app for the 1st time when working on this piece. And surprisingly, it came in very handy! It is convenient to use, too. No wonder it is recommended widely for Artists🥰 Even though I still can't afford the premium features, for now, the free features are sufficient for me🥹

Not bad, eh?😎❤️❤️

Basically every phases involved🥰

BONUS: I've learned this new highlighting hair technique. I'm going to share it so that I can come back to this post later, in case I forget how to do it in the future😆 Oh, blur the edges, for a smoother result🤭

Well, I guess that's it! Thank you for spending your precious time going through this post🥹❤️ I totally appreciate it!🥰🥰🥰

See you again in another post🤗❤️❤️❤️

[dj-of-the-coven]

DJ's Beat headcanons that can't be textually justified but are nonetheless true. to me

Beat's grasp on modern technology is rather poor, given the extremely rapid advancement of the internet during his teen years. While Rhyme and Shiki kept up with it well, Rhyme even contributing to a number of groundbreaking feats of modern programming, Beat's still out here living like it's 2007 with the singular exception of wireless Bluetooth headphones and a phone that can use them. He's able to use messaging apps but sees no point to social media.

It's all physical media with him. He collects cassettes and vinyls, and burns his own CDs when he's got free time. He owns a boom box.

On that note: if he has to use his phone for music, he only listens to downloaded full albums, completely unaware that this technically counts as piracy because he rips it from youtube.

Beat likes to decorate almost everything he has with skateboards and skeleton themed stickers and graffiti tags. Even the cups at his place have tiny skateboard designs on them.

He mostly listens to rock, metal, and hip hop, though can occasionally find a favorite in other genres. He and Neku make rock music together, and it's his absolute favorite, especially when Neku's on vocals.

Beat plays drums, electric guitar, and electric bass, switching what he plays depending on the needs of whoever he plays with. His vocals are grungy and rough, which Neku really likes adding to their music, but Beat declines to sing except with very familiar songs because he finds it hard to multitask with his playing.

If he were to get tattoos, he'd ask Neku to design them.

His ears are pierced in several places. He got them done both because he wanted piercings and because Shiki was too scared to get hers by herself, and he ended up getting multiple at once just to prove to her that it was fine. He still has a mark on his hand from how tightly Shiki gripped it while getting her ears pierced.

Beat puts red streaks in his hair, but doesn't care about making them consistent, so they're in a different spot every time. there's always a light red/pink frost in the old spots for a month or so after he picks new ones.

When one of the twisters is having a bad day at school, he calls pretending to be a parent and signs them out to get coffee. This happens about 3 times each before Nagi finds out and smacks the shit out of him for risking their academic careers. It doesn't stop him from then bringing the coffee to them instead.

Shoka teases Beat for getting words mixed up pretty often, and it becomes a running joke in the twisters group chat for a while until Neku steps in to inform them that he's actually severely dyslexic. Diagnosed and everything. Beat takes the teasing lightly, but Neku, Shiki, and Rhyme crack down on the jokes when they realize how prevalent they are.

Beat is scared by horror movies, but he likes them a lot. His preferred way to watch them is curled up under a fluffy blanket with his sister, one or two of the twisters, and Neku on special occasions. When Neku comes over for movies, they order shoyu ramen and have a habit of falling asleep together on the couch.

[springw6ter]

Hi (nyfw thoughts)

Ok so first I just want to say that this fashion week was so boring and really sums up the kind of good idea drought we’re living in. BUT there was a fair share of discussion over some things so! instead of trying to fit my thoughts about everything on the app formerly known as twitter, I’m just gonna tell y’all here.

Shows talked about in this post; Proenza Schouler, Eckhaus Latta, AREA, Luar, Helmut Lang, Elena Velez and Tory Burch

Proenza Schouler

There’s no way Proenza was going to ruffle any feathers this season. They have a loyal following (which I’m sure has nothing to do with the celebrity affiliations of the brand) and a consistent history of people pleasing so they’ll always get their praise from Vogue. They dropped a new monogram which is the only “newness” they wanted to introduce. Jack McCollough said they wanted to continue last seasons narrative and they sure did! (Only thing different was no Sevigny). The clothes are obviously well made and evoke wealth in that special kind of iykyk way. Many people said this looked more like Helmut Lang than Helmut lang did (I’ll get to that later) and they’re not entirely wrong. Not gonna act like I wouldn’t wear this collection but definitely nothing groundbreaking.

Eckhaus Latta

Eckhaus latta is a brand that has always had a special place in my heart (maybe because I’m from the city that the two designers met and started the brand together in)(maybe). My style has definitely evolved since I first became aware of the brand but I’m always interested in what they’re doing. This season they got experimental! They worked with a 3D printing company named “Unspun” where they came up with jeans made from all different materials like hardware store twine and ikea plastic bags. The way they combined tech innovation and sustainability is not just commendable, it’s very forward thinking, which is a staple in the brands identity. With that being said some of the collection felt directionless in comparison to all of the innovation. The sheer (which dawned their new EL monogram) was very MNZ store to me but not in a bad way. I like that they’re not trying to be trendy and come up with new things however a-lot of brands were doing that so it makes me wonder if that’s a good thing or not.

AREA

I loved their modern Stone Age ladies. I think it was one of the only luxury focused shows where I was like wow! This is different. The fur printed coats were so gaudy and held its shape in the way good ol’ fur coats used to. I think this collection was really cohesive, adventurous, new. Everyone saw Saweetie wear it at the VMAs and even the unfashionable general public could see the yabba dabba reference. The prehistoric influence was chosen because as Piotrek Panscyzk said “pelts and bones were the first things humans had to build an identity around”. There’s definitely a case for a narrative about how much luxury (the hunger, the status) mirrors pre historic, pre civilized behaviors.

Luar

Raul Lopez is a diamond. This collection kind of came of as a continuation of last season as well but I like this brand so much that it feels good to me. I feel like Raul is constantly playing with this really restrictive, God-fearing way of being and an inhibition-less eternality. Padded shoulders, the top draped from the eyewear, perfect collared shirts, jeans and leather, it had all the perfect Luar moments for me. No notes.

Ok.. now on to the “controversial” shows

Helmut Lang

When Peter Do was announced as the new creative director of Helmut Lang, everyone rejoiced. Why? His strengths as a designer seemed like a natural fit for the brand. Expert tailoring, black and white as a main color palette, maybe a little overlap in philosophy.. but as the outfits came out people’s reactions… were… unfavorable to say the least. People saw the reference to key Lang moments like seat belt bondage, the use of Ocean Vuongs poetry (which I felt was terribly misunderstood), the classic button up and jeans as disappointing instead of nostalgic. For me, personally, I think everyone’s expectations were rooted in something that Peter Do could not have delivered. That expectation being Helmut Lang himself. People saw Do as the second-coming and that’s just the truth but where do we draw the line with our expectations on reliving the past and how do we honor the kind of openness necessary to evolution? I myself had to sit with the collection and came to the conclusion that maybe Peter is just defining a clear end to the Helmut era of yesterday and the start of his own journey now. After closely looking at the collection and it’s details you can see how wonderful the clothes really are. It is everyone’s responsibility to question and examine the things they “care” about and I think this fashion public is not patient enough for that. It wasn’t the greatest debut but it also wasn’t the worst. Anyway we’ll see what comes next.

Elena Velez

Mud gate ss24! Since her NYT article last year, people have been really fed up with Elena (I learned only after the mud fight started to circulate) and she doesn’t really seem to mind, she seems to like it actually. She argues online, she argues IN lines, she doesn’t pay people adequately and the list apparently goes on and on. This collection is called “the longhouse” and in her press release she says a lot of things about the commercialization, sanitization, condemning and control of womanhood, she talks about anti-heroines and contemporary female evil (which she loves to embody I guess) and she says that this show was ritualistic catharsis from oversocialization. I think it’s pretentious when someone has to use so many complex, institutionalized words to convey their message. She’s speaking in code. To be honest I like her clothes but I don’t think her designs are that original. I really want to raise the question who does her message benefit? We should all be allowed our multiplicity in this life, that’s true, but being a bad person in practice is something I’m personally not attracted to. I’m a little confused but it is what it is.

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO TORY BURCH!!!!

Who I think should be receiving a cease and desist from Miuccia Prada any moment now. This collection is such a departure from the Tory Burch we all grew up with. This must be that post divorce clarity. I like it! It’s 60s. It’s Prada. It’s miu miu. It’s Tory Burch now too!

If you made it this far I really appreciate you ♡ this was just for ki’s sake. It’s not my most critical thinking to date but there was discussion and I loved that. I wanted to contribute and this was the best way I could think of. Lmk if I should do this again with lfw!!

[my-jokes-are-my-armour]

Little trick to have a better reading experience on ffnet - part 1 : the browser reader mode

This is the third time I am writing it because of a simple screenshot that tumblr didn't like... Also I am making this in several parts because tumblr app doesn't accept more than one video per post...

So !

First of all. Those post aren't there to promote ffnet at all. Just to explain how to have a better reading experience. I know the site is quite badly received for many reasons. And yeah, I know I should go on ao3 if I wanted to have more views. The only thing that bother me is the lack of interactions even if anonymous reviews are possible. Fortunately I have some good souls putting some fav and comments coming from here. So thx a lot ❤️

Anyways ! For those kind souls that are sacrificing their eyes on the crappy default layout of ffnet net, here are some easy things to do to read better.

The first one is the easiest. The browser reader mode.

I have a very bad sight myself and i use it for ffnet all the time. And even on ao3 when I am on a computer.

Tumblr don't allow me to show you the capture for the Samsung option but there is an icon on the url bar when a page is designed for reading. Ffnet and ao3 had code their layout for that, so it works for both of them.

Clic on the icon, wait a few seconds and tada ! Everything is written way bigger. No need to squint anymore.

Here is the video illustrating that (no sound).

In Firefox things are even better. This is instantaneous and there is a panel of options so you can adjust things to you linking. You even have a vocal reader.

Source of pictures [x]

I guess that all modern browsers have some equivalent features. But at least on those two browsers this is native and very easy to use.

[njamil21]

Happy Late Valentine's Day!

This is incredibly late but I wanted to just finish this properly and get this posted. I was doing research and came across Erotes and got interested in making some designs and as I'm currently taking an online course on UI/UX designers so I thought it would be fun to create modern versions of them as developers on a dating app.

First is Anteros, the Erotes of requited love and the head UX designer of the app, Cupid Connect. He's very eager to help as many clients get their happily ever after so he helps manage deadlines and making sure the app runs smoothly. Anteros may not be in a relationship himself, but he's very excited to see people find their happily-ever-afters through the app! Hedylogos is the Erotes of flattery so naturally he's their PR manager and UX researcher, connecting directly with clients to get their honest feedback so the app can be easily used and understood by all. He's a sweet talker and likes to keep the atmosphere light by bringing homemade candies to the office to pick everyone up. Hedylogos tends to lay it on thick when it comes to compliments but his friends learned to understand that's just how he operates.

Hermaphroditus, as an Erotes of androgyny, was hard to pin down as to what their role on the team would be but I thought having them be the UX designer overseeing the safety features of the app would be best. Love is meant to be safe in the end and they would like to make sure all clients can experience their app and avoid any potential dangers when using it. In their free time, Hermaphroditus likes to garden and will occasionally bring flowers to the office. Hymenaeus is the Erotes of marriage so he does a lot of the heavy lifting of UX development in managing clients' information and helping Anteros in the match-making department. I like to think he worked as a wedding planner before so Hymenaeus also works as an event planner for the app, so couples can meet on safer grounds to get to know one another. People tend to look at Hymenaeus when it comes to throwing the best parties.

Pothos is the Erotes of yearning so as the UI designer, he makes sure that not only does the app look pleasing to the eye, but that also the client can navigate the app and get the love they long for. He can relate to wanting to be with the one you love, as he's in a long-distance relationship at the moment so he enjoys this aspect of the job. When Pothos isn't video chatting with his sweetheart, he likes to go drinking with the rest of the team. Last but not least, is Himeros, the Erotes of unrequited love and desire, so he works as another UI designer. Himeros will sometimes add articles regarding intimacy tips on the home page so clients can use that as they will but he'd like to upload advice on what happens when finding love is difficult, especially given their clientele. It hasn't been approved since that might be a bad look for the app but Himeros still tries.

This was insanely long and I'm so sorry about that. It's all just been rattling around in my brain for two months so I just wanted it out and posted before February was done. I hope you all had a great Valentine's day and enjoying some now half-priced chocolates on sale!

Please do not edit or repost without permission. (I edited my commission prices!)

[nhaneh]

it kind of blows my mind just how astoundingly bad microsoft's current release of excel is. It's this sluggish, bloated mess that exemplifies everything wrong with the whole modern "everything is a web app" design paradigm, oversaturated with Smooth™ animations that makes it incapable of keeping up with the user.

I have an old Excel 2010 install at home that still works flawlessly though it took some registry hacking to stop it from complaining about having been end-of-life:d Meanwhile at work I'm constantly ending up choosing to just use LibreOffice Calc instead of Office 365 since while it doesn't have all of the nice handy wotsits I like about Excel 2010, it definitely is a lot more reliable than Excel 365!

Plus it doesn't keep suggesting I should save my files in The Fucking Cloud™

[sea-owl]

Daphne being a sex historian, what college would she go to? Who would she meet? Kate? Edwina? Marina?

Honestly, I haven't thought much of it beyond that one post. Sex historian Daphne would probably be my go-to career for her though in modern aus like spouses friend group.

We all have those occupations we give the characters should we stick them in the modern world, some are obvious others I've thought about. Here's some mine that I have set at the moment.

Bridgerons:

Anthony - Lawyer/CEO. Spefically, he is the heir or head of the Bridgerton group, taking it over after Edmund passed.

Benedict - Artist. It is an easy one that transfers into the modern world. I can also see him potentially doing things like graphic design.

Colin - Travel writer. Another easy one, and I think he would go a step further and do either a blog or travel app.

Daphne - Sex historian. This one took some thought, at first I thought Daphne would run one of those mommy blogs but then I paused and remembered that Daphne didn't get married until she was 21 in the books and girl would probably want something for herself outside her marriage and family. Since discovering her sexuality was such a prominent thing in her story, I thought ok how to potentially transfer this into a modern world? Well, Daphne, in the books, said if she was curious about something, she looked it up herself and Violet was bad about explaining sex so it kinda became Daphne became curious and somehow turned it into a career.

Eloise - Psychiatrist or something in the psychiatric field. This stems from Eloise's interest in the humanities in the books. It's also something I see her getting into in college. I see her going into gender studies at first, with her current what she thinks is femenism ideolgy, but then she gets humbled in university, and it causes her to change over to psychology.

Francesca - Music. Francesca is the one I'm most on the fence about, but her professionally doing music is a nice option for her.

Spouses:

Simon - Lawyer/Engineer. So originally, I went with a lawyer because it matched Anthony and the whole house of lords thing with Simon being a Duke. Then I remembered Simon actually likes math and would probably fit well as an engineer. I want to say he started as an engineer and because law school doesn't care what your bachelor's was when he went (forced to go) he became a lawyer after.

Kate - Vet. I debated before settling on vet, at first I thought to make her a business rival to Anthony but then thought about the way she calmed Anthony down in the show, and at one point I believe they said something close to her being good with animals. So vet she became, plus with this she can take Newton to work with her.

Sophie - Tattoo artist. This was a debatable one, too. What eventually led me to tattoo artist was that Sophie wouldn't need much in a college education. If she's good at art and finds a willing tattoo artist to take her on as an apprentice, Sophie has the ability to make herself a career.

Penelope - Writer. Again, it's an easy one. I like to believe she does copywriting and an author.

Phillip - Bontanist. Why would I separate Plant daddy from his plants?

Michael - Night Club owner. I picture Michael starting in the army just as he did in the books, and then when he got back, he went well shit what do I do now? Goes back to school and decides fuck it I'm gonna open a night club. His charismatic ways are very helpful in his business endeavors.

Gregory, Hyacinth, Gareth, and Lucy I'm still playing with on what I would want their occupations to be.